2nd Aug

CR IP TI ON BS SU

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

03:30 03:40 05:08 11:54 15:30 18:40 20:05

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Emirate ‘draconian’ measures slammed

8 badminton players kicked out of Olympics

Gulf’s airlines forge new links abroad

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Amir vows to ‘penalize’ Juwaihel; Mutaris fume

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Emsak: Fajer: Shoruk: Dohr: Asr: Maghreb: Eshaa:

Iran unfazed by threats: Bibi

www.kuwaittimes.net

RAMADAN 14, 1433 AH

Max 52º Min 36º High Tide 00:17 & 10:54 Low Tide 04:52 & 18:03

Delegation from Mutair tribe, Amir hold talks

By B Izzak conspiracy theories

Egos, arrogance and ignorance

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

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he never-ending story. I am sure you already guessed what I am going to write about: The Parliament and the Honorable Gentlemen. Be it the one of the long list of previous parliaments of 2009 or the new short-lived parliament of 2012. We are a distinguished lucky nation. Whoever had six parliaments in the span of six years. We can make it to the Guinness book of world records, I am sure.

Anyways, many of the MPs in 2009 were re-elected in 2012. I do not see any difference between the two parliaments except for the four women MPs, bless them Aseel, Rola, Salwa and Massouma. Of course, we had our famous veteran speaker of the house Jassem Al-Khorafi. But what changed in the performance of the two parliaments?

I still remember like it was yesterday the whole nation was criticizing the 2009 parliament. We begged His Highness the Amir to dissolve it and then only after the new MPs were elected in 2012 we started begging again. They kept the same threatening and grilling tone, wasting the sessions’ time, discussing nothing serious at all except the prejudices, special interests, sectarianism. The latest parliament became even more tribal than the 2009 edition.

The 2009 parliament was reinstated by the judiciary. We are in a dilemma again. The fights and disputes between MPs from the two parliaments - allies and foes. Who suffers in the end of all this? Kuwait.

Kuwait has been suffering since its liberation. We haven’t seen neither strong government nor a strong parliament. Both of them stab each other in the back and they forget. Maybe this is the non-cured fever of the invasion. I don’t know.

On that black day 21 years ago, Kuwait was invaded, but Allah was merciful on us and we got liberated.

I feel we did not get liberated inside our souls. Why the mad fights? Nothing has been accomplished in my country since then. All I hear from both government and parliament is rhetoric. I don’t know whether these people live in cuckoo land? Don’t they feel the tension surrounding us - Iran from one side, Iraq from the other and Saudi from the third side.

The chaos in Bahrain, the threats of Israel and US to hit Iran, the threats from Iran to close Hormuz Strait, the Arab Spring which is slowly spreading everywhere - and on top of all this, the West hovering over our heads selling us heavy weaponry which costs billions which we might not even need. Even if we need them I wonder if we have the right people who know how to use it, if God forbid, we ever need to use it. Don’t they feel the tension which started sweeping across the Gulf? No country is spared.

I don’t know what’s the agenda for Kuwait. All we need is a dispute between Mutair, Al-Azmi, Juwaihel or other Juwaihels, or few members of the ruling family, MPs, the government, Sunni, Shiite etc. Wake up guys before it is too late! Look at how other nations are suffering. Please, do not sacrifice Kuwait for your egos, arrogance and ignorance. God bless Kuwait!

HYDERABAD: Indian Muslim students recite the Holy Quran at Madarasatul Imam Anwarullah during the holy month of Ramadan in Hyderabad yesterday. — AFP

Don’t sell tear gas to Bahrain: Rights group MANAMA: A US-based rights group urged yesterday for a worldwide ban on sales of tear gas to Bahrain until the Gulf state conducts a full-scale inquiry into allegations of its excessive use against anti-government protesters. The appeal was part of a wideranging report by Physicians for Human Rights into what it called “unprecedented” levels of tear gas use by Bahraini security forces. The kingdom’s majority Shiites began an uprising more than 18 months ago seeking greater rights from the ruling Sunni monarchy, which is backed by fellow Gulf Arab states and the West.

More than 50 people have died in the unrest. The report cites claims that some of the fatalities came from protesters hit by tear gas canisters or suffering respiratory complications. Bahrain’s government said it “denies and condemns the use of lethal force or unlawful means in controlling demonstrations.”

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Ramadan Kareem

Specialties of Ramadan

By Hassan Bwambale

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SITRA: A Bahraini Shiite Muslim rests after being treated inside a house in Sitra village, South of Manama, after clashes erupted between riot police firing tear gas and birdshot and youths throwing petrol bombs and rocks.— AFP

‘Dead man’ returns

DHAKA: Bangladeshi man Moslemuddin Sarkar (left) who had been missing since 1989, is hugged by his brother Sekandar Ali after he arrived at the airport on Tuesday. — AP

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah yesterday told a delegation from Mutair tribe that he will insist that a member of the scrapped 2012 National Assembly Mohammad AlJuwaihel and those standing behind him will be penalized for what they did against the tribe, MP Hussein Mazyed said. Speaking after the meeting with the Amir, the lawmaker said that the Amir expressed a great deal of concern to the issue and vowed that law will be implemented.

The meeting came one day after the controversial Juwaihel wrote a highly abusive tweet against the Mutair tribe, one of the largest Bedouin tribes in Kuwait, and a day after Juwaihel himself was arrested.

Juwaihel’s action was not the first against Mutair tribe or other tribes as in late January he abused the tribe at an election rally which resulted in some tribesmen burning his election tent.

In a related development, police yesterday summoned several men from Mutair tribe on accusations that they took part in burning Juwaihel’s tent and which some MPs described as “provocative” and surprising. MP Mohammad Hayef said “I consider the move as a provocative message at this time” and asked if the law had been implemented at the culprit first. Activists on the Twitter described the interior ministry’s move as an attempt to blackmail the Mutair tribe not to press charges against Juwaihel for letting their men out.

The meeting with the Amir was arranged by a member of the 2012 scrapped assembly Obaid Al-Wasmi.

Several MPs and dignitaries took part in the delegation Continued on Page 13

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi man who went missing 23 years ago has returned to his ancestral village and shocked his family who had long given him up for dead.

Moslemuddin Sarkar, who had been missing since 1989, returned home on Tuesday with help from the International Committee of the Red Cross after spending 15 years in Pakistani jails. Hundreds of well-wishers turned out in Bishnurampur vil-

lage in northern Mymensingh district to catch a glimpse of him and congratulate the tearful and jubilant family.

Sarkar said by telephone he had entered India without valid documents in 1989 without informing his family. He was then caught as he tried to cross into Pakistan in 1997 where he was jailed for trying to enter the country illegally.

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llah is so gracious and generous that He makes some hours, days, nights and months more meritorious than others. If you perform an act of worship during those occasions, your reward is doubled or even tripled. Fasting in Ramadan is very special in that God himself determines the amount of rewards you will receive.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said what can be translated as, “If you perform one act of worship you get rewards worth ten up to 700.” In other words, out of Allah’s grace and mercy He gives you more than you deserve if you happen to do an act of worship, so long as your intention was propelled by seeking His pleasure and you did that act of worship in accordance with the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

LEVELS OF FASTING A. Fasting of the masses, which only entails: Abstaining from food, drinks and conjugal rites from dawn to dusk. This act is laudable and greatly rewarded if done out of sincerity, and in accordance with the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

God (Allah) praises those who fast by abstaining from the aforementioned, as related in a Hadith Qudsi that can be translated as, “He abandons his food, drinks and satisfying his carnal desires just because of me. Therefore, fasting is truly done for my sake, and I will abundantly reward those who fast.”

B. Fasting of special people. This levels is above the first one. In this level, not only does a Muslim abstain from food, drinks and conjugal rites from dawn to dusk, but he also shuns obscene language as well as acting immorally. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said what can be translated as, “Whoever doesn’t abandon falsehood, then he should know that Allah doesn’t need his abstaining from food and drinks.” In another saying, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) advises those who fast as such”.

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in the

news

UAE, Australia sign nuke pact

Mudslides kill 16 in northwestern China

Kuwait to get 9 new oil tankers

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates and Australia have signed a pact to work together on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, laying the groundwork for potential shipments of uranium to the Gulf nation. The UAE’s state news agency WAM reported yesterday that the agreement provides a framework for cooperation and will ease the “commercial exchange of nuclear materials and equipment.”

Australia is a major producer of uranium. The agreement stopped short of setting specific terms for imports. The UAE last month became the first country in more than two and a half decades to begin building its maiden nuclear power plant. It has signed a deal with the United States to not enrich uranium or reprocess spent nuclear fuel for plutonium, which can be used in nuclear bombs.

BEIJING: Mudslides that buried an iron ore mine in northwestern China have killed at least 16 people, with another 12 still missing a day after the disaster, state media reported yesterday.

Most of the victims of the accident in the remote region of Xinjiang were mine workers but the bodies of six residents, including three women and a child, were also pulled out from under the wreckage. The official Xinhua news agency said there was only a slim chance of finding any survivors, quoting a local emergency official. Tuesday’s accident occurred at a time when several parts of the country have faced major rainstorms, including the heaviest downpour in Beijing in 60 years that left 77 people dead on July 21. Rain is forecast to continue in Ili prefecture, where the accident took place, hampering rescue efforts, a Xinjiang news website said yesterday.

KUWAIT: Kuwait Oil Tanker Co (KOTC) expects to receive a total of nine new tankers from South Korean companies in 2014/2015 as part of its announced $1.75 billion fleet expansion, the company’s chairman told a newspaper. KOTC will get five crude tankers from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and four more for petroleum products from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard chairman Bader Al-Khashti told Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai in an interview published yesterday. This will be the third phase of its tanker expansion. “It is expected that we will receive all of the nine tankers during the fiscal year 2014/2015,” he said. State-owned KOTC will be paying around $556 million for the new ships from Daewoo. Daewoo is also upgrading four existing tankers as part of a deal signed with KOTC in January, Khashti said.

J I N G G U : R e s c u e r s h e l p a re s i d e nt c ro s s a swollen river after a mudslide in Jinggu, southwestern China’s Yunnan province. — AFP

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

KUWAIT: The National Evangelical Church in Kuwait hosted its ghabqa recently, an annual event to commemorate the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. The event took place under the patronage of former prime minister HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, and was attended by diplomats and other dignitaries.

Kuwait Hyatt Hotel holds annual ghabqa

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Hyatt Hotel held its annual ghabqa for media representatives at Layali Kuwait Hyatt with live music, celebrating the holy month of Ramadan.

The event was a great opportunity for Kuwait Hyatt Hotel to

thank the media and press. The event began with a short speech

by Kamal Ballout, General Manager of the hotel by welcoming and extending his gratitude to the hotel, press and media.

All the local media and press were entertained. Ramadan’s lav-

ish oriental and continental buffet was prepared by the Executive Chef. The tent’s comfortable setting and ambience makes Layali Kuwait Hyatt a very ideal place for family and friends. They can enjoy our special ghabqa and daily iftar buffet.

NBK distributes more than 1,000 iftar meals in Shuwaikh Industrial Area KUWAIT: As part of fulfilling its ongoing corporate social responsibilities and on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, NBK Public Relations Team has distributed more than a thousand meals and special convoys to fasters in Shuwaikh Industrial Area in Kuwait, within the framework of the ongoing “Do Good Deeds in Ramadan” philanthropic campaign launched by the Bank. NBK Public Relations Officer Talal AlTurki said that the NBK is willing to extend the reach of its “Do Good Deeds in Ramadan” Campaign to cover other areas in Kuwait.

It is worth mentioning that NBK’s Al-Watani iftar banquet campaign launched with the commencement of NBK Public Relations the holy month of Ramadan Officer Talal Al Turki as part of an extensive social program comprising a multitude of philanthropic activities, is garnishing impressive attendance with hundreds of fasters attending NBK tent set up in Kuwait city.

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LOCAL

KUWAIT: The Holiday Inn invited media representatives to a ghabqa held recently at the Al-Danah Hall to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. Guests were welcomed by a team led by Majed Hanna, Sales and Marketing Manager, who later delivered a speech expressing thanks for the media coverage. A raffle draw was held to give away prizes that included Egypt Air flight tickets.

Gulf Bank pays visit to children’s hospitals KUWAIT: Gulf Bank staff recently visited the first four hospitals as part of their annual visits to children’s hospital units associated with Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in

Hospitals (KAACH), to share the joys of Girgian with them. Hospital visits include: Ibn Sina, Amiri, NBK, Farwaniya, Al-Razi, Zain and Jahra Hospital.

Tabbouleh bel addass

These visits create an authentic Ramadan ambience for children, giving them a chance to enjoy Ramadan, offering them bags filled with Girgian treats, in addition to several activities

including face painting, henna, hair braiding, as well as interacting with various superheroes from The 99 comic books.

Gulf Bank is committed to main-

taining its position as part of Kuwait’s integral social fabric. The bank perceives such visits as a moral obligation to deliver great spiritual support to these young patients.

Oven crisp seafood barak spicy tomato and zataar dips

By Missoni Hotel

• For the seafood barak (25-30 pc) • 300 gr Prawn • 300 gr Calamary • 150 gr Scallops • 150 gr Carrot juliene • 150 gr Celeriac juliene • 100 gr Spring onion • 50 gr Chopped Garlic • 15 gr Fresh thyme • 15 gr Fresh Rosemary • 10 ml Olive oil • Salt • White pepper • Filo pasteo or Brick leaves Method:

By Holiday Inn Ingredients: • 200 grams tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced • 400 grams fresh parsley chopped • 50 grams green onions chopped • 40 grams fresh mint chopped • 75 milliliter fresh lemon juice • 100 milliliters olive oil • Salt, pepper • 75 grams brown lentil soaked in cold water Method: often the brown lentil by soaking it for two hours in water, then drain well and

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press out excess water. Mix lentil, onions, salt and pepper together, crushing onion juice into lentil with fingers. Add parsley, mint, oil, lemon juice, tomato and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly, adding more lemon juice if necessary to give it a tart flavor. Adjust salt to taste. Serve on lettuce leaves in individual dishes, or use tender lettuce heart leaves, cabbage leaves and vine leaves as scoops to eat the Tabbouleh. In Lebanon, Tabbouleh is generally served on a large platter and decorated with chopped tomatoes.

The vegetable leaves are served on a separate dish in an attractive manner.

Sautee all the seafood in olive oil and garlic Blanche the carrot julienne and the celeriac julienne.

Mix in the spring onion and the herbs Roll in to filo or brick leaves Freeze For the spicy tomato

• Choco recipie add coriander • 1. lt. Tomato concasse • 20 gr. Chopped garlic • 20 gr. Spanish paprika • 300 gr. Toasted pine nuts • 200 gr. Raisins • 200gr. Red chilli • 10 gr. Salt • 5 gr. Black pepper • 50 ml. Olive oil • 30 gr. Chopped parsley Sautee the pine nuts and raisin with olive oil.

Add red chili, paprika tomato concasse, reduce in slow fire for about 15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and finish with chopped parsley.

For the zataar dip

• 325 ml Olive oil • 350 ml Chicken stoke • 50 gr zaatar • 20 gr Chopped garlic • 100 gr Chopped red onion • 15 gr Chopped thyme • 15 gr Chopped rosemary • 10 gr Grounded cumin

• 10 gr paprika • 20 gr Chopped chives • 10 gr Chopped parsley • 5 gr Salt • 5 gr White pepper • 50 ml Balsamic vinegar Cook the onion, the garlic with the olive oil for 2 minutes and add the paprika and the chicken stoke. Mix the rest of the ingredients.

Serving guidelines Serve hot in a paper cone along with two dips in mini dishes.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

LOCAL kuwait digest

kuwait digest

Bureaucratic riddle

Improvements in voting process

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

hat I am going to say now is not one of the Ramadan riddles, but it is a bureaucratic one, and I challenge anyone at the Ministry of Health to solve it.

Let us begin from where the defect started. In April, the Ministry of Health brought a “Kuwaiti doctor” from London to perform 8 surgeries at Al-Sabah Hospital for non-Kuwaiti patients. The “Kuwaiti” doctor was hosted as a visiting professor from London and was brought by the ministry through an official invitation and, based on this invitation, he was treated as a visiting doctor. He was booked with a round trip ticket from London in first class, and was allocated an amount to stay in a first class hotel.

In addition to pocket money and a contracting amount, being a visiting doctor, the amount is about KD 20,000, which he received for a week of work. But the riddle has not started yet. This is a simple introduction to make the riddle easy for Ministry of Health officials.

What I have discovered is that this visiting doctor is only a Kuwaiti doctor who was sent to specialize in his studies in the UK at the expense of the Ministry of Health.

Ok, how and where? A Kuwaiti doctor on scholarship at the expense of the Ministry of Health, brought to the state for one week as a visiting doctor from London and granted about KD 20,000 in return for his visit. Isn’t he on scholarship at your expense, Ministry of Health?

Did you understand anything? Personally I did not understand anything, but this riddle will remain unsolved, because solving riddles requires logic and the Ministry of Health has ignored logic in this behavior as to how we send a doctor as a student on scholarship, then bring him back as a visiting doctor with a special contact and pay a large amount of money.

By the way, the doctor I am talking about is a specialist in his field and deserves to be hailed for his knowledge and work, as I was told by the specialists. The problem is not in the doctor, as he is specialized in a scarce specialization, as I was told. the problem is not in him at all, but in the behavior of the Ministry of Health, and I challenge them to prove that this behavior is legal, which is considered the most difficult bureaucratic riddle in the history of the Kuwaiti administration.

Note: An appointment to be seen by an eye doctor needs two weeks, and another appointment for a child suffering from breathing problems every night requires two months, and it takes two months to be seen by the doctor then to decide if he needs an operation or a not.

If approved, he needs eight months to receive an appointment for the operation. Here, also, there is no logic, as the government is saying, dear Kuwait inhabitants, citizens and expats, you have no treatment with us. We are working as per the constitution, and providing treatment for you. But you have to be patient with our dates, which varies between two months and oneand a half years. — Al-Anbaa

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ome activists who are truly committed to actual improvement of the democratic system, are working continuously to amend the electoral system in order to introduce a more fair distribution of the constitution, which would achieve a quantum leap in election results. So far, all constituency distributions adopted in Kuwait did nothing but increase sectarianism and allow ‘groups’ to take over election results. Tribalism and fundamentalism were not defeated, because they remain present in the minds of Kuwaiti voters who continue to vote collectively, regardless of whether they have five, 10 or 25 constituencies.

The only way to improve the election process is by forcing voters to stop voting for their respective tribal or sectarian candidate. This cannot happen, except by raising the level of the voters’ political awareness, which takes time that we cannot afford to wait for.

The other option would be to reduce the number of candidates each voter is entitled to vote for, which forces voters to stop collectively voting for candidates of their respective tribes or sectarian groups.

Instead of voting for four or five candidates, voting for only one - or even two - candidates would force a citizen to choose between candidates of their respective social group. The choice would eventually be made on a political and national basis, instead of tribal or sectarian basis as the situation is today. The relationship is tandem then. Collective votes support collectivity, while a single vote supports candidates’ independence from their social belonging.

The problem is not in the distribution of constituencies, but it unfortunately lies in the Kuwaiti voters who remain prisoners of their social orientations. This is why collective voting has taken over the state’s five constituencies, especially those that were previously kept away from sectarian or tribal influence, as we’ve seen notable activity of directing certain ‘blocs’ of voters to elect certain candidates. For example, the Shiite ‘bloc’ was guided in the third constituency to support candidates who never thought they had a chance to win, while the ‘Otban’ tribe bloc was guided to support candidates allied with Faisal Al-Mislem. A similar occurrence happened in the second constituency when the ‘Anza’ tribal votes were directed to support certain candidates, while Hadars (urban citizens) were guided in the first citizens to allegedly reject Shiite and even Awazem tribe candidates.

Some people argue that the voting process has indeed improved when citizens voted for candidates that do not belong to their tribal or sectarian group, such as Shiites in the third constituency voting for a Sunni candidate or Otaibis voting for a Dosari candidate. But the fact of the matter is, this kind of voting remains tribal and sectarian because this vote is based upon a tribal or sectarian basis. This form of nationally-coated collective voting is not new, and will continue, regardless of the constituencies’ distribution. Sectarian or tribal ‘blocs’ will be used in any new or former distribution, even a single constituency system. So until voters’ awareness improves, single votes remain the best solution. — Al-Qabas

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kuwait digest

Unnecessary committees

By Dr Yaqoub Al-Sharrah very time a problem appears, the government forms a committee to study it in order to find solutions. The problem is, however, that while the government has long been using this practice to deal with issues, hundreds of committees formed throughout the years brought little to no assistance in helping state departments overcome their many obstacles.

This brings us to question the real reason behind forming committees. Are they necessary to help state departments utilize the experience of a select team of elite professionals who can bring more to the table than the thousands of employees within the departments? Or are committees a way to facilitate unlawful benefits for these departments? There are several examples in which the work of committees actually conflicted with the work of departments, even as the results of committee investigations are often ignored by executive departments.

If we look into the issue from a legal standpoint, we find that the work of committees is not covered by a state law that organizes their work and expenses. Some committees are set up with a time limit for operations, while others are left timeless. Meanwhile, other committees often end up integrated into a ministry’s administrative structure, which entitles its members to a share from the ministry’s budget, in violation of Civil Service Commission regulations. But while committees often

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work for years, their level of achievements are usually left unknown. The same goes for how much money is spent on these committees, which carry out duties that fall under the responsibility of ministries and do not require them to be handled by another party on their behalf.

There are reports that point out that some committees often spawn subcommittees. While each state department has a supreme council, there are also higher committees that oversee the work of ministries. What is the true difference between a supreme council and a higher committee? We have a supreme council for defense, oil, environment, and others, and higher committees for citizenship, bedoons, and completion of application of Islamic Sharia. If all these councils and committees exist, what exactly is the role of the ministries?

Forming committees has become more of an easy way to kill any important issue. A ministry, hesitant to take an important decision about a certain topic, can simply refer it to a committee for studying, which can last for years and eventually make people forget about the issue.

The Civil Service Commission is required to adopt a regulation that organizes the work of necessary committees, while dismantling needless committees whose presence only squanders public funds. — Al-Rai

kuwait digest

Opportunists cheating us

kuwait digest

By Abdellatif Al-Duaij rticle six of the Kuwait constitution states that “The system of government in Kuwait shall be democratic, under which sovereignty resides in the people, the source of all powers... sovereignty shall be exercised in a manner specified in this constitution”.

The group seeking to boycott from the regressive Salaf and the popular bloc opportunists stole this constitutional text and turned it into a booby-trapped slogan, appearing like any constitutional text in the face of the authority only.

The boycott group is now promoting the slogan “the people are the source of powers”, and this is a slogan that is on top of democratic civilization... but in facing others only. The truth is that the slogan, when looking at the structure of the group that calls for it, is conditional, exactly as it is in the constitution, and the practice of this sovereignty as explained in the constitution”, will be for them according to the wishes and even the mumbo-jumbo of the group that carries it.

This is not false at all, as it may seem, because this hypocritical group had the slogan of Islamizing the country or changing the second article of the constitution, to lead to the total transformation of the state into being religious.

This fraudulent group does not deny this at all, rather some or all of them remind us every now and then, if this is true, which it is, how the people will be the “source of powers”, while Shareeah is the judge, and ruler and base of behavior and living.

Or is the slogan, in truth, saying “people are the source of powers... according to Islamic Sharia”.

The “Salaf” and “Popular” opportunists, along with the so called youth power, are lying and cheating us, and they want to act as being weak until they take power, then the slogan will disappear and the true one will become clear.

The people are the source of power means that there should not be talk about religious principles or arguments about the legitimacy of a law or its contradiction of a belief by some.

The nation decides directly, without referring to the religious references or principles, what it sees fit for the people and society. So, will the boycott group stop talking about legitimizing and banning... or are they pretending to be weak until they hold onto power? —Al-Qabas

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RAMADAN 14, 1433 AH

What is the heart of Quran?

Surat Maryam Surat Yaseen Surat Al Kursi

Kuwait ‘top’ on world list

By Iqbal Al-Ahmad inally, Kuwait has something to celebrate-becoming the top country in the world in a certain category. According to a recent International Monetary Fund report, Kuwait has the highest rate in the world for the cost of electricity and water production.

The IMF study published by Al-Watan daily last week indicated that the demand for electricity increases by 8% annually in Kuwait, while the average global increase ranged between 2 percent to 3 percent.

Moreover, the report notes that 300,000 barrels of oil are used every day for electricity and water production in Kuwait, while the value of wasted water reached KD 62 million per year. People in Kuwait, meanwhile, do not feel the impact of the country having the world’s highest cost for electricity and water production because of the government’s intervention. According to Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Electricity and Water Najeeb Al-Sa’eed, who is quoted in the same report, the cost for producing electricity increased from 14.8 fils per kilowatt in 2002/2003 to 38 fils today.

Meanwhile, consumers in Kuwait do not seem bothered by the gradually increasing rate.

Consumers, however, should not be blamed for the waste of energy when they are encouraged by the government to do so. Evidence for that is the redundant number of light posts along roads and highways. In Jabriya, for example, the roundabout near Al-Hadi Hospital and the roundabout right after it are each lit by 10 large-size light posts. Driving along Al-Abdali Road is like going through a parade of lights expanding for tens of kilometers. Most streets would still be adequately lit if half of their light posts were removed.

While consumers are not even made aware of the high costs the government pays to provide electricity and water throughout the year, while charging the public an inexpensive rate, do you think people would actually react positively to weak educational campaigns? Have we seen any improvement in energy conservation through the years in which the MEW kept repeating media campaigns about saving electricity and water?

The solution should start within the ministry itself.

Expenses on rationalization campaigns should be cut, in order for the expenses to come on par with the volume of the actual problem we are facing. The problem cannot be resolved by building more power plants when consumers don’t even bother turning off their outdoor lights at their houses during the day or waste ridiculous amounts of water daily washing their cars. —Al-Anba

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E-Dama tournament underway KUWAIT: The eighth annual Sheikh Yousuf Al-Saud Al-Sabah E-Dama competition began recently at the Yacht Club, featuring 120 competitors including 30 women.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by

Sheikh Ali Al-Yousuf Al-Saud Al-Sabah, Sheikha Bibi Al-Yousuf Al-Saud Al-Sabah, in addition to senior Touristic Enterprises Company members, including Khalid Al-Ghanim, Deputy Chairman of the Board and Managing Director, and Jassem Al-Shumais

Lawmakers issue transparency agenda calls LONDON: The publication of data as part of the government’s transparency agenda should be accessible and easily understood by all, a group of lawmakers said.

More work needs to be done in certain areas to “realize the full benefits of transparency,” including service improvement, public accountability and economic growth objectives, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee concluded today.

In its report entitled ‘Implementing the transparency agenda,’ lawmakers raised concern over the gap prevalent in giving out relevant information over the comparability of data where it was of poor quality.

As one example, it noted the price and performance information for adult social care was incomplete and could not be easily compared across local authority boundaries. The committee also found that the presentation of much government data was poor.

Committee chair Margaret

Hodge said, “This committee fully supports the principle of greater openness and its potential to strengthen accountability and improve public services. But the government has a lot more work to do before that potential is realized.”

“It is simply not good enough to dump large quantities of raw data into the public domain. It must be accessible, relevant and easy for us all to understand.”

“Otherwise, the public cannot use it to make comparisons and exercise choice, which is the key objective of the transparency agenda. At the moment, too much of data is poorly presented and difficult to interpret. In some sectors, such adult social care, there are big gaps in the information provided so users cannot use it to make informed choices,” she said.

The committee also warned there was a risk that those without internet access would not gain the full benefits of a more open public data. — KUNA

time maids, on top of which is the fact that it is always a faster solution.

“Maid recruitment offices now demand very high commissions that might reach more than $4,000 for some nationalities. It takes at least a month to finish the maid’s paperwork and sometimes problems happen and the maid never comes. That is why it is now easier for families to use maids who work by the hour.”

Ajmi added that the money parttime maids get per month could reach $5,000. “A maid would get $22 per hour, if we assume that she works eight hours a day, she would then get $170 ever y day. This means $5,100 per month.”

This amount, Ajmi noted, is the minimum since some maids work 10 hours or more.

“At the end of the day, the salary of a part-time maid can be equal to that of a manager in a government institution.”

Ajmi said that he and several other owners of recruitment offices are keen on abiding by the law and are not involved in the part-time maid business.

tions’ finalists, Sheikha Bibi Al-Sabah announced three additional competitions named after the late Sheikh Khalid Al-Yousuf Al-Saud Al-Sabah, in addition to introducing new prizes for participants who took part in the tournament since its inception.

Grand Mosque remains closed for maintenance A national landmark

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The largest and most popular mosque in Kuwait, the Grand Mosque, is still closed as it is undergoing maintenance by the Kuwait Institution Scientific Researches (KISR) in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Works. The work began on April 1 and is to continue until the end of the year. However, the timing of the work was criticized by some members of the public. Muslims, who regularly pray at the Grand Mosque, were disappointed to hear that the mosque would not be available during the holy month of Ramadan.

It was shocking for many people, as thousands pray there every night during Ramadan, but now have to find other mosques to attend.

The mosque, built in 1986, accommodated more than 170,000 Muslims who came to pray during Ramadan, as officials also erected tents outside the mosque. The mosque is built on 45,000 square meters, including the outdoor areas. The local press mentioned earlier this year that the maintenance work

Part-time maids in Kuwait earn astronomical amounts KUWAIT: The option of hiring domestic staff on a part-time basis in Kuwait has caused problems for many families unable to proceed without the ser vices of a maid.

While the salary of a full-time maid varies between $120 and $300, a part-time maid earns $22 per hour.

The majority of women prefer working on a part-time basis, even though it violates the laws that govern the employment of maids in Kuwait which, for example, states that a maid cannot work for more than one family at a time.

Nasser Al-Ajmi, owner of a domestic worker recruitment agency in Kuwait, said that unauthorized people started working in this sector after realizing how much money it brings.

“Some people would recruit several maids from abroad and then make them work per hour,” he told Al-Arabiya in a phone interview.

“This has led to the presence of thousands of illegal maids.”

According to the latest statistics, Kuwait is home to more than 500,000 illegal laborers. There are several reasons, Ajmi explained, that make families resort to part-

Director of the Beaches and Sea Clubs Department.

Dr Nouri Al-Wattar, Head of the Organizing Committee, and Saud Abdul-Aziz Al-Babtain, Head of Al-Babtain Group, were also in attendance.

In addition to top prizes allocated for competi-

“Yet we are unable to fight this phenomenon because there are so many out there who make so much money out of this business and laws are not deterrent enough to stop them.”

For Om Youssef, full-time maids have been causing several problems and that is why many families prefer part-time ones.

“In addition to the fact that it takes so much time to bring them, in many cases they run away right after they are brought after being tempted by fellow maids or owners of small recruitment offices to work part-time,” she told Al-Arabiya.

Some maids, she added, would not run away but would insist on going back to the recruitment office, as part of the ‘return system’ in the maid recruitment law, a few days after they are hired.

“According to the law, this makes the family who hired the maid lose half the commission, that is at least $1,700.”

Om Youssef explained that most of the time it is the recruitment office that agrees with the maid to come back so that she can be sent to another family and so on. “It is a very lucrative business.

The office would get half the commission in a couple of days then the same amount a couple of days later after offering the same maid to another family.”

Recruitment offices, said Om Youssef, are not the only party involved in the part-time maid system. “Some families bring three or four maids through the legal channels then rent them to other families in return for a portion of the maids’ earnings.” According to Om Youssef, each maid would pay around 1,000 dinars annually in return for the residency permit she gets for allegedly working for this family that initially brought her to the country.

—Al-Arabiya website

includes renovation of the concrete pillars and ceiling, which will be done within nine months. This is the first time any reconstruction has been performed on the Grand Mosque since it was built.

Meanwhile, a source in the Kuwait Municipality noted that damage to the mosque has been discovered underground and was caused by construction performed on the Central Bank. “I heard news that they are planning to demolish the Grand Mosque completely, and what was said about some renovations is not true. The expansion of the bank affected the structure of the mosque. This is very sad,” he told the Kuwait Times.

The Director of the Grand Mosque, Sa’ad Al-Haji, denied this news, calling it a rumor and insisting that studies to check and test the building are ongoing at the mosque. “The checking started earlier this year during the cleaning done in the mosque when they found some cracks in the structure. So we informed KISR, which is the responsible institution in charge of examining and checking the mosque. We have a nine-month contract with them which started on April 1 and

they are doing their best to finish the study before this period,” he explained.

“We are keen to ensure security for the prayers and the visitors of the Grand Mosque. From our side, as the administrative authority, we have closed the mosque until the study and tests are completed, so we might obtain the final results based on the recommendations of KISR. The study includes different tech-

nical and construction issues and takes samples from the building and around it, which takes time,” he further said.

Besides being a place for prayer, the Grand Mosque also represents a national landmark which is visited by Kuwaiti guests. Furthermore, it provides the public with religious, cultural and other classes and symposiums.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

local

Patient assaults doctor KUWAIT: A doctor at Adan Hospital was beaten by a patient who refused to wait his turn to be seen. When the doctor refused to see him, the patient beat the doctor, according to officials. Police are investigating.

Drunk driver Ahmadi police officers arrested a citizen on the coastal road after stopping a car and finding its driver under the influence of drugs. Officers discovered hashish on the suspect, so he was transferred to concerned authorities. Another citizen was arrested in Hawally when his car was being driven erratically. After the driver was searched, hashish was also found in his possession. He was sent to the proper drug enforcement authorities.

Drug trader A young man in this 20s was arrested with 36 keptagon tablets in Sulaibiya, after police learned that he sells drugs. He was then transferred to the proper authorities.

Angry lover A man went with his friends to a cafe, where he was surprised to find his girlfriend with another man. The man became very angry and beat both of them. Police was called and the man was taken to the police station for further questioning.

Suicide attempt A Nepalese maid failed in her recent attempt to commit suicide. The family where she worked was surprised by her crying and found that she recently lost her brother. A few minutes later, according to officials, the family’s child told them that the Nepalese maid was bleeding, so her sponsor rushed her to the hospital.

Kheitan fight A fight broke out between 15 Egyptians in Kheitan and seven of those fighting

were placed under arrest. Passersby saw the fight and called police, who arrived and arrested the seven while the remaining Egyptians escaped.

Body found The coroner recovered the body of an Asian, which was discovered by a Bedoon near his Sulaibiya house, and detectives are investigating.

Two policemen were on a routine patrol when they spotted a man driving while smoking, so they stopped him. The man came out of his car and claimed the smoke they saw was “bukhoor” to change the smell of his car. One of the policemen went to the car and observed that there was cigarette smoke, as a cigarette was found on the floor after burning part of the seat. The man was arrested and charged at Sulaibikhat police station.

Theft gang Sulaibikhat detectives arrested the leader of the three-member gang that committed several thefts during the fifth day of Ramadan. They also stole a 2012 vehicle that belonged to the Ministry of Education. A security source said, as the thieves left the Pajero behind after stealing the Yukon, detectives began collecting information about the Pajero’s owner.

They found that he is a Bedoon in his 20s and later arrested him in Sulaibiya. The suspect at first denied the charges and claimed that this Pajero was stolen and he had been slow in informing police about it, then he later admitted to committing the theft in Sulaibik hat cooperative branches. The source said the suspect heads a gang of bedoons who are all drug addicts and they used the money for buying drugs. He further said they planned to rob a money exchange store in Salhiya area with the hopes of collecting KD 100 million. Detectives are searching for two other suspects.

KUWAIT: (Left) A meeting was held recently with Loida’s employer attended by some Filipino community leaders.

(Right) Kuwait’s Patients Helping Fund Society is pictured here yesterday.

‘Let her die in hospital’ patient can now go home Patients Helping Fund helps Filipina

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: The prayers have been answered for a Filipina patient who is at Kuwait’s Ibn Sina Hospital, having been bedridden for seven months while awaiting repatriation. Loida Lai Dang-aoen (Dang-Awen), who is from Abra, Philippines, can now go back to her family at the soonest possible time as the Kuwait’s Patients Helping Fund Society has already shouldered most of the cost to repatriate Loida.

“I was overwhelmed when the Patient Helping Fund called today, I can’t say a word but many thanks,” said her female Kuwaiti employer.

“The total amount is KD3,860. I told them that I could only pay up to KD500 because I was unemployed, they told me to hand over some documents and the KD500 I promised, I gave the amount instantly. The Patient Fund Society will shoulder the remaining amount, which is KD3360,” she explained.

“It was fast, I went there for assistance last July 18 and I received their response Aug 1. They told me that my case with Loida qualified for assistance, so I was really grateful. Special thanks to Dr Faisal Al-Thoweni (neurosurgeon), Dr Ali Abudhassan (head of neuro department) and Anood from Ibn Sina Social Worker and all the staff

of Patient Fund who assisted me.

Thank to the community leaders who also expressed concern on Loida’s welfare,’ she said.

The Kuwaiti employer earlier went to the Philippine Embassy to seek assistance, but was allegedly advised by some officers there ‘to let her die in hospital’ as the dead body costs less to be repatriated than alive. The embassy vehemently denied the employer’s accusation, although the sponsor said she would stand by her claim.

Kuwait Times published the report about Loida in mid-July. In that report, the embassy stressed that a request for assistance was already forwarded

to the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs. In fact, in a bid to seek further assistance, the employer had also sent a request for financial assistance to the Philippines Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Office of Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay, but, according to the employer, there had been no positive response, as of this writing. “What I got was a receipt from the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA), but from other departments I haven’t received even a receipt,” she added. Loida was admitted to Al-Amiri Hospital on January 25, 2012 after suffering a

KUWAIT: Loida Lai Dang-aoen in her hospital bed.

—Photos by Ben Garcia

stroke and lapsing into a coma. She was eventually shifted to Ibn Sina Hospital for an emergency decompressive craniotomy and was operated on for the second time the following day. Loida has recovered now, though half of her body remains paralyzed. She can communicate with her eyes and using hand movements, but could not talk when visited by the Kuwait Times. The hospital advised that she be discharged, but since repatriation costs to the Philippines are high, her employer decided to seek assistance from the embassy.

“Maybe they couldn’t help. I was surprised they told me that it was better for Loida to die and to leave her in the hospital. Haram, she has a family back in the Philippines and I will help with whatever I can, though the amount is too much for me to bear,” the Kuwaiti employer told this reporter earlier.

She added that she was doing her best to help Loida reunite with her family as soon as possible. “I want Loida to be with her family. I will do my best for her to be delivered to her home, even as I beg for my friends to help her. Nobody wants to be in her shoes,” she said. And now the employer’s work has been rewarded. Also, a meeting by the Filipino community leaders was held last Friday in bid to help Loida.

‘Society susceptible to anarchy’

By A Saleh

ABK Announces Twitter Competition Winners At the onset of Ramadan, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait launched a competition on the social networking site Twitter, where the Bank awarded 8 winners with Samsung Galaxy S3 mobiles. ABK announced the names of the winners: Shaima Mubarak AlSalibi, Sulaiman Abdul Razak Eidan, Yousef Yacoub El Mansour, Dana Ali Abdullah, Lulwa Ibrahim, Mohammed Khalil Al-Qattan, Adel Yousef Al-Awadi, Shahad Sulaiman Al Anezi.

Ms. Sahar Al Therban, Public Relations Manager at ABK, wished the winners, “We congratulate the winners of ABK’s competition on Twitter, and we are happy that our

followers have increased manifold since we first introduced our Twitter handle @ ABK_Kuwait. The followers’ constant and continuous interaction with the Bank reflects the success of the competition which was a series of questions concerning ABK’s popular TV commercial introduced in the holy month of Ramadan “.

Ms. Al Therban added: “Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait believes in the need to consolidate and keep in touch with the community, especially after the emergence of social media and modern communication networks that help keep the Bank close to them.”

KUWAIT: A delegation representing the Mutair tribe expressed to HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah their concern over “damages done to Kuwait’s social fabric in light of repeated attacks,” referring to recent derogatory remarks made against their tribe, posted by controversial political activist Mohammad Al-Juwaihel on his Twitter account.

“We explained during our meeting with HH the Amir that while we believe in Kuwait being a country that falls a set of laws. We find that the law is not implemented properly in the country,” said Dr. Obaid Al-Wasmi, who requested to meet HH the Amir shortly after the offensive remarks appeared.

Al-Wasmi was accompanied by Falah AlDuwaish, Raja Hujailan, Husain Mizyed, Daifullah Buramia, and Husain Al-Quwai’an, while Musallam Al-Barrak, Mubarak Al-Waalan and Mohammad Hayef were absent.

“We made it clear that we did not request to hold a meeting to complain to HH the Amir, but send a message that the situation is susceptible to sectarianism, in a manner that authorities will not be able to control,” Al-Wasmi indicated. They added that he mentioned during the meeting “clear selectiveness in implementing the law.”

Representatives of the Mutair tribe, one of the largest communities in the Kuwaiti society, believe that there are hidden parties behind the attacks against them. “It is important that we identify the parties behind such individuals who attack the Mutair tribe and the Kuwaiti society. This is because ignoring that is unacceptable,” Al-Wasmi said.

Meanwhile, MP Buramia indicated that “HH the Amir assured us that the law is going to be imple-

mented against those who stir sectarianism as well as those who support them.” Al-Juwaihel, who was arrested Tuesday to be questioned over his recent remarks, had insulted Al-Mutair tribe for the first time during his election campaign for the 2012 Parliament earlier this year, following which crowds of angry tribesmen stormed his campaign’s headquarters and set the main tent ablaze. In the meantime, authorities reportedly arrested five Mutairi citizens yesterday to be questioned in case of AlJuwaihel’s headquarters fire incident that took place last January. In a quick statement made to the press, MP Hayef described this step as “sending a provocative message at this time,” since it happened one day after Al-Juwaihel was arrested for passing derogatory tweets against Mutairi tribe.

Arab intervention MP Khalid Al-Adwah is calling Arab governments for “immediate intervention to save unarmed civilians in Syria who are subjected to brutal killing,” urging them “not to leave the Syrian people to fall victim to heavy artillery used by the army of the Syrian regime that lost its mind.”

Al-Adwa made these remarks in a press release that was issued yesterday, indicating that “the time has come for forming an Arab deterrent force to intervene immediately to protect Syrian communities from the regime’s assault.” He added that seeking a Security Council resolution is futile “when Arab countries already realize that any resolution that hurts the Syrian regime will be vetoed by Russia and China.”

UAE bans Kuwaiti cleric Kuwaiti cleric Dr Tariq Suwaidan has been barred from entering the United Arab Emirates

after being blacklisted “for offending the state on Twitter and blogs,” said sources.

“The UAE authorities banned Suwaidan and other Kuwaiti citizens instead of issuing subpoenas against to avoid damaging bilateral relations with Kuwait,” said sources. Suwaidan had posted on Twitter, describing the presence of “true freedom and justice” as being more important than high construction rate and large salaries, while tweeting a prayer in which he expressed hope that prisoners in the UAE will be freed.

‘Burning’ photo Images of Kuwaiti oil fields set ablaze by invading Iraqi forces during the 1990 invasion are featured in the list of top ten pictures taken by NASA’s Landsat satellite during the past forty years. The images were taken five miles above the ground, and also shows “the largest oil spill in human history and worst environmental catastrophe,” as described by the Daily Mail.

Iraqi Airways purchase After reaching a settlement with Kuwait Airways over war time reparations owed for destroying fleet during the 1990/91 invasion, the Iraqi Airways is expected to receive two new aircrafts from the United States of America before the end of the year, a top Iraqi official announced.

“Iraq will receive Boeing 737 and Boeing 787 carriers as part of the deal to purchase 40 planes from the United States,” said Kareem Al-Nouri, advisor of Iraq’s Ministry of Transportation. The Iraqi Airways reached a settlement with its Kuwaiti counterpart on paying $300 million compensation in cash, while the remaining $200 million is invested in joint projects.

Fire incidents in Fahaheel, Mishref, Mahboula

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Zain sponsors ‘White Expo’ exhibition KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunication company in Kuwait, a main sponsor of the Ramadan “White Expo” exhibition, showcased a large number of small projects initiated by Kuwait’s young entrepreneurs. The event which was held at 360 Mall from July 29 to 31 had a charitable cause.

Zain’s main sponsorship is part of the organization’s corporate social responsibility initiatives that aim to support the society especially the young Kuwaiti talent who have the skills and creative abilities to contribute to the growth of the nation.

In a press release the company stated that will continue to support such events and social activities in the Holy month of Ramadan through many programs and specially-tailored initiatives that serve the Kuwaiti society.”

Zain has created effective synergies with

the pool of talent in the country supporting the youth and highlighting their creativity. Zain is supporting the “White Expo” exhibition - a forum that will raise funds for orphans.

Zain will provide various exclusive services during the Holy month of Ramadan providing the best customer care and offering the best products. In addition, it will continue to seek the best community-oriented care. Zain will distribute iftar meals in the organization’s three Ramadan tents and will help needy families throughout the month. As part to its strategy and commitment responsibility, a team from Zain will pay visits to orphans and the elderly during Ramadan.

Zain continuously seeks to contribute to the business environment and the community and remains committed to achieve this through all its initiatives.

KUWAIT: A fire broke out at a restaurant in Fahaheel opposite AlKout Complex. Two Egyptian expats, each 25-year-old, suffered burn injuries and were referred to Adan hospital.

Another fire broke out at a home, located west of Mishref. Five ambulances reached the scene in response to an emergency call. The fire resulted in two citizens aged

27-year-old and a 26-year-old woman sustaining injuries. They were admitted to Mubarak hospital.

Also, another citizen, aged 29, and two fire fighters suffered from smoke inhalation and were administered treatment at the site. An apartment in Mahboula caught fire.

Seven ambulances reached the accident scene. Also, ten individuals who suffered smoke inhalation were administered treatment. One was admitted to Adan hospital.

KUWAIT: The Municipality launched a crackdown on roaming vendors in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh yesterday. During the campaign, seven truck loads of fruits, vegetables and fish unfit for human consumption were confiscated and destroyed. — Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Egypt’s PM selects new cabinet Page 8

Tea Party’s Cruz scores stunning win in primary Page 9

ASHKELON: US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (left) and Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak deliver statements to the media during a visit to an Iron Dome rocket defense shield battery (seen back) in this coastal city yesterday. — AP

Iran unfazed by threats: Bibi Panetta asks Israel for patience on Iran JERUSALEM: US and Israeli threats of a military strike have done nothing to stop Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear capability, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday in talks with US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.

“You yourself said a few months ago that when all else fails, America will act.

But these declarations have also not yet convinced the Iranians to stop their programme,” Netanyahu told the Pentagon chief. “This must change, and it must change quickly because time to resolve this issue peacefully is running out.”

Panetta used the visit to issue his own warning to Iran over its efforts to develop what Israel and much of the West believe is a bid for military nuclear capability. “They have a choice to make,” he told reporters on a visit to an Iron Dome battery in the southern port town of Ashkelon with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak. “They can either negotiate in a way that tries to resolve these issues and has them abiding by international rules and requirements and giving up their effort to develop their nuclear capability. “But if they don’t, and if they continue to make the decision to proceed with a nuclear weapon ... we have options that we are prepared to implement to ensure that does not happen.”

Israel, the sole if undeclared nuclear

power in the Middle East, has repeatedly warned that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to it, and both Israeli and US officials have repeatedly warned that all options - including a military strike - were on the table for preventing such a scenario. “You recently said that sanctions on Iran are having a big impact on the Iranian economy, and that is correct,” Netanyahu told Panetta. “But unfortunately it is also true that neither sanctions nor diplomacy have yet had any impact on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. And until now, Iran had not taken seriously US or Israeli threats of a military strike on its uranium enrichment facilities, he said.

“However forceful our statements, they have not convinced Iran that we are serious about stopping them,” said Netanyahu who has repeatedly warned that a military action may be necessary.

On Tuesday night, the Israeli leader said he had not yet decided whether to mount a military strike on Iran’s enrichment facilities. But he also said Israel would not rely on anyone else to guarantee its security - not even Washington. Panetta also made clear it was not time for such a move, reiterating US pleas for more time to let diplomacy and sanctions work before considering a strike. “We have to exhaust every option, every effort before we resort to

military action,” he said in Ashkelon. “It is my responsibility as secretary of defence to provide the president with a full range of options, including military options should diplomacy fail,” he added. Asked how the Obama administration would react in the event of a unilateral Israeli strike, Panetta said that questions about what was in Israel’s national security interest “is something that must be left up to the Israelis.”

Panetta said he believed the diplomatic and economic sanctions were “having an effect” but stressed that a unified global stance would be the most crucial element in forcing Iran to rethink. “The most effective way to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is for the international community to be united, proving to Iran that it will only make itself less secure if it continues to try to pursue a nuclear weapon.”

Barak said it was extremely unlikely that sanctions and diplomacy would convince Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, which Tehran insists are purely peaceful in nature.

“The probability of this happening is extremely low,” he remarked, noting that Iran was pushing ahead with daily enrichment of “uranium needed for their weapon.” “We have clearly have something to lose by this stretched time,” he remarked.— AFP

Myanmar troops ‘opened fire on Rohingya Muslims’ SITTWE, Myanmar: A human rights group said Myanmar government forces opened fire on crowds of ethnic Rohingya in a targeted campaign of violence during recent sectarian strife, as a UN envoy visited the area yesterday to investigate the unrest. New York-based Human Rights Watch called for a strong international response to “atrocities” committed during last month’s fighting between Rakhine

tens of thousands remain homeless mostly Rohingya in need of food, shelter and medical care. The government did not immediately react to the Human Rights Watch report. Earlier this week it defended its handling of the issue, saying forces had “exercised maximum restraint”.

“The Myanmar government strongly rejects the accusations by some quarters that abuses and excessive use of force

SITTWE, Myanmar: A foreign diplomat shakes hands with a boy as about 30 diplomats visit the Baw Du Pha refugee camp in Rakhine state in western Myanmar yesterday. — AP Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya. The violence in western Myanmar that left at least 78 people dead has subsided but many

were made by the authorities in dealing with the situation,” Foreign Minister Wunnna Maung Lwin told reporters

Monday. The release of the report coincided with a visit by UN human rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana to Rakhine state. His evaluation of the conflict is likely to be regarded as a yardstick for measuring the reforms undertaken by elected President Thein Sein after Myanmar ended decades of repressive military rule. Much remains unknown about what transpired in Rakhine state during nearly two weeks of sectarian fighting, rioting and arson attacks because the area was virtually sealed off to the outside world. Quintana has made clear that investigating the conflict is a priority of his weeklong visit to Myanmar.

He toured key sites of the June violence on Tuesday and Wednesday, declining to answer journalists’ questions about his findings. Tensions between the Rakhine and the Rohingya are longstanding, in part because many in Myanmar consider the Rohingya to be illegal settlers from neighboring Bangladesh.

“The government claims it is committed to ending ethnic strife and abuse, but recent events in (Rakhine) state demonstrate that state-sponsored persecution and discrimination persist,” Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch’s Asia director, said in a statement. He urged the international community not to be “blinded by a romantic narrative of sweeping change” in the country. — AP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Egypt PM draws on technocrats, Islamists in new govt CAIRO: Egypt’s prime minister has drawn on bureaucrats and Islamists for the country ’s first Muslim Brotherhood-led administration, disappointing those who wanted a more inclusive government able to carry forward the revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak. Prime Minister-designate Hisham Kandil’s appointment of at least two Brotherhood politicians, including one as education minister, marked a major break with the past.

But the cabinet’s heavy reliance on civil servants also smacked of the Mubarak era, when government was run by technocrats.

The new cabinet should help President Mohamed Morsi assert more authority in a state where the army still has a powerful say. The choice of defence minister was one of the few portfolios not announced yesterday.

“We are a long way from a revolutionary government, a long way from renewing the blood at the top of the

Egyptian administration,” said Mustapha Kamal Al-Sayyid, a professor of political science at Cairo University.

Incumbents who kept their jobs included Finance Minister Mumtaz AlSaeed and Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr Kamel, both of them career bureaucrats. The government - replacing an interim one which took office last year - is due to be sworn in today.

The new interior minister was named as Ahmed Gamal El-Din, a career policeman similar to those who held the job under Mubarak. He pledged to confront the lawlessnness of which Egyptians have complained since Mubarak was deposed. “Egypt needs security and stability,” he said, after meeting Kandil. Mostafa Mussad, a member of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, was appointed education minister.

Another Brotherhood member was appointed to run the housing ministry.

Facing a wave of criticism from non-

Islamists, Kandil appeared to row back on a decision to appoint a hardline Salafi scholar as minister of religious endowments. Mohamed Ibrahim, the scholar, said this week he had been offered the job.

The new government nonetheless gives the Brotherhood, banned before the revolution which toppled Mubarak on Feb 11 2011, a powerful influence in Egypt. Egyptian newspapers have said Kandil himself has close links to the Brotherhood, though he has denied it. Minister of irrigation in the outgoing cabinet, Kandil was a littleknown technocrat until Mursi nominated him as prime minister. “This is a government that serves the interests of the Brotherhood,” said Refaat ElSaeed, head of the leftist Tagammu Party.

The ministries of investment and oil, major economic portfolios, were handed to top-level state employees.

Osama Saleh, the head of the state-

owned General Authority for Investment, said he would be investment minister, and Osama Kamal, the head of the Egyptian Petrochemical Holding Co, said he had been appointed oil minister. The stock market appeared to tentatively welcome the announcement, the main index ending 1.5 percent higher. While the cabinet did not include high-profile economy specialists hoped for by investors, some were reassured by the fact that its make-up did not mark a radical break with the past.

“The names of the ministers show that Egypt wants to send a message of stability to the business community,” said Mohsen Adel, vice chairman and managing director of Pioneer Funds, a financial institution. The incoming government faces economic problems including a looming balance of payments crisis and high state borrowing costs, factors which analysts say discouraged economists and bankers

approached by Mursi from taking the post of prime minister, prolonging the wait for the new cabinet.

Some of the non-Islamists who backed Mursi’s election campaign in order to prevent Mubarak’s last prime minister from winning the presidency have criticised the Brotherhood for rowing back on promises of an inclusive administration. Yet other parties had publicly stated they would not take part in the government, meaning the Brotherhood will bear the burden of failings that seem hard to avoid in a country faced with such grave economic challenges.

The government must also address issues including power cuts and lax security. “This is a testing period for a government that is likely to face quick and strong criticism immediately,” said Hafez Abou Saeda, a human rights activist and lawyer. “ The new government faces a tough battle with time.” — Reuters

Iraq says July deadliest month in nearly 2 years 325 people killed in attacks

President Mohamed Morsi

Egypt denies Morsi sent letter to Israel JERUSALEM: A letter to Israel from Egypt’s new president hoping for regional peace kicked up a stir Tuesday when the Egyptian leader’s Islamist movement denied he sent it. Israel insisted the letter was genuine. The spat underlined the touchy nature of Egyptian-Israeli relations, always frosty but now especially sensitive in the wake of Muslim Brotherhood victories in Egyptian elections. It also appeared to show some disarray in the fractured Egyptian government. The letter, ostensibly sent by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, was a response to a message from Israeli President Shimon Peres, conveying Israel’s good wishes for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The return letter, released by the Israeli president’s office, was on the stationery of the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv.

In it, Morsi appeared to write in English, “I am looking forward to exerting our best efforts to get the Middle east Peace Process back to its right track in order to achieve security and stability for all peoples of the region, including that Israeli people.” The Israeli president’s name was spelled “Perez.”

Then a spokesman for Morsi, Yasser Ali, said in Cairo that Morsi had not written a letter to the Israeli president at all. “This is totally untrue,” Ali said, calling the letter a “fabrication.” He blamed two Israeli news-

papers for manufacturing the letter though it was released by the president’s office in Jerusalem. An official in Peres’s office - speaking anonymously because the issue concerned sensitive diplomatic relations between the two countries - said the president’s aides received the official communique Tuesday from the Egyptian ambassador to Israel, both by registered mail and by fax from the embassy in Tel Aviv.

Peres’ office asked the Egyptian ambassador if it could publicize the letter or if it should be kept secret, the official said. The Egyptian envoy phoned Morsi’s office to inquire, the official said, and then told Peres’ aides that Morsi’s staff had given the green light to make the letter public. Peres’ office sent reporters a copy of what was said to be the faxed letter. The top of the letter featured a time stamp with Tuesday’s date, the phone number from which the fax was sent, and the label “EGY EMB TEL AVIV”. The fax number, which appeared to be printed automatically from the machine that sent the message, was a number listed on Israel’s Foreign Ministry website as belonging to the Egyptian Embassy in Israel. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry did not provide an immediate response on the issue. — AP

BAGHDAD: July was the deadliest month in Iraq in almost two years, with 325 people killed in attacks, official figures released yesterday showed, and included the deadliest day here since Dec 2009.

Analysts pointed to political tensions inside Iraq and instability in neighbouring Syria, where President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces are fighting an uprising now in its 17th month, as potential causes of the spike in violence. The statistics compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries showed that 325 people - 241 civilians, 40 police and 44 soldiers - were killed nationwide during July.

Another 697 people - 480 civilians, 122 police and 95 soldiers were wounded. It was the highest monthly toll given by the government since Aug 2010, when figures showed 426 people killed and 838 wounded in attacks. The previous highest official toll this year was for January, when government figures showed 151 Iraqis killed and 321 wounded. Government figures are usually lower than those given by other sources, but the July toll was higher than a tally kept by AFP based on reports from security and medical officials.

While violence has decreased from its peak in 2006-2007, attacks still occur almost daily. Of the 31 days in July, there were attacks on 27 of them. The July 23 violence, in which some 259 people were also wounded in attacks across the country, was the deadliest single day of violence in Iraq since 126 people were killed and hundreds wounded on Dec 8, 2009. The wave of violence consisted of at least 29

BAGHDAD: Iraqis inspect the aftermath a day after a car bomb attack in a shopping area in Karradah yesterday. — AP separate attacks in 19 cities, with most concentrated in Baghdad and areas to its north.

Two days later, Al-Qaeda front group the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), claimed the attacks, saying they marked the launch of a new campaign during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. “As part of the new military campaign aimed at recovering territory given up by the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), the war ministry has sent its sons and the mujahedeen on a sacred offensive during the month of Ramadan,” the group said. AlQaeda in Iraq is regarded by Iraqi officials as significantly weaker than at the peak of its strength in

2006 and 2007, but it is still capable of spectacular mass-casualty attacks across the country.

“The reasons behind the escalation of violence in the country are political, security and strategic,” and linked to the conflict in Syria, said Ali Al-Haidari, an Iraq analyst and specialist in security and strategic issues.

“The crisis in Syria has intensified between the regime and the armed groups, and these groups are made up of what is called the Free Syria Army, and also of members of the Al-Qaeda organisation,” Haidari said. The conflict has “resulted in the existence of a space for the Al-Qaeda organisa-

tion for movement between Iraq and Syria, and the organisation is breathing more freely,” he said.

John Drake, a security analyst with AKE Group, pointed to hot summer temperatures making it more difficult for security forces to remain vigilant all day, and broader issues such as the departure of US troops at the end of 2011, domestic political tensions, and Syria. “Syria presents a real opportunity to terrorists. The lack of authority in large swathes of the country could provide these groups with extensive opportunity to consolidate their strength and launch attacks in the wider region,” Drake said by email. — AFP

Political risks to watch in Bahrain DUBAI: Bahrain has been in turmoil for 17 months since a pro-democracy movement erupted after uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

The conflict in the Gulf Arab state pits opposition groups, led mainly by majority Shiite Muslims, against the ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa family and its supporters. Here are some political risks facing Bahrain: INTERNAL CONFLICT The political standoff took a new turn in June and July when the Interior Ministry banned marches led by the opposition party Wefaq, saying these had disrupted traffic and led to violence between police and protesters Wefaq had failed to control. The ministry said it was seeking “approved locations” for rallies.

Amnesty International said Bahrain was violating citizens’ fundamental rights. Wefaq said the government aimed to stamp out all popular demands for political reforms in a country where the king’s uncle has been prime minister since 1971 and the elected parliament is hamstrung by an appointed upper house.

The government has curbed the protest movement further since demonstrators used worldwide media focus on Bahrain’s Formula One Grand Prix in April to draw attention to their cause. Activists report a rise in police use of shotgun pellets in riot control. The Interior Ministry declines to confirm or deny using these. Some activists have been questioned or charged for comments on Twitter. Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was sentenced in June to three months in jail over a tweet that was deemed to have insulted residents of Al-Muharraq district who had made a show of support for the prime minister.

Rajab has staged deliberately unlicenced

protests as a form of civil disobedience to showcase demands for democratic change.

Bahrain has curbed access to foreign media since April. A small Islamist party was closed in June. Clerics have been told they could face legal action for criticizing state institutions, a message apparently aimed at Sheikh Isa Qassim, revered by Bahraini Shiites and an unofficial spiritual guide for Wefaq.

The government and Wefaq, which has dominated the Shiite vote in past elections, are each trying to make their case internationally. The government says it faces a violent street movement that obstructs its ability to enact reforms. Its opponents say it is not serious and wants to silence them. Security policy aims to lock demonstrators down in their neighborhoods and prevent them from recreating a protest hub such as the Pearl Roundabout which they occupied in Manama last year. The traffic intersection remains sealed off.

Some Sunni political groups have shown signs of becoming more critical of the government, setting out their own demands. The National Unity Gathering, a Sunni-led group seen as close to the government, called for four-year terms for cabinets that would require parliamentary votes of confidence, judicial reforms, and measures to monitor use of land and public funds. Its leader Abdul-Latif Al Mahmood said the Gathering favored talks and did not want the Wefaq-led opposition to dominate any eventual public dialogue with the government.

Unrest in Bahrain, where half the population of 1.3 million are foreign workers, is driven

by Shiite complaints of unequal access to state jobs, housing and health care. Officials deny discrimination and accuse Iranian media of

stirring trouble. Shiites say the Al Khalifa family is trying to change the demographic balance to its advantage by granting citizenship and jobs in the security apparatus to Sunnis from elsewhere. A new constitution and parliamentary elections a decade ago reduced Shiite discontent somewhat. But the lower assembly’s powers were offset by an upper council appointed by the king, reviving tension in the youthful population, half aged under 30.

FRAUGHT RELATIONS WITH IRAN Friction with Iran rose in May after a Gulf summit mulled a possible political union among Gulf Arab states, starting with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Iran and Bahraini opposition groups denounced the plan, which will be discussed again in December. Fears of a Gulf war rose in January as the United States and Iran sparred over sanctions and access to regional oil as Tehran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to Western measures to choke off its oil exports and gas imports.

Tensions eased after talks between world powers and Iran on its disputed nuclear work resumed in April. But diplomacy was suspended in mid-June with the two sides still far apart and Israel hinting anew at possible military action against Iran.

The United States and Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, regard Bahrain as an ally in the stand-off with Iran given that Manama is the base for the US Fifth Fleet.

Many Bahraini Shiites visit Iran as pilgrims or religious students. Some look to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a spiritual guide. Khamenei’s followers may send alms to his office - donations viewed with suspicion by Bahraini authorities - but Shiites say they are

SITRA: A Bahraini Shiite Muslim prepares to block the road after the riot police dispersed them before the start of an anti-government demonstration in the village of Sitra, South of Manama, on July 30, 2012. Protesters marched in the streets in many areas after authorities banned all a demonstrations organized by the Bahraini political associations. — AFP entirely disconnected from politics. Shiites maintain that many Sunnis also look to clerics outside Bahrain, as well as to Saudi political leaders.

IMPACT ON ECONOMY Bahrain, long a banking and tourism hub, has become a shadow of its former self since the unrest broke out. Hotels and office space have low occupancy and fewer Saudi weekend visitors frequent Bahraini bars, restaurants and malls. The International Monetary Fund has said Bahrain should craft policies that resolve public grievances and restore confidence in its economy. Last month Bahrain offered a $1.5 billion, 10-year bond - its first conventional issue since 2010 - at the tighter end of earlier price guidance, indicating strong demand for the issue. Economic growth slowed to 2.2 percent in 2011 from 4.5

percent the previous year after some businesses closed and investors withdrew from Bahraini mutual funds.

“Further measures to diversify the economy, improve the investment climate and strengthen the labor market are essential for sustained growth and employment,” the IMF executive board said in an annual assessment.

Total investment in Bahrain mutual funds dropped nearly $800 million last year to $8.4 billion, central bank data show. Its banks hold assets of about $211 billion. Bankers say the unrest damaged Bahrain’s main advantages as a convenient, stable, liberal business location, as some banks moved out to Dubai. Some Indian banks have since moved in. Analysts say the unrest has also set back an economic reform program that aimed to create a free labor market where Bahrainis have the skills and education to compete for jobs.— Reuters

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Qaeda decline hard to reverse after Laden: US WASHINGTON: Osama bin Laden’s death sent Al-Qaeda into a decline that will be hard to reverse, the United States said on Tuesday in a report that found terrorist attacks last year fell to their lowest level since 2005. Describing 2011 as a “landmark year,” the United States said other top Al-Qaeda members killed last year included Atiyah Abd Al-Rahman, reportedly the militant organization’s No. 2 figure after bin Laden’s death, and Anwar Al-Awlaki, who led its lethal affiliate in Yemen.

“The loss of bin Laden and these other key operatives puts the network on a path of decline that will be difficult to

reverse,” the State Department said in its annual “Country Reports on Terrorism” document, which covers calendar year 2011. The report attributed the killings, which included the May 2011 raid in which US commandoes shot bin Laden in Pakistan, to improved cooperation on counterterrorism. But it also said AlQaeda is adaptable and poses “an enduring and serious threat.”

While saying there were no terrorist attacks in the United States last year, the report said the US government remains concerned about “threats to the homeland,” citing the foiled 2009 Christmas Day attempt by the Nigerian “underwear

bomber” who sought to blow up a Detroit-bound aircraft. The report included a statistical annex prepared by the National Counterterrorism Center, part of the US intelligence community, that showed that the overall number of terrorist attacks worldwide fell to 10,283 last year from 11,641 in 2010.

The number of worldwide fatalities fell to 12,533 last year from 13,193 the year before, according to the statistics, which NCTC issued in a report published on June 1. That was the lowest level since 2005, when there were more than 11,000 attacks and more than 14,000 fatalities. The general decline in

terrorism-related fatalities - which peaked at more than 22,000 in 2007 reflects, in part, less violence in Iraq.

The State Department report said that as Al-Qaeda’s “core has gotten weaker”, affiliated groups have gained ground, citing Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as a particular threat and voicing concern about Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. It also reported an increase in terrorist attacks in Africa, due largely to Nigeria’s Boko Haram militant group, as well as in the Western Hemisphere, which it attributed chiefly to FARC insurgents in Colombia.

Daniel Benjamin, the State

Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, said last year was also significant for the “Arab Spring” of popular protests and what he described as its rebuff to Al-Qaeda’s ideology. “We saw millions of citizens throughout the Middle East advance peaceful public demands for change without any reference to Al-Qaeda’s incendiary world view,” he said, adding upheavals also present risks. “Revolutionary transformations have many bumps in the road,” he added. “Inspiring as the moment may be, we are not blind to the attendant perils.” —Reuters

Tea Party’s Cruz scores stunning win in primary Conservative voters shake Texas to its political core AUSTIN, Texas: Tea Party favorite Ted Cruz scored a stunning upset over a longtime Texas state officeholder in a Republican US Senate primary runoff on Tuesday, transforming Cruz into a national conservative star and marking a resurgence of the movement to shrink the size of US government. Cruz, 41, a former state solicitor general who has never held elected office, became the third insurgent Republican this year to defeat an establishment Republican in a US Senate primary. He scored a surprisingly comfortable victory with

being vacated by Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Most Texans had never heard of Cruz when he took on Dewhurst, 66, a wealthy businessman who spent $19 million of his own money on the race and had the support of top Texas Republicans including Governor Rick Perry. “When Ted gets to Washington, he’s going to be seen correctly as a giant-killer,” said Sal Russo, co-founder and chief strategist of Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest Tea Party political action committee.

Cruz spent a year and a half

icy positions. Both pledged to do away with President Barack Obama’s health care reform and to rein in Washington spending. Cruz, a Princeton University debate champion and a Harvard Law School graduate, stood out with sharp debate performances. Some Cruz voters said they viewed Dewhurst, a former state land commissioner who has presided over the state senate since 2003, as something of an incumbent who had been in office too long.

Dewhurst received the most votes in a crowded field in the first

HOUSTON: US Senate candidate Ted Cruz speaks to a cheerful crowd on Tuesday after he defeated Republican rival Lt Gov David Dewhurst in a runoff election for the GOP nomination for the US Senate seat vacated by the retiring Kay Bailey Hutchison. —AP about 56 percent of the vote to about 44 percent for Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, who a year ago was considered the frontrunner.

“They said this was impossible,” Cruz told a roaring crowd of supporters in Houston on Tuesday night. “They said I couldn’t do it.

And you know, they were right. I couldn’t do it, but you could and you did it. Tonight is a victory for the grass roots.” Cruz will be a strong favorite to win the election in November against Paul Sadler, who won the Democratic primary on Tuesday, because Texas has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994. The Senate seat is

crisscrossing the state, introducing himself at Tea Party meetings and Republican women’s club gatherings as a “constitutional conservative”. And he drew support from conservative stars such as former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and money from national conservative groups such as the Club for Growth. That group’s political action committee spent $5.5 million to support Cruz, the organization said.

Cruz, whose father came to Texas from Cuba with $100 sewn into his underwear, would become the first Hispanic US senator from Texas if he wins in November.

Dewhurst and Cruz had similar pol-

round of the primary, but he did not secure the 50 percent plus one vote he needed to avoid a runoff with Cruz. “We came up short, and I am not used to coming up short,” Dewhurst, who stands 6 feet 6 inches tall, told supporters Tuesday night in Houston. Cruz’s primary victory follows that of Richard Mourdock, the Tea Party movement-backed candidate who defeated longtime US Senator Richard Lugar in the Republican primary in Indiana. Since Mourdock’s primary win, and another Republican primary upset victory in Nebraska with rancher Deb Fischer, who beat veteran attorney general Jon Bruning in a

US Senate primary, insurgent Republican groups have hoped for a similar story in Texas.

Some national political analysts had predicted the Tea Party movement, which sprang out of the 2008-2009 recession and advocates a small federal government, would be a diminished force in the 2012 election. “The big thing that I think this demonstrates is that the Tea Party is far from gone - it’s truly alive and well,” Russo said of Cruz’s win. More than 1 million Texans voted in the runoff, a surprisingly strong turnout for balloting that came during the dog days of summer. “We’re just tired of the government ignoring the Constitution,” said Don Steinway, a 76-year-old retired commercial airline pilot who lives in Houston and described himself as a staunch supporter of the tea party.

Cruz memorized the US Constitution while in high school and successfully painted his opponent as wishy-washy - even though they actually disagree on little, either politically or ideologically.

Cruz had never run for political office but bolstered his political credentials arguing in front of the state Supreme Court as the longest-serving solicitor general in Texas history.

Cruz was endorsed by ex-Alaska Gov Sarah Palin, radio talk show host Glen Beck, US Sens Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Kentucky’s Rand Paul, as well as former GOP presidential hopeful and Pennsylvania Sen Rick Santorum.

“The message of this race couldn’t be clearer for the political establishment: the Tea Party is alive and well and we will not settle for business as usual,” Palin said via Facebook.

Natache Reeves, a 42-year-old nurse from the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, said she voted for Cruz because he had Palin’s support and was less likely to restrict handgun use. “I love Sarah Palin, and she’s backing Ted Cruz,” Reeves said. “I pretty much agree with everything that rolls out of her mouth.” —Agencies

Parched fields as drought devastates US crops OKAWVILLE, Illinois: The sweat pours down Larry Hasheider’s face as he walks across his parched cornfields to show the result of one of the worst droughts to strike the United States in decades. “This is the best ear I’ve got out here, right now. And, that’s about half the normal size. The plants that are next to it produced nothing,” the Illinois farmer said as he pulled the husk away to show the only spot of yellow in a field of dried-out corn stalks. “What I’m seeing here is a total crop failure. There is no grain out here to harvest.”

Two thirds of the continental United States is now suffering from the most widespread drought since the 1950s. And the drought in America’s breadbasket is intensifying at an unprecedented rate, driving concern food prices could soar if crops in the world’s key producer are decimated. The latest US Drought Monitor reported a nearly threefold increase in areas of extreme drought in the course of a single week in the nine Midwestern states where

three quarters of the country’s corn and soybean crops are produced. “It’s kind of like being sucker-punched in the stomach,” Hasheider told AFP. “You think, ‘OK, it’s bad this week, but next week it can’t be this way. Well, it is.”

Hasheider is fortunate - most of his farm is irrigated - but officials say only about 15 percent of US cornfields are. Some rural water suppliers are talking about mandatory restrictions because they have seen such a dramatic drop in the water table. The percentage of the nation’s corn crop rated very poor or poor rose to 48 percent in the week ending July 29, while 47 percent of the soybean crop was in very poor or poor condition, according to the US Department of Agriculture. That’s the worst rating since the drought of 1988, which cut production by 20 percent and cost the economy tens of billions of dollars.

With grazing pastures also parched and feed prices at record highs, many ranchers are sending their animals to slaughter early

WILBUR, Washington: In this July 30, 2012 photo, crop circles are shown in a wheat field owned by Greg and Cindy Geib. The circles were first noticed on July 24, 2012.

Crop circles have been a worldwide phenomenon for decades, and this is not the first one in Lincoln County. —AP

because it’s too costly to keep them until full size. President Barack Obama’s administration has opened up protected US land to help farmers and ranchers and has encouraged crop insurance companies to forgo charging interest for a month. It has also provided emergency low-interest loans to farmers in the 1,234 counties across 31 states which have been declared disaster areas due to the drought.

Local governments are also trying to help.

The state of Missouri has offered millions in grants to help farmers and ranchers drill or deepen wells and expand irrigation systems.

Experts predict there will still be a sizable harvest - just not anywhere close to the bounty of recent years or the bumper crop predicted before the rain stopped. And that will likely bring price increases for food and all types of products for years to come. “We’re not just talking about the fact that things are going to be tight here in the United States,” said Sam Funk, senior economist with Doane Advisory Services. “When you look at such a large portion of the corn and soybean crop that gets exported, you’re going to talk about substantially impacting a number of other marketplaces.”

The impact spreads far beyond just cereal or bread - or a single growing season - because so much of the US crop is used as livestock feed and those herds are being culled, Funk explained. Due to the early culls, getting the US cattle herds back up to pre-drought levels would take at least two years, he said, warning that pork and poultry production was also at risk. Out in the fields, many farmers are trying to salvage what they can by chopping the stunted plants into feed for livestock. So few ears of corn are growing, it just isn’t worth harvesting. —AFP

WEST SENECA, New York: Roland Davis and Lena Henderson, both 85, pose for a photo on Tuesday. —AP

US couple to remarry 48 years after divorce BUFFALO, New York: They got hitched while still in their teens, divorced 20 years and four children later, and are getting remarried after nearly a half-century apart. For Lena Henderson and Roland Davis, both 85 years old, the second time around is finally here. The couple plans to get married again on Saturday, with four generations on hand to see it happen. “It’s every child’s dream, every child who has ever been in a family where divorce has occurred, that your parents would come back together,” their youngest daughter, Renita Chadwick, said Tuesday as wedding preparations were in full swing. “We are all so ridiculously excited. We’re like little children again,” said Chadwick, herself a grandmother.

Henderson and Davis met as teenagers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and were married by a justice of the peace. There was no reception or honeymoon. “Oh no,” Henderson recalled with a laugh. “He went to work and I went home.” Davis was a hotel bellhop at the time, about to begin a career in the military. This time around, a church wedding is planned, at Elim Christian Fellowship Church in Buffalo, followed by a reception at an Amherst restaurant. Still no honeymoon

trip, though. “I’m just happy that we’re here,” said Davis, who recently moved to suburban Buffalo from Colorado, where he was living alone following the death of his second wife in January. Henderson also was widowed after re-marrying.

Davis proposed to Henderson over the phone around Easter and she accepted, even though they hadn’t seen each other since a family funeral in 1996. Before that, the two hadn’t been face-to-face since splitting up in 1964, though they had stayed in touch and kept up with each other’s lives through the children. Their oldest daughter, Johnnie Mae Funderbirk, had been urging her father to return to New York since his wife’s death.

Davis was receptive, especially to the idea of reconnecting with Henderson. “I had always kind of had that in mind, mostly because of the children,” he said.

“You never forget someone that you cared for at one time or another.”

Henderson and Davis both said it was “nice” to see one another again, this time as an engaged couple. The children are less reserved. “I’m as excited as some 9year-old whose parents are getting back together,” Funderbirk said, “and I’m 65 years old.” —AP

Romney returns home; VP pick, bus tour await WASHINGTON: White House challenger Mitt Romney pivoted away from his gafferiddled foreign foray Tuesday to refocus on the home front, as his campaign confirmed a mid-August bus tour fueling speculation he could soon unveil his running mate. With the all-but certain Republican nominee wrapping up his sixday trip to key US allies Britain, Israel and Poland marked by a series of controversial comments and missteps, his campaign was all too eager to embrace the domestic agenda anew. Romney arrived back in the United States late Tuesday and will waste no time reintroducing himself to American voters. He makes at least two campaign stops in Colorado today as part of a swing out west.

Then beginning around Aug 10, according to his campaign, Romney will take to the road on a bus tour - his second in as many months - across multiple battleground states seen as critical to the election. And with speculation building about his choice for vice president in his crunch battle against President Barack Obama, Romney’s road trip is looking like an opportunity to showcase a running mate in the weeks before the Republican convention, when Romney is to be officially crowned the nominee.

Sources familiar with the plans described to CNN a four-day bus tour through prime media markets in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, and said prominent Republicans and campaign surrogates would join Romney at each of the stops. “Sounds like VP week,” CNN quoted a Republican familiar with the schedule but who did not want to be identified discussing campaign plans. “Hitting the big markets in the big states. It just makes sense.” A Romney campaign official would not confirm locations or stops on the tour as details had yet to be finalized.

But the campaign was eager to fuel VP speculation, announcing the rollout of a

new smartphone app that they say will deliver the first official confirmation of Romney’s running mate. Yet critics instead were honing in on Romney’s sojourn overseas, a trip relentlessly savaged by Obama’s re-election campaign even as Romney held talks with several national leaders. Romney lurched from one blunder to the next during his first venture on the global stage, offending the British by questioning their readiness to host the Olympics, then infuriating Palestinians by saying Jerusalem is Israel’s capital and that Israeli “culture” helps the country succeed economically. And on Tuesday in Romney’s final stop Poland, a campaign aide lost his cool, telling reporters to “kiss my a**” as they shouted questions in vain while the Republican flag bearer finished a solemn visit to a World War II memorial in Warsaw.

Romney, struggling to overcome criticism about his business record and refusal to release more than two years of tax returns, was hoping his trip would set him apart from Obama on a few fronts, namely that he could be a better friend to Britain, Israel and Poland and stand up more forcefully against Iran and Russia. In Warsaw he gave a rousing speech lauding Poland as a model for other nations seeking democracy and a market economy, and took a swipe at its former communist master Moscow, saying: “In Russia, oncepromising advances toward a free and open society have faltered.”

Top Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs said Romney flubbed several foreign policy protocols, notably his criticism of the Olympic hosts and Romney’s comments on the status of Jerusalem, which run counter to US policy. “He offended our closest ally and triggered a troubling reaction in the most sensitive region of the world,” Gibbs said. “He certainly didn’t prove to anyone that he passed the commander-in-chief test.” —AFP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

i n t e r n at i o n a l

Clinton starts Africa swing in Senegal

DAKAR: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets Senegal’s President Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace yesterday. — AP

DAKAR: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Senegal’s capital Dakar late Tuesday at the start of a seven-nation, 11-day trip to Africa due to focus on regional peace and security. The top diplomat, whose tour will take her to the world’s newest nation, South Sudan, as well as Ebola-hit Uganda, met Senegalese President Macky Sall yesterday. Sall’s coalition won a landslide majority in legislative polls earlier this month, securing 119 of 150 seats in the national assembly. “Our desire is to applaud the election of President Sall,” a US official said. “Senegal has been our strongest and most reliable partner in francophone Africa”.

The US foreign affairs chief was also expected to make a speech at Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University.

Clinton will “deliver a speech applauding the resilience of Senegal’s democratic institutions and highlighting America’s approach to

partnership,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement. Clinton is then expected to head on to South Sudan, followed by stops in Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Ghana. Clinton was originally only expected to visit six nations but will now also stop in Ghana to attend the Aug 10 state funeral of president John Atta Milla who died on July 24, according to a US official.

In June, US President Barack Obama had laid out his strategy for African development with the aim of consolidating security and democracy and stimulating growth on a continent faced with threats from AlQaeda and a Chinese economic offensive. “We want to underscore the US importance for strong, open, accountable and democratic institutions,” the US official said. “We want to expand opportunities for US trade and development. Our desire is to

encourage better growth and investment.”

A likely highlight of the trip will be a meeting with 94-year-old former South African president and democracy icon, Nelson Mandela. Clinton’s trip comes only two weeks after a tour to Europe, Asia and the Middle East, during which she visited Laos and Mongolia, bringing her tally for nations visited as secretary of state to a record-breaking 102. Her trip to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, will expand that list even further. South Sudan broke away from Sudan in July last year but the two have yet to set a definitive border and are in dispute over oil revenues and citizenship rules. The United States is leading international calls to the two neighbors to step up efforts to reach a peace deal this week or face possible United Nations sanctions.

The UN Security Council has given the two states, who this year came

close to all-out war, until today to make a peace deal. While in South Sudan, Clinton will meet President Salva Kiir “to reaffirm US support and to encourage progress in negotiations with Sudan to reach agreement on issues related to security, oil and citizenship,” Nuland said. Before returning to the United States on Aug 10, Clinton will also stop in Uganda, undeterred by reports that the deadly Ebola virus has reached the capital Kampala. Fourteen people have died since Ebola broke out in western Uganda three weeks ago.

In Kenya, Clinton will hold talks with top officials, and, “to underscore US support for completing the political transition in Somalia by August 20,” will also meet Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, according to Nuland. After visiting Malawi, Clinton will head to South Africa accompanied by an American business delegation.— AFP

French mayor retreats after suspending fasting Muslims PARIS: A French mayor has revoked the suspension of four Muslim camp counsellors following an uproar after he said they could not work properly because they might be weakened by their all-day fasting for Ramadan.

Muslim groups threatened to sue the Paris suburb of Gennevilliers for discrimination for recalling the four after an inspector found on July 20 - the first day of the Muslim holy month - that they were not eating or drinking during the day. Lawyers for the counsellors, who had accompanied children from the suburb on a town-sponsored stay at a summer camp in southwestern France, said they might also take the issue to a labour court.

Potential weakness due to Ramadan is also an issue at the London Olympics, where more than 3,000 Muslim athletes are competing. Some have delayed their fast until after the Games while others are fasting as they would any other year. Muslim leaders presented the case as an issue of religious liberty, while the town’s Communist mayor Jacques Bourgoin insisted his concern was only for the safety of the campers. “This is a discriminatory act,” said Abdallah Zekri of the French Muslim Council told BFM TV. “France has religious liberty, it is a fundamental freedom and it must be respected.”

Bourgoin said he revoked the suspensions because the public uproar over the issue prevented the calm discussion of safety issues that he planned to take up again later in the year. “This has been blown out of proportion and we can’t discuss it calmly,” he told Europe 1 radio yesterday. “Many people interpreted this as discriminatory, but we did not take this

decision in that way.”

The mayor’s office said in a communique on Tuesday evening that the counsellors’ contracts specifically noted they had to make sure both themselves and the children they monitored were regularly nourished and hydrated. Bourgoin said the town required that because two children were injured in a traffic accident two years ago when a fasting Muslim counsellor fainted at the wheel of the minibus in which she was transporting them.

This requirement applied only to monitors on long trips with round-the-clock responsibility for children, he added.

France is home to about 5 million Muslims, Europe’s largest Islamic minority, and disputes between them and local officials trying to apply the country’s strict separation of religion and the public service sometimes lead to tensions. France has banned full Muslim face veils from public spaces and prohibited schoolgirls from wearing headscarves. The clause in the counsellors’ contracts requiring regular meals does not mention Muslims, but it clearly applies to them because they are presumably the only ones who would fast now.

Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, said exceptions to the Ramadan fast would normally be made only for pregnant women and ailing persons.

“French Muslims would resent any infringement of this religious liberty,” he said in a communique. “In this period of Ramadan, French Muslims would hope for more calm and comprehension from the national community.” — Reuters

LONDON: This Nov 26, 1996 file photo shows Eva Rausing and her husband Hans Kristian Rausing at Winfield House, the residence of the US ambassador to the UK attending the Glamour America Fashion Show and lunch. — AP

UK millionaire admits delaying wife’s burial LONDON: Hans Kristian Rausing, heir to the Tetra Pak fortune, pleaded guilty yesterday to delaying the burial of his wife after her body lay rotting at their London mansion for two months. The 49-year-old millionaire said in a statement read to court that he had been unable to “confront the reality” of the death of his USborn wife Eva and tried to act as if it had not happened. Rausing pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court in London to preventing the lawful and decent burial of his wife and to a separate charge of driving a vehicle while unfit through drugs.

He will be sentenced at a later date.

Rausing was originally arrested last month on suspicion of murdering his 48year- old wife, after police found her decaying body under a pile of clothes and bin bags at their luxury home on July 9. A post-mortem found that Eva Rausing, one of Britain’s richest women, had died two months earlier and had drugs in her system, including cocaine. “I do not have a very coherent recollection of the events leading up to and since Eva’s death,” Rausing said in a statement to police after his arrest, which was read out to the court. “Safe to assure you that I have never wished her or done her any harm. I did not supply her with drugs.

I have been very traumatised since her death,” he said. “I do not k now what caused her death. I did not feel able to confront the reality of her death. I do not feel, with the benefit of hindsight, that following her death I acted rationally. I tried to carry on as if her death had not

happened and batted away any inquiries about her.” He added: “I believe, in the period since Eva died, I have suffered some form of breakdown.”

At the previous hearing on July 18, Rausing was ordered to reside at a psychiatric hospital. Photographs in the British press this week showed him look ing dishevelled while being accompanied by a helper on a shopping trip. The Rausings, who have four teenage children, had struggled publicly with drug addiction for many years and were known for their generous donations to addiction charities. The couple first met at an addiction clinic and were charged in 2008 after Eva tried to take crack cocaine and heroin into a function at the US embassy in London.

The Rausing family is worth £4.3 billion pounds ($6.7 billion), according to this year’s Sunday Times Rich List. Rausing’s father Hans, 86, developed the Tetra Pak business founded by his own father into a multibillion dollar operation that revolutionised the packaging of food and drink, but sold his stake in 1995. The defendant’s father moved to Britain with his wife Marit in 1980 in order to avoid Sweden’s high tax rates, and they live on a vast estate in East Sussex, southern England. In a statement after an earlier hearing, the family said: “Her death, and the details of subsequent events, are a reminder of the distorted reality of drug addiction. “They desperately hope that their dear son, Hans, may find the strength to begin the long and hard journey of detoxification and rehabilitation.” — AFP

MOGADISHU: Somalis react in favour of Somalia’s new draft constitution yesterday. (Inset) An African Union soldier lifts the severed arm of a suicide bomber yesterday, one of two attackers who blew themselves up at the gates of Somalia’s constituent assembly. —AP/AFP

Somali assembly endorses constitution amid violence Two suicide bombers blow themselves up at gates MOGADISHU: Somalia’s constituent assembly yesterday endorsed a draft constitution billed as a key step to ending decades of civil war, despite a foiled double suicide attack at the gates of the meeting. The Horn of Africa country’s outgoing government hailed the end of an eight-year interim period, but the UN warned that the transition’s next steps were being threatened by “spoilers” in Somalia’s fractious political class. “We are very happy today that you... responsibly completed the procedure by voting for the constitution,” Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told the 645 members of assembly after it approved the draft by a landslide 96 percent. “I announce that Somalia has from today left the transitional period.”

The special assembly - chosen by traditional elders in a UN-backed process - took eight days to debate and vote on the new constitution, as the graft-riddled government approaches the end of its mandate on Aug 20. “This is an historic day - today we have witnessed the completion of a task that has been worked on for the last eight years,” said Abdirahman Hosh Jabril, Somalia’s constitutional affairs minister.

“This morning around 645 members of the constituent assembly gathered, and fortunately 96 percent of the members have voted for the new provisional constitution.”

Shor tly before the vote, two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gates after they were stopped by security forces, killing only themselves. “Security forces stopped their

ambitions of attacking... they were shot and then they detonated their vests,” Interior Minister Abisamad Moalim told reporters, adding that one security guard was wounded in the blast. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which follows a string of explosions including roadside bombs and grenades that have rocked the Somali capital, many carried out by the Al-Qaeda linked Shabab. The complicated process is seen as a key step as the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) ends its mandate on August 20, after eight years of infighting and minimal political progress. Key steps in the fragile political process remain, including a new parliament to be selected by traditional elders, with that parliament to subsequently elect a new president. However, the UN Special Representative for Somalia Augustine Mahiga has warned that the political elite are wrecking the process to select their supporters to staff the new parliament as lawmakers. “There have been disturbing reports of undue influence from aspiring politicians in current and former positions,” Mahiga said, noting it included “exchange (of ) and demands for favours, bribery and intimidation”. “We should not allow parliamentary seats to become commodities for sale or items for auction to the highest bidders at a time when we are seeking to reclaim the true stature of a dignified and respected Somali nation,” he added.

A leaked UN repor t earlier this month

Bulgaria makes image of suicide bomber’s face SOFIA: Bulgarian experts have constructed an image of the face of a suicide bomber who killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver on the Black Sea coast two weeks ago, the interior minister said yesterday.

The computer-generated image

This photo shows a computer-generated image of the suicide bomber who staged the July 18, 2012 terror attack in Burgas, Bulgaria. — AP

shows a man aged around 30, with swept-back black hair and dark eyes. The bomber blew up the bus in a car park at Burgas airport, a popular gateway for tourists visiting Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, also killing himself and wounding more than 30 people.

“The police did not release any earlier photos of the bomber, who was decapitated in the explosion, as they would have shocked the public,” Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov told reporters. “The badly damaged face of the bomber was reconstructed thanks to modern technology, supplied to Bulgaria by partner services,” Tsvetanov said, adding the man, who has not been identified, had spent some 20 days in the Balkan country before the attack. Israel has accused Iran and the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah of being behind the bombing. Iran has denied the charge and accused Israel of plotting and carrying out the attack. — Reuters

accused the current government of “pervasive corruption” estimating as much as 70% of state revenues had been stolen or squandered. While African Union special envoy Boubacar Diarra praised yesterday’s vote as “a major step forward”, he also warned parliamentary and presidential polls must be “conducted in a fair and credible manner.”

Bowed down by repeated droughts and riven by over two decades of conflict, Somalia is torn between rival clans, Islamist insurgents and the government, which is propped up by a 17,000-strong AU force. Somalia has been without a stable central government since the ouster of former president Siad Barre in 1991.

The Shebab face increasing pressure from progovernment forces and regional armies, having lost a series of key towns and strategic bases in recent months. However, experts warn they are far from defeated and remain a major threat.

Gunmen in Mogadishu late Tuesday also killed comedian Abdi Jeylani Malaq Marshale, well-known for his radio shows poking fun at the Shabab. The provisional constitution applies immediately, but it must be finally ratified by a national referendum within the lifetime of the next parliament. Assembly member Mohamed Abdulkadir said the endorsed draft remained unchanged from an initial proposal, which provides for a federal republic with laws “compliant with the general principles of sharia” or Islamic law, and a multi-party system with women “included in all national institutions”. — AFP

Anti-Putin punk falls ill during Russia trial MOSCOW: One of the members of an all-girl punk band who performed an anti-Vladimir Putin song in a landmark Moscow church required medical attention yesterday during their highprofile trial. Court officials and lawyers said the third day of witness testimony was interrupted and medics called in when one of the young women collapsed after the group complained of a lack of food and sleep during the trial.

“Maria Alyokhina suffered a severe drop in blood sugar levels this morning. This is linked to the fact that she is a vegan,” defence attorney Nikolai Polozov told journalists after three ambulances arrived at the court. “All three ambulances were called for her.

They gave her the necessary injections.”

As the women were taken into court in handcuffs for the hearings to resume, Alyokhina told journalists that she felt “all right”. The defence lawyers have repeatedly complained to the judge that the women are being woken up at 5:00 am at their detention centre to attend the closely watched hearings and are not fed for periods of more than 12 hours. “They are brought back to their temporary detention centre

after midnight, are left without dinner and can only get a few hours of sleep,” Polozov told the Interfax news agency.

Alyokhina told the court on Monday evening that “my head is spinning”, as the hearing went on to almost 10 pm.

The three women - who face up to seven years in jail if found guilty of hooliganism - testified on Monday that they had wanted to change Russia with their action but could have made an “ethical” mistake by offending worshippers. The controversial case has won them supporters among major Western stars including pop icon Sting and writer and comedian Stephen Fry and was condemned on Tuesday by the US State Department.

They were arrested in March and charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred of Orthodox believers in a case highlighting the powerful Church’s growing dominance under Putin’s 12-year rule.

Russian Orthodox Church leaders have demanded strict punishment of the band members’ actions and have been backed in their condemnation by leading members of the country’s political elite. — AFP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

150-year-old Bangladesh brothel fights closure MADARIPUR, Bangladesh: Tara Das says she is the fifth generation of her family to work at the same brothel in Bangladesh, but now she is fighting against Islamic protesters who want her business to close. The red light district in Madaripur city is thought to have been in operation for at least 150 years, and the sex workers believe the sudden wave of protests are orchestrated by developers trying to take over the valuable land.

Last month, about 10,000 people led by a new Muslim group called Islahe Kaom Parishad (the National Reform Council) rallied outside the rambling complex to call for it to be shut down and the 500 sex workers evicted. “Ever since they held that huge rally, I could not sleep properly. Tell me where I shall go?” Das told AFP. “This is my home and this is the only job I knew from my childhood. Please save us from these religious leaders.”

The brothel, founded for native jute traders during the British colonial era, is a cluster of moss-stained three-storey brick houses and tin sheds in the middle of Madaripur, 60 km from Dhaka. It is legal as it dates back to before Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, but is now being targeted by hardline activists from Parishad. The Islamic group has held a series of angry demonstrations and is lobbying city authorities on the grounds that the brothel corrupts the town’s young men and must be razed.

Sex workers believe the activists are organised by businessmen linked to local politicians, and they report a campaign of intimidation including an explosive device found recently on the site and two attempted arson attacks. “We told the authorities that we won’t leave the place. Our job is lawful. We also don’t have any underage sex workers here,” said Momo Rani Karmakar, head of the Madaripur sex workers’ union.

“We’ve inherited the place from our grandmothers, some of them are still alive. We are like a family here. “It’s a conspiracy to grab our land worth crores of taka (millions of dollars),” she said, adding that 110 children living in the brothel settlement go to school every day.

Since the protests started, police now patrol the area while government officials say any final decision on redevelopment is still pending. A committee, led by the regional deputy administrator, has been set up and has tried to open talks to encourage rehabilitation of the sex workers. “Muslims and local elites don’t want this centuriesold brothel in the town anymore. They said it might have served some purposes decades back, but it’s not needed,” Siddiqur Rahman, the committee head, told AFP. Rahman said the authorities would start the rehabilitation process by conducting a survey to determine the number of underaged sex workers. “Adult sex workers will be motivated to take up other jobs,” he said. “It will be done strictly on voluntary basis. A

local charity will be involved.” But the sex workers told AFP that they don’t want to leave or switch to other jobs. Many told how they previously left the trade but had been hounded out of other communities.

“If I don’t have clients, how can I feed my five children and maintain their education,” said Jhumur, 45, who uses only one name.

“They want to keep us hungry and force us out so that they can take our land. “Our clients are worried that they might be publicly humiliated. Clients have already got the impression that the brothel is on the verge of closure.”

Many sex workers allege that the real reason behind the protests is the ambitions of a prominent Muslim family who are already erecting a multi-storied building next to the brothel. The Parishad group deny such claims and say they are acting to protect Islamic morals. “The brothel is the main source of criminal activity in the region,” group secretary Ali Ahmed Chowdhury told AFP. “It runs illegal wine shops. Under-aged girls are bought and sold and it’s a big source of the drug trade.

It’s shameful work. It is not a profession.”

The battle against long-established brothels in Bangladesh - a conservative Muslim-majority nation - is spreading, with at least four red light districts closed in the last decade. The country’s largest brothel, Tanbazaar, situated on the outskirts of Dhaka, was shut down largely due to pressure from a ruling party lawmaker.

Tanbazaar, established in 1888, was converted into a market and many of the 2,600 sex workers ended up on the streets.

“Anti-vice” groups have also threatened to close other brothels across the country, according the charity ActionAid which provides some advocacy services to those affected. In Madaripur, the sex workers are

determined to avoid such a fate. “We have told them that unless you shoot us down, you can’t throw us out of here,” said Morzina, who lost her husband two years ago and was forced to return to the brothel to make a living. “We will raid the houses of the Muslim leaders if they come here to evict us,” she said. — AFP

MADARIPUR, Bangladesh: A Bangladeshi sex worker looks on at a brothel in this July 14, 2012 photo. — AFP

India restores power, minister vows action Fears remain grid could collapse again

SUROBI: French soldiers patrol at Forward Operating Base Tora Surobi, in the district of Surobi. The French military completed an important step in its accelerated withdrawal from Afghanistan on Tuesday as it pulled out of a district outside Kabul. — AFP

NATO should finish job in Afghanistan: Russia ULYANOVSK: NATO forces should stay in Afghanistan until they have finished their job to ensure stability, Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday, criticizing the planned withdrawal of most combat troops by 2014.

Putin reiterated Kremlin concerns that the pull-out of the US-led alliance, due to start next year, will leave the Central Asian region south of Russia vulnerable to militant violence and drug trafficking. “It is regrettable that many participants in this operation are thinking about how to pull out of there. They took up this burden and should carry it to the end,” Putin said at a meeting with paratroopers in the Russian city of Ulyanovsk.

“If there is no order in Afghanistan it will not be calm on our southern borders. The current (Afghan) leadership will have difficulties keeping the situation under control. NATO member states are present there, and are performing this function,” he said. “We need to help them (NATO). We should not be fighting there again. Let them sit there and fight.” The

Soviet Union fought a disastrous war in Afghanistan in the 1980s and Russia ruled out sending troops to aid the US-led invasion after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks. But Moscow has supported the NATO operation by allowing transit across its territory.

It expanded that support with an agreement that took effect yesterday allowing the alliance to use a transit hub in Ulyanovsk to send non-lethal supplies in and out of Afghanistan using the Russian rail network and air transport. Putin said the transit hub agreement, which has drawn criticism from Communists and others saying Russia is allowing an enemy on its territory, in fact benefited Russia - which is otherwise often at loggerheads with the alliance. “It corresponds to our national interests. On many other issues we have disagreements. We have different approaches, opinions.” Putin said, reiterating his description of NATO as a “throwback to the past, to the times of the Cold War”. — Reuters

NEW DELHI: India restored its power supplies yesterday after two days of massive outages that blacked out half the country, but fears remained that the grid could collapse again under the strain of over-demand. India’s electricity network was back at full capacity after three regional grids failed on Tuesday in the country’s worst power crisis that left more than 600 million people without supplies. “The most important task on hand for me is to take essential steps required to sustain the electricity grid that suffered unprecedented failure over the past two days,” said new Power Minister Veerappa Moily.

Despite his promises that the outage would “not be repeated,” wary consumers who are used to regular load-shedding braced for the possibility of more serious disruption. Hundreds of miners were trapped underground for hours in the eastern states of West Bengal and Jharkhand on Tuesday, metro services were stopped temporarily in the capital New Delhi and hundreds of trains were held up nationwide. Traffic snarled in cities as traffic lights failed and hospitals and airports had to switch to back-up power.

“On Monday the government said that this will never happen again but on Tuesday they proved themselves wrong. How can you trust them anymore?” said Revathi Nair, a 32-year-old manager with a five-star hotel in central Delhi. Former power minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who was promoted to home minister on Tuesday in a reshuffle announced in the midst of the crisis, said India should be more grateful for the efforts of its engineers and bureaucrats. “Where in America the grid doesn’t get repaired for four days, here we repair the grid in several hours,” the minister told reporters, repeating a boast that India had been more reactive than the US, which suffered a huge power failure in 2003.

“You should appreciate us, the way work is done in the power ministry,” he added.

Yesterday’s newspapers were predictably critical of the government, saying it lacked the political will to implement long called-for reforms in the power sector to boost production and sort out near-bankrupt state distributors. “Powerless and Clueless”, ran the front-page headline in the Times of India, while the Economic Times splashed with “Superpower India, RIP” in a reference to New Delhi’s bid to be recognised as a global economic and diplomatic force.

On the streets of Delhi, small business owners seethed over the failures which caused computers

to crash and expensive diesel generators to be called into action. “I spent over 2,000 rupees (about $40) yesterday just to buy diesel for my generator,” said Ram Prasad Kejriwal who runs a shop selling shawls on a commercial street in the capital. “The entire day’s sale was only 5,000 rupees.” Business lobby group the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) estimated the losses to small and large business in billions of rupees (tens of millions of dollars) and said India’s investment image abroad had taken a major hit. The repeated outages “carry a very negative image of India, when already sentiments about the country are low on account of the current economic situation”, CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said in a statement.

According to senior ministry officials, the two successive days of grid failure were triggered by energy-hungry states drawing power beyond their allocated limits. “We’re facing power problems of Himalayan proportions,” said Ajay Bodke, strategist

SRINAGAR: Kashmiri women purchase clothes at a local market yesterday. Factories and workshops across India were up and running again yesterday a day after a major system collapse led to a second day of power outages and the worst blackout in history leaving an estimated 620 million people without electricity. — AP

Indian reporter charged in Israel diplomat attack

HYDERABAD: Indian Muslim students recite the Holy Quran at the Madarasatul Imam Anwarullah during the holy month of Ramadan yesterday. — AFP

at leading Indian investment house Prabhudas Lilladher. “Reforms can’t wait any longer - this is a wake-up call for immediate measures.”

Analysts say the power ministry needs to get state electricity boards to abide by their power quotas and manage distribution efficiently to avoid demand crunches. The finances of the distribution companies also need fixing by raising prices and cracking down on theft, which would allow them to invest more in their strained networks, they say.

Finally, coal shortages are at the root of many of the problems because of the inefficiency of state-run giant Coal India Ltd (CIL), which is struggling to increase its production to meet the demand from power stations. India added 20,000 megawatts of power capacity in the past year - enough to supply today’s requirements, according to Alok Brara, publisher of the industry magazine Powerline. “But because of fuel issues they haven’t been able to use the extra capacity,” he said. — AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian police have charged a journalist with conspiring to carry out a bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi in February, a senior police official told AFP yesterday. Syed Kazmi, a freelance journalist who worked part-time with Iran’s IRNA news agency, is accused of helping a group of Iranians to plan and execute the attack which saw a man on a motorbike attach a magnetic bomb to an Israeli embassy car. “We charged Syed Kazmi yesterday under the prevention of unlawful activities act.

He has been charged with planning and conspiracy in the February attack,” said anti-terrorism official Ashok Chand, who is supervising the investigation. Kazmi is the only person to be charged in India in connection with the bombing.

A 42-year-old Israeli diplomat, the wife of the defence attache at the embassy, was badly wounded in the explosion near the prime minister’s residence in the centre of the Indian capital. A report in the Times of India newspaper on Monday said Delhi police had informed Iran that the plotters were members of the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, a branch of the military. Delhi police, however, later denied the report, stressing that it had only asked Tehran for “the details of six persons of Iranian origin suspected to be involved”. Interpol issued international arrest warrants for four of the suspects named in the report in March.

The main plotters were believed by police to have entered India on tourist visas and left after the attack, which Israel immediately blamed on Iran. Analysts speculated that Tehran was retaliating for a series of attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists which have been blamed on the Israeli secret service Mossad. —AFP

Taleban execute four ‘for Western links’ POLI ALAM , Afghanistan: Taleban insurgents near the Afghan capital Kabul executed four civilians working for a Western security company, officials said yesterday, days after a similar killing in the area. In other violence with Taleban involvement, a district police chief and two of his guards were killed in an insurgent roadside bombing in the country’s south. The bullet-riddled bodies of the four men were found in the Jalrez district of Wardak province, some 40 km from Kabul. There has been a surge in attacks in areas surrounding the capital in recent weeks.

“Their hands were tied behind their backs and their chests riddled with bullets,” Afghan army General Abdul Razaq Safi told AFP. “They were killed by the Taleban because they worked for a foreign security company,” Safi, who leads army units in the area, said from his headquarters in the neighbouring province of Logar. Shahidullah Shahid, a spokesman for the Wardak provincial administration, confirmed the incident and said the men were seized by the Taliban while travelling to work from Kabul on Tuesday. He had no further details. In a similar incident in the same area in late July, militants executed five men after alleging they worked for foreigners.

After those killings Afghan security forces last week launched a major operation in the area, killing close to a dozen insurgents,

according to the interior ministry. The Taleban warned at the start of their annual summer offensive this year that they would target Afghans working for foreign organisations.

Large numbers of local people work for Western civilian and military projects in Afghanistan, where NATO has 130,000 troops helping the Kabul government fight the insurgents.

In other violence in Afghanistan yesterday, a district chief in southern Zabul province and two of his guards were killed when their vehicle struck an improvised bomb, an official said. “Shah Khan, the police chief of Zabul province’s Shamlzo district along with two of his guards were killed in a roadside bombing,” provincial deputy governor Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar told AFP. He blamed the Taliban for the attack. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has noted a surge in attacks in recent months since the start of the Taleban’s annual summer offensive.

“Enemy-initiated attacks over the last three months (April-June) are 11 percent higher compared to the same quarter last year,” ISAF said in a report last week. The month of June alone saw the highest number of attacks in nearly two years, with more than 100 assaults a day across the country, including firefights and roadside bombings, the US-led coalition said. — AFP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

i n t e r n at i o n a l

Chinese politician’s wife charmed and threatened BEIJING: Gu Kailai has been many things to many people: devoted wife, ambitious lawyer, gracious host, menacing businesswoman and, now, China’s most famous murder suspect. The wife of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai could go on trial in the coming days, after being formally charged with the murder of a British businessman who was a close associate of the Bo family. The murder is at the center of a messy political scandal that has highlighted divisions in the Chinese leadership ahead of a once-a-decade political transition later this year.

Through interviews with Gu’s former associates and biographical details from official Chinese media, a portrait emerges of a woman who rose out of a trying childhood during nationwide upheaval to become a high-flying politician’s wife skilled at turning on the charm when the going was smooth, yet quick to turn hostile when crossed. One account also indicates that Gu’s relationship with the murder victim, Neil Heywood, was tinged with tension at least a decade ago, and that she and another figure in the scandal, a French architect, might have been lovers.

Impressions of Gu varied: Two American guests Gu invited to the Chinese city of Dalian in 1997 described her as a kind and attentive host who put the visitors up at a fancy resort, personally took them around the city and feted them with banquets. But a British businessman who worked for two years with Gu in a venture said she could be vicious when angry, once threatening to throw him in jail if he went to China. Gu was accompanying her son, Guagua, in the English coastal city of Bournemouth where he was attending school in 1999 when she brought a somewhat unusual request to the director of a now-dissolved company that offered rides in helium balloons. “I’d really like one of these for my home city in China,” said Gu, according to Peter Giles Hall, then-director of Vistarama Balloon Systems.

That city was Dalian, where Bo was the top Communist Party official at the time, in China’s northeast. Hall said Gu wanted the balloon to look like a redand-white football, and that a Dalian chemicals company that sponsored a local football club was buying it.

Hall said the always-impeccably dressed woman introduced herself as “Horus” - presumably after the Egyptian falcon-headed god of goodness and light.

Hall said that though she lived in a modest apartment, Gu’s attire and a penchant for diamonds and emeralds showed off her affluence. “She went out to make an impression. Always stilettos, skirts, stockings, very expensive jewelry,” Hall said. “You’d see her walking down the street and you look at her and you’d know she was extremely wealthy.”

She was at first charming and polite. But Gu became less friendly when Hall refused her request to help conceal money meant for tuition fees for Guagua at the prestigious British boarding school Harrow by overcharging her for a balloon part known as the

winch, which tethers the balloon to the ground. “When paying for the winch, she wanted us to charge her 250,000 pounds for it because she wanted us to pay the school fees to Harrow,” Hall said, explaining that 150,000 pounds would go to the school. “We couldn’t have done that. Our financial people wouldn’t allow it anyhow. She got very upset by that as well.”

Other difficulties in the arrangement arose because she wanted the balloon made and delivered to Dalian before an important event in early 2000, a deadline Hall told her was impossible to meet. When the balloon failed to make it to Dalian in time, due to delays in payment from Gu and other reasons, Gu issued an angry threat, Hall said. “She said, ‘I have very powerful people in government, we can get you thrown in jail, you’ll

while still in elementary school, Gu worked at a butcher’s and then as a bricklayer. In later years, she learnt to play the Chinese lute so well that she performed it for the soundtrack of an official documentary on Mao’s death. Like her husband, Gu attended the elite Peking University, though they did not meet until 1984, when Bo was party secretary of a county in Dalian that Gu visited while accompanying a professor on a study tour. Gu has described being impressed by Bo’s character when she made his acquaintance. “He is a lot like my father, an extremely idealistic person,” she told state media. “He lived in a small, dirty house in the county seat that looked like it could never be clean no matter how much one tried. He served Professor Fu and me apples that were stored in a torn paper box that was on

HONG KONG: In this photo taken on July 30, 2012, books on Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai with her portrait in the cover, are displayed at a bookshop. — AP never see the light of day,’” Hall recounted. “We thought, oh my God, she’s turned very nasty. She has quite a sort of quick temper.”

Whether Gu actually had the power to make good on that supposed threat is unclear. But as the youngest daughter of a renowned Communist revolutionary, Gu Jingsheng, Gu was considered, like her husband, to be a “princeling” - someone whose political pedigree affords them entry into the business world and Communist Party leadership. That status is one of privilege and influence. This was not always the case for Gu. During the tumultuous 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong’s radical experiment in class warfare, Gu’s parents were jailed and her four elder sisters sent to the countryside for “re-education.” Left to fend for herself

the table, and then he began to talk about his ideals.”

The couple married and Gu bore their son, Guagua, in 1987. Gu moved her law firm from Beijing to Dalian about a decade later. Then followed one of her legal career’s most prominent victories: winning a 1997 lawsuit in the US state of Alabama for a Dalian-based state-owned company, which resulted in the overturning of a court-imposed $1.4 million fine.

American attorney Marion Wynne, one of the lawyers who represented the Chinese company in the suit, said Gu was instrumental in the legal team’s communication with company officials. Later, Wynne was among a group that was invited to Dalian to celebrate the victory, and he said Gu was a warm and gracious host who spared no effort to make them feel at home.

He said he had been surprised by the news of her implication in a murder case. “I feel concerned for Gu Kailai because I only knew her as a very nice, kind person and I just hope that justice gets done and that she doesn’t get a raw deal over there just because she’s on the wrong end of some political struggle,” Wynne said in a phone interview from his office in Fairhope, Alabama.

Gu left a similar impression on Robert Schenkein, whose Denver-based PR company advised the legal team in the Alabama case. “I found her to be very polite, very understated, very smart. These allegations that she’s conniving, a Mata Hari type-woman, to me are absolutely 180 degrees different from anything I ever saw,” Schenkein said. Schenkein, who also went to Dalian with the legal team, said Gu confided to him then that she had been disappointed by central Chinese leadership’s lack of acknowledgement of the legal victory - an indication of Bo’s early friction with Beijing. “The people in Beijing had said this is a complete waste of time, you’re not going to win any kind of legal action in an American court, and it’s not worth pursuing,” Schenkein said. “And her husband and she both thought it was worth pursuing, and they were right in the long run, but nobody in Beijing ever acknowledged the outcome or the positive nature of it because they would have lost face because they had advised against it.” Schenkein said he was also impressed by Bo’s charismatic personality, which was unlike the staid style of most Chinese officials. One night at a banquet, Bo went around the room shaking hands with each guest, he said. “He was behaving more like an American politician working the crowd.”

Also unlike most other Chinese politicians who hardly acknowledge their spouses, Bo frequently mentioned his wife’s contribution to his career. Among the last things that Bo expressed publicly this March was an emotive tribute to his wife, who like him had come under intense media scrutiny as the scandal unfolded.

Bo said Gu gave up her illustrious legal career to avoid the appearance of benefitting from his political influence. “She was worried that people might talk, so she closed her booming law firm early on,” Bo told reporters during the annual legislative session in Beijing that was his last public appearance. “For so many years, she has just been reading books, doing art and housework, and quietly standing by me. For the sacrifices she has made, I feel most touched, and also very guilty.”

But in England, Gu gave no appearance of having retired into a life as a homebody and, on the contrary, seemed to be involved with potentially shady ties between businesses and her husband’s administration, according to Hall, the balloon company operator. Hall said his suspicions were aroused when some of the payments for the balloon deal were made in checks from the Dalian Free Trade Zone even though Gu had said a plastics company was paying for it. —AP

Fukushima residents say loud ‘no’ to nuke energy Public hearings could affect nuclear policy decision

TAIPEI: A woman reacts upon her umbrella was damaged by strong winds from an approaching typhoon yesterday. — AP

Torrential rains batter Taiwan ahead of typhoon TAIPEI, Taiwan: Torrential rains from an approaching typhoon battered eastern Taiwan yesterday after killing at least 14 people and displacing 154,000 in the Philippines. At least one death in Taiwan was reported. Local media said a falling tree killed a woman near the southern city of Kaohsiung. Typhoon Saola was about 160 km east of the coastal city of Hualien in the afternoon and had sustained winds of 137 kph and gusts of 173 kph. It was moving slowly but growing stronger and was expected to continue to strengthen.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau predicts it will skirt the island’s northeast tip early today afternoon. Parts of northeastern Taiwan already reported rainfall of close to 900 mm by Wednesday afternoon, while the CWB said about onethird of that amount had fallen in suburban Taipei. It could dump more than 1,500 mm of rain in northern Taiwan before moving westward toward the Chinese coast late today. A major east

coast highway was closed because of the typhoon and several hundred people were evacuated from low-lying areas, as mudslides blocked roads and choked off transportation. A river in Ilan county flooded its banks, inundating hundreds of acres of nearby rice paddies.

The Defense Ministr y mobilized 48,000 soldiers to help mitigate the storm’s impact, dispatching many to help hard-pressed farmers try to save threatened fruit and vegetable har vests.

Dozens of flights were cancelled at Taipei’s main international airport, and the city was expected to come to a virtual standstill today. The typhoon left at least 14 people dead in the Philippines since Sunday and caused 154,000 to flee from their homes. Fierce rain and wind, compounded by high tide, swamped a Manila boulevard with garbage-laden water from Manila Bay and forced the US Embassy to close yesterday. Manila schools were also closed due to sporadic flooding and strong winds. — AP

FUKUSHIMA, Japan: Get out of nuclear power and do it fast, angry Fukushima residents told Japanese government officials yesterday at a public hearing on energy policy held in an area ravaged by a nuclear disaster that has whipped up opposition to atomic power. The Fukushima hearing, the ninth out of 11 planned n ationwide, sought to gather views on n uclear power’s role in the nation’s energy mix as the government struggles to cover a power shortfall by that could threaten economic growth.

Meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima nuclear plant after an earthquake and tsunami on March 11 last year caused radiation to spew over large areas of Fukushima, forcing more than 160,0000 people to flee. In the following months, all of Japan’s nuclear plants were shut for safety checks. Two reactors resumed operations last month. “I want all the reactors in Japan shut immediately and scrapped,” a greyhaired woman, who introduced herself as a farmer living 65 km from the Fukushima plant, said at the public hearing in the prefecture capital. “Many people are now aware that the government’s talking of ‘no immediate risk to health’ is tantamount to ‘long-term health risk’,” she said to the applause of about 200 residents packed in a small concert hall.

Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the response to the nuclear crisis, was heckled as he apologised for the suffering of people in Fukushima. “I will never forget what I heard today, and I’m determined to do everything I can,” he said. Fukushima prosecutors yesterday launched an investigation after more than 1,000 residents filed criminal complaints against 15 former and present Tokyo Electric Power officials, including former company president Masataka Shimizu, and 18 government officials, including Nuclear Safety Commission head Haruki Madarame, a lawyer for the group, Hiroyuki Kawai, told Reuters.

Kawai said Tokyo prosecutors had launched a separate investigation. A panel of experts appointed by parliament concluded last month that the disaster could have been prevented and that failure to take precautions was the result of “collusion” among the utility, regulators and the

TOKYO: President of the operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), Naomi Hirose (left) and senior staff members bow as they announce the company’s first quarter financial result ending June at TEPCO headquarters yesterday. — AFP government. “After reading the report by the parliament-appointed panel, prosecutors could not stand idly by,” Kawai said.

Japan met about a third of its energy needs with nuclear power before the disaster and had plans to boost that share to more than half, in part, to combat global warming. Now, three options that the government has put on the table are to phase out nuclear power completely as soon as possible, aim for a 15 percent share of the power supply by 2030, or a 20-25 percent share by the same date. Residents of Fukushima, 240 km north of Tokyo, overwhelmingly backed the zero option, with all but one of the 30 who were picked in a draw to speak backing a swift exit.

The Asahi newspaper reported this week that elsewhere 70 percent of those taking part in the hearings opted for the nuclear-free scenario. It is not clear how the hearings will affect the final energy plan that could come as soon as this

month. But commentators said it would be hard for the government to ignore the findings as 17 months after the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, many still live in fear and thousands hired to dismantle the Fukushima plant face decades of gruelling and dangerous work.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s decision to restart two reactors in Japan’s western manufacturing hub to avoid blackouts galvanized the anti-nuclear movement. More than 100,000 people attended an anti-nuclear rally last month and protests staged weekly outside of Noda’s residence have grown, with ordinary workers and mothers with children joining the crowds. “I’m scared. I’m really scared,” said a middle-aged woman, addressing the hearing. “I’d like the government to think about why people have gathered in front of the prime minister’s residence every Friday since April. That’s not fashion. That’s not a temporary fever. That’s a heartfelt scream from the public.” — Reuters

Malaysian opposition whistleblower charged KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian opposition whistleblower was charged Wednesday over his role in exposing a scandal that has rocked the government, in a move the opposition said made a mockery of anti-graft promises. Rafizi Ramli, a top strategist for the People’s Justice Party led by Anwar Ibrahim, has been the key figure behind exposing a financial scandal involving money allegedly siphoned away from a project aimed at boosting beef output. He was arrested yesterday and charged under a provision of the country’s Banking and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) that restricts disclosure of bank account details.

Rafizi told AFP he and a former bank clerk charged with abetting him had pleaded not

guilty in court before being released on bail.

“This government is not prepared to protect whistleblowers, but persecute them instead,” he said. Anwar, who was sensationally ousted as deputy premier in 1998 and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges widely viewed as politically motivated, condemned Rafizi’s arrest as an attempt to muzzle him. “The charge... is only a smokescreen to put fear into the hearts of Malaysians trying to unearth the truth behind contracts and cronyism involving (government) leaders,” he said in a statement.

The scandal, dubbed “Cowgate”, has proven highly embarrassing for Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has pledged to stamp out persistent corruption and must call elections by the mid-

dle of next year. The National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), which was run by family members of then-minister for women’s affairs Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, received a 250-millionringgit ($80 million) government soft loan to accelerate Malaysian beef production. But an auditor-general’s report last year said it had failed in its mission.

The opposition pounced, alleging NFC funds were spent on luxury property in Malaysia and Singapore and other purchases including a luxury car and overseas travel. Shahrizat resigned under pressure in April and her husband Mohamad Salleh Ismail has been charged with criminal breach of trust over the affair. He is alleged to have used nearly 50 million ringgit of

NFC funds without approval, including almost 10 million ringgit to buy two apartments, the independent news portal Malaysiakini reported earlier. Rafizi is accused of revealing the details of four bank accounts controlled by the NFC and Mohamad Salleh. He has refused to divulge how he obtained the information but authorities allege bank clerk Johari Mohamad provided it.

Johari, an employee of Public Bank, denies the allegation. The charge against Rafizi carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail and a three million ringgit fine. Reports of large-scale corruption involving government projects are common in Malaysia. Najib’s government passed a Whistleblower Protection Act in 2010 amid rising concern over graft. — AFP

NEWS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Assad praises troops as battle rages ALEPPO: President Bashar Al-Assad told his troops yesterday that their battle against rebels would decide Syria’s fate, but his written message gave no clues to his whereabouts two weeks after a bomb attack hit his inner circle. In Aleppo, rebel fighters seized three police stations while fighting the army for control of a strategically important district.

Explosions could be heard and helicopter gunships cruised the skies as troops tried to push the rebels out of the northern city and preserve one of Assad’s main centers of power. Assad has not spoken in public since the bombing in Damascus on July 18 killed four of his close security aides, although he has appeared in recorded clips on television. His latest remarks appeared in the military’s magazine to mark armed forces day.

“The fate of our people and our nation, past, present and future, depends on this battle,” said Assad, whose low public profile suggests acute concern over his personal safety since the bombing in which his brother-in-law was among the dead.

In confronting “terrorist criminal gangs” - the government’s usual term for the rebels - the army had proved it had “the steely resolve and conscience and that you are the trustees of the people’s values,” the 46-year-old president declared.

Earlier, at least 10 volleys of shells lit up the darkened sky over Aleppo, Syria’s biggest city, and drowned out the Islamic call to prayer. Carloads of rebels shouting “God is great” sped off towards the fighting. The World Food Program said it was sending emergency food supplies to Aleppo to tackle a worsening humanitarian situation. Syria’s civil war has intensified since the July 18 bombing, with fighting engulfing Damascus and Aleppo for the first time in the 17-month-old uprising against Assad family rule. The two cities are crucial prizes for both sides in an increasingly brutal struggle that has eluded all attempts at a diplomatic solution and risks igniting a wider conflagration.

Internet video footage and witness accounts indicate that rebels have carried out summary executions in and around Aleppo in much the same way as Assad’s forces have been accused of acting in Damascus, where the army has largely regained control. One video shows four men identified as members of the pro-Assad Shabbiha militia being led down a flight of stairs, lined up against a wall and shot in a hail of rifle fire as onlookers shouted “Allahu akbar (God is greatest)”. In another video, a cameraman filmed the bodies of about 15 men at a police station. One rebel fired at the corpse of the station commander, blowing his head off. In both cases, the content of the footage could not immediately be verified.

In the town of Azaz, north of Aleppo, a rebel told how his men had executed a captured sniper, shooting him dead after an impromptu “trial” conducted at an already prepared graveside. “We took him right to his grave and, after hearing the witnesses’ statements, we shot him dead,” the fighter said.

Sporadic fighting sputtered on in the bitterly contested Salaheddine district in the southwest of Aleppo, part of a rebel-held arc stretching to the northeast of the city. Neither side was in full control, despite an army statement at the weekend that it had driven insurgents from the district, now a ghost town with closed shops and empty streets.

Syrian state television said yesterday the army was pursuing remaining “terrorists” in one Aleppo district and had killed several, including foreign Arab fighters. Some foreign fighters, including militant Islamists, have joined the battle against Assad, who often accuses outside powers of financing and arming the insurgents. An NBC News report said the rebels have acquired nearly two dozen surface-to-air missiles delivered to them via neighboring Turkey. The missiles could erode the military’s air supremacy if rebels were able to hit its helicopters and warplanes.

Aleppo, a commercial hub with a historic Old City, had long stayed aloof from the uprising, but many of its 2.5 million residents are now caught up in battle zones, facing shortages of food, fuel, water and cooking gas. Thousands have fled. “The humanitarian situation is deteriorating in Aleppo and food needs are growing rapidly,” the World Food Program said. The UN agency said it had sent food aid for 28,000 people to the city, where hospitals and makeshift clinics can barely cope with casualties after more than a week of combat. Lightly armed insurgents are battling a well-equipped army that has overwhelming superiority on paper, but rebels have nonetheless managed to capture some tanks and heavy weapons, the United Nations observer mission in Syria has confirmed.

The rebels, however, are united mostly by loathing of Assad, and have failed to come together despite pressure from the West, Turkey and Sunni-ruled Arab states who back their cause. Another fissure in the opposition opened up on Tuesday when exiled Syrian activists announced a new alliance with plans to form a transitional government, challenging the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group set up last year. The head of the rebel Free Syrian Army criticized the new political coalition, calling its leaders opportunists seeking to divide the opposition and benefit from the rebels’ gains.

Assad, whose Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam, is strongly supported by Iran and to a degree by Iraq’s Shiite-led government. China and Russia have protected him in the UN Security Council from measures that could lead to sanctions.

The UN General Assembly said on Tuesday it would discuss Syria this week and diplomats say it is likely to vote on a Saudidrafted resolution that condemns the Security Council for failing to take action against Damascus. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, visiting Jerusalem, said he hoped Assad would step down and “we can begin the transition to a democratic process there for the Syrian people”. — Reuters

‘Dead man’ returns Continued from Page 1 “I went to Pakistan believing that I would get a better job there. But they caught me at the border. I was beaten and tortured in prison,” he explained in a mixture of Urdu and Bengali. “I wrote dozens of letters to my village address, but did not have any clue that they were never posted. At one stage I lost all hope of returning home,” he said, adding that he was “delighted” to see his mother still alive.

The Red Cross became involved and facilitated Sarkar’s

return after his family received a tip-off that he was locked up in Pakistan and turned to the organization for help, according to spokesperson Onchita Shadman, who described him as “frail and overwhelmed”. Julhas Uddin, Sarkar’s younger brother, said most of the family had feared the worst. “We searched for him for years and finally gave up hope believing he might have drowned in the sea.

But our mother always believed that her son would return home one day,” he said. “My mother passed out as he hugged her after returning. It was a heartbreaking scene.

He could not control his tears for hours,” he said. — AFP

Specialties of Ramadan Continued from Page 1 When anyone of you wakes up while fasting, then it behooves him to abandon acting immorally or using obscene language. If anyone happens to abuse him or tries to fight against him, he should say twice, I am fasting.”

C. The highest level is to discard all lowly and inferior ambitions and aspirations. For example, if someone says, “I want to be super rich so that the poor should kneel before me for help,” he is an epitome of lowly and inferior ambitions and aspirations. In whatever we do, our prime aim should be to please God Almighty.

The month of Ramadan is unique: Fasting during the month of Ramadan is special and unique - compared to other acts of worship - in many aspects, the most prominent being the following: - Fasting is a secret and intrinsic act of worship - no one can really tell whether someone is fasting or not except God and the fasting person.

It is easy for someone to claim that s/he is fasting yet when s/he is alone in a closed room, s/he would eat and drink. Allah says in a Hadith Qudsi, “I am the richest of the rich so much so that I don’t need any partners or associates. Anyone who does an act of worship in which he associates partners with Me (God), I will let him depend entirely those s/he worships other than Me.” In other words, Allah will not reward him for that because he did not seek His pleasure.

- By fasting, we conquer the devil - inveterate enemy of Allah - because among his tricks and stratagems to lure people into neglecting acts of worship are the methods he suggests for humans to fulfill carnal desires.

Those carnal desires become stronger and more demanding by eating and drinking excessively.

Therefore, by fasting, the passages of the Devil are curbed and inhibited. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Indeed, the devil is active in ones’ body like his blood stream.” (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim) Fasting was not prescribed for Muslims only: Muslims are not the only ones observing the fast; some people before the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to fast as well. We read thus in the Quran: “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you so that you may gain taqwa (God-

consciousness/piety).” Taqwa literally means: shielding yourself from sins and by extension from the wrath of Allah. It also means: shielding yourself from displeasing Allah. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “The fast is a shield for one of you from the hell-fire like a coat of mail protects a fighter in the battle field.”

Ali bin Abi Talib - the third caliph in Islam - when asked about Taqwa, said, “It is to be afraid of God, worshipping Him in accordance with the verses of the Quran, to be satisfied with the little that you have and to prepare yourself for the day of your departure from this world.” Why did Allah (SWT) mention that people who preceded Muslims used to fast? - He mentioned to Muslims that people before them including Jews and Christians used to fast in order to comfort and console them (Muslims) because - to some people - fasting is very difficult.

- To prove to Muslims that inasmuch as He has completed His favors upon Muslims, He also completed them upon some of those who came before them. The month of Ramadan is special and auspicious in many aspects, including: - If you sincerely fast for the sake of Allah for only one day, Allah will keep you away from the hell-fire for a period of 70 years of travel. It was narrated

by Abi Saeed Al-Khudari that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “There is no one among the servants of Allah who fasts a day for Allah, except that Allah will keep his face away from the hell fire for a distance of travelling for 70 years.”

This reward applies to fasting any day for the sake of Allah. The rewards of fasting in Ramadan are far superior than fasting any other day. During Ramadan Allah gives assurances to those fasting that they shouldn’t worry as He will be the one to reward them. If - for example - you are employed by a company and the head of state of your employment country tells you: “Don’t worry about your salary, I will be the one to pay you.” What would you think?

And with Allah are the best examples. - Whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan believing in Allah and expecting rewards from Allah, he would be forgiven. It was narrated by Abu Huraira that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “Whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan believing in Allah and expecting His rewards, he will be forgiven the past sins....” — Courtesy AWARE Center

Amir vows to ‘penalize’ Juwaihel; Mutaris fume Continued from Page 1 which was boycotted by opposition MPs Mussallam Al-Barrak, Mubarak Al-Waalan, Hayef and others. In a joint statement signed by Barrak and Waalan among others from the Mutair tribe, they insisted that Juwaihel was not acting on his own but was being moved from behind the scene by influential people and some members of the ruling family who “are plotting to sow discord in the society”.

MP Mazyed said the Mutair delegation appealed to the Amir that the abusive campaign against the Mutair tribe in particular and other tribes in general must end.

Mazyed said the delegation informed the Amir of the huge rage by members of the Mutair tribe and other tribes and “we found all the concern and attention from the Amir who said he does not accept any insult against the Mutair and other tribes because they are the people of Kuwait”.

Wasmi said on his Twitter account “we believe in the

rule of the law and the state of institutions but there are no laws or institutions”. He said that he went to the meeting not to complain but to carry a message that “the situation is so bad and that the ground is prepared for a discord and it will be difficult for officials to prevent”. The opposition majority bloc meanwhile held a meeting yesterday and discussed the latest developments regarding the political crisis and Juwaihel’s insults.

The bloc asked MP Barrak and member of the 2012 assembly Osama Al-Shaheen to issue a statement on behalf of the bloc regarding the latest developments and is expected to tackle Juwaihel’s issue as part of an attempt to destabilize the country’s social fabric. The bloc also discussed the developments on the electoral constituencies as Shiite MP Youssef Al-Zalzalah said yesterday the government will announce next week it has decided to refer the electoral law to the constitutional court, effectively delaying the forthcoming election and a measure that the opposition had rejected.

ALEPPO: The body of Syrian police commander Ali Nasser, who according to rebel forces took part in the repression of citizens, lies dead some 100 meters from the southern police station of Salhin in the northern city of Aleppo. — AFP

Emirate ‘draconian’ measures slammed 9 more detained in UAE crackdown DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates has detained nine Islamists in the past two days, local activists said yesterday, and human rights groups have urged condemnation of the Gulf Arab country’s “draconian” treatment of the opposition. The arrests brought to at least 35 the number of activists, most of them Islamists, detained since July 15 when the UAE said it was investigating a foreign-linked group planning “crimes against the security of the state”.

Activists say around 50 have been arrested since last year.

Many of them are UAE nationals, but an Omani citizen and a stateless resident also have been detained. Interior Ministry officials were not available for comment. The UAE, a federation of seven emirates and a major oil exporter, allows no organized political opposition. The US ally has been spared the political unrest that has toppled four Arab autocrats since last year, thanks in part to its cradle-to-grave welfare system.

It has moved swiftly against any sign of dissent, stripping the citizenship of Islamists deemed a security threat and issuing jail sentences to activists who called for more power for a partly elected advisory council. Relatives and activists said most of those arrested have links to the local Al-Islah (Reform) Islamist group, which advocates closer adherence to Islamic principles and has been the target of a crackdown in the UAE.

The arrests are the latest in what international rights groups and activists have described as a crackdown on political opposition in general, and on Islamists in particular. Yesterday, Human Rights Watch, along with other rights groups, urged the US and British governments to speak up about what it described as a “draconian response to the mildest calls for modest democratic reforms”. “After all their fine words over the past year about standing up for democracy and human rights in the Arab world, the US and the UK have completely lost their voices when it comes to the UAE,” Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East director, said in a statement.

Amnesty International had said on Tuesday that the UAE must disclose the whereabouts of those arrested and expressed concern about possible torture or ill treatment, which the group has previously documented in the UAE. It described the arrests as “deeply disturbing”.

The men detained over the past few months include founding members of Islah, prominent lawyers and a ruling family member who is under house arrest in Ras AlKhaimah. Many are well-known figures from the more religiously conservative northern emirates such as Sharjah and Ras Al-Khaimah, which are also less affluent than the oil-rich capital Abu Dhabi and trade hub Dubai, activists said. — Reuters

iPhone appeal dims as Samsung shines NEW YORK: The once-sexy iPhone is starting to look small and chubby. That’s become a problem for Apple, which revealed last week that iPhone sales have slowed. Part of the problem is that the competition has found a formula that works: thinner phones with bigger screens. For a dose of smartphone envy, iPhone owners need to look no further than Samsung Electronics Co, the number-one maker of smartphones in the world. Its newest flagship phone, the Galaxy S III, is sleek and wafer-thin. It can run on the fastest networks and act as a “smart wallet,” too - two things the Apple’s iconic phone can’t do.

Says Ramon Llamas, an analyst with research firm IDC: The iPhone “is getting a bit long in the tooth.” Apple has become the world’s most valuable company on the back of the iPhone, which makes up nearly half of its revenue. The iPhone certainly has room to grow: Only one in six smartphones sold globally in the second quarter had an Apple logo on its back. When Apple reported financial results for its latest quarter last week, a new phenomenon was revealed: Buyers started pulling back on iPhone purchases just six months after the launch of the latest iPhone model.

Apple executives blamed the tepid sales on “rumors and speculation” that may have caused some consumers to wait for the next iPhone, which is due in the fall. But in the past, iPhone sales have stayed strong nine months after the new model is launched, then dipped as people began holding off, waiting for the new model. In the April to June period, Apple sold 26 million phones, 28 percent more than it did in the same quarter last year.

Most other phone makers “would kill” for those numbers, says Stephen Baker, an analyst with research firm NPD Group.

But since the iPhone’s introduction in 2007, the average annual growth rate has been 112 percent. The competitor that doesn’t need to kill for those numbers is Samsung, which has solidified its position at the world’s largest maker of smartphones.

Analysts believe it sold just over 50 million smartphones in the second quarter, or nearly twice as many as Apple. (The compa-

ny doesn’t release specific figures.) Its smartphone sales have nearly tripled in a year, from 18.4 million, according to IDC. Most of Samsung’s sales comprise cheaper smartphones that don’t compete directly with the iPhone. Its flagship phones, though, have emerged as the iPhone’s chief rivals.

Samsung and Apple have a complicated relationship. They’re rivals in the smartphone and tablet-computer markets, and are set to square off in a high-profile trial over mobile patents in San Francisco this week. Samsung is one of Apple’s largest suppliers of chips and displays, and Apple is one of Samsung’s largest clients.

Together, Samsung and Apple make half of the world’s smartphones, and since competitors are losing money or breaking even, they account for nearly all of the profits in the industry. Though Apple is known as a relentless innovator, the iPhone’s screen has been the same size - 3.5 inches on the diagonal - since the first iPhone came out. It was a big screen for the time, but among the competition, screen sizes have crept up.

Samsung has increased the screen size of its Galaxy series with every model since it debuted in 2010. The Galaxy S had a screen that measured 4 inches diagonally, and was followed by the S II, at 4.3 inches. The S III, the latest model, measures 4.8 inches. The screen is nearly twice as large as the iPhone’s. Yet the Galaxy is slightly thinner than an iPhone - 8.6 millimeters versus 9.3 - and lighter - 133 grams versus 140 grams.

Samsung has also achieved surprising success with an even bigger phone, the Samsung Galaxy Note. Its 5.3-inch screen makes it somewhat awkward to hold to the ear, but customers don’t seem to mind, or perhaps they value the large screen and included stylus more. Aside from design, Apple is inflexible in another way: by releasing a new phone only one per year, it lets the competition create new phones with features the iPhone doesn’t have and lets them go unchallenged, at least until the new iPhone comes out. “Apple’s schedule leaves the other ten or nine months of the year wide open for everybody else,” says Llamas. — AP

Don’t sell tear gas to Bahrain: Rights group Continued from Page 1 “Any means that have been exercised by security forces adhere to international standards of riot control,” said a statement in response to the rights group report.

“Suggestions that the use of tear gas in Bahrain is severely injurious or even lethal is simply not backed up by any research or proof.”

Bahraini officials also have promised investigations into allegations of police abuses in the strategic kingdom, which hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

The report described the intensity and frequency of Bahrain’s tear gas use as “unprecedented in the 100-year history” of non-lethal chemical use in crowd control. It specifically cautions Bahrain against using tear gas “in

large quantities and in enclosed spaces” because of elevated health risks and potential for fatal breathing complications.

“Equally unprecedented is the government of Bahrain’s transformation of toxic chemical agents into weapons used methodically to attack Shiite civilians inside their homes and cars,” the report said, noting that such measures “flout international human rights law and constitute torture, cruel, and inhuman treatment.” In addition to the appeal for a global ban on tear gas sales to Bahrain, the group urged the country to suspend use of its tear gas supplies and open investigations into the claims of excessive and improper tear gas use. The group also called on Bahrain to disclose information about the chemical agents used in its tear gas purchases. — AP

14

opinion

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

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Issues

A Mormon in the Holy Land

By Rafael Medoff itt Romney’s visit to Israel generated much speculation on the role Jewish voters will play in the US presidential election. His visit also sparked discussion about Mormon-Jewish relations in the wake of the recent controversy over a Mormon temple that conducted posthumous baptism ceremonies for some Holocaust victims. But another Mormon’s visit to Jerusalem, 99 years ago, deserves some of the spotlight too. Because that little-known visit ultimately had a decisive impact on Jewish history and America’s response to the Holocaust.

In 1913, 29-year-old Elbert Thomas and his wife, Edna, wrapped up their five-year stint in charge of a Mormon mission in Japan and prepared to return to their native Utah. They decided to pay a short visit to Turkish-occupied Palestine on the way home. The Holy Land figures prominently in Mormon theological tracts.

Thomas was keenly aware of Mormon prophecies about an ingathering of the Jewish exiles and the rebirth of the Jewish homeland.

“We sat one evening on the Mount of Olives and overlooked Jerusalem,” he later recalled. “We read the poetry and the prophecy, the forebodings and the prayers, with hearts that reached up to God.” Under “stars the likes of which you see nowhere else in the world but on our own American desert, out where I grew up,” Thomas read the lengthy “Prayer of Dedication on the Mount of Olives” by Orson Hyde, an early Mormon leader and fervent Christian Zionist.

“Consecrate this land ... for the gathering together of Judah’s scattered remnants ... for the building up of Jerusalem again after it has been trodden down by the Gentiles so long,” Hyde had written in 1841. “Restore the kingdom unto Israel, raise up Jerusalem as its capital. ...

Let that nation or people who shall take an active part in behalf of Abraham’s children, and in the raising of Jerusalem, find favor in Thy sight. Let not their enemies prevail against them ... but let the glory of Israel overshadow them.” The moment, the mood and the words moved Thomas to feel a deep spiritual connection to the Jewish people and to commit himself to becoming one of those who would “take an active part in behalf of Abraham’s children.” And three decades later, he was presented with an opportunity to do so.

In the 1940s, as a U.S. senator from Utah, Thomas became deeply concerned about the plight of the Jews in Nazi Europe. He joined the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe, a lobbying group led

by Jewish activist Peter Bergson. Thomas signed on to its full-page newspaper ads criticizing the Allies for abandoning European Jewry. He also co-chaired Bergson’s 1943 conference on the rescue of Jews, which challenged the Roosevelt administration’s claim that nothing could be done to help the Jews except winning the war. Although a loyal Democrat and New Dealer, the Utah senator boldly broke ranks with President Franklin D Roosevelt over the refugee issue.

Thomas played a key role in advancing a Bergsoninitiated congressional resolution calling for creation of a government agency to rescue Jews from the Nazis.

Sen Tom Connally, D-Texas, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, initially blocked consideration of the resolution. But when Connally took ill one day, Thomas, as acting chair, quickly introduced the measure. It passed unanimously.

Meanwhile, senior aides to Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. had discovered that State Department officials had been obstructing opportunities to rescue Jewish refugees. Morgenthau realized, as he told his staff, that the time had come to say to the president, “You have either got to move very fast, or the Congress of the United States will do it for you.” Armed with a devastating report prepared by his staff, and with congressional pressure mounting, Morgenthau went to FDR in January 1944.

Roosevelt could read the writing on the wall. With just days to go before the full Senate would act on the resolution, Roosevelt pre-empted Thomas and the other congressional advocates of rescue by unilaterally creating the agency they were demanding: the War Refugee Board. Although understaffed and underfunded, the board played a major role in saving more than 200,000 Jews during the final 15 months of the war.

Among other things, the board’s agents persuaded a young Swede, Raoul Wallenberg, to go to Germanoccupied Budapest in 1944. There, with the board’s financial backing, he undertook his now-famous rescue mission. Thomas’ action in the Senate was an indispensable part of the chain of events that led to Wallenberg’s mission.— MCT

M

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Grid failures a ‘wake up call’ for aspiring India

By Penny MacRae he worst power outage in India’s history represents a “wake up call” over the failure of the creaking electricity system to keep pace with the growth of Asia’s third-largest economy, analysts said. The government traced the immediate cause of Tuesday’s outagewhich came just a day after a massive power failure Monday-to energy-hungry states guzzling more than their allotted power for a second straight day.

But India’s energy problems are more than simply indisciplined state electricity boards tapping an overburdened grid-they go to the heart of the nation’s aspirations to be a rising economic power, experts said. “This was one of the biggest power outages in the world,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry, referring to the collapse of the grids that knocked out power in 20 of 29 states and caused havoc at train stations, airports, hospitals and on roads.

“It is imperative our basic infrastructure requirements are in keeping with India’s aspirations,” Banerjee said, as the failure presented a dismaying picture of a country striving for a bigger role on the global stage. Power cuts are a daily occurrence for those lucky enough to have a permanent connection in India. The country runs a peakhour electricity shortfall of around 12 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, hundreds of millions of Indians in rural areas have no power at all. “We’re facing power problems of Himalayan proportions,” said Ajay Bodke, strategist at leading Indian investment house Prabhudas Lilladher. “Reforms can’t wait any longer-this is a wake-up call for immediate measures.”

Analysts said among its first actions, the government needed to get state electricity boards to abide by their power quotas and manage distribution efficiently to avoid demand crunches. Although there are financial penalties for overdrawing, it’s still cheaper for states to buy electricity from the centre at set rates than from open-market national energy exchanges. The next priority, they said, is to get the finances of the distribution utilities in order by curbing widespread theft, updating obsolete transmission networks and allowing them to increase prices.

However, tying tariffs to output costs could prove politically unpopular for the avowedly pro-people government. “The mindset must change,” said Vivek Pandit, energy director at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. “The state boards are losing out on every minute that they sell.” Tariffs in some states must rise by 40 percent just for state electricity boards to break even, according to London-based Eurasia Group analyst Seema Desai. And to address the root of the problem, India needs to boost supplies of coal to thermal power plants and invest in new sources of electricity to provide for its young, growing population of 1.2 billion.

On the coal front, the main supplier, state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL), has consistently failed to meet its output targets because of obsolete technology and delays in obtaining hard-to-get environmental clearances, analysts say. CIL’s production grew by just 4.5 million tons year-on-year in 2011-12 and it calculates that meeting its new fuel supply obligations will require an extra 64 million tons in fiscal year 2012-13. That’s “a target that will be impossible to achieve” under current circumstances, said Desai from the Eurasia Group.

Analysts say India has been adding power station capacity to meet its needs, but some plants are idle because of fuel shortages. India added 20,000 megawatts of power capacity in the past year-enough to supply today’s requirements, noted Alok Brara, publisher of the industry magazine Powerline. “But because of fuel issues they haven’t been able to use the extra capacity.”

India wants 25 percent of its power to be nuclear generated by 2050 in the wake of a 2008 landmark Indo-US agreement allowing New Delhi to import civilian atomic technology.

But progress toward that goal is in doubt in the face of local opposition to nuclear power, which has held up projects. “The entire power situation at present is headed for disaster,” said D S Rawat, secretary general of Indian business lobby Assocham. And as India reeled under the outage, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government fanned public anger and questions about its commitment to power reform. It promoted Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to home minister and gave the energy portfolio to a part-time minister-”a move that hardly indicated seriousness on the government’s part in dealing with the crisis”, commented the Times of India.— AFP

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NEW DELHI: People ride on the Delhi Metro Rail train in New Delhi yesterday. Factories and workshops across India were up and running again yesterday, a day after a major system collapse led to a second day of power outages and the worst blackout in history leaving an estimated 620 million people without electricity.—AP

Afghanistan war: When ‘friends’ attack, who can you trust?

By Tom Engelhardt t has a name: green-on-blue violence. But the label doesn’t begin to suggest the seriousness of the increasingly common phenomenon of Afghan soldiers, policemen and security guards attacking their NATO or US mentors, the people who are funding, supporting and teaching them. Think of it as death-by-ally.

Such incidents have occurred at least 21 times so far this year, resulting in 30 American and European deaths.

That’s the same number of green-on-blue attacks reported in all of 2011. And, according to the Associated Press, the US and NATO don’t always release news of the assaults unless they result in deaths, so the number could be higher.

There have been at least four incidents of green-onblue violence in July. The initial one, on July 1, reportedly involved a member of the elite Afghan National Civil Order Police shooting down three British soldiers at a checkpoint in Helmand province, deep in the Taleban heartland of the country. The shooter was captured.

Two days later, a man the Associated Press said was in “an Afghan army uniform” turned his machine gun on US troops just outside a NATO base in Wardak province, west of the Afghan capital, Kabul, wounding five before fleeing.

Then, on July 22, a security guard gunned down three police trainers - two former US customs and border protection agents and a former United Kingdom revenue and customs officer. This happened at a police training facility near Herat in Afghanistan’s generally peaceful northwest near the Iranian border. The next day, an Afghan soldier on a military base in Faryab province in the north of the country turned his gun on a group of American soldiers also evidently working as police trainers, wounding two before being killed by return fire.

In 2007-08, there were only four green-on-blue attacks, resulting in four deaths. When they started multiplying in 2010, the initial impulse of coalition spokespeople was to blame them on Taleban infiltrators (and the Taleban did take credit for most of them). Now, US or NATO spokespeople tend to blame such violence on individual pique or some personal grievance against coalition forces rather than Taleban affiliation. They prefer to present each case as if it were a local oddity with little relation to any of the others.

In fact, there is a striking pattern at work that should be front-page news. The attacks appear not to be coordinated, but they nevertheless seem to represent a kind of collective rejection of what the U.S. and NATO are try-

I

ing to accomplish, some kind of primal Afghan scream from an armed people who have known little but fighting, bloodshed and destruction for more than three decades.

The number of these events is startling, given that an Afghan who turns his weapon on well-armed American or European allies is likely to die. A small number of shooters have escaped and a few have been captured alive (including one recently sentenced to death in an Afghan court), but most are shot down. In a situation in which foreign advisors and troops are now distinctly on edge, however, these are essentially suicidal acts.

It’s reasonable to assume that, for every Afghan who acts on such a violent impulse, there must be a larger pool who have similar feelings but don’t act on them (or simply vote with their feet, like the 24,590 soldiers who deserted in the first six months of 2011 alone).

If the significance of green-on-blue violence hasn’t quite sunk in yet in the United States, consider this: There is nothing in our historical record faintly comparable, no war in which our “native” allies have turned the weapons we supply on our forces in anything like these numbers _ or, as far as I can tell, in any numbers at all. It didn’t happen in the 18th and 19th century Indian wars, in the Philippine insurrection at the turn of the last century, in Korea during the early 1950s, Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s, or Iraq in this century.

(In Vietnam, the only somewhat analogous set of events involved US soldiers, not their South Vietnamese counterparts, turning their weapons on their own officers in acts that, like “green-on-blue” violence, got a label all their own: “fragging.”) Whatever the singular bitterness or complaint behind any specific green-onblue attack, a cumulative message clearly lurks in them that the US military and Washington would prefer not to hear. To do so would be to acknowledge the full-scale failure of the ongoing American mission in Afghanistan.

After all, what could be more devastating 12 years after the US-led invasion than having such attacks come not from the enemies the US is officially fighting, but from the Afghans closest to us, the ones we have been training at a cost of nearly $50 billion to take over the country as US combat troops are drawn down. What we’re seeing, in the most violent form imaginable, is a sweeping message from our Afghan allies, from the security forces Washington plans to continue supporting long after most American troops have been withdrawn. To the extent that bullets can be translated into words, that message would be something like “Your mission has failed; get out or die.”— MCT

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

sp orts

Fish, Haas advance at Washington

WASHINGTON: Mardy Fish of the United States, hits a forehand return to Bjorn Phau, of Germany, during a match in the Citi Open tennis tournament.—AP

WASHINGTON: Top-seeded Mardy Fish shook off a mediocre start to beat Bjorn Phau 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday in a firstround match in the Citi Open.

Fish moved into the second round along with fellow seeded-players Tommy Haas, Kevin Anderson and Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Struggling with his composure and a bad ankle at 1-1 in the second set, Fish fought off a service break by firing two of his 15 aces. The 2004 Olympian won five straight games to win the set, and went on to win 10 of 11 games.

“I get down a break there, you start questioning things, start feeling the ankle a little bit more,” Fish said. “You’d be surprised how much better it feels up a break than down a break.”

Fish, who missed several weeks on tour earlier this year following a procedure to correct a heart problem, rattled off wins in five straight games to take the set. He won 10 of 11 games overall.

“It was nice to sort of get the momentum there in the second set and keep it throughout the match,” said Fish, who returned to the tour this summer by reaching the round of 16 at Wimbledon.

Fish will play wildcard Ricardas Berankis in the second round after the Lithuanian continued his recent strong form with a 64, 7-5 win over France’s Nicolas Mahut.

On the women’s side, top seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia eliminated Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia 6-4, 6-3, while third-seeded Sloane Stephens of the U.S. became the first woman into the third round after beating Portugal’s Michelle Larcher de Brito 6-2, 0-6, 6-1.

Haas, an Olympic medalist not playing in the London Games, continued his impressive northern summer by defeating American qualifier Michael Russell 6-4, 6-2.

Dolgopolov beat Flavio Cipolla 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the second round.

Only a brief rain delay between sets slowed Haas, the last player to beat Roger Federer this year and like Fish, an Olympic silver medalist. The 34-year-old German never faced a break point and broke Russell’s serve three times, setting up a second-round meeting with Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer.

Currently ranked No. 36 in the world, Haas, who medaled at the 2000 Sydney Games, is still bothered by a decision that denied him the chance to play at Wimbledon, the site of this year’s Olympic tournament. The German Olympic Sports Federation rule states that players must be ranked in the top 24 in the world to participate. “When I watch the Olympics, I’m still surprised I’m not there,” said Haas, once the world’s No. 2 player. “The German Olympic committee didn’t nominate me, which was a big mistake in my eyes. That’s life. That happens. I’m happy to play the same week while the Olympics are going on.”

Haas pulled out of the 2008 Beijing games due to injuries, but “this time I was fit and ready to go.” “It’s a special occasion, it’s at Wimbledon,” Haas said. “I was very disappointed not to be part of (this year’s Olympics), but you forget about it now and try to worry about playing in the tournament.”

Ranked 13th in the world last summer and poised for a berth on the Russian Olympic team, Pavlyuchenkova struggled

WASHINGTON: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, of Russia, returns the ball against Bojana Jovanovski, of Serbia, during a match in the Citi Open. — AP early this year and lost ground to others from her country. Rather than playing for gold, silver or bronze, she is aiming for her first title this year.

“Because I’m here, of course, I’m 200 percent in this tournament and I’m happy to be here,” said Pavlyuchenkova, after winning six of nine break point chances against Jovanovski. “I’m happy to have the opportunity to play another tournament while others play in the Olympics, so at least I’m not on holiday or just watching them play and win matches. Like this, I can do it myself.

“But definitely, of course, I’m a little dis-

appointed because the Olympics is a very special event and everybody wants to play there.” Pavlyuchenkova’s second-round opponent will be Hungarian veteran Melinda Czink. Dolgopolov needed less than an hour to dispatch Cipolla, breaking the Italian four times without dropping his serve. The 23-year-old player from Ukraine had lost his previous two matches against Cipolla, but relied on a blistering forehand to maintain control - including a nice passing shot on match point. Dolgopolov will next face Spain’s Ruben RamirezHidalgo, who beat Australia’s Matthew Ebden 6-3, 6-2.—AP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

sp orts Foley to coach Force PERTH: Former Australia hooker Michael Foley will take over the coaching reins of the Western Force after quitting his post at the New South Wales Waratahs, the Perth-based Super Rugby side said yesterday. The Force, who had sacked coach Richard Graham in mid-April, finished second from last in the 15-team Super Rugby standings in 2012 with only three wins.

They were dealt a further blow last week when they lost Wallabies captain David Pocock to the Brumbies after a seven-year association. The 45-year-old Foley will have to lift the side after joining the Force on a three-year contract. “This is an important period for the club and while we’re not looking to start from scratch, we’re looking to re-launch the team,” Foley was quoted as saying on the Force website (www.westernforce.com.au).

“There’s no doubt the club has had a few setbacks in recent times but there are many people at the club, both on and off the field, that are very determined to see the Force successful. “While my expectations are realistic, I’m very excited about this challenge.”—Reuters

Earthquakes hold Swansea SANTA CLARA: Steven Lenhart scored twice in the final 11 minutes to help the MLS-leading San Jose Earthquakes to a 2-2 draw against English Premier League side Swansea City in a friendly on Tuesday.

The Swans, who had goals from Danny Graham and Chico in the 41st and 60th minutes, ha a win, a draw and a loss on their preseason US tour.

Lenhart, a second-half substitute, crashed home a beautiful square pass from Shea Salinas to bring San Jose back within a goal in the 79th. Then he headed home a curling cross from Rafael Baca deep on the right wing to equalize in the 85th.

Graham, the Swans’ leading scorer

last season with 12 Premier League goals, took advantage of a botched back pass to give Swansea the lead just before halftime.

Graham scooped up a loose ball after an attempted back pass from San Jose defender Ramiro Corrales failed to connect with goalkeeper David Bingham. Graham rounded Bingham and easily slotted the ball home.

Chico, a Spanish center back signed by Swansea City earlier this month from Genoa, powered home a header in the 60th minute despite Bingham’s efforts at the back post.

Leroy Lita had a couple of late chances for Swansea, but couldn’t convert. — AP

Vettori out of second Test KINGSTON: New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori will miss the second test against West Indies starting today in Kingston with a groin strain, the country’s cricket board said yesterday.

The left-arm spinner suffered a right abductor strain during the first test against West Indies, which New Zealand lost by nine wickets.

“Dan (Vettori) had some discomfort while in the field on day three of the first Test match with assessment confirming an adductor injury,” Paul Close, the team’s physiotherapist, said in a statement posted on the New Zealand Cricket website (http://www.blackcaps.co.nz). “It was managed during the match but further assessment has indicated he will not be fully fit in time for the next test. “Dan will return to New Zealand where here will be monitored closely and undergo a period of rehabilitation.

“He will require a rest from bowling and his return date will be determined by how well he responds to the treatment.”— Reuters

Pujols powers Angels to 6-2 victory over Rangers

LOS ANGELES: Arizona Diamondbacksí Miguel Montero swings on a three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth inning. — AP

Phillies thrash Nationals 8-0 LOS ANGELES: Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt homered in the first inning for the second straight game and Miguel Montero added a three-run shot as the Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-2 in the National League on Tuesday. Goldschmidt, whose three-run homer Monday ignited a 7-2 victory, drove Chris Capuano’s pitch into the lower seats in the left field corner after a two-out walk to Jason Kubel.

Arizona rookie Wade Miley (12-6) pitched eight dominant innings, allowing one run, striking out seven and walking one. Capuano (10-7) allowed five runs in six innings. Arizona tacked on three runs in the ninth to shore up the result.

Phillies 8, Cubs 0 In Washington, Cliff Lee showed his value to the team amidst swirling trade rumors, pitching seven scoreless innings to steer Philadelphia past Washington. On the same day the Phillies traded outfielders Shane Victorino to Los Angeles and Hunter Pence to San Francisco, one of the Phillies’ other former All-Stars heavily involved in trade rumors - Lee - excelled. Lee (26) allowed just one walk and struck out seven for Philadelphia, which snapped a three-game losing streak. He also performed with the bat, hitting a two-out RBI single in the fourth inning.

Lee stole second, his second career steal, before scoring on Jimmy Rollins’ fourth career insidethe-park home run. Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg (11-5) allowed a season-worst six earned runs.

Reds 7, Padres 6 In Cincinnati, Ryan Ludwick drove in four runs with a homer and a single, helping Cincinnati edge San Diego. The NL Central leaders blew a six-run lead before rallying for their 18th victory in 21 games. A loss to the Padres in the series opener on Monday snapped a 10game winning streak.

Brandon Phillips hit a tiebreaking solo shot in the seventh inning, off the final pitch by Jason Marquis (4-6), who had won his previous three starts. Reds reliever Sean Marshall (4-3)

got the win with two perfect innings. Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th straight save.

Braves 7, Marlins 1 In Atlanta, Kris Medlen had a successful return to the rotation, guiding Atlanta past Miami and to its seventh straight win. Medlen (21) allowed one run and one walk in five innings.

He made his first start since 2010. Brian McCann homered for the Braves, who closed within 2-1/2 games of Washington atop the NL East. In his past 19 games, McCann has nine homers and 20 RBIs. Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco (8-10) gave up four runs and struck out six in five innings. He has lost four straight starts and has a 7.48 ERA over that span.

Giants 4, Mets 1 In San Francisco, Tim Lincecum struck out seven in seven innings as San Francisco snapped a season-worst five-game skid by beating New York. The Giants took advantage of a two-run error in the second inning by Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada, whose throw to first on a potential double-play sailed into New York’s dugout fence. The error handed Matt Harvey (1-1) a hard-luck loss. Lincecum (5-11) allowed one run and one walk in another step toward turning around the worst season of the ace pitcher’s career.

Pirates 5, Cubs 0 In Chicago, AJ Burnett pitched a shutout, as Pittsburgh downed Chicago. Burnett (13-3) just about stole the spotlight after the Cubs traded their ace pitcher Ryan Dempster to Texas just before the trade deadline. Burnett came close to a no-hitter, before allowing a single with two outs in the eighth. His bid for a second career no-hitter and the sixth in the majors this season ended with two outs in the eighth. Neil Walker drove in five runs for the Pirates. Chicago’s Casey Coleman (0-2) had a rough night after being recalled from the minors to fill in for Dempster, fiving up four runs in 4-2/3 innings. — AP

ARLINGTON: Los Angeles’ Albert Pujols hit two home runs to power the Angels to a 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday, further tightening the top of the National League West division.

Los Angeles moved within three games of Texas atop the NL West, with two games to go in this key series. Angels starter Jered Weaver (14-1) gave up two runs in 6 1-3 innings. He became the eighth AL pitcher since 1921 to win at least six games without a loss in July.

Texas starter Derek Holland (7-6) took the loss.

Earlier in the day, the Rangers acquired Chicago Cubs ace Ryan Dempster in a deal shortly before the trade deadline.

Orioles 11, Yankees 5 In New York, Chris Davis hit a go-ahead grand slam in a seven-run second inning as Baltimore rallied from five runs down to beat New York. Yankees starter Ivan Nova (10-5) allowed a career-worst nine runs in five innings. New York tied a season-worst skid with four straight losses and made some dubious history in the process. According to STATS, LLC, the Yankees haven’t led by five or more after the first inning and then trailed after the second since at least 1918.

Baltimore’s Chris Tillman (4-1) was charged with four earned runs but took the win.

ARLINGTON: Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Kendrys Morales (8) is congratulated by teammates Albert Pujols after Moralesí grand slam during the sixth inning of the baseball game against the Texas Rangers. — AP

Rays 8, Athletics 0 In Oakland, James Shields (9-7) pitched his seventh career shutout to guide Tampa Bay to a comfortable win over Oakland. BJ Upton drove in two runs for the Rays, who got hits from six different players to break out of its prolonged offensive slump. They scored two runs in the second and three in the fifth off A’s starter Tommy Milone (9-8).

Red Sox 4, Tigers 1 In Boston, Clayton Mortensen pitched 2 23 shutout innings after starter Josh Beckett left with back spasms, and Boston beat Detroit in a game halted by rain in the top of the sixth inning.

Detroit had the bases loaded with two outs when the tarp was rolled onto the field.

The game was called off 1 hour, 45 minutes later, giving the Red Sox their fourth straight win and sending the Tigers to their fifth loss in six games. Mortensen (1-0) took the win after being called up from the minors earlier in the day. ay from Triple-A Pawtucket. Tigers ace Justin Verlander (11-7) gave up all four runs in the fourth inning.

White Sox 4, Twins 3 In Minneapolis, AJ Pierzynski hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning and Chicago held on to edge Minnesota. After Alex Rios singled off Jeff Gray (5-1), Pierzynski hit a pitch into the right field bleachers.

White Sox closer Addison Reed allowed an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth, but earned the save. Matt Thornton (3-6) pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for the win.

Al-Roudan tournament KUWAIT: Portuguese football player Louis Figo arrives in Kuwait today evening, as a guest of Al-Roudan tournament for indoors football, after being chosen as an ambassador to tournaments all around the world. The organizing committee will hold a press conference at Kuwait Airport in the VIP lounge at 11pm. On arrival Figo is expected to speak about the tournament and means to strengthen Al-Roudan presence in the international fields. Figo is well known for his popularity during his professional career which earned him the ‘Ideal player in the

World’ award.

Meanwhile, the 12th day competition resulted in ABYAT, Kuwait Future, and Samsung qualifying for the second round after defeating Deewaniat Al-Subat, the Australian College, and Atom Sports.

In the first game, Samsung were held by Atom, while Kuwait Future blanked Australian college 3-0. Egyptian player Abdul Qader was adjudged best player of the match. In the last game between Abyat and Deewaniat Al-Subat ended with a 4-0 win for Abyat.

Mariners 7, Blue Jays 2 In Seattle, Dustin Ackley drove in three runs as Seattle made it six straight wins by beating Toronto. Mariners starter Jason Vargas (12-7) pitched seven strong innings, allowing two runs and one walk. Toronto starter Aaron Laffey (2-2) lasted just 4 2-3 innings, allowing seven runs Royals 8, Indians 3 In Kansas City, Alcides Escobar drove in three runs as Kansas City downed Cleveland and snapped a five-game losing streak.

Escobar had two hits for his 34th multihit game, raising his average to a team-leading .307. Royals starter Luke Hochevar (7-9) pitched six solid innings, giving up seven hits and striking out six.

Indians starter Derek Lowe (8-10) failed to finish the third and balked in a run. Lowe was pulled after allowing seven runs and a balk in 2 1-3 innings. — AP

Preview

England seek to bounce back against South Africa LEEDS: England will seek to bounce back after what spin bowler Graeme Swann described as a “public humiliation” when they face South Africa in the second Test starting at Headingley today.

England’s ranking as the number one Test team is under threat after they were beaten by an innings and 12 runs in the first Test at the Oval last week, with the hosts taking only two wickets while South Africa piled up 637 runs in their only innings.

Swann revealed that the England players spent two hours analysing their defeat immediately after the first Test and England coach Andy Flower insisted that confidence remains high and that the team could come back strongly.

“We get ourselves into the right frame of mind by doing the things that we have been doing very well for the last couple of years,” said Flower. “I have every confidence in our players that we can come back and play good cricket.”

England will lose their number one ranking if the tourists win what is only a three-match series and so they need to bounce back quickly.

However, they can draw some comfort from recent South African defeats which have followed innings wins. The Proteas beat India by an innings in the first Test in an away series in 2009/10 and a home series in 2010/11 only to lose the second Test each time, and that dubious feat was repeated at home against Sri Lanka in 2011/12.

They also won the first Test against Australia last summer, albeit not by an innings, only to lose the second clash.

With conditions likely to be more bowlerfriendly at the Yorkshire ground than they were at the Oval, England will seek to exploit the potential weakness of South Africa’s batting from number six down.

Specialist batsmen Jacques Rudolph and JP Duminy did not bat at the Oval and failed to strike form in four innings apiece in warm-up games against county teams, while the South African tail does not have the batting credentials of the England lower order.

However, Rudolph, who spent five years playing for Yorkshire, brushed aside any concerns when he spoke to journalists on Tuesday.

“The way we play the game we are not too results orientated,” he said. “Going into Thursday we just have to make sure we stick to the same processes which I thought we did brilliantly in batting and bowling down at the Oval.”

South Africa will almost certainly stay with the team that triumphed at the Oval, while England will make at least one change following the withdrawal for personal reasons of batsman Ravi Bopara.

Uncapped James Taylor was called into the squad and will make his debut unless England decide to go in with an extra bowler.

Flower said, though, that a four-man attack had served England well and he did not see any reason to change the strategy.

If Taylor does play he will come into the match in good form, having made 163 not out for Nottinghamshire against Sussex in a county match at the weekend.

Tall fast bowler Steven Finn, who was in the squad but did not play at the Oval, could be brought in to provide more penetration to the England bowling attack in place of Yorkshire pace bowler Tim Bresnan. — AFP

England’s Graeme Swann in action

Williams, Jutanugarn lead Junior PGA Championship FORT WAYNE: JB Williams of Danville, Ky., shot a 7under 65 on Tuesday to take the first-round lead in the Junior PGA Championship, and defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand had a 66 to top the girls’ division. The 17-year-old Williams had eight birdies and a bogey at Sycamore Hills to match the competitive course record.

“It was a career day,” said Williams, the Kentucky Junior PGA Championship winner. “I got hot on the front nine and kept it going on the back.” Early thunderstorms forced a two-hour delay.

“The rain delay this morning was a big factor,” Williams said. “The greens were firm during the practice round, but today most of the guys were able to shoot at the pins and there were lots of low scores.” The 16-year-old Jutanugarn birdied the final three holes to match the course record she set last year in her 10-stroke victory.

“On the front nine I did not play so well,” Jutanugarn said. “My driver was bad at the start. I got lucky on 16 when I chipped in and 17 is my favorite hole and I know I can make birdie there.

Then I hit it to one foot on 18.” She finished with seven birdies and a bogey. Jim Liu of Smithtown, NY, and Cameron Champ of Sacramento, Calif., were tied for second in the boys’ competition at 67.

“I got off to a really hot start,” said Liu, 2010 US Junior Amateur winner. “The back was harder, but I was able to hold it together and close with birdies on 17 and 18.” Beau Hossler, the 17-year-old Mission Viejo, Calif., player who tied for 29th in the US Open in June, matched Tyler McDaniel of Manchester, Ky., with a 68.—AP

17

London 2012 Olympic Games

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Harper wants a repeat, in her own shoes

LONDON: This Wednesday July 27, 2011 file photo shows an interior of the Olympics Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park site.

Aesthetically speaking, the Aquatics Centre is like nothing England has ever seen for its elite swimmers and divers.—AP

Olympic pool brings much needed facility to Britain LONDON: From the outside, it’s a flying saucer with wings. And inside, the underbelly of a whale. Or perhaps even a stingray, if you ask the man who oversaw its construction.

Whether spacecraft or sea creature, aesthetically speaking, the Olympic Aquatics Centre is like nothing England has ever seen for its elite swimmers and divers.

Even the Olympic dive boards were designed in an aqua state of mind. They resemble the tail of a whale moments before it lifts from the water.

This $475 million venue features something revolutionary and new, too: pools with multiple changing depths thanks to an array of moving floors. After the London Games, the spectacular facility might be simultaneously used for elite training in the 50-meter pool and children’s swim lessons mere feet away in the 25-meter diving area that has been adjusted to a shorter depth.

Four-time Olympian Peter Waterfield, partner of British teen sensation Tom Daley, left London more than a decade ago and headed south to Southampton to train at better facilities. But others won’t be forced to follow suit. That’s the hope, anyway.

Soon - in legacy mode, as it’s referred even the British beginners also will be able to try out the Olympic pool. “The feedback from the athletes, they feel like it’s a fast pool,” said project director Ian Crockford.

“The look of the building is good. The coaches really like it, so I think we’ve done well. It’s a tremendous atmosphere.”

With Daley the face of the future and a top-notch venue now available to the masses, Britain’s diving program hopes it can further take off. Even after Daley and Waterfield finished a disappointing fourth in the men’s 10-meter synchronized platform Monday.

“It’s great for Tom and it’s great for our sport because it’s raising the profile,” Waterfield said of Daley’s influence. “When we’re outside of the pool, the younger ones tend to hang around together and I certainly don’t want to cramp Tom’s style.

You know, he’s a good looking lad and I’m sure he’s got loads of girls after him, so he won’t want me stand there next to him.”

The plan is that by Christmas Day 2013, the Olympic pool will open to the public.

Those who hope to use it won’t have to empty their pocketbooks, either. The cost isn’t expected to be any more than it would be at other pools around the city some 5 British pounds, or just less than $8.

“What we’ve done here is looked at what we needed for the future for a really good quality community pool, and said what we needed for London here,” Crockford said. “We’ve got this pool that’s very flexible with a lot of moving floors and booms to make it very adaptable for a future operation. So, you can have elite swimming on one side and you can have learn-to-swim with children on the other side.”

For example, the floor of the dive pool typically kept at 5 meters deep, or approximately 161/2 feet - can change depths to as shallow as about three feet, or the water can be brought to the very surface if necessary. And when the pool’s depth is moved up, the stairs to the dive boards are immediately closed off with an automatic, interlocking swing door as a safety measure to ensure nobody can accidentally dive into shallow water.

US athletes trained at the City of Sheffield Diving Club about 250 kilometers (150 miles) away leading up to the games.

“The pool is amazing,” said American Kelci Bryant, who teamed with Abigail Johnston to win silver in the women’s 3meter synchronized Sunday. —AP

LONDON: South Korea’s Kim Jang-mi prepares to shoot during qualifiers for the women’s 25-meter pistol event, at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

Kim sets Games record at pistol qualification LONDON: Kim Jang-mi of South Korea set an Olympic qualification record of 591 points to reach the final of the women’s 25-meter pistol yesterday, while topranked Lenka Maruskova of the Czech Republic failed to qualify.

Kim beat the 12-year-old previous mark by one point. She scored 298 points in the precision stage before adding 293 in the rapid stage to break the record set

by Tao Luna of China at the 2000 Sydney Games. Kim is the Youth Olympic Games champion and dominated the London World Cup in April on the same Royal Artillery Barracks range. The 19-year-old Kim beat the field by five points with a world record at the World Cup.

Maruskova finished on 582 points to share 10th place and was one point short of reaching a shoot-off round after three competitors shared seventh.

Maruskova won silver in Athens in 2004, but also lost in qualification four years later in Beijing. She was on the podium of all three World Cup events so far this year and finished eighth in the 10M air pistol competition Sunday.

Jo Yong Suk of North Korea and Zorana Arunovic of Serbia won the shoot-off, denying Maria Grozdeva of Bulgaria a spot in the final and a chance of a third Olympic victory. Grozdeva won the 25-meter pistol title in 2000 and ‘04.

Defending champion Chen Ying of China qualified in third place with 585 points, one point behind Tanyaporn Prucksakorn of Thailand.—AP

LONDON: Dawn Harper raced to the finish line in a pair of borrowed spikes at the Olympics four years ago. The 100-meter hurdler wound up wearing those shoes to climb to the top of the winner’s podium as well. A raw 24-year-old from the tough city of East St. Louis, virtually unknown in the track world to anyone outside of her family, teammates and coach, becomes an unexpected gold medalist in her Olympic debut.

Yes, they make movies out of stories like that one, though in Harper’s case, it hasn’t been enough to knock a less-accomplished US teammate off the magazine covers. Frustrating?

‘Hmmmm ... At one point it was,” Harper said Tuesday, when asked about receiving second billing to Lolo Jones, who still has the more recognizable face and name despite her lack of Olympic success. “I don’t want to lie and say it wasn’t. But nothing that someone else gets can take away from my journey.” Jones, who struggled to qualify this year for a return trip to the Olympics, still has more sponsors, gets more airtime and it is her picture, not Harper’s, that graced the front of “Time” magazine’s Olympic issue last month. Harper has the gold medal and very few regrets.

“It’s a difficult spot to be in,” said Michelle Perry, the retired hurdler, whose loaned her shoes to Harper and lifted her to Olympic gold.

“Once you get to that level, you want to get all the accolades and the other things that come with it.”

Like the rest of the field in Beijing, Harper was racing for second, a pace or two behind, when Jones, the leader, clipped the ninth hurdle and stumbled toward the finish line. Almost all eyes in the Bird’s Nest stayed on Jones, watching the favorite’s dreams shatter. Ahead of her, though, another scene was playing out: Harper, unbelieving, looking around, shouting “What? What?

What?”

She saw Australian Sally Pearson celebrating.

“And I’m thinking, ‘Second is really good,” Harper said. Then, she saw Priscilla LopesSchliep shouting, too. “And I was like, ‘Third is amazing,” Harper said. Moments later, teammate Damu Cherry told her she had won. Harper couldn’t believe it.

“Because I remember thinking, of all the people in this world that want to get to the Olympics, or reach the pinnacle in anything they do, I did that,” she said. “I did it the age of 24, with people saying ‘This is your first Olympics, just enjoy the experience, the next one will be

BEIJING: In this Aug. 19, 2008, file photo, United States’ Lolo Jones (right) stumbles over a hurdle in the final of the women’s 100-meter hurdles during the athletics competition at the Olympics in Beijing. At left is Dawn Harper, of the United States, who won the race.—AP just fine.’” The trip to the Olympics four years later has, indeed, gone just fine so far - but under much different circumstances.

Instead of sliding through airports and shopping malls unnoticed, Harper stops to take a few pictures and sign some autographs.

Instead of simply hoping to soak in the atmosphere and bank some memories for bigger things to come, Harper has expectations this time. She also has her own shoes. Four years ago, the spikes on the single pair of shoes she owned were wearing down. With no sponsor to provide her with a new set of spikes, she called Perry, who had been the world’s top-ranked hurdler through much of the four years preceding the Olympics, but got injured at the start of the 2008 season and didn’t get to live out her Olympic dream.

“We kind of understand the struggle that comes with trying to be an Olympic athlete,” Perry said. “So many people see the glitz and glamour when they turn on the lights at the Olympics for two weeks every four years. All that’s great. But there’s a hard road that gets you there. In our camp, you’re always told to try to help the next person coming up. There are a lot of athletes that fall through the cracks.” It could have happened to Harper.

Her journey began in the blue-collar city of East St. Louis where she grew up idolizing one of

the city’s icons, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the threetime Olympic gold medalist who took an early interest in the young, up-and-coming hurdler.

That interest eventually turned into a scholarship to UCLA - “A blessing, because my parents could never have afforded that,” Harper says where Joyner-Kersee’s husband, Bobby, was coaching. Bobby Kersee, of course, was one of the few believers that day in Beijing, even though the spotlight - and the expectations had all fallen on Jones. “He said, ‘Focus on you,’” Harper said.

She did, and moments after Jones fell, Harper leaned in at the line for one of the most unexpected wins of the Olympics. “I was running off a hope and a dream,” she concedes.

Fully recovered from knee surgery in 2010, she is trying to become the first woman to go back-to-back at the Olympics in the 100 hurdles - as fickle an event as there is in athletics.

She knows, however, that she can’t go in counting on anyone making a mistake this time.

And when she talks about the upcoming race, she sounds as if she’s ready to get into the starting block now, not next Monday, which is when the heats in her event begin.

“I refuse to go into this race and just not execute. That’s the only thing that would really disappoint me,” she said. “I know my training is good. And I’m ready.”—AP

Women’s football thriving at Olympics MANCHESTER: In 1921, England’s Football Association banned women from playing on Football League grounds because the game was deemed “quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.” The ban stood in place for 50 years. It was lifted the same year of the first women’s FA Cup final, when Southampton beat Stewarton and Thistle 4-1 in 1971.

But that was four decades ago, right? Surely the nation that prides itself as the inventor of the sport would surely have embraced the women’s game by now. After all, a brand new Women’s Super League debuted last year. The eight teams drew an average of, well, 550 fans per game.

And, yet, that meager number represented a 604 percent increase for the teams that migrated from England’s previous top league. Now there’s the London Olympics, and the English along with the Scottish and Welsh - are getting a full-fledged, inyour-face dose of the women’s game, and the matches are drawing unprecedented crowds. The same historic venues that kept women off the pitch are seeing support ranging from decent to robust, topped by the 70,584 who watched Kelly Smith and Britain beat Brazil 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night, a record British crowd and the third-largest to watch a women’s game anywhere in the world.

“I think we’re breaking boundaries,” Britain forward Eniola Aluko said. “And the people who are in control of the game can recognize now that women’s football is essentially a sport. So get more people out to see us like this and it will grow.”

And they’re not just turning out to see the home team. Close to 30,000 watched the United States play North Korea on Tuesday in the first international women’s game - and the first women’s game of any kind in 23 years - to be hosted at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United.

The 18 women’s games played so far have averaged 22,242 spectators, although officials at the games in Scotland said tens of thousands of tickets were given away because the women’s game is such a poor draw in that area.

Still, the sight of 14,753 watching a women’s game between Canada and South Africa in Coventry, England, is definitely not the norm. Might the London Games finally get the women’s game firmly on the sporting radar in Britain, much the same way that the Atlanta Olympics put US women’s football on the map in 1996? “I think that Team GB, Great Britain - whatever you want to call them - I think they are putting themselves in a position to grow the game, and I’m proud to be here to be a part of it, to witness it,” US forward Abby Wambach said. “Kelly Smith has done wonders for her team. It’s kind of like (Homare) Sawa, how Sawa and the Japanese team kind of went unnoticed in their country for so long, and now those Japanese players are superstars because they won the World Cup. Hopefully GB can keep going in the tournament and keep the excitement for their country.”

Yet the Americans who are rooting for British growth can pass along some cautionary tales. The 1996 Olympics and the 1999 World Cup made the U.S. players enormously popular, yet two attempts at forming a top-tier American league - the WUSA and WPS - have floundered.

The English FA has taken note. The Super League’s goals are modest, built on a semiprofessional structure in which only four players per team can make a salary of more than 20,000 pounds ($31,000). Select players in the England national team poll get an extra 16,000 pounds ($25,000) per year.

Officials say they’ve largely overcome the old prejudices about women and the game. FA spokesman Johann Alexander said women’s soccer is now the third largest participation sport in England, behind men’s soccer and men’s cricket and surpassing men’s rugby.“I think the perceptions have changed a lot,” Alexander said. “We’ve worked as an organization very hard to change that perception. In the last 20 years, the investment in the game, the quality of the games, the skill, stamina and fitness have improved. —AP

LONDON: France’s Lucie Decosse (white) competes with Korea’s Hwang Ye-Sul (blue) during their women’s -70kg judo contest semifinal match of the London 2012 Olympic Games. —AFP

Dazzling Decosse into judo semis LONDON: World champion Lucie Decosse was at her brilliant best as she produced a dominant display of dynamic judo to advance into the women’s under70kg semi-finals yesterday.

The 30-year-old is bidding for her first ever Olympic gold medal following three world titles and four European crowns. Four years ago in Beijing she was favorite in the under63kg category but was beaten by long-time rival Ayumi Tanimoto of Japan in the final.

Here, though, she looked totally focused, waiting patiently for an opportunity before throwing Canada’s Kelita Zupancic for the maximum ippon (a technical knock-out) with a kosoto-gari (minor outer reap) 30-seconds from the end of her bout.

In the quarter-finals she was in a hurry and took just 10-seconds to humiliate 2009 world champion Yuri Alvear of Colombia with an uchi-mata (inner-thigh throw).

She will face Hwang Ye-Sul in Wednesday’s semi-final after the South Korean produced the most remarkable upside-down o-goshi (hip throw) on Slovenia’s Rasa Sraka.

Hwang lifted Sraka off the ground and as she launched herself into the throw she managed to tip the Slovenian the wrong way up as she drove her into the mat, flat on her back.

In the other half of the draw, China’s Chen Fei took a judges’ decision victory over Haruka Tachimoto of Japan to reach the last four. Chen seemed to have won the bout in the regulation five minutes with a koshi-guruma (hip wheel) that appeared worthy of an ippon but, despite being reviewed by the refereeing commission on the video replay, it

was incredibly awarded only a minimum yuko. That resulted in Chen levelling the scores and taking the fight into a sudden death period of golden score but after that couldn’t produce a winner, she progressed on the judges’ flags.

She will face Germany’s Kerstin Thiele who beat 2005 world champion Edith Bosch of the Netherlands in the quarters.

The early rounds of yesterday’s competition were filled with spectacular throws, brilliant judo and numerous shocks, with the contest between Japan’s second seed Masashi Nishiyama and Song Dae-Nam of South Korea in the men’s under-90kg, especially brilliant. Song twice caught Nishiyama with a seoi-nage (shoulder throw) but was thrown once himself with osoto-gari (major outer reap), progressing to the semi-finals by virtue of a yuko advantage. Song will fight Brazil’s sixth seed Tiago Camilo next. Camilo won a silver medal in Sydney 12 years ago when just 18 years of age and fighting two weight divisions lower at under-73kg.

His tai-otoshi (body drop) on twice Olympic medallist Roman Gontyuk of Ukraine was sublime, and almost matched by his osoto-gari on Italy’s Roberto Meloni. He beat fourth seed Dilshod Choriev of Uzbekistan by a penalty in the quarters.

One of the main shocks saw unfancied Australian Mark Anthony stun fourth seed Varlam Liparteliani of Georgia while Britain’s Winston Gordon produced an o-guruma (major wheel) to flatten Canada’s Alexandre Emond. World champion and 2004 Athens gold medallist at under-81kg Ilias Iliadis of Greece was upset in the quarter-finals by Russia’s Kirill Denisov.—AFP

18

London 2012 Olympic Games

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Britain wins Olympic gold in women’s pair WINDSOR: Trust Britain’s rowers to get the host nation out of a hole. Rowing has long been the country’s consistently performing sport at the Olympics, win-

Britain’s two princes, William and Harry, were in the crowd - Helen Glover and Heather Stanning won the women’s pair at an atmospheric Dorney Lake, establishing a huge early lead and ultimately winning by a length from Australia. New Zealand took the

rowing gold for Britain after decades of dominance by men’s crews. It was truly a landmark win, in many respects.

“I want to collapse, I’m so overjoyed,” said Stanning, who is an officer with the British army. After crossing the line, Stanning leaned

LONDON: Great Britain’s Heather Stanning (left) and Helen Glover stroke during the women’s rowing pair final at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The pair won the gold medal. —AP ning a gold medal at every summer games since 1984, and the women’s pair ensured that run continued at London 2012 yesterday.

Under intense pressure -

bronze.

Not only did the win end Britain’s agonizing wait for gold after four barren days of Olympic action, Glover and Stanning also became the first women to win

back into the lap of Glover and punched the air. They then cupped their mouths in disbelief.

After all, they were spares for the country’s eight boat only two years ago. “If I can do it, take the

chance,” Glover said. “In not just rowing, but anything.”

Before receiving their medals, they raised their arms together and jigged on the spot with beaming smiles. The medals around their necks, Glover began to cry.

After gold-medal hopes Mark Cavendish and Lizzie Armitstead (both cyclists) and the diving pair of Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield all failed to top the podium for Britain over the opening four days, the focus had turned to Glover and Stanning.

They broke the Olympic-best time in the heats and are unbeaten in 2012, so were tipped to easily win the final.

And it looked as if they would run away with it after taking a lead of 3.42 seconds ahead after 1,000 meters, stretching that to five seconds from second-place New Zealand at the 1,500-meter marker. As they raced along the packed the grandstands in the final 300 meters, the Britons visibly tired but were too far ahead to be caught. A smile even broke from Glover.

“I don’t even remember smiling as I never ever thought we’ve got it,” she said. The United States was only 0.2 seconds behind New Zealand at the line in fourth.

The victory of Glover and Stanning could begin an unprecedented medal rush for the host nation at Dorney Lake across the four days of finals.

Two more gold could come from the women’s double sculls (Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins) and the lightweight women’s double sculls (Sophie Hosking and Kat Copeland). —AP

Gymnastics seeks to limit ‘trial by judges’

LONDON: Serena Williams of the United States serves to Vera Zvonareva of Russia at the All England Lawn Tennis Club at the 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP

Serena cruises into q-finals Federer sees off Istomin WIMBLEDON: Three times on a single point, Serena Williams hit a serve that clipped the net cord before plopping into the service box for a let, a sequence that drew giggles from the Centre Court crowd. Otherwise there was no way to slow Williams yesterday.

She hit 12 aces and repeatedly rocketed her ground strokes past No. 13-seeded Vera Zvonareva to win 6-1, 6-0 and reach the Olympic quarterfinals.

Swinging lustily with almost every shot, the No. 4-seeded Williams hit 32 winners to three for the Russian, who also lost when they met in the 2010 Wimbledon final.

Williams swept the final 10 games and was done in only 51 minutes.

“I was just playing unbelievable,” Williams said. “I was nervous going into the match and I didn’t speak to anyone and I had a bad practice. I had no idea I would play like this.”

Roger Federer endured two rain delays and a shaky moment late in the first set to reach the quarterfinals by beating Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-5, 6-3.

Serving at 5-all in the first set, the No. 1seeded Federer faced three break points and erased them all. He then broke and was in control from there.

A fourth-time Olympian, Federer has yet to win a career singles medal, although he and Swiss teammate Stanislas Wawrinka did win the gold in doubles in 2008.

Federer’s playing his first tournament since winning a record-tying seventh

Wimbledon title.

While play was interrupted by rain on other courts, Williams worked under Wimbledon’s roof, and the conditions clearly suited her. She whacked winners even from behind the baseline, and more than once spun on one foot after smacking a shot, mixing a little body English with plenty of brute force.

Williams hit a Wimbledon record 102 aces en route to her fifth title at the All England Club last month, and the shot remains a dominant force, especially on grass. She hit three consecutive aces against Zvonareva and lost only seven points in six service games.

In the second set, the crowd tried to coax a comeback from the Russian. But when she began tossing her racket in frustration, cheers for her turned to jeers. And fans applauded Williams’ domination.

“We love you, Serena!” a spectator near the top of the stadium shouted during the final changeover. Williams continued to stare sternly, but she wore a grin moments later as she walked off the court in triumph, waving to the stands dotted with US flags.

Williams has lost only 10 games through three rounds. The third-time Olympian is the winner of two gold medals in doubles and 14 major titles, but she has yet to win a singles medal.

She’s on course for a semifinal showdown against her sister Venus, who won a second-round match Tuesday. “I was inspired by her,” Serena said. “I watched her and I said, ‘Serena, you need to play better, or she’s getting the gold.’” —AP

LONDON: The confusion that marred the Olympic men’s team gymnastics final shows the sport still has progress to make as it seeks to limit the influence of judges and improve the credibility of the scoring system. At the climax of Monday’s final, Japanese superstar Kohei Uchimura was left aghast after seeing the score for his pommel routine, which knocked his country off the podium and into fourth place. “I just thought: ‘It’s wrong, it’s wrong,’” said the triple world champion.

The superior jury concurred, after an appeal was made by the Japanese team, and Uchimura’s score was increased by 0.700 — elevating Japan to second, dropping Great Britain to third, and denying Ukraine a place on the podium.

For the first gymnastics final of the London Games, the sport could have done without such drama, even if things were ultimately resolved without controversy.

That was not the case at the 2004 Athens Olympics, when South Korean individual silver-medallist Kim Dae-Eun took his dissatisfaction with the result as far as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but in vain. The scandal, caused by an inadvertent judging error, pushed gymnastics into a period of deep introspection.

In 2006, the rating out of 10, Nadia Comaneci’s iconic score from the 1976 Games in Montreal, was abandoned. In its place arrived a new system, which saw gymnasts awarded two combined scores: one judging the difficulty of the routine, and one assessing the execution of the display.

“From my point of view, things have become much more honest and correct concerning the criteria for evaluating the gymnasts,” says Adrian Stoica, who heads the male technical committee at the International Gymnastics Federation.

Stoica believes that the potential for what he terms “trial by judges” has been “drastically reduced” by different means. Primarily, for the jury charged with awarding the execution score, the highest and lowest marks are automatically discarded.

In the case of too wide a disparity, the scores from two referral judges come into play, and those judges must be from different countries to the gymnasts competing.

Judges are also systematically assessed throughout each competition, which yields empirical proof if they are being too generous or too severe compared to their colleagues.

“At major competitions, you no longer find the kind of dishonest judges like the ones you might encounter when I started out,” says Jean-Francois Blanquino, a French judge officiating in London.

“Before, some of them awarded very lenient scores for their countries, with deductions of only 0.600 points when it should have been two.

“That would be ridiculous today, because their scores wouldn’t count and they’d run the risk of drawing attention to themselves.”

According to Blanquino, the judges take their role very seriously, as they know that the credibility of the sport depends on it.

“The gymnasts are under pressure but so are we.

We can’t afford to be wrong when you see the importance of an Olympic title,” he says. “At each competition, knowing the importance of what we do makes me scared. Sometimes I can’t even hold the pen because I’m sweating so much!” —AFP

LONDON: China’s Hao Wang returns a shot during a quarterfinals men’s table tennis match against Japan’s Seiya Kishikawa at the 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP

Favorites Zhang, Wang reach men’s semifinals LONDON: Wang Hao has won two silver medals in table tennis in the last two Olympics, history he’s trying to forget. “I want that gold medal very much,” Wang said. “The silver medals are in the past, so I’m just trying to take it step by step.”

The main problem is Chinese teammate Zhang Jike, who also reached the semifinals of men’s singles yesterday.

The two are the choices to advance to today’s final and, as Wang knows, No. 1seeded Zhang is viewed as the favorite.

“The top four are really close, so we’ll see,” Wang said. Today’s men’s semifinals will feature Zhang and Wang, and two non-Chinese player: Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany and Chuang Chih-Yuan of Taiwan. But anything less than an all-China final will shock 1.3 billion Chinese who expect all four golds in their national pastime.

In yesterday’s quarterfinals, Zhang defeated his friend Jiang Tainyi of Hong Kong - they two both grew up in China’s Shandong province - 4-1 in an easy match that looked more like training than an Olympic showdown.

Wang defeated Japan’s Seiya Kishikawa 4-0 in another lopsided match.

Zhang seems to be under more pressure

than Wang. “Each of my matches is getting better,” he said. “I have been too stressed, but today was better.”

In two quarterfinals on Tuesday, Ovtcharov defeated Michael Maze of Denmark 4-3, and Chuang reached the semifinals, beating Adrian Crisan of Romania 4-0. In today semifinals, Zhang faces Ovtcharov and Wang plays Chuang with the winners playing the same day in the finals.

China is guaranteed to win late yesterday women’s singles final with world champion Ding Ning playing teammate Li Xiaoxia. Ding has won 6 of 10 matches against Li - and 6 of the last 7 - and beat her last year in the final of the world championship.

It must be a bad omen that Li is known in China as “Ms. No. 2.” “I will not be concerned by the underdog name,” she said, looking put off by the question.

China has won 20 of 24 gold medals since pingpong entered the Olympics in 1988 in Seoul, and the women’s final is expected to draw a TV audience of 500 million.

The women have won every singles title since Seoul. The men have been less dominating with three golds in six Olympics. One came from men’s coach Liu Guoliang, who won two gold medals in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. —AP

LONDON: Gold medalist Kristin Armstrong, of the United States, competes in the women’s individual time trial cycling event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP

Armstrong wins time trial gold HAMPTON COURT: Kristin Armstrong of the United States won her second straight gold medal in the Olympic cycling time trial yesterday, beating Judith Arndt of Germany by more than 15 seconds.

Armstrong covered the 18-mile course south of London in 37 minutes, 34.82 seconds. Arndt finished in 37:50.29 for the silver, while Olga Zabelinskaya of Russia posted a time of 37:57.35 to add a bronze to the one she captured in Sunday’s road race.

The 38-year-old Armstrong briefly retired after her triumph at the 2008 Beijing Olympics to start a family, but she hopped back on her bike after delivering a son, Lucas, in 2010. Yesterday, she looked as if she’d never been away.

Armstrong, a two-time world champion, had already gained a second on the field by the first time check, and by the time she reached the second checkpoint, at the 121/2-mile mark, the lead had swelled to nearly five seconds.

Armstrong knew she was headed for another gold when she started to pick off riders in the run-up to the finish, including Dutch champion Marianne Vos, who won gold in the road race.

The famously stoic Armstrong let a smile slip as she crossed the finish line, slowing to a stop and then slumping over her bike. She rested just enough to catch her breath before heading to the victory stand and her second consecutive Olympic gold.

“When she stopped, she was on top.

You don’t lose what you’ve got,” said Armstrong’s teammate Amber Neben, who finished seventh. “You don’t lose the fact that you’re a great bike racer.”

The mostly flat course that Armstrong turned into her own personal playground began at Hampton Court Palace, the 16th century court that was once favored by Henry VIII. The race meandered through countryside, twice crossing the River Thames, before finishing back at the palace. Riders who were in position to medal were ushered onto so-called hot seats - three gilded thrones - to wait out the rest of the riders.

Zabelinskaya spent much of the afternoon in the lead. The Russian time trial champion was the 10th of 24 riders to leave the start tent, and posted a time that was more than two minutes better than the next-fastest had crossed the line. All the big names were still on the course, though. Linda Villumsen of New Zealand turned heads when she crossed the first checkpoint about a second slower than Armstrong, and the world silver medalist was still the second-fastest on the course when she reached the second time check.

She struggled over the final leg and finished fourth, less than two seconds off the podium.

Arndt was considered the biggest challenge to Armstrong after her time trial victory at the world championships, but she was only fifth at the opening time check.

She managed to pick up her pace over the final 12 miles to earn the silver. —AP

19 THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Molmenti clinches men’s kayak slalom WALTHAM CROSS: Daniele Molmenti gave himself an Olympic gold medal as a birthday present. The Italian powered down the white water course at the London Olympics to secure the gold at the men’s kayak slalom yesterday - on his 28th birthday.

Molmenti finished 1.35 seconds ahead of

Vavrinec Hradilek of the Czech Republic, who gave his country its first medal of these Games.

Though Molmenti turned a year older, he proved he’s certainly not too old as he bested two of the sports brightest young stars in the 25year-old Hradilek and 23-year-old German Hannes Aigner, who won bronze. “I finished my job. I’m so excited I’ve lost my voice,” Molmenti said. Hradilek set the tone with a fast early run

LONDON: Italy’s Daniele Molmenti celebrates winning the gold medal in the final of the K-1 men’s kayak slalom at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

that few in the field seemed able to match. But Molmenti was ahead of Hradilek’s pace much of the way and crossed in 93.43 seconds.

Hradilek was just eighth in the semifinals but put down a clean run through the rough currents of the Lee Valley White Water Centre.

Hradilek had the crowd gasping afterward - but not Molmenti.

“I was not very stressed at the start and I was sure that if I just did my job no one could beat me,” said Molmenti, who added an Olympic gold to his 2010 world championship and trio of European titles.

Slovenia’s Peter Kauzer qualified with the best time for the finals. But the pre-race favorite had a rather sloppy final run and settled for sixth - more than seven seconds behind Molmenti.

Poland’s Mateusz Polaczyk was fourth, just 1.22 seconds behind Molmenti. New Zealand kayaker Mike Dawson failed to qualify for the finals after being penalized 100 seconds for missing two gates.

This time, Dawson’s mother had nothing to do with it. Kay Dawson, a judge for the event, penalized her son two seconds for hitting a gate on Sunday. Mike Dawson still qualified for the semifinals, but he missed a wave toward the end of his run and failed to go through two consecutive gates.

Each miss cost him 50 seconds, putting Dawson in last place and out of the 10-man final.

But Kay Dawson was stationed at an earlier gate, which Mike passed through without any issues.

“It’s a sport with so many variables. It’s real easy to make mistakes, especially when you’re racing semifinals and you’re pushing everything to get one of those elusive 10 spots which fill up pretty fast,” Dawson said. “There’s no holding back and trying to play it safe.”—AP

Americans go 0-3 in tough Olympic boxing matchups LONDON: The US Olympic boxing team realized it faced a brutal slate of matchups yesterday, taking on a Cuban world champion and two hulking Russian heavyweights. None of the three Americans could beat the odds to advance in London.

Top-seeded bantamweight Lazaro Alvarez of Cuba beat Joseph Diaz Jr. 21-15, and U.S. heavyweight Michael Hunter tired badly in the third round of a narrow loss to Russia’s Artur Beterbiev. Super heavyweight Dominic Breazeale then fell far behind early in a 19-8 loss to Russia’s Magomed Omarov. The defeats abruptly reduced the American men’s team to four boxers after beginning the Olympics with four straight victories last weekend at ExCel arena.

“It’s tough, but we knew what we were facing,” U.S. coach Basheer Abdullah said. “We had some really tough draws. (Diaz) is one of the best guys at his weight, but when we’re competing against a world champion, you’ve got to box above them. I’m still proud of his effort.”

Diaz appeared to be among the top talents in the bantamweight division, but drew a second-round matchup with perhaps the best boxer on the traditionally powerful Cuban team. Although Diaz injected his usual aggression and excitement into the bout, Alvarez used his experience in the amateur style to pepper Diaz with the counterpunches that rack up points quickly.

“I knew I had a really tough fight, but I gave everybody the show they wanted to see,” Diaz said. “I thought

the scoring should have been a little closer, but he’s a good boxer.”

Diaz won over the mostly British crowd, but didn’t argue when Alvarez won the fight - even if the decision left his coaches fuming. “Robbery - put it

tiebreaker in which all five ringside judges vote for a winner.

“He was the better man today,” said Hunter, who is fighting a cold as well. “He deserved it. ... My legs got fatigued really fast, and I wasn’t able

LONDON: Russia’s Sergey Vodopiyanov (right) fights Brazil’s Robenilson Vieira de Jesus, during their men’s bantam 56-kg boxing match at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP in there,” U.S. assistant coach Anthony Chase said.

Hunter got off to a strong start against Beterbiev, the 2009 world champion, picking at the Russian with the jab and taking an 8-7 lead into the final round. But Hunter struggled mightily in the final three minutes, getting a bloody nose and repeatedly holding Beterbiev instead of sticking with his game plan.

The final score was 10-10, but Beterbiev won on the amateur boxing

to stay on the outside like I wanted to.

My foot placement wasn’t there. I wasn’t able to turn like I should have been.”

Hunter was the US team’s super heavyweight four years ago, but didn’t qualify for the Olympics after contracting food poisoning shortly before a key bout. He stayed in the amateur ranks and moved down to heavyweight, determined to honor the legacy of his late father, a professional heavyweight himself.

“It’s hurting me right now to know that I finally got here and failed real early in this tournament,” Hunter said.

Breazeale, a former quarterback at Northern Colorado, only took up boxing about three years ago at AllAmerican Heavyweights, the gym in Carson, Calif., dedicated to producing heavyweight champions. But he never found a groove against Omarov, who won the first round 5-0 after Breazeale was assessed an early standing-eight count.

“Playing the catch-up game is tough at this level,” Breazeale said.

“I’m learning, definitely, from this experience. The trainers did a great job. Every time I came back to the corner, they said, ‘Stick to the game plan.’

It’s my fault, not sticking to the game plan. In the middle of a bout, you can’t second-guess yourself.” Diaz, Hunter and Breazeale all said they’re leaning toward turning pro in the fall.

US basketball star Carmelo Anthony and British boxer Amir Khan, a silver medalist in Athens, attended a lively card of afternoon fights.

Alvarez advanced to face Robenilson Vieira of Brazil, who knocked off former world champion Sergey Vodopyanov of Russia, 13-11.

Another bantamweight quarterfinal matchup Sunday will feature John Joe Nevin, who kept Ireland unbeaten with a 15-10 win, and Mexico’s Oscar Valdez, who upset fourth-seeded Anvar Yunusov of Tajikistan.

Roberto Cammarelle of Italy, the Beijing gold medalist at super heavyweight, opened his defense with an 18-10 victory over Ecuador’s Ytalo Perea. World champion super heavyweight Magomedrasul Medzhidov of Azerbaijan stopped his overmatched opponent in the second round.—AP

Aussies keep Olympic lead WEYMOUTH: After watching Nathan Outteridge take an unintentional dip in Weymouth Bay yesterday, a friend gave the Australian sailor a snorkel and mask.

With classic humor, Outteridge stuck the snorkel in his mouth and draped the goggles across the front of his cap as he and crew Iain Jensen sailed their 49er skiff onto Portland Harbor on another gray English Channel day.

“My mate said, ‘This is for today when you capsize. You might need this,’ “ Outteridge said. “Thank God we didn’t need it but I had to wear it out to the start line. It was part of the deal.”

Outteridge and Jensen, the favorites coming into the London Olympics, had finishes of second and first Wednesday to extend their lead to 13 points over trans-Tasman rivals

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke of New Zealand. France’s Emmanuel Dyen and Stephane Christidis won the first race to jump into third place, where they remained after finishing 10th in the day’s second race. They have 30 points.

While other classes sail 10 races to determine the top 10 for the medals race, the 49ers sail 15 races.

Outteridge could very well take a gold medal with him when he returns to his day job as skipper of Team Korea in the America’s Cup World Series.

Then again, he knows firsthand how capricious life can be in the fastest, most colorful class in the Olympics. Outteridge was leading the medals race in the 2008 Olympics when he capsized not far from the finish line. He and then-crew Ben Austin finished fifth.

“There’s a very long way to go.

We’ve only done six races. It’s kind of like a normal Day 2 for us,”

LONDON: Medals table after13 of 20 events yesterday Nation G China 15 United States 10 France 5 South Korea 5 North Korea 4 Germany 3 Italy 3 Kazakhstan 3 Japan 2 Russia 2 Britain 2 Ukraine 2 South Africa 2 Australia 1 Romania 1 Brazil 1 Hungary 1 Netherlands 1 Georgia 1 Lithuania 1 Slovenia 1 Colombia 0 Cuba 0

S 8 8 3 2 0 8 4 0 4 3 2 0 0 4 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 2

B 4 9 4 3 1 2 2 0 9 5 4 3 0 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0

Tot 27 27 12 10 5 13 9 3 15 10 8 5 2 7 6 3 3 3 1 1 1 3 2

Mexico Canada Indonesia Czech Republic Denmark Egypt Poland Sweden Taiwan Thailand New Zealand Slovakia Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Greece India Moldova Mongolia Norway Qatar Serbia Singapore Uzbekistan

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 5 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Tuesday’s Olympic Medalists Men Canoe Singles GOLD_Tony Estanguet, France.

SILVER_Sideris Tasiadis, Germany.

BRONZE_Michal Martikan, Slovakia.

DIVING Women Synchronized 10m Platform GOLD_China (Chen Ruolin, Wang Hao).

SILVER_Mexico (Paola Espinosa Sanchez, Alejandra Orozco Loza).

BRONZE_Canada (Meaghan Benfeito, Roseline Filion).

EQUESTRIAN Men Individual Eventing GOLD_Michael Jung, Germany.

SILVER_Sara Algotsson Ostholt, Sweden.

BRONZE_Sandra Auffarth, Germany.

Team Eventing GOLD_Germany (Sandra Auffarth, Michael Jung, Ingrid Klimke, Dirk Schrade, Peter Thomsen).

SILVER_Britain (Kristina Cook, William FoxPitt, Mary King, Zara Phillips, Nicola Wilson).

BRONZE_New Zealand (Andrew Nicholson, Jonathan Paget, Caroline Powell, Jonelle Richards, Mark Todd).

FENCING Men Individual Foil GOLD_Lei Sheng, China.

SILVER_Alaaeldin Abouelkassem, Egypt.

BRONZE_Choi Byungchul, South Korea.

GYMNASTICS Artistic Women Team GOLD_United States (Gabrielle Douglas; Mc Kayla Maroney; Alexandra Raisman; Kyla Ross; Jordyn Wieber).

SILVER_Russia (Kseniia Afanaseva; Anastasia Grishina; Victoria Komova; Aliya Mustafina; Maria Paseka).

BRONZE_Romania (Diana Laura Bulimar; Diana Maria Chelaru; Larisa Andreea Iordache; Sandra Raluca Izbasa; Catalina Ponor).

JUDO Men 81Kg GOLD_Kim Jae-Bum, South Korea.

SILVER_Ole Bischof, Germany.

BRONZE_Ivan Nifontov, Russia.

BRONZE_Antoine Valois-Fortier, Canada.

Women 63Kg GOLD_Urska Zolnir, Slovenia.

SILVER_Xu Lili, China.

BRONZE_Gevrise Emane, France.

BRONZE_Yoshie Ueno, Japan.

SHOOTING Men Skeet GOLD_Vincent Hancock, United States.

SILVER_Anders Golding, Denmark.

BRONZE_Nasser Al-Attiya, Qatar.

SWIMMING Men 200 Butterfly GOLD_Chad le Clos, South Africa.

SILVER_Michael Phelps, United States.

BRONZE_Takeshi Matsuda, Japan.

4 x 200 Freestyle Relay GOLD_United States (Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer, Ricky Berens, Michael Phelps, Charlie Houchin, Matthew Mclean, Davis Tarwater).

SILVER_France (Amaury Leveaux, Gregory Mallet, Clement Lefert, Yannick Agnel, Jeremy Stravius).

BRONZE_China (Hao Yun, Li Yunqi, Jiang Haiqi, Sun Yang, Lu Zhiwu, Dai Jun).

Women 200 Freestyle GOLD_Allison Schmitt, United States.

SILVER_Camille Muffat, France.

BRONZE_Bronte Barratt, Australia.

200 Individual Medley GOLD_Ye Shiwen, China.

SILVER_Alicia Coutts, Australia.

BRONZE_Caitlin Leverenz, United States.

WEIGHTLIFTING Men 69Kg GOLD_Lin Qingfeng, China.

SILVER_Triyatno Triyatno, Indonesia.

BRONZE_Razvan Constantin Martin, Romania.

Women 63Kg GOLD_Maiya Maneza, Kazakhstan.

SILVER_Svetlana Tsarukaeva, Russia.

BRONZE_Christine Girard, Canada.— AP

Australia thrash Spain New Zealand beat India 3-1

LONDON: Australia’s Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen practice before starting the 49er class race at the London 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP Outteridge said. “A lot happens on Day 3, Day 4, Day 5. We’ve got another two races in the harbor tomorrow with similar kind of winds. We’ve got to keep chipping away, doing what we’re doing. All it takes is one bad day and you can lose 20 points very quickly. At the moment things are going nicely, but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves here.” The Aussies took a swim in Race 4 on Tuesday but recovered nicely.

“Goobs was all over it yesterday,” Outteridge said, referring to Jensen

by his nickname. “He had to get the kite down before the mast hit the water. We did an amazing job to get a fourth there. That’s probably a good regatta-saver at the moment. It could have been an 18th or something had we have gone upside down. Thank God we didn’t, and we’re in a really good spot.”

Sailing in wind that reached 17 knots Wednesday, the Aussies couldn’t quite catch the French in the first race Wednesday, losing by 10 seconds.—AP

LONDON: World champions Australia routed 2008 Olympic silver medallists Spain 5-0 in men’s Olympic field hockey yesterday.

Opening up Spain’s defence with frequent interchanges, Australia posted their second straight win to stay on top of Pool A with six points. New Zealand beat India 3-1 in a Group B match.

The Netherlands also took their points tally to six from two outings in Pool B after posting a 3-1 victory over Belgium in a tough contest where the last goal for the Dutch came in the final minute when their opponents were pressing for an equaliser and were playing without a goalkeeper.

Australia opened the scoring in the ninth minute through Russell Ford who deflected in a ball from Mark Knowles. Matthew Butturini was on target five minutes later after creating space. Simon Orchard’s field goal in the 29th minute gave Australia a 3-0 lead at half-time.

Glenn Turner collected a long pass on top of the circle to slam past the goalkeeper in the 40th minute and Edward Ockenden rounded

off the scoring with a penalty corner conversion in the 69th minute.

Ockenden, Australia’s captain, said the team had played better than in their 6-0 win over South Africa on Monday. “The free-flowing play is what we like to do, but it doesn’t always work out like that,” said Ockenden.

Spain, who now have just one point from two matches, saw seasoned player Pol Amat going off the pitch after colliding with an Australian defender.

Amat’s injury came after Spain’s star striker, Santi Freixa, suffered a fracture in the last match against Pakistan. Freixa has been ruled out of the tournament and replaced on the Spanish team roster.

“We’ll see what happens to Pol. Without him and Santi it might get tougher for us,” said Spanish goalkeeper Francisco Cortes.

Mink van der Weerden converted two penalty corners for the Netherlands against Belgium. After a goalless first half, he score seven minutes into the second session, but Belgium equalise with a penalty corner goal of their own by Jerome Dekeyser in the 58th minute. —AFP

Molmenti clinches men’s kayak slalom

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

19 LONDON: US swimmer Michael Phelps competes in the men’s 200m individual medley heats swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games yesterday. —AFP

Is Phelps the greatest Olympian?

Eight badminton players kicked out Playing to lose at Olympics LONDON: Four badminton teams were kicked out of the women’s doubles at the London Games yesterday for trying to lose on purpose, conduct that a top IOC executive said strikes at the heart of Olympic competition.

The eight doubles players from China, South Korea and Indonesia were cited by the Badminton World Federation for “conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport.”

“We have to be clear, there has been a problem here and we have to take that problem very seriously,” BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said. “There are things we can improve on and look at after this competition.”

South Korea and Indonesia appealed the disqualification, but the BWF rejected the South Korean appeal and the Indonesia challenge was withdrawn. China had accepted the federation’s earlier decision. The competition was to continue later yesterday with four previously eliminated teams in the quarterfinals.

Russian pair Valeria Sorokina and Nina Vislova, and Canadian team Alex Bruce and Michele Li now advance from Group A. Australian pair Leanne Choo and Renuga Veeran and South African duo Michelle Edwards and Annari Viljoen go through from Group C. “We applaud the federation for having tak-

en swift and decisive action,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told The Associated Press. “Such behavior is incompatible with the Olympic values.”

Before the decision was announced, Indonesia Olympic team leader Erick Thohir accused Chinese players of losing on purpose in the past.

“China has been doing this so many times and they never get sanctioned by the BWF,” Thohir said. “On the first game yesterday when China did it, the BWF didn’t do anything. If the BWF do something on the first game and they say you are disqualified, it is a warning for everyone.”

IOC Vice President Craig Reedie, the former head of the international badminton federation, welcomed the decision to kick the four teams out.

“Sport is competitive,” Reedie told the AP. “If you lose the competitive element, then the whole thing becomes a nonsense. “You cannot allow a player to abuse the tournament like that, and not take firm action. So good on them.” The eight disqualified players are world doubles champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang of China and their South Korean opponents Jung Kyun-eun and Kim Ha-na, along with South Korea’s Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung and Indonesia’s Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii.

The players went before a disciplinary hear-

ing yesterday, a day after spectators at the arena booed their performance after it became clear they were deliberately trying to lose.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge had been at the venue but had left shortly before the drama unfolded. The IOC said it would allow badminton’s ruling body to handle the matter.

Paul Deighton, chief executive officer of the London organizers, said there would be no refunds for the evening’s badminton program.

Chairman Sebastian Coe called what happened “depressing,” adding “who wants to sit through something like that?”

Teams blamed the introduction of a roundrobin stage rather than a straight knockout tournament as the main cause of the problem.

The round-robin format can allow results to be manipulated to earn an easier matchup in the knockout round.

The Chinese players tried to rig the draw after its second-seeded pair unexpectedly lost to a Danish team in the morning. That placed the No. 2 pair on course for a semifinal meeting with Wang and Yu, instead of the final.

Wang and Yu then deliberately set out to lose so they would go into the bottom half of the draw. They hardly exerted themselves, and neither did the South Koreans, drawing jeers of derision from the crowd and warnings from the umpire and tournament referee Torsten Berg. Wang and Yu eventually got what they

wanted by losing. An hour later, the South Korean team of Ha and Kim took to the court and decided to also try to lose to the Indonesians to avoid meeting Wang and Yu in the quarterfinals. Early on, all four players were warned by the umpire for not trying hard, and Berg returned and produced black cards to disqualify both pairs, but the cards were rescinded on a promise of better play.

In the third game, Berg reappeared to urge them to finish, and the Indonesians ended up being better at losing than Ha and Kim, who fell into the playoff they didn’t want with the world champions.

One of the world’s top male players, 2004 Olympic singles champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, called the situation a “circus match.”

China’s Lin Dan, the Olympic men’s champion in singles, said the sport is going to be damaged.

“Especially for the audience,” he said through an interpreter before the disqualifications were announced. “This is definitely not within the Olympic spirit. But like I said before, it’s not one-sided. Whoever sets the rule should make it knockout so whoever doesn’t try will just leave the Olympics.”

Beijing badminton silver medalist Gail Emms said the matches were embarrassing to watch. “It was absolutely shocking,” she said.

“The crowds were booing and chanting ‘Off, off, off.’”—AP

Egypt reach last eight CARDIFF: Egypt, who endured a torrid start to the competition when they trailed Brazil 3-0 in their opening match, completed a remarkable recovery by reaching the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Belarus yesterday.

Gold medal favorites Brazil completed their perfect run of three straight wins when they beat New Zealand 3-0 at St James’ Park in Newcastle.

Egypt, bedraggled and bewildered against Brazil at the start, finished the match narrow 3-2 losers and inspired by that fightback, finished the group phase in some style.

They created plenty of chances and picked up their first point with a 1-1 draw against New Zealand on Saturday and leapfrogged Belarus into second place in Group C in their last match by beating them at Hampden Park, Glasgow.

Belarus just needed a draw to qualify but Egypt, who finished second to Brazil with four points, will now face either Japan, Honduras or Morocco in the quarter-finals at Old Trafford on Saturday.

They won with goals from Mohamed Salah, substitute Marwan Mohsen and Mohamed Aboutrika, whose third in the 78th minute sealed the game. Andrei Voronkov scored a late consolation for Belarus four minutes from time.

Brazil had their match against New Zealand wrapped up in the first 30 minutes. Danilo and Leandro Damiao scored the first two and Sandro added the third six minutes into the second half.

Those two matches opened the final round of group matches with another six matches scheduled for later including hosts Britain who take on Uruguay in Cardiff, with the Olympic hosts needing just a draw to make sure of a place in the last eight.—Reuters

LONDON: Belarus’ Stanislav Dragun (left) is tackled by Egypt’s Saadeldin Saad (right) during their Group C men’s soccer match at the London 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

LONDON: Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time. But is that the same as being the ‘greatest’? That was the question left hanging in the air after the swimming superstar won the 19th Olympic medal of his career by anchoring the US 4x200m freestyle relay team to gold in London on Tuesday. That saw him overhaul the record of 18 medals amassed by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina between 1956 and 1964.

Phelps’s haul, which includes 15 gold, is outstanding. But swimmming opens itself up to producing multiple-medal winners by having categories for styles as well as distances.

So while athletics has the 100m, in swimming the distance can be covered in several different ways.

And there are those who argue longevity is a key factor in determining greatness-Phelps is still only 27 and his medals have been amassed over the space of just three Games.

However, longevity wasn’t an option for Jesse Owens, who overcame barriers of racial prejudice to win four track and field golds in Berlin in 1936 and was then stripped of his amateur status for accepted a few commercial offers.

And even if he had still to be allowed to compete Owens, like many contemporaries, would have seen his career cut short by the Second World War when the Games were suspended. That Phelps could even contemplate winning eight gold medals at a single Games, as he did four years ago in Beijing, was in a sense only possible because fellow US pool great Mark Spitz had, 36 earlier, won a then record sevenand all in world record times-at Munich.

That feat redefined the scope of Olympic achievement, with every subsequent multi-medallist sympathising with Spitz’s remarks, just before he won his seventh gold, when he said: “If I swim six and win six, I’ll be a hero. If I swim seven and win six, I’ll be a failure.”

Swimming is also one of the showpiece sports of the Games and that, along with modern mass commuications, has heightened Phelps’s profile.

By contrast Germany’s Birgit Fischer has received nothing like the same publicity, despite having won eight canoeing gold over six Olympics, despite missing the 1984 Games because of the then East Germany’s political boycott.

Steve Redgrave, widely regarded as Britain’s greatest Olympian after winning five gold medals, one at each games from 1984 in Los Angeles to Sydney in 2000, is wellplaced to consider Phelps’s standing as an Olympian.

“He has been able to pursue multiple golds at his last three Olympic Games, and one might argue that this diminishes his place among the greats. But how do you rank greatness?,” Redgrave wrote in Wednesday’s Daily Telegraph.

“With 15 gold medals he already has to be listed as one of the finest Olympic athletes ever, and yet I still believe his feat would have been more impressive if he achieved it over six or seven Games.” There are those who maintain the decathlon, remains the ultimate test of Olympic excellence and that a gold medal winner should thus be considered the athlete of the Games.

So how much greater does that, say, make Britain’s Daley Thompson, who won decathlon gold at both the 1980 Games in Moscow and again in Los Angeles?

For Redgrave, who denied, against a backdrop of a running public spat between the two men, that he had a “rift” with Thompson, the answer is clear.

“It is extremely impressive to be able to do that (the decathlon), but your rivals are not specialists-they are generalists, just like you. “You are never going to be competing against Usain Bolt in the 100 metres, or against Liu Xiang in the high hurdles.” In the end the question of who is the greatest is one where a defintive answer often proves elusive, a point London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe, himself twice a track 1500m gold medallist, summed up yesterday.

“This is the global pub game-who is the greatest Olympic athlete of all time?” said Coe. “You have to say he (Phelps) is up there, but whether he (Phelps) is the greatest?

In my opinion, probably not. But my opinion is no different from anyone else.”—AFP

Saudi to cut most crude OSPs to Asia in September Page 22

China big city spenders confound global gloom Page 24

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

India overturns ban on investments from Pakistan Page 25

World Bank offers grants, debt help for Myanmar Page 23

FARNBOROUGH: In this Wednesday, July 11, 2012 file photo, a Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner lands during an aerial display on the third day of the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, England. The Gulf’s three big airlines are all increasingly forging cross-border partnerships to extend their reach deeper into international markets. They are doing so even as they rapidly grow their own route networks and expand their fleets with billions of dollars’ worth of new fuel-efficient planes fitted with plush premium cabins. — AP

Gulf’s airlines forge new links abroad Gulf carriers woo economy-class transit passengers DUBAI: During a demonstration flight of Boeing’s new 787 high above the United Arab Emirates this summer, one of the plane-maker’s representatives jokingly asked an Etihad Airways executive what was next on the airline’s shopping list.

It wasn’t planes he was talking about, but chunks of other airlines. Abu Dhabibased Etihad has snapped up stakes in four different carriers just since December, prompting speculation in aviation circles of more deals to come.

Etihad is not alone. The Gulf’s three big airlines are all increasingly forging cross-border partnerships to extend their reach deeper into international markets.

They are doing so even as they rapidly grow their own route networks and expand their fleets with billions of dollars’ worth of new fuel-efficient planes.

Etihad and Aer Lingus announced a codeshare deal Monday designed to feed traffic into one another’s networks, just months after Etihad bought a slice of the Irish carrier. Australia’s Qantas says it is in talks with Dubai-based Emirates about potential alliances.

Qatar Airways, which last year bought more than a third of European freight airline Cargolux, wants to launch a new carrier to serve next-door Saudi Arabia’s domestic market. While their strategies differ, the airlines’ push is likely to further strengthen their increasingly formidable Gulf hubs at a time when older airlines from the United States to Australia are struggling to stay competitive.

All three Gulf carriers woo economyclass transit passengers with generous hot meals and a wide range of back-ofseat entertainment options that would be the envy of most domestic American airlines. In the battle for lucrative business and first-class flyers, they try to outdo one another with offerings that include plush private cabins, gourmet chefs and even onboard showers.

The airports Emirates and Etihad call home are undergoing significant expansions, while Qatar Airways is preparing to move to a brand-new airport scheduled to open later this year.

“It’s all about feed. These guys have these tremendous emerging hub-andspoke networks. The more feed you can get with partners or by yourselves, the more effective your network becomes over those hubs,” said Russell Shaw, a transportation and aviation analyst at Australia’s Macquarie Group.

The Mideast’s biggest airline, Emirates, has traditionally focused on growing its network in-house. It has shown little interest in joining any of the big airline alliances such as Oneworld or Skyteam that dominate intercontinental air travel. That has not stopped it from seeking out bilateral partnerships with individual airlines that can expand its network and route more traffic through its Dubai hub. In April, it sealed a deal with JetBlue Airways that tacks an Emirates flight number onto a dozen routes operated by the New York-based airline. Although such codeshare deals have been around in the industry for years, it is Emirates’ first with an American carrier. The airlines began allowing passengers to earn miles on each other’s frequent flyer plans beginning last month. More deals could be on

the way. “We routinely look at ways we can work with other airlines in order to offer customers the most convenient and seamless service possible,” Emirates said in a written statement responding to questions about codeshares this week.

One potential partner is Qantas. The Australian flag carrier disclosed Thursday that it is in talks with airlines including Emirates about setting up some sort of alliance. The news sent its shares soaring.

Emirates has declined to comment.

Analysts say a codeshare or other partnership would let cash-strapped Qantas tap into Emirates’ long list of European destinations while it focuses more on Asian markets closer to home.

Such a deal could shift some Qantas stopover traffic from Singapore to Dubai and reduce its reliance on European hubs such as London’s Heathrow and Frankfurt, Germany - strongholds of British Airways and Lufthansa.

Emirates airline is part of state-owned Emirates Group, which is doing deals on the ground too. Its travel service and cargo division Dnata last year acquired British online travel agency Travel Republic and half of a South African inflight catering company.

Qantas’ talks with Emirates follow Etihad’s June announcement that it acquired a stake in Qantas’ competitor Virgin Australia. Australian regulators recently gave Etihad the green light to boost its stake in the Australian airline to 10 percent. The younger Etihad sees its investments in overseas airlines and a fast-growing network of codeshare partners as a way to gain an edge over its larger Gulf rivals.

In early July, it said its strategy of partnering with other airlines helped drive sales more than 30 percent higher in the second quarter. “To stretch our market, these partnerships are key,” Etihad President and CEO James Hogan told The Associated Press at the time.

The deals help cement Etihad’s relationships with its partner airlines and could lead to cost savings, though analysts say it is tough to quantify how much advantage the acquisitions bring.

“Even if there are incremental benefits, minority ownership does not equate to control,” said Sudeep Ghai, partner at London-based airline consultants Athena Aviation. In addition to its Virgin Australia and Aer Lingus stakes, Etihad owns nearly 30 percent of Germany ’s secondbiggest airline, Air Berlin, and 40 percent of Air Seychelles, the island country’s national carrier.

Qatar Airways, meanwhile, is looking for cross-border opportunities closer to home. Its chief executive recently held talks with Saudi officials about launching a new airline registered in the oil-rich kingdom, though he expressed concerns about price caps imposed by Riyadh.

There is strong demand for flights within the vast country, the largest Arab economy. Foreign carriers are able to fly to and from Saudi cities from abroad, but only Saudi Arabian Airlines and budget airline NasAir operate domestic routes.

Saudi officials have invited bids from airlines interested in gaining a license to operate domestic flights. They are expected to make a decision later this year. — AP

22

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

BUSINESS

Bahrain’s Investcorp annual profit slumps on euro crisis DUBAI: Bahrain-based investment company Investcorp said its full-year net income fell by more than half because of lower returns on its investment portfolio. Despite a 20 percent recovery in fee income, the company’s net income for the 12 months to June 30 shrank to $67.4 million, the company said in a statement yesterday. That compared with net income of $140.3 million for the prior-year period.

“Net income was down due to a fall in asset based income primarily due to

the European crisis,” Investcorp said.

“Fee income, however, was up 20 percent year on year due to strong acquisition and placement activity.”

Total assets at the end of June 2012 slipped to $2.7 billion from $2.9 billion in the previous fiscal year. Liabilities also decreased, from $1.8 billion to $1.7 billion, while Investcorp’s capital adequacy ratio increased to 26.9 percent. Investcorp, which previously took luxury brands Gucci and Tiffany & Co public, said it proposed a dividend of

$7.50 per ordinary share plus a 12 percent dividend on preference shares. In June, Investcorp signed up to a $504 million-equivalent loan designed to refinance debt due in 2013.

The company has closed fourteen private equity deals since the financial crisis in 2008, out of which five deals where closed through its Gulf Opportunity Fund in the Middle East and North Africa.

Last month it bought a 30 percent stake in Turkish menswear retailer

Orka Group. Turkey’s organised luxury menswear market is estimated to be worth $7.4 billion, Investcorp said, adding that the investment would help Orka accelerate its growth in Turkey and expand to other global markets. Investcorp invested $98 million in October 2008 in Redington Gulf. It also has stakes in gold and jewelry manufacturer L’azurde and a 20 percent stake in Gulf Cryo, a manufacturer of industrial, medical and specialty gases. In July Investcorp’s online

portfolio unit Skrill bought Austrian firm paysafecard.com for up to 140 million euros ($172 million).

Paysafecard provides prepaid electronic payment services; the acquisition was Investcorp’s fifth investment in Europe in the past six months.

Investcorp in November last year acquired three real estate assets in the United States for $100 million, taking its total purchases in the country in 2011 to eight with a combined value of $300 million. — Reuters

Saudi to cut most crude OSPs to Asia in September ‘Crude demand down, while supply remains ample’

NEW YORK: A Jan 3, 2008 file photo, shows the Time Warner Center in New York.

Time Warner said yesterday, its net income fell 33 percent in the second quarter as its Warner Bros movie studio had weaker releases compared with a year ago. —AP

Abu Dhabi’s Waha slips to Q2 loss ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi’s Waha Capital swung to a second quarter net loss, the company’s financial statement showed, as provisions on assets and loans weighed on the balance sheet. Waha, whose shareholders include Abu Dhabi government entities, posted a 12.4 million dirhams ($3.4 million) loss for the three months to June 30, against a net profit of 6 million dirhams in the second quarter of 2011.

“The decline was driven mainly by a one-off gain on sale of investment in first half of 2011 and provisions taken on some assets in the first half of this year,” the statement said. Waha booked 16 million dirhams as provision for doubtful loans and receivables and 7.3 million dirhams towards impairment of

SINGAPORE: Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia will probably cut prices for most grades of crude it sells to Asia in September, after two months of increases, as weak demand dragged down the spot market, a Reuters poll showed yesterday.

The producer could cut the September official selling prices (OSPs) for Arab Medium and Heavy by up to $1 a barrel from the previous month, and the OSP for Arab Light and Arab Extra Light by 60 cents a barrel, according to the median of estimates by six traders and refiners.

“Crude demand is not really there, while supply remains ample and that’s putting pressure on the differentials,” said a trader with a North Asian refiner. “So all grades should be adjusted lower although medium and heavy grades may see more correction than the lighter ones.”

Fuel oil cracks to Dubai worsened in July, with the discount widening to as much as $4.46 a barrel by mid-July from 60 cents in mid-June, Thomson Reuters data shows, suggesting that heavier grades of crude may come under pressure. Naphtha cracks fared slightly better, with the discounts hovering

around $10.83 a barrel by end-July, little changed from $10.43 at the beginning of the month. However, they are still weaker than the $8.25 a barrel discounts seen in the middle of June. Complex refinery margins have been steadily improving, to $8.96 a barrel this week, from $6.31 at the beginning of the month.

Supplies remained ample as three of the top four importers of Iranian crude-India, Japan and China-continued to import, despite expectations to the contrary after sanctions on Iran by the European Union and the United States came into effect on July 1.

South Korea may also resume imports from the Middle Eastern nation after completely halting them in July, the economy minister said, highlighting efforts by Asian buyers to keep crude coming in from Iran despite the dispute with the west over its nuclear programme. The United States on Tuesday introduced new sanctions against foreign banks that help Iran sell its oil and said the measure would add pressure on Tehran for failing to meet its international nuclear obligations.

Weakness was further aggravated by the global slowdown as well as economic weak-

ness in China, the region’s biggest consumer.

China’s implied oil demand fell 0.4 percent in June from a year ago to a 20-month low as refineries scaled back production and raised fuel exports to trim bulging stockpiles.

The spot market for September Middle East crude in Asia took a hit as a number of refineries had to close or delay their restart unexpectedly. Japan’s largest refiner JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp shut a refinery for a safety check while Idemitsu closed about a third of its capacity after a fire in July.

A third Japanese refiner, Cosmo Oil Co, said on Tuesday it was delaying the restart of its 120,000 barrels-per-day No.2 crude distillation unit at its Chiba refinery to August or later, from the previous goal of late July.

That led most Middle Eastern grades to slip into discount to the OSPs in the spot market.

“When everything is trading at a discount, for sure the OSPs have to come down,” said a trader at a western trading house.

Saudi crude OSPs are usually released around the fifth of each month, and set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting some 7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia. — Reuters

Dubai Islamic Bank Q2 profit down 6%

operating lease assets in the first half of this year, the statement said.

The firm’s operating income rose to 33.1 million dirhams in the second quar ter compared to 21.8 million dirhams in the year-ago period, according to the statement. But net income for the first six months of the year dropped 90 percent from the corresponding period in 2011 to 3.5 million dirhams. Waha saw an increase in its holding of aircraft lessor AerCap to 22.2 percent from 21.3 percent after it decided against par ticipating in a share repurchase scheme. “Waha Capital’s shareholding may increase further if it decides not to participate in this year’s second repurchase programme,” the statement added. — Reuters

DUBAI: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest sharia-compliant lender in the emirate, reported a 6-percent decline in second-quarter net profit on Tuesday though the results still beat analysts’ forecasts. The bank had profit of 310 million dirhams ($84.4 million) in the three months to June 30, up from 330.56 million dirhams in the prior-year period. First quarter profit stood at 245 million dirhams, it said in a bourse statement.

Two analysts polled by Reuters forecast net profit of 246 million dirhams and 267 million dirhams. DIB’s profit for the first half of the year increased marginally, hitting 555 million dirhams against 552 million dirhams in the first six months of 2011. Impairments dropped 14.8 percent.

Provisions stood at 241 million dirhams, down from 210 million dirhams last year.

“DIB has been able to achieve sustained profitability while continuing to strengthen its balance sheet,” Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaibani, chairman of DIB, said in the statement.

Customer deposits stood at 68.3 billion

dirhams at the end of June, up 5 percent from the 64.8 billion dirhams figure at December 31 2011.

DIB priced a five-year, $500 million Islamic bond, or sukuk, in May, the first time the bank tapped debt capital markets since 2007. Ahead of the results, the bank’s shares rose 1.1 percent on the Dubai bourse on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Dubaibased port operator DP World yesterday said business at its docks rose 7.5 percent in the first half of the year, driven by strong gains in emerging markets. The world’s third-largest seaport operator reported lifting the equivalent of 28.2 million standard 20-foot shipping containers in the first six months of 2012. That’s up from 26.2 million containers during the same period last year.

Executives predicted their own growth should outpace that of the broader port industry this year, and said they are committed to improving on last year’s financial performance. But they were cautious about the health of the overall economy, which appears to be struggling in many parts of the world. “We’re not seeing the double-digit

(growth) numbers we’ve seen before,” Chief Financial Officer Yuvraj Narayan told reporters about the effect of the global economy. “There is some impact because of the slowdown in terms of growth.” Chief Executive Mohammed Sharaf said economic uncertainty seen in the first three months of the year remains “and if anything, has increased through the second quarter.” DP World’s broad geographic footprint allows it to keep an eye on trade flows around the world, particularly in fast-growing emerging markets. The company manages more than 60 sea cargo terminals on six continents, including the Middle East’s busiest in Dubai. Much of its volume growth came from ports in Asia’s developing economies. Its Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent division posted gains of just over 12 percent to the equivalent of 13.3 million shipping containers. The slowdown in Europe, where leaders are scrambling to contain the eurozone financial crisis, dragged down growth in DP World’s Europe, Middle East and Africa division. —Agencies

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds

.2740000 .4390000 .3430000 .2850000 .2780000 .2920000 .0040000 .0020000 .0762440 .7428190 .3860000 .0720000 .7282020 .0430000

.2840000 .4500000 .3520000 .2980000 .2860000 .3000000 .0070000 .0035000 .0770100 .7502840 .4060000 .0780000 .7355200 .0510000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2810000 .2831000 GB Pound/KD .4411700 .4444670 Euro .3451940 .3477740 Swiss francs .2874390 .2895870 Canadian dollars .2796850 .2817760 Danish Kroner .0464060 .0467530 Swedish Kroner .0408440 .0411490 Australian dlr .2942070 .2964060 Hong Kong dlr .0362310 .0365020 Singapore dlr .2252140 .2268970 Japanese yen .0035850 .0036120 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 .0051360 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 .0021550 Pakistan rupee .0000000 .0030020 Bangladesh taka .0000000 .0034770 UAE dirhams .0765350 .0771070 Bahraini dinars .7456550 .7512270 Jordanian dinar .0000000 .4004240 Saudi Riyal/KD .0749530 .0755130 Omani riyals .7301550 .7356110 Philippine Peso .0000000 .0067990

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Malaysian Ringgit

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.553 5.072 3.053 2.141 3.173 220.090 36.173 3.425 6.439 8.876 89.338

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 74.883 77.158 729.380 745.850 76.464

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 48.250 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.466 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.309 Tunisian Dinar 176.65 Jordanian Dinar 396.190 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.884 Syrian Lier 4.899 Morocco Dirham 32.64 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 280.700 Euro 354.52 Sterling Pound 441.820 Canadian dollar 274.79 Turkish lire 152.400 Swiss Franc 295.01 US Dollar Buying 279.500 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

GOLD 293.000 148.000 75.250

10 Tola Sterling Pound US Dollar

1.828 46.600 733.150 3.080 6.970 78.070 75.360 227.950 36.440 2.688 447.800 42.700 292.000 4.400 9.270 198.263 76.960 282.600 1.360 GOLD 1,719.380 TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 445.800 282.200

732.970 2.990 6.750 77.640 75.360 227.950 36.440 2.140 445.800 290.500 4.400 9.140 76.860 282.200

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY SELL CASH Australian dollar 300.400 Bahraini dinar 750.620 Bangladeshi taka 3.710 Canadian dollar 285.600 Cyprus pound 554.300 Czek koruna 46.000 Danish krone 46.600 Deutsche Mark 167.800 Egyptian pound 47.370 Euro Cash 350.600 Hongkong dollar 37.090 Indian rupees 5.310 Indonesia 0.032 Iranian tuman 0.161 Iraqi dinar 0.237 Japanese yen 3.700 Jordanian dinar 399.980 Lebanese pound 0.191 Malaysian ringgit 91.710 Morocco dirham 44.000 Nepalese Rupees 4.340 New Zealand dollar 232.400

Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

SELL 298.900 750.620 3.447 284.100

227.900 46.467 349.100 36.940 5.075 0.031

COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

SELL DRAFT 300.17 285.53 294.05 350.98 281.80 447.47 3.67 3.449 5.082 2.140 3.191 2.983 76.79 750.34 46.47 401.47 733.41 77.82 75.36

SELL CASH 299.00 285.00 293.00 350.00 283.00 450.00 3.63 3.580 5.300 2.350 3.650 3.150= 77.45 750.00 47.80 399.00 736.00 78.00 75.80

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 399.940 0.190 91.710 3.200 230.900

Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar

Selling Rate 282.150 285.710 444.395 346.725 288.635 746.985

UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

76.795 77.445 75.205 397.730 46.459 2.139 5.063 2.980 3.448 6.739 692.115 4.600 9.025 4.375 3.255 89.740

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Currency US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars

Rate per 1000 (Tran) 282.200 2.983 5.097 2.150 3.452 6.765 76.935 75.355 749.410 46.525 448.800 2.990 3.195 1.550 352.500 286.800

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 282.100 349.800 444.050 283.310 3.650 5.085 46.490 2.139 3.442 6.750 2.985 750.100 76.750 75.250

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

BUSINESS

Kuwait Stock Exchange ends month of July in red zone KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended the month of July in the red zone.

The price index closed at 5,720.37 point, with a decrease amounted to 1.19%, while the weighted index closed at 395.40 point, with a decline of 1.71%, where KSX-15 index decreased by 2.50% by closing at 957.18 point.

Furthermore, the stock market witnessed selling pressures and profit collecting operations, in addition to the continued speculations on small-cap stocks. Selling operations included large-cap stocks, the biggest loser during the month, and caused the weighted index and KSX-15 to perform negatively in comparison to the price index. In addition, the market performance was affected by the speculations on some small-cap stocks, especially in Financial Services sector, which was able to realize gain by the end of the month. Moreover, the stock market was able to perform positively in few daily sessions during last month, supported by the purchasing power which limited the loss of the three indices.

On the other hand, some traders abandoned trading dur-

ing the month of July, preferring not to conduct any deal for the time being, until listed companies declare their semi-annual financial results, especially that most of the results were not announced despite the fact that two thirds of the legal waiting period have passed. The number of declared companies reached 19% so far, however, the total number of declared companies reached 38 out of 199 listed companies.

By the end of the month, the annual loss of price index reached 1.61% since the beginning of the year, whereas the weighted index declined by 2.52% compared to the closing of last year. KSX-15 index lost 4.28% compared to its level at inception and application to the new trading system.

Junket Indices 1. Main Indices The price index closed the month at 5,720.37 points, losing 69 points, a percentage of 1.19% compared to June closing. On the other hand, KSE’s weighted index ended July activity at 395.40 points, after decreasing by 7 points, at a percentage of 1.71%.

Al Bayan Investment Report 2. Sectors’ Indices With the end of last Month, most sectors of the Kuwait Stock Exchange closed Decline.

The Health Care sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 16.80% to end the Jul’s activity at 978.54 points.

The Oil & Gas sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 10.93%, closing at 828.50 points, followed by the Technology sector, as its index closed at 1,021.67 points at a loss of 5.32%. On the other hand, highest gainer was the Consumer Goods sector, achieving 1.11% growth rate as its index closed at 928.71 points.

Whereas, in the second place, the Insurance sector’s index closed at 914.13 points recording 0.59% increase. The Banks sector came in third as its index achieved 0.42% growth, ending the Month at 950.89 points.

Trading Activity 1. Total Junket The total number of deals executed during the month decreased by 9.22% to 68,865 deals. In addition, total trading value losing by 1.29% to

approximately KD 331.94 million, while trade volume decreased by 15.90% to 3.43 billion shares.

The Financial Services sector dominated total trade volume during the month with 1.83 billion shares changing hands, representing 53.22% of the total Junket trading volume.

The Real Estate sector was second in terms of trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 19.87% of Jul’s total trading volume, with a total of 681.98 million shares.

On the other hand, the Financial Services sector ’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value, with a turnover of KD 104.29 million or 31.42% of last month’s total Junket trading value. The Banks sector took the second place as the sector’s Jul turnover of KD 90.59 million represented 27.29% of the total Junket trading value.

3. Listed Stocks The share of Gulf Finance House dominated the first place in terms of shares volume with a total of 423.27 million shares;

followed in the second place by Ithmar Bank with 212.27 million shares changing hands. The third position in the list was for Al-Safwa group Company with a volume of 208.92 million shares. National Bank of Kuwait was the heaviest traded company in terms of value, with a total turnover of K.D. 40.91 million dominating the top place in this list, followed by Al Salam Group Holding Company which turnover totaled to around K.D. 21.80 million. Finally the third position was for Mobile Telecommunications Company with a turnover of K.D. 19.90 million.

4. Gainers and losers During Jul, 89 declines and 70 advances were recorded compared to end of previous month’s prices. Furthermore, prices of 11 stocks closed unchanged among 170 stocks participating to the month’s trades out of the 199 listed securities in the regular Junket.

Top gainers Strategia Investment Company share was the month’s top gainer with an increase of 66.67% in its share price ending Jul at 95 Fils up

from 57 Fils in Jun. The second place in the list was for Kuwait Cable Vision Company closing at 63 Fils up from 48.5 Fils, an increase of 29.90%. Finally, National Slaughter Houses Company ranked third with a 26.98% increase in its share price which ended the month at 160 Fils.

Top losers The share of Areef Energy Holding Company was the top loser during Jul with a drop of 33.08%, closing at 87 Fils down from its listing date price closing, which was 130 Fils. Aqar Real Estate Investments Company ranked second in this list with its share closing at 71 Fils, a 28.28% drop compared to the previous month’s closing at 99 Fils. The third place was for Kuwait Bahrain International Exchange Company as its share price declined by 26.32% to close at 168 Fils.

Junket Capitalization The total Junket capitalization of Kuwait Stock Exchange recorded an approximately 2.16% decline to reach KD 26.78 billion by the end of June, some KD 59 million decrease compared to past June.

World Bank offers grants, debt help for Myanmar ‘We are committed to eradicating poverty’

ATHENS: Employees of ATEbank protest in front of the Finance Ministry during a demonstration in Athens yesterday. The Bank of Greece recently announced the split of the ATEbank into two entities, with the healthy part being taken over by Bank of Piraeus. — AFP

IMF to visit Ukraine to assess budget WASHINGTON: An International Monetary Fund team will visit Ukraine in September to assess its budget plans as the cashstrapped country tries to persuade the lender to restart a $15 billion loan program, a top Ukrainian official said.

Valery Khoroshkovsky, first deputy prime minister, told Reuters through a translator he met with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Tuesday and reached “a general understanding that in September IMF representatives will come to Ukraine to assess our budget planning for 2013.”

The IMF froze a $15 billion loan program for Ukraine after the government failed to raise gas prices at home and carry out other unpopular reforms. With a parliamentary election in October, the Kiev government has balked at taking the politically risky step of raising gas and heating prices for Ukrainian households by 30 to 50 percent, as pressed by the IMF. Khoroshkovsky said he told Lagarde raising prices would create a social crisis unless Ukraine first developed a system to help the most vulnerable segments of its population cope. He declined to characterize Lagarde’s response because of the confidential nature of the meeting, but said the IMF’s main concern was Ukraine’s macroeconomic stability and the Kiev government recognizes it has more work to do on that. “We understand that without resolving all key problems, the financing will not be unfrozen. So we agreed that we need to ensure macro-economic stability as the

basic precondition and then we will work to resolve all other subjects,” he said.

Khoroshkovsky also met with US Trade Representative Ron Kirk on Tuesday and they discussed steps the two countries could take to increase what he said was the “ridiculously small” level of trade between Ukraine and the United States.

Two-way trade totaled just $3.6 billion last year, roughly half of Ukraine’s trade with Belarus, he said. The countries established a “Trade Experts Groups” to explore ways to boost bilateral trade and investment flows, according to a joint US-Ukraine statement.

Khoroshkovsky said he also pressed the US government to remove duties it imposed on Ukrainian steel and chemical products sometime before 2006. Lifting the duties could boost Ukraine’s exports to the United States by $1 billion, he said.

The main justification at the time for the duties was low Ukrainian natural gas prices, which have more than doubled since, Khoroshkovsky said. Khoroshkovsky said he did not expect talks on a free trade pact with the United States any time in the near future.

Earlier this month, Ukraine and the European Union finalized the text of a free trade agreement but implementation remains on hold because of political concerns. The current government’s jailing of Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko and some of her allies has strained ties with both the EU and the United States. —Reuters

Bank of England to sit tight despite worsening recession LONDON: The Bank of England is expected to sit tight at today’s monetary policy meeting despite Britain’s deepening recession, as the bank waits to see the impact of a recent cash stimulus injection, analysts said. The BoE last month decided to pump out another £50 billion ($78 billion, 62 billion euros) of new money into Britainís struggling economy and held its key interest rate at a record-low 0.50 percent.

The central bank’s nine -member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in July voted 7-2 to increase its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus programme to a total of £375 billion by November. Ahead of today’s meeting, economists said the BoE would want to see the impact of the extra QE cash before deciding whether to step up its fight against Britain’s worsening recession. ìWe do not expect any change in policy when the MPC meets this week,’ said Barclays Capital analyst Simon Hayes. ìThe committee announced a £50-billion expansion of QE last month, which is set to take

until just before the November meeting to complete, and we believe the MPC will wait until then before announcing a formal policy change.

Since the July meeting, official data has revealed a deepening recession in Britain, which is struggling under government austerity measures and fallout from the eurozone debt crisis. Britain escaped a deep downturn in late 2009 but has struggled ever since and fell back into recession in the final quarter of 2011.

In a heavy blow, figures last week showed British Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slumped 0.7 percent in the second quarter from the previous three months, due to steep output falls in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

‘The BoE may choose to remain on hold when it meets on today because of the cloudiness that surrounds the underlying strength of the UK economy,’ said Kathleen Brooks, an analyst at trading site Forex.com.— AFP

YANGON: The World Bank yesterday pledged $85 million in development grants to Myanmar and assistance for the former pariah state to clear its arrears as part of efforts to support political reforms.

The announcement came as the World Bank and the Manilabased Asian Development Bank both opened offices in the impoverished country, which is emerging from decades of military rule under a new reformist government.

“We are committed to eradicating poverty and the new office opening in Myanmar will allow us to reach some of the poorest people in East Asia,” World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said in a statement.

“They have been cut off from the global economy for too long and it’s very important that they receive real benefits from the government’s reforms.” The World Bank froze its Yangon program in 1987 after the country, then known as Burma, stopped making payments on its debt to the bank.

A hurdle for the resumption of aid had been how to deal with the unpaid money, including arrears of almost $400 million owed to the World Bank. But the issue has been resolved and Myanmar will receive a bridging loan to help it to clear the arrears, a senior official at the Washington-based multilateral

YANGON: Karin Finkelston (L), International Finance Corporation vice president for Asia-Pacific, Pamela Cox (C), World Bank East Asia and Pacific vice president and Carl Hanlon (R), World Bank director of communications talk to the media during a press conference in Yangon yesterday. The World Bank pledged $85 million in development grants to Myanmar and assistance for the former pariah state to clear its arrears as part of efforts to support political reforms. — AFP lender told a news conference in Yangon.

“We are not forgiving the debt.

We are just clearing the back interest payments. Then they’ll start repaying it again,” said Pamela Cox, the World Bank’s vice president for East Asia and the Pacific. The new grants will go towards schemes that will allow communities to decide whether

to invest in schools, roads, water or other projects, she said.

Myanmar also owes about $500 million to the Asian Development Bank, which is also returning to the country for the first time since 1988. “We have been discussing with the government how to clear arrears. I think we are coming to a resolution.

Once this arrangement is done,

then we can start our operation,” Kunio Senga, ADB Southeast Asia director general, told AFP. M yanmar President Thein Sein has overseen a series of dramatic reforms since taking office last year, including the release of political prisoners and the elec tion of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament. —AFP

US raises pressure for euro-zone crisis action FRANKFURT/BERLIN: The United States raised pressure on euro zone leaders to take decisive action to solve the region’s debt crisis, notably by lowering troubled members’ borrowing costs, on the eve of a crucial European Central Bank meeting.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the euro zone must take steps including “bringing down interest rates in the countries that are reforming and making sure those banking systems can provide the credit those economies need”. He made the comments in an interview with Bloomberg Television recorded in Los Angeles on Tuesday and broadcast yesterday, a day after he flew to Germany to meet Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and ECB President Mario Draghi.

Italy and Spain, the euro zone’s fourth and third largest economies, could lose access to credit markets as the risk premium investors demand to hold their bonds rather than safehaven German debt has spiralled to levels considered unsustainable in the long term.

But German Vice-Chancellor Philipp Roesler rejected pressure for the ECB to step in and cap the borrowing costs of troubled euro zone countries, saying the central bank should stick to fighting inflation and not ease the market incentive to reform.

“If you take away the interest rate pressure on individual states, you also take away the pressure on them to reform,” Roesler, economy minister and leader of the Free Democrats, junior partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centreright coalition, told reporters in Berlin.

He also reaffirmed Germany’s opposition to letting the euro zone’s rescue fund borrow from

the central bank to buy government bonds, calling it “the road to an inflation union”.

Draghi last week said that the central bank would do whatever it takes to preserve the euro, stirring speculation it might take more radical steps when the ECB’s policy-setting Governing Council holds its monthly meeting today.

Geithner said Schaeuble and Draghi had walked him through plans they were putting in place to try to solve the crisis, but he cautioned against expecting immediate action.

“What you know, from what Europe has said, that they are committed to doing what’s necessary to hold the Europe Union together,” said Geithner. “I absolutely believe they have the means to do it.”

Geithner said past financial crisis showed that the longer it took to address the issues, the more they cost. “I believe they understand that. That’s why they’ve signalled they are prepared to move further. Now again, this is going to take time,” he added.

Market expectations of a major ECB move this week have faded after a spike following Draghi’s comments, with European shares slipping and a rally in Spanish and Italian bonds petering out.

But those traders and investors who expect action on Thursday would sell the euro and European shares and drive up Spanish and Italian bond yields if the ECB did nothing. Nick Parsons, head of markets strategy at nabCapital in London, predicts the euro could fall a couple of US cents from current levels, while bond market analysts expect Spanish yields to reach new euro-era highs if the ECB does not act.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, touring Europe to press for action to bring down Rome’s

borrowing costs, made his pitch to euro zone hardliner Finland yesterday, saying Italy did not need an assistance programme but it might in future need “a breathing break” from high interest rates.

“The basic idea is that Italy does not seem to need special aid right now, especially not to save its economy,” Monti was quoted as saying by Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat on the day he was due to meet Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen.

He added that it was frustrating that reforms his government has carried out are not reflected in interest rates. The euro area financial crisis has sent the group’s third largest economy’s borrowing costs spiralling.

Central bank sources have told Reuters that intervention could be at least five weeks away because Draghi’s comments had not been agreed in advance with the Governing Council, and other elements must first fall into place.

The sources said the ECB could revive its mothballed sovereign bond-buying programme in tandem with the euro zone’s rescue funds, but Spain would first have to request assistance, which it has resisted so far.

Euro zone leaders would have to agree to the rescue funds buying up government bonds, and the German Constitutional Court would have to uphold the legality of the bloc’s permanent rescue fund in a ruling due on Sept. 12.

The leaders have spent the past week issuing statements promising to take whatever steps are necessary to rescue the currency, but none has raised expectations as high as Draghi, who heads the only federal European institution able to act swiftly and decisively. —Reuters

24

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

business

Crude prices see rebound after 3-month decline NBK’S ECONOMIC BRIEF KUWAIT: Crude oil prices continued their precipitous slide through most of June, but recovered slightly towards the end of the month and into July. The price of Kuwait Export Crude (KEC) fell from $100 per barrel (pb) at the end of May to an 18-month low of $88 on 22nd June, taking the 3month peak-to-trough decline to 29%. By early July, however, KEC had bounced back by $10 to $97, reducing the fall to 21%. Brent crude hovered close to $100 in early July, having also fallen to $88 in June. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) - the main US benchmark crude - fell as low as $78 pb before recovering to $87.

A combination of strong OPEC supplies and fears over the weakness of the world economy including the US and China - drove the initial declines. The prospect of a sharp slowdown in the Chinese economy in particular has reinforced worries that the decade-long ‘supercycle’ in commodities may be ending. This has driven falls in prices across the commodity asset class as investors seek to reposition themselves. The prices of industrial metals such as aluminum and copper have also dropped significantly.

The partial rebound in prices in late June was driven by a reversal of some of these concerns. On the supply side, attention shifted to news that Iranian production may have fallen to below 3 million barrels per day (mbpd) for the first time since 1990 as sanctions imposed by the EU came into effect. This puts additional pressure on other key OPEC members - mostly in the Gulf - to maintain output at its current modern day highs. On the demand side, meanwhile, weak Chinese growth figures have encouraged the belief that the Chinese authorities will embark on a fresh round of policy stimulus.

Oil demand outlook The consensus view is that oil demand will grow by a modest 0.8 to 0.9 mbpd (0.9% to 1%) this year, with significant falls in OECD demand more than offset by the continued rise in nonOECD demand. The Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES), however, maintains a softer forecast of growth of just 0.6 mbpd (0.7%). Although pessimism about the global economy has increased, this has tended to show up in the figures for 2013. Demand growth is generally expected to remain sub-1 mbpd next year, with nonOECD countries again contributing all of the increase. From a structural perspective, 2013 will

be a landmark year: demand from outside the OECD, at more than 45 mbpd, is expected to exceed that from within the OECD for the first time.

Oil supply outlook Crude output of the OPEC-11 (i.e. excluding Iraq) edged marginally lower by 17,000 bpd in May to 28.6 mbpd. The largest decline came from sanction-induced falls in Iran where output fell by some 72,000 bpd to 3.1 mbpd, almost 400 kbpd below end-2011 levels. The EU embargo that came into effect at the start of this month will likely lead

to further production declines in the second half of the year as Iranian storage facilities reach full capacity. Meanwhile, Libyan output continues to soar (an increase of 58,000 bpd for the month) with production currently running at 90% of prewar capacity of 1.6 mbpd. According to figures from ‘direct communication’, or governments’ estimates, Iran has reported that its output has continued to rise steadily, while Saudi figures show that production eased by about 300,000 bpd in May, possibly in response to weakening prices.

Total OPEC production (including Iraq) slipped slightly to just below 31.6 mbpd in May, ending a seven-month run of increases. During the OPEC meeting in Vienna last month, OPEC members agreed to maintain their current output ceiling of 30 mbpd, effectively leaving the rate of overpro-

duction at 1.6 mbpd. Iraqi crude production, which has seen significant gains in recent months and reached record highs in April, fell by around 40,000 bpd in May to just below 3 mbpd, possibly the result of the dispute-related stoppage of Kurdish oil transfers to Baghdad.

Non-OPEC supplies are projected to increase by around 0.8 mbpd in 2012, with OPEC natural gas liquids (NGLs) contributing to almost two-thirds of the increase. Rising North American production is likely to offset ongoing supply disruptions in Yemen, Syria and Sudan. In total, if OPEC-12 out-

put remains at its current level, global oil supplies should rise by almost 2 mbpd in 2012.

Price projections The downward move in oil prices of late offers a chance to present some price projections that lie on the pessimistic side of expectations - though not necessarily in line with our more positive view.

In a mid-case scenario, oil market fundamentals weaken markedly in 2H12 on the back of surging oil supplies and poor economic prospects in the EU, US and China. Using the CGES’s more pessimistic forecast of a 0.6 mbpd increase in demand in 2012, and assuming OPEC output increases on average by 1.5 mbpd, then supply could significantly exceed demand resulting in a large stock build of 0.9 mbpd this year. In this case, the price

of KEC continues to fall steadily to around $90 pb in 3Q12 and to just below $80 pb by year-end.

Alternatively, oil demand growth could turn out much weaker than expected if the deepening crisis in the EU undermines growth in export-led developing countries. Oil demand could grow by as little as 0.3 mbpd (0.3%) in 2012, causing an even larger rise in global stock levels and a sharp plunge in oil prices. The price of KEC could slide rapidly to $80 pb in 3Q12, and further thereafter.

This will almost certainly prompt OPEC members to make deep output cuts before the end of the year.

If, on the other hand, the impact of sanctions on Iranian oil exports proves more severe, then the fall in oil prices is likely to be limited by reduced growth in OPEC supplies. This should result in a lower 0.5 mbpd build-up in stocks. In this scenario, the price of KEC slips only slightly in the second half of the year to just under $100 pb.

This projection is closest to our own forecast for oil prices this year.

Budget projections Official end of year figures for the fiscal year 2011/12 have not yet been released, but we expect government revenues to have reached almost KD 30 billion, or 40% higher than the previous year, on the back of record oil prices which averaged $110 pb. If as we expect, spending comes in at 5-10% below the government’s budget, last year’s budget surplus could close between KD 11.4 billion and KD 12.5 billion before allocations to the Reserve Fund for Future Generations (RFFG). Official figures for the first eleven months of the year show a surplus of KD 16.1 billion, but this surplus usually declines once late spending is included.

Based on the price scenarios described above, oil prices range between $76 and $100 pb in FY 2012/13, although we believe they are more likely to average near the upper range. According to press reports, budgeted spending for this fiscal year is set at KD 22 billion, but the number could subsequently be revised up. Assuming that spending comes in below budget, we project a surplus of between KD 0.6 billion and KD 9 billion before allocations to the RFFG, again with the higher surplus scenario as a more likely outcome. This compares to a budgeted deficit of KD 8 billion, but would be lower than the surplus recorded last year.

China big city spenders confound global gloom Digital, home appliances, furniture top shopping lists

TOKYO: Models pose next to Japan’s car manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors new global compact car “Mirage” in Tokyo yesterday. The Mirage, which is equipped with an economy efficiency one litre engine that can achieve 27.2km per litre for fuel economy, started its production in Thailand in March 2012 and will be on the Japanese market from the end of August 2012. — AFP

Gold holds below $1,615 ahead of ECB and Fed LONDON: Gold prices held steady just below $1,615 an ounce yesterday, closely tracking moves in stocks and the dollar, as financial markets awaited the outcome of key monetary policy meetings of the U.S. and euro zone central banks.

Analysts say the Federal Reserve could still hint at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday that more gold-friendly stimulus measures are on the way to prop up its economy, keeping pressure on long-term interest rates and weighing on the dollar.

But while big news from the Fed is not expected until later this year, investors believe the European Central Bank announcement yesterday may contain more of note after its chief Mario Draghi said last week he would do anything necessary to help the single currency.

Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,613.89 an ounce at 0934 GMT, while US gold futures for August delivery were up $2.90 an ounce at $1,617.50. The rally that took the metal to its highest since mid-June at $1,629.10 an ounce last week has stalled.

“The yellow metal gave back some of its gains yesterday, but it’s still stuck in a range $1,600-1,630,” Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS Finance in Geneva, said. “A break above $1,635 should open the path for $1,700, but it’s quiet on all fronts at the moment.”

“Yesterday’s highlight is the outcome of FOMC meeting,” he said. European stocks and the euro pared early gains yesterday, while Bund futures benefited, on renewed doubts on the ECB’s scope for further measures to fight the region’s debt crisis.

The single currency is down nearly 5 percent against the dollar so far this year, hurt by the expanding euro zone debt crisis, which has forced Portugal, Ireland and Greece to seek international aid and led to soaring borrowing costs in Spain.

Ahead of today’s meeting, the United

States raised pressure on euro zone leaders to take decisive action to solve the region’s debt crisis, notably by lowering troubled members’ borrowing costs.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview on Tuesday that the euro zone must take steps including “bringing down interest rates in the countries that are reforming and making sure those banking systems can provide the credit those economies need”.

“ECB president Draghi’s comments about doing whatever is necessary to sustain the common currency have already boosted the sector, prompting gold to move from around $1,580 an ounce to current levels of $1,620,” RBS said in a report yesterday.

“A disappointing message from policy makers could trigger a correction back below $1,600 an ounce,” it added. “Regardless of this week’s decision and comments, RBS maintains the view that QE3 remains a possibility further ahead.”

From a technical perspective, analysts at ScotiaMocatta say gold’s unimpressive price performance since its break above $1,600 an ounce last week means it remains in consolidation mode, having traded in a $150 range for 3-1/2 months.

“The high on this move has only been 1629, which has so far failed to surpass the June high of 1641,” they said. “We remain neutral until we see a break of resistance at 1640 or below support of 1602 (from the breached downtrend).”

Barclays Capital, meanwhile, indicated resistance at $1,630/1,640 and support at $1,600/1,590. Holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, rose 3.32 tonnes on Tuesday, date from the fund showed. That pared its monthly net outflow back to just over 27 tonnes, the biggest one-month drop in its holdings this year.— Reuters

BEIJING: Consumer optimism in China’s biggest cities rose to its highest in nearly three years in the second quarter of 2012 even as global economic gloom knocked the national average down from a more than sixyear high, a survey showed yesterday.

The rise in confidence among consumers in China’s so-called Tier 1 cities was fuelled by a combination of improving job prospects, better personal finances and a greater willingness to spend, said the survey by global information company, Nielsen.

The Tier 1 city consumer confidence index was the only one of five regional sub-indexes to rise quarteron-quarter, but the bounce to 107 from 101 in the first three months of the year still left China’s big city sophisticates lagging their rural cousins according to the quarterly survey of 3,500 consumers.

Rural consumers remained the most optimistic - they have been since the first quarter of 2011 - despite the regional confidence index registering a six-point quarterly drop to 113.

Growth in the world’s second-largest economy was fuelled by strong domestic spending in the first half of the year, and China has said it is a top priority to boost consumption as a means of adjusting its economic structure.

China’s cities are divided into tiers for administrative purposes. Tier 1 comprises China’s four biggest cities, Tier 2 the key provincial capitals, with Tiers 3 and 4 established by population size and economic output. Rural

areas are separate.

Rural consumers had the highest confidence level on employment prospects, with 92 percent saying the jobs outlook was excellent or good, unchanged from the first quarter survey. Tier 1 consumers were next most optimistic about jobs - and again the only group registering a quarter-onquarter improvement - with 59 percent describing job prospects over the next 12 months as excellent or good.

Tier 1 consumers were particularly upbeat about service sector job opportunities - vital to Beijing’s plan to rebalance an economy mainly focused on manufacturing and investment.

China’s consumers on average remain among the most optimistic internationally.

While the headline China index dropped to its lowest since the third quarter of 2011, the reading of 105 was still 14 points above the world average in the Nielsen global survey of consumer confidence and spending intentions that polled more than 28,000 consumers in 56 countries.

But consumers in Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities all cited a reduction in job prospects for the coming year - the sub-index for Tier 2 sank 14 points to at least a four-quarter low.

China’s overall labour market, how-

PITTSBURGH: This Feb 11, 2011 file photo shows the logo on a Comcast truck in Pittsburgh. Comcast reported yesterday strong second-quarter earnings from cable operations which overcame returns of the box-office flop “Battleship.” — AP

ever, remains tight with official figures showing more job vacancies nationwide than there have been for around a decade, despite six straight quarters of slowing growth and an export downturn that is biting into the vast manufacturing sector.

Tier 2 consumers also suffered the sharpest drop in confidence about the health of their personal finances. A slowing economy and reduced job prospects were cited as souring outlooks to leave only 58 percent of respondents seeing excellent and good prospects in the year ahead, down 13 points on the quarter.

China’s top leaders said on Tuesday they would enhance pro-growth policies in the second half of the year, although there are signs of stabilisation in the economy.

The overall decline in consumer confidence unsurprisingly pushed down the national willingness to spend in China to its lowest in three quarters, though Tier 1 consumers again bucked the trend with a fourth straight quarter of improvement.

The survey showed that consumers aged 30-39 were more willing to spend than those below 30 for the first time since the last quarter of 2011. Digital appliances, home appliances and furniture top shopping lists for both demographics. Some 44 percent of Chinese consumers under 30 plan to buy digital appliances versus 35 percent of those aged 30-39. The annual rate of retail sales growth in China has slowed in recent months, but remains firmly in double digits. — Reuters

Jupiter mutual fund inflows accelerate LONDON: Jupiter Fund Management reported an acceleration of flows of money into its core mutual funds business during the second quarter of the year as outperformance by the bulk of its funds helped it defy the fear stalking financial markets.

Net flows to its mutual funds reached 265 million pounds ($415.2 million) over the first half of the year, the bulk of it in the second quarter, and was complemented by a 103 million pounds boost to its private clients business.

Flows of new investment were largely driven by its Merlin fund of funds range and bond funds, the company said in an earnings statement yesterday. Chief Executive Edward Bonham-Carter attributed much of the pick-up in new retail business to the fact that mutual

funds managing more than three quarters of its assets outperformed benchmarks over a key three-year time period.

“That’s a key period for us, both because we encourage medium term investing and three years is probably the minimum period and also it’s crucial for marketing reasons,” he told Reuters in an interview.

The rate of new business being booked was at the high end of analyst expectations and Jupiter’s shares were trading 3.0 percent higher at 224 pence by 0819 GMT, against a 0.4 percent gain by its benchmark FTSE 250 mid cap index.

“A highly creditable performance given a very difficult quarter for investor sentiment and given that most industry retail flows remain directed towards fixed income,” said

analysts at Numis Securities in a note to clients.

Jupiter, has started to place more emphasis on boosting its offer of bond products and diversify from its core equities funds ranges. Last month it announced the appointment of Miles Geldard to head a newly merged fixed income and multi-asset team, managing around 2 billion pounds, and the departure of its head of fixed income John Hamilton after 21 years.

However, the previously flagged loss of a 560 million pounds segregated institutional mandate kept overall flows negative over the period, to the tune of 302 million pounds. Bonham Carter said the demographic trend of an ageing population and pension funds switching out of stocks as more of their clients reach retirement has

posed a tough challenge to equities focused fund managers.

“UK pension funds have been steadily reducing their equity allocations and we’ve been a victim of that as others have been,” he said.

“On the other hand we have been picking up specialist mandates from institutional and sovereign wealth funds as well.”

Total assets under management stood at 23.4 billion pounds on June 30, up from 22.8 billion at the end of 2011, the company said. Jupiter warned it is operating against a volatile economic backdrop dominated by the ongoing Euro zone crisis.

“It is clear the Eurozone crisis has not been solved and the outlook for economic growth in developed markets remains poor,” the company said in a statement.— Reuters

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

BUSINESS

Coal India shares slip on import risks, UK fund files suit MUMBAI: Shares in state miner Coal India fell more than 3 percent yesterday on concerns a decision by the company to import coal to help supply new power projects would add to its cost burden. On Wednesday, shares in Coal India, the country’s fourthlargest company by market value, fell as much as 3.9 percent in early trade. It closed down 2.8 percent in a flat Mumbai market.

After the market close, UK fund The Children’s Investment Fund Management (TCI) added to pressures on the company’s management by saying it had filed a writ in the Delhi High Court to quash directions by India’s coal ministry to the miner to reverse a price hike.

Coal India late on Tuesday had agreed to supply at least 80 percent of the coal needed to fuel new Indian power projects, a condition set by the government, but stipulated it could use a mix of 15 percent imported coal versus 65 percent domestic. “The additional obligation of being an importer of coal is not positive for the company, and the real challenge is

likely to arise when global coal prices spike up,” JPMorgan said in a report.

Analysts warned that agreeing to imports to meet supply agreements may extend reliance on these shipments. “This is a change in management stance.

It significantly raises risks of Coal India potentially having to subsidise imported coal a few quarters/years later,” Credit Suisse analyst Neelkanth Mishra said in a note yesterday.

Another key issue worrying investors has been the amount of the penalties Coal India would have to pay should it fail to meet its supply agreements. Its board has deferred a decision on the matter for later this month.

Coal India is seeking to pay only 0.01 percent of the shortfall in supply, whereas electricity utilities are seeking a far higher 10 to 20 percent. Coal India officials dismissed these market concerns, saying neither issue would have a significant impact on its earnings.

“Coal India will only be a facilitator. The cost for imported coal will be borne by the respective utili-

ties,” said a senior Coal India official, declining to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

“The market has no reason to worry about this aspect,” Coal India produces nearly 80 percent of the country’s domestic coal supply of about 550 million tonnes but has struggled to increase local supplies for years because of failure to get swift environmental and regulatory approval and inadequate railway infrastructure. The company also has been under pressure from investor TCI, which holds about 1 percent, after it bowed to the government in January and reversed an increase in coal prices.

TCI said it had filed a suit against the miner and the coal ministry, which have both been issued notice by the Delhi High Court. TCI said in its petition that coal prices in India are completely de-regulated and the government does not have legal authority to interfere with the discretion of Coal India.

Earlier this year Coal India moved to a new mechanism that links prices to gross calorific value (GCV)

of the coal, but it still prices domestic coal 45 to 70 percent cheaper than international prices, in part to keep costs low for power companies, the biggest coal consumers in the country.

TCI has estimated the miner loses $19 billion in pretax profits annually because of the low prices.

Earlier this year, the government, which owns 90 percent of the company, ordered it to sign contracts guaranteeing 80 percent of coal supplies to new projects, which would pave the way for power generators to obtain funding for their planned projects.

TCI said it had also challenged that directive in its petition. It warned it would separately take legal action against Coal India’s directors if they did not fulfil their fiduciary and legal obligations.

“We have not done anything other than what was given in the statement (red herring prospectus) when we did the IPO,” a top official at the coal ministry said. “We don’t see any strength in this complaint. Anyway, since it (the petition) is the procedure and law, we will face it.” — Reuters

India overturns ban on investments from Pakistan Pakistani businessmen welcome move

CIXI: In this June 21, 2012 photo, workers assemble an automobile at Chinese automaker Geely Cixi Manufacture Base in Cixi, China. China’s manufacturing barely grew in July and analysts said weakening export demand pointed to the need for more efforts to revive growth. — AP

China labors, Asian exporters struggle BEIJING: Asia’s powerhouse manufacturing centres suffered weak export orders and declining output in July, surveys of purchasing managers showed yesterday, as misery wrought by the euro-zone debt crisis poured pessimism over the region.

Global markets have been filled with doubt this week over whether the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, meeting later yesterday and today respectively, will or can do enough to lift the world economy.

Although the Fed’s forecasts of 1.9-2.4 percent growth for the US economy this year look increasingly unrealistic, the central bank is expected to leave interest rates steady when it meets later, and there is uncertainty over what the ECB can do to ease the protracted debt crisis.

Disappointment over sentiment surveys in China added to the engulfing gloom for investors. China’s official factory purchasing managers’ index fell to an eight-month low of 50.1 in July from 50.2 in June.

At least the overall index held the right side of 50, the line dividing expansion from contraction, thanks to an output sub-index that suffered only a slight slip to 51.8 from 52.0. “This is not the bump that the authorities are looking for. But, the good news is that things are not getting significantly worse,” IHS Global Insight economists told clients in a note.

The HSBC China PMI, also published yesterday, rose to a seasonally adjusted 49.3, its highest level since February, but July marked the ninth straight month that the private-sector PMI was below 50, indicating contraction.

Analysts drew some comfort from the slight improvement in the HSBC PMI, which focuses on smaller private enterprises in contrast to the official PMI that primarily covers the big state companies. “ The Chinese manufacturing data clearly highlights the soft landing that is taking place across mainland China. The low inflation environment should allow Chinese authorities to provide further stimulus in coming months,” said Craig James, economist at Commsec in Sydney.

But the good news pretty well stopped there, with 10 of China’s 11 major sub-indexes in the official PMI locked under 50, showing just how much the economy is struggling to revive its momentum, with little evidence of measures aimed at boosting domestic demand taking quick effect. The weakness of new export orders, at 46.6 in China official PMI, was a common trait in Asia.

Manufacturing activity in South Korea shrank the most in seven months, according to a HSBC/Markit survey, with the purchasing managers’ index dropping to 47.2. South Korea’s new export orders at 48.59 in July were slightly better than in June, but hardly heartening, while Taiwan’s fell at their fastest pace since December.

As if to underscore the gloom for exporters, official Korean data on Wednesday showed exports in July fell the most in nearly three years. Korea also

released data on Tuesday showing industrial output fell four times more than expected, and Taiwan lopped a full percentage point off its forecast for economic growth this year.

Those findings reinforced the message of a PMI survey released in Japan on Tuesday, which showed the factory sector shrinking at its fastest pace since last year’s earthquake.

The slump reflects, in large degree, the sad state of Asia’s European and American customers, though falling import demand in China was a factor for some.

The manufacturing PMI for the euro zone due to be released later on Wednesday is expected to show the region locked deep in a contractionary phase, with a Reuters poll forecasting an index at 44.1 for July.

In the United States, the Institute of Supply Management is expected to report later on Wednesday that its gauge popped back up above 50 in July after slipping to 49.7 in June on a slump in new orders.

In a further worrying sign for Asia, PMI employment sub-indexes in China, South Korea and Taiwan all pointed to contraction. So far in the current downturn, Asia has yet to see a repeat of the heavy job losses suffered in the 2008/09 global crisis.

The coming months are a sensitive time for China with a leadership succession looming later this year for the ruling Communist Party. President Hu Jintao was quoted on Tuesday saying fiscal and monetary policy support for the economy would be stepped up in the second half, while Premier Wen Jiabao spoke of policy fine tuning and signs that the economy was stabilising, after growth slowed to its slowest pace in more than three years in the second quarter.

India, Asia’s third-largest economy, is saddled with multiple problems, including the growing probability of a drought wrecking the farm sector, and factories grinding to a halt amid a spate of wide scale power outages.

The situation has not been helped by doubts over the Indian government’s ability to push through reforms, while its central bank has ignored calls for interest rate cuts, saying that the government needs to reduce its fiscal deficit first.

Those worries were all clearly manifest in a survey that showed shrinking export orders and sluggish output reduced manufacturing growth to its slowest pace since November.

The HSBC manufacturing PMI fell to 52.9 in July from 55.0 in June, its biggest one-month drop since September last year.

Like elsewhere, new export orders formed a black spot, slumping to 49.7 in July from 52.3 in June.

A top policy adviser to the government on Tuesday raised the probability that growth this fiscal year will match or fall below the 6.5 percent growth in 2011/12 — its slowest rate of growth in nine years. — Reuters

NEW DELHI: India yesterday overturned its ban on foreign investment from Pakistan in a move designed to build goodwill amid a renewed push for a peace settlement between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

“The government of India has reviewed the policy... and decided to permit a citizen of Pakistan or an entity incorporated in Pakistan to make investments in India,” said a statement from the Indian commerce ministry.

India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since independence, are channelling their peace efforts into “trade diplomacy”. The aim is to build enough trust to tackle the more troublesome issues that divide them, such as the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

“We welcome this decision,” Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Khan told AFP. “It will definitely benefit Pakistani investors and industrialists. We hope this decision will be fruitful for the people of both countries.”

Pakistani businessmen also welcomed the move. “We do appreciate this action by the government of India, but what will be more interesting for me is when the Indian authorities lift its ban on Indian investors investing in Pakistan,” said Majyd Aziz, involved in the import and export of minerals and in shipping.

“For a better economic future in South Asia, it will be a huge step when businessmen from both the countries can freely invest in each other ’s countr y.” Zubair Motiwala, chairman of the board of investment in Sindh province, said it was the “right decision taken at the right time”.

“Allowing our country to invest in India is a great confidence booster and will pave the way for more cordial bilateral relations,” he said.

The warming commercial ties underline the new relevance of the private sector in the peace process, analysts said. However, a ban on investments in defence, space and atomic energy will remain and all propositions must come via the Indian government.

The decision to accept foreign direct investment from Pakistan was taken in April when the trade ministers of the South Asian rivals met in New Delhi. They also discussed ways to ease visa curbs on business travel and the possibility of allowing banks from both countries to open cross-border branches.

The improved relations between the rivals stem from Pakistan’s decision to grant India “Most Favoured Nation (MFN)” status by year end, meaning Indian exports will be treated the same as those from other nations.

MFN status will mean India can export 6,800 items to Pakistan, up from around

2,000 at present, and the countries aim to lift bilateral trade to $6 billion within three years, officials have said.

Official bilateral trade is just $2.7 billion and heavily tilted in New Delhi’s favour, according to most recent figures, but unofficial trade routed through third countries is estimated at up to $10 billion.

In fur ther progress, the neighbours opened a second trading gate in April along their heavily militarised border, increasing the number of trucks able to cross daily to 600 from 150.

Pakistan has called for a “new era” in economic collaboration with India to build “a legacy of peace and prosperity for our future generations”.

The two countries have said there are many sectors with huge trade potential, from information technology to engineering, education and health. The two nations have voiced hopes that boosting trade can help peace talks which India warily resumed last year after suspending them after the 2008 attack by Islamist gunmen on Mumbai that killed 166 people.

“Commerce is an excellent way to bring countries together,” Indian strategic analyst Uday Bhaskar told AFP recently. “Once you institutionalise trade, it becomes hard to slow the momentum for cross-border exchanges.” — AFP

Indian factory growth slumps to eight-month low in July NEW DELHI: India’s factory sector activity in July grew at its most sluggish pace for eight months, a survey showed yesterday, underlining the weakening state of Asia’s thirdlargest economy.

The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a measure of factory output, slid to 52.9 in July from 55.0 the previous month-the softest reading since last November-on the back of weakening orders.

While a reading above 50 still indicates expansion, the figure marked the biggest one -month drop since September 2011.

“The bottom line is: manufacturing output and new orders decelerated but lingering inflation risks and hitherto lack of action out of Delhi limits the central bank’s room to manoeuvre,” said HSBC’s chief India economist Leif Eskesen.

The data underlined the challenge ahead in re-firing India’s spluttering economy for new finance minister P. Chidambaram, who was given the portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday. Release of the report came a day after the Reserve Bank of India, citing still stubborn inflationary pressures, kept interest rates on hold despite calls from business leaders for urgent action to stimulate the economy.

The once -booming economy grew just 5.3 percent between Januar y and March, its slowest annual quarterly expansion in nine years.

Rival China’s manufacturing activity picked up modestly to a threemonth high in July as factory output rose, boosted by government measures to stimulate the economy, according to a similar HSBC survey.

The July PMI for India pointed to slower growth in output and new orders, particularly from overseas.

India’s headline inflation stands at 7.25 percent-far above the central bank’s comfort level of five to six percent-while the consumer price index, which covers a smaller range of goods, is at over 10 percent. — AFP

JAKARTA: A vendor talks on a phone at Jakarta’s rice market yesterday. Indonesia said that inflation rose slightly to 4.56 percent in July due to higher food prices at the start of the Muslim holy month, the Central Statistics Agency said. — AFP

China hits back at new US sanctions over Iran BEIJING: Beijing reacted furiously yesterday to new US sanctions imposed on a Chinese bank over transactions with Iran, urging Washington to revoke them and saying it would lodge an official protest.

China’s foreign ministry urged the United States to lift the sanctions on the Bank of Kunlun, which it said violated the “norms of international relations” and damaged relations between Beijing and Washington.

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday imposed new economic sanctions on Iran’s oil export sector and on a pair of Chinese and Iraqi banks accused of doing business with Tehran.

Obama said the new measures underlined the United States’ determination to force Tehran “to meet its international obligations” in nuclear negotiations, according to a statement released by the White House.

The US president accused the Bank of Kunlun and the Elaf Islamic Bank in Iraq of arranging transactions worth millions of dollars with Iranian banks already under sanctions because of alleged links to Tehran’s weapons programme.

In a statement, China’s foreign ministry expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to the US move, called it “groundless” and said it would officially protest the decision. “Citing its domestic law, the US imposed sanctions on a Chinese financial institution, which seriously violates the norms of international relations and damages China’s interests,” the ministry said.

“China and Iran have normal state relations and

carry out ordinary, open and transparent commercial cooperation in the energy and trade fields,” it added. “There is no connection with Iran’s nuclear plans, no violations of United Nations’ Security Council resolutions or other international norms and no damage to the interests of any third parties,” the ministry said.

The banking dispute comes after Washington and Beijing clashed last month over proposed UN sanctions against Syria, which were vetoed by China and Russia, provoking criticism by the Obama administration.

The US has steadily worked to punish Iran over its nuclear development, which it has described as a key global security threat. Iran says it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian nuclear energy and research. Western powers, however, fear it is attempting to stockpile enough highly-enriched fuel to have a “break-out capability” to build a bomb.

China’s statement also said that Beijing is cooperating with various parties, including the US, to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.

The latest sanctions came on the same day the US State Department branded Iran “an active state sponsor of terrorism” in its 2011 annual terrorism report. Separately, the US Treasury Department said that Bank of Kunlun provided services to at least six Iranian banks that have been placed under US sanctions because of their alleged roles in Iran’s weapons of mass destruction programs.

Bank of Kunlun declined to comment on the announcement to impose sanctions. — AFP

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

BUSINESS

Al Mazaya Holding presents future prospects of Qatar, GCC real estate market DOHA: Rashid Al Nafisi, Chairman of Al Mazaya Holding, said that the Qatari real estate sector will have massive opportunities to make up for the recent period of anticipation and caution that followed the global credit crunch. The real estate market is coming back to the safe side thanks to the government efforts and bailouts that helped give added support to the sector, which is now approaching a new era depending on transparency, elasticity, and the reputation of the real estate companies in the market.

Al Mazaya Holding bases its analysis of the coming period and expectations of the real estate market on a number of factors, most notably is the vital role played by Qatar on the international level, which gave a momentum to the real estate sector in the country by developing major and comprehensive

infrastructure throughout the country.

Qatar has a 10 year strategy that has directly contributed to offering various attractive opportunities to the real estate sector. These opportunities can help the sector play its vital role in development and increase the rate of GDP. Al Nafisi added: “It is one of the best times to seize opportunities in the real estate market in the region. Al Mazaya Holding intends to enter into new real estate investments and projects in Qatar through Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Development Company, in response to the burgeoning indicators of various economic sectors. We are noticing that many real estate developers are responding positively to these changes. The race today is to find a foothold in the market in a pace that will attract other developers to follow

suit in pursuit of deals based on their capabilities of meeting the needs of the sector.”

Al Nafisi presented the role of Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Development Company: “Mazaya Qatar has achieved

Rashid Al Nafisi significant milestones in both its completed and underway projects, including the construction of 350 residential units for Qatar National Convention

Centre’s employees under a 10-year agreement with the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (Qatar Foundation), the development and management of 1165 residential housing units worth QR627 million for the nursing and technical staff of Sidra Medical and Research Centre’s Residential Project under a 20-year Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) agreement and the 30year agreement to develop and manage the Marina Mall shopping centre in Lusail, Doha on a BOT basis. These milestones in Qatari real estate market are attributed to Mazaya Qatar and major stakeholders led by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development”.

He said: “ Mazaya Qatar has a number of future projects and is seeking alliances and investments with Qatari

Kuwait Energy issues Q2 activity report KUWAIT: Kuwait Energy, one of the fastest growing independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the Middle East, announces an update on its financial and operational activities during the second quarter. ● First half revenue up 35.7% to $119.3 million (H1 2011: $87.9 million) ● First half production up 32.4% to 17,138 boepd (H1 2011: 12,944 boepd) ● Q2 revenue and production up 15% and 31%, year-on-year, to US$53.5 million and 16,906 boepd, respectively ● Q2 2012 production in Egypt up by over 50% compared to Q2 2011 ● Kuwait Energy-led consortium awarded an exploration, development and production service contract for “Block 9” in Basra, during Iraq’s 4th petroleum licensing round ● Signing of Strategic Investment Agreement with Abraaj Capital, to finance the Company ’s near-term development and growth plans Results were underpinned by a 31% increase in daily average production compared to the second quarter of 2011, generated by last year’s significant exploration successes in Egypt and increased production from development activities in Egypt, Russia and Oman. The Company’s production rate for the quarter was 16,906 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) average working interest.

Sara Akbar, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Energy, said: “I am very proud to report such excellent financial and operational suc-

cess again. We continue to see the fruits of the exploration and development successes we’ve made over the last year, especially in Egypt and Russia. We are also very proud of our most recent license award in Iraq, another milestone for the Company as we continue to

Kuwait Energy CEO, Sara Akbar focus on growth within our existing operations and in the MENA region.”

In May 2012, a Kuwait Energy-led consortium was awarded an exploration, development and production service contract for “block 9” in Basra, during Iraq’s fourth petroleum licensing round. Kuwait Energy is the

operator of the 900 km≤ block, with a 40% working interest. The consortium which signed the initial contract with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and Tender Committee earlier in the month includes the national oil company of Turkey “ Turkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortakligi” (TPAO), and Dragon Oil, an independent international oil and gas exploration, development and production company. TPAO and Dragon Oil each hold a 30% working interest in the block.

Q2 operational highlights: In Egypt, development activity continues in wells in Area A, East Ras Qattara (ERQ) and Burg El Arab concessions. Kuwait Energy also received approval to drill the ASA1-X well located in Abu Sennan concession in the Western Desert, and the Mesaha1-X well in Block 6 - Mesaha concession, an oil and gas exploration asset located at the southern frontier of the country.

In Oman, 13 development wells were drilled in the Karim Small Fields, 11 of which were completed and started producing at an initial rate ranging between 100 and 250 boepd each. The remaining two wells were still being drilled at the end of Q2 2012.

In Russia, two development wells, wells 325 and 326, were drilled in the Luzskoye field. At the end of Q2 2012, well 325 was being tested while drilling continued on well 326. The company also constructed well pads and initiated the processing and interpretation of 3D seismic data in both Luzskoye and Chikshina fields.

Housing shortage gives Taylor Wimpey confidence boost

BA offers Kuwaiti travellers a gateway to northern hemisphere KUWAIT: Discover the USA, Canada, and Europe, including London, with British Airways’ special discounted fares. See some of the world’s top events this summer in London, catch a Broadway show in New York or wander through the famed ar t galleries of Paris, all at reduced prices for those who book before 11 August 2012.

The fares are applicable for First, Club World (business class), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and World Traveller (economy) and are valid for travel before 31 December 2012.

Paolo De Renzis, Regional Commercial Manager, Middle East, said: “British Air ways’ extensive network offers passage to many of the world’s great cities through the main travel hub of London, while the ex tended travel period would be tempting for anyone considering travel in the next six months. “ The M iddle East has a diverse population with people from all over the world mak ing a home in the Gulf states. Most residents will travel at least once a year to visit loved ones and many find the Middle East’s central location per fect for discovering new destinations. Our sale fares

open up new and familiar destinations for travellers,” he added.

London is a particularly popular destination for savvy shoppers who appreciate the selection of department stores such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols, the high- end boutiques of Bond Street and the atmosphere of Oxford Street. New York is also a top destination for shopping with the temptation of Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s. With the travel period extended until the end of the year, schedule a trip to Europe’s famed Christmas markets or catch the season’s first dumping of snow in Canada.

British Air ways has also announced its new winter schedule which includes an increased presence in the Middle East and CIS regions due to the integration of former bmi routes. In addition to KSA, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, British Airways will also operate services to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Jordan and Georgia.

A full timetable of British Airways’ flights to London and beyond is available online at ba.com - where customers can find the lowest fares- and book, pay and check-in online for their flights.

LONDON: British housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is confident that a shortage of new homes will help to underpin the housing market and its results this year after reporting a 50 percent rise in first-half profits.

The company and its rivals Barratt Developments and Persimmon are benefiting from a lack of available new homes in Britain and government schemes to spur the market, which have shored up demand despite a gloomy economic outlook and constrained mortgage lending.

“We’re cautious on the wider world, but our own sector is looking very stable and there are some positives from government that have the potential to suppor t the housing market going through the next 6-12 months,” Chief Executive Pete Redfern told reporters yesterday. He added that, assuming stable markets continued, the company expected to post 2012 full-year returns in line with its expectations and to achieve improved performance period on period.

Taylor Wimpey, Britain’s second-largest builder by market value, said that group operating profit was 100.9 million pounds ($158.1 million) in the six months to July 1, against 67.2 million pounds in the same period last year.

Peel Hunt analyst Robin Hardy said the results were strong and could spark a rally in the company’s share price, but that house builders remained vulnerable because demand was heavily skewed by the London housing market.

“We are not expecting a collapse but a slow deflation in prices and, though Taylor Wimpey’s and the sector’s earnings will continue to rise, they may not be as high as the market expects by mid-cycle around 2015,” Hunt said.

At 0822 GMT Taylor Wimpey shares, which have risen by

more than 20 percent since the start of the year, were up 2.2 percent at 45.1 pence, valuing the company at 1.43 billion pounds.

Taylor Wimpey has focused on improving margins rather than volume and, like other builders, has sought to buy land at cheap prices and target stronger-performing parts of the country, such as London and southeast England.

Noting a report from mortgage lender Nationwide that said UK house prices suffered their biggest drop since 2009 last month, Redfern said that the company had not seen a “meaningful discernable trend” and considered price growth to be flat in the first half. Group operating margin rose to 11.1 percent from 8.2 percent in the same period in last year and Redfern said the company expected to improve this to 15 percent within the next two to three years. First-half pretax profit was 78.2 million pounds, against 28.9 million pounds last year.

Taylor Wimpey completed 5,083 homes in the six months, up from 4,707 in the first half of last year, with the overall average selling prices of the completions rising to 176,000 pounds from 168,000 pounds.

Redfern said that market conditions in Spain, where the company has been building holiday homes for 54 years, were tough but that the company expects to turn a first-half loss into a full-year profit as it finishes building more homes in the second half.

The company’s overall order book grew by 18 percent to 688 million pounds. It also declared an interim dividend of 0.19 pence per share, having not paid a dividend in the same period last year. The company had recommenced dividend payments in February with a 0.38 pence final dividend, its first payout since 2007. — Reuters

and regional parties in various sectors.

Evaluations and feasibility studies have been conducted on these projects to better serve the interests of investors. The company is also seeking to appoint highly qualified and experienced professionals to support its administrative and technical teams.

The conglomerate is looking for constant development of its programs and systems to the highest standards in real estate market.”

Al Nafisi concluded: “World Cup 2022 in Doha drives real estate demand and will have real effect on the regional level. Qatar has broken ground for hosting major world events in the GCC countries, which will have attractive opportunities in tourism sector and help develop real estate, sporting and tourism infrastructure.”

QPIC posts net profit of KD 126,509 for first quarter KUWAIT: Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC) achieved net profits of KD 126,509 for the first Quarter ended 30 June 2012.

Announcing the results, Chairman Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak AlSabah said that QPIC Board of Directors approved, on 30 July 2012, the financial statements of the company for the period ended 30 June 2012, in which the company posted net profit of KD 126,509, this is 22% of the net profit announced during the same period last year amounting to KD 563,268. Earnings per share (EPS) for the period stood at 11 fils, compared to an EPS of 51 Fils per share in 2011. This variance was mainly due to QPIC share of losses incurred by The Kuwait Aromatics Company (KARO).

Sheikh Mubarak also noted that the results were in line with QPIC expectations. The total assets of the Company at 30 June 2012 stood at KD 246.51 million as compared to KD 256.09 million at 31 March 2012, representing a decrease of 4% or KD 9.58 million, mainly owning to the payout for the 2012 dividend.

Commenting on the Paraxylene project, Sheikh Mubarak indicated that QPIC is continuously looking for solutions to improve KPPC’s profitability by cooperating with KARO Management and the project partners. As for the PTA and PET project, we are communicating with

world leading consultants and major players in the market and completing the project’s studies to move ahead in the project’s development.

Concluding the event, Sheikh

Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Mubarak commented on QPIC’s future plans, “QPIC is actively seeking new partnerships with well reputed entities and major financial consulting agencies to pick viable and reliable investments across the GCC and the Middle East Region, in collaboration with world leading investment banks and consultants”.

Burgan Bank offers to premier customers free valet parking KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced that it has added new locations for its free valet parking service that is granted to its valued premier customers. Premier Customers, holding a Visa Platinum Debit or Credit card, are entitled to free valet parking at Fanar Mall, Marina Waves, The Palms, and Salhiya complex.

Customers carrying either the VISA Platinum debit or credit card need to simply present either of their cards upon arriving in order to benefit from this new service.

Designed to suit the lifestyle of its distinguished customers, the free valet parking service has been introduced as part of the bank’s wide range of valuable privileges and benefits created and tailored to suit customers’ lifestyle and needs. To find out more about Burgan Bank’s service 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 details, customers can log on to the bank’s website on www.burgan.com

Al Muzaini Exchange opens new branch KUWAIT: Al Muzaini Exchange Co, Kuwait’s pioneers in exchange and remittances have opened doors to its newest branches at Hateen Co-op and Rawda Co-op.

The branch locations are as follows -

Hateen Co-Op, Block No. 4 , Shop No. 7, Ground floor. Al Rawda Co-Op, Al Rawda Area, Block 2, Shop No 22. With these two new openings their branch network races up to 52 which Is the largest network of branches in Kuwait.

FASTtelco’s Instagram contest KUWAIT: FASTtelco, the leading Internet Service provider in Kuwait, winner of the Bizz International Award of 2012 for displaying business excellence and for being the most inspirational company, and winner of the Annual GCC HR Excellence Award for Best Change Management strategy of 2012, is still running its Instagra, daily competition under the slogan: “30 days, 30 prizes, 30 winners”.

The competition started with the beginning of Ramadan under the theme: ‘’What do #FTdays represent to you?”. Participants are required to post their picture on a daily hashtag about any Ramadan topic (example: #Ftday4), where each day represents a certain concept relating to the holy month of

Ramadan such as: sharing, family, iftar, gerge’aan, sunset, suhoor, etc...

FASTtelco will be giving away many valuable prizes every day until the end of Ramadan. In order to view the subject of the competition and the competing picture, applicants may visit the company’s facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/FASTtelco or follow @FASTtelco on the company’s official Instagram account. FASTtelco wishes the best of luck to the participants, and congratulates its winners, moreiver, FASTtelco is continuously committed to utilizing innovative technologies in order to provide the most advanced Internet and data communication services to the Kuwaiti community.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

Is exploring Mars worth the investment?

LOS ANGELES: Saturn has its famous rings and Jupiter is the granddaddy of the solar system, but no planet has entranced earthlings quite like Mars. Humans have launched 40 spacecraft to the Red Planet, lured by the prospect that life might once have existed in what is now dry rocks and sand. The latest machine to make the journey is NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory, a hulking, souped-up lab-on-wheels that will plunge toward the Martian surface next week.

But even as excitement builds, some wonder: Is Mars exploration a good investment? It certainly doesn’t come cheap. It’s hard to calculate a total price tag, but over the 48 years that NASA has been launching missions to Mars, Americans have spent a significant sum. The Viking missions alone cost nearly $1 billion in 1970s dollars. The twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity cost a total of about $1 billion to build and operate as well.

Curiosity, as the Mars Science Laboratory rover is known, is over budget at $2.5 billion. Some in the federal government have suggested it’s time to roll back the spending. President Barack Obama’s fiscal plan for 2013 would cut NASA’s funds for Mars exploration from $587 million to $360 million. Proponents insist Mars science is vital for the US. More visits to our nextdoor neighbor could answer lingering questions about Earth’s history, reinforce US prestige and get more children interested in science.

It also could bring humanity closer to answering the ultimate question: Are we alone in the universe?

“It’s the search for the meaning of life,” said Alden Munson, a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a science and technology think tank based in Arlington, Va. America’s love affair with Mars can be traced to astronomer Percival Lowell, who turned his telescope to the Red Planet in the 1890s

and thought he saw an intricate system of canals that must have been built by intelligent beings. He never found them, of course, but Martians became a science fiction mainstay.

Earthlings got their first up-close view of Mars’ rocky surface in 1965, when Mariner 4 flew by and photographed a surface that appeared as dead as the moon’s - lacking water or active geology, two prerequisites for life. But later missions, from the Mariner 9 orbiter to Spirit and Opportunity, helped establish Mars as a useful comparative laboratory for studying climate and geophysics on Earth. They demonstrated that the planet was once warmer and wetter than it is now. Long ago, it may have been a hospitable cradle for life. When planetary scientists assembled recently at the behest of the National Academies to set research priorities for the next decade, the search for conditions that would allow life to emerge on Mars topped the list.

“If there’s life or past life on Mars, it means the chances that life exists somewhere else are much higher,” said David Paige, who studies the moon and terrestrial planets at UCLA. If Mars is barren, “it might make Earth more unique than we thought.” Some experts question the wisdom of focusing so intently on a single planet. Jupiter’s moon Europa, which is covered with an ice-encrusted ocean, could have the potential to harbor life; Saturn’s moon Titan, rich in organic chemistry, might as well. “It’s like the person who loses their keys and only looks for them below the streetlight,” said David Jewitt, a planetary scientist at UCLA who studies comets.

But funds for planetary science are limited - and even those who favor a broader search admit that Mars remains the most practical site to explore. A mission to Europa, for example, would take about six

years to reach its destination. Curiosity’s trip to Mars takes about eight months. Europa has other drawbacks too: For one, particles flung into space by Jupiter’s magnetic field would likely fry a spacecraft’s electronics in a matter of weeks, said Richard Greenberg, who studies the frozen moon at the University of Arizona. “Personally, I love Europa,” he said. “But objectively, both it and Mars are great places to look for life.”

Regardless of whether life can be found beyond Earth, Mars exploration boosts US prestige. “A lot of the warmest feelings people have had around the world have had to do with the space program,” Munson said.

“It’s hard to put a value on that.” Space exploration is the ultimate status symbol. China and India have signaled their technological aspirations by establishing space programs. So have Iran, Pakistan, Venezuela, Israel, Mexico and dozens of other countries.

“I’m afraid if we step back, it will be decades before we get back to Mars,” said Rep Adam B Schiff, D-Calif., whose district includes NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, where Mars missions are based. “We have the expertise now. No other countries have been able to do this.” NASA has outperformed other space agencies by a wide margin, completing 13 successful missions (against five failures) since 1964. The Russians have had particularly bad luck, with 15 failed missions and only four partial successes.

The amount of money Americans devote to Mars is tiny compared to annual expenditures on other NASA projects, said Munson, who noted that in 2011 alone, the agency spent more than $4 billion on the International Space Station and the fleet of space shuttles. The James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that is designed to

help scientists study the very early universe, is costing NASA $8.8 billion. Even that price tag is dwarfed by the more than $600 billion the Defense Department will spend in 2012. Jewitt put it like this: Americans spend more than $7 billion a year on potato chips.

“We’re talking about a small amount of money in the grand scheme of things,” Paige said.

Still, in the heat of an election season, some find it hard to justify Mars spending as long as the deficit remains high and the basic needs of many citizens aren’t met. This time around, in the run-up to Curiosity’s high-profile landing, it’s hard to find people willing to criticize Mars science in public. But back in 2004, when President George W Bush was pushing an ambitious plan that included manned missions to the Red Planet, Sen Joe Lieberman of Connecticut (then a Democrat) said the billions of dollars NASA would require would be better spent “right here on Earth” on health care, education and domestic security.

Even those who’ve caught the Mars bug and are excited about Curiosity worry that with the new rover, NASA has “put all the eggs in one basket,” said Robert Zubrin, an aerospace engineer and founder of the Mars Society, which advocates for manned missions to the planet. When NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander both failed in 1999, work was already under way on several other missions that turned out to be successful, Zubrin said.

But there’s not much waiting in the wings this time around. Plans to send a lander to scoop up Martian soil and return it to Earth, as well as to visit Europa, have been postponed to save money. After Curiosity, NASA’s planetary scientists have only one major mission lined up: an orbiter called MAVEN, which will explore the Martian atmosphere and climate. It is scheduled for launch in 2013. — MCT

Apple designer: iPhone crafters are ‘maniacal’ ‘Our role is to imagine products that don’t exist’

TOKYO: Staff pose next to the newly introduced guide robot “Tawabo” (C), produced by Japan’s security company Alsok, at the Tokyo Tower’s observation floor in Tokyo yesterday. The 1.6m tall robot weighs 200kg and provides vocal information in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese on a digital information display. — AFP

Electronic Arts reboots ‘Star Wars’ as free game LOS ANGELES: Online games, it seems, just want to be free. Electronic Arts on Tuesday announced that it will offer up substantial portions of its “Star Wars: The Old Republic” multi-player online game to players for free starting this fall. A premium version with unlimited access to all levels, plus any new content, will still be available for $14.99 a month. The move by the Redwood City, Calif., game publisher is an acknowledgment that the current economic climate makes it virtually impossible for a subscription business model to thrive on the Web, where thousands of free games now compete aggressively for attention. “Players want flexibility and choice,” Matthew Bromberg, general manager of BioWare Austin, one of several studios that developed the game, said in a statement. “The subscription-only model presented a major barrier for a lot of people who wanted to become part of the ‘Old Republic’ universe.”

In July, EA cracked open the game’s first 15 levels for free in hopes that would bring in more players. Other companies have made similar moves. Sony Online Entertainment, which operates “EverQuest

2,” “DC Universe Online” and many other online games, has gradually made its entire catalog of titles free to play over the last year, choosing instead to make money by selling virtual items for use in the games.

Only Activision Blizzard’s “World of Warcraft” has been able to maintain its ability to charge players a monthly fee to play, although that title has seen its subscriber base shrink to just above 10 million this year from a peak of 12 million in 2010.

EA also announced first-quarter sales fell 4 percent to $955 million, down from $999 million a year earlier. Net income was $201 million for the quarter ended June 30, down 9 percent from $221 million last year.

To bolster its stock price, the company said it plans to buy back $500 million of its own shares in the coming weeks. With a development and marketing budget of more than $150 million, “Star Wars: The Old Republic” was EA’s costliest game to produce. The decision to throw the title open to free players is not expected to alter EA’s financial performance this year because all of that cost has already been accounted for in previous quarters. — MCT

BHIWANI: Indian fans catch the action in a mobile van fitted with computers showing the London 2012 Olympic Games at Bhiwani, about 120 kms from New Delhi on July 30, 2012. To help villagers follow their heroes and overcome a lack of online access, a specially re-fitted “Internet Bus” is roaming in remote areas of northern India during the London Games, offering computers, live streaming and archived event feeds. — AFP

SAN JOSE: Apple Inc’s celebrated i ndustrial design team is a group of around 16 “maniacal” individuals from all over the world who spend a lot of time brainstorming around a kitchen table. The world’s most valuable technology corporation on Tuesday allowed a rare glimpse into a zealously guarded internal hardware design process that has produced some of the world’s most celebrated consumer electronics.

In a high-profile US patent infringement trial against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd that began this week, it called 17-year Apple design veteran Christopher Stringer as its first witness. Stringer looked every inch the designer with his shoulder-length hair, salt-and-pepper beard, wearing an offwhite suit with a narrow black tie.

“Our role is to imagine products that don’t exist and guide them to life,” he told the jury. Apple’s products-particularly the seminal iPhone — are held in high regard throughout the industry. The gadget that revolutionized the smartphone industry is prominently displayed in the avant-garde San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The company, which is accusing its South Korean arch-foe of stealing iPhone and iPad design and features, owes a debt to creative guru Jonathan Ive and his cadre of designers a s sembled from Britain, Australia, the United States, Japan, Germany over more than a decade.

Stringer said Apple’s group of 15 to 16 industrial designers headed by the Britishborn and recently knighted Ive-work on all of the company’s products and dedicate

time every week to discuss them, mostly at the kitchen table.

That’s where the group is “most comfortable,” he said. Ive’s team leads works out of a large, open studio on Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California, with music blaring through a giant sound system and access strictly limited to a small portion of employees, according to a 2006 profile of Ive in Business Week.

Most of the team have worked side-byside for 15 to 20 years, said Stringer, who has “hundreds” of design patents to his name. “We have been together for an awfully long time,” Stringer said. “We are a pretty maniacal group of people. We obsess over details.”

Over the years, the team earned a reputation for blending the aesthetically appealing with the functional. Stringer worked on the original iPhone-internally codenamed M-68 — and almost all of Apple’s mobile products. Once a product design idea is solidified through a brainstorming session, the design team sketches those ideas and models it through a Computer Aided Design process.

The design team doesn’t follow a linear creative process from idea to sketch, model and then to engineered demo, Stringer said. Developed concepts will be scrapped if a better idea comes along, he said.

“We are always doubting. We are always questioning.” Stringer listed some of the manufacturing problems for the original iPhone, from putting glass in close proximity to hardened steel to cutting holes in the glass. “People thought we were crazy,” he

Microsoft launches a new email client ‘Outlook.com’ LOS ANGELES: Microsoft introduced a new email client Tuesday called Outlook.com, a personal version of its already widely used brand. Outlook.com is Microsoft’s latest stab at an email service and essentially replaces Hotmail as the company’s primary email service. “We realized that we needed to take a bold step, break from the past and build you a brand new service from the ground up,” Microsoft said in a post.

“Now, in addition to a desktop application and a service for businesses, we’re offering Outlook as a personal email ser vice - Outlook.com.” Microsoft said Outlook.com is a “modern email designed for the next billion mailboxes.”

Outlook.com will let users sync their accounts with various social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, as well as Skype eventually. “In the Outlook.com inbox, your personal email comes alive with photos of your friends, recent status updates and tweets that your friend has shared with you, the ability to chat and video call,” Microsoft said. The cloud-based new service will sync users’ email, contacts and calendar across various devices. Outlook.com also includes free Office Web Apps, so users can open and edit attachments from their inboxes. The Redmond, Wash., company is also addressing the issue of cluttered inboxes by sorting messages depending on who they’re from.

The service is free and Microsoft says it has “virtually unlimited storage.” Hotmail users can easily launch the new client by going into their options menu and clicking “Upgrade,” according to Microsoft. They can also acquire a new “@outlook.com” email address if they wish. Users of other email clients, including Gmail and Yahoo, can also use Outlook.com to manage their emails. Microsoft says those users can also add an “@outlook.com” email if they’d like. “This will let you use both services for now, but we think that over time, most people will prefer Outlook.com,” the company said. — MCT

Samsung launches Music Hub in US LOS ANGELES: Samsung launched its Music Hub service in the US on Tuesday. It’s an effort to capture some of the buzz around Spotify with a feature that combines a cloud music locker, unlimited song streaming, a radio player and a music store.

All that costs $10 a month, although song purchases are charged separately.

The catch: you need a Samsung Galaxy S III phone to use it. The U.S. launch comes with a 30-day free trial period. Music Hub was introduced in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Britain in May. The service offers covers a range of services not available now from a single provider.

Apple Inc. sells songs on iTunes for up to $1.29 each and copies or matches songs on your computer in a virtual locker on distant computer servers for $25 a year.

Sweden’s Spotify gives you on-demand access to millions of tracks for $10 a month from mobile devices, and provides a free radio service that streams songs in certain genres. Music Hub does all of that in a single app.

“We purposely are trying to blur the line, whether it’s music from radio or catalog or your music,” said Daren Tsui, chief executive of mSpot, a digital music company that Samsung acquired in May to create Music Hub. “Honestly, where it comes from is less relevant especially if it’s a single plan. What you want is a holistic music experience at the end of the day.”

Having the ability to buy music and store it in a cloud music locker for mobile playback might seem redundant if you can access millions of tracks from mobile devices for a monthly fee. But some artists

keep their material off of subscription music plans. For instance, The Beatles’ music is sold in digital form only on iTunes, and you won’t find classics like “Here Comes the Sun” on subscription services.

So people who have collected the Fab Four’s music over the years would have to save the digital files to their hard drive, download a Music Hub application that uploads them to the cloud and then stream or download them to the Galaxy S III phone. The files could also be transferred from computer to phone with a USB cable.

T.J. Kang, senior vice president of Samsung’s media services, said that while matching Music Hub’s features might cost more through a patchwork of other services, Samsung won’t be losing money because of its arrangement with cellphone carriers and music companies.

“We basically are doing it to make our device more competitive by providing the best experience,” Kang said.

Samsung wouldn’t say how many people have signed up for Music Hub. The company is embroiled in a legal battle with Apple Inc., which accuses Samsung of copying the design of the iPhone in its Galaxy line of phones. A trial involving the world’s two largest makers of mobile phones began Tuesday in San Jose, California.

Last week research firm IDC said Samsung Electronics Co. extended its lead over Apple in mobile phones, shipping 50.2 million units worldwide in the AprilJune quarter, compared to 26 million for Apple. — AP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

H E A LT H

New York City to mothers: You should breast-feed NEW YORK: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a message for new mothers: Breast-feed your baby, if possible. Starting in September, dozens of city hospitals will ask mothers of newborns to listen to talks about why their breast milk is better than the sample formulas many hospitals offer for free.

Then the women can decide for themselves, says the mayor. Bloomberg has been ribbed as the city’s “nanny” for pushing programs aimed at making New Yorkers healthier - from clamping down on big sugar-loaded drinks to creating no-smoking zones in public places.

Now, under the “Latch On NYC” initiative, 27 of 40 hospitals in the city that deliver babies will no longer hand out promotional formula unless it’s for medical reasons, or at a mother’s request. “Most public health

officials around the country think this is a great idea,” Bloomberg said at a City Hall briefing earlier this week. “The immunities that a mother has built up get passed on to the child, so the child is healthier.”

He says formulas remain an acceptable solution if a mother cannot breastfeed, whether for health reasons or because her schedule does not allow it.

The New York initiative is part of a national effort involving more than 600 hospitals, says Marsha Walker, a registered nurse and executive director of the National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy, a nonprofit based in Weston, Mass. In 2011, Rhode Island became the first state to stop giving away free formula to mothers while educating them on the benefits of nursing. Massachusetts followed suit.

New York state ranks next to last by the percentage

of breast-fed infants who receive supplemental formulas in hospital, at 33 percent, New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said. The figure is 38 percent for New Jersey.

By contrast, only 8 percent of newborns in Vermont are fed formula just after birth, Farley said.

Walker calls the practice of including such gifts to new mothers “a very potent form of marketing by manufacturers.”Hospitals, she says, “are in the business of providing health care, not marketing pricey products to vulnerable patients.” One such patient was Beth Schwartz, a Manhattan mother of four who had trouble breast-feeding when her first child was born.

“In a moment of weakness, I defaulted to the formula,” she said. “The fact that the hospital gave it

to me led me to use it, because I might not otherwise have gone out to buy it.” Schwartz said her doctor didn’t know enough about breast-feeding to instruct her, and she should have gone to a lactation consultant who could have helped her. The now 46-year-old mother did exactly that for her second baby. “I got the proper support for breastfeeding, and I refused to take the formula home,” she said.

Health experts from the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics have been encouraging nursing for years, saying benefits include milk rich in nutrients and antibodies that protect a baby. It’s also easier to digest and is cost-free. Critics say the government should not interfere with a mother’s choice. — AP

Dead whale found in Australian ocean pool ‘Sad but natural thing to happen in nature’

BERLIN: A young great grey owl enjoys a mouse in the owls’ enclosure at the Zoologischer Garten zoo in Berlin. Five female great grey owls hatched at the zoo on May 18, 2012. The great grey owl chicks, their parents and conspecifics living at the zoo eat up to 30 mouses every day. In the wild, the animals live in the Northern Hemisphere and have lemmings and voles on their menu. — AFP

Panel recommends against ECG tests for heart disease NEW YORK: Testing electrical activity of the heart using an electrocardiogram is unlikely to help doctors figure out who is at risk of coronary heart disease, according to recommendations from a U.S. government-backed panel. The United States Preventive Services Task Force wrote on Monday that there’s no good evidence the test, also known as an ECG, helps doctors predict heart risks any better than traditional considerations such as smoking, blood pressure and cholesterol levels in people with no symptoms.

“It could potentially be helpful if we had evidence that doing a test like an ECG or an exercise ECG would better classify the people who are at high risk” of heart disease, said Joy Melnikow, a member of the task force from the University of California, Davis.

“Then we could intervene more actively with the very high-risk group which has the highest potential to benefit.”

The task force, which published a statement in the Annals of Internal Medicine, recommends against ECG screening of people considered at low risk for heart disease and says there’s not enough information to rule one way or the other on those at intermediate or high risk. On the other hand, there are both costs and possible harms associated with screening healthy adults, Melnikow said.

“The concern is that if people are already at low risk of heart disease and they have one of those tests, if they have an abnormality on the test it’s more likely it will be a false-positive result,” she added.

“But an abnormal result, whether a false positive or true positive, generally leads to additional testing, and it’s the additional tests that could have some risk.” While ECGs themselves are inexpensive and non-invasive, the follow-up tests can involve passing a tube through the heart or other more intensive, costly procedures.

The new recommendations are an update of the USPSTF’s 2004 guidelines, which also called for no screening in low-risk adults and said there was insufficient evidence to assess the risks and benefits for screening intermediate- and highrisk people. Melnikow said that instead of asking for tests, people concerned about their heart health can discuss diet, lifestyle and family history risks with their doctor, who can then use a risk calculator to determine their chance of getting heart disease - and treat them appropriately. “Everyone can benefit from being physically active,” she said. “Everyone can benefit from not smoking, and people can discuss with their doctors whether they could benefit from taking medication to lower their blood pressure or lower their cholesterol.”—Reuters

SYDNEY: A dead humpback whale washed up in a Sydney ocean pool yesterday, surprising morning swimmers and causing a major headache for authorities who must now remove it. The 11.6 meter (38 foot) young adult humpback, which appeared to have been dead for several days, washed up at Newport beach’s ocean baths overnight as rough seas lashed parts of Australia’s east coast.

Ocean baths are open-air man-made structures on the edge of the beach filled with sea water. “It does have some external injuries but there’s no way of knowing whether they were antemortem or postmortem,” said Wendy McFarlane from the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA).

McFarlane said one possible explanation for the otherwise seemingly healthy animal, estimated to be about 25 to 30 tonnes, to die at sea could be that it had been struck by a ship. Whales generate huge public interest in Australia and hundreds of people flocked to the beach to see the whale floating in the pool.

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph said some locals were moved to tears. “It’s so sad but it is a natural thing to happen in nature,” Lua Silva told the paper.

Newport beach, which is north of Sydney city, was closed because of the risk of sharks being attracted to the carcass as wildlife experts mulled their best options to remove the giant creature.

McFarlane said one option could be to demolish the pool wall and let the animal wash up on the beach. Another solution could be to pull it out to sea at high tide, or bring in an excavator to lift it over the damaged pool wall at low tide.

National Parks and Wildlife Service spokesman Geoff Ross said old and sick humpbacks could wash up after big seas.

“In big seas the predators don’t get the opportunity to deal with the carcass so it often washes in and we’ve seen that on several occasions over the last few years.”

A dead and badly-decomposed 10-metre sperm whale washed up on the same beach in 2011, lodging itself on a rock platform.

Another carcass hit nearby Palm Beach later that year but eventually washed out to sea. Whales are often seen off Australia’s coast in June and July as they make their annual winter migration from Antarctica up to the warmer waters off Queensland state, and again as they return before November. National Parks and Wildlife Service area manager Chris Grudnoff said while a dead animal was unfortunate, it signalled there were increasing numbers of whales in the waters off Australia. “The upside of the fact that we are seeing more dead whales is that it indicates that we have a whole healthy population out there in the ocean,” he said. — AFP

Mother knows best: Finches choose chicks’ gender PARIS: Female parrot finches can match their offspring’s gender to prevailing living conditions, producing more sons in lean times, scientists in Australia said yesterday. The finding presents the first proof for an evolutionar y theor y that female animals should adjust the sex ratio of their offspring to environmental factors for maximum survival, they wrote. “This experiment supports the ideas of sex allocation theory,” author Sarah Pryke of Sydney’s Macquarie University biological sciences department told AFP. Particularly, it showed that parrot finch mothers determined sex ratios “solely in response to the expected rearing environment.” In all previous studies, differences in the mothers’ own physical condition had contributed to determining the sex ratio of their offspring. But in this test, scientists split one-year-old birds fed on the same diet from birth into two groups and gave them either a high- or low-

nutrition diet for 12 weeks before mating, taking pains to maintain their body condition. The birds in the two groups weighed the same and had the same vital signs and immune responses, but those on the poorer diet, representing a harsher rearing environment, produced significantly more sons, said the researchers.

I n finches, male offspring grow faster and are healthier and likelier to survive on poor quality diets than their sisters-and are thus less of a burden on their mothers. Pryke said the findings reported in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B were likely to apply to other animals, also humans. “I n some ways I suppose it is surprising that females have such control over the sex ratio of their offspring,” she said. “In other ways, it is perhaps not so surprising as it fits with evolutionary theory and the idea that females should utilize strategies that maximize their own fitness in a given environment.”—AFP

AUSTRALIA:A national park ranger inspects a dead 30-tonne humpbackwhale in the Newport Beach rockpool north of Sydney yesterday. — AFP

New vigour in quest for Higgs boson GENEVA: Heartened by a glimpse of what may be the Higgs boson, scientists at the CERN physics lab are smashing particles with new vigour in a quest to understand why matter has mass and other riddles of the natural universe.

Rather than the end of the line, the July 4 unveiling of a boson with Higgs-like characteristics opens new scientific frontiers, enthuse researchers at the Large Hydron Collider near Geneva. The first step is to find irrefutable proof that the particle they found is indeed the Higgs-known as the God Particle and believed to confer mass.

This would “open a fascinating new field of research”, Higgs hunter Bernard Ille told AFP at the LHC, housed in a ring-shaped tunnel 27 kilometers (16.9 miles) long and up to 175 metres (568 feet) below ground. A project of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the particle collider is employed in a needle-in-a-haystack quest for the Higgs boson and solving other riddles of particle physics. “The LHC is made to last another twenty-odd years, exactly to allow us to immerse ourselves in this field of research, of which we have barely scratched the surface,” said Ille, research director of France’s CNRS institute.

Earlier this month, a 50-year search resulted in physicists announcing they found a particle “consistent” with the Higgs-a milestone in Man’s understanding of the natural world. Confirming the existence of Higgs would validate the Standard Model of physics, a theory that identifies the building blocks of matter and the particles that convey fundamental forces. The LHC comprises four huge labs

Air China no longer transporting lab monkeys: PETA WASHINGTON: Air China is no longer transporting monkeys for laboratory experiments on its flights, animal rights group PETA said Tuesday, citing an email from the airline. “We are notified by headquarters that we have stopped conducting this business,” said a one-line email from Jason Wang, Air China’s New York cargo manager, to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, seen by AFP. In a statement, PETA said the email came less than 24 hours after it asked its social media followers to call Air China in New York and demand it stop transporting Asian primates to US laboratories.

“China is the source of more than 70 percent of monkeys imported to the United States for use in cruel experiments,” said PETA’s senior vice president of laboratory investigations Kathy Guillermo. “Now that Air China is no longer participating in this bloody

trade, US experimenters will find it harder to get their hands on more victims.” Last year, a total of around 18,000 primates were imported into the United States from overseas for lab experiments, PETA has said.

Beijing-based Air China has been cited four times this year under US animal welfare laws over incidents in which lab-bound monkeys either ran away or suffered injuries resulting from hazardous enclosures, according to PETA. Most major Western airlines refuse to carry primates intended for laboratories. But others-including Air France, China Eastern, Philippine Airlines and Vietnam Airlines-still do, PETA said. In May, a monkey escaped from a cage inside the cargo hold of a Beijing-bound Air China flight at New York’s Kennedy airport, delaying its departure for nearly four hours, local media reported.— AFP

along the Swiss-French border, two of which focus on the Higgs search-CMS and Atlas. The grand scale of the CMS, 15 metres in diameter and weighing 14,000 tons, contrasts sharply with the objects of its experiments-the fundamental and smallest elements of all matter.

Hard to imagine when one is confronted by what appears to be a simple though very large tube, that inside beams of hydrogen protons can shoot at nearly the speed of light in a void similar to that found in outer space. The CMS and its sister labs detect head-on collisions between the protons which then disintegrate into smaller particles.

The LHC can only be entered when it is in sleep mode, for risk of exposure to radiation emitted by the high-energy bursts. The final prize for scientists involved in this quest: nothing less than Man’s understanding of the Universe.

Today, physicists at the LHC are piling up collisions and statistics they hope will confirm the Higgs’ existence and shed some light on its nature. “Once we understand this, there are many other avenues that open up because the boson itself posed a serious theoretical problem,” said Yves Sirois, one of the CMS’ directors. “Truly, it opens the door to a new level of physics”-understanding such physics mind-benders as supersymmetry. “It is likely that by raising the energy levels in the LHC in a few years we shall be capable of discovering dark matter,” said Sirois. Dark matter is believed to comprise 83 percent of matter in the Universe but cannot be detected by the naked eye. The four LHC labs are used by some 10,000 scientists from around the world.—AFP

Record numbers rely on ‘Happy pills’ LONDON: Record numbers of adults here are relying on Prozac and other so-called happy pills, according to official National Health Service (NHS) figures yesterday.

Almost 50 million prescriptions were handed out by doctors last year - a rise of nine percent compared with the previous 12 months. Experts said increasing numbers of patients are turning to GPs for help as depression loses its stigma. At the same time, doctors are more inclined to give people a proper diagnosis and prescribe medication, rather than simply sending them away.

The figures, from the state funded NHS Information Centre, show the health service spent 270 million pounds handing out such drugs in 2011, a rise of more than a fifth compared with 2010. Last year, just under 47 million prescriptions were handed out, a nine percent increase compared with the previous year.

However, campaigners say doctors are sometimes too eager to prescribe antidepressants when there are other treatments available, such as counselling, the Daily Mail newspaper noted. There is evidence that one-on-one therapy or group sessions are just as effective as drugs but far less expensive. They also help address the cause of the illness - such as grief or lack of confidence - and, unlike drugs, do not have unpleasant side effects such as insomnia or sickness. —KUNA

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Improving lives, easing the cost of dying How to manage symptoms at home CALIFORNIA: Marilyn Cronin was too sick to live. But she wasn’t ready to die. So she curled up on the sofa of her Soquel mobile home, next to a bucket for vomit, and cried.

Suffering from liver failure and lung disease-suspended between health and death-she braced herself for the next hospitalization, then another, and perhaps still others, until the last one, when her suffering would end.

Then, unexpectedly, relief arrived: A cheerful nurse practitioner with a starched British accent pushed open the mobile home door and pulled up a chair. For two hours, Karen Gossage just listened. Then the two women mapped out a plan: Which medicines might help. Where to get a walker. How to manage symptoms at home to prevent a midnight rush to the emergency room. Who would help her at the end.

What was extraordinary was not just the thoughtfulness of the conversation, but its rarity-and, if replicated, how profoundly it could alter modern medicine. This seemingly simple, yet pioneering programknown as “outpatient palliative care”-is part of an experiment sponsored by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, soon to expand throughout much of the Bay Area. A similar innovation will appear in San Jose in the fall with the opening of the Palliative Care Center Silicon Valley, the first independent stand-alone facility of its type in California, run by Hospice of the Valley.

Palliative care is not hospice, which also focuses on emotional support and relieving symptoms for people in the final six months of a terminal illness. Palliative patients may have several years left. And it does not require giving up the chase for a cure, as hospice does. In fact, palliative care can ease illnesses that aggressive treatments often trigger.

But neither is it a hospital, where aggressive care at each crisis can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Palliative counseling enabled 77-year-old Joseph Weigand, also of Soquel, to enjoy oceanfront drives and trips to his beloved office-and gave him the chance to stand his ground against

dialysis at the end of his life. Gossage’s gentle probing revealed that the quality, not quantity, of his life matters most to this deeply spiritual man with kidney, lung and heart ailments.

“It was start-to-finish information, and so very important and helpful,” he said. Lifeprolonging dialysis? Not for him. “It was the first I’d heard him say that,” said his daughter Kathy Baazard, who is caring for him.

Heavy-hearted, “I had to leave the room. He opened up, and said things that hadn’t been said.”

In Foster City, a palliative care home visit meant that retired Air Force flight surgeon Dr. John Meyers could nap and watch Wimbledon on TV, instead of undertaking a grueling trip to a clinic.

Because Meyers is weak and cannot walk, even a medical appointment is tough on the 83-year-old and his petite wife. “It totally wipes him out,” Susan Meyers said.

“So it’s comforting and a relief for me now to have a ‘team’ to work with me.”

Without such support, it is natural for caregivers to panic when new symptoms appear, or old ones worsen. The medical maelstrom of a crisis may whisk away thoughtful choices on the conveyor belt from the ER to the intensive care unit. “If someone’s only real resource for symptom control is the hospital, can you blame them for going?” said Dr. Neal Slatkin, chief medical officer of Hospice of the Valley, which will open Palliative Care Center Silicon Valley. “But why wait until someone feels so bad that they have to go?” he asked. “It’s much more cost-effective and humane to better control the symptoms.” Yet, the high-cost health care system rolls on largely ignoring the kind of ongoing in-home care that Cronin, Meyers and Weigand received-even though reducing ER visits and repeated hospitalizations saves society bundles of money. One study showed a $7,000 savings per hospital admission for palliative care patients compared with those without palliative care. And as the population ages, the costs will soar. Today, 47 million Medicare beneficiaries cost the

nation a half-trillion dollars a year. In 2020, when the “gray tsunami” engulfs the nation, 89 million people will be on Medicare and the cost of care will be staggering.

One reason is that US health care’s “fee for service” system rewards quantity of care by paying providers for each procedure, test or clinic visit. That leads to cascading

conferences or coordinating care with oncologists, radiologists, cardiologists or other doctors-even though such efforts limit 911 calls and hospitalizations, reducing costs to society.

“There is a reason why outpatient palliative care has not exploded onto the American medical scene-because the reim-

CALIFORNIA: Dr. John Meyers of Foster City, who suffers from a neurodegenerative ailment, receives care at home from palliative care specialist Dr. Steve Lai, on June 29, 2012.—MCT costs as ailing elders repeatedly receive expensive high-tech care. High-tech treatments also buoy doctors’ economic value.

A little-known “relative value unit” measures everything a doctor does, with higher scores for sophisticated treatment and lower scores for face-to-face time. For instance, Medicare awards 2 units for a 15-minute office visit about a fever and sore throat.

Forty minutes of office counseling for a patient with multiple chronic illnesses gets 4 units. A coronary bypass surgery counts for more than 60.

Doctors earn no units at all for conversations about end-of-life planning, family

bursement is relatively so poor,” Slatkin said. So Alzheimer’s patients get feeding tubes and 90-year-olds get colonoscopies, but few have discussions about the decisions that could spare them expensive and often futile treatments.

And without insurer support, homebased palliative care is a losing proposition.

The Palo Alto Medical Foundation expects to lose $1 million per year, or 30 cents on every dollar it spends. Palliative Care Center Silicon Valley will take three to four years to break even and will ultimately rely, in part, on philanthropy. A “pay for value” approach, palliative care advocates say,

would make our system cheaper and better. But you won’t find this approach in the new national health care reform plan.

President Barack Obama’s original legislation included Medicare payments for counseling about end-of-life choices as part of the annual physical examinations.

When former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin called these discussions “death panels,” the provision disappeared. There are exceptions: Kaiser Permanente offers in-home palliative care to its members, recognizing that it reduces their need and use of hightech end-of-life treatments. Some hospices offer home care to patients who need skilled care, but only for a few weeks. And about half of the state’s hospitals offer palliative care — but only to patients in the institutions’ beds. They depend on it to shorten patient stays and reduce quick readmissions, which Medicare does not cover.

A major regulatory rule change is now under consideration at Medicare that would improve payment for the time spent to coordinate of complex chronic care.

Experts expect that the relief of suffering and the cost savings seen in experiments like those in the Bay Area will encourage the public and policymakers to see palliative care as promising an option for seriously ill people as it has been for Cronin.

The cure was Cronin’s secret: Between her despair and delirium, she dreamed of recovery. She is only 58. And a monthlong hospitalization for liver failure and lung disease scared her so profoundly that she quit cold turkey a lifelong addiction to cigarettes. She hoped to swim again in her brother’s pool in Los Banos and visit relatives in Red Bluff. Maybe she would even get on a liver transplant list.

But wrenching pain, exhaustion, nausea, piercing chills and slow suffocation drained her hopes. “I was miserable. I had diarrhea all the time. I was throwing up all the time. I was just laying here every day, pulled up with a blanket, I was so cold,” said the former waitress. “What I wanted to do was just die.”—MCT

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WHAT’S ON

TMCA organizes Islamic Lecture, iftar banquet amilnadu Muslim Cultural Association (TMCA) is arranging an Islamic Lecture with special reference to Education Awareness under the kind sponsorship of Al-Mulla International Exchange Co, and TVS Cargo and Travels Co Kuwait. The event will be held today 2nd August from 10:00 pm - till Suhur time at the Jamiat AlIslah Auditorium, Al-Rawdha, Kuwait. Moulana SHAMSUDEEN QASIMI, Chief Imam, Makkah Masjid - Chennai will be the Chief Guest for this elite convention. The whole program is planned to livetelecast via WEB service.

There will be separate seating arrangements for ladies as well as transportation from Mirqab, Farwaniya, Fahaheel areas. Special Suhur meals pack will be distributed to all and on time at the end of the program. TMCA office bearers and all members are working sincerely for the entire success of this program. TMCA cordially invites every Tamil speaking Muslim brothers and sisters to attend this grand gathering with high religious spirit.

TMCA is also arranging a Grand Iftar Banquet 2012 under the kind sponsorship of Lucky Press Kuwait, TVS Cargo and Travels Co Kuwait and AlYasra Foods Co, - Kuwait. The event will be held on Friday, the 03rd August 2012 by 05:30 pm at Teachers Society, Dasma, Kuwait. The Ambassador of India will be the chief guest and the event will be preceded by a special lecture in Tamil language after Asr Prayer by Moulana. Many prominent personalities all over Kuwait, well-wishers, academics, various chiefs from different communities and associations will take part regardless of caste, creed and culture. Around 1300 persons are expected to participate in this mega event. TMCA cordially invites every one to attend this party and pray for our Unity in Diversity.

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Boubyan Bank holds girgian for children with disabilities large number of Boubyan Bank employees took part in a girgian event organized by the Kuwait Society for Guardians of the Disabled, which the bank sponsored and featured attendance of diplomats

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and other dignitaries. “Our participation in this event comes as part of the bank’s commitment to help children with special needs engage more with society through celebrating the girgian traditional activity,”

read a statement released by the Boubyan Bank. The event featured several activities including competitions for prizes presented by Boubyan Bank.

Attention Kids!

EF VBS 12 starting from Aug 24th 2012. Six Exciting days of singing, games & bible stories for children of all ages. HURRY!!!. Limited Seats. Register Online www.cefkuwait.org

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Competitions in Patriotic songs ndo-Kuwait Friendship Society, Kuwait (www.indo-kuwaitfriendshipsociety.com) is planning to conduct competitions in Indian and Kuwaiti Patriotic songs. This is the first time in Kuwait, an Indian Association is organizing contests in “Patriotic Songs” for both Indian and Kuwaiti School students.

The first 3 places will be declared separately by Judges who are experts in Indian and Kuwaiti Patriotic songs. Several prizes and awards will be handed over for the winning schools. Pradeep Rajkumar and A K S Abdul Nazar said that IKFS wants let our children learn what they mean as a “Patriotic” to their home country. 4 pages of spot Essay competition related to “Patriotism” also will be held in the same day as a spot registration. 1 Girl and 1 Boy student from each School can participate in the ESSAY contest. Dr. Mohamed Tareq, Chairman of the First Indian Model School in Kuwait “ Salmiya Indian Model School (SIMS) already confirmed as a Co-Sponsor of the Program.

Conditions apply 1) The competitions are meant for all the Schools located in Kuwait and should be nominated by school authority.

2) Each school can select group of 7 students for the “PATRIOTIC SONGS (Indian and Kuwaiti)” and nominate separately.

3) Children of above 12 years till 17 years (VII classes to XII classes) are eligible for the contest. But if School is permitted 4) Musical instruments or KARAOKE mixer should be accompanied by the participating students/Children and the school team should operate and select the mixers.

5) Time frame: 7 minutes - Names will be called as “First come” in the Registration.

The Event will be held at the auditorium of “Salmiya Indian Model School” on Saturday, 27th October 2012 from 09:30 am onwards. It will be a full day program with fun and full of entertainments. Food-stalls of different Kuwaiti and Indian tastes will installed.

Dr. Ghalib Al-Mashoor said in a press release that Invitations for all schools located in various parts of Kuwait are already been sent. Schools under one management but from different locations can also participate in the contest individually. As per the school directory, there 23 Indian schools in Kuwait. The last date of receiving names of the Participants is scheduled on 2nd day of October, 2012 Gandhi Jayanti day.

The entry is free to all and due to 2nd day of Eid Al-Adha holidays, a large crowd is expected to attend in addition to, Senior Kuwaiti and Indian citizens will also grace the function.

All the applications of interest should be sent to: ikfsociety@gmail.com Phone:99430786

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Register and Win promotion at Q8India.com ity Centre, Kuwait’s premier mega-market, in association with Q8India.com, a leading online Indian community portal, is holding a month-long ‘Register and Win’ promotion campaign. Any resident in Kuwait can participate in the promotion by visiting www.Q8India.com and registering their name, email and phone number. A winner will be picked each day (except Friday), from the list of names registered on the previous day, and receive a free shopping voucher worth KD10 from City Centre.

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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

NBK Summer Internship Program students visit Al Hamra Tower ational Bank of Kuwait (NBK) organized a field trip for the students of the Summer Internship Program to the Hamra Tower. The NBK Summer Internship Program is designed for students as an extension of NBK’s education outreach efforts. The program demon-

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strates NBK’s long-standing social involvement as well as its national commitment towards providing the young generations with the appropriate opportunities to experience firsthand how the actual professional banking issues and transaction are handled and processed.

The 5-hour daily sessions of two-week internship featured a mixture of theoretical and practical training dedicated to providing the interns with invaluable knowledge on a variety of subjects such as; the team work, creative thinking, means of self expression and modern banking work pro-

cedure, in addition to helping interns to have greater exposure to daily banking work procedures. NBK regularly organizes and designs events and packages for the youth of the country to familiarize them with the world of banking and make them responsible citizens.

KERA holds iftar sangamam 2012 uwait Ernakulam Residence Association (KERA) conducted its Iftar Sangamam 2012 on 27th of July at Abbassiya Orma Auditorium . In this function the ‘Truth’ Director and an eminent scholar Sayed Abdul Rahman

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expressed the iftar massage. Father Biju Kavatt and Yuvadarsan coordinator Retheesh felicitated the iftar function.

KERA general convener Jomy Augustin presided over the meeting and Eldhose P Joy welcomed the audience. The func-

‘Leniency of Islam’ An unprecedented initiative of KTV2 (English channel) is the new program by the name ‘Leniency of Islam’ presented by Shaikh Musaad Alsane and directed by Hamid AlTurkait. The program is mainly meant to address the expatriates living in Kuwait. Religious questions are received through the program email qislam@tv.gov.kw and sms can be sent to- 97822021 and answered by the lecturer and Imam in Awqaf Ministry Shaikh Musaad Alsane - a Master Degree holder in Sharia and fiqih from Kuwait University.

So don’t forget to watch the program every Friday at 1:00 pm.

Registration for Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament begins Once again this year, the stage is set for the fourth annual ‘Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament’ to be held from August 3 to 9 at the Kazma Sporting Club, Adailiya.

Abdulrahim Al-Awadi, the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee has announced that doors are now open for registration to all those who are interested in participating, stating that the deadline for registration will be August 1. The participation in this tournament is open to all and will fall under three categories this year. The first category is for amateurs from ages 17 and above, second category is for professional players from ages 20 and above and

tion was concluded with a grand iftar party. KERA general secretary Subair Alamana, Zainudeen, Nasser T P, MP Prathap, Anil Kumar, Prince Joseph , Ajo Abraham, Sadasivan, Binil Scaria, Anoop Kumar, C O Yohannan, Bibin Alias etc

the third category is for ladies 17 and above. Following its last three years of grand success, the 4th annual Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament is being organized during Ramadan for squash lovers who will have an opportunity to practice the sport while being encouraged to develop their skills in a healthy, competitive and social environment. All details pertaining to the tournament and means to participate can be found on the tournaments facebook page under ‘Ramadan Stars Squash Tourney’ or follow the official twitter page @RamadanStars for updates. The registration is taking place at GO SPORT store located at The Avenues Mall. Alawadi also pointed out the great interest the ‘Ramadan Stars Squash tournament’ received from the private sector, where companies took the initiative in sponsoring the tournament. Alawadi expressed his gratitude and thanks to Kazma Sporting Clun, Go Sport, Comtel, Vio, Unite Colors and Alawadi Photography guaranteeing unique prizes for all winners.

Aware Center Ramadan Diwaniya “The AWARE Center cordially invites you to its third Ramadan diwaniya presentation entitled, “The Fascinating and Delicious World of Dates,” by Claudia AlRashoud on Tuesday August 7th, 2012.

One of nature’s most perfect foods, the date holds a special place in the history, hearts, and homes of Kuwaitis.

Dates were once a vital source of sustenance for desert travelers and a staple commodity of Kuwait’s seafaring

coordinated the function. Fahaheel unit convener Abdul Jabar expressed the vote of thanks.

trade. Today, the date is still one of the most important cash crops in the region, with between 600 to 700 varieties grown.

Of all the traditional foods eaten during Ramadan, nutritious and delicious dates undoubtedly have the most benefits for those who are fasting. With this Ramadan coinciding with the local date harvest, now is the time to enjoy them, whether you are fasting or not.

Join local photojournalist Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud for a diwanniya presentation that will immerse you in the fascinating world of dates on August 7th, 2012 at 8:00pm at the AWARE Center premises where you will learn about dates in local tradition, culture, cooking, and agriculture, and sample some of the different types of these healthy fruits of the desert.

Originally from California, Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud has enjoyed working as an author and photojournalist in Kuwait since 1979. She was the first female reporter/photographer for the Arab Times newspaper, and her photographs and in-depth feature articles continue to be published in this local daily as well as in many international publications. She has written a number of books, with photographs, about Kuwait which include Kuwait Before and After the Storm, Kuwait’s Age of Sail, Kuwait Kaleidoscope, Dame Violet Dickson (also available in Arabic), and a children’s book about Kuwait’s desert environment and the animals that live in it called What the Camels Said to Santa.

For more information, please call 25335260/80 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

WHAT’S ON

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian ConsulateGeneral in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE

The Embassy of Argentina requests all Argentinean citizens in Kuwait to proceed to our official email ekuwa@mrecic.gov.ar in order to register or update contact information.

The embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the embassy. The registration process helps the Argentinean Government to contact and assist Argentineans living abroad in case of any emergency.

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EMBASSY OF BANGLADESH

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will follow the following office hours during the holy month of Ramadan. Sunday to Thursday: 9 am - 3:30 pm. Friday and Saturday: Weekly holidays.

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EMBASSY OF BRITAIN Consular section at the British Embassy will be starting an online appointment booking system for our consular customers from Sunday, 01 July 2012. All information including how to make an appointment is now available on the embassy website. In addition, there is also a “Consular Appointment System” option under Quick links on the right hand side on the homepage, which should take you to the “Consular online booking appointment system” main page.

Please be aware that from 01 July 2012, we will no longer accept walk-in customers for legalisation, notarial services and certificates (birth, death and marriages). If you have problems accessing the system or need to make an appointment for non-notarial consular issues or have a consular emergency, please call 2259 4355/7/8 or email us on consularenquirieskuwait@fco.gov.uk. If you require consular assistance out of office hours (working hours: 0730-l430 hrs), please contact the Embassy on 2259 4320.

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EMBASSY OF INDIA During the holy month of Ramadan, the office timings of the Indian Passport and Visa Service Centres of BLS International Visa Services Co, Kuwait, situated at (i) Emad Commercial Centre, Basement Floor, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Sharq, Kuwait, and (ii) Mujamma Unood, 4th floor, Office No. 25-26 Makka Street, Fahaheel, Kuwait, will be from 8.00 am - 3.00 pm from Saturday to Thursday (i.e. six days a week). Tokens for submission of applications will NOT be issued after 2.00 pm. Delivery of passports and visas will be from 11.00 am onwards. Embassy of India, Kuwait, will maintain its usual working hours.

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Kuwait’s former ambassador to Jordan Sheikh Faisal Al-Malek Al-Sabah held a ghabqa attended by many officials and dignitaries.

— Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform Kenyan residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that with effect from June 1, 2012 the Embassy has moved from its current location to a new location in Surra Block 1, Street 8, Villa 303.

Please note that the new telephone and fax numbers will be communicated as soon as possible. For enquiries you can contact Consular Section on mobile 90935162 or 97527306.

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EMBASSY OF MEXICO The Embassy of Mexico is pleased to inform that it is located in CLIFFS Complex, Villa 6, Salmiya, block 9, Baghdad street, Jadda Lane 7. The working hours for consular issues are from 9:00 to 12:00 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 14:00 to 15:00 hours for lunch break. The Embassy of Mexico kindly requests all Mexicans citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the e-mail: embkuwait@sre.gob.mx in order to register or update contact information. Other consultations or/and appointments could be done by telephone or fax: (+965) 2573 1952 ■■■■■■■

he Zakat House held ghabqa in honor of the external delegations visiting Kuwait. Director of external activities admin Abdullah Ahmad Al Haider said that organizing the ghabqa for the external delegations visiting Kuwait shows the importance of meetings with external charity organizations that visit Kuwait during the month of Ramadan, and make use of those visits to exchange experience and improve the charity work.

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KALA-Kuwait Abbassiya holds east unit gathering he Abbassiya East unit of KALAKuwait organized its family gathering at KALA Centre. The function was formally inaugurated by KALA Vice president P R Babu and presided by C K Noushad. Sam Pynummodu portrayed the history of KALA and its activities detailing right from the formation, its aims and intentions and growth of KALA into a respected position among the Indian associations of Kuwait with thousands of working members.

Thomas Mathew Kadavil explained different charity activities taken over by KALA in cooperation with the embassy of India in Kuwait.

He also clarified how to identify genuine issues before taking up to have an effective and resulting in a positive upbeat in the society. Sajitha Skaria elaborated the actvities of VanithavediKuwait, the women’s wing of KALA-

EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, AlSalaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, e-mail:myankuwait11@gmai1.com ■■■■■■■

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

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EMBASSY OF PHILIPPINES

Kuwait. J Albert, General convener of Mathrubhasha Samithi of KALA illustrated the prestigious Malayalam Education Programme, which is currently undergoing in more that 54 centres in different parts of Kuwait with

student participation of more than 1,500.

The gathering was felicitated while sharing their own experiences in KALA

by Joji Aipe, Johnson George, Saleem Raj, Ranjith, Vikas and N R Rajeesh. Unit

convener Prenston Dicruz welcomed while Joint Convenor Balagopal rendered vote of thanks. The programs were coordinated by Skaria Jon, Yohannan Thomas, Chandran, Sanooj, Unnikrishnan, Asokan etc.

In reference to our announcement last July 14 2012 announcing the transfer and opening of our new Philippine Overseas Labor Office due on August 1 , we regret to inform Filipinos in Kuwait that due to unavoidable circumstances, the August 1 opening will be moved to new date August 5. POLO will be closed to public transactions on July 30, 31 and August 1 & 2. For emergency please contact the POLO hotline at Tel 99558527.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

03:00 03:30 04:25 05:20 05:45 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:25 08:15 08:40 09:10 10:05 11:00 11:25 11:55 12:50 13:15 13:45 14:40 15:30 16:00 16:30 16:55 17:25 18:20 19:15 19:40 20:10 20:35 21:05 22:00 22:55 23:50

Rescue Vet World Wild Vet Monster Bug Wars Living With The Wolfman Animal Battlegrounds Wild Animal Orphans Wild Animal Orphans Baboons With Bill Bailey Corwin’s Quest Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Breed All About It Growing Up...

Monster Bug Wars Wildlife SOS Gorilla School Animal Cops Houston Rescue Vet Rescue Vet Animal Precinct Monster Bug Wars Baboons With Bill Bailey Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Natural Born Hunters Natural Born Hunters Trophy Cats Dogs 101: Specials Wildlife SOS Gorilla School Living With The Wolfman Animal Battlegrounds Monster Bug Wars Wildest Latin America Speed Of Life Animal Cops Houston

03:20 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 03:45 Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey 04:35 James Martin’s Favourite Feasts 05:00 MasterChef 05:25 MasterChef 05:50 Living In The Sun 06:35 Rachel’s Favourite Food For Living 07:00 MasterChef Australia 07:45 MasterChef Australia 08:35 Holmes On Homes 09:20 Holmes On Homes 10:05 Bargain Hunt 10:50 Antiques Roadshow 11:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 12:20 10 Years Younger 13:10 What Not To Wear 14:00 What Not To Wear 14:50 Bargain Hunt 15:35 Antiques Roadshow 16:25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:10 Come Dine With Me 18:00 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 18:30 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 18:55 Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey 19:45 Come Dine With Me 20:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:10 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

03:00 03:30 03:45 04:00 04:30 04:45 05:00 05:30 05:45 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 07:45 08:00 08:30

BBC World News London Live Asia Business Report Sport Today BBC World News London Live Asia Business Report Sport Today BBC World News London Live Asia Business Report Sport Today BBC World News London Live Hardtalk BBC World News London Live World Business Report BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live World Business Report

08:45 09:00 09:30 09:45 10:00 10:30 10:45 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 12:45 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 15:45 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 17:45 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 22:45 23:00 23:30

BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News London Live World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News London Live Hardtalk BBC World News London Live World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News London Live Hardtalk BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live BBC Focus On Africa BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live BBC World News London Live World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News London Live Hardtalk

03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:00 05:25 05:50 06:00 06:15 06:30 06:55 07:20 07:45 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:05 10:30 Doo 10:55 11:15 11:40 12:00 12:15 12:40 12:55 13:20 13:35 14:00 14:50 15:15 Doo 15:40 16:00 16:15 16:40 17:05 17:30 17:55 18:10 18:35 19:00 19:15 19:40 19:55 20:20 20:35 21:00 21:25 21:50 22:15 22:40 23:05 23:20 23:45

Dexter’s Laboratory Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes The Scooby Doo Show Johnny Bravo The Flintstones The Jetsons Wacky Races The Garfield Show Tom & Jerry Kids Bananas In Pyjamas Baby Looney Tunes Gerald McBoing Boing Ha Ha Hairies A Pup Named Scooby-Doo The Garfield Show Johnny Bravo Dexter’s Laboratory Pink Panther And Pals The Scooby Doo Show Scooby-Doo And ScrappyDastardly And Muttley The Flintstones Wacky Races Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Puppy In My Pocket Looney Tunes Scooby Doo Where Are You! Scooby-Doo And ScrappyDastardly And Muttley Tom & Jerry Tom & Jerry Pink Panther And Pals Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show The Garfield Show Johnny Bravo Dexter’s Laboratory Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Dexter’s Laboratory Johnny Bravo Pink Panther And Pals Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Popeye The Jetsons Duck Dodgers

03:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 03:25 Ben 10 03:50 Adventure Time 04:15 Powerpuff Girls 04:40 Generator Rex 05:05 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:55 Angelo Rules 06:00 The Marvelous Misadventures...

06:25 Casper’s Scare School 07:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 07:15 Adventure Time 07:40 Johnny Test 08:05 Grim Adventures Of...

08:55 Courage The Cowardly Dog 09:45 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 10:10 Redakai: Conquer The Kairu 10:35 Powerpuff Girls 11:25 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 12:15 Ed, Edd n Eddy 13:05 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 13:30 Sym-Bionic Titan 13:55 Foster’s Home For...

14:20 Foster’s Home For...

14:45 Angelo Rules 15:35 Powerpuff Girls 16:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 16:40 Johnny Test 17:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 17:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 17:55 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 18:20 Batman Brave And The Bold 18:45 Young Justice 19:10 Hero 108 19:35 Ben 10 20:00 Ben 10 20:25 Courage The Cowardly Dog 21:15 Grim Adventures Of...

22:00 Codename: Kids Next Door 22:50 Ben 10 23:15 Ben 10 23:40 Chowder

03:00 Anderson Cooper 360 04:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 05:00 Quest Means Business 06:00 The Situation Room 07:00 World Sport 07:30 World’s Untold Stories 08:00 World Report 09:00 World Report 10:00 World Sport 10:30 Inside Africa 11:00 World Business Today 12:00 Amanpour 12:30 Inside The Middle East 13:00 World One 14:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 15:00 News Stream 16:00 World Business Today 17:00 International Desk 18:00 Global Exchange 19:00 World Sport 19:30 Inside The Middle East 20:00 International Desk 21:00 Quest Means Business 22:00 Amanpour 22:30 CNN Newscenter 23:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson

03:25 04:20 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25

Wreckreation Nation Squeamish Squeamish How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Swamp Loggers American Chopper Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Border Security Auction Kings How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Stan Lee’s Superhumans

THE REUNION ON OSN ACTION HD

12:20 13:15 14:10 14:35 15:05 16:00 16:55 17:20 18:15 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25 23:20

Mythbusters Mythbusters Border Security Auction Kings Ultimate Survival American Chopper Fifth Gear Extreme Loggers Mythbusters How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Border Security Auction Kings The Gadget Show Stan Lee’s Superhumans Mythbusters Mythbusters

03:05 The Gadget Show 03:35 Junkyard Mega-Wars 04:25 Tank On The Moon 05:15 Engineered 06:05 2012 Apocalypse 07:00 Junk Men 07:25 Junk Men 07:50 Head Rush 07:53 Bang Goes The Theory 08:20 Sci-Fi Science 08:50 Smash Lab 09:40 Punkin Chunkin 2010 10:30 How The Universe Works 11:20 How The Universe Works 12:10 How The Universe Works 13:00 How The Universe Works 13:50 How The Universe Works 14:45 How The Universe Works 15:35 The Gadget Show 16:00 Head Rush 16:03 Bang Goes The Theory 16:30 Sci-Fi Science 17:00 Extreme Bodies 17:50 Smash Lab 18:40 Stephen Hawking’s Universe 19:30 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 20:20 Meteorite Men 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Gadget Show 22:00 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 22:50 Meteorite Men 23:40 Smash Lab

03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 THS 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Giuliana & Bill 10:15 40 (More) Crimes Of Fashion 12:05 E! News 13:05 Khloe And Lamar 13:35 Khloe And Lamar 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 THS 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 17:25 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 17:55 E! News 18:55 THS 19:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 20:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:55 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 Jones 11:10 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 Jones 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 Jones 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

Extreme Forensics Ghost Lab Dead Tenants Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Street Patrol Street Patrol Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Australian Families Of Crime American Greed Dr G: Medical Examiner

03:00 Naked Lentil 03:30 Naked Lentil 04:00 Dive Detectives 05:00 Perilous Journeys 06:00 Nomads 07:00 Travel Madness 07:30 Travel Madness 08:00 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway 08:30 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway 09:00 Naked Lentil 09:30 Naked Lentil 10:00 Dive Detectives 11:00 Perilous Journeys 12:00 Nomads 13:00 Travel Madness 13:30 Travel Madness 14:00 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway 14:30 One Man & His Campervan 15:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 15:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 16:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 17:00 Deadliest Journeys 2 17:30 The Best Job In The World 18:00 Nomads 19:00 Perilous Journeys 20:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 20:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 21:00 Danger Beach 21:30 Danger Beach

22:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 23:00 Bondi Rescue 23:30 Bondi Rescue

03:00 Naked Lentil 03:30 Naked Lentil 04:00 Dive Detectives 05:00 Perilous Journeys 06:00 Nomads 07:00 Travel Madness 07:30 Travel Madness 08:00 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway 08:30 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway 09:00 Naked Lentil 09:30 Naked Lentil 10:00 Dive Detectives 11:00 Perilous Journeys 12:00 Nomads 13:00 Travel Madness 13:30 Travel Madness 14:00 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway 14:30 One Man & His Campervan 15:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 15:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 16:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 17:00 Deadliest Journeys 2 17:30 The Best Job In The World 18:00 Nomads 19:00 Perilous Journeys 20:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 20:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 21:00 Danger Beach 21:30 Danger Beach 22:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 23:00 Bondi Rescue 23:30 Bondi Rescue

03:00 Big, Bigger, Biggest 04:00 Crash Science 05:00 Alaskan Killer Shark 06:00 Lockdown 07:00 Naked Science S2.5 08:00 Mega Bridges 09:00 The Known Universe 10:00 Naked Science 11:00 Mega Bridges 12:00 Crash Science 13:00 The Last Lioness 14:00 Adventure Wanted 15:00 Naked Science S2.5 16:00 Megacities 17:00 The Known Universe 18:00 Mega Factories 19:00 Big, Bigger, Biggest 20:00 Huge Moves 21:00 Animal Autopsy Inside Nature’s Giants 22:00 Banged Up Abroad 23:00 Naked Science S2.5

03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 11:30 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 11:30 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Dangerous Encounters Wild Mississippi Built For The Kill Wild Russia Caught In The Act Dangerous Encounters World’s Deadliest Swamp Men Extinction Sucks Extinction Sucks Caught Barehanded Indonesia Beyond The Reefs Indonesia Beyond The Reefs Caught In The Act Dangerous Encounters World’s Weirdest Ninja Shrimp Extinction Sucks Extinction Sucks Wild Russia Caught In The Act Dangerous Encounters World’s Deadliest Swamp Men

Dangerous Encounters Wild Mississippi Built For The Kill Wild Russia Caught In The Act Dangerous Encounters World’s Deadliest Swamp Men Extinction Sucks Extinction Sucks Caught Barehanded Indonesia Beyond The Reefs Indonesia Beyond The Reefs Caught In The Act Dangerous Encounters World’s Weirdest Ninja Shrimp Extinction Sucks Extinction Sucks Wild Russia Caught In The Act Dangerous Encounters World’s Deadliest Swamp Men

04:00 Resident Evil 4: Afterlife-18 06:00 Kingdom Of Heaven-PG15 08:30 Arctic Predator-PG15 10:00 Riddles Of The Sphinx-PG15 12:00 The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen-PG15 14:00 Arctic Predator-PG15 16:00 The Reunion-PG15 18:00 The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen-PG15 20:00 30 Days Of Night: Dark Days18 22:00 Full Metal Jacket-18

03:00 Africa United-PG15 05:00 St. Trinian’s 2: The Legend Of Fritton’s Gold-PG15 07:00 Ice Age-FAM 09:00 Ways To Live Forever-PG15 11:00 Africa United-PG15 13:00 Uncorked-PG15 15:00 Red-PG15 17:00 Ways To Live Forever-PG15 19:00 The Eagle-PG15 21:00 Black Forest-PG15 23:00 Broken Embraces-18

03:00 2 Broke Girls 03:30 Perfect Couples

EAGLE ON OSN CINEMA 04:00 Weird Science 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Weird Science 06:00 Friends 06:30 Dharma And Greg 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Weird Science 08:30 2 Broke Girls 09:00 Weird Science 09:30 The Cleveland Show 10:00 Happy Endings 10:30 Dharma And Greg 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 12:30 Friends 13:00 Weird Science 13:30 Dharma And Greg 14:00 Perfect Couples 14:30 Happy Endings 15:00 The Cleveland Show 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Friends 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 2 Broke Girls 18:30 Community 19:00 Parks And Recreation 19:30 Parks And Recreation 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Wilfred 22:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 23:00 Seinfeld 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

White Collar Warehouse 13 Good Morning America Century City Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Warehouse 13 The View Royal Pains White Collar Live Good Morning America Century City The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Hawthorne Grimm Alphas Supernatural Warehouse 13

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

White Collar Royal Pains Revenge Cold Case Emmerdale Coronation Street Smallville The Ellen DeGeneres Show White Collar House Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Smallville Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Smallville Hawthorne Grimm Alphas Supernatural Revenge

03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 PG15 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Resident Evil 4: Afterlife-18 Men In Black II-PG Ip Man-PG15 Dangerous Flowers-PG15 Men In Black II-PG True Justice: Urban WarfareDangerous Flowers-PG15 Age Of The Dragons-PG15 Double Impact-18 The Craigslist Killer-PG15 Walled In-PG15

04:00 Labor Pains-PG15 06:00 A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song-PG15 08:00 Cool Runnings-PG15 10:00 The Lightkeepers-PG15 12:00 Nothing Like The HolidaysPG15 14:00 Little Secrets-PG 16:00 The Lightkeepers-PG15 18:00 The Lonely Guy-PG15 20:00 Happy Gilmore-PG15 22:00 Tank Girl-PG15

04:15 B-Girl-PG15 06:00 The Tender Hook-PG15 08:00 Double Wedding-PG15 10:00 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps-PG15 12:15 Monte Carlo-PG15 14:15 Winnie The Pooh-FAM 16:00 Double Wedding-PG15 18:00 An Invisible Sign Of My OwnPG15 20:00 Thor-PG15 22:00 Hemingway & Gellhorn-PG15

03:00 Lorenzo’s Oil-PG15 05:15 The Social Network-PG15 07:15 Sunny And The ElephantPG15 09:00 My Afternoons With Margueritte-PG15 11:00 The Sting II-PG 13:00 The Greatest-PG15 15:00 My Afternoons With Margueritte-PG15 17:00 Private-PG15 18:45 Dead Poets Society-PG15 21:00 Dance With Me-PG 23:15 Thelma And Louise-PG15

03:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 04:00 Trans World Sport 05:00 NRL Premiership 07:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 08:00 NRL Premiership 10:00 Super Rugby Highlights 11:00 Olympic Men’s Canoe 11:55 Live Olympic Swimming 15:10 Olympic Basketball OR Women’s Volleyball 16:55 Live Olympic Men’s Diving 18:10 Live Olympic Sailing 18:50 Live Olympic Men’s Football 21:25 Live Olympic Swimming

03:30 05:30 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

03:00 Super League 05:00 Super Rugby Highlights 06:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 07:00 Darts World Match Play 09:00 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 11:25 Live Olympic Rowing 15:25 Live Olympic Men’s Canoe 18:25 Live Olympic Men’s Gymnastics 21:20 Olympic Sailing 21:55 Live Olympic Beach Volleyball

Henry’s Crime-PG15 Call Of The Wild-PG15 Monte Carlo-PG15 Battle: Los Angeles-PG15 Last Holiday-PG15 At Risk-PG15 Bound By A Secret-PG15 Battle: Los Angeles-PG15 Hemingway & Gellhorn-PG15 Black Forest-PG15 Predators-18

04:00 Zorro’s Secrets-PG 06:00 Despicable Me-FAM 08:00 D’fenders-PG 10:00 The Three Bears: The Amazing Adventurers-FAM 12:00 Zorro’s Secrets-PG 14:15 Tom And Jerry & The Wizard Of Oz-FAM 16:00 Emperor’s Secret-PG 18:00 The Three Bears: The Amazing Adventurers-FAM 20:00 Blue Elephant 2-FAM 22:00 Tom And Jerry & The Wizard Of Oz-FAM 23:45 Emperor’s Secret-PG

03:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 04:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 05:00 MSNBC The Last Word W/ Lawrence O’Donnell 06:00 NBC Nightly News 06:35 ABC Nightline 07:00 ABC World News W/ Diane Sawyer 07:30 Live NBC Nightly News 08:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 09:00 MSNBC The Last Word W/ Lawrence O’Donnell 10:00 ABC World News Now 10:30 Live ABC World News Now 11:00 NBC Early Today 11:30 ABC America This Morning 12:00 ABC America This Morning 12:30 Live ABC America This Morning 13:00 Live ABC America This Morning 13:30 MSNBC First Look 14:00 Live NBC Today Show 17:57 Live MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 18:38 Live MSNBC The Ed Show 19:19 Live MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 20:00 MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports 21:00 MSNBC Newsnation 22:00 Live MSNBC The Cycle 23:00 MSNBC Martin Bashir

03:00 Futbol Mundial 03:30 Darts World Match Play 05:30 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Senior European Tour Highlights 09:00 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 09:30 European Challenge Golf Highlights 10:00 NRL Full Time 10:55 Live Olympic Beach Volleyball 14:00 Live Olympic Tennis 22:25 Live Olympic Men’s Boxing

03:00 V8 Supercars Highlights 04:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 05:00 UFC Unleashed 07:00 WWE Vintage Collection 08:00 WWE NXT 08:45 V8 Supercars Highlights 09:45 Mobil 1 The Grid 10:20 Live Olympic Men’s Hockey 14:20 Live Olympic Sailing 16:20 Live Olympic Men’s Football 23:50 Olympic Basketball OR Women’s Volleyball OR Beach Volleyball

03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

American Restoration Pawn Stars Ancient Aliens Britain At War Ax Men Pawn Stars Ancient Aliens Britain At War Pawn Stars Ax Men American Pickers American Restoration Pawn Stars Britain At War Ancient Aliens American Pickers American Restoration Pawn Stars Britain At War Ancient Aliens Pawn Stars Ax Men Lock N’ Load Top Shot

Classifieds THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines QTR JZR SAI CLX RJA GFA UAE UAE ETD FDB MSR QTR KAC THY DHX KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY IRA QTR IZG IRA FDB ETD BAB GFA UAE MEA MSR KNE IRC MSC SYR JZR MSR OMA KNE QTR SVA RJA KAC KAC QTR KAC JZR JZR ETD UAE UAL GFA SVA JZR TAR KAC JZR ABY KAC KNE KAC KAC BAB KAC KAC MSR MSC RBG KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA ALK FDB UAE ETD ABY QTR AIC GFA UAL JZR DLH MSR THY KLM JZR

Arrival Flights on Thursday 2/8/2012 Flt Route 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 441 LAHORE 792 LUXEMBOURG 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 4989 AL MAKTOUM 305 ABU DHABI 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 544 CAIRO 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 529 ASSIUT 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 555 ALEXANDRIA 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 605 ISFAHAN 132 DOHA 4161 MASHAD 617 AHWAZ 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 436 BAHRAIN 213 BAHRAIN 871 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 618 ALEXANDRIA 470 JEDDAH 6791 MASHAD 401 ALEXANDRIA 341 DAMASCUS 201 DAMASCUS 610 CAIRO 645 MUSCAT 472 JEDDAH 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 640 AMMAN 788 JEDDAH 546 ALEXANDRIA 134 DOHA 118 NEW YORK 535 CAIRO 357 MASHAD 303 ABU DHABI 857 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 177 DUBAI 328 TUNIS 1760 JEDDAH 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 176 GENEVA 474 JEDDAH 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO 438 BAHRAIN 786 JEDDAH 104 LONDON 624 SOHAG 405 SOHAG 3553 ALEXANDRIA 774 RIYADH 618 DOHA 674 DUBAI 614 BAHRAIN 572 MUMBAI 562 AMMAN 389 KOZHIKODE 61 DUBAI 647 MUSCAT 402 BEIRUT 146 DOHA 221 BAHRAIN 229 COLOMBO 59 DUBAI 859 DUBAI 307 ABU DHABI 129 SHARJAH 136 DOHA 981 CHENNAI 217 BAHRAIN 981 BAHRAIN 239 AMMAN 636 FRANKFURT 614 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 411 AMSTERDAM 539 CAIRO

Time 0:20 0:50 1:30 2:05 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:25 2:30 3:10 3:20 3:25 4:10 4:35 5:00 6:15 6:30 6:40 7:15 7:30 7:35 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:15 8:20 8:25 8:30 8:35 9:00 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:30 9:35 10:00 10:45 10:55 11:25 11:35 11:55 12:00 12:05 12:30 13:30 14:00 14:15 14:25 14:30 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:15 16:00 16:00 16:20 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:35 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:45 17:55 18:00 18:15 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:55 19:00 19:05 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:50 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 21:10 21:15 21:20 21:30 21:35 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:35 23:40 23:40 23:40

Airlines AIC UAL DLH JZR MSR THY SAI CLX UAE FDB ETD MSR UAE QTR BBC QTR RJA JZR GFA THY KAC BAW ABY JZR KAC IRA UAE QTR KAC FDB ETD IRA BAB JZR IZG GFA KAC KAC KAC JZR MEA KAC UAE MSR KNE IRC MSC SYR KAC JZR MSR KAC OMA KAC KNE KAC RJA KAC SVA QTR KAC JZR ETD JZR QTR UAE GFA TAR ABY UAL SVA KNE JZR KAC BAB RBG MSR MSC JAI FDB KAC KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC GFA FDB DHX ALK ABY ETD UAE QTR KAC KAC AXB QTR GFA KAC KAC JZR

Depature Flights on Thursday 2/8/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA/CHENNAI 981 WASHINGTON DC 637 FRANKFURT 554 ALEXANDRIA 615 CAIRO 773 ISTANBUL 442 LAHORE 792 HONG KONG 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 4990 DUBAI 139 DOHA 44 DHAKA 149 DOHA 643 AMMAN 200 DAMASCUS 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 545 ALEXANDRIA 156 LONDON 126 SHARJAH 534 CAIRO 787 JEDDAH 606 MASHHAD 856 DUBAI 133 DOHA 101 LONDON 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 616 AHWAZ 437 BAHRAIN 356 MASHHAD 4162 MASHHAD 214 BAHRAIN 1759 JEDDAH 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 776 JEDDAH 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 872 DUBAI 623 SOHAG 471 JEDDAH 6792 MASHHAD 406 SOHAG 342 DAMASCUS 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 561 AMMAN 646 MUSCAT 673 DUBAI 473 JEDDAH 617 DOHA 641 AMMAN 773 RIYADH 505 JEDDAH 135 DOHA 613 BAHRAIN 538 CAIRO 304 ABU DHABI 238 AMMAN 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 328 TUNIS 128 SHARJAH 982 BAHRAIN 511 RIYADH 475 JEDDAH 266 BEIRUT 283 DHAKA 439 BAHRAIN 3554 ALEXANDRIA 607 LUXOR 402 ALEXANDRIA 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 331 TRIVANDRUM 343 CHENNAI 351 KOCHI 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 543 CAIRO 222 BAHRAIN 60 DUBAI 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 120 SHARJAH 308 ABU DHABI 860 DUBAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 390 MANGALORE 147 DOHA 218 BAHRAIN 411 BANGKOK 415 KUALA LUMPUR 502 LUXOR

Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:30 0:35 2:15 2:30 3:35 3:45 3:50 4:05 4:20 4:25 4:50 5:00 5:40 6:50 7:00 7:05 7:10 8:10 8:25 9:05 9:10 9:35 9:35 9:40 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:15 10:25 10:30 10:35 10:45 11:25 11:30 11:45 11:50 11:55 12:00 12:20 12:25 12:25 12:55 13:00 13:05 13:10 13:20 14:30 14:40 15:00 15:05 15:15 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00 16:15 16:30 16:50 17:20 17:30 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:25 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:45 18:50 19:30 19:30 19:45 19:55 20:00 20:35 20:40 20:50 20:55 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:50 21:50 21:55 22:10 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:10 23:10 23:30 23:40 23:50 23:55

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Notice July 29, 2012

Mr. Bibin Mathai son of Mr. Thomas Mathai Puthupurackal, resident of H. No. 362, Putupuraykkal Manakala P.O., Adoor, Pathanamthitta, Kerala and Miss Lini Parankimamvila John, daughter of Mr. John, resident of Parankimamvila Melethil Manakkala P.O., Pathanamthitta, Kerala, both Indian nationals, presently residing in Kuwait, have given notice of intended marriage between them under the Foreign Marriage Act 1969. If anyone has any objection to the proposed marriage, he/she may file the same with the undersigned according to the procedure laid down under the Act/Rule within thirty days from the date of publication of this notice.

(S.K. Dudeja) Second Secretary (Consular) and Marriage Officer Embassy of India, Kuwait.

Tel: 00965-22533125 Fax: 00965-22573910 E-mail: sscons@indembkwt.org

ACCOMMODATION

GOVERNMENT WEB SITES Kuwait Parliament www.majlesalommah.net

The Public Institution for Social Security www.pifss.gov.kw

Ministry of Interior www.moi.gov.kw

Public Authority of Industry www.pai.gov.kw

Public Authority for Civil Information www.paci.gov.kw

Prisoners of War Committee www.pows.org.kw

Kuwait News Agency www.kuna.net.kw

Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mofa.gov.kw

Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affair www.islam.gov.kw

Kuwait Municipality www.municipality.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Oil) www.moo.gov.kw

Kuwait Electronic Government www.e.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Electricity and Water) www.energy.govt.kw

Ministry of Finance www.mof.gov.kw

Public Authority for Housing Welfare www.housing.gov.kw

Ministry of Commerce and Industry www.moci.gov.kw

Ministry of Justice www.moj.gov.kw

Ministry of Education www.moe.edu.kw

Ministry of Communications www.moc.kw

Ministry of Information www.moinfo.gov.kw

Supreme Council for Planning and Development www.scpd.gov.kw

Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation www.awqaf.org

One big room for couple or bachelor, Filipino only near Gulf Mart Far waniya.

Contact: 94418396.

1-8-2012 Sharing accommodation available for bachelor in Farwaniya near Finger Print Office. Contact: 60375424/ 97220725 (C 4092) 31-7-2012

Prayer timings FOR SALE Nissan Pathfinder model 2006, silver color, mileage 104000 km, new tyres and battery, non-accident, price KD 3,600/-. Contact: 99949612. (C 4091) 29-7-2012

Fajr:

03:40

Duhr:

11:54

Asr:

15:30

Maghrib:

18:40

Isha:

20:05

POLICE STATION

Al-Madena Police Station 22434064 Al-Murqab Police Station 22435865 Al-Daiya Police Station 22544200 Al-Fayha’a Police Station 22547133 Al-Qadissiya Police Station22515277 Al-Nugra Police Station 22616662 Al-Salmiya Police Station 25714406 Al-Dasma Police Station 22530801

34

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

stars CROSSWORD 755

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19)

You’re incredibly productive, with good business sense, Aries. However, lately you may have felt dissatisfied with where you are in life. As you look around, you might wish you had more possessions to show for all your hard work. Don’t pursue this line of thought. Real value comes from relationships and the pride you get from doing a job well. A new car or fancy clothes may lift your spirits, but it’s superficial.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

You have a keen analytical mind that has served you well in business. Alas, Taurus, this characteristic doesn’t always serve you well in your personal life. It’s likely that someone close has bristled from your lack of empathy. Take time to reflect upon the events of the past few weeks. Did you inadvertently send a wrong message? Correct any unintentional slights. A simple “I’m sorry,” will do wonders.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. The biblical name for ancient Syria.

5. A port in western Israel on the Mediterranean.

10. An American doctorate usually based on at least 3 years graduate study and a dissertation.

13. Any of various minerals consisting of hydrous silicates of aluminum or potassium etc. that crystallize in forms that allow perfect cleavage into very thin leaves.

14. Aroused to impatience or anger.

15. The organ of sight (`peeper' is an informal term for `eye').

16. A drama set to music.

18. A Russian river.

19. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

20. Small genus of mediterranean shrubs.

22. Rice cooked in well-seasoned broth with onions or celery and usually poultry or game or shellfish and sometimes tomatoes.

24. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

25. A salesman who travels to call on customers.

28. A cord fastened around the neck with an ornamental clasp and worn as a necktie.

30. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

31. In bed.

35. A colorless and odorless inert gas.

37. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.

38. In some classifications considered a genus of subfamily Melinae.

39. In the Arabian Nights a hero who tells of the fantastic adventures he had in his voyages.

41. A public promotion of some product or service.

42. The United Nations agency concerned with civil aviation.

45. Unknown god.

47. A Turkish unit of weight equal to about 2.75 pounds.

50. A large fleet.

53. An informal term for a father.

56. The atomic weight of an element that has the same combining capacity as a given weight of another element.

57. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

58. A soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element.

60. A small cake leavened with yeast.

62. Similar to the striped mullet and takes its place in the Caribbean region.

63. (astronomy) An indistinct surface feature of Mars once thought to be a system of channels.

65. Light informal conversation for social occasions.

66. Any place of complete bliss and delight and peace.

67. An edilbe seaweed with a mild flavor.

68. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

DOWN 1. (Roman mythology) God of love.

2. Fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used.

3. Any organic compound formed by adding alcohol molecules to aldehyde molecules.

4. A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance.

5. A son who has the same first name as his father.

6. Aromatic bulb used as seasoning.

7. Feed, care for, and rear young birds for flight.

8. 100 fen equal 1 yuan.

9. (Babylonian) A demigod or first man.

10. A deep prolonged sound (as of thunder or large bells).

11. Type genus of the Hylidae.

12. Lacking or deprive of the sense of hearing wholly or in part.

17. Before noon.

21. Lower in esteem.

23. (Sumerian) Consort of Dumuzi (Tammuz).

26. Any of various strong liquors distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fermented molasses.

27. A member of a nomadic people of the northern Ural mountains.

29. Toward the mouth or oral region.

32. Used as a Hindi courtesy title.

33. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

34. An informal term for a father.

36. Having a specified kind of border or edge.

40. Made agreeably cold (especially by ice).

43. Affect with wonder.

44. A drug (trade names Calan and Isoptin) used as an oral or parenteral calcium blocker in cases of hypertension or congestive heart failure or angina or migraine.

46. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

48. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

49. Jordan's port.

51. A sudden short attack.

52. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

54. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.

55. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

59. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium.

60. A brittle gray crystalline element that is a semiconducting metalloid (resembling silicon) used in transistors.

61. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

64. A chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints).

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

This is the beginning of an exciting period in your love life, Gemini. Your relationship with a significant other may have been in a rut lately, but that’s about to change. Both of you are ready for something big. Perhaps a move is in store or you could both decide commit to one another more permanently. Follow your instincts, because they’ll lead you where you’re meant to go.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

You have a passionate nature, Cancer.

Sometimes it’s difficult for you when other people don’t share your exuberance. This is a good time to tone things down a notch. There’s some tension in the air, and your enthusiasm only serves to annoy rather than charm, as it usually does. Don’t pout. It’s only temporary. Tomorrow you’ll be the center of attention again and bestowing hugs and kisses to all.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

This is going to be a rather intense day, Leo. On the positive side, you’ll accomplish a lot. On the less positive side, you may be exhausted by the end of the day. You’re advised to try and pace yourself. Remain focused on what’s truly important rather than let yourself get caught up in trivia. Keep the big picture in mind and the little things will take care of themselves.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Today it’s important that you make your own decisions and stick with them, Virgo. Much as you prefer to depend on others, your judgment really is best. You’ll be paralyzed if you think only of how others will react to your decisions. You do know what is best, and everyone will benefit when you act on your beliefs.

This is no time to be wishy-washy. Just do it.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Much has happened recently, Scorpio.

Have you allowed enough time to process it? It’s likely that big changes are brewing at home or work. Stay focused on the job at hand rather than fret about events over which you have no control. You may feel as if you’re on a roller-coaster ride, but everything will settle down in a few days. Blink to adjust your eyes to the strange new light.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

You’ve made progress these past few weeks, especially where your temper is concerned, Sagittarius. It has taken some effort, but it does seem that you can overcome your tendency to speak before thinking. Don’t lose the ground you’ve gained. There’s one person whose mission seems to be to make you explode. Don’t let him or her rankle you. Take a deep breath and rise above it.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution

You’re a dreamer, Libra. Everyone loves you for it, but today the planetary aspects urge practicality. There are personal issues to resolve, and it does no good to have your head in the clouds. This is a time to focus on loved ones. Perhaps your partner or your children feel neglected. Do whatever is necessary to let your family know you’re available and eager to give them what they need.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

This is likely to be an intense day, Capricorn. Family and friends may seem testy, so you’re advised to stay out of their way. Don’t worry - it isn’t anything you’ve done. It’s the planetary energy. If you can go someplace private and shut the door, do it. If someone tries to pick a fight, don’t rise to the bait.

Tomorrow the air will clear and good spirits will reign again.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

This isn’t the most cheer ful time, Aquarius, because important issues are rearing their heads again and forcing you to address them. You’d rather not, but you can’t wish them away. The time has come to deal with them once and for all. It’s especially important that you make an effort to make your home life more positive and upbeat. Your loved ones look to you to set the tone.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Don’t try to force anything or anyone right now, Pisces. You’ll find that today’s elements are just as stubborn as you are. Today’s planetary configurations will force you to finally start to turn your dreams into reality, whether you want to or not. Face it - you’ve been planning for a long time without making much concrete progress. All that is about to change.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Kaizen center

25716707

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TAT TE OF K KUW WAIT A

Tel.: e 161

DIRECTORA AT TE GENE GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIA V AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP PA ARTMENT

Veery hot h with moderate to fresh north westerly wind, with speed of 20 - 40 km/h causing raising dust over open areas

BY Y NIGHT:

Relatively hot with moderate freshening at times north westerly wind, with speed of 20 - 45 km/h

No Current Warnings arnin a

WA ARNING

38 °C

22451082

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

49 °C

38 °C

Al-Mirqab

22456536

NUW WA AISEEB

50 °C

35 °C

Sharq

22465401

WAFRA A

50 °C

36 °C

Salmiya

25746401

SALMI

49 °C

32 °C

ABDAL LY

50 °C

35 °C

Jabriya

25316254

JAL ALIY YA AH

50 °C

35 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FAILAKA A

49 °C

35 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

49 °C

39 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

42 °C

35 °C

W.Hawally

22630786

WARBA A A - BUBY YA AN

50 °C

31 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

South Jahra

ST TATION T

SFC. CHART

01/08/2012 0000 UTC

4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA AY

DA AT TE

WEA AT THER

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

Thursday

02/08

very hot + raising dust

49 °C

36 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

Friday

03/08

very hot + raising dust

49 °C

35 °C

NW

25 - 50 km/h

24775066

Saturday

04/08

very hot + raising dust

48 °C

34 °C

NW

25 - 50 km/h

North Jahra

24775992

Sunday

05/08

very hot + raising dust

47 °C

33 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya Firdous

RA AYER Y TIMES PRA 03:40

MAX. Temp.

52 °C

Sunrise

05:08

MIN. Temp.

33 °C

Zuhr

11:54

MAX. RH

12 %

Asr

15:30

MIN. RH

03 %

Sunset

18:40

MAX. Wind i

W 43 km/h

Isha

20:06

TOT TA AL L RAIINF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

24892674 24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

AY AT KUW WA AIT AIRPORT RECORDED YESTERDA

Fajr

24884079

Al-Omariya

00 mm

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Dr. Salem soso General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

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25339330

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Steve McQueen watch auctioned for nearly $800,000 watch worn by Steve McQueen in “Le Mans” sold for nearly $800,000 at an auction of film memorabilia. The auction house Profiles in History said Tuesday the Heuer wrist watch sported by the actor in the 1971 action movie sold for $799,500. A signed U.S. passport belonging to McQueen fetched $46,125. Other items that were sold included a miniature drop-ship used in “Aliens” for $225,000; Groucho Marx’s wirerim glasses from “A Night at the Opera” for $86,100; and Vivien Leigh’s hat from “Gone with the Wind” for $67,650. One bidder coughed up $98,400 for Marlon Brando’s assassination jacket from “The Godfather.” A personal copy of the 1971 film’s script signed

by Brando went for $55,000. The buyers were not identified.

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Gervais to launch Web series ‘Learn English’ icky Gervais wants to teach you English. The comedian announced Tuesday on his blog that he’s working on a Web series called “Learn English with Ricky Gervais.” It co-stars Gervais’ frequent collaborator and foil Karl Pinkington.

Though Gervais didn’t describe the series, it can be expected to be more comedic than educational. The comedian said he had fin-

R Snoop Dogg now reggae’s top cat Snoop Lion

De Niro, Keaton pretend to

apper Snoop Dogg conquered hip-hop with his canine-themed moniker and is now taking on the world of reggae with a new name, Snoop Lion, the performer’s representatives said on Tuesday. The veteran rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, Jr., said in a statement that he was rechristened Snoop Lion by Rastafarian priests on a recent trip to Jamaica where he was filmed for a documentary, “Reincarnated.” The documentary coincides with the rapper’s upcoming reggae album of the same name. A r e l ease date has not yet been set. “I didn’t want to be Snoop Dogg on a reggae track ... I wanted to bury Snoop Dogg and become Snoop Lion, but I didn’t know that until I went to the temple and received the name Snoop Lion from the Nyabingi priest,” the rapper said. Snoop, 40, initially began his career in the early 1990s rap and hip-hop scene as Snoop Doggy Dogg, eventually dropping the middle name ‘Doggy.’ Snoop Dogg has become his brand, earning him nicknames like ‘the Doggfather.’ The new Snoop Lion comes with the rapper’s latest foray into reggae music, moving away from hip hop, embracing Rastafarian culture and people for his new identity. Snoop Lion has already been introduced onto social media platforms to promote the rapper’s latest single, “La La La,” along with his upcoming album and documentary, which will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

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be married in ‘The Big Wedding’ obert De Niro and Diane Keaton are sharing the big screen together as a divorced couple forced to pretend they’re still married in “The Big Wedding.” The romantic comedy is jammed with talent, boasting a cast that includes Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams, Topher Grace, Amanda Seyfried and Katherine Heigl. But based on a new trailer that hit the web Tuesday, De Niro and Keaton are a long way from “Raging Bull” and “Reds.” Based on the breezy sneak peak, the two screen legends are enjoying themselves, but the film itself seems to be a big bouquet of comedy cliches.

The big charade premise could have been lifted from “The Birdcage,” except with aging baby boomers replacing gay club owners, and Williams, sporting a clerical collar, looks like he wandered in from the set of the doleful “License to Wed.” Based on the preview’s quick look at the meticulous interiors of the gorgeous lake house that De Niro owns

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in the film, Keaton must have brought over the same interior designer who crafted her Hamptons oasis in “Something’s Gotta Give.” If nothing else, “The Big Wedding” should offer up a host of decorating ideas. Still it’s nice to see the crimi-

ason Segel is set to quit ‘How I Met Your Mother’. The comedy actor is to bow out of the comedy series after he completes filming on its eighth series as his Hollywood career has taken off in recent years with diverse roles in ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’, ‘Knocked Up’, ‘The Muppets’ and most recently ‘The Five Year Engagement’. Speaking of his movie career, he told Kurier.at: “It’s great to do some ‘Rated R’ stuff again, because I’ve been playing the nice guy for quite a long time now. That’s why I’m gonna quit ‘How I met your Mother’ after the eighth season.” Jason - who is dating ‘Oz The Great and Powerful’ actress Michelle Williams - has previously said he feels like the show is coming to a natural end, and has stopped drinking alcohol to better concentrate on his career. He said: “I f***ing love to drink, but I’m not really capable of moderating. I haven’t sworn off it forever. But then, I hope I don’t drink again. I’m actually at a big life-turning point in general. “I’ve hit my thirties, the TV show that I’ve been doing for eight years is coming to its natural end, I’m feeling much more like, ‘OK, now it’s time for phase three.’ It’s time I think.” Jason’s departure could leave the show’s future hanging in the balance as he plays one of the show’s central characters, Marshall Eriksen, alongside Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Josh Radnor and Cobie Smulders. The eighth season of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ is set to air in September in the US.

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plans events in Indiana ichael Jackson’s mother says she is returning to her family’s Indiana hometown to celebrate what would have would have been her son’s 54th birthday. An announcement released Tuesday by a representative of Katherine Jackson states the events in Gary, Ind., will be attended by the singer’s three children as well. A candlelight vigil is planned for Aug. 29 outside the family’s home on Jackson’s 54th birthday. The celebration is being dubbed: “Goin’ Back to Indiana: Can You Feel It?” Details on the events, including a tribute concert and an event honoring Katherine Jackson are posted on a Facebook page for the event, www.facebook.com/jacksonstreet2012. The Jackson family moved to Los Angeles as Michael and other siblings pursued their burgeoning music careers, but have kept connections to their Indiana hometown.

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Stewart turns to Foster for advise

personal life seriously elena Gomez doesn’t take her personal life seriously. While the ‘Spring Breakers’ star feels “lucky” to have a “really fun” relationship with Justin Bieber, she is in no hurry to settle down as she still has career goals to achieve first. She said: “I’m lucky. It’s really fun. [But] I’m 20. I don’t take anything in my personal life too seriously. I have great friends and a solid group of people I love. I feel like everything else will come organically.

“Marriage and all that other stuff I think will happen once I feel accomplished in every other aspect of my life.” Selena also admitted she is still not in a hurry to move out of her parents’ home. She added to the new issue of Teen Vogue magazine: “I have a small condo on top of my parents’ house.

I’m a little behind!” And the Disney starlet is keen to branch out in her acting work. She said: “I don’t necessarily feel accomplished. I want to create a whole different persona when it comes to acting.”

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nally under-used Sarandon ripping into a substantial role and to have Heigl take such joy in playing a prickly character. We’ll find out if this soufflÈ rises on Oct. 26 when “The Big Wedding” hits theaters.

Segel to quit ‘How I Met Your Mother’

Jackson’s mother

Gomez doesn’t take

ished the pilot episode and that he would post it online for free. After that, he said he may charge a few dollars from viewers or seek sponsorship. Gervais said he hopes to subtitle the show in “as many languages as possible,” including a Klingon version.

risten Stewart has turned to Jodie Foster for advice following her affair with Rupert Sanders.

The 22-year-old star - who recently made a public apology to boyfriend Robert Pattinson for cheating on him with her ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ director is being supported by her ‘Panic Room’ co-star after the 49-year-old actress reached out to her young friend. A source said: “As soon as she heard the news, Jodie contacted Kristen to offer her support. They have been close friends since they starred opposite each other in the 2002 movie ‘Panic Room’, and Jodie is a mother-like figure to her. “Jodie told Kristen to take no notice of the media bashing and said if she wanted to cry her heart out to her she’s always available. Jodie loved Rob and is disappointed with Kristen for cheating on him.

However, she knows at 22, she’s still very young and unfortunately people make mistakes in life. She thinks Kristen will learn from this and will only grow into a more mature person because of it.” However, not all is easy for Kristen, as she is still fighting with British-born Robert about who should look after their dog Bear.

The source added to RadarOnline.com: “After Rob moved his things out of their Los Angeles home, he then told Kristen he wanted Bear. She was heartbroken; they adopted Bear together and she always felt that he was their little baby. “But Rob was so hurt by Kristen’s actions he decided that he wants the dog to help him get over what happened. After all, a dog is a man’s best friend and Bear is such a good companion. However, Kristen won’t give up Bear in a hurry.” Robert is believed to be hiding out in Reese Witherspoon’s holiday home in California while he decides what to do with his future. —Agencies

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

LIFESTYLE M u s i c

&

M o v i e s

This handout photo released by Core Contents Media yesterday and taken on July 26, 2012 shows South Korean girl band T-ara posing after a concert in Tokyo. —AFP

S Korea girl band op South Korean girl group T-ara has stirred controversy with the surprise decision to shed one of its members, a move which sparked an Internet protest campaign backed by some 330,000 people. The row began Saturday when five of the eight group members posted tweets apparently critical of the attitude of one member, rapper Hwa-

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Young. On Monday the group’s management agency Core Content Media announced it was ending its contract with her.

Fans who suspected the 19-year-old had been bullied by other members-a claim denied by the agency-began a campaign to reveal what they called the truth. The issue attracted widespread media attention in a

stirs controversy over sacking

country which has seen a rising number of suicides of young people bullied by their peers.

Disillusioned fans created a website entitled “We demand the truth from T-ara” and by Wednesday had attracted some 330,000 subscribers. On Tuesday Hwa-Young took steps to defuse the controversy.

“I’m sorry to all the fans for disappointing

Olivia Munn finds success in busy film, TV career fter nearly a decade of slowly and steadily rising in Hollywood, Olivia Munn is finding success on big and small screens with the HBO television drama “The Newsroom” and director Steven Soderbergh’s movie “Magic Mike.” If working with two high-profile Oscar winners in Soderbergh and “Newsroom” creator Aaron Sorkin was not enough, Munn is now taking her first leading role in the independent film comedy “The Babymakers,” which hits U.S. theaters on Friday.

A former host of TV network G4 and correspondent on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” Munn portrays the wife of a man who cannot make her pregnant, so he gathers his friends to break into a sperm bank to steal the deposit he left years ago.

“What I loved about the movie is the dynamic of this couple,” Munn, 32, told Reuters. “They’re in the early years of their marriage; they feel like they have time. Everything (on the reproductive side) seemed to be working before, but now there’s this problem.”

“Babymakers” is directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, who also appears in the film. Munn first met the director when he was a guest on her G4 program “Attack of the Show!” and she won a beer-chugging contest. A friendship was born. On G4, which focuses on video game news and entertainment, Munn won fans for being funny, sexy and game savvy. It also caught the attention of Jon Stewart, who signed her to be a correspondent on his Emmy Award-winning comedy “The Daily Show,” which Munn says marked a turning point in her life.

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“It put me on a different level,” said Munn. “I was the first female on the show in seven years and the first correspondent in five years. When you change up something that people watch everyday, they are going to take notice.” One of those who noticed was “Daily Show” fan Sorkin.

“The Newsroom” is not Munn’s first stab at the news or being part of an

Olivia Munn ensemble cast on television. The Oklahoma-born, Tokyo-raised Munn majored in journalism in college and worked for a time as a sports reporter.

She guest starred on numerous TV shows before being cast in 2011 NBC series, “Perfect Couples.”

The program, about three couples in various stages of their lives, was canceled before the season ended, although Munn doesn’t quite see it that way. “I prefer to think that it wasn’t canceled, but that it turned in to a mini-series because that doesn’t

sound as sad,” said Munn.

She has been on a roll since then.

Male stripper movie “Magic Mike,” in which she portrays a lover of the lead character, has been one of Hollywood’s surprise hits, taking in $107 million in U.S. theaters so far.

“The Newsroom,” in which Munn portrays financial analyst Sloan Sabbith, rode a wave of advance media hype ahead of its premiere and, despite mixed reviews, has been renewed for a second season on cable TV network HBO. Sorkin is known for writing fast dialogue that makes points in films like “The Social Network,” or TV shows such as “The West Wing,” but Munn said she has had no trouble keeping up with the pace. “I speak very fast normally,” she said. “My Asian mother is always telling me to slow down.

The biggest challenge is doing justice to Sorkin’s dialogue. It has a melody to it, and Sloan has a different cadence than I do ... The challenge is learning the character so well that it becomes second nature.”

Munn called this a “very exciting” time in a career that has finally come together after years of hard work.

And although she may not know what roles the future holds, she is certain of one thing: “I don’t want this to be temporary.” —Reuters

The Who fans swap 1979 tickets for upcoming concert en fans of English rock band The Who traded in tickets from a canceled 1979 gig in Rhode Island for entry to the group’s upcoming February show, in a rare tale of loyalty spanning the decades, the Providence Journal newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Fans of The Who - formed by Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon - were disappointed in December 1979 when the London rockers’ performance was canceled in the wake of a stampede at The Who concert in Ohio two weeks earlier.

Eleven people were killed in the stampede. Ten diehard followers held onto their tickets for the Dec. 17, 1979, show at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center for more than three decades and were able to trade them in for tickets to the band’s upcoming Feb. 26, 2013, show, the Providence newspaper said.

The original tickets were priced at $11.50. Current ticket prices range from $72 and $143 at the same venue. Daltrey and Townshend are the band’s remaining original members. Moon died in 1978 and Entwistle passed away in 2002. Daltrey and Townshend will embark on a 36-date North American concert tour where they will perform their seminal 1973 rock opera album “Quadrophenia” in its entirety. —Reuters

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you. Please stop (criticisms),” she wrote on her Twitter account, apologising also to the management agency. The affair has still damaged the group, with some clients scrapping advertising featuring them. T-ara’s official fan club lost about 6,000 members, Yonhap news agency reported. Chosun Ilbo newspaper, in an article on its English-language website,

said the affair revealed a “culture of catfights” among the manufactured girl groups which are typical of South Korea’s K-Pop phenomenon. —AFP

Review

‘Celeste and Jesse’ upends cliches eleste and Jesse Forever” features all the familiar, tried-and-true romantic comedy trappings. After the breakup of her marriage, our headstrong, type-A heroine (Rashida Jones) goes on a series of dates with guys who are terrible matches; naturally, there’s also a man she meets and instantly clashes with (the suddenly ubiquitous and very good Chris Messina), who will probably end up being Mr. Right by the end. She has a wisecracking best friend (Ari Graynor) AND a wisecracking gay co-worker (Elijah Wood). She has a demanding career in media (as a trend forecaster) and lives and plays in a trendy, specifically detailed section of Los Angeles (Silver Lake/Echo Park).

The script (which Jones cowrote) features plenty of pop culture references to keep the film rooted in a recognizable, contemporary reality, complete with a Britney Spears-style, bad-girl pop star (Emma Roberts) who functions as Celeste’s nemesis. But ... it only seems like you’ve seen this movie countless times before. “Celeste and Jesse Forever” is by no means a parody of romantic comedy cliches, but rather an acknowledgement of them en route to an exploration of greater emotional truths. In the hands of director Lee Toland Krieger, it feels like an art-house version of what is ordinarily a glossy, jaunty genre.

In the place of peppy, Top-40 hits to keep the energy high, “Celeste and Jesse Forever” features some unexpected, melancholy musical choices. But this aesthetic approach also includes the use of way too much hand-held camera, which is sometimes distracting when stillness might have served an intimate moment better. Jones and co-writer Will McCormack, who plays a supporting part as the film’s pot dealer/voice of reason, based the script on their realization after just three weeks of dating that

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they’d be better off as friends.

Celeste and Jesse (Andy Samberg) have been together much longer: They fell in love in high school, went to college together and married young. Now that they’re 30, the driven Celeste realizes just how different she and her unemployedartist husband truly are.

At the film’s start, they’ve been separated six months, but Jesse is still living behind their house in the converted garage/studio. And they’re still best friends. But their

together while also understanding why they should probably forge separate lives. Both actors also get a chance to show a deeper, more complex side to their talents beyond the comic roots for which they’re known. (Although Jones’ dramatic performance is bit more convincing; there’s a great groundedness and accessibility about her.)

Watching them together in this setting is reminiscent of the joy of discovering Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski’s more serious sides

This film image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows Andy Samberg as Jesse (right) and Rashida Jones as Celeste in a scene from “Celeste & Jesse Forever.” —AP engaged mutual pals (Graynor and Eric Christian Olsen) don’t understand this unusual arrangement and urge them to stay together or get divorced once and for all.

“Celeste and Jesse Forever” follows the ways in which they both struggle to make that transition. It feels very truthful in its gray areas, and in depicting the contradiction between the need to move onto something new and the desire to cling to something safe. Even a character’s obligatory epiphany in front of a large group of people rings with an unusual amount of honesty, it’s so nicely underplayed.

Jones and Samberg have such an easy, goofy chemistry with each other, you could make the argument for their characters to stay

in “Away We Go,” the 2009 comic drama from Sam Mendes about a couple expecting their first baby who travel across North America looking for the ideal place to settle down. “Celeste and Jesse Forever” is about a break-up rather than a new beginning, but it’s just as much of a welcome surprise. “Celeste and Jesse Forever,” a Sony Pictures Classics release, is rated R for language, sexual content and drug use. Running time: 91 minutes.

Three stars out of four. —AP

Top violinist reunited with lost Stradivarius he absent-minded passenger who left a Stradivarius violin worth millions of euros on a train in Switzerland last week was identified as a top concert violinist by the BernerZeitung Wednesday.

Alexander Dubach, an acclaimed exponent of the works of Paganini, forgot the precious instrument on Friday when he got off the suburban train at Bern, near his home in Thun. It was handed in at the station’s lost-property office on Sunday after a police appeal for help.

Pascal Tretola, the fellow passenger who returned the violin, told the paper that he had not been able to take it back any earlier because he had to work on Saturday.

“There were some drunks in the train, which is why I took the violin case to make sure nothing happened to it,” he said, adding that he had suspected it was valuable.

When he heard the police appeal, he was “very surprised”. Dubach, who does not own the violin, was very

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The Who

relieved. “I would never have been able to repair the damage,” he said, vowing never to transport it by himself again. “I will pick it up just before a concert and give it back straight away afterwards,” he said. The violin’s owner, who wants to remain anonymous, told the paper and he and Dubach would reward Tretola amply even though he “had not asked for anything.”

Around 600 violins made by Italian master craftsman Antonio Stradivari are still in existence. One fetched about 11 million euros ($13.5 million) in a 2011 charity auction for victims of the Japanese tsunami. In 2008, a US violinist left a $4-million (3.2-million-euro) Stradivarius in the back of a New York cab. The cabbie returned the violin to its owner.—AFP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

lifestyle T R A V E L

Kathmandu

City in the lap of Everest

‘Enchanting, medieval, spiritual and alive to really see this chaotic cobbled maze is by foot’

Photos by Sherif Ismail

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or many people, stepping off a plane into Kathmandu is an exhilarating shock - the sights, sounds and smells can quickly lead to sensory overload.

Whether it is buzzing around the crazy polluted traffic in a taxi, trundling down the narrow winding streets of the old town in a rickshaw, marvelling at Durbar Sq or dodging the tiger balm sellers and trekking touts in Thamel, Kathmandu can be an intoxicating, amazing and exhausting place.

Kathmandu is the largest city and capital of Nepal and the namesake of the Kathmandu Valley. Once thought to be the fabled and inaccessible Shangri-La, Kathmandu is now a hub for independent travelers, as well as a growing vacation spot catering to all budgets. As a result of considerable urban growth in recent decades, it is now part of one continuous urban area, together with Patan to the south.

As the largest (and pretty much the only) city in the country, Kathmandu also feels like yet another developing-world city rushing into a modern era of concrete and traffic pollution. Take a walk in the back streets, however, and the capital’s amazing cultural and artistic heritage reveals itself in hidden temples overflowing with marigolds, courtyards full of drying chillis and rice, and tiny hobbit-sized workshops, largely unchanged since the Middle Ages.

Kathmandu is well worth a week of your time, though it’s too easy to spend too much time stuck in touristy Thamel. Enjoy the Internet cafés, the Western music and the lemon cheesecake, but make sure you also get out into the ‘real Nepal’, before your time runs out.

Kathmandu is enchanting. It’s medieval and spiritual and alive.

And the only way to really see this chaotic cobbled maze is by foot.

Start your exploring in Thamel a travellers’ enclave with some great hotels and hostels. Thamel is loads of fun and crammed with touts and colourful stalls. Looking up, the vibrancy continues in a mash of wires, shop signs and overhanging balconies.

Head south of Thamel’s main market (Thamel Chowk) towards Kathmandu’s beating heart, Durbar Square. Winding your way through markets, alleys and bahals (monastery courtyards), keep your eyes open for the architectural wonders that seem to appear on every corner. From Thamel Chowk you’ll reach Thahiti Tole, a square

with a central stupa and, along its northern edge, the Nateshwar Temple, with doors showing creatures playing musical instruments.

South of here is Kathesimbhu Stupa, which radiates colourful prayer flags, and further along you’ll find the triple-roofed Ugratara Temple.

Turn east and immerse yourself in the frantic vegetable and spice markets of Asan Tole, one of the busiest intersections in old Kathmandu, before wandering past the octagonal Krishna Temple.

Then it’s on through Indra Chowk, another of Kathmandu’s markets and the traditional centre for blan-

ket and cloth merchants (look around and you’ll also find bangle and bead sellers). Head west and enter Yatkha Bahal, a huge open courtyard with a white-washed central stupa.

As you wind your way through these crowded alleyways, you’ll pass many wonderful things stalls alive with Buddhist prayer flags, rows of dental surgeries, gleaming brass and glittering glass bead shops...not to mention the odd wandering cow!

South of Yatkha Bahal, you’ll reach your goal: Durbar Square.

This UNESCO World Heritage-listed area is really a series of three squares and the finest remaining example of Kathmandu’s traditional architecture. It’s easy to spend hours wandering around and watching the world go by from the terraced platforms of the towering Maju Deval. When the shadows begin to lengthen, head back to Thamel, find a rooftop garden, and relax with a pot of tea.

Along with the temples, preserved are their tales, myths and legends. The legends swathe Kathmandu. The capital city of Nepal is a historic and cultural city of Newars. This largest metropolitan city of Nepal hosts numerous displays of magnificent Newari art work in the form of ancient temples, as well as traditional festival celebrations all year round.

Kathmandu is also the core of urban infrastructure development of Nepal and the only gateway to tourism adventure in Nepal. This blend of ancient culture and modern development makes it a unique tourist destination worth a visit.

The 1,000 year old Swayambhu Nath temple is one of the religious destinations of the Kathmandu valley, located 3 kms west of Kathmandu city. According to Nepalese belief, this temple existed in the form of a lotus emitting

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

lifestyle T R A V E L

brilliant light in the center of a lake before the birth of Kathmandu. The modern round structure of the temple was created in due time only to cover the intense light emitted from the center of the temple. Situated on top of a hillock, large crowds gather in this temple everyday to view the overall view of Kathmandu valley. Swayambhu Nath temple was also listed as a UNESCO world heritage monument in 1979. This is also one of those few Hindu temples where foreigners are allowed.

But perhaps the best kept secret treasure trove of ancient artwork that combines tales from Hindu epics to former royalties is the 4th century Changu Narayan.

The oldest temple of the Kathmandu Valley, according to the 5th century stone inscription found inside the temple, Changu Narayan temple sits on top

the legends which pervade the city. It adds a whole new dimension to the number of tourists interested in visiting the country and it’s these that have kept this city alive. (Compiled by Sherif Ismail) Sources: www.lonelyplanet.com: www.wikitravel.org/en/Kathmandu www.tripadvisor.com; www.gonepal.eu whc.unesco.org/en/list/121/ of a hill in the Changu village, 23 kms North East of Kathmandu city. Surrounded by a green environment, this 3rd century temple is a magnificent display of ancient metal and wood art work. The locals of Changu Narayan are experts in metal and wood carvings. This temple was also added to the UNESCO

world heritage monument list in 1979 AD. Kathmandu evokes strong emotions among travelers. Some look at the crowded and chaotic streets and cannot wait to hop onto the next flight home, while others fall hopelessly in love with its splendid architecture, bustling squares, majestic monuments and

The other side of San Fran Bay: Discover Oakland

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t’s not easy being Oakland, existing in the shadow of glamorous San Francisco. But this is no ugly stepsister of a city. It’s true Oakland has some big-city blues, including a perennial struggle with crime; this is one of those places where you want to stay aware of your surroundings. But whether you live in the area or are just contemplating a quick stopover during a visit to that other city by the bay, Oakland has a lot to offer, from elegant neighborhoods and beautiful parks to a thriving food and arts scene. Not to mention lighter crowds and generally balmier weather than the big city.

Getting here from San Francisco is as simple as driving east across the Bay Bridge or catching the Richmond or Pittsburg/Bay Point Bay Area Rapid Transit trains to the 12th or 19th Street stations that put you in the heart of Oakland. What to do? Here are few things to consider.

Get into a gondola: Row, row, row your boat is one way to go, but wouldn’t it be more relaxing to have someone else do the heavy lifting? You can take a gondola - yes, gondola - ride from the Lake Chalet restaurant on Lake Merritt, which serves as a relaxing oasis near downtown. Also at the lake are paddle or other boat rentals, restaurants and cafes, a jogging path and a bird sanctuary (watch where you step). Catch a movie at the Grand Lake Theater at the top of the lake, home to a mighty Wurlitzer that plays before selected shows. Or, if you have small children in tow, take in the mild thrills of Children’s Fairyland, an amusement park for the pintsized set.

See stars: Catch a musical act at the renovated Fox Theater; see a classic movie amid the old-time glamour of the Paramount Theater; settle in for some cool jazz at Yoshi’s Oakland. Or go for a different type of stellar experience with a visit to the Chabot Space & Science Center set in the hills above the city.

A couple rides a gondola on Lake Merritt in Oakland.

Two girls play beneath “The Old Lady in the Shoe” at the entrance of Fairyland in Oakland.

Stick a fork in it: For a restaurant with a casual vibe, try Plum and adjoining Plum Bar in the Uptown neighborhood. Reclaimed wooden tables and benches and an open kitchen set the mood here with the focus on local products. Another option is Camino, not far from the Grand Lake Theater, where local specialties are cooked in a wood-fired oven right in the dining room. For a chilly treat, visit Fenton’s Creamery, a hometown favorite that just may look familiar. It was featured in the movie “Up” made by Pixar, headquartered just across the border

Is President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Floating White House,” the USS Potomac, at Jack London Square in Oakland.

from Oakland in Emeryville. Soak in a little history: The USS Potomac, a Coast Guard cutter that became FDR’s “Floating White House,” had a rough time of it after Roosevelt’s death. After passing through the hands of a number of owners, it was seized in San Francisco in connection with drug smuggling and sank after being impounded. Left to rot on an estuary, the ship was rescued in the nick of time from becoming scrap and was painstakingly restored. You can take a dockside tour, join one of the cruises scheduled throughout the year or

even charter the vessel yourself for a very special event.

Lonely planet fave: One of the world’s biggest travel guidebook publishers, Lonely Planet, happens to have its US headquarters in Oakland. And where do these world travelers go for fun after work when they don’t want to stray too far from the office? The Linden Street Brewery, an Oakland microbrewery with a taproom. —AP

In this photo taken Wednesday July 4, 2012 people sit on the fantail of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Floating White House,” the USS Potomac, at Jack London Square in Oakland, Calif. —AP photos

Steve McQueen watch auctioned for nearly $800,000

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Indian Muslim students recite the Holy Quran at Madarasatul Imam Anwarullah during the holy month of Ramadan in Hyderabad yesterday. Like millions of Muslim around the world, Indian Muslims celebrate the month of Ramadan by abstaining from eating, drinking and smoking as well as sexual activities from dawn to dusk. —AFP

Emmy-nominated designers celebrate TV costumes E

ven vintage-inspired costume designers need a thoroughly modern muse. For longtime film and television costume designer Ruth Myers, nominated this year for an Emmy for her tailored 1930s and ‘40s-based dress slacks and suits in the HBO movie “Hemingway & Gelhorn,” that muse came in the form of the film’s sleek, svelte, 5’10” costar Nicole Kidman, whom she worked with on the 2007 movie “The Golden Compass.” “Nicole has the best bum in the world. She has the perfect figure,” said Myers at the recent Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising party for its sixth annual “Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design” exhibit.

Myers and other Emmy-nominated costume designers came to celebrate the clothes from multiple shows and T V movies, including “Hemingway & Gelhorn,” FX series “American Horror Story,” PBS favorite “Downton Abbey,” ABC’s fairy tale drama “Once Upon A Time” and HBO’s Prohibition- era series “Boardwalk Empire.”

Co-presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the exhibit runs Tuesday through Oct. 20. The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards airs Sept. 23 on ABC. The gray wide-legged, high-waisted trousers worn by Kidman as Spanish Civil War and World War II correspondent Martha Gelhorn, Hemingway’s third wife, are on display with a

In this publicity photo provided by Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, costumes from the TV show, ‘Game of Thrones are seen’ —AP photos

textured beige cardigan and rose-colored blouse. Myers gave the look, so in line with the current high-waisted pants trend, a contemporary twist, using vintage fabrics recut and redesigned. “I wanted to be true to the period, but also modern,” said Myers. “The pants are not totally accurate. In the 1940s, the crotch area was more droopy. These are somewhat more flattering.”

“Downton Abbey” may be taking fashion the other way - injecting some period flair into modern design, cited as a muse by the likes of Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren. Six looks are on display from the show, which last season revolved around the British aristocratic Crawley family during World War I. A long, smooth dark blue velvet dress with sheer paneling worn by Maggie Smith as matriarch Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, stands near a long-sleeved floor-length brown velvet coat paired with an off-white gown decorated with swirling rows of beads and lace worn by Elizabeth McGovern as American heiress Cora Crowley, Countess of Grantham.

Other standouts from the exhibit include a gloriously bright yellow halter bathing suit with a matching yellow and black striped A-line skirt with black buttons from Starz series “Magic City,” set in 1959 Miami, a stiff red and gold embroidered Mandarin-style top worn by Peter Dinklage in HBO period fantasy “Game of Thrones” and a classic lipstick red shoulder-baring cocktail dress from soapy ABC drama “Revenge.” Costume designer Chrisi Karvonides, nominated for an Emmy for the first season of “American Horror Story,” was inspired by multiple actresses on the show, including Jessica Lange, who played a ladylike neighbor with a killer edge, and Connie Britton, who played a pregnant wife and mother living in a mansion

Gore Vidal

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A list of books by Gore Vidal * The City and the Pillar (1948) * The Season of Comfort (1949) * Messiah (1954) * Myra Breckinridge (1968) * Two Sisters (1970) * Myron (1975) * 1876 (1976) * Kalki (1978) * Lincoln (1984) * The Golden Age (2000) —Reuters

tioned in Alaska, basing “Williwaw” on his World War Two experiences. His third book, “The City and the Pillar,” created a sensation in 1948 because it was one of the first open portrayals of a homosexual main character. Confirming his death, his official website posted a memoriam with two pictures of Vidal, one as a young military warrant officer during World War Two and another as the iconoclastic writer he would become.

He referred to himself as a “gentleman b****” and was as egotistical and caustic as he was elegant and brilliant. In addition to rubbing shoulders with the great writers of his time, he banged heads with many of them. Vidal considered Ernest

Hemingway a joke and compared Truman Capote to a “filthy animal that has found its way into the house”.

His most famous literary enemies were conservative pundit William F. Buckley Jr. and writer Norman Mailer, who Vidal once likened to cult killer Charles Manson. Mailer head-butted Vidal before a television appearance and on another occasion knocked him to the ground. Vidal and Buckley took their feud to live national television while serving as commentators at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Vidal accused Buckley of being a “pro-crypto-Nazi” while Buckley called Vidal a “queer” and threatened to punch him. Vidal seemed to make no effort to curb his abundant ego. In a 2008 interview with Esquire magazine Vidal said peoplealways seemed impressed that he had met so many famous people, such as Jacqueline Kennedy and William Burroughs. “People always put that sentence the wrong way around,” he said. “I mean, why not put it the true way - that these people got to meet me, and wanted to?”

Nephew of senator Eugene Luther Vidal Jr. was born on Oct. 3, 1925 in West Point, New York, and eventually took his mother’s surname as his first name. He grew up in Washington, DC, where his grandfather, Democratic US Sen. Thomas Gore of Oklahoma, had a strong influence on the boy. The young Vidal developed an interest in politics as he read to the blind senator and led him about town. A distant cousin is former US Vice President Al Gore.

He went to exclusive private secondary schools but did not attend college.

After his parents divorced, Vidal’s mother married Hugh Auchincloss, who later also became the stepfather of Jacqueline Kennedy. That connection gave Vidal access to the Kennedy White House before a falling out with the family. After

The ‘Rainbow Fairy’ costume from the TV show, ‘Once Upon a Time.’

haunted by murder victims of decades past.

The show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, didn’t want the audience to know by the clothes what period the characters were from, or whether they were alive or dead, said Karvonides.

Lange’s character Constance Langdon wore

Costumes from the TV show, ‘American Horror Story.’

Kate Middleton, Prince Harry lead Vanity Fair’s best-dressed

Iconoclastic American author dead at 86

riter Gore Vidal, who filled his novels and essays with acerbic observations on politics, sex and American culture while carrying on feuds with big-name literary rivals, died on Tuesday at home in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia, age 86. Vidal’s literary legacy includes a series of historical novels - “Burr,” “1876,” “Lincoln” and “The Golden Age” among them - as well as the campy transsexual comedy “Myra Breckinridge”.

He started writing as a 19-year-old soldier sta-

cinched ‘60s and ‘70s dresses with a Southern air of Blanche DuBois from “A Streetcar Named Desire.” A red wrap silk knit dress on display is literally blood red to have “a strange glow” in the light, said Karvonides, since it’s worn during an especially bloody scene. “Jessica is the most elegant actress you could hope to work with. It was never about choosing beautiful items of clothing. It was always about the character,” said Karvonides. —AP

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This file photo taken on October 5, 2006 shows US author Gore Vidal posing for a photo in his Los Angeles home. — AFP early success, his literary career stalled - perhaps because of the controversy of “The City and the Pillar” - and he concentrated on television and movie scripts.

Vidal got back on track in the 1960s with “Julian,” about a Roman emperor; “Washington, DC,” the tale of a political family; and “Myra Breckenridge.” Bigger success followed with recreations of historical US figures - such as Aaron Burr and Abraham Lincoln - that analyze where Vidal thought the United States fell from grace. Vidal also was known for his sharp essays on society, sex, literature and politics. He was fervent about politics and what he considered to be the death of “the American Empire”.

“The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return,” he once said. In 1960 Vidal ran unsuccessfully for a congressional seat in New York and in 1982 failed in a bid for a California Senate seat. He once described the United States as “the land of the dull and the home of the literal” and starting in the 1960s lived much of the time in a seaside Italian villa.

He moved back permanently in 2003, shortly before Howard Austen, his companion of more than 50 years, died of cancer. — Reuters

ritish royals Kate Middleton and Prince Harry led Vanity Fair’s international best-dressed list on Tuesday, following a year in which all eyes have been on Britain’s young members of the monarchy. The newly wed Duchess of Cambridge, 30, whose husband is Harry’s brother Prince William, will grace the September cover of the magazine’s newsstand editions after a year of setting style trends and wowing fashionistas with her mix of designer and high street wardrobe choices in her first year of official duties.

The magazine said Prince Charles spent an estimated $55,000 on designer clothes for his new daughter-in-law but that Middleton declined the services of a royal dresser. Instead, she selected her own wardrobe from designers such as Alice Temperley and Alexander McQueen, as well as stores like Topshop and T.K. Maxx.

With Prince William off the list, fashion watchers wondered if his father should offer to hire him a stylist. Prince Harry, 27, led the best-dressed men followed by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who is married to model Gisele Bundchen.

Both the prince and the sports star made their first appearances on the style list.

The Vanity Fair best-dressed rundown is voted for by more than 2,000 fashion industry professionals, journalists and taste-makers as well as the best-dressed Hall of Fame members. Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain, who will grace the September cover for subscribers’ editions, became a red carpet staple during this year’s awards season and made her debut on the best-dressed list for bold fashion choices, including her Alexander McQueen dress at this year’s Oscars ceremony.

She was joined by fellow actresses Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, Lea Seydoux, model Elettra Wiedemann and musician Alicia Keys. Rapper Jay-Z joined Prince Harry and Brady for his first appearance in the style rundown, beating wife Beyonce, who failed to make the top 10. “Today” show co-host Matt Lauer and “60 Minutes” correspondent Morley Safer also made it.

The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were not the only royal to be included. The women’s list acknowledged bestdressed veterans Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser of Qatar and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, as well as first-timer Gucci model Charlotte Casiraghi, who is fourth in line to the Monaco throne. British actor Colin Firth and wife Livia made the best-dressed couples list, and New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, 81, was named a ‘fashion original.’—Reuters