2nd Oct

CR IP TI ON BS SU

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

Iran currency tumbles 17% in one day to new low

Europe win Ryder Cup with stunning comeback

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NO: 15586

150 FILS

21 40 PAGES

www.kuwaittimes.net

THULQADA 16, 1433 AH

Oppn demands immediate dissolution of Assembly 9 jailed for storming Watan TV • Another cadet dies

Max 40º Min 20º High Tide 00:33 & 13:18 Low Tide 06:46 & 18:49

By B Izzak and A Saleh

C Bank chief: Kuwait should cut spending Loan write-off ‘unfair’ KUWAIT: The government should take all necessary measures to cut spending and focus on investing in projects that will benefit the major oil producer’s economy in the long-term, Central Bank Governor Mohammad Al-Hashel said yesterday. Hashel, who took over at the Central Bank in March, said he shared his predecessor’s concern about high government spending in the state.

“We think it (government spending) is very high and we should take all the necessary actions to reduce (it),” he told reporters.

Al-Hashel Hashel, who spoke after a meeting of Arab central bank governors in Kuwait, said current monetary policy settings were in line with economic developments. “We think: sure,” he said, when asked whether current setting were appropriate.

Continued on Page 15

KUWAIT: Protesters rally in front of the National Assembly building to demand the dissolution of the 2009 parliament late yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Saudis ready for any epidemic

AL-AWAMIYA, Saudi Arabia: A Saudi anti-government protester holds a poster that reads ‘Martyr Mohammad Al-Manasaf’, referring to one of three Shiite men killed by Saudi security forces, as thousands of Saudis took part in the funeral of the three late on Sunday. The headbands read ‘martyrdom is honor and dignity’. — AP

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has taken measures to deal with any epidemic that may break out during the annual haj pilgrimage, a minister said in remarks published yesterday, stressing that the spread of a mystery illness from the same family as the deadly SARS virus was “limited”. The kingdom has taken “preventive measures towards pilgrims ... and has made practical and scientific arrangements to deal with any epidemic that might be discovered,” Health Minister Abdullah AlRabeeah was quoted as saying in AlHayat daily.

Pilgrims in their thousands have begun arriving in the kingdom for this month’s haj, one of the five pillars of Islam which must be performed at least once in a lifetime by all Muslims who are able to do so. The Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified a virus which caused the death of a Saudi national as being of the coronavirus family. It has also left a Qatari man seriously ill in a London hospital after he was transferred there from Doha earlier last month, the WHO said, adding that he had previously been in Saudi Arabia.

The two cases occurred three months

apart in June and September, said the WHO, stressing that the illness is not Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome which swept out of China in 2003, killing more than 800 people worldwide. What sets the new virus apart from SARS, the UN health agency added, is that it causes rapid kidney failure. The WHO has said it is advising Saudi Arabia ahead of the haj.

“The spread of the coronavirus which has lately registered two cases is still limited,” Rabeeah said. He said the “the virus has no vaccine on a global level and has no treatment,” but added that the tens of thousands of pilgrims who have already arrived in the kingdom for the world’s largest annual religious gathering had not been touched by any epidemics.

A Danish hospital said in August it had isolated five people with symptoms of a viral respiratory illness pending the result of tests. Odense University hospital said those admitted were a family of four where the father had been to Saudi Arabia, and an unrelated person who had been to Qatar. Two of the patients were children under five. Last year, nearly three million Muslim pilgrims performed the haj. — AFP

Bahrain upholds medics’ jail terms Court rejects final appeal DUBAI: Bahrain’s highest court yesterday rejected the final appeal by nine medics against their convictions linked to anti-regime Shiite-led protests last year and upheld their jail terms, the government said. “The court of cassation... has rejected the appeals and upheld the previous court’s convictions and sentences of the nine accused,” said a government statement citing deputy attorney general Abdulrahman Al-Sayyed. The medics were part of a group of 20 doctors and nurses who worked at Salmaniya Medical Complex in the Bahraini capital Manama during the February 2011 uprising against the kingdom’s ruling Sunni dynasty.

Nine medics were acquitted of all charges by a lower appeals court in June and two remain at large. The remaining nine appealed their convictions in the kingdom’s highest court

JEBLAT HABSHI, Bahrain: Dr Ali AlEkri gestures as he receives journalists at his home yesterday. — AP which according to the statement, upheld all their sentences, with consultant orthopaedic surgeon Ali Al-Ekri Continued on Page 15

Jordan thirsts for water

Arnie admits to multiple affairs ‘I’m not perfect’ LOS ANGELES: Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted he had multiple affairs during his doomed 25-year marriage to Maria Shriver, but said fathering a child with their housekeeper was the “stupidest” thing he did. In a TV interview timed with the publication of his memoirs yesterday, the former bodybuilder and Hollywood star told how Shriver confronted him about the child the day after he left office as California governor in Jan 2011. He also admitted he had a habit of living “in denial” and keeping secrets, including not telling Shriver that he was going to run for governor until days before he announced it, and trying to conceal having heart surgery from her.

“That’s the way I handle things. And it always has worked. But, I mean it does not - it’s not the best thing for people around me because I sometimes - some information I just keep to myself,” he told the CBS show “60 Minutes”. “So I became an expert in living in denial,” he said. Shriver filed for divorce in July last year citing “irreconcilable differences” with her husband, whom she met in 1977 and married in 1986, following him into the California governor’s mansion in 2003. Schwarzenegger had admitted in May 2011 that he had fathered a child, called Joseph and born in 1997, with the family’s longtime housekeeper, Mildred Baena, and announced the couple’s separation.

Continued on Page 15

KUWAIT: Opposition MPs yesterday issued a strong warning to the government to immediately dissolve the 2009 National Assembly and hold fresh elections based on the existing electoral constituency law. Speaking at a gathering of hundreds of Kuwaitis at the “Irada Square” opposite the Assembly building, the lawmakers also warned the government against introducing any changes to the constituency law. “We are here today to press for dissolving the 2009 Assembly which was dissolved by the Amir and rejected by the people,” declared MP Ali Al-Deqbasi who criticized the Cabinet for not taking a decision on the issue during yesterday’s weekly meeting.

The Cabinet was expected to approve a recommendation to HH the Amir to dissolve the 2009 Assembly and call for fresh elections. The pro-government 2009 Assembly was dissolved in December last year following street protests but was reinstated by the constitutional court in a landmark ruling on June 20 after it nullified the Feb 2012 elections and scrapped the new opposition-dominated Assembly. The calls on the government to dissolve the Assembly intensified after the constitutional court last week rejected a government petition challenging the constitutionality of the electoral constituency law. The government had linked dissolving the Assembly to the court’s decision.

Deqbasi warned the government against introducing any changes to the constituency law, saying this would amount to “political suicide”.

Continued on Page 15

POTOMAC, Maryland: In this Jan 22, 2011 file photo, Maria Shriver and her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger leave the funeral mass for her father at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic church. — AP

AMMAN: “I wish I could live at the Zaatari Syrian refugee camp because there is water there,” a Jordanian man says, frustrated that he has not had any tap water of his own in months. “I cannot remember the last time I got municipal water. Maybe if I go live with the Syrian refugees I might get some of the water the government provides them,” said the 50-year-old man from the northern city of Irbid. He is one of hundreds of thousands of Jordanians who suffer from chronic water shortage in one of the world’s 10 driest countries, which is 92 percent desert.

Many ordinary Jordanians, as well as others in government circles, complain that tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled from the conflict at home are draining the country’s meagre water resources. In recent weeks, people have demonstrated in southern and northern villages for not receiving water for the past two months, burning tyres, blocking roads and seizing a Water Authority tanker. Their only alternative is to buy from private suppliers at grossly inflated prices, or even steal it.

“This summer has been tough and hot, and the increasing Syrian

AMMAN: A Jordanian truck driver fills his tanker with water in Abu Nuseir near the capital on Sunday. — AFP “Some people do not get water refugees and sometimes tourists have added pressures to water as scheduled, while others do not resources,” Water Authority Secretary get enough. But when some steal General Fayez Bataineh told AFP. “But water and sabotage pipes, the situaat the same time people’s reaction to tion become worse,” Bataineh said. “I some limited and isolated problems think we have managed to control is highly exaggerated.” Years of the situation. As for Syrian refugees below-average rainfall have created in Zaatari, water tankers provide a shortfall of 500 million cu m a year, each one of them with 30 litres a day and the country forecasts it will need because their use of water is limited.”

1.6 billion cu m of water a year by More than 30,000 Syrian refugees 2015. The country’s 10 dams, which live in Zaatari, near the Syrian borcan store up to 325 million cu m, der.

Continued on Page 15 now contain around 70 million cu m.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

local

Parliament dissolution by weekend?

KUWAIT: A decision to dissolve the parliament is expected as early as this Thursday, to be followed by a call within sixty days for new elections to be held as per the current parliamentary system, Al-Rai newspaper reported yesterday quoting sources close to the majority in the parliament reinstated last June.

The newspaper said these majority MPs were scheduled to meet HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah yesterday in a move led by MP Ali Al-Rashid.

Meanwhile, Cabinet sources told Al-Rai that dissolution of parliament was expected by the end of this week or early next week, adding at the same time that Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah “was trying to ensure that correct constitutional and legal measures are taken to avoid making any procedural error.”

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also indicated that the Cabinet was unlikely to change the electoral law or distribution of constituencies now “and will leave it to the next parliament.”

The Cabinet will try to ensure that elections were held by the middle of December, said the sources, which could mean that the parliament might not hold a session before early 2013.

At the same time, the sources said the Cabinet was not likely to make more than six emergenc y decrees following the parliament’s dissolution, including one to enforce the general state budget.

In the meanwhile, other sources indicated that HH the Amir has already decided to dissolve the parliament, and requested to set a date that was not in conflict with the Asia Cooperation Dialogue summit which was due in less than two weeks from now.

In yet another piece of news, constitutional expert Dr. Mohammad Al-Feeli said that a grilling motion filed on Sunday by MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan against Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak “is correct from a legal standpoint since the 2009 parliament technically still stands,” but argued that it was not likely to be debated since the parliament has not been able to convene since it was reinstated.

Meanwhile, Dr. Al-Feeli, a constitutional law professor in the Kuwait University, said that the grilling did not put any hurdle in the way of dissolution measures “since the dissolution requires a letter of no cooperation sent by the Cabinet to HH the Amir.”

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Seif Palace yesterday, in the presence of His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Central Bank Governor Mohammed Yousef Al-Hashel. The Amir also received chiefs of Arab central banks and monetary institutions on the occasion of the 36th regular session of the board of governors of Arab central banks and monetary institutions, due later this month in Kuwait.

Companies put in hot seat

by Kuwaiti consumers Service Hero survey begins

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Close to 400 companies in 17 industries will be put in the hot seat by Kuwaiti consumers starting today, as the Service Hero Customer Satisfaction Index (SHCSI) kicked-off a three-month national drive to collect 10,000 customer service surveys. The Service Hero’s customer satisfaction survey will take place between Oct 1 and Dec 31.

Service Hero, the organization that launched the customer satisfaction index for the first time in Kuwait and the Middle East, provides customers with an online voting platform to rank their satisfaction on the services they are receiving from companies.

The survey is administered online at www.servicehero.com or via Facebook at ser vicehero.com/fb and smar tphone apps. Last year, Kuwaiti businesses scored an average score of 7.7 out of ten, which was 0.3 points higher than 2010.

Commenting on the survey, Service Hero President Faten Abu-Ghazaleh said “The Service Hero Index stands as a force of change for Kuwait’s service sector and gives companies direct access to real, unbiased consumer feedback”.

Service Hero is a Kuwaiti based independent company. “We built a database of different companies. Some sectors were easy as there are only a few in the field, such as banks, for instance, while the fashion or restaurant field was much

more complicated due to their huge numbers. If a certain company was not included in our database, they can apply so we might include it,” she told the Kuwait Times.

This is the third year for the survey. “We started in 2010, and today we are launching our third survey. Currently, we are only sur veying the Kuwaiti market, though we are planning to expand to other countries in the future,” added AbuGhazaleh. This year, consumers will be asked to rank businesses and products based upon eight major service dimensions that include staff behavior, product quality, speed, reliability, location, value for money, website, and call center.

“These are rated on a before and after basis so that expectations and actual satisfaction are both measured and compared. It also measures overall consumer satisfaction, the likelihood the customer will recommend a brand or service, and a brand’s comparison with their expected and actual satisfaction,” she explained.

Through the Service Hero survey, consumers will be able to measure these service categories across 17 different industries: cafes, casual dining, fine dining, fast food, retail clothing, home furniture, local airlines, retail banks, Islamic banks, new car dealers, car services, electronics, hospitals, mobile phone operators, internet service providers (ISPs), supermarkets, as well as health clubs, a new industry added for the first time.

According to Service Hero, between the hundreds of companies being assessed, only a handful of companies have paid extra attention to customer ser vice and taken the ex tra step in embedding it within their values. Even among the ten companies that are twotime first place winners, only a few are completely customer care driven.

“What we see is that most companies make less of a commitment in the fundamental and more complex dimensions, such as reliability and speed of service, while they over-invest in areas like location and website. As a result, most companies in Kuwait under-invest in customer service as a culture and rarely have it embedded as a true value and belief within their business models,” stressed AbuGhazaleh.

Service Hero classifies customer experience as two-tiered: rational and emotional. Only companies that can build a consistent, memorable and emotional feeling achieve long-term loyalty and excel in customer satisfaction.

Abu-Ghazaleh also spoke about the three keys for exceptional customer service in Kuwait. “The perfect customer satisfaction story is a perfect product or service, delivered by a caring and friendly person in a timely fashion with an effective problem resolution process when matters go wrong,” she further said.

But how can companies in Kuwait ensure they turn this story into a cus-

tomer satisfaction culture? “Companies should, one: Focus on the journey and not the destination; two: Make the customer point-of-view your lens, and three: Make all departments responsible for customer satisfaction,” she pointed out.

Announcing Kuwait’s service ‘heroes’: Af ter the voting period ends in December, every submission will be analyzed for integrity and quality to uncover Kuwait’s true market leaders for 2012.

Service Hero will unveil the category-specific set of results and rankings of Kuwait’s market leaders in January and will reveal the market leaders of each industry in February. Service Hero, licensed and operated by Khayal Consultants, has recruited an Advisory Council comprising four academic institutions as well as leading business professionals. As a neutral panel of experts, their function is to supervise the assessment and results to ensure fair and empirical findings.

Service Hero has put in place security measures to ensure authenticity and data integrity with a 95 percent confidence level and an error margin of only plus or minus five percent, allocating a minimum number of votes per category based upon Kuwait’s population and category population. The index follows international standards of market research and implements the research protocols of the European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR).

GCC petroleum media strategy ‘a quantum leap’ KUWAIT: Director of petroleum media division of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Oil Anwar Al-Khalidi said yesterday the petroleum media strategy for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries is a quantum leap in the joint action among these countries.

“This strategy gains significance from the fact that some parties cast doubts about the ability of the GCC countries to ensure sufficient supplies to the oil consumers,” Al-Khalidi told a seminar organized and hosted by the ministry here.

The seminar, entitled “Petroleum Media Strategy for the GCC Countries,” aims to identify objectives of the strategy and the targets of the GCC oil policies, he noted.

“The strategy was developed oil experts from the GCC countries under a decision by the 29th meeting of the GCC petroleum cooperation commission, held in Kuwait in October, 2010,” Al-Khalidi went on.

The changes in the global oil industry forced developing this strategy (20122030) which is resilient enough to adapt to future developments; it will be subject to revision every three years or when need be. The strategy aims to coordinate the discourse of the GCC petroleum media in a way that expresses the stances of the GCC countries on the oil issues on the local, regional and international scales, he pointed out.

Its ultimate objective is to ensure the

interests of the GCC countries and raise awareness about the role of oil in economic development in the GCC and the world at large, he said.

Al-Khalidi downplayed the calls for alternatives to oil as fossil fuel, saying: “Petroleum will remain the key source of energy and the engine of the world economy in the foreseeable future.”

Addressing the gathering, Dr. Abdullah Badran - a specialist in the petroleum media, said this is the first time when the GCC adopt such a strategy which revived the GCC petroleum cooperation commission. The commission was formed in 1979 as a result of the fourth conference of the GCC ministers of labor.

Govt’s anti-corruption efforts highlighted KUWAIT: Minister of Communications and acting Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Salem Mthieb AlUtahianah reiterated here yesterday that the Kuwaiti government has made many strides in the areas of diverse political, financial and administrative reforms and continues to so “until we all see tangible results of the government’s hard drive.”

The minister said in a speech on behalf of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the opening ceremony of the 6th Kuwait Transparency Forum dubbed (transparency in the security and defense) that the government participated in the signing of the UN Convention Against Corruption and was among the leading countries which have signed the Convention since it was setup

by WHO in 2003.

He added that the National Assembly had ratified the Convention in November 2006, pointing out that the government is also working in collaboration with the National Assembly on the fight against corruption in any sector, including working to promote integrity and transparency in the security and defense sectors.

He explained that the government “began to take all available means to subjugate all state purchases including security and defense procurement under the control and supervision of the the National Assembly and the State Audit Bureau in accordance with the principle of transparency pursued by the government with regard to security and defense.” He said that this forum “comes to confirm synergy of the official efforts with the National Assembly and civil society institutions in order to formulte a sophisticated state vision free of corruption, which may hinder its march and also confirms the state’s belief in the role of

civil society and the need for its participation in fighting corruption and promoting transparency and accountability.”

Al-Utahinah went on saying, “We are sure by reviewing events f this Forum that we will listen to many of the experiences and insights that will contribute to the development of the state’s strategy to fight corruption and promote the principle of transparency in the security and defense in order to achieve further strengthening of the citizens’ trust in their national institutions.”

For his part, Chairman of the National AntiCorruption Authority in Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Sharif said in his speech that the participants in this forum “look all to achieve positive results and activate the real cooperation and constructive dialogue between civil society efforts and the efforts of countries in tackling the most serious threats targeting the wealth of nations, draining their economies and hurting their reputation and interests.

He praised efforts of the Kuwait Transparency Society in the promotion of transparency and protection of the integrity, either domestically or internationally. For his part, Chairman of Kuwait Transparency Society Salah Al-Ghazali said in his speech that the forum highlights the (transparency in the security and defense) in line with the objectives of the society aimed at promoting transparency and anti-corruption and achieve the desired reform in all sectors of the state.

Al-Ghazali reviewed the status of Kuwait in international indicators, particularly in the Corruption Perception Index released by Transparency International (TI) annually. — KUNA

“The strategy expresses the aspirations of the governments and people of the GCC countries for closer oil cooperation and effective media discourse,” Dr. Badran pointed out. He highlighted the need for keeping the strategy in tune with the main strategy of the Kuwaiti Petroleum Corporation (KPC) for 2030 and the other petroleum media strategies of the GCC countries, notably those of the Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) - of the UAE, and Qatar Petroleum. Other speakers at the gathering, including Al-Zaidi, highlighted the role of the GCC Joint Program Production Institution (GCCJPPI) in realizing the objectives of the joint media strategy. — KUNA

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

local

Kuwait Metro included in development projects KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Cabinet held its weekly meeting at Sief Palace yesterday, under the chairmanship of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

Following the meeting, Minister of Information and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah gave a briefing of the meeting’s deliberations and outcome.

Sheikh Mohammad pointed out that the Cabinet started with reviewing the letters addressed to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah from several world leaders.

HH the Amir has received a letter from Queen Elizabeth II of Britain included an official invitation to visit the UK in November. HH Amir has replied in a letter to Queen Elizabeth, expressing acceptance of the invitation of her Majesty.

HH the Amir also received a letter from UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

In his letter, Sheikh Mohammad, also ruler of Dubai, invited HH the Amir to attend the World Energy Forum to be held in Dubai on October 22-24.

HH Prime Minister also briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of his participation in the meetings of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Sheikh Jaber highlighted the main issues tackled in his speech at the session as well as the outcome of the meetings he had held with world leaders on the sideline of the UNGA ses-

Awareness plan for Alzheimer’s Patients KUWAIT: Director of Health Promotion Department Abeer Al-Baho emphasizedimportance of developing a governmental awareness program including the related ministries and institutions for the elderly health to spread awareness of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and improve the medical services provided to patients and their families.

She said yesterday that spreading awareness of AD and the risk it puts on one’s life, especially the elderly, would contribute to the early deployment of the disease.

The department took part in Alzheimer’s Regional Conference held lately at the Faculty of Medicine in Kuwait University (KU), under the auspices of the Minister of Health Ali Al-Obaidi, she said.

Al-Baho headed a workshop titled “How to elevate the quality of Alzheimer’s patients’ lifestyle and his caregivers from the perspective of health promotion” during which patients and their families were trained on basic skills in dealing with AD, besides the misconceptions related to this disease.

The workshop also discussed the role the department plays in integrating services offered to AD patients between various ministries and the private sector, she said.

It also tackled the role of the society in offering care to AD patients and their families, involving the patients in various activities to avoid isolations, as well as developing a governmental plan to promote the health of Alzheimer’s patients she affirmed. — KUNA

sion. Then the ministers discussed a number of bills and proposals presented by the different ministries and state bodies for approval.

After deliberations, the Cabinet approved the Kuwait Metro project and included it in the state development projects.

It also endorsed two bills to downsize the capital and amend the foundation contract and statute of Kuwait telecom giant, Zain, and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co. The ministers ratified a draft law to set up a special body for overseeing the Subbiya and Boubyan Island development project.

The Cabinet approved the official launch of the Kuwaiti relief society to offer humanitarian aid and relief to disasters-stricken people around the world.

It also agreed on Kuwait’s joining the UN Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme and to dispatch ten of the junior Kuwaiti employees for special training courses for no more than two years.

The JPO provides young professionals pursuing a career in development with hands-on experience in multi-lateral technical co-operation.

Reflecting Kuwait policy of expanding and deepening relations with all world countries, the Cabinet agreed on establishing diplomatic ties with a number of countries, namely, Kiribati, Tonge, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St.Kitts and Nevis and Grenada.

Then the Cabinet tackled the latest political development in Kuwait, Arab region and whole world. — KUNA

Foreign policy issues rarely figure in US poll campaigns No Democrat, Republican want to be branded pro-war

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: The notion that a Republican US president would be more likely to go in for a war compared to a president from the Democratic Party was simply not true. This was explained by two visiting political experts representing the Republicans and the Democrats who were here to “clarify some complex terms” being used by the two parties in the US election campaign currently.

The US election is due in a little more than a month from now and political terms like Democrat and Republican, swing states, electoral college, caucus, bi-partisan can be heard all too frequently over the airwaves (radio and television), print and digital media as the election nears.

Jay Footlik and Rick Smotkin, representing the Democrats and the Republicans, respectively, addressed the forum which was sponsored by the US Embassy and held at the Costa Del Sol Hotel on Sunday evening. Among those who attended the event were Kuwaiti high school students from the English Access Micro-scholarship Program

(ACCESS). “We are not here to officially comment about politics in the United States or the US foreign policy, but there is a remarkable consistency between the Democrats and the Republicans when it comes to foreign policy issues,” Footlik noted as he responded to queries put by the Kuwait Times.

The Americans, according to Footlik, care more about issues directly affecting their day-to-day life and not about the US foreign policy.

“The issue you mentioned is concerned with the foreign policy but we have many pressing issues at home that we know could affect Americans directly, such as jobs, economy and tax.

The foreign policy issue was rarely engaged with in the recent campaign because Americans vote based on what was happening or what were the pressing issues at home. We are not telling you that we are disinterested in foreign policy but it is just not our number one priority,” said Footlik, who is the founding president and CEO of Global Policy Initiatives, a political and policy development consultancy. Footlik also served as special assistant to

KUWAIT: Jay Footlik, (Democrat-right) and Rick Smotkin (Republican) addressing the forum Sunday evening at Costa del Sol Hotel.

President Clinton in the White House, helping build support for a range of domestic and foreign policy issues, including extensive work involving the Middle East Peace Process.

“Election campaign must stay focused on their campaign message otherwise it gets lost. They must relay a simple message to the voters,” he added. Echoing similar views, Rick Smotkin wondered if either of the candidates - Republican Mitt Romney or Democrat Barack Obama - would want to be labeled as pro-war.

“As the Americans and perhaps as President of the United States, they will do what it takes for the good of the country and the people around the world. In fact, even in case of the most controversial decision such as the war in Iraq, the decision was voted on by the Congress.

The Democrats and the Republicans were involved as they both voted in support of the war in Iraq,” he explained. Smotkin is vice president of Comcast Cable Corporation and resident program officer at the International Republic Institute in Dili, East Timor.

KUWAIT: The forum in-progress at Costa del Sol Hotel.

—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

LOCAL kuwait digest

in my view

A friend and an enemy

Cooperative society verdict

By Ahmad Mohammad Al-Fahad

By Thaar Al Rashidi uring the events in the dear Kingdom of Bahrain, a speaker at the Pearl Roundabout or the GCC Roundabout, before its name was changed to Al-Farooq Crossing, said, “The Americans promised to give us the premiership, and I ask you, ‘Do you want the rule to be in the hands of Al-Khalifa family?’ The crowd roared back, saying ‘No’. The speaker then asked them, ‘Are you satisfied with Al-Khalifa staying?’ The crowd said, ‘No.’ He then said that the message has been delivered.”

The US, in my opinion, was deeply involved in planning conspiracies and training leaders of coups d’etat.

It collaborated with the Afghan opposition before the fall of Taliban in 2002, and brought in Hamid Karzai to lead Afghanistan. It worked in tandem with Ahmed AlChalabi and the Iraqi opposition before the 2003 war and the removal of the Baath regime in Iraq, and brought in the ruling group at the top.

If the country that is about to fall does not interest America, or if that country only interested the US but not others, like Russia and China, it asks Britain to conduct such intervention. The British capital witnessed such coordination meetings with the Syrian opposi-

D

The Arabian Gulf region can remain busy dealing with the sectarian problem between Shiites and Sunnis, and those problems are being fed by angry Islamic groups, along with Iran and those who are sympathizing with it from among the Gulf people. tion to take over the regime after the fall of ‘Bashar, the goat’.

I personally do not believe in the conspiracy theory, or that everything that was happening to us was due to some conspiracy, but I believe in this that “whoever does not have a plan, will definitely figure in the plans of others.”

We, as Arabs and Muslims, do not have short term plans, that is, apart from our 20- year or long term plans. I believe that America does not want stability in the Gulf or the Arab countries, so it planned to establish certain permanent conflict areas.

Thus, the Arabian Gulf region can remain busy dealing with the sectarian problem between Shiites and Sunnis, and those problems are being fed by angry Islamic groups, along with Iran and those who are sympathizing with it from among the Gulf people.

The Mediterranean will remain pre-occupied with conflicts between the Islamists and seculars, and Egypt will be preoccupied with strife between Muslims and Coptic Christians.

The first act of the strife was the insulting movie about Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), behind which was a clumsy Coptic Christian who lives in the United States. Despite our knowledge of all these facts, our view of America does not change, because it is a friend and an enemy at the same time. —Al-Watan

kuwait digest

Opening ceremony of a small center

D

kuwait digest

Struggling country, hesitant government

A

Note: Yes, there are mega projects and they deserve the attendance of the top leaders of the state for their opening ceremony, but surely not a small service center which does not deserve the presence of a minister and three or four of his ministry leaders and 15 soldiers. — Al-Anbaa

The problem is that there are proofs and real complaints against the board of directors of certain cooperative societies but no one touches them. Law must be applied to all and with the same yardstick, not depending on anyone’s discretion.

By Dr. Mohammad Al-Moqatei he fact that Kuwait has been consistently fac- despite abundance of land and money, or has ing obstacles making it unable to even stand failed to provide jobs for the long queues of on its own feet makes me think about the unemployed citizens who continue to wait even painful reality in which we live today. How can we as many projects are in need of staff. expect development when the country cannot It also explains the reason behind several other even stay stable? snowballing issues such as those concerning the Our country is being managed by a govern- Bedouins (stateless residents), naturalization and ment that has lost its ability to lead. Its approach dual-citizenship. is characterized by hesitation, and taking deciAll these factors also explain why the decision sions in a reactive mode makers in the government rather than taking initiaare unable to push forward This situation explains why tives, perhaps to avoid political reforms and Kuwait struggles to avoid budgowning responsibility later. ensure that the law applies The government seems equally to everyone. It is et deficit in recent years despite to be appeasing cer tain also the reason behind the the fact that the problems have parties most of the time failure to enforce vital projalready been diagnosed and with its decisions. ects such as the anticorsolutions can be applied easily.

All these factors lead to ruption authority, financial stalled projects and susdisclosure laws, the It also explains why Kuwait is pension of development in supreme authority for elecstruggling to meet the electricigeneral. I t is only to be tions, and regulations to ty demand despite having every expected when the govstrengthen national unity. reason to take immediate steps ernment lacks the courage I t also explains why the to take decisions that it government hesitates in to boost its power production. believes will serve the genpracticing its constitutioneral good. al powers or stop parliaThis situation explains why Kuwait struggles to mentary intervention into its affairs, and also why avoid budget deficit in recent years despite the it takes questionable decisions just to avoid a confact that the problems have already been diag- flict with the MPs. nosed and solutions can be applied easily. It also Kuwait cannot afford to waste any more time explains why Kuwait is struggling to meet the by delaying political decisions necessary to end electricity demand despite having every reason to the country’s political ordeal. Therefore, we need a take immediate steps to boost its power produc- brave government that takes the initiative and tion. adopts an approach characterized by reform.

Moreover, it also explains why the country has Otherwise, the country would not be able to overnot been able to solve the housing problem come the obstacles in its way. —Al-Qabas

T

By Thaar Al Rashidi minister, an undersecretary, three assistant undersecretaries, five directors, two Lieutenant Generals, two Brigadiers, one Colonel, and five police patrols and a pair of scissors and some ribbon. All of it followed by a ceremony, a speech and a press release.

All of it just for the opening ceremony of a small service center in one of the areas.

Everything came to a standstill for the opening ceremony as huge crowds gathered around the center that could have been inaugurated by the head of the department himself. Such a small service center, or any other center, should be inaugurated by a head of department in the ministry. There is no need for such a military parade where everyone is keen to take pictures to commemorate the event. The opening of a small service center that serves around 3,000 people does not need all those ceremonial moves. It is not the job of a minister to cut ribbons. His real job is to do what his ministry needs him for. It is not the job of any minister, and I mean any minister, to inaugurate or attend such opening ceremonies, and he is never required to bring along with him three or four leaders from his ministry to attend such an opening ceremony.

Last month, we noticed a minister who tried to make a show even if it was just the opening of a soft drink can.

His Excellency must make any small thing look great.

Then he calls people from his ministry and the press as if he was more interested in creating a personal album for himself. If we list his achievements, we will find all he can do was to smile well for the benefit of the camera.

In Arabic, this minister is nothing but a ‘photography phenomena’ in the media. The vast number of his pictures appearing in the media, more than even the pictures of Obama, are a proof of this, while his achievements, when compared to any other minister’s, remains nil. This minister makes announcements about the same subject repeatedly, and I swear that if we rummage through the archives of his declarations and double checked them, we will find that he has actually achieved nothing. The current government has made mistakes which were enough to bring down nine governments, and even more, and one of its biggest mistakes is this minister.

uring the month of June, all the members of the board of directors for Al Naseem cooperative society returned to their posts at the orders of a court, something that happens rarely in the cooperative sector in Kuwait.

The members of the board of directors for Al Naseem Cooperative Society, headed by Azizi Sfooq, were elected in 2006. They had only worked for four months when a ministerial decision was issued to dissolve the board and refer the entire board to the public prosecutor.

In 2010, they were proven innocent of all the charges which were illogical as they had worked for just four months, a period too short to attract the kind of charges leveled against them.

After the final verdict passed by the court proclaiming them completely innocent, the chairman, Aziz Sfooq, resorted to the court again to reclaim his lost post which he had won through elections.

Last June, he got a decision from the court to return to his post along with the rest of the board of directors after the court ascertained itself that he and the members of the board were justifiable in their demand. Justice has been done to those who sought it.

The question, however, is, why was the person who

kuwait digest

Politicians we applaud for

By Jaafar Rajab aris Hilton is a female celebrity in America. all kinds of issues, and take part in all kinds of What does she do, and what is her job? She activities. They can be found everywhere - at the dances, sings, models, acts and does many Iradah Square, on TV channels or radio stations, activities that the media need. She is also eager to and in newspapers. They sing, dance, curse, chalhave her stories, including scandalous ones, fea- lenge, vow, lie, and carry out all kinds of theatrical tured in the media on a daily basis. In short, she is skills you can think of. They are ‘do it all’ MPs. a ‘do it all’ celebrity. Kim Kardashian is arguably the They are MPs who undertake parliamentary most famous celebrit y work , but in K ardashian today. She ac ts, dances, style. It does not matter Let’s talk about MPs in gets married, gets divorced, what they discuss, or Kuwait. What do the majority of travels, models, and whether they speak the indulges in all k inds of truth or not, as long as them do? They basically do activities that you can think their photographs are feaeverything that the media of, to cater to the media. tured in the daily news or wants. They make statements She does everything, and make it to the front pages concerning all kinds of issues, yet nothing, at the same of newspapers. They do time. If you ask about her everything, but legislate or and take part in all kinds of job title, most people will monitor the government’s activities. They can be found tell you that she is a ‘do it work. They do everything everywhere - at the Iradah all’ celebrity. and nothing at the same Square, on TV channels or radio Haifa Wehbe is an Arab time. version of the examples What do those in the stations, and in newspapers. given above. She does it all government do in the They sing, dance, curse, chalas well; she sings, dances, meantime? They just sit lenge, vow, lie, and carry out all ac ts, presents T V shows, down in front of the TV and kinds of theatrical skills you can models, and does all other watch the reality TV shows think of. things that the media laps presented by the lawmakup. In short, she is a comers. Af ter watching the prehensive artist who practices all kinds of arts MPs’ activities, they make statements, appointwhile nothing artistic can be found in what she ments, cancelations, approvals, slap bans and take does. Yes, she is also a ‘do it all’ celebrity. all other decisions on the basis of what they see.

But enough talking about celebrities; now, let’s Meanwhile, we as citizens deserve to have this talk about MPs in Kuwait. What do the majority of kind of MPs and ministers, because we continue to them do? They basically do everything that the play stupid and applaud while watching their media wants. They make statements concerning shenanigans.—Al-Rai

P

dragged them to the public prosecutor without proof of mismanagement not held accountable? And why reporting someone to the public prosecutor is not governed by certain regulations and not left to the whims or fancy of the minister or his office? Law must be applied to everyone without discrimination.

The problem is that there are proofs and real complaints against the board of directors of certain cooperative societies but no one touches them. Law must be applied to all and with the same yardstick, not depending on anyone’s discretion.

In general, even if some officials are moody, thank God that justice is there to rectify their moody official decisions.

Note: The rare verdict which returned the board of directors of Al Naseem cooperative society to their posts could have claimed better space in the media, but as luck would have it, it came out on the same day as the constitutional court decisions about dissolving the 2012 council. Therefore, the whole media focused on the historic constitutional court decision, and ignored the rare verdict which was lost among the political news. —Al-Anbaa

kuwait digest

Protect Kuwait from smallpox

By Badr Al-Qahtani mallpox is considered the first fatal disease that human beings managed to overcome and eradicate completely, or so we thought. This was until the World Health Organization revealed last year that the virus still existed and can be cultivated through methods easily available online.

The disarmament treaties signed by countries around the world, including Gulf Cooperation Council states, do not take into account any precautionary measures against the use of fatal diseases as weapons. Such a weapon can very well be used against GCC countries by some terrorist group or during a war that could become a reality, going by the developments in the region as reported in the media.

Unfortunately, Kuwait has taken no precautionary

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Kuwait has taken no precautionary measures against the fatal smallpox virus which can travel through air and pose a threat to public safety and the security of the state. We have to keep in mind that this virus could make its way into Kuwait, especially since the foreign workforce is not checked for smallpox contamination before they arrive into the country. measures against the fatal smallpox virus which can travel through air and pose a threat to public safety and the security of the state. We have to keep in mind that this virus could make its way into Kuwait, especially since the foreign workforce is not checked for smallpox contamination before they arrive into the country.

This issue should be given serious consideration by the government. We plead with the government to provide the necessary vaccines against this fatal disease before it is too late. The government is required to come up with a precautionary plan against all fatal diseases, including the smallpox virus. As a Kuwaiti citizen, I fear that a biological warfare could happen while we do not even have enough vaccines to protect ourselves from smallpox.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

LOCAL

Reason for electoral law change doesn’t exist: Saqr Prosecution summons Hayef’s brother, Harbash’s son

By A Saleh

— Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Hoho hosts farewell ceremony for Fr Fakhry KUWAIT: Lebanese businessman Al-Hajj Hassan Hoho recently held a farewell ceremony for the Maronite Patriarchal Representative in Kuwait and the Gulf region, Fr Yousef Fakhry, at the Marriott Hotel. The event was attended by Lebanese Ambassador Dr Bassam Al-Nu’mani, as well as the embassy staff, besides a number of bishops and members from the Lebanese community in Kuwait.

The event provided an opportunity for everyone to reassert the Islamic-Christian agreement to denounce the video and cartoons blasphemous towards Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). “The insulting movie has offended the Christians before than even the Muslims,” Hoho said in his speech

at the event. He also condemned the attacks against the innocent civilians during violent reactions sparked by the movie.

Meanwhile, Hoho also spoke about the “great event” that happened last week when Pope Benedict XVI visited Lebanon and was warmly welcomed by both Muslims and Christians “in scenes that embodied the principles of coexistence” displayed by the Lebanese people.

Hoho also urged the Lebanese to abandon sectarianism and other reasons for disunity, and instead seek coexistence and harmony. He further called upon the Lebanese community in Kuwait to consider “the Lebanese embassy as our point of reference”.

Pakistani ambassador lauds economic ties with Kuwait KUWAIT: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kuwait Iftekhar Aziz has praised his country’s bilateral economic relations with Kuwait, noting that they have always been historical and distinctive.

“Indeed, Kuwait’s relationship with Pakistan dates way back to history, especially in trade and economy fields,” the Pakistani Ambassador said in an interview at the embassy headquarters, adding that “when trade used to take place between Kuwait and Indian subcontinent countries, Karachi would be the first stop for Kuwaiti sailing ships.” He was alluding to Kuwaiti ancestors’ sea commercial activities, in the pre-oil times early last century, when they used to trade and trasnport commodities aboard wooden dhows.

Aziz indicated that there is currently a phenomenal scope of mutual cooperation between Islamabad and Kuwait in fields of economy, science, technology, medical, and education, adding that there is also a cultural cooperation and scholarship exchanges between the two states in areas such as arts, Islamic law (Shari’a) and military defense.

“Pakistan has one of the best defense services in the world as far as army and air force. We have been providing scholarships to people from GCC countries not only in defense services, but also in other fields as well,” he explained, affirming that “Pakistan is still ready, willing, and committed to provide educational facilities to its Kuwaiti brothers and sisters.”

He expressed his hope that bilateral relations would be strengthened and witness further progress, also wishing that the Kuwaiti authorities grant further facilities for visa-seeking Pakistani citizens.

On the other hand, he noted the upcoming unprecedented Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) summit, to be held in Kuwait in October, would be very significant, pointing out that this initiative was proposed by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah last year.

“I hope that this first summit of the ACD would translate into a regular dialogue of all Asian countries at the highest possible level.

Until now, it has only been an event where member-states would discuss regional and Asian problems and issues,” said Aziz.

“Forums such as the ACD would help evolve a platform for Asian countries to be

able to speak with one voice in international affairs. We are very thankful to the vision of HH the Amir for proposing this kind of event,” he added.

On the upcoming 7th Expo Pakistan 2012, one of the country’s biggest trade fair to be held in Karachi between October 3rd and 7th, Ambassador Aziz said that this annual event would primarily showcase the export potential of Pakistan, as well as the largest collection of Pakistan’s export merchandise and services.

He indicated that the success of last year’s fair, Expo Pakistan 2011, was manifested by the participation of a large number of local and international investors who settled business deals estimated at USD 518 million, compared to USD 80 million the year before.

“The Expo aims to inform the general public that Pakistan has been and continue to do business with people from all over the world,” Aziz said, adding that Kuwait has been a regular participant at this exhibition, mostly through its private companies.

“Primarily, Kuwait is an importer of all sorts of products and materials from all over the world. If we could collaborate our efforts together, we can then provide the facilities for Kuwaiti investors in Pakistan not only to invest, but also to export the products from Pakistan to Kuwait, Gulf, and other places in the world,” said the Ambassador.

He said that this year’s Expo will witness participation of 12 Kuwaiti companies specialized in food products, fisheries, meat, engineering, industrial items, carpets and textiles. In the same context, the Pakistani diplomat pointed out that volume of trade exchange between the two countries has crossed over $3.5 billion, mostly in crude oil imports from Kuwait, noting at the same time that Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has also been very active in investing in Pakistan for the last 20 years, especially in infrastructure and energy projects.

“Primarily we are importing crude oil from Kuwait, but as far as Pakistani exports to Kuwait; they are mainly food products and ingredients, textile products, industrial and engineering items, carpets and some construction materials,” Aziz said, adding that the total Pakistani marine exports, such as fish and sea food, to Kuwait come in the vicinity of $ 8 to 10 billion. — KUNA

KUWAIT: A former MP believes that the Cabinet referred the electoral law to the Constitutional Court only when it had become frustrated with the parliament elected in last February, noting that “the cabinet followed the advice based on the notion that the five constituencies system was unconstitutional”.

However, Mohammad Al-Saqr argued at the same time that the cabinet no longer has the authority to change the electoral system “after the court negated the reason” for which the amendments could have been made through emergency decrees or any other method.

The liberal activist further indicated that the Constitutional Court’s ruling explained that “density of population was not the main factor” to determine fairness of constituencies’ distribution, arguing that there was no country that had constituencies with equal number of citizens.

“Justice doesn’t lie in population density, but is achieved through election outcomes,” he said.

Meanwhile, former first constituency candidate Dr Adel AlDamkhi has said that a grilling

motion filed by MP Faisal AlDuwaisan against Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah at this time “sends a message that Sheikh Jaber’s return to the premier post is unwelcome”. Al-Damkhi, who was part of the opposition in the annulled 2012 parliament, welcomed Al-Duwaisan’s grilling “especially since it holds the prime minister responsible for pushing the country into a vortex, an error for which no one was held accountable.”

He further said that the grilling was in line with the opposition’s arguments calling for holding accountable all those responsible for taking wrong decisions and “asserting that the referral of the electoral law did not serve the public good.”

Separately, the public prosecution summoned the brother of MP Mohammad Hayef and son of MP Jamaan Al-Harbash for investigation in the parliament storming case which happened late last year and in which a number of lawmakers face charges.

The two were not summoned for investigations earlier “since their names were not mentioned in the complaint or investigations”, sources privy to the case said.

GCC industrial meeting The Ministers of Industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries meet tomorrow (Wednesday) at the GCC General Secretariat’s headquarters to discuss several issues pertaining to industrial cooperation among the member states. The meeting’s agenda includes discussion on recommenda-

tions made during a preparatory meeting for undersecretaries of industry ministries held on September 19th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The recommendations included a project for unified standards to be followed by GCC governments that will ensure priority for GCC products while making purchases through government.

LIMA, Peru: Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled AlSabah arrives for the opening of the Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting in the framework of the Summit of South American and Arab Countries (ASPA) yesterday. The forum brings together 22 Arab countries and 12 South American nations on the initiative of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. More than 2,000 visitors, including heads of state and industry leaders, were due in Lima for the summit. — AFP

Friendship society hails Amiri visit to London KUWAIT: The Board of the KuwaitBritish Friendship Society, Kuwait, yesterday expressed their elation at the announcement that His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait will be in London on Nov 27, for a state visit extended by Queen Elizabeth II. The visit is a powerful expression of how far the relations

between Kuwait and Great Britain has gone in furthering the strong ties and how wide issues of mutual concern have become.

The Kuwait-British Friendship Society is ver y pleased as this occasion will bring about additional benefits for the two countries and strengthen their interests and no doubt enhance the British public opinion on the stability and

future prosperity of the Gulf region.

Britain and the Gulf States have crossed too many crises since their alliance was cemented in the early stage of the nineteenth century, history registered Britain’s faithful discharge of its obligation as a contributor to Gulf stability and also recorded the reciprocal loyalty of the Gulf to its pledge as men-

tioned in the Friendship treaties signed with Great Britain. The future of the relations between the two States will shine and blossom with increasing force to the advantages of the both Nations.

The Society salutes the leadership in both States and rejoices in their attachment to the heritage written in the history of their relations.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

local

Fugitive busted with drugs on Seventh Ring Road Senior citizen reports drunken son

AUS regional roadshow kicks off in Kuwait KUWAIT: American University of Sharjah (AUS) will start its regional roadshow and student recruitment campaign on Sept 30, introducing the university’s accredited programs, academic excellence and multicultural campus life to prospective students from across the region. The roadshow begins in Kuwait, followed by Qatar on October 3 and ends in Jordan on Nov 17.

As a good proportion of AUS students come from the various Middle Eastern countries, the roadshow gives interested high school students the opportunity to discover whether they can pursue their studies at AUS, which places special emphasis not only on study but also on personal, social and cultural growth.

Being the main provider of high-quality American style higher education in the Gulf region, AUS accepts only distinguished students who are among the top 20 percent of high school graduates.

AUS Chancellor Dr. Peter Heath stated, “In just 15 years, AUS has become the benchmark for quality university education in the Gulf, favored by students, parents and employers. Students come to AUS to experience true campus life within a regional setting, and for the quality of teaching and learning experiences we provide. Our track record and independent accreditations attest to this. The excellent quality of education offered by AUS and the great student life within a fully self-sustained campus is unmatched in the MENA region. AUS offers a platform for bright students to fulfill their ambitions while experiencing one of the most multicultural and advanced economies in the word today.”

AUS, recently named one of the top 500 universities worldwide by QS World University Ranking, is one of the few institutions accredited by the Commission for Academic Accreditation of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the United Arab Emirates and by the Commission on

Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in the United States.

During their Kuwait roadshow, AUS representatives will be available at the Corniche Suites Salmyah, Arabian Gulf Street, to meet parents and prospective applicants from 5:00 to 8:00pm each day.

AUS Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Ali Shuhaimy stated, “We are here to listen to and advise prospective students and their parents about how to select the right university for them, the unique opportunities offered

by AUS and why they should consider joining us if they have the right credentials.”

Shuhaimy added, “AUS programs are delivered by international and highly qualified faculty members where the majority holds terminal degrees. AUS also has a great educational environment where students are challenged and encouraged to develop their critical thinking, communication skills and leadership. The university’s campus is selfsustained with an unmatched cultural diversity. AUS also offers students the opportunities to work on practical projects in the UAE through college projects or internships.”

AUS’ bachelor of science programs in chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering are accredited

by ABET, of the United States while the Bachelor of Architecture program of the College of Architecture, Art and Design is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) of the United States. The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) as well as the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) degrees are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

KUWAIT: A fugitive facing multiple charges was arrested recently on the Seventh Ring Road for possessing drugs. The suspect was pulled over by a patrolling police party which grew suspicious when they noticed that the man betrayed nervousness as the police’s vehicle approached his. He was placed under arrest after police verified his identity to discover that he had a criminal past. Meanwhile, the officers who carried out a bodily search of the man before he was to be put into the police’s vehicle found three envelopes containing heroin, four hashish rolls and 23 drug pills. The man was taken to the relevant authorities to face charges.

Man reports son A drunken man was arrested inside his family’s house in Al-Andalus after his father called the police when he showed up holding a gun.

The suspect was detained inside the house’s dewaniya where a gun, some ammunition and two bottles of homebrewed liquor were found.

Police were let in by the young man’s Kuwaiti father who explained in the emergency call that he felt threatened that his son might cause harm to him or his daughters. The man was detained at the area’s police station, pending inquiries to face charges that may include being under the influence of liquor and possessing an unlicensed weapon.

No music class The Jahra police are trying to track down and arrest thieves who seem to have a musical ear.

The thieves broke into a middle school in Taima and stole four musical instruments. The school’s deputy headmaster, who recently reported the theft, told officers at the area’s police station that the suspects possibly scaled the school’s wall and broke into the music room through a window, before making good with three keyboards and a violin. The theft seemed to have occurred during the weekend and was discovered only on Sunday morning. Detectives were sent to the scene to carry out investigations.

Search on for rapist Search is underway for a man accused of sexual assault and battery as per charges pressed recently by a Kuwaiti woman at the Abdullah Port police station. In her statement to the officers, the complainant accused the young man of beating her inside a chalet in the area, before stealing her belongings and then raping her.

Investigations are on.

Patient in coma Jahra police are waiting for a man admitted to Jahra Hospital to recover and his condition to stabilize so that they can find out from him the circumstances which left him completely unconscious. Security officers reached the hospital

after medical staff reported that the man, in his 40s, was brought in a critical condition and admitted to the intensive care unit in a state of unconsciousness. In the meanwhile, the man remains under police supervision.

Political fight A man in Al-Jahra was left with a broken nose and several bruises during a fight sparked recently by disagreements over a current political issue. The 30-year-old Kuwaiti man was brought to Jahra Hospital in an ambulance from the Jahra Stables where the scuffle took place.

The man gave officers information about four suspects who he claimed had beaten him up following an argument over Kuwait’s electoral constituencies system.

Actor in custody An amateur actor was arrested after failing to convince patrol officers that there could be something wrong with the Interior Ministry’s database, which showed that he was wanted on charges of forgery. The man who plays roles of an extra in many theater acts, suggested, when informed at a checkpoint that he was wanted for authorities, that there must be an error in the ministry’s computers. Police did not buy his theory and placed him under arrest to face charges that include forging people’s signatures to buy cell phones. —Al-Watan, Al-Rai, Al-Anba

Interior employees honored KUWAIT: Under the patronage and in the presence of Director General of Investigations, General Yousef Abdullah Al Saudi, the administration organized a ceremony to honor a number of its employees who played an active role in developing the legal sector.

These employees are known for their faithfulness and served the state and its citizens. Those honored included retired General Mohammad Sattam Al Otaibi, Lt General Zamel Matter Al Shimmary and Lt Colonel Dr Beder Hamad Al Mulla. In his address, General Yousuf Al Saudi

hailed the legal personnel who participated in developing the work environment and removed the hurdles in the path of management. The ceremony concluded with General Al Saudi handing over shields and certificates of appreciation and exchanging memorial gifts.

Boubyan Bank provides scholarships to GUST students Warba Bank’s tour of Kuwait reaches The Avenues KUWAIT: Warba Bank, the most recently opened Islamic bank in Kuwait, announced yesterday that its nationwide tour of malls and universities in Kuwait has now reached The Avenues mall.

A Warba Bank booth will be located at the mall from 1-6 October, giving people an opportunity to learn more about the bank’s products and services, The previous 360 Mall booth had witnessed great interest from customers through the information offered on Warba Bank’s various products and services, including its different banking accounts, credit cards, and consumer financing via “Murabaha” service. The booth also offered information on its latest “La T7aty ” campaign for salary accounts, through which customers are entitled to receive instant valuable gifts, in addition to one or two chances to win a brand new Mini Cooper.

Commenting on the booths, Adnan Salman Al Salem, Chief Retail Banking Officer of Warba Bank, said, “The first stop on the tour at the 360 Mall helped customers to learn more about the bank and led to a significant amount of applications for new accounts and salary transfers. We now look forward to bringing the booth to an even larger customer base at the lively Avenues Mall, with a view to guarantee the satisfaction of our customers; both nationals and expatriates.”

The new booth at The Avenues offers

information on the “Murabaha” service, which meets the financing needs of customers with entire flexibility via basic monthly installments. The new Sharia compliant service allows customers to purchase goods and pay in easy installments throughout a period that starts from six months up to 15 years. The service includes house finance, construction and renovation, as well as consumer products such as boats and marine equipment, furniture, electronic appliances and cars, as well as other goods, and is available at competitive profit rates.

Customers can also learn more about Warba Bank’s nine banking cards, including the standard debit card, Lamar Card for ladies, Shabab Warba Card, Safwa Card for the affluent, and Tala Card for children, as well as its three types of credit cards: Classic, Gold and Platinum.

Furthermore, the booth offers information on the bank’s exclusive ‘My Box’ service from Posta Plus, which provides two local delivery addresses in the US and UK for all online purchases and regular mails.

Warba Bank’s booth will also move onto three other popular destinations in Kuwait: Marina Mall, Kuwait University and Al Kout Mall, before finishing in early January 2013. Customers can learn more about Warba Bank’s multiple services by visiting its branches, booths, or by calling 182-5555.

KUWAIT: In its strive to support youth in all fields, Boubyan Bank (the fastest growing bank in Kuwait) announced its special program providing scholarships to the outstanding bachelor’s students at GUST, as part of the cooperation and partnership between the two parties.

Adel Al-Hammad, GM- Human Resources Group of Boubyan Bank said: “The program launched by the Bank for the first time provides a monthly grant of KD 250/- for a whole year to 5 of the outstanding students, with GPA 3.67 and above.

“The Bank will select the students to receive these scholarships in cooperation with the concerned depart-

ment at GUST,” He added.

Al-Hammad also noted that this support provided to GUST students is considered part of the Bank’s responsibility towards society as per its distinguished social responsibility program launched years ago, which is based on providing all help and support to all sections of society, stressing the Bank’s belief in the importance of youth and the necessity to provide all support to them being the power upon which Kuwait relies to build its present. On the other hand, Al-Hammad highlighted the cooperation between the Bank and GUST, indicating that the last period witnessed many forms of cooperation and that more is yet to come in

KD3.5 million thief arrested in Qatar KUWAIT: A man accused of stealing millions of dinars from a charitable fund in Kuwait was arrested in Qatar recently and was expected to be extradited to Kuwait soon, a local daily reported yesterday.

The suspect, an Egyptian man identified by his first name ‘Abdul-Aziz’ in an Al-Qabas report yesterday, escaped Kuwait a couple of years ago after succeeding in stealing KD3.5 million from the Patients Aid Fund where he worked as an accountant.

He has since been arrested in Egypt where he was charged, but managed to escape during trial by feigning sickness to avail himself of treatment.

The circumstances leading to the suspect’s recent arrest in Qatar were not mentioned in the Qabas’ report, but it indicated that confidential coordination was on between the Qatari authorities and their Kuwaiti counterparts to send the suspect to Kuwait.

The coordination got underway following a request made by Kuwait’s Attorney General Dherar Al-As’ousy to his Qatari counterpart during a recent visit to Qatar.

view of the partnership of the Bank with one with one of the key higher education institutions in Kuwait and the whole region.

Noteworthy is that many agreements have been recently made between the two parties with the purpose of developing the human resources of Boubyan Bank, under one of which the Bank appointed GUST as the “Exclusive Academic Partner” for it in Kuwait.

In addition, another agreement has been signed for the Bank’s branch managers in order to develop their personal capabilities and enhance their expertise by providing them the MBA degree from GUST.

Adel Al-Hammad

Asian maid commits suicide

By Hanan Al Saadoun KUWAIT: An Asian maid committed suicide last night by hanging herself by a rope in a hall of the house where she worked in Rumaithiya. The incident happened when the family she worked for had left the house in the evening and she was all alone. Her sponsor discovered the suicide when he returned home late at night and reported the matter immediately to the ministry of interior.

Boy injured An officer of the Lieutenant Colonel rank working in the Ministry of Interior has filed a complaint that his son was poked in the eye with a sharp object. He backed his complaint with a medical report and supplied the security men the details

about the assaulters. A case was filed at the Jahra police station.

Youth assaulted Jahra police station received a report about a youth who assaulted members of his own family at dawn.

Security men arrested the youth, who, they said, seemed to be under the influence of liquor. He was taken to t h e p o l i ce s t a t i o n b u t a Lieutenant rank officer in the police station received him in his office instead of detaining him. Another police report said that the suspect ran away from the police station. As a result, the officer in charge of the police station was detained for five days at the Al Nuzha jail, which is the maximum penalty that can be imposed by his superior officials for negligence in duty.

Iraq monthly death toll doubles to 365 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

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Syria air strikes kill 17; 3 new souks in flames Page 8

ALEPPO: A Syrian rebel fires towards regime forces as his comrade ducks for cover during clashes in the old city of Aleppo in northern Syria. — AFP

In Syrian shadow, Iraq’s premier juggles Iran, US Al-Maliki pushed into a delicate balancing act BAGHDAD: Iraq’s move to inspect Iranian aircraft flying to Syria may appease the United States but also shows how crisis in Damascus has pushed Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki into an ever more delicate balancing act between his two main allies. When he faced a parliamentary revolt this year, he could count on Tehran to pull strings of influence over restive fellow Shiite politicians in Iraq’s majority community that saw the Iraqis quickly fall in line again behind the Shiite premier.

But after the United States complained publicly that Iran was using Iraqi airspace to fly arms and men to help President Bashar Al-Assad fight Western-backed rebels, Iraq’s government has told Washington it will inspect Iranian flights at random. Nine years after US forces ousted Iraq’s Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, and nine months after they finally pulled out of the country, Maliki is heavily reliant on Tehran, Washington’s enemy. He leans on Iran for political support at home and for backing in a Sunni-dominated region where he has few friends. But he still needs the Americans, too - for military aid, in part, but also as Iraq seeks global investment and trading access for an oil industry it is struggling to rebuild.

And all the while, with the Syrian civil war inflaming historic confrontations in the Middle East between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and between Arab and Persian, Maliki is trying to carve out space for Iraq’s - and his own - interests.

“We are trying to take a independent position, based on our national interests,” Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said recently in explaining Iraq’s Syria policy. “We are trying to differentiate ourselves. Things are not black and white.”

Iraq says it has a policy of non-interference in Syria - but stays close to Tehran’s position by refusing to endorse Western and Arab League demands for the removal of Assad, whose Alawite minority faith is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

For Maliki, who once found refuge in Syria and Iran as a Shiite Islamist activist fleeing Saddam, a defeat for Assad that put Damascus under the control of Sunni Islamists could add to the threat he already faces from a Sunni insurgency blamed for the kind of attacks that killed over 30 Iraqis on Sunday. “We reject attempts to bring down the regime by force, because it will leave a wider crisis in the region,” Maliki has said. That concern, rather than any pressure from Tehran, appears to drive the Iraqi premier, diplomats and Iraqi officials say. “Maliki is fundamentally looking after Maliki’s interests,” one diplomat involved in the region said. “Relations with Iran may be part of that. But I don’t think Iran’s interest will trump Maliki’s domestic interests.”

AMERICAN INFLUENCE Maliki is keenly aware of the benefits of keeping Iran on board. Tehran helped secure his premiership into a second term in 2010 by persuading fractious Shiite parties to join forces and outmanoeuvre Sunnis, Kurds and independent groups. At the same time, Washington’s sway over a leader whom it once saw as more mindful of US interests than other Shiite candidates had faded, even before the troop withdrawal. Maliki, aware of nationalist sensitivity, said Iraq could not support a small US force staying on by extending troops’ legal immunity.

But Washington still has weight it can pull with Maliki, as the appeasing move on Iranian flights to Syria demonstrated. “Maliki will never risk his relationship with the US,” said Iraqi Shiite lawmaker Amir Al-Kinani. “But he will send a message saying they must support him to stay in power.

“This has nothing to do with religion, for Maliki or for Iran it’s about interests.” Washington has allowed $2 billion in weapons sales to Iraq in 2012 alone, including a recently completed purchase of US-made tanks. Baghdad will soon take delivery of more than 30 F-16 fighters that will be the backbone of its new air force. US military officers engaged in training programs also still operate out of the US embassy in Baghdad.

With President Barack Obama campaigning for re-election, some in the United States have suggested pressing Iraq harder to distance itself from Iran. But US diplomats are wary of exerting pressure that might have the opposite effect on Maliki. The State Department rejected a call for aid to Baghdad to be threatened if Iraq did not block Iranian flights to Syria. “Maliki has a variety of reasons for wanting Assad to stay in power. The fact Iran shares this preference will tend to promote stronger relations,” said Stephen Biddle, professor at George Washington University. “That does not mean Maliki will ignore US pref-

erences. “He wants help wherever he can get it, and the United States can provide arms of the kind and quality Iranians cannot.”

SYRIAN QUESTION MARK Syria’s crisis, and how the increasingly sectarian turmoil develops there, remains a major question mark over how Maliki will manage future relations with Washington and Tehran. Already Maliki’s relationship with Assad is complex.

At the height of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, Iraqi Shiite leaders slammed Damascus for letting foreign militants, including al Qaeda fighters, slip over their desert border.

Members of Saddam’s Baath party, long estranged from the Syrian wing of the movement led by Assad, also found refuge in Syria. But Maliki has since developed a more pragmatic relationship with Damascus, not least as the prospect grows of Syria falling to a hardline Sunni revolt that could the reignite Iraq. How Maliki manages Syria now depends on whether - or how - Assad’s regime falls.

More Western and Arab intervention in Syria that might ease Assad out in favor of a broad-based Syrian government could be a relief for Baghdad.

But a messy collapse, and the rise of a hostile Sunni regime next door, may drive a threatened Maliki closer to Iran; Tehran in turn may increase its focus on Baghdad if it loses Damascus. — Reuters

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

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

Somali, AU troops in no rush to enter Kismayu Kenya on high alert; Residents fear revenge attacks MOGADISHU: African Union and Somali government troops are in no rush to enter Kismayu, the southern stronghold abandoned by Islamist militants, a military spokesman said yesterday as anxiety over revenge attacks gripped many in the port city. Al Shabaab rebels fled Kismayu on Friday after a surprise assault by sea, air and ground forces, but Kenyan soldiers fighting under the banner of an AU peacekeeping mission have been cautious about pouring into the port city from its outskirts. Mohamed Farah, a spokesman for Somali government forces in the southern Juba regions, said the rebels might have laid explosives in Kismayu and soldiers were being deployed to strategic locations step by step.

“We control the airport and seaport,” Farah said. “There is not much need to rush. We control the town.

And every step in Kismayu is sandy. We anticipate mines have been planted,” he said. Al Shabaab has said that although it had retreated from Somalia’s second biggest city, its fighters were poised to engage the allied troops once they entered the city centre, threatening to turn the streets into a “battlefield”. The rebel group, which

counts foreign Al-Qaeda-trained fighters among its ranks, is seen as one of the biggest threats to stability in the Horn of Africa. It formally merged with Al-Qaeda in February. Somalia descended into chaos after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991. Al Shabaab, which for much of its five -year rebellion controlled swathes of the lawless Horn of Africa country, has turned to guerrilla tactics, harrying the weak government of newly-elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud with suicide bombings and assassinations. Security forces in Kenya, the region’s biggest economy, were on high alert yesterday.

Police said extra roadblocks had been set up on roads leading to neighboring Somalia, while a military source said extra surveillance flights were being operated along the remote, porous frontier. “Somalia has been an Al-Qaeda hideout. You’ve seen the impact of Al-Qaeda across the world and we have just destroyed their backyard,” Kenya’s deputy police spokesman Charles Owino said.

KISMAYU RESIDENTS’ FEARS Since it sent troops into Somalia a year ago, Kenya has been dogged by a

succession of gun and grenade attacks, blamed by the government in Nairobi on Al Shabaab and its sympathizers. On Sunday, a child was killed in the Kenyan capital when an explosive was thrown into a Sunday school service and two police officers were shot dead hours later in the eastern town of Garissa. Such low-level attacks have so far not hurt Kenya’s financial markets.

However, a major strike of the kind threatened by al Shabaab on Kenyan government buildings or sites popular with Western expatriates and holidaymakers would risk dealing a bodyblow to the tourism sector and damaging Kenya’s reputation as a sound investment destination in a volatile region.

The militants proved their ability to launch a major strike beyond Somalia’s frontiers when suicide bombers killed 79 people in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in 2010. In Kismayu, residents were divided over whether the arrival of AMISOM peacekeepers in the city would bring benefit. There are concerns a prolonged power vacuum in Kismayu could give way to renewed clan violence as rival groups jockey for control of the lucrative port in a city where the rebels’ strict application of Islamic law alienat-

KISMAYO: A soldier of the Kenyan contingent serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) rests upon his arrival in Kismayu. —AFP ed a huge portion of the population.

“Kismayu looks calmer today. People are moving in the streets. The shops and markets are open. We hope security will improve with the presence of the troops,” said resident Bare Nur. Faiza Mohamed, a greengrocer, was more circumspect. “We’re not against the gov-

ernment, but Kismayu will become like Mogadishu,” the mother-of-five said, referring to Al Shabaab’s campaign of suicide bombings and targeted killings that has swept the capital since the group withdrew from there 14 months ago. “I am sure security will worsen if the troops come in,” she said. — Reuters

Fighting spreads in Aleppo walled city Air strikes kill 17; 3 new souks in flames

MACHU PICCHU: Jordanian King Abdullah II (left) visits the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, considered one of the seven wonders of the world. — AFP

Jordan King Abdullah II tours Machu Picchu LIMA: Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday toured Peru’s fabled Machu Picchu, an Inca citadel high in the Andes, the official Andina news agency reported. The monarch, dressed casually in a grey polo shirt, dark sunglasses, khaki trousers and blue and white sneakers, was surrounded by a security team of about 10 agents and Peruvian police, the report said. He was in Peru for the Summit of South American and Arab Countries, or ASPA, which starts on Monday. The forum brings together 22 Arab countries and 12 South American nations on the initiative of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

More than 2,000 visitors, including heads of state and industry leaders, were due in Lima for the summit. Participants include King Abdullah II, Qatar’s Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and the presidents of Tunisia and Lebanon. The presidents of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay also were expected. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is in a tight re-election race, was not taking part, but his country will be represented by Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro. Peru’s President Ollanta Humala declared Monday and Tuesday national holidays to help handle the influx of visitors. — AFP

For most Somalis, the only answer is to flee UNITED NATIONS: Half of Somalia’s population wants out of the impoverished, conflict-stricken nation even as it takes the first steps to shed its reputation as the world’s most failed state, a new UN report says. The United Nations sent a small army of surveyors across the vast East African nation-some risking their lives in militant zones now under attack from African Union troops-to get the views of its long-suffering 9.5 million people for a development survey.

Their report, released to coincide with a mini-summit on Somalia at the UN General Assembly last week, must have made sobering reading for the international leaders who welcomed the new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and warned him he still has a lot of work to do. Seventy percent of Somalis are aged under 30 and the UN’s Somalia Human Development Report said more than two thirds of those young people want to flee. The reasons are clear. After two decades of conflict and corrupt, chaotic governance, more than half of the population aged over 15 has no jobs. And Somalia may have the world’s worst unemployment rate, the UN report said.

The dearth of jobs makes unemployed, disillusioned youths a prey to the recruiters for Shebab fighters now battling AU forces for their last bastion at Kismayo and the pirates who have become a scourge of the Indian Ocean.

Mogadishu man Jamac Said told surveyors how he tried to get to Europe with four other boys and two girls through Ethiopia, Sudan, Libya and Italy. They were stopped by South Sudan rebels who raped the girls. They went on but were detained by the Sudanese army for 19 months before being sent back to

Somalia. Said tried to get through Kenya a second time. He got as far as the Kenyan border town of Garissa, was beaten in prison for two months and only released after paying a ransom.

The UN estimates that between 450,000 and 1.5 million people have died in the country because of conflict and famine since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. There are more than 600,000 Somalis in refugee camps in neighboring countries. The UN estimates that 53,000 people tried to cross the Gulf of Aden to get into Yemen last year, and that hundreds, if not thousands, died. “Somalia, not surprisingly, remains at the bottom of the list of the world’s failed states,” said the report. But it stressed that the relative calm in the autonomous northern regions of Somaliland and Puntland proved there is hope for even this desperate case.

While the report said the rest of the world has spent $55 billion on Somalia’s troubles in over the past two decades, it called on donors to invest in helping the country’s desperate youth. The international community is pinning its hopes on the new president and the African Union troops who hope taking Kismayo will be a major step to bolstering the fledgling government. Outgoing African Union chairman Jean Ping highlighted the “myriad, complex and daunting challenges” facing Hassan, the target of an assassination attempt two days after his election, and his international backers.

The AU force, officially known as AMISOM and mainly made up of troops from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Djibouti, has almost doubled to 17,000 in the past year but Ping said it needs new finance and equipment. — AFP

BEIRUT: Fires that gutted a vast mediaeval market have broken out in other areas of the Old City of Aleppo, a world heritage site, as rebels and government forces fight for the ancient heart of Syria’s biggest city, opposition activists said yesterday. The rebels last week announced a fresh attempt to seize the city, home of a large merchant class that had mostly remained loyal to President Bashar alAssad, and appeared to have focused on the warren of alleyways that make up the walled Old City. With government forces holding the large medieval citadel in the heart of the Old City, according to rebels, the fighting that has already claimed more than 30,000 lives across Syria seems certain to destroy more cultural treasures too.

“Rebels control more that 90 percent of the Old City now,” said Ameer, an opposition activist working with rebel brigades. But he said they were struggling to hold their positions under heavy artillery fire. He said the rebels still held the Souk Al-Madina, a covered market of 13 km of vaulted stone alleyways and carved wooden facades that was once a major tourist attraction. Fires that damaged or gutted more than 1,500 shops had been put out, Ameer said, but new fires had now broken out in the Old City’s Zahrawi, Aqaba and Bab Al Nasr markets.

Plumes of black smoke were rising from many districts, and gunfire could be heard.

The rebels are sensitive to suggestions that they might have brought the conflict to one of Syria’s greatest historic and commercial assets. Aleppo was once the last stop before Europe for traders plying the ancient Silk Route from Asia. “It’s urban warfare. I cannot blame any side specifically for the fires,” Ameer said over Skype. UNESCO DirectorGeneral Irina Bokova said that, as a signatory to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, Syria was obliged to safeguard its heritage from the ravages of war.

MILLENARY HISTORY “The human suffering caused by this situa-

tion is already extreme,” she said in a statement. “That the fighting is now destroying cultural heritage that bears witness to the country’s millenary history - valued and admired the world over - makes it even more tragic.” A visitor to the Old City, who asked not to be named, said the fires, which started on Saturday, were a side effect of the fighting in the covered market, famous for its silks and fabrics. “An electrical fire started during clashes and spread quickly,” he said, adding that several rebel groups, including those from the most prominent Tawheed Brigade, were involved in the rebel advance, which has had only marginal success in the wider city of 2.5 million people.

The pattern of fighting across Syria is one of repeated destruction. When rebel fighters, lightly armed and low on ammunition, make progress, government forces respond with artillery fire until rebels and civilians are flushed out and the army can move in. But rebels are often able to sneak back, and the

cycle restarts, suggesting a bleak prospect for Aleppo’s Old City, where fires on Sunday reached the perimeter of the Great Mosque, parts of which date back over a thousand years. UNESCO believes that five of Syria’s six world heritage sites have already been damaged. The other sites include the ancient desert city of Palmyra, the Crac des Chevaliers crusader fortress and parts of old Damascus.

Some 30,000 people have now been killed in an 18-month-old uprising-turned-civil war.

Syrian forces shelled rebel strongholds in the eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus yesterday and launched air strikes on the town of Salqeen in the northern province of Idlib, killing at least 17 people, activists said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which maintains a network of activists across Syria, said at least five children had been killed in Salqeen, including three from the same family.

Video footage purporting to be of the victims showed the bloodied bodies of two children and an infant laid on a white sheet. — Reuters

QAMISHLI: Syrian men inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in Qamishli, 497 miles northeast Damascus. — AP

News

in brief

India kills 5 militants NEW DELHI: Indian security forces claimed yesterday they had killed five foreign militants during a gunfight in a forested area in the restive region of Kashmir. Forces acting on an intelligence tip off surprised the men allegedly from the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group in Wanghat forest about 50 kilometers from the main city of Srinagar, local police chief Shahid Mehraj said. “The militants were killed in a fierce gunfight by the joint party of Indian army and police. Five AK assault rifles and a large quantity of ammunition were recovered from them,” he said. Violence in Kashmir has dropped sharply since India and Pakistan started a peace process in 2004 but occasional gunfights are known to erupt between the rebels and Indian security forces.

7 brutally murdered NUEVO LAREDO: Police on Sunday found the remains of seven people whose bodies were chopped up and dumped in cars in northern Mexico, near the US border. Police in Nuevo Laredo received a phone tip Sunday reporting bodies found in two cars that had been abandoned in a shopping center, state prosecutors said in a statement. A source with the prosecutors’ office, speaking privately, said the bodies were those of six men between 30-35 and another person whose age and gender had not been confirmed. Just September 14, the bodies of 16 people were found spread over two locations in Nuevo Laredo.

Morsi TV critic freed CAIRO: The owner of a TV station on trial for incitement following his call for the killing of Egypt’s Islamist president has been released after being briefly detained over allegations of theft of electrical power and bounced cheques, security officials said yesterday. They said Tawfiq Okasha was released late Sunday after nearly 10 hours of questioning at a police station in Cairo’s Nasr City district.

Authorities last month closed Okasha’s T V station - Al-Faraeen,” or “ The Pharaohs” - which he used to launch scathing attacks on President Mohammed Morsi and the leader ’s Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood.

News of Okasha’s detention broke on the same day Justice Ministry officials said an investigating judge referred the last prime minister of Egypt’s deposed authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak to trial on corruption charges arising from the decade he served as civil aviation minister. Besides Ahmed Shafiq, the chairman of national carrier EgyptAir and nine other ministry officials were also referred to trial. The EgyptAir chief, Tawfiq Mohammed Asi, had just been named to his post on Thursday, and a party with hundreds of employees had been given at the company’s headquarters to celebrate the appointment. A career pilot, he was the chairman of the national carrier between 2007 and 2009,

when he was fired by Shafiq. Civil Aviation Minister Sameer Imbabi told reporters yesterday that Asi will stay at his job until a final verdict is reached in the case. No date has been announced for the start of the trial. Imbabi’s ministry oversees EgyptAir’s operations. Shafiq left Egypt shortly after his narrow defeat

by Morsi in a presidential runoff in June.

He has already been referred to trial on separate corruption charges dating back to the 1990s when he chaired a housing association for air force officers.

Mubarak’s two sons, onetime heir apparent Gamal and wealthy businessman Alaa, were charged in the same case together with four retired generals.

Shafiq lives in the United Arab Emirates.

Egyptian doctors began a partial strike yesterday to demand better pay and working conditions, their syndicate said. Doctors at 540 government hospitals have stopped work, but emergency and intensive-care units will continue to operate, it said. “The strike will be in about 540 public hospitals, which is equivalent to 40 percent of the health services provided to citizens around the country,” Khairy Abdel Dayem, the head of the doctors syndicate, told state media. The strike will pile more pressure on the government which has been facing a series of state-employee actions across the country. —Agencies

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

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

Central figure in Mississippi integration defies labels JACKSON: James Meredith is a civilrights icon who hates the term “civil rights.” It’s as if civil rights were somehow set apart from - well, rights. “When it comes to my rights as an American citizen, and yours, I am a triumphalist and an absolutist. Anything less is an insult,” said the black man who 50 years ago inflamed the anger of white Mississippi by quietly demanding admission to the state’s segregated flagship university.

Now 79 and living in Jackson, Meredith sees himself as a messenger of God - a warrior who crippled the beast of white supremacy by integrating the University of Mississippi.

These days, he frequently wears an Ole Miss baseball hat in public. When the university’s football team recently played the University of Texas in Oxford, Meredith was a guest in the chancellor’s stadium skybox, and the crowd applauded when that was announced over the loudspeakers. Yet he says he doesn’t plan to participate in the university’s commemoration of his history-making enrollment, which prompted a state-federal standoff, sparked deadly mob violence and ultimately ended the university’s official policy of racial segregation. The university says Meredith has been invited to take part in events to mark the anniversary, including a walk that student leaders will take Monday to retrace his first day on campus.

Meredith says he doesn’t see the point. “I ain’t never heard of the French celebrating Waterloo,” he told The Associated Press. “I ain’t never heard of the Germans celebrating the invasion of Normandy, or ... the bombing and destruction of Berlin. I ain’t never heard of the Spanish celebrating the destruction of the Armada.” Asked to clarify, Meredith said: “Did you find anything 50 years ago that I should be celebrating?”

Ole Miss administrators today don’t shy

away from the history of a half century ago. For the past year, Ole Miss has sponsored lectures and other events to commemorate Meredith’s Oct 1, 1962, enrollment and the ensuing changes that have made the university more diverse.

In a state with a 37 percent black population, Ole Miss now has a black enrollment of about 16.6 percent, and the current student body president, Kim Dandridge, is black - the fourth black person elected to the post. University officials are careful to say the events are for commemoration, not celebration.

Mississippi’s segregationist governor in 1962, Ross Barnett declared that no school would be integrated on his watch.

He denounced the federal government as “evil and illegal forces of tyranny” for ordering Ole Miss to enroll Meredith, a 29-year-old Air Force veteran who had already taken classes at historically black Jackson State College.

But even as Barnett whipped the white populace into a segregationist frenzy, he privately negotiated with President John F Kennedy and his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, to try to save face as it became clear that federal authorities would escort Meredith onto campus and make sure he enrolled.

In the face of Mississippi’s defiance, federal authorities deployed more than 3,000 soldiers and more than 500 law enforcement officers to Oxford. An angry mob of students and outsiders yelled and hurled bricks. Tear gas canisters exploded amid the oaks and magnolias. Two white men were killed. More than 200 people were injured, including 160 US marshals.

In his new book, “A Mission from God: A Memoir and Challenge for America,” Meredith and co-author William Doyle recall the court battle and mob violence.

“I chose as my target the University of Mississippi, which in 1960 was the holiest temple of white supremacy in America,

next to the US Capitol and the White House, both of which were under the control of segregationists and their collaborators,” Meredith writes. “I reasoned that if I could enter the University of Mississippi as its first known black student, I would fracture the system of stateenforced white supremacy in Mississippi.

It would drive a stake into the heart of

people to know that this university has made a lot of progress,” she said in a phone interview from Oxford.

Ole Miss has distanced itself from some Old South imagery. Although its sports teams are still called the Rebels, the university a few years ago retired the Colonel Rebel mascot, a cane-wielding, white bearded old man who looked to

JACKSON: James Meredith, the first black student to integrate the University of Mississippi in 1962 autographs his newest book at a Jackson, Miss., book store. —AP the beast.”

At Ole Miss today, many fraternities and sororities remain all-white or allblack, but it’s common to see students socialize across racial lines. When Dandridge ran for student body president, she said race was not an issue because the only other candidate also was black. “Students don’t really look at color when they choose their friends,” said Dandridge, who’s the only black member of her sorority, Phi Mu. “I want

many observers like the caricature of a plantation owner. Meredith - who sometimes goes on campus wearing a white suit that bears more than a passing resemblance to Colonel Reb’s outfit - saw the change as an effort to downplay his triumph over the old Ole Miss. He suggested that he “captured” the colonel when segregation fell.

Meredith writes that although people consider him a “civil rights hero,” that’s not how he sees himself: “I’ve always found

Geopolitics and resources place maritime disputes back on map Assertive new powers eye undersea resources WASHINGTON: Small and occupied largely by seabirds, goats and a unique indigenous species of mole, the islands named Senaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China have long been largely ignored. But as rising powers face off against each other in a battle not just for influence but also vital resources, such disputed islets, reefs, and areas of seabed are swiftly growing in importance; and not just in Asia.

From the melting and resource-rich Arctic to the eastern Mediterranean, the South Atlantic to the East China Sea, legal wrangling, diplomatic posturing and military sabre rattling are all on the rise.

The current row between Beijing and Tokyo over five islets and three rocks seems one of the riskiest so far, putting two of Asia’s most power ful states at loggerheads although most experts believe talk of outright war is overstated for now. “Some of these lines have always been disputed,” says Admiral Gary Roughead, a former US Pacific Fleet commander who retired as Navy Chief of Operations last year and is now Annenberg distinguished fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute.

Navy and Pentagon amongst other clients as part of larger US-government funded think tank CNA. “You have profound geopolitical shifts... that are making certain states much more politically, economically and militarily more assertive. Then, you have new technologies that are putting resources within reach that would have been either unknown or impossible to access only a few years ago.”

Not all states resort to direct action. Later this year, Chile and Peru will go to the International Court of Justice to determine the exact location of their maritime boundary while Bangladesh and Myanmar went through a similar process at the Hamburg-based tribunal that arbitrates the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Argentina might be raising its rhetoric once again over what it calls the Malvinas and Britain calls the Falklands, but most diplomats believe it plans a diplomatic campaign rather than the kind of direct assault they launched in 1982.

But in a growing number of cases, fishing boats, oil and gas exploration vessels and sometimes aircraft and warships find them-

WASHINGTON: People wait in line to enter the Supreme Court in Washington yesterday. The Supreme Court is embarking on a new term that could be as consequential as the last one with the prospect for major rulings about affirmative action, gay marriage and voting rights. —AP “But the resource issue is giving them much greater edge. You have energy reserves, you have fish stocks - which are particularly essential to the Asian diet and which I think we too often ignore - and increasingly you are going to have interest in undersea minerals and rare earths.” What began as a purely diplomatic row when Japan’s government bought land on the islands from their private owner has escalated to so far bloodless confrontations between patrol boats and fishing craft. Last week, Taiwan - which also claims the islands and with them hundreds of square sea miles believed to contain considerable gas and oil entered the fray as its own patrol craft and fishing boats entered the waters.

“These disputes are definitely coming back into fashion,” says Eric Thompson, head of strategic studies at the Centre for Naval Analyses, which provides analysis to the US

selves in increasing if so far largely bloodless confrontation. Even areas so far unaffected, such as Africa’s coastal waters, could soon also see mounting disputes as oil and gas finds pit neighboring nations against each other.

“Launching land wars to seize resources is no longer seen as acceptable,” says Nikolas Gvosdev, professor of national security studies at the US Naval War College. “But a grab for resources at sea may be a different matter.”

HOW MUCH IS DISPUTED? On a map of the eastern Mediterranean, CNA strategy expert Thompson sketched out a block in the waters between Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Lebanon - the sight of a potentially huge gas find first identified in 2009. “It’s enough to meet almost the entire world’s energy requirements for almost a year,” he told Reuters on a visit to the Centre for Naval

Analyses in Alexandria, Virginia earlier this year. “How much is disputed? Pretty much all of it.”

Last year, both Turkey and the government of Cyprus sent warships out alongside exploration vessels, ratcheting up tensions that had been easing since a 1974 war left Cyprus divided. Already increasingly asserting itself as a Mediterranean power, Turkey has made it clear it backs claims by the Turkish Cypriot enclave that occupies the island’s north.

Rivalry over gas looks to have further complicated the already increasingly acerbic relationship between one-time allies Turkey and Israel. Defense sources say the two countries’ jets now periodically face off over the contested waters, although some believe all sides have been more restrained this year in part by preoccupation with events in nearby Syria.

Even if such conflicts never spark open warfare, analysts say they can fuel wider regional tensions, arms races and potentially raise the risk of wars over other issues. That could be amongst the greatest danger from China’s grandiose maritime claims, which have put it at loggerheads with almost every other regional power. While Beijing has become more assertive, foreign officials and other observers say other Asian states are following suit. Japan’s focus on its territorial dispute, for example, is seen suggesting a very different approach to foreign policy than that usually followed by Tokyo since 1945. The most complex of China’s disputes, over the oil-rich Spratly Islands, also wraps in the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. All have stepped up sea and air patrols as well as garrisoning isolated atolls and floating patrol bases.

HIGH STAKES, LITTLE AGREEMENT Senior officials make it clear Washington would rather not be dragged in. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert told reporters on Thursday that China and Japan needed to work out their differences on their own. “We’ve been very clear that these bilateral disagreements have to be worked out with the countries involved,” Greenert said after a speech to the Association of the US Navy. But the US might struggle to stay on the sidelines, particularly given its alliances with Japan and other regional powers - almost all with disputes with China.

“By the very nature of our global presence, we are going to end up becoming involved,” Greenert’s predecessor Roughead told Reuters. “We are going to need to use our influence to push for peaceful solutions. But there are going to be challenges.” The irony, resorts experts say, is that for companies to be willing to exploit the riches under the sea they will almost invariably require disputes resolved and conflict risks gone.

But in times of economic headwinds, nationalistic rhetoric and posturing can seem an appealing distraction. Certainly, those trying to resolve such issues say it is getting harder.

“The higher the stakes, the more difficult it is,” says Lawrence Martin, a Washington DCbased maritime lawyer advising governments at law firm Foley Hoag. “Some of the states have domestic politics that makes it very difficult to back down.” In principle, any such dispute should be arbitrated under the UN Convention UNCLOS, introduced in 1982 and ratified by most countries. —Reuters

the rhetoric of mainstream civil rights leaders and organizations to be far too timid, accommodationist and gradualist.

It always seemed to me that they behaved like meek and gentle supplicants begging the oppressor for a few crumbs of justice, for a few molecules of citizenship rights.” During an hour-long AP interview at a Jackson restaurant, two white men interrupted to shake Meredith’s hand. Both men, who were strangers to Meredith, appeared to be in their 40s. “Thank you for all you’ve done over the years,” one man said. “Thank you for your message.”

However, when the man mentioned Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Meredith shook his head and replied: “Bobby died and still didn’t get it.” The man looked puzzled. Meredith chuckled, and the man walked away. Rather than talking, for the umpteenth time, about what things were like in 1962, Meredith expounds on what he sees as his current mission from God. He wants every black congregation in Mississippi to take responsibility for each child born within two miles of the church and make sure each receives a good education and proper moral upbringing.

“The real problem in Mississippi is almost a complete moral breakdown,” Meredith told the AP. “In order to move Mississippi from the bottom to the top, all we have to do is just get people to do a little more what they know, to practice a little more of what they preach.” Meredith is now memorialized by a bronze statue near the University of Mississippi’s main administrative building. Yet he calls it “hideous,” and wants it destroyed.

Meredith says the monument glosses over the magnitude of Mississippi’s resistance to his exercise of what should have been recognized as his obvious, inherent rights as an American citizen. —AP

Human rights in focus at US Supreme Court WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court, back in session today after its summer recess, is expected to take up a closely watched case that could help it decide whether American judges are empowered to hear lawsuits over human rights atrocities abroad. The nine justices will review the reach of the Alien Tort Statute, an obscure 1789 law that was revived in the 1980s by attorneys pursuing international human rights cases.

In the past two decades more than 150 Alien Tort Statute lawsuits, accusing US and foreign corporations of wrongdoing in more than 60 foreign countries, have been filed in US courts, according to the US Chamber of Commerce.

Last February, during the first oral arguments in Kiobel v Royal Dutch Petroleum, some of the court’s conservative justices signaled a willingness to shield corporations from liability in US courts over allegations that they had aided or acquiesced to foreign governments that abused their own people. On March 5 the justices asked both sides to reargue the case and address a larger question about the Alien Tort Statute: whether US courts should be open to similar claims brought against anyone, not just corporations.

Arguments are set to take place eight years after the court in Sosa v Alvarez-Machain, which

concerned the forced abduction from Mexico of a suspect in a murder, said an Alien Tort Statute claim that rested on “a norm of international character accepted by the civilized world” could be brought in US courts. Of the cases in the new nine-month term, “Kiobel raises perhaps the largest question of them all: the relationship between America and the world,” said Douglas Kmiec, a law professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and former US ambassador to Malta.

“The notion that Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain left open the door for a cause of action rocks the foundation o f international human rights law in a good way, because most of human rights is diplomatic and aspirational, not enforceable,” he said. Rehearings are rare and often foreshadow landmark rulings. Examples include the 1954 Brown v Board of Education school desegregation case and the 2010 Citizens United v.

Federal Election Commission case allowing unlimited spending by corporations and unions in elections. Several dozen briefs have been filed in the case, representing groups such as Serbian genocide victims, companies such as Coca-Cola Co and mining giant Rio Tinto Plc, and countries such as Argentina, Germany and the United Kingdom. —Reuters

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

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McCain steps up attack on Obama over Libya WASHINGTON: Senator John McCain joined other top Republicans in attacking Washington’s shifting explanations of the September 11 assault that killed the US ambassador to Libya. McCain, interviewed on CNN’s “State of the Union” show, hinted at “certain political overtones” in the initial claim by President Barack Obama’s administration that the assault was part of a spontaneous antiAmerican demonstration.

His comments were the latest thrust in what appears to be a coordinated Republican effort to undermine Obama on foreign policy, seen as his strong point and a big weakness for Republican presidential candidate M itt Romney. US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice went on the Sunday talkshows that week to say the hours-long assault with mortars and rocketpropelled grenades on the US consulate in Benghazi was part of a spontaneous demonstration over an amateurish video that mocked the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

Four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens, died in the assault. But that explanation was revised over the next weeks. And by Friday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the consulate attack was planned and linked to Al-Qaeda, but stressed that “many unanswered questions” remained. The administration’s initial explanation for the attack was flat wrong, said McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate. “That doesn’t pass the smell test,” he said.

“It was either willful ignorance or abysmal intelligence to think that people come to spontaneous demonstrations with heavy weapons, mor-

tars and the attack goes on for hours.” Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan also sought to skewer Obama on the White House’s handling

of the incident. “It’s part of a bigger picture of the fact that the Obama foreign policy is unraveling literally before our eyes on our TV screens,” Ryan

BENGHAZI: Libyan security forces stand guard as people turn in weapons in Benghazi, Libya.— AP

said on “Fox News Sunday.” He also revealed that Romney was planning a major foreign policy speech soon. McCain and Ryan joined Republican Senator Bob Corker and Congressman Pete King in expressing anger over the Libya affair.

On Friday, King called for Rice, a member of Obama’s inner circle, to resign. The New York congressman said Rice’s statements had been “irresponsible.” And on Saturday, Corker sent a letter to Direc tor of National I ntelligence James Clapper demanding “straight answers” on the incident.

Senior Obama adviser David Plouffe, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said it was “preposterous and really offensive” to suggest the government withheld information on Libya for political reasons. “We do have an election in 37 days. You know, and we’re happy to have a debate about our approach to terrorism and foreign policy,” Plouffe said on ABC’s “This Week” show.

S enior Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod, speaking on CNN, said the administration first said the Libya attack stemmed from a spontaneous demonstration because that was the information it had available at the time.

Axelrod then referred to Obama’s description of Romney as someone who has a “tendency to shoot first and aim later” when the Republican claimed the administration sympathized with demonstrators who assaulted the US embassy in Cairo the same day of the Libya attack. “What we don’t need is a president or an administration that shoots first and asks questions later,” Axelrod said.— AFP

Tense Georgia votes in election showdown Saakashvili battles billionaire rival

MOSCOW: Feminist punk group Pussy Riot members (from left) Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich sit in a glass cage at a court room in Moscow, Russia. — AP

Court adjourns Punk Riot appeal to Oct 10 MOSCOW: A Russian court yesterday adjourned to October 10 the appeal of three female members of punk band Punk Riot against their two-year prison camp sentence after one of the women renounced her lawyer. The trio had been found guilty in August of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for storming into Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior in February and staging a balaclava-clad performance of a song mocking President Vladimir Putin.

In stormy scenes outside the Moscow city court, police detained several supporters of the women as well as some anti-Punk Riot activists who came to the courthouse with three inflatable sex dolls in balaclavas signed with the names of the defendants. Five people were detained, police said. Defendant Yekaterina Samutsevich unexpectedly told the court she wanted to replace her lawyer due to differences of opinion over the case and the judge agreed an adjournment until next week.

Her legal team seemed to be at a loss to explain the move after Samutsevich, 30, appeared smiling and chatting with fellow defendants Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, in their courtroom glass cage surrounded by security guards. “I would like to renounce my lawyer,” Samutsevich, who was represented by lawyer Violetta Volkova, told the court. “My vision of the criminal case is not the same as their (the Punk Riot defense team’s) vision.” She said she had found a new lawyer but had not concluded an agreement yet. Tolokonnikova’s lawyer Mark Feigin said Samutsevich had given no warning of her plans at their last meeting.

“Some people in her social circle played a negative role in changing her position,” he told reporters, without giving further details.

Fellow defense lawyer Nikolai Polozov

raised the possibility that the authorities could be seeking to pressure Samutsevich, by infiltrating her social circle, into changing her innocence plea and breaking up the unity among the defendants. The lawyers denied they were trying to delay the case, which has been taken up by world figures ranging from Myanmar democracy icon Aung Sang Suu Kyi to Madonna and has polarized Russian society. The women are currently being held in a Moscow detention centre and will only be transferred to a prison camp-where the conditions could be more severe-once the appeal verdict has been delivered.

NOBODY WILL TAKE PITY In an interview with Poland’s Super Express published before the hearing, Samutsevich had indicated she had little hope of being freed soon. “Nobody intends to take pity on us. Perhaps in their cynicism, the authorities will lower our sentences by a few months, but they won’t free us,” Samutsevich said. In Moscow, several dozen Orthodox activists assembled near the courthouse steps with icons and crosses, singing psalms and praying. They then staged a procession around a fountain, shouting: “Christ is Risen!” as is customary during the Orthodox Easter holiday. Sofya Kuzmina, an elderly woman from a small village outside Moscow, said she heard about the case on the radio and came to support her faith. “The most important thing is for them to repent their sins,” she said, referring to the three prisoners. “I came here to defend my faith which I will stand up for until I die.” A call by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev for the trio to be given a suspended sentence and released as well as signs of mercy from the powerful Russian Orthodox Church had given rise to some hopes among their supporters.—AP

Surging Capriles threatens Venezuelan leader Chavez CARACAS: Hundreds of thousands of backers of opposition candidate Henrique Capriles have thronged the streets in Venezuela’s capital, echoing his rising threat to President Hugo Chavez’s re-election. “I want to thank you all. Because I think this is the biggest rally Caracas has ever seen,” glowed Capriles to the massive crowd as he wrapped up his campaign not far from the presidential palace.

Supporters roared: “You see it; you feel it: President Capriles!” “Look at that mass of people; Chavez is screwed now,” one young man shouted. “Why does he think he can be president for his whole life anyway?” The telegenic former governor of Miranda state has compared himself to David fighting Goliath. And he hopes he can emulate the Bible story of the boy who felled the mighty giant before becoming king of Israel.

“I ask you, the Venezuelan people, to judge: who is par t of the process of change. And who was sickened by power, clung to it and deceived the Venezuelan people?” an emotional Capriles shouted

Sunday. Chavez meanwhile tried to play down the deaths of two Capriles supporters in Barinas on Saturday. “I urge all of you, Venezuelans, not to bring violence into the campaign. It should be done vote by vote, with ideas, and in peace,” Chavez stressed. After breezing through past elections, Chavez entered the last week of campaigning against a rival who has gained ground in opinion polls.

The leftist leader, in power for almost 14 years, is vying for a fourth term in office that would extend his presidency by another six years, but Capriles wants a major upset on October 7. Chavez, who used the country’s oil wealth to reduce poverty, brushed aside his last rival in 2006 by taking almost 63 percent of the vote. But he might be dismissing Capriles too soon. “This (rally) was overwhelming.

It gives you strength to keep fighting seven more days” until the election, said Norma Sanchez, a 42-year-old university professor. “I am here for my daughters’ future, not because anybody forced me or paid me.”— AFP

TBILISI: President Mikheil Saakashvili faced his biggest test in a decade in power yesterday as Georgians voted in a parliamentary election overshadowed by a prison abuse scandal that has fueled accusations of government repression. Saakashvili, who swept to the presidency after the Rose Revolution of 2003 and led the country into a brief, disastrous war with Russia in 2008, says his main challenger Bidzina Ivanishvili would move the former Soviet republic away from West and bring it closer to Moscow once again. Ivanishvili, a tycoon with a fortune nearly half the size of Georgia’s economy, hopes the prison scandal will convince undecided voters that Saakashvili has become an undemocratic leader who tramples on rights and freedoms.

Video of torture, beatings and sexual of prison inmates led to street protests after it was aired on two television channels opposed to Saakashvili. They undermined the president’s image as a reformer who had imposed the rule of law and rooted out post-Soviet corruption.

“I’m voting against violence and abuse - how can I do otherwise after what we have all seen on TV?” Natela Zhorzholia, 68, said outside a polling station at a school in the capital, Tbilisi. She said she would vote for Ivanishvili’s six-party Georgian Dream movement.

The election also heralds constitutional changes which will affect any future leadership.

Saakashvili, 44, must step down after a presidential vote next year, when reforms will weaken the role of head of state giving more power to par-

liament and the prime minister. But if his United National Movement retains its dominance of parliament, that may give him a way to remain in charge of the country of 4.5 million, an important gas and oil transit route to the West, “Besides being a contest for parliament, it is also a shadow leadership election,” said Thomas de Waal, a Caucasus expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

EUROPEAN DREAM Saakashvili highlighted the importance of the vote after casting his ballot with his Dutch wife and their young son, and said: “The fate of our country’s statehood is being decided today”. The vote will affect “not only this nation but what happens to the European dream...what happens to the idea of democracy... what happens to the idea of reforms in this part of the world,” he said.

Many Georgians just want political and economic stability.

The economy, hit by the 2008 war and the global financial crisis, has been growing again since 2010 but inflation is likely to hit 6-7 percent this year. “I voted for peace and stability,” Georgy Ugrekhelidze, 76. “I want this government to carry out what it has started.”

Saakashvili’s supporters say the election could determine whether Georgia moves closer to Russia or remains a US ally. They accuse Ivanishvili, who made much of his money in Russia, of being a Kremlin stooge, a charge he

denies. During the war, Russia strengthened its control of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which make up about one-fifth of the Caucasus nation’s territory.

The West wants a stable Georgia because of its role as a conduit for Caspian Sea energy supplies to Europe and its pivotal location between Russia, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia. “The most important thing is that those who are dissatisfied should not create disorder,” said voter Yelena Kvlividze, 45. Ivanishvili told a rally on Saturday: “This regime’s hours are numbered.”

But has also said Georgian Dream will accept any outcome deemed legitimate by international observers. A poll by the US National Democratic Institute in August gave UNM 37 percent support against 12 percent for Georgian Dream but showed 43 percent of respondents could vote either way. There have been no major polls since the abuse scandal.

Elected in 2004 after the Rose Revolution protests toppled President Eduard Shevardnadze, a former Soviet foreign minister, Saakashvili cultivated close ties with Europe and the United States and sought to bring Georgia into NATO. He curbed police bribe-taking, made frequent power outages a thing of the past and presided over an economic resurgence. But opponents say he has curtailed democracy, persecuted the opposition, pressured courts and controlled the media. He also faces criticism for leading Georgia into the war with Moscow in which Russian forces routed the army.— Reuters

Message of hope; Nigeria marks 52nd independence anniversary Kuwaiti leaders congratulate Nigeria ABUJA: Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday vowed his government would work to harness the huge potential of the oil-rich country, which remains dogged by poverty, corruption and violence. “I bring you today a message of renewed hope and faith in the immense possibilities that lie ahead,” Jonathan said in a national broadcast marking Nigeria’s 52nd anniversary of independence from Britain. “The baton is now in our hands. Let me assure all Nigerians that we shall not fail,” said Jonathan, who was elected last year after his predecessor Umaru Yar’Adua died in 2010.

While battling insecurity, “the fight against the scourge of corruption is (the) top priority of our administration. We are fighting corruption in all facets of our economy, and we are succeeding,” he said. With 160 million people, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation and its largest oil producer, but corruption is rampant. Despite the abundance of oil wealth, Nigeria has been unable to solve basic infrastructure needs, including a steady electricity supply, and thousands of public works projects remain indefinitely shelved.

“We have exposed decades of scam in the management of pensions and fuel subsidy and ensured that culprits are being brought to book,” Jonathan said. He vowed not to interfere with the work of the anti-graft agencies to enable them fight the scourge. Some people and companies are facing corruption charges following a parliamentary probe that found Nigeria lost $6.8 billion (5.3 billion euros) through the fuel subsidy program between 2009-2011.

Still, he said Transparency International noted in its latest report that Nigeria is the second most improved country in the effort to curb corruption. Jonathan said his government has dealt a blow to the electoral malpractice and violence that have blighted most of the nation’s past elections, adding that success in this area has been acknowledged globally. “We have cleaned up our electoral process; our elections are globally acclaimed to be free and fair. Nigeria is now on a higher pedestal regarding elections,” he said.

But despite staging clean polls, Jonathan stated his government was still battling the chal-

lenges of insecurity and poverty. He said his administration had taken measures to fight rampant militant activity, including by stepping up cooperation with its neighbors in west Africa.

Nigeria’s north has been hit by scores of bombings and shootings attributed to the Boko Haram Islamist group, which is suspected of ties to Al-Qaeda and has been blamed for more than 1,400 deaths since 2010. A string of attacks have also hit the country’s centre and capital Abuja.

Nigeria is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.

Although a 2009 amnesty deal greatly reduced unrest in the Niger Delta region and southeast of the country, sporadic incidents continue to occur, including robberies, piracy and kidnappings. Yesterday, the trial of a presumed militant leader accused of masterminding two

deadly bombings at Nigeria’s 50th independence celebrations two years ago opened in South Africa, his lawyer said. Nigerian national Henry Okah is facing trial in South Africa, where he has permanent residence, on charges that he orchestrated the twin car bombings which killed 12 people in Abuja on October 1, 2010. The managing director of Anglo-Dutch Shell branch in Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu, said last March that Nigeria was losing $5 billion annually to oil theft.

Meanwhile, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable of congratulations to the Federal Republic of Nigeria President, Goodluck Jonathan, on his country’s National Day. His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cables. — Agencies

ABUJA: Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan (center) and members of his cabinet cut a cake during a ceremony to mark the country’s 52nd anniversary of independence from Britain. — AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

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

In twist, Pakistani Muslims accused of blasphemy KARACHI: Pakistan’s blasphemy laws may be used to punish Muslims suspected of ransacking a Hindu temple, an intriguing twist for a country where harsh laws governing religious insults are primarily used against supposed offenses to Islam, not minority faiths.

The blasphemy laws, sections of which carry the death penalty or life imprisonment, have drawn renewed international scrutiny this year after a young Christian girl in Islamabad was alleged to have desecrated the Muslim holy book, the Quran. A Muslim cleric now stands accused of fabricating evidence against the girl, who has been freed on bail and whose mental capacity has been questioned.

Police officer Mohammad Hanif said Sunday the anti-Hindu attack took place Sept 21. The government had declared that day a national holiday - a “Day of Love for the Prophet” - and called for peaceful demonstrations against an anti-Islam film made in the US that has sparked protests throughout the Muslim world. Those rallies took a violent turn in Pakistan, and more than 20 people were killed. Hanif said dozens of Muslims led by a cleric converged on the outskirts of Karachi in a Hindu neighborhood commonly known as Hindu Goth.

The protesters attacked the Sri Krishna Ram temple, broke religious statues, tore up a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu scripture, and beat up the temple’s caretaker, Sindha Maharaj. “The attackers broke the statues of (Hindu deities) Radha,

Hanuman, Parwati and Krishna, and took away the decorative gold ornaments,” Maharaj said. “ They also stormed my home and snatched the gold jewelry of my family, my daughters.” Maharaj and other Hindu leaders turned to the police, who registered a case against the cleric and eight other Muslims. But none of the suspects had been found as of Sunday, police said.

Officials said the case against the attackers was registered under Section 295-A of the blasphemy laws, which covers the “outraging of religious feelings.” That section of the law can apply to any religion and carries a fine or up to 10 years imprisonment. The Asian subcontinent’s British rulers originally framed blasphemy laws partly to prevent violence between Muslims and Hindus. Muslim-majority Pakistan was carved out of India in 1947, and under the military rule of Gen. Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, a fervent Islamist, the statutes covering blasphemy were toughened in the 1980s.

Area police chief Jaffer Baloch said authorities were simply considering the Hindus’ complaint under the relevant section of the law. Islam’s Prophet Muhammad “teaches us to respect others’ religions so that ours shall also be respected,” he said. “Like us, Hindus have their own faith and religion and they do have sentiments for their Bhagavad and gods.” Human rights activists say Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are too broad and vague, and are often used by people who are trying to settle scores with rivals or target

religious minorities, who make up 5 percent of Pakistan’s 180 million people.

Although many Muslims are accused of insulting Muhammad or other acts deemed blasphemous, minorities are disproportionately represented among the defendants, rights groups say. Hindus and Christians are among prominent minorities who fear the blasphemy laws. Also frequently blamed for blasphemy are Ahmadis, who consider themselves Muslims but are reviled as heretics by mainstream Muslims.

Pakistan is not known to have actually executed anyone for blasphemy, and while courts often set the accused free on technical grounds or other reasons, many extremists have killed people who were let go by judges.

Even speaking out against the blasphemy laws can put people in danger.

Two prominent politicians, including the sole Christian member of the federal Cabinet, were assassinated in 2011 for urging reform of the law. The politicians, Punjab province Gov Salmaan Taseer and Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti, had spoken out in defense of Asia Bibi, a Christian sentenced to death in 2010 for allegedly insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.

Bibi, whose case prompted international criticism, is believed to be the first woman condemned to die under the statute and remains in prison.

The laws retain broad support in Pakistan, where Islamic conservatism is on the rise alongside extremism and

KARACHI: Hindus clean a temple after being attacked by a group of Muslim men in Karachi on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012. A group of Muslims suspected of ransacking a Hindu temple in southern Pakistan may be charged with blasphemy. — AP Muslims are highly sensitive about weak civilian government plans to their faith. Taseer’s killer, for instance, amend the law, the case of the was hailed as a hero in many quarters. Christian girl has brought some hope Thousands of people rallied to support that sentiments about it may change. him, and lawyers showered him with Even some Islamist clerics sympathized rose petals. Many human rights with the girl, whose age has been said activists, partly out of their own securi- to be 14 or younger and who may be ty concerns, have tempered their developmentally disabled. Witness demands: years ago, they used to call claims that a Muslim cleric stashed for the blasphemy laws’ repeal, but pages of a Quran in the girl’s bag to now they say the laws should be make it seem as if she burned them reformed to prevent misuse. Even have added to the sympathy for her. leaders of minority religious groups The cleric is accused of planting the have often said they support the law evidence to push Christians out of the but simply do not want to see it neighborhood and is now being investigated for blasphemy himself. He abused.

Although there’s no sign that the denies any wrongdoing. — AP

Taleban suicide bomber slays 20 in Afghanistan 3 foreign troops, interpreter among the dead

RAMU: Soldiers from the Bangladesh Army erect tents at the torched Lal Ching Buddhist temple at Ramu, some 350 kilometres from the capital Dhaka yesterday. Bangladesh sent in troops to guard Buddhist neighborhoods yesterday after Muslim mobs carried out fresh attacks on temples and homes over a Facebook photo deemed offensive to Islam. —AFP

Bangladesh deploys troops after attacks on Buddhists DHAKA: Bangladesh sent in troops to guard Buddhist neighborhoods yesterday after Muslim mobs carried out fresh attacks on temples and homes over Facebook photos deemed offensive to Islam. At least six temples were attacked in different neighborhoods of the resort region of Cox’s Bazaar late Sunday, with thousands of protesters smashing statues of Lord Buddha before riot police used force to repel the crowds.

The violence began Saturday night in the southeast of the country and has since spread to at least five towns and a dozen villages, after claims that a young Buddhist man had posted Facebook photos defaming the Quran. “This was an organized attack. We won’t spare anyone who is found to have played a role,” said Faruk Ahmed, deputy police chief for the southeastern region, adding that nearly 200 people had been arrested.

Twenty-five workers from the country’s largest shipbuilder Western Marine were among those detained in the port city of Chittagong and the company closed its shipyard yesterday.

A senior army officer, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said around 1,000 troops had been deployed in Cox’s Bazaar and 300 in the nearby village of Ramu, where a mob of 25,000 people ran riot on Saturday night. “We have secured the temples and Buddhist areas. Our teams have set up tents for the people whose houses were burnt,” he said. “We have adequate forces. Things are getting back to normal.”

Buddhists, who make up less than one percent of Bangladesh’s 153 million mostly Muslim population, are based mainly in southeastern districts, close to the border with Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Sectarian tensions have been running high since June when deadly clashes erupted between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.

The 30-year-old man at the centre of the accusations has gone into hiding after telling local media he did not post the picture on the social media site, insisting someone else had “tagged” him

in images on Facebook. Local police chief Najibul Islam said that one photo on the now-blocked account showed a woman standing on an open Quran, while another showed a page of the holy book being flushed down the toilet. The man’s mother and an aunt were given police protection after the violence broke out, officials said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has accused Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar of involvement in attacks on Buddhist temples and homes in the southeast and said the violence was triggered by a photo posted on Facebook that insulted Islam.

“The attacks on temples and houses in Buddhist localities in Ramu and neighboring areas in Cox’s Bazar (district) were perpetrated by radical Islamists,” Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir told reporters in Dhaka.

“Rohingyas and political opponents of the government were also involved in the attacks.”

He described the attacks as a “premeditated and deliberate attempt” to disrupt communal harmony. It was one of the worst sectarian attacks in Bangladesh, spreading fear throughout the Buddhist minority. A team of investigators, comprising government bureaucrats and police officials, began work yesterday.

Sunil Barua, a journalist who lives in a Buddhist neighborhood in Ramu, said two of the temples attacked over the weekend were 300 years old. “They looted Buddha statues from the temples, and shops owned by Buddhists were also looted,” he said by phone. “The villages look like as if they were hit by a major cyclone.”

Although Bangladesh, where nearly 90 percent of people are Muslims, has witnessed violent conflicts between Muslims and Hindus in the past, sectarian clashes involving Buddhists are rare.

In recent weeks, tens of thousands of Muslims have hit the streets across the country to protest against a US-made anti-Islam film mocking the Prophet Mohammed. — Agencies

KHOST: A suicide bomber tore through an Afghan-NATO foot patrol in a crowded city yesterday, killing at least 20 people, including three foreign troops and their interpreter, officials said. Taleban insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack near a market in the eastern city of Khost. Six Afghan police and 10 civilians were also killed, and 62 were wounded, provincial governor’s spokesman Baryalai Rawan said.

Authorities had earlier given a death toll of four Afghan police and six civilians. “Today at around 8:30 am (0400 GMT) a suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted a joint patrol in Khost city in a crowded area,” the governor’s office said. NATO’s US-led International Security Assistance Force confirmed that three NATO service members and an ISAFcontracted interpreter had been killed in the attack. The Taleban Islamists said on their website that the suicide attack was carried out by “a hero mujahid, Shohaib, from Kunduz”, claiming that eight foreigners and six Afghan soldiers were killed.

The deaths take coalition casualties to at least 347 this year, according to an AFP tally.

NATO has more than 100,000 troops fighting the Taleban insurgency in Afghanistan, but they are due to pull out by the end of 2014.

Joint NATO-Afghan operations had been temporarily restricted last month after a spike in insider attacks, in which Afghan security forces turned their weapons against their coalition allies. Last week, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said most joint operations have resumed, but could not give any precise details on numbers.

NATO says that overall insurgent attacks on its forces dropped by five percent in the first eight months of this year compared to 2011, but are still running at about 100 a day. It said the decline in attacks showed that its troops had been able to “reverse the momentum” of the insurgents’ campaign, an interpretation that the Taleban “strongly and categorically”

denied. In a spectacular attack last month the Taleban stormed a heavily fortified base in southern Afghanistan, destroying aircraft worth tens of millions of dollars and killing two US Marines. And according to the United

killed in insider assaults this year about 15 percent of all NATO deaths-and the top ISAF general has described them as “the signature attack” of the Afghan war. The scale of the insider assaults is unprecedented in modern

KHOST: Afghan police secure the site of a Afghanistan, yesterday. — AP Nations, August was the second deadliest month in five years for civilians, with a total of 374 — more than 10 a day-killed and 581 injured.

The latest blast came a day after NATO announced that a firefight between coalition troops and their Afghan allies killed an ISAF soldier, a civilian contractor and three Afghan army troops.

At least 51 coalition troops have been

suicide bombing in Khost, south of Kabul, warfare, and has seriously undermined trust between NATO coalition forces and their Afghan allies in the joint effort against Taleban insurgents.

“I’m mad as hell about them, to be honest with you,” ISAF commander General John Allen told CBS’s “60 Minutes” program on Sunday. “We’re willing to sacrifice a lot for this campaign, but we’re not willing to be murdered for it,” the commander said. — AFP

Writers losing influence in West: Rushdie LONDON: Salman Rushdie believes literature has lost much of its influence in the West, and movie stars like George Clooney and Angelina Jolie have taken the place of Susan Sontag and Norman Mailer when it comes to addressing the big issues.

The British author, who has just released his account of 10 years in hiding after an Iranian fatwa was declared against him in 1989, believes the “Arab Spring” uprisings have failed but that there is hope for freer Muslim societies in the future.

He has warm words for his elder son Zafar who was nine when the famous edict which amounted to a death sentence was announced, but the tone turns harsh when dealing with famous figures like Rupert Murdoch, the Prince of Wales and John Le Carre who he said failed to back him during the dark years. And with the publication of “Joseph Anton”, a 633-page autobiography, the 65-year-old is finally determined to put the fatwa behind him. “I have a sense of people thinking it (literature) is less important,” he told Reuters on Friday in a wide-ranging interview at Waterstone’s book store in central London. “If you look at

America, for instance, there is a generation older than mine in which writers like Susan Sontag and Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal would have a significant public voice on issues of the day. Now there’s virtually no writers. “Instead you have movie stars, so if you are George Clooney or Angelina Jolie then you do have the ability to speak about public issues ... and people will listen in a way they would once listen to Mailer and Sontag. That’s a change.” He added that in authoritarian countries the situation was different, and literature had held on to some of its power. “In those places literature continues to be important as you can see by the steps taken against writers,” he said, counting China among them.

More than almost anyone, Rushdie sums up one of the most pressing problems facing leaders today - the tension between free speech and the desire to avoid offending people’s faith. He argues in his book that he does not feel his novel “The Satanic Verses”, which prompted the fatwa, should have been particularly offensive to

Muslims in the first place. But Rushdie said he would continue to defend even the most provocative individual’s right to express an opinion. Joseph Anton (Rushdie’s pseudonym while he was in hiding) hit the shelves at the same time as a film, made in the United States mocking the Prophet Mohammad, (PBUH) sparked riots across the Muslim world leading to many deaths.

“It’s clear that you have to defend things you don’t agree with,” he said, when asked if he thought the film should have been censored in any way. “What is free speech if it’s only for people that you agree with? Often in the free speech argument you find yourself defending stuff you really dislike. I’ve seen this film and it’s as bad as it can be. It’s so incompetent that you wonder how anyone can get upset about it.”

He described what he called the “outrage industry” in which people deliberately “inflamed the faithful”.

Part of that “industry” pointed the finger at him again in recent weeks, with a semi-official Iranian foundation upping the bounty on his head to $3.3 million. Asked if he

feared for his life, Rushdie replied: “The world is a dangerous place and there’s never a 100 percent guarantee, but in general for the last decade it’s been really okay.” The author who won a Booker Prize in 1981 for “Midnight’s Children” said he saw hope for a better understanding between Muslim and nonMuslim countries, but only in the long-term. “I’m less optimistic in the short-term because I think right now the temperature is very high, but in the medium- to long-term I think it will change,” he said.

“In those countries in which Islamic radicalism has been most powerful it’s also most disliked. So the people of Iran are not enamored of the Ayatollah’s regime, the people of Afghanistan were not enamored of the Taleban.”

He believed the “Arab Spring” uprisings had failed, but that the fight for a free society would not go away. “I think in the long-term you have to believe that this very young population in the Arab world demanding a better life for itself will somehow make its views known and I don’t think we’ve heard the last of that.” — Reuters

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

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

Cambodia jails political activist for 20 years PHNOM PENH: A prominent critic of Cambodia’s government was sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday for an alleged secessionist plot, dismaying rights campaigners who decried the verdict as politically motivated. Radio station owner Mam Sonando was also fined 10 million riel ($2,500) by a Phnom Penh court which convicted him on charges including insurrection and inciting people to take up arms against the state. He is considered by Amnesty International to be a prisoner of conscience.

The 71-year-old, who was arrested in July, was accused of involvement in an alleged plot to establish an autonomous region in eastern Kratie province. Rights groups have called the accusations baseless and said the government was seeking to justify its harsh crackdown on a land dispute there in May, when a teenage girl was shot dead by security forces clashing

with demonstrators. “Our court has announced a verdict that is politically motivated,” the president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, Ou Virak said. “There’s no evidence that Mam Sonando has committed these offences.” Amnesty International researcher Rupert Abbott called the verdict “absolutely outrageous”.

The European Union also expressed “serious concern” over the verdict, which it said “raises severe doubts about the impartiality and independence of the court”. Sonando, who heads the campaign group the Association of Democrats and whose station broadcasts programs critical of the government, was jailed for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, Abbott said.

“We consider Mam Sonando to be a prisoner of conscience and will be campaigning for his release,” he said.

Several hundred people gathered out-

side the courthouse to show their support for Sonando, although they were kept some distance away by the police.

As he was led into a waiting vehicle after the verdict, Sonando told reporters: “I am happy that I have helped the nation.” His wife Din Phanara told the media they would appeal the sentence.

Sonando, owner of the independent Beehive station, was arrested previously in 2003 and 2005 for his political activities and defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government. The 61-year-old strongman has ruled Cambodia since 1985 and has vowed to remain in power until he is 90 years old. Activists say land conflicts are Cambodia’s most pressing human rights issue. Protests have intensified this year and campaigners say the authorities are increasingly cracking down on dissent. — AFP

PHNOM PENH: Mam Sonando (center), owner of the independent Beehive radio station gestures as police officials escort him into a car after his verdict at the Phnom Penh municipal court yesterday. — AFP

Japanese PM adds China balm in cabinet reshuffle Noda tries ‘to cool China row’

BAGHDAD: Iraqi policewomen stand to attention during a graduation ceremony in the capital Baghdad yesterday. The 659 cadets, 32 of which are women, have been trained for the past two months and will protect oil installations, government ministries and top state officials. — AFP

Iraq monthly death toll doubles to 365 BAGHDAD: The death toll from militant attacks across Iraq doubled in September to 365, the highest toll for more than two years, with most of them killed in bomb attacks, according to government figures released yesterday. The insurgents have launched one major assault a month since US troops withdrew in December.

The bloodiest day of the last month was Sept 9, when more than 100 people were killed in bomb and gun attacks across Iraq. Insurgents are regarded as weaker than when violence reached its peak in 2006 and 2007, but they remain capable of carrying out mass-casualty attacks across Iraq.

The statistics compiled by the health, interior and defense ministries showed that 182 civilians, 88 police and 95 soldiers were killed in attacks in September.

Another 683 people were wounded — 453 civilians, 110 police and 120 soldiers, according to the figures. It was the highest monthly toll given by the government since August 2010, when figures showed 426 people killed and 838 wounded in attacks.

The previous deadliest month this year was July, when 325 people were killed in attacks, according to official figures. The worst violence of the month occurred on September 8 and 9, when a wave of more than 30 attacks killed 88 people and wounded more than 400.

Sunday was the second-deadliest day in September, with at least 33 people killed and 106 wounded in attacks, which occurred in Baghdad and the nearby areas of Taji, Madain and Tarmiyah, and also hit Kut, Mosul, south of the northern

oil city of Kirkuk, and areas around Baquba.

In Baghdad’s central Karrada district, a suicide bomber detonated an explosivespacked car, scattering debris for dozens of meters from the site of the blast, shattering store windows and smashing cars.

A headless, limbless torso surrounded by pieces of flesh lay at the scene. “I was in my shop and I heard the sound of a very powerful explosion,” said another store owner who gave his name only as Abu Ihab. “Dust was everywhere.” “We were sitting in the shop while police were collecting flesh,” he said. “Human flesh was on the sidewalk, being collected and put in plastic bags.”

“When the explosion happens, it does not care about any security measures,” he said. “I sit in my shop and I am afraid for my life.” The deadly violence in Iraq and a lack of basic services are two of the main complaints against the government. “We are tired of this government,” said Haidar Mohammed, an employee of a shop on the street hit by the Sunday blast. “The government does not do anything.”

September also saw a brazen prison break in the city of Tikrit in which 102 inmates, among them 47 alleged AlQaeda members who had been sentenced to death, managed to escape, according to the interior ministry.

The ministry said that weapons had been smuggled into the prison during family visits, and that inmates were also able to seize a guard’s weapon, and take others from an armory. The inmates launched an uprising in the prison, taking control of the facility. —Agencies

Taiwan former PM plans ‘ice-breaking’ China visit TAIPEI: Former Taiwan premier Frank Hsieh yesterday announced plans to visit China, a trip which would make him the most senior politician from the Chinasceptic opposition party to visit the mainland. The visit, described by local media as “ice-breaking”, came amid debate in the party about whether to change its China policy. Hsieh, who was premier from 2005 to 2006 and retains major influence in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told reporters he would leave Thursday.

“The purpose of the trip is to build mutual trust,” said Hsieh, declining to say if he would meet Chinese government officials during the five-day visit. Hsieh’s first stop will be the southeastern coastal city of Xiamen, followed by a visit to nearby Dongshan Island where his ancestors lived before emigrating to Taiwan. Later, the trip will take him to Beijing, where he plans to visit the Olympic stadium and attend an international cocktail contest as a guest of the International Bartenders Association.

Voters in January re-elected President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang party, endorsing the Beijing-friendly policies

he has pursued since he took office in 2008. Since then, leading DPP members have debated whether their party needs to change its China policy, in part to reflect Beijing’s fast-expanding regional and global influence. “The DPP should face the reality of China’s rise...if the DPP keeps refusing to change its position and let the Kuomintang and the Chinese communist parties work hand in hand, I’m afraid the DPP will never be able to get back into power,” Hsieh said.

Hsu Yung-ming, a political science professor at Taipei’s Soochow University said that “although the party authorities have not decided to amend their China policy at the moment, the results of the visit could be used as a key reference in the future”.

Tensions between Taipei and Beijing soared in the eight years to 2008 when then-president Chen Shui-bian of the DPP repeatedly ruffled Beijing’s feathers. China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949. But Beijing still claims sovereignty over the island and has threatened to invade should it declare formal independence. — AFP

TOKYO: Japan’s unpopular prime minister will use a cabinet reshuffle to try to mend fences with China and to boost his flagging popularity ahead of an expected general election, reports said.

Yoshihiko Noda is expected to elevate Makiko Tanaka, a woman with pro-Beijing credentials, into the cabinet, a symbolic move to signal Tokyo’s hope of moving past a damaging row over disputed islands, newspapers reported.

Although a wholescale clearout is not expected-several key figures will keep their jobs-the reshuffle is also the premier’s bid to reinvigorate his government after a costly battle to pass tax legislation.

The government’s chief spokesman Osamu Fujimura told reporters that all cabinet ministers had tendered their resignations yesterday morning, a procedural move that happens ahead of reshuffles. “Today in the special cabinet meeting the prime minister told us he will conduct a cabinet reshuffle,” he said. “The resignations of all cabinet ministers were collected.”

Noda is expected to make 68year-old Tanaka education minister. The job is relatively powerless and has little to do with China, but commentators say he is hoping it will show a willingness to move on from the current territorial impasse.

Japan and China have clashed repeatedly over the last few months about the Tokyo-administered Senkaku islands, which

China claims as the Diaoyus.

Tanaka is the daughter of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, who normalised diplomatic ties

The prime minister will likely keep Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and defence chief Satoshi Morimoto in their current posts

TOKYO: Japan’s new Education Minister Makiko Tanaka gestures during a press conference at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo yesterday. — AP with Beijing 40 years ago last to provide a measure of continuSaturday, and has warm links with ity as he seeks to navigate between an angry Beijing and risChina.

She had a short stint as foreign ing nationalist sentiment at minister under popular Prime home. Finance Minister Jun Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Her Azumi will be moved into a top tenure was marked by rows with party post, with the relatively bureaucrats and is chiefly remem- unknown Koriki Jojima taking the bered for the tearful speech she reins of the world’s third-largest gave after being sacked in 2002. economy.

Jojima will have his work cut out over the next 10 days, swatting up for the annual IMF and World Bank meetings that Tokyo will host from next week.

Noda has named the telegenic Goshi Hosono as policy chief of his Democratic Party, a move seen as an effort to boost popularity in the upcoming general election. Hosono was widely believed to have been well-positioned to oust Noda as party president-and therefore prime minister-during a recent election, but decided against a tilt at leadership.

Noda beat his rivals handsomely in the poll, which had to be held under party rules. His victory was seen less as a vote of confidence and more as the result of there being no other credible candidate in the race.

The premier is under pressure to call an election this year after offering his opponents a vague pledge to dissolve parliament “sometime soon” in exchange for their support on a pet project to raise sales tax.

But woeful opinion poll numbers have left many in his factionally-riven party fearing for their seats, with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party seen likely to narrowly come out on top in a national ballot.

Japan’s main opposition party chose former premier Shinzo Abe as its new leader last week, in a vote that potentially positions him to be reinstated as prime minister. — AFP

Bereaved elderly people suffer China 1-child norm BEIJING: When Wu Rui’s 12-yearold daughter died she lost not just the only child she would ever have but also her source of security and support in old age.

Today the 55-year-old takes care of herself and her own elderly parents on a paltry pension in a ramshackle two-room home, living in fear of medical emergencies she has no way to pay for.

China’s one-child policy normally leaves four grandparents and two parents relying on a single caretaker for old age-and bereaved families with none.

An estimated one million families nationwide have lost their sole descendant since the measure took effect in 1980, and another four to seven million are expected to do so in the next 20 to 30 years. Many, like Wu, will have no one to help them through the frailties or medical costs of old age. “If I have a big illness then I probably won’t have enough,” she says quietly.

“For sure there will be difficulties.” Wu divorced in 1994 and lost her daughter Zhang Weina one year later after a long struggle with epilepsy.

She now spends much of her time at home, knitting sweaters and preparing food in a cramped kitchen-which doubles as her 76year-old mother’s bedroom. Her 80-year-old father, his hearing failing, sits one bed over in the narrow room they share. Two light bulbs dangle from a rope and cracked paint covers the

walls. Aside from ill health, Wu’s biggest fear is that their dingy but inexpensive home will soon be demolished, as many old Beijing residences have been.

The other half of their centrally located neighborhood has already been replaced by modern towers, and if their alleyway is next they may be moved to an apartment that costs more than her monthly pension of 2,000 yuan ($310).

OLD-AGE BUBBLE Since 2001 national law has required local governments to provide “the necessary help” to families who lose their only child, but does not define what that entails. Regulations vary by area, with Sichuan province allowing families to apply to have another child while Shanghai stipulates a one-time payment of an unspecified amount. Some local governments provide small stipends, according to state news agency Xinhua, while a Beijing official told local media the capital offers 200 yuan a month and “spiritual” support in the form of visits from young people. “ The rule has always been there but I don’t think it’s very meaningful,” says Yi Fuxian, a USbased academic and author of “Big Country in an Empty Nest”, which criticizes China’s familyplanning policy. Some 4.63 percent of China’s 218 million-plus single-child families are expected to lose their son or daughter

by the time they reach the age of 25, he says, citing official statistics. That would mean more than 10 million couples outliving their only child in the next two to three decades, minus a fraction who give birth again.

Yi and other demographers argue that China must not only provide for these families but also abolish the one-child limit immediately. Its defenders say it has helped prevent over-population and lift vast numbers of Chinese out of poverty. But it is also creating instead an old-age bubble-by 2050 30 percent of Chinese will be 60 or over, the UN estimates, versus 20 percent worldwide and 10 percent in China in 2000. Without more young people, China will not have enough grandchildren to provide for their elders or workers to pay into a social security system the government is trying to build.

ENDLESS PAIN The country can now absorb a higher birth rate without risking over-population, say Yi and others. But the head of the State Population and Family Planning Commission Li Bin told Xinhua last year that China intended to “maintain and improve” existing measures, while understanding the need to address its ageing population. For now certain families receive exemptions from the one-child rule, including some farmers who give birth to a girl,

couples who belong to ethnic minorities and parents who are both only children themselves.

The authorities increasingly recognize the problems the onechild policy created now that its first generation of parents is entering old age, says Gu Baochang, a professor at Beijing’s Renmin University.

But they should have acted years ago as demographic dangers will only swell with time, he warns. “The later they do this, the greater the pain, the bigger the costs, and the greater the number of families who lose their only child.”

Families like Wu’s face not only uncertain futures but also an unshakeable sense of loss in a culture that emphasizes family, Gu points out. One bereaved mother shares her grief on an online forum for parents like her: “All beauty has been pulled away, the darkness of the clouds and night conceal my endless pain.” Another parent wrote on the forum: “We responded to the call and only had one child. And where is the care and concern for us? There is none. Cancer, heart and brain disease, depression and other serious ailments keep coming knocking.

“There is no institution facing up to our existence, let alone any department that sympathizes with our sorrow. “We have fallen into lonely, bitter, tragic circumstances with no one to rely on.” — AFP

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Issues

China sliding into pension black hole

By Aileen Wang and Koh Gui Qing ighty-year-old Chinese farmer Guo Shuhe receives a state pension equivalent to just $9 a month, not enough to buy a month worth of groceries, but enough it seems, to risk punching a gaping hole in government finances. Guo, whose palms are thick and rough from a life spent hoeing fields in southwest China, is one of over 150 million people covered by a rapidly expanding rural retirement scheme which is accelerating the nation’s slide into a pension crisis. “Fifty-five yuan a month is little, but it’s better than nothing,” said Guo, rubbing his head with his hands at his home in Ledu County, a village 3,000 m above sea level in China’s mountainous Qinghai province, bordering Tibet. Guo, though, is fortunate because he also has the financial support of six children. But for younger and future generations of retirees, China’s traditional family safety net is disappearing, replaced by state-backed pension schemes tailored for a greying society. Policy makers and economists have long been worried about the financial burden of China’s expanding patchwork of pension schemes, but those concerns have recently escalated as its rural pension scheme took off in the past three years. The funding shortage is daunting: economists say it could blow out to a whopping $10.8 trillion in the next 20 years from $2.6 trillion in 2010, towering over China’s $3 trillion onshore savings, the biggest hoard of domestic savings in the world.

Time is not on China’s side. Its fast-maturing society and economy - thanks to a one-child policy and a rapid rise in living standards - demand better pension coverage in future. Yet China is already straining to hold things up.

Funding capacity is not keeping pace with swift growth in pension coverage as China sticks to safe but low-yielding investments for its pension funds. To make bad matters worse, retirements are getting pricier on an ageing population, a shrinking work force, longer life expectancies, early retirements and generous pension payouts.

So pressing are China’s pension problems that analysts say they can no longer be ignored. Xi Jinping, China’s president-in-waiting, must raise retirement ages and supply pension funds with state assets for financing after he takes power next year. “This is a very important issue for the next leadership, which does not have a lot of time to get to it,” said Zhao Xijun, an economics professor at Renmin University in Beijing. To give or not to give, China’s pension dilemma is not a sideshow. Good pension coverage will help Beijing remake the world’s No. 2 economy to boost domestic consumption, cut export reliance, and dodge a middle-income trap that could ensnare the country anytime in the next two decades.

Giving millions of Chinese workers peace of mind about their retirement will encourage thrifty wage-earners to spend more in coming years, standing in for American and European shoppers tightening their belts, economists say.

Crucially, a working pension system will comfort stabilityobsessed Beijing, painfully aware that the fruits of China’s stellar economic growth must be more evenly shared to head off social discontent. “Of course it is not enough to live on the current pension. We want the government to raise our pension in future,” said Guo. The number of Chinese over 65 years of age, at 123 million, virtually matches Japan’s total population, and is rising fast due to the one-child policy Beijing adopted in the 1970s. According to the World Bank, China is ageing so rapidly it greyed in the last 40 years, whereas ageing societies in the United States and the United Kingdom took a century to form. The problem of growing old, fast, is most acute in the countryside, where thousands of villages are “hollowed out” as working adults abandon farms to migrate to cities in search of better lives, leaving the young and old behind.

The old-age dependency ratio, or the number of elderly people as a share of those of working age, will hit 34.4 percent in rural China by 2030, compared to 21.1 percent in urban areas, and up from 13.5 percent in 2008, the World Bank said. The cost of an expanding elderly class is hefty.

Many analysts believe China’s labour force will shrink from 2015, hurt by stubbornly low birth rates and an ageing populace, a trend expected to drive up wages in the world’s factory floor in years ahead, and henceforth global inflation. To beat the demographic challenge, Beijing hastened the roll-out in 2009 of a voluntary pension scheme for 657 million rural residents, the equivalent of two United States.

To get a minimum 55 yuan a month in retirement, or a tenth of last year’s average monthly wage in the countryside, rural workers must pay at least 100 yuan a year for 15 years. — Reuters

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All articles appearing on these pages are the personal opinion of the writers. Kuwait Times takes no responsibility for views expressed therein. Kuwait Times invites readers to voice their opinions. Please send submissions via email to: opinion@kuwaittimes.net or via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as necessary.

Election to yield status quo in Washington

By Thomas Ferraro and Samuel P Jacobs n forecasting what the US Congress will look like after the Nov 6 elections, Princeton University’s Sam Wang is what his fellow analysts call an “outlier”. Wang, one of a dozen or so leading academics who use statistical data to forecast elections, says there is a 74 percent probability that the Democrats will gain the net 25 seats they need to take control of the 435-seat House of Representatives from the Republicans. He cites President Barack Obama’s recent rise in the polls, which Wang says could help other Democrats on House ballots. Wang says his estimate “suggests that in coming weeks, we might look for (congressional) district polls to move in the Democrats’ direction.”

Since Obama jumped to a significant lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney during the past two weeks, there has been an increasing chance that the presidential race could create a larger-than-expected ripple across the congressional elections in the Democrats’ favor. That has triggered anxiety among Republicans and raised hopes among Democrats. It remains a minority view, however. The conventional wisdom in Washington is that on Nov 6, a politically divided nation is likely to reinstall a largely familiar cast of characters at each end of Pennsylvania Avenue: a Democratic president, a Republican-led House, and a Democratic-led Senate.

For all the turbulence of the last few years including the rise of the conservative, compromise-resistant Tea Party movement and the resulting gridlock in Washington that led to historically low approval ratings for Congress, Americans are on course to keep most of the same people in charge, most analysts say. That may not be good news for those

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hoping to see an early deal between the parties on how to tackle the nation’s high unemployment and debt and deficit problems. If there is no compromise in Congress soon, big tax increases and mandatory spending cuts early next year could send the economy over the “fiscal cliff” and back into recession.

In the House - where every seat is up for election every two years - there likely will be a backlash against some of the 87 first-term Republicans, many of whom were elected with the Tea Party’s support, who helped give their party control of the chamber. Democrats have targeted two dozen freshman Republicans in the House who are seen as particularly vulnerable. But district-by-district analyses by the Cook Political Report, the Rothenberg Political Report and others suggest that any gain in House seats for either party probably will be small. The most likely scenario: Democrats will have a net gain of a few seats - perhaps as many as 15 - but will remain in the minority.

A big reason for such estimates: In many cases, the results of the November election for House seats essentially were decided months ago, when states went through the once-adecade process of redrawing their congressional districts. In two dozen states with Republican-led legislatures, districts typically were redrawn to help the party’s incumbent members of Congress win re-election by making their districts more conservative - and to make some Democrats more vulnerable.

Democrats did the same thing, protecting their own in eight states where they control the legislatures. In Illinois, Democratic lawmakers carved up five congressional districts now represented by Republicans so that each had more Democrats. That is partly why Illinois Republican Representative Joe Walsh,

an outspoken hero of the Tea Party, is likely to be bounced from the House by Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran. A recent poll in the district had Duckworth up by 14 percentage points.

Other states used bipartisan panels to redraw House districts, in part to spread the political impact. Overall, however, the politically charged redistricting system is likely to help preserve the status quo in Washington.

Analysts say that for this election, the calculus in House races would change only if there were a significant margin of victory in the presidential race. “If Obama wins by a wide margin - say, 53 percent to 46 percent - it could increase Democratic gains in the House from six seats to maybe 12 or 15,” said Larry Sabato, who tracks congressional races at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

In the Senate - where 33 of the 100 seats are up for election - most analysts see Republicans making a small dent in the Democrats’ 53-47 majority, but not enough for a takeover. The Senate is where the Tea Party’s rising influence could really be felt - in ways that could help or hurt Republicans. Some analysts say Republicans need Romney to defeat Obama in the presidential race to have any hope of a “coattail” effect that could give them control of the Senate. The Tea Party is likely to have unprecedented power in the Senate. Three Tea Party-backed challengers Ted Cruz in Texas, Deb Fischer in Nebraska and Jeff Flake in Arizona - are favored to win. A fourth, Richard Mourdock, is in a close race in Indiana against Democrat Joe Donnelly.

Mourdock’s emergence has become a symbol of the divisions within the Republican Party that could prevent it from taking over the Senate. In the Republican primary this year, Mourdock defeated six-term Senator

Richard Lugar, a moderate Republican who would have been a fairly safe bet to win reelection. Now, with Lugar gone amid criticism from the Tea Party that he was too willing to work with Democrats, his Senate seat - which he had held since 1977 - is in jeopardy for Republicans. The race between Mourdock and Donnelly is widely seen as a toss-up.

Republicans’ hopes of controlling the next Senate also are in doubt because of the retirement of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, a moderate Republican who cited partisan gridlock in announcing her departure. The favorite to replace her is Angus King, a former Maine governor who is running for the Senate as an independent but who both parties assume would caucus with Democrats.

Then there is the case of Todd Akin, the Tea Party-backed Missouri congressman who won a three-way primary fight to oppose Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill. Both parties considered McCaskill vulnerable heading into this election year, but controversial comments by Akin suggesting that rape victims could naturally prevent pregnancy have shifted the race in McCaskill’s favor. Akin has rejected calls by several Republican leaders to drop out of the race.

More recently, several Republican Senate candidates trying to lure votes from Democrats have faced another headache: the videotape of Romney in which he dismissed the 47 percent of Americans who receive government benefits as “victims” who are looking for handouts. At least three Republican Senate candidates - Scott Brown in Massachusetts, Linda McMahon in Connecticut and Dean Heller in Nevada - have spoken out against Romney’s remarks. “I’m Scott Brown. He’s Mitt Romney,” Brown said. “We disagree on a whole host of things.”—Reuters

West uneasy over Saleh’s role in Yemen

By Andrew Hammond even months after he reluctantly handed over the presidency, Ali Abdullah Saleh’s continuing sway over Yemen is worrying Gulf neighbours and Western nations who fear that the political transition could descend into chaos. While Saleh is held responsible by many Yemenis for the more than 2,000 deaths during last year’s uprising, it was the storming of the US embassy on Sept 13 that appears to have jolted Western countries into changing their view of a man long seen by Washington as its best bet for containing militants. Soldiers of two units under the control of Saleh’s relatives allowed hundreds of protesters through checkpoints around the embassy, a Yemeni security source and Western diplomats said.

Breaking through to the inner building, they ripped plaques and lettering from outer walls and tried to smash secure glass doors.

President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has promised an investigation into the incident, which followed protest calls by Sunni cleric Abdul-Majeed Al-Zindani - designated a global terrorist by the United States since 2004 and the Zaidi Islamist group Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis. One of Saleh’s sons used Facebook to deny accusations that embassy guards had acted suspiciously. He said the Interior Ministry should have sent in riot police. “We share the concern over the role that the former president and those hardcore elements around him are playing right now,” a senior Western diplomat in Sanaa said, adding they were undermining the government and hindering the transition. “We do have concerns about their resistance to following the legitimate orders of President Hadi.”

Restoring stability in Yemen has become an international priority for fear that Islamist militants will further entrench themselves in a country neighbouring top oil exporter Saudi

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Arabia and lying on major world shipping lanes. The writ of central government authority has further weakened in the chaotic unraveling of Saleh’s system of rule. The uprising lifted the lid on myriad social and economic problems facing an impoverished country of 24 million people. Of all the complications to reestablishing state control, including southern secessionists, a Zaidi Shiite revival movement tussling with Sunni Islamists and a covert US missile war on militants, the role of Washington’s former strongman in Sanaa has emerged as perhaps the most pressing.

Despite the immunity granted to him under the power transfer deal, Saleh could still face the fate of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak as activists push for ways to have him prosecuted. Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment in June for complicity in the deaths of protesters during Egypt’s uprising. Sidelined since Hadi’s election in February, Saleh still wields influence through his control of the General People’s Congress (GPC) party, a ruling coalition partner, and through powerful relatives who run elite military and security units.

Saleh has warned in recent comments that the Arabian Peninsula state’s transition process could descend into chaos, depicting himself as being central to Yemen’s territorial unity. Further, forces loyal to Saleh’s relatives have repeatedly mutinied against Hadi’s efforts to reorganise the armed forces, staging attacks on the Interior and Defence Ministry buildings.

But pressure on Saleh has grown in recent months. Thousands of Yemenis have protested against the US- and Saudi-backed power transfer deal which offered Saleh his immunity from prosecution in exchange for stepping down. The government agreed last month to set up a commission of inquiry into violations committed during last year’s uprising, and a transitional justice law could also be passed soon. “People have an obligation to fulfill the terms (of the transition) and not change them,” the diplomat said. “But that doesn’t mean we have to sit by if there is evidence that Saleh is violating the laws of Yemen now and it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be held to account for that.”

The embassy incident has spurred Western states shepherding the transition into action.

Senior diplomats of ten countries, including Gulf Arab states, European Union members, the United States and Russia, agreed in Sanaa two weeks ago to recommend their governments start preparing possible measures against transition “spoilers”. “They agreed there should be some effort to gather evidence that might point the finger at those who might be considered in violation of U.N. Security Council resolution 2051,” said one who was involved in the meeting.

The June resolution calls for a smooth transition, accountability for “all those responsible for human rights violations and abuses”, and “security sector reform and changes in senior appointments in the security and armed forces”. The diplomat said names were being collected among supporters of Saleh, “extremist elements” of the

Sunni Islamist Islah party - an apparent reference to Zindani and other clerics - and figures from the southern secessionist movement. “I don’t think there’s anything imminent regarding sanctions,” a UN diplomatic source said in New York, but he added: “Sooner or later it will come to that.” He said Russia and China were on board with the UN moves.

Analysts say Saleh, his party and others may be able to avoid that fate if they contribute to a national dialogue intended to map out a new political system this year. “Can we force the GPC to accept the idea of a democratic, civilian state in the dialogue and that rivalry should be regulated through the ballot box? We need the GPC to accept this,” said political scientist Mohammed Al-Mutawakkel.

The fourth Arab leader to be unseated in “Arab Spring” protests, Saleh spent several weeks in the United States for medical treatment just before he left office. The US ambassador in Sanaa said two weeks ago it would not be possible to grant him a visa for now, but gave no more details. Once abroad, Saleh would be open to petitions under international law or domestic laws of any country he stayed in. He recently said he had no intention of leaving Yemen. “Revenge dominates in Yemeni society. If people feel wronged and no one gives them justice they will try to get it themselves in any way,” said Human Rights Minister Hooria Mashhour.

At least 129 activists disappeared during the uprising and hundreds of “enforced disappearances” throughout Saleh’s rule still remain unaccounted for, provoking a campaign of portraits on public walls by activists seeking redress. The capital still bears signs of last year’s confrontation, with pock-marked and destroyed buildings such as Yemenia Airways offices in Hasaba. The fear remains that street fighting between former allies under Saleh’s rule will return, or that Houthi-Islah confrontations could spread. —Reuters

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

NEWS

An Afghan refugee girl stands next to her family’s sheep in a field next to a slum area on the outskirts of Islamabad yesterday. — AP

Arnie admits to multiple affairs

Oppn demands immediate dissolution...

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

In the “60 Minutes” interview, he said he realized when Joseph was about seven or eight that the boy resembled him physically, and while not discussing it openly, began giving his mother financial support. “I kind of put it away and just said to myself, ‘OK, I’m going to put this away. I’m going to fulfill my responsibilities,’” he said. He said he never even had a conversation with the housekeeper about the son. The housekeeper remained in their employment, and Joseph even played with the couple’s children. But Shriver’s suspicions grew and she finally confronted him the day after he left office, when they saw a marriage counselor. Shriver asked him point blank: “Hey, I think that Joseph is your kid,” to which he replied: “You’re absolutely correct.” She filed for divorced a few weeks later.

“I think it was the stupidest thing I’ve done in the whole relationship. It was terrible. I inflicted tremendous pain on Maria and unbelievable pain on the kids,” he said.

He declined to say whether he has a relationship with the child, who is now about 15, and he said he didn’t want to go into any more details about his relationship with Baena because he’s already caused Shriver and their four children enough pain. “I don’t want to reawaken and kind of talk about it because it’s not going to help them. And I just want to protect them as much as I can,” he said.

Baena was not the first time he had been unfaithful to

Shriver, he acknowledged - in the book he writes about a “hot affair” with actress Brigitte Nielsen while filming the 1985 film Red Sonja. Pressed in the CBS interview about other infidelities, he admitted: “I had others. But that’s something that’s between Maria and me,” adding that Shriver knew about his behavior. “I’m not perfect,” he said.

Allegations of sexual misconduct and affairs have long dogged the Austrian-born actor turned politician, who returned to the big screen in “The Expendables 2” this year, and has a number of other movies due for release. In other comments Schwarzenegger, 65, told how Shriver “started shaking” when he told her he planned to run for California governor only days before his announcement in Aug 2003. “I was thinking that she would say ‘Wow that is amazing, welcome to the club, we finally convinced you to be a public servant’,” he said, referring to the storied Kennedy political dynasty, of which she was a member.

Her objections were only overcome after intervention from his mother-in-law Eunice Shriver, who warned her that Schwarzenegger would be angry at her if she prevented him from running. Schwarzenegger said Shriver had not read the book, called “Total Recall” after the 1990 blockbuster. Asked what he thought Shriver’s view would be, he said: “I think that Maria’s wishing me well with everything that I do.” There was no immediate word comment from representatives for Shriver. — Agencies

He added that all indications give the impression that the struggle will be for a long time and that “we are still at the beginning”. Islamist MP Faisal Al-Mislem warned that the government is headed towards a “security solution” and all signs prove this. He called on all Cabinet ministers to resign in support of the people’s demands.

Mislem said that no one wants to see chaos in the country but the Assembly must be dissolved immediately.

Liberal MP Abdulrahman Al-Anjari accused the government of resisting change and development through instigating political instability, interfering in elections through “dir ty money ” and conspiring against the Assembly. Anjari claimed that Kuwait affairs are being managed in a mentality that dates back to the 1950s and “this does not help to achieve reforms and positive change”. He also charged that there are some people who are trying to delay dissolving the Assembly and others who are trying to promote the idea of reducing the number of votes from four to two by meeting the Amir.

“Their goal is to produce a weak parliament that they can easily control,” said Anjari, who added that the main focus of the ongoing disputes is economic in nature as certain quarters are trying to control the country’s resources.

Meanwhile, a court yesterday sentenced nine tribal activists to two years in jail each for storming a television station ahead of February legislative elections, a lawyer said. The lower court also fined two other activists KD

100 each while acquitting a 12th man, defence lawyer AlHumaidi Al-Subaie said on his Twitter account. The men were among hundreds of tribesmen who clashed with police on Jan 31 as they attempted to storm the offices of Al-Watan satellite channel which was hosting pro-government candidate Nabeel Al-Fadl.

The unrest came a day after angry tribesmen burned down the election tent of pro-government candidate Mohammed Al-Juwaihel following remarks he made that were deemed offensive to the Mutairi tribe. Tribesmen consider Fadl, a strong critic of the opposition, as a close ally of Juwaihel. Twenty policemen and four protesters were injured in the clashes in which about a dozen tribesmen managed to storm the television station and destroy some furniture, before police arrested them.

During trial, the men had denied any wrongdoing. The ruling is not final as it can be challenged before the appeals and supreme courts.

Obaid Al-Wasmi, a member of the scrapped 2012 Assembly, strongly lashed out at the court verdict. He claimed that there is no equality in court verdicts as several members of the ruling family committed crimes but were not taken to court. He asked if there is a special law only for ruling family members.

Separately, for the second time this year, a third-year cadet at the Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences died when he had a heart seizure during physical training exercises. Informed sources said that the cadet had breathing problems during training and was rushed to Al-Sabah hospital before he died.

C Bank chief: Kuwait should cut spending

Jordan thirsts for water

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Continued from Page 1

“Otherwise if we think it needs any movement or amendments or changes we will not hesitate to take any necessary actions,” he said. He said growth of the OPEC member’s economy this year depended on oil prices and production. It could grow 6.5-6.6 percent this year, he said, in some of his first comments to international media.

Hashel said the banking sector in Kuwait was solid and active, and capable of exercising its role to provide credit services. Local banks in Kuwait, he said, were capable of absorbing shocks. On writing off loans of Kuwaiti citizens, Hashel said the Central Bank has always been against inappropriate ways to address such issue. He said writing off of loans will have negative impacts on society and banking sector because it “is not fair” Hashel said inflation in Kuwait was at acceptable levels but the Central Bank was planning to reduce it. On sukuk, Hashel said there were some organizational and legislative hurdles against the issue of sukuk. He added the Central Bank contributed to a draft law to allow smooth issues of sukuk.

Hashel replaced veteran policymaker Sheikh Salem Abdul-

Aziz Al-Sabah, who headed the Central Bank for 25 years before resigning in March. Sheikh Salem was concerned about Kuwait’s dependency on oil for revenues. Kuwait booked a record budget surplus of KD 13.2 billion ($47 billion) in the fiscal year that ended in March thanks to robust oil income and lower spending than planned. But economists and policymakers have said the government’s expenditure on wages and benefits is not sustainable in the long-run and that the economy could face problems if there is a steep drop in the oil price.

The International Monetary Fund said in May that Kuwait risks exhausting all of its oil savings by 2017 if it keeps spending money at the current rate. In a bid to invest more efficiently, Kuwait announced last month that it would more than double the portion of revenues it puts into a rainy day fund for when oil runs out or the economy faces severe shocks. A long-running political crisis has held up investment, especially in large infrastructure projects, allowing the budget surplus to grow. A KD 30 billion ($107 billion) development plan aimed at boosting and diversifying the economy has stalled. — Agencies

Other refugees are concentrated in the northern cities, which already suffer from water shortage, while the demand on water is expected to increase.

In June, the government said that each Syrian needs at least 80 litres of fresh water. “The authority pumps water to us once a week, less than 24 hours. It was never enough,” said the mother of five Umm Iyad. “We wait for this water to come so we can wash clothes, shower and clean the house. Even if we want to invite people for lunch or dinner, we make sure they come when the water comes.” Umm Iyad lives in a hilly area in Amman, where water pressure is sometimes too weak to fill storage tanks in her building.

“Because of that, we are forced many times to buy water. And sometimes, we miss our turn in getting water if a tiny electricity glitch affects the municipal pumping.

There are many things that need to be done but there is not enough water. If we are lucky, we buy a four-cubic-

metre water tanker from the Water Authority for around nine dinars ($12). But sometimes it is not available, which forces us to pay 25 dinars for the same amount from private water suppliers.”

Jordan’s average annual consumption stands at around 900 million cu m, but more than 60 percent of that water goes to agriculture, which contributes 3.6 percent to gross domestic product, according to official figures. Struggling to battle a chronic water shortage, Jordan is mulling controversial plans to extract water. It is tapping into a 300,000-year-old aquifer, despite concerns about high levels of radiation, while studying ways to build a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. It is also seeking to develop peaceful nuclear energy in order to desalinate water and produce power. “The country suffers from a chronic water shortage. It means that challenges are expected all the time, particularly during the summer,” Bataineh said. “We are doing are best to cope, but mistakes and problems happen sometimes.” — AFP

Bahrain upholds medics’ jail terms Continued from Page 1

The sun rises as seen from Newton, Massachusetts yesterday. — AFP

getting the longest sentence of five years in jail. Dr Al-Ekri was found guilty of “possession and concealment of white weaponry (non-firearms) to serve a terrorist purpose, and for illegal assembly,” said the statement.

Ibrahim Damastani, a senior nurse who received a three-year jail term, was found guilty of “possession of a white weapon and illegal assembly”. “This is a political trial and lacks impartiality,” Damastani told AFP by telephone, charging that the court “did not even read the files of the case,” and challenging authorities to prove he had weapons. “I would be ready to serve 20 years in prison, not just three, if they bring one piece of evidence or picture showing that I had a white weapon,” he said. He called on foreign lawyers supporting the case of the medics to help take it to the Committee against Torture, that is part of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The remaining seven medics, who were convicted of lesser crimes, including illegal assembly and inciting hatred, were handed jail sentences of between one month and one year. This was the final verdict and no other appeals can be heard. All nine medics have been free on bail since September last year. The medics were first charged and convicted by a quasi military court specially formed in the aftermath of the government’s brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in March 2011. Many initially received harsh sentences of up to 15

years. Only the two medics who remain at large, Ali Hassan Al-Sadadi and Qassim Imran, still face 15-year prison terms since neither appealed the original verdicts.

Many of the 20 medics - 15 of whom are doctors alleged they were tortured in prison.

Mohammed Al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, said yesterday’s verdict was final with no recourse for further appeal but there might be still a chance for a pardon by the king. Earlier this month, the public prosecutor’s office charged seven policemen with torture and maltreatment of the medics, all of whom are Shiite. Yesterday, the High Criminal Court postponed a hearing in the trial of two of the police defendants facing the most serious charges of “torture and threats” against six medic detainees, lawyers said, adding both failed to appear in court. Their next hearing is set for Oct 18, lawyers added. The five remaining police officers facing charges of “maltreatment” are to be tried separately in a lower criminal court.

Last week, a Bahraini court sentenced one policeman to seven years in prison for killing a protester during last year’s month-long uprising and acquitted two other officers charged with murdering two demonstrators. The authorities say they are implementing the recommendations of an independent commission of inquiry called for by the king that confirmed allegations of excessive use of force by security forces during the protests.

International rights groups continue to accuse the Gulf kingdom of failing to implement sufficient reforms. — Agencies

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

sp orts

Toluca hold top spot

League, union end talks

MEXICO CITY: Toluca beat Atlas 3-1 to maintain a slender lead over Tijuana in the Mexican first division after 10th-round matches on the weekend.

Toluca leads the competition with 23 points, narrowly ahead on goal difference from Tijuana, which had a 1-0 win over Queretaro on Saturday. Reigning champion Santos Laguna moved into sixth place with a 3-1 win over Atlante on Sunday.

In other weekend matches:Leon overhauled Monterrey for third spot with a 2-0 win on Friday, Pachuca defeated Chivas 1-0, Jaguares won 1-0 against Cruz Azul, America and Morelia drew 1-1, Tigres drew 0-0 against San Luis and Pumas defeated Puebla 2-1. In Sunday’s match, Mexico international Oribe Peralta turned the last defender and placed the ball into the corner of the net to seal the points for Santos Laguna in the 84th minute. Daniel Luduena had opened the scoring in the 14th, before Darwin Quintero extended Santos’ lead in the 59th. Atlante’s goal came from Sergio Napoles in the 82nd.—AP

NEW YORK: The National Hockey League (NHL) and union representing its locked-out players concluded three days of meetings on Sunday without discussing key economic issues that threaten the entire season.

No additional meetings have been scheduled, with both sides far apart on how to divide a $3.3 billion revenue pie. “We did not discuss core economic issues, as was the plan,” NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) special counsel Steve Fehr told reporters in New York after five hours of meetings. “We discussed in the health and safety area, including more discussion of drug testing, medical care etc.”

The NHL and players union were expected to hold discussions among

themselves over the next day or so.

Neither NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr, who is also Steve Fehr’s brother, nor NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman participated in Sunday’s session although they talked privately on Friday and Saturday. “We need some movement on the system issues,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said, referring to the main economic sticking points.

The NHL locked out its players on Sept. 16 when the previous labor deal expired. The NHL’s fourth work stoppage in 20 years has already forced the league to cancel its entire preseason schedule and Daly hinted early regular-season games could be in jeopardy.—Reuters

‘El Shaarawy not for sale’ MILAN: AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has moved to quash speculation the club could be interested in cashing in on teenage sensation Stephan El Shaarawy. El Shaarawy has been one of the few positives to emerge from the embattled Milan camp amid their relatively disastrous start to the campaign, scoring four goals in six games including a brace against Cagliari in midweek. Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has been under huge pressure but the 19-year-old El Shaarawy rescued his side again on Saturday with a goal in a 1-1 draw away to Parma. As well as sporting a distinctive mohican haircut and keen eye for goal the teenager is known for his agility, vision and speed.

And reports in the Italian media claim Manchester United are monitoring the player and that United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes he could slot comfortably into the English Premier League. When asked about interest from the English giants, Galliani said: “We’re not in the selling market. He is only 19 years old and we’ve just extended his contract until 2017, so our fans can rest assured.”—AFP

Cardinals pound Nationals

BALTIMORE: Orioles’ JJ Hardy (left) celebrates with teammate Adam Jones after hitting a solo home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox.—AP

Orioles clinch playoff berth BALTIMORE: The Baltimore Orioles clinched their first playoff berth since 1997, extending their winning streak to four by beating the Boston Red Sox 6-3 Sunday as Nate McLouth, J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis hit solo homers.

With three games left, the Orioles (92-67) are equal with the New York Yankees for the AL East lead and already have 23 more wins than a year ago. Baltimore and New York both clinched no worse than a wild card when the Los Angeles Angels lost to Texas 8-7 Sunday night. New York begins a season-ending series against visiting Boston on Monday night, and the Orioles are at Tampa Bay. Joe Saunders (3-3) allowed three runs, eight hits and no walks in 7 1-3 innings, and Jim Johnson worked the ninth for his 50th save.

Boston (69-90) has lost 90 games for the first time since 1966. Zach Stewart (0-2) gave up five runs and seven hits in 2 2-3 innings.

Yankees 9, Blue Jays 6 In Toronto, Eduardo Nunez drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly, and the Yankees overcame a 5-1 deficit and clinched their 17th playoff berth in 18 years.

Toronto took a 5-1 lead in the fifth against Phil Hughes, but the Yankees closed in the sixth on a run scoring pitch by Henderson Alvarez and tied it an inning later on Ichiro Suzuki’s sacrifice fly, Robinson Cano’s RBI double against Steve Delabar and Aaron Loup’s run-scoring wild pitch. Boone Logan (7-2) got the final two outs of the seventh. Darren Oliver (3-4) was the loser.

Rangers 8, Angels 7 In Arlington, Mike Napoli homered twice and drove in six runs as Texas clinched its third straight playoff berth. Napoli’s second homer in the nightcap was a go-ahead threerun shot in the third.

Two-time defending AL champion Texas (93-66) can be no worse than a wild card. Los Angeles (88-71) trails Oakland (91-68) by three games for the AL’s second wild card with three games left.

After blowing a save in the opener by allowing Torii Hunter’s two-run double with two outs in the ninth, Joe Nathan worked the ninth in the nightcap for his 37th save. Derek Holland (12-6) got the win.

Los Angeles took a quick 4-0 lead in the nightcap that Ervin Santana (9-13) quickly squandered.

In the opener, Garrett Richards (4-3) retired Nelson Cruz with two runners on in the eighth, and Ernesto Frieri pitched a per-

fect ninth for his 24th save. Mike Trout became the first major league rookie to reach 30 homers and 40 stolen bases in the same season.

Athletics 5, Mariners 2 In Oakland, Yoenis Cespedes broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth with a home run off Shawn Kelley (2-4) as Oakland closed on its first playoff berth in six years. Josh Reddick connected with a two-run shot for his team-leading 32nd homer two batters later as the A’s completed a three -game sweep. Sean Doolittle (2-1) pitched a perfect eighth for the win, and Grant Balfour finished for his 22nd save.

Tigers 2, Twins 1 In Minneapolis, Prince Fielder hit a tworun, opposite-field homer to left off Jared Burton (3-2), his 30th of the season, and Detroit opened a season-high, three-game lead over the second-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central with three games to play. Detroit, which lost to Texas in last year’s AL championship series, closes at Kansas City while Chicago is at Cleveland.

Miguel Cabrera, who is trying to become the first player since 1967 to win the triple crown, went 0 for 3 with an intentional walk, dropping his AL-leading batting average to .325. Minnesota’s Joe Mauer went 3 for 4 with an intentional walk to raise his average to .323. Phil Coke (2-3) got the win in relief and Jose Valverde picked up his 34th save.

Rays 6, White Sox 2 In Chicago, David Price (20-5) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings to become Tampa Bay’s first 20-game winner, B.J. Upton hit his 27th and 28th homers and Tampa Bay (88-71) remained three games behind Oakland for the AL’s second wild-card berth with three games left. Tampa Bay won for the 10th time in 11 games. Chicago, which held at least a share of the AL Central lead from July 24 until Wednesday, has lost 10 of 12.

Jose Quintana (6-6) gave up four runs and six hits in four innings.

Indians 15, Royals 3 In Cleveland: Asdrubal Cabrera capped a 10-run fifth inning with a grand slam as Cleveland tied season highs for runs and hits (19), improving to 2-1 under interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr. Zach McAllister (6-8) pitched five-hit ball over 6 2-3 innings, allowing three runs. Royals starter Luke Hochevar (8-16) was tagged for nine runs over 4 2-3 innings.—AP

MLB results/standings Cleveland 15, Kansas City 3; LA Angels 5, Texas 4; NY Yankees 9, Toronto 6; Philadelphia 4, Miami 1; Baltimore 6, Boston 3; Atlanta 6, NY Mets 2; Cincinnati 4, Pittsburgh 3; Houston 7, Milwaukee 0; Tampa Bay 6, Chicago White Sox 2; Detroit 2, Minnesota 1; St. Louis 10, Washington 4; Oakland 5, Seattle 2; San Francisco 7, San Diego 5; LA Dodgers 7, Colorado 1; Chicago Cubs 7, Arizona 2; Texas 8, LA Angels 7.

American League Eastern Division NY Yankees Baltimore Tampa Bay Toronto Boston

W 92 92 88 70 69

L 67 67 71 89 90

PCT .579 .579 .553 .440 .434

Detroit Chicago W Sox Kansas City Cleveland Minnesota

Central Division 86 73 .541 83 76 .522 71 88 .447 67 92 .421 66 93 .415

Texas Oakland LA Angels Seattle

Western Division 93 66 .585 91 68 .572 88 71 .553 73 86 .459

GB 4 22 23 3 15 19 20 2 5 20

Washington Atlanta Philadelphia NY Mets Miami

National League Eastern Division 96 63 .604 93 66 .585 80 79 .503 73 86 .459 67 92 .421

3 16 23 29

Cincinnati St. Louis Milwaukee Pittsburgh Chicago Cubs Houston

Central Division 96 63 .604 86 73 .541 81 78 .509 77 82 .484 60 99 .377 53 106 .333

10 15 19 36 43

San Francisco LA Dodgers Arizona San Diego Colorado

Western Division 93 66 .585 84 75 .528 80 79 .503 75 84 .472 62 97 .390

9 13 18 31

ST. LOUIS: Carlos Beltran homered from both sides of the plate for the ninth time in his career and drove in five runs as the St. Louis Cardinals closed in on the National League’s second wild-card berth by beating the Washington Nationals 10-4 on Sunday.

St. Louis (86-73) took a 7-0 lead by the third inning and reduced its magic number for clinching the wildcard berth to two. They lead the Dodgers by two games for the second NL wild card.

Washington (96-63), already assured of the capital’s first postseason baseball since 1933, saw its magic number for clinching the NL East remain at one over second-place Atlanta (93-66).

Lance Lynn (18-7) allowed four runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings, improving to 5-0 with a 2.10 ERA in his last five appearances.

Beltran hit a pair of two-run homers, connecting right-handed off Ross Detwiler (10-8) in the second and left-handed against ChienMing Wang in the fourth.

Braves 6, Mets 2 In Atlanta, the Atlanta Braves won for a major league record 23rd straight time in games started by Kris Medlen, beating the Mets in the regular-season home finale for Chipper Jones. Medlen (10-1) gave up one unearned run and three hits in six innings.

According to STATS LLC research going back to 1921, only two other teams won 22 straight starts by a pitcher: the New York Giants with Carl Hubbell (1936-37) and the Yankees with Whitey Ford (1950-53). Ford’s streak was interrupted by military service.

Atlanta is 12-0 in Medlen’s starts this season after he moved to the rotation on July 31.

The team’s streak of 23 straight wins in Medlen’s starts began in 2010. David Ross hit a three-run homer in the second off Jenrry Mejia (1-3). Jones had a single and two walks.

Reds 4, Pirates 3 In Pittsburgh, the Pirates ensured they’d finish with a record 20th straight losing season Sunday when they blew a ninth-inning lead in a 4-3 defeat to the Reds.

Pinch-hitter Xavier Paul led off the ninth with a home run off Joel Hanrahan (5-2) and Zack Cozart had a go-head double for Cincinnati, who clinched home-field advantage in the NL division series.

The Pirates extended their major North American professional sports record.

Pittsburgh was 16 games over .500 on Aug. 6, but has lost 18 of 23 to fall to 77-82. Sean Marshall (5-5) got two outs for the win.

Dodgers 7, Rockies 1 In Los Angeles, Josh Beckett earned his first victory in his last five starts and the Los Angeles Dodgers backed him with three homers, beating Colorado for their fifth straight win to stay in contention for an NL wild-card spot.

Matt Kemp, Luis Cruz and A.J. Ellis each hit

ST. LOUIS: Cardinals’ Carlos Beltran hits his second home run of a baseball game during the fourth against the Washington Nationals.—AP two-run homers as the Dodgers remained two games behind St. Louis for the second wild card.

The Dodgers have their first five-game winning streak in more than two months. Beckett (2-3) allowed one run and six hits in six innings, struck out five and walked three for his first victory since Sept. 1 against Arizona.

Jorge De La Rosa (0-2) gave up four runs and five hits in four innings.

Phillies 4, Marlins 1 In Miami, Cole Hamels struck out eight and allowed one run over seven innings to finish his season with a flourish, and the Phillies beat the Marlins.

Hamels (17-6) allowed five hits and walked only one in his final start of the year for the Phillies (80-79), who need one win in the final three-game series at Washington starting Monday to finish at least .500 for the 10th straight season.

Jose Reyes had a pair of hits and Carlos Lee drove in a run for Miami, which lost for the 21st time in its last 29 games. Marlins starter Nathan Eovaldi (4-13) gave up three runs - all in the first - and struck out seven in six innings.

Astros 7, Brewers 0 In Milwaukee, Jordan Lyles pitched his first major league shutout and hit his first home run as Houston eliminated the Brewers from wild-card playoff contention.

The Brewers, who reached the NL championship series last year, had surged since midAugust to get back into the postseason race.

But the last-place Astros won two of three at Miller Park to finish off Milwaukee. The 21year-old Lyles (5-12) threw a four-hitter in his

first complete game in 40 big league starts.

Mike Fiers (9-10) struck out 10 in six innings, but also gave up Houston’s four home runs.

He had gone 1-3 with a 6.97 ERA over his previous five starts and ran into more trouble.

Giants 7, Padres 5 In San Diego, pinch-hitter Xavier Nady homered off Huston Street to tie the game with one out in the ninth and Hunter Spence hit a go-ahead, two-run shot as the Giants rallied to beat San Diego.

Tim Lincecum might no longer be a lock for the No. 3 spot in NL West champion Giants playoff rotation - he gave up a season-high three homers. Manager Bruce Bochy instead might consider lefty Barry Zito (14-8), who was left off the roster for all three postseason rounds during the team’s improbable 2010 run to the World Series championship. San Francisco has won Zito’s last 10 outings.

With the Giants trailing 5-4, Nady drove a 1-0 pitch from Street (2-1) into the sandy play area beyond the fence in right-center. Shane Loux (1-0) pitched one inning for the win.

Cubs 7, D’backs 2 In Phoenix, Anthony Rizzo had three hits, David DeJesus homered and the Chicago Cubs ended a seven-game losing streak, beating the Diamondbacks.

The Cubs had lost 18 in a row against NL West opponents. The win allowed them to avoid a 100th loss this season, with three games remaining.

Chris Rusin (2-3) allowed one earned run and three hits in five innings. Brian LaHair’s two-run single capped a four-run sixth inning against Bryan Shaw (1-6) and two other Arizona relievers.-AP

Fans vote to decide on ‘Brazuca’ as FIFA World Cup official match ball Brazilian fans make FIFA WCup history KUWAIT: Today Brazilian football fans have written their own chapter in FIFA World Cup(tm) history by picking Brazuca as the name of the official match ball for the 2014 tournament.

Adidas, the World Cup Official Match Ball supplier since 1970, took inspiration from elements of national culture to come up with a shortlist of three possible names for the ball. The three chosen names were Brazuca, Bossa Nova, and Carnavalesca and for the past three weeks

Brazilian football fans have been voting for their favourite in their thousands - the first time fans have been directly involved the naming of the FIFA World Cup(tm) ball.

The FIFA World Cup(tm) Official Match Ball is always a symbol for the tournament with examples like Azteca at Mexico 1986, Fevernova at Japan 2002, and the iconic Tango at Argentina 1978. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup(tm) the official match ball will be called Adidas Brazuca - an

informal term used by Brazilians to describe national pride in the Brazilian way of life. As with their approach to football, it is always full of emotion, pride and goodwill to all.

In conjunction with the FIFA SecretaryGeneral Jerume Valcke, and the Brazilian host broadcaster Globo, the Official Match Ball name was unveiled to the country by former FIFA World Cup(tm) winner and football legend Cafu on the Esporte Espetacular program after a massive activation of more than 1 million votes, 70% of voters put their support behind Brazuca. The naming of the ball marks the first step for Adidas on the road to Brazil 2014 and excitement around the tournament is already building with cities already competing in the passion stakes. In the country wide vote Brazuca came out on top with 70% of the total votes coming from locals.

As suppliers of the Official Match ball to all FIFA World Cup(tm) matches since 1970 adidas have continually set new standards of innovation with iconic designs and cutting edge technology and the Brazuca ball will continue that heritage. The ball is currently being developed and testing of it is taking place across the world with several football clubs and federations. The player feedback process has been particularly focused on playing in Brazil with testing taking place across the diverse environments and climates that exist throughout the country and this will continue in 2012 and 2013. Further information on the testing and development of the ball will be delivered when the Brazuca is launched and the design is unveiled at the 2014 FIFA World Cup (tm).

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

sp orts

Sharapova backs plan to muzzle grunters

BEIJING: Russian Maria Sharapova serves to Simona Halep of Romania during their first round match at the China Open tennis tournament. —AP

Kvitova crashes to second Asian upset BEIJING: World number five Petra Kvitova suffered her second early exit in just over a week yesterday as she crashed out of the China Open’s round two at the hands of Carla Suarez Navarro.

Last year’s Wimbledon champion lost 6-3, 6-2 to the Spanish player ranked 46th in the world, after also being humiliated in straight sets by Croatia’s Petra Martic at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

The fourth seed from the Czech Republic had received a first-round bye in Japan before losing to Martic, then 73rd in the standings.

And her poor form in Asia continued in Beijing, largely due to erratic serving. Kvitova, who has yet to confirm her spot at the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul featuring the year’s top eight players, hit five double faults in the match, while her opponent who did not make any.

Elsewhere, world number one Victoria Azarenka progressed to the second round with ease, thrashing Alize Cornet of France 61, 6-0, while second-ranked Maria Sharapova came through 7-5, 7-5 against Romania’s Simona Halep.

“I put myself in a good position in both of those sets being up a break, and I let her back in the match a couple of times,” Sharapova said.

“That’s certainly not the best thing, I’m not exactly proud of it, but the good thing was I was able to regain my focus and win that match. I’m happy to be through.”

Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, who won her first title in more than a year in Seoul last month, maintained her recent good form with a 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2 victory over Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa.

In the men’s event, last year’s losing finalist Marin Cilic suffered a shock first-round defeat to wild card Marius Copil, ranked more than 200 places below him in the world.

The fourth-seeded Croat took the first set by six games to three and looked to be coasting, but the Romanian world number 221 fought back with a number of big serves to take the second on a tie break, 7-6 (7/0) and the third 6-4.

“I wasn’t serving consistently well. When I had the break-up in all three sets I would lose my serve,” Cilic said. The world number 15 lost to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the 2011 final and was hoping to go one better this year.

“I’m very disappointed as I always feel here may be the best of the year, and the conditions would suit my game almost perfectly,” Cilic added.—AFP

Berdych eases past Paire TOKYO: Former champion Tomas Berdych eased his way into the second round of the Japan Open with a 6-1 7-6 victory over France’s Benoit Paire yesterday. US Open champion Andy Murray opens the defence of his Tokyo title against Frenchman Gael Monfils today.

Second seed Berdych almost inflicted the dreaded ‘bagel’ on Paire in the first set until the Frenchman finally held serve in the sixth game but the Czech was pushed in the second.

Berdych, who beat Juan Martin del Potro to win the 2008 Tokyo title, took the second set on a tiebreak 8-6 to close out the match in blazing sunshine.

“I was actually surprised at how the first set went,” Berdych told reporters. “He made me work harder in the second set.

“I’m taking anything for granted,” added Berdych, who defeated Roger Federer in his run to last month’s US Open semifinals. “I hope if I can continue to play like

this it will qualify me for London.” The Czech is currently seventh in race to make the elite eight-man World Tour Finals having qualified for the seasonending shootout the past two years.

“I’m going match-by-match,” said world number six Berdych, seeking his second title of the year this week after winning in Montpellier in February.

“I have nice memories here. I like coming back to Tokyo. It was one of the biggest tournaments I won in the past. It gives me positive thinking.”

Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka was given a fright by Japanese wildcard Hiroki Moriya before the seventh seed came through 7-5 4-6 6-4. Lukas Lacko of Slovakia thrashed Spain’s Alberto Ramos 6-0 6-2 to set up a clash with either Murray or Monfils. Serbia’s Viktor Troicki was a man in a hurry, firing 12 aces in a 62 6-3 win over Dutchman Robin Haase 62, 6-3 that took just 64 minutes.—Reuters

Audi one-two victory in the heat of Bahrain BAHRAIN: One-two success in the desert of Sakhir: Marcel Fassler/Andre Lotterer/Benoit Treluyer in the Audi R18 etron quattro won the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Bahrain. The trio won the race staged in hot weather conditions in their Audi R18 e-tron quattro ahead of the sister car. For Audi, this marked as many as five victories from six events.

It was the toughest 6-hour race of the year so far. At the beginning of the race, air temperatures were at 34 degrees with a track temperature of 45. The five drivers, the two hybrid race cars and Audi Sport Team Joest were exposed to extreme strains and showed flawless performances.

The race that was started at 16:00 local time was predominantly held in the dark. In the end, Marcel Fassler/Andre Lotterer/Benoit Treluyer enjoyed an advantage of one lap. The three Le Mans winners had started from position two and celebrated their third victory of the season after Le Mans and Silverstone.

The second Audi R18 e-tron quattro had every chance of clinching victory as well.

Allan McNish defended the lead in the early phase after having started from the pole position. Soon, a battle with Toyota ensued.

The Japanese team led the race until stopping for a repair and ultimately retired after a collision.

Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish were not spared from minor setbacks either. On lap 25, a defective headlight forced the number “2” Audi to make its first unscheduled stop. In a subsequent duel, the valve of the left rear tire was damaged. This required another unscheduled stop on lap 89.

Finally, the recurrence of lighting problems made it necessary to change the hood two more times on laps 115 and 117. Audi’s hybrid technology on the other hand proved extremely viable in the rough ambient conditions on taking its third victory.

For the first time since Le Mans, Audi fielded two R18 e-tron quattro cars in order to afford its two driver squads optimal equality of opportunity in the battle for the title.

Whereas the gap between the two teams was only 7.5 points before the race in Bahrain it has now increased to 13.5.

However, in the two remaining races in Japan and China, 52 points will still be awarded, so the battle for the title in the drivers’ championship remains open. Only two weeks from now, the WEC will make its Japan debut with the seventh round of the season at Fuji on October 14.

TOKYO: Plans to muzzle the ear-bashing grunters of women’s tennis have found an unlikely ally in Maria Sharapova. One of the worst offenders, Sharapova’s screams have been measured at more than 101 decibels — comparable to a chain saw, a pneumatic drill or a speeding train.

The sport’s governing body is to educate players to turn down the volume after pressure from fans, TV broadcasters and a handful of competitors fed up with the constant shrieking on court - and Sharapova thinks it is the right answer.

The WTA plans to muzzle the next generation with the aid of umpires armed with hand-held devices to measure noise levels on court.

Education at major tennis academies and with juniors and players at lower-tier tournaments has already begun.

“Bottom line is the right answer has been taken by the tour,” Sharapova told Reuters, safe in the knowledge she will not be told to shush.

“I started grunting since whenever I can remember,” she added at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. “I see videos of myself and I’ve grunted for that long. Nobody told me to do it in Russia or in Florida. It’s just a natural habit.”

Grunting made headlines again this year after Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Sharapova screeched their way to the first two grand slam titles of 2012.

“The information going towards coaches and academies that are developing talent from a young age is teaching them a certain breathing technique,” said Sharapova.

“Because when you start something from a young age and continue it, it’s a habit - whether you do grunt or don’t grunt.

“The WTA created a plan. That’s the smart way to go about it, rather than like taking someone’s forehand and grip in the middle of their career and telling them to change it.”

However, nine-times Wimbledon singles champion Martina Navratilova calls grunting “cheating, pure and simple” and wants rule changes sooner rather than later.

Tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, who has trained many of the game’s super-grunters, including Sharapova, has been accused of teaching it as a ploy to distract opponents.

Monica Seles, Larcher de Brito, the Williams sisters and Andre Agassi have all passed through Bollettieri’s academy in Florida.

Bollettieri denies the accusation but Caroline Wozniacki’s complaints about grunting last year prompted the WTA to approach his academy to discuss ways of preventing the next generation from developing the habit.

Fans in Tokyo last week were divided on the

Maria Sharapova subject of grunting, made famous by Monica Seles in the 1990s. “I like it when Sharapova screams,” said 27-year-old dental assistant Saeko Hasebe. “It’s part of the fun. They shouldn’t ban it.” Businessman Makoto Taniguchi disagreed.

“It’s too noisy,” the 38-year-old said after an Azarenka ear-bashing. “I’ve only been here for two hours and I’ve got a splitting headache.”

Pan Pacific Open winner Nadia Petrova rejected claims grunting was a deliberate tactic and

predicted it would take a long time for the WTA to change the rules.

“It can be enforced, but it’s something very difficult to do,” said the Russian. “The players have been doing it since they were little and (had) been taught to do this. “It’s difficult to change after so many years. There are a few players obviously who are a little bit overboard with their grunting.

“I think the main reason is some coaches say the larger you grunt the more air you let out of your lungs to actually execute the stroke harder so you can hit harder. “I guess that’s why. That’s the only explanation I have. I don’t think they even realise how loud they get.”

Studies back up Petrova’s theory that the squealers are not faking, claiming that yelling can give people an energy boost or increase adrenalin.

This year’s London Olympics were a festival of grunting, with fencers screaming, stomping and whipping off their masks to prance and preen after a successful point.

Yet controversy rages over women’s tennis.

“Maybe (the WTA need to) work out why it’s happening,” former US Open champion Samantha Stosur said. “Almost everyone grunts. Is it exertion or is it something else?” Critics are accused of sexism, given grunting is hardly restricted to the women.

Eight-times grand slam winner Jimmy Connors grunted furiously in the 1970s and 80s, while Ivan Lendl once complained that Agassi’s grunting put him off.

“Maybe it’s just not as high-pitched so you kind of don’t worry about it,” said Stosur.British number two Heather Watson claimed not to have noticed Sharapova’s cacophony during a threehour marathon with the Russian last week.

“I think I’m just too used to it,” said Watson, who also trains at the Bollettieri academy and works with Sharapova’s former coach Mauricio Hadad. “I know some players don’t like it. But most girls grunt so I really don’t take much notice.”—Reuters

Kenyan cycling develops with Asian photographer’s focus SINGAPORE: Fascinated by the notion of turning the world’s most gifted long distance runners into kings of the saddle, Nicolas Leong packed up his life in Singapore and moved to Kenya’s Rift Valley. It mattered little to him that he knew nothing about the world of professional cycling, and barely more about the East African nation he was moving to.

The dream tantalised him relentlessly until finally he stepped on a plane. Now, six years on, the former commercial photographer says the structure is in place for a generation of champions to flourish.

“It was just an idea that wouldn’t go away,” Leong told Reuters as he reflected on a step some would call foolhardy and others courageous.

“All these Kenyans were winning marathons all over the world (and) I thought it would be really good if you gave them a bike, that was essentially the idea,” he added, on a rare trip back to his homeland. “They have more dominance in the marathon than anybody has dominated any other sport.

The Brazilians are not as dominant in football as the Kenyans are running the marathon,” he smiled.

Leong was, and remains, convinced the country synonymous with world class runners will produce the first

black team to compete in the Tour de France. With a long history of producing elite distance runners with stamina the envy of the world, Leong felt Kenya could spawn cyclists with the skills to suit the gruelling demands of that sport.

Initially, he wrote to many of the cycling sponsors and teams in the Tour de France, the toughest bike race of them all, with his idea but was mostly ignored before deciding to just do it himself and prove them wrong. Leong was working in his homeland as a photographer in 2006 when he watched Amos Matui win the Singapore marathon for the second consecutive year. Ignoring the rejection letters, Leong confidently went up to Matui and explained his idea before telling the Kenyan he would follow him home that evening to start work on his dream.

Any background in cycling? “None,” Leong smirked. A link to Kenya?

“None,” he added in between laughs.

“But there was a bit of a plan,” Leong attempted to stress.

The strategy involved finding a cyclist in Iten - the tiny village which is the centre for the production line of Kenyan runners - and demonstrate what raw talent there was in the country to would-be sponsors. “I thought

give this guy a bike and he will train and ride up this mountain L’Alpe d’Huez, which is really famous and ridden in the Tour de France,” Leong said.

“Lance Armstrong did 37 minutes up this mountain and I thought if we could get a relatively untrained Kenyan to train for a couple of months and you took him there what time would he do, so the guy did 42 minutes. “Because of that we got somebody interested and investing, an Angel investor, who is now my partner and so we started this company.” The company is called ‘Kenyan Riders’ and now has 26 people on the payroll with one Irish and two Australian coaches supporting 14 cyclists entering events around the world. They compete in amateur international races and finished a credible second in the taxing 70-team Haute Route in the French mountains this year where Leong said the look of his team of riders attracted as much attention as their abilities.

“Everywhere we turned up we were the only black people on bicycles, people who have been watching cycling for 10, 15, 20, 50 years they have never seen a black guy on a bicycle especially on the road. “We turn up and people are very curious about us first of all, we look so different, for obvious reasons, but we also have such different stories

John Dyson, Kim il Hwan, Engr Al-Ghurba and Sheikh Salman during the meetings.

to tell.” The Kenyan National Olympic Committee are aware of Leong’s project but the Singaporean is diplomatic when discussing their involvement.

“Yeah, well, they are not part of our lives, no. They are terribly interested, they are just not going to do anything.”

Without the financial support of the NOC or Kenyan Cycling, Leong has ploughed his life savings into the project and was in Singapore looking for further investment to help achieve his dream of seeing the team compete in the Tour de France.

“It probably has cost me all my savings. I want to see this to it’s end, to it’s logical conclusion which is to get the first black African team on the world stage. “We are starting a grassroots cycling programme to get people to start at the age of 14, 15, that is going to be our generation of champions.

This is sort of the first run of people, so we put the work into them, trying to refine our coaching methods, trying to set benchmarks, the thing the runners have already. “It costs probably $500,000 a year to run the whole thing, to feed them, to give them salaries, to pay for the coaches, everything,” Leong said. “I don’t think it is a large amount of money considering what we want to do in 10 years for example.”—Reuters

Obaid Al-Osaimi

ASC planning and technical forum ends

By Abdellatif Sharaa KUWAIT: The Asian Shooting Confederation planning and technical forum that was held in Kuwait concluded yesterday, as participants discussed the changes to the international shooting sport federation rules to take effect at the start of next year. Comments and recommendations of interest to the ASC were made to be sent to the ISSF for consideration.

Commenting on the meetings, chairman of the technical committee Kim il Hwan, Korea, said the meetings took place in a comfortable and cooperative atmosphere for the sake of the sport of shooting in our continent. Hwan thanked Kuwait Shooting Sport Federation for their cooperation and preparations for the meetings and led to their successful conclusion. He also thanked workers at the Asian confederation for their efforts.

International expert Aado Maranik said all points related to the changes were discussed in detail, and most of them were understood and accepted, while some needed clarifications or slight changes, and they will be dis-

cussed again during the next meeting after communications with the ISSF in this regard.

Maranik said the efforts of KSSC under the chairmanship of Sheikh Salman Sabah AlSalem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, director general of ASC Engr Mohammad Al-Ghurba, secretary general of Kuwait and Arab shooting federations Obaid Al-Osaimi and club member, were instrumental in having the meetings going smoothly.

The attendees of the meeting were Aado Maranik from Australia and John Dayson from Britain as experts, chairman of the ASC Technical and Judges Committee Kil il Hwan from Korea, chairman of shotgun committee Bhattakarka Bunnag from Thailand, and members Ahmed Haghighat from Iran and Sushil Chowdhary from India, Chairman of Rifle Committee Chung Ming Ramsey and members Santi Athaphaisal from Bangladesh, and members of the Pistol Committee Razi Khan from Bangladesh and Lim Check Kwang Eddi from Singapore. Vanchigdorj Otgondemberel from Mongolia, Ghassan Shaaban from Jordan, Anthony Charles Sunarjo from Indonesia and

Zahid Noori from Iraq from the planning and development committee also attended the meetings.

Meanwhile, secretary general of the Arab and Kuwait Shooting Sport Federation said Kuwait shooting sport club completed its preparations for the launch of the new season with the tournament of HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. He said requirements, ranges and officials are now ready and on target.

He said a large number of shooters are expected to participate from the club as well as shooters from the national guard, military and police.

Al-Osaimi said KSSC, as usual, starts its local season with one of the most important tournaments, adding that HH the Crown Prince gave this noble sports all types of support and encouragement, and he thanked him on behalf of the shooting community for this care.

Al-Osaimi said this tournament will be in all Olympic shooting, skeet, trap, double trap, pistol and rifle, in addition to the Olympic archery for both men and women.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

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Aguero: Referees in EPL treat foreign players differently LONDON: Manchester City’s Argentine striker Sergio Aguero has accused English referees of bias against foreign players in Premier League matches.

Aguero, who scored his first goal of the season to equalise against Fulham in City’s 2-1 victory over the London side on Saturday, said home referees treated foreign players differently and were more likely to ignore them on penalty appeals.

He also said foreign players were more likely to be punished for penalties that should not be given against them. His compatriots Pablo Zabaleta and Carlos Tevez both had penalty appeals turned down at Craven Cottage and asked by reporters after the match if foreign players had it tougher than English players, he said: “Yes, always. It happens everywhere.

“Here in England, there are almost as many foreign players as English players and it’s not right that some have a privilege that others don’t.

“There is a little bit of privilege with players who come from that country, but that is normal. “We just play our game, and the referee’s job is to know who is tricking him and who is not.”

Saturday’s goal was the first for Aguero since his injury-time winner against Queens Park Rangers in the final match of last season clinched the title for Roberto Mancini’s men.

And Aguero’s views on Saturday’s events, echoed those of Mancini, who was unhappy Fulham were awarded a penalty in the 10th minute when Zabaleta was harshly adjudged to have tripped Fulham’s John Arne Riise.

Mladen Petric converted the resulting penalty to put Fulham ahead before Aguero struck back for the champions and Edin Dzeko scored the winner three minutes from time.

Mancini claimed the penalty decision by referee

Mark Halsey was the latest bad one given against them this season.

“The penalty was not a penalty, I don’t know why it was given,” Mancini said. “We have been unlucky for three or four weeks when we have deserved to win.”

Other incidents involving overseas players caused concern on Saturday.

Chelsea’s Brazilian defender David Luiz was booked for diving during his side’s 2-1 win at Arsenal, but the Gunners’ English defender Carl Jenkinson, who committed an even more blatant dive than Luiz, escaped a booking.

Former Premier League referee Graham Poll, writing in his column in the Daily Mail, also highlighted the problems now facing Uruguayan Luis Suarez, who scored a hat-trick in Liverpool’s 5-2 win at Norwich.

Suarez has a reputation for diving after being booked twice for “simulation” last season and once

this campaign, but Poll believes he was now paying the price for that and was not being properly protected by referees.

“After all the mischief (he) has created on the football pitch, it is difficult to see him in the role of victim,” Poll wrote.

“But that’s exactly what has happened. Since his arrival in the Premier League, the Uruguay striker has earned a reputation for diving which is now resulting in him - and his club - being deprived of spot kicks.

“Suarez was brought down by Norwich’s Leon Barnett as he bore down on goal. It was one of the easiest decisions of the season and yet (the referee) waived appeals away.

“The fact it was Suarez again can only leave the impression that it is his reputation as a player who goes down too easily that is affecting referee’s decision making.” — Reuters

Europe retain Ryder Cup

PALLEKELE: New Zealand’s captain Ross Taylor (right) plays a shot during Super Over of the ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup Super Eight match against West Indies. — AP

West Indies oust NZ in dramatic Super Over PALLEKELE: West Indies knocked New Zealand out of the World Twenty20 in a dramatic Super Over yesterday after their group one match finished in a tie.

Both teams were locked at 139 after 40 overs at Pallekele stadium, sending the match to the tense Super Over decider. New Zealand scored a challenging 17 off their six balls with Ross Taylor hitting a six off Marlon Samuels. But West Indies reached the target with a ball to spare as Samuels smashed the winning six off Tim Southee to keep his team in contention for a semi-final place.

West Indies, who have two wins in three matches, now wait for the result of Sri Lanka’s game against England later yesterday, which will decide which two teams from the group progress to the semi-finals.

“Samuels is my go-to man in pressure situations, he’s suffering from a bad shoulder so that’s why he doesn’t bowl more,” said West Indies captain Darren Sammy of the all-rounder. “It was a great fight-back and I am very happy at that.” A disappointed Taylor rued New Zealand’s missed opportunity-but admitted that the West Indies’ Super Over was “pretty awesome”.

“We probably should have won it in normal time.

Credit to West Indies, to score 18 of five balls is pretty awesome. When the first ball is a no-ball that goes for six it ruins the over,” said Taylor.

“That’s cricket and we’re going home now.” The breathless finish came after Southee (3-21) and Doug Bracewell (3-31) restricted the West Indian innings to 139 in 19.3 overs, before Taylor’s unbeaten 62 kept New Zealand in with a chance for an upset win.

With New Zealand needing 14 off the last over, Taylor hit a six off the fourth delivery bowled by Samuels but managed just a single on the penultimate ball to leave his team two short of victory.

Doug Bracewell hit the final delivery but was run out while taking a second run, as the West Indian players celebrated jubilantly. Sunil Narine took 3-20 off his four overs to keep New Zealand in check. Taylor hit three sixes and as many fours off 40 balls.

Earlier, Southee and Bracewell rocked the West Indian batting after Darren Sammy won the toss and batted. Chris Gayle top-scored with a fluent 30 while Kieron Pollard (28) and Samuels (24) also chipped in with useful contributions, but none of the batsmen could capitalise on their good starts.

Bracewell provided New Zealand with a double breakthrough by dismissing Johnson Charles (eight) and Andre Russell (six) in his first two overs, leaving the West Indies in a difficult situation. Southee, who came as first change, removed Gayle in the seventh over to deepen the West Indies’ plight. Gayle hit three boundaries and two sixes off just 14 deliveries.Off-spinner Nathan McCullum finished with 2-19, dismissing Samuels and Darren Bravo (16) as the West Indies lost three wickets in the space of just 15 runs. — AFP

SCOREBOARD PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Scoreboard of the World Twenty20 group one match between New Zealand and the West Indies at Pallekele stadium yesterday.

West Indies J. Charles c and b Bracewell 8 C. Gayle c B. McCullum b Southee 30 A. Russell c Franklin b Bracewell 6 M. Samuels c Southee b N. McCullum 24 D. Bravo b N. McCullum 16 K. Pollard c Taylor b Bracewell 28 D. Ramdin c Taylor b Hira 1 D. Sammy c Franklin b Southee 11 S. Narine b Southee 3 S. Badree b Oram 1 R. Rampaul not out 1 Extras: (lb2, nb2, w6) 10 Total: (all out, 19.3 overs) 139 Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Charles), 2-36 (Russell), 3-61 (Gayle), 4-87 (Samuels), 5-98 (Bravo), 6-102 (Ramdin), 7-123 (Sammy), 8-133 (Pollard), 9-136 (Narine).

Bowling: Mills 2-0-25-0 (nb1), Bracewell 4-0-31-3, Southee 4-0-21-3 (w2), Oram 1.3-0-17-1 (nb1, w1), Hira 4-0-24-1 (w3), N. McCullum 4-0-19-2 New Zealand R. Nicol lbw b Rampaul 3 M. Guptill c Samuels b Sammy 21 B. McCullum b Badree 22 R. Taylor not out 62 J. Franklin c Gayle b Narine 14 J. Oram lbw b Narine 6 N. McCullum c Charles b Narine 5 D. Bracewell run out 1 Extras: (lb2, nb1, w2) 5 Total: (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 139 Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Nicol), 2-41 (B. McCullum), 352 (Guptill), 4-85 (Franklin), 5-115 (Oram), 6-125 (N. McCullum), 139-7 (Bracewell).

Bowling: Rampaul 4-0-23-1, Badree 4-0-18-1, Narine 4-0-20-3 (nb1), Sammy 4-0-35-1 (w1), Pollard 2-0-13-0, Gayle 1-0-15-0, Samuels 1-0-13-0 (w1) Super Over: New Zealand 17-0; West Indies 19-0 Result: West Indies win in Super Over after a tie.

Lippi under pressure as Guangzhou faces exit GUANGZHOU: Days after Guangzhou Evergrande surrendered its lead atop the Chinese Super League, World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi is be under intense pressure to mastermind a comeback from a 42 first-leg deficit against Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Asian Champions League. A season that promised so much for the Chinese champion is in serious danger of ending with nothing if the continental club championship bid fades in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. A surprise defeat in the domestic league to lowly Qingdao Jonoon last Friday night resulted in the long-term leaders slipping to second place with four games remaining behind Jiangsu Sainty.

Elimination from the continental competition would be a disaster for Lippi. No Chinese team has won the Asian title since 1989 and Guangzhou has outlaid plenty of money recruiting talent in an attempt to end that barren run. The club hired Lippi, who took Italy to the 2006 World Cup and Juventus to the UEFA Champions League a decade earlier, in May. “This (quarterfinal series) will be decided over 180 minutes and hopefully when we play at home all of

our players will be back,” Lippi said after the first-leg loss at Jeddah two weeks ago when his team had twice taken the lead only to concede two second-half goals to Saudi Arabia international striker Naif Hazazi.

Guangzhou welcomes back key defender Zhang Linpeng and midfielder Zhao Zuri, although Brazilian striker and Chinese Super League top scorer Muriqui could miss the game through injury.

Unlike the Chinese team, Al Ittihad rested last weekend. The Saudi Arabian club eliminated Chinese opposition in its march to the 2004 and 2005 titles and has set its sights on a third regional crown.

“To be champions of Asia, it’s the dream of any player in any team and when you get to be champion it’s the way to go to the FIFA Club World Cup,” Hazazi said. “It’s a famous competition and we want to play there against the top players in the world.” The three other quarterfinals are more delicately poised.

Adelaide United was held to a 2-2 draw at home by Bunyodkor but is not daunted by the return leg in Uzbekistan, and not just because this is the fourth meeting between the two teams this year. The teams also met in the group stage.—AP

MEDINAH: Inspired by the spirit of Seve Ballesteros, Europe pulled off one of the greatest comebacks on a golf course to beat the United States and win the Ryder Cup by 14-1/2 points to 13-1/2 on Sunday.

Needing to claim eight points in the concluding singles to retain the trophy, Europe won six of the first eight encounters before Germany’s Martin Kaymer secured the vital point to retain the Cup by beating Steve Stricker one up. After Stricker had coolly holed his par putt from eight feet at the last, Kaymer buried his five-footer for a matching par before thrusting his arms skywards in delight as European fans erupted with deafening cheers at Medinah Country Club.

“It’s undescribable,” the German said as chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole” echoed across the course. “I was so nervous the last two, three holes. I loved it. It’s amazing.” With the chance of a tie resting on the final match, Tiger Woods astonishingly missed a three-foot par putt at the 18th, then conceded a putt from similar length to halve his contest with Italy’s Francesco Molinari to hand Europe outright victory.

“It was already over,” Woods said. “This is a team event and the Cup was already been retained by Europe.” Europe, who sent out their best players early, emulated the miracle comeback achieved by the US at Brookline in 1999 when they also overhauled a deficit of 10-6 on the final day, in front of vocal home crowds, to triumph by the same margin.

However Europe’s astonishing turnaround, which stunned the flag-waving American fans into periods of silence in the late afternoon, will be viewed as more impressive having been delivered on foreign soil.

“We believed in our hearts we could win this,” said Englishman Luke Donald, who earned Europe’s first point of the day in the opening match with a 2&1 win over Masters champion Bubba Watson. “It’s been done before and we believed we could turn it around.”

The Europeans drew inspiration on Sunday from their beloved Ballesteros, who died last year aged 54 after a battle with cancer, with every player wearing the navy blue colours favoured by the Spaniard in the final rounds of tournaments.

“Seve will always be present with this team,” said a teary-eyed Olazabal, for whom his compatriot Ballesteros was both a friend and mentor.

“He was a big factor for this event, for the European side. “Last night when we were having that (team) meeting, I think the boys understood that believing was the most important thing, and I think they did. This one is for the whole of Europe.”

Europe won four and halved one of the six matches that reached the 18th hole as they tri-

umphed for a fourth time on US soil. They have now won the Ryder Cup seven times in the last nine editions.

US captain Davis Love III, whose team had been in a dominant position overnight when leading 10-6, was stunned by the defeat.

“We know what it feels like now from the ‘99 Ryder Cup. It’s a little bit shocking. We were playing so well, everyone on our team was playing so well,” he said. “I wouldn’t have done anything different. They played great. We had a couple of matches get flipped there at the end that made it a little bit easier on them.”

Donald set the tone for Europe’s remarkable final day, fending off a late fightback by Watson

MEDINAH: European team captain Jose Maria Olazabal kisses the trophy after winning the Ryder Cup PGA golf tournament. — AP before ending their match on the 17th green.

Scot Paul Lawrie, competing in the Cup for the first time since 1999, crushed Brandt Snedeker 5&3 before Northern Irish world number one Rory McIlroy beat Keegan Bradley 2&1.

McIlroy played what he described as his best golf of the week after giving his team an early scare when making his teeoff by barely 10 minutes due to a mix-up over his starting time.

Firebrand Englishman Ian Poulter never led in his match until he won the par-three 17th with a par before beating US Open champion Webb Simpson two up after conjuring a miracu-

Malinga’s Sri Lanka send champs England crashing PALLEKELE: Slinging bowler Lasith Malinga took a career-best five wickets as Sri Lanka beat England by 19 runs to reach the World Twenty20 semi-finals and send the defending champions crashing out yesterday.

Malinga took 5-31 as England, chasing a daunting 170-run target, were restricted to 1509 in the Super Eights match at Pallekele stadium before a packed and rowdy crowd of 30,000.

The victory meant Sri Lanka and the West Indies reach the semi-finals after the hosts won all their three matches in the Super Eights. West Indies earlier enjoyed a dramatic Super Over win against New Zealand. “The guys played really well. Lasith is unbelievable, both with the new ball and with the old ball,” said Sri Lanka’s captain Kumar Sangakkara.

“It would be fantastic if we can win it (the title) but the focus is to keep our feet on the ground,” said Sangakkara. England batsman Samit Patel fought a lonely battle with a careerhigh 67 but Malinga and spinner Akila Dananjaya (2-26) ensured Sri Lanka did not lose control after scoring 169-6 when they were sent to bat first.

England’s chase did not get the desired start as they were rocked by Malinga in the third over when they lost Luke Wright (12), caught off the third ball, Jonny Bairstow (two) off the fifth and Alex Hales off the sixth for three. It needed a fourth-wicket stand of 55 between Patel and Eoin Morgan (10) to repair the early damage but England then lost Morgan and Ravi Bopara in the space of three runs. Malinga then returned for his second over to dismiss Jos Buttler, caught in the deep for one, while captain Stuart Broad gave a simple catch off Dananjaya for one to leave England in disarray. Patel and Graeme Swann (34) then added a brisk 51 for the eighth wicket to raise hopes of an unlikely win. But Malinga bowled Patel in the penultimate over to improve on his previous best figures of 3-12 against New Zealand in 2010.

“We’ve learnt a huge amount from this, we need to keep wickets in hand at the top. We fell short at the top of the order and in the death bowling too. Samit also today showed what he could do,” said Broad. In Sri Lanka’s innings Mahela Jayawardene top-scored with 42 off 38

lous birdie from trees at the last.

Poulter, whose storming finish of five successive birdies earned a valuable point in Saturday’s fourballs to give Europe momentum heading into the final day, ended the week with a perfect 4-0-0 record. The first US point on Sunday came when long-hitting Dustin Johnson beat Belgian Cup rookie Nicolas Colsaerts 3&2 but England’s Justin Rose then came from one down to Phil Mickelson after 16 holes to win one up with a birdie-birdie finish.

Rose drained a 35-footer at the tricky parthree 17th to square the match, then coolly sank a 12-footer at the 18th after Mickelson had overhit the green with his approach.

balls, while Angelo Mathews hit 28 and Thisara Perera made 26 not out with two sixes. Sri Lanka raced to 35-0 before Swann pegged the hosts back with a double strike, dismissing Jayawardene caught at deep mid-wicket off a lofted shot, and off the next ball had Kumar Sangakkara caught behind for 13.

Mathews and Jeevan Mendis (18) added a quick-fire 52 for the fourth wicket. Broad finished with 3-32 while Swann took 2-26.

Pakistan play Australia and India meet South Africa in Colombo today to decide the two semifinalists from group two. The final is in Colombo on Sunday. — AFP

PALLEKELE: Sri Lanka’s bowler Lasith Malinga celebrates after taking the wicket of England’s batsman Jos Buttler (not seen) during the ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup Super Eight match. — AP

“When it looked like I might be able to stop some of momentum on the board, they (Europe) were able to get another point,” said Mickelson. “That match, as early as it was, was a very pivotal one.”

Though Zach Johnson and Cup rookie Jason Dufner added further points for the U.S. after never trailing in their matches against Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell (2&1) and Swede Peter Hanson (two up), the late momentum went Europe’s way. “All went to plan. We were four ahead,” Love said. “The plan worked the first two days, it just didn’t work today.”— Reuters

SCOREBOARD PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Scoreboard of the World Twenty20 Super Eights group one match between England and Sri Lanka at Pallekele stadium yesterday.

Sri Lanka M. Jayawardene c Morgan b Swann 42 16 T. Dilshan lbw b Finn K. Sangakkara c Bairstow b Swann 13 A. Mathews b Broad 28 J. Mendis c Bopara b Broad 18 L. Thirimanne b Broad 13 T. Perera not out 26 N. Kulasekara not out 1 Extras: (b4, lb2, w6) 12 Total: (for six wickets, 20 overs) 169 Fall of wickets: 1-35 (Dilshan), 2-74 (Jayawardene), 3-74 (Sangakkara), 4-126 (J. Mendis), 5-126 (Mathews), 6-161 (Thirimanne).

Bowling: Finn 4-0-24-1 (w1), Dernbach 40-42-0 (w2), Broad 4-0-32-3 (w1), Swann 4-0-26-2, Bopara 2-0-12-0 (w2), Patel 2-027-0 (w1) England L. Wright c Dilshan b Malinga 12 3 A. Hales lbw b Malinga J. Bairstow c Kulasekara b Malinga 2 S. Patel b Malinga 67 E. Morgan lbw b Dananjaya 10 R. Bopara b J. Mendis 1 J. Butler c A. Mendis b Malinga 8 S. Broad c Jayawardene b Dananjaya 1 G. Swann b Kulasekara 34 S. Finn not out 1 J. Dernbach not out 2 Extras: (b1, lb4, nb1, w3) 9 Total: (for nine wickets, 20 overs) 150 Fall of wickets: 1-16 ( Wright), 2-18 (Bairstow), 3-18 (Hales), 4-73 (Morgan), 576 (Bopara), 6-91 (Butler), 7-93 (Broad), 8144 (Patel), 9-147 (Swann).

Bowling: Mathews 3-0-21-0, Kulasekara 40-22-1, Malinga 4-0-31-5, Mendis 4-0-40-0 (w1), Dananjaya 4-0-26-2, J. Mendis 1-0-51 Result: Sri Lanka win by 19 runs

19

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

sp orts

Preview

Man United set to unleash Rooney, Van Persie on Cluj

TURIN: Juventus’ players celebrate during a Serie A soccer match in this file photo.

Juve out to halt Shakhtar TURIN: Two of Europe’s most dominant domestic teams come face-to-face today when Juventus, unbeaten in their last 45 Serie A matches, host Shakhtar Donetsk, who have won their last 25 games in all competitions.

Both teams are the defending champions and current leaders of their respective leagues. Juventus’ 4-1 win over AS Roma on Saturday has left them top of Serie A with 16 points from their opening six games and they have not lost a league game since going down to Parma on May 15, 2011, in the penultimate round of the 2010/11 season.

Shakhtar, who won the Ukrainian league and cup double last season, have won their first 10 matches of the current season, plus the Ukraine Supercup match, the first round of this season’s cup and their opening Champions League match.

They won their last nine league games of the previous season and their run of wins includes the Cup quarter-final, semi-final and final. The last time they failed to win was in a 1-1 draw with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on March 4.

Shakhtar ’s squad includes nine Brazilians, the result of a transfer policy instigated by coach Mircea Lucescu when he took over in 2004.

It has paid dividends domestically, with Shakhtar winning six Ukrainian league titles plus the cup on four occasions and the UEFA Cup in 2009 under the leadership of the Romanian, who also had stints with Italian clubs Pisa, Brescia, Reggiana and Inter Milan in the 1990s. However, like other ambitious teams from Eastern Europe, they have

made little impact in the Champions League, their best effort being a place in the quarter-finals two seasons ago. It will be the first European game to be a staged at Juventus’ new stadium.

Instead of the vast, windswept and half-empty Stadio delle Alpi, Juve’s old venue, Shakhtar will step out into the tightly-packed Juventus Stadium which bears more resemblance to an English or German arena than the traditional Italian model.

Juventus are the only Serie A club to own their stadium, which is expected to give them a huge financial advantage over other Italian clubs in the next few years. Juventus are back in the Champions League after a two-year absence and should do better than their last home game when they were thrashed 4-1 by Bayern Munich at the Stadio Olimpico, which was being used as a temporary venue.

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and midfielder Claudio Marchisio are likely to be the only survivors from that match in their starting line-up.

Juventus now have a wealth of attacking options, so much so that Denmark forward Nicklas Bendtner, on loan from Arsenal, has played only one game this season.

“We’ve got an excellent pool of strikers at our disposal and we’re happy with their performances,” goalkeeper coach Claudio Filippi, standing in for suspended coach Antonio Conte, told reporters.

“The coach will rotate them based on what he sees during the week , everyone will have the opportunity to play.” —Reuters

Bayern wary of overconfidence MINSK: Shortly after Bayern Munich equaled its club record of starting a season with nine straight wins in all competitions, sporting director Matthias Sammer criticized the team for a lack of effort in the 2-0 victory at Werder Bremen.

“It wasn’t good enough until we scored the opening goal, we have to be clear about that,” Sammer said. “It’s not always about judging the result.”

Despite the critique, the Bundesliga club can beat that 1984-85 record on Tuesday against BATE Borisov in the Champions League.

Bayern left for Minsk - where BATE Borisov plays its European games - without the injured Arjen Robben, who is still laboring with muscle problems.

BATE surprised many by beating Lille 3-1 in the opening round. It was the sixtime Belarusian champion’s first Champions League group stage win in 13 attempts.

Both Lille and Valencia, which lost at Bayern 2-1, will be looking for their first points when they meet in Group F’s other match. Sammer’s criticism is being taken as timely check on rising euphoria following Bayern’s blistering start to the season.

“What Matthias said pleased me very much,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said before boarding the flight to Minsk. “We shouldn’t make the mistake of being lulled into complacency. And Matthias is one who recognizes this danger.” Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said Sammer and coach Jupp Heynckes spoke with the players “and we all know that we can do better.”

Bayern’s unrelenting drive is fueled by the trauma of finishing second in three

competitions last season, losing out to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and German Cup final, but above all by the pain of that Champions League final loss to Chelsea on penalties in Bayern’s stadium last May. “There’s a huge motivation to win the (Champions League) title,” Toni Kroos told Kicker magazine on Monday.

“Chelsea is dealt with, crossed off. You’ll never forget it because there’ll never be a better chance to win this title.”

Kroos has been Bayern’s outstanding player of the season so far as the midfielder finally starts living up to the promise which prompted the German powerhouse to sign him as a 16-year-old youngster in 2006. “I simply tried to take things from last season, which was already very good, and to improve myself in certain areas,” Kroos said. “I was fit going into the season and so you can expect such performances from me, as I expect them from myself.”

Bayern has never played a team from Belarus before and Kroos said he was expecting an “uncomfortable game.” “ There are hardly any games for Bayern where you say beforehand you’d be happy with a draw,” Kroos said. “We’re favorites and we want to win there. But I also don’t know the team that well. Their 3-1 win in Lille was a declaration.”

Mario Mandzukic will be expected to lead the line in attack in the absence of Germany striker Mario Gomez, who has yet to play this season after undergoing surgery on his left ankle on Aug. 7.

Gomez scored 12 Champions League goals last season, plus another in qualifying, but has been barely missed as Mandzukic has chipped in nine goals in Bayern’s nine games so far. — AP

MINSK: Bayern Munich’s players run during a training session on the eve of their team’s Champions League soccer match against Bate Borisov. —AP

LONDON: Six weeks into the season, it may finally be time for Manchester United to unleash the mouth-watering strike partnership of Wayne Rooney and offseason signing Robin van Persie for the first time.

With Rooney fit after a month out with a gashed leg, United manager Alex Ferguson has the luxury of partnering his top two strikers for Wednesday ’s Champions League match at Cluj.

“Probably the strongest part of the club will be in the striker department,” said Ferguson, who also has England international Danny Welbeck and Mexico forward Javier Hernandez as options up front.

“It ( Van Persie’s arrival from Arsenal) should give everyone a push.”

Not only might the Romanian outsiders have to deal with two of the world’s best strikers in tandem, they also have to face the wrath of a team desperate to make amends from a sloppy 3-2 loss to Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday.

That 3-2 defeat showed that while United may have one of the most devastating strikeforces in Europe, its defense is suspect with captain and defensive lynchpin Nemanja Vidic out for two months with a knee injury. “ We have to be positive,” United defender Patrice Evra said. “I hope it was just an accident (against Tottenham) and we can get back the winning mentality in the Champions League.” Galatasaray hosts Braga in Group H’s other match, two teams who lost their opening matches.

United beat Galatasaray 1-0

at Old Trafford despite the Turkish team nearly springing an upset after going close on a number of occasions and having good penalty appeals turned down.

Braga slumped to a 2-0 loss at home to Cluj, which had a shock win over Roma in the Champions League in 2008, giving the team confidence it can reproduce those exploits against United.

With United far from convincing this season, it could happen.

Losing Vidic for a lengthy spell has hit Ferguson hard - with England defenders Chris Smalling and Phil Jones also sidelined with injury, the United manager has just two fit central defenders in Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans. Both of those players have only just returned from injury and Evans was seen limping off the field after the Tottenham game.

And with Ferguson still unsure of his best goalkeeper out of Anders Lindegaard and David de Gea, there is uncertainty throughout the English side’s defense.

“The amazing thing about being at United is there’s no difference between, say, playing Crawley at home in the FA Cup or Liverpool away in the league,” said Lindegaard, insisting United will not underestimate Cluj. “We take the same approach every time and that is to work in the professional manner that has made the club into what it is today. “We played in Romania last season (beating Otelul Galati) and we hope for a similar result there on Tuesday. We have to go out there and win again.”

Midfielders Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs

were all missing from the 21man squad that flew to Romania yesterday, while right winger Antonio Valencia still hasn’t recovered from an ankle injury. “ The next two Champions League games are big ones for us,” said Rooney, who was part of a United squad that failed to reach the knockout stage last

season. “We are looking to get maximum points. “ The Champions League is completely different to the Premier League.

If you are not at your best, you get punished, which is what happened to us last season. We have to make sure that won’t happen again this year.” —AP

LONDON: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (centre) trains as teammate Rio Ferdinand looks on at Carrington training ground. Manchester United will play CFR Cluj-Napoca of Romania in a Champion’s League Group H soccer match. —AP

Chelsea cannot afford a slipup LONDON: Chelsea coach Roberto Di Matteo will have to address his side’s shortcomings on the road in Europe today with the Londoners unable to afford a slipup against Nordsjaelland, a team new to rubbing shoulders with the continent’s elite.

The Londoners will be expected to win against the Champions League newcomers in Copenhagen after throwing away a two-goal lead to draw their opening Group E game at home to Juventus.

Chelsea have never lost to a Danish team and have won on all three visits made to Denmark, but they have won only one of their last seven away games in the competition.

Chelsea became Champions League winners for the first time last season despite not winning an away game in the group stage — drawing at Valencia and Genk and losing at Bayer Leverkusen.

They also lost the away leg at Napoli in the last 16 before winning on the road in Lisbon against Benfica in the quarter-finals.

Sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League and full of confidence after a London derby win over Arsenal on Saturday, Chelsea appear to be benefitting from a settled and happy Fernando Torres.

The Spanish striker, whose career in

England with Liverpool and Chelsea has mixed highs with lows, said he was brimming with confidence.

“I am enjoying it more this season with the kind of players I have in the middle behind me,” he told Chelsea’s website.

“It is giving me a lot of support and I hope to improve, trying to create more chances for the team. I don’t shoot on goal too much but even with this I am scoring goals so the team is going to improve - not just me, everyone.

“I had a very difficult beginning at Chelsea but that is in the past now, and I am enjoying the present with a great group of players and we are building a big team.”

Torres is the only Chelsea player to start every game in all competitions this season but Di Matteo could rest a number of players.

Captain John Terry, praised by Di Matteo for his contribution and leadership qualities against Arsenal two days after he was handed a suspended four-match ban for using racially abusive language, could step aside with Gary Cahill partnering David Luiz in the centre of defence.

Spanish right back Cesar Azpilicueta, who impressed on his debut in the League Cup demolition of Wolverhampton Wanderers in midweek, may also be handed a first European

start with Branislav Ivanovic rested.

Nordsjaelland come into the game on the back of a 3-0 victory over Esbjerg on Friday and currently sit in third place in Denmark’s Superligaen, six points behind FC Copenhagen. “It’s an important victory. It means a lot for the self-confidence, to once again get the feeling of winning,” said Nordsjaelland coach Kasper Hjulmand.

“We’ve had a few too many draws and it’s unsatisfying to have the feeling of having played well, but not winning.”

Normally a slick passing side, the Danes are not naive enough to believe they can play with the same freedom in Europe and against Shakhtar Donetsk they employed more defensive tactics. They will hope that defenders Jores Okore and Patrick Mtigila, both capped

by Denmark, can help stem the Chelsea tide.

Despite a likely more cautious approach, they still have plenty of flair in their side.

The sublime Kasper Lorentzon may lack pace but is more than capable of unlocking any defence, and Andreas Laudrup — son of Swansea City manager Michael and nephew of former Chelsea winger Brian - was considered one of the most promising prospects during his spell at the Real Madrid youth academy. —Reuters

Benfica’s new midfield faces Barca examination LISBON: Benfica will rely on little-known duo Nemanja Matic and Enzo Perez, who have played only a handful of games since signing in 2011, to lead the Portuguese league leaders against the vast talents of Barcelona in the Champions League today.

Lanky Serb Matic, brought in to the holding role and Argentine Perez, a winger who has adapted to centre midfield, have been elevated to the first team since the departure of top midfielders Javi Garcia and Axel Witsel over the summer.

Benfica fans despaired when Garcia signed for Manchester City and Witsel for Zenit St Petersburg, crying out against the club’s transfer policy and questioning the depth and balance of the squad, said to be too flooded with attackers and lacking enough defenders and midfielders.

But since Benfica took the Portuguese Premier League lead and grabbed a goaless draw at Celtic Park in the Champions League first round, the pessimism has faded and a good result against Barcelona would go a long way to win back the fans.

Benfica coach Jorge Jesus will face his sternest test so far in the Group G clash, though buoyed by how Sevilla twice exposed the Spanish team’s makeshift defence in Saturday ’s La Liga thriller, he believes Barcelona are there for the taking.

“In the Champions there are always surprises. Last year we drew against Manchester United twice.

We got through and they did not: this is football. There are no invincible teams and, in a good day for us or a bad day for them, we can win,” said Jesus.

“Barcelona are not only the favourites in the group, but also to win the Champions. In theory, Celtic, Benfica and Spartak can conquer the other (qualifying) spot.”

With Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique out injured, Barca coach Tito Vilanova deployed new signing Alex Song at centre back alongside fellow converted midfielder Javier Mascherano and they were each at fault as Sevilla opened a shock 2-0 lead at the Sanchez Pizjuan.

Barcelona went on to win 3-2 deep into extra time but it was the second time they have had to come from behind in La Liga this season and they went 2-1 down to Spartak Moscow in their Champions League opener two weeks ago before Lionel Messi scored twice to rescue his side.

New signing Lima will spearhead the attack and threaten Barcelona with his explosive runs and fierce shots, the Brazilian taking over from Paraguay’s Oscar Cardozo, who is out having suffered a knock.

Vilanova was unperturbed by the latest scare for his supremely talented side. “It would be better not to suffer but it’s important to have the capacity for sacrifice and to want to keep competing,” said Vilanova, in his first season in charge after taking over from Pep Guardiola at the end of last term.

“A team that fights back to turn games around shows it has the desire to keep winning,” he added, as Barca extended their perfect start to the La Liga season with a sixth straight win.

There was good news for Vilanova on Sunday when Puyol, midfielder Andres Iniesta and fullback Adriano were given the all-clear

by medical staff and included in the squad for the trip to Portugal.

Promising Spain under-21 playmaker Thiago Alcantara was left out after damaging ligaments in his left knee in the Sevilla game.—-Reuters

Matches on TV (Local Timings) UEFA Champions League Spartak v Celtic Aljazeera Sport +8

19:00

Valencia v Lille Aljazeera Sport +2

21:45

Juventus v Shakhtar Aljazeera Sport +5

21:45

Galatasaray v Braga Aljazeera Sport +6

21:45

Nordsjaelland v Chelsea 21:45 Aljazeera Sport +9 BATE v Bayern Muncih Aljazeera Sport +7

21:45

Cluj v Man United Aljazeera Sport +1

21:45

Benfica v Barcelona Aljazeera Sport +4

21:45

West Indies oust NZ in dramatic Super Over

18

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

Juve out to halt Shakhtar

19

Man United set to unleash Rooney, Van Persie on Cluj Page 19

ATLANTA: Falcons defensive back Robert McClain (27) upends Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) during the second half of an NFL football game. —AP

Falcons rally to defeat Panthers ATLANTA: Matt Bryant kicked a 40-yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining as the Atlanta Falcons rallied to beat the Carolina Panthers 30-28 on Sunday.

The Falcons have won all four of their matches this season and are off to their best start since 2004, when they reached the NFC championship game. Despite taking a career-high seven sacks, Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes for Atlanta. Bryant added three field goals.

The Panthers, with one win in four matches, nearly clinched it on Cam Newton’s run with just over a minute remaining, but he fumbled the ball while trying to dive for the necessary yardage. Carolina recovered and wound up punting, downing the ball at the Atlanta 1. But Ryan immediately got the Falcons out of the hole, throwing a 59-yard pass to Roddy White.

Four plays later, Bryant won it.

Texans 38, Titans 14 In Houston, Danieal Manning and Kareem Jackson returned interceptions for touchdowns and Matt Schaub threw two TD passes. Arian Foster had a touchdown run for the Texans (4-0), who are off to the best start in club history.

Titans quarterback Jake Locker left in the first quar-

ter and did not return after hurting his left, non-throwing shoulder on a hit by Glover Quin.

Matt Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes in relief of Locker for the Titans (1-3). Chris Johnson carried 25 times for 141 yards, more than tripling his rushing total through the first three games.

Cardinals 24, Dolphins 21 In Glendale, Jay Feely kicked a 46-yard field goal 6:31 into overtime to keep Arizona unbeaten. The Cardinals (4-0) forced overtime when Kevin Kolb threw a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to Andre Roberts with 22 seconds to play in regulation.

Two big defensive plays set up the final two Arizona scores. First, Daryl Washington sacked rookie Ryan Tannehill, whose fumble was recovered by Vonnie Holliday at the Arizona 49 and the Cardinals moved downfield to score. The winning field goal came after Tannehill was hit by Paris Lenon as he threw and Kerry Rhodes came up with an interception. Tannehill threw for 431 yards. Brian Hartline set a Dolphins record with 253 yards receiving on 12 catches.

49ers 34, Jets 0 In East Rutherford, Carlos Rogers returned a fum-

ble 51 yards for a touchdown, and San Francisco ran for more than 200 yards.

Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter and backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick - on a wildcat-style option - all ran for scores as the 49ers (3-1) bounced back from a loss at Minnesota. Rather than head back to the West Coast, coach Jim Harbaugh chose to have his team stay in eastern Ohio - and it apparently helped. The Jets (2-2) lost top wide receiver Santonio Holmes to what appeared to be a serious foot injury. It was the first time New York was shut out since losing 9-0 to Green Bay in 2010, and the Jets’ biggest shutout home loss since falling 37-0 to Buffalo in 1989.

Broncos 37, Raiders 6 In Denver, Peyton Manning finished with 338 yards and three touchdown passes. Manning opened the game by leading the Broncos on an 80-yard touchdown drive - their first opening-quarter touchdown of the season - and Denver never trailed. The Broncos (2-2) beat the Raiders (1-3) at home for the first time since 2007.

Willis McGahee ran for 112 yards for his 32ndcareer 100-yard game. The Broncos held Darren McFadden to 34 yards on 13 carries and Carson

Palmer, who led Oakland to a comeback win last week over Pittsburgh, never got on track. He finished 19 for 34 for 202 yards.

Eagles 19, Giants 17 In Philadelphia, Lawrence Tynes missed two fieldgoal tries from 54 yards with 15 seconds left and Philadelphia held on to beat the New York Giants.

Tynes missed wide left, but the Eagles had called a timeout to ice him. He was short on his second attempt. With LeSean McCoy leading the way on the ground, Michael Vick guided the Eagles (3-1) to another comeback. Alex Henery kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:49 left and the Eagles overcame two pass-interference penalties on New York’s final drive. The defending Super Bowl champion Giants (2-2) have struggled against Philadelphia, losing eight of the last nine meetings. McCoy had 121 of his 123 yards rushing in the second half.

Vikings 20, Lions 13 In Detroit, Percy Harvin returned the opening kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown and Marcus Sherels scored on a punt return early in the third for Minnesota.

Minnesota (3-1), in first place in the NFC North, matched the number of wins it had last season. The Vikings also snapped an 11-game losing streak in the division. The Lions (1-3) have lost three straight. They are the first team since at least 1940 to give up a kickoff and a punt return for TDs in consecutive games, according to STATS LLC. They gave up scores on a kickoff and punt in last week’s 44-41 loss in overtime at Tennessee.

Rams 19, Seahawks In St. Louis, rookie Greg Zuerlein kicked four field goals, including a 58-yarder and a club record 60-yarder, and the Rams also used a fake field goal to score their only TD of the game.

The Rams 2-2) went ahead 10-7 late in the first half when a fake field goal attempt turned into a 2-yard touchdown pass from punter Johnny Hekker to Danny Amendola.

The Seahawks (2-2) lost six days after beating Green Bay when a botched call by replacement officials on the final play gave them the winning touchdown. Regular officials were back this weekend. Marshawn Lynch led Seattle with 118 yards on 20 carries, including an 18-yard score on the game’s first possession.

The Rams intercepted Russell Wilson three times, with Bradley Fletcher clinching it with a pick at the Rams 25 with a minute to go.

Patriots 52, Bills 28 At Orchard Park, Tom Brady led New England on six consecutive second-half touchdown drives. Brady finished 22 of 36 for 340 yards and three scores, and also scored on a 4yard run in helping the Patriots (2-2) avoid their first three-game losing streak in 10 years.

Stevan Ridley scored two touchdowns rushing.

New England scored 35 straight points and finished with 580 total yards in overcoming a 21-7 third-quarter deficit. The Patriots forced six turnovers, including four interceptions of Ryan Fitzpatrick passes, and three sacks. Fitzpatrick finished 22 of 39 for 350 yards and four touchdowns, including two to tight end Scott Chandler. The Bills (2-2) dropped to 1-17 in their last 18 games against New England.

Chargers 37, Chiefs 20 In Kansas City, Philip Rivers threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and San Diego capitalized on six turnovers. Five of the Chiefs’ turnovers came in the first half, when San Diego (3-1) raced to a 27-6 lead. Matt Cassel threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas City (1-3), but he also had three first-half interceptions. Jamaal Charles, who followed his big game last week at New Orleans with touchdowns rushing and receiving, fumbled twice.

Packers 28, Saints 27 In Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers threw a goahead touchdown to Jordy Nelson in the fourth quarter, and Green Bay shook off a week’s worth of controversy with a rally. With Packers fans howling about what appeared to be yet another bad call - this time by the regular officials, not the replacements - Garrett Hartley missed a 48-yard field goal attempt with just under three minutes remaining, costing the Saints a shot at the lead. Rodgers threw for 319 yards with four touchdowns and an interception for the Packers (2-2). —AP

IDB eyes investment in Kazakh, Central Asia

Business

Page 22 Europe says ‘ready to act’ if Spain demands bailout Page 23

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

Redraw EADS-BAE tie-up terms, says shareholder

Greek 2013 budget sees sixth year of recession Page 25

Page 24

KUWAIT: A general view of the Arab central bankers’ conference being held in Kuwait yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat. (See Pages 22, 24).

UAE CB to discuss exposure rules Libya ‘pushing forward with Islamic finance plans’ KUWAIT: The United Arab Emirates central bank will discuss with commercial banks their compliance with a deadline for them to limit their exposure to state-linked debt, central bank officials said yesterday.

Under new rules, announced in early April with a Sept 30 deadline, any bank’s lending to the governments of the seven-member UAE federation and related entities is capped at 100 percent of its capital base, while lending to a single borrower is curbed at 25 percent. Previously, there was no limit.

But many of the largest UAE banks are believed to have been well over the new limits when the deadline passed on Sunday. Asked by reporters about this yesterday, UAE Central Bank governor Sultan Nasser Al-Suweidi said: “This is a matter that we continuously discuss with banks.

“And of course not all banks will be able to comply with the new regulation at the same time,” Suweidi said on the sidelines of an Arab central bankers’ conference in Kuwait.

Asked whether UAE banks could easily shrink their portfolios of loans to the state at a time when European banks were hit by the euro-zone debt crisis and unable to buy

them, Suweidi said: “There’s always going to be a system for dealing with everything.” He did not elaborate.

Earlier, Saif Hadef Al-Shamsi, assistant governor for monetary policy and financial stability at the UAE central bank, told reporters when asked about the deadline: “There is no extension. It stands as it is.” But he added that the central bank would deal on an individual, case-by-case basis with commercial banks on the issue of the deadline.

The new rules aim to prevent any repeat of Dubai’s corporate debt crisis, which erupted in 2009 as the real estate market crashed. The crisis was worsened by local banks’ excessive exposure to government-related entities (GREs).

But an April research note by Deutsche Bank estimated the exposures of Emirates NBD and National Bank of Abu Dhabi were at 192 and 199 percent of capital respectively; Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank stood at 108 percent. Since April, a large amount of loan assets has not been offered for sale on the secondary market, bankers say. Since it could be damaging to the banks and the economy if they tried to sell off their loans to GREs quickly, many commer-

Abu Dhabi property merger talks lift UAE MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Shares in Abu Dhabi’s two largest property companies surged yesterday ahead of their planned merger, lifting the UAE capital’s bourse to a seven-month high, while other Gulf markets also gained.

Sorouh Real Estate jumped 5.1 percent to 1.26 dirhams ($0.34) and Aldar Properties climbed 4.8 percent to 1.34 dirhams.

On Sunday, a senior Sorouh executive said a merger agreement announcement with Aldar was expected “within a month.”

“For Aldar, breaking the 1.30 level gives it a target of 1.47 dirhams,” said Nabil AlRantisi, managing director at MENA Corp.

“Sorouh’s next target is 1.38 dirhams.”

Aldar’s shares have technical support at 1.2 dirhams, while Sorouh is supported at 1.17 dirhams, he added. Abu Dhabi’s benchmark rose 1.1 percent to its highest close since March 4.

Dubai property stocks also surged as positive sentiment flowed over from the neighboring bourse.

Emaar Properties climbed 3.5 percent, builder Arabtec gained 4.8 percent and Union Properties added 5.4 percent.

Dubai’s index rose 1.9 percent in its biggest one-day gain since July 30.

UAE banks were mixed after a central bank official said lenders will not be given an extension of the Sept. 30 deadline for them to limit their exposure to state-linked debt. “Banks would’ve been slightly negative today because of lending limits but until there’s clarity on whether refinancing risk can be spread around, there won’t be much impact,” said Amer Khan, fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management. “If there are stressed GREs (government-related

entities) and they can’t get refinancing, we’ll see pressure on banking stocks.”

National Bank of Abu Dhabi gained 3.3 percent and First Gulf Bank added 0.1 percent, while Dubai’s Emirates NBD slipped 1 percent. In Saudi Arabia, the index gained for a second day since Saturday’s onemonth low as bargain hunters targeted banking and cement stocks.

Samba Financial Group advanced 1.4 percent and Riyad Bank added 0.9 percent, while regional heavyweight Al Rajhi Bank climbed 0.7 percent. “Sentiment is still strong on locally-driven sectors,” said Hesham Tuffaha, Bakheet Investment Group’s head of asset management. “Banks are doing well. There is the upcoming mortgage law to be implemented - it will take time for banks to benefit, but there will be stronger growth in 2013 compared to this year.”

Saudi Arabia in July approved a longawaited draft law allowing mortgages to be sold in the kingdom, with investors betting a large home finance market would develop, boosting construction and bank lending. The law will start to be implemented in October.

The kingdom’s index rose 0.6 percent to finish at 6,882 points, lifting from a technical support level at 6,800. The cement index gained 0.3 percent.

Elsewhere, Qatar’s measure ticked up 0.2 percent, gaining for a second session since Thursday’s two-week low, and Oman’s bourse rose 0.5 percent. Kuwait’s index eased 0.1 percent, down for a second session from Thursday’s 15-week high. — Reuters

cial bankers do not expect the rules to be applied strictly, and they do not think formal sanctions will be levied against lenders which missed the deadline.

Meanwhile, Libya hopes to start implementing its new Islamic banking law by the end of the year and expects strong demand among the public for sharia-compliant financial services, Libyan Central Bank Governor Saddek Omar Elkaber said yesterday.

The country approved an Islamic banking law in May and has been working to amend its legislation to attract foreign investment and stimulate its private sector following last year’s war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi. “The demand is so high in Libya so we set up a higher committee for Islamic finance...Now they are working to set up a road map for Islamic finance in Libya,” Elkaber told reporters on the sidelines of an Arab central bankers’ conference in Kuwait.

Asked when Libya might be able to start implementing the rules, he said: “Hopefully very soon. Hopefully this year.”

He said the authorities envisaged several options for

Islamic banking services. One would be to allow conventional banks to open branches or windows for Islamic finance; another would be permitting conventional banks to become Islamic. Libya is also looking at introducing a special license for Islamic banking, he said. The licensing option is still under discussion because authorities have yet to agree on capital requirements, he added.

Apparently for ideological reasons, Gaddafi did not support the development of Islamic banking, which follows religious principles such as bans on interest and pure monetary speculation. Libya’s banking system under his regime was dominated by a few state-owned institutions; most ordinary Libyans did not use credit cards and their banking services were largely limited to basic cash deposits and withdrawals, making it easier for Gaddafi to keep control over the economy and society.

The country’s new authorities want to develop the financial sector and the central bank has been looking to update a 2005 banking law which first allowed foreign banks into Libya. — Reuters

Iran rial crashes 17% in one day TEHRAN: Iran’s currency plummeted around 17 percent in trading yesterday, according to media and an online exchange website, severely adding to strains on the Islamic republic’s sanctions-hit economy.

The currency, the rial, weakened to 34,500 to the dollar by the end of the day’s trading, according to the Mesghal.com website, a drop of 16.6 percent compared to the previous day’s rate of 29,600.

The Mehr news agency said the rial fell 18 percent to 35,000. The rial has lost more than 80 percent of its value compared with the end of last year, when it was worth 13,000 to the dollar.

Visitors to the money-changing area in central Tehran said registered dealers were no longer selling dollars in their shops, leaving the market to informal traders in the street-a situation resulting in dollars becoming scarce and

thus much more expensive. Iran is suffering heightened geopolitical tensions over its nuclear program and the effects of draconian Western economic sanctions curbing access to its reduced oil exports. It also is burdened with high inflation and rising unemployment.

The rial’s plunge on Monday was largely censored online. Websites that usually give real-time currency data, such as Mazanex.com, had the dollar rate for the rial blanked out. The Iranianhosted version of Mesghal (mesghal.ir) disappeared half-way through the day to be replaced with the message “Account Suspended”.

The fall sent a shock through Iranian companies. “It’s a disaster,” a manager of a business in Iran’s import sector told AFP on condition of anonymity. “One business lady was really crying, she was losing millions of dollars.”

The Fars news agency said money changers

in Tehran were hoarding dollars. “We do not know what will happen in the coming days, we do not know what the government will do,” it quoted one money changer saying. The official news agency IRNA quoted a spokesman for Iran’s money changers’ association, Nosrat Ezzati, as saying the latest rates for the rial “are artificial as no real exchange is happening in the market.”

While Western sanctions curbing Iran’s ability to export oil or to make financial transactions abroad were certainly having an impact, blame for the situation was also being put on economic mismanagement. The government has in recent weeks excluded almost all importers from buying dollars at its official rate of 12,260 rials per dollar, encouraging them instead to use a new “exchange centre” where the rate was fixed daily at a small discount to the open-market rate. That has sharply increased consumer prices and spurred the rial’s fall.

“This centre has helped accelerate the soaring dollar rate,” one economics columnist, Hirad Hatami, told AFP. But he stressed “there is also the issue of speculation... this is a bubble which is rooted in the operation of the exchange centre.”

Mahmoud Bahmani, the head of Iran’s central bank, was quoted by the ISNA news agency as predicting: “The effects of the foreign exchange trading centre will gradually emerge in the free exchange prices.” Ordinary Iranians are increasingly struggling with the resulting inflation, which was officially put at 23 percent even before the latest plunge of the rial.

“Prices are rising every day and it just doesn’t stop,” said Khosro, a retiree who gave only his first name. He was forced to work as a taxi driver to boost his diminishing pension, he said.

Even locally made products were becoming more costly in Iran’s supermarkets. “The price of my toothpaste, a foreign brand, has tripled in just a few months. Now, I’m buying an Iranian one, but it has also nearly doubled in price,” said Maryam, a young shopper. — AFP

22

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

BUSINESS

IDB eyes investment in Kazakh, Central Asia $50 million renewable energy fund launched ASTANA: The Islamic Development Bank is looking to resource-rich Kazakhstan and Central Asia as a fertile ground for investment, with the launch of a $50 million renewable energy fund yesterday and plans to finance agricultural projects, an official said.

The Saudi Arabia-based multilateral bank’s private sector arm, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), said it was considering financing farming projects in Kazakhstan from its $600 million agribusiness fund.

“There are Gulf countries which have the capital but lack the agricultural resources, while there are countries in Central Asia, Africa, which have the resources but not the capital. This fund will try to bridge the gap,” ICD Chief Executive Khaled Al-Aboodi said on the sidelines of a conference.

“We are looking at Kazakhstan,” he said.

Kazakhstan’s resource-driven economy, at $185 billion the largest in Central Asia, presents opportunities for Islamic banking.

Seventy percent of its 17 million population is Muslim, and investors in Kazakhstan have been looking for alternative sources of finance since the financial crisis laid bare Kazakh banks’ exposure to bloated real estate markets and foreign borrowing.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev, a 72-yearold former steelworker who has led

Kazakhstan since Soviet times, has given his support to the development of an Islamic finance industry in the country.

Al-Aboodi said the ICD’s agribusiness fund was considering grain, meat and dairy projects in Kazakhstan, one of the world’s top 10 wheat exporters, for sharia-compliant investment.

Its Central Asia-specific renewable energy fund is lining up potential solar and wind projects, he said, adding that the fund had commitments from government and institutional investors for more than half of the $50 million it plans to raise.

Kazakhstan’s open steppe has huge potential for renewable energy, although investment to date has been minimal in a country that also holds around 3 percent of global crude oil reserves and is the world’s largest uranium miner.

“This sector (renewable energy) is not receiving enough attention. Everyone is focusing on oil and gas,” said Al-Aboodi.

Oil-rich Kazakhstan has shelved plans for a sovereign Islamic bond issue, but the issuance of a debut sukuk bond this year by the staterun Development Bank of Kazakhstan was a major breakthrough for Islamic finance in the country.

The ICD also said it had agreed with a group of international and local investors to

establish the first ijara, or Islamic leasing, company in Kazakhstan, with initial paid-up capital of around $35 million. The company is due to launch in early 2013.

One of the potential investors is Al Hilal Bank, the Abu Dhabi-based lender that became the pioneer for Islamic banking in Kazakhstan when it opened its doors in March 2010. Al Hilal is still the only Islamic bank operating in Kazakhstan so far.

“We hope to be a joint shareholder in the leasing company,” Al-Hilal Chief Executive Prasad Abraham said. “We have a portfolio in excess of $120 million. Al-Hilal has become profitable, proving that the Islamic banking model can work.” Abraham said, however, that the presence of a second or third Islamic bank would be important to the growth of shariacompliant banking in Kazakhstan.

Al-Hilal represents less than 1 percent of Kazakhstan’s total banking assets. Entry rules for new players - Islamic or conventional - are strict, with a minimum capital requirement of 10 billion tenge, or around $67 million.

Kazakh law does not permit conventional banks to run Islamic sections.

“One is a very lonely number. Contrary to what people often ask me, we wouldn’t consider another Islamic bank coming in as a challenge; we would consider it complementary,” Abraham said. — Reuters

News

KPC announces LPG prices for Oct

Barwa Bank eyeing Doha IPO: CEO DOHA/DUBAI: Barwa Bank, a Qatari lender partowned by Qatar Holding, plans an initial public offering on the Doha stock exchange and is being advised by local investment bank QInvest, Barwa’s top executive said yesterday. “We have been working with QInvest on a listing advisory relationship for quite some time,” Chief Executive Steve Troop told Reuters by phone, declining to give specific details. Barwa Bank is 37.3-percent owned by Barwa Real Estate Co while Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the Gulf state’s sovereign fund, has a 12.1 percent stake. The remaining shares are owned by several individuals and corporates, according to the bank’s 2011 results. Barwa’s float will most likely be an offering by existing shareholders rather than a fresh issue of shares, a banking source said, adding a potential listing was likely in the first half of 2013.

ADIA hires senior private equity exec DUBAI: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the cash-rich emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, has hired Colm Lanigan to head principal investments at its private equities department, it said yesterday.

Lanigan will be responsible for overseeing the fund’s acquisition of equity stakes in private companies, ADIA said in a statement, adding he will report to Hareb Al Darmaki, executive director of the fund’s private equities department.

Lanigan was most recently the managing partner of Tara Capital, a New York-based boutique private equity firm that he started in 2005. ADIA, among the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, is ramping up its private equity investments, sources familiar with the fund’s plans told Reuters last year.

Lebanon considers issuing dollar bond this month: CB KUWAIT: The Lebanese government may issue a dollar-denominated sovereign bond this month, the country’s central bank governor said yesterday.

“The government and the ministry of finance are thinking of going to the market again, maybe in October, with an issue of the Republic of Lebanon in dollars,” Riad Salameh said on the sidelines of a meeting of Arab central bankers in Kuwait. He would not comment on details of the possible bond issue, saying it was up to the government to announce it. Asked about growth prospects for the economy, which has been hit by the conflict in neighboring Syria and domestic political tensions, Salameh said: “This year, the forecast stands around 2 per-

cent, maybe a little bit more, but less than 3 percent.”

“Last year was around 3 percent”, he said, based on estimates by the central bank and the International Monetary Fund. That figure is much less than the previous government’s estimate of 5.2 percent. Lebanon’s economic growth ground to a halt in the first half of 2011 following a government collapse and affected by the early stages of the uprising in Syria.

The government previously issued dollar bonds in March, including $600 million due 2017, paying 5 percent, and the addition of $350 million to a previous issue of 2026 bonds, paying 6.375 percent. — Reuters

VIVA announces winners of brand new BMW 320i and Ford Mustang

in brief

KUWAIT: Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) announced yesterday the prices of new liquefied petroleum gas (propane and butane) for the month of October. KPC said in a press statement that propane gas will be sold at $1,025 per metric ton during October, up $55 when compared to last September’s $970.

Butane gas will be sold at $965 per metric ton during October, up $35 compared to $930 per metric ton last month, it added. Prices of propane and butane gases are affected by world oil prices’ up and down fluctuation. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Riad Salameh, governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon (right) and AlSeddiq Omar Al-Kabir, governor of the Central Bank of Libya, attend a meeting of Arab central bank governors in Kuwait yesterday. —Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

First Gulf Bank plans 5-year bond issue DUBAI: Abu Dhabi-listed First Gulf Bank plans to issue a five-year, benchmark-sized dollar-denominated bond imminently, arranging banks said yesterday. Early price talk was seen at 220 basis points over midswaps but market sources expect this to tighten at launch, although this will depend on demand for the deal. FGB’s existing 2017 maturity a $500 million Islamic bond, or sukuk, - was yielding about 2.7 percent yesterday, according to Thomson Reuters data, at a z-spread of about 207.6 basis points.

Hit campaign extended to end of 2012 KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait’s newest and most advanced mobile telecommunications service provider, celebrates the first year anniversary of its exciting and successful “Win a car every week” by drawing two cars and choosing two winners every week rather than one. The latest lucky winners were Khaled Jassem Mohammad who won the BMW 320i and Disonell Radhu who won the Ford Mustang Coupe.

VIVA extended the first year celebrations for its successful ‘Win a car every week’ until the end of the year, and invites its customers to participate in the longest on-going campaign of its kind available only to its prepaid customers. The upcoming draw will take place on the 2nd of October.

Entering the draw can be done through two options. The first option is to subscribe with 500 fils per day giving customers infinite minutes and SMS to any VIVA line. This option entitles the customer to one chance to enter the draw each week.

The second option is to subscribe to the BlackBerry KD3.9 service, which gives customers full and unlimited BlackBerry Services. This option provides customers with 7 automatic chances to enter the draw each week. In addition, customers who purchase a new prepaid line are given a single entry to the draw on the week they activate their new line and send the SMS “GO” to 535.

Customers can also subscribe to both options, increasing their chances each week to win a luxurious

car. In the case a customer does not win, the points will be accumulated and carried on to the next draw.

The upcoming draw prize will be a brand new BMW 320i Executive 2012 and a Ford Mustang Coupe 2013.

VIVA has doubled its customers’ chances to win by launching two ‘Flavors of the Week’ rather than one, granting customers yet another additional means to win a new car. The ‘Flavors of the Week’ will be two ‘special services’ to which the customers can subscribe that will offer double the usual points.

The ‘Flavors of the Week’ will last until 10 October 2012, and will give prepaid customers two chances to win a BMW 320i Executive and a Ford Mustang Coupe 2013 upon using the Surf On 500 fils to get 500MB of mobile internet for 1 day by sending “On5” to 255 or “6” to 535. The second flavor of the week comes upon using the 500 fils Local Minutes to get 60 local minutes to any number for 1 day by sending “3” to “535” or “3” to “232”.

Prepaid customers interested in the full, unlimited, local KD 3.9 BlackBerry offer, can send an SMS with the number ‘2’ to ‘535’. For the full menu of the prepaid offers, send an SMS with the word “GO”, to number ‘535’.

To find out more about VIVA’s numerous competitive promotions, products and packages visit any of the 14 VIVA branches or visit our website at www.viva.com.kw or contact its 24 hour call center at 55102102.

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 .4500000 .3590000 .2960000 .2830000 .2900000 .0040000 .0020000 .0761350 .7417630 .3870000 .0720000 .7271670 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2804500 GB Pound/KD .4539780 Euro .3612900 Swiss francs .2988120 Canadian dollars .2853730 Danish Kroner .0484560 Swedish Kroner .0425660 Australian dlr .2917660 Hong Kong dlr .0361700 Singapore dlr .2282490 Japanese yen .0036110 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0763860 Bahraini dinars .7441950 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0748070 Omani riyals .7287250 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

3.616 5.358 2.968 2.184 3.340 230.290 36.384 3.438 6.757 9.170 92.220

.2860000 .4610000 .3650000 .3070000 .2930000 .2990000 .0058500 .0035000 .0769000 .7492180 .4100000 .0780000 .7344750 .0510000 .2825500 .4573780 .3639950 .3010490 .2875100 .0488190 .0428850 .2939510 .0364410 .2299580 .0036390 .0053290 .0021800 .0029940 .0034750 .0769580 .7497680 .3996460 .0753670 .7341820 .0067950

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 75.257 77.543 733.010 749.570 76.846

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 47.550 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.211 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.317 Tunisian Dinar 180.250 Jordanian Dinar 398.140 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.893 Syrian Lier 4.923 Morocco Dirham 33.543 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 282.100 Euro 365.600 Sterling Pound 456.720 Canadian dollar 288.150 Turkish lire 157.400 Swiss Franc 302.260 US Dollar Buying 280.900 GOLD 331.000 167.000 86.000

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

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

50.300 732.370 3.100 6.970 77.990 75.280 230.650 36.400 2.686 459.200 43.800 303.500 4.200 9.450 198.263 76.870 282.300 1.350

10 Tola

GOLD 1,866.180

Sterling Pound US Dollar

732.190 2.988 6.744 77.560 75.280 230.650 36.400 2.178 457.200 302.000 4.200 9.340 76.770 281.900

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 457.200 281.900

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

SELL CASH

SELL DRAFT

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

296.000 749.820 3.740 290.600 553.700 45.900 49.900 167.800 48.170 366.900 37.060 5.440 0.032 0.161 0.242 3.730 399.560 0.191 94.260 45.100 4.330 237.100 1.826

293.500 749.820 3.438 289.100

230.700 46.284 365.400 36.910 5.355 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

SELL CASH

296.55 290.92 304.42 365.28 281.25 458.35 3.69 3.447 5.346 2.174 3.356 2.976 76.64 748.87 46.20 400.69 731.98 77.67 75.21

296.000 291.000 305.000 364.500 282.400 458.500 3.690 3.620 5.450 2.290 3.530 3.150 77.350 748.500 47.650 398.100 735.000 78.000 75.650

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 399.520 0.190 94.260 3.350 235.600

Rate for Transfer

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro

299.360 746.190 76.715 77.365 75.125 397.310 46.261 2.180 5.332 2.966 3.444 6.732 691.380 4.615 9.225 4.370 3.425 91.600

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY

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

Selling Rate

281.850 286.925 455.460 361.975

Currency

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

281.700 2.968 5.358 2.189 3.447 6.790 76.830 75.300 749.200 46.227 463.500 2.990 1.550 369.800 293.500 3.270

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

281.200 364.350 457.900 288.400 3.660 5.347 46.200 2.177 3.440 6.740 2.968 748.800 76.600 75.150

23

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

BUSINESS

Europe says ‘ready to act’ if Spain demands bailout Europe’s 4th largest economy enters end-game

FRANKFURT: Graffiti is seen on the fence around of the construction site of the new headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt yesterday.

The meeting of the ECB governing council will be held on Thursday in Slovenia. —AP

Kuwait’s real estate sales flat in August NBK ECONOMIC REPORT KUWAIT: Real estate activity in August was flat year-on-year, totaling KD 120 million. The residential sector continues to perform well, while the investment sector saw some slowdown. Overall, the real estate sector seems in good shape, considering some expected softness due to summer and Ramadan. Upcoming data should shed light on the extent of seasonality in the softer tone of the past months.

Residential sector sales totaled KD 77.8 million in August, up KD 21 million y/y on the back of a high average transaction size. This segment of the real estate market has continued to perform well, as it faces robust demand.

The investment sector saw KD 35.6 million in sales during August, its lowest in 2-years period. This was due to a low number of buildings -which make up the bulk of investment sales - being sold, while other types of smaller transactions (single apartments, plots of land, etc) saw regular sales activity. The segment should recover in the coming few months as any seasonality dissipates. 8 months into the year, the investment sector has seen average sales of about

KD 102 million a month, compared to KD 94 million for the same period in 2011.

The commercial sector recorded KD 6.7 million in sales, a relative improvement y/y, but still lower than average monthly sales so far in 2012 -which is already lower than that of 2011.

Nonetheless, this segment is more volatile than others, witnessing only a handful of transactions any given month.

August saw 3 such transactions, averaging about KD 2.2 million each.

The Savings and Credit Bank (SCB) approved 149 housing loans, totaling KD 7.2 million, a drop of 26% y/y in value.

The loans split somewhat evenly between the three broad categories (new constructions, existing homes, and additions and renovations.). This is slightly different from trend, where most loans usually go into financing new constructions.

August was expectedly a somewhat slower month for real estate sales (Ramadan, fewer working days due to Eid). Again, upcoming figures ought to improve but also shed light on the actual underlying pace of sales going into yearend.

MADRID: European powers are “ready to act” if Spain seeks a sovereign bailout, a top official said yesterday, as financial markets banked on Madrid crying out for help within days.

As signs gathered that the euro-zone’s fourth biggest economy was entering the end-game before a rescue, the European Union economics chief, Olli Rehn, said Brussels was ready to help.

“The European Commission stands ready to act in case there is a request,” Rehn told a news conference after a Madrid meeting with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Economy Minister Luis de Guindos. “There is no request from Spain,” Rehn insisted.

But “we have the necessary instruments at our disposal in case there would be a request from any member state of the euro area.” In the past week, Spain has unveiled an austerity budget for 2013 and revealed a lower-thanexpected price tag for saving its banking system, both items considered essential homework before a full bailout.

Rising expectations of a Spanish bailout will be on the minds of euro-zone finance ministers at a meeting on October 8 and again for a European Union summit October 18-19.

“The Spanish authorities are in the driving seat,” Rehn said, urging Spain to pursue efforts to repair its deficit-laden finances and enact structural reforms. “The choices will only get harder if they are postponed,” he cautioned in a joint news conference with De Guindos.

The Spanish 2013 budget, presented to parliament on Saturday, contained 39 billion euros ($50 billion) in austerity measures, but was widely seen as being overly optimistic by tipping only a 0.5-percent economic contraction.

The right-leaning Popular Party government at the same time revealed a broad range of reforms, including freeing up the market for goods and services.

But as the government took an axe to most spending, it envisaged a one-percent in increase in old-age pensions next year, meeting a key pre-election promise. “In order to restore the sustainability of the public finances, it is necessary to ensure sustainability of the pensions system,” Rehn warned. “It is a key challenge for Spain.”

Spain’s government Friday released an audit of its 14 major banking groups, half of which failed a severe stress test showing they would need some 59 billion euros in new capital.

The government has already struck a deal with its euro-zone partners for a rescue loan of up to 100 billion euros for the banks.

But Madrid says it will probably need only about 40 billion euros from the euro-zone loan

because the lenders can find much of the cash elsewhere, including by selling assets.

Analysts see bailout in days or weeks. On Saturday, the government revealed that the cost of the banking rescue will send its debt soaring to 85.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2012 and 90.5 percent next year.

That news further raised concerns that Moody’s Investors Service could downgrade Spain’s sovereign debt rating to junk bond status when it finalises a review in the next few days.

“That would make it more difficult for Spain to finance itself on the markets and, we believe, would accelerate the request for a bailout,” bro-

MADRID: Spain’s Minister of Economy and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos (right) talks with EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn (left) during a press conference in Madrid yesterday. The European Union is “ready to act” if Spain seeks a sovereign bailout, the bloc’s economics chief Olli Rehn said after Madrid talks with the government. —AFP kerage Link Securities said in a report.

If Moody’s cuts Spain’s debt to junk bond status it would be “almost impossible” for the country to delay any further a request for a sovereign bailout, the brokerage said.

“The solution, in a few days,” it concluded.

Moody’s issued a report yesterday warning that Spain may have underestimated the price of the banking bailout. The audit result was far below its own estimates for Spanish banks’ capital needs of 70-105 billion euros in a stress test,

Morocco aiming for $1bn bond: CB KUWAIT: Morocco is aiming to sell a sovereign bond worth up to $1 billion around the end of October, though the date could be pushed back slightly depending on advice from banks, the country’s central bank governor said yesterday.

Morocco said in August it planned to sell the bond this month to help finance budgeted investment plans. The Finance Ministry has said it would aim to sell between $700 million to $1 billion.

“It is likely during the month of October, between October-November,” Abdellatif Jouahri told reporters on the sidelines of an Arab central bankers’ conference in Kuwait.

“These are the problems that the advisory banks determine.

What is the best time to come out, the volume it should aim for, and what do we need to pay to obtain what we want?”

Asked whether the bond sale could be pushed back to November, Jouahri said: “I say simply that there could be a lag, because in the case of discussions with the advisory banks, evidently the test of the market, that could be pushed back a little bit but let’s say the end of October, that is what Morocco is aiming for.”

He said the bond was likely to have a “medium-term” maturity. Morocco first announced plans for the bond in August, shortly after the award of a $6.2 billion precautionary line of liquidity from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Officials have rejected any links between the newfound flexibility offered by the IMF deal and the new bond issue. It would be the first time that Morocco, a relative newcomer to the international sovereign bond market, gives serious consideration to a greenback-denominated issue.While it is not convertible, Morocco’s dirham currency is pegged to a basket of currencies in which the euro accounts for 80 percent of the total weighting and the dollar for 20 percent. The breakdown reflects Morocco’s trade exchanges. The $90-billion economy is heavily anchored to the euro-zone whose troubles hit tourism revenues, migrant transfers and foreign investment this year. —Reuters

Oil rises on growth in US manufacturing LONDON: Brent crude rose yesterday above $113 a barrel as better than expected US manufacturing data offset fresh signs of weakness in China and Japan and evidence of a new recession in the debt-saddled euro-zone.

The US manufacturing sector expanded in September, shaking off three months of weakness as new orders and employment picked up, a report showed yesterday.

Brent extended gains after the report trading 70 cents up at $113.09 at 1409 GMT, recovering from losses of over 50 cents earlier in the day. US crude futures rose over $1 to trade at $93.20.

“While cyclical activity indicators still paint the picture of a weak recovery, a turn is starting to become evident... Further interest rate cuts and looser fiscal policies will also boost confidence into year-end despite event risk around the US fiscal cliff,” said analysts from Merrill Lynch, who expect Brent to hit $120 per barrel before year-end.

Brent closed out the third quarter with its biggest threemonth gain in 1-1/2 years, buoyed by supply risks in the Middle East and efforts among global central banks to stimulate flagging economies. However, the day started on a gloomy note with manufacturing data out of China offering more evidence of a seventh straight quarter of slowing economic growth in the world’s No. 2 oil user. A survey in Japan also pointed to a worsening mood among businessmen, adding to the sour tone. —Reuters

the New York-based credit rating agency said.

“If market participants are skeptical about the stress test, negative sentiment could undercut the government’s efforts to fully restore confidence in the solvency of Spanish banks,” it said.

Spain’s task is complicated by the grim economic backdrop. The Bank of Spain said last week the recession, which has left one in four Spanish workers unemployed, deepened in the third quarter. Spain’s budget contained spending cuts that were “tough and real” despite antiausterity street protests, and independence stirrings in the powerful but debt-struck northeastern region of Catalonia, said Holger Schmieding, analyst at Germany’s Berenberg Bank.

“In our view, they are actually too tough. A fifth austerity package within 10 months is a bit much for a country that is already in recession,” the economist said in a report.

The analyst noted pressure from Germany for Spain to pick up the tab for its own banking rescue even after a joint euro-zone banking supervision regime is established. “This has made it even more likely that Spain will request support within the next two weeks,” Schmieding said. —AFP

US builders trimmed work for second month

TOKYO: A container ship arrives at a container terminal in Tokyo. Major Japanese manufacturers are increasingly gloomy over an outlook darkened by weakening growth both at home and overseas, a quarterly survey by Japan’s central bank showed yesterday. —AP

Xstrata gives cautious blessing to $33bn Glencore bid LONDON: Mining group Xstrata gave its long-awaited blessing yesterday to a revised $33 billion bid from trader Glencore, bowing to investor pressure by changing the deal to ensure it isn’t sunk by a payment plan to retain top managers.

Xstrata dropped its insistence that the overall deal be tied to a shareholders’ vote on the controversial package, which offers over 70 top executives a total of roughly 140 million pounds ($226 million) to dissuade them from quitting.

Now, through a complex structure of votes, investors will be able to express views against the retention plan without endangering the merger, bringing the deal closer to a conclusion almost eight months after it was announced. “I am glad that they have recommended the deal and also very pleased that they have unbundled the remuneration issue,” said one of Xstrata’s 40 largest institutional investors. “As much as I, personally, think that the two companies will be better off merged, it would have been hard to vote in favor of the retention packages.”

In the original all-share agreement, backed by Xstrata’s board in February, shareholders had to support both the retention plan, then worth more than 170 million pounds, and the Glencore offer itself - or neither.

Xstrata argued its executives would be responsible for achieving the bulk of future profit. The board members later said changes to Glencore’s bid last month which put the trader’s own chief executive at the helm instead of Xstrata’s veteran boss Mick Davis - made the plan even more necessary to stop its top executives leaving.

But after months of public and private grumbling from institutional shareholders such as BlackRock, Legal & General and Schroders, Xstrata has agreed to split the issues.

For some shareholders, this is still not enough - Threadneedle Investments, the 25th largest shareholder in Xstrata, said even Glencore’s revised, higher deal was giving away the miner “on the cheap” and it remained “firmly opposed”. Threadneedle holds 0.4 percent of Xstrata stock, but in a complex deal that could still be blocked by shareholders accounting for just 16.5 percent of shares, every vote counts.

“No one should be in any doubt that this is effectively seen as a takeover, which will ultimately see a significant change in culture, leadership, quality and risk profile for Xstrata shareholders,” Iain Richards, head of governance and responsible investment at Threadneedle, said in a letter to Xstrata’s board. —Reuters

WASHINGTON: US builders trimmed their activity for a second straight month in August as a solid gain in home construction failed to offset declines in nonresidential activity and government projects.

Overall construction spending dipped 0.7 percent in August, compared to July, the Commerce Department reported yesterday. In July, spending had fallen 0.4 percent. The August decline left spending at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $837.1 billion, which is 12.2 percent above a 12-year low hit in February 2011.

Still, construction activity is roughly half of what economists consider to be healthy.

One bright spot in the August report was a 0.9 percent increase in private residential construction, another sign that housing is recovering following a prolonged slump.

In August, both single-family and apartment construction was up. The August gain in private residential construction pushed this sector up to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $273.5 billion, 17.8 percent above a year ago.

Private nonresidential activity fell 1.7 percent in August, dropping to an annual rate of $288.7 billion. That was still 7.2 percent higher than a year ago. In August, spending on office buildings, commercial projects such as shopping centers and hotels all fell.Public construction activity dropped 0.8 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $274.9 billion, down 3.5 percent from a year ago. In August, state and local activity fell 0.9 percent compared to July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of

$249.7 billion. Spending on federal projects edged up 0.3 percent in August to $25.2 billion. The rebound in housing is evident in a pickup in construction and the fact that home prices have started to post consistent increases. Construction of single-family homes rose last month to the fastest annual rate in more than two years. Sales of newly built and previously occupied homes are up compared to last year, helped by the lowest mortgage rates on record.

While the housing market has strengthened this year, the broader economy has languished.

High unemployment and weak wage growth have kept consumers from spending more freely. Manufacturing has stumbled, and businesses are investing less.

The Federal Reserve is hoping to drive mortgage rates lower to make home buying more affordable, and therefore help the economy grow. Earlier this month, it said it would spend $40 billion a month to buy mortgage-backed securities until the job market shows substantial improvement. The broader economy is likely to benefit from a stronger housing market.

When home prices rise, people typically feel wealthier and spend more. Consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity.

Though new homes represent less than 20 percent of the housing sales market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to the National Association of Home Builders.—AP

Indian manufacturing steady in Sept: HSBC NEW DELHI: India’s manufacturing growth held steady in September from the previous month, pointing to the sector stabilizing after expansion slowed recently, a private business index suggested yesterday.

The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which gives a snapshot of manufacturing health from output to jobs, stood at 52.8 last month, unchanged from August, which was the slowest expansion in nine months.

A reading of over 50 suggests growth in the sector while below 50 points to contraction. “India’s manufacturing sector has been stabilizing,” said HSBC chief economist Leif Eskesen.

“Economic activity in the manufacturing

sector held steady (in September), supported by faster output growth and rising export orders” but those modest improvements were offset by a small drop in employment, Eskesen said. The survey’s findings-based on data from over 500 manufacturers-come as the Congress government embarks on a sudden wave of liberalization reforms to revive economic growth stuck at around three-year lows of 5.5 percent.

The pick-up in export orders in September and the recently announced reform measures offer some hope for the future, Eskesen said.

Another factor that could buoy the sector is the religious holiday season highlighted next month by Diwali, the Festival of Lights, which is considered an auspicious time to make bigticket purchases. —AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

BUSINESS

Sudan dollar reserves fallen to 4-5 months of imports KUWAIT: Sudan’s central bank only has enough dollar reserves left to fund four to five months of imports but it expects the situation to improve after reaching an oil agreement with South Sudan, its central bank governor said yesterday.

Last week, Sudan signed an agreement with landlocked South Sudan to resume exporting southern oil through the north, providing both economies with badly needed dollars. Sudan lost three quarters of its oil production when the South became independent in July 2011, depriving it of its main source of state revenues and the dollars it needs to fund imports.

The deal will take up to six months to take effect as the oil companies need to prepare pipelines and wells before crude flows can resume. Juba in January shut off the roughly 350,000 barrels-a-day of output it transfers to Sudan following a row with Khartoum over transit fees.

“It’s very difficult now, it is around four to five months of imports,” Sudan’s central bank Governor al-Kheir Zubeir told Reuters when asked about foreign currency reserves. “Four months is low but we hope that after this agreement (with South Sudan), the reserves will increase drastically,” he said on the sidelines of a conference in Kuwait.

He declined to specify dollar reserve levels but said the central bank wanted to be able to fund imports for six to seven months.

Zubeir said the central bank had increased minimum reserve levels for commercial banks to mop up liquidity and contain inflation, which hit 42.1 percent in August. “We have already increased reserve requirements on banks from 13 to 15 to 18 percent to con-

tain pressures on inflation and the exchange rate as well,” he said.

Asked if the central bank was considering increasing the reserve requirement further, he said: “We are monitoring. It depends on developments.” As well as containing inflation, another motive for raising minimum reserves was for the central bank to attract much-needed deposits, especially from the few foreign banks operating in the Arab-African country, banking sources say.

Zubeir declined to say whether inflation would ease this year but said strong summer rains boosting agricultural production would help Sudan to rely less on the imports that are draining its dollar reserves. Sudan’s inflation is mainly driven by imports because it needs to buy many basic items such as sugar or wheat abroad.

“Of course our target for the three-year program is to reduce inflation to single-digit inflation by the year 2014,” Zubeir said. He said he expected the Sudanese pound to regain some ground after the oil deal. The pound has edged up on the black market since the signing on Thursday, trading at 5.5 to the dollar at the start of the week compared to 6 before the deal, traders said.

“Definitely the Sudanese pound exchange rate is going to stabilize,” Zubeir said. “We are taking of course measures to stabilize (the pound),” he said, without elaborating.

There is little international trading in the pound but the dollar rate is watched by listed firms such as mobile phone operators Zain and MTN as well as banks such as Bank of Khartoum, owned

by Dubai Islamic Bank, which sell products in pounds but then struggle to convert products into dollars. — Reuters

BERLIN: The logo of European aerospace giants EADS at the International Air Show ILA in Schoenefeld near Berlin. A minority shareholder of Europe’s EADS yesterday said it was unhappy with the current terms of a proposed merger with Britain’s BAE Systems to create an aerospace behemoth to rival US giant Boeing. — AFP

Redraw EADS-BAE tie-up terms, says shareholder Lagardere criticises estimates PARIS: A key player in European defense group EADS objected yesterday to its tie-up with BAE Systems, saying that the terms of the effort to create the world’s biggest aerospace group should be re-drawn.

The two groups are aiming to conclude complex negotiations by an October 10 deadline, and want to avoid seeking an extension which in any case would cloud the prospects of a merger.

Yesterday, the French conglomerate Lagardere, an important minority shareholder in EADS, said that it “estimates that at this stage, the conditions of a merger between EADS and BAE are unsatisfactory”.

The group called on the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, in which it holds a 7.5-percent stake, “to re-examine the project of the EADS-BAE merger to better take into account the interests of EADS’ French shareholders”, saying that this was “indispensable”.

The statement by Lagardere contrasted with a statement by the head of EADS, Tom Enders, and of BAE Systems Ian King at the weekend. They said that the tie-up would offer the two companies the best strategic opportunity on the basis of their international management, technology and investment capacity and global market access, for the benefit of all interested parties.

A tie-up between EADS, which controls aircraft maker Airbus, and British arms manufacturer BAE Systems would create a $45-billion (35-billioneuro) giant to rival Boeing of the United States. But Lagardere riposted: “This project, despite the industrial and strategic potential with which it is credited, has not so far been shown to create value for EADS.” Since the announcement of the tie-up talks on September 12, EADS shares have fallen by nearly 30 percent.

“There has been a destruction of value of 3 billion euros,” said a source close to the French investor. The German counterpart to Lagardere, Daimler which represents the German government’s interest in the group, has also objected that the valuation is unduly favorable to BAE Systems.

A source close to the French side in EADS, who declined to be named, said: “There is a problem of parity (fair valuation) for all of the parties involved.”

EADS and BAE Systems present the tie-up as a merger, but one bone of contention to emerge in the negotiations is that EADS shareholders would end up with a 60-percent interest in the new entity.

Some voices have argued that a 70-30 percent share-out would be more appropriate but the executives behind the proposal insist that 60-40 is appropriate. A knot of commercial and national interests-But the players involved have not been able to agree to the terms of the merger because of a knot of commercial and national interests.

Most of the shares in EADS are controlled directly or indirectly by the governments of France, Germany and Spain. BAE Systems, a private quoted company, is important to British and US defense programs.

Lagardere and the French state own 22.35 percent of EADS, but Lagardere provides all of the French directors on the board. In Germany, Daimler exercises the voting rights on behalf of the German state interest of 22.35 percent.

Although Lagardere is seeking a long-term exit from EADS, it is after getting something in exchange for abandoning the current EADS shareholding pact in which the French and Germans hold parity, added the source. Under the proposal, Germany, France and Britain would each have a socalled golden share with the power to prevent any shareholder from acquiring more than 15 percent of the new entity.

Germany’s Der Spiegel reported on Sunday that France and Germany had agreed to negotiate with Britain for Berlin and Paris to each obtain a ninepercent stake in the merged giant.

Enders and King said in their statement that Berlin’s interest would be ensured without any need for Germany to be a shareholder in the proposed group.

The Financial Times Deutschland reported on Friday that Paris and Berlin wanted a blocking minority. Britain opposes this, preferring a company that operates on a purely commercial basis.

“If Berlin and Paris do proceed with major shareholders, it will be difficult for London to push for what will almost certainly be its preferred option of a single golden share without a large holding on the national balance sheet,” said Guy Anderson, a senior defense analyst at IHS Jane’s.

BAE has also been keen to keep out state participation to avoid complications and keep perspectives open for an increase to its significant defense business with the United States.

“As far as Washington is concerned, the US takes a dim view of doing business with state-owned defense companies,” said Anderson, although he noted it has shown some flexibility with companies that are indirectly owned by states, such as Italy’s Finmeccanica. German and French defense ministers said yesterday they were continuing to work closely to come to a common position on the merger.

“We’ve seen each other three times in one week,” Germany’s Thomas de Maiziere said after a meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian. “We’ll reach a common position very soon.”

According to the source close to the French, the talks are not blocked but at the moment none of the parties is satisfied.

“It is a normal phase for negotiations,” said the source. “We’ll have to see how far they are willing to go to try to find a solution.” Under British takeover rules, the two companies are not permitted to explain to analysts how they intend to generate extra value. They have until October 10 to make a formal statement to the authorities to say that the deal is going ahead, is being abandoned, or to request a delay.

A source close to the talks told AFP last week that it looked as though BAE and EADS would ask Britain’s stock market regulator for a delay. — AFP

IATA raises 2012 airline profit forecast GENEVA: Airline profits will be better than expected this year but the air transport industry is still on a “knife-edge”, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said yesterday.

Airlines are now expected to post $4.1 billion (3.2 billion euros) in profits for 2012. This would be $1.1 billion more than the figure of $3.0 billion forecast in June, but less than half the $8.4 billion earned in 2011, IATA said in a statement. “The industry has re-shaped itself to cope by investing in new fleets, adopting more efficient processes, carefully managing capacity and consolidating,” said Tony Tyler, director general of IATA, which represents 240 airlines making up 84 percent of global air traffic.

“But despite these efforts,” he said, “the industry’s profitability still balances on a knifeedge, with profit margins that do not cover the cost of capital.” But the association said it expected global profits to surge next year to $7.5 billion, owing to slightly stronger economic growth.

Passenger numbers are set to rise by 4.5 percent and freight activity by 2.4 percent next year, IATA said. The airline industry, with an annual fuel bill of $208 billion), should also be helped by a fall of oil prices which are expected to be steady next year, IATA said.

The net margin across the industry is expected to be 1.1 percent, up from 0.6-percent in 2012 but less than 1.4-percent in 2011, IATA said. This return on capital was “far below other industries,” the association said. Tyler pointed to a series of global economic problems which “continue to take their toll on business confidence.”

“The European sovereign debt crisis lingers on,” he said in the statement, adding: “China continues to moderate its growth. And the impact of recent quantitative easing in Japan and the US will take time to yield growth.”

European airlines are set to post the biggest loss of airlines in any region this year with a figure of $1.2 billion, which is $100 million worse than initially forecast, IATA said.

Asia-Pacific airlines are meanwhile on course for a $2.3-billion profit this year — $300 million better than previously forecast, the association said, pointing to “robust” passenger numbers in countries such as China, up 9.4 percent in the first eight months of the year.

With 40 percent of the global cargo market, however, the Asia’s carriers are the most exposed to weak cargo demand. North and Latin America are the only regions with an expected improvement in profitability over 2011, the organization said, with North America set to post the largest rise with profits of $1.9 billion, up from the $1.3 billion made there in 2011.

African airlines were likely to break even by the end of the year, an improvement from the $100 million loss previously forecast, IATA said. — AFP

25

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

BUSINESS

Greek 2013 budget sees sixth year of recession FM meets troika on credit line

MUMBAI: Travellers make inquiries at the Kingfisher Airlines booking counter at the airport after their flight was cancelled in Mumbai yesterday. —AFP

Kingfisher cuts flights on ‘labor unrest’ MUMBAI: India’s cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines cancelled several flights yesterday due to staff unrest, it said, fuelling more doubts about the private carrier’s future and sending its shares plunging.

Kingfisher, which is desperately in need of capital to keep flying, said in a statement it believed some employees might not report to work after being threatened by other workers. “A section of our employees have been threatening and manhandling other employees who are reporting to work.

We are anticipating disruptions and delays of flights across our network,” airline spokesman Prakash Mirpuri said. “With a view to mitigate the impact of these anticipated disruptions, we are proactively cancelling several flights across our network for October 1,” he said in the statement, adding the firm would talk to employees on the issue.

Mirpuri could not be reached by telephone and the statement did not specify how many flights were affected, but according to domestic media reports Kingfisher’s fleet has fallen to seven planes from 66 last October. Separately, the Press Trust of India

news agency reported some Kingfisher engineers had gone on strike to demand wages unpaid for seven months.

Kingfisher shares were down 4.78 percent at 15.35 rupees on the Bombay Stock Exchange following the news. The airline has faced a series of strikes by pilots and engineers over delays in salaries, and has scaled down its operations dramatically in recent months to curb costs-halting international operations completely.

The company was India’s second-largest airline until a year ago but now has a market share of just 3.2 percent, the smallest of the country’s carriers. Owner Vijay Mallya, a billionaire liquor baron, last week said he was in talks with foreign airlines to sell a stake in the firm after the government relaxed foreign investment rules. Also last week, local banks-which own a quarter of Kingfisherrejected a request from the company for another loan.

Kingfisher has never made a profit since its creation in 2005 and is now at least $1.3 billion in debt. It has been hard hit by overrapid expansion, intense competition and high fuel prices. —AFP

ArcelorMittal confirms French furnace closures FLORANGE, France: Steelmaker ArcelorMittal told unions yesterday it will permanently close two mothballed furnaces in northeastern France, enraging workers who blocked off access to the entire steel plant and management offices at the site. The decision, confirmed in a company statement, is a blow to the Socialist government, which last week ordered ArcelorMittal to restart or sell the furnaces, which employ 600 of 2,700 workers at a site that is now symbolic of France’s industrial decline.

Workers grouped at the Florange plant, near the German border, wept and hugged each other as management announced the decision to union leaders at a meeting in the Paris suburbs.

Some of the workers lit a fire and set up a tent at the site and vowed to stay overnight.

They soldered shut the metal entrance gate to corporate offices and blocked external access to the whole site.

“For 14 months, they were telling us the closure was temporary. There is a lot of anger,” local CFDT union representative Edouard Martin said at the site. “We need the government to fight alongside us and do everything it can to make Mr Mittal stop his scrapheap strategy.”

ArcelorMittal said in the statement the permanent closure of the furnaces, which were shut off in July and October 2011 due to

a lack of demand, would affect some 629 jobs. The company said it would seek to move workers to new jobs. While ArcelorMittal Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal has given his consent to finding a buyer, allowing France two months to do so, the issue lies with flagging demand, largely from the stagnant auto sector, which is not likely to revive any time soon. “There will never be a sale. The plant is no longer viable,” said FO union representative Walter Broccoli.

Industry insiders say that the blast furnaces at the site are not viable at times of weak demand due to their small size and their distance from the coast, making the transport of raw materials more expensive.

The slump in activity in the industrial belt around Florange is weighing on unemployment, which rose in August to above the 3 million level for the first time since mid-1999.

While the rest of the Florange plant is operational, President Francois Hollande put the endangered furnaces on the political map by visiting the site during his election campaign earlier this year. With rampant unemployment a major factor in a drop in his approval ratings to as low as 43 percent, he met personally with Mittal last week to urge him to rethink the closure. Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg had said on Sunday the government was seeking contacts with leading steelmakers. —Reuters

Slovenian CB unveils gloomy new forecasts LJUBLJANA: Slovenia’s central bank yesterday predicted that the euro-zone member’s recession would be deeper and longer than previously projected, calling on the government to implement reforms and cut the deficit without delay. The bank slashed its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts, predicting a contraction of 1.8 percent in 2012 and a further slip of 0.7 percent in 2013 before growing 0.8 percent in 2014.

Previously it had projected a fall in GDP this year of 1.2 percent and growth of 0.6 percent in 2013. Its earlier forecast for 2014 had also been for a much higher growth rate of 1.7 percent.

“Any forecasts in times of uncertainty like these are risky,” Slovenia central bank head and European Central Bank governing council member Marko Kranjec said as he presented the bank’s autumn forecasts. He added “it is unclear how will the world economy change and, therefore, the situation at home is also uncertain”.

The central bank blamed the gloomier outlook on weaker conditions in Slovenia’s main euro-zone trading partners hitting demand for its exports, as well as higher interest payments on the former Yugoslav republic’s debt. With credit rating agencies sounding warnings over Slovenia, its borrowing rates have risen sharply in recent months, sparking speculation that it may become the latest euro-zone member to need a bailout.

“That is why we can’t delay the fiscal consolidation and reforms needed to secure a long-term sustainability of public finances,” the central bank warned yesterday. The official Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Research last week also cut its growth forecasts sharply, pencilling in a shrinkage of 2.0 percent this year rather than 0.9 percent predicted previously.

The contraction would stretch into 2013, when the economy is expected to shrink 1.4 percent rather than the earlier forecasted expansion of 1.2 percent, while in 2014 the economy would expand by 0.9 percent, it said. —AFP

Food stocking no solution to curb prices MILAN: Building strategic agricultural stocks to curb market volatility, as proposed by France, is not the most effective way to tame food prices, EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said yesterday. “I believe it is one of the instruments but it is not the most effective,” Piebalgs told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an international cooperation conference in Milan. “The answer to food insecurity is sufficient food production in the world’s poorest regions,” he said, adding that increasing investments in agriculture was the best way to keep a lid on prices. “Resilience in farming, access to water, fighting against climate change, crops, access to the markets-it’s a lot of elements, one element does not help sufficiently,” he said.

The worst drought in more than 50 years in the United States has sent corn and soybean prices to record highs over the summer and, coupled with drought in Russia and other Black Sea exporting countries, has raised fears of a global food crisis like the one that led to rioting in poor countries in 2008. —Reuters

ATHENS: Greece will frontload painful budget cuts to end a decade of primary deficits while grappling with a sixth year of recession, according to a 2013 budget draft aimed at satisfying international lenders. The government will unveil a tough austerity budget later, after Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras meets the troika of International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank inspectors for any last-minute tweaks.

Government officials told Reuters Greece will aim for a primary surplus before debt service of 1.1 percent of GDP next year, from a 1.5 percent deficit in 2012, the first positive balance since 2002. But the economy will continue to shrink for the sixth year in 2013 by 3.8 to 4 percent.

Greece’s economic output will have declined by a quarter since 2008 in a vicious spiral of austerity and recession, with the most heavily indebted euro zone nation repeatedly falling behind in meeting targets set under its EU/IMF bailouts and at risk of being forced out of the single currency area.

Analysts said even the recession scenario set out in the budget appeared optimistic, given Greece’s slow reform efforts and a weakening euro-zone economy.

“The euro zone crisis is still in full throes, so uncertainty and the downward pressure on demand that austerity will have makes even that forecast look optimistic,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at London-based firm Markit.

The budget draft will include more cuts in public sector pay, pensions and welfare benefits as part of an 11.5 billion euro ($14.8 billion) austerity package of savings that will be spread out over the next two years. Austerityweary Greeks have taken to the streets in often violent protests against the waves of salary and pension cuts that have driven many to the edge. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who will also meet the troika chiefs later on Monday, has vowed this is the last round of cuts.

At stake is a 31.5 billion euro installment from a 130 billion euro second bailout keeping Greece afloat. Lenders have made clear no money will be disbursed without credible measures.

However two German magazines reported on Saturday that Athens will receive its next aid tranche despite budget shortfalls and slow progress on reforms because the euro zone does not want the country to leave the common currency.

The business weekly Wirtschaftswoche quoted a senior EU official as saying fear of a “domino effect” if Greece is forced to exit the euro zone is too great is too great to contemplate withholding the funds. In Germany, the main contributor to euro-zone rescue funds, the main opposition challenger for chancellor, Peer Steinbrueck, said on Sunday the

official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Athens will frontload a big chunk of the new spending cuts under negotiation with the troika.

“The draft budget will include 7.8 billion euros in cuts for 2013,” the official said.

Belt-tightening has taken a toll on economic activity, suppressing domestic

ATHENS: International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission chief Poul Thomsen leaves Greece’s finance ministry after a meeting between Greece’s finance minister Yannis Stournaras and the debt inspectors from the European Central Bank, European Commission and International Monetary Fund, known as the troika in Athens. —AP Greeks should be given more time and help to meet their reform targets. However, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico predicted in a television interview that the euro-zone would not sur vive in its current form and said Greece and possibly another unnamed country would be forced to leave once it became clear they were unable to meet their commitments.

Two junior leftist parties in Samaras’ coalition government have resisted the cuts and a handful of deputies have warned they will vote against the bill in parliament, which will debate the draft and vote on it in midDecember.

Analysts expect the ruling coalition, which holds 178 out of 300 parliament seats, to pass the bill despite any defections. A government

demand and driving the jobless rate to a record of almost 25 percent.

This year’s primary deficit - which excludes debt servicing costs - is expected to exceed a targeted 1.0 percent of GDP. The finance ministry sees the primary deficit at 1.5 percent of national output in 2012. Returning to a primary surplus will hinge on how faithfully the government sticks to the unpopular measures, after years of missed targets that have angered its partners.

“The 1.1 percent of primary surplus target is attainable provided that the new adjustment package will be rigorously implemented and that the fall in domestic output will not deviate significantly from the respective budget forecasts,” said Platon Monokroussos, an economist at Eurobank. —Reuters

Credit Agricole in talks to hand Greek bank to Alpha PARIS/ATHENS: Credit Agricole announced plans yesterday to pay Alpha Bank 550 million euros to take Greek lender Emporiki off its hands, on top of billions it already injected into the subsidiary during the country’s slide into economic depression.

France’s third-largest bank said it was negotiating to sell Emporiki to Alpha, Greece’s number three lender, for a symbolic one euro as it prepares to quit the country.

The planned sale by Credit Agricole, which has injected about 10 billion euros into Emporiki since 2006, the year it acquired the Greek bank, is part of a retreat to its French retail business after a series of ill-fated expansion moves. Its willingness to pay Alpha to offload the subsidiary also underlines the dire state of Greek banks, which have been hit by bad debts due to the country’s crisis.

Credit Agricole shares were up 3.9 percent, outperforming the broader sector as it said the deal would help it to reach end-2013 solvency targets, bringing the stock’s gains for the year to 27 percent.

Greek government officials told Reuters yesterday that they expect the country’s economy to shrink for a sixth straight year in 2013.

“What’s important is that Credit Agricole is hinting that the transaction may be core equity tier 1 enhancing for 2013,” said KBW analyst Jean-Pierre Lambert. “They don’t give the numbers at this point, but it could be good news for them.”

Hoping to strengthen Emporiki further, Credit Agricole, founded 118 years ago as a federation of regional agricultural lenders, will boost a previously announced 2.3 billion-euro ($2.96 billion) recapitalization by the 550 million.

The move, which will convert into equity part of 4.6 billion euros in funding Credit Agricole had extended to Emporiki, will lead to a 2 billion euro hit to its third or fourth quarter earnings, analysts at Mediobanca said in a note, adding that this would translate into a 1 billion euro full-year loss.

Credit Agricole will also buy 150 million euros in convertible bonds to be issued by Alpha Bank, which would become Greece’s No. 2 bank after National Bank if the exclusive talks now underway result in a final agreement, said Paris Mantzavras, an analyst at Pantelakis Securities.

“Alpha Bank had the lowest capital needs compared to other Greek lenders and with the acquisition of Emporiki, which is fully recapitalized,

deposits. Analysts say a sale of Emporiki to a Greek rival could start a long-awaited mergers and acquisition wave in the sector, with statecontrolled Hellenic Postbank expected to be among the next targets.

“The news about Emporiki and the deal between Credit Agricole and Alpha Bank is a sign that action is being taken towards the restructuring of the Greek banking sector,”

French bank trying to cut its Greek exposure. Societe Generale is in talks to sell its Greek unit Geniki to Piraeus Bank.

For Credit Agricole, tax issues which have yet to be determined could make a big difference in the deal’s final impact. “The remaining question is the tax treatment of the equity losses,” Lambert said. “It’s to be negotiated with the French Treasury, but could provide an upside if a full

ATHENS: People walk by a branch of the Emporiki Bank in Athens yesterday. Credit Agricole said it was in exclusive talks to offload its Greek subsidiary Emporiki to Greece’s Alpha Bank, under terms which would see the French bank first pumping more funds into the ailing lender. —AFP it can cover a big part of its funding needs on its own and remain in the private sector,” he said.

Alpha has received 2 billion euros from Greece’s bank support fund, the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF). Alpha shares soared 7.8 percent. Greek banks are under pressure to consolidate to survive a crisis that has made them rely on their central bank for liquidity while fears of a Greek departure from the euro zone have prompted an outflow of

said Takis Zamanis, head of trading at Beta Securities.

National Bank and Eurobank had also been in the running for Emporiki. The HFSF had told Emporiki’s potential buyers that it would approve a takeover only if the bank were recapitalized and fully funded before being sold. Emporiki, founded in 1907, has a network of 300 branches in Greece and about 4,100 employees.

Credit Agricole is not the only

tax shield is agreed upon.” The deal would also involve repayment in three installments of residual refinancing provided by Credit Agricole to Emporiki at the disposal date, the French bank said. “While this disposal is a relief for Credit Agricole SA, which lost some 10 billion euros in Emporiki, it is unlikely to trigger a recovery of the group’s profitability,” the Mediobanca analysts said, adding that they viewed the bank as fairly valued. —Reuters

26

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

business

2013 Nissan Altima earns 5-star NCAP rating DUBAI: The completely redesigned all-new 2013 Nissan Altima has earned a 5-star overall vehicle safety rating as part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). Starting with 2011 models, NHTSA introduced more stringent tests and requirements in order to earn 5-star ratings.

“With the new Altima, we made available a suite of safety innovations, including intelligent headlights, Blind Spot Warning and Moving Object Detection, just to name a few,” said Samir Cherfan, Sales and Marketing Director, Nissan Middle East. “The 2013 Altima is the whole package, offering class-leading fuel efficiency with an 18% improvement over the outgoing model, premium comfort and advanced safety features.”

The all-new 2013 Nissan Altima comes equipped with a variety of standard safety features, including the Nissan Advanced Air Bag System, driver and front-passenger seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags, roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental

air bags, Vehicle Dynamic Control, 3-point ALR/ELR seat belt system, Isofix child seat mountings, and zone body construction with front and rear crumple zones.

Available features include next-generation Safety Shield technologies, including Blind Spot Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Moving Object Detection systems using an innovative single rear camera.

Five well-equipped models The all-new 2013 Nissan Altima is offered in three 2.5litre engine equipped models, 2.5 S, 2.5 SV and 2.5 SL, along with two 3.5-litre V6 equipped models, 3.5 SV and 3.5 SL. The Altima 2.5 S includes: 2.5-litre DOHC 16-valve 4cylinder engine, Next Generation Xtronic CVT(r) (Continuously Variable Transmission), Active Trace Control (ATC), Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC), Traction Control System (TCS), 4-wheel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Remote keyless entry with Push Button Ignition, AM/FM/CD

audio system with Aux-in with 2 speakers, steering wheel mounted meter display control, air conditioning with rear vents, 60/40 split fold-down including best-inclass seat comfort inspired by zero-gravity research, Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with driver and passenger single-stage supplemental front impact airbags (2 airbags).

Altima 2.5 SV (in addition to S features): Nissan Intelligent Key, Steering wheel mounted Audio & Cruise Control buttons, , 6 speakers, Auto on/off Head lamp (enhanced type), Cruise control, Parking sensors (2 Front & 2 Rear), Foglamp, Bodycolor outside mirror, Chrome front cup holder, Console & interior door handle piano black trim, 215/55 R17 Tires, 17”Aluminium wheel, 5 inch LCD display for audio, Bluetooth(r) hands free phone with steering wheel mounted buttons, Mic in roof console, USB port with iPod connectivity, Rear view camera.

Altima 2.5 SL (in addition to Altima 2.5 SV features): Auto dimming Inside mirror, Power window with Onetouch auto-up/down for passenger, Driver 6-way power

seat, Dual zone auto A/C, Vanity mirror with illumination and rod extension, Side cargo net, Compass, Side turn lamp in Outside mirror, Mood lamp in roof console, Side & Curtain airbag, Leather wrapped Steering, Remote engine start system Altima 3.5 SV (in addition to 2.5 SV features): 3.5L V6, Paddle Shift on Column w/ manual mode, AT with Ds Mode.

Altima 3.5 SL (in addition to 3.5 SV features): Leather seat and trim with double stitch, Driver’s 8-way power seat, Power lumbar support, Leather wrapped shift knob, Bose audio & 9 speakers, Xenon head lamps, Dual zone auto A/C, Auto dimming Inside mirror, Normal sunroof, Leather wrapped steering, Side cargo net, Compass, Remote Engine Starter, Side turn lamp in Outside mirror, Power window with One-touch autoup/down for pass, Vanity mirror with illumination and rod extension, Side & Curtain airbag, Rear 2 independent type headrest, LED tail lamp, Premium interior trim (wooden with beige colour/metal with black colour).

IDB president joins world leaders in urgent call for a polio-free world Call for polio eradication in IDB member states

D

r Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), joined world leaders at the United Nations Headquarters in New York as they called for global solidarity to win the fight against polio. The IDB announced it is developing a $227 million financing package for the government of Pakistan that will fund Pakistan’s polio eradication activities through 2015. The IDB is also considering providing a grant to Afghanistan’s polio program. Pakistan and Afghanistan, alongside Nigeria, are the only remaining polio-endemic countries, and all are IDB members.

The IDB’s financing of $227 million for Pakistan will be presented for approval to the bank’s Board of Executive Directors before the end of the year.

“We are developing a new mode of financing with the Gates Foundation that will become a landmark in our commitment to fight global diseases such as polio,” said Dr. Ali at the UN event. “It is a major innovation, and a new model of partnership with non-traditional donors.”

Under the proposed arrangement, Pakistan will repay the principal amount to the bank while the Bill

& Melinda Gates Foundation will provide support for the administrative costs associated with the financing package. The novel partnership between the IDB and the Gates Foundation will allow the organizations’ collective resources to go much further.

The world is more than 99 percent of the way toward eradicating polio, and today there are the fewest number of cases in the fewest districts in the fewest countries than ever before. Globally, this year there have been 145 new polio cases reported through 18 September, 2012, compared to 400 cases at this time last year. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has implemented an emergency action plan approved by the May 2012 World Health Assembly, and affected countries are working more effectively against the disease.

“Global institutions have a special responsibility to join together and support this effort until the fight against polio is won,” continued Dr. Ali. “The bank will do its part. All development partners should seize this opportunity for a polio-free world.”

The IDB’s commitment to polio aligns with its broader leadership in developing innovative modes of

Global Leaders Gather at United Nations and pledge to end polio forever. From left to right: President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, Mr. Bill Gates, cochair and trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, Mr. Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, Chair of Rotary Foundation Trustees, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, Ms. Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan’s Goodwill Ambassador on Polio Eradication, and Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani, president of the Islamic Development Bank.

Al-Tijari announces winners of Najma Account draw KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al-Najma Account draw on 30th September 2012. The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry represented by Saquer Al-Manaie.

The winners of the Al-Najma daily draw are:Jassim Shereef Jassim Bin Essa KD 7000 Tahira Shabeer Ali KD 7000 Abdullah Saif AlHaq Yokabi KD 7000 Huda Mohammed Ali Mohammed KD 7000 Mohammed Ahmed Sokani KD 7000.

The Commercial Bank of Kuwait announces the biggest daily draw in Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma account. Customers of the bank can now enjoy a KD 7,000 daily prize which is the highest in the country and another 4 mega prizes during the year worth KD 100,000 each on different occasions: The National Day, Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha and on the 19th of June which is the date of the bank’s establishment.With a minimum balance of KD 500, customers will be eligible for the daily draw provided that the money is in the account one week prior to the daily draw or 2 months prior to the mega draw. In addition, for each KD 25 a customer can get one chance for winning instead of KD 50.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this opportunity to congratulate all lucky winners and also extends appreciation to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for their effective supervision of the draws which were conducted in an orderly and organized manner.

Islamic finance. The bank’s Islamic operating model and its strong international reputation allow it to mobilize resources from investors and non-traditional donors looking for ways to support global development that are also compliant with Islamic financing principles. The bank uses these resources to address major global challenges such as health, illiteracy, hunger and poverty. The polio financing for Pakistan, for example, provides a new model of partnership that enables multilateral financing and philanthropic resources to be pooled more quickly and effectively than ever before, while reducing costs for countries that commit to tackle global diseases. The IDB is exploring similar mechanisms of innovative finance for areas beyond polio and health, such as agricultural development, in partnership with member countries, other multilateral banks, and additional partners.

The high-level event at the United Nations featured heads of state from each of the three remaining polio-endemic countries, as well as major donors and partners. Dr. Ali of the IDB was joined in his remarks by, among others: Senator Timothy E. Wirth, President, United Nations Foundation, Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General, Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Julia Gillard, Prime Minister, Australia, President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria, President Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan, Alan Duncan, Minister of State, International Development, UK, Julian Fantino, Minister, International Cooperation, Canada, Sandro Rosell I Feliu, President, FC Barcelona and FC Barcelona Foundation , Koichiro Gemba, Minister, Foreign Affairs, Japan, Wilfrid J Wilkinson Chair, Rotary Foundation Trustees, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan’s Goodwill Ambassador on Polio Eradication, Tony Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF, Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, WHO. The evening before this event, the IDB hosted a dinner for Middle East leaders to discuss the Bank’s broader commitment to health and development, including innovative new financing mechanisms for fighting global diseases and addressing food insecurity.

Gulf Bank announces winners of 38th Al-Danah weekly draw KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its thirty-eighth AlDanah weekly draw on September 23, 2012, announcing a total number of ten Al-Danah weekly prize draw winners, each awarded with prizes of KD 1,000.

The 38th Al-Danah weekly winners are: Maha Abbas Mansour Ali Mansour Hmoud Mansour Al-Hajri Ali Saleh Naser Al-Najdi Makiyah Abdulrida Hussain Al-Meel Nawaf Hamad Al-Ali Moneifa Grboa Arsan Al-Shammeri Laila Hamad Abdulla Al-Qahtani Abdulaziz Turki Rashed Al-Hunaidi Mohammed Khalil Essa Al-Sairafi Barak Obed Fahad Zhem Al-Shale.

Gulf Bank encourages everyone in Kuwait to open an Al-Danah account and/or increase their deposits to maximize their chances of becoming a winner in the upcoming weekly

(KD1000 each for 10 winners) and 1 Million Dinar draw. Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah allows customers to win cash prizes and encourages them to save money. Chances increase the more money is deposited and the longer it is kept in the account.

Al-Danah also offers a number of unique services including the Al-Danah Deposit Only ATM card which helps account holders deposit their money at their convenience; as well as the Al-Danah calculator to help customers calculate their chances of becoming an Al-Danah winner.

To be part of the Al-Danah draws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, transfer on line, or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance. Customers can also log on to www.e-gulfbank.com, Gulf Bank’s website, to find all the information regarding Al Danah or any of the Bank’s products and services or log on www.e-gulfbank.com/aldanahwinners, to find out more about Al-Danah and who the winners are.

Mercedes-Benz Cars Mideast, Levant marks 15,000+ sales milestone DUBAI: Mercedes-Benz Cars Middle East and Levant has announced the major regional milestone of over 15,000 sales for the latest generation E-Class, which has achieved exponential popularity since its 2009 Middle East launch and shows no signs of slowing, currently on track for a record year, with year to date 2012 sales up 19% on 2011.

Lead by the V6 engine E 300 sedan - representing 54% of all sales since 2009 - E-Class enjoys wide appeal due to its availability in sedan, coupÈ or cabriolet variants, and represents an understated statement of success for ‘high flyers’ the world over.

Frank Bernthaler, Director, Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars, Middle East & Levant said: “In tandem with our 2012 ‘Year of AMG and SUV’ sales strategy, the E-Class is and will remain a key pillar of growth for Mercedes-Benz in this region. We offer our customers an unparalleled range of products in this segment, encompassing a sedan, a coupe, and a convertible.

At the same time, the E-Class is setting benchmarks not only for market success and our drive for a record year in 2012, but also with regard to safety, comfort, and efficiency.”

With the E-Class Sedan seen as the definitive Mercedes-Benz, it therefore goes without saying that the brand values of comfort, safety and reliability have all been ingrained into the core of the current W212 model series. The luxury executive car’s characteristics also make it a logical choice for many leading hotel and airline fleets, most recently signing contracts with Emirates Airlines First Class passenger chauffer service.

An internationally unparalleled combination of state-of-the-art assistance and protection systems make the E-Class the trendsetter in the field of safety. Around a dozen different assistance systems are available to customers, including the standard-fitted ATTENTION ASSIST system, which monitors more than 70 parameters to determine a driver’s level of concentration, enabling it to warn the motorist in time if he or she is suffering from fatigue. Just as unique is the optional Adaptive

High-Beam Assist.

The E-Class also scores well among customers when it comes to value: It was declared the “2011 Value Champion” as a result of an assessment carried out by Auto Bild magazine and EurotaxSchwacke.

According to the residual value forecasts of the market researchers, a four-year-old E-Class vehicle will have the lowest loss of value in the upper-range segment. The E-Class also consistently ranks at the top of driver satisfaction surveys, most recently the J.D. Power 2012 Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study (VOSS) - leaving all other competitors in its wake when it came to customer satisfaction in the Executive Luxury Car category - just as in the previous year.

The E-Class CoupÈ is the most sought-after coupÈ in the executive car segment - athletic, striking and passionate. The E-Class CoupÈ was built in the tradition of sporty and exclusive Mercedes-Benz executive coupÈs, and offers a very special combination of two attributes for which the Mercedes brand is known: fascination and efficiency.

With its classic coupÈ side aspect - no B-pillars and fully retractable side windows - the new two-door car is a particularly sporty interpretation of the E-Class’s dynamic design. At the same time the most aerodynamic variant of the CoupÈ is the world’s most aerodynamically efficient series-production car, and combines driving enjoyment and excellent handling with maximum comfort.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

US banks hit by more than a week of cyberattacks NEW YORK: US banks have been buffeted by more than a week of powerful cyberattacks, but the myster y surrounding their perpetrators lingers. One expert said Friday that he was suspicious of claims of responsibility purportedly made by Islamists angry at an anti-Muslim movie made in the United States, explaining that the widely-circulated Internet postings might have been an attempt to deflect attention from the true culprit.

“In the intelligence world, we call that a ‘false flag,’” said Mike Smith, whose Web security company Akamai has helped analyze some of the attacks.

The postings, published to the Web earlier this month, suggested that an obscure Islamist group had taken revenge on American financial institutions for the “Innocence of Muslims,” a low-budget US film that ridiculed Prophet Muhammad (PBUH),

revered by Muslims as the last of God’s prophets.

Since then at least half a dozen banks - including the Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup - have witnessed traffic surges and disruptions. Not all have confirmed they were the victims of an online onslaught, but such surges are a hallmark of denial-of-service attacks, which work by drowning target websites with streams of junk data.

Such attacks are fairly common and generally don’t compromise sensitive data or do any lasting damage. Still, they can be a huge headache for companies that rely on their websites to interact with customers.

Most say the recent spate of attacks has been unusually powerful. PNC bank, which was hit on Thursday, has never seen such a strong surge in traffic, spokesman Fred Solomon said in a tele-

phone interview. Smith said he estimated the flow of data at 60 to 65 gigabits per second.

Smith said the profile and power of the attack made it an unlikely fit for the religious youth that the Internet postings called upon to join in the anti-US campaign. He explained that politicallymotivated hackers - often called hacktivists - usually flood the Web with appeals for support and post links to software that can turn followers’ personal computers into crude cyberweapons.

Twitter and online chat rooms then explode with activity, as casual supporters pile in to coordinate attacks. “You’re not seeing that with this particular set of attacks,” Smith said. “At the same time ... the attack traffic is fairly homogeneous. It’s not this wide cornucopia of attacks that’s coming at you that you see with a hacktivist attack.”

So who is behind the campaign? Cybercriminals

often use denial-of-service attacks to shake down smaller websites, but major US banks make unlikely targets for a protection racket. Could a state actor be at play? US Senator Joe Lieberman, without offering any proof, said he believed the assaults were carried out by Iran in retaliation for tightened economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies.

Smith demurred when asked who could be behind the campaign, although he said there were “only a handful of groups out there that have the technical ability or incentive” to carry it out.

In any case, the online attacks appeared to be easing. Solomon, the PNC bank spokesman, said while traffic remained heavy Friday the flow was gradually returning to normal. Doug Johnson, with the American Bankers Association, echoed that assessment. “I believe it’s tapering off,” he said. — AP

Zuckerberg in Moscow to boost Facebook’s presence Govt to discuss cooperation in IT technology

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) meets Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche (L) as Siemens CEO Peter Loescher (C) looks on, during a meeting yesterday in Berlin.

Merkel had invited leading representatives of science and economy for talks on electromobility. — AFP

Iran unblocks access to Gmail TEHRAN: Iran yesterday removed online blocks on Gmail but a government Internet filtering committee official said other, additional censorship was being prepared against YouTube, according to reports.

Internet users in Iran found themselves able to freely access their Gmail accounts for the first time since the blocks were suddenly established on September 24. The secure-protocol HTTPS version of Google search was also made accessible after being blocked at the same time. The unsecure HTTP version of Google search was never blocked.

Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, the secretary of an official group tasked with detecting Internet content deemed illegal, had said in a message last week that “Google and Gmail will be filtered nationwide... until further notice.”

But Mohammad Reza Miri, a member of the telecommunications ministry committee tasked with filtering the Internet in Iran, was quoted on Monday by the Mehr news agency as saying the Gmail block was an “involuntary” consequence of trying to reinforce censorship of Google’s YouTube video-sharing site.

“Unfortunately, we do not yet have enough technical knowhow to differentiate between these two services. We wanted to block YouTube and Gmail was also blocked, which was involuntary,” he said.

“We absolutely do not want YouTube to be accessible. That is why the telecommunications ministry is seeking a solution to fix the problem to block YouTube under the HTTPS protocol while leaving Gmail accessible. That will soon happen.”

Iran has censored YouTube since mid2009, after opposition demonstrators protesting the re-election victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in polls they believed rigged started posting videos online of their gatherings.

A Google website which monitors the amount of traffic for its services in each country shows YouTube has been effectively censored in Iran since then (http:// www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/?r=IR&l=YOUTUBE&csd=134773020 0000&ced=1348248600000).

A member of Iran’s High Council on Cyberspace, which provides policy advice, Kamyar Saghafi, was quoted by Mehr last week suggesting that the action against Google services was “to boycott” the US company over an anti-Islam film available on YouTube that has sparked Muslim protests worldwide.

Iran has an estimated 34 million Internet users, and the restrictions on Gmail and Google search were met with criticism from some quarters.

Hossein Entezami, the representative of newspaper directors on Iran’s press monitoring commission, said they “showed decision-makers have little knowledge of society’s needs today, because you can’t just close a search engine and a form of communication for the people,” Mehr last week reported. Iran is developing its own, closed version of the Internet for use in the country which it says will be clear of any content deemed un-Islamic. Officials have said that, at least initially, the Iran intranet will exist alongside the filtered Internet and not replace it. — AFP

SAN FRANCISCO: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison delivers a keynote address during the 2012 Oracle Open World conference in San Francisco, California. Ellison kicked off the week-long Oracle Open World conference that runs through October 4. — AFP

MOSCOW: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was yesterday in Moscow on a visit the government believes should stimulate innovation in Russia and the social network hopes will boost its position in the Russian market. Zuckerberg was to meet Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev along with the main government pointmen on innovation in Russia, Deputy Prime Ministers Arkady Dvorkovich and Vladislav Surkov.

The government has said they will discuss cooperation in IT technology and start-ups in Skolkovo-the technology hub outside Moscow that has been championed by Medvedev as a Russian equivalent of Silicon Valley.Zuckerberg, 28, wasted no time in exploring the Russian capital after his arrival, posing for photographs in Red Square like an ordinary American tourist in one of his trademark hooded tops, Russian press reports said. Staying true to his roots, he then headed for a meal at a nearby branch of McDonalds.

Regularly brandishing an iPad at government meetings and publishing comments on Twitter, former president Medvedev likes to promote himself as the main proponent of a drive to give Russia a more innovation-based economy. Critics have regularly ridiculed his often banal utterances on Twitter and noted that making Russia a

true innovation-based economy is still just a pipe dream.

Zuckerberg will be hoping his visit boosts Facebook’s presence in Russia, one of the few major countries worldwide where it is not the number one social network.

Facebook lags well behind Russia’s most popular social network VKontakte, founded by Saint Petersburg native Pavel Durov, 27, often described as the “Russian Zuckerberg.” VKontakte is aimed firmly at Russian speakers, allowing it to better respond to a very specific local market.Zuckerberg’s visit is not entirely free of controversy, with Russian firms saying his main aim is to headhunt Russian tech talent and lure recruits back to California.

While this is his legitimate right, the government should do more to keep homegrown talent in the country, the Vedomosti business daily quoted as saying the chief executive of the country’s biggest IT holding IBS Group, Anatoly Karachinsky.

“If the authorities are interested in helping Russian companies then they should encourage Western firms to make their orders here just like India and China have done,” he said.

Representatives of Vkontakte and Russia’s

largest Internet company Mail.ru confirmed to Vedomosti that Facebook had made attempts to tempt their employees out of Russia.

High standards of education in Russia and strong traditions in research make Russian programmers highly sought-after worldwide, even if now the differences in pay are not so stark between Russia and the West as they were in the 1990s.

Meanwhile, Russian also has its own homegrown Internet industry with Russian-language firms like VKontakte and Mail.ru having tens of millions of users and start-ups enjoying success in both Moscow and Siberia. Although it is believed to be his first visit to Russia, Zuckerberg’s company already has close links to the Russian Internet sector. Russian technology investment firm DST Global, whose main shareholder is oligarch Alisher Usmanov, has a stake of at least five percent in Facebook although some observers estimate that the holding is even higher.

The anti-Kremlin demonstrations that rocked Russia since December have largely been coordinated through social networks and analysts say that the increase in Internet use poses a significant challenge for the domination of President Vladimir Putin. — AFP

Frustrated innovation NAIROBI: Africa’s technology community will thrive only by facing up to the continent’s fundamental problems.

Africa is trending, if stories in the international media over the last year are anything to go by. And no story about “rising Africa”many of us would argue it has “arisen”-is complete without mention of the role technology is playing in this transformation.

The rise of the mobile phone, disruptive SMS services like the money-transfer platform M-Pesa, and mobile tools for democracy like Ushahidi have been the subjects of numerous reports. Unfortunately, these good-news stories haven’t been accompanied by a more nuanced view of the opportunities being created and where they may take us.

Technology is the per fect refuge for African capability stifled elsewhere by badly run governments and years of misplaced foreign aid. Ubiquitous connectivity in a world without legacy infrastructure, together with the potential to learn coding or anything else online, has allowed technology entrepreneurship to flourish. The barriers to entry have been dramatically lowered. Startup incubators and app competitions are springing up throughout the region. However, there is a risk that the buzz, so good at attracting international attention, will remain only that.

If local technology startup companies are really to thrive and become sizable businesses, other areas need to experience their own versions of the technology sector’s burst of energy and freedom. Entrepreneurs today face challenges such as a nonexistent IP regime, poor infrastructure, high penalties for failure, and oppressive bureaucracy and shortsightedness, all of which stand between businesspeople and the huge market of a billion people that Africa represents. A scenario I come across far too often is that a young African technologist with a great product for industr y X, company Y, or government department Z gets a chance to demonstrate it, to wide acclaim. But to translate it into an actual business opportunity, the innovator is expected to hand over cash or a 40 percent stake in the business, to smooth things out with the “head of IT procurement.”

Too few entrepreneurs have managed to overcome these obstacles. Frankly, we need to spend more time learning from the successes of little-heralded businesses like Seven Seas Technology, an IT services company in Kenya, and MoTribe, which helps brands build their own mobile social networks in South Africa. Both of these have managed to become large and profitable companies, a goal that generally eludes those caught up in the African “tech is the promised land” bubble.

As I see it, tech in Africa 1.0 was the mobile-phone boom, and version 2.0 was about new apps developed in response to local needs. Tech in Africa 3.0 should be about those who are successful in transforming the chatter into real opportunities.

— Tribune Media Services

MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (left) shakes hands with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the Gorki residence yesterday. Zuckerberg presented Medvedev with a Tshirt bearing his Facebook address. — AP

iPhone image gets minister in trouble TAIPEI: Taiwan’s government spokesman has drawn fire for posting an image of an iPhone 5 on Facebook, along with an appeal to consume more, with angry members of the public asking why he did not urge people to buy home-grown smartphone HTC instead.

Hu Yu-wei, who is also the information minister, Sunday posted a picture of the latest Apple smartphone and a line reading “Bolster consumption and economy”, sparking a wave of criticism.

In the face of mounting pressure, Hu later posted on his Facebook page another picture of an HTC cellphone which he said is the one he uses himself.

The iPhone 5 he originally posted belonged to a friend, he said.

“As a government official, Hu should have done

whatever he could to promote the domestic economy at a time when it is in trouble,” the United Daily News said in an article Monday.

The row highlighted the difficulties facing HTC, Taiwan’s leading smartphone maker, amid intense competition from Apple and Samsung.

HTC’s net profit in the three months to June plunged 58 percent from a year earlier due to slowing global demand. Net profit in the second quarter was Tw$7.4 billion ($247 million), compared with Tw$17.52 billion a year earlier but up from Tw$4.46 billion in the 2012 first quarter.

Exports by trade-reliant Taiwan posted a yearon-year decline of 11.6 percent in July due to shrinking overseas demand for information technology and telecom products. — AFP

NAIROBI: A shop window displays mobile phones yesterday in Nairobi, as Kenya confirmed a switch-off of counterfeit mobiles will take place at the end of the month. The mobile networks will be forbidden from activating new “fake” devices bought after October 1. Government officials said the move was designed to protect consumers from hazardous materials and to safeguard mobile payment systems and prevention of crime. The government said three million users were using counterfeit handsets as of June. — AFP

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

health & science

Animals suspected in spread of new virus LONDON: Britain’s Health Protection Agency has published an early genetic sequence of the new respiratory virus related to SARS that shows it is most closely linked to bat viruses, and scientists say camels, sheep or goats might end up being implicated too.

So far, officials have only identified two confirmed cases and say the virus isn’t as infectious as SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed hundreds of people, mostly in Asia, in a 2003 global outbreak.

In Geneva, World Health Organization spokesman Glenn Thomas told reporters Friday that so far the signs are that the virus is “not easily transmitted from person to person” - but analyses are ongoing. The agency said it’s too early to tell how

big a threat the new virus will be since it is unknown how exactly it spreads and whether it will evolve into a more dangerous form.

Global health officials suspect two victims from the Middle East may have caught it from animals.

“It’s a logical possibility to consider any animals present in the region in large numbers,” said Ralph Baric, a coronavirus expert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“Biologists now need to go into the area and take samples from any animals they can get their hands on, including camels and goats,” he said.

Baric said it was crucial to find out how widespread the virus is in animals and what kind of contact might be risky for people.

Baric suggested bats might be spreading the virus directly to humans since the two confirmed infections happened months apart. “If there was an established transmission pattern from other animals, we probably would have seen a lot more cases,” he said.

WHO said it is considering the possibility the new coronavirus sickened humans after direct contact with animals.

The agency is now working with experts in the Middle East to figure out how the two confirmed cases got infected but could not share details until the investigation was finished.

One patient was a Saudi Arabian man who died several months ago while the other is a Qatari national

who traveled to Saudi Arabia before falling ill and is currently in critical but stable condition in a London hospital.

Earlier this week, WHO issued a global alert asking doctors to be on guard for any potential cases of the new respiratory virus, which also causes kidney failure.

Saudi officials have already warned that next month’s annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage, which brings millions to Saudi Arabia from all around the world, could allow the virus to spread.

As a precautionary measure, they are advising pilgrims to keep their hands clean and wear masks in crowded places.

Experts said knowing where a virus comes from provides clues on how to stop it. “This means we could prevent

the fire before it starts instead of rushing towards it with fire trucks and water hoses afterwards,” said Michael Osterholm, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Minnesota.

Osterholm said it was possible bats had simply passed on the virus from other animals and that there could be a complicated transmission chain that ultimately ended in humans.

Viruses reproduce as they infect animals and people, giving them more chances to evolve into a deadlier version. “We don’t know enough about coronaviruses to predict which mutations might make them more lethal or transmissible,” Osterholm said. “But you don’t want to tempt genetic fate with microbes because you’re bound to lose most times.” — AP

Roche’s breast cancer franchise boosted Researcher hails TDM-1 survival results as ‘remarkable’

KUALA LUMPUR: In this handout photograph taken and provided by the Malaysian Department of Information on September 13, 2012 shows Britain’s Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge interacting with leukaemia patient Zakwan Anuar during her visit to Hospis Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Prince William’s wife Catherine was saddened by the death of a teenage cancer patient she met during their tour of Malaysia last month, St James’s Palace said yesterday. Zakwan Anuar, 15, who had leukaemia, postponed a badly-needed blood transfusion for 24 hours and put himself through extra pain so he would not miss the royal visit to the Hospis Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on September 13. — AFP

Catherine ‘saddened’ by Malaysian cancer teen’s death LONDON: Prince William’s wife Catherine was saddened by the death of a teenage cancer patient she met during their tour of Malaysia last month, St. James’s Palace said yesterday.

Zakwan Anuar, 15, who had leukaemia, postponed a badly-needed blood transfusion for 24 hours and put himself through extra pain so he would not miss the royal visit to the Hospis Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on September 13. Catherine, known officially as the Duchess of Cambridge, chatted to him for 15 minutes and signed his birthday card. The visit brought a rare smile to the

boy’s face. Kate specifically asked to visit the institution during the tour and chose to make her first official speech abroad at the hospice. A St James’s Palace spokesman said: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are saddened to hear of Zakwan’s death. Their thoughts are with his family at this time.”

British newspaper The Sun said they were contacted by the boy’s mother Norizan Sulong, who said: “We were next to him when he had his last moment. He was surrounded by his brother, sister, father, grandfather, grandmothers and school mates. I miss him terribly.” — AFP

LONDON: Roche, the world’s biggest maker of cancer drugs, got a boost yesterday as results of trials that will protect sales of its breast cancer drug Herceptin coincided with data showing a new drug in the franchise helped patients live longer.

Two trials on Roche’s blockbuster Herceptin wiped out a risk that they could have indicated a shorter period of treatment than the current recommendation of one year - a finding that could have cost up to $1.5 billion in sales.

A third trial comparing Roche’s experimental drug TDM-1 with a standard cocktail of drugs in patients with an aggressive form of advanced breast cancer showed the new drug helped patients live more than five months longer. TDM-1, or trastuzumab emtansine, is an “armed antibody” drug being developed

by Roche and Immunogen< IMGN.O> as a successor to Herceptin, which could be exposed to so-called “biosimilar” generic competition in Europe from around 2015.

Roche released results of a study investigating whether there is a benefit in using Herceptin for two years rather than one, while a separate French study looked whether patients got the same benefit from just six months of Herceptin treatment.

The Roche study found no difference in the rate at which patients’ cancer recurred or in how long patients lived.

The French study’s results were inconclusive, in other words they did not show that a shorter treatment was as good. Data from both trials were presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference in Vienna yesterday.

Analysts at brokerage Chevreux in London said the overall picture from the two studies was “reassuring for the Herceptin franchise.”

Shares in Roche were trading up 1.7 percent at 178.7 francs by 1311 GMT. Immunogen shares were up less than 1 percent at $14.66 in early Nasdaq trading. Analysts had said the Swiss firm could lose up to $1.5 billion in sales from the blockbuster drug in the medium term if six months treatment had been shown to be just as beneficial.

Herceptin, known generically as trastuzumab, was first approved in 1998 and had 2011 sales of 5.25 billion Swiss francs ($5.5 billion).

It is used as a treatment for around a quarter of breast cancer patients who have tumours that generate a protein called HER2, which tends to make their disease more aggressive.

“The key message for 2012 is that one year of treatment with trastuzumab remains the standard of care for HER2-positive early breast cancer patients,” said Richard Gelber, a professor at Harvard Medical School and DanaFarber Cancer Institute in Boston in the United States, who led the Roche trial.

Presenting the French study, Xavier Pivot of the University de Franche Comte in France said the results were “inconclusive” but showed a “trend in favour of 12 months treatment”. The negative was the finding that there is no benefit to extending treatment beyond a year, limiting the group’s ability to squeeze more profits from the lucrative drug before it goes off patent from 2014.

Pivot said his team was carrying out deeper analysis of the data and would present more results in December, but added: “The results probably won’t give a black

and white answer and the researchers will probably need to look at subsets of patients to see who benefits from six months of treatment and who should get a full year.”

Roche noted in a statement that Pivot’s study also showed that women treated for six months had a 28 percent greater risk of their cancer coming back than those treated for a year. This finding underlined the benefit of one-year Herceptin as standard of care, it said.

Data from a final stage study of TDM-1, also presented at the ESMO conference and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed patients on the new drug survived on average 5.8 months longer than those on treated with GlaxoSmithKline’s Tyverb and Roche’s chemotherapy drug Xeloda.

TDM-1 combines Herceptin with a derivative of a powerful type of chemotherapy and is designed to reduce the unpleasant side effects of cancer treatments.

Paul Ellis, a professor of cancer medicine at King’s College London and one of the study’s lead researchers, said the results would “positively alter the outlook and outcomes for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer”.

“For T-DM1 to offer such a significant survival benefit, while also improving the quality of patients’ lives by reducing the side effects of chemotherapy, is a remarkable achievement,” he said in a statement.

The results are a significant boost for the medicine which Roche said it hopes to get to market for patients as soon as possible.

Consensus forecasts from Thomson Reuters Pharma show analysts see T-DM1 generating sales of $918 million by 2016. — Reuters

Crossfit takes a no-frills, tough approach to exercise

AMSTERDAM: Parkinson’s patients from different countries take part in the first European Unity Walk, to raise awareness and raise money for the disease in Amsterdam. — AFP

In Africa, deadly intestinal disease helped by AIDS PARIS: A deadly version of an intestinal germ has spread through sub-Saharan Africa, helped by genetic mutation and diseases such as HIV that weaken the immune system and expose the body to infection, researchers said Sunday.

The finding comes in a genetic comparison of variants of Salmonella Typhimurium, one of the Salmonella family of stomach bugs. In sub-Saharan Africa, a new form of the germ emerged in the southeast of the continent 52 years ago, followed by a second wave, which came out of central Africa 17 years later, the researchers said in a new study published by the journal Nature Genetics. The variant is the cause of an enigmatic disease called invasive nontyphoidal salmonella (iNTS), which affects Africa far more than other continents. iNTS kills between 22 and 45 percent of those it infects and is suspected to be transmitted from human to human, previous research has found. Outside Africa, Salmonella without this variant tend to cause acute diarrhoea but the death rate is less than one percent. And these infections typically occur from contaminated food, not from humans. The answer, according to the study, lies in part from genes that Salmonella Typhimurium picked up in Africa which shield it from frontline antibiotics and help it survive in a human host.

The novel strain “is causing a previously unrecognised epidemic” across sub-

Saharan Africa, said Chinyere Okoro of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Britain, who co-authored the study.

“Its genetic makeup is evolving into a more typhoid-like bacteria, able to efficiently spread around the human body.”

Previous research into iNTS has noted the large numbers of Africans who are coinfected with HIV. The new study says iNTS may in fact have been powerfully spread

by HIV or by anaemia, malaria or malnutrition in children, all of which deplete the body’s defences against a microbial invader. “The HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa is thought to have begun in a central region and underwent expansion eastwards, a strikingly similar dynamic to that observed for the second iNTS wave,” said Okoro’s colleague, Robert Kingsley. “Our findings suggest the current epidemic of iNTS and its transmission across subSaharan Africa may have been potentiated by an increase in the critical population of susceptible immune-compromised people.” The second wave of iNTS began 35 years ago, possibly in the Congo Basin, and early in the event picked up a gene making it resistant to the antibiotic chloramphenicol, the study suggested.

The first documented cases of AIDS occurred in the United States 31 years ago.

Researchers, though, say HIV circulated in Africa for many years before the disease was uncovered. — AFP

NEW YORK: Forget the leisurely workout. Crossfit training is a highintensity, no-frills strength and conditioning program to get fit.

Used by fire departments, the military, college sports teams and in gyms, Crossfitters tackle an array of physical challenges and follow daily workouts posted on a website.

“I really do like them in terms of the strength and the challenge,” said Liz Neporent, the author of “Fitness for Dummies, said about the exercises.” “Why not maximize your time? If you’re going to do it, do it. Don’t fool around.”

Crossfit training is the invention of Greg Glassman, a gymnastics coach who opened the first Crossfit facility in Santa Cruz, California in 1995. “Crossfit is more of a movement than an organization,” Neporent said. “There’s a website but it’s basically individuals, gyms, and groups doing it.”

Crossfitters don’t say they visit the gym; instead they head into “the box,” which is a Crossfit training center for the WOD or workout of the day, which is posted daily.

“Today I’m doing 100 squats, 100 push-ups, 100 crunches,” said Neporent, “which is about half a WOD.” A lot of people, she said, would not be able to walk afterwards. “That’s what you have to understand about Crossfit. For some people it’s aspirational.”

Casey Kirch, an instructor at Crossfit East Village in San Diego, California, believes the timed intensity of Crossfit shows results quicker than traditional strength training. “When you’re working against the clock you’ll work harder,” he said.

For Kirch, one exercise, called the burpee, illustrates the lovehate relationship Crossfitters have to their WOD. He said from a standing position you squat down, put your hands on the floor, kick

your feet behind you. Then you lower yourself to the floor, push up, jump to your feet, stand up and jump in the air. Then you do it as many times as you can. “It’s a move everyone dreads,” he said.

“But no matter what someone’s fitness level, if they do just a few they’ll quickly build up to more. It’s immediate satisfaction.” A personal trainer for seven years, Kirch has seen too many people give up when they don’t see changes soon enough. At his center the sessions last an hour although the WOD might be just 20 or 30 minutes of often grueling intensity. The rest of the time is spent on stretching, warming up and on technique.

“We don’t have machines,” Kirch said. “We don’t have treadmills or cardio equipment or strength training machines.” Rather the socalled box holds squat racks, Olympic barbells, kettle bells, medicine balls, jump ropes, tires and

climbing ropes. “Most things are based around body weight and barbells,” he explained. Proper technique is crucial to safely execute the moves, Kirch said, and most, if not all, centers have a mandatory foundation course.

“If someone says they’ve been doing Crossfit at another gym, we’ll do a test to make sure they know the movements,” he said.

American Council on Exercise spokesperson Jessica Matthews said her maiden Crossfit session left her with a major sweat and a pretty strong feeling of empowerment. “I like the style,” said Matthews, an exercise physiologist. “They focus on foundational, functional movements. They do a lot of total body movements and integrated exercises, such as squats, kettlebell swings and presses. It’s an approach I totally agree with.” Matthews’s session also included a two-lap warm-up

run around the block and a few rounds on a rowing machine.

Trickier for her is what she calls the “scalability portion” of the Crossfit philosophy: the notion that it works for everyone from the elite athlete to the overweight grandmother. “You go for time,” she said of the WODs. “We know that when we manipulate intensity by adding variables like speed, people not as seasoned may sacrifice initial base form.”

She was nonetheless delighted that instead of the tough talk so characteristic of Crossfit websites, which usually promise that butts will be kicked and specialists punished, camaraderie and encouragement ruled the WOD. “The environment was intense but not intimidating,” she said.

“They (her 10 session mates) looked like average people doing the workouts. It’s a community.

We’re all in the box.” — Reuters

KIEV: Some 15 000 people take part in a mass morning gym exercise in Kiev on Sunday, to set a new Guinness world record of the most amount of people taking part in a morning gym exercise. — AFP

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

US gas drilling boom rattles Russia PITTSBURGH: The Kremlin is watching, European nations are rebelling, and some suspect Moscow is secretly bankrolling a campaign to derail the West’s strategic plans. It’s not some Cold War movie. It’s about the US boom in natural gas drilling, and the political implications are enormous. Like falling dominoes, the drilling process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is shaking up world energy markets from Washington to Moscow to Beijing. Some predict what was once unthinkable: that the US won’t need to import natural gas in the near future, and that Russia could be the big loser.

“This is where everything is being turned on its head,” said Fiona Hill, an expert on Russia at the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington.

“Their days of dominating the European gas markets are gone.” Any nations that trade in energy could potentially gain or lose. “The relative fortunes of the United States, Russia, and China - and their ability to exert influence in the world - are tied in no small measure to global gas developments,” Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government concluded in a report this summer.

The story began to unfold a few years ago, as advances in drilling opened up vast reserves of gas buried in deep shale rock, such as the Marcellus formation in Pennsylvania and the Barnett, in Texas. Experts had been predicting that the US was running out of natural gas, but then shale gas began to flood the market, and prices plunged. Russia had been exporting vast quantities to Europe and other countries for about $10 per unit, but the current price in the US is now about $3 for the same quantity. That kind of math got the attention of energy companies, and politicians, around the world.

Some European governments began to envision a future with less Russian natural gas. In 2009, Russia had cut off gas shipments via Ukraine for nearly two weeks amid a price and payment dispute, and more than 15 European countries were sent scrambling to find alternative sources of energy. The financial stakes are huge. Russia’s Gazprom energy corporation, which is state-controlled, had $44 billion in profits last year. Gazprom, based in Moscow, is the world’s largest producer of natural gas and exports much of it to other countries. But last month Gazprom halted plans to develop a new arctic gas field, saying it couldn’t justify the investment now, and its most recent financial report showed profits had dropped by almost 25 percent.

The US presidential campaigns have already addressed the strategic potential. A campaign position paper for Republican Mitt Romney said he “will pursue

policies that work to decrease the reliance of European nations on Russian sources of energy”. In early September, President Barack Obama said the US could “develop a hundred-year supply of natural gas that’s right beneath our feet”, which would “cut our oil imports in half by 2020 and support more than 600,000 new jobs in natural gas alone”. Poland’s Ministry of the Environment wrote in a statement to AP that “an increased production of natural gas from shale formations in Europe will limit the import via pipelines from Algeria and Russia”.

The issue has reached the highest levels of the Kremlin, too. Hill, of the Brookings think tank, heard President Vladimir Putin speak in late 2011 at a Moscow gathering of academics and media. She said in a blog post that “the only time I thought that he became truly engaged was when he wanted to explain to us how dangerous fracking was”.

But one top Gazprom executive said shale gas will actually help the country in the long run. Sergei Komlev, the head of export contracts and pricing,

acknowledged the recent disruptions but predicted that the US fuels wouldn’t make their way to Europe on any important scale. “Although we heard that the motive of these activities was to decrease dependence of certain countries on Gazprom gas, the end results of these efforts will be utterly favorable to us,” Komlev wrote in an email to the AP. “The reason for remaining tranquil is that we do not expect the currently abnormally low prices in the USA to last for long.”

In other words, if the marketplace for natural gas expands, Russia will have even more potential customers because it has tremendous reserves. Komlev even thanked the US for taking the role of “shale gas global lobbyist” and said Gazprom believes natural gas is more environmentally friendly than other fossil fuels.

“Gazprom group generally views shale gas as a great gift to the industry,” he wrote. When natural gas prices rise, “it will make the US plans to become a major gas exporter questionable.”

Whether exports happen involves a dizzying mix of math, politics and marketplaces, along with the fact

MEAD, Colorado: In this Aug 25, 2009 file photo, crewmembers with Anadarko Petroleum Corp work on a drilling platform on a Weld County farm in the northeastern part of the state. — AP

that US natural gas companies - and their shareholders - want prices to rise, too. James Diemer, an executive vice president for Pace Global, an international consulting company based in Virginia, believes that shale gas costs more to extract than the current market price. Pace, which recently released a report called “Shale Gas: The Numbers vs. The Hype,” has been studying shale gas for Gazprom and other clients. “The capital will stop flowing” to US shale gas, and the price will go up, Diemer predicted. He would not divulge the kind of work Pace is doing for Gazprom. Pace is owned by Siemens, a German company.

Pace’s work for Gazprom has raised some eyebrows in Washington, and Hill noted that industry watchers in Europe already believe Russia is bankrolling environmental groups that are loudly opposing plans for fracking in Europe, which could cut down on Russia’s natural gas market. “I’ve heard a lot of rumors that the Russians were funding this. I have no proof whatsoever,” she said, noting that many critics give the rumors credence because Gazprom owns media companies throughout Russia and Europe that have run stories examining the environmental risks of fracking. Gazprom dismissed such conspiracy theories, saying that “nothing could be more out of touch with Gazprom’s inherent interests”, because the shale boom promotes gas as an abundant, affordable energy source.

Many US media outlets, including the AP, have run stories about shale gas and the environment.

Regulators contend that overall, water and air pollution problems are rare, but environmental groups and some scientists say there hasn’t been enough research.

US energy companies are eager to export natural gas products. The issue is sensitive enough that the Obama administration has delayed a decision on export permits until after the election. In April, the Sierra Club sued to block one plan for exports, saying it would drive up the cost of domestic natural gas and lead to environmental damage.

But just the potential for exports could allow others to seek lower prices from Russia, said Kenneth Medlock III of the James Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston. “It changes the position at the bargaining table for everybody,” Medlock said. “You stack all that up, and you start to realize, ‘Wow.’” There’s one enormous unknown with the shale gas bounty in the US, Hill said. Unlike in Russia and some other countries, neither the government nor any one private company can really control or direct it. “The question is, can the US do what the Russians do, which is use this as a political tool?” she said. — AP

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

WHAT’S ON Oriental Wednesdays at Radisson Blu SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

uffet treats from Kuwait to Beijing.

Starting October 3 at the Rangoli Restaurant. Rangoli will serve you amazing Oriental flavors from India, China, South East Asia and the Middle East. Our live music performers will add zest to your evening every Wednesday from 06:30 pm to 11:00 pm.

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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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Greetings

Consular Open House

Holiday Inn Salmiyah celebrates seven years of achievements oliday Inn Kuwait, Salmiya celebrated its seven years of many successes and accomplishments, where the hotel proven its presence in the world of hospitality & also won highest satisfaction and approval of its guest in Kuwait and abroad at both work and pleasure.

The day began with a wonderful festive atmosphere where the lobby had a great adornment reflecting the spirit of this ceremony. An exclusive lunch was hosted in honor of all media personnel at Ayam Zaman as a recognition and gratitude from the hotel management for their usual presence and continued support in covering all the activities of the hotel and its special offers.

Inaugurating the festival was the welcome speech of Maged Hanna, marketing, sales and operation manager who addressed the invitees, followed by Pierre Merhej, the general manager where he expressed his delight in having this event, warmly welcomed their presence on this occasion and expressed his appreciation for their constant support for the hotel during the year around and wished them to have a great lunch.

Everyone was invited for a group picture and the cutting of the cake.

All the attendees received a gift as a token for this very special celebration.

The invitees were treated with a delectable lunch that satisfies all tastes at Ayam Zaman which is famous for its stunning terrace

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uraaaa! Chima is 3 today! Happy birthday to our dear son Chima. May God guide you as you grow to be a blessing to our family. Greetings from dad, mom, friends and well-wishers.

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overlooking the garden, it’s the perfect place where you can find oven fresh bread, wide range of appetizers, grilled specialties and Lebanese traditional desserts, in addition to

comed in opulent rooms and suites that offers the ultimate in luxury accommodations paying 3 nights while staying for 4, rooms features an abundance of technology ameni-

the shesha which was provided throughout the evening on the terrace with a wide variety of flavors.

Holiday Inn Salmiyah launched many special offers that meet the expectations and satisfaction of all hotel guests as they were wel-

ties convenience of hotel guest, in addition to the business suites for the long staying guest which is totally inspired with a touch of elegance and comfort and designed to feel more like a comfortable private residence than a hotel accommodation.

The hotel also offers a wide range of excellent restaurants that serve both regional and international cuisines, each with a unique style, fully equipped 24 hours Health Club, the rainbow kids’ club available to all your little ones, extensive meeting and banquet facilities accommodating every type of event from small business meetings to large social gatherings.

ew Pakistan International School (NPIS) celebrated sandwich day for small tiny tots of elementary section.

The students came in coloured clothes and some of the students were dressed like sandwich. The students shared their food stuff with each other and enjoyed this healthy event with the teachers throughout the day.

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AWARE diwaniya today ou are cordially invited to our diwaniya presentation entitled, “Genius of Islam: How Muslims made the Modern World,” by Bryn Barnard on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 7:00 pm. On October 2, 2012, Bryn Barnard will be discussing the impact of Islamic civilization on the West, the subject of his book The Genius of Islam: How Muslims Made the Modern World. This one hour illustrated PowerPoint talk will include aspects of Islamic philosophy, art, book arts, music, astronomy, medicine, engineering; a discussion of how Islamic civilization is presented in North American schools; and suggestions about why the deep historical connections between Islam and the West are not better known today.

Bryn Barnard is an author and illustrator with twenty five years experience creating images for clients that include NASA, National Geographic and Scientific American. He has illustrated twenty-five books for children and is the author and illustrator of three books, all published by Random House, New York: Dangerous Planet: Natural Disasters That Changed History, Outbreak: Plagues That Changed History, and The Genius of Islam: How Muslims Made the Modern World, published last April. The Genius of Islam was on the November cover of Booklist magazine and selected as one of its top ten books on religion published in 2011. The Genius of Islam also received the top award for non-fiction from the Middle East Outreach Council, a North American university educational consortium. The Genius of Islam was published in Arabic in 2012 by Dar AlIlm Lilmalayin, Beirut. Bryn Barnard has had solo exhibitions of his illustrations in Asia, Europe and the United States. In 2009 the Global Health Odyssey Museum at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia exhibited the art from his book Outbreak. The National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, DC showed Outbreak in 2010 and will do so again in the spring of 2013 at their new campus in Annapolis, Maryland. Bryn Barnard teaches art at the American International School of Kuwait.

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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

GIS celebrates foundation day ulf Indian School (GIS) celebrated its 19th Foundation Day on 20th September in their school auditorium with a thoughtful theme “Celebrating the Spirit of Womanhood”. Dr Vidhu P Nair, Deputy Chief of Mission, Indian Embassy was the chief guest on that special evening. The occasion was further illuminated by the presence of the owner and Chairman of GIS Ghazi Faisal Dabbous, dignitaries like the heads of various schools, parents and well wishers.

After the warm welcome extended by the school head girl Annet Thomas, the principal presented a brief report on the activities and achievements of the school in the past year.

In his address, Dr Vidhu P Nair congratulated the staff and students for their efforts in maintaining high standards both in academic and co curricular activities. He said that it was indeed a demanding task to be at the helm of an institution

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Indian workers helpline/helpdesk: Indian workers helpline is accessible by toll free telephone number 25674163 from all over Kuwait. It provides information and advice to Indian workers as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters.

The help desk at the Embassy (Open from 9AM to 1PM and 2PM to 4:30PM, Sunday to Thursday) provides guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal and other issues. It also provides workers assistance in filling up labour complaint forms. For any unaddressed issues, the concerned attache in the Labour section and the head of the Labour Wing can be contacted.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sandwich Day at NPIS

on-stop walking for 6 hours by athlete legend A. Manikam on 5th October 2012, from 11 am to 5 pm in Salmiya Garden. All are welcome to cheer.

onsular Wing is providing daily service of Open House to Indian citizens on all workings days from 1000 hrs to 1100 hrs and from 1430 hrs to 1530 hrs by the Consular Officer in the Meeting Room of the Consular Hall at the Embassy.

For any unaddressed issues, Second Secretary (Consular) can be contacted. Furthermore, the head of the Consular Wing is also available to redress grievances.

for 19 long years and added that the founder Principal Shyamala Divakaran has successfully enabled GIS to make its own place as one of the leading schools in Kuwait.

The chief guest distributed the 1’rophies, medals and certificates for academic excellence to the students from classes I to 12 for the academic year 2011-’ 12. The Chairman of the school presented the Managements scholarship to Parthasarathi Kuri and Divyalakshmi Jayabal - the top ranking students of class XI. He also gave away the ‘Sportsman of the Year Trophy’ to Abhinav Sudheer and that for ‘Excellence in Co Scholastic’ activities to Bhaktipriya.

After the prize distribution the cultural show took off with a concise act depicting the elation of a family over the birth of a baby girl. Later the students presented brilliant performances apt to enumerate the variant stages of women cruising

through her infancy, lively childhood, sunny teenage, aspiring youth and eventually draped in her bridal robes. A special song dedicated in reverence to mothers left the audience in an emotional trance.

The second section of the show eulogized the strength and competency of woman finding her true identity and disarming the critics by earning a reputation for her effectiveness and congeniality. The grand finale was a fervent tribute to woman signifying her vivid and fascinating forms. The intense dancers’ magnificent performance portraying the true spirit of women received a reverberating ovation from the audience. There is no doubt that the show will be etched in everybody’s memory for a long time.

The programme concluded with a vote of thanks by the school head boy S. Prakash.

‘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 to97822021 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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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 Auditorium, Hawally, the mega musical show, is expected to be a super-hit in Kuwait.

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Audition for ZEE 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, there after followed by semi finals in India & Grand Finale in Dubai. Complete team of Carnival films & 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 & Host of Antakshari, Manish Paul: Host for Auditions, Sarfaraz Khan: Actor, Director and Producer, Michael Amin: Producer & Director Carnival films world. Musicians, Male Singer & many more for live performances. Final audition at 10 am & music show at 7:30 pm at AISHawally.

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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.

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IOC Gandhidarsan exhibition on Oct 5 ndian overseas congress, Kuwait is organizing photo exhibition of Mahatma Gandhi’s life, “Gandhidarsan 2012” on October 5th and 6th at United Indian School, Abbasiya. The exhibition starts at 6:30 pm on Oct 5th. and ends on Oct. 6th evening which will be inaugurated by Aleyamma Thomas, a freedom fighter who met Gandhiji by person. More than 200 pictures of Gandhi’s life will be exhibited. Photos from Gandhi’s childhood to his tragic death will be exhibited at the venue.

Very rare photos of His African life, pictures of various Indian Freedom movement and other exclusive photos are included. IOC requests each and everyone especially parents to make use of the exhibition by encouraging children to the venue.

Exhibition is organized to encourage the new generation to study and disseminate the thoughts, values and ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. The organizers believe that it is the duty of every Indian citizen to spread the ideals of non-violence and to make aware of the great achievement by non-violence, India’s freedom. A committee of General convener Varghese Mamparampan, Jt. Gen. Conveners Tony Mathew and Santhosh, Prog.

Committee convener Tomychen Puthiyaparampil, Arrangement Comm. Convener Joshy Ullatil, Jt convenors Roy Kuttanad and Sunil Sunny with M.A.Hilal, Geevarghese Abraham, Somu Mathew and Raju Zakarias are leading the arrangements of the exhibition.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

WHAT’S ON

Embassy Information

GUST opens first Physics Lab on campus he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) proudly announced the opening of its first Physics Lab on its Mishref campus. The inauguration event was attended by GUST’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr Robert Cook, Dean of the College of Arts and Science, Dr Ali Ansari, the Head of the Mathematics and Natural Sciences Department, Dr Mohamed Musa and A. M. Al-Rifae Library Director, Mrs Shobhita Kohli, faculty and students.

Dr Cook noted that the opening of the physics laboratory is an essential step moving towards the engineering program GUST is hoping to open soon. Following Dr Cook’s remarks, the physics lab instructor, Mrs Naila Al-Essawi, led the attendees on a tour of the lab and gave a live demonstration of the Centripetal Force experiment.

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EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE The Embassy of Argentina requests all Argentinean citizens in Kuwait to proceed to our official email ekuwa@mrecic.gov.ar in order to register or update contact information. The embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the embassy.

The registration process helps the Argentinean Government to contact and assist Argentineans living abroad in case of any emergency.

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Scholar badge ceremony of primary section at FAIP-DPS galaxy of intellectuals witnessed the Primary School Scholar Badge Ceremony held at FAIPSDPS on Thursday, 13th September, to felicitate the high achievers of the year 2011-2012 for their academic performance. It was a momentous day for the ninety odd students who lined up to receive the badges and certificates.

The school was honoured by the presence of esteemed guests, H K Mohan, First Secretary of Community Affairs, Culture and Education and Prem

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Kumar, Principal of The Indian Educational School.

The ceremonial lighting of the lamp was followed by a short cultural program that displayed the exceptional talents of the young artists. The rhythmic and colourful array of Indian classical and contemporary dances and mesmerizing musicals held the spectators spell-bound.

Anju Dheman, principal of the school, lauded the combined efforts of the students, teachers and parents in her welcome address. She also expressed hope

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 Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday.

Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

that the students would continue to strive towards excellence.

The function concluded with a vote of thanks by the vice principal, who acknowledged the distinguished guests for their presence and encouragement.

It was a memorable day indeed, for the students and their proud parents.

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS In its capacity as EU Local Presidency in the State of Kuwait, the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, on behalf of the Member States of the EU and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, would like to announce that as from 2nd October 2012 all Schengen States’ Consulates in Kuwait will use the Visa Information System (VIS). The VIS is a central database for the exchange of data on short-stay (up to three months) visas between Schengen States. The main objectives of the VIS are to facilitate visa application procedures and checks at external border as well as to enhance security. The VIS will contain all the Schengen visa applications lodged by an applicant over five years and the decisions taken by any Schengen State’s consulate. This will allow applicants to establish more easily the lawful use of previous visas and their bona fide status. For the purpose of the VIS, applicants will be required to provide their biometric data (fingerprints and digital photos) when applying for a Schengen visa. It is a simple and discreet procedure that only takes a few minutes. Biometric data, along with the data provided in the Schengen visa application form, will be recorded in the VIS central database.

Therefore, as from 2nd October 2012, first-time applicants will have to appear in person when lodging the application, in order to provide their fingerprints. For subsequent applications within 5 years the fingerprints can be copied from the previous application file in the VIS. The Cypriot Presidency would like to assure the people of Kuwait and all its permanent citizens that the Member States and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, have taken all necessary technical measures to facilitate the rapid examination and the efficient processing of visa applications and to ensure a quick and discreet procedure for the implementation of the new VIS. ■■■■■■■

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).

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TEMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India will remain closed on the following days during the month of October 2012: OCT 02, 2012 -TuesdayMahatma Gandhi’s Birthday. OCT 24, 2012 Wednesday-Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami) ■■■■■■■

KTMCC annual convention 2012 uwait Town Malayalee Christian Congregation’s (KTMCC) annual convention will be held at National Evangelical Church (NECK) from October 2-5, (7:30 to 9:30 pm). Dr Alexander Kurian, Dallas USA a renowned orator will be the main speaker. Message will be in English and translation in to Malayalam. KTMCC is the Indian Christian congregation established in Kuwait 60 years back consisting of believers from Mar Thoma Church, Church, Indian Evangelical Church, Pentecostal Churches and Brethren Assembly. Currently around 30 congregations under KTMCC’s umbrella are worshipping at NECK. KTMCC’s choir with participation of all the churches will be leading the singing session of the convention.

KTMCC Secretary, K.P.Koshy and President M.Mathews informed arrangements for the convention are in progress. Various committees are working for the success of convention. Free transportation provided from different parts of Kuwait.

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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. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk.

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EMBASSY OF UKRAINE We’d like to inform you that in response to the increasing number of our citizens who work in the state and the need for 24-hour operational telephone in case of emergency the Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait has opened “hotline telephone number” - (+ 965) 972-79-206.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 Your Worst Animal Nightmares 01:35 I’m Alive 02:25 Cats 101 03:15 Bad Dog 04:05 Galapagos 04:55 Animal Battlegrounds 05:20 Dark Days In Monkey City 05:45 Safari Vet School 06:10 Safari Vet School 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Talk To The Animals 07:25 Baby Planet 08:15 Dogs 101 09:10 Must Love Cats 10:05 Galapagos 11:00 World Wild Vet 11:55 Wild Africa Rescue 12:20 Wild Africa Rescue 12:50 Wildlife SOS 13:15 Rescue Vet 13:45 Animal Cops Houston 14:40 Galapagos 15:35 Dark Days In Monkey City 16:00 Talk To The Animals 16:30 Bad Dog 17:25 Growing Up...

18:20 Dogs 101 19:15 Wildlife SOS 19:40 Rescue Vet 20:10 Animal Battlegrounds 20:35 Dark Days In Monkey City 21:05 Galapagos 22:00 Animal Airport 22:25 Animal Airport 22:55 Safari Vet School 23:20 Safari Vet School 23:50 Animal Cops Miami

00:30 Antiques Roadshow 01:25 Gok’s Fashion Fix 02:15 Gok’s Fashion Fix 03:05 MasterChef 03:55 MasterChef 04:50 MasterChef 05:15 Coastal Kitchen 05:40 Living In The Sun 06:35 MasterChef 07:05 MasterChef Australia 07:50 MasterChef Australia 08:35 Gok’s Fashion Fix 09:25 Gok’s Fashion Fix 10:15 Bargain Hunt 11:00 Antiques Roadshow 11:50 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 12:30 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 13:20 Holmes On Homes 14:05 Holmes On Homes 14:55 Bargain Hunt 15:40 Antiques Roadshow 16:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:10 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 18:00 Rachel’s Favourite Food For Living 18:25 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 18:55 Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey 19:45 Coastal Kitchen 20:10 Antiques Roadshow 21:05 Open House 21:30 Holmes On Homes 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 23:45 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 01:45 02:00 02:30 02:45 03:00 03:30 03:45 04:00 04:30 04:45

BBC World News America BBC World News America Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today BBC World News Asia Business Report Sport Today

05:00 BBC World News 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:00 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 BBC World News 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 BBC World News 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 Hardtalk 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 BBC World News 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 BBC World News 14:00 GMT With George Alagiah 14:30 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 16:30 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 19:30 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 BBC Focus On Africa 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 21:30 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World Business Report 22:45 Sport Today 23:00 Business Edition With Tanya Beckett 23:30 Hardtalk

00:10 Puppy In My Pocket 00:35 Tom & Jerry Kids 01:00 Scooby Doo Where Are You! 01:25 The Flintstones 01:50 Pink Panther And Pals 02:15 Looney Tunes 02:40 Help! It’s The Hair Bear Bunch 03:00 Dexter’s Laboratory 03:25 Tom & Jerry 03:50 Looney Tunes 04:15 The Scooby Doo Show 04:40 Johnny Bravo 05:00 The Flintstones 05:25 The Jetsons 05:50 Wacky Races 06:00 New Yogi Bear Show 06:15 The Garfield Show 06:30 Bananas In Pyjamas 06:55 Gerald McBoing Boing 07:20 Baby Looney Tunes 07:45 Jelly Jamm 08:00 Puppy In My Pocket 08:25 The Garfield Show 08:50 Moomins 09:15 Pink Panther And Pals 09:40 Dastardly And Muttley 10:05 Tom & Jerry 10:30 Scooby Doo Where Are You! 10:55 Looney Tunes 11:20 Duck Dodgers 11:45 Dexters Laboratory 12:00 Jelly Jamm 12:15 Baby Looney Tunes 12:40 Ha Ha Hairies 12:55 Gerald McBoing Boing 13:20 Bananas In Pyjamas 13:35 The Flintstones 14:00 Popeye 14:25 Top Cat 14:50 The Garfield Show 15:15 Pink Panther And Pals 15:40 Tom & Jerry 16:05 The Scooby Doo Show 16:30 Looney Tunes (Hannah Barbera) 16:40 Pink Panther And Pals 17:05 Moomins

17:30 17:55 18:20 18:45 19:00 19:15 19:40 19:55 20:20 20:35 21:00 21:25 21:50 22:15 22:40 23:05 23:20 23:45

The Garfield Show Johnny Bravo A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Dexters Laboratory Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Pink Panther And Pals A Pup Named Scooby-Doo The Garfield Show Johnny Bravo Dexter’s Laboratory Dastardly And Muttley Popeye The Jetsons Duck Dodgers

00:30 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 00:55 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 01:20 Foster’s Home For...

01:45 Foster’s Home For...

02:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 03:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 03:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 03:50 Adventure Time 04:15 The Powerpuff Girls 04:40 Generator Rex 05:05 Ben 10 05:30 Ben 10 05:55 Angelo Rules 06:00 Cow & Chicken 06:30 Casper’s Scare School 07:00 Eliot Kid 07:45 Johnny Test 08:05 The Powerpuff Girls 08:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 09:20 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 09:45 Courage The Cowardly Dog 10:35 Grim Adventures Of...

11:00 Billy & Mandy’s Big Boogey...

12:20 The Marvelous Misadventures...

13:05 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 13:30 Young Justice 13:55 Camp Lazlo 14:45 Ben 10: Alien Force 15:10 Ben 10: Alien Force 15:35 Ed, Edd n Eddy 16:25 Angelo Rules 16:40 Hero 108 17:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 17:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 17:50 Adventure Time 18:15 Regular Show 18:40 Total Drama Action 19:05 Total Drama Action 19:30 Ben 10 19:55 Ben 10 20:20 Grim Adventures Of...

21:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 22:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 22:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 22:50 The Powerpuff Girls 23:40 Chowder

00:00 00:30 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00

Amanpour World Sport Piers Morgan Tonight World Report Anderson Cooper 360 Piers Morgan Tonight Quest Means Business The Situation Room World Sport African Voices World Report World Report World Sport Talk Asia World Business Today Amanpour World’s Untold Stories World One Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream World Business Today International Desk Global Exchange World Sport World’s Untold Stories International Desk

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN ON OSN ACTION HD

21:00 Quest Means Business 22:00 Amanpour 22:30 CNN Newscenter 23:00 Connect The World With Becky...

00:15 Around The World In 80 Ways 01:10 Deadliest Catch 02:05 An Idiot Abroad 03:00 Mythbusters 03:55 Border Security 04:20 Auction Hunters 04:50 Auction Kings 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 Extreme Fishing 07:00 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 07:50 Mythbusters 08:45 Ultimate Survival 09:40 Border Security 10:05 Auction Hunters 10:30 How Do They Do It? 10:55 How It’s Made 11:25 Around The World In 80 Ways 12:20 Deadliest Catch 13:15 River Monsters 14:10 Border Security 14:35 Auction Hunters 15:05 Auction Kings 15:30 Ultimate Survival 16:25 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 17:20 Extreme Fishing 18:15 Mythbusters 19:10 How Do They Do It? 19:40 How It’s Made 20:05 Border Security 20:35 Auction Hunters 21:00 Auction Kings 21:30 Life On A Wire 22:25 The Men Who Jump Off Buildings 23:20 Rattlesnake Republic

00:35 Engineered 01:25 Things That Move 01:50 Things That Move 02:15 Morgan Freeman’s Through The Wormhole 03:05 The Gadget Show 03:35 Dark Matters 04:25 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 05:15 Scrapheap Challenge 06:05 Engineered 07:00 Things That Move 07:25 Things That Move 07:50 Morgan Freeman’s Through The Wormhole 08:40 Head Rush 08:43 Weird Connections 09:12 How Does That Work?

09:40 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 10:30 The Gadget Show 10:55 The Gadget Show 11:20 Engineered 12:10 Scrapheap Challenge 13:00 Things That Move 13:25 Things That Move 13:50 Morgan Freeman’s Through The Wormhole 14:45 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 15:35 The Gadget Show 16:00 Head Rush 16:03 Weird Connections 16:32 How Does That Work?

17:00 Engineered 17:50 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 18:40 Scrapheap Challenge 19:30 Catch It Keep It 20:20 Moon Machines 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Gadget Show 22:00 Stuck With Hackett 22:25 Stuck With Hackett 22:50 Moon Machines 23:40 Dark Matters

00:10 Kim Possible 00:35 Kim Possible 01:00 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 01:50 Replacements 02:40 Emperor’s New School 03:30 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 03:55 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 04:20 Replacements 04:45 Replacements 05:10 Kim Possible 05:35 Kim Possible 06:00 Phineas And Ferb 06:15 Suite Life On Deck 06:40 Suite Life On Deck 07:05 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 07:30 Recess 07:55 So Random 08:20 Shake It Up 09:10 A.N.T. Farm 10:00 Camp Rock 11:30 Fish Hooks 11:40 Good Luck Charlie 12:05 Wizards Of Waverly Place 12:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place 12:55 Phineas And Ferb 13:05 Phineas And Ferb 13:20 Phineas And Ferb 13:45 So Random 14:10 So Random 14:35 Suite Life On Deck 15:00 Austin And Ally 15:25 Shake It Up 15:50 Phineas And Ferb 16:00 Phineas And Ferb 16:15 Jessie 16:40 A.N.T. Farm 17:00 Camp Rock 2 18:45 Austin And Ally 19:10 A.N.T. Farm 19:35 Good Luck Charlie 20:00 Jessie 20:25 Suite Life On Deck 20:50 Suite Life On Deck 21:15 Jonas Los Angeles 22:05 Good Luck Charlie 22:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:20 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:45 Fish Hooks

00:25 Keeping Up With Kardashians 00:55 Style Star 01:25 THS 02:20 E!es 03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 THS

The

05:05 THS 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Scouted 10:15 THS 12:05 E! News 13:05 Ice Loves Coco 13:35 Ice Loves Coco 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 E!es 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 17:55 E! News 18:55 E!es 19:55 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 20:55 Married To Jonas 21:25 Opening Act 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Fashion Police

00:30 01:20 02:05 02:30 02:55 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:15 08:40 09:05 09:30 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:15 13:40 14:30 15:20 15:45 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 Jones 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

The Haunted A Haunting Stalked: Someone’s Watching Stalked: Someone’s Watching Scorned: Crimes Of Passion Extreme Forensics The Haunted A Haunting Disappeared Killer Outbreaks Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Undercover Disappeared Killer Outbreaks Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Undercover Disappeared Forensic Detectives Mall Cops – Mall Of America True Crime With Aphrodite Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Fatal Encounters Killer Kids Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:15 One Man & His Campervan 00:45 Long Way Down 01:40 Destination Extreme 02:05 Deadliest Journeys 2 02:35 Travel Oz 03:00 Travel Oz 03:30 Madventures 03:55 Madventures 04:25 Around The World For Free 05:20 Madventures 05:45 Madventures 06:15 Around The World For Free 07:10 One Man & His Campervan 07:35 One Man & His Campervan 08:05 Long Way Down 09:00 Destination Extreme 09:25 Deadliest Journeys 2 09:55 Travel Oz 10:20 Travel Oz 10:50 Madventures 11:15 Madventures 11:45 Around The World For Free 12:40 Bondi Rescue: Bali 13:05 Bondi Rescue: Bali 13:35 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:30 One Man & His Campervan 14:55 One Man & His Campervan 15:25 Roam 15:50 Don’t Tell My Mother 16:20 Dive Detectives 17:15 The Frankincense Trail 18:10 Perilous Journeys 19:05 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 20:00 One Man & His Campervan 20:30 One Man & His Campervan 21:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 21:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 22:00 Graham’s World 22:25 Market Values 22:55 Nomads 23:50 Travel Oz

00:00 A Traveler’s Guide To The Planets 01:00 Hunter Hunted 02:00 Hunter Hunted 03:00 The Known Universe 04:00 Mega Breakdown 05:00 Into The Crystal Cave 06:00 Nomads 07:00 Is It Real? S3 (1 hour) 08:00 A Traveler’s Guide To The Planets 09:00 Hunter Hunted 10:00 Hunter Hunted 11:00 A Traveler’s Guide To The Planets 12:00 The Secret Heart 13:00 Shark Men 14:00 Nomads 15:00 Departures 16:00 Megastructures 17:00 Hunter Hunted 18:00 Hunter Hunted 19:00 The Known Universe 20:00 Clash Of The Continents 21:00 Shark Nicole 22:00 Great Migrations 23:00 Is It Real? S3 (1 hour)

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20

Zambezi Fish Warrior The Living Edens Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy Shark Men Wild Russia Big Cat Odyssey The Living Edens Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy Shark Men

HOME ON OSN CINEMA 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 23:00

My Life Is A Zoo Dangerous Encounters Philly Undercover Monster Fish Nordic Wild Wild Nights Shark Men My Life Is A Zoo Dangerous Encounters Philly Undercover The Living Edens Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy Shark Men My Life Is A Zoo Dangerous Encounters

00:00 Chicago Overcoat-18 02:00 Botched-18 04:00 Walled In-PG15 06:00 Drunken Master-PG15 08:00 Returner-PG15 10:00 True Justice: Deadly CrossingPG15 12:00 Law Abiding Citizen-18 14:00 Returner-PG15 16:00 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course-PG15 18:00 Law Abiding Citizen-18 20:00 Ip Man-PG15 22:00 Ip Man 2-PG15

01:15 Older Than America-PG15 03:00 16 To Life-PG15 05:00 The Hole-PG15 07:00 Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown-PG 09:00 16 To Life-PG15 11:00 Moneyball-PG15 13:15 Ice Age-FAM 15:00 Last Of The Living-PG15 17:00 My Sassy Girl-PG15 19:00 Home-PG15 21:00 Twelve-18 23:00 Chloe-R

00:00 Melissa & Joey 01:30 Veep 02:00 The Big C 02:30 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 03:00 Happy Endings 03:30 Raising Hope 04:00 Two And A Half Men 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Gary Unmarried 06:00 Friends 06:30 Til Death 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Two And A Half Men 08:30 Happy Endings 09:00 Gary Unmarried 09:30 Cougar Town 10:00 New Girl 10:30 Til Death 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 12:30 Two And A Half Men 13:00 Gary Unmarried 13:30 Til Death 14:00 Raising Hope 14:30 New Girl 15:00 Cougar Town 16:30 Friends 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 30 Rock 18:30 Breaking In 19:00 Cougar Town 19:30 The Office 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The League 22:30 The Ricky Gervais Show 23:00 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00

The Newsroom Revenge Boardwalk Empire House The Tudors Good Morning America

07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

The View Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show White Collar The View Revenge House Live Good Morning America White Collar The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Grey’s Anatomy Private Practice Homeland Breaking Bad The Tudors

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

Hawthorne Boardwalk Empire The Newsroom Greek Revenge House Hawthorne Emmerdale Coronation Street Castle The Ellen DeGeneres Show Revenge House Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Castle Hawthorne Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Castle Grey’s Anatomy Private Practice Homeland Breaking Bad Greek

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 PG15 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Fade To Black-18 Ronin-18 Wild Bill-PG15 Hurricane Season-PG15 All Star Superman-PG15 Wild Bill-PG15 Jesse Stone: Innocents LostAll Star Superman-PG15 Flight Of The Phoenix-PG15 The Hit List-18 Ip Man 2-PG15 The Speak-18

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

The Joneses-PG15 Stuck On You-PG15 Life As We Know It-PG15 Cheaper By The Dozen-PG Cheaper By The Dozen 2-PG The Open Road-PG15 Stealing Harvard-PG15 Lottery Ticket-PG15 The Open Road-PG15 Tank Girl-PG15 Jumping The Broom-PG15 Barry Munday-18

01:00 Asylum-18 03:00 Just Wright-PG15 05:00 Moonlight And ValentinoPG15 07:00 Teen Knight-PG15 09:00 St. Trinian’s 2: The Legend Of Fritton’s Gold-PG15 11:00 Le Syndrome Du Titanic-PG15 13:00 The Flyboys-PG15 15:00 St. Trinian’s 2: The Legend Of Fritton’s Gold-PG15 16:45 Patriot Games-PG15 18:45 Thelma And Louise-PG15 21:00 The Terminal-PG15 23:15 Das Boot-PG15

01:00 03:15 05:00 07:00 09:00

2001: A Space Odyssey-PG15 Restless-PG15 Ondine-PG15 Megamind-FAM Oranges And Sunshine-PG15

10:45 Bobby Jones: Stroke Of Genius-PG 13:00 Jane Eyre-PG15 15:00 Henry’s Crime-PG15 17:00 Oranges And Sunshine-PG15 19:00 The Artist-PG 21:00 Sucker Punch-PG15 23:00 Priest-18

00:00 The Rugby Championship 02:00 Trans World Sport 03:00 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 04:30 Futbol Mundial 05:00 Super League 07:00 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 07:30 Senior European Tour Highlights 08:30 AFL Premiership 11:00 Trans World Sport 12:00 Futbol Mundial 12:30 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 13:00 NRL Premiership 15:00 The Rugby Championship 17:00 Senior European Tour Highlights 18:00 Wake The Line 18:30 Kiteboard World Cup 19:00 The Rugby Championship 21:00 Futbol Mundial 21:30 AFL Premiership

00:30 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 01:00 Senior European Tour Highlights 02:00 Rugby Union The Rugby Championship 04:00 Rugby Union Currie Cup 06:00 America’s Cup Highlights 07:00 NRL Premiership 09:00 Futbol Mundial 09:30 Trans World Sport 10:30 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 12:00 NFL 14:30 Wake The Line 15:00 Kiteboard World Cup 15:30 Downtown Showdown 16:00 America’s Cup Highlights 17:00 Rugby Union Currie Cup 19:00 NFL 21:30 WWE This Week 22:00 WWE SmackDown

01:30 02:30 03:00 04:00 04:30 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:30 15:30 Tour 17:30 20:00 20:30 21:30

AFL Highlights Top 14 Highlights Golfing World City Center Races City Center Races City Center Races City Center Races Futbol Mundial Golfing World AFL Highlights Squash PSA World Series Top 14 Highlights Adventure Sports Adventure Sports Adventure Sports Golfing World Asian Tour Highlights Sailing World Match Racing

00:30 01:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00

European Le Mans Series Prizefighter UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed WWE NXT WWE Bottom Line Mobil 1 The Grid V8 Supercars Highlights V8 Supercars Extra WWE Bottom Line WWE Vintage Collection European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series V8 Supercars Extra Mobil 1 The Grid WWE NXT WWE Experience UFC Prelims UFC

AFL Premiership NRL Full Time Golfing World ITU World Triathlon series

Classifieds TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

REQUIRED PROMPTLY For a leading hospital

Safety Specialist • Male / Female.

• With a bachelor degree graduate preferably engineering background.

• Skills in performing health &safety inspection &audits.

• Excellent in developing, implementing & enforcing safety programs & protocols.

• With at least hospital & accreditation background.

Send your C.V. to E-Mail: alorfmed@alorf.com Or Fax: 2 456 7794

ACCOMMODATION ROOM AVAILABLE - A room available in a furnished two bedroom flat for a working class lady in Salmiya — near the bus stop. Please call 99702658 30-9-2012 Sharing Accommodation, room partition for FILIPINO in Farwaniya near Coop main, Contact 66826412 or 66158188

SITUATION WANTED Australian Project Manager, with two Engineering Degrees and four Master Degrees, with 23 years experience in Gulf and Australia, seeking top management job. Call: 65695468. (C 4141) 2-10-2012 Sri Lankan lady looking for house cleaning part time job, English family only.

Call 55680045. (C 4149) Sri Lankan driver looking for a job good company or office with good salary, transferable visa 18 (license with pick up permit). Call 97970965. (C 4150) 25-9-2012

SITUATION VACANT Need driver to work or houseboy, visa 18 or 20 ok.

Contact: 55400994.

(C 4155) 2-10-2012 House driver needed, preferably Philippine nationality, minimum two years with driving experience in Kuwait and transferable residency. Mob: 97162925. (C 4151) 27-9-2012 Required driver for a Kuwaiti family.

Call: 99854312.

(C 4144) Wanted full time maid/nanny in Salwa. Offering KD 120 salary. Must speak English and be good with small children. Call 9768-7172.

FOR SALE

For immediate sale Toyota Corolla (2011), 1.8 white, done only 22,000 km, expecting KD 3,900 (only cash) real buyers only contact mobile: 97473028 between 10 am - 6:30 pm).

(C 4154) 1-10-2012

Used DSLR Nikon D90 Camera body only for sale with Battery Grip and an extra battery, all with original package. Call or what’s app 66603401 25-9-2012

WANTED Sales Engineer Envision Tech for Gen. Trad. & Cont. W.L.L • 3-4 years experience • Knowledge Kuwait Areas

CHANGE OF NAME Yuvaraja Dhanapal, son of Dhanapal and Paruvadhavarthani bearing an Indian Passport No: E6580676 having an address 2/59, East Street, Melnariyappanur, Kallakurichi, Villupuram 606 201, Tamil Nadu, India had embraced Islam and changed the name as NASEER AHMAD. (C 4152) 30-9-2012

• Valid driving license • Transferable Visa.

1. PLANNING ENGINEER 2. QUANTITY SURVEYOR 3. SAFETY ENGINEER 4. DRAUGHTSMAN Minimum 5 years experienced in Kuwait

Email: careers@envisionway.com

Interested applicant may send CV to Fax

Ministry of Interior

No. 22407175 No:

15586

website: www.moi.gov.kw

MATRIMOIAL

Proposals invited for a girl, God-fearing (Marthomite, 30 yrs/160 cm) born and educated in Kuwait and Mangalore, MDS doctor presently working in India, from Post Graduate boys Marthomite/CSI, God-fearing and having good family background. Contact email: mthewjacob201@hotmail.com (C 4153) 29-092012

A Leading Construction Co. Required the following categories:

112 Prayer timings Fajr:

04:23

Duhr:

11:37

Asr:

15:00

Maghrib:

17:33

Isha:

18:49

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JZR QTR JZR RJA GFA UAE ETD OMA FDB MSR RBG QTR KAC THY DHX JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY GFA QTR FDB IRA ETD GFA IRA UAE MEA JZR MSR MSC JZR BBC MSR KAC KAC GFA FDB KNE QTR KAC SVA

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 2/10/2012 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 148 DOHA 539 CAIRO 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 643 MUSCAT 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 3553 ALEXANDRIA 138 DOHA 544 CAIRO 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 555 ALEXANDRIA 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 416 JAKARTA 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 223 BAHRAIN 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 605 ISFAHAN 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 619 LAR 871 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 618 ALEXANDRIA 401 ALEXANDRIA 561 SOHAG 43 DHAKA 610 CAIRO 514 TEHRAN 672 DUBAI 219 BAHRAIN 57 DUBAI 472 JEDDAH 140 DOHA 562 AMMAN 500 JEDDAH

Time 0:15 0:20 0:30 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:50 3:10 3:20 3:20 3:25 4:10 4:35 5:00 6:00 6:15 6:30 6:35 7:15 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:15 8:25 8:30 8:40 9:00 9:20 9:20 9:30 10:00 10:40 10:45 10:55 11:05 11:25 12:00 12:25 12:30 13:30 13:40 13:40 13:40 13:45 14:15 14:25 14:30 14:30

RJA KAC QTR JZR ETD JZR UAE UAL GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY KAC QTR SYR KAC KAC KAC FDB MSR MSC JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA ALK KLM JZR UAE ETD ABY QTR QTR AIC FDB GFA UAL JZR DLH MSR THY PIA

640 546 134 535 303 787 857 982 215 510 177 777 127 542 144 341 166 786 104 63 624 403 325 618 674 614 742 572 774 389 61 647 402 146 221 229 415 135 859 307 129 136 6130 981 59 217 981 239 636 614 772 205

AMMAN ALEXANDRIA DOHA CAIRO ABU DHABI RIYADH DUBAI WASHINGTON DC DULLES BAHRAIN RIYADH DUBAI JEDDAH SHARJAH CAIRO DOHA DAMASCUS PARIS JEDDAH LONDON DUBAI SOHAG ASSIUT NAJAF DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN DAMMAM MUMBAI RIYADH KOZHIKODE DUBAI MUSCAT BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN COLOMBO AMSTERDAM BAHRAIN DUBAI ABU DHABI SHARJAH DOHA DOHA CHENNAI DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN AMMAN FRANKFURT CAIRO ISTANBUL LAHORE

14:55 15:05 15:15 16:00 16:35 16:40 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:45 18:55 19:00 19:15 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:30 19:35 19:40 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:30 21:35 21:50 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:35 23:40 23:59

Airlines AIC UAL DLH MSR KLM PIA THY UAE FDB OMA RBG ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR RJA JZR GFA THY KAC BAW FDB ABY JZR KAC KAC KAC GFA UAE QTR KAC FDB ETD IRA GFA KAC IRA KAC MEA JZR UAE MSR MSC KAC JZR JZR BBC GFA FDB

Depature Flights on Tuesday 2/10/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA 981 WASHINGTON 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 411 AMSTERDAM 240 SIALKOT 773 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 644 MUSCAT 3554 ALEXANDRIA 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 643 AMMAN 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 545 ALEXANDRIA 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 534 CAIRO 513 TEHRAN 561 AMMAN 671 DUBAI 224 BAHRAIN 856 DUBAI 133 DOHA 101 LONDON 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 604 ISFAHAN 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 618 LAR 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 872 DUBAI 623 SOHAG 404 ASSIUT 785 JEDDAH 786 RIYADH 176 DUBAI 44 DHAKA 220 BAHRAIN 58 DUBAI

Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:35 0:55 1:00 2:15 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:00 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:00 6:50 6:55 7:05 7:10 8:10 8:25 8:25 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:15 9:20 9:25 9:40 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:20 10:45 11:30 11:40 11:45 11:55 12:15 12:20 12:25 13:00 13:10 13:15 13:20 13:45 14:25 14:25

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

MSR KAC KNE SVA KAC JZR RJA QTR KAC KAC KAC ETD JZR JZR QTR UAE GFA JZR ABY UAL SVA JZR QTR FDB SYR MSR MSC JZR KAC KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC OMA MEA GFA DHX ALK KLM ABY ETD KAC UAE QTR KAC KAC QTR AXB FDB QTR GFA KAC JZR

611 673 473 501 617 324 641 135 773 741 613 304 238 538 141 858 216 134 128 982 511 266 145 64 342 607 402 184 283 361 571 62 343 351 648 403 222 171 230 415 120 308 381 860 137 301 205 147 390 60 6131 218 411 528

CAIRO DUBAI JEDDAH JEDDAH DOHA AL NAJAF AMMAN DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM BAHRAIN ABU DHABI AMMAN CAIRO DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN SHARJAH BAHRAIN RIYADH BEIRUT DOHA DUBAI DAMASCUS LUXOR ALEXANDRIA DUBAI DHAKA COLOMBO MUMBAI DUBAI CHENNAI KOCHI MUSCAT BEIRUT BAHRAIN BAHRAIN COLOMBO DAMMAM SHARJAH ABU DHABI DELHI DUBAI DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD DOHA MANGALORE DUBAI DOHA BAHRAIN BANGKOK ASSIUT

14:30 15:05 15:15 15:45 15:45 15:50 15:50 16:15 16:25 16:30 16:30 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:50 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:55 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:55 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:35 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:20 23:30 23:40 23:50

34

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

s ta rs CROSSWORD 814

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) You are ready for the new projects or some advancement in technology this Monday. You may have been told about these upcoming changes and are looking forward to this learning period. You may receive a salary increase or favors from your employer. You tend to take greater interest in beautiful clothing and healthy habits that will help you to create a most positive new look. The noon break may find you looking in several store windows.

If you are not married, or do not have a steady love, there may be romantic or marital opportunity now, through your work. This evening you may decide to sort, file or tidy up your own personal files or surroundings. In preparation for new visitors to your home later today you may decide to mini-redecorate.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) A family member expresses interest in your work this morning—perhaps a long-time follower of your progress. You take great pride in showing off some of your research and how you conduct yourself. You are inclined to be more ambitious for material wealth and status. You may make short trips for business purposes. Intellectual interest turns toward secrets, mysteries, science, investigation and sex. You may have romantic, marriage or partnership opportunities through career activities. This may mean you can take a spouse or romantic partner with you on a business trip. This may create quite a distraction, but you can handle it if you plan ahead. Try not to make a permanent decision from a distance now—you may change your mind again later.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. A legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body.

4. A family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in southeastern Asia.

9. A town and port in northwestern Israel in the eastern Mediterranean.

13. A unit of conductance equal to the reciprocal of an ohm.

14. Intelligence derived from non-communications electromagnetic radiations from foreign sources (other than radioactive sources).

15. A notable achievement.

16. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium.

17. The lofty nest of a bird of prey (such as a hawk or eagle).

18. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

19. Divulge information or secrets.

21. Projectiles to be fired from a gun.

23. (British) Your grandmother.

24. A Loloish language.

26. One thousand grams.

27. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

28. Liquid containing proteins and electrolytes including the liquid in blood plasma and interstitial fluid.

29. A radioactive element of the alkali-metal group discovered as a disintegration product of actinium.

31. Date used in reckoning dates before the supposed year Christ was born.

33. The federal agency that insures residential mortgages.

36. Lower in esteem.

40. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

42. Characterized by lightness and insubstantiality.

43. The habitation of wild animals.

46. An association of nations dedicated to economic and political cooperation in southeastern Asia.

49. The state prevailing during the absence of war.

51. The quarter of many North African cities in which the citadel is located.

52. Unknown god.

56. (British) A local tax on property (usually used in the plural).

59. Leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in India for writing paper.

62. The right to take another's property if an obligation is not discharged.

63. Large semi-evergreen tree of East India.

64. A small cake leavened with yeast.

65. An informal term for a father.

DOWN 1. Naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporary pseudopods for feeding and locomotion.

2. A soft whitish calcite.

3. The first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Old Testament considered as a unit.

4. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

5. Fermented alcoholic beverage similar to but heavier than beer.

6. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

7. (Jungian psychology) The inner self (not the external persona) that is in touch with the unconscious.

8. A distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list.

9. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

10. English actor noted for his portrayals of Shakespeare's great tragic characters (1789-1833).

11. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

12. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

20. English monk and scholar (672-735).

22. Long green edible beaked pods of the okra plant.

25. Viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal often considered inedible by humans.

30. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

32. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

34. A collection of objects laid on top of each other.

35. A colorless and odorless inert gas.

37. (Scottish) Bluish-black or gray-blue.

38. A small drink.

39. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

41. A supporting tower used to support a bridge.

44. Type genus of the Anatidae.

45. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

47. A river that rises in central Germany and flows north to join the Elbe River.

48. At right angles to the length of a ship or airplane.

50. Jordan's port.

53. Type genus of the Amiidae.

54. In bed.

55. Type genus of the Ranidae.

57. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

58. (used especially of persons) Having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age.

60. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

61. (astronomy) The angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Your intuitive senses are on target with your business, professional or domestic goals. New options present themselves.

You can benefit through professional groups and organizations. Today you will be more in touch with your emotions than usual and will display more sensitivity toward the feelings of others. This period will help with your communications, especially conversations with women. You may feel restless and impatient in your relationships if one of them is aggressive. Easy does it . . . the aggressive behavior really has nothing to do with you and you did not cause it. Patience, all things come to an end. Put your overflow of enthusiasm toward exercise, sports or physical work. You are in a positive frame of mind this evening.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

You are apt to desire authority in some field of cultural interest or some set of principles. Communications tend to concern corporate business, joint finances, insurance and taxes. You may make short trips for business purposes now. Intellectual interest turns toward secrets, mysteries, science, investigation and sex. You may desire greater social prestige. You are inclined to be more ambitious for material wealth and status. You may have romance, marriage or partnership opportunities through your career activities.

You desire mental stimulation and taking up a new course of study, reading a book, visiting a museum or just exploring ideas with a friend will appeal to you.

Make plans to visit someplace new.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Yesterday’s Solution

You assert yourself, perhaps through your professional associations. Communications tend to concern corporate business and insurance programs. You make short trips for business purposes. Intellectual interest turns toward mysteries, science and investigation. You may have new methods of deciphering the truth in a crime investigation and you can be sure you will be called upon to uncover all the details that will catch the offender. You have private goals to be realized now as your domestic life becomes most important. This will dictate that you gain better control of your financial security and earning power.

Running into a friend from school days helps you remember old styles, old cars and people of long ago. It is time to pull out the picture albums.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) There can be a great demand on your energies now, as you tend to take on ambitious goals. Your workload may be heavy but you will be able to achieve what is necessary to complete all your tasks and responsibilities for this day. You may communicate with authority figures, or government officials related to your work. You enjoy harmony in business, social and romantic relationships today. Cooperation is needed to avoid difficulties in dealing with partners and equals. Be as considerate of others’ goals as you are careful with your own. You will need resolution, self-discipline and patience. Friends are cooperative and artistic endeavors bring satisfying results. Simplify your routine and create an environment favorable to your goals.

Libra (September 23-October 22) This is a period of increased work responsibility. As you develop more patience, persistence, skill, efficiency and organization in your work, you will find opportunities to advance. You may even decide that self-employment is the way you will want to proceed in the future. Develop good work habits and a sensible health regime. Dress sensibly and find simpler ways to serve employer, customers, or clients—they will appreciate it. A friend who is going through a difficult time responds to your offer of help. Your relationship with your partner is changing. Make sure any accommodations you are making to preserve or enhance the relationship are things you both will want to live with comfortably. Take a walk together after the evening meal.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) It’s a fortunate time for business contracts, sales and negotiations. Your career is in focus now. You and a co-worker may soon become very good friends. Real estate or leasing agencies and the mortgage or banking industry are all wonderful places for you to work. You enjoy the focus and the tremendous roller-coaster ride as you work to approve a loan for others. You have a great chance to increase your circle of personal friends. You can make a good impression on others through your kind ways. Cook up some health-conscious foods for the next few days—it looks like you will have drop-in visitors all season long; smile. You have opportunities for favorable partnerships or marriage. You will find a special friend who will share in your side adventures.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You may need a bit more time than usual today for writing out a particular plan or plot for a story line or a business proposal. Sometimes it just takes a few minutes in a different environment to put you back on track. When you do get an idea moving, a friend may have to touch your shoulder to get you to look up and break away for lunch. Take notes for later this afternoon and use the noon break to relax and refurbish your energies. By the time you prepare for going home this evening, you will find that you have actually accomplished a lot. If you have never met anyone that looks like you, this may happen tonight on your way home. Riding in transportation where lots of people have gathered, you will see a familiar face. Soon you will meet.

Word Search

Yesterday’s Solution Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You can continue with your plans for this day after you tend to some important issues. There are papers that need signing and a fee to be paid. There are opportunities now for rebuilding your personal power.

This may mean a class in negotiation or speech classes that will help you learn how to polish your presentations. It will be easy to understand new methods or ways to create a new interest. Advertising, inventions or sales brings you to seek out these new methods. Be assured; your methods are very good at this time.

This is probably why you are one of the best salespersons in your designated profession. Keeping ahead of the game with new knowledge and updated information will keep you in a top position for a very long time.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You may decide it is time to make more money and acquire more wealth. Avoid procrastination and plot out a plan for this improved wealth. Consider a family garage sale for this next weekend and this will give you and your family time to go through and cull out some of the things that are no longer useful. This garage sale will pull in some helpful, quick-fix funds.

A temporary part-time job for everyone might be good, particularly if they are all at an age that will create positive rewards. Every person is all eager to earn a little extra money but you will have to be the one to set the limit so that no one person is overworked or overstressed. New inventions and product discoveries provide a distraction as well as fun conversations around the dinner table tonight.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) You have the desire and enthusiasm to tackle any problem or project that comes to your attention today. Your personality and mode of living will be changeable. You are well disposed to others and have the ability to stop and lend a helping hand whenever the need arises. Companionship with others is most rewarding and you are wise to take every opportunity to be with friends later this afternoon. You can be helping them as much as their presence is helping you. Your body is invigorated, making you feel ready to conquer the world. There is not only a desire for outdoor physical activity, but there will most likely be ample opportunity to partake in it. However, you should be careful regarding any undo risks or thrill-seeking stunts. This evening is for fun.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Kaizen center

25716707

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

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

ST TAT TE OF KUW K WA AIT

Te el.: 161

DIRECTORA AT TE GENERAL GENE OF CIVIL AV VIA ATION T METEOROLOGICAL DEP PA ARTMENT

262 - 2630 Ext.: 2627

WWW.MET.GOV V..KW

Hot and humid over coastal areas with light northerly changing to light variable wind, with speed of 06 - 22 km/h

BY Y NIGHT:

Humid weather especially over coastal areas with variable wind changing to light to moderate north westerly wind, with speed of 06 - 26 km/h No Current Warnings arnin a

WARNING A

38 °C

27 °C

22451082

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

40 °C

22 °C

Al-Mirqab

22456536

NUW WA AISEEB

35 °C

20 °C

Sharq

22465401

WAFRA A

41 °C

21 °C

Salmiya

25746401

SALMI

40 °C

22 °C

ABDAL LY

Jabriya

25316254

42 °C

22 °C

JAL ALIY YA AH

41 °C

24 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FA AILAKA

36 °C

24 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

34 °C

29 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

35 °C

29 °C

W.Hawally

22630786

WARBA A A - BUBY YA AN

33 °C

19 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

ST TATION T

SFC. CHART

01/10/2012 0000 UTC

4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA AY

DA ATE T

Tuesday

02/10

Wednesday e

03/10

WEA AT THER

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

hot

40 °C

21 °C

NW-VRB

06 - 26 km/h

hot

41 °C

20 °C

NW-VRB

06 - 26 km/h

South Jahra

24775066

Thursday

04/10

hot

41 °C

21 °C

NW-VRB

06 - 26 km/h

North Jahra

24775992

Friday

05/10

hot

41 °C

21 °C

VRB-SE

06 - 26 km/h

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

RA AY YER TIMES PRA

AY AT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT RECORDED YESTERDA

Fajr

04:22

MAX. Temp.

40 °C

Sunrise

05:41

MIN. Temp.

20 °C

Zuhr

11:38

MAX. RH

63 %

Asr

15:02

MIN. RH

11 %

Sunset

17:34

MAX. Wiind

N 28 km/h

Isha

18:51

TOT TAL AL RAIINF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

00 mm

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Dr. Salem soso General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

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

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Al-Jahra

25610011

Al-Salmiya

25616368

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

BY Y DA AY:

KUW WA AIT CITY

Al-Omariya

Al-Shohada’a

Expected Weeather for the Next 24 Hours

MIN. REC.

24892674

22418714

Fax: 24348714

MAX. EXP P.

Firdous

Al-Madena

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

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

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Lohan scuffles with man in New York hotel ctress Lindsay Lohan was involved in a scuffle with a man at a New York hotel on Sunday, police said, over what media reports described as her demand that photos of her be deleted from his cellphone. Investigators took reports from both Lohan, 26, and the man, but charges appeared unlikely, said a spokeswoman for the New York City Police Department. A misdemeanor assault charge filed earlier in the day against the man was dropped, the spokeswoman said. Police declined to confirm local media reports identifying the man as Christian LaBella, 25, of California, a staffer with Congressman John Shimkus, an Illinois Republican.

“Nobody’s been arrested, there’s no assault,” the police spokeswoman told Reuters. “Reports were taken and both parties were able to give their account of what took place.” Lohan’s spokesman Steve Honig earlier in the day said Lohan suffered minor injuries in what he described as an attack, and said her assailant was arrested.

“Lindsay was victim of an assault,” Honig said. “She does not face any charges.” Celebrity website TMZ.com, citing sources close to the

A

actress, identified the attacker as a man Lohan met at a New York nightclub. The two began arguing in Lohan’s hotel room after she noticed he was taking pictures of her with his cellphone, TMZ and E! News reported. Lohan told police the man threw her to the ground, climbed on top of her and tried to choke her before someone else pulled him off, TMZ said. Honig declined comment on the media reports. The actress, who has been in and out of court, rehab and prison in recent years, was arrested in New York last week after a pedestrian told police that her car had struck him in an alley. She was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor.

DiCaprio, Maguire, others urge voter expression eonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire lead a cast of stars in a new public service announcement urging young voters to use social media to express the issues most important to them in the upcoming election. Zac Efron, Selena Gomez, Ellen DeGeneres, Jonah Hill and Joseph Gordon Levitt also appear in the Vote 4 Stuff video unveiled Monday, joining other stars in a call to voters to post tweets, photos and short videos about concerns they feel deserve presidential attention.

“This is one of the most important elections of our lifetime,” said DiCaprio, whose production company, Appian Way, is a sponsor of Vote 4 Stuff. “We are using the power of social media throughout the Vote 4 Stuff campaign to incite bipartisan conversation around real issues, encourage registration and voting in November.” Edward Norton, Sarah Silverman, Benicio Del Toro and Amanda Seyfried are also featured in the 2 1/2minute video, which promises that content created in response to it will be incorporated into Vote 4 Stuff’s future online efforts. Among the concerns these stars reveal in the video: Jobs, marriage equality, climate change, foreign policy, reproductive rights, immigration, worker’s rights, teacher salaries and education.

L

Michael cancels Australia tour, cites anxiety ritish singer George Michael has cancelled his tour of Australia due to “major anxiety” brought on by his recent battle with severe pneumonia, he announced on his website. The former Wham! frontman said that he would complete his Symphonica Tour dates in Britain in October before seeking treatment. He had been due to open in Australia in Perth on Nov. 10 before performing in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hunter Valley on Dec 1. “I have ... announced the cancellation of the shows in Australia which breaks my heart,” Michael said in a statement. The 49-year-old “Careless Whisper” and “Faith” singer fell ill in Vienna last November and was treated under intensive care for a month for a life-threatening illness. He was forced to postpone his tour but resumed it some 10 months later. “Since last year’s illness I have tried in vain to work my way through the trauma that the doctors who saved my life warned me I would experience,” Michael said.

“They recommended complete rest ... but I’m afraid I believed (wrongly) that making music and getting out there to perform for the audiences that bring me such joy would be therapy enough in itself.” He said his return to the stage had brought him “great happiness” and that some of his recent performances were his best to date, but concluded: “I was wrong to think I could work my way through the major anxiety that has plagued me since I left Austria last December. “All that’s left for me to do is apologise to my wonderful Australian fan base and to promise faithfully that as soon as I completed these shows here in the UK, I will receive the treatment which is so long overdue.” Tickets to his Australian concerts will be refunded. Michael has sold an estimated 100 million records over his career, but he has hit headlines in recent years for his personal life more often than for his music. In 1998 he was arrested in California for “engaging in a lewd act” in a public toilet and has had a string of run-ins with British police for possession of narcotics. He also served a term in jail for driving under the influence of cannabis.

B

Kings of Leon bassist Followill marries

Huston’s dad made

ings of Leon bassist Jared Followill and model Martha Patterson have gotten married. The couple married Saturday evening during a ceremony with friends and family at Front Porch Farms about 40 miles (65 kilometers) outside Nashville. The marriage means all four members of the Followill family band are off the market. Older brothers Nathan and Caleb and cousin Matthew have already started families. The 25-year-old Followill and 21-year-old Patterson were engaged last spring. Patterson wore a white dress with lace bodice and flowing feathered skirt by Monique Lhuillier and Followill wore black Gucci. Patterson said in a Tweet earlier Saturday she’s “marrying my best friend.” Followill quipped that he’s “dreamed about this day since I was a little girl.”

K

her feel ‘plain’ njelica Huston’s father made her feel unattractive.

The 61-year-old actress was devastated as a teenager when she heard her actor dad John Huston say he thought she would grow up to be “plain” and his remark made her feel very insecure about her appearance. She said: “I was not at my happiest in my late teens. I went from confident and secure to shy and insecure and back again. “I wish I could have been more accepting of myself. I had once overheard my father saying, when I was about 15 or 16, that I might turn out to be plain. That was a particularly unattractive moment for me. “My nose was growing and my chin was receding, by comparison, and no one knew more than me how plain I felt.” Anjelica - whose mother Enrica died when she was 18 - also admitted that working with her father on one of her first movies was such a bad experience, it put her off acting for many years. She told The Sun newspaper: “I made a big mistake at 18. I appeared in my father’s movie, ‘A Walk With Love and Death’. It was a personal disaster for both of us. “I don’t think we said more than 10 words to each other during the making of the film. I was reluctant and he was parental. “The whole experience turned me off acting for about the next 10 years. I didn’t go near another film set. “My father really gave me the part as a present and I didn’t identify with it. I didn’t know what I was doing and I wish I’d been better prepared.”

A

White stalks off NY concert stage after 45 minutes ack White didn’t quite repeat the rock star meltdown by Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, but he did enrage fans by stalking off the stage just 45 minutes into his Saturday night concert at New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall. The critically acclaimed guitarist behind the White Stripes and The Raconteurs - and now touring behind his solo record “Blunderbuss” - pulled the plug after 12 songs lasting just 45 minutes. White, 37, thanked the crowd and exited stage right, leaving the sold-out venue chanting for more. The crowd’s enthusiasm initially turned to perplexity as roadies removed White’s guitars but transformed into anger as the curtain fell on the stage. No official explanation was given for White’s quick exit.

While audience members had been told not to use their cellphone cameras, early in the concert White was seen exchanging words with someone video recording the concert from the seating area nearest the stage. In between songs, White also seemed underwhelmed by the crowd response, at one point asking, “Jesus Christ, is this an NPR convention?” Radio City security officials scrambled to barricade the stage door as angry concert goers crowded the exit and, once outside, banged on two parked tour buses. Other fans crowded the lobby to return t-shirts, records and other merchandise purchased ahead of the show. Twitter lit up with complaints and theories about why White quit. “Chatter about Jack White’s abbreviated show at New York’s Radio City Music Hall last night has officially lasted longer than the concert itself,” noted Spin.com, the music website. White’s skill as a guitarist has enabled him to play with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jeff Beck, Alicia Keys and other well-known musicians. His abrupt exit came a week after Green Day’s Armstrong said he would seek substance abuse treatment after losing his temper at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas, culminating in an expletive-laced tirade followed by the smashing of his guitar.

J

Timberlake lets J Biel have her own way

ustin Timberlake always lets Jessica Biel have her own way. The Hollywood couple - who have been together for five years and are set to wed soon - have had ups and downs during their relationship, but Justin has learned to let Jessica do things the way she wants to and make most joint decisions for them. He said: “We have a couple of rules in our relationship. The first rule is that I make her feel like she’s getting her way in everything. “The second rule is that I actually do let her have her way in everything. And so far, it’s working!” The ‘Bad Teacher’ star - who has dated Britney Spears and Cameron Diaz in the past - likes to always be chivalrous with his partner, and even asked her out for the first time “the old-fashioned way” by telephone. He said: “There was nothing starry about the way we got together - it was very un-Hollywoodesque in fact. We met and got talking, afterwards I asked my friend if I could call her and ask her out. My friend called Jessica and Jessica said yes, and so I called her. “And yes, I did it the old fashioned way - by telephone.

That’s something I learned from both my stepdad and my grandfather - that there is thing called chivalry and it doesn’t have to die with the birth of the internet.” However, it was not easy for him to convince Jessica to date him as she initially knocked back most of his advances, but he talked her into it in the end. He added to the UK edition of HELLO! magazine: “I had to be pretty persistent in order to get her to say yes. But I have a fair amount of tenacity and if want something I stick to it. And in the end she agreed.” —Agencies

J

37 Egypt tourism

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

LIFESTYLE T r a v e l

takes a hit from prophet protests

A foreign tourist enjoys a ride on a camel as she visits the historical site of the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt. —AP photos ne of the world’s largest cruise ships, its foreign passengers primed for onshore spending, was supposed to dock in Egypt last month. The port call, however, was scrapped because of security concerns surrounding Mideast protests against a film made in the US that denounces Islam’s holiest figure. Once again, Egyptian tourism, an engine of the

O

national economy and a flagship of the regional industry, has taken a hit. It was another setback for a business that had plummeted in parts of the Middle East and North Africa last year during the uprisings known as the Arab Spring, then moved toward recovery this year.

“Small things become like mountains,” Essam Zeid, an Egyptian tour guide, said of the fallout from unrest in

An Egyptian policeman sits guard in Khan Al-Khalili area in Cairo, Egypt.

Foreign tourists visit the historical site of the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt.

An Egyptian man rides a motorbike past a historical mosque in Khan AlKhalili.

Egypt since authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February 2011. But he also offered a (somewhat) positive metaphor: “We always say that Egypt gets sick but never dies. Recovery is always an option.”

Egypt and other Arab nations undergoing turmoil rely heavily on the laborintensive trade and see it as key to economic growth and social stability.

Tourism directly contributes a big chunk of gross domestic product to some of the countries that suffered economic fallout from last year’s tumult, which came not long after the global financial crisis.

Egypt, for example, generates 6.7 percent of GDP from travel and tourism and Tunisia is around the same level with 6.6 percent, with benefits to related businesses pushing the figures even higher, according to the London-based World Tourism and Travel Council. It is among industry groups that will assess the impact from the latest upheaval, though it is too early for a comprehensive estimate of losses.

In the multi-layered Middle East, a setback for tourism in one area can mean a windfall in another. During the Arab Spring, tourists, many of them Arabs, turned away from countries in crisis and traveled to more stable places like Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, said Sana Toukan, Middle East research manager for Euromonitor International, a market research group. The UAE also drew more Chinese visitors, according to Toukan.

The latest downturn followed demonstrations in Egypt against an online film that was produced by a US citizen originally from Egypt and denigrates the Prophet Muhammad. They were part of a wider explosion of anger in Muslim countries. The unrest hit near the US Embassy, far from the pyramids of Giza on Cairo’s outskirts, and even farther from gated Red Sea resorts, cocoons for the beach-bound vacationer.

Yet the online or TV images of flames, barricades and whooping demonstrators were a killjoy for anyone planning a getaway, even though the protests have subsided in many places. Tour guides in Egypt say tourist bookings are mostly holding, but they worry about a drop-off early next year as people tend to plan several months ahead.

Tharwat Agami, head of the chamber of tourist agencies in Luxor, home to the Valley of the Kings tombs in southern Egypt, reported up to one-quarter of tourist cancellations through October.

His own company guided 17 American tourists last week, half of the group’s expected number.

Royal Caribbean International took no chances. One of its vessels, Mariner of the Seas, can carry more than 3,000 passengers. It left Italy, on Sept 15 - with regional tension still boiling over the film - and was to call at Alexandria on the northern Egypt Mediterranean coast three days later. The company canceled the layover “in an abundance of caution,” said Cynthia Martinez, director of global corporate communications at Miamibased Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “Royal Caribbean International continues to closely monitor the situation in Egypt,” Martinez wrote in an email

Tuesday to The Associated Press. “At this time, Royal Caribbean has not changed the itinerary of any upcoming sailing that includes a port call to Egypt.”

Cruise ships also stayed away during the turmoil that led to Mubarak’s downfall. Usually, passengers board buses for a day’s outing to Cairo, where the pyramids, the medieval citadel, the mummies of the Egyptian Museum and other treasures await. It’s a windfall for guides, ticket vendors and souvenir shops.

Egyptian tourism revenues fell 30 percent to $9 billion in 2011, but the industry proved as resilient as it is vulnerable. It survived the killing of 62 people, mostly foreign tourists, by Islamic militants in a 1997 attack at Luxor that seemed aimed at weakening the government by stopping the flow of tourism revenue. The Sept 11, 2001 attacks by alQaida pummeled tourism, as did 2005 bombings in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh.

Fueled partly by oil income, Mideast tourism is more diverse and reliant on regional customers. Expatriates and tourists splurge in the glitzy city-state of Dubai in the Persian Gulf; religious tourism is big at Islamic sites in Saudi Arabia; Oman and Jordan are angling for a piece of the medical tourism market.

The popular uprisings did not affect Turkey but diverted tourist traffic to the country, now rated sixth in the world in international tourist arrivals.

Tourism prospects are a moot point in Syria, which is embroiled in a civil war, and in still-chaotic Libya, where militias roam. The US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed on Sept 11 in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi in an attack on the American consulate there.

In Tunisia, violence and looting around the US Embassy during a protest against the anti-Islam film did no favors for a tourism campaign that had been titled, “All Dreams are Possible.”

“It’s not one picture when you look at the Middle East,” said Sandra Carvao, Madrid-based communications coordinator at the World Tourism Organization, a UN agency. “It’s a region that has suffered and has proven to bounce back in the past.”

Indeed, the agency had deemed the Middle East to be the fastest growing tourism market in the world over the past decade, despite the Iraq war, the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other violence.

While some Gulf airlines have gone bankrupt, Carvao compared the expansion of Emirates and Etihad Airways to the rate of growth of Asia’s aviation leaders.

Amid upheaval and political transition in 2011, according to the agency, international tourist arrivals in the Middle East dropped seven percent to 55.7 million, and in North Africa by nine percent to 17 million. So far this year, the numbers have climbed by nearly one percent and 10.5 percent, respectively.

Gladys Haddad, a tour guide in Cairo, said she was pleased that Egypt’s new president, Mohammed Morsi, appealed to Italians to visit Egypt when he was in Rome at the height of tension over the anti-Islam film. She said early concerns

that Egypt’s Islamist-dominated government might scare off tourists by banning alcohol or mixed beaches have waned, at least for now.

“I don’t think they’re going to have like a magic stick to do things right away” to improve tourism, Zeid, the guide who is quick with a metaphor, said of Egypt’s fledgling government. “We can’t really evaluate their work right now.

They have lots of other issues on their agenda.”

One thing in their favor, immeasurably, is what lies in Egyptian sands. In its bid to revive tourism, the government this month reopened the Serapeum of Saqqara, a subterranean necropolis where bulls were believed to have been

buried in giant sarcophagi. The site was closed for a decade for renovation.

One tourist who marveled at Egypt’s heritage was Herodotus, the ancient Greek who wrote about Egyptian beliefs and customs, based on what he said he had observed. According to a 19th century translation by a British scholar, he wrote: “Concerning Egypt itself, I shall extend my remarks to a great length, because there is no country that possesses so many wonders, nor any that has such a number of works which defy description.” —AP

Foreign tourists visit the historical site of the Giza Pyramids. (above and below).

A tour guide sits on his camel as he waits for clients next to the Giza pyramids.

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with subtle architecture. Another of Paris’ influential designers, Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy, presented a new vision of style Sunday. Again, Tisci channeled a clean look, simplifying the house silhouette in a less elaborate yet sophisticated collection. Hermes - the house of the jet-setting fashion buyer - served up the elegance in its usual cocktail of travel, silk, leather and exotic cultural references.

Summing up his show, the house’s designer Christophe

Lemaire said it represented “a clean, sharp, modernist traveler.” Yesterday’s highly anticipated shows include Stella McCartney, Chloe - and the hottest ticket of the week Hedi Slimane’s debut outing as designer for the rebranded Saint Laurent.

Celine

rue style doesn’t try too hard. That was the statement at Paris Fashion Week, alarmingly simple, but proved in a number of ready-to-wear presentations Sunday which heralded a move towards clean, simplified elegance.

Celine designer Phoebe Philo - at the top of her game produced a chic display, effortlessly. Three years after the lauded Briton’s Celine debut, she delivered a strong show, which evoked her boho-bourgeois style in soft silhouettes

CELINE Spring is about gentle contradictions, not color, Phoebe Philo seemed to say: Shown through a muted palette of black, white, navy and gray. The real point of the show was the gentle play on contrasting lines, then textures, then form. Loosely hanging silhouettes - often with attention to

neck details in high necks, bands and twists - came in column or boxy shapes, with a couple of black A-line tuxedodresses for good measure. The gloss of sheeny silks whispered a contrast against matte fabric. Philo has often been noted for her chic “utilitarian tailoring,” which she delivers with uncanny ease. Here we saw it used artistically in hem-

HERMES The fashion crowd got their summer holidays early - flown first class across a vibrant mix of Polynesian prints and color-rich baroque foulard motifs. Several of the models carried hang luggage.

The mascot of the house, after all, is an airborne messenger. The looks stopped off at every fabric under the sun: in full grain leather woven in silk, washed silk twill, plunged lambskin, satin piping and lovely indigo denim linen. Colors too, were diverse in cappuccino, terracotta, sulphur, emerald, cobalt and -the palette’s most beautiful - celadon.

The flight this season stopped off at the Netherlands and Germany- with tinges of the geometry and graphics of 1930s. “I’m a modernist at heart,” Lemaire said following the show, hosted

line frays which turned into tassels, and twisted fabric that wrapped round the back sewn crudely together in a lump.

It’s a style that wouldn’t look out of place on Juliette Binoche, for example, who accepted a best-actress award at Cannes in 2010 in custom Celine. The house is right in fancying themselves as Paris calendar’s arty side. When

fashion insiders asked to see the mandatory program notes, there were wry smiles as they were handed a textfree book of collage pictures.

next to Paris’ Tuileries gardens. This idea was worked into the collection’s best looks with a feel of famed Dutch painter Piet Mondrian - who used geometric shapes and blocks of colors that could be seen in several of the final looks. Printed geometric floaty silk blouses and slightly jarring assorted pants made bold statements. They also featured the slight play on masculine styles that Lemaire likes to toy with periodically: A cotton wool cravate appeared on most of the looks as a man’s tie, tucked into a hoop. The result was pure luxury, air delivered as only Hermes can.

GIVENCHY Trend-setting designer Riccardo Tisci changed the direction of Givenchy’s ready-to-wear Sunday. He simplified the silhouette to a more flattened and spread out front-and-shoulder emphasis in 37 black, white and gray looks. A strong voice in the fashion conversation, Tisci’s tailoring influences designers far and wide. Last spring, for instance, he brought back the peplum. Now, hardly a collection goes by without one cropping up. The wilder bondage-gear touches that added spice to last season’s equestrian-inspired trip, were gone here, in a less elaborate display - but which had its moments of clean elegance. A great feature was the clean, descending ripples in many of the looks which are sure to spread into other collections like wildfire.

But for a designer who likes to live dangerously, this more saleable collectionthough a departure from last season felt at times like he was playing-it-safe.

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lifestyle F a s h i o n

KENZO Kenzo headed back to the Southeast Asian jungle Sunday in a vibrant, fun collection that picked up their last menswear theme: A rainforest trek. After just one year at the helm, the hard work of designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim has paid off: They’ve managed to re-stamp the brand with a cool, populist edge. But they’re serious about their work in other ways too: Fashion insiders had to live the catwalk theme - literally - by trekking to the far-flung venue, the Maison de Judo, on the Paris city limits. In bold - sometimes purposefully garish - orange vermilions and greens, the collection threw up some great wide pants and boxy-

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ilda Swinton solemnly unspooled a pair of century-old silk stockings from a dust cover, placed one in each gloved hand and strode down the room-before a spellbound Paris art and fashion crowd. The British actress was the self-effacing-yet-central figure of an offbeat performance that premiered on Saturday night, in which she breathes life into 57 rare treasures from the archive of Paris’s Galliera museum of fashion. Dubbed “ The Impossible Wardrobe”, the installation is the brainchild of the museum’s director Olivier Saillard-who acts as Swinton’s on-stage assistant, handing her wrapped dresses, coats and accessories to unfurl and display.

“The performance was born of a taboo-you cannot wear the clothes that we store in our museums,” Saillard told AFP. “But you can bear them, gently in your arms,” he said-playing on the twin meanings of the French word “porter”, which means both to wear and to carry. Dressed in a plain kimono cut from ivory dust-cover fabric, her cropped blonde hair scraped right back, Swinton radiated emotion as she bore the clothes down the “runway” to a full-length mirror, and back again to be spirited away.

For the show, staged over three days at the Palais de Tokyo modern art museum, Saillard chose 57 dresses, coats and accessories, many by the greatest names in fashion history: Elsa Schiaparelli, Cristobal Balenciaga, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior or Pierre Balmain. A 1968 chain-mail Paco Rabanne mini-dress once graced Brigitte Bardot, while a lush ermine collar, white with black specks, was worn by the 19th-century actress Sarah Bernhardt.

Other pieces had a powerful historical resonance, like an 1810 blue jacket with gold embroidery that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte, and which Swinton propelled before her at arm’s length as if overcome by its presence. Some she hugged tight, like a 1790 man’s dress coat, green and iridescent purple. As she carried a mid18th-century coachman’s jacket, she fluttered one hand to suggest the heartbeat that once kept it warm.

“It was strange to think that we were storing all these garments that once clothed living bodies,” Saillard explained. “I thought we could make something living of the museum’s collections. “We went for very eccentric pieces, but also very simple ones, to show that the

shaped jackets as well as a lot of safari-style street wear.

Though some of the jungle printed ensembles looked overly busy - a beautiful camouflage print made up for it with images of flowers that looked like leopard. But there was art in the detail too, with the designers showing a flair for tailoring in great utilitarian features. — AP

wealth of a fashion museum is not just in its ball gowns, but also in a little handkerchief, a humble little scrap of someone’s life.” Like, for example, the pair of stockings from 1918, which belonged to the 20th-century socialite Daisy Fellowes. “It’s a bit like a double of the self,” he said. Incidentally, as Swinton replaced the stockings on their display tray, she shook her hands as if ridding herself of too much of a foreign presence.

When Swinton first visited the museum storerooms, she said it felt like entering a morgue. But she delved into the stores over and over throughout the course of a year, as she and Saillard put the project together. “And then you realise that it is a nursery,” she told Saillard. A well-known fashion historian, the Galliera museum director has also carved out something of a niche in fashion-related performances, including staging what he dubs fashion “haikus” on the sidelines of the haute couture shows in Paris. When the time came to seek an actress for the project, he quickly settled on Swinton. A trained Shakespearean actress, she has a record of art installations, including the 1995 “The Maybe” for which she spent a week asleep in a glass box, as well as friendships with fashion designers from Haider Ackermann-who was at Saturday’s show-to Dior’s new designer Raf Simons. “She is an artist before being an actress. She can turn herself into a living base, her face can be both masculine and feminine. And she could come from any century,” said Saillard. “I couldn’t see who else could do it.” — AFP

British actress Tilda Swinton presents a Delphos dress created by Spanish fashion designer Mariano Fortuny during a show at the Palais de Tokyo modern art museum in Paris. — AFP photos

Tilda Swinton presents a postilion jacket created in 1860 during a show at the Palais de Tokyo modern art museum.

Lindsay Lohan scuffles with man in New York hotel

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The exterior of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum on the school’s campus in Hamden.

This image provided by Quinnipiac University of a 1998 bronze sculpture by Roan Gillespie titled “The Victim.”

Irish famine museum opening at US university W

hile he grew up in New York, John Lahey recalls, the Irish famine was almost a taboo topic. But these days, the Quinnipiac University president and former grand marshal of the New York St Patrick’s Day parade is determined to show the world the horror and learn from the tragedy. Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, which the Connecticut University is opening to the public on Oct 11 in

Hamden, has the world’s largest collection of visual art, artifacts and printed materials related to the famine, college officials say.

It’s known in Irish as M?saem an Ghorta Mh?ir. “To have this museum right here I think is going to be a huge draw for IrishAmericans and others,” said Lahey, who is 66. “I think it’s going to become a nationally known and indeed an internationally known place to come and to learn about that part of Ireland’s history.”

The collection focuses on the famine years from 1845 to 1852, when blight destroyed virtually all of Ireland’s potato crops. More than 1 million died and about 2 million emigrated to the United States and other countries. Lahey, citing the work of historians, blames the British gov-

This photo shows an interior view of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum on the school’s campus in Hamden, Conn. — AP photos

An oil on canvas painting by Lilian Lucy Davidson titled “Burying the Child.”

An 1847 oil on canvas painting by Daniel MacDonald titled “Irish Peasant Children,” is among the artwork on display in Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum.

ernment that ruled Ireland at the time for making the tragedy much worse. There was plenty of food to feed the starving masses, Lahey said, but exports of food and livestock were shipped under military guard to England. “I would describe it as a callous disregard for human life,” Lahey said. “The response was minimal at best. I think the message of the Great Hunger is that governments have a responsibility for

their citizens and when there is a crisis of that nature, it’s not business as usual.”

Historians have argued for generations over the degree to which Britain contributed to the disaster. The British government had refused to send large-scale food aid after the first year of the famine because it would cost too much and hurt agricultural prices.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1997 offered a statement of regret for British policy during the famine. “Those who governed in London at the time failed their people through standing by while a crop failure turned into a massive human tragedy,” Blair said. Among the 75 to 80 exhibits in the 4,750-square-foot (441-sq. meter) museum is a painting of a couple burying their child in a bleak landscape and another of three peasant children representing the three faces of

Ireland - the beautiful, the mischievous and the dangerous. One child has a bottle cocked like a gun, suggesting a rebellion to come, said Niamh O’Sullivan, inaugural curator for the museum.

Another exhibit commemorates hundreds of famine immigrants who died of disease in quarantine camps on New York’s Staten Island and buried in a mass grave. Their names, ages and cause of death are etched into bronze tables.

Newspaper illustrations from the time show starving children, barefoot and dressed in rags, turning the soil trying to find a potato. “Each day, each hour produces its own victims, holocausts offered at the shrine of political economy,” one letter to a newspaper stated. “Famine and pestilence are sweeping away hundreds, but they have now no terrors for the poor people. Their only regret seems to be that

they are not relieved from their suffering and misery by some process more speedy and less painful.”

The paintings and other illustrations will help the public grasp the magnitude of the catastrophe, said Christine Kinealy, who has written books on the famine.

“That’s quite a groundbreaking thing to do,” Kinealy said. “Giving a visual dimension just adds something to the famine story. It’s really hard to get our minds around 1 million people dying in this way.”

Lahey traces the museum’s history to when he was grand marshal and made the 150th anniversary of the height of the famine a theme of the parade. His talks on the topic led Murray Lender, a Quinnipiac trustee who died in March, and his brother Marvin to make a contribution to acquire an initial collection of art and other materials that grew over the years to the point that the university opened the museum.

“We began to identify with it just based on our experiences in the Jewish community,” Marvin Lender said, while noting he was not equating the Holocaust to the famine. “Clearly the Irish people were paying a horrible penalty for something that they never did.”

Museum programs, including tours of the collection, discussions, films, plays and concerts will educate the public, scholars, researchers, artists and students about the richness of Irish culture. Lahey said he hopes the museum will increase public appreciation for the quality of Irish visual art. — AP

Bonnie, Clyde guns stay together after high bidder pays $500,000

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wo pistols found on the bodies of famed Depression-era outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow after they were killed by a posse in 1934 have sold at auction on Sunday for $504,000. A snubnosed .38 special found taped to the inside of Parker’s thigh with white medical tape fetched $264,000 at an auction in Nashua, New Hampshire. A Colt .45 recovered from the waistband of Barrow’s pants was purchased for $240,000. The guns owned by Parker, who died at age 23, and Barrow, who was 25, were purchased by a Texas collector who wished to remain anonymous.

“They’re still iconic and their love story kind of resonates,” said Bobby Livingston, vice president of RR Auction, the company that conducted the sale. “We have a romanticized vision of Bonnie and Clyde.”

The hunt for the outlaw lovers captured the nation’s imagination during the depths of the Great Depression. The duo were believed to have committed 13 murders and numerous bank robberies, kidnappings and car thefts during a cross-country crime spree from 1932 to 1934. Their fame was heightened by their practice of leaving

glamorous photos of themselves at crime scenes, including one of Parker smoking a cigar. A popular 1967 movie, “Bonnie and Clyde,” a somewhat romanticized account of the couple’s career starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, was critically acclaimed for its frank presentation of sex and violence. Among other crimes, the two are thought to have killed police officers in Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma. They were also suspected of staging a prison break in Waldo, Texas, that left two prison guards dead in 1934.

A posse of Texas Rangers and Louisiana police killed the two in an early morning ambush in northern Louisiana in May of that year. The guns auctioned off came from the estate of memorabilia collector Robert Davis, who had purchased them in 1986 for about $50,000 each, Livingston said. A gold pocket watch found on Barrow’s body sold for $36,000. Other items included a 1921 Morgan silver dollar taken from Barrow’s jacket fetched $32,400, and one of Parker’s silk stockings, taken from the couple’s car after their death, which went for $11,400. — Reuters

A woman looks yesterday in Paris at a work entitled ‘Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf ?’ (2011-2012) by French Algerian born artist Adel Abdessemed, created in 2011-2012 and displayed at the Centre Pompidou contemporary art center, aka Beaubourg.

The event, entitled ‘Adel Abdessemed. Je suis innocent’ (.... I am innocent) runs from Oct 3, 2012, to Jan 7, 2013. — AFP