2nd Sep

CR IP TI ON BS SU

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

Municipality shuts stores of pork-tainted hotdog supplier

Champions City unbeaten after QPR victory

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SHAWWAL 15, 1433 AH

Syria rebels hit back at regime’s air power Russia says Assad cannot cease fire unilaterally

KPC denies signing any Canada deal KUWAIT: Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said late on Friday it had not signed a deal in Canada after reports it had completed a preliminary agreement with Athabasca Oil Corp to develop the Alberta oil sands. “No agreement has been signed.

Projects or any investment (are) subject to approvals of KPC board and the Supreme Petroleum Council, and this has not taken place so far,” it said in a statement in English to Kuwait News Agency. Athabasca said on Friday it had signed a letter of intent to jointly develop the Hangingstone and Birch oil sands properties without naming its partner, which a source familiar with the talks identified as the state-owned KPC. The company said the deal is conditional upon finalising details and garnering regulatory approvals, and gave no assurance that it will be completed. Athabasca spokeswoman Heather Continued on Page 13

ALEPPO: An image grab taken from TV shows Syrian rebel sniper Abu Khaled exchanging rings with his bride Hanan, the nurse who treated his leg wound, during their wedding ceremony in the Saif al-Dawla district of this northern city on Friday. In the heart of Aleppo, besieged by Syrian troops for more than a month, a young couple who found love in the time of war exchanged vows. — AFP

Max 45º Min 32º High Tide 00:55 & 12:35 Low Tide 06:26 & 18:53

DAMASCUS: Syrian rebels launched deadly attacks on the military yesterday in a campaign increasingly targeting its air power, as President Bashar Al-Assad’s ally Russia said it was “naive” to expect him not to fight back.

Rebels captured the main air defence building in Albu Kamal on the Iraqi border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding “preliminary reports” suggested they seized ground-to-air missiles. The assault late Friday came hot on the heels of a rebel attack on the Abu Zohur air base in Idlib province in the northwest, where the Free Syrian Army said it downed a MiG warplane this week.

With the insurgency intensifying, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Western and Arab calls for Assad to unilaterally withdraw his troops amounted to a demand for “capitulation” that they had no right to make. In their assault in Albu Kamal, rebels also captured 16 air defence personnel and attacked nearby Hamdan air base, the Observatory said. The seizure was a “major coup” for the rebels, the Observatory’s Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding it sparked retaliatory shelling in the town of some 60,000 that killed at least five civilians. They were among 125 people killed in nationwide violence on Friday, including 74 civilians, 29 soldiers and 22 rebels, said the Britain-based Observatory, making August the deadliest month of the conflict so far with nearly 5,000 dead. The rebels claim to have destroyed a dozen aircraft on the ground Continued on Page 13

Iran scores with summit IAEA plays spoiler

KUWAIT: Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah (right) holds a joint press conference with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle yesterday during the latter’s official visit to Kuwait. — AFP

Woman beats odds to make first Saudi film VENICE: The female director of Saudi Arabia’s first feature film, showing at the Venice film festival, has explained how she beat the odds to produce the heartwarming tale of a girl’s quest to own a bicycle. In Haifaa Al-Mansour’s landmark film “ Wadjda”, 10-year-old Waad Mohammed plays a girl who is also testing the boundaries of a woman’s place in a highly conservative society where her

VENICE: Film director of ‘Wadjda’, Haifaa Al Mansour of Saudi Arabia, poses during a photo session at the 69th Venice Film Festival on Friday at Venice Lido.

‘Wadjda’ is competing in the Orizzonti section of the festival. — AFP

love for Western music and fashions land her in trouble. Mohammed’s impish personality and resilience in the face of adversity add to the poignancy of the story and left some of the film’s first viewers in tears.

“She had this vulnerability and she embodied what a Saudi teenager is,” Mansour said, speaking in the lush courtyard of the Excelsior hotel. “I wanted to show the tension between modernity and tradition,” she said. Mansour said she was forced to direct what is her first feature film from a van with a walkie-talkie in some of the more conservative neighbourhoods where she could not be seen in public together with male crew and cast members. In some areas, screaming local residents would block shooting altogether.

She said finding financing also posed a problem in a country where cinemas are officially banned and any film is considered a commercial risk. “Wadjda” will only be available in the kingdom on DVD or on television. “There is no film in Saudi Arabia. Showing films in public is illegal so we don’t have this culture of filmmaking. I was never able to go on a film set and get training and see how things are.

It was very difficult,” she said. Mansour grew up in a small Saudi town as one of 12 siblings and she said her parents were always very supportive of her career even though they came under pressure from relatives who said filmmaking was “not honourable”. “They are very traditional Saudis but they gave me all the space to be creative and that does not happen to a lot of girls,” she said. Born in 1974, Saudi Arabia’s first female filmmaker studied literature at the American University in Cairo and film at Continued on Page 13

TEHRAN: Iran scored a point against Western efforts to isolate it by hosting a summit this week of 120 Non-Aligned Movement countries, but its bid to boost its prestige was wrong-footed by a new report on its controversial nuclear activities, analysts said. Despite star guests Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and UN chief Ban Ki-moon strongly criticising Tehran policies during the summit, Iranian leaders and media were describing the event, in the words of the state newspaper Iran, as “the biggest success in Iran’s history”.

Several outlets saw it as “a diplomatic defeat of the United States and the West” and hailed what they saw as boost to Iran’s regional diplomacy. The summit “enabled Iran to show it still has friends and trade partners despite international efforts to isolate it,” one analyst, Dina Esfandiary of Britain’s International Institute for Strategic Studies, told AFP. Smack in the middle of it, though, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released its latest report on Iran that recorded an increase in the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges. And it said a clean-up at a suspect military base in Parchin had “hampered” IAEA inspectors’ ability to determine whether explosives tests for warheads had taken place.

That paired with Ban telling Iranian leaders that they had to comply with IAEA and UN resolutions, or else Iran faced being excluded from the international community and even risked military action

by Israel or the United States. “Sometimes the timing of international summits makes all the difference, and this was one of those occasions,” said Mark Hibbs, a senior nuclear issues analyst at the Carnegie Endowment. “Iran opened by declaring that its peaceful nuclear program was the victim of a P5 (UN Security Council) conspiracy, but that Continued on Page 13

ABU DHABI: An Emirati man walks in the new Khalifa Port yesterday. — AFP

Abu Dhabi opens new $7.2bn port Khalifa Port may compete with Dubai ABU DHABI: Oil-rich Abu Dhabi began commercial operations yesterday at its new Khalifa Port in a multi-billion-dollar project to transfer its main container terminal from the 40-year-old port of Mina Zayed. The new facility, built on reclaimed land five kilometres off the coast of the Gulf emirate, received its first ship from a commercial customer, the 366-m MSC Bari. The first phase of the project, now complete, has cost 26.6 billion dirhams ($7.2 billion), the Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) said in a statement released to coincide with the open-

ing ceremony.

Khalifa Port, which is part of the Kizad industrial zone, now has a capacity of 2.5 million TEUs (containers) a year, with an additional 12 million tons of general cargo, including four million tons a year from the adjacent Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) berth which opened in late 2010.

This capacity could double to five million TEU “in three to five years,” said Martijn Van De Linde, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi Terminals, which operates Khalifa Port.

Continued on Page 13

Garbage test looms for Morsi CAIRO: The pile of trash overwhelmed the median divider on Ahmed Zaki Street and spilled into oncoming traffic - eggshells, rotten eggplants, soiled diapers, bottles, broken furniture, junked TV sets. Flies swarmed and the summer sun baked up a powerful stench. Then Kawther Ahmed and her mom came out to add their plastic bag of household trash. The garbage collectors hadn’t been by for two days, said Ahmed, 25, and the metal trash bins in the south Cairo neighborhood, called Dar el-Salam or “House of Peace”, had disappeared, probably sold for scrap metal. “What can we do?” she asked.

Egypt’s newly elected president, Mohamed Morsi, is under growing pressure to answer that question. He already faces a host of challenges: from secular Egyptians worried about his Islamist doctrines; from militants

trying to stoke conflict with Israel, and from the poverty and joblessness that fed the Arab Spring and brought

down the three-decade dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. To all those, add the rising tide of garbage in Cairo, the

CAIRO: In this Aug 16, 2012 photo, a bread vendor and others walk in front of loads of garbage on a Cairo street. — AP

world’s largest Arab city. Morsi declared it one of his top five priorities, promising to clean up the streets within 100 days. In so doing, he gave the electorate a powerful way of measuring his abilities, and it looks increasingly certain that 100 days will be nowhere near enough.

Cairo’s waste management problem began to get acute a decade ago as the capital’s old system, simple but reliable, became swamped by population growth. A government modernization effort flopped. A swine flu panic prompted the mass slaughter of the pigs that recycled Cairo’s organic garbage; the city’s metal trash bins were easy prey for thieves, especially during the global scrap metal boom. The collapse of police forces in the revolution of early 2011 means that no one is enforcing

Continued on Page 13

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

LOCAL

KUWAIT: Hawally Governor Lt Gen Abdullah Al-Faris visited the Bait Al-Othman Museum recently where he was welcomed by Anwar Al-Refaei, the head of the Kuwaiti Heritage Team. He, along with other team members, took the governor on grand a tour around the facility. —Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

2009 parliament session could fuel big protests A direct provocation from Cabinet KUWAIT: The opposition bloc is making preparations to gather the largest number of protestors possible on Sept 24, 2012, following reports suggesting that the 2009 parliament might convene in order to pass the state’s new budget as well as look into the electoral law currently being reviewed by the Constitutional Court to verify the legality of constituencies’ distributions.

That demonstration would be the third held by the opposition since the Cabinet contested the constitutionality of the electoral law. The first of biweekly protests took place last Monday, and the second is set to be held on Sept 10. The Majority Bloc; a coalition of oppositionists who dominated majority seats in the annulled 2012 parliament, meets today at the dewaniya of MP Ali Al-Deqbasi, in order to prepare for future demonstra-

tions while avoiding mistakes that took place during preparation for last Monday’s demonstration where the attendance was disappointing.

Regarding these mistakes, sources close to the bloc indicate that members believe that the date chosen for the inaugural protest, which was on Aug 27, was an unfortunate decision given the fact that it took place before the end of the school’s summer break, in addition to bad weather conditions.

Meanwhile, the sources who spoke to Al-Qabas on the condition of anonymity, indicate that a call for the 2009 parliament to convene would be “a direct provocation from the Cabinet that will lead to increasing level of attendance at the opposition’s demonstrations.”

In the meantime, MP Adnan AlMutawaa said that a majority in the 2009

parliament do not mind convening “if the Cabinet displays good intention,” adding that the state’s budget and potential amendment of the electoral law “are better enforced in the Parliament as opposed to emergency decrees.”

And while he confirmed that the Parliament’s pro-government majority holds periodic meetings to keep up with the latest developments, Al-Mutawaa rejected rumors hinting that they plan to file a request to hold a special session, reported Al-Qabas.

At present, the government cannot sign deals for new projects that require an additional budget that is not included in last year’s state budget, unless a new one is passed. “The government cannot spend any more than last year’s budget, which means that all new projects cannot currently be executed,” said sources close

to the Cabinet, suggesting that additional budgets are likely to be enforced by passing ordinances made by the Cabinet after the 2009 parliament is dissolved.

In the meantime, sources who spoke anonymously to Al-Rai said that a nocooperation decree based on which the Parliament can be dissolved might not be necessary “given the likelihood that the Constitutional Court’s ruling will find the current electoral system unconstitutional, which would automatically render the 2009 parliament null and void.”

In other news, the Nahj group which organized last Monday’s demonstration reportedly demands that its members form one third of the total number of members of the National Front for Protection of Constitution that the oppositionist bloc plans to announce soon. — Al-Rai

Sheikha Amthal to attend World Urban Forum in Naples

KUWAIT: Shiekha Amthal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah, Chairperson of Kuwait’s Volunteer Work Center, leaving for Italy yesterday.

NAPLES: Shiekha Amthal AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Chairperson of Kuwait’s Volunteer Work Center, will head a delegation to the sixth edition of the World Urban Forum, which will begin early today in the southern Italian province of Naples. Sheikha Amthal will also lead a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) higher consultative committee at the UN event, which will convene from today to Sept 7 under the theme of ‘The Urban Future.’ Sheikha Amthal is scheduled to take part in various ministerial meetings on sustainable urban development. She will also open a session discussing the UNHabitat State of the Arab Cities Report that was launched in Kuwait last May and provided a comprehensive analysis of the urbanization processes in Arab States

The Kuwaiti delegation includes representatives from Kuwait Municipality, Kuwait’s Engineers’ Society and Arab Towns Organization The World Urban Forum was established by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing problems facing the world today; rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies.

The Forum is one of the most open and inclusive gatherings of its kind on the international stage.

It brings together government leaders, ministers, mayors. diplomats, members of national, regional and international associations of local governments, non-governmental and community organizations, professionals, academics,

grassroots women’s organizations, youth and slum dwellers groups as partners working for better cities This year’s platform of discussion will examine four key areas, ‘Urban Planning: Institutions, Regulation for improving Quality of Life,’ ‘Equity and Prosperity: Distribution of Wealth and Opportunities,’ ‘Productive Cities: Competitive and Innovative Cities’ and ‘Urban Job Creation and Urban Mobility,’ ‘Energy and Environment.’ According to UNHabitat, some 3,000 participants from 114 countries have already registered for this year’s event Since the first meeting in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002, the Forum has grown in size and stature as it travelled to Barcelona in 2004, Vancouver 2006, Nanjing in 2008 and Rio de Janeiro in 2010. —KUNA

Second Arabian Conference on Information and Communications Security to convene KUWAIT: Abdullatif Al-Suraie, Director General of the Central Agency for Information Technology announced yesterday that the Second Arabian Conference on Information and Communications Security (ACICS2) will be held between 24and 26 September under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad AlSabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait. Salem Methyeb Al-Othaina, Minister of Communications will represent His Highness during the inauguration ceremony. The conference will be held at AlRaya Conference Center of Courtyard Marriott Hotel and is organized by the United Marketing and Organizing Exhibitions Company (UNIEXPO).

Al-Suraie added “the second round of ACICS builds on the success of last year’s conference which attracted e-government organizations of GCC countries as well as specialized world-class vendors; a success that motivated CAIT to transform ACICS to be an annual event.” Al-Suraie said that the annual recurrence of the conference aligns with the focal role CAIT plays in developing and implementing e-government policies and services in Kuwait in collaboration with all other government agencies.

Moreover, it responds to the ever changing, growing, and getting more complex cyber security threats that continuously hit our enterprise and personal IT assets. In this regard, Al-Suraie recalled the statement of Minister of

Communications Salem Methyeb AlOthaina during the inauguration ceremony of last year’s conference saying “information and communication security has became a national security issue rather than a mere technical problem.

Countries should deal with information and communications security accordingly and at the highest levels of political leadership.”

Commenting on the patronage and sponsorship of His Highness Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, AlSuraie added “it clearly reflects the awareness of Kuwait’s political leadership of the vital role information technology and information security play in the development of our societies. It is also a manifestation of the continued and invaluable support to CAIT’s efforts in implementing the e-government programs and projects.”

Al-Suraie noted that ACICS2 shall follow up on last year’s conference recommendations. In addition, it will respond to the increased security threats that face our computer systems and information assets during their entire lifecycle. The conference will discuss the progress of building the necessary legislative base and regulations related to information security, electronic transactions, cybercrime, etc.

He added that “cloud computing will be a prime topic due to the growing pervasiveness of this technology. The conference will also focus on the new securi-

court orders suspending death penalties handed through illegal court procedures,” read a statement released by the protestors following their gathering, which also “warns the Iraqi government represented by its ambassador in Kuwait from getting involved in any future sectarian-based executions.”

— Photo by Hanan Al-Sadoun

Housemaid, driver involved in drug peddling KUWAIT: Anti-narcotics detectives arrested two Asian expats for trading in drugs. They were tipped off on the illegal activities. Assistant Undersecretary Lt General Abdul Hameed Al-Awadhi ordered an investigation and arrest of suspects. After an arrest warrant was obtained, police raided the place of residence of the first suspect, an Asian woman. She was arrested along with the second suspect. It was learnt that she works as a housemaid and had run away from her sponsor.

The second suspect works as a driver. Police found drugs related paraphernalia and some drugs from his place of residence. The rest were found in the flat of the first suspect, packed and ready for sale in small pouches. Each contained a dose that was enough to be taken twice. During interrogations, she confessed to packing and preparing the drugs along with the second suspect.

The driver sold the drugs to customers. They said that they received the drugs from a third Asian expat whose identity is not known.

An investigation has been launched to arrest him.

Both suspects and the confiscated drugs were referred to higher authorities.

Audit Bureau receives Indian delegation

Abdullatif Al-Suraie

Salem Al-Othaina

ty challenges facing e-government programs; especially from governance and auditing perspectives. In addition, a consumerist culture and abundance of mobile devices pose various security challenges that will be tackled during conference proceedings. Finally, the conference will focus on human resources as the main success factor in mitigating or eliminating information security risks.

As a concluding statement, Mr. AlSuraie said:”the conference will be a productive and informative workshop where

sister GCC e-government organizations, government agencies of Kuwait, and prominent information security vendors shall be represented.ThePanel Discussionduring the inauguration ceremonywill reflect the current and future trends of information security industry. I hope that the conference and accompanying exhibition will represent an important marketing venue where clients and vendors meet face to face and join forces for a safer, more secure, and more successful future”.

Dozens protest Iraq’s sectarian executions KUWAIT: Nearly twenty people gathered near the Iraqi embassy recently to protest against ‘sectarian-based executions,’ referring to death sentences handed to Arab prisoners in Iraqi jails charged with terrorism.

“It is unfortunate that the Iraqi government violates regulations and ignores

KUWAIT: The drug duo pictured after their arrest.

The protest was held following calls on Twitter to condemn so-called “targets made against Sunni prisoners” in Iraq. In their statement following the demonstration, protestors announced forming a committee consisting of lawyers and law professors “in order to take legal action at different countries against the

Iraqi government and Iraqi officials involved in random sectarian executions.” “Our protest will send the message that we value the true meaning of life and freedom, as the world seeks to replace killing and torture with freedom and human dignity,” said Dr Khalid AlMerdas during the gathering.

KUWAIT: The State Audit Bureau received yesterday a delegation from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India to attend the fourth joint seminar on the control of information systems in the public sector, scheduled for Sept 2-6.

In a press statement, the Audit Bureau said the seminar will discuss research papers presented by both sides and issue a number of recommendations. The Indian delegation held a meeting with Kuwait Audit Bureau senior officials Saturday and will tour Bureau premises and an exhibition and watch a presentation and a documentary about the history of the Kuwait Audit Bureau since its inception. The Indian delegation is headed by Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (Central Region) V.Moorthy and includes several other senior officials. — KUNA

GCC enjoy remarkable growth rates BEIRUT: Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) states’ development plans and political stability have turned it to be one of the main targets of foreign direct investments, an economic expert said Saturday.

The unstable political and economic situations in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Syria turned foreign investments into the more stable Gulf region, Lebanese economic expert Eli Yashui said. He added that the economies of the ‘Arab Uprising’ need much time to recover, allure foreign investments and then achieve growth. Yashui also noted that Lebanon has been gravely impacted by the crisis in neighboring Syria, particularly after Syria violence spilt over several parts of Lebanon. Economic reports show that that GCC enjoys a growth rate of over four percent compared with only two percent in developed countries. Economists also forecast unprecedented balance of payment surpluses in GCC states hovering between $400-900 billion thanks to its growing energy exports and the oil and gas steadily growing prices, said the expert.—KUNA

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

LOCAL

Teachers, children confused over ministry decision ‘Same school ban’ decision untimely

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Recently, the Ministry of Education issued an order banning parents from working as teachers or administration staff in the same public schools where their children are studying. The Teachers Association objected to this move, saying that the reasons cited by the ministry are not reasonable or logical. The Secretary General of the association described this decision as sudden and coming at the wrong time. “There is no convincing reason for this decision and it will bring about a negative impact, which will throw the different schools and their administration into disarray, also affecting school budgets, and their educational plans.” said Dr Abdulraheem AlKanderi.

“We are also surprised by this untimely decision that would interfere with the positive programmes being prepared for the new academic year,” he said. .

The teachers who work in the schools where their children are studying, consider this decision of separating them from their children as negative and complicating. “I work in a public school for more than eight years and two of my daughters are studying in the

same school where I teach. My first daughter is now going to the sixth grade, while the second is going to the fourth. I haven’t faced any problems with anybody in this case, and my daughters never felt special in any way from other students,” Hiba Farouq, a teacher in a public school for girls, told the Kuwait Times.

The Ministry of Education didn’t specify in its decision whether the student or the parent has to leave the school, adding to the confusion of the parents.

Hiba hasn’t decided on this issue yet, as she is still studying the situation. “I’m really very confused and anxious. I don’t know who should leave the school. I’m considering all possibilities and who should sacrifice in this case -whether I leave my daughter with her classmates and teachers or if I stay with my colleagues. When I asked my daughter, she was crying demanding to stay with me in the same school,” she added.

This decision will affect Hiba’s daily schedule and budget, as well. “Until now my daughters and I commute together in one car. The new move would mean I will have to drop them at another school and then go to my own, which would be a waste of time and additional expenses. I believe that there are

many similar cases, so in general this will also result in heavier traffic, instead of a relief from it,” explained Hiba.

Those who are not affected by this decision have a different point of view. “I think it’s a good decision and it will benefit the children, in the end. When I was a student I felt the children whose parents worked at the school were different or privileged, as they were protected.

In my opinion it’s not healthy for the children to be with their parents all the time in the house and in the school. They should learn to be independent so that they can grow stronger. Such orders definitely have some reasons to be issued, so we should consider it,” stressed 27-year-old Samar.

A mother of a five-year-old son agreed with Samar when she said this decision was correct. “I have heard many cases where the parent working in the same school where their children are studying managed to give them samples of exam papers, to ensure they get full marks. This is cheating and is unfair to the rest of the students. I also think that many teachers enjoy mutual benefits, like giving undeserving marks to each other’s children ,” noted 30-year-old Intisar.

Kuwait budgetary surplus ‘excessive’ KUWAIT: Recording of an exceptionally strong exceptional budgetary surplus is at best a mixed blessing for Kuwaiti economy.

Pluses include maintaining an attractive credit rating and absence of inflationary pressures.

Yet, the adverse effects entail limited economic growth rates on the back of relatively cautious spending, with all implications for foreign investors.

Similar to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) fellow state of Qatar, the fiscal year in Kuwait runs from April to March. The practice is partly meant to provide members of executive and legislative branches sufficient time to sort out details of the budget at the start of the calendar year.

Sadly, the two branches are known for their public disputes over policy choices and spending priorities. The country has experienced six government resignations and shakeups over the past few years reflecting deficiency of a functioning relationship with successive chamber of deputies.

The notable surplus achieved for 2011-12 fiscal year serves as testimony of the lingering disagreements between the appointed cabinet and elected parliament. More specifically, a record surplus of US$47 billion registered for the fiscal year ending in March.

The resulting surplus, compromising about a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), is attributed to a combination of higher and lower actual revenues and spending, respectively. Understandably, the stronger revenues reflect firm oil prices and hike petroleum production, a welcoming development. However, actual spending fell by 12.5 per cent due to inability of making good on promised expenditures on infrastructure projects including road network and further development of the airport. To be sure, developments such as these only undermine Kuwait’s ability to attract foreign direct investments (FDI).

Kuwait’s performance in the World Investment Report 2012,

issued by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), is more noted for outflows rather inflows of FDI. According to the recently released report, Kuwait attracted FDI of around $400 million compared to $781 million in the case of Bahrain, $7.7 billion in the UAE and $16.4 billion for Saudi Arabia.

Conversely, Kuwait led GCC states in the amount of outgoing investments, standing at a hefty $8.7 billion in 2011.

As such, Kuwait is suffering from the phenomenon of outgoing at the expense of incoming foreign investments. By the same token, the IMF considers Kuwait’s economic growth levels the lowest within the six-nation GCC partly due to political differences in the country. Put differently, the IMF projects a real GDP growth rate of 4.5 per cent in 2012, albeit strong but not by regional standards.

In fact, this notable growth rate is partially the result of stronger oil production, thereby confirming the significant role of

petroleum sector in the local economy. On the other hand, on a positive note, the strong budgetary surplus together with limited surge in spending, had served the purpose of controlling inflation. At 2.8 per cent in July and June of this year, inflation rate in Kuwait remains the lowest within the past two years.

All indications suggest that Kuwait’s economy is not reeling under inflationary pressures on the back of limited growth prospects, in turn partly the result of restricted spending.

At the same time, repeated budgetary surpluses are credited for helping maintaining widely sought credit rating by ensuring availability of financial cushion.

Kuwait enjoys credit rating of AA minus together with stable outlook from Standard & Poor’s.

All told, the right policy for Kuwait would be to use the extra oil proceeds to diversify the economy away from the petroleum sector. Kuwait has the ability to do so by capping all its advantages and resources.

Citizenship of 10 to be revoked

By A Saleh KUWAIT: The Nationality and Passpor ts Department has prepared the files of 10 citizens with the aim of revoking their citizenship. Sources said that they are dual citizens and live in GCC countries, while only occasionally visiting Kuwait.

They said that information received by the Interior Ministry confirms that Kuwait is not their native country.

Sources said other files are being studied by the Department, and dual citizens’ reports will be prepared and referred to first deputy premier, and interior minister.

KUWAIT: Ahmadi Governor Ibrahim Al-Duaij Al-Sabah met the Armenian Ambassador Fadey Charchoghlian at his office recently. Discussions focused on bilateral relations and means to boost cooperation in various fields.

Increased metabolic imbalance rates in Kuwait KUWAIT: A recent study suggests that Kuwaitis over the age of twenty suffer a high rate of metabolic imbalance, which stands at 37.7% among women and 34.2% among men.

The study that was carried out by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), in cooperation with the Ministry of Health’s nutrition department, as well as the National Nutrition Institute in Egypt, is based on the responses of 1,830 Kuwaiti citizens.

It was prepared in adherence to the standards recognised by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) in the United States to diagnose metabolic imbalance.

The study found “a strong connection between height, weight, high blood

pressure and cholesterol levels in causing metabolic imbalance”; which it further said “increases with age”.

Meanwhile, the study also suggests that the findings must be considered as the basis for new measures to boost efforts to counter metabolic imbalance; a problem identified as “a reason for high sugar levels, heart diseases and obesity in Kuwait”.

Metabolic imbalance is diagnosed by several symptoms that include high blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels, in addition to obesity. A previous study published by Chest Hospital cardiologist Dr. Ibrahim Al-Rashdan established that obesity levels in Kuwait were reaching 47.5%, in addition to 36.2% increase in metabolic imbalances.

KUWAIT: Al-Khairan area is facing increased level of air pollution these days.

Pictures show black smoke coming out a big factory in that area. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

‘Gangs of Amghara’ behind arson cases KUWAIT: Organized crime is responsible for a series of fires reported in recent weeks at the Amghara scrap yard, according to preliminary investigations provided by security sources quoted by a local daily yesterday.

“The initial report prepared by the State Security Ser vice and Criminal Investigations Department indicates that 95 percent of fires started in Amghara during the past few weeks were acts of arson,” said sources who spoke to AlJarida. Meanwhile, sources suggested that “organized gangs of Iranian, Afghan and Bangladeshi nationalities are fighting for supremacy to maintain control

over the Amghara scrap yard.”

They indicated that “businessmen with high influence” are using these gangs to hurt each other’s businesses.

“Gangs are paid to burn a company’s head office or warehouse in an act of revenge, especially that the majority of carpentries in Amghara are not insured,” sources added while explaining why fires take place successively, according to the initial investigation’s findings.

Two Iranian citizens were arrested Friday night with possession of inflammable liquids they later admitted of planning to use to set a timber warehouse on fire.

Tribes to convene Kuwait’s major tribes will convene shortly to discuss current events as well as demand constitutional monarchy and a popularly elected government, boycott the elections in case constituencies are realigned.

Sources said that the meeting will be held to reach a unified stance and reject all measures that violate the Constitution for vested interest sake and hinders the country’s development. They said that the tribes announced their stance but the meeting will be held to coordinate efforts and opinions.

Unscheduled traffic inspections held KUWAIT: The General Traffic Department held a number of unscheduled inspections in six governorates over the weekend. It resulted in 6,233 traffic citations being issued, and 324 vehicles were impounded.

In the Capital governorate, 1,310 citations and 21 vehicles were detained. In Farwaniya governorate, 875 citations were issued and 25 vehicles were impounded.

In Hawally governorate, 1,645 citations were issued and 41 vehicles were impounded. In Ahmadi governorate, 627 citations were issued and four vehicles were impounded.

In Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorate, 278 citations were issued and 18 vehicles were impounded. In Jahra governorate, 565 citations and 26 vehicles were impounded.

The operation department at also issued 890 citations and impounded 187 vehicles. One motorcycle was impounded,11 persons and 43 citations were issued at the Kuwait International Airport. The traffic department urges all drivers and motorists to abide by traffic regulations.

KUWAIT: Al-Rahma Medical Complex in the Lebanese city of Tripoli.

Kuwait finances center for orphans in Lebanon KUWAIT: Director-General of Al-Rahma Medical Complex in the Lebanese city of Tripoli Ezzat Agha revealed yesterday that Kuwait was helping to finance an ambitious project for offering special care and rehabilitation services to orphans and handicapped children in Lebanon.

In statements on the sideline of his visit to Kuwait, Agha hailed Kuwait’s contribution to the project which will serve a large number of disabled children and orphans. He explained that the project, to start operation next year, aims to provide special care, medical treatment as well as education, vocational and physical rehabilitation for children with special

needs to help them integrate in the society. Agha said the project also aims to help disabled and orphan children to achieve economic independence through teaching them productive skills, adding that all services are offered free of charge. He named the Kuwait financers as the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Zakat House and Kuwait Finance House and Dr. Sheikha Al-Qatmai from the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society and Thuloth Abdullah Ali Al-Mutawa.

The Kuwaiti contributions to the project amounted to $1.5 million out of the total cost of $2.380 million. — KUNA

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

local

Bedoons held following public protest in Taima Drunk trio attacks two

KUWAIT: Pictures taken from an overcrowded neighborhood at the Naser AlBader Street in Salmiya, show public problems created by the lack of parking spaces at residential buildings and public facilities. — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

KUWAIT: Four stateless residents were arrested in Taima after police dispersed a gathering of around 40 bedooins late Thursday night. The detainees, who face charges of violating the demonstrations law for calling stateless residents to stage a mass protest, will remain in custody pending orders to either release them or refer them to the Public Prosecution. The protesters were reportedly demanding the return of the son of a bedoon martyr currently trapped in Jordan.

out the firefighters’ instructions.

and referred to proper authorities.

Food poisoning A woman was admitted to hospital in a critical condition while five other family members were treated for food poisoning in a case reported recently in Taima. Officials said the victims arrived at the Jahra Hospital after having meals at a Jahra restaurant. The wife was being treated at the intensive care unit, and her husband filed a complaint at the Taima police station against the restaurant.

Reckless driver escapes A search is under way for a driver who escaped after pointing a firearm at patrol officers in Al Fahaheel, in a suspected case of drunken driving. Officers caught up with the driver following reports about an armed man driving recklessly in that area.

The suspect reportedly escaped after jumping a roadblock and hitting two patrol vehicles blocking his way. A case has been filed.

Driver killed A motorist was killed after his car crashed into a truck and caught fire on the Damascus road on Friday morning. The Kuwaiti man was pronounced dead at the scene after firefighters removed his trapped body from his SUV. Meanwhile, two Kuwaitis in their twenties were taken into custody after they broke the car window in an attempt to save its driver, which amounted to acting with-

Fugitive nabbed A middle aged woman was arrested recently in Al-Fahaheel for possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Patrol officers approached the Kuwaiti woman at a gas station at 2.30 am on Friday morning and on verifying her identity, found that she has been ordered to spend six days at a psychiatric hospital. She was placed under arrest after the contrabands were found in her car

Seven saved The Coastguard rescued seven people whose boat broke down in the Gulf waters off the coast of Al-Salmiya beach.

Pork meat stores closed

By A Saleh KUWAIT: The Kuwait municipality has closed the stores of a company that sold hot dogs that included pork and pig fat and sent the case to the commercial prosecution.

The municipality ordered the closure of the store where the food material was found, in order to stop further sale while municipality inspectors worked on withdrawing as soon as possible the stock that has already been distributed in the market, which is estimated at 1,688 large cartons. The ministry of commerce and ministry said the company sold 1,688 cartons of Brazilian hot dogs mixed with pork meat and fat to several restaurants before laboratory tests were completed, violating the law.

New complaints Several Shiites plan to file complaints at courts against MP Mubarak Al-Waalan, over the insults he directed at them during the Irada Square gathering last Monday. Sources said that

complaints are being prepared by several lawyers, and each will be submitted under their individual names. The complaints include using insulting language and claims of disloyalty, which were made more than once, proving they were deliberate and not uttered unintentionally.

Complainants seek several cases of felony and not mere misdemeanour, because what was said threatens the security of the entire country.

Election boycott MPs are planning to sign an undertaking to boycott the next elections if constituencies were re-aligned, following the ruling of the constitutional court. MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun has asked some MPs from the majority bloc to prepare the letters of undertaking, so that MPs can sign them during their next meeting, in order to publish it during the following Irada gathering..

Sources said, ‘Al-Saadoun wants to change the methods of the blocs by initiating some practical steps which will address the ineffectiveness of moves seen in the last gathering.

36 years of Kuwait-Vietnam ties celebrated KUWAIT: Vietnamese Ambassador to Kuwait Bui Quoc Trung said yesterday that his country is celebrating 36 years of establishing “deep” diplomatic ties with the state of Kuwait today.

Vietnam celebrates the 65th anniversary of the National Day, Trung said, adding “on this day, 67 years ago, at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, the

Ambassador Bui Quoc Trung capital of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam’s first President, read the Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the presence of hundreds of thousands of people,” Trung said Since 1986, the country has opened up to international markets and witnessed a social and economic growth on all levels. The country has been able to keep an average economic growth of seven percent, which has led to a steady political and social stability for many years to come, which enabled it to attract more than 13,800 foreign investments from more than 90 different countries, Ambassador Trung pointed out.

This steady growth has also played a vital role in setting Vietnam on the map as a well-known tourist destination, the envoy noted, adding the country has seen more than six .million tourists a year. Vietnam has drawn an increasing inflow from Foreign Direct Investment that rise by 29.7 percent from that of year 2010. This, has helped the country to improve poverty levels from 58 percent, in 1993, to 12 percent in 2011.

On the Vietnam-Kuwait

bilateral relations, Trung said “ Traditional relations between the two countries have been continuously broadened and deepened in so many varied areas and have reached new levels.

The two countries have exchanged visits at all levels to strengthen their relations and cooperation.”

Prominently, an official visit by the former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah in May 2007 and the opening of the Embassy and Consulate General of Kuwait in Vietnam the same year, as well as the official visit of Vietnamese Premier, Nguyen Tan Dzung to the State of Kuwait in March 2009 have all marked a milestone in the history of the friendly relations between our two countries.” — KUNA

Car theft Investigations are underway to locate a 2012 Cadillac stolen by two men outside Al-Roudhah Co-op Society recently. The suspects reportedly jumped into the car that was left with the

engine running by the driver who had gone to purchase groceries, and drove it away after forcing out a woman sitting inside the vehicle. The driver was repor tedly shopping for his Kuwaiti employer along with the family ’s housemaid, who had remained in the car before she was forced to leave by the thieves.

Drunks arrested Three people were arrested while a search is underway for others who forced their way into a house in Abu Al-Hassaniya and attacked its occupants. The suspects, who were under the influence of alcohol, attacked a 15year-old boy and his father after following them into their house, when the two came out of the house to check noises they heard in the early hours of Friday. At the time, the suspects were reportedly in the middle of a drunken brawl. A case has been filed at the area’s police station.

— Al-Rai, Al-Qabas, Al-Watan

Al-Dawli connect finds great demand from KIB customers KUWAIT: The first of its kind service using USSD technology in Kuwait launched recently by Kuwait International Bank (KIB) has been receiving positive feedback and has witnessed large turnout from customers as it provides customers with flexibility and convenience when needing to conduct any banking transactions, and from any place in Kuwait or abroad, without the need for Internet.

Lamya Al-Tabtebai, Deputy General Manager - Corporate Support and Head of IT said, “We are very pleased with the customer demand that has been witnessed on the Al-Dawli Connect service as it confirms its success and adoptability amongst our customers.” She added, “AlDawli Connect is considered to be the only service in Kuwait to use the USSD

technology allowing customers to access their banking accounts in an easy, fast and secured manner through their mobile phones, Smartphone era regular cellular phones without contacting the Bank or connecting to the internet. The service can be accessed by simply calling *886# to receive a quick menu of available banking services which can be selected easily and efficiently.”

Al-Tabtabai emphasized on the different transactions that can be done through Al-Dawli Connect service by stating, “The customer is now able to inquire about his/her account details, credit cards, Murabahas, and make transfers between his /her accounts and report lost cards. The service can be obtained in English and Arabic for KIB customers using Zain services.”

Lamya Al-Tabtebai

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LOCAL

in my view

in my view

The wise leader

New ‘image’ of Israel

By Abdullah Buair

ince its establishment 64 years ago, Israel has been bent on fortifying its existence which led to the uprooting of Palestinians from a large part of historical Palestine. Its fear was manifest in an Israeli policy built on attaining a striking force superior to that owned by the entire Arab world.

This allowed Tel Aviv to wage wars against them at any time it felt is convenient to maintain its military superiority.

But the policy of resorting to ‘deterrent force’ was met with complete failure in two instances Lebanon in 2006 and Gaza in 2008-09. By waging these two wars, Israel has been facing a much greater ‘threat’ with the loss of its legitimacy as a state according to international law that is being violated on a daily basis by the Israeli apartheid/ colonial rule in the Occupied Territories.

This new threat which is detrimental to the existence of the Zionist state can never be deterred by military force, regardless of its superiority, because it is not coming from the traditional enemies of the Zionist state, but from its close western friends who traditionally supported it financially and militarily throughout the years.

Israeli colonies on Palestinian land are the main reason for Israel’s worldwide condemnation.

Measures to boycott all Israeli products exported by these illegal colonies have been enacted in many countries, such as Denmark and South Africa, which followed similar steps taken earlier by Britain and some European countries.

Israel’s image was also plunging with a survey conducted earlier this year in 22 countries by Globescan PIPA for the BBC World Service showing that Israel was one of the most negatively viewed countries. Both Israel and North Korea were ranked third with 50 per cent of the vote rating them as having negative influence.

In some EU countries, views of Israel worsened with a negative rating of more than 74 per cent in Spain, 65 per cent in France, 69 per cent in Germany, 68 per cent in England, 65 per cent in Australia and 59 per cent in Canada.

More serious is the fact that despite the vast Jewish influence in the German news media, a majority of Germans now consider Israel as an aggressive state bent on pursuing its interests by all means regardless of the threat they poses to world peace and stability.

S

Israeli colonies on Palestinian land are the main reason for Israel’s worldwide condemnation. Measures to boycott all Israeli products exported by these illegal colonies have been enacted in many countries, such as Denmark and South Africa, which followed similar steps taken earlier by Britain and some European countries.

A poll conducted in May this year for Stern magazine found that 59 per cent of Germans believed that Israel was aggressive. Among the respondents, 70 per cent agreed that Israel pursued its interests without consideration for other nations. The same poll showed a very important shift in German consciousness that now considers that Germany no longer holds any responsibility or obligation toward Israel derived from Nazi actions against Jews 67 years ago.

The huge role once played by the western news media in blindly supporting almost every Israeli action regardless of its negativity and violation of international law and human decency, has been faced with increasing discontent at Israel’s actions which now maintains a worldwide status as a ‘hated state’ most prominently for its apartheid rule that is being imposed by a brutal military force in Palestine.

The recent vote in Unesco showed a worldwide support for the struggle of the Palestinian people and clear condemnation of Israel. In the past, the western news media (controlled by the Zionist lobby) used to reiterate Zionist lies using the Holocaust and the Christian mistreatment of Jews throughout history to create a sense of guilt in western minds, thus leading them to provide blind support to the ‘Jewish state’.

Lately, it has become evident that the bright image created by the western media about Israel is steadily waning and it is “no longer an oasis of democracy in the backward Middle East”.

In a recent article in the Washington Post, Rolland Kerbis, a professor in the Department of Political Science in the University of Minnesota, sees that “the future of Israel as a Jewish democratic and prosperous state is facing dire danger from inside Israel more that what is outside Israel, especially after the occupation of Palestine in 1967. This victory gave birth to a nationalistic/ racist tendency of extreme religiosity within the Zionist psyche of Israel which brought about extreme aggressive measures in its rule over the Occupied Territories”.

Paul Krugman, a financial expert awarded the Nobel Prize in 2008, wrote in the New York Times about The Zionist Impasse, in which he criticised the policy of the current Israeli government by calling it “national suicide” that shall lead Israel to the abyss.

Krugman added that, as an American Jew, he refrained in the past from criticising Israel, but he thought that now “it is vital to break the barrier of silence before the government of Israel causes a catastrophe of a big proportion”.

H the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlSabah’s speech during the last ten days of Ramadan focused on reasserting the significance of unity, and like all speeches HH has previously made, highlighted national security as the country’s top priority.

Bearing huge responsibilities is not something new for HH the Amir, who is gifted with skills and the experience to lead us during the darkest of times, until we reach safety. His skilled approach has always been displayed in parliament, where he uses a strict yet flexible approach through which he absorbs MPs’ anger but, at the same time, doesn’t yield to their demands. Also, there were many times in which HH intervened at the correct time to calm heated situations, and other times in which he wisely remained silent to send his message.

As his speeches always give us hope for a better future for Kuwait, HH the Amir reassured us in his recent speech when he raised the importance of taking the maximum level of caution in light of the risks posed by ongoing developments in the region. HH recognized that national unity is the best way to boost protection of our society by rejecting all threats that attempt to damage the social fabric of our nation. HH also made notice of the fact that certain activities hindered the development process in Kuwait, and diverted the focus of politicians’ attention away from priorities of development and reform, as well as the fact that this situation is further contributing to a state of frustration and anxiety Kuwaitis are increasingly feeling today.

Moreover, HH the Amir expressed pride in Kuwait’s judicial authority and its independence, further reinstating its status as the fortress protecting people’s rights in Kuwait.

This principle was further reassured in HH’s speech when he insisted that all are equal in front of the law because the safety and security of the country remains the top priority.

Further, HH the Amir’s wisdom put out the fire of sectarianism before it could ignite.

There is much evidence which proves that HH’s speech tackled the main issues concerning the public today, such as when he insisted on the importance of improving education and the capabilities of young generations, as well as his urging media outlets to maintain national unity while reporting local, regional and international news.

H

By Assad Abdul Rahman

kuwait digest

Using religion to grab power

By Mohammad Ahmad Al-Mulla slamist groups or those who have a sound knowl- being unfaithful and also because we have let the edge of science and religion used to preach, build influential have a free run in this state without any real mosques and help the needy, in the past. After reform. The reform of the National Assembly should Muslim Brotherhoods started surfacing in the Arabian start from the public, who will choose honest MPs and Peninsula and Egypt they changed their priority from hold them accountable. But if the government and its preaching to political participation with the regimes. cronies thought that they can destroy the sanctity of Therefore, most of those sporting beards have used the constitution and mitigate its functioning through religion to acquire political positions, especially chairs which the ministers can be held accountable, then the close to the ruling authority, and in Kuwait the main public shall revolt to protect its interests; clamour for stopping corruption among some Sheikhs, merchants concern was securing seats in Parliament.

Due to a lack of political resoluteness in Kuwait and and MPs, who might destroy the state if this situation the nature of the society, which is conservative, these continued.

But the Kuwaiti constitution shall not fail, no matter political Islamist groups were able to impose their presence. This was followed by the entry of political how corrupt the leaders are. That is because it is the constitution of the Kuwaiti people traders, corruption traders and who love freedom and who instigators who have now crossed the line,started giving The reform of the National Assembly stand for the wise thought: do not be amazed by the bird who the political Islamist leaders should start from the public, who ran away from you, although money and opening up the media to publish their views, will choose honest MPs and hold you are carrying something in hand to feed it, as birds, in return for preserving their them accountable. But if the govern- your contrary to what some humans corrupt practices. . ment and its cronies thought that believe, know that freedom is Therefore, we find the influential business-minded MP is they can destroy the sanctity of the more expensive than bread.

The determination yard close to the political Islamist constitution and mitigate its func- has fallen because some of leaders in hiding who are tioning through which the ministers those in it are aiming for the showered with unlimited gifts chair and money and, to be so that they remain silent. can be held accountable. frank with ourselves, if the What can be observed in principle of wealth distribuKuwaiti politics is that comtion applies to political traders merce “Salafists” are close to the “National” traders from the room of “Shahbandar”. like the influential of the 2nd constituency and the The question is what has brought political corruption sects of the 1st constituency and the streams of the and religion together? The answer is the special inter- 3rd and followers of the fourth and 5th, especially the ests. The main reason for the Muslim Brothers to run one in the opposition who received 2,000 square the determination yard is that their mask has fallen, and metre land and built his house free of charge, as well the reasons behind those failed gathering have been as his diwaniya, and in exchange for these he threw all exposed. Some of them claimed that reform was the he said into the trash can. Those examples are the best reason, but truth lay in their hunger for political power, proof of the size of the corruption and political money.

In the end there shall be clear-sighted reforms, their aim to control political decisions, and not healing concrete achievements and a decision-making the wounds of the state and citizens.

Therefore, the gatherings and the constitution have prime minister, ministers and officials who know the been undermined, with the Kuwaiti public abandoning meaning of faithfulness in work; as well as courts all slogans and political beliefs which have been influ- that are just to the poor, or otherwise we shall fall enced by selfish interests. This failure is caused by into hell. —Al-Anbaa

I

kuwait digest

Comprehensive development?

By Dr Mubarak Al-Therwa olice are still busy issuing tickets to those that limit chances of error, as well as duties such as wrongfully parked vehicles in no-parking importing the latest technologies in medicine and zones, tackling cell phone thefts and enforcing medical staff. stricter measures on people travelling and what they Students are still taught in local schools about the post in social networks. As such, they have little time importance of patriotism and protecting the country to stop illegal weapon trafficking, visa trading and from enemies, and have their brains crammed with spread of spoilt food in the society. When was the stories about the history and glory of their forefalast time we heard about people behind such serious thers, yet no one teaches them how to be free citicrimes being arrested? zens with rights that cannot be snatched from them The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs have under any circumstances. always been busy delivering speeches made during The concept of comprehensive development the Friday Prayer at mosques focusing primarily on human around Kuwait, as well as The concept of comprehensive beings is the basic compoincreasing the number of nent in any development development focusing primarily on program. Such a program is mosques in the country to human beings is the basic compo- comprehensive in the sense the point that there are three mosques in every street. All nent in any development program. that it takes commitment that takes away their time Such a program is comprehensive in from people with regards to from doing other duties such fulfilling their duties towards the sense that it takes commitment their country, while mainas coming up with a relifrom people with regards to fulfill- taining their rights, security gious-educational work plan that can help protect young ing their duties towards their coun- and freedom. A program people from extremist or sectry, while maintaining their rights, seeking to achieve a system tarian ideologies. Why does in which a thief is punished, security and freedom.

Kuwait not have a general but only after he is given the mufti whom people can opportunity to earn his daily approach when confused by the various opinions bread; a system where a thief who stole cell phones given by people who weigh in on religious topics and public funds are both punished! without supporting their claims with proof?

If the government adopts this form of compreThe Ministry of Health continues to talk about hensive development, it takes advantage of the increasing bed capacity as well as the number of opposition when it comes to public suppor t wards at medical facilities, in addition to increasing because people want to see actual construction. It is paid trips for patients to receive treatment overseas. simple and as clear as day: if the government seeks In the meantime, the ministry continues to ignore people’s support, it should prove to them that they the fact that public and private medical facilities alike are serious about achieving comprehensive develcontinue to work without prior supervision that can opment. —Al-Rai

P

in my view

Constitutional hibernation

By Dr Bader Al-Deehani fter the constitutional court ruled the 2012 council null and void over the wrongful dissolution of the 2009 council, the minister of information said in a press conference, “I would like to tell the people the procedure for correcting the mistake shall take days and not weeks.” At that time he did not mention anything about the government contesting the election system. But he later declared that there is no amendment to the number of constituencies. Here we are going into the third month after the constitutional court decision on June 20, 2012, and with the mistake still not corrected, based on which the court has ruled.

Contrary to the government’s declaration earlier that there is no amendments to the number of constituencies, suddenly it has been discovered “that the election system which was proposed in 2006 and on which the general elections was based, is believed to be constitutional, which made the government contend that it is not constitutional, such contest is controversial - politically and legally.

This means that government will not only be in charge of the decision to amend the number of constituencies and the visiting system, after the constitutional court verdict, but also had to keep the state legislature in hibernation since June 20 to the extent that the state budget has not yet been approved in spite of reaching the second quarter of the fiscal year. No one can predict when the hibernation will end or where it will lead us, which might continue for many months to come.

We must take into account the unstable conditions in the region, which is subject to explosion any minute, especially after an increasing possibility of a new war in the region, and the quick developments resulting in the escalation of the Arab spring and the Syrian situation, not forgetting the regional and international tensions in the Middle East that may lead to new political arrangements in the future. In such a situation, the constitutional inertness we are suffering means that people will have no role at all in any decision making concerning Kuwait’s political role in the region, which clearly contradicts the constitution. This reminds us of the period of unconstitutionality and political uncertainty which followed the Iraqi invasion, when the government unilateral decisions, resulting in the disaster, as it is well known that internal stability reflects positively on the strength and stability of the external preparedness and vice verse.

Therefore, constitutional experts are supposed to answer the following questions - isn’t the constitutional hibernation which the country is suffering from purposely prevents the functioning of the constitutional organisations and in turn violate the constitution? —Al-Jareeda

A

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

Ex-Marine kills 2 workers, self

Blasphemy case evokes fear in Pakistan’s Christian town Page 11

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OSLO: The French acrobatic flying team “Patrouille de France” members guide their Alpha jets during a performance yesterday. The acrobatic flying team participated in a flight show over the harbor area in Oslo to mark the hundredth anniversary of the Norwegian air force. — AFP

Pentagon, ex-SEAL at odds over ‘No Easy Day’ News

in brief

30 feared drowned CONAKRY: About 30 people were believed to have drowned after a boat capsized off the coast of Guinea, as rescue workers said yesterday they had given up hope of finding survivors after an all-night search. “We are continuing the search without hope of finding survivors, that means about 30 are already dead,” rescue official Lanfia Camara said. “It is difficult and even unthinkable that we could find a survivor in the water after more than 15 hours without rescue. None of the passengers were wearing a life vest when they boarded.” The pirogue, a flat-bottomed boat used by fishermen and for transport, capsized a few minutes after setting off for Kassa Island which lies several kilometers from the capital Conakry on Friday.

10 militants killed ALGIERS: Security forces in Algeria have killed 10 militants presumed to be members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in separate operations, press reports yesterday cited the defense ministry as saying. They said nine AQIM members including a chief named as Boubeker Zemmouri, 29, were killed by soldiers in a special operation at Jebel Djerrah in the Beni Amrane area of Boumerdes province, 50 kilometers east of Algiers. Another militant was reported killed in a village in the same area in the operations which took place on Wednesday and Thursday, security sources quoted in the Liberte, Le Soir d’Algerie and El-Watan dailies said. The official APS news agency said security forces also recovered Kalashnikov-type assault rifles, three semi-automatic rifles, two shotguns, ammunition and other equipment, including two solar panels.

Dismembered bodies in bags TEGUCIGALPA: Authorities in Honduras on Friday found at least three dismembered bodies that were placed in bags and dumped in two slums in the west of the capital Tegucigalpa, police said. “Neighbors told us that in the early morning, a vehicle sped by and tossed out bags containing the dismembered bodies of three or four people,” said a police official who asked not to be named. Forensics authorities collected the remains from the dusty streets near a public cemetery in the capital. The police anti-gang unit arrived at the scene to see if the crime could be gang-related. Gang members tend to dismember their victims to intimidate their enemies. “We are investigating the number of victims, as well as their names, ages and gender,” the official said.

Peru crash kills 10 LIMA: At least 10 people were killed and more than 30 wounded Friday when a packed minibus overturned on a road in southeastern Peru, local authorities said. A hospital official in the neighboring city of Chicha said at least nine children were among those wounded in the accident in a rural area of the Andean region of Huancavelica. The driver voluntarily caused the accident after an unspecified mechanical accident, according to local radio. Road accidents in the Amazon and Andean regions of Peru are common due to winding and often difficult travel routes and poor vehicle maintenance.

Defense lawyer threatens legal action WASHINGTON: The Pentagon and a former US Navy SEAL are at odds over a book that offers the first eyewitness account of the May 2011 raid that took out Osama bin Laden, with a potential court battle looming. Amid a wave of publicity, the Defense Department is warning the ex-commando and his publisher not to release “No Easy Day” next week, saying the author violated non-disclosure agreements he signed while in uniform. The Pentagon said Friday it has reviewed the text but officials declined to say if the book reveals state secrets, vowing to keep all legal options open. “I’m not going to characterize one way or the other whether we think there’s classified information in it,” press secretar y George Little told reporters. “We are going to preserve our options.”

The Pentagon’s top lawyer on Thursday threatened possible legal action, saying the author had violated the non-disclosure deals-including a pledge to submit any book for review before publication. “Those agreements are very clear, that when you write something that may contain classified information, you need to have it go through pre-publication review by this department,” Little said. “That did not occur in this case.” The former Navy commando wrote “No Easy Day” under a pseudonym, Mark Owen, but has been identified in media reports as Matt Bissonnette.

In the book, published by Penguin’s Dutton imprint and already handed out to some US media, he describes his role in the famed raid on bin Laden’s Pakistani hideout that was hailed afterward as a triumph by the White House. With the book expected to hit instant best-seller status, Bissonnette’s lawyer on Friday offered a rebuttal to the Pentagon, insisting the author had not broken faith with his commitments.

The commando had sought legal advice before going ahead with the book and was not required to submit the manuscript in advance to defense officials as the Pentagon claims, said his attorney, Robert Luskin.

The former commando “is proud of his service and respectful of his obligations,” Luskin wrote to the Pentagon. “But he has earned the right to tell his story; his abiding interest is to ensure that he is permitted to tell it while recognizing the letter and spirit of the law and his contractual undertakings.” The book does not offer a dramatically different version of events already presented by President Barack Obama’s aides but does provide some new details about the May 2011 operation at bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad.

Bissonnette recounts how bin Laden was first shot in the head as he peered out of a door and then pumped with bullets as he convulsed on the floor.

Previous official accounts said bin Laden had appeared in a doorway and ducked back into his bedroom, leading the US commandos to suspect he might be retrieving a gun. In some cases involving tell-all books, the US government has successfully sued intelligence officers for breaking their non-disclosure agreements, but it was unclear if federal authorities would take the same approach. Judges have ruled current or retired employees have to secure approval of books before publication-regardless of whether classified information is disclosed.

The government then can demand access to any profits from the unauthorized books, said Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, who writes a blog on government secrecy. The non-

disclosure agreements “have been consistently construed by courts as a binding contract,” Aftergood said. Failing to submit a manuscript qualifies as a civil case, but if the Pentagon concludes secrets were spilled in the book, the former commando could be subject to criminal prosecution. Last year, a federal judge ruled in favor of the CIA in a case involving a former spy, saying the agent failed to obtain approval for his book, “The Human Factor,” before publication.

But with “No Easy Day,” experts say the author and publisher may be gambling that they have steered clear of exposing secrets and can argue their case on

the non-disclosure agreements, all the while benefiting from the avalanche of publicity generated by the dispute. “If the US government continues over a period of time to threaten prosecution, lawyers’ fees will eat into his book royalties but, given that it is a prepublication number one best seller, he will be able to bear that financial burden,” said Gary Solis, a retired Marine Corps law yer and adjunc t professor at Georgetown Law School. “I believe Bissonnette ultimately will walk away with a tidy sum.” Bissonnette reportedly plans to donate most of the proceeds to military charities.— AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

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

War-weary Colombians wonder if peace is at hand BOGOTA: After nearly 50 years of fighting with leftist rebels, Colombia has again taken a tentative step toward the tantalizing prospect of peace, with surprise word of exploratory talks with FARC guerrillas. An accord would put an end to Latin America’s oldest armed rebel group, but no one thinks it will happen any time soon. And Colombians are painfully aware that previous peace talks have failed. A poll released this week after President Juan Manuel Santos on Monday disclosed the preliminary dialogue showed a boost in support for a negotiated settlement, rather than a continued drive to crush the country’s main rebel army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Little is known of the exploratory talks, but Colombian press reports say they began in February in Havana and yielded a negotiating agenda. These reports say full-blown talks between the center-right government and the FARC could begin in early October in Norway and then continue in Cuba, under the auspices of Venezuela and Chile. The process would be fraught with obstacles, such as disputes over how long the talks should take and even outright opposition to them taking place at all.

Already, lively public debate has begun on issues such as distributing land to peasants in a country where the divide between rich and poor is gaping - the issue that gave rise to the FARC in 1964.

Others are rebels’ links to drug trafficking and the idea of reincorporating guerrilla leaders into everyday life. Many of them have been convicted of crimes against humanity. “It is unlikely that (the process) will be very fast. It will take at least a year, barring a miracle,” said Ariel Avila, an expert on the Colombian conflict at a peace foundation called Nuevo Arco Iris, or New Rainbow.

The fresh prospect of peace seems to have been welcomed eagerly by Colombians. Support for a negotiated settlement has risen to 60 percent of those polled, up from 52 percent in June, according to a Gallup survey released Friday. And the proportion of Colombians who instead prefer a military defeat of the guerrillas has dropped in the past two months from 44 to 37 percent, the poll said. Still, Colombians know they have seen their hopes rise before, only to have them dashed.

Previous peace talks in Venezuela and Mexico in 1992 went nowhere. The most recent stab at peace came a decade ago

Ex-Marine kills 2 workers, self OLD BRIDGE: An ex-Marine who had suffered from depression and once tweeted about killing “everyone I see” opened fire in camouflage gear at a supermarket early Friday, gunning down two co-workers before he killed himself, authorities said. Terence Tyler, 23, left his night clerk shift at a Pathmark store in Old Bridge Township around 3:30 am, drove off and returned 20 minutes later to the closed store with a handgun and an assault rifle similar to an AK-47, Middlesex County prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said. About 12 to 14 workers were still there, inputting new prices into the computer.

Tyler fired more than 16 rounds from his rifle, shooting at an employee standing outside and firing as he entered the store, blowing out the front windows, authorities said.

He shot at five other workers in an aisle, killing Christina LoBrutto, 18, and Bryan Breen, 24, Kaplan said. “I do not believe that they were specifically targeted. I believe everybody in the store was a target,” said Kaplan. Tyler, who began working at the supermarket less than two weeks ago, drew his handgun and killed himself, the prosecutor said.

The motive was under investigation. But family members said Tyler had been discharged from the Marines two years ago after suffering from depression and had never gotten over his mother’s death; the shooting happened around the five-year anniversary of her death, they said.

And on a Twitter account in 2009, with a photograph identified by family members as Tyler, a post talks about hating Marine life. “I’m starting to see why plp go on killin sprees,” he wrote in October 2009, using the handle (at)Tylerbkstyle. “And these (obscenity) are reeeeeeally pushin my kill everyone I see button.” At the top of Tyler’s Facebook page reads the motto, “Be optimistic. All the people you hate are going to eventually die.”

Kaplan and police walked through the shooting scene at the supermarket Friday morning, with two long windows in the front completely shot through. Evidence markers were placed next to broken glass outside the store, in a suburban shopping center about 40 miles south of Manhattan. Several ammunition magazines were recovered along with Tyler’s rifle and a .45-caliber handgun, he said. John Niccollai, president of a foodworkers union, said many of the employees working escaped the gunfire when an assistant manager got many of them to flee out the back door. Breen and LoBrutto were cashiers who normally worked day shifts but pulled overnight shifts every few weeks to input price changes, Niccollai said. Tyler had been working for Pathmark since Aug. 20 as a night clerk stocking shelves.

Pathmark worker Miranda Miranda said she steered clear of Tyler. “The way he looked at me, he gave me an uneasy vibe,” she said. Miranda had regularly worked the overnight shift on Thursday but said LoBrutto agreed to take over the shift for her a few weeks ago. “That could’ve been me,” she said of LoBrutto. Tyler was discharged from the Marines in 2010 after just under two years in the service in Twentynine Palms, Calif, the Marines said. The infantryman from New York City never served overseas, said Marine spokeswoman Capt. Kendra Motz. She wouldn’t comment on the circumstances of his discharge.

Tyler’s uncle, Christopher Dyson, said he left after suffering from depression, and a cousin said he had been hospitalized and was never happy with the Marines. Tyler, who also lived in San Diego, left California in June to move to New Jersey, where he lived with his sister and uncle. “He was a quiet cat, you know?” Dyson said. “We don’t know anything that would compel him to do this.”

His cousin, Shanteya Dyson, said he had not been the same since his mother died of cancer. His father died when he was young. “That was his best friend. He was always a quiet guy. But he got more quiet. He really didn’t speak at all. He was just blank,” Dyson said.—AP

COVENAS: Colombian Navy special forces take part in an anti-drug drill off the coast in the harbor of Covenas, Colombia. — AFP under Andres Pastrana, a conservative who served from 1998 to 2002. He demilitarized a vast area of 42,000 square kilometers in the southeast of the country.

But the government ultimately broke off the talks, saying the FARC had used this gesture and safe-haven land to regroup and strengthen itself.

It was for this reason that Santos, in revealing the preliminary contacts, promised “not to repeat the mistakes of the past” and keep up military operations all

Empty chair, Eastwood hijack Republican media coverage Social media seen flexing its power LOS ANGELES: Months of careful planning for the Republican National Convention were hijacked by actor Clint Eastwood as traditional and social media erupted in a frenzy of scratched heads and parodies that experts said largely overshadowed presidential contender Mitt Romney’s moment in the spotlight. Eastwood’s rambling, unscripted address at Thursday’s convention to an absent President Barack Obama in an empty chair inspired an instant satirical Twitter account, @InvisibleObama, that quickly went viral, demonstrating the power of social media to upset tightly scripted image control.

Although Romney notched up the most tweets during his keynote address to the convention in Tampa, Florida - more than 14,289 tweets per minute - his Twitter Political Index (Twindex), which measures how tweeters feel about a candidate on a scale of 1 to 100, fell from 46 to 38 following his speech. Some 30.3 million Americans watched Thursday’s prime time addresses on cable and broadcast television, according to final Nielsen data. But by Friday, it was “Dirty Harry” star Eastwood’s performance that was capturing the popular attention. The Twitter hashtag #eastwooding - mostly pictures of empty chairs - was also one of the top-trending topics on the microblogging site on Friday.

Paul Levinson, professor of media and communication studies at Fordham University and author of the book “New New Media,” thought Eastwood’s performance was “the biggest story by far from the convention, including Romney’s speech.” “I don’t think what happened with Eastwood will be decisive in the presidential election, but I think that forever and anon, when people think about this convention, they are going to think about this empty chair and this octogenarian actor rambling on,” Levinson said. The @InvisibleObama parody account garnered more than 25,000 followers by the end of Romney’s speech, and by Friday afternoon it had some 55,000 followers. Eastwood’s address was also an instant hot topic on political blogs and on television following Romney’s address.

‘A HORRIBLE BLUNDER’ CNN’s Wolf Blitzer called it embarrassing and “a horrible blunder” by the Republican .convention planners, while liberal-leaning MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz predicted that “tomorrow around the water cooler, it’s all about Clint Eastwood. He’s the big winner tonight.” Fox News Channel, which is popular with conservatives, lingered on TV images of Romney’s and vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s many children and grandchildren playing happily with some of the tens of thousands of red, white and blue balloons released at the end of the evening.

But anchor Megyn Kelly also opined that “a lot of people will be talking about Clint Eastwood.” Marty Kaplan, professor of politics and pop culture at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School, said Republican planners were likely regretting they had invited Eastwood to speak. “They’re having to spend a huge portion of the time that ought to be a celebration of (Romney’s) convention, and instead they’re doing damage control. It’s a distraction and I can’t imagine they’re happy about that,” Kaplan said.

Perhaps fortunately for Romney, television audiences for Thursday were down sharply from the 2008 Republican convention, when little-known vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin captured the public imagination. Romney’s (and Eastwood’s) speech across 11 TV networks on the final night of the convention drew in about eight million more viewers than tuned into the convention earlier in the week. But the Republicans lost almost nine million TV viewers compared to the third night of the 2008 Republican gathering, with NBC down 56 percent and CNN losing 52 percent of their audience four years ago.

Greenpeace picks new fight with old foe STOCKHOLM: Global warming has ignited a rush to exploit Arctic resources - and Greenpeace is determined to thwart that stampede. Employing the same daredevil tactics it has used against nuclear testing or commercial whaling, the environmental group is now dead-set on preventing oil companies from profiting from global warming by drilling for oil near the Arctic’s shrinking ice cap. The campaign took off in May 2010, when oil was still gushing from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time, Greenpeace was startled by reports that a small Scottish energy firm was proceeding with plans to drill for oil and gas in iceberg-laden waters off western Greenland.

“It felt slightly surreal,” recalled Ben Ayliffe, now the head of Greenpeace’s campaign against oil drilling the Arctic. “After what happened in the Gulf of Mexico, how can anyone respond to that by going to drill in similar depths in a place called Iceberg Alley?” Greenpeace quickly arranged to get a ship to Greenland, where four activists attached themselves to a drilling rig for two days until a storm forced them to abandon the protest. That stunt, a similar one in 2011 off Greenland and protests this month at an oil rig off northwest Russia are at the core of what Greenpeace calls “one of the defining environmental battles of our age.” “Polar work feels like it’s going back to the early campaigns: simple message, people get it and the lines are very

over the country. Santos, half-way through a four-year term, sought to head off criticism from those opposed to dialogue. This camp is led by Santos’ predecessor and political mentor, Alvaro Uribe, who cracked down hard on the FARC, scoring major military successes. Uribe accused Santos of allowing “the re-emergence of terrorism.” Avila disagreed, and alluded to Caguan, the demilitarized zone allowed by Pastrana. The difference with Caguan, he said, is that “now the FARC,

while not defeated, is losing.”

Over the past decade Colombia’s army, which has received six billion dollars in aid from the United States since 2000 to fight rebels and drug trafficking, has reduced the FARC to half of what it once was in terms of foot soldiers. They now total around 9,200 fighters, and have been pushed back into rural areas. Negotiating a ceasefire to facilitate peace talks-such a process has been endorsed by the United States and European countries-will be crucial, according to Colombian politicians and even the United Nations.

Among those making such an appeal is former leftist senator Piedad Cordoba, who has served as an mediator with the FARC to win hostage releases. She also runs an NGO called Colombians for Peace, which advocates a negotiated end to the conflict. “The rebels and the government must stop shooting at each other because that hinders credibility and the building of an agenda,” Cordoba said.

She asserted that the FARC and another rebel group, the National Liberation Army, which has about 2,500 fighters, are willing to accept a ceasefire. President Santos has urged this smaller guerrilla army to join “this effort to put an end to the conflict.” — AFP

clearly drawn,” Ayliffe said. From a publicity standpoint, the campaign has been successful: Greenpeace officials say since June, 1.6 million people have signed the group’s online petition urging world leaders to declare the Arctic a global sanctuary, off limits to oil exploration and industrial fishing. Dozens of celebrities, including Robert Redford, Paul McCartney and Penelope Cruz have announced their support, according to Greenpeace activist Sarah North.

“I have never experienced engaging famous people at this kind of rate and with such ease in a campaign issue,” said North, a 15-year veteran at Greenpeace. The impact on the oil industry, however, is unclear. The Arctic is believed to hold up to a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves. Despite difficult operating conditions and high costs, the payback for Shell, Gazprom, Statoil and other companies searching for commercial quantities of hydrocarbons could be huge.

“It probably sounds a bit cynical, but if they invest billions of dollars it’s not likely they will give it up just because somebody is attacking their oil rig,” said Mikhail Babenko, an oil and gas expert at the World Wildlife Fund’s Global Arctic Program. Unlike Greenpeace, WWF isn’t seeking a complete ban on drilling in the Arctic but wants to make sure the most vulnerable areas are protected. —AP

Total TV audiences for Wednesday night, when Ryan spoke, were 22 million - a 41 percent or 15 million drop from the equivalent night for the 2008 RNC when Palin made her entry onto the national stage. The vast majority of viewers this year are aged 55 and over, according to Nielsen. Male-female breakdowns were not available but according to a CNNFacebook social media partnership, more females were discussing the Republican convention than men in the last 24 hrs. A rudimentary graph can be viewed on the website cnn.com/election/2012/facebook-insights/.

In a world of political advertising, image control and political spin, the power of social media as exemplified by the Eastwood parodies was “a very healthy thing for democracy,” Levinson said. “You can’t program social media. You can put up YouTube videos and set up Twitter accounts and Facebook pages but there is always something unpredictable that goes viral and that carries the day as to what the public takes away,” he said. Kaplan described Eastwood’s appearance as “the juiciest thing” to come out of the convention. “When you use pop culture and Hollywood and those kind of figures, you’re licking the razor, you’re taking a risk, and politics, to some degree, is about controlling risk,” he said. — Reuters

CINCINNATI: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney greets supporters during a campaign rally at Union Terminal yesterday in Cincinnati, Ohio. — AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

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

Angola’s Dos Santos heads for big vote win LUANDA: Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and his ruling MPLA party headed yesterday for an overwhelming win in an election criticised as one-sided and not credible by political opponents and civil society activists. The National Elections Commission announced provisional results from Friday’s voting showing the governing party with 74.46 percent of the vote - well ahead of its nearest rivals with votes

counted from nearly 60 percent of polling stations. Under a new constitution introduced in 2010, an MPLA win means Dos Santos, who turned 70 this week, is elected for a further five-year term on top of the nearly 33 years he has already served as leader of Africa’s No. 2 oil producer.

Silver-haired Dos Santos is Africa’s second longest serving leader after Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The provision-

LUANDA: An Angolan newspaper street seller holds up copies of papers in the streets of Luanda yesterday. — AFP

al results gave the MPLA’s closest challenger, former rebel group UNITA, 17.94 percent, while the third-placed CASA-CE party had 4.53 percent. The turnout was just over 57 percent. Further results would be announced later, National Elections Commission spokeswoman Julia Ferreira said, but those in so far showed the MPLA on track for a sweeping victory in the vote, which had passed peacefully.

As they cast their ballots, many citizens called however for better power, water, health and education services and a more equal share-out of the country’s oil wealth. An oil boom fuelled rapid growth averaging 15 percent a year between 2002 and 2008 and prospects for national economic growth remain buoyant, but distribution of this wealth among Angola’s 18 million people has been very unequal. Thrusting new buildings and construction cranes punctuate the bayside skyline of the seaside capital Luanda, but sprawling poor slums known as “musseques” fringe the overcrowded city.

One of Angola’s leading civil society activists, Elias Isaac, Angola country director for the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), a pro-democracy NGO, said the results showing an easy MPLA win came as no surprise. He criticised the fact that ballot tally sheets from the more than 10,000 polling stations

across the country were not being posted publicly at the voting centres themselves but were being announced centrally by the electoral authorities. “There is no transparency ... there is no credibility in the process,” Isaac told Reuters.

Opponents and civil society critics say Dos Santos has created a “one-person state” marked by rampant corruption and conspicuous enrichment of a small elite, including his family. “The country is not going to change ... we will still be in a system that is controlled by one man, there will be no checks and balances,” OSISA’s Isaac said. There were few signs of immediate celebration in the streets of Luanda on a quiet Saturday, which suggested the initial results were widely expected.

It was only the third national election since Angola won independence from Portugal in 1975, and the second since the end a decade ago of a 27-year civil war in which Dos Santos’ MPLA emerged victorious over UNITA. MPLA officials hailed the initial results as an indication of the ruling party’s enduring support in a rapidly-growing oil producer that still bears the scars of war in damaged buildings and the mutilated limbs of landmine victims. “These results show that the MPLA continues to be the party of the people and that we obtained a majority that will allow us to keep on growing the country in stability,” MPLA

spokesman Rui Falcao told Reuters.

Leaders of the opposition UNITA and CASA-CE parties had bitterly criticised the vote preparations and electoral process as biased in favour of the MPLA. But despite these serious reservations, their parties had participated in the vote.

Former Cape Verdean President Pedro Pires, leading a delegation of African Union election observers, said on Friday voting appeared to have gone ahead without major problems, although some polling stations opened late.

While the initial results showed the MPLA obtaining more than 80 percent of the votes so far in nine of Angola’s 18 provinces, the contest appeared more disputed in Luanda where the MPLA had just over 56 percent, against UNITA with a little more than 29 percent and CASA-CE with nearly 12 percent. The MPLA’s monolithic hold on the state and its control of most local media gave it clear campaign advantages over UNITA, CASA-CE and six other smaller coalitions and parties that fielded candidates. The MPLA’s dominance reflects Dos Santos’ more than three decades in power during which the reserved Soviet-trained oil engineer, with military help from Cuba and the Soviet Union, survived Cold War offensives by South African apartheid forces and defeated first the FNLA and then UNITA in the civil war. — Reuters

Scientists test new marine robot hurricane-hunters Unmanned watercraft will relay data from inside storm MIAMI: As Tropical Storm Isaac was on its path through the Caribbean before becoming a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico this week, US scientists were testing an experimental new weather spy tool - an unmanned, marine robot about the size of a surfboard that can gather storm data at sea level. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)research laboratory in Miami sent the “Wave Glider,” a floating platform of sensors with an underwater stabilizer christened Alex, into ocean waters about 100 miles north of Puerto Rico last week to try to intercept Isaac.

“Isaac did not barrel right over it,” said Alan Leonardi, deputy director of NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, after the storm passed to the south of the island before turning north and making landfall near New Orleans as a Category 1 hurricane. “But Isaac being the size storm it is, the Wave Glider was able to collect data from the outer rain bands. We can’t steer a hurricane, but we did get good data out of it.” A few days later, scientists got a second look at Isaac, from another Wave Glider named G2 - on a separate oil and gas mission in the Gulf of Mexico.

The eye of Isaac passed barely 60 miles

east of G2, enabling it to collect valuable ocean data, including evidence of a dramatic drop in water temperature, “suggesting that Isaac was vacuuming the heat from the Gulf,” according to its manufacturers, Liquid Robotics, based in Sunnyvale, California. Bill Vass, CEO of Liquid Robotics, grew up in Louisiana and is a veteran of hurricanes. His grandparents died in Hurricane Camille in 1969, and his family lost a home to Katrina.

CLOSE ENCOUNTER “We are proud that it was able to survive the mission,” battling 85 mph sustained winds, and gusts up to 120 mph,” he said. “Hopefully the Wave Glider will make it possible to better predict the severity and risk to everyone in the Gulf Coast area in the future.” Testing of another robotic boat, the Emergency Integrated Life-Saving Lanyard, or EMILY, will begin in the Pacific Ocean off California this week, said Justyna Nicinska, project manager for NOAA’s Weather In-Situ Deployment Optimization Method. Its builder, Hydronalix, based in Green Valley, Arizona, launched EMILY in 2010 as a robotic lifeguard. For NOAA, the builder outfitted the 5-foot, 5-inch boat with storm data-gathering sensors.

NOAA bought 10 EMILYs at $30,000 each last spring, Nicinska said. Researchers said they plan to send one into a tropical storm by the end of the 2012 hurricane season. Both Wave Glider and EMILY can measure a tropical storm’s surface air temperature, wind chill, barometric pressure, actual wind speed, relative wind speed, wind direction, ocean temperature and ocean salinity, researchers said.

Both will be less expensive to operate than C130 hurricane-hunter flights or NOAA ocean research vessels that cost $10,000 to $20,000 a day to operate, Leonardi said.

The tiny boats will also be used for other NOAA projects in marine resources, fisheries, archaeology, imagery and bottom topography, researchers said. But meteorologists hope to plug the craft’s storm data into forecast models and better predict when a tropical storm is going to intensify into a hurricane, researchers said. “We’re trying to understand what happens at the ocean surface, which is where the energy transfer happens between the ocean and the overlaying hurricane,” said Erica Rule, spokeswoman for NOAA’s oceanographic and meteorological laboratory. “Heat energy becomes the kinetic energy that drives the hurricane, and it comes from the warm

water that they pass over,” she said. “It’s why hurricanes die when they go over land or over colder water.”

AUTONOMOUS, MILITARY VERSION The Wave Glider is so rugged it can stay at sea for a year at a time relying on renewable energy from technology that converts wave motion into energy for propulsion. Solar panels power the onboard communications and sensor equipment, and it can be piloted by satellite from the company’s California offices. The robots are already being used in marine research by scientists off the coast of California monitoring great white sharks. A military version, dubbed the “Shark” has also been adapted for intelligence, communications and surveillance operations. “ The Department of Defense is a big customer of ours,” said Vass. Leonardi said his NOAA lab is working with the builder to have several ready for the 2013 hurricane season. They will be placed in a line east of the Leeward Islands in the path of an approaching tropical storm, he said. “It’s what we call a picket fence,” he said. “The dream scenario would be to have six or 12 of these all get run over by a storm.”— Reuters

Mexico’s Pena Nieto confirmed president-elect, rival still defiant

ADDIS ABABA: People hold a picture of late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, during a candlelight memorial for him at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. — AP

Meles Zenawi enters history lionized as an ‘Ethiopia hero’ ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia has had a long line of leaders dying in secret, hidden behind closed doors, but not a long history of funerals. In 1913, one of Ethiopia’s most renowned emperors, Menelik II, died. His death remained a secret until 1916 when officials finally announced that he had succumbed to a stroke years earlier.

Haile Selassie, Ethiopia’s last emperor, officially died of natural causes in 1975, but is widely believed to have been murdered by the brutal regime of Mengistu Hailemariam, suffocated and buried under a toilet. Last month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died of an unknown illness after a mysterious, two month-long disappearance from the public, and will be buried on Sunday in the first state funeral for a leader in over 80 years.

The cloud of secrecy and gossip that has surrounded the deaths of several Ethiopian leaders stems from a desire to ensure a stable succession, according to analysts. “If the death is announced there is the fear that it can provoke a lot of trouble because different people can ask for the throne,” said Estelle Sohier from the University of Geneva, author of a book on Menelik. “To hide a death of a leader is a way to spare time, to save time, to settle the succession,” added Sohier.

Though Meles’ death was announced hours

after he died in a Brussels hospital, the secrecy surrounding his illness led some to question whether the government was getting its house in order to ensure a smooth transition. Days after Meles died, the government confirmed that deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will take over power until national elections in 2015. Author Michela Wrong said this pattern of secrecy is common following the sudden deaths of leaders throughout Africa, not only in Ethiopia. “The ruling elite is motivated by the desire to maintain the status quo, from which it benefits. It wants stability,” she said.

Sohier draws parallels between the death of Menelik whose successor was disputed among the royal family, and the death of Meles, whose clear successor was not known until the government confirmed Hailemariam’s takeover.

Ethiopia’s constitution states the deputy will take over in the absence of the Prime Minister, but does not specify what happens in the case of the leader’s death. Meles will be given a state funeral on Sunday, the first offered to a reigning head of state since the death of Empress Zawditu in 1930.”This is the first time for 82 years that Ethiopians have had an opportunity to show what they think about their ruler,” said Patrick Gilkes, an Ethiopia-based historian and author of “The Dying Lion,” which examines feudalism in Ethiopia. —AFP

MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s electoral tribunal confirmed Enrique Pena Nieto as presidentelect on Friday, but his rival refused to accept defeat and held out the possibility of further protests that could hamper reform efforts.

The tribunal threw out an attempt to overturn the election result by leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who had accused Pena Nieto of laundering money and buying votes in the July election.

Centrist Pena Nieto, 46, will be sworn in on Dec 1 and has pledged a raft of fiscal, labor and energy reforms, which Lopez Obrador is likely to resist. He is expected to kick off with transparency and anti-corruption measures. Lopez Obrador, whose supporters blocked many of Mexico City’s main thoroughfares for weeks after he narrowly lost the 2006 election, rejected the judges’ decision. “I cannot accept the tribunal’s ruling, which has declared the presidential election valid,” he told reporters, calling for a rally in Mexico City’s main square on Sept 9.

“Then we will determine what happens next.” Lopez Obrador did not specify the steps he was considering but his words recalled the disruptive protests of 2006. “Civil disobedience is an honorable duty when directed against the thieves of the hope and happiness of the people,” he said. A former

mayor of Mexico City, Lopez Obrador accused Pena Nieto and his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of buying 5 million votes with illegal funding and plying voters with presents ranging from supermarket gift cards to fertilizer, cement and livestock. The delay in endorsing the July 1 election result has meant Pena Nieto has had to hold back on his plans to cut deals in Congress over economic reforms which analysts say are vital to boosting growth in Latin America’s No 2 economy.

Pena Nieto plans to make changes to the labor market, the tax system and state oil monopoly Pemex, which he hopes will help boost economic growth to about six percent a year. But the planned measures stray onto sensitive territory for many Mexicans, including members of the PRI, whose early years in power in the 1930s were marked by socialist policies including the nationalization of the oil industry in 1938.

Pena Nieto wants to encourage more private investment in Pemex, which became a symbol of Mexican self-sufficiency, and soften labor laws. He is also expected to review extending a sales tax to food and medicine, a measure the PRI has blocked in the past because it is seen as raising the burden on the poor. —Reuters

PARIS: People pay homage to Lady Di in front of the Flame of Liberty statue plastered with iconic photos, flowers and messages dedicated to the 15th anniversary of her death. — AFP

15 years on, Princess Diana remembered LONDON: Dozens of bouquets of flowers, posters and cards were left at the gates of Kensington Palace on Friday as Princess Diana was remembered on the 15th anniversary of her death.

Tourists, well-wishers and passers-by took photos and read the tributes at the royal residence in the British capital, Diana’s official home from 1981 until her death, just as they had done in far larger numbers 15 years before. Diana died aged 36 in a car crash in a Paris road tunnel on August 31, 1997 alongside her companion Dodi Fayed, triggering an outpouring of grief from much of the British public. Within hours, a carpet of flowers had begun to spread out in front of the palace and many Britons threw off their reserve and mourned openly.

In one of the defining moments of his time in office, then Prime Minister Tony Blair described her as the “people’s princess”, striking a chord with the grieving nation. Fifteen years on from that day Maria Scott, 41, who travelled from Newcastle in northeast England to visit the temporary memorial, said she had made the journey every year since Diana’s death. “Diana should be remembered because she’s the mother of our future king and she should never be forgotten,” Scott said. “To the country I would say this tribute means a lot and I would like to think William and Harry would like this as well, that we are remembering their mother and all of her humanitarian work as well.

“She wasn’t afraid to go the extra mile for anybody.” Petra Vallila, originally from Finland, placed a solitary bloom at the palace gates. The 29-year-old from Helsinki, now living in London, said: “I think it’s kind of nice that people still come here.

“It’s been 15 years, so it’s a lovely way to remember someone who did a lot of good. —AFP

Key political risks to watch in Netherlands AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands, one of the last triple-A rated euro-zone countries, holds an election on Sept 12 that will be dominated by the euro-zone debt crisis and faces months of uncertainty while the winner forms a coalition government. Most polls have put Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberal Party and the opposition Socialist Party neck and neck. As in the past, no single party would win a majority, and given the fragmented political landscape, three or four parties will be needed to form a coalition, based around a centre-right bloc, a leftist bloc or a liberal-left pact.

tion of the euro-zone crisis before the election could influence the outcome in a country that is showing signs of bailout fatigue and growing frustration over austerity measures. The Netherlands, like other eurozone countries, must also approve the EU fiscal treaty, which will enshrine balanced budget rules in national law. The Dutch parliament has been critical of euro-zone bailouts, but has so far supported all such measures. That support cannot be taken for granted in future, particularly if the parties which oppose austerity measures and bailouts make strong gains in the election.

POST-ELECTION UNCERTAINTY It is likely to take a few months to form a coalition government. In the meantime, the caretaker government, led by Rutte, will need to get support from the new parliament to pass any legislation, which could lead to delays and uncertainty.

BUDGET DEFICIT Rutte’s minority Liberal-Christian Democrat government resigned on April 23 after its ally, Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party, refused to agree to 14 billion euros in budget cuts for 2013 needed to meet strict EU limits on the budget deficit. Within days, Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager mustered support from three small opposition parties Democrats 66, Christian Union, and GreenLeft - for

EURO-ZONE CRISIS Any call for further bailouts or a further escala-

the caretaker government’s revised budget package. But the Dutch increasingly resent the cuts to welfare and other benefits, which has led to a swing in popularity of the anti-austerity parties including the Socialists and Labor, and raises questions over commitment to achieving EU targets on schedule.

SOCIAL POLICIES The Dutch are deeply divided over immigration, Islam and the country’s international profile.

Liberal immigration policies have been scaled back in recent years because of fears that immigrants, particularly Muslims, do not integrate easily into Dutch society and struggle to find jobs. As the government’s main ally, Wilders was able to wield considerable influence in these areas. The government agreed to his demands for tougher immigration policies and backed his call for a ban on face-covering veils worn by some Muslim women. These policies have been put on hold until after the election. — Reuters

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

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

Maldives police disperse protesters after clash MALE: Maldives security forces wielding batons late on Friday charged thousands of protesters led by former leader Mohamed Nasheed heading along a road leading to the presidential palace, badly injuring one. More than 3,000 protesters, mostly youths, marched towards the palace along with Nasheed, demanding the government hold an early election and calling on President Mohamed Waheed to resign. Backers of Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were protesting for a second day against a report by a Commonwealth-backed commission that found a Feb. 7 power transition in which the former leader resigned did not constitute a coup.

After stepping down, Nasheed, in power since 2008, said he had been forced to resign at gunpoint by mutinying police and soldiers. The protest came after Nasheed said the report by the Commission of National

Inquiry issued on Thursday had legitimized the toppling of his government. “Now we have a situation, very awkward situation and in many ways very comical situation, where toppling a government by a brutal force is taken in as a reasonable cause of action,” he told reporters.

Nasheed, who shot to global prominence by holding a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the risk rising sea-levels present to the low-lying archipelago, was the Maldives’ first democratically elected president until his ouster in February. The protesters were initially stopped by security forces including soldiers carrying riot shields some 30 meters (100 feet) from the presidential palace, but Nasheed’s supporters tried to advance after removing roadblocks.

After a warning, security forces comprising mainly police tried to break up the protest with batons and

MALE: Maldivian police arrest a protester as the main opposition kept up anti-government protests in the capital Maldives. — AFP pepper spray. Officials from Nasheed’s flict continued into the early hours of party said one protester was badly Saturday, police cordoned off the area. injured during the clash. As the con- They said they had arrested 11 pro-

testers, but officials from Nasheed’s MDP said the number was likely to be much greater. President Mohamed Waheed, who had already left for an official visit to China, earlier told Reuters that he expected the protests to die down as the legitimacy of his government was established by the commission report. Nasheed’s resignation sparked rowdy protests by his supporters, some of whom complained of heavy-handed policing.

The report said police brutality should be further investigated. The Maldives, a sultanate in the Indian Ocean for almost nine centuries before becoming a British protectorate, held its first fully democratic elections in 2008. The island chain’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism. Nasheed defeated Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, an autocrat who was then Asia’s longest-serving leader, having been in power for 30 years. — Reuters

US considers terror label for Haqqanis Twin suicide bomb attack kills 12

GOJRA: Pakistani Christian woman Rafia Margaret talks during an interview with AFP at her residence in Gojra. — AFP

Blasphemy case evokes fear in Pakistan’s Christian town GOJRA: For Rafia Margaret, the case of a young Pakistani Christian girl accused of blasphemy rekindled horrifying memories of the day a furious mob smashed through her front door and torched her house. On August 1, 2009 Margaret, then aged 28, had just finished breakfast at home in the Punjab town of Gojra when she heard the announcements over the mosque loudspeakers urging Muslims to attack the Christian quarter. Minutes later an angry crowd massed outside her modest one-storey house in the Korian area of the town baying for revenge after rumors spread that Christians had desecrated a Quran.

As the pack swelled still further and violence erupted, she ran to her roof to judge the seriousness of the situation while her mother and ailing father sought refuge in a Muslim neighbor’s house. The sight of the tall, elegant girl on the roof enraged the mob still further and they began attacking her door. “I was terrified, so frightened I couldn’t think. I thought I was going to lose everything. I don’t know how I did it, but I managed to climb over to the Muslim neighbor’s house where my parents were hiding,” she said. “Just as I got there, they entered our home and set it on fire. My father had had heart surgery a few days earlier and when he went back and saw his house burned down, he died,” she said, weeping.

The Muslim mobs razed a total of 77 houses in Gojra, which lies 50 kilometers from the industrial hub of Faisalabad and had never before seen tensions between its 495,000 Muslims and 35,000 Christians. Seven members of a family were killed in the violence. The terror of that day came flooding back to Margaret two weeks ago when angry crowds massed in a poor Islamabad suburb to demand punishment for Rimsha, a young Christian girl accused of burning papers containing verses from the Quran. Rimsha, aged 14 and mentally

subnormal according to a medical report, was arrested on blasphemy charges on August 16 and has been held in prison ever since.

“When I heard a Christian girl had burnt the Quran in Islamabad, I felt unsafe in my home. I thought they might come to attack us again,” said Margaret.

“Whenever something happens between Muslims and Christians across the country, I’m frightened that somebody might attack my house and our colony to take revenge,” she said. Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive subject in Pakistan, where 97 percent of the 180 million population are Muslims. Even unproven allegations of insulting Islam or desecrating the Quran can prompt anger and even violence. Last month a 2,000-strong mob stormed a police station in central Pakistan to seize a mentally disturbed man accused of burning the Quran and beat him to death before burning his body.

And last year two leading politicians were assassinated after raising their voices against the blasphemy legislation, which includes the death penalty for insulting the prophet Mohammad. In Korian, the focal point of the violence in 2009, newly built red-brick houses with freshly painted walls and street lights have turned the village into a model town. But Shamaun Masih’s children, who witnessed the rampage in 2009, are still traumatized. “They always start weeping whenever they see something unusual. They still remember that violence.

When they heard about Rimsha’s case, they reacted as if it happened here... and they were scared of a fresh attack,” he said. Three years on from the Gojra carnage, Margaret’s house has been rebuilt along with 75 others. Compensation of 500,000 rupees ($5,200) was paid to the families of the dead and 100,000 rupees to those who lost their homes, but the people responsible for the bloody rampage went free. — AFP

Gandhi goes abroad for medical checkup NEW DELHI: Sonia Gandhi, the head of India’s ruling Congress party, has gone abroad for a “regular check-up” after undergoing surgery for an undisclosed condition last year, a party official said yesterday. Italian-born Gandhi, 65, the widow of assassinated former premier Rajiv Gandhi and widely seen as India’s most powerful politician, holds the key power-broking position of president of the party. “You may recall in February 2012 that the president had gone abroad for a regular checkup,” Congress general secretar y Janardan Dwivedi told reporters. “She has travelled abroad this afternoon again for a regular check-up and will be back after a week,” he added.

He did not disclose where she had gone. The last time she went overseas for a check-up she travelled to the United States. Gandhi’s departure comes at a critical time as the Congress-led government is embroiled in a crisis over allega-

tions that it gave away billions of dollars in coal mining rights. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other opposition parties have blocked parliamentary proceedings for over a week, demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation over the coalfield allocations.

The condition that led to Gandhi’s surgery last year-and kept her out of the country for five weeks-has never been revealed. Right up to her departure, Gandhi was vigorously seeking to end the parliamentary logjam, holding a strategy session with Singh and speaking to BJP leader Sushma Swaraj. Gandhi is widely seen as preparing the ground for her only son, 42-year-old Rahul, to take over after Singh steps down. The NehruGandhi dynasty has ruled India for most of is post-independence history, with three members of the family becoming prime minister. — AFP

WASHINGTON: The United States is considering declaring the Haqqani network, a Pakistan-based ally of Al-Qaeda and the Taleban, a terrorist organization, The New York Times reported late Friday. Citing unnamed current and former administration officials, the newspaper said a terror designation would help curb the group’s fundraising activities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, and pressure Pakistan to undertake military action against the insurgents.

Senior military officers like General John Allen, the commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, and many top counterterrorism officials are pushing for the designation, which President Barack Obama’s administration has been debating for nearly two years, according to the paper. But it said no final decision has been made amid a fierce internal debate in the administration ahead of a congressional deadline looming in September.

Opponents, including some in the White House, were said to worry about the serious consequences such a move could have on already shaky ties with Pakistan and peace talks with the Taleban. The move could also bring Pakistan closer to being designated a state sponsor of terror shortly after the country reopened critical NATO supply routes through its territory. “The optics of designating look great, and the chest-thumping is an understandable expression of sentiment, but everyone has to calm down and say, ‘What does it actually do?’” an administration official involved in the debate told the Times.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also cited as saying that she would meet Congress’s September 9 deadline, though she declined to discuss the debate. “I’d like to underscore that we are putting steady pressure on the Haqqanis,” she said. “That is part of what our militar y does every day.” The Haqqani network is a faction of the Afghan Taleban whose leaders are based in neighboring Pakistan, where Islamabad has come under immense US pressure to wage an offensive against the group. The network has been blamed for a series of well-coordinated, commando-style raids on the Afghan capital tar-

geting foreign embassies, NATO bases and government buildings.

Meanwhile, a twin suicide bomb attack targeted a NATO base in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing eight civilians and four Afghan policemen, local officials said. A spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said no one from the alliance was killed in the attack, which happened in Wardak province’s Sayed Abad district. “The truck bomb was huge, killing 12 and wounding 50 more,” said provincial governor spokesman Sahidullah Shahid.

The Taleban, which took responsibility for the early morning attack, said it had dispatched two bombers, one on foot and one in an explosives-laden truck.

The NATO base was targeted last year on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks when a suicide bomber drove into it, killing four civilians and wounding 77 US troops. Wardak province saw the worst single incident suffered by foreign forces in over 10 years of war when the Taleban shot down a

transport helicopter last year, killing 38 troops, 30 of whom were American, mostly elite Navy SEALs. Two US troops were killed yesterday in a separate insurgent attack in eastern Ghazni province, ISAF said in a statement.

Violence is increasing across Afghanistan ahead of the 2014 deadline for NATO to withdraw most of its troops, and fears are mounting that the 350,000-strong NATO-trained Afghan security forces will not be able to tackle insurgents once they leave. This week 19 Afghans, including an adolescent boy and a young girl, were beheaded in three separate attacks. Insider attacks, when Afghan forces turn their weapons on foreign troops, have sharply shot up.

Three Australian soldiers were shot dead by a gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform this week, bringing to 15 the number of foreign soldiers killed this month in insider attacks. A total of 45 NATO-led coalition troops have been killed in rogue shootings this year. — Agencies

KABUL: Ahmad Saleem, 12, carries balloons to sell them, in Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. — AP

Angry Armenians burn Hungary flags in protest YEREVAN: Hundreds of people protested outside the Hungarian consulate in Yerevan yesterday after Budapest sent a soldier who murdered an Armenian back to his native Azerbaijan, where he was immediately pardoned. Hungary insisted that Azerbaijan had promised that the soldier would serve out the remainder of his sentence after his return home and not be freed.

Several hundred angry demonstrators burned the Hungarian flag and threw eggs, tomatoes and coins, accusing Budapest of doing a deal with Baku in order to profit from Azerbaijan’s energy riches.

“The Hungarians have sold their honor and conscience to the Azerbaijanis like a common prostitute,” protest organizer Armen Mkrtchian said.

Yerevan on Friday cut diplomatic ties with Hungary, which Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said had made a “grave mistake” in extraditing the killer, who hacked his victim to death with an axe in Budapest in 2004. US President Barack Obama also said he was “deeply concerned” about the pardon.

Azerbaijani lieutenant Ramil Safarov was jailed for life after hacking Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian to death at a military academy in Budapest where the servicemen were attending English-language courses organized by NATO. Safarov claimed that Margarian had insulted Azerbaijan, which fought a brutal war with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh in the 1990s. But Hungary maintained yesterday that Yerevan had promised Safarov’s life sentence would remain unchanged. “Azerbaijan’s justice ministry informed the (Hungarian) justice ministry... that Ramil Sahib Safarov’s sentence would not be amended but that he would continue to serve the sentence given by the Hungarian court,” the government said in a statement on its website. — AFP

Big cash seizure puts light on Nicaragua’s drug role MANAGUA: Most days the only vehicles on Highway 15 are battered trucks shuttling grain, coffee beans and cooking oil through the lush, mountainous highlands on the Honduras Nicaragua border.

Then one recent morning, a convoy of six vans cruised down the two-lane road. All were emblazoned with the logo of the world’s largest Spanish-language television network, Televisa, and inside were 18 Mexicans with press badges, highdefinition video cameras, microphones and a satellite dish.

Nicaraguan police were waiting.

Acting on an anonymous tip from Honduras, officers pulled over the vans and after two days of investigation determined the occupants were falsely posing as employees of Televisa’s news division.

Hidden beneath the sound boards and screens in three of the vans, officers found black gym bags stuffed with $9.2 million in cash. The Aug 20 seizure has pulled back the curtain on Nicaragua’s role as a conduit between South American cocaine producers and the Mexican drug cartels that move their product into the United States.

It also shows how the gangs are resorting to ever-more inventive ways to move their profits out of the US as authorities crack down harder on suspicious bank transfers and other relatively easy ways of moving money. “It’s been a case that has drawn our attention. We are studying the way organized crime is operating,” said Nicaragua’s National Police spokesman, Fernando Borge.

“Organized crime is powerful and has many resources and it will try in every

different way to get across our country.”

Nicaraguan police say the cash was destined for Costa Rica, where the fake journalists planned to pay for a load of drugs that had been smuggled into the United States. Authorities here aren’t saying which cartel employed the woman and 17 men arrested - most of them in their 20s or 30s and most with addresses in Mexico City or its suburbs. Testimony in a high-profile trial in progress in Nicaragua has alleged, however, that Nicaragua and Costa Rica are being used as transfer points in the trade between Colombian drug traffickers and the Sinaloa drug cartel, which is one of Mexico’s two most powerful criminal organizations.

The suspects were charged with drug trafficking at a court appearance Friday.

They already had been charged with money laundering and organized crime.

Costa Rican authorities say the woman arrested, 30-year-old Raquel Alatorre, who is believed to be the leader of the group, had crossed from Nicaragua into their country at least 15 times since 2006, though it was unclear if she had traveled in similar convoys previously. “We were not investigating them,” said Costa Rica’s vice minister of security, Celso Gamboa.

“We were not very shrewd.” Nicaragua’s Institute of Strategic Studies and Public Policy, which tracks how much money is seized from suspected criminals in the country, says a total of $40 million in cash has been confiscated by police over the past seven years, including $7 million last year alone. “Normally drug dealers don’t function like this. — AP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

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

Indonesian universities the weak link in booming economy JAKARTA: Indonesia’s creaking university system is failing to keep pace with its booming economy, struggling to produce graduates equipped for modern working life in the Southeast Asian nation. Investors have flocked to the fast-modernizing country of 240 million people, attracted by its huge domestic market, rich natural resources and relatively low labor costs. But badly resourced universities mean quality graduates are a rare commodity in Indonesia, where companies find it difficult to recruit people who can think critically and make a smooth transition into employment.

“University graduates often lack the necessary skills employers need,” the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in a recent report on education.

The report observed gaps in “thinking, technical and behavioral skills”, based on a World Bank survey of employers, which found 20 to 25 percent of graduates needed retraining on the job.

Indonesian universities are “lagging behind” those of other nations and lack global competitiveness, the OECD report said, in contrast to nations such as India that produce doctors, engineers and scientists whose skills are in demand worldwide.

None of Indonesia’s 92 public universities or around 3,000 private col-

leges appeared among the world’s top 400 tertiary institutions in the latest Times Higher Education rankings, seen as one of the world’s most authoritative sources of higher education information. This is despite the fact that Indonesia is often placed on the same rung of development as BRICS nations-Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa all of which made the list.

Headhunter Lina Marianti, who works for JAC Recruitment in Jakarta, said foreign employers reject more than half the graduates she recommends for corporate positions. “We provide the best graduates, but even our best are unable to meet employers’ expectations,” Marianti said.

“They complain that local graduates are not able to apply theory to practice. They lack analytical and leadership skills, and they have poor command of English and product knowledge.” “Many expect to be spoon-fed”Rina, a human resources manager for a foreign-based chemicals company, said that many students graduate in Indonesia without a positive work ethic. “It’s hard to believe some of these young professionals are graduates.

They send blank emails with no cover letters to apply for jobs, don’t turn up for interviews and resign via text message,” said Rina, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

“Many expect to be spoon-fed. They constantly need to be told what to do on the job.” Many affluent Indonesians circumvent the problems by going abroad to study and some win coveted scholarships, with more than 32,000 enrolled in overseas universities and colleges in 2009, according to UNESCO’s most recent figures. Highranking officials and successful businesspeople often have at least one degree from a foreign university on their CVs, with Australia, the United States, Germany and the Netherlands among the top destinations.

Indonesian International Education Consultants Association chairman Sumarjono Suwito said Indonesia was going in the right direction, but suffered in comparison with its Asian rivals. “Countries like China, India, Singapore, Malaysia and most recently Thailand have focused on education or have allocated ample funds to it,” he said. “In the last five years, Indonesia has been doing a lot of catching up, but progress is still slow.” The education sector is also hobbled by the corruption that is rife at all levels in the country. Funds are syphoned off, poorly maintained school buildings collapse with sometimes fatal consequences and there is a widespread culture of cheating by school students just to get into tertiary education.

JAKARTA: Indonesian students seeking studies and scholarships in the US attend a forum on applying for US colleges and universities at the US Cultural Center in Jakarta. —AFP The frustrations are felt by students in the system, who complain their universities’ facilities and lecturers are under par. “Some of my lecturers postpone lessons and just don’t turn up without letting anyone know,” said University of Indonesia health administration student Lentari Pancar Wengi, 19. Wiyogo Prio Wicaksono, 21, a thirdyear chemistry student at the same

university, in Jakarta, said he devotes time to extra-curricular activities after lessons to develop non-academic skills and network with industry players.

“My friends who keep their jobs are often those who got mediocre results at university, but they know the who’s who of the industry. I guess that’s more important and useful than what you learn at university,” he said.— AFP

Blind Chinese activist to visit China’s rival Taiwan Guangcheng to meet with human rights groups

BISHKEK: Kyrgyz Prezident Almazbek Atambayev speaks at the opening ceremony of the new 75-meter flagpole during celebrations marking Kyrgyzstan’s Independence Day on August 31, 2012. Kyrgyzstan celebration Independence from the Soviet Union, as it marked a tumultuous 21 years of independence that has seen ethnic violence and two revolutions. — AFP

Kyrgyz acting PM resigns Squabbling parties seek to form new coalition BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan’s acting prime minister resigned yesterday after his party appeared to be frozen out of a new coalition to run the volatile former Soviet republic. Omurbek Babanov, a prominent businessman who had served as prime minister since December, will move into opposition ahead of the formation a new coalition government that is likely to comprise three of the five parties in parliament.

“He asked to resign because the formation of a new coalition has practically been decided,” said Babanov’s spokesman, Sultan Kanazarov. The office of the president, Almazbek Atambayev, said in a statement his resignation had been accepted. A parliamentary democracy unique in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan’s new model of government is backed by the United States but viewed with suspicion by former imperial master Russia.

Both countries have military air bases in the country. The coalition government collapsed on Aug. 22 after two of its four members withdrew in protest against a shrinking economy and corruption allegations against Babanov.

The prime minister, who had continued in an acting capacity since, has denied all accusations of impropriety. The move risks triggering a prolonged period of political turmoil.

Deputies from Ata-Meken, one of two parties to quit the coalition, warned that Kyrgyzstan risks defaulting on its $2.8 billion foreign debt, more than half of gross domestic product. Weak economic governance and a high level of perceived corruption are seen as key hurdles to development in Kyrgyzstan, which lies along a major drug trafficking route from

Afghanistan and has suffered periodic bouts of ethnic violence.

Atambayev, elected last October in the first peaceful transfer of the presidency since independence in 1991, has charged the Social-Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan with forming a new coalition. Officials have said the most likely configuration will be a reunion of the Social-Democrats, Ata-Meken and ArNamys. Of the four original coalition members, only Babanov’s Respublika party is unlikely to be invited back. The only party outside the previous coalition, Ata Zhurt, enjoys strong support among Kyrgyz nationalists, particularly in the poorer south. It won marginally more seats than any other single party in the last parliamentary election in October 2010.

Political analyst Mars Sariyev said relations between Respublika and Ata-Meken had deteriorated after party members traded corruption allegations. He said Babanov was better suited to a role in opposition than negotiating a way into a coalition. “Babanov is a businessman. He has carried his aggressive business style into politics,” Sariyev said.

“It’s beneficial for him to move into opposition and maintain forward momentum.”

Acting First Deputy Prime Minister Aaly Karashev will replace Babanov pending the formation of a new coalition and the election of a replacement prime minister. Analysts have identified Zhantoro Satybaldiyev, head of the presidential administration, as a candidate for the premiership. “He is the voice of compromise. He can convince the different factions and parties to implement reforms,” Sariyev said.— Reuters

Coca-Cola ‘available but’ expensive in North Korea SEOUL: Coca-Cola has been available at private markets in North Korea for more than a decade even if the US soft drink maker has not opened business in the communist state, defectors from the North said yesterday. A clip featuring Coke being served in what is said to be a pizza restaurant in Pyongyang recently attracted attention on video sharing site YouTube. Customers were told what they were drinking was “Italian” Coke despite the unmistakable red and white brand, according to the video posted to YouTube last October.

Lee Suk-Yong, who defected to the South in 2006, said distributors in China began shipping Coke across the North Korean border in 2002 when the North dallied with partial capitalist-style market reform.

“You can buy Coke at every private market in large cities whenever you’re ready to pay up, although it is highly expensive, compared to other countries,” he said. Coca-Cola however first arrived in North Korea “in 1989 when the country hosted the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students in Pyongyang”, Kim Sung-

Min, a renowned defector from the North said. “Foreign cigarettes such as Marlboro and Dunhill were also available at such shops,” he said. The carbonated soft drink at that time appeared only at special shops in Pyongyang where foreign goods are available to those who have access to foreign exchanges-ruling elites and foreigners.

It was simply too expensive for ordinary people to taste it, he said. A Coca-Cola spokesman told The Telegraph that it “does not currently do business in North Korea”.

“Any products sold in the market have been purchased by unauthorized third parties and imported into the country from other markets where they were sold”, he said. “No representative of The Coca-Cola Company has been in discussions or explored opening up business in North Korea. Coca-Cola could only consider entering the market in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations governing US relations with North Korea,” he added. “We cannot enter the market at this time”.—AFP

NEW YORK: Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng, whose escape from house arrest sparked a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Washington, accepted an invitation on Friday to visit Taiwan, underscoring his drive to ensure his influence as a human rights campaigner will continue abroad.

Taiwan legislator Lin Chia-lung from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) visited Chen at New York University, where he is studying law, to invite him to visit Taiwan and to address the island’s parliament. “He very happily accepted our invitation and said the sooner he can come, the better,” Lin said, speaking after the meeting. Chen declined to speak to media but did not cite a reason. On Tuesday, Chen said he would “most likely” accept an invitation to visit Taiwan. “I think I will,” said Chen earlier this week. “Whoever invites me, I will accept.”

Chen would bring his family to Taiwan before next summer to meet human rights workers, lawyers and legislators and possibly speak before Taiwan’s legislative body, Lin said. After a quiet threemonth period, a trip to Taiwan will catapult Chen back into the limelight. Being abroad hasn’t cooled his campaign for human rights in China, analysts say. “I think... he’s trying to find a way ... to use his prominence currently to make an effective influence in China even when he’s not there,” said Songlian Wang, a researcher for rights group Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

One of China’s most prominent dissidents, Hu Jia, a close friend of Chen’s said that Chen has expressed concern on how he can maintain his influence while abroad. “The point of maintaining his influence is for his future work and not because of his personal fame,” said Hu, who was released from jail last year after serving 3.5 years for “inciting subversion of state power.” Hu said Chen wants to ensure everything he says puts pressure on the Chinese government, which is one of the reasons Chen is writing a book.

Before Chen left China in June, he had told friends he was deter-

TAIPEI: Taiwanese press members and supporters hold placards during a rally against press monopolization in Taipei yesterday. —AP mined to stay. Many Chinese dissidents before him who had left play a marginal role in China’s current rights movement and had warned Chen could be neutralized once in New York. Without the Internet, the voices of the old-time dissidents were barely heard. For Chen, who uses Skype and email with his wife’s help, that will be different. “Chen Guangcheng remains deeply involved and deeply engaged in the issues which he was concerned about ... when he was in China,” said Phelim Kine, New York-based deputy director for the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, noting that Chen has been widening his network of contacts inside and outside China.

Lin said Chen’s primary goal in taking the trip is learning about Taiwan’s democratic system. Taiwan transitioned from one-party rule to a multiparty democracy from the mid-1980s. “The first thing (Chen) said was, ‘Today’s Taiwan is tomorrow’s China. China must follow the democratic path that Taiwan took,’” Lin said, recounting his conversa-

tion with Chen. The trip could complicate relations between Taiwan and China, which considers the island a breakaway province to be unified with the mainland eventually, and by force if necessary.

Taiwan, proudly democratic, regularly plays host to people China despises, including exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. It is also home to two leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests who escaped China: Wang Dan and Wu’er Kaixi. In comments emailed to Reuters, Wang said speaking from Taiwan would help Chen reach Chinese citizens. “China and Taiwan are now close. Anything (Chen) says in Taiwan, mainlanders will hear,” Wang said, noting that comments made in the United States will be only in the Englishlanguage media, which most mainlanders won’t have access to.

Chen’s invitation comes from the DPP, which has not endeared itself to China with its stance asserting the island’s sovereignty. The ruling Nationalist Party’s President Ma Ying-jeou, by contrast, has hugely

improved relations with Beijing in recent years with a series of landmark economic deals. John Kamm, executive director of the Duihua Foundation, which promotes prisoners’ rights in China, said he did not think Chen’s visit to Taiwan would necessarily infuriate Beijing.

“I think they are going to basically ignore it, unless he goes over there and says a bunch of stuff that is going to unnerve them,” Kamm said.

The Chinese government has gone silent on the subject of Chen, who in early August met with US House Speaker John Boehner, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers to discuss human rights abuses in China.

However Chen has turned down repeated requests to testify in Washington, Kamm said, a sign Chen does not want to go too far.

“If he addresses the Legislative Yuan (Taiwan’s parliament), he is going to choose his words very carefully, and might end up urging closer ties with China,” Kamm said.— Reuters

Brazil presses Venezuela on the Amazon massacre Native tribe says villagers attacked by miners CARACAS: Brazil said on Friday it is pressing Venezuela to determine whether Brazilian gold miners crossed the border and massacred a village of about 80 indigenous people from a helicopter. The alleged assault, which a tribal group says could have killed more than 70 people in early July, came to light earlier this week when the group asked Venezuela’s government to investigate. Because of the remoteness of the region and the scattered nature of the native settlements, fellow tribe members were able to alert the government only on Monday.

Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday its embassy in Caracas had asked the Venezuelan government to provide it with any information that could help it determine whether the attack had happened and whether Brazilians had been involved. Brazil’s National Indian Foundation, a government body that oversees indigenous affairs, said it would seek a joint investigation by

officials from both countries at the site.

The border area between the two countries a long, dense swath of the Amazon rainforest has increasingly become the site of conflicts between indigenous people, gold miners, and others seeking to tap jungle resources. The tribe that was allegedly attacked, the Yanomami, says it has given repeated, but unheeded, warnings to Venezuela’s government that the conflicts are intensifying.

On Wednesday, Venezuela’s public prosecutor said it would investigate. By late Friday, however, Venezuela’s government still could not confirm whether the attack had occurred. Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck Al Aissami said in televised comments on Friday that officials had managed to speak with seven of the nine known groups of the Yanomami tribe and thus far had no proof of an attack in any of their settlements.

Officials, he added, would soon meet with those

and the other two groups to further clarify the matter. “God willing, there won’t have been any violence among the other two groups, either,” he said. Native rights groups voiced alarm.

In the document presented to Venezuelan authorities this week, Yanomami leaders said tribe members in the area had spoken with three villagers from the community where the attack allegedly took place. The three villagers, the only inhabitants of the community known to be alive, said they had been hunting away from the settlement when they heard a “tokotoko” their indigenous word for helicopter. They also heard gunfire and explosions, the document said. Other Yanomami who visited the village later said a communal hut had been burned and that they found charred bodies and bones. The attack was the latest in a growing number of conflicts with Brazilian gold miners, the Yanomami said in the document.—Reuters

SUNDAY , SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

NEWS

A picture taken late Friday shows a full moon, the second in August, also called a ‘blue moon’, above the ancient Acropolis hill in Athens. — AFP

Garbage test looms for Morsi Continued from Page 1 what few rules there are. In Dar-el-Salam, as in many other parts of the city of 18 million, there is no one to hold back the “nabasheen”, the diggers - young men and women who rummage through the bags of plastic, glass and cardboard and leave the organic stuff to rot in the streets.

Morsi is wading into a landfill of interwoven problems.

Rival collectors vying for the big business of trash fight over turf that used to be parceled out in an orderly way among a fixed number of garbage-collecting clans. Layers of corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy choke the system. The collapse of police forces in the revolution means that no one is enforcing what few rules there are. As a result, Cairenes end up dumping much of their daily output of 17,000 tons of garbage on the street. “We have designed an unsustainable system for the city,” said Laila Iskandar, an expert in waste management. “It is a chain and no one thinks of the chain. Only the end point ...

Out of sight out of mind.”

In late July Morsi launched a “Clean Homeland” campaign, giving free brooms and plastic bags to volunteers from civic groups and the Muslim Brotherhood to which Morsi belongs.

They hit several Cairo districts, helped by local authorities, for two days and then turned it into a weekly campaign. They swarm the streets, removing piles of trash. But the garbage quickly returns. In Ahmed’s neighborhood, residents say, the volunteers kept watch for hours to fend off dumpers and diggers. “Even the girls were collecting garbage. The street was sparkling,” said Mamdouh Gamea, a dentist. “But it didn’t last.

It is a matter of behavior.”

Waleed El-Senousi, manager of the Clean Homeland campaign and hygiene file in Morsi’s office, said the idea was to define the problems and come up with solutions. The government, he said in an interview, wants to tackle the problem on a national level and issue bids for a more technological system that includes burning waste for energy. “The big strategy is to turn the garbage from a pain, a burden and a problem into a product that has a market value,” he said. “It is unreasonable to solve our problems by going backward.”

But experts fear they will trample the traditional systems that have served Cairo well. The traditional way is that of the zabbaleen, up to 150,000 informal garbagemen who go door to door and collect trash for a minimal fee, transport it to their own neighborhoods and sort out the recyclables. The organic material is fed to pigs. (It’s a Christian-dominated industry; Muslims shun the animals.)

The result has been an astounding recycling rate of around 80 percent, and an informal recycling business in which they invested a cumulative $150 million over the past 40 years, according to Iskandar. In Manshiet Nasr, the largest of six garbage cities in Cairo, whole families work at recycling and thousands of workshops produce everything from plastic mats to shoe heels and clothes hangers.

But the zabbaleen couldn’t keep up with population growth. So in 2003, the Mubarak government, as part of a failed bid to host the football World Cup, contracted international companies to take up garbage collection. But it threw the system into chaos. The companies worked with dumpsters, but Cairenes didn’t use them, having grown used to the zabbaleen coming to their doorstep. Many resented paying both the companies and the zabbaleen. And the zabbaleen resented being squeezed out by the companies. Fights broke

out over collecting schedules and routes. Many dumpsters disappeared. Then came the swine flu panic of 2009. Deprived of their pigs, the zabbaleen no longer had any interest in collecting organic waste.

The end result: The government waste department can’t cope, the companies don’t have dumpsters or the zabbaleen don’t come through. So on any given day - or stretch of days a given neighborhood becomes a “no-man’s land” of garbage.

Instead, there are the diggers, who take what can be recycled and sell it to the zabbaleen, leaving the food scraps strewn on the streets. The zabbaleen still collect about 8,000 tons - more than half the daily output - and the companies about 3,000, leaving much of the remaining 6,000 tons on the streets , a lot dumped in the canals and some in the Nile River that flows through the capital.

The surrounding desert makes a useful trash bin and the government operates a half-dozen dumps which anyone can use for a fee. The private companies have their own landfills next to composting plants in outlying cities around Cairo. But only about 3 percent of the trash they gather is recycled, according to a government study cited by Iskandar. So far, the zabbaleen say, the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi, like the Mubarak regime, show every sign of ignoring them in favor of developing a new garbage system. They say Morsi’s administration didn’t consult with the biggest community of zabbaleen about the volunteer clean-up campaign or ask them to be part of it.

“We only heard talk of it,” said Romani, a collector in the Manshiet Nasr garbage city, who requested partial anonymity because he fears his community’s livelihood is threatened. “It seems they want to take my bread and butter,” he said. “This would kill me.” Romani was sitting in one of the hundreds recycling workshops that lined the small street of this garbage city. Trucks rumbled in and out. Men and women sat outside their homes amid piles of garbage and mounds of plastic, cardboards and tin cans to be sifted through. Iskandar, the waste management expert, worries the zabbaleen are sidelined because they are poor and associated with a low-class calling. “These are investors, businessmen,” she said. “But (officials) laugh at us. Since they are not companies traded in the stock market and they are not men in suits.”

Youssef Farid of Spirit of Youth, an NGO that helps the zabbaleen and is funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said sidelining the traditional collectors threatens to repeat previous the government’s mistakes. He said a government representative agreed to meet his group but never showed up. Senoussi, who manages Morsi’s cleanup campaign, said there was a mixup and no intention of harming the zabbaleen. “We are dealing with all the stakeholders,” he said.

“But we must find solutions that develop the system.”

Zabbaleen recycling is very basic and only operates in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt’s second city, while the rest of the country has even more rudimentary systems. With the planned reforms, “We are talking about something that would benefit the whole country not just individuals,” said Senoussi.

“People have a right to a clean life,” he said. “We can get rid of garbage and benefit the country.” Back at Ahmed Zaki Street, having dumped their bag of trash, Ahmed’s mother, Noura Abdel-Salam, said there was plenty more back home. “We have to walk all this way ourselves to dump our garbage,” she said. “We pay the government and the collectors and end up doing it ourselves.” — AP

Abu Dhabi opens new $7.2bn port Continued from Page 1 The size of the island hosting the offshore part of the port is 2.7 sq km, equivalent to 400 football pitches. Its total area, including onshore, is 9.1 sq km. The first phase of Kizad A, which is under construction, is spread over an area of 51 sq km, while the second phase, Kizad B, is planned to cover 365 sq km. The ultimate aim is to take the annual capacity of the port to 15 million TEU by 2030, ADPC said.

This is more than the amount handled by Dubai’s nearby Jebel Ali port, the world’s largest man-made harbour, which handled 13 million TEU last year. “We have reached our capacity” at the existing Zayed Port, ADPC chief executive officer Tony Douglas told AFP. “Our plan is to move all our existing container business starting today from Mina Zayed to Khalifa Port,” he said. ADPC’s chief insisted that developing Khalifa Port is not aimed at competing with Jebel Ali Port 45 km away, adding that it was aimed at serving Abu Dhabi’s needs. “Jebel Ali is a trans-shipment port... Mina Zayed is a destina-

tion port. It (Khalifa Port) will be exactly the same,” Douglas said. “Currently Mina Zayed is a destination port. Ninety-five percent of everything that goes into Mina Zayed stays in Abu Dhabi. When we migrate to Khalifa Port, it will be the same.”

Mina Zayed handled 500,000 TEU in 2010. Located in the city of Abu Dhabi, Mina Zayed port will continue to handle commercial cargo, but will also concentrate on developing the growing cruise liner business. However, the unstable global economic climate could pose challenges for both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. DP World, the world’s third-largest port operator and owner of Jebel Ali, posted flat half-year profits on Wednesday and said uncertainty in the world economy was slowing growth of the industry.

Within the UAE, Dubai has taken the lead in areas including aviation, tourism and trade but Abu Dhabi is gaining momentum in those industries on the back of its oil-based wealth. Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, launched in 2003, is competing aggressively with wellestablished Emirates in aviation. — Agencies

Woman beats odds to make first Saudi film Continued from Page 1 the University of Sydney. She has previously directed three shorts and the award-winning documentary “Women Without Shadows” which explores the hidden lives of Gulf women.

“Wadjda” was co-produced by Germany’s Razor Film and several Saudi companies including Rotana Studios which is linked to the Saudi royal family. The rights have already been sold in France, Germany and Switzerland. For all the implicit criticism of the state of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia in the film, Mansour said things are gradually changing and having a Saudi prince on board showed that officialdom was supportive of this shift. “The fact that we shot a film in Saudi Arabia with permission and everything

says a lot about the country. It says the country is embracing art,” she said. “I think the authorities really want to see more films,” she added. “It is changing at a very slow pace.

It’s still a very conservative, tribal society, very religious,” she said, adding: “I think women need to stick together in places like this and fight together and empower each other.” Skipping along the halls of the Excelsior with headphones firmly on, a smiling curly-haired Mohammed said she was just having the time of her life. “I’m very excited!

This is my first time outside of Saudi Arabia and my first time in a film and I’m the lead actress,” she gushed.

Mohammed, who was selected through scouts as an open casting call for women would not be possible in Saudi, said her nature fit the character. “The naughtiness is me. It’s the real me. I do things I’m not supposed to!” — AFP

Iran scores with summit Continued from Page 1 narrative ran aground on the IAEA’s finding announced right in the middle of the meeting -that Iran has prevented the IAEA from doing its work.” That, and Ban’s remarks, meant “Iran didn’t win this round,” he said. The Islamic republic was further embarrassed by statements from Ban condemning its leaders’ anti-Israel remarks, and by him and Morsi - whom Iran has been reaching out to - strongly criticising the Syrian regime, a staunch ally of Iran. Esfandiary, though, said “Iran knew that it would inevitably get some bad press” from those high-profile invitees. “But Iran judged the benefits of the PR coup to outweigh the negatives. Iran will, for example, play on its tolerance for criticism and its ability to make friends despite differences and detract attention from the release of the IAEA report,” she said.

Mohammad Saleh Sedghian, an Iranian analyst at the Arab Centre of Iranian Studies in Tehran, echoed

Esfandiary’s comments. “No one should have expected that all the summit participants were going to think and speak the way Tehran wanted,” he told AFP. “But in the end, the summit gave a positive image of the Islamic republic, showing it able to welcome 120 nations. And that can help Iran in big international issues” such as the nuclear dispute, he said.

But Alireza Nader, a senior analyst at the US group Rand Corp, said: “I don’t think NAM really enhances Iran’s regional or international position in the long term.

It may boost the Iranian regime’s image for a little while, but Iran faces a fundamental clash of interests with other NAM states.” Supporting that argument, Nader pointed to Morsi’s speech and the decision by major NAM power India to cut back its purchases of Iranian oil in line with US sanctions. “The NAM summit will not erase pressures the regime faces due to its violation of international norms and its repressive behaviour at home,” he said. — AFP

Syria rebels hit back at regime’s air power Continued from Page 1 in their attacks on air bases over the past week as they seek to counter the government’s use of MiG warplanes and helicopter gunships. In Idlib province, a major battleground on the Turkish border, rebels attacked an army roadblock in Harem district early yesterday, killing or wounding nine soldiers, the Observatory said. State media reported a “terrorist” group had killed five members of a family in the central Marjeh district of Syria’s second city Aleppo, a key battleground in the more than 17-month-long conflict.

In the central province of Hama, rebels killed at least four soldiers in a roadblock attack, the Observatory said.

It also said 18 unidentified bodies were found in the Damascus area yesterday, most with their hands tied and some bearing signs of torture. At least 38 people 13 civilians, 12 troops and 13 rebels - were killed countrywide yesterday, the Observatory said. The official SANA news agency reported that 225 prisoners “implicated in recent events but without blood on their hands”, were freed in Damascus province yesterday.

In talks with Syrian Prime Minister Wael Al-Halaqi in Tehran on Friday, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Assad’s regime must stop using its heavy weapons. But Russia’s top diplomat said such calls were “completely unrealistic”. “When our partners say that the government must stop first and withdraw all its soldiers and weapons from cities - and only then call on the opposition to do the same - well, this is a completely unworkable scheme,” said Lavrov. “Either people are naive or it is some sort of provocation,” he added.

Lavrov stressed that Moscow, a Cold War era ally of Damascus, was not trying to support Assad or his government but was basing its policies on the daily situation on the ground. “No matter your view of the Syrian regime, it is completely unrealistic in the current situation - when there is fighting in the cities - to say that the only way out is the unilateral capitulation of one of the opposing sides.

Veteran troubleshooter Lakhdar Brahimi has now taken up faltering international attempts to end the conflict but with low expectations that he will have any more success than his predecessor, former UN chief Kofi Annan. Algeria’s former foreign minister was to hold meetings yesterday at UN headquarters, a UN spokesman said. Both Damascus and Aleppo have seen persistent fighting between troops and rebels in a conflict that has now claimed more than 26,000 lives since March 2011, according to Observatory figures.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that the situation across large swathes of Syria is “edging towards irreversible deterioration”. Turkey has been pressing for the establishment of safe havens inside Syria to stem the mounting exodus of refugees, and reacted with frustration when its calls fell on deaf ears at the UN Security Council on Thursday. But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has since acknowledged that any such move would require UN backing and would be far too risky without the prior establishment of a no-fly zone. Jordan’s government said yesterday that it needs $700 million in international aid to cope with an anticipated influx of 240,000 refugees from across the border in Syria. — AFP

KPC denies signing any Canada deal Continued from Page 1 Douglas said on Friday she could not confirm or deny the identity of the would-be joint-venture partner.

Athabasca’s Hangingstone property is its most advanced oil sands holding, with first production expected by the end of 2014. Construction is scheduled to start at the end of 2012.

The company has said it has the potential to eventually produce 80,000 barrels a day using steam-assisted gravity drainage, where steam is injected into the ground to loosen the tar-like crude so it can be pumped to the surface. Birch could eventually support 155,000 barrels a day, though the company has said it plans to submit a regulatory application for a 12,000 barrel a day project later this year. — Reuters

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

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Washington Watch

Arab American Democrats in Charlotte

By Dr James J Zogby his week I will be in Charlotte, North Carolina where I will be participating in my eighth Democratic Convention. I will be joining some 55 other Arab American delegates and committee members from 21 states who have been elected by Democrats to participate in this year’s party gathering. This is a record number of Arab Americans elected to any national convention. It eclipses the 52 who participated in the 1988 Democratic Convention in Atlanta - most of whom were elected either as part of that year’s Jesse Jackson for President Campaign or as delegates for Michael Dukakis, that year’s nominee.

In conventions before 1988, Arab Americans had only managed to send a handful of delegates to the national meetings, and so the ‘88 total represented a real breakthrough for our community. In the years that followed, despite real challenges to our involvement in the party, there were consistently around 40 to 45 Arab American delegates.

And so, this year’s total is quite remarkable - a tribute to the hard work of many activists and the acceptance of Arab Americans by all levels of the Democratic Party’s leadership.

In some ways this Charlotte meeting will not be as thrilling as the 1984 San Francisco Convention where Jackson electrified the nation with his “our time has come” speech - a theme that resonated not only for African Americans, but Arab Americans, as well. I had the honor of delivering one of the convention speeches placing Jackson’s name in nomination for the Presidency.

Nor will it be as exciting as the 1988 Atlanta Convention where we fought up to the last minute for the right to insert 13 minority planks in the party platform. That year, I once again had the opportunity to address the convention leading the first ever national party debate on Palestinian rights. It was so wonderful to be able to break the taboo that had made it impossible to even say the word “Palestinian” in American politics. I will never forget the thrill of looking down over the convention floor as I spoke, watching over a thousand supportive delegates waving banners and signs saying “Palestinian Statehood Now.” This convention will be different. For Arab Americans, with our record breaking numbers, it will represent a “coming of age.” Our hard work and perseverance has brought us from exclusion to being respected and recognized as part of the mainstream of the Democratic Party. In Charlotte, we will host an event for the Arab American delegates - enabling them to meet one another and prepare for the November election, and our Arab American Institute will co-host with J-Street, a Jewish peace group, a forum on the need for American leadership to push for a just solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

I am looking forward to meeting some of the new Arab Americans who will be attending their first convention and being a part of the events my Institute has organized for delegates. There are some fascinating people to meet. One of my personal favorites in the Arab American delegation is Majid Al-Bahdali. A refugee from Saddam’s Iraq following the Basra Uprising, Majid spent years in a prison camp, until he was given refuge in the US. He became a citizen and just a few years later he was elected as an Obama delegate in 2008. His is a great American story. This is Majid’s second convention.

Hindia Ali from Minnesota has the distinction of being the first Somali American to be elected as a delegate. And Ferial Masry of California is the first American of Saudi descent to become a delegate.

They will be joined by a record number of nine Arab American delegates from Michigan, led by Ish Ahmed, Vice Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party and “rising star” State Representative Rashida Tlaib. St Louis Mayor Francis Slay, and St Louis City Democratic Chair Brian Wahby will represent Missouri. And former South Carolina gubernatorial candidate State Senator Vincent Sheheen will join Rhode Island Councilman Michael Solomon and labor leaders Bill George (former President of Pennsylvania’s AFL-CIO) and Tom Balanof of Illinois.

And so we go to Charlotte having realized the promise of 1984’s “our time has come.” But we also go to this convention knowing that real challenges remain. Arab Americans still face serious threats to our civil liberties and our voices are desperately needed in the national debate over America’s still one-sided and misguided foreign policy. We are better positioned today than we were a generation ago. For decades we have fought to form and protect our community, and we won. We fought against exclusion and for inclusion, and we won. Now we must fight to make a difference - to make America better, smarter, more respected, and stronger - and this is a fight we must not lose.

NOTE: Dr James J Zogby is the President of the Arab American Institute.

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The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as necessary.

Syria diplomacy stalls over safe zone

By Robert H Reid urkey’s non-starter call for a humanitarian safe zone inside Syria offers the clearest sign yet that diplomacy to end the bloodshed in the most violent uprising of the Arab Spring is at a dead end. Any new push by the international community to stop the killing is likely to remain on hold until the new UN chief envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, gets his feet on the ground and - more importantly - until the Nov 6 US presidential election.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other prominent Republicans have called for arming Syrian rebels, a step critics fear would only escalate the violence without necessarily bringing a quick end to a more than 17-month conflict that activists say has killed more than 20,000 people.

In the meantime, countries in the region - Turkey, Israel, Jordan and Iraq will be scrambling to contain the violence and keep the conflict from spilling across their borders. A desire to contain the conflict was in large measure behind Turkey’s appeal Thursday to the UN Security Council to establish a safe zone for civilians in parts of northern Syria under nominal rebel control. That would enable the Turks to cut off the flow of refugees across their border. About 80,000 Syrians have already fled into Turkey, and hostili-

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ty to the presence of so many foreigners is rising among Turks living in Antakya and other border communities.

But the Turkish proposal sank like a stone. The council meeting ended without even a non-binding statement of support, much less a binding resolution. A frustrated Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the council that he’d come to New York in hopes the members would take “long overdue steps” to alleviate the suffering and establish camps inside Syria for those forced to flee their homes.

“Apparently, I was wrong about my expectations,” Davutoglu said.

Like so many other proposals to end the fighting, the Turkish appeal was all but dead on arrival, given the risks of creating such a zone and the hostility of veto wielding Russia and China to any proposal that is not accepted by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The Russians and the Chinese have already vetoed three Western-backed council resolutions that would threaten Assad’s government with international sanctions.

Assad rejected the idea of a safe zone in a television interview this week. Russia and China have long made clear they will not go along with a repeat of last year’s experience in Libya, when the US and its European allies used a resolution to protect civilians to launch months of attacks that ended with the collapse of

Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

Even if some legal way could be found to get around the Security Council obstacle, there is no sign the US or its major European partners have the stomach to repeat the Libya operation at a time when cash-strapped governments are trying to extricate from Afghanistan and the US is focused on an election in about two months. Establishing a safe zone in Syria amounts to entering the territory of a sovereign country to offer protection to civilians, many who are sympathetic to the rebels. Without a guarantee from Assad that he would not attack the zone, foreign governments would have to assume responsibility for protecting civilians there - through troops on the ground and through preventing Syrian attack aircraft from flying over the territory.

Meanwhile, the West is running out of options besides trying to do more to care for the tens of thousands of refugees. With Syrian diplomacy all but dead, the Obama administration is focusing on political transition and helping the rebels defeat the Syrian regime.

Washington has increased its humanitarian aid to $74 million and its “nonlethal” communications assistance to $25 million. The administration also has eased restrictions for rebel fundraising in the United States. Most of the weapons used by the rebels are believed to be pur-

chased inside and outside Syria with money from supporters abroad, mostly in the Gulf states.

The US has been working politically with Syrian exiles who drew up a transition plan for governing the country if the Assad regime collapses. The plan was unveiled this week in Berlin. France has promised to recognize a Syrian provisional government if the opposition can set aside its internal differences which it has been unable to accomplish.

None of those proposals would have an immediate effect in curbing the bloodshed.

Faced with bleak prospects, the new UN envoy, Brahimi, says he plans to consult key players in New York after officially assuming his duties yesterday. His predecessor, Kofi Annan, quit in frustration this month after achieving little.

Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister and veteran UN mediator, will likely explore possibilities of reviving a transitional plan drawn up by Annan and agreed to by both the United States and Russia after a conference in Geneva in June. The document aimed at establishing an interim government of people chosen by both the Assad regime and the opposition. Each would be able to veto candidates. The arrangement was rejected immediately by many in the Syrian opposition. —AP

Pena Nieto to focus first on clean govt

By Dave Graham and Miguel Gutierrez nrique Pena Nieto cast himself as an economic reformer to win the Mexican presidency but, after facing accusations of vote-rigging, his immediate focus is likely to be tackling his party’s reputation for corruption. Pena Nieto is set to take office in December after the electoral tribunal on Thursday threw out a bid by leftist rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to annul the July 1 election.

Nevertheless, the vote-buying and money-laundering claims and a series of street protests tainted Pena Nieto’s victory and likely will color early legislative efforts by his Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which fell short of a majority in Congress and will need opposition support to pass laws.

The telegenic Pena Nieto, 46, is likely to bide his time on promoting tricky economic reforms until he is firmly installed, focusing first on showing a commitment to clean government and seeing next year’s budget through Congress. The job of ringing the bell for economic change in the new Congress, which begins on Saturday, is likely to fall first to outgoing President Felipe Calderon, who officials say will throw his weight behind a new drive to overhaul antiquated labor laws.

Calderon’s past efforts to win congressional backing for economic reforms were blocked by the PRI for tactical reasons in opposition but since the party won the presidency campaigning in favor of very

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similar measures, labor reform has a fair chance of approval before Pena Nieto takes office on Dec 1. Mindful that tough economic reforms will face opposition and that it does not have a majority, the PRI has signaled it will first seek deals on measures to reduce corruption, boost governmental transparency and oversee ties between the media and elected officials. “These three reforms will be a priority for us,” Manuel Anorve, a senior incoming PRI congressman told Reuters.

Establishing stronger curbs against abuses of political power and imposing tighter controls on election advertising are at the heart of the proposed measures.

Although the electoral court ruled Lopez Obrador had failed to prove that Pena Nieto’s centrist PRI broke the law, critics say the election campaign at the very least showed there is still not a level playing field, and that the winner was helped by a cozy relationship with Mexico’s top broadcaster, Televisa.

By concentrating on political reform at the outset, Pena Nieto will try to blunt accusations long leveled against the PRI but it means his once-vaunted tax and energy reforms will probably take a back seat until after his new administration draws up the 2013 budget in late December. The PRI governed Mexico for 71 consecutive years until 2000, a rule that was beset by allegations of graft, dirty tricks, collusion with the media and a hard line against dissent.

Lopez Obrador tapped into those memories in this year’s election campaign, raising pressure on Pena Nieto to show he is serious about leaving the PRI’s checkered past behind. Shady dealings continue to haunt the party as federal prosecutors said this week an order had been issued for the arrest of Tomas Yarrington, a fugitive former PRI state governor suspected of working with drug cartels. The smear of criminality helped fuel street protests during the election campaign. They ate into Pena Nieto’s once-huge opinion poll lead and denied him a majority in Congress. That was a

blow to his planned reforms to the labor market, the tax system and state oil monopoly Pemex, which he hopes will help boost economic growth to about six percent a year.

Top PRI lawmakers were hopeful there would be consensus on the economic reforms by the time Pena Nieto took office but they have been more guarded since the election. Though he won by 6.5 percentage points, a clear victory, it was less than expected. Pena Nieto plans to allow more private investment in Pemex, long a symbol of Mexican self-sufficiency, and soften labor regulations. He is also expected to review extending a sales tax to food and medicine, a measure the PRI has blocked in the past because it is seen as raising the tax burden on the poor. The timeline for those reforms has been pushed back due to steadfast opposition to any sweeping changes from left-wing parties and even some wariness from leftists inside the PRI. To press hard on Pemex and tax changes immediately would risk saddling Pena Nieto with a “permanent social protest” in office, said Roy Campos of polling firm Consulta Mitofsky. Demonstrations may dog the new president regardless after Lopez Obrador said on Friday he would not accept the electoral tribunal’s ruling, and called for a big rally on Sept 9.

Given the simmering tensions, only an overhaul of the labor laws appears a possibility this year - led

by Calderon and his conservative National Action Party, or PAN. A government official told Reuters

that Calderon would likely present the new Congress with a proposed labor reform to be voted on before December. The prospects for a deal look good. The PRI has been at pains to strike a conciliatory note with the PAN and leftist parties since the election.

Manlio Fabio Beltrones, the PRI leader in the lower house, has repeatedly stressed his party’s desire to broker deals. “This is a plural house of Congress and deals will be made within that plurality here,” Beltrones said this week.

Early in August, he said the PRI’s first initiatives in Congress would be to create an anti-corruption authority and extend the powers of an existing transparency watchdog. Soon afterwards the PRI said it also would draw up guidelines to regulate the sale of media advertising to public office holders under independent supervision.

That plan appears designed to temper accusations that Pena Nieto owed his rise to the top to Televisa, which provided a stream of favorable coverage for him while he was a state governor between 2005 and 2011 and during the election campaign. But with parties eager for good relations with broadcasters, overhauling media laws may take more time than the PRI’s efforts to create a stronger framework to tackle corruption. Long a byword for graft, the PRI is hoping the clean governance drive will not be lost on voters. “They’re trying to take these issues away from the (protesters) on the street,” Campos said. — Reuters

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

sp orts Barcelona’s Vilanova dispels doubts over Fabregas form

Boy, 11, without feet causing stir in Brazil

MADRID: Cesc Fabregas’s second season back at Barcelona will be an improvement on his first, coach Tito Vilanova predicted yesterday following the former Arsenal captain’s indifferent start to the 2012-13 campaign. Fabregas began with a bang last term after returning to his boyhood club but his form tailed off and Vilanova’s predecessor Pep Guardiola overlooked him for some key matches in the Champions League and La Liga.

The 25-year-old per formed well for Spain at Euro 2012 playing in a roving forward role but has yet to make much of an impression for Barca this season and watched Wednesday’s Spanish Super Cup defeat to arch rivals Real Madrid from the bench.

“The second year is always better,” Vilanova told a news conference previewing today’s La Liga match at home to Valencia (1930 GMT) when asked about Fabregas’s form. — Reuters

CAMPOS: Brazilian Gabriel Muniz, 11, is one of the best players at his school despite being born without feet and he dreams of being a footballer when he grows up, even though he knows it can only be at disabled level. After an appearance in Brazil’s most popular sports show on the TV Globo network, Gabriel was invited to take part in a Barcelona training camp in Saquarema, a town in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

His special skills impressed the Spanish club’s coaches and he has been invited to meet his idol Lionel Messi next month. “When he arrived there no one believed in him but he proved to everyone he can go head to head with any boy. So much so that he was invited to go to Spain to showcase his talent,” said his gym teacher Jose Lopes.

Gabriel was not yet one when he started walking on his stumps and he went on from there.

He plays soccer like anyone else but without feet, kicking the ball with his stumps. Gabriel’s mother Sandra told Reuters her son has always lived a normal life despite his physical limitations. Every day the boy wakes up at 0630 and rides his bicycle to school along with his older brother. Last year he received a donated foot-ankle prosthesis but his mother says she cannot afford any special treatments for him. — AP

MLB results/standings Chicago Cubs 6, San Francisco 4; Washington 10, St. Louis 0; Baltimore 6, NY Yankees 1; Texas 5, Cleveland 3; Detroit 7, Chicago White Sox 4; Toronto 2, Tampa Bay 1; NY Mets 3, Miami 0; Philadelphia 8, Atlanta 5 (10 innings); Cincinnati 9, Houston 3; Milwaukee 9, Pittsburgh 3; San Diego 5, Colorado 4; Oakland 20, Boston 2; Arizona 4, LA Dodgers 3 (11 innings); LA Angels 9, Seattle 1.

American League Eastern Division W L PCT GB NY Yankees 75 56 .573 Baltimore 73 58 .557 2 Tampa Bay 71 61 .538 4.5 Boston 62 71 .466 14 Toronto 60 71 .458 15 Central Division White Sox 72 59 .550 70 61 .534 2 Detroit Kansas City 59 71 .454 12.5 Cleveland 55 77 .417 17.5 Minnesota 53 78 .405 19 Western Division Texas 78 53 .595 74 57 .565 4 Oakland LA Angels 70 62 .530 8.5 Seattle 64 69 .481 15

National League Eastern Division Washington 80 51 .611 Atlanta 74 58 .561 Philadelphia 63 69 .477 NY Mets 62 70 .470 Miami 59 73 .447 Central Division Cincinnati 81 52 .609 St. Louis 71 61 .538 Pittsburgh 70 61 .534 Milwaukee 63 68 .481 Chicago Cubs 51 80 .389 Houston 40 92 .303 Western Division San Francisco 74 58 .561 LA Dodgers 70 63 .526 Arizona 66 67 .496 San Diego 62 71 .466 Colorado 53 77 .408

6.5 17.5 18.5 21.5 9.5 10 17 29 40.5 4.5 8.5 12.5 20

Mets blank Marlins, Nationals triumph MIAMI: RA Dickey pitched a five-hit shutout for his 17th win, Ike Davis backed him with a home run and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 30 on Friday night.

Dickey (17-4) struck out seven and walked three in his NL-leading fifth complete game. The knuckleballer has three shutouts this year and six in his career.

The game took just 2 hours, 7 minutes.

Davis hit his 25th homer, a two-run shot off Nathan Eovaldi (4-10) in the seventh inning. Davis also had a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

ers in five tries. The Cubs were swept in a four-game series at San Francisco in June. Volstad (2-9) allowed two runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings for his second consecutive victory after a 24-start winless streak. Buster Posey went 3 for 3 with two RBIs for San Francisco, which had won a season-high six consecutive road games. The Giants rallied for an 8-4 victory in Houston on Thursday night, then arrived in Chicago around 3 a.m. They mostly stayed in the visitors’ clubhouse while the Cubs took batting practice, but still looked listless for much of the muggy day at Wrigley Field.

Nationals 10, Cardinals 0 In Washington, Gio Gonzalez earned his 17th win with his first career shutout and the Nationals handed Adam Wainwright his shortest start this season as Washington routed the Cardinals.

Adam LaRoche, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman each drove in two runs and the Nationals sent 10 batters to the plate during a four-run third inning against Wainwright (13-11), who entered 5-0 in August. Perfect through three innings, Gonzalez (17-7) held the suddenly anemic St. Louis lineup hitless through four innings. He finished with eight strikeouts and walked three during his 119-pitch outing en route to his fourth win in five starts and third career complete game.

The left-hander tied Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto and New York Mets starter R.A. Dickey for the major league lead in wins.

Phillies 8, Braves 5 In Atlanta, Erik Kratz homered in the ninth inning off Braves closer Craig Kimbrel and John Mayberry Jr. hit a three-run shot off Cristhian Martinez in the 10th to help the Phillies rally past Atlanta.

Josh Lindblom (3-3) pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing one walk and striking out one. Jonathan Papelbon earned his 31st save in 34 chances by striking out Dan Uggla, getting Paul Janish to fly out and striking out Eric Hinske in the 10th.

Martinez (5-4) allowed three hits, three runs, one walk and struck out two.

The Braves, who have lost two straight and three of four, dropped 61/2 games behind first-place Washington in the NL East. Philadelphia has won two straight and six of eight. The Phillies are 18 games back in the NL East, but they finished August with a 17-12 record.

Cubs 6, Giants 4 In Chicago, Alfonso Soriano hit a tworun homer that landed on Waveland Avenue and Anthony Rizzo added a solo shot, helping Chris Volstad and the Cubs beat the weary Giants.

Soriano also had a two-out RBI single in the first as Chicago earned its first win of the season against the NL West lead-

Reds 9, Astros 3 In Houston, Jay Bruce had a three-run homer and Zack Cozart added a two-run shot to help the Reds beat the Astros.

Cozart’s home run gave the Reds an early lead before consecutive homers by Fernando Martinez and Matt Dominiguez tied it at 2-all in the fourth inning. — AP

MIAMI: New York Mets’ RA Dickey delivers a pitch during the third inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins. —AP

Templeton leaves Hearts GLASGOW: Reborn Rangers have lured talented Hearts winger David Templeton to join them in the third division after loaning skipper Carlos Bocanegra to Racing Santander and selling defender Maurice Edu to Stoke.

A statement from Rangers confirmed that Templeton had joined on a fouryear contract for an undisclosed fee. Earlier, Premier League side Hearts had said that the 23-year-old, who signed for the Edinburgh club from Stenhousemuir in 2007, had made it clear he wanted to move on when his contract expired at the end of the season.

The club added: “Rangers were also keen on Temps’ close friend Ryan McGowan but the Aussie ace handed manager John McGlynn a major boost by opting to remain at Hearts.”

Templeton, whose last goal for Hear ts came in the 1-1 Europa League draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Thursday, told his new club’s official website: “I’ve spoken to some of the boys such as Ian Black and Lee Wallace and they are loving it here. — AFP

Orioles tighten AL East race NEW YORK: Orioles rookie Miguel Gonzalez struck out a career-high nine over seven shutout innings in a masterful pitching performance and Mark Reynolds homered twice as Baltimore tightened the AL East race Friday night with a 6-1 victory over the skidding New York Yankees.

JJ Hardy added a solo shot for the surprising Orioles, who moved within two games of firstplace New York by winning the opener of their big three-game series.

Reynolds made two spectacular plays at first base and Chris Davis had a sacrifice fly in Baltimore’s three -run second inning against Hiroki Kuroda (1210). Pitching on 10 days’ rest, Gonzalez (6-3) yielded only four harmless singles to win for the fourth time in five decisions. Nick Swisher whiffed all four times up for the Yankees, who have dropped seven of 10 and nine of 14.

Athletics 20, Red Sox 2 In Oakland, Brandon Moss had career highs of four hits, four RBIs and four runs, Josh Reddick hit his first career grand slam, and the Athletics routed the Red Sox to match their best winning streak of the season at seven.

Josh Donaldson homered for the third straight game with a two-run shot and Moss also had a two-run drive to go with a pair of RBI doubles to help back Brandon McCarthy (8-5) with a season high in runs. Oakland handed the Red Sox their most lopsided loss since a 22-1 defeat to the Yankees on Jun 19, 2000.

Aaron Cook (3-8) was done after just 2 2-3 innings to match his shortest outing of the season.

The right-hander was tagged for six runs and seven hits.

Rangers 5, Indians 3 In Cleveland, Adrian Beltre had four hits and scored twice to help the Rangers hand the reeling Indians their sixth straight loss. Beltre had three of his hits off Ubaldo Jimenez (9-14) as the Rangers rolled to their 10th win in 13 games. The Indians’ 15th loss in 16 games made them 524 in August, tying the team record for losses in one month,

set in July 1914. Ryan Dempster (4-1) gave up two hits and one unearned run in six innings.

Tigers 7, White Sox 4 In Detroit, Delmon Young hit a tiebreaking, three-run double in the seventh inning and the Tigers beat Chicago, pulling within two games of the AL Central-leading White Sox. Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny

NEW YORK: Yankees’ Curtis Granderson hits a solo home run off Baltimore Orioles’ Brian Matusz in the ninth inning of a baseball game. —AP

Peralta homered as the Tigers took the opener of the threegame series. Octavio Dotel (5-2) pitched 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief. Joaquin Benoit struck out the side in the eighth inning and Jose Valverde closed for his 27th save in 31 chances. Jake Peavy (9-10) gave up six runs and nine hits over six innings.

Blue Jays 2, Rays 1 I n Toronto, Moises Sierra homered and threw out pinchrunner Elliot Johnson at home plate for the final out, preserving Brandon Morrow’s first win since June 6 and leading the Blue Jays to a victory over the slumping Rays.

Edwin Encarnacion hit his 35th home run as the Blue Jays handed the Rays their sixth loss in seven games. Morrow (8-5) allowed one run and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings. He walked one and struck out five and threw 102 pitches, 67 strikes. Jeremy Hellickson (8-10) allowed two runs and four hits in six-plus innings. He walked one and struck out two.

Angels 9, Mariners 1 In Seattle, Kendrys Morales drove in four runs and Torii Hunter had four hits, helping the Angels snap the Mariners’ eightgame home winning streak.

Morales hit a three -run homer in the first off Seattle starter Kevin Millwood (4-12).

His drove in Mike Trout with a single up the middle in the fourth inning. Dan Haren (9-10) pitched seven innings and allowed just an unearned run on five hits.

Trout set the Angels’ rookie record for runs scored with his 104th run in his 109th game on Albert Pujols’ infield single in the second inning. —AP

Noh upstages Tiger NORTON: Tiger Woods produced a stunning surge in the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Friday but was overshadowed by 21-year-old South Korean Noh Seung-yul, who rocketed to a one-shot lead.

Noh tore apart the TPC Boston course with a bogey-free nine-under-par 62 that left him one shot clear of American Chris Kirk in the second of the PGA Tour’s four FedExCup playoff events.

Woods, Jeff Overton and Ryan Moore were tied in third place after the American trio shot matching 64s while world number one Rory McIlroy and American Bryce Molder were a further shot back. Woods had earlier set the Boston crowds alight with a birdie blitz reminiscent of his glory days.

The 14-times major champion played his first eight holes in two-under par before carding six consecutive birdies to lead by as many as four shots at one stage.

“I played really well today. I hit a lot of good shots, and on top of that I putted well at the same time ... it was a nice little combination,” said Woods, who made five birdies from 12 feet or longer. “I hit the ball well enough to probably shoot maybe one or two more.”

Woods, the 2006 champion at this event, played the back nine first and wasted little time making a move. After his tee shot at the par-three 11th landed 12 feet from the hole, Woods coolly drained the birdie putt for some early confidence on the greens. Two holes later Woods sank a 19-footer that put him at two-under par.

He came within inches of an eagle from 42 feet on the 18th but took the birdie, the first of six on the trot, including a 12-footer on his 11th hole and a 15-footer on his 12th.

The heat dissipated a little over his final four holes as Woods missed a chance for a seventh consecutive birdie before scrambling for pars on the seventh anad eighth holes.

The only blemish of the day for Woods came on the last hole when he overcooked his approach shot at the par-four ninth and failed to get up and down.

Noh, a rookie on the US Tour, shot his lowest score of the year with seemingly effortless birdies and was not afraid to admit that he did so while trying to copy Woods’s swing.

The South Korean works with Woods’s Canadian swing coach Sean Foley and often tries to mimic the former world number one’s mechanics after looking at photos of his childhood idol.

“Sometimes (Foley) sends photos to me by text, like Justin Rose’s swing, and then Hunter (Mahan) and Tiger’s swing sometimes gets sent to me, and then he says to look at the

three guys’ swing, and then think about myself and then try to do it myself, so that’s a good thing,” said Noh. “Everything was good today. Swing, putting, everything was great today. I’m just trying to make the Tour Championship points, but hopefully finish at the top five.”

The leading 70 players on the FedExCup points list after this event advance to the BMW Championship, with the top 30 then advancing to the Tour Championship finale in Atlanta where the overall points winner pockets a $10 million bonus. —Reuters

NORTON: Ryan Moore hits out of the bunker on the 11th hole during the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship PGA golf tournament. —AP

16

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

S P ORT S

Kohli leads India’s fightback BANGALORE: Virat Kohli led India’s fightback with an unbeaten 93 after early strikes from the New Zealand pace duo of Tim Southee and Doug Bracewell had the hosts in a spot of bother in the second and final Test yesterday.

India reached 283 for five in their first innings, replying to New Zealand’s 365, at

to lift India out of trouble. The 23-year-old right-hander hit 12 boundaries and a six on the way to his fifth half-century in tests.

Bracewell dismissed experienced batsmen Virender Sehwag (43) and Sachin Tendulkar (17) in the afternoon session after India had lost Gautam Gambhir (two) and Cheteshwar

BANGALORE: India’s batsman Sachin Tendulkar (center) watches his shot as New Zealand wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk (right) and fielder Martin Guptill react during the second day of their second cricket Test match. —AP stumps on the second day at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

Kohli added 99 runs for the fifth wicket with left-hander Suresh Raina (55) and a further 104 for the unbroken sixth wicket with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (46 not out)

Pujara (nine) to Southee before lunch.

Raina, 25, started the counter-attack and hit eight fours and a six to bring up his seventh fifty in test cricket but was lucky to survive a stumping chance when on 48. The third umpire ruled the delivery from off-spin-

Scoreboard Scoreboard at the close of the second day of the second and final test between India and New Zealand in Bangalore yesterday.

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat.

New Zealand first innings (overnight 328-6) M. Guptill c Gambhir b Ojha 53 B. McCullum lbw b Zaheer 0 K. Williamson lbw b Ojha 17 R. Taylor lbw b Ojha 113 D. Flynn lbw b Ashwin 33 J. Franklin c Raina b Ojha 8 K. van Wyk c Raina b Zaheer 71 D. Bracewell run out 43 T. Southee lbw b Ojha 14 J. Patel c Gambhir b Yadav 0 T. Boult not out 2 Extras (b-2, lb-9) 11 Total (all out; 90.1 overs) 365 Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-63 3-89 4-196 5-215 6-246 7-345 8-353 9-353

Bowling: Ojha 28.1-10-99-5, Zaheer 22-2-83-2, Yadav 16-1-90-1, Ashwin 24-5-82-1 India first innings G. Gambhir b Southee 2 V. Sehwag c Flynn b Bracewell 43 C. Pujara c Boult b Southee 9 S. Tendulkar b Bracewell 17 V. Kohli not out 93 S. Raina c Van Wyk b Southee 55 MS Dhoni not out 46 Extras: (b-10, lb-2, w-1, nb-5) 18 Total: (five wickets; 78 overs) 283 To bat: R. Ashwin, Z. Khan, P. Ojha, U. Yadav Fall of wickets: 1-5 2-27 3-67 4-80 5-179 Bowling (to date): Boult 19-2-75-0 (2nb), Southee 15-4-35-3 (1nb, 1w), Bracewell 15-4-66-2, Franklin 104-17-0 (1nb), Patel 19-5-78-0 (1nb).

Preview

JAPAN: World Boxing Association (WBA) super-flyweight champion Tepparith Singwancha of Thailand (right) punches Japanese challenger Nobuo Nashiro (left) during their title bout in Osaka. —AFP

Geale out to turn Sturm’s dream into a nightmare BERLIN: World champion Felix Sturm goes into late yesterday ’s middleweight unification bout dreaming of adding the IBF title to his WBA crown, but Australia’s Daniel Geale is out to wreck his plans. Geale puts his IBF middleweight title on the line against 33-year-old Sturm, the WBA super world middleweight champion, when they meet in Oberhausen.

The 31-year-old Geale returns to Germany having defeated Sebastian Sylvester in May 2011 to win the belt he has defended twice.

The winner of late yesterday ’s bout will walk away with both belts and Sturm, who has held the WBA title since 2007, says he has been dreaming of this chance.

“This fight has been a dream, a wish, for me since a long, long time,” said the German, whose two defeats came at the hands of Oscar de la Hoya in 2004 in Las Vegas and Spain’s Javier Castillejo in 2006. “Now I’m here and my dream is coming true.

“I will do my best to impose my tactics on him and make him pay for his mistakes. “He is a great fighter but I’m quite sure that I’ll win on Saturday night. “I’m really happy that we found someone in Daniel Geale who did not hesitate to take this

fight. It is the biggest of my career.”

Sturm has not impressed recently: his June 2011 win over Matthew Macklin came only after a split decision, which had the Briton fuming, while he drew with Britain’s Martin Murray last December.

His last opponent Sebastian Zbik retired hurt after the ninth round in April, but Sturm insists Geale posses the biggest threat to his reign.

“Daniel can move, he can box and he can put pressure on you,” said Sturm, whose undefeated run stretches to 14 fights. “I’m sure he will have a great game plan as well, but we will see if he will be able to follow this plan with me opposite him.”

Geale, a 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and 2000 Olympian, is aware of the challenge he faces. “A lot of people have travelled to Sturm’s backyard and failed,” he said.

“I have to go out there and win. It being in Germany, I have to make sure I do it convincingly, especially if it goes down to a decision. “It’s coming at a good time for me: Felix hasn’t per formed that well recently where as I feel I am improving with each fight.” —AFP

ner Jeetan Patel a no ball.

Southee, who was drafted in for the second test replacing pace colleague Chris Martin, dismissed Raina caught down the leg side in the final session to pick up his third wicket.

“It’s unfortunate for me to get out twice in the same manner, I am very disappointed,” said Raina, who was dismissed in the same fashion by Patel in Hyderabad.

“Virat and I had a good partnership and hopefully we can put lot of runs on the board and the match is going to be interesting in the next three days.”

The innings had not started well for India with Gambhir, who looked uncomfortable during most of his short stay at the wicket, the first to be dismissed, clean bowled as he shouldered arms to an incoming delivery from Southee.

Pujara, a centurion in the last test in Hyderabad, was then caught at deep fine leg trying to hook Southee. “Obviously with the new ball it was nice to bowl and swing it, and we were lucky to pick up a few wickets there,” Southee told reporters.

“India came back well after lunch as the ball got a bit older. The wicket is a pretty good wicket. “So I guess now it’s a pretty important time for us with the second new ball to see if we can pick up the rest of the wickets.”

Sehwag hit eight boundaries and looked in good touch before he flicked one straight to mid-wicket off Bracewell in the first over after lunch.

Tendulkar hit a glorious straight drive past Bracewell, one of his three fours, but on the very next delivery the New Zealander had his revenge by clean bowling the ‘Little Master’.

Earlier, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha took his third five -wicket haul to halt New Zealand’s progress. The visitors, who opted to bat first after winning the toss, had added just 37 runs to their overnight score of 328 for six before India wrapped up the innings 45 minutes into the morning session. The first wicket to fall came when Raina took a diving catch at second slip off paceman Zaheer Khan to end an entertaining knock from wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk for 71.

Van Wyk added 99 for the seventh wicket with Bracewell, who was unlucky to be run out for 43 when the ball burst through Zaheer’s hand to hit the stumps at the nonstriker’s end with the batsman short of his crease.

The partnership helped New Zealand get past the 350-run mark, an improvement after they made 159 and 164 in their two innings in losing the opening test in Hyderabad by an innings and 115 runs. Ojha, who had taken four wickets on Friday, polished off the New Zealand innings by dismissing Southee leg before for 14. —Reuters

FRANCE: Biarritz’s winger Takudzwa Ngwenya (center) breaks away from Toulouse’s Yannick Jauzion (right) and Toulouse’s winger Yohann Huget (left) during the French Top 14 rugby union match. —AFP

Biarritz stay on top with victory over Toulouse PARIS: Biarritz made it three wins out of three in the Top 14 yesterday by taking an early home lead against champions Toulouse and holding on under pressure for a 22-17 win. Veteran centre Damian Traille was the home side’s try-scorer, dotting down after 29 minutes following a fine break from Welsh winger Aled Brew. The rest of the Biarritz points came from the boot of fly-half Jean-Pascal Barraque with a conversion and five penalties. For Toulouse it was a first defeat of the season after two unconvincing wins and left coach Guy Noves with some selection headaches.

In what was the first big showdown of the new season, Biarritz ran out onto a sun-splashed Aguilera stadium minus star turns Dimitri Yachvili and Imanol Harinordoquy, both of whom are on the injured list. Reigning champions Toulouse were without All Black fly-half Luke McAlister, who has a bruised calf, but were able to welcome back France skipper Thierry Dusautoir along with first team regulars Jean Bouilhou and Gary Botha.

An early rash of penalties saw Biarritz take a 6-3 lead, despite the visitors making most of the running in the hot and

windy conditions. They then scored the game’s first try after 31 minutes when the dangerous Brew broke clear from midfield following a line-out and turned inside to feed Traille, who scored under the posts.

A further exchange of penalties between fly-halves Barraque and Lionel Beauxis saw half-time reached with Biarritz enjoying a healthy, if slightly undeserved, 16-6 lead.

Toulouse continued to dominate possession into the second half with Biarritz put under further pressure by South African hooker Botha getting a yellow card, but all they had to show for their efforts were two penalties from Beauxis.

Barraque then extended the home lead again to 19-12 after 57 minutes with the Toulouse forwards penalised at a lineout and he made it 22-12 10 minutes later, sending over his fifth penalty out of six attempts. Toulouse finally crossed the Biarritz goalline after 77 minutes when French winger Vincent Clerc dashed over in the corner after a looping pass from Beauxis, but the fly-half missed the conversion. That gave the visitors a defensive bonus point but there was not enough time left for them to pull ahead. —AFP

Backup QBs McCown, Rosenfels, Hoyer cut NEW YORK: Backup quarterbacks were prominent among players cut Friday as teams whittled their rosters to the 53-man maximum. Nine-year veteran Seneca Wallace was beaten out

by Colt McCoy in Cleveland, Mike Kafka fell to rookie Nick Foles and journeyman Trent Edwards in Philadelphia, Brian Hoyer got axed in New England, Josh McCown was released by Chicago and 12th-year pro Sage Rosenfels didn’t make the cut in Minnesota. The Ravens released quarterback Curtis Painter, who started eight games for the Colts last season. He was in competition with Tyrod Taylor throughout the preseason to be the backup to Joe Flacco. And the San Francisco 49ers released quarterback Josh Johnson, who started five games in four seasons with Tampa Bay. Other veterans released as team’s prepare for the regular season, which begins Wednesday night with Dallas at the New York Giants, included 2005 Super Bowl MVP receiver Deion Branch and center Dan Koppen in New England; defensive backs Joselio Hanson and O.J. Atogwe in Philadelphia; Pittsburgh offensive lineman Trai Essex and punter Jeremy Kapinos, who were waived injured; Buffalo DT Dwan Edwards; and Giants running back D.J. Ware, who won two Super Bowls with the team.

“Today is the worst day of the year,” said John Elway, executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos.

“The second-worst is last week when we get down to 75 because of these guys, they put their hearts and souls into being NFL football players. So, you end a lot of dreams and guys put a lot of sweat and tears into trying to make a team. So, it’s always a very tough day.” Tenth-year cornerback Drayton Florence was cut when Elway decided to keep three quarterbacks in Denver.

Caleb Hanie stuck around even though he was sacked nine times in the preseason, an astonishing once every 4.3 dropbacks. The Broncos also kept rookie Brock Osweiler, a secondround draft pick who was selected with the intention of one day succeeding Peyton Manning. Of course, if Manning has his way, neither Hanie nor Osweiler will see the field this season. Teams had until 9 p.m. ET to trim their rosters to 53. They have until Noon ET Saturday to put in waiver claims and sign up to eight practice squad players. Other notable cuts included: Running back Tim Hightower of Washington. The Redskins also let go safety Tanard Jackson, who was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Former Pro Bowl punter Mat McBriar of the Eagles. Veteran defensive ends Dave Ball and Leger Douzable were placed on IR by the Tennessee Titans.

Former first-round draft pick Vernon Gholston of the St. Louis Rams. Outside linebacker Clark Haggans, a 12-year NFL veteran, by the Arizona Cardinals. Long snapper Justin Snow, who had played in 192 straight games for the Indianapolis Colts, the second-longest streak in franchise history behind Manning.

Fullback Rock Cartwright of the San Francisco 49ers.

Long-time defensive end Jacques Cesaire and veteran fullback Jacob Hester of the San Diego Chargers. Kicker John Kasay, 42, and veteran receiver Greg Camarillo of the New Orleans Saints. The 31-year-old Wallace spent two seasons with the Browns, who acquired him in a 2011 trade from Seattle, where he played for Browns President Mike Holmgren. Wallace started seven games for Cleveland. Kafka, a fourth-round pick in 2010, appeared in four games last year. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 107 yards with two interceptions. Kafka played in one preseason game this summer before breaking his non-throwing hand.

“There was great competition at the quarterback position,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “That’s what football and training camp is all about. In the end, we had to make the difficult decision to let Mike Kafka go. Mike is a class act, a student of the game and a great person and I think he’ll have no problem finding a job in the National Football League very soon.” —AP

SPA: McLaren Mercedes’ British driver Jenson Button drives during the qualifying session at the Spa-Francochamps circuit. —AFP

Button on pole for Belgian GP SPA: British driver Jenson Button will start today’s Belgian Grand Prix in pole position after finishing fastest in yesterday’s qualifying, with defending champion Sebastian Vettel way down in 11th.

Button, who won the season’s opening GP in Australia, overcame earlier balance problems to grab his first pole of the season, the eighth of his career, and his first ever for McLaren.

“It’s been quite a long time since I got my last pole position, back in 2009 in Monaco. It’s been emotional,” said Button, who won the F1 title that year with the Brawn team. “Maybe a five-week break between every race is what I need ... I’m getting old now.”

The 32-year-old Button seemed to be struggling earlier in the day with the understeering of his car, but got it right when it mattered with a best lap of 1 minute, 47.573.

“A great qualifying session, the engineers have really been on it today,” Button said. “I just got the balance right.

We just tickled it, especially through qualifying. The balance is to my liking. It’s difficult to find a car that works for me in qualifying but when it does we get pole position.”

It has been one of the most unpredictable seasons for years, and that trend looks set to continue in Spa with unheralded drivers Kamui Kobayashi of Japan and Pastor Maldonado of Venezuela finishing second and third, respectively.

“In yesterday ’s practice we really struggled a lot, but this morning we improved a lot,” said Kobayashi, who got his best ever qualifying position. “We didn’t really know how much the track conditions would improve. Tomorrow is a different story, and we need to fight.”

Maldonado, competing in only his second F1 season, has a good chance to secure his second victory of the campaign after winning the Spanish GP in

May. He showed the potential of the Williams car, and was quickest in the first qualifying session.

“It will be important to get some points tomorrow, but if we can do more we will try,” Maldonado said. “We were optimistic for this race, even though this morning we were a bit worried as the car didn’t look that good. But I adapted to the different conditions.”

Vettel’s bid to catch championship leader Fernando Alonso looks to have taken another blow, while his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber will start the race with a five-place grid penalty.

“There was no problem, I just wasn’t quick enough,” Vettel said. “The speed wasn’t there.” Alonso was sixth in qualifying behind Sergio Perez and Kimi Raikkonen.

Alonso posted the fastest time in yesterday’s third practice, where drivers benefited from good conditions to frantically fine-tune their cars for qualifying.

Heavy rain marred Friday’s two practice runs, restricting drivers to a handful of laps, so the emphasis was on cramming as much testing as possible with the Spa circuit splashed in bright sunshine and completely dry.

Alonso, who is chasing his third Formula One title, had a best lap time of 1 minute, 48.542 seconds in his Ferrari.

Kimi Raikkonen of Finland, the 2007 F1 champion, clocked 1:48.683. With so little time to practice on Friday, some drivers found themselves at odds with their cars.

Button complained to his McLaren team that “we’ve got to look at the balance,” and British driver Paul di Resta struggled to keep his Force India under control, mentioning to his team how the car kept “dancing about a lot.”

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg pulled out after five laps and his day got worse as he incurred a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. —AP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

sp orts

City main mover on Europe’s transfer deadline day LONDON: English champion Manchester City was the main mover among Europe’s major teams on deadline day, spending a reported 40 million pounds ($63 million) as the continent’s summer transfer window closed with a flurry of late sales on Friday.

UEFA’s strict financial fair play rules, which are forcing clubs to only spend what they earn, and the tough economic climate have reined in spending compared to recent years.

Yet City, which had been quiet in the transfer market this summer by its standards, acted late to sign Brazil right back Maicon from Inter Milan, highly rated winger Scott Sinclair from Swansea, Serbia defender Matija Nastasic from Fiorentina and a back-up goalie in Richard Wright.

Arguably their biggest deal was secured minutes before the transfer window shut, however, when Spain midfielder Javi Garcia joined from Benfica. All the signings were for undisclosed fees but British media valued City ’s spending spree at around 38 million pounds ($60 million). In return, manager Roberto Mancini sold Netherlands holding

midfielder Nigel de Jong to AC Milan and moved striker Roque Santa Cruz to Spanish team Malaga on a season-long loan.

Malaga, which is in financial trouble but boosted by qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League, also signed Javier Saviola from Benfica and American center back Oguchi Onyewu from Sporting Lisbon.

After a quiet day in England, the final few hours drew a burst of activity with Tottenham signing United States forward Clint Dempsey from Fulham and France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from Lyon for 10 million euros ($12.6 million), having earlier sold Rafael van der Vaart to his former German club, Hamburg.

There was no immediate confirmation of whether Tottenham had also landed highly rated Porto midfielder Joao Moutinho.

Dempsey followed Moussa Dembele from Fulham to Spurs, but the Cottagers made their own splashes on the last day, completing the signing of Dimitar Berbatov from Manchester United, plus Kieran Richardson from Sunderland and winger Ashkan Dejagah from

Wolfsburg. Liverpool missed out on Dempsey and failed to land any of its targets on the final day of the transfer window, while selling Charlie Adam to Stoke and loaning out midfielder Jay Spearing to Bolton. As well as Adam, Stoke signed American midfielder Maurice Edu from Glasgow Rangers.

Chelsea loaned Ghana midfielder Michael Essien to Real Madrid and Yossi Benayoun to West Ham on season-long deals. Queens Park Rangers shifted combustible midfielder Joey Bar ton to French league leader Marseille in a one-year loan deal that had been widely expected for several days. Midfielder Stephane Mbia moved in the opposite direction.

Real Madrid and Barcelona had long tied up their main transfer dealings for the summer, although Barca sent Dutch winger Ibrahim Afellay to Schalke and Madrid swooped late for Essien.

The 29-year-old Essien was signed

by Jose Mourinho when he was Chelsea manager in 2005 and Mourinho has now signed him again at Madrid.

In Italy, the window closed after Denmark forward Nicklas Bendtner

was loaned from Arsenal to champion Juventus, with a view to a permanent move at the end of the season, and free agent Luca Toni rejoined Fiorentina just before the deadline.

Milan, which sold top stars Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to Paris Saint-Germain during the close season, reportedly paid City a €3.5 million ($4.4 million) transfer fee for De Jong in a surprise move.

With City having splashed out more than $1 billion on new players over the past 3 1/2 years, Mancini had been left frustrated this summer by the lack of spending by the club’s Abu Dhabi owners. That is a sign of the times, with the total transfer spend across Europe this year excluding deals on Thursday and Friday - being 78 percent less than the 2008-2011 average.

City bought England midfielder Jack Rodwell from Everton for a reported 15 million pounds before the start of the season but Mancini has been suggesting he was ready to dip back into the market this week. In came Maicon, a buccaneering full back in the mould of a player who already plays at right back for City - Micah Richards. Sinclair had

already joined by then, a like-for-like replacement for Adam Johnson who signed for Sunderland last week.

Then the 19-year-old Nastasic was signed to bolster the squad’s defensive options before the acquisition of Garcia, for a fee believed to be in the region of 16 million pounds ($25 million).

City, which also brought in former Arsenal goalkeeper Richard Wright as backup, got a big earner off the wage bill by selling Santa Cruz to Malaga, having sold Emmanuel Adebayor to Tottenham last week.

Swansea, which has won both of its games in the Premier League this season under new manager Michael Laudrup, filled the void left by Sinclair by signing Valencia winger Pablo Hernandez for a club-record 5.5 million pounds ($8.7 million).

Other deals in England saw Gaston Ramirez join newly promoted Southampton from Bologna, Everton sign Costa Rican left winger Bryan Oviedo from Copenhagen, West Bromwich Albion acquire fullback Goran Popov from Dynamo Kiev and Arsenal loan out Korean forward Park Chu-young to Celta Vigo.—AP

Bell tramples Broncos

NEW YORK: Andy Roddick returns a shot to Australia’s Bernard Tomic in the third round of play at the 2012 US Open tennis tournament. —AP

Roddick rolls into third round at farewell Open NEW YORK: Andy Roddick ser ved notice he will not go gently into retirement, blasting into the third round of the US Open on Friday by dispatching Australian teen Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 in only 87 minutes. Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, took the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium to loud cheers from supporters a day after announcing this would be the last event of his career, then made sure he would have at least one more match to play.

“Oh man. That was so much fun. I really appreciate that,” Roddick told the crowd. “I am going to tr y to stick around a little longer.”

The 30-year-old American advanced to a third-round matchup with Italy’s 59th-ranked Fabio Fognini as he hopes to make an emotional last charge at a Grand Slam crown on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts.

“I didn’t feel relaxed at all, not even a little bit,” Roddick said, saying he kept his emotions in control until seeing a television feature about his career just before the match.

“I assume it was set to an ‘80s ballad,” Roddick said. “It got to me a little bit. I had to get away from that.”

Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Samantha Stosur advanced in straight sets while British teen Laura Robson sent Chinese ninth seed Li Na home after earlier sending three-time US Open champion Kim Clijsters into retirement.

Three former champions-Russian third seed Maria Sharapova, Argentine seventh seed Juan Martin Del Potro and Australian Lleyton Hewitt-moved on with varying degrees of difficulty.

And World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, the reigning Australian Open champion from Belarus, was to face China’s Zheng Jie in a later match.

Serbian second seed Djokovic overwhelmed Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva 62, 6-1, 6-2, never facing a break point and winning 90 percent of his firstserve points to reach the third round in 99 minutes.

“It was very windy so it was very important to stay focused, but I played great,” Djokovic said. “Even if the scoreline doesn’t indicate it, it was a tough match.”

Next for Djokovic will be France’s 31st-seeded Julien Benneteau, who ousted Russian-born US teen Dennis Novikov, the lowest-ranked player ever in the second round of a Grand Slam event at 1,098th, by 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/1),

7-5. “It’s important to get a day’s rest and work on some things in my game and get ready for the next challenge,” Djokovic said. Robson ousted 2011 French Open winner Li 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 62 for her first career triumph over a top-10 foe, booking a fourth-round showdown against Australian seventh seed Stosur. “That’s going to be really tough,” Robson said. “I’m going to work hard and just do the best I can.”

Robson, an 18-year-old left-hander who was born in Australia but moved to Britain at age six, ended the career of three -time US Open champion Clijsters with a second-round triumph.

Robson, the youngest player in the world top 100 at 89th, became the first British woman in the fourth round of a Grand Slam since Sam Smith at Wimbledon in 1998 and the first in the Open’s last 16 since Jo Durie in 1991. Li did not reach the last eight at any Grand Slam tournament for the first season since 2008. Stosur, who has not won a title since lifting the US Open trophy last year, took a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 victor y over US 31st seed Var vara Lepchenko and looked forward to the challenge Robson presents.

“She’s already had two very good wins and she’s full of confidence,” Stosur said. “I’m going to have to be ready to play my best game. She’s got nothing to lose.”

Sharapova, the 2006 US Open champion who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the French Open title in June, eliminated 252nd-ranked US collegian Mallory Burdette 6-1, 6-1.

“I’m really happy to go one round further than last year,” the Russian said.

Next up for Sharapova is a fourthround meeting with 19th-seeded comnpatriot Nadia Petrova.

Del Potro, the 2009 US Open winner, took a 6-2, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory over American Ryan Harrison and will play for a place in the last 16 against compatriot Leonardo Mayer.

Hewitt, the 2001 US Open winner, outlasted Luxenbourg’s Gilles Muller 36, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-4. Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer, a 2007 US Open semi-finalist in his best Grand Slam run, moved into the third round by ousting Dutch qualifier Igor Sijsling 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (14/12).

Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova ousted Pauline Parmentier 6-4, 6-4 to reach a round-of-16 match against her third consecutive French foe, 11th seed Marion Bartoli, who downed compatriot Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-4.—AFP

EAST LANSING: Le’Veon Bell spent the last couple seasons splitting carries in the Michigan State backfield. Now he’s unquestionably the team’s top running threat - and, boy, has that changed his workload. Bell ran for a career-high 210 yards on 44 carries Friday night, helping No. 13 Michigan State outlast No. 24 Boise State 17-13. The junior’s second touchdown of the night - a 5-yard run with 8:12 remaining - helped the Spartans avoid an upset on a night Bell outgained the Broncos all by himself. “The offensive line in the huddle, they were ready to run the ball,” Bell said. “That is something the linemen love doing, that’s something I love doing, of course. We just want to get over the hump and keep moving forward.”

After Bell’s touchdown put the Spartans ahead, the Broncos drove to the Michigan State 42, but Joe Southwick’s pass on fourth-and-2 was broken up. The Spartans (1-0) then ran off the final 6:32.

Boise State (0-1) was sluggish in its first game after losing standouts Kellen Moore and Doug Martin from last season’s explosive offense. The Broncos’ only touchdown came on Jeremy Ioane’s 43-yard interception return in the second quarter.

“We wanted to come out and play fast and physical and I think we did that,” Michigan State linebacker Max Bullough said. “I think that it was a good game to start with and I think we proved ourselves.”

Bell became Michigan State’s undisputed top running back when Edwin Baker left to enter the NFL draft after last season. His 44 carries Friday more than doubled his previous career high of 20, and he also set career marks with six receptions for 55 yards. “A number of times he made something out of nothing,” Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said. “You can’t underestimate - 44 touches, and not fumbling the ball, and not coming close to fumbling it. He had some huge plays out there.”

The Spartans outgained Boise State 461 yards to 206 but turned the ball over four times. The Broncos had won six straight against BCS-conference teams. “We’ve got to do better in the red zone and we’ve got to be able to run the ball better,” Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. “If we do those two things, we’ll be OK on offense.”

Michigan State leaned on Bell, especially after new starting quarterback Andrew Maxwell threw three first-half interceptions. Maxwell finished 22 of 38 for 248 yards. Southwick, replacing Moore at quarterback, went 15 of 31 for 169 yards with an interception.

Bell started Michigan State’s go-ahead drive with a 7-yard run and later caught a pass for 11 yards. He even blocked a pass rusher to allow Maxwell to find Dion Sims for an 18-yard pass on third down that put the ball at the Boise State 7.

Two plays later, the Spartans had the lead. On fourth-and-2 in Michigan State territory, Boise State’s D.J. Harper appeared to have an easy first

EAST LANSING: Michigan State’s Keith Mumphery makes a reception under pressure from Boise State’s Bryan Douglas during an NCAA college football game.—AP down on a pitchout, but officials blew the play dead for a Michigan State timeout. Southwick then attempted a pass that was defended well by Darqueze Dennard. Boise State looked overmatched at the start. After a quick three-and-out, the Broncos punted and let Michigan State drive 60 yards in 12 plays for a 7-0 lead on Bell’s 1-yard touchdown run.

The Spartans never really took control, though.

Maxwell completed his first four passes, but his slant attempt was dropped by Tony Lippett right into the arms of Boise State’s Jamar Taylor. The interception led to a field goal, which the Spartans answered when Dan Conroy made a 50-yarder to give Michigan State a 10-3 lead.

In the second quarter, the Broncos went to a couple of their tricks - a flea-flicker for 23 yards and

then a wide receiver pass that fell incomplete. They drove to the Michigan State 9-yard line, but Southwick’s third-down pass was deflected by Isaiah Lewis and intercepted by fellow defensive back RJ Williamson, who was on his back in the end zone. The Spartans quickly returned the favor when Maxwell’s screen pass bounced off intended receiver Larry Caper right to Ioane, who returned the interception for a touchdown.

Boise State took the lead on Michael Frisina’s 19yard field goal, and the teams traded two more turnovers in the last two minutes of the half - a muffed lateral by the Broncos and another interception by Maxwell deep in Boise State territory.

In the third quarter, the Spartans missed a field goal, lost a fumble and lost 10 yards on a failed reverse on the last play of the period.—AP

Battistone has twice the fun with 2-handled racket NEW YORK: Looking for more imagination from players who hit the same old serves with the same old rackets? Brian Battistone can handle that.

Armed with a two-handled racket that resembles a pair of hedge clippers and a jump serve that could do some damage on a volleyball court, Battistone headed to the U.S. Open to play mixed doubles this week. Never mind that he and partner Nicole Melichar lost Friday to Nuria Llagostera Vives and David Marrero of Spain in the first round. It was Battistone who had ‘em buzzing in the stands around Court 14 - a nonconformist with a strange

racket and a strange serve, sporting the most unorthodox look going at Flushing Meadows.

“People say it looks like hedge clippers, a divining rod - ‘Are you trying to find water with that thing?’” Battistone said. “They say it looks like jumper cables on a tennis racket.” Melichar calls it “The Alien.”

Battistone has heard it all.

“I’m the guy everyone knows about, probably kind of laughs about,” said the 33-year-old doubles specialist and tennis teacher from California. But, he claims, he’s simply doing what works.

On a half-decade hiatus after a playing part-time on the futures cir-

NEW YORK: This photo released by the USTA shows Brian Battistone using a two-handled tennis racket during the US Open National Playoffs held earlier this summer.—AP

cuit, Battistone was messing around at some courts by the beach one day six years ago, “tossing the racket back and forth from one hand to another, just hitting two forehands.”

Up walked Lionel Burt, the man who invented the two-handled racket. Figuring two heads are better than one, Burt struck up a conversation with Battistone. Not long after, they came up with a new design and went into business together. Before the racket, Battistone had never risen above 800 in the doubles rankings. After the racket, he got as high as 88th.

Not surprisingly, tennis players aren’t really rushing to pry these sticks off the shelves. But the twohandled models do make Battistone one of the most popular players anytime he walks into a locker room. Rafael Nadal, a true righthander who plays tennis lefty, tried it once before a match two years ago. Liked it. Just not that much.

“Anytime you do something that’s so unbelievably different, you expect a lot of the questions, comments, the snickering and those kind of things,” Battistone said.

After battling their way through the US Tennis Association’s playoff system to earn an unlikely spot in the US Open, Melichar wouldn’t trade Battistone as a doubles partner for anything. His racket?

“Ummmmmm,” she said. “It works for him.”

By switching from one grip to the other, Battistone says he gets full reach on each side and creates better angles on his groundstrokes and volleys.

“It gives me some advantage on different shots,” he said. “The whole premise of it from the inventor’s perspective is, it’s more healthy to use each side of the body equally.”

With Battistone fluidly switching grips, switching hands during his doubles match, it was sometimes hard to tell he’s using a radically different racket.

That crazy jump serve is a different story: Battistone lines up about two feet behind the baseline, jumps and tosses the ball with his right hand, switches the racket over to that hand, then explodes into the ball and lands a couple of feet in the court. “It’s like a spike in volleyball,” he said. “Works for me a lot of the time. But not today.”

Indeed, Marrero is no stranger to the two-headed monster of Battistone and his racket. They’ve played before, and in the 7-6 (3), 6-3 win Friday, Marrero said he wasn’t fazed by all the nonconforming action moving toward him.

“Lots of strange angles,” Marrero said. “You just really have to make sure you stay very focused when his shots are coming at you.” A good strategy no matter who’s on the other side of the net. Certainly, Battistone would second that.—AP

18

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

sp orts

Family affair as Storeys take gold LONDON: Britain’s Sarah Storey yesterday clinched the women’s C4/5 500m time-trial for her second gold of the Paralympics and the ninth of her Games career, as her husband had a part to play in another victory.

The 33-year-old, who won five swimming gold before switching to cycling, won in a new personal best of 36.997secs, with Jennifer Schuble of the United States in silver and Ruan Jianping of China taking bronze.

Storey’s husband, Barney, 34, had earlier guided Neil Fachie to gold in the men’s blind and visually impaired 1km time-trial in a new world record time of 1min 01.351secs.

Spain’s Jose Enrique Por to and Jose Antonio Villanueva took silver while Rinne Oost and Patrick Bos, of the Netherlands, won bronze.

Sarah Storey described the win as “just incredible”, as she now switches to the road races in a bid to equal wheelchair racer Tanni Grey-Thompson’s British women’s record of 11 Paralympic golds. And she said of her husband: “It’s amazing. I’m so proud of him and all he has achieved.”

In the mens’ C4 individual pursuit over 4km, Carol-Eduard Novak of Romania, a silver medallist in Beijing, clocked 4min 42.000secs to take gold from the Czech Republic’s defending champion Jiri Jezek, while Britain’s Jody Cundy took bronze.

Cundy’s medal came a day after he reacted angrily to being disqualified in his favoured event the C4 1km individual pursuit, at which he had been unbeaten since 2006.

But he said the experience-and the 6,000strong crowd-had spurred him on as he took the race from Colombia’s Diego German Duenas Gomez.

“I think if it had been one more lap I might have been struggling, I was pretty much on

my last legs when I got near his rear wheel,” the British rider said.

“But with that crowd cheering me on that last lap, it was one of the most painful I’ve done, but one of the easiest I’ve done as well.”

wanted to come here and ride at my best.

“We went out on the same schedule as we looked to do in qualifying, but the Brit came out a bit harder and put pressure on us. “It was great fun.

The crowd was cheering really well and

Russia thump Argentina in Games football opener

LONDON: Britain’s Hannah Cockroft races to win the women’s 100m T34 final race, at the 2012 Paralympics. —AP In the men’s C5 equivalent, Michael Gallagher gave Australia another medal, beating Britain’s Jon-Allan Butterworth into silver, with Lui Xinyang taking bronze.

British-born Gallagher, 33, said of his win: “It’s been four years in the making; I wasn’t quite happy with how I rode in Beijing. I

created a great atmosphere, so I didn’t take it that they were cheering him on, they were cheering us both racing each other.”

China also got another cycling gold in the shape of He Yin, who took the women’s C1-23 500m time-trial from Dutch rider Alyda Norbruis and Australia’s Jayme Paris. —AFP

Classification reprieve for US swim star LONDON: US swim star Victoria Arlen has been given a reprieve amid question marks over her classification, freeing her up to race in the S6 400m final yesterday without fear of being stripped of a medal.

The 17-year-old is the current world record holder in the women’s S6 100m and 400m freestyle but was declared “non-eligible” earlier this week “because certain information was not provided” when her classification was assessed.

She was later re-instated on appeal and on Saturday morning was second-fastest in qualifying for the 400m final behind Britain’s defending champion Ellie Simmonds, who also won the 100m in Beijing. Concerns had been raised that Arlen could be stripped of the gold medal if she were to win because of doubts about her eligibility to swim in the S6 category.

But the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said in a statement that she will “continue to compete

in the S6 class, with a review date set for August 2013”.

“Due to the different technicality of stroke required in breaststroke a similar observation in competition will take place in her first SB race,” it added. Athletes in Paralympic

swimming compete according to the nature and level of their impairments. Categories one to 10 are allocated to swimmers with a physical disability. The lower the number, the more severe the impairment. The letter indicates the

LONDON: Ellie Simmonds of Britain reacts after her swim in the women’s 400 meter freestyle S6 race at the 2012 Paralympics Games. —AP

stroke. Arlen was diagnosed with the neurological disorder postinfectious transverse myelitis, which affects the spinal cord, at the age of 12 and was in a vegetative state for two years. Simmonds, 17, was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. Arlen said after her heat that she had tried not to let the controversy affect her and described the situation as “a rollercoaster” but was matter-of-fact about the situation.

“It comes with the sport, I’m just happy to swim and represent my country,” she added. Simmonds, who won double gold in Beijing at the age of just 13, swam a new Paralympic best of 5mins 24.64 secs, just 0.18secs outside Arlen’s world record. Another US swimmer facing classification difficulties was Mallory Weggemann, who saw herself moved up a category as she prepared to swim seven events at the Games. — AFP

US serviceman blinded in Afghanistan clinches gold LONDON: US swimmer Bradley Snyder on Friday won gold in the men’s S11 100m freestyle at the London Paralympics-a year after losing his sight when an improvised explosive device exploded in his face in Afghanistan.

The 28-year-old former US Navy lieutenant won the race in 57.43secs, with clear water between him and second-placed finisher Yang Bozun of China and Hendri Herbst Hendri of South Africa in third.

Snyder was on a tour of duty as a bomb disposal specialist when on September 7 last year a home-made bomb detonated and blinded him.

The bloody legacy of nearly a decade of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years have led to a number of wounded former service personnel taking up para-sport.

In the US team, more than 20 of the 227 athletes are veterans, while Britain’s team includes Jon-Allen Butterworth, a former Royal Air Force weapons technician who lost an arm in a rocket attack in Basra, southern Iraq, in 2007.

Butterworth, 26, on Friday won silver in the C4/5 1km time-trial. British former soldier Derek Derenalagi, who lost his legs when the army Land Rover he was travelling in hit a landmine in Afghanistan in the same year, meanwhile, competes in the men’s F57 discus final.

Medics officially pronounced the Fiji-born squaddie dead and placed him in a body bag until a faint pulse was found and he was airlifted to Britain, where he battled back to health helped by a British military rehabilitation programme.

Top US military officer General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, is head of President Barack Obama’s delegation to the Games in the British capital.

Through programmes like the US Wounded Warrior Project and Britain’s Battle Back, there are increasing signs of the role sport can play to help injured veterans. “(Sport) is such a great tool so that people

can get back in the swing of life, feel useful, feel productive and continue building on that team spirit that they learn in the military,” said Obama’s disability policy advisor Kareem Dale.

“It’s just a great way for people to rehab and to get back into the swing of life,” he added in a recent US Department of Defence statement.

Sneyder won all five events at the US Paralympic swimming trials and set a new world best for visually impaired athletes in the 100m and 400m freestyle, prompting high praise from US Defence Secretar y Leon Panetta. The swimmer, who has entered seven races at the Games, said that competing had given him back his self-confidence and after the race said he was proud to represent his injured comrades.

“It’s really an honour, it’s really a privilege.

The motto here is ‘inspire a generation’. I suppose my generation is the wounded warriors,” he told reporters.

“It wasn’t that long ago I was laying in the hospital bed. I know what they’re going through. I know it’s a tough blow, to have something removed from you, some kind of capability diminishment, and also to be taken out of the fight.

“Hopefully, my presence here, representing the flag in a different manner, can provide some inspiration to those guys so they can get out.

“It doesn’t have to be sport but just get out of bed, get back into life and get through the barriers that have been presented to them.” —AFP

LONDON: Cheng Haizhen (centre) of China battles for the ball with Maite Mathias (left) and teammate Blandine Belz of France during their women’s basketball group B preliminary round match at the 2012 Paralympics Games. —AP

LONDON: Russia yesterday thumped Argentina 8-0 as the seven-a-side football competition got under way at the London Paralympics and they looked to upgrade their silver from four years ago to gold.

Aleksandr Kuligin, Lasha Murvanadze and Andrei Kuvaev scored two goals apiece, while Eduard Romanov and Viacheslav Larionov also netted, as Avtandil Baramidze’s side staked their claim to challenge defending champions Ukraine.

The scoreline could have been wider if it were not for the efforts of Argentina goalkeeper Gustavo Nahuelquin.

Baramidze paid tribute to the South Americans, saying they were a “very good team” but “a little bit confused in the second half ” and were unable to cope with Russia’s organisation, technique and tactics.

Russia tomorrow meet the Netherlands in their second match, with the Dutch out to bounce back from a 4-1 reverse to Beijing bronze medallists Iran.

But Kuligin refused to say whether they were favorites to win gold, after Iran team coach Masoud Ammari tipped a

repeat of the 2008 final, which saw Ukraine triumph 2-1.

“I can’t say whether we will win the gold medal but I can promise that every game we will perform to the best of our ability and we will feel comfortable at every game,” the Russian. Our strong point is attack and that is what we will do,” the 21-year-old forward said.

Seven-a-side football is for players with cerebral palsy and is similar to the able-bodied game, although the playing surface is smaller, there are no offsides and players can take throw-ins with one hand. In Saturday ’s other matches, Ukraine take on the United States while Britain play Brazil. The host nation’s team features Martin Sinclair, whose brother, Scott, on Friday made a £6 million move to English Premier League champions Manchester City from Swansea City.

Scott Sinclair also played for the Great Britain team in the Olympics. Everton captain Phil Neville on Friday sent a good luck message to the squad, with team member Michael Barker a former youth player at Goodison Park who was in the same age category as former Toffees striker Wayne Rooney. —AFP

LONDON: Germany’s Markus Rehm lands in the sandpit as he makes a world record jump of 7.14 meters in the men’s long jump F42/44 final during the athletics competition at the 2012 Paralympics. —AP

‘Blade Runner’ begins gold quest LONDON: “Blade Runner ” Oscar Pistorius begins his quest late yesterday to retain his three Paralympic sprint titles but he could be eclipsed by a lightning-quick Irishman, as a controversial showdown beckoned in the pool.

The South African sprinter, who earned his nickname as he competes on carbon fibre prosthetics, lines up in the heats for the T44 200m in London, just weeks after becoming the first double-amputee to compete in the Olympics. But while the 25-year-old has become a household name across the world, another defending Paralympic champion has staked his claim to be king of the track-and the new face of the competition. Jason Smyth, of Ireland, blitzed the field in the T13 100m heat late on Friday, lowering the world record to 10.54secs and securing a place in the final on Saturday night, just before Pistorius begins his campaign.

Smyth, who is visually impaired and like Pistorius also runs in non-disabled races, trains in Florida with US sprint star Tyson Gay, who is the secondfastest man in history over the 100m behind Jamaica’s Usain Bolt.

“I’ve been based out there for the last three years so (I’m) pretty much doing exactly what those boys are doing, I’m part of the group,” he told reporters. “I’ve come along a way, I’ve learned a lot and I’ve got quicker and quicker, so just to be in that environment with the second quickest man ever is great.”

Smyth has run 10.22secs — 0.27secs quicker that the non-disabled women’s 100m record set by Florence

Griffith-Joyner in 1988 — but his time was not recognised as it was not in an International Paralympic Committeesanctioned event.

Meanwhile in the pool, US swim team poster girl Victoria Arlen, who holds the women’s S6 100m and 400m freestyle world record, eased through her heat in the longer race to face Britain’s defending Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds.

But a decision was still pending on whether she was in the correct category, raising fears that she could be stripped of gold if she were to win.

Arlen, 17, said she had tried not to let the controversy affect her and described the situation as “a rollercoaster”. “But I have an incredible team USA that’s been supporting me. It comes with the sport, I’m just happy to swim and represent my country,” she added.

In the morning session of athletics at a packed Olympic Stadium, double amputee Richard Whitehead, of Britain, took gold in the men’s T42 200m in a new world record of 24.38secs. Cuba took the gold and silver in the men’s F13 long jump, with Luis Felipe Gutierrez setting a new Paralympic record of 7.54m to win, while Angel Jimenez Cabeza jumping into second place with 7.14m.

Marouna Ibrahmi, of Tunisia, set a new world record in the women’s F31/32/51 club throw. There were more world bests in the Velodrome, as Britain’s Neil Fachie and guide rider Barney Storey-husband of multiple Paralympic gold medallist Sarah-took the individual 1km time-trial for blind and visually-impaired riders. — AFP

19

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

SPORTS

Fletcher double ends Swansea’s perfect start

Soccer results/standings Manchester City 3 (Y.Toure 16, Dzeko 61, Tevez 90) QPR 1 (Zamora 59); Swansea 2 (Routledge 45, Michu 66) Sunderland 2 (Fletcher 40, 45); Tottenham 1 (Dembele 68) Norwich 1 (Snodgrass 85); West Brom 2 (Long 65, McAuley 82) Everton 0; West Ham 3 (Nolan 1, Reid 29, Taylor 41) Fulham 0; Wigan 2 (Maloney 5-pen, Di Santo 49) Stoke 2 (Walters 40-pen, Crouch 76).

Playing today Liverpool v Arsenal, Newcastle v Aston Villa, Southampton v Manchester United.

English Football League results Championship Barnsley 1 Bristol City 0; Birmingham 1 Peterborough 0; Burnley 1 Brighton 3; Crystal Palace 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1; Derby 5 Watford 1; Hull 3 Bolton 1; Ipswich 2 Huddersfield 2; Leeds 3 Blackburn 3; Leicester 1 Blackpool 0; Millwall 3 Middlesbrough 1; Nottingham Forest 2 Charlton 1.

Playing today Cardiff v Wolves Division One Bury 0 Notts County 2; Crawley 1 Leyton Orient 0; Crewe 1 Coventry 0; Hartlepool 2 Scunthorpe 0; Milton Keynes Dons 2 Carlisle 0; Portsmouth 0 Oldham 1; Sheffield Utd 5 Bournemouth 3; Stevenage 1 Shrewsbury 1; Tranmere 4 Colchester 0; Walsall 2 Brentford 2; Yeovil 2 Doncaster 1.

2; Bristol Rovers 0 Morecambe 3; Cheltenham 0 Accrington 3; Exeter 3 Burton 0; Fleetwood 4 Aldershot 1; Gillingham 1 Chesterfield 1; Plymouth 3 Northampton 2; Port Vale 1 Torquay 1; Rochdale 2 Barnet 0; Rotherham 4 Bradford 0; Southend 1 Wycombe 0; York 3 Oxford 1.

Swansea 2

Spanish league results Celta Vigo 2 (Aspas 69, Bermejo 90+4) Osasuna 0; Real Zaragoza 0 Malaga 1 (Camacho 56).

Playing later Deportivo La Coruna v Getafe; Real Mallorca v Real Sociedad.

Playing today Rayo Vallecano v Sevilla; Athletic Bilbao v Valladolid; Levante v Espanyol; Real Madrid v Granada; Barcelona v Valencia.

Playing tomorrow Real Betis v Atletico Madrid

Sunderland 2

SWANSEA: Swansea’s perfect start to this Premier League season ended yesterday as Steven Fletcher’s first two goals for Sunderland saw the visitors to a 2-2 draw at the Liberty Stadium.

Scotland striker Fletcher, a £12

million signing from Wolves, scored twice in the first half, either side of Wayne Routledge’s goal for Swansea-who would have gone top of the table if they had won.

Michu scored his fourth goal in three games for the hosts to level the match at 2-2. But the Swans then lost defender Chico Flores to a red card for a wild challenge having, before a goal was scored, seen Neil Taylor carried off on a stretcher after his leg buckled awkwardly after a challenge with Craig Gardner. Great Britain left-back Taylor required prolonged treatment and was given oxygen as he

received attention for an ankle injury.

Swansea capitalised on defensive errors in wins over QPR and West Ham, but a mistake of their own five minutes before the break saw Sunderland take the lead.

Ashley Williams stubbed his back pass into the ground and Fletcher ran in on goal to shoot low beyond Michel Vorm.

Swansea levelled as six minutes of stoppage time began. The inform duo of Nathan Dyer and Routledge, linked again as the former’s scooped pass allowed the latter to score with a volley.

German Bundesliga results Schalke 04 3 (Papadopoulos 33, Jones 46, Huntelaar 72) FC Augsburg 1 (Oehrl 79); Bayer Leverkusen 2 (Castro 8, Wollscheid 55) Freiburg 0; Werder Bremen 2 (Hunt 51, Petersen 67) Hamburg 0; Nuremberg 1 (Pekhart 31) Borussia Dortmund 1 (Blaszczykowski 40); Hoffenheim 0 Eintracht Frankfurt 4 (Meier 39, 83-pen, Schwegler 43, Lanig 90); Fortuna Dusseldorf 0 M’gladbach 0

Playing today Preston v Swindon

Playing today VfL Wolfsburg v Hanover; Bayern Munich v VfB Stuttgart

Division Two AFC Wimbledon 2 Dagenham and Redbridge

Played Friday Mainz 05 0 Furth 1 (Klaus 67)

Baggies end Everton’s unbeaten run

English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Chelsea Swansea West Brom Man City Everton West Ham Wigan Fulham Man Utd Stoke Newcastle Sunderland Arsenal Tottenham Norwich Reading Liverpool QPR Southampton Aston Villa

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 2

3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0

0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 2

8 10 6 8 4 4 4 7 3 3 2 2 0 3 2 3 2 2 2 1

2 2 1 5 3 3 4 6 3 3 3 2 0 4 7 5 5 9 5 4

9 7 7 7 6 6 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0

English Football League tables Championship Blackpool 4 3 0 1 Blackburn 4 2 2 0 Nottingham 4 2 2 0 Brighton 4 2 1 1 Hull 4 2 1 1 Sheffield 4 2 1 1 Leeds 4 2 1 1 Bristol 4 2 0 2 Leicester 4 2 0 2 Millwall 4 2 0 2 M’brough 4 2 0 2 Watford 4 2 0 2 Barnsley 4 2 0 2 Derby 4 1 2 1 Huddersfield 4 1 2 1 Charlton 4 1 2 1 Ipswich 4 1 2 1 Wolves 3 1 1 1 Cardiff 3 1 1 1 Bolton 4 1 1 2 Birmingham 4 1 1 2 Burnley 4 1 0 3 Crystal 4 1 0 3 Peterborough 4 0 0 4

10 7 6 8 4 9 7 8 5 7 6 6 4 8 5 4 4 4 3 5 4 5 6 2

2 5 4 3 2 8 6 5 4 7 7 8 8 6 4 4 9 3 4 7 6 8 10 7

9 8 8 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 0

Division One Tranmere Yeovil Notts County Crawley Town Sheffield Utd Stevenage Swindon Keynes Dons Doncaster Crewe Brentford Shrewsbury Walsall Hartlepool Oldham Carlisle Coventry Bournemouth Colchester Preston Portsmouth Bury Leyton Orient Scunthorpe

4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 4

3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 1 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 2 2 2 1 1 1 3 3 3 2 2 2 0 0

0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 4

11 10 6 5 8 4 4 5 6 5 8 3 4 2 2 5 4 6 3 1 5 3 1 1

2 10 3 10 2 9 3 9 5 8 2 8 0 7 2 7 4 6 8 6 6 5 3 5 6 5 2 4 4 4 8 4 5 3 8 3 7 3 2 2 8 2 6 2 5 0 11 0

Division Two Gillingham Exeter Oxford Utd Accrington Rotherham Morecambe Port Vale Fleetwood York Cheltenham

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2

1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1

0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

7 8 7 6 9 9 7 5 9 5

3 10 4 9 4 9 3 9 3 7 5 7 4 7 2 7 7 7 5 7

Torquay Bradford Northampton Rochdale Plymouth Southend Wimbledon Wycombe Chesterfield Burton Albion Aldershot Dagenham Bristol Rovers Barnet

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4

1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

3 0 2 2 1 1 1 0 3 0 0 2 1 1

0 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 3 3 2 2 3

7 7 7 5 4 4 6 3 3 6 4 3 1 2

5 8 7 5 6 6 13 3 4 9 7 6 6 9

6 6 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 1 1

German League table Eintracht 2 2 Schalke 2 1 D¸sseldorf 2 1 Dortmund 2 1 Borussia 2 1 Nuremberg 2 1 Bayern Munich 1 1 Leverkusen 2 1 Werder Bremen 2 1 Wolfsburg 1 1 Greuther 2 1 Hanover 1 0 Mainz 2 0 Freiburg 2 0 Stuttgart 1 0 Hamburg 2 0 Augsburg 2 0 Hoffenheim 2 0

0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 2 2 2

6 5 2 3 2 2 3 3 3 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 1

1 3 0 2 1 1 0 2 2 0 3 2 2 3 1 3 5 6

6 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur’s Welsh midfielder Gareth Bale (left) vies with Norwich City’s English midfielder Bradley Johnson (right) during the English Premier League football match.—AFP

Villas-Boas waits for first win Tottenham 1

Matches on TV

Norwich 1

(Local Timings)

English Premier League Liverpool v Arsenal 15:30 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 Newcastle v Aston Villa 18:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 6 Southampton v Man United 18:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3

Spanish League Vallecano v Sevilla Aljazeera Sport 2 HD Bilbao v Valladolid Aljazeera Sport +2 Levante v Espanyol Aljazeera Sport +5 Real Madrid v Granada Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport 1 HD Barcelona v Valencia Aljazeera Sport +5 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD

13:00 17:00 19:00 20:50

22:30

Italian League Udinese v Juventus Aljazeera Sport +1 Sampdoria v Siena Aljazeera Sport +10 Inter v AS Roma Aljazeera Sport +1 SS Lazio v Palermo Aljazeera Sport +6 Napoli v Fiorentina Aljazeera Sport +8

19:00 21:45 21:45 21:45 21:45

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur were still waiting for a win under new manager Andre Villas-Boas after Robert Snodgrass netted a late but deserved Norwich equaliser in a 1-1 Premier League draw yesterday.

Mousa Dembele marked his Tottenham debut following his £15 million move from London rivals Fulham, by coming off the bench to delight the home fans with the opening goal at White Hart Lane but the Canaries fought back. But Spurs ended the match down to 10 men after substitute Tom Huddlestone was sent off.

Tottenham had been busy in the run-up to Friday’s transfer deadline, recruiting United States forward Clint Dempsey from Fulham, plus France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris but neither had signed in time to feature. But they were unable to recruit Portugal midfielder Joao Moutinho, and with Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart having departed, Tottenham appear significantly short of sufficient quality for a title challenge.

New Norwich manager Chris Hughton had also began the afternoon in search of a first league win following an opening day defeat and a draw the following week.

Hughton spent 23 years at Tottenham, first as a player and then as a coach, and included Sebastien Bassong, a summer signing from White Hart Lane, in his starting line-up, along with Javier Garrido, a more recent Canaries addition.

Norwich who came close to opening the scoring in the eighth minute when defender Russell Martin saw his header from

Snodgrass’s free-kick tipped on to the bar by goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Friedel showed his quality again with a fine save to keep out Snodgrass’s far post header from Anthony Pilkington’s cross.

There was a scramble for the rebound and Tottenham were relieved when referee Mark Halsey allowed play to continue seconds later after William Gallas appeared to shove Simeon Jackson in the area.

The half-time whistle was greeted by boos from the home fans and it was no surprise that Dembele replaced Sandro for the second half.

Norwich went close again when Snodgrass curled a free-kick just over the bar after William Gallas had fouled Jackson before providing a cross that Grant Holt headed just wide. Totenham’s Gareth Bale was only just off target from distance before Emmanuel Adebayor replaced Gylfi Sigurdsson in the 56th minute.

Bassong fouled Jermain Defoe on the edge of the box but the Spurs striker’s freekick was deflected behind and it wasn’t long before Friedel had to pull off a superb save to deny Pilkington from close range on the right of the box.

Dembele opened the scoring in the 68th minute with a low shot through a forest of legs and beyond the reach of Norwich keeper John Ruddy after the Belgian had shown quick feet and an ability to turn to set himself up on the edge of the area.

Steve Morison, the Norwich substitute, felt he had been fouled in the box by Jan Vertonghen, but a free-kick was given the other way.

But Norwich did not give up and the reward of an equaliser was theirs in the 85th minute when the impressive Snodgrass swivelled to fire past Friedel.

And the away fans had something else to cheer in stoppage time when Huddlestone was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Jonny Howson.—AFP

Dortmund draw, Eintracht rout nine-man Hoffenheim

GERMANY: Duesseldorf’s defender Johannes van den Bergh (left) and Moenchengladbach’s midfielder Tolga Cigerci vie for the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga football match. —AFP

But before the break Sebastian Larsson’s free-kick found Fletcher, who tapped home at the back post to give Sunderland a half-time lead. Michu came close to adding to his tally as his header into the ground from Johnathan de Guzman’s cross bounced up and just over the bar.

But the same duo brought Swansea level in the 66th minute when Michu powered in a header from de Guzman’s cross. Swansea’s comeback was halted when Chico was dismissed for a wild high-footed challenge that grazed substitute Louis Saha’s head.—AFP

NUREMBERG: Champions Borussia Dortmund had to come from behind to draw 1-1 at Nuremberg yesterday, while promoted Eintracht Frankfurt routed nine-man Hoffenheim 4-0 to top the Bundesliga table. With Bayern Munich hosting VfB Stuttgart on Sunday at the Allianz Arena, Dortmund had to settle for a point in Franconia after a lively performance from Nuremberg.

“I had the impression that we had more of the game, especially in the first half, which I liked, but we were missing the final punch,” admitted Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.

“We didn’t play enough in the last third and when we did, we were too hurried. “I wasn’t happy with the referee, it’s not easy when everything is whistled away,” he added.

Dortmund fell behind when the home side’s Czech Republic striker Tomas

Pekhart rose highest at the far post and headed past goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller on 31 minutes.

The champions responded nine minutes later with the equaliser when Ivan Perisic’s shot clipped the crossbar and Poland captain Jakub Blaszczykowskiknown as Kuba for short-fired home.

Dortmund defender Mats Hummels had a chance cleared off the line in the second half, but having won the Bundesliga title for the last two seasons, the champions do not look as smooth in attack as they have over the past two years.

Elswhere, newly-promoted Frankfurt backed up last Saturday’s 2-1 win at home to Bayer Leverkusen with a 4-0 hammering of Hoffenheim, as the hosts finished with nine men.

“I would be disappointed if we aren’t German champions now,” Frankfurt coach

Armin Veh-who led Stuttgart to the title in 2007 — quipped with his side top of the league after two matches.

Midfielder Alexander Meier scored Frankfurt’s opening goal at the RheinNeckar Arena before Pirmin Schwegler added a second just before the interval.

Hoffenheim had midfielder Sejad Salihovic sent off on 70 minutes for two quick bookings, and Philippines defender Stephan Schroeck followed after he was shown his second yellow card three minutes later.

The hosts’ misery was compounded when Meier netted his second with a late penalty before Martin Lanig headed the fourth at the death.

Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, who has rejoined Hamburg from Tottenham Hotspur, could only watch as his new teammates 2-0 at Werder Bremen in the north German derby.—AFP

BIRMINGHAM: West Bromwich Albion continWest Brom 2 ued their superb start to the season with a 2-0 win over Everton as the Baggies moved into third Everton 0 place in the Premier League yesterday.

Steve Clarke’s side have taken seven points from a possible nine after goals from Shane Long and Gareth McAuley at the Hawthorns ended Everton’s 11-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

Albion had already demolished Liverpool and earned a creditable draw at Tottenham in their first two matches and this was another impressive display.

Long converted a low cross from Nigerian substitute Peter Odemwingie before McAuley headed home from a set-piece to condemn Everton to a first league defeat since March 24 against Swansea.

Everton were left to regret two missed opportunities by Marouane Fellaini at the start of the second half, but David Moyes’ men could have no complaints about the result.

The Toffees suffered a setback when injured midfielder Darron Gibson had to be replaced by right-back Tony Hibbert in the first half.

Albion came close to taking the lead after 29 minutes when Liam Ridgewell’s cross which was met by Irish striker Long and his header thumped against the crossbar.

Clarke’s team threatened again just before half-time when James Morrison forced a fine stop from Tim Howard.

Fellaini had Everton’s first good chance after 55 minutes when the Belgian midfielder turned sharply to create the opening but dragged his shot wide.

He spurned an even better opportunity five minutes later when he side-footed over from 10 yards after racing onto a low cross from substitute Kevin Mirallas.

It proved a costly miss as Long broke the deadlock after 65 minutes. Ridgewell found Odemwingie in space on the left flank and his low cross picked out Long who got in front of Sylvain Distin to steer the ball past Howard. And, with eight minutes remaining, McAuley sealed the win with a glancing header from Chris Brunt’s corner.—AFP

Camacho heads Malaga to victory MADRID: An Ignacio Camacho header was enough to give Malaga a 1-0 victory over Zaragoza yesterday and maintain the southern club’s unbeaten start to the season.

Camacho stooped to knock the ball in at the near post from a corner 11 minutes after half time as Malaga move on to seven points at the end of a week in which they qualified for the Champions League group stage for the first time in their history.

It has been an unsettling summer for Malaga following owner Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani’s decision to listen to offers for the club and the departure of several star names including Santi Cazorla, who joined Arsenal.

But the team has rallied and the financial reward for qualifying for the next round of the Champions League has allowed the club to reinforce with Javier Saviola and Roque Santa Cruz among the players arriving this week.

Zaragoza started the stronger at La Romareda and Romaric had a shot from distance well saved by ‘keeper Willy Caballero before the Ivorian midfielder missed a glorious chance, with the goal gaping, midway through the half. With Eliseu looking dangerous down the left wing, Malaga grew into the contest and took the lead after 56 minutes when Camacho pounced following some slack defending.

Earlier, newly-promoted Celta Vigo picked up their first points of the season with a 2-0 win over ten-man Osasuna in Galicia. Augusto Fernandez crossed for Iago Aspas to head the hosts in front after 68 minutes before Mario Bermejo sealed the win in injury time after Osasuna had been reduced to 10 men following the sending-off of defender Alejandro Arribas.

Today, Real Madrid return to league action against Granada at the Santiago Bernabeu following their domestic Super Cup victory over Barcelona needing to up their level after picking up just one point from two matches.

It means they are already five points behind Barcelona, with the Catalans out to maintain their perfect record when they entertain Valencia.—AFP

CORUNA: Deportivo Coruna’s defender Aythami Artiles (left) vies for the ball with Getafe’s forward Adrian Colunga (right) during their Spanish first league football match.—AFP

Villas-Boas waits for first win

Kohli leads India’s fightback

19

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

City main mover on Europe’s transfer deadline day

Page 17

LONDON: Queens Park Rangers’ Spanish midfielder Esteban Granero (left) vies with Manchester City’s Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure (right) during the English Premier League football match. —AFP

City unbeaten after win over QPR Man City 3

QPR 1

MANCHESTER: Reigning champions Manchester City helped Italian manager Roberto Mancini enjoy his 100th Premier League match in charge with a 31 win at home to Queens Park Rangers yesterday.

Goals from Yaya Toure, Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez at Eastlands continued City’s unbeaten start to their title defence.

With Jose Mourinho, manager of City’s

Champions League opponents Real Madrid, watching from the stands, the hosts did concede an equaliser to Bobby Zamora in the second half, rekindling memories of the last time the clubs faced each other.

Four months on from that last extraordinary meeting between the sides, in which City’s 3-2 victory on the concluding day of last season brought them their first English title in 44 years, Mancini’s men took the lead after 15 minutes.

Following a prolonged spell of City pressure, David Silva’s right-wing corner was met at the far post by Tevez whose first-time volley rebounded against Zamora with the unmarked Yaya Toure handily-place to slot the ball in from 10 yards out.

It was an impressive opening from a City side which did not include any of their five transfer

deadline day signings -0 Javi Garcia, Matija Nastasic, Maicon, Scott Sinclair and Richard Wrightin their starting line-up. Indeed, City were so dominant QPR’s only relief came when another of the home team’s recent signings, midfielder Jack Rodwell hit a ridiculous back-pass which almost bounced into his own goal from half-way.

Robert Green subsequently saved well from Silva and the Spanish international forward should have done better when he took Aleksandar Kolarov’s superb cross-field pass in his stride but waited to shoot and saw his effort charged down

by Fabio da Silva.

The second half opened with Dzeko releasing Tevez who advanced and had a strong shot stopped by the chest of goalkeeper Green at QPR’s near post and the relentless waves of Blue pressure

continued as Silva cleverly played in over-lapping full-back Pablo Zabaleta whose well-directed shot struck the underside of the crossbar.

City’s defensive frailties have been exposed already this season, in conceding four goals in their opening two matches.

So while it was against the run of play, Rangers’ equaliser after 58 minutes was not quite as unpredictable a goal as it should have been.

Andrew Johnson dispossessed Silva in midfield and sprinted into the City area where his fierce shot was kept out by the acrobatic dive of Joe Hart, Zamora reacting quickly to stoop and head the rebound into the home goal.

Still, given the manner of City’s victory in last season’s corresponding fixture, the fact it took Mancini’s team just three minutes to regain the

Wigan, Stoke share spoils

Hammers nail Fulham West Ham 3

Fulham 0

LONDON: Andy Carroll made an immediate impact at West Ham as the Liverpool reject inspired his new club to a 3-0 win over Fulham at Upton Park yesterday, but the England striker’s debut was marred by a hamstring injury.

Carroll was making his first West Ham appearance after being shoved out on loan for the season by Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, who doesn’t believe the burly targetman is a good fit for his smooth passing style.

The 23-year-old took less than 60 seconds to show why his aerial power makes him such a threat with a crucial flick in the build-up to Kevin Nolan’s opener and, after Winston Reid increased West Ham’s lead, he caused panic in the Fulham defence before Matt Taylor’s goal.

Carroll’s premature exit from Anfield, just 18 months after Liverpool paid a club record £35 million to sign him from Newcastle, doesn’t seem to have damaged his morale judging by this influential display and Hammers boss Sam Allardyce will hope the tight hamstring that forced his

new signing off after 68 minutes isn’t serious.

England boss Roy Hodgson will also be concerned about Carroll’s fitness ahead of the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine.

While Allardyce had thrown his new signing straight into the starting line-up, Fulham manager Martin Jol waited until half-time to bring on his high-profile new recruit and by then it was too late for Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, signed from Manchester United on Friday, to have any significant impact on the result.

It was a dream debut for Carroll, who showcased his strength in the air in the first minute as he rose to direct a header towards Ricardo Vaz Te. When Vaz Te moved the ball onto Nolan, the midfielder’s strike gave Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer no chance.

Fulham, who included debutant Kieran Richardson on the left of midfield after his move from Sunderland, never recovered from that setback and New Zealand defender Reid doubled West Ham’s lead with a powerful header from Taylor’s corner in the 29th minute.

Carroll made his presence felt again four minutes before half-time when three Fulham defenders were drawn towards the striker at a set-piece. Carroll didn’t make contact with the ball, but Fulham couldn’t clear either and Taylor took advantage as he drilled his shot past Schwarzer.—AFP

lead was no surprise.

Kolarov found the space, and Tevez, in the QPR area, with the forward skilfully taking the ball to the byline where his cross was headed in emphatically

by Dzeko.

There was still plenty of City possession before the final whistle, and some anxious moments for home supporters too.

QPR defender Ryan Nelsen twice came close from set-pieces, his bicycle kick flying beyond the far post and then the New Zealand international slid in and almost converted Esteban Granero’s free-kick.

But Argentina striker Tevez completed the scoring in the 93rd minute when he deflected Dzeko’s wayward strike past the wrong-footed Green.—AFP

Wigan 2

Stoke 2

LONDON: West Ham United’s English midfielder Matthew Taylor celebrates scoring his goal during the English Premier League football match against Fulham.—AFP

WIGAN: Wigan Athletic and Stoke City played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the sun at the DW Stadium yesterday as the visitors twice came from behind to earn a point.

The first half was a tale of two penalties, with Shaun Maloney giving the hosts the lead before Jonathan Walters hauled Stoke level from the spot at the other end.

Franco Di Santo and Peter Crouch then exchanged blows in the second period, with Wigan moving on to four points after three games and Stoke settling for their third draw in as many Premier League games. Wigan’s afternoon got off to a dream start when they were awarded a penalty inside five minutes following a handball by Stoke’s German defender Robert Huth, with Maloney sending goalkeeper Asmir Begovic the wrong way from 12 yards.

Stoke saw very litte of the ball in the opening half hour and manager

Tony Pulis moved to change things by sending on deadline-day signing Charlie Adam in place of Andy Wilkinson after 35 minutes.

The Scotland midfielder, brought in after a difficult 12 months at Liverpool, had an immediate impact as his curling free-kick caused consternation in the home defence.

And Stoke then won a penalty of their own six minutes before the break after referee Martin Atkinson spotted a handball by Wigan’s Honduran defender Maynor Figueroa.

Walters netted despite Ali Al Habsi diving the right way, but Wigan retook the lead four minutes into the second half when Di Santo produced an excellent first-time finish after persistent build-up play by strike partner Arouna Kone.

It was Di Santo’s second goal in as many games after he found the net in last Saturday’s 2-0 win at Southampton. But Stoke fought back again, with Crouch heading in a Walters cross to equalise on 76 minutes. And the visitors might even have won it with five minutes left, when Al Habsi produced a brilliant save, while diving the wrong way, to keep out a deflected Adam free-kick.—AFP

Iraq Kurdistan to keep pumping in oil exports Page 22

Crude prices rise as fundamentals tighten Page 23

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

KSE ends week on mixed note Page 24

BMW introduces ConnectedDrive technology Page 25

MADRID: People perform showing a banner reading “they are not financial cuts but executions”, against healthcare austerity measures announced by the Spanish government yesterday. Some 300 people have blocked a ring road in Madrid to protest the introduction of spending cuts that will leave more than 150,000 non-registered immigrants without healthcare in Spain. — AP

Kuwait oil revenues hit KD 11.3bn State’s oil prices are consolidated and have revived KUWAIT: Kuwait is assumed to have achieved actual oil revenues during the first five months in the amount of about KD 11.3 billion, said a repor t by Al-Shall Economic Consultants yesterday. The report said that by the end of August 2012, the fifth month of the current fiscal year 2012/2013 has passed and Kuwaiti oil prices are still consolidated and have revived their rise above the $100 per barrel level due to political risks.

Average Kuwaiti oil price for most of August scored about $108.6 per barrel, with a noticeable rise by $10 over July average ($98.6 per barrel). “As such, the average price of the Kuwaiti barrel of oil for the first five months of the current fiscal year scored about $104.7 per barrel, a $39.7 per barrel increase (61.1 percent)

over the new hypothetical price for the current budget at $65 per barrel,” reads the report.

April’s average price was the highest at $116.9 per barrel, thus August’s average price lower by $8.3 per barrel ($104.5 per barrel average price in August 2011).

Last fiscal year 2011/2012 which ended on 31/03/2012 scored an average price of $109.9 per barrel for the Kuwaiti oil.

“Kuwait is assumed to have achieved actual oil revenues during the first five months in the amount of about KD 11.3 billion (We lowered our expectation calculated based on exporting 2.7 million barrels of crude oil per day, until the issuance of the monthly financial reports of the State from the Ministry of

Finance),” the report added.

Assuming production levels and prices would continue at their present level, an assumption which is unrealistic on the price side, probable oil revenues would score about KD 27.1 billion for the entire current fiscal year, which is KD 14.3 billion above the budget estimate. Adding KD 1.2 billion in non-oil revenues, total budget revenues for the current fiscal year would score about KD 28.3 billion. With an expenditures allocations figure at KD 22.7 billion, the resultant will be a hypothetical surplus by about KD 5.6 billion, however, it will be higher when calculating the estimated budgeted expenses for the entire fiscal year 2012/2013. — KUNA

Murthy: Impossible to sell ‘India story’ NEW DELHI: One of India’s top businessmen has slammed the government over its economic policies, saying it is no longer possible to sell the “India story”.

Companies have long griped about India’s byzantine rules and suffocating bureaucracy, but perceived inconsistency in government policy, stalled economic reforms and a spate of political scandals have soured the investment mood. “The world expected a lot from us,” NR Narayana Murthy, chairman emeritus of Bangalore-based software giant Infosys, said in a

N R Narayana Murthy

televised interview yesterday.

“We have fallen far short of expectations and it’s no longer possible to sell the ‘India story’,” Murthy told ET NOW, referring to investor expectations that Asia’s third-largest economy would be a turbocharged performer. “I meet a lot of chief executives

outside India and earlier India was mentioned once every three times China was mentioned. But now, if China is mentioned 30 times, India is not even mentioned once,” he said.

The attack by Murthy, who founded one of India’s largest software giants, on the Congress government of Premier Manmohan Singh was unusually outspoken for an Indian businessman. “We have cut our own legs off by our inaction, by our policies,” Murthy said. Data Friday showed India’s growth remained stuck at three-year lows of 5.5 percent, a high figure by developed nations’ standards but far below the near double-digit growth of much of the past decade.

Murthy said that controversial anti-tax-avoidance rules proposed earlier this year that included a plan to tax takeovers retroactively had spooked foreign investors. The government is now reviewing the plans. To “change the law on a retrospective basis is actually like taking a pistol and shooting ourselves”, he told India’s NDTV. Overseas-investor confidence has tumbled with foreign direct investment for the quarter to June sliding year-on-year by 67 percent to $4.43 billion.

India’s ability to attract foreign investment is crucial because it urgently needs funds to upgrade dilapidated airports, roads, ports and other infrastructure in order to ease bottlenecks and spur slowing economic growth. A government expert panel proposed yesterday that the government delay implementation of the measures to prevent tax avoidance until 2016, instead of 2013, a suggestion that could cheer investor sentiment. —AFP

JACKSON HOLE: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke walks outside of the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. — AP

Europe must act strongly to tackle crisis, says OECD JACKSON HOLE: Backing bond market intervention by the European Central Bank, the OECD said on Friday that Europe must seize a “window of opportunity” offered by the relative recent calm of financial markets to tackle the simmering euro zone debt crisis. “I think it is now time that the European authorities push strongly toward a solution,” said Pier Carlo Padoan, chief economist of the Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.

The OECD represents a respected outside voice on how best to tackle the 2-year crisis, and his comments come just days before the ECB meets to weigh controversial bond market purchases.

Padoan said the OECD had been braced for a very rocky August for euro-zone financial markets, particularly for Spanish and Italian bonds, but this volatility had not emerged and stock markets were in fact now stronger. “It is time to exploit what seems to be a credit-opening from markets on the European situation, so it is very important that authorities exploit this window of opportunity,” he told Reuters in an interview. Padoan, speaking on the sidelines of the annual Jackson Hole policy retreat hosted by the Kansas City Fed, also made clear his support for bond-market buying by the European Central Bank. With less than a week to go before the ECB could decide to intervene directly to prop up Spanish and Italian bond markets, Padoan said he did not believe the wide bond spreads of weaker southern European nations reflected economic fundamentals, but rather the fear that the euro zone could break up.

“If that is correct, then the response to that spread has to deal with reassuring markets that the euro zone will not break up, in addition to the fact that those countries must continue with their structural adjustments,” he said. “So intervening in bond markets, it is a very important temporary backstop to a wider strategy,” he said. “If the ECB comes up with proposals that provide concrete content to the ideas about support of bond markets, that would be extremely important.”

The ECB meets on Sept 6 to review a plan to buy Italian and Spanish bonds in order to win breathing space for eurozone leaders to figure out a longer-term response to the euro zone’s sovereign debt woes. The plan has met stiff opposition from Germany’s Bundesbank, whose president, Jens Weidmann, was also attending the conference in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Weidmann declined to comment to reporters here about a German press report that he had considered resigning over the issue. — Reuters

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

BUSINESS

Iraq Kurdistan to keep Increase your wealth pumping in oil exports J

BAYT.COM REPORT

ohn Milton is quoted to have said “There is nothing that makes men rich and strong but that which they carry inside of them. True wealth is of the heart, not of the hand.” How do you measure your wealth? Is it what you have or what you are? Your possessions or the value and contentment you derive from them? Is your wealth defined in ledgers or in terms of health, wellness, aptitudes, conscience, satisfaction, freedom or spirit? How wealthy would you still be in your personal definition if you were to suddenly lose a lot of money? The following is a five step program from the career experts at Bayt.com, The Middle East’s leading job site, to help you increase your wealth and wellness and determine your true net worth.

Decision to give Baghdad more time to make payments BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Kurdistan will keep pumping its share of national oil exports until Sept 15, extending a deadline for the central government to make disputed payments to companies working in the autonomous region, Kurdish sources said yesterday.

Kurdistan had warned it would stop oil shipments again at the start of September over the payments, but two Kurdish sources said the region had decided to give Baghdad more time for payment paperwork to be sorted out.

“We decided to extend the deadline for pumping crude to Sept. 15 as a goodwill gesture, and to give Baghdad more time to resolve the payment issue,” one source with Kurdistan’s natural resources ministry told

Reuters. The extension signalled tensions were easing in Baghdad’s long-running feud with Kurdistan over oil rights, territory and power-sharing, a dispute that is testing the country’s uneasy federal union.

In April Kurdistan halted exports, saying Baghdad had not made payments to companies working there, but it restarted shipments on Aug 7 with a warning they could be halted again in a month if there were no payments. Iraq says Kurdistan’s oil shipments have fluctuated around 100,000 to 120,000 barrels per day since they restarted, below the 175,000 bpd that Baghdad says was agreed with Kurdistan.

“We want to send a message to Baghdad that we in Kurdistan are keen to help boost

Iraq’s exports. If the reply on the message was positive, then we will increase export levels from the region,” the source said. Iraq approved a payment of close to $560 million to oil producers operating in the north in return for their investment costs to develop oilfields in the Kurdish region. But officials are still waiting for the go-ahead.

Kurdish authorities say due payments that should be approved by central government could reach $1.5 billion, two Kurdish sources said. Kurdish oil exports make up a fraction of Iraq’s shipments, but the payment dispute feeds into a wider conflict between Iraqi Arabs and Kurds over autonomy, oil and land that risks upsetting Iraq’s fragile sectarian balance. — Reuters

1. Measure your wealth holistically Look at your wealth as a set of both tangibles and intangibles that you are completely in control of. Tangibles may include your net worth as stated on your bank statements and the value of your fixed assets including investments, homes, cars, furniture, art collections, jewelry, antiques etc. To these you can then choose to add a large number of crucial intangibles based on their relative importance and value to you. These can include but are not limited to, health, family, friends, social standing, personal skills and aptitudes, free time, clear conscience, wealth of spirit, creativity, ability to pursue activities or hobbies you love, the freedom to travel, live and work where you choose etc. You will see that the intangibles and tangibles can complement each other but the nonmonetary wealth variables are in and of themselves hugely influential in empowering a truly rich and fulfilling life.

What’s next for markets?

NEW YORK: The dull days are almost over. For the last couple of weeks, markets slipped into a late summer lull, with investors seemingly nodding off in their beach chairs. The only thing to get excited about was a long-awaited speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday.

In his annual talk in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Bernanke signaled that the Fed can provide more support for the plodding U.S. economy but stopped short of laying out any new steps. The talk proved less exciting - or market-moving - than many had hoped. But, get ready, the next two weeks promise to make up for it.

The calendar is brimming with events that could send markets soaring or plunging, depending how they turn out. The European Central Bank is expected detail plans to support the region’s troubled countries at its meeting Thursday. The US employment report for August comes out the next day. “We’ve had a quiet August,” said David Kelly, chief global strategist for J P Morgan Funds. “It’s been really nice. But all hell could break loose next week.”

The following week, Germany’s Constitutional Court will rule on whether it’s legal for the country to participate in a bailout fund, and the Federal Reserve holds its monthly meeting. The Associated Press asked three experts Friday for their views on Bernanke’s speech, the direction of markets in the coming weeks and the perils that may lie ahead Here are excerpts of what they had to say: Bernanke’s speech Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Boston, one of the country ’s

NEW YORK: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. — AFP largest brokerages: The minutes from the last Fed meeting (Jul 31 to Aug 1) said they needed to see more economic growth or an improvement in the labor market or they would take more action. In the speech, he acknowledged that there were limits to what the Fed can accomplish. It can’t fix the fiscal cliff. Congress needs to do that.

But I think it’s all lined up for him to unveil some form of quantitative easing (bond-buying) on Sept 13. Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at the brokerage BTIG in New York: There was nothing surprising. It was in line with the Fed minutes, and they clearly showed the Fed was ready to ease further.

How much more could he add to that? The odds of additional quantitative easing are 50-50. We absolutely expect the Fed to extend the low rate guidance out for another year at the September meeting. You know how after the meetings they say, “Conditions warrant that we keep rates exceptionally low through late 2014?”

That’ll become 2015.

David Kelly, chief global strategist for J P Morgan Funds in New York, part of JPMorgan Chase’s money-management arm: Bernanke’s speech made it quite clear he believes he’s justified in further unconventional moves, even if there’s no crisis, as long as the unemployment rate is high. At the next Fed meeting, I expect them to say they’ll keep shortterm rates low for longer.

Quantitative easing is quite possible in small doses. I wouldn’t be surprised by an announcement that the Fed plans to buy, for instance, $200 billion in mortgagebacked securities and then go from there, from meeting to meeting. In baseball terms, it’s called small-ball. You just try to advance the runner one base at a time.

What to watch for in the coming weeks Kleintop: The consensus is that the Fed is going to do a third round of quantitative easing, and many think that Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central

Bank, is going to unveil a big bondbuying program, too. It’s not a done deal yet, a lot of work still has to be done to make it happen.

The German Constitutional Court ruling Sept 12 on whether or not Germany can participate in Europe’s rescue fund is huge, too.

They’re all important, but I think they’re going to go the way the market expects.

Kelly: The most important thing is that all the Europeans come back from vacation in September.

Unlike Americans, Europeans really take a vacation, and it’s hard to have a European debt crisis if everybody is on vacation. That’s one reason we’ve had a nice calm August. The key date is Sept 6, when the European Central Bank meets. There’s widespread expectation that the ECB will purchase sovereign debt. What I hear is that they ’ll make an example of Portugal and drive their interest rates down. They’ll flex their muscles in the bond market and convince the world that they have the ability to control the situation.

They can’t fix the countries. The question is: Can they fix the financial turmoil that bubbles up now and then? My guess is that they’ll succeed because they can’t afford to fail. That could really help the markets.

Greenhaus: There’s a lot coming up but developments in Europe are the biggest events as far as we’re concerned. They’re the most dangerous risk. If you’re expecting the ECB to announce that they’ll start supporting the region’s bond markets on Sept. 6, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s more likely that they wait for the German Constitutional Court ruling one week later and also wait for Spain to formally ask for help. — AP

2. Invest in yourself Once you have defined your wealth in broader parameters you can see how different variables influence others and you can decide where you would like to really invest. Remember personal wealth is a target you can fully control once you have determined how to approach your acquisition plan. Decide what special areas you would like to focus on immediately and approach them wholeheartedly. You may find for instance that by tackling a severe weight problem you improve your wellness, fitness and health and also your stamina and productivity at work and consequently your monetary rewards.

Another area you may want to focus on is skills acquisition. Run a personal inventory of skills you need to pursue the activities or work you love and take measures to improve areas of weakness and deficiency and perfect areas that could be further improved. Bear in mind that your skills are in many cases transferable and if properly nurtured and developed, will go a long way in making you more marketable in the workplace

and more productive and prosperous.

3. Take a long term approach to investments When investing in yourself invest for the long term. Remember learning should be treated as a lifelong endeavor as should the pursuit of other variables that affect your well-being including health, wellness, good family and community ties, social standing etc. Choose where you would like to be 5, 10, 15 and 30 years down the road, feel the terrain in your mind’s eye and work towards that goal whatever that looks like and means to you. If it’s strictly an expensive large castle in a big city you dream of, you may want to start planning for the financial outlay you will need to live that lifestyle already and acquire any new soft or hard skills required to earn the requisite finances. Plan early and plan smart. On the other hand it may be an abundance of free time you are targeting, to pursue relatively inexpensive hobbies such as painting, poetry and pottery. Or better health in which case you may be advised to pursue a less stressful career or adopt better lifestyle practices or move to a friendlier climate.

It never hurts to take stock of where you are and where you would like to be in the long run and it’s never too early to start investing in yourself in order to achieve your goals.

4. Cut your losses where you need to The most successful people tell us the secret to success is not being afraid of failure. Stop and assess your situation regularly and often. If the path you are taking is not paying dividends in terms of your personal growth and wellness don’t be afraid to change course after carefully weighing pros and cons and assessing the potential risk-adjusted returns. It may be time to leave a job that has had you stuck in a rut for years, or to rapidly acquire the confidence, knowledge and skills you need to negotiate a better role or package or work environment. Similarly a lifestyle that leaves you constantly depleted, drained and unhappy could probably use a little reinvigorating by focusing on areas you have neglected in the past and appreciating areas you may have taken for granted or under-appreciated.

5. Stop to smell the flowers Free time and the freedom to spend it any way you like is a luxury many aspire to and few enjoy given the daily mental and physical demands and grind of the rat race. Make a conscious effort to stop and enjoy life’s quintessentially unique gifts and blessings regularly and often. Use these precious moments to genuinely bond with yourself and revisit your values and dreams as well as with family, friends, nature and the whole world around you. Don’t let these moments of well-being go unappreciated for what they are, moments of great personal wealth.

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 .4420000 .3510000 .2920000 .2820000 .2900000 .0040000 .0020000 .0763660 .7440070 .3870000 .0720000 .7293660 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2813000 GB Pound/KD .4448900 Euro .3532000 Swiss francs .2940930 Canadian dollars .2844570 Danish Kroner .0474150 Swedish Kroner .0424010 Australian dlr .2915530 Hong Kong dlr .0362670 Singapore dlr .2243760 Japanese yen .0035800 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0766170 Bahraini dinars .7464510 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0750330 Omani riyals .7309340 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Malaysian Ringgit

3.553 5.072 3.053 2.141 3.173 220.090 36.173 3.425 6.439 8.876 89.338

.2860000 .4550000 .3610000 .3030000 .2950000 .3040000 .0067500 .0035000 .0771330 .7514840 .4100000 .0780000 .7366960 .0510000 .2834000 .4482110 .3558370 .2962890 .2865810 .0477690 .0427170 .2937300 .0365380 .2260510 .0036070 .0051240 .0021480 .0030010 .0035010 .0771890 .7520230 .4008490 .0755930 .7363910 .0067440

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 GOLD 293.000 148.000 75.250

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria

SELL CASH

297.200 751.810 3.720 288.800 554.900 46.000 48.400 167.800 48.570 356.800 37.130 5.370 0.032 0.161 0.236 3.690 400.610 0.191 93.760 44.500 4.360 232.000 1.830

49.700 734.320 3.080 6.960 78.190 75.480 226.680 36.490 2.693 450.000 43.800 297.400 4.400 9.390 198.263 77.080 283.100 1.360

10 Tola

GOLD 1,774.020

Sterling Pound US Dollar

733.750 3.002 6.687 77.720 75.440 226.560 36.480 2.132 449.300 294.800 4.400 9.220 76.940 282.500

COUNTRY

Currency

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 449.300 282.500

SELL DRAFT

295.300 751.410 3.452 288.900

226.600 46.421 357.400 36.960 5.080 0.031

SELL DRAFT

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

297.76 290.10 299.95 357.86 282.25 449.11 3.67 3.463 5.072 2.136 3.178 2.990 76.91 751.53 46.40 402.11 734.58 77.94 75.48

SELL CASH

310.000 289.000 297.500 357.000 283.150 449.000 3.630 3.560 5.350 2.310 3.650 3.150 77.400 750.000 48.600 400.000 736.000 78.000 75.850

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 400.370 0.190 93.710 3.180 230.400

Rate for Transfer

Selling Rate

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro

282.600 288.830 443.975 348.970

Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar 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

290.575 748.180 76.920 77.570 75.325 398.365 46.498 2.138 5.081 3.002 3.454 6.702 693.220 4.580 9.060 4.385 3.285 90.285

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

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

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

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 Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee

282.500 2.977 5.087 2.139 3.449 6.715 77.020 75.490 751.000 46.419 449.100 2.990 1.550 360.600 291.600 3.200

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

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

282.500 355.550 447.750 287.050 3.610 5.068 46.398 2.133 3.455 6.680 2.985 751.600 76.930 75.430

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

BUSINESS

Singapore struggles to hold strong

S

ingapore’s economy continues to exhibit sluggish macroeconomic data. As illustrated in the graph, in the second quarter of 2012, the nation logged in a growth rate of 2 percent year-on-year (y-o-y), a marginal pick-up from its first quarter reading of 1.9 percent. Growth remains feeblemainly due to the deterioration in its trade figures. In July, export growth contracted at 0.4 percent y-o-y, down from 1.1 percent in June; whilst import growth slowed down from 6 percent in June, to 5.7 percent y-o-y in July. Industrial production, a good gauge of economic activity also slowed down, from 8 percent in June to a mere 1.9 percent yo-y in July. Singapore is one of the most open economies in the world and is the world’s second largest reexport hub. Thus, its growth performance is strongly linked to the level of global trade, particularly from the EU, China and Hong Kong.As the eurozone continues to bear the brunt of a burgeoning debt crisis, and China and Hong Kong continue to witness slower growth rates, the demand for Singaporean exports has been falling.

Exports make up at least 200 percent of the country’s gross domestic production (GDP); in comparison, consumption is about 40 percent of GDP.

KCIC WEEKLY ANALYSIS Total exports are mostly comprised of machinery, and are categorized as being cyclical and therefore relatively more sensitive to changes in the global macro environment.With an intensifying global economic slowdown, the urgency for Singapore to shift to a more domestically driven economy is growing stronger.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the economic output or of the size of the economy - adjusted for inflation or deflation. It is the sum of the values of all final goods and services produced by that country or region over a given time period.

The values depend on the quantities (volume) of the goods produced and their prices.

Real GDP is a measure that holds prices constant by using a given year’s value (the base date) for all items and services. Then these values are used to calculate GDP for years prior to the base year and subsequent years. The graph illustrates the expenditure breakdown of GDP, which consists of private consumption, government expenditure, fixed capital investments, exports and imports. Export demand is a strong driver of growth

in Singapore, but if the global economic environment continues to remain gloomy, we could witness a structural shift towards a more

restricting the number of foreign workers entering the country, lowskilled ones in particular. This was to help boost local employment and

domestically-driven economy.

Singapore has yet to take any drastic policy easing measures to help pump up the economy. One action that it undertook earlier this year, was

employ more high skilled laborin the manufacturing and services sectors and in turn, increase productivity. In July, manufacturing firms saw their quota of foreign workers fall from 65

percent to 60 percent, whilst the quota in services fell from 50 percent to 45 percent. Inflation eased again in July, from 5.3 percent in June to 4 percent y-o-y, its lowest level since November 2010.

This gives the nation more room to endorse changes in its policies. Being a highly open economy, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) uses the domestic currency as opposed to its interest rates, as a monetary policy tool to ensure price stability. During its first policy review of the year back in April, the MAS made only minor changes to its monetary policy: due to growing worries about inflation, it allowed for a more rapid appreciation in the currency, to help mitigate the effects of imported inflation.

Although domestic prices continue to ease, inflationary pressures are likely to linger on, especially after the tightening of the labor market and the lagged effects of the higher prices for vehicle permits. However, worries about growth are likely to offset concerns about higher inflation and we may see the MAS easing its monetary policy either before or during its semiannual policy meeting in October of this year, by depreciating its currency and allowing its exports to become more competitive.

Crude prices rise as fundamentals tighten Geopolitical concerns resurface NBK ECONOMIC BRIEF

C

rude prices have rebounded to well above $100 as sanctions on Iran and falling North Sea output have tightened market fundamentals. Hopes of further policy stimulus to boost the global economy have also increased. Global oil demand growth is seen at a moderate 1 percent this year, supported by non-OECD countries. Although supply will exceed demand in 2012 as a whole, the major drop in prices may have already occurred. Under our scenarios, oil prices average between $89 and $103 pb in FY12/13. This would generate a budget balance of between KD 4 and 10 billion for Kuwait this year.

Crude oil prices rebounded in July and early August, reversing part of a three-month long decline. From a low of $88 per barrel (pb) in late June, the price of Kuwait Export Crude (KEC) had climbed 24 percent to $108 by midAugust. This is inside the range seen through much of 2011, though still well below the peak of $124 seen in March 2012. Brent crude rose by even more, from a low of $88 pb to $114 in early August. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, meanwhile, continues to trade at a significant discount and rose by less - some $16 - to stand at $93.

A combination of factors has been responsible for the rebound in prices. First, the large oversupply of crude that weakened oil markets in 2Q 2012 has faded or even gone into reverse. Contributing factors have included the imposition of EU oil sanctions on Iran, falling North Sea production, other outages and a pick-up in OECD demand. The rise in Gulf consumption during the hot summer months - which tends to trim the region’s exports - may also have been a factor.

Together, these issues may have swung the net crude oil market balance by 2 million barrels per day (mbpd) between 2Q and 3Q, from surplus to deficit.

A second factor is the conflict in Syria, which is intensifying broader regional geopolitical tensions - notably on the borders with Iraq and Turkey, home to important oil infrastructure - and adding to nervousness over the stability of regional oil supplies. Finally, although fears over the global macroeconomic environment have not faded, immediate concerns have been dimmed by suggestions from the European Central Bank that it might loosen monetary policy more aggressively, and by hopes of further policy stimulus in other parts of the world. Both of these factors would support near-term sentiment and deliver a boost to global oil demand.

Oil demand outlook Most analysts expect global oil demand to

rise by 0.8 - 0.9 mbpd (around 1.0 percent) in 2012, above last year’s increment though below the historic average. Demand in nonOECD countries is seen rising by around 1.2 mbpd (2.9 percent), while OECD demand is expected to fall by up to 0.4 mbpd (-1.0 percent). The Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES) takes a more pessimistic view, forecasting total demand growth of just 0.6 mbpd (0.7 percent). It attributes this to impact of the Euro zone crisis on growth in emerging markets. A modest pick-up in demand is seen in 2013, though the structure of that growth falling OECD demand more than offset by growth in emerging markets - remains the same. Demand growth is set to stay below its pre-credit crunch trend.

Oil supply outlook Crude output of the OPEC-11 (i.e. excluding Iraq) fell significantly by some 172,000 bpd in June to 28.4 mbpd. The bulk of this decline came from Iran where output fell by a sizeable 189,000 bpd to just below 3 mbpd, its lowest level in more than two decades. The figures for July - when the EU embargo on Iran came into effect - could reveal and even larger fall. Meanwhile, increases were witnessed in Nigeria (30,000 bpd), Libya (29,000 bpd) and Saudi Arabia (13,000 bpd).

According to alternative figures from ‘direct sources’, Libyan output fell by almost 100,000 bpd in June due to infrastructure bottlenecks, and is expected to fall further the following month as pre-election protests in early July led to temporary disruptions at the country’s key oil export terminals and a shut-in of around 0.3 mbpd of production.

Total OPEC production (including Iraq) dropped to below 31.4 mbpd in June, a second consecutive month of near 100,000 bpd declines. After slipping in May, Iraqi oil production regained almost the entire decline, increasing by some 62,000 bpd in June to almost 3 mbpd. Significant increases in coming months will remain contingent on the dispute-related stoppage of Kurdish oil transfers to Baghdad, and perhaps the security situation in Syria. Non-OPEC supplies are projected to increase by around 0.7 mbpd in 2012, with OPEC natural gas liquids (NGLs) contributing more than half of the increase. The majority of non-OPEC supply growth is likely to come from North America. In total, if OPEC-12 output remains at its current level, global oil supplies could rise by more than 2 mbpd in 2012.

Next year growth will depend not just on OPEC policy, but on North America and on the resumption of flows from Sudan, Yemen and Syria.

Price projections Oil market fundamentals are expected to loosen in 2012 overall on the back of rising supplies and moderate demand growth.

However, much of that softening may now have occurred and - a crisis in the world economy notwithstanding - fundamentals could tighten again into 2013.

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 1.6 mbpd (with a small cut in output in 4Q 2012), then supply exceeds demand this year resulting in a stock build of 1.0 mbpd. But since most of this took place in 1H 2012, the price of KEC remains supported at $90 to $100 pb in the second half of the year and begins to rise in mid-2013.

If, on the other hand, non-OPEC supplies turn out 0.3 mbpd weaker than expected this year, then we could see a smaller stock-build of 0.7 mbpd.

The price of KEC should, in this case, remain at around $100 pb for the rest of 2012 and rise early next year. Alternatively, nonOPEC supplies could turn out 0.2 mbpd higher than expected this year, partially as a result of the restoration of output lost to outages in the first half of the year. In this scenario, the recent price rebound is reversed, and the price of KEC falls to below $80 pb early next year.

Budget projections The recently-released government closing accounts for fiscal year 2011/12 reveal a budget surplus of KD 13.2 billion before allocations to the Reserve Fund for Future Generations (RFFG), compared to KD 5.3 billion the previous year.

This is the highest surplus ever recorded and is equivalent to 30 percent of 2011 GDP. Oil revenues reached KD 28.6 billion on the back of record oil prices which averaged $110 pb, while expenditure stood at KD 17.0 billion - 12 percent below the government’s budgeted amount.

Based on the price scenarios described above, oil prices range between $89 and $103 pb in FY 2012/13. According to press reports, budgeted spending for this fiscal year is set at KD 22 billion, but the number could subsequently be revised.

Assuming that spending comes in 5-10 percent below budget, we project a surplus of between KD 4.1 billion and KD 10.1 billion before allocations to the RFFG. Although lower than the previous year, this would still equate to a very large surplus of 8-20 percent of GDP.

Price index rises by 1.43% MARKAZ WEEKLY UPDATE KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti market closed on a mixed note this week. The price index increased by 1.43 percent closing at 5862.56. The weighted index increased 0.51 percent, closing at 400.18, while the Kuwait 15 index decreased by 0.53 percent closing at 954.56. The market traded 1580.25 million shares with a value of KD 99.99 million.

Sector performance Financial services were the top traded sector this week, contributing 40.2 percent to the total traded value. Real estate and industrials followed with 16.6 percent and 13.8 percent respec-

tively. Gulf Finance House BSC which lost 3.6 percent during the week, closing at 41 fils was the top traded stock with trading value of KD 10.96 million.

Losers and winners 149 companies were traded during the week out of which 75 closed positive, 45 were negative and 29 unchanged. Real Estate Trade Center Co KSCC was the biggest gainer, increasing 32.8 percent during the week and closing at 44.5 fils. On the other side of the spectrum, Kuwait Syrian Holding Co KSC was the biggest loser, shedding 12.5 percent to 28 fils.

HONG KONG: A worker welds steel on a construction site yesterday. Property prices in Hong Kong, famous for its sky-high rent and super-rich tycoons, have surged over the past few years due to record low interest rates and a flood of wealthy buyers from mainland China. — AFP

End of summer to bring volume Wall St Week Ahead NEW YORK: Marking the end of the summer doldrums, Wall Street is likely to kick off September with heavy trading volume while it hopes that the European Central Bank will hint at further stimulus measures to boost the global economy.

On Friday, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank stands ready to bolster the economy if necessary, although he stopped short of giving an explicit signal of more monetary easing.

US stocks rallied after Bernanke’s speech to an annual conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with major indexes gaining more than 1 percent in the late morning session. At the end of the day the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.7 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 0.51 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index up 0.6 percent. “This (Bernanke speech) was in line with what we were expecting. He left the door open but didn’t announce anything explicit. He doesn’t intend to front-run his own FOMC (policy) meeting,” said Liz Ann Sonders, New York-based chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab Corp, which has $1.6 trillion in client assets.

Investors are now awaiting comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi after the bank’s meeting on Thursday. Many investors will look to the ECB meeting to glean strong clues on what to expect from the Federal Open Market Committee’s own policy meeting the following week on Sept 1213. “Between now and mid-September, we’ll be focusing on the ECB, though the next FOMC meeting is also around the time that the German court meets, so we’ll be getting news on both those fronts. Any news from Europe will drive markets more than domestic news, with the exception of the payroll report,” Sonders said.

The all-important US non-farm payrolls repor t is due on Friday. With Bernanke citing poor improvement in the labor market as part of the reason the US economy faces “daunting” challenges, Friday’s data could be a game changer, according to market participants. In the euro zone, following the European Central Bank policy meeting on Sept 6, a German Constitutional

Court will rule on the euro zone’s permanent bailout fund on Sept 12, which may affect the ECB’s bond-buying plans.

But there was further uncertainty within the ECB over President Mario Draghi’s bond-buying plan on Friday after German central bank chief Jens Weidmann reportedly threatened to resign, piling pressure on Draghi to mollify opposition. There are “growing hopes that Draghi has overcome Bundesbank opposition to announce a bond buying plan at next Thursday’s ECB meeting,” said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. But “what Draghi may have put in front of Weidmann is the notion that no actual purchases may ever occur as long as the market understands what it is up against in terms of coordinated, decisive policy response from the ECB.” All about the jobs In a holiday shortened week, with US markets closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday, Friday’s employment report will be the final major economic report to impact the results of the upcoming FOMC meeting. “Unless there is a sharp weakening in the labor markets, something our data do not indicate, the Fed will sit on the sidelines at the ready to act only if things get really bad,” said Steve Blitz, Chief Economist at ITG Investment Research in New York.

A Reuters survey forecast nonfarm payrolls rose by 125,000 for the month of August. In July, nonfarm payrolls added 163,000 workers, breaking three months of job gains below 100,000 and offering hope for the ailing economy. At the same time, a rise in the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent kept alive the possibility that the Federal Reserve could provide additional stimulus to the economy. “The Beige Book prepared for the September 12-13 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) offered little evidence of a material improvement in broad labor market conditions through Aug 20,” Wilkinson said.

“Indeed, the trend in jobless claims has largely moved sideways over the summer. We forecast that total nonfarm payrolls increased by 110,000 in August, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 8.3 percent,” he said. — Reuters

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

BUSINESS

KSE ends week on mixed note BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Two of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week in the green zone. The price index ended last week with an increase amounted to 1.43 percent, while the weighted index improved by 0.51 percent compared to the closings of the week before, whereas KSX15 Index decreased by 0.53 percent. Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover increased by 30.91 percent, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 19.99 million, whereas trading volume average was 316.05 million shares, recording growth of 80.39 percent.

Kuwait Stock Exchange ended last week at variance.

The price and weighted indices closed in the green zone while KSX-15 couldn’t make any progress, and ended the week with limited losses. The market performance came as a result to the active purchasing power and collection activities on many stocks, with special attention to the small-cap stocks which witnessed relatively high gains during most of the week’s sessions, and pushed the price index to its highest levels since more than a month.

Moreover, the profit collecting activities had affected

the trading operations last week, and resulted in lower weekly gains for both the price and weighted indices, however, KSX-15 recorded a weekly loss. By the end of the week, the price index closed at 5,862.56 points, up by 1.43 percent from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 0.51 percent weekly growth after closing at 400.18 points. Moreover, the KSX-15 index recorded 0.53 percent weekly loss after closing at 954.56 points.

Sectors’ indices All of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the green zone except for one sector. Last week’s highest gainer was the oil and gas sector, achieving 5.59 percent growth rate as its index closed at 896.68 points. Whereas, in the second place, the telecommunications sector’s index closed at 939.79 points recording 3.61 percent increase.

The technology sector came in third as its index achieved 3.06 percent growth, ending the week at 1,005.70 points. The banks sector was the least growing as its index closed at 965.74 points with a 0.16 percent increase. On the other hand, the healthcare sector was

last week’s only loser as its index declined by 4.05 percent to end the week’s activity at 1,002.29 points.

Sectors’ activity The financial services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 833.71 million shares changing hands, representing 52.76 percent of the total market trading volume. The real estate sector was second in terms trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 25.38 percent of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 401.14 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 40.18 million or 40.18 percent of last week’s total market trading value. The Industrials sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of KD 15.21 million represented 15.21 percent of the total market trading value.

Market capitalization KSE total market capitalization grew by 0.58 percent during last week to reach KD 27.08 billion, as nine of

KSE’s sectors recorded an increase in their respective market capitalization, whereas the other three recorded declines. The consumer goods sector headed the growing sectors as its total market capitalization reached KD 641.60 million, increasing by 9.60 percent. The technology sector was the second in terms of recorded growth with 3.95 percent increase after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 67.28 million. The third place was for the industrial sector, which total market capitalization reached KD 3.02 billion by the end of the week, recording an increase of 2.50 percent. The insurance sector was the least growing with 0.62 percent recorded growth after its market capitalization amounted to KD 320.87 million.

On the other hand, the healthcare sector headed the decliners list as its total market capitalization decreased by 7.24 percent to reach, by the end of the week, KD 183.54 million. The basic materials sector was second on this list, which market value of its listed companies declined by 1.26 percent, reaching KD 568.68 million, followed by the banks sector, as its market capitalization amounted to KD 13.12 billion at a 0.49 percent decrease.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

BUSINESS

World’s ‘carpet capital’ struggles to recuperate Dalton cuts 4,600 jobs

ST LOUIS: Larry (left) and Daisy Wilson, of Lake Saint Louis, perform job searches on their laptops and send each other pertinent listings. — MCT

Older workers adapt to changing job scenario ST LOUIS: Larry Wilson quit counting his employment applications about the time he sent his 100th into the employment search maw. Working as a substitute teacher the past five years, and having pretty much abandoned any hope of landing full-time work, Wilson waxes philosophical about the odds facing a displaced worker over the age of 50. “We all know that people are supposedly created equal, and that there’s no discrimination,” said the 57-yearold Wilson, a resident of St. Charles County, Mo., who was last employed full-time eight years ago. “Then there’s the real world.”

Reality is an unemployment rate among the 55-and-older crowd that has risen by 103 percent since the onset of the recession, according to a data analysis by the AARP. Equally sobering is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notation of the 56 weeks, on average, that unemployed job-seekers over 55 wait to find a new job. Job searches for the remainder of the unemployed population end at the 38-week mark.

Older workers with a wealth of experience contend the reasons for their difficulties are both obvious and unstated. “It’s difficult to prove without a shadow of doubt that it’s discrimination,” AARP President Robert Romasco said during a recent visit to St Louis. “But if you talk to anyone over 50 looking for job, you know they’re not feeling the love.” Older jobseekers suspect employers harbor assumptions that experienced employees will command higher salaries, strain the budgets for employee health care and lag behind younger workers in adapting to the latest technology.

Michael McCarty, a director of Business Persons Between Jobs and an adjunct marketing instructor at Maryville University and St Louis University, said he believes the suspicions make sense. “It’s the nub of the jobs crisis that hiring managers won’t or can’t acknowledge,” McCarty said. “If someone has been employed in a single profession or with a single company, they are deemed too old and too expensive to hire.”

The continuing woes of the housing industry earlier this year cost Michael Fischer his position as the chief executive and president of a St Louis area home products manufacturer. An executive familiar with the bottom line, Fischer, 55, discounts the notion that older workers drain resources from payrolls and benefit packages. He points out employed parents in their 50s are often empty-nesters and no longer need health benefits to cover the cost of pregnancies or dependents. A couple can get by with less, he adds, without children living in the home.

Still, having been in on hiring decisions in the past, Fischer is aware of the mind-set of hiring managers that come across his work history.

“People see my resume and think I’m overqualified,” said Fischer, a member of the Go! Network, the St. Louis nonprofit providing support to unemployed executives and managers. “They are skeptical when older workers say they are willing to reinvent themselves, because they think they’ll leave the next time something better comes along.”

Larry Wilson, for all intents and purposes, worked steadily from the moment he “was able to ride a bike and deliver papers” until his 2004 layoff as an accounts manager assisting the business operations of a Japanese firm in North

and South America. “If you look at my resume, it looks like I’d cost a fortune,” he said. A hiring manager might think “he covered both North and South America; he must have made at least $100,000, so he won’t settle for $50,000$60,000. That’s what I would think if I was on the other side of the desk. Your experience doesn’t work for you anymore; it works against you.”

Wilson in fact would settle for an annual salary in the $50,000 range. Fischer isn’t interested in returning to a corporate suite; he is pursuing sales positions he figures will pay about two-thirds of what he earned as an executive.

Experts say a willingness to move in another career direction is essential if laid off employees of a certain age are to have any chance of returning to the full-time workforce.

Laid off as an executive assistant in April, Daisy Wilson, 51, is actively seeking a position that will capitalize on a recently earned Lindenwood University degree in human resources management. “You either reinvent or retreat,” said Wilson, Larry Wilson’s wife. “I choose to reinvent.” Embracing such a take-charge attitude is the precise message St Louis career coach and author David Hults drives home in presentations to clients and area organizations that offer support to the unemployed. Hults also counsels experienced workers to bear some of the responsibility for their failure to break through the employment barrier.

Older workers, he contends, are often slow to understand the job searching methods of yesteryear no longer apply. Gone are the days when the majority of jobs are secured through a “front door” process that begins with a response to a posted employment opportunity, winds through the human resources machinery and ends with a formal offer.

As a the State of the St. Louis Workforce survey pointed out this month, nearly 40 percent of new employees were steered to their current jobs by friends or family members. Just 29 percent reported learning of employment opportunities through advertisements. Yet, despite his work with BPBJ - where the bulk of members are balding or bald, gray or graying - McCarty says the vast majority of the people seeking to connect with him on LinkedIn business networking site are students he encounters at Maryville and St. Louis universities.

Older workers unwilling to adapt to the new way of doing things, Hults says bluntly, usually find themselves shut out of employment opportunities. “Many (jobs) are filled because people networked aggressively before” a company realized there was a need to fill a new position, Hults noted. In defense of people in her age group, Daisy Wilson counters that hiring managers born since 1972 may not fully appreciate how the concept of networking runs counter to many seeking employment for the first time in years, if not decades. “The older generations were taught that more than five friends weren’t really friends,” Wilson said. “But in this day and age, we use the term ‘friend’ very loosely.” AARP responded to the outcry over the lack of job offers alike this month by introducing an initiative that encourages the hiring of older Americans. “Work Reimagined” secured commitments from 120 nationally known employers - including AT&T, Toys R Us and Scripps Health - to actively recruit more experienced workers for open positions.—MCT

DALTON: Factories dot the highway and carpet retailers and mills line the main street through this town nestled in the north Georgia foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, making clear why Dalton was dubbed Carpet Capital of the World. Many of those businesses are shuttered now, hinting at one of the city’s more dubious distinctions: The city has lost more jobs per capita in the past year than any other in the US Between June 2011 and June 2012, 4,600 jobs in this city of 100,000 have disappeared, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Factories in and around Dalton produced threequarters of the nation’s flooring until the housing bubble burst and brought one of the largest US manufacturing industries to its knees. Thousands lost their jobs, and the unemployment rate spiked from 4.7 percent in 2007 to 12.7 percent in 2009, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. Recovery has been elusive here, in part because virtually every other business in town relied on the prosperity of carpet. Support industries, such as trucking, suddenly had less to haul and had to find ways to make up for it. Officials say they’re fighting to bring their city back from the brink. Elaine Bell, a lifelong Dalton resident, was among those who lost her job at a local carpet factory in 2009. She’s willing to work any job - she hasn’t found full-time work since losing her factory job. But her hope dwindles every time she hears the word “no.”“I’ve been all over Dalton since 8 o’clock this morning and that’s all I’ve heard: We ain’t hiring,” Bell said. Bell said she’s barely getting by, trying to keep up with gas prices and the cost of taking care of her elderly mother.

Of those 4,600 jobs lost, only 400 were in manufacturing. Most of the rest were in construction, hospitality and other private sector services stinging from carpet’s decline. And that ripple effect is to be expected, said Rajeev Dhawan of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University. The Great Recession was a deep one, and nationwide the recovery has been weak compared to past economic downturns. For Dalton, a city that relied almost entirely on the success of a single industry, it was deeper.

“To come out of that hole you require an absolutely brand new booming industry going bonkers to

DALTON: This photo shows Judy Smith looking over paperwork as she files for unemployment for the first time since being laid off from a catering job at a convention center. — AP absorb all the people,” Dhawan said. The backbone of Dalton for years was its own “big three” of carpet manufacturers, just as a much larger city, Detroit, relied entirely on the “big three” of car manufacturing: GM, Ford and Chrysler. Much like Detroit, the failure of big industry led to problems for other businesses.

Carpeting was once the “bread and butter” for the trucking company Rosedale Transport Inc, said executive vice president Nathan Wooten. But that changed when fewer new homes were being built, meaning the demand for new carpet plummeted. Now, the company has cut carpet transport by 15 percent and hopes to continue making it a smaller share of its business. Wooten said beverage transport has helped offset some of the losses.

“We don’t need to depend on industries that are as dependent on the economy,” Wooten said. “We made the conscious effort to go into business with people who were not as affected by the economy as flooring is.” However, city officials say the latest unemployment numbers don’t tell the full story. They say that if the state and national economies improve, Dalton will follow. “Everything here is set up for a rapid recovery if

our state government and federal government can come up with a plan that makes sense for the economy,” said David Pennington, Mayor of Dalton.

For instance, Pennington said, the city’s sales tax is the lowest in the state. The city treasury has money and a balanced budget. Companies that make fiberglass, vinyl tile and chemicals have come to town as well as department stores like Kohl’s. But to keep growing, residents need help getting the right job education and training, Pennington said.

“More and more of these jobs are becoming hightech, and our workforce in Georgia is not prepared for that,” Pennington said, adding that the city has partnered with technical schools and the Department of Labor to ensure training is available for those who need it. Just as the carpet industry had to find ways to become more efficient and costeffective, so will the city’s workers, said Brian Anderson, president of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce. But the city’s legacy of manufacturing leaves it poised for a comeback, he said.

“The uniqueness of our region is that we do 24/7 manufacturing pretty well,” Anderson said. —AP

Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive Showroom

BMW introduces Connected Drive technology KUWAIT: BMW Group, the world’s leading premium automotive manufacturer, has taken another step to further enhance the driving experience of its customers, through developing innovative communication via BMW ConnectedDrive. BMW ConnectedDrive is BMW Group’s philosophy of exchanging information between the driver, the car and outside world to give driver and passengers the information and services to help make their driving experience safer and more comfortable.

As part of the company’s commitment to introducing new features and technologies, BMW has added a number of user-friendly and technologically-advanced systems to BMW ConnectedDrive. Drivers now receive added peace-of-mind and convenience with a host of services built into their car’s infotainment system.

Alongside existing systems such as Assist - which calls the emergency services automatically in the case of an accident in which the airbags are

Emergency call

deployed; and Online - which allows passengers to receive news/RSS feeds and weather forecasts while on the move, as well as read and reply to emails; Teleservice has recently seen a number of features rolled out: Teleservices Battery Guard - An automatic system which notifies the driver via an SMS message in case the lights have been remained switched on in the vehicle and is causing the battery to drain. This service will also automatically notify the local BMW importer of the battery’s condition for it to be checked at the next service.

Automatic Teleservice Call which ensures regular contact between the vehicle and the service department of the local importer to ensure any problems are identified and required work is booked automatically and efficiently without inconveniencing the customer.

This is further developed through Teleservices Breakdown which will inform the BMW helpline of any faults identified with a vehicle in the event

of a breakdown to ensure a swift resolution to the problem. Details such as the vehicle’s location are also automatically sent to the call centre allowing for recovery services to be dispatched quickly.

The final upgrade available is the Teleservices Update - this automatic service will download and install any software upgrades required between the BMW ConnectedDrive system and third party MP3 players and smartphones. This allows the driver to connect his periphery devices to his vehicle without the need to visit his importer for a system upgrade.

BMW is committed to improving the driving experience of its customers across the Middle East and is working closely with each market’s importers to increase the systems available through BMW ConnectedDrive. These BMW ConnectedDrive features are only available in Kuwait via Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, the BMW Group importer in Kuwait.

Weather forecast

Nikon COOLPIX S-Series offer infinite possibilities TOKYO: Nikon Corporation launched three cutting-edge COOLPIX S-series models yesterday, which give users an unprecedented digital camera experience through the perfect combination of advanced technology and ultra-stylish design.

The S6400 is slim and features a high-powered zoom operated via a built-in touch panel, the S800c is Wi-Fi compatible and equipped with the Android(tm) OS and the S01 is the most compact and lightest COOLPIX model in history.

with and exceeds a smartphone in many ways. The S800c can connect wirelessly to the Internet for easy uploading of stunning images and vivid videos (in full-HD 1080p format) to social networking sites. Along with the Backside illumination CMOS image sensor with an effective 16.0-million pixel count and 10x optical zoom NIKKOR lens, the S800c captures sharp, blur-free and unparalleled images which exceed a smartphone’s imaging capabilities.

Highlights - COOLPIX S6400 The compact and slim S6400 offers consistently brilliant results via the Backside illumination CMOS image sensor with an effective 16.0-million pixel count, a 12x optical zoom NIKKOR lens that covers an impressive range of focal lengths from wide-angle 25 mm to 300 mm (equivalents in 35 mm [135] format) and a touch panel for natural operation.

In addition to excellent basic camera performance, the S6400 sports several advanced functions that make taking the perfect picture as simple as pressing a button. These include the Target Finding AF, with which the user simply frames the subject and the camera automatically identifies and focuses on that subject; Quick Effects, which allow users to apply effects in just three easy steps - shoot, select, and save; and the recording of full-HD movies in 1080p format with stereo sound and superior picture quality.

Highlights - COOLPIX S01 The smallest and lightest digital camera in the history of Nikon’s COOLPIX S-series, the S01 flawlessly combines simplicity with the newest advances in compact camera technology.

Weighing just 96g and with a body smaller than a standard business card (a mere 77 mm long, 51.2 mm high and 17.2 mm deep), the S01 easily fits in the palm of a hand. Created with aesthetics and practical functionality in mind, the camera has an all-around smooth form and is constructed from a durable, yet thin stainless steel that allows for a beautiful finish.

What’s more, convenient operation is at the heart of this model, with the camera sporting a touch panel display which features a new intuitive user interface (UI). Easy-to-master functions, including a four-section grid structure with fourlarge icons, makes this camera the perfect practical accessory that users can and will want to keep with them at all times.

Highlights - COOLPIX S800c A new line in the COOLPIX S-series, the S800c is Nikon’s pioneering solution to offering all-new ways to use digital cameras - Capture, View, Connect, and Enjoy - all with a single, compact digital imaging device.

Featuring built-in Wi-Fi compatibility, this camera is on par

Primary Features - S6400 1. High-powered 12x optical zoom NIKKOR lens Covering a full focal range from wide-angle 25 mm to 300 mm (equivalents in 35-mm [135] format), the high-performance NIKKOR zoom lens is optimised for Lens-shift

vibration reduction (VR) Image stabilisation and is packed away neatly into one of the most compact bodies in the S-series. Measuring just 19.8 mm at its slimmest point, the S6400 outclasses the S6300, which features a 10x optical zoom and is 24 mm at its slimmest point.

Delivering brilliant and beautiful results each and every shot, users can take this camera anywhere to capture wide-angle landscapes or zoom in to snap distant objects.

2. Backside illumination CMOS image sensor - effective 16.0million pixel count The high-performance Backside illumination CMOS image sensor guarantees little noise even at high sensitivities and supports advanced noise reduction technologies. The camera also takes multiple shots in quick succession, which are then combined and recorded as a single image to ensure that pictures will always turn out ideally even when shooting in dark or dimly lit surroundings.

3. Point and shoot - target finding AF An exclusive Nikon technology, the subject identification technology or Target Finding AF allows the user to simply point and click, with the camera instantly predicting the subject it should focus on. As the active focus area is automatically specified in accordance with the size of the subject, resulting images are in clear focus. This technology is possible as Nikon has analysed the ways in which users choose their photographic subjects based on an incredible number of shooting simulations. In addition, Target Finding AF not only works with subjects positioned at the centre of the frame, but with off-centre subjects as well. This capability is clearly evident when capturing human subjects, as well as shooting smaller subjects such as flowers, food,

etc.

4. Edit images with quick effects - 3 easy steps. This feature allows users to create images with effects in three simple steps - shoot, select and save - using the touch panel.

Users can choose from 30 effects (19 patterns) depending on the scene they are shooting or the impression they would like to create.

Primary quick effects Pop, Super vivid, Painting, High key, Toy camera effect, Low key, Cross process, Soft, Fisheye, Cross screen, Miniature effect, High-contrast monochrome, Sepia, Cyanotype, and Selective colour 5. Intuitive touch panel operation. A new intuitive user interface that makes touch operations simple, along with the 3-inch, approximately 460k-dot widescreen TFT LCD touch panel means S6400 users will enjoy stress-free shooting, playback and editing of images.

6. Record 1920 ◊ 1080p/30-fps full-HD movies By simply pressing the movie-record button on the back of the camera, users can capture 1920 x 1080p/30-fps full-HD movies with stereo sound. The high sensitivities supported by the Backside illumination CMOS image sensor means superior picture quality even when movies are recorded in dark or dimly lit surroundings. Users can further customise filming by using the adjustable optical zoom. What’s more, multiple movies recorded individually can be saved as a single movie file using the record pause function built into the camera. This not only makes creating movies simple, it also expands the ways in which users can enjoy movies after they have been recorded.

26

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

BUSINESS

Qatalum reports modern technology essential for improving competition DOHA: Qatalum, the organizer of the Arab International Aluminium Conference (ARABAL 2012), which will be held in Doha from November 20-22, 2012, has remarked that the aluminium industry within the GCC region is increasingly attractinghigh levels of official interest, as well as acquiring a large portion of the region’s industrial expansion plans and dominating a large part of the investment that is being injected to achieve economic diversification.

Regional economies are striving to diversify sources of income through a strong focus on the industrial sector, which is considered to be one of the most important requirements for optimum utilization of the abundant natural resources the region is blessed with. The development of the industrial sector, in general, and aluminium industry, in particular, serves as an ideal investment of national wealth and entry to the world’s industrialized countries and long term producers.

The aluminium industry requires intensive investment

and high technical and technological levels. The industry can never be separated from modern technology for all phases of manufacturing and production, as the acquisition and constant update of high-tech methods of production are key to the possession of advanced production capacity and better ability to produce high quality products that are highly competitive in overseas markets. These concerns are the basis of the plans being developed. The presence and acquisition of increasing market share will be the goal of all producing and manufacturing companies in the foreseeable future.

Arabal 2012 will include a panel discussion on aluminium industry technology, in response to the importance of this issue.

The aluminium industries in the GCC countries are depending on the transfer of advanced technology to reach their targeted production capacity in the shortest time possible, meet the local and regional demand, and enter international markets.

Aluminium companies and

smelters are adopting expansion policies on their production lines in line with the extensive urban expansion that is currently taking place in the region. This requires the adaptation of numerous new

The managements of the aluminium companies and smelters in the region and the world are seeking to build permanent partnerships and cooperative relationships, and their attention

of the high level of efficiency, reliability and environmental friendliness of these smelters in all phases of production. These elements have become the cornerstone of competitiveness in

technologies to help achieve their production and expansion targets, especially in view of the soaring competition in terms of quality and prices from the traditional industrial powers.

has in recent years been devoted to developing and implementing the most innovative and advanced cost effective and energy efficient technologies.

These technologies are evidence

international markets. It is worth mentioning that aluminium companies are permanently in need of finding effective practical solutions that help reduce the cost of production, with a

NBK enhances mobile banking application KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) NBK’s Executive Manager, Consumer has enhanced the wide array of services Banking Group. “NBK’s Mobile Banking on its NBK Mobile Banking application. All application reflects NBK’s commitment to NBK customers can benefit from the most providing its customers with the best and most up-to-date banking developed banking servicservices. It is safe and easy es and products on NBK to use, offering customers Mobile Banking applicabanking services with the tion. Customers can conadded convenience of their duct their transactions such mobile devices.” as checking balances, transAl-Othman added: “This ferring funds, and making innovative application payments in-one quick enables customers to easily view. NBK’s free Mobile and securely access their Banking application for accounts to check baliPhone, iPad, iPod Touch ances, transfer funds, and and BlackBerry devices make payments in-one enables customers to easily quick view.” NBK customers and securely manage their can download NBK Mobile financials anytime, anyMohammed Banking on NBK.com or by where.

Al-Othman logging into Watani Online.

“NBK is keen on developing its services to meet customers’ For assistance, customers can visit any of demands and make banking more con- NBK’s branches or call Hala Watani at venient,” said Mohammed Al-Othman, 1801801.

Burgan Bank offers special discounts KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday the new Youth discount program where Youth account holders can enjoy an exclusive range of discounts across selective outlets in Kuwait. Burgan’s Youth discount program extends great offers and benefits from its selected partners, amongst the food & beverage merchandisers are Wagamama, La Cava, BreadTalk, Second Cup, Humbah, Coffee Republic, The Dragon, and Great Steak.

Fashion, lifestyle, and general merchandisers include Eclipse Gaming, Carbon

Fiber, Cozmo, Sparkle Nails, Nails & Co, Nike, TAF, Crocs, and Gulf Net. To get advantage of these discounts, Youth account holders have to present their branded Youth debit card to avail instant discounts from the selected partners. To find out more about Burgan Bank’s Youth Account as well as the latest promotions, customers are required to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch or contact the call center on 1804080. For more information, customers can visit the bank’s website on www.burgan.com.

Etihad Airways Damascus flights suspended Etihad Airways has suspended flights between Abu Dhabi and Damascus with immediate effect and until further notice.

The decision, while not taken lightly, has been made due to the deteriorating

security position in Syria.The safety of passengers and crew is paramount to the airline. Etihad Airways will notify affected passengers and offer a full refund for unused tickets.

MANILA: Applicants wait for screening during a jobs fair conducted by Cebu Pacific, the country’s second largest airline, at a hotel. In an annual report, the Philippine economy has expanded 5.9 percent in the second quarter of this year. —AP

particular focus on reducing the cost of energy with the aim of maintaining the highest quality standards in production, meeting the requirements of improved competitiveness, and entering new markets.

No doubt, the goals of technology manufacturers meet the objectives of aluminium producers as both are working together to achieve a number of goals, foremost of which is to improve actual production capacity, reduce emissions and reach cost effective and energy efficient solutions to ensure constant and nonstop operations. Success in developing the aluminium industry in the region’s countries is dependent on the ability to continue government support to maintain the competitive advantage in terms of cost, and to develop long term financing instruments that fund the expected output expansion and development plans. These must be taken into consideration if aluminium industry officials want to maintain the current achievements and increase gains.

CSR upgrades Boubyan Takaful Insurance to BB KUWAIT: Capital Standards Rating Co (CSR) has upgraded the Insurer’s Financial Strength Rating (IFSR) to ‘BB’ and the national rating to ‘BBB’ of Boubyan Takaful Insurance Company KSC (closed). The outlook for the rating remains Stable. Boubyan Takaful Insurance Company (BTIC) has shown remarkable improvements in the Financial Year 2011, reflecting the company’s growing market position in the midst of the intense competition.

BTIC has implemented a new strategy that may effectively turnaround the business in current year 2012. The new strategy of the company touches upon many important areas such as the separation of underwriting and claims settlement, the enhanced distribution

network and the improved corporate governance standards.

The support BTIC received from Boubyan Bank (BB) and National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has been instrumental, and has provided the company an advantage in comparison to the new takaful entrants. The rating is constrained by the high underwriting costs and investment losses contributed to the company’s overall losses.

Expenses may continue to remain high in the near future as BTIC is in the expansion phase.

Further, the investment losses have been negatively impacting profitability of BTIC for the past three years. The rating is also positively impacted by the changes that CSR made to the “Insurance Rating Methodology”. The rating

methodology used in rating BTIC is “Insurance Rating Methodology”, and the “Takaful - Rating Approach” and it can be found at www.capstandards.com in the ‘methodologies brief’ subdirectory under the Rating tab. BTIC was established in 2006 to provide insurance products in compliance with the Islamic Sharia Principles (Takaful). The company is majorly owned by Boubyan Bank (67%) and it offers a number of takaful plans including General Takaful - Motor, General Takaful - Non Motor, and Family & Medical Takaful. BTIC is regulated by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (Insurance Department). In June 2011, CSR assigned BTIC an IFSR rating of “BB-” and a national scale rating of “BBB-kw” with a stable outlook.

ME travellers can create their perfect day with British Airways’ iPhone app LONDON: British Airways customers on the move can now capture and share their own ideal personalised travel guides and more, with the launch of a new Perfect Day app for iPhones. It follows last year’s launch of the Perfect Days app on Facebook, which has enabled hundreds of British Airways customers to share how they would spend their Perfect Days in locations around the world flown to by the airline.

The new easy to use iPhone app integrates and extends the existing Perfect Days service and means customers can now capture their experiences on the move using the unique format.

This includes creating reviews or ‘travel snippets’ using uploaded pictures and a short description, which are tagged to their exact location on Google maps as a 24hour recommendation.

Each itinerary can be quickly saved, edited and shared as a complete Perfect Day with friends, or other travellers, on Facebook or the iPhone app, when they choose. The app contains a Top Perfect Days feature to inspire anyone in each destination. These include Perfect Day’s with the most ‘likes’, such as A Family Day in Berlin, A Cycling Tour of San Francisco, A Local’s Madrid, Mumbai Musts, Secret Rome, and Paloma Faith’s New York.

The app also includes ‘Meet Me’ function, allowing users to ‘pin’ and SMS an exact location to meet, making it easier for friends to quickly find the location if

customers to instantly view, capture and share their insider knowledge and travel trips about their favourite places, while they’re indestination.

it can be edited, saved and used offline, and only uploaded to Facebook when customers want.

Among the places customers can personalise with their own

they’re in an unfamiliar city or destination.

Richard Bowden, British Airways’ digital marketing innovation manager, said: “We’ve taken the Perfect Days social media service a step further by providing an intuitive smartphone app enabling

“Creating an iPhone app that’s integrated with Facebook, ensures creating a Perfect Day is easy and irresistible to share with friends and inspire fellow travellers.” Conscious of the cost of using apps while overseas, the free to download iPhone app has been cleverly configured so

Perfect Days so far are Berlin, San Francisco, New York, Rome, Florida, the UK and the Caribbean. Over the next five years British Airways will be investing more than £5bn in new aircraft, technology and services to help deliver better customer service.

Khalifa Port successfully delivered on schedule ABU DHABI: Khalifa Port, the new state-ofthe-art gateway to Abu Dhabi, today commenced commercial operations. Bechtel was responsible for project management of the port and Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) for its client, Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC). “With Khalifa Port and Kizad, we have committed to the Emirate’s largest infrastructure project that will serve ADPC and will be a key enabler in driving the economic diversification of Abu Dhabi by 2030. Bechtel has done a great job to ensure we deliver on time and within budget, as we expected from a company internationally renowned for delivering complex projects in a disciplined way,” said Tony Douglas, CEO, Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC).

“Collaboration and strong project management skills have been crucial to delivering this megaproject on time and within budget. We

thank ADPC and our stakeholders for an excellent working relationship, which has made the process of building the port both smooth and efficient”, added Steve Kay, Bechtel’s Program Manager for Khalifa Port and Kizad. Khalifa Port has the first semi-automated container terminal in the region.

Together with Kizad, Khalifa Port is destined to become one of the most advanced trading hubs in the Middle East.

Sustainability was a key element on the project. Bechtel managed the design and build of the $240 million, eight-kilometer long, award-winning environmental protection breakwater to safeguard the Ras Ghanada coral reef during both port construction and operation. The company also implemented Abu Dhabi’s new Estidama (sustainability) regulations on a number of buildings in Khalifa Port, one of the first large projects in

the UAE to do so. Bechtel helped ADPC to develop and incorporate innovative technology to make Khalifa Port one of the most efficient ports in the world. A single operating platform bringing together numerous systems was created for the port operating system, vessel traffic services (which monitors marine traffic) and gate management. The port operating system alone unites over 30 different technologies. The delivery of Khalifa Port coincides with Bechtel’s 50th anniversary of continuously working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Previous projects have included the Murban oil field development and Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s largest and busiest airports, as well as a number of major oil and gas, and power projects.

Bechtel has overseen over 80 port and harbor projects across the world, 28 of these in the last decade.

27

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

Mobile payment needs better compatibility

By Anick Jesdanun NEW YORK: For many of us, plastic has replaced cash for everyday shopping. If some technological wizards have their way, your phone will replace n plastic one day. We’re still far from such a world, yet I was intrigued enough to try using my phone to make payments.

Over the past month, several major retailers announced plans to accept or expand such mobile payments, adding to services already available. One approach uses wireless technology to let merchants access credit and debit cards stored on your account, while the other uses a bar code on the phone screen that gets scanned at the register.

You might be wondering: Why fix what isn’t broken, when plastic works just fine? Systems that let you pay by cellphones can do more than store cards. Some can handle gift cards and coupons, so that discounts are automatically applied even if you left the originals at home. The mobile systems can also track patterns and perhaps reward you for repeat business. You also get more security, at least if you trust the encryption provided. By the time you notice a card missing, someone could have gone on a shopping spree. You’d likely notice much sooner if you’re missing your phone. With one call or visit to a website, you can disable access to all your cards at once. In addition, many services let you lock their apps with a security code, giving the cards extra protection.

Stores also might be able to reduce processing costs and, hopefully, pass the savings to you. Here’s how those promises met with reality using four systems I tried: Bar code systems You can enter any credit or debit card into LevelUp’s app. You get $2 off your first purchase at each store and

other discounts after you’ve spent a certain amount there. The store has a phone that photographs the bar code on your app and sends it to LevelUp for processing. LevelUp charges your card and pays the store. At two pizzerias, the system picked up my bar code fine, even with shaky hands, though it failed at a pita place when I had my phone slightly angled. A manager had to be called in.

The other bar code system I used was on the app for Dunkin’ Donuts. It works only with the store’s gift cards, so you’d have to buy one with a credit card first. Unfortunately, the register’s scanner was broken when I tried to order breakfast, and it took three employees to transfer the order to another register. In that chaos, the staff forgot to make my sandwich. With uncertainties about whether I’d run into technical troubles on a given visit, pulling out plastic is faster and more convenient.

Google Wallet This app lets you pay by tapping your device on a card reader at a store.

It uses a wireless technology called near-field communications, or NFC, something that is starting to appear on devices running Google’s Android mobile software. A few dozen national chains accept Google Wallet using card readers equipped with MasterCard’s PayPass technology. That includes at least four close to my home or office, but many more accept plastic.

The bigger problem: The app works with only a small number of Android phones on Sprint’s network. The iPhone doesn’t have the hardware. The other big wireless carriers have blocked or made it difficult to get Google’s app even on devices that have the right hardware. That’s because Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are jointly developing a competing wallet system called Isis.

Can’t everyone just get along? I was

able to borrow a Sprint device for my test and went on shopping and eating sprees at McDonald’s, 7-Eleven and CVS and Duane Reade drug stores. It took several purchases and a few thousand calories to get the hang of it.

Square The Pay With Square app lets you pay simply by giving the store your name, once you add a photo of yourself. The app uses location technology such as GPS to find nearby stores that

This combination of file photos shows the Google Wallet application on a mobile device in New York (left) and credit cards in a leather wallet (right) in Stockholm. — AP The first employee at McDonald’s wasn’t very helpful, suggesting that I try swiping the phone in the thin slot that barely fits the plastic card. I learned that it’ll take more than getting the hardware in place to make mobile systems as ubiquitous as plastic.

Customers and employees need to get used to it, too. Google Wallet lets you store gift cards, but not those from the stores I have gift cards for. The app links to the Google Offers deals service and gives you instant discounts at some retail stores as long as you pay with the app. Again, none are for stores I plan to buy from in the near future. Because I often had to enter a four-digit security code and tap a second time to complete transactions, I found swiping a card much easier. Although some card transactions require signatures, many merchants no longer bother for smaller sales. Discounts might be the draw, but I’m still waiting for an offer I can use.

accept Square. You choose one and tell the store your name.

The store sees names and photos for Square users nearby and chooses your account to charge. Starbucks recently signed on to accept Square. So I tried to buy a chai latte with it the other day, only to face befuddled employees not knowing what I was talking about.

Turns out the payments won’t be accepted until this fall, and initially some stores will require bar codes instead of accepting your name. I searched for other stores but couldn’t find any close by that I needed anything from. I had to go out of my way to buy coffee and banana bread with Square. Sigh.

I fully understand that a lot has to happen before paying by phone becomes as convenient as credit cards.

Just as the Web didn’t have many websites early on, mobile payment doesn’t have many stores accepting it. That’s

bound to change over time. But a few things might keep me away from mobile payments for good: With several competing systems, it’s a pain to keep track of who accepts what, let alone which phones work with which program. As more get announced, mobile payment will be even more of a mess.

Imagine if your dry cleaner takes only dollars, your grocery store takes only euros and your gas station requires Norwegian kroner. Businesses behind mobile payments need to start working together. It’s fine to compete, but make the competing systems compatible. Mobile payment services need to figure out how to ensure that you get the same credit card rewards and benefits as you would paying with plastic. LevelUp charges appear as LevelUp, for instance. So I’d get straightforward rewards as a percentage of my charges, but not the bonuses for spending at specific types of retailers such as restaurants and grocery stores. Many credit card companies offer insurance for car rentals if you pay with their cards, but Google won’t guarantee that with payments made through Wallet.

It’s not entirely clear to me what recourse I have should I run into disputes. What if Square lets a cashier charge the wrong person? What if I accidentally tap a card reader with Google Wallet activated? I’ve never had problems working with my credit card company to resolve disputes in the past, but these new services are unknowns. It’s possible dispute resolution will be smooth, but I don’t have the years of experience to back that up. It’s going to be a long journey. To use a baseball analogy, we’re still in batting practice during spring training, not even the first inning of a real game yet. I look forward to a day when I can leave all my cards at home, but that day may never happen if business considerations trump consumer convenience. — AP

Top electronics fair IFA embraces ‘grey’ gizmos Organisers offer guided tours for the over-60 set

NEW YORK: This Sept 28, 2011 file photo shows the Kindle Fire at a news conference. — AP

Kindle Fire sold out, new model expected NEW YORK: Amazon.com Inc says it has sold out of its Kindle Fire tablet computer amid expectations of a new model for the holiday season. The Internet retailer has a major press conference scheduled for next Thursday in Santa Monica, California. It’s widely expected to reveal a new model of the Fire there, so last Thursday’s announcement that the first model is “sold out” suggests that Amazon halted production a while ago to retool for a new model. Amazon launched the $199 tablet last November. It was the first Kindle with a color screen and the ability to run third-party applications, placing it in competition with Apple Inc.’s iPad, at half the price of the cheapest iPad. Amazon doesn’t say how many Fires it has sold, but says it captured 22 percent of US tablet sales over nine months. That would make it the second-most popular tablet, after the iPad. Tom Mainelli at research firm IDC said that figure matches his estimate of 6.7 million Fires sold, all in the US. The Fire, which is about half the size of the iPad, could face a tougher challenge this holiday season. Many analysts expect Apple to introduce a smaller, cheaper iPad to take on the threat of the Kindle Fire and reach buyers who can’t afford a full-sized iPad. In addition, Google just launched its own Kindlesized tablet, the Nexus 7, and is selling it for $199.

Amazon kept the price of the Kindle Fire low by keeping it small, stripping it of features and taking a small or zero profit margin. Its strategy is to make the Fire a means for people to buy more ebooks, music and movie downloads from the Amazon store, which is intimately linked to the device. That’s a contrast to the strategy of Apple, which sees content sales as a sideline and wants to make a profit on every device sold. Apple has sold more than 84 million iPads since its debut in 2010, contributing to strong quarterly earnings and a market valuation that has exceeded $625 billion - the highest ever for a public company. The iPad 2, released in March 2011, sells for

$399. The newest models, out this past March, sell for $499 to $829, depending on the amount of storage and wireless capabilities.

Amazon itself was the main outlet for the Kindle Fire. Its website now directs customers to used Fires available from other merchants. Staples stores recently sold it for $179. It wasn’t immediately known whether some stores still had it on shelves. Amazon could update the rest of its Kindle line at next week’s event, too. The current models were launched a year ago. In the intervening time, competitor Barnes & Noble Inc has launched a Nook e-reader with a built-in screen illuminator for reading in the dark.

ABI Research said Thursday that sales of dedicated e-readers, like the non-Fire, black-and-white Kindles, peaked last year. It expects worldwide sales of ereaders at 11 million in 2012, down from 15 million in 2011. The research firm expects tablets to outsell e-readers 9 to 1 this year, despite costing four or five time as much. Still, e-readers won’t go away completely, ABI analyst Joshua Flood said. “We believe there will always be a niche market for the dedicated reading device for voracious readers, business travelers, and educational segments, particularly ones that are low-priced,” Flood said.

Separately, tech site The Verve published photos Friday of what it says is the online retail giant’s new backlit e-reader.

While the USB port and overall aesthetic of the device appear unaltered, the supposed new Kindle Touch loses its home button below the display and has a “higher contrast, high resolution, integrated lighting and eight weeks of battery life,” according to a quote in the Verve story. The feature, if not the device, is at least tentatively dubbed “paperwhite”. The current Kindle Touch does not have a backlight and its screen is a light gray color. The product appears to be an answer to arch rival Barnes & Noble’s Simple Nook with Glowlight, introduced earlier this year.

BERLIN: High-tech gadgets to make the lives of senior citizens simpler, safer and more fun are in the spotlight at the world’s top showcase for consumer electronics and home appliances. A jump in demand has prompted organisers of IFA, which opened its annual six-day trade show Friday, to offer their first guided tours for the over-60 set, pointing out what’s new and hot for the market of a certain age. Displaying their latest gizmos, a raft of companies hope to impress at the Berlin fair, in a country which, according to Eurostat last year, had the most inhabitants over the age of 65 in Europe.

Mobile phones with bigger buttons, robotic vacuum cleaners that will not give you backache and the latest in hearing aid technology feature on the tour, amid smart TVs, tablets and high-end coffee makers. “The elderly like to sail, play golf, work in the garden,” Eveline Pupeter-Fellner, chief executive of Austrian company emporia which specialises in mobile communication for seniors, told AFP. She shows off a robust mobile phone for the outdoors which is also waterproof others in their range have features such as being able to pinpoint the location of the user, a torch or an emergency call button. But a simple alarm clock tends to be the most important feature for older mobile phone users, she said.

Beate Munkelt, a dentist from Muenster, who admits she is still a couple of years off from turning 60, is visiting the IFA for the first time and is on the tour with husband, Andreas, also a dentist.

“Very practical, elegant, user-

friendly,” she said approvingly at the emporia stand. When her husband was looking to buy a new mobile phone, it had been difficult to find a model that was easy to use and not overloaded with extra features he did not want, she had earlier complained.

Seventy-year-old former pediatric nurse, Barbara Mueller, from near Berlin, said that although she was not looking to buy anything, she had joined the tour because she was curious “just to see what’s new”.

Dirk Koslowski, IFA project

BERLIN: (Top) An employee of the company “irobot” shows a group of 60+ visitors their robotic vacuum cleaner during the first day of the 52nd edition of the “IFA” (Internationale Funkausstellung) trade fair on Friday. (Above) Eveline Pupeter, CEO of Emporia, shows two of the company’s basic models at their booth. — FP

leader, said the daily two-hour tours for seniors were introduced due to “increased demand” and the show wanted to cater for every age group, not only presenting but explaining new trends. “It’s a very important market and it’s growing,” Markus Schmitt-Fumian, senior vice president of business development at Germany’s Gigaset, said, stressing however that a product’s design should not be sacrificed over usability. The company had learned that a device should not “look like a medical device”, he told AFP, adding: “Design plays a major role because it’s not the 75year-old who is setting up the phone, it’s their daughter or son.”

And it was not just greying consumers using the products either, he added. Often they were bought by younger customers because they were quicker and easier to use or were more robust for a workplace. The company shows the tour a small device which it plans to launch next year - an emergency button for hanging around the neck, which dials pre-programmed numbers when pressed and even raises the alarm when its wearer has not moved it for a while.

Thomas Katlun, who handles public relations for the German distributor of US-based iRobot, also stressed the importance of the seniors market and predicted that ‘care robots’ to help the elderly with the use of a tablet computer were not far off. “Not C-3PO (the robot character from “Star Wars”) opening tins or whatever, but assisting in communication ways. It sounds like science fiction but it’s not that far away,” he said. — AFP

Walmart tests iPhone app checkout feature ROGERS, Arkansas: Wal-Mart Stores Inc is testing a system that would allow shoppers to scan items using their iPhones and then pay at a self-checkout counter, a move that could trim checkout times and slash costs for retailers. If the “Scan & Go” test by the world’s largest retailer is successful, it has the potential to change the way people shop and pay, making the process more personal and potentially faster. Earlier this week, Walmart invited employees with Apple Inc iPhones to participate in a test at a Walmart supercenter in Rogers, Arkansas, near the company’s headquarters, according to a form on the Survey Monkey website.

“All of the effort is to speed your way through the checkout so that we can reduce costs and improve the shopping experience,” said Paul Weitzel, managing partner at retail

consulting firm Willard Bishop, who said he had not seen Wal-Mart’s test. “With smartphones and improved technology we’re only going to see more of this.”

The test comes months after Wal-Mart said that it would add more self-checkout lanes at its Walmart and Sam’s Club stores as it continues to look for ways to lower costs and prices for its shoppers. Pushing more shoppers to scan their own items and make payments without the help of a cashier could save WalMart millions of dollars, Chief Financial Officer Charles Holley said on March 7. The company spends about $12 million in cashier wages every second at its Walmart US stores.

Shoppers often complain on Twitter and in other forums that it takes too long to pay at Walmart, where sometimes only a few of the several checkout lanes are open and staffed

with cashiers. While some retailers employ baggers to speed up the checkout process, at Walmart one employee scans and bags items.

“We’re continually testing new and innovative ways to serve customers and enhance the shopping experience in our stores,” said WalMart spokesman David Tovar. Walmart’s iPhone app already includes functions such as letting shoppers create lists and seeing which items are in stock.

The test comes as retailers and restaurants are trying to figure out ways to speed up the checkout process by letting customers pay with a tap of their smartphones. In the Walmart iPhone scanning test, shoppers can scan products with their phone and put them in bags while they shop, and then pay at a self-checkout counter. The test does not allow users to pay on their phone. — Reuters

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

H E A LT H

German drug firm makes 1st apology for thalidomide A German victims group rejected company’s apology CHICAGO: Louise Turner’s holds her grandson Matthew Erickson, 8-months-old as they wait for an MRI at Lurie Children’s Hospital. — MCT

Baby born with brain cancer surviving with hemotherapy CHICAGO: Peering intently at the tiny white smudge in their baby’s brain scan, Sue and Ben Erickson could see that the image did not reveal the miracle they had prayed for. The cancer still lurked, though it had shrunken significantly after five rounds of chemotherapy. The news was as good as they could expect, realistically, and the doctor was upbeat. “It looks good. It looks good. I’m happy,” said Dr. Rishi Lulla, a pediatric oncologist, as he reviewed the images at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. “It’s substantially, substantially better.”

The results from last week’s MRI marked a pivotal time for Matthew Erickson, who, at 8 months old, has charmed every nurse with his single-toothed grin. He was born Dec. 11 with an especially aggressive form of brain cancer, a high-grade glioma that developed while he was still in his mother’s womb, even though it’s most often diagnosed in adults.

The cancer, whose causes are unknown, had engulfed most of the right hemisphere of Matthew’s brain. Only about five children nationally are born each year with such a rare, usually fatal, condition, his doctors said when the Tribune first chronicled the family’s story in February. At the time, doctors gave the Huntley couple a difficult choice: bring Matthew home with a hospice team, love him and keep him comfortable until the inevitable. Or, they could treat the cancer aggressively with chemotherapy, a toxic cocktail with no certain outcome.

While used successfully with some other babies, chemotherapy could cause additional long-term damage or even hasten Matthew’s demise, the doctors warned.

Matthew seemed determined to make the decision for the couple. He was a born fighter, his parents said, and he rarely cried, making the treacherous journey a bit less emotionally taxing on his parents. Even when he throws up, he smiles, his mom said. “You look at him, you look at his eyes, he has life,” Sue Erickson said.

The couple arrived at the hospital at 6 am Aug 16, the day of Matthew’s MRI, admitting they did not sleep the night before. For six months, the family had set their sights on this day, to find out how well their baby responded to the aggressive treatment. “Too nervous. Too excited,” said Ben Erickson who, like his wife and mother-in-law, wore a T-shirt that read “Grey Matters” with the family name on the back. Since their decision to fight the cancer, the couple has also fought to maintain normalcy.

Matthew has spent at least two to three weeks each month in the hospital, dealing not only with the chemotherapy’s side effects, but complications from diabetes insipidus, a kidney condition marked by excessive urination that can lead to dehydration. He also suffers brain seizures, which are likely caused by the tumor and surgeries, Lulla said. Meanwhile, time marched on. The couple’s son, Nolan, 5, just started kindergarten. Their daughter, Sophia, recently celebrated her second birthday with a “princess party.”

Matthew’s saga splashes over into daily routines. Sophia one day picked up a calculator, held it to her ear like a cellphone, and said, “Dr Lulla? Dr Lulla?” Sue’s parents, Louise (“Nunny” to her grandchildren) and Bob Turner, help juggle child care and doctor appointments.

School also started last week for Ben, a teacher at South Elgin High School. Hundreds of students surprised him last spring with a donation for Matthew, whose every visit to the hospital generates a lengthy bill. The most recent invoice was 69 pages long. “Thank God for insurance,” said Ben, who was not sure where the total stands.

After the MRI, Matthew awakened from sedation smiling, as usual.

Over prior months, he has undergone four brain surgeries, and received 30 to 40 transfusions for blood and platelets. At one point, he was left with only one long strand of hair clinging to his head.

Within days of his last treatment, a soft layer of “peach fuzz” had begun to reclaim his head. Developmentally, Matthew has made progress each month.

He babbles like other babies his age. He sits up, but finds it hard to stay there, or to hold a bottle, possibly because of the weight of a catheter in his left arm, Sue said. The peripherally inserted central catheter, or Picc, is a semipermanent port used to deliver fluid and medications or withdraw blood. As the family traipsed through the hospital, headed from recovery to a clinic where they would learn more answers, they stopped along the way to greet familiar faces.

“Where’s your little baby?” said one nurse, noticing that Matthew’s size has doubled, to 16 {pounds, over recent months.

“Little dude, you’re beating this thing,” said another patient’s mother, Deidre DeVance, cooing over Matthew in his miniature track suit.

“You don’t even know what you’re beating, but you’re beating it.”

Sue, Ben and Louise huddled around a computer with Lulla, a physician in the hospital’s Division of Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant. He pointed to the screen showing four images of Matthew’s brain from MRIs taken in December, February, May and July.

The change was obvious, even to a layman. Instead of gray brain matter, the scan taken eight months ago revealed a gaping dark cavern in the brain’s right hemisphere, where excess fluid had collected in the oversized ventricles, or cavities that allow the flow of cerebral spinal fluid. The tumor was hunkered down in the middle, a small bright white spot.

By May, the tumor was “very subtle,” Lulla said, pointing to a smidgen of white against gray. Brain surgeries to remove portions of the tumor and fluid had been successful, as well. “What if we had decided to do nothing? What do you think would have happened?”

Ben Erickson asked, as the couple sat quietly, absorbing the information.

“I don’t know the answer. I think he would have died, not from the tumor but the (pressure of fluid-filled) ventricles,” Lulla said. “Our goal is to stop the tumor from growing and get Matthew to grow around the tumor.” Sue Erickson asked the next big question: “Is there ever going to be a point where there is no cancer?” Probably not, Lulla said. Even a few abnormal cells left behind may lead to the cancer’s return, he explained.

While Thursday’s scan showed even more improvement, the scary white smudge lingered and prompted debate among doctors during their weekly “tumor board” meeting. During these sessions, oncologists, surgeons, nurses, radiologists, pathologists and social workers discuss new cases and patients whose treatments have reached critical points.

On Aug 21, Lulla and Dr Tord Alden, a neurosurgeon, laid out Matthew’s case to the group of about 20 people. As they viewed brain images projected on a large screen, specialists questioned whether they were looking at scar tissue or tumor, and how fast, if at all, the cancerous cells would spread.

At 9 pm that night, Lulla called the couple and discussed options. Some doctors felt that the chemotherapy should continue.

Lulla and Alden recommended giving Matthew a two-month break, during which time they could also treat his brain seizures with steroids. “Ben and I, we almost knew the ball would be put into our court and we would have to make that decision,” Sue Erickson said the following morning.—MCT

BERLIN : The German manufacturer of a notorious drug that caused thousands of babies to be born with shortened arms and legs, or no limbs at all, issued its first ever apology Friday 50 years after pulling the drug off the market.

Gruenenthal Group’s chief executive said the company wanted to apologize to mothers who took the drug during the 1950s and 1960s and to their children who suffered congenital birth defects as a result.

“We ask for forgiveness that for nearly 50 years we didn’t find a way of reaching out to you from human being to human being,” Harald Stock said. “We ask that you regard our long silence as a sign of the shock that your fate caused in us.” Stock spoke in the West German city of Stolberg, where the company is based, during the unveiling of a bronze statue symbolizing a child born without limbs because of thalidomide. The statue is called “the sick child” - a name German victims group object to since all the victims are now adults. In German, the name also implies cure.

The drug is a powerful sedative and was sold under the brand name Contergan in Germany. It was given to pregnant women mostly to combat morning sickness, but led to a wave of birth defects in Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan. Thalidomide was yanked from the market in 1961 and was also found to cause defects in the eyes, ears, heart, genitals and internal organs of developing babies.

Thalidomide was never approved for use in pregnant women in the United States. Freddie Astbury, of Liverpool, England, was born without arms or legs after his mother took thalidomide. The 52-year-old said the apology was years long overdue. “It’s a disgrace that it’s taken them 50 years to apologize,” said Astbury, of the Thalidomide UK agency, an advocacy group for survivors. “I’m gobsmacked (astounded),” he said. “For years, (Gruenenthal) have insisted they never did anything wrong and refused to talk to us.”

Astbury said the drug maker should apologize not just to the people affected, but to their families. He also said the company should offer compensation. “It’s time to put their money where their mouth is,” he said. “For me to drive costs about 50,000 pounds ($79,000) for a car with all the adaptations,” he said. “A lot of us depend on specialist care and that runs into

GERMANY: An April 21, 1969 photo from files showing a view of a laboratory of the pharmaceutical company “Chemie Gruenenthal”, in Stolberg, near Aachen, , during an animal experiment April 21, 1969 as prosecuters came to inspect the manufacturer of the drug Thalidomide, which was prescribed by doctors as harmless sleeping drug to pregnant women and caused the miscarriage and birth of thousands of crippled children. — AP photos the millions.”

Astbury said he and other UK survivors have received some money over the years from a trust set up by thalidomide’s British distributor but that Gruenenthal has never agreed to settle. “We invite them to sit around the table with us to see how far their apology will go,” he said.

“I don’t think they’ve ever realized the impact they’ve had on peoples’ lives.”

Gruenenthal settled a lawsuit in Germany in 1972 - 11 years after stopping sales of the drug - and voiced its regret to the victims. But for decades, the company refused to admit liability, saying it had conducted all necessary clinical trial required at the time.

Stock reiterated that position Friday, insisting that “the suffering that occurred with Contergan 50 years ago happened in a world that is completely different from today” and the pharmaceutical industry had learned a valuable lesson from the incident. “When it devel-

oped Contergan Gruenenthal acted on the basis of the available scientific knowledge at the time and met all the industry standards for the testing of new drugs that were known in the 1950s and 1960s,” he said.

A German victims group rejected the company’s apology as too little, too late. “The apology as such doesn’t help us deal with our everyday life,” said Ilonka Stebritz, a spokeswoman for the Association of Contergan Victims. “What we need are other things.”

Stebritz said that the 1970 settlement in Germany led to the creation of a Ä150 million fund for some 3,000 German victims, but that with a normal life expectancy of 85 years the money wasn’t enough. In many other countries, victims are still waiting for compensation from Gruenenthal or its local distributors.

In July, an Australian woman born without arms and legs after her mother took thalidomide reached a multimillion dollar settlement

GERMANY: In a 1965 file photo provided by the US Department of Health, a three-yearold girl, born without arms to a German mother who took the drug thalidomide, uses power-driven artificial arms fitted to her by Dr Ernst Marquardt of the University of Heidelberg. with the drug’s British distributor. Gruenenthal refused to settle. The lawsuit was part of a class action and more than 100 other survivors expect to have their claims heard in the next year. Attorneys for Lynette Rowe said in a statement released Saturday that Grunenthal’s apology rang hollow.

“To suggest that its long silence before today ought to be put down to ‘silent shock’ on its part is insulting nonsense,” the statement reads. “For 50 years Grunenthal has been engaged in a calculated corporate strategy to avoid the moral, legal and financial consequences of its reckless and negligent actions of the 1950s and 1960s.”

Thalidomide is still sold today, but as a treatment for multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer and leprosy. It is also being studied to see if it might be useful for other conditions including AIDS, arthritis and other cancers. — AP

Work, mahjong and tea: Hong Kong’s secrets to longevity HONG KONG: Covered in smog and cramped apartment towers, Hong Kong is not usually associated with a healthy lifestyle. But new figures show that Hong Kongers are the longest-living people in the world. Hong Kong men have held the title for more than a decade and recent data show women in the southern Chinese city overtaking their Japanese counterparts for the first time, according to the governments in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Hong Kong women’s life expectancy rose from an average 86 years in 2010 to 86.7 years in 2011, while Japanese women’s longevity was hit by last year’s earthquake and tsunami, falling to 85.9 years, census figures reveal.

So what is Hong Kong’s secret to a long life?

Experts say there is no single elixir, but contributing factors include easy access to modern health care, keeping busy, traditional Cantonese cuisine and even the centuries-old Chinese tile game of mahjong.

Rolling stones gather no moss “I love travelling, I like to see new things and I meet my friends for ‘yum cha’ every day,” Mak Yin, an 80year-old grandmother of six says as she practises the slow-motion martial art of tai chi in a park on a Sunday morning. “Yum cha” is the Cantonese term to describe the tradition of drinking tea with bite-sized delicacies known as dim sum. The tea is free and served non-stop, delivering a healthy dose of antioxidants with the meal. “My friends are in their 60s-they think I’m around their age too, although I’m much older than them,” Mak laughs.

Mak’s favourite food is steamed vegetables, rice and fruit. Cantonese food is famous for steamed fish and vegetables-dishes that use little or none of the cooking oils blamed for heart disease, obesity and high cholesterol. But before Mak enjoys her afternoon tea, she joins a group of elderly people for her morning exercise of tai chi, an ancient Chinese practice said to have benefits including improving balance and boosting cardiovascular strength. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in February found that tai chi reduces falls and “appears to reduce balance impairments” in people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease.

Another factor behind Hong Kongers’ longevity, experts say, is work. While others long for the day they can retire and kick up their heels, many people in Hong Kong work well into their 70s and even 80s.

Hong Kong does not have a statutory retirement age and it is common to see elderly people working in shops, markets and restaurants alongside younger staff. “Many old people in our city remain working, that contributes to better psychological and mental health,” Hong Kong Association of Gerontology president Edward Leung says.

“For older people, a lot of them are stressed because they have nothing to do and they develop ‘emptiness syndrome’. This causes mental stress.”

Fishmonger Lee Woo-hing, 67, says he could not bear to sit at home and do nothing. His inspiration is local tycoon Li Ka-shing, Asia’s richest man, who still runs his vast business empire in his 80s. “If Li Ka-shing continues working at the age of 84, why should I retire?” asks the father-of-four during a break from his 14hour shift at a bustling market in central Hong Kong.

“If I just sit at home and stare at the walls, I’m worried that my brain will degenerate faster. I’m happy to chat with different people here in the market.”

‘Mahjong delays dementia’ Hong Kong’s cramped living conditions are famously unhealthy, fuelling outbreaks of disease and viruses including bird flu and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which have killed dozens of people.

The city’s reputation won it the dubious distinction of a starring role in director Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 disaster thriller “Contagion”, about a deadly virus that spreads from Hong Kong to the United States. But in the day-to-day habits of ordinary people, experts say Hong Kong is a great place to grow old. A popular local way of keeping busy and meeting friends is mahjong-a mentally stimulating tile game which can help delay dementia, according to aging expert Alfred Chan, of Hong Kong’s Lingnan University.

“It stimulates the parts that control memory and cognitive abilities. It helps old people with their retention of memory,” he says. The complex rules and calculation of scores make mahjong, also known as the Chinese version of dominoes, mentally demanding.

But the social aspects of the four-player game are just as important. “In mahjong you need to play with three other people. It is a very good social activity, you have to interact with each other constantly,” says Chan, who has studied the game’s effects on the well being of elderly people. “It is also a self-fulfilling game because if you win-whether you play with money or not-it gives you a sense of empowerment.”—AFP

HONG KONG: Tai chi is a key component to the longevity enjoyed by residents of Hong Kong.—AFP

ARVADA: A photo shows medicinal indoor herb garden for healthful herbs throughout the winter months, from left, chocolate peppermint, and chamomile, and right, French thyme, sage, and lemon balm. — AP photos

Indoor herb gardening can yield home remedies NEW YORK: What if you could soothe a sore throat or a headache with the snip of a scissors? Plant some herbs indoors now, before fall sets in, and you could have a winter’s worth of folksy remedies. Many medicinal plants, especially herbs, grow well indoors, says Amy Jeanroy, who runs a greenhouse business near her Ravenna, Nebraska, home, and writes and teaches about medicinal herbs.

She recommends starting with these five: thyme, chamomile, mint, lemon balm and sage.

Each works well as a tea: Grow, cut and dry them for use throughout the year, or use fresh herbs. To brew a tea, add 1 teaspoon of dried - or 3 teaspoons of fresh - herbs to 1 cup of boiled water; steep several minutes, then remove the herbs.

All five herbs aid digestion, says herbalist Christina Blume, who has taught medicinal and other herb-related classes at the Denver Botanic Gardens. “A lot of herbs that people already cook with are herbs that have medicinal qualities,” adds Jeanroy. “It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s kicking the flu for you. It helps you.”

Physician Andrew Weil maintains a list of healthful herbs and their uses at his website, DrWeil.com. Consult a doctor before trying to treat a health problem with herbs, Jeanroy says.

She treats her five children with herbs such as chamomile. “It helps with the crankiness the kids get when they’re feverish,” she says. Thyme, Jeanroy says, can soothe a throat sore from coughing, and Blume touts its anti-viral properties.

“I always drink thyme tea when I fly,” says Blume, “because you’re rebreathing all that air that everyone’s breathing And (the tea) tastes good.”

Mint - especially peppermint - is a home remedy for an upset stomach.

And it can mask the strong or bitter taste of some other herbs, such as

sage, which can soothe mouth sores and bleeding gums after dental work, says Jeanroy. Lemon balm can be drunk as a tea to counter headaches, added to other medicinal teas to mask an unpleasant taste, or steeped stronger to make a topical, antiseptic cleanser for a skinned knee or itchy bug bite, she says.

“If there’s one herb that does tons of great stuff, lemon balm is it,” says Jeanroy. Medicinal gardens are centuries old; modern ones date back to the apothecary gardens of the Italian Renaissance during the 16th century, says Teresa Mazikowski, a staff gardener who spearheaded the Buffalo and Erie County (NY) Botanical Gardens’ indoor medicinal garden last October.

Botanical gardens grew out of these early medicinal gardens. The indoor medicinal garden that Mazikowski tends goes beyond common herbs. It was planted with public education in mind, she says, and includes rare and tropical plants, as well. “The idea is to teach people how to keep themselves healthy so they don’t have to take drugs” when they’re sick, Mazikowski says.

The D’Youville College School of Pharmacy, and Mercy Hospital, both in Buffalo, collaborated with the city’s Botanical Gardens to launch the medicinal garden with plants that show promise in pharmaceutical research, Mazikowski says, including turmeric, Pacific yew, cayenne pepper and ginseng.

Her own indoor garden includes oregano, mint, parsley, sage, lemon balm, lemon verbena, catmint and chives. Start with a small indoor garden, Mazikowski suggests, and know that the plants aren’t likely to last longer than 18 months. Use a large, clean pot filled with sterile potting soil.

Sow seeds or use small starter plants, which often are inexpensive this time of year.—AP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

health & science

Feds crack down on S California medical marijuana LOS ANGELES: Federal prosecutors expanded their crackdown on California medical marijuana dispensaries, filing three lawsuits and sending warning letters to more than 60 clinics in two Orange County cities.

The asset-forfeiture lawsuits filed against landlords who own buildings

that house six marijuana shops in Anaheim and the letters order the closure of the clinics or possible criminal charges will be filed.

More than 300 pot stores and grows have been targeted in the Central District of California, which stretches from Santa Barbara to San

CALIFORNIA: Michael Oliveri, right, medical cannabis patient smokes marijuana during a news conference in Universal City. —AP

Bernardino counties, since October when the state’s four US attorneys announced an effort to curb dispensaries.

Prosecutors argue dealers and suppliers are using the state’s medical pot law, approved in 1996, as legal cover for running sophisticated drug-trafficking ventures in plain sight. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Medical marijuana advocates argue the collectives are protected

by California law, which allows the drug to be cultivated and supplied to ill people on a nonprofit basis. The crackdown comes amid a shift by municipalities and law enforcement agencies that say the clinics are abusing the law and in some cases overrunning neighborhoods.

Last month, the Los Angeles City Council voted to ban as many as 900 storefront dispensaries in the coming weeks.

A medical marijuana trade group has since sued the city, claiming the ban violated constitutional rights.

Activists are also working to qualify a ballot measure to repeal the ban. In all, 66 warning letters were sent to marijuana dispensaries in Anaheim and La Habra. Some have closed recently, but federal authorities said 38 remain open. —AP

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

WHAT’S ON

Premier GOAL Academy, Everton hold Open Day

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! This summer, let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

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Study in Canada exhibition rganized by the Embassy of Canada, the seventh annual Middle East Education Initiative (MEEI) will be visiting Kuwait from Oct 2-4, 2012.

Representatives of 20 leading Canadian universities and colleges will be available to meet students, parents, teachers and guidance counsellors to present the advantages of studying in Canada. On Wednesday, Oct 3, 2012 a Study in Canada exhibition will be held at the Marina Hotel, Salmiya from 6:00 - 9:00 pm for potential students and their parents to attend. The Canadian institutions will also be visiting local schools to speak to interested students about opportunities to study in Canada. For more information: www.kuwait.gc.ca.

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‘Leniency of Islam’ n 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 Al-Turkait. 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.

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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 KD 10 from City Centre.

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Urdu Congregation celebrates Pakistan Independence Day he Urdu Language Congregation in Kuwait (ULCIK) celebrated the 65th independence day of Pakistan in the compound of the National Evangelical Church Kuwait. Mohd Hassan Wazir, Deputy Head of Mission of Pakistan Embassy was the Guest of Honor. The celebration was opened with the prayer of Pastor John James. Miss Nadia Riaz was the Stage Secretary of this program. The National Anthem was sung by Church choir and the audience with great national zeal.

Children presented flower to the Chief Guest. ULC choir, Miss Roma Khurshid, Miss Aksa Shamoun and Naiyer Javed presented passionate national song. The LJLC youth group also presented religious and national songs and the audience enjoyed much and clapped their hands. The people repeatedly raised a slogan,” Pakistan Zinda Bad”.

Justin B Ram Sr Pastor of ULCIK welcomed and addressed the audience. He said that Quaid-e-Azam

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Mohd Ali Jinnah got Pakistan not for any particular religious group, tribe or party. “He got it for the people of Pakistan to live independently”. He concluded his speech with a special prayer for the solidity and prosperity of country, government and the people of Pakistan. Julian Jamil recited few versus from The Holy Bible. Pastor John James delivered the Message of’ God. He told that each country is established by the Almighty God on this earth and God has appointed the higher authority over the people. Therefore each citizen is obliged to follow the rules & regulations of the country and be subjected to governing authorities, if a person tries to resist the authority he resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. The rulers are God’s Minister and they are authorized to punish the wicked.

The Chief Guest distributed gifts among the children who won the higher position in their classes.

Hassan Wazir shared his thoughts with the audience. He expressed that the public is the main authority and we are their servants. Being a Pakistani it is our duty to be loyal and faithful to our land and the government. The Quaid-e-Azam Mohd Ali Jinnah did not acquire Pakistan in the name of religion. He got Pakistan as an independent country and each Pakistani has equal right of religion and to live freely. He thanked the pastors and the management committee of ULCIK for inviting him for this program.

Kamran Javed offered a special prayer for the solidity and prosperity of the country. At the end Pastor Justin thanked specially to the Chief Guest and the audience. Pastor Emmanuel Rebmat Masih closed the ceremony with prayer and the Word of Blessings. The food was served to the guests at the end of the program.

Tulukoota Kuwait ‘Merit Scholarship’ pplications are now being invited for “Tulukoota Kuwait Merit Cum Means Scholarship” to be awarded during Tuluparba 2012 scheduled to be held on October 11 and 12, 2012. The objective of this scholarship is to provide financial assistance and support to deserving meritorious students, to enable them to pursue their higher studies. Applications are accepted from minimum one year valid Tulukoota Kuwait member’s children studying either in the State of Kuwait or in India and scoring high grades in Xth and XIIth standard Board Examination held for Academic year 2011-2012. Copies of marks sheet, proof of income, Civil ID, TKK membership number, contact number and photo to be submitted along with the application for scholarship to TKK Welfare officer Suresh Shyam Rao, contact No: 65976789. Applications will be accepted from September 1-30, 2012. Candidates obtaining high grades but not eligible for merit cum means scholarship shall be honored with merit certificate and medal during Tuluparba 2012. For more information contact: Sathyanarayan: 66585077; Willson D’souza: 97875789; Suresh Shyam Rao: 65976789. Mail Id: secretary@tulukootakuwait.org, website: tulukootakuwait.org.

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Tulukoota Kuwait Tulu Parba Competition 2012 ulu Parba Competitions are here again and Tutu Koota Kuwait is very excited to invite all the Tuluvas to join us on the event to be held on Friday, September 21, 2012, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm at the Indian Community School Auditorium, Khaitan. Join us for an enthusiastic and entertaining day with lots of fun and creativity. Competitions for various age group planned for the day include: Dance Solo and Group, Fancy Dress Solo and Group, photography of toddlers and origami, post card writing, drawing for children; Tu Dhantina Atil and Beeda Kattunu for ladies solo; while we have Peta Kattunu and Gali Pata Malpunu for Men Solo; married couples have Adarsh Dampati and hair styling, while we also have a game planned for the senior citizens. For further details and registrations, you can contact Jaya Karkal 66958848, Janet D’Souza 97949760, Sushma Bangera 96672929, Geetha Suvarna 66526160, Rekha Sachu 65044521. Vidya Vittal 25630652.

You can also send an email to: secretary@tulukootakuwait.org, sathya6585@yahoo.com or sushma7manoj@yahoo.com. For more details on the rules and regulations please visit our website: www.tulukootakuwait.org. Hurry up! Kindly rush to give your names for registrations as the last date for accepting registrations is September 14, 2012. Mail ID: secretary@tulukootakuwait.org, website: tulukootakuwait.org.

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Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

Aware Diwaniya he AWARE Center cordially invites you to its diwaniya presentation entitled, “Participants of the Middle East Partnership Initiative Share Their Exciting Experiences,” by Farah Al-Shamali and her friends on Tuesday September 4, 2012 at 7:00 pm. For years, Kuwaiti youth have been engaging with the outside world whether to share their culture, customs and traditions or learn about those in these countries they venture to engage with. As a result of this exposure, they become very cosmopolitan in outlook and have far better reach, coming back very ambitious to effect positive changes in their society, be it politically or economically, engaging more closely with civil society and what have you. A prominent group from this pool of young people is those that participated in the Middle East Partnership Initiative, a program initiated by the Department of State in December 2002. As local chapters come into existence across the region, come listen to a selection of these motivated individuals as they share their experiences and how they plan to make the valuable knowledge they learned applicable in Kuwaiti society. For more information, call 25335260/80 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw.

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Arabic courses PC and all its branches are opening Free Arabic Language Course for non-Arab ladies accessible in beginners and advance levels. Class will commence on September 14, 2012. Islamic and Quran courses are also presented in different languages.

Registration is on! Call the nearest IPC branch: Salmiyah: 25733263, 97533263; Kheitan: 24730137, 99285459; Mangaf: 23723002 ext. 124/123; Jahra: 24558830, 97533948.

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Focus Kuwait 6th annual day s a part of the 6th anniversary celebrations, Forum of Cadd Users (FOCUS Kuwait), a nonpolitical, non-religious organization is set to stage a mega cultural event “Focus Fest-2012”. This mega event will be a blend of traditional and contemporary dance and musical extravaganza by renowned South Indian playback singers Jyotsna and Sudeesh. Scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, October 12, 2012, at the Al-Jeel Al-Jadeed School

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Auditorium, Hawally, the mega musical show, is expected to be a super-hit in Kuwait. Joseph Panicker, Chairman of the Institution of Engineers India (IEI) has released the Raffle Coupon of “Focus Fest-2012” handing over a copy to Thomas Itty, one of the Conveners of Program Committee, in the function held at Ebenezer Auditorium, Abbassiya on the evening of August 13. An attractive program flayer also has been

released by him handing over a copy to Sam Pynumood, the popular social activist and former advisory board member of FOCUS. The function was presided over

by FOCUS President Sasi Thompson.

General Secretary M N Saleem, Vice President Manoj George, Joint Secretary Shaheed Labba and various sub-committee conveners and members present on the occasion.

Audition for ZEE International Antakshari or the first time Indian Cultural Society brings you live excitement of ZEE - International Antakshari in Kuwait. Audition & first round will be held in Kuwait, thereafter followed by semi finals in India & Grand Finale in Dubai. Complete team of Carnival films and Zee TV will be in Kuwait for the final round of selection on Friday 5th October with Jaaved Jaaferi: Celebrity Judge, Akriti Kakkar: Female Bollywood singer and host of Antakshari, Manish Paul: Host for auditions, Sarfaraz Khan: actor, director and producer.

Michael Amin: Producer & director Carnival Films

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World. Musicians, male singers and many more for live performances.

Final audition at 10am & music show at 7.30 pm at AIS-Hawally.

Criteria for audition entry 1. Age - 15 years and above 2. Ability to sing 3. Bollywood trivia knowledge 4. Registrations are open to all nationalities residing in GCC countries. Participant should be present on audition date as per given time frame.

NSS Kuwait Onam celebrations on Sept 28 Write to us

he Premier GOAL Academy in association with Everton FC are holding their Open Day at Shaab Park GOAL Football Centre on Saturday 8th September from 0900-1200 and 1500-1700.

Sponsored by Porshe Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company and under the patronage of HE the British Ambassador to Kuwait, Frank Baker, everyone is invited to attend.

There will be football matches, penalty shoot-outs, diving headers, shooting and coaching drills organized by the team of fully qualified UK coaches and coaching assistants. The 2012-13 schedule and program will be available, along with the new playing strips. The PGA offers organized football coaching for boys and girls aged from 3 to 19 years with players grouped according to age and ability. There are also Girls only groups from 11 years and above, specialist Goalkeeping coaching and Freestyle sessions.

Tours to Dubai and England are planned during this season along with Festivals of Football, tournaments, competitions and regular fixtures for selected players. For the real English Premier League experience come along and discover what the P.G.A. has to offer - the biggest and best football academy in Kuwait with fully qualified coaches delivering the proven Evertonway coaching program. For further details contact Academy Director Mike Finn on 99981327, Executive Director Baker on 66918666 and check out the website; http://www.pgakuwait.com.kw/

SS Onam will be celebrated on September 28 (Friday), at Carmel School, Khaitan from 9:30 am.

Nair Service Society (NSS) Kuwait is one of the largest socio-cultural organization in Kuwait formed in the year 2001 and now has more than 3,000 Indians as members. On Sept 28, a full day variety entertainment program depicting the rich heritage and art forms of Kerala has been planned and the major attractions are drama “Aaal Roopam” (Dummy) directing by Shemej Kumar and musical drama “Ravanaputri” a unique art form, organizing by NSS Vanitha Samajam.

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Raveendran Nair, President of Nair Service Society (NSS), Kuwait will preside over the function and . KR Rajan, Secretary, HRD, Nair Service Society (NSS), Changanassery, Kerala will be the Chief Guest. Nair Service Society (NSS) Kuwait is introducing first time in Kuwait “Onam Valla Sadhya” a vegetarian banquet with around 50 dishes. The renowned Master of the Kitchen Aranmula Nadamangalath Vijayan and his team, will be supervising NSS Kuwait’s Onam Sadhya kitchen this year. This year more than 1,500 people are expected to enjoy the NSS taste of Vijayan.

AWARE Arabic courses highlights * Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics * Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic * Combine language learning with cultural insights * Taught in multi-nationality group settings * Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs.

For more information log onto: www.aware.com.kw.

Winter 2012 AMIE examination he AMIE Winter 2012 examinations will be held between Dec 01-07, 2012 as follows: Section A (Diploma) - December 1-4, 2012 Section A (Non-Diploma) - December 1-7, 2012 Section B - December 1-7, 2012 The last date for submission of examination application forms are given hereunder: Candidates not appeared at Summer 2012 Exam: Aug 21 - Sept 21, 2012 Candidates appeared at Summer 2012 Exam: Sept 21 - Oct 19, 2012 Candidates who intend to appear for the Winter 2012 examination must apply directly to Kolkata by filling the prescribed application form along with requisite amount of demand draft in favour of The Institution of Engineers (India), payable at Kolkata. The details of the examination is available at the website www.ieindia.org.

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 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, AlBanwan 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 online at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

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EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE

NAFO bids farewell to Nair, Dr Raman AFO Kuwait bid farewell to the most respected PVR Nair, Advisory Board Member and his wife Dr Indira Raman, who will be leaving Kuwait very shortly for good, after having stayed for more than 40 years in Kuwait. A short meeting for the farewell was held at the Indian Community School (Senior) on August 3rd, started with a prayer by Girish Nair. NAFO President BS Pillai, chaired the meeting.

Murali S Nair, Secretary General Affairs and Smitha Sashikumar, Ladies wing Cocoordinator formally introduced PVR Nair and Dr Indira Raman respectively.

PVR Nair was then honored with Ponnada and Memento by the President. Dr Indira Raman was also honored with Ponnada and Memonto by the Ladies wing Co-ordinators Sindu

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Rajiv Menon, Anajana Pradeep Kumar and Smitha Sashikumar, in recognition of their valued contribution towards the social, welfare and cultural services of NAFO. NAFO Patron Vijayan Karayil, Advisory Board Member Dr Prasad Nair, Vice-President O N Suresh Kumar, Treasurer O N Nandakumar, Secretary Krishnakumar, EC Members Vijayan Nair, & Sri Pradeep Kumar, Life members Dr. Narayanan Nampoori, Dr P C Nair and Krishna Pillai felicitated the couple.

In their reply note, the Senior NAFO citizens thanked NAFO and extended their continued voluntary services for NAFO from Kerala. General Secretary C G Manoj welcomed the audience and Ajayakumar, Advisory Board member and convener of the program proposed

National Forum Kuwait ONAM celebration ational Forum Kuwait (NAFO Kuwait) will celebrate ONAM 2012 with its full spirit and fervor on Friday, September 21, 2012 at the Indian Community School Auditorium from 10.00 AM onwards, according to officials.

His Excellency Satish C Mehta, Ambassador of India to Kuwait, will be the chief guest on this happy occasion. A galaxy of eminent personalities in Kuwait is also expected to join the celebration.

Starting from the floral carpet called “Athapookkalam”; NAFO family shall be

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Science & Natural History Museum A wealth of education awaits the visitor to the Science and Natural History Museum on Abdulla Al Mubarak Street. Each gallery contains either a collection or an exhibit covering a wide range of themes. Collections on display Include fossils, stuffed animals, skeletons, and dried flowers. There are exhibits on health, petroleum, space travel, and electronics, among others. Forming part of the National Museum complex, the wonderful, modern Planetarium In the museum complex has shows at around 18:00 daily: local children, convinced the room is spinning, clap In syncopated beats every time the accompanying music begins.

A museum planetarium shows: Mornings: 1st Show: 10:00 a.m; 2nd Show: 11:00 a. m; 3rd Show: 12:00 p.m Evenings: 1st Show: 5:00 p.m; 2nd Show: 5:45 p.m; 3rd Show : 6:00 p.m. Note: Friday & Saturday no morning shows. (Tel: +965 22451195; +965 22456534). Admission is FREE. The Dickson House The house of the first British political agent In Kuwait is still standing. The Dickson House, located across from the dhow harbour east of Sief Palace, was originally a Kuwaiti home built in 1870, but was given to Britain to use as residential headquarters.

The compound was expanded several times over the years, but stands as an excellent example of early Kuwaiti architectural styles.

Opening hours are from Saturday to Thursday 8:30 a.m-12:30 p.m and 4:30 a.m-8:30 p.m Friday 4:30 a.m - 8:30 p.m. Admission is FREE. Al-Qurain Museum Located in the residential suburb of Qurain, This small museum is a memorial to a cell of young Kuwaiti patriots who tried to resist arrest in February 1991. Early In the morning, Iraqis bombarded the house for hours with machine guns, bombs and

Al Hashemi Marine Museum The World’s largest wooden dhow, owned and build by Hussein Marafie,Al Hashemi is a ‘Baghalah’ of monumental proportions. Baghalah is a large wooden cargo vessel which sailed the seas in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Constructed next to Radisson SAS Hotel, the doubledecked Al-Hashemi II is dry-docked next to pre-oil era Kuwaiti village and marine museum containing models of extinct and modern dhows The lower deck has the grand ballroom - one of the finest in Kuwait. Al-Hashemi II has earned the distinction of being listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The museum is opened Sat. Thu. from 9 am till 5 pm.

Admission is FREE. Oil Display Centre The Oil Display Centre at Kuwait is located 20 kilometers in the southern direction from main city of Kuwait. Oil display center In Kuwait is set In the Ahmadi area, which is the primary hub of Kuwait’s oil production where many oll-fields and oil wells are located. This center is a learning ground for all those who wonder how oil processing is done. It gives an opportunity to the tourists to know all about the history beginning from how oil was explored, drilled, produced and processed In Kuwait.

The Oil Display Center Is located 20 kilometers away from Kuwait City, in the southern direction.

This small center throws an insight into Kuwait’s oil business and the work of the Kuwait Oil Company, which owns it. It is definitely worth a visit. Opening hours Sat - Wed 07:00 am -3:00 pm. It is open by appointment. Tel: +965 23982393; 23989111; 23981678. KOC can also arrange for groups to tour the oil fields themselves.

Kuwait Memorial Museum Before the Iraqi invasion, the museum housed a collection that has been acclaimed by International art historians as one of the most comprehensive collection of Islamic arts. Located near the National Assembly, comprising of four buildings and a planetarium. In 1997, the Muhallab II, the replacement for the magnificent trading dhow from the 1930 that graced the front yard of the museum before it was burned by the Iraqis, was constructed on site and

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 nonnotarial 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.

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 12:30 to 01:00 pm for lunch break. Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday.

The Canadian Embassy will be closed on Sunday and Monday 19 and 20 August 2012 on the occasion of Aid Al Fitr. The Embassy will resume its duties on Tuesday 21 August 2012. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

Places of interest eventually a tank.

Monday to Saturday 8.30 a.m - 12.30 p.m; 4.30a.m -8.30 p.m Friday morning off. Afternoon: 4.30 a.m8.30 pm. Winter Visiting hours: 4-8.30 pm. 1st Day of Eid off. Tel: +965 25430343

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staging various cultural activities bringing back the nostalgic memories of a bygone era of prosperity, equality and righteousness under the golden reign of Mahabali. In addition, a grand sumptuous meal, the traditional “ONASADYA” will also be served. For more details, please contact 66464577/ 97202933/ 97420767/ 99017072 or contact@nafoglobal.org.

Sadu House Al Sadu House stands on Arabian Gulf Street near the National Museum, representing one of the last preserved pre-oil -era dwellings in Kuwait. Al Sadu House became a centre for Bedouin art and the sale of traditional goods In 1979. Visitors can observe Bedouin women weaving at their looms, handmaking carpets, camel bags and tent screens.

Opening hours are Saturday to Thursday from 8:00 am to 1:00 p.m and from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m daily except Friday. (Tel: +965 2243.2395) Admission is FREE.

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.

now is open to visitors. Tel (2451195) Tareq Rajab Museum Tareq Rajab opened his private collection of Islamic art treasures to the general public in 1980.

The Tareq Rajab Museum in Jabriya features ceramics, silver and gold jewelry, and musical instruments.

It also houses one of the finest collections of old Qurans and at her Arabic manuscripts in the world.

All artifacts are of Arab or Muslim origin and are labeled for easy viewing. Visiting hours are from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Saturdays through Thursdays. On Fridays, the museum is open to the general public only in the mornings, with afternoons reserved for tours. Opening hours 9:00 -12:00 noon; 4:00-7:00 pm; Ramadan open on weekdays: 09:00-12:00; noon 7:00 pm-10:00 pm; Fridays usual time. (Tel: +965 25317358) Entry is KD2 / Adult. Children and students are FREE. Al Shaab Leisure Park Located on Arabian Gulf Street, this park has variety of games & amusements for young & old including carousels, dodmegs, bowling hall, billiards, snooker and tennis as well as a theatre and a cinema. All the amusements are linked by paths that meander through gardens and around water fountains. There is a restaurant block containing branches of most fast food outlets in Kuwait.

Open daily from 4 pm to midnight (from 10 am on weekends), entry is 500 fils a head and games cost 250 to 750 fils a go, though a full ticket may be purchased for a KD 2.500 (Tel: 5613777) http://www.shaabpark.com The Scientific Center Kuwait Scientific Center in Kuwait is located on the waterfront at Ras Al Ardh in the Salmiya region in Kuwait which serves as a center for environmental education of the gulf region. Kuwait Scientific Center at Kuwait was initiated by late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and its compound covers an area of over 80,000 square meters with the building itself covering over 18,000 square meters.

The major attractions of the Kuwait Scientific Center in Kuwait which the tourists must see are the Aquarium and the interesting Discovery place.

There is also a 250 seat IMAX film theater. (Tel: +965 1848888) http://www.tsck.org.kw Courtesy: Dispatches Magazine

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EMBASSY OF FRANCE The Embassy would like to inform that starting September 2nd, 2012, visa demands for France will be handled by the outsourcing company “Capago - MENA Company”. Capago - MENA’S Call Center will be operational starting Sunday August 26 for setting appointments beginning September 2nd (+965 22270555). During a transitional period Al-Qabas will continue receiving visa applicants until August 27, then the visa section at the French Embassy (Mansouriah, Street 13, House 24, (+965 22582020) will handle those applications from August 28 until today.

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EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the Kenyan community residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that the Embassy has acquired new office telephone numbers as follows: 25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries 25353987 - Fax Our Email address: info@kenyaembkuwait.com.

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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, Al-Salaam 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, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com.

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EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax- 25387719.

Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk.

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EMBASSY OF SLOVAKIA

The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Kuwait would like to inform the public that on the occasion of the Anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising, the Embassy will be closed today.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 Swarm Chasers 01:40 Animal Cops Houston 02:35 Bad Dog 03:30 Dogs 101: Specials 04:25 Wild France 05:20 Great Ocean Adventures 06:10 Dogs 101 07:00 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 07:25 Meerkat Manor 07:50 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 08:15 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 09:10 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 09:35 Breed All About It 10:05 Crocodile Hunter 11:00 Dogs 101 11:55 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 12:50 Wildest Latin America 13:45 South Georgia: Life Under The Furious 50 14:40 RSPCA: Have You Got What It Takes?

15:05 RSPCA: Have You Got What It Takes?

15:35 Wild Animal Orphans 16:00 Wild Animal Orphans 16:30 My Cat From Hell 17:25 Animal Planet’s Most Outrageous 18:20 Austin Stevens Adventures 19:15 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 20:10 Great Ocean Adventures 21:05 Wild France 22:00 Monster Bug Wars 22:55 Wildest Latin America 23:50 Untamed & Uncut 23:50 Animal Cops Houston 00:05 Gok’s Fashion Fix 00:50 Cash In The Attic 01:35 Cash In The Attic 02:20 Bargain Hunt 03:05 Bargain Hunt 03:50 Cash In The Attic 04:35 Cash In The Attic 05:20 Gok’s Fashion Fix 06:05 Saturday Kitchen 2007/08 06:35 James Martin’s Favourite Feasts 07:00 MasterChef Australia 07:50 MasterChef Australia 08:15 MasterChef Australia 11:50 MasterChef Australia 12:15 MasterChef Australia 13:25 10 Years Younger 14:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 15:40 DIY SOS 16:05 DIY SOS 16:30 Holmes On Homes 17:20 Baby Borrowers USA 18:05 Baby Borrowers USA 18:50 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 20:10 Out Of The Frying Pan 21:00 Masterchef: The Professionals 21:30 Masterchef: The Professionals...

21:55 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 22:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 23:25 Gok’s Fashion Fix Edition 00:40 First Week In 01:35 Surviving Disaster 02:30 How Do They Do It? 03:00 How It’s Made 03:25 How Do They Do It? 03:55 How It’s Made 04:20 How Do They Do It? 04:50 How It’s Made 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 How Do They Do It? 06:35 How It’s Made 07:00 How It’s Made 07:25 How Do They Do It? 07:50 X-Machines 08:45 Crash Course 09:10 Fifth Gear 09:40 How Do They Do It? Turbo Specials 10:30 Hillbilly Handfishin’ 11:25 River Monsters 12:20 How It’s Made 12:45 How It’s Made 13:15 How It’s Made 13:40 How It’s Made 14:10 How It’s Made 14:35 Dirty Money 15:05 Dirty Money 15:30 Dirty Money 16:00 Auction Hunters 16:25 Auction Hunters 16:55 Border Security 17:20 Border Security 17:50 Border Security 18:15 Border Security 18:45 Border Security 19:10 Mythbusters 20:05 Mythbusters 21:00 Stan Lee’s Superhumans 21:55 Lou Ferrante’s Mob Rules 22:50 American Guns 23:45 American Guns 23:20 Surviving Disaster 00:35 01:25 02:15 02:45 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:40 08:43 09:10 09:40 10:30 10:55 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:45 15:35 16:00 16:25 16:28 16:55 17:25 18:15 18:40 19:30 20:20

Bang Goes The Theory Weird Or What?

Game Changers Sport Science Sport Science Sport Science Sport Science Sport Science Prophets Of Science Fiction Engineering Ground Zero Head Rush Stunt Junkies Stunt Junkies Man Made Marvels Asia Game Changers Game Changers Catch It Keep It Prophets Of Science Fiction Bang Goes The Theory Creating Synthetic Life Weird Or What?

Patent Bending Patent Bending Head Rush The Tech Show The Tech Show Alien Storms Game Changers Bang Goes The Theory Brave New World Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger

20:45 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:15 23:40

Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger Prophets Of Science Fiction Brave New World Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger Stuck With Hackett

20:20 Bang Goes The Theory 00:15 00:40 00:55 01:10 01:30 01:45 02:00 02:25 02:50 03:05 03:20 03:40 03:55 04:10 04:35 05:00 05:15 05:30 05:50 06:00 06:15 06:30 06:45 07:00 07:15 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 Pooh 08:55 09:20 09:30 09:45 09:55 10:05 10:15 10:30 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:05 12:15 12:30 12:45 13:00 13:15 13:25 13:40 13:50 14:15 14:40 15:05 15:20 15:35 15:50 16:05 16:20 16:35 16:45 17:10 17:40 18:05 18:20 18:35 Fairies 19:00 Pooh 19:05 19:25 19:40 19:50 20:05 20:20 20:30 20:45 Pooh 20:50 20:55 21:00 21:25 21:40 21:55 22:20 22:30 22:45 22:55 23:20 23:35 23:50

Little Einsteins Jungle Junction Jungle Junction Little Einsteins Special Agent Oso Special Agent Oso Lazytown Little Einsteins Jungle Junction Jungle Junction Little Einsteins Special Agent Oso Special Agent Oso Lazytown Little Einsteins Jungle Junction Jungle Junction Little Einsteins Special Agent Oso Special Agent Oso Jungle Junction Jungle Junction Handy Manny Special Agent Oso Jungle Junction Little Einsteins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Imagination Movers Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Lazytown Jake & The Neverland Pirates Jake & The Neverland Pirates Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

The Hive Mouk Handy Manny Art Attack 101 Dalmatians 101 Dalmatians 101 Dalmatians 101 Dalmatians Jungle Junction Jake & The Neverland Pirates Jake & The Neverland Pirates Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

The Hive Art Attack Imagination Movers Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Mouk Mouk Handy Manny Jake & The Neverland Pirates Jake & The Neverland Pirates Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

Art Attack Lazytown Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Mouk Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Adventures Of Disney Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 101 Dalmatians Mouk Jake & The Neverland Pirates Jake & The Neverland Pirates Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

Mini Adventures Of Winnie The A Poem Is...

Animated Stories Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Special Agent Oso Little Einsteins Timmy Time Jungle Junction Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Special Agent Oso Special Agent Oso Lazytown

00:25 TNA: Greatest Matches 01:20 M1 Selection 2010 02:15 Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Ride 02:40 Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Ride 03:10 Ed’s Up 03:35 Ed’s Up 04:05 Ed’s Up 04:30 Ed’s Up 05:00 Summer Dew Tour 2011 05:55 Summer Dew Tour 2011 07:00 IFMXF 2011 09:15 IFMXF 2011 09:45 Summer Dew Tour 2011 10:40 Summer Dew Tour 2011 11:35 Tread BMX 12:00 Tread BMX 12:30 IFMXF 2011 14:45 IFMXF 2011 15:15 Alpine Adventurer 16:10 Alpine Adventurer 17:05 Fight Girls 18:00 Ed’s Up 18:25 Ed’s Up 18:55 Ed’s Up 19:20 Ed’s Up 19:50 Motorbike Diaries: Mad In The Med 20:15 Motorbike Diaries: Mad In The Med 20:45 Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Ride 21:10 Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Ride 21:40 The Life And Films Of Alby Falzon 22:35 Shark Park 23:30 On Sight

00:05 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40

Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Outrageous Food Outrageous Food Chopped Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Guy’s Big Bite Outrageous Food

05:05 Unique Eats 05:30 Chopped 06:10 Barefoot Contessa 06:35 Barefoot Contessa 07:00 Iron Chef America 07:50 Barefoot Contessa 08:15 Barefoot Contessa 08:40 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:05 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:30 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 09:55 Cooking For Real 10:20 Cooking For Real 10:45 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 11:10 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 11:35 Hungry Girl 12:00 Chopped 12:50 Guy’s Big Bite 13:15 Cooking For Real 13:40 Barefoot Contessa 14:05 Barefoot Contessa 14:30 Kid In A Candy Store 14:55 Kid In A Candy Store 15:20 Unique Sweets 15:45 Iron Chef America 16:35 Barefoot Contessa 17:00 Barefoot Contessa 17:25 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:15 Guy’s Big Bite 18:40 Unique Sweets 19:05 Unique Sweets 19:30 Chopped 20:20 Iron Chef America 21:10 Food Network Challenge 22:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 22:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 22:50 Unwrapped 23:15 Unwrapped 23:40 Guy’s Big Bite

00:30 01:20 02:05 02:55 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:40

A Haunting The Haunted Ghost Lab A Haunting A Haunting On The Case With Paula Zahn Mystery Diagnosis Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Forensic Detectives Undercover Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Stalked: Someone’s Watching Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Evil, I Evil, I American Greed Scorned: Crimes Of Passion

00:00 City Chase Rome 01:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 01:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 02:00 Kimchi Chronicles 02:30 Kimchi Chronicles 03:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 04:00 Danger Beach 04:30 Danger Beach 05:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 05:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 06:00 Kimchi Chronicles 06:30 Kimchi Chronicles 07:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 08:00 Danger Beach 08:30 Danger Beach 09:00 Long Way Down 10:00 On Surfari 10:30 On Surfari 11:00 Treks In A Wild World 12:00 Bondi Rescue: Bali 12:30 Food School 13:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 13:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:00 Kimchi Chronicles 14:30 Kimchi Chronicles 15:00 Wheel2Wheel 15:30 Wheel2Wheel 16:00 Danger Beach 16:30 Danger Beach 17:00 City Chase Rome 18:00 The Best Job In The World 18:30 The Best Job In The World 19:00 City Chase Rome 20:00 Departures 21:00 Travel Oz 21:30 Travel Oz 22:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 23:00 On The Camino De Santiago 23:30 The Best Job In The World 23:00 Naked Science 00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:00 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00

Python Hunters Caught In The Act Hooked Freaks & Creeps Shark Men Africa’s Deadliest Caught In The Act Wild Chronicles Wild Chronicles Animal Fugitives Animal Fugitives Python Hunters Snake Underworld The Great Elephant Gathering Hippo Hell Restless Planet World’s Deadliest Animals Crocs Of Katuma The Great Elephant Gathering Hunter Hunted Caught In The Act Lion Warrior Monster Fish World’s Deadliest Animals Crocs Of Katuma The Great Elephant Gathering

23:00 Hunter Hunted 23:00 Hunter Hunted 00:00 D.E.B.S-18 02:00 Sniper: Reloaded-18 04:00 Warbirds-PG15 06:00 Behind Enemy Lines-PG15 08:00 Time Machine: Rise Of The Morlocks-PG15 10:00 Jesse Stone: Innocents LostPG15 12:00 Rocky-PG15 14:00 Time Machine: Rise Of The Morlocks-PG15 16:00 All Star Superman-PG15 18:00 Rocky-PG15 20:00 Fighting-PG15 22:00 Homecoming-18 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Friends 02:00 Friends 02:30 Seinfeld 03:00 Man Up! 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 06:00 Friends 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:30 Man Up! 09:30 The Simpsons 10:00 The Office 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 12:30 Friends 14:30 The Office 15:00 The Simpsons 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 Whitney 18:30 Last Man Standing 19:00 Two And A Half Men 19:30 The Office 20:00 Best Friends Forever 20:30 Breaking In 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Saturday Night Live 23:00 Seinfeld 23:30 Best Friends Forever

00:00 01:00 02:00 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

Warehouse 13 C.S.I. New York Grey’s Anatomy Grey’s Anatomy C.S.I. Miami Drop Dead Diva Warehouse 13 Emmerdale Coronation Street Private Practice C.S.I. New York C.S.I. Drop Dead Diva Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Private Practice Warehouse 13 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Private Practice Drop Dead Diva Switched At Birth Burn Notice True Blood Grey’s Anatomy

01:00 Windtalkers-PG15 03:15 Warbirds-PG15 05:00 The Craigslist Killer-PG15 07:00 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course-PG15 09:00 Triassic Attack-PG15 11:00 The Craigslist Killer-PG15 13:00 The Front-PG15 15:00 Triassic Attack-PG15 17:00 The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen-PG15 19:00 Walled In-PG15 21:00 Puffball: The Devil’s Eyeball-R 23:00 A Way With Murder-18 23:00 Luster-18 00:00 Submarine-PG15 02:00 Hitch-PG15 04:00 Bubble Boy-PG15 06:00 Flipped-PG 08:00 What’s The Worst That Could Happen?-PG15 10:00 Frank McKlusky, C.I.-PG15 12:00 French Kiss-PG15 14:00 That’s What I Am-PG15 16:00 Frank McKlusky, C.I.-PG15 18:00 Stealing Harvard-PG15 20:00 Just Go With It-PG15 22:00 The Men Who Stare At Goats-18

01:00 03:00 PG15 05:00 07:15 PG15 09:00 11:30 13:15 14:45 17:15 19:00 PG15 21:15 23:15

Apres Nous Le Deluge-18 Ike: Countdown To D-DayEvita-PG An Invisible Sign Of My OwnAnna And The King-PG15 Blind Mountain-PG15 Unanswered Prayers-PG15 Anna And The King-PG15 Veronica Guerin-PG15 When A Man Loves A WomanBlack Snake Moan-18 The Sting II-PG

23:30 Square Grouper-18 01:00 Made In Dagenham-PG15 03:00 Hemingway & Gellhorn-PG15 05:00 Oceans-PG15 07:00 Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story-PG 09:00 Monte Carlo-PG15 11:00 Courageous-PG15 13:15 The Tender Hook-PG15 15:00 Shrek Forever After-FAM 16:45 Monte Carlo-PG15 18:45 X-Men: First Class-PG15 21:00 Bridesmaids-18 23:15 Black Swan-18

PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (30/08/2012 TO 05/09/2012) CINEMA SHARQIA-1 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) No SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-2 BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

SHARQIA-3 THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM Fri 1:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

MUHALAB-1 BRAVE (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN BRAVE (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY(2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY(2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY(2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:30 PM 12:45 AM

MUHALAB-2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES = EK THA TIGER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 4:15PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 12:00 AM

MUHALAB-3 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

FANAR-1 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-2 THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY(2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:45 PM 9:30 PM 12:15 AM

FANAR-3 INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN JOKER (Hindi) EK THA TIGER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) JOKER (Hindi) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 7:15 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-4 TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL No SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-5 BRAVE THE DARK KNIGHT RISES BRAVE THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE DARK KNIGHT RISES NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 11:45 PM

MARINA-1 INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN THE DARK KNIGHT RISES JUST CRAZY ENOUGH THE DARK KNIGHT RISES INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN THE DARK KNIGHT RISES NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 1:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-4 THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-5 TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 1:00 AM

AVENUES-6 TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 1:00 AM

AVENUES-7 EK THA TIGER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) JOKER (Hindi) EK THA TIGER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) JOKER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) EK THA TIGER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) No SUN+TUE+WED

360º- 8 THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:15 PM 6:00 PM 8:45 PM 11:30 PM

1:30 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM

360º- 9(VIP-1) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:15 PM 6:00 PM 8:45 PM 11:30 PM

AVENUES-8 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

360º-10 (VIP-2) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

AVENUES-9 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) No SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-10 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 2:30 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 5:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 9:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 2:57 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-11 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

360º- 1 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

360º- 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 1:30 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 4:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 8:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 11:15 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED

360º- 4 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (3D-Digital) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (3D-Digital) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (3D-Digital) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (3D-Digital) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (3D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

MARINA-2 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 12:30 PM THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) 2:30 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 5:15 PM THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) 7:30 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 10:15 PM THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital)12:30 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED

360º- 5 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

MARINA-3 BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) 12:45 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED

360º- 11 TORAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

AVENUES-2 JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN ( INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-3 THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital)

1:30 PM

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:30 PM

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-1 BRAVE (2D-Digital) BRAVE (2D-Digital) BRAVE (2D-Digital) BRAVE (2D-Digital) BRAVE (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

360º- 7 INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN NO SUN+TUE+WED

360º- 3 BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM

360º- 15 JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED 360 º- 6 JOKER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) EK THA TIGER (Hindi)(2D-Digital) JOKER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) EK THA TIGER (Hindi)(2D-Digital) JOKER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

360 º- 12 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) 360º- 13 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 2:30 PM 5:45 PM 9:00 PM 12:15 AM

360º- 14 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 12:30 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital)3:45 PM THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) 7:15 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 10:15 AM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 1:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED

360º- 11 TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) 11:45 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 360º- 12 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

360º- 13 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) 2:30 PM IMAX Cinema THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) 5:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) 9:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) 12:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED 360º- 14 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 12:30 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 3:45 PM THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) 7:15 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 10:00 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital)1:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED 360º- 15 JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.1 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) 12:45 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.2 THE EXPENDABLES 2 BRAVE (2D-Digital) BRAVE (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 9:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.3 JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) 1:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 3:30 PM JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) 6:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 9:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 12:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.4 INTERVIEWWITH A HITMAN (2D-Digital) 1:30 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 3:30 PM INTERVIEWWITH A HITMAN (2D-Digital) 5:45 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 7:45 PM INTERVIEWWITH A HITMAN 10:00 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 12:05 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED BAIRAQ-1 BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

BAIRAQ-2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 4:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 1:15 AM

Classifieds SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

ACCOMMODATION

A room available in a furnished two bedroom flat in Salmiya for a working class single lady- close to the bus stop. Please call 66801355 Required one room in a decent accommodation for one mature person in Khaitan/ Farwaniya/ Omeria.

Call 66773840.

(C 4120) Sharing accommodation available for decent bachelor non smoking, Amman street, one big room, opposite to Al Rashid hospital.

Contact 66232356. (C 4121) 2-9-2012 Deluxe Villa in Block 5 Mishref suitable for diplo-

matic mission and organizations residence. Safety and security fence and ample parking space. For information, call: 99123411.

(C 4113) 29-8-2012 Three bedroom CAC flat available with a South Indian family for Indian executive lady or bachelor. Contact: 99515956.

28-8-2012

MATRIMONIAL

Proposals invited from parents of professionally qualified and well settled boys for a beautiful RC/SC girl, 26 years, 170 cm, M.Sc nursing (final year), wheatish complexion, belonging to an aristo-

Prayer timings Fajr:

04:05

Duhr:

11:48

Asr:

15:21

Maghrib:

18:09

Isha:

19:28

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

112

cratic family from Thamarassery diocese. If interested, please send your complete details to: matri3333@yahoo.com (C 4109) 27-8-2012

SITUATION VACANT Cook for Kuwaiti family, available in Kuwait with transferable residence, experience in houses, not restaurants. Call: 94088822.

(C 4116) Required English speaking maid / nanny. Please call 99824597. (C 4117) 1-9-2012

Sri Lankan lady looking for a part time job, European or American house. Please call: 55680045. (C 4114) 30-8-2012 Looking for a Table Tennis partner who knows good English, have a great sense of humor and can play from 9am to 10am (one hour) in the morning in Mansouriya, on Friday & Saturday and on another day during the working days. Please send your reply to email giving your age and photo. Email: hgharbaly@hotmail.com (C 4110) 27-8-2012

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation required for a lady from Salwa to AlRai and back, office hours 8 am to 5 pm. Contact 66751476. (C 4115) 1-9-2012

FOR SALE Jaguar XK8, 1998, good condition, KD 1,750/- and Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign, 4 door 1995, KD 750/-.

Contact: 99696299.

(C 4112) 30-8-2012 Mitsubishi Galant 2007 (new body) golden color, km 32000 only, excellent condition, KD 1900. Mob: 50699345. (C 4111) 29-8-2012 For sale villa furniture like new contains of one bed room , dining room, living room fully equipped kitchen. Washer & dryer.

Very reasonable price . Tel 97211688 27-8-2012 CHANGE OF NAME I, Megala Devi, holder of Indian Passport No: G1871523 converted to Islam do hereby change my name to Ayesha. (C 4119) I, Vadoulia Pauluse Mariamma, D/O Thomas Vadoulia Pouluse Fernandes, holder of Indian Passport No: G8814851 converted to Islam do hereby change my name to Mariyam Moidu. (C 4122) 2-9-2012

No: 15556

I, Shaik Abdulla, holder of Indian Passport No: Z1886177 residing in Noonevaripalli, Rajampet, Kadapa, AP, India, would like to change my name Shaikh Abdulla to Katta Yuvaraja Chowdary.

1-9-2012 I, Arbab Raza Khan, s/o Mr. Masood Raza Khan, holder of Indian passport No. G7270724 hereby change my name as Mehboob Raza Khan. (C 4089) 30-8-2012 I, Loyela Joao Borges, resident of Grande Neura post, Neura IIhas Goa, have changed my name from Loyela John Borges to Loyela Joao Borges. Herein after in all my dealings and documents I will be known by the name Loyela Joao Borges.

29-8-2012

34

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

s ta rs CROSSWORD 784

CALVIN & HOBBES

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) You may be interested in renovation to improve your home—at least some portion of your home has been in the family conversations. Perhaps, in order to get help for what you want to do, you could work out a trade. You are in a good mood today—everything has a solution. You may be emotionally involved in a competitive situation later this afternoon. You are motivated to improve some physical appearance. Your good confidence and your delightful sense of humor will see you through to a positive end. This afternoon may be devoted toward planning a garage sale or plotting out a route to visit garage sales for tomorrow. There are some good buys out there and you are just the one to find the best bargain. Try finding a country vegetable stand.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. A speech defect that involves pronouncing s like voiceless th and z like voiced th.

5. A coffee cake flavored with orange rind and raisins and almonds.

10. An overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration.

13. Type genus of the family Arcidae.

14. (of pain or sorrow) Made easier to bear.

15. A boy or man.

16. A set of two similar things considered as a unit.

17. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

19. Join the military.

21. Small tree of dry open parts of southern Africa having erect angled branches suggesting candelabra.

23. Of a pale purple color.

24. A bachelor's degree in religion.

25. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element.

26. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

32. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

34. The 19th letter of the Greek alphabet.

36. (used of count nouns) Every one considered individually.

37. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

40. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal.

41. A nucleic acid consisting of large molecules shaped like a double helix.

42. A cadenced trot executed by the horse in one spot.

47. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

49. Indian nun and missionary (born in Albania) dedicated to helping the poor in India (1910-1997).

51. A gathering of passengers sufficient to fill an automobile.

53. American professional baseball player who hit more home runs than Babe Ruth (born in 1934).

57. A state in southeastern United States.

58. Before noon.

61. Electronic warfare undertaken to insure effective friendly use of the electromagnetic spectrum in spite of the enemy's use of electronic warfare.

65. Tag the base runner to get him out.

66. An informal term for a father.

67. The inner and thicker of the two bones of the human leg between the knee and ankle.

68. A usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair.

DOWN 1. Lap at the front of a coat.

2. A native or inhabitant of Iran.

3. An Old World plant of the genus Scilla having narrow basal leaves and pink or blue or white racemose flowers.

4. A person who is rejected (from society or home).

5. (informal) Very tired.

6. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

7. A fatal disease of cattle that affects the central nervous system.

8. English actor noted for his portrayals of Shakespeare's great tragic characters (1789-1833).

9. A public promotion of some product or service.

10. (prefix) Indicating difference or variation.

11. A city in east central Texas.

12. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls.

18. Lower in esteem.

20. Singing jazz.

22. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

27. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

28. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

29. A Chadic language spoken in northern Nigeria.

30. An inflammatory disease involving the sebaceous glands of the skin.

31. Stairway in India leading down to a landing on the water.

33. Date used in reckoning dates before the supposed year Christ was born.

35. Not fed.

38. South American armadillo with three bands of bony plates.

39. A heavy brittle diamagnetic trivalent metallic element (resembles arsenic and antimony chemically).

43. (physics and chemistry) The smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element.

44. The federal agency that insures residential mortgages.

45. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

46. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

48. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

50. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

52. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism.

54. The tissue forming the hard outer layer of e.g. a fruit.

55. (informal) Being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition.

56. The compass point that is one point east of northeast.

59. Extremely pleasing.

60. Black tropical American cuckoo.

62. Being one hundred more than three hundred.

63. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series).

64. A complete metric system of units of measurement for scientists.

Yesterday’s Solution

You may need to communicate more with marriage or business partners today. A close association with scholarly individuals may mean a club or hobby is enjoyed. The urge to travel is strong and travel in connection with this hobby may be worth your time to consider; planning ahead is good. Students have energy to study and can do well in exams next week. Exercise honesty and patience. You have an interest in writing stories and may need to do a bit of research in the field of psychology or human relationships so the plot will run smoothly. This evening you may find yourself involved in a complicated game; however, it does not take you long to learn the rules and figure out the best route to the winner’s circle. There are plenty of cheers for you.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) There are feelings of love and affection, especially for the young people in your life. People around you will respond favorably to this air of affection—this is the perfect time for becoming involved in group or teamwork; perhaps you are a coach. You may also be interested in making improvements to your home—especially in making it more beautiful with landscaping. The addition of a fence or vegetable garden for this coming fall is another consideration. Friends may spur you into taking a more intellectual interest in foreign cultures, history and traditional customs. Some type of theater or play tempts you this evening and you may find yourself involved in giddy conversation about a production and the actors.

This was a delightful day.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

You may have a desire to develop business or corporate strategy today. Clearing away the old and the elimination and recycling of waste products, such as paint, can be a good project to consider now. You are just all over the map with your interests but you are not scattered, just finding people from all walks of life that strike up interesting subjects which tweak your imagination. You enjoy social activities related to cultural, religious or educational institutions and may have the opportunity to extend your curiosity into the art world this evening as you pursue an art showing or silent auction. This evening you relax and think over your busy day. If it is a clear night, you and a loved one could stroll under the starry sky.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

ZITS

Seek constructive outlets for physical energies in exercise, games, cleaning and repairs. Perform the necessary upkeep to your vehicle before you plan to be in heavy traffic. Apply your mental effort to studies or constructive talk. In your effort to grow, learn and gain a greater independence—you may seek answers to questions about love, family, staying true, etc. You might confide in friends or perhaps group meetings where you would feel safe in asking questions.

This line of questioning just may lead to eliminating your independence. When one falls in love, there are two and the two make one. Two people working at making a family together has its ups and downs; love, time and experience will see the relationship flourish.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) It’s a good time to dream big dreams, but keep your dreams in proper proportion. A new home is possible and signing a contract when the banks open is also a possibility. Why not set up a meeting for Monday at noon and also seek advice from family members before signing on a dotted line? If you are not married, didn’t you want to travel? If you are married, you can be assured the school system is most important; check it out. At times you can grow spiritually through introspection and meditation—this may be one of those times. You can receive sympathy, comfort and healing if you are in need, or you can be compassionate and generous towards others who suffer. An appreciation of music can be enjoyed this evening.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

This is a good day to use that extra passion of yours to weed the garden, clean up your desk and wash the car. Stick to routine tasks and avoid starting new projects or heading out in new directions. You could wind up going in circles. It makes you feel good to get caught up on the chores and little repairs. Participating in community religious, educational or cultural gatherings can be very rewarding as well. Invite more people into your home to mix and become acquainted. You can improve your living conditions and family finances through some extra-curricular activity . . . perhaps a garage sale could be planned. By clearing away old yard gear, you may find you have room for some other item like a grill for this winter, etc.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Persist with tolerance, honesty and patience today. Seek cooperation in your relationships with others and redirect your efforts to comply with new goals and responsibilities. This is a lighthearted and enjoyable time.

You are particularly sensitive to beauty and the planets are favoring the purchase of art objects or other things of beauty. Purchases today are likely to be a good investment over the long run. Spend the day in the company of loved ones. You are probably experiencing a wave of emotion, particularly in regard to an existing relationship.

Your feeling of being nurtured may be in conflict somewhat with the needs and desires of your partner. If not, then you will tend to indulge yourself with just plain good feelings.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You feel increased self-confidence and courage this day. Get a notebook and write down your thoughts on ideas and goals you want to accomplish. You have so many things you want to accomplish that it is frustrating when you do not complete a project. Today you will be working on two of your most desired goals. Write down three steps per each goal for this week and you will see yourself delightfully moving forward. Next week you can work on the next three items that will move you along toward your goals. One goal should be completed rather quickly and the other goal should be more of a long-term goal. You will get into the habit of recognizing your accomplishments and better organizing your time; a most happy person will soon immerge.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You can broaden your social contacts and extend your professional credibility today. Networking at prime times is important for your future. This may mean a volunteer situation but it also may mean you will be teaching or lecturing. Benefit can come from a course of study, or from a teacher, mentor or benefactor who will help expand your knowledge and understanding. This could just simply be a tour of the city that gives examples of how to better use your water supply efficiently for winter plants. Publishing, advertising, promotional campaigns and legal proceedings begun now can be highly rewarding. Be tolerant and aware of the larger view. Avoid narrow-minded, sectarian viewpoints.

Yesterday’s Solution Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Today is a fun day in that the unexpected brings an interesting aspect to your life. This may mean a new birth, a visitor, a new animal or some other positive interruption to your day. Work in the home or around the home is productive. Remembering the weekends you thought you would go nuts if you had to spend another moment alone—this all seems silly now. You are happy with a little alone time and feel that there is not enough time alone to accomplish what you want. As the unexpected happens, you are full of cheer and enthusiasm. A project once abandoned can be picked back up again very quickly and you are pleased at what you can accomplish. You will enjoy art, music and entertainment with groups of friends this evening.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

You tend to be more sympathetic and understanding towards those in need. You are sensitive to beauty and aesthetic imagination; you may enjoy quiet meditation periodically today. You may cherish a secret romance—careful. Your leisure activities may involve art, music, hospitals, institutions and places of retreat. This afternoon, the attitude is WINNING! You can win! You can come in first in sports, a contest or even an election. If you are looking for something different to do, learn a new skill or begin a self-improvement program. You are more energetic and competitive now. You have plenty of initiative to put your plans into action. Emphasize your personality, skill and that special way you have of being productive. Your life is full!

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 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

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

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

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Fayhaa

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

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Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

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36

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

French rocker back in US after health scare eteran French rocker Johnny Hallyday on Friday returned to Los Angeles, where he has a home, from the Caribbean, where he was treated in hospital for his latest health scare. The singer’s manager said the 69-year-old singer planned to check in with his doctor here after being released from a clinic on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, but hopes to resume work on his latest album next week. “Johnny will talk to his doctor on arrival (and) go home. He is due to resume recording next week,” manager Sebastien Farran told AFP shortly after Hallyday landed following an overnight flight.

Hallyday flew from Martinique on a private jet after being treated for bronchitis. He had been flown there by helicopter after falling ill on nearby Saint Barts Island, where he also has a residence. The French media has been awash this week with speculation on the health of the man dubbed the French Elvis, who was put into an induced coma in late 2009 after falling ill on a flight to Los Angeles after a hernia operation. But Hallyday has played down the latest health scare, complaining earlier this week that “the media exaggerate everything.” The rocker has sold more than 100 million albums and played 45 major tours in a career that began in the 1960s. He is currently in the middle of another major tour.

V

Rimes to be counter sued? woman being sued by LeAnn Rimes plans to take her own legal action against the singer. The 30-year-old star - who checked into a rehab facility to receive treatment for stress and anxiety earlier this week - is suing teacher Kimberly Smiley for invasion of privacy and accused her of bullying her on twitter, but the Californian mother-of-four insists she hasn’t done anything wrong and needs to “stand up” to the ‘How Do I Live?’ hitmaker. Kimberly said: “I plan to take my own action against her. This could impact my family and business. Somebody needs to stand up or LeAnn will continue doing this for the rest of her life. “I have a right to my opinion. I have never bullied her. She blocked me on Twitter and then I took my account private, so how can I bully her if I’m blocked and have a private account? It makes no sense. “People who don’t like her have a right to their opinion. She’s a public figure. But I have never bullied her. “One of her people said I was sending derogatory tweets to her for years. That’s false.” Kimberly’s daughter Lexi, 19, was also named in the lawsuit and is devastated by the action. Kimberly added to RadarOnline.com: “My daughter was in tears over the lawsuit. This could affect her future employment.” LeAnn is suing Kimberly and Lexi because she claims a call she made to discuss the alleged comments on twitter was recorded and made public.

According to Kimberly, the singer called her “rude” and “berated” her on the phone.

She said: “She called me. She was trying to berate me into liking her. When she didn’t get her way she got frustrated. “She called me ‘incredibly rude.’ She was really mad. I guess she is used to people bowing down to her but I’m not that kind of person. She’s not used to people standing their ground. “It seemed odd that she was calling me.” According to Kimberly, LeAnn opened the call by saying “Hey bitch, it’s LeAnn. You have five minutes to say whatever you want to me.” LeAnn’s lawsuit claims Kimberly repeatedly “insulted, taunted and provoked Ms Rimes” during the phone call earlier this year, but the accused insists it is a “complete lie”.

A Biel is a tomboy essica Biel says she’s always been a tomboy. The ‘Total Recall’ actress who is engaged to Justin Timberlake - plays resistance fighter Melina in the remake of the hit movie which sees her battle with Kate Beckinsale and she admits she wasn’t worried about the physical scenes as she’s never been very girly. Speaking about whether she has a reputation as a tough person, she said: “Maybe not tough, but perhaps tomboy.

“I’ve always been that kind of person - constantly playing sports and never really into make-up or fashion, until about five years ago.” The star who has been in a string of other successful movies including ‘The Illusionist’ and ‘The A-Team’ - admits she has to work hard to look good in her films but gets bored of dieting. She said: “There are some days when I feel like I can’t eat another chicken breast and if I see another piece of broccoli, I swear to God. “I know I feel better when I see myself on screen and I’ve been really dedicated, even though it was a pain in the ass. It’s there forever and you get one chance.”

J

Professor Green:

Simon Cowell is ‘wicked’

rofessor Green thinks Simon Cowell is “wicked.” The rapper has been known to go on rants against the reality TV mogul’s shows such as ‘The X Factor’, but has respect for him because of his personality and achievements in pop music. He said: “I don’t actually dislike Simon Cowell at all, I think he’s wicked. He’s smart, he’s on the ball, and he’s fair. So yeah. I like him, from what we know of him. Everyone wants to hate him; it’s so obvious and boring.

He went bankrupt, he had a hit with [novelty pop act] Zig and Zag, look at him now, and he’s a genius.” Green real name Stephen Paul Manderson - has had a re-style of his image since rising to fame, and although he is pleased with his new haircut, he doesn’t like the effort he has to go to in order to care for it.

He added to Q magazine: “It’s given me a new aura. Using a hairdryer does make me feel like an absolute tart, I’m not going to lie. I use the standard nozzle on my hairdryer though; I’m not that into it.”

P

Burton loves working with Depp im Burton loves working with Johnny Depp because he’s such a character actor.

The director has worked with the 49-yearold star in eight films - including ‘Edward Scissorhands’, ‘Ed Wood’ and ‘Sweeney Todd’ and says its great filming with him because he always brings something different to the role. He said: “It’s enjoyable working with him. I like actors that like to become characters. Some actors make a career out of being themselves in a movie. But I’ve always enjoyed those real character actors that just like to become different creatures, and he’s that way. In ‘Scissorhands’, he didn’t speak. On ‘Ed Wood’, he didn’t shut up! On ‘Sweeney Todd’ he sings.

He’s always trying something different on every movie. It’s always a new territory with him.” Tim says one of the great things about Johnny is the fact that he’s unpredictable and nobody knows what he’s going to do next.

He added to Total Film magazine: “He can do almost anything. I’ve seen it. It’s just a process really. I remember on ‘Scissorhands’, same thing. In your heart, simply he’s the guy and everybody knows it.

But the thing that always amazes me about Hollywood, they see somebody do one thing and that’s the thing they think they do. So somebody like him, who really does change, I think it makes people uncomfortable.

They don’t know what he’s going to do. “I’ve had that same thing for myself. I think some people recognize that we do good things together and some people get freaked out by that.”

T

Duchess

Catherine vows to support Harry uchess Catherine has vowed to help Prince Harry through his naked photo scandal. The duchess has a close bond with her brother-in-law and told her husband Prince William they should pledge their full support to him following the incident, which saw him pictured nude following a game of ‘strip billiards’ in his Las Vegas hotel suite. A source said: “William called Harry straight away and gave him a bit of a telling off. But Kate pointed out he had already been through the ringer and deserved their sympathy. “She’s promised to support him as much as possible and offered to help him come up with a recovery plan to get his public image back on track.”

Harry is said to be focused on getting back to work as an army helicopter pilot, even though he expects to be mocked by his pals. The source added to LOOK magazine: “I think he’ll be glad to be around his army mates, as though they’re bound to give him a ribbing over his antics, they’ll also understand that getting naked and larking about is just laddish behavior.”

D

amie Foxx thinks audience emotions will be “running really high” when they watch ‘Django Unchained’. The actor portrays the titular slave warrior in Quentin Tarantino’s forthcoming movie and admits none of the cast could help but be affected by certain scenes of racist violence and cruel historical attitudes. He said: “It runs deep. At the beginning, when we were starting shooting, they were whipping Kerry [Washington, who plays his wife Broomhilda] and I had to watch it. It affected me. “At the time, we were playing music to a whole plantation. The music was a gospel song by Fred Hammond called ‘No Weapons Formed Against Me Shall Prosper’ and just to see everybody go to a place...’ There were people with tears in their eyes. “These moments, well, we can’t really tell here right now because we’re still shooting the movie but I think those moments we put on screen are going to jerk people. Their emotions are gonna be running really high.” However, Jamie thinks the hard-hitting stance was essential to the film. He added to Empire magazine: “I don’t think you could do the movie if you didn’t. You wouldn’t be Quentin Tarantino and there’d be no need to do the movie. Because if you show it in a way where it’s treated with kid gloves, it’s not significant. “The fact that it’s so prickly, and it’s gonna cut your hand when you pick it up, that’s what makes it what it is.” —Bang showbiz

J

‘Django Unchained’ will provoke audience

37

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

LIFESTYLE

Scientology-inspired ‘The he film “The Master” kept viewers spellbound at the Venice festival yesterday with Philip Seymour Hoffman playing a charismatic leader loosely based on Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard. Hoffman’s character takes a troubled World War II vet played by a feral Joaquin Phoenix under his wing in this latest work by Oscar-winner Paul Thomas Anderson, director of “Boogie Nights” and “There Will Be Blood.” The film starts with Phoenix as Freddie Quell and his rapid descent into alcoholism and mental illness after the end of the war. He is rescued by Hoffman’s Lancaster Dodd, who vows to treat him as “my guinea pig and protege”.

Although there are no explicit references to Scientology in the film, there are strong parallels between that religion and Dodd’s “The Cause”.

According to a report by online news site The Daily Beast last month, Anderson freely admits the film is inspired by Hubbard. But Anderson insisted his film was in no way intended as a biography, reportedly saying: “I was naive. I should have known that’s what people would latch onto.” With its portrayal of the repetitive “processing” mental exercises employed by Dodd and his followers in the 1940s and 1950s, the film itself acquires a

T

US actor Joaquin Phoenix poses during the photocall of “The Master” during the 69th Venice Film Festival yesterday at Venice Lido. —AFP photos hypnotic quality underscored by Dodd’s passionate pseudo-scientific assertions.

The discordant string music by musician and composer Jonny Greenwood-best known as a member

Master’ casts spell at Venice fest of the British rock band Radioheadand the minutely-studied period set details add value to this impressive work. Quell and Dodd could not be more different personalities, even though Dodd is also sometimes quick to anger when his movement is called into question. In one particularly memorable scene they are both taken to a Philadelphia jail where a wildeyed Quell proceeds to trash his cell and throw himself against the bars as Dodd watches calmly from the next cell. But their relationship develops into a powerful bond and Quell becomes a faithful acolyte although he still struggles with his inner demons.

Cult leader or not, Dodd is genuinely concerned by Quell’s fate and wants to help him attain “a state of perfect” instead of being “a silly animal”. The film, however, ends with a separation between the two as Dodd’s movement gains in magnitude, leaving audiences guessing as to Quell’s future. “The Master” is being distributed by the Weinstein Company and is scheduled for release later this month in the United States and Canada. —AFP

US actor Philip Seymour Hoffman poses during the photocall of “The Master”.

Movie audiences throng anti-Obama doc ‘2016’ t wasn’t backed by any Hollywood movie studio. Reviews were mostly negative. It premiered in Houston, not Los Angeles or New York. And yet despite the unconventional release of “2016: Obama’s America,” the movie is now among the most successful political documentaries of all time - and it doesn’t show signs of cooling down ahead of the presidential election. The conservative film exploring the roots of President Barack Obama’s political views surprised the film industry when it took in $6.5 million to land at No. 7 at last weekend’s domestic box office ahead of three new releases: the Joseph Gordon-Levitt action flick “Premium Rush,” the Kristen Bell comedy “Hit and Run” and the Ashley Greene horror film “The Apparition.”

That makes “2016” the most successful conservative documentary of all time. It’s also the sixth overall highest grossing political documentary behind four Michael Moore movies and former Vice President Al Gore’s environmental film “An Inconvenient Truth.” It all adds up to a remarkable triumph for an indie film that circumvented the liberal waters of Hollywood. The film has continued to do well during the slower weekday period, especially considering that it’s been up against the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. Since last weekend, it earned an additional $6.6 million for a total of $13.1 million, placing No. 3 at the domestic box office on Thursday. This weekend, the film expands from 1091 screens to nearly 1,800.

Distributed by Salt Lake Citybased Rocky Mountain Pictures, “2016” is directed by Dinesh D’Souza, a former staffer for President Ronald Reagan who is now president of King’s College in New York and author of several books, including “The Roots of Obama’s Rage,” the basis for “2016” that claims Obama’s beliefs are rooted in the anti-colonialism of his late father, a Kenyan academic who was largely absent from the president’s life. The film premiered July 13 on one screen in Houston and slowly expanded over the past month to 1,091 theaters in such cities as Nashville, Tenn.; Baton Rouge, La; Denver; Phoenix; Wichita, Kan; and Washington, DC MJM Entertainment’s Mark Joseph, who is handling the film’s marketing, attested that “2016” had to be promoted differently than typical Hollywood fare.

“You can’t just throw up your star on Thursday night on a talk show,” said Joseph. “That’s not how this works. The traditionalist audience needed to hear about the film much sooner than what Hollywood is used to doing. It’s also important that they heard about it from people that they trust and admire. It’s a different way of engaging the audience.”

Joseph and the film’s co-director, John Sullivan, launched a stealthy campaign for the film that attracted the attention and support of rightwing superstars like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

Buzz for the movie simmered over the summer, bubbling up last weekend before the Republican con-

I

vention kicked off Tuesday. “Timing is everything,” said Greg Mueller, a conservative strategist whose public relations firm is promoting “The Hope and The Change,” a film about voters who formerly supported Obama that debuted Tuesday at the Republican convention and is now available on DVD. “Timing is everything in politics. It’s even more important in political documentaries.”

“Fahrenheit 9/11,” director Michael Moore’s assault on President George W Bush, opened at No. 1 with $23.9 million in June 2004, averaging $27,558 in 868 theaters. It went on to become the top grossing documentary ever released with $119.1 million domestically, a world away from “2016’s” haul so far.

While the release of “2016” just before the Republican convention and its portrait of a gloomy future if Obama is re-elected might make the film feel like an hour-and-a-halflong political ad, the “2016” filmmakers said they only received funding from private investors, not the Republican party, and the movie’s proceeds aren’t headed to

This undated publicity photo released by Rocky Mountain Pictures shows a poster for the documentary film, ‘2016: Obama’s America.’ —AP Mitt Romney’s presidential bid.

“We wanted none of their involvement,” said Gerald Molen, the film’s Montana-based producer who previously worked on such mainstream Hollywood movies like “Days of Thunder” and “Jurassic Park,” and who won an Oscar for “Schindler’s List” in 1993. “It wouldn’t have made sense to do that.” He added that the film’s estimated $2.5 million budget only came from about two dozen donors supporting D’Souza.

Hollywood has long been inspired by the political process, and such an affinity usually burns brighter during election season when audiences are attuned to politics, whether it’s through recent fictional fare like the USA miniseries “Political Animals” and the Will Ferrell comedy “The Campaign” or Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which came out before the 2004 election.

Alex Ben Block, a senior editor at The Hollywood Reporter doesn’t think that “2016” will usher in a new era for right-wing films, but he believes the unexpected success of the conservative film might encour-

age likeminded filmmakers to carve out a similar path in landscape that was previously dominated by more liberal filmmakers like Moore.

Ultimately, Block said moviegoers will vote at the box office with their dollars. “‘2016’ has succeeded, but it’s going to be very hard to duplicate,” said Block. “These things are driven by politics and passion. They’re driven by people who are trying to be noticed and make their point. It’s a powerful combination when you have a documentary that can be both commercial and have a point of view.”

Although “2016” has obviously found fans, most critics haven’t been kind to the film. Newsday’s Rafer Guzman called it an “attempt at character assassination.” The Arizona Republic’s Bill Goodykoontz deemed it “an exercise in preaching to the choir.” The Los Angeles Times’ Betsy Sharkey lambasted “2016” for being a “sluggish film” whose “outrage falls flat.” “I think ‘2016’ has a nice gimmick because it purports to show what the future will look like right there in the title,” said film critic Ben Mankiewicz, who dismissed the film as an actual documentary and is unsure what its unexpected success means for the film industry. “I think it is another reminder of how many people in this country find Obama so shockingly unlikesome that they are seemingly ready to believe the most nonsensical theories about him.”

Many of the assertions D’Souza makes in the film to support his point that Obama’s presidency is an expression of his father’s third-world political beliefs don’t hold up, including that Obama removed a bust of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill from the Oval Office because Churchill represented British colonialism and that Obama has “done nothing” to impede Iran’s nuclear ambitions. And there are other instances where the film takes liberties with the facts.

“I don’t necessarily agree with everything that’s in the movie,” said Arthur Hobbs, a retired engineer who caught a Monday matinee of the film in Los Angeles with his wife after reading about it online. “But I do think that we really don’t know everything about Obama, even after he’s been in office for four years. I think that’s why we needed to see this movie.” Molen said he expected the bad reviews. The filmmakers, who plan to expand the film to even more cities in the coming weeks and keep it in theaters until early October, aren’t fazed by any negative reaction. They just hope now that conservative audiences have found “2016,” perhaps left-leaning moviegoers will be curious enough to buy a ticket. “My wish is that people see the film and make an informed decision,” said Molen. “I would love people to see the film and come out of it saying, ‘I need to know more. I need to find out more about this country and what we’re designing for our kids, grandkids and great grandkids.’ I just want this film to spark an interest in people to find out more.” —AP

‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ to usher in 4th Doha Tribeca Film Festival QATAR: Following its critical acclaim at the 69th Venice Film Festival, Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist,’ a Doha Film Institute (DFI) financed film, will mark its MENA premiere, to usher in the fourth edition of the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF).

Based on the best-selling novel of the same title, translated into 25 languages, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a riveting international political thriller that follows the story of a young Pakistani man, chasing corporate success on Wall Street, who ultimately finds himself embroiled in a conflict between his American Dream, a hostage crisis, and the enduring call of his family’s homeland.

‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ stars a triumphant cast including Riz Ahmed (Four Lions, Black Gold); Academy Award nominee Kate Hudson (Almost Famous, Nine); Golden Globe winner Kiefer Sutherland (24); Liev Schreiber (Salt, Wolverine); National Film Awards India winner Shabana Azmi (Godmother, Fire); and BAFTA Award nominee Om Puri (East is East, Arohan), among others.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist had its world premiere at the ongoing 69 Venice International Film Festival.

Adapted by Bill Wheeler, with the Screen Story by Mohsin Hamid, and Ami Boghani and produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the latest Doha Film Institute’s international financed film, is a Mirabai Films and Cine Mosaic production.

Mira Nair said: “We are thrilled with the honour of The Reluctant Fundamentalist opening the Doha Tribeca Film Festival - made all the sweeter after the 5-year odyssey it has been making this film. A lovely sendoff for a tale that couldn’t be more timely for the world we live in today. It is rare to be able to make a global film that is both political and personal. DFI provided instrumental support from

the beginning, their unstirring faith in this timely story made it happen against all odds.”

His Excellency Issa Bin Mohammed Al-Mohannadi, DTFF Vice Chair, said: “As a Festival committed to promoting cultural understanding and appreciation through cinema, we are excited to open with Mira’s latest creative work that will connect with our audi-

Mira Nair on her educational initiative, ‘Maisha Film Lab,’ which was established to foster East African, South Asian, and Arab filmmaking. In 2011, six Qatari students were selected to represent Qatar in two screenwriting and filmmaking workshops.

The Festival, scheduled to be held from November 17 to 24, 2012, will also shine the spotlight on Algeria to

Keifer Sutherland and Riz Ahmed in ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’. ences, is topically relevant and complements our mandate to support meaningful cinema.

“Films are a medium to bring together diverse views to promote the spirit of dialogue and discussion. DTFF provides a platform to support the development of a grassroots film culture in Qatar and will contribute to shaping a vibrant film industry in the region.”

Renowned filmmaker, Mira Nair has over 25 films to her credit, winning her numerous laurels in the global film circuit including Monsoon Wedding, Salaam Bombay, The Namesake, Amelia, Vanity Fair, and Mississippi Masala, among others.

DFI has been collaborating with

celebrate its 50 years of independence. DTFF 2012 will pay tribute to the country’s rich, cinematic history and its contribution to the evolving MENA film landscape, through a compelling showcase of classic and new-age Algerian films.

The 2012 edition of the Festival has been expanded to eight days to provide Festival audiences a more comprehensive and enriching cultural experience with new screening venues in Doha. Indoor and outdoor screenings will also take place at Katara Cultural Village and Museum of Islamic Arts (MIA).

Documentary pays tribute to Jackson’s genius ichael Jackson is bathed in light, his arms outstretched and head back, as if crucified, at the end of Spike Lee’s documentary “Bad 25” - a fitting image for the late pop legend who to some extent basked in fame, but was also clearly tormented by it. Lee calls the documentary “a love letter” to Jackson. It made its Venice debut on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the blockbuster album’s release. “I think it’s amazing that here we are in Venice for the world premiere of “Bad25” on the exact date 25 years ago the album was released,” Lee told a group of journalists ahead of the premiere.

Lee was commissioned by Sony and Epic records to make a documentary for the anniversary, gathering interviews with collaborators on the album: dancers, choreographers, song writers, short film directors, back-up singers, sound technicians and friends. “‘Bad’ has been overlooked because it is the album that immediately came after Thriller, which is the best selling album of all time,” Lee said. “Also ‘Bad’ was when Michael really started to flex his muscles creatively. He wrote nine of the 11 songs.” The collage of recollections lifts the lid off mysteries like who was

M

Director Spike Lee with his Glory to the Filmmaker Award, presented by festival director Alberto Barbera, right, during the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Friday. —AP

Annie, as in ‘Annie are you OK’ in “Smooth Criminal” (Annie is the name of all CPR dummies) and why Jackson sings “Shamon” on the “Bad” title track (a tribute to blues singer Mavis Staples.)

Jackson, we learn, also never used the term “music videos.”

They were short films, and Martin Scorsese comments on “Bad,” which he directed. Shot in Harlem and a Brooklyn subway station in New York City, it marked Wesley Snipes’ film debut and was designed to give Jackson street cred. Lee said he was drawn to the project because of its focus on the music, and away from the media frenzy that surrounded him, the perceived eccentricities and misconceptions. “Let’s focus on his genius. Let’s focus on his music. Forget the other stuff,” Lee said. The documentary argues strongly for Jackson’s genius, highlighting his achievements as a singer, songwriter, producer, performer, dancer and fashion trendsetter.

And it documents his attention to detail and hard work. Lee discovers a sketch Jackson made of the costume for “Smooth Criminal,” including the armband and a handwritten note to himself: “Study the Greats to become great.” His vocal coach talked about Jackson’s range of more than 3 1/2 octaves, and dancers about how he worked into the night to come up with fresh moves for videos starting with “Bad.”“For me there were no discoveries, it reaffirmed what I thought I knew. He worked hard. Michael busted his ass,” Lee said. “Bad25,” shown out of competition in Venice, will be released in February, along with another hour of behind-the-scenes footage.

The documentary’s final image is taken from film of his famous July 16, 1998 concert at Wembley Stadium in England of the “Bad Tour.” Jackson finishes singing “Man in the Mirror” - a song that has become posthumously Jackson’s unofficial anthem - and throws back his arms and head in a final flourish. “I am not going to say Michael was Jesus Christ,” Lee told a news conference at the festival. “But if you look at the performance, he was somewhere else. That was one of the greatest performances, ever, ever, ever. He is not of this world.” —AP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

lifestyle F A S H I O N

Mexico

City youth

subculture draws harsh reaction A

t the end of the first week of school the teenagers poured into the crowded suburban discotheque by the dozens, leaving their backpacks at the door. They rushed onto a dance floor covered in shoulder-high soap suds and started shaking their hips, some grinding against each other in the sexually sugges-

Youth known as ‘reggaetoneros’ pose for a photo outside a discotheque in Ecatepec, in a suburb of Mexico City. — AP photos

tive dance that is the trademark of this city’s newest youth craze. Thousands of lower-income Mexico City teens have become obsessive imitators of a Puerto Rican subculture based on garish street fashions and the throbbing blend of reggae, hip-hop, and Latin music called “reggaeton.” Nearly every weekend for more than a year, youths known as reggaetoneros have amassed by the hundreds in metro stations before heading off to dance at clubs or clandestine parties, taking over entire subway cars and singing their favorite songs as loudly as possible.

But Mexico City, a bastion of liberalism in a conservative country, is showing little tolerance for poor, raucous youth imitating a foreign subculture most have seen only

ing up at subway stations they picked as a gathering point. “They plan to meet in known places because most don’t know the city and they accompany each other to get to the (party) venue because in a group the trip is safer,” Perez said.

With clubs with names like “Class and Style,” “Gum Poppers,” “Hit Men,” “ The Family,” and “The Danoninos” - after the yogurt brand - the teenagers post photos of their outings, exchange music, gossip and news about upcoming dances.

Monserrat Gomez, 18, lives in a two-

on the Internet. Reggaetoneros are increasingly being met with open hostility and even violence. Last month, hundreds clashed with police after a party was canceled in the downtown nightlife district called the Zona Rosa because more people showed up than could fit into the bar where it was being held.

Authorities said that as many as 600 angry youths who couldn’t get into the club went on a rampage at local subway stations, damaging turnstiles and streetlamps. Police detained 200 of the young people. None were charged, and they were released within a day. Two weeks later, reggaetoneros gathering at the Chabacano metro station were assaulted by a group of young men who had planned their attack on Facebook. Surveillance cameras caught more than a dozen young men kicking a prone reggaetonero and whipping him with their belts.

The Facebook page was one of at least a dozen launched in the last year that urges people to kill or beat up reggaetoneros.

YouTube videos ridicule reggaeton music

and the way its fans dress. Many of the attackers are members of porros, descendants of informal student groups created by the government in the 1960s to quell student uprisings. Today, they have transformed themselves into youth gangs that operate out of high schools and universities, where authorities have limited powers to enter.

A member of one porro group, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal, said the groups have beaten up reggaetoneros on at least four or five occasions because “they feel superior and are acting like the metro stations belong to them.”

Sociologists say, however, that reggaetoneros are being stigmatized because they come from rough neighborhoods and because of the way they dress.

Mexican reggaetoneros of both sexes tend to tweeze their eyebrows and wear skin-tight, neon-colored pants, loud jewelry, thick-framed eyeglasses and bedazzled baseball caps worn sideways. The boys wear their hair in cropped bowls or gelled mohawks. Girls dress in tight, spangled tops, their bangs gelled to their foreheads.

The sexually explicit lyrics of reggaeton and the music’s iconic dance move known as “perreo,” or dancing doggy style, has also made them a target. A Facebook page that describes reggaeton as “grotesque, stupid noise that obstructs neurons” calls on people to “end with that horrible plague” and to kill reggaetoneros “for your country.”

Jose Antonio Perez Islas, who coordinates the youth research seminar of Mexico’s National Autonomous University, or UNAM, says the kids just want to have fun.

“These types of groups are the only outlet these youths have to socialize,” said Perez. “Most don’t go to school, and many work in the informal economy; their families are in total crisis and most have to socialize on the street and in groups.”

While reggaeton has been popular in Mexico for at least seven years, reggaeton fans began forming clubs, or combos as they call them, on Facebook about two years ago, when the groups began show-

bedroom house with six other family members in a working-class neighborhood downtown. She dropped out of high school to help her ailing mother and now works three days a week at a quesadilla stand, earning $11 a week for her work.

Last year, a friend invited her to join the Liverpool combo and she did because it was free and reggaeton nightclubs often give a discount on the $2 to $4 cover charge when people arrive in a large group.

“For me, it’s a way to clear my mind for a while, to have fun,” said Gomez. But for Christopher Rodriguez, a 17-year-old high school student, those clubs may be a thing of the past. He used to belong to a club that often met at a metro station about an hour’s subway ride from the capital’s downtown. Because of the negative attention, many of the teenagers are now trying for a lower profile, preferring to travel in small groups to their dances. And Rodriguez has opted to forego the clubs altogether.

“Rivalries with other groups started and it became a big mess,” he said, “So I decided to leave.” — AP

Carlos Alvarez, 17, records a reggeaton tune as producer Osvaldo Tejeda, 19, monitors in a makeshift home recording studio in Mexico City.

Youth known as ‘reggaetoneros’ dance at a discotheque in Ecatepec, in a suburb of Mexico City.

A young man, known as a ‘reggaetonero’ dances in front of the San Hipolito Catholic church in Mexico City.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

lifestyle F A S H I O N

Pierre Cardin offering glass skyscraper to Venice F

French fashion designer Pierre Cardin poses next to a computer generated image of the Palais Lumiere during a press conference to promote his project yesterday in Venice. — AP photos up pollutants from the land, invest Ä1.4 billion ($1.75 billion) himself and endow the fashion university, said Cardin’s nephew, Rodrigo Basilicati, who has been pushing the project through the bureaucracy.

Plans envision 2,500 to 3,000 jobs on site created during construction, and another 2,000 to 2,500 after completion.

While welcoming the prospects of an environmental cleanup and new jobs, critics are concerned about overall impact on the fragile lagoon environment and a city already overwhelmed

by mass tourism - as well as visual pollution from the tower itself, which some complain has no relationship with the city’s Byzantine architecture.

Architect Vittorio Gregotti urged Cardin: “If you want to do something for Venice, do something else.” Italia Nostra, a preservation group, said the skyscraper, at three times the height of St Mark’s “would squash the city’s proportions,” and referred to the structure itself as a “giant illuminated mushroom.”

To help persuade Venetians that the criticism is overstated, Cardin is opening

French fashion designer Pierre Cardin speaks next to his grandson Rodrigo Basilicati during a press conference to promote his project Palais Lumiere. an exhibit on the project in Marghera on Monday on the sidelines of the Venice Biennale of architecture, which opens Wednesday.

Basilicati said his uncle knew the project would be “a provocation.” But the stylist wasn’t quite ready for the intensity of the criticism.

“Let’s say the reaction to the aesthetics he understands, even if it doesn’t make him happy,” Basilicati said. “On the other hand, the objections about the skyline and the environmental impact have disappointed him, using lies.”

The towers, he insists, won’t be visible at all from Venice’s historic center, and only barely seen from the Lido island. Italy’s air traffic authority is expected to say within days if the tower’s height interferes with local air traffic.

After that, a committee of local authorities will convene in an effort to streamline final approvals, which could pave the way for construction to begin early next year. “In an industrial zone like Port Marghera, which is not protected by UNESCO, I think this is only an improvement,” Basilicati said. — AP

Fashion Week

Spain

rench fashion designer Pierre Cardin has designed a gift meant as an economic catalyst to Venice and the region: a 250-meter (800-foot)tall modernist glass skyscraper housing a fashion university, luxury hotel suites and shops. But rather than unbridled enthusiasm, the proposed Ä2.4-billion ($3 billion) project has been met with everything from healthy skepticism to open ridicule.

The “Palace of Light” has been described alternatively as a spaceship that crashed into the lagoon, a shiny fishing lure or an illuminated mushroom. “It is seen with interest, but at the same time with open perplexity,” said Claudio Borghello, a Venice city councilman. “There is not a skyscraper of this dimension in all of (the) Veneto (region), forget right on the lagoon.” At the same time, “this could become a symbol that you can relaunch this part of the world.”

Cardin, who turned 90 in July, designed his “Palais Lumiere” as a gift to his native Veneto, the region that includes Venice. While Cardin epitomizes French style, he is actually Italianborn: Pietro Cardin trundled off from San Biagio di Callalta, north of Venice, by his parents to France at age 2.

Three interconnecting towers would be built at the industrial port of Marghera, an area in economic decline some 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Venice’s landmark St Mark’s Square.

Under the proposal, Cardin would clean

Agatha Ruiz De La Prada

Models display Spring/Summer design by Agatha Ruiz De La Prada during the Madrid’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, in Madrid.

—AP photos

Mexico City youth subculture draws harsh reaction

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

38

A child stands beside an illuminated model of the Saint Basil’s Cathedral of Moscow in the landscape park Miniwelt (Miniworld) during the sunset in Lichtenstein, eastern Germany. The cultural park Miniworld presents about 100 original and true-to detail buildings and technical facilities at a 1:25 scale ranging on an area of 6, 5 hectares. All buildings invite the visitors to take a walk through the last 3,500 years of building history, moving from the ancient world to present. — AP

Picasso, Duchamp in first ever face-off in Stockholm S

tockholm’s Museum of Modern Art is pitting Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp, two of the 20th century’s modernist greats, against each other in a new exhibition opposing their contrasting approaches to art.

“Picasso/Duchamp: He was wrong” opened yesterday, the title based on Picasso’s reputed laconic remark on learning of Duchamp’s death in 1968. The exhibition is a “the-

A man takes pictures of the artwork ‘Fountain’ by French artist Marcel Duchamp.

A picture shows a poster of the Picasso/Duchamp during the ‘He was wrong’ exhibition dedicated to Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and French artist Marcel Duchamp at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. — AFP photos atrical” posthumous meeting of the two greats; museum curator Daniel Birnbaum said of the pair who each had a famous dislike for the other’s works and who never met.

The Moderna Museet has a fine collection of works by the two influential artists often described as rivals and incompatible, with Picasso the prolific painter and Duchamp the conceptual creator who challenged paint-

ing as an artform. But the museum has never before organized a showing of their oeuvres side by side. “There is really a difference between Duchamp’s detachment and Picasso’s subjectivity. When these two things come together, it doesn’t go very well,” exhibition curator Ronald Jones told AFP. “Picasso is the great painter, and the other is the one who questioned the very nature of an artwork,” Birnbaum added. The first room of the exhibition is a large hall adorned with giant portraits of the two artists facing each other: Picasso with a bull mask covering his head in an Edward Quinn photograph, and Duchamp with his face covered in shaving cream and tufts of hair protruding like horns, shot by Man Ray. Also in the room, Picasso’s 1912 collage “Bottle, Glass and Violin” faces off against Duchamp’s “Bicycle Wheel” from 1913. It’s the only room where their work is shown together and it is meant to link

their universes, which visitors then view separately, choosing to go left to see the works of Duchamp and to the right for Picasso.

Picasso churned out paintings over a career spanning seven decades, while the more humble Duchamp prided himself on a small body of work, delivering just 13 “readymades” over four decades. The two giants began their careers around the same time, had the same patrons, and sometimes the same supporters and admirers. What divided them was their way of getting their message across, according to Jones. “Marcel wouldn’t have cared” about his works being exhibited alongside Picasso’s, but “Picasso probably wouldn’t have liked it so much,” mused Jones. “At the end of his life, (Picasso) was quite concerned by the allegiance artists were showing to Duchamp. He despised Duchamp,” he added.

The exhibition features Picasso’s 1941 masterpiece “Woman with Blue Collar” and more than a hundred of his other works, most of them belonging to the museum’s own collection but some on loan, his shocks of color and etchings hung in a number of small and intimate, inviting rooms. Meanwhile two large, airy rooms are reserved for Duchamp’s 20 conceptual installations, with “Large Glass” and “Fountain” as centerpieces, perhaps more difficult for the visitor to grasp. Anna Brodow Inzaina, art critic for one of Sweden’s leading newspapers Svenska Dagbladet, said Picasso wins the contest hands-down but criticized the museum’s need to exaggerate the rivalry that existed between the two. —AFP

‘The Bride Stripped by Her Bachelors, Even’ by French artist Marcel Duchamp.

Picasso/Duchamp ’He was wrong’ exhibition at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm.

A picture shows the paintings ‘Bust of a Woman’ and ‘Woman with Blue Collar’ by Pablo Picasso.

A woman walks by a poster of ‘He was wrong’ exhibition.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

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

Barefoot but free: Syrian prisoners released DAMASCUS: As they emerged from police headquarters in the Syrian capital yesterday, several of the prisoners being set free had nothing on but their underwear, many were barefoot, and others had their heads shaven. The backs of some still bore the tell-tale marks of beatings, while others had swollen limbs.

Many had been missing for weeks or even

months. Civil servant Basil, 31 said he had been on his way home with his wife and son to Zamalka, a rebel-held town northeast of Damascus, when the security forces arrested him because his ID card was broken.

A broken ID card should not land its holder in jail. But Adnan Al-Arour, a Syrian firebrand sheikh based in Saudi Arabia

DAMASCUS: Syrian prisoners walk out of the Damascus central police station yesterday after the authorities released 158 detainees from the facility. — AFP

best known for his anti-regime speeches portraying members of the ruling minority Alawite sect as heretics, once urged his supporters to break their ID cards. “I had no idea that speech even existed. It was my interrogators in prison who told me about it,” said Basil. “I spent 32 days in solitary confinement at an air force intelligence services cell. They brought me here today, and I found out I was to be freed thanks to a decree from President Bashar Al-Assad.”

Others told of suffering a similar fate.

Imad, 25, said he was detained while he was on a bus. “They told me to follow them, that they just wanted to ask a few questions and it would only take 10 minutes,” he said. “Instead they held me for 10 days. They beat me and forced me to confess that I was following the sheikh’s instructions, which I didn’t know existed.”

Before they were freed from a stench-filled room in the police headquarters the detainees had been unable to wash ever since they were thrown into jail the men being released were made to fill out and sign a form.

“I declare that I was set free from police headquarters in Damascus on September 1, that I regret my action, and that I pledge not to take part in any more unauthorized demonstrations,” the declaration stated.

Across the country, a total of 267 were

released yesterday, the authorities said. Of that number, 158 were set free from the Damascus police HQ. Muwafaq Al-Basha, an official with Assad’s ruling Baath party, said the president “wants to implement reforms, but Syria’s enemies are bent on destroying the country by spreading violence. Right now, we need to defend the country.” Those being released in Damascus yesterday began to clap in unison. “With our blood and with our souls, we will defend you, O Bashar!” they chanted. ‘We didn’t do anything’Wearing nothing but pyjamas, a 37year-old businessman from the rebel-held town of Harasta near Damascus had badly swollen legs. “They hit me to force me to confess that I took part in demonstrations I wasn’t involved in,” said the man, who spent 32 days in a dark cell.

“My mother was in tears when she heard my voice, she didn’t know whether my brother and I were still alive,” said 26year-old Amer. He and his brothers were detained from their home in the upscale Damascus district of Mazzeh on August 8.

The youngest brother was set free four days later, but Amer and his 25-year-old sibling Imad had remained captive until yesterday. “We didn’t do anything, and they didn’t find anything in our house,” said Imad, who owns a plumbing compa-

ny. “The first thing I’ll do when I get home is kiss my parents, have a bath and eat some sweets. Then I will move out, I’ll move as far as I can.” ”There were 60 of us in a cell measuring six meters by four, and 20 of us had to stand,” he said. “We were given just 30 seconds to relieve ourselves. We had to sleep with our legs bent, heads on our knees.”

Leaving the police compound, Basil crossed the road and straight into a shop that sells second-hand clothing, to buy a shirt and trousers. “I can’t go home wearing this,” he said. “It stinks.” But barefoot Ahmed, 36, had no money even to get home to Qalamun, in the province of Damascus.

An agricultural worker, he was first kidnapped by the rebel Free Syrian Army for giving away information about some of its members. The FSA shot him in the legs as punishment before setting him free. “The army found me and drove me to a hospital for treatment,” he said. “Then the intelligence services imprisoned me for two months. Now I don’t even have enough money to get home.” Hundreds of prisoners have been set free under presidential decrees since the anti-Assad revolt broke out 17 months ago, but according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, tens of thousands of people are still behind bars. — AFP

Iran, N Korea agree to cooperate in science We have ‘common enemies’: Supreme leader DUBAI: Iran and North Korea have signed an agreement to cooperate in science and technology, Iranian media reported yesterday, and Iran’s supreme leader declared that the two countries

had “common enemies.” The two countries will cooperate in research, student exchanges and joint laboratories, and in the fields of information technology, engineering, biotechnology,

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2nd left) and North Korea’s ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-Nam (center), review the honor guard during a welcome ceremony in Tehran yesterday. — AFP

Human Rights activists fear militarization in Guatemala GUATEMALA CITY: Human Rights activists in Guatemala said that a joint anti-drug operation between US Marines and the nation’s army threatens to revive memories of rights abuses during Guatemala’s 1960-1996 civil war. A team of 200 US Marines began patrolling Guatemala’s western coast this week as part of a joint agreement to catch drug shipments.

“Rural communities in Guatemala are fearful of the military being used to combat drug traffickers because the same techniques are applied that were used in contra (counterinsurgency) warfare,” said rights advocate Helen Mack, executive director of the Myrna Mack Foundation.

“The historical memory is there and Guatemalans are fearful of that.”

Kelsey Alford-Jones of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA noted that Guatemalan armed forces, which were backed by the US during the civil war, committed more than 93 percent of the acts of violence. It was 50 years ago when the US military last sent any significant aid and equipment into Guatemala, establishing a base to support counter-insurgency efforts during a guerrilla uprising after a CIA-backed coup overthrew democratically elected president Jacobo Arbenz in 1954. The movement led to 36 years of civil war that ended in 1996 with the signing of a peace accords between the government and leftist guerrillas.

The conflict left more than 200,000 dead and missing, 93 percent of them as a result of the activities of state forces and paramilitary groups, a UN report said. The US pulled out in 1978. Guatemalan authorities say they signed a treaty allowing the US military to conduct the anti drug operations on July 16. Less than a month later an Air Force C-5 transport plane flew into Guatemala City from North Carolina loaded with the Marines and four UH-1 “Huey” helicopters. If the Marines find suspected boats, they will contact their Guatemalan counterparts in a special operations unit from the Guatemalan navy that will move in for the bust.

The Marines will not go along on arrest missions, but they do have the right to defend themselves if fired on, US officials said. “Marines in Guatemala are in a supporting role and we are providing aerial, communications and logistical support to a regional partner who is currently facing strong challenges with illicit trafficking along its coasts. This is not a new role

nor the first time the US military supports a partner in this capacity,” said Army Lt Col Todd Breasseale, a spokesman for the US Defense Department in an email response to an AP query. “Though the Marine deployment is only temporary in nature, it’s focused on the same mission - support to US and regional authorities working to stop the flow of illicit trafficking through the Central American isthmus,” Breasseale said.

William Ostick, a spokesman for the State Department’s Western Hemispheric Affairs Office, said Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina is “focused on improving citizen security in Latin America.” He said Guatemala’s military has “made significant progress on key issues.”

Guatemala has widespread institutional corruption, “including unlawful killings, drug trafficking, and extortion; and widespread societal violence, including violence against women and numerous killings, many related to drug trafficking,” according to a recent State Department report. The report said that Guatemala has been using the military to support police units in response to a rise in crime and that police involvement in “criminal activities remained a serious problem.” “This is what happens when operations about civilian security are used as a means for social control,” Mack said. The Marine operation is the largest in Guatemala since US military aid was first eliminated in 1978, halfway through the civil war.

Over the years, the US Congress has approved limited funding for training Guatemala’s military response team for natural disasters.

“The partial congressional ban on funds for the Guatemalan army remains in place because the military has not complied with even the minimum benchmarks for reform. The US ‘war on drugs’ has become justification for rapid remilitarization at a time when Guatemala is still recovering from the trauma of the internal conflict - and Guatemalan armed forces have yet to be held accountable for past atrocities,” Alford-Jones said. US law says Guatemala can regain aid once Secretary of State Hillary Clinton certifies Guatemala’s military is “respecting internationally recognized human rights” and cooperating with judicial investigations of former military personnel and with the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala.— AP

renewable energy, the environment, sustainable development of agriculture and food technology, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported. ILNA said the agreement was signed by Iran’s Minister for Science, Research, and Technology Farhad Daneshjoo and North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun.

North Korea has had close ties with Iran.

Leaked US diplomatic cables from 2010 showed that US officials believe Iran has acquired ballistic missile parts from North Korea. Pyongyang’s Communist government and Iran’s Islamic republic share little in the way of ideology, but both were named as part of an “axis of evil” by former US President George W Bush in his 2002 State of the Union speech. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also met with North Korea’s Kim Yong-nam, seen as a figurehead head of state, who was in Tehran for the Non-Aligned Movement summit held this week.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran and North Korea have common enemies, because the arrogant powers do not accept independent states,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by ILNA yesterday. There had been rumors that North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un would attend the summit of developing countries. The NonAligned Movement is one of the few multilateral forums in which the North takes part. Iran’s first vice-president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, also called on Saturday for greater economic ties between his country and North Korea, Iranian state television reported.— Reuters

US and Israel target largest ever exercise WASHINGTON: A US-Israeli ballistic missile exercise postponed until this autumn will involve fewer US military personnel than initially planned, the Pentagon said yesterday, but it rejected a media report portraying the decision as a sign of US mistrust. The exercise is being planned amid rising war talk in the Israeli media and reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are debating a unilateral attack on Iran to knock out its nuclear installations. Washington has cautioned Israel against going it alone.

“Austere Challenge-12 remains the largest-ever ballistic missile defense exercise between our nations and a significant increase from the previous event in 2009,” said Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jack Miller, a Pentagon spokesman. “The exercise has not changed in scope and will include the same types of systems as planned. All deployed systems will be fully operational with associated operators,” Miller said.

Time magazine reported on Friday that initially about 5,000 US troops were planned to be involved in Austere Challenge-12 but that the number was being pared back to between 1,500 and 1,200. It quoted an unnamed Israeli military official as saying the change was a sign of US mistrust. Miller said US-Israeli ties were strong and Austere Challenge “is a tangible sign of our mutual trust.” A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to say how many US personnel would be involved in the exercise but said the reported figures were wrong and the change in scale was far smaller than indicated. An Israeli defense official briefed on the exercise told Reuters the drill “will be held on a similar scale as when it was last held, two years ago.”

The Israeli official said the size of the exercise initially was slated to be larger but added that “the changes are within the framework of the drill’s requirements and nothing more.” “These things are planned over a long time and changes are not uncommon,” the official said. Miller said the exercise initially was planned for May but earlier this year Israeli defense officials approached the United States about shifting the date until the late autumn. “When the exercise was moved, the United States notified Israel that due to concurrent operations, the United States would provide a smaller number of personnel and equipment than originally planned. Israel reiterated to postpone until late fall,” Miller said. — Reuters

CAIRO: Egyptian talk show host Tawfiq Okasha gestures as he arrives for his trial on charge of calling for the murder of President Mohamed Morsi yesterday in Cairo. — AFP

Egypt TV head denies inciting Morsi murder CAIRO: A television channel chief and presenter denied calling for the murder of President Mohamed Morsi when his trial on incitement charges opened in the Egyptian capital yesterday. “I merely criticized President Morsi,” Tawfiq Okasha told judges at the court appearance, an AFP journalist reported. “This is a political trial. The Muslim Brotherhood wants to silence all dissent and reproduce the system from before the revolution,” he said.

Okasha added that he was in the dock for “revealing the Brotherhood’s involvement in attacks on police stations, courts and prisons during the revolution” in 2011.Okasha’s AlFaraeen channel, suspended on August 16, aired a show that was stridently anti-Morsi and anti-Muslim Brotherhood, the party from which the leader emanates. The charges against him came at the same time that Islam Afifi, the editor of small independent newspaper Al-Dustour, was accused of spreading false news and inciting disorder.

Okasha arrived at court surrounded by his supporters who chanted “The people want Al-Faraeen!” The court set the next session of the trial for October 3 after hearing the case

for the defense, which argued that the complaints against Okasha were not filed by Morsi personally. Both Okasha and Afifi were banned from leaving the country in August.

Afifi was freed after spending several hours in custody on the day of his trial, after a decree signed by Morsi scrapped preventive detention for alleged publishing crimes. Afifi was the first journalist to go on trial since the overthrow of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak in February last year.

After his inauguration on June 30, Morsi moved to bolster his power over the influential military and a state media that had been hostile towards his once banned but powerful movement. He got the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated upper house of parliament to name new editors-in-chief for state media that had been hostile to him and the Islamist group. Morsi’s opponents accuse him of seeking to muzzle the press, and there has also been international concern. US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that the prosecutions of Okasha and Afifi ran counter to the spirit of last year’s revolution. — AFP

Sudan withdraws candidacy for UN Human Rights council UNITED NATIONS: Sudan has withdrawn its candidacy for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council following strong criticism from human rights and pro-democracy groups.

Sudan’s UN Mission said in a letter obtained Friday by The Associated Press that “it is no longer interested in taking up one of the vacancies available in the Human Rights Council.” Sudan’s president, Omar Al-Bashir, is accused of genocide and war crimes in Darfur, and his government is accused of human rights violations elsewhere. But Sudan was virtually guaranteed a seat on the 47-member council as one of five African candidates for five African seats.

Sudan’s brief letter to Djibouti, which is the current coordinator for East African countries at the UN, gave no reason for pulling out of the November election in the UN General Assembly. Philippe Bolopion, UN director for Human Rights Watch, welcomed the decision, saying “The worst human rights offenders are slowly recognizing they are not welcome on the Human Rights Council.” “Sudan joins notorious rights violators Syria, Iran, Belarus, Sri Lanka and Azerbaijan whose hypocritical aspirations to sit on the Council have properly led to embarrassing retreat,” he said. The Geneva-based council was created in March 2006 to replace the UN’s widely discredited and highly politicized Human Rights Commission.

But the Human Rights Council has also been widely criticized for failing to change many of the commission’s practices, including putting much more emphasis on Israel than on any other country and electing candidates accused of serious human rights violations.

Much of the blame lies in the UN system where regional groups select candidates for seats on UN bodies, often based on which country is next in line, not on merit. In many instances, the blocs will try to ensure that the election is not contested, so for example, it will approve only three candidates if there are three vacant seats.

In the upcoming election for the Human Rights Council, there is only one contested slate - from the group of Western nations where Germany, Greece, Ireland, Sweden and the United States are vying for three seats.

The Latin America and Caribbean group nominated Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela for three seats. Estonia and Montenegro were nominated by the East European group for two seats. Japan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates were nominated for five Asian seats. So their election is virtually assured.

The African group had nominated Sudan, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Kenya and it will now likely chose a replacement for Sudan. In July, 18 organizations promoting human rights and democracy wrote to the African Union urging that its members not endorse Sudan and Ethiopia because of “the poor performance of their governments on protecting human rights.” Actress Mia Farrow, a leading campaigner for victims in Darfur, was also campaigning against Sudan and seeking to have its candidacy disqualified on grounds that Al-Bashir is accused of genocide and war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

The government has refused to arrest the president.—AP