3rd Sep

CR IP TI ON BS SU

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

Bangladeshi cleaner wins Ramadan quiz grand prize

Jihadist shift seen in Pakistan – fewer Arabs

150 FILS

Maradona remains in Dubai as sports ‘ambassador’

21

15

Bahrain wants apology over Iran mistranslation

40 PAGES

NO: 15557

Slovenian supercar maker hits the road in style

14

4

www.kuwaittimes.net

SHAWWAL 16, 1433 AH

Morsi ‘did not discuss boosting ties with Iran’

Shareholders in Global approve final debt plan KUWAIT: Shareholders in Kuwait’s Global Investment House yesterday approved a final plan for the company’s $1.7 billion debt restructuring that will create new special purpose vehicles to take on its debts. The Kuwaiti investment company and asset manager, undergoing its second debt restructuring in three years, will create at least two SPVs as part of the plan.

One will hold company assets along with a debt of $1.3 billion. Another SPV will take part in a capital increase for the parent company and will carry a debt equivalent to $430 million, Managing Director Maha Al-Ghunaim told a news conference.

“One special purpose vehicle is going to hold the assets from our balance sheet which will be moved to that company,” Ghunaim said.

Continued on Page 13

LONDON: China’s Li Huzhao (right) races alongside Kuwait’s Hamad Al-Adwani (left) during the men’s 400 m round 1 T53 category during the London 2012 Paralympic Games at the Olympic Park in east London yesterday. Adwani came second in his group with a time of 51.35 seconds, his best time this year. — AFP (See Page 18)

Blair, Bush should face trial over Iraq war: Tutu LONDON: Archbishop Desmond Tutu called yesterday for their actions in The Hague,” Tutu wrote in the weekly Sunday British ex-leader Tony Blair and former US president George W newspaper. “But even greater costs have been exacted beyond Bush to face trial in The Hague for their role in the killing fields, in the hardened hearts and minds the Iraq war. The South African peace icon, of members of the human family across the world.” writing in The Observer newspaper, accused However, Blair responded in a statement saying the pair of lying about weapons of mass that “this is the same argument we have had many destruction and said the invasion left the times with nothing new to say”. Tutu, a long-standworld more destabilised and divided “than any ing vocal critic of the Iraq war, had snubbed Blair other conflict in history”. Tutu argued that diflast week, pulling out of a South African conference ferent standards appeared to apply for proseon leadership last week because the ex-premier was cuting African leaders than western counterattending. The peace icon said he had boycotted parts, and added that the death toll during the event in protest at Blair’s “morally indefensible” and after the Iraq conflict was sufficient for support of the US-led 2003 Iraq invasion. The archBlair and Bush to face trial. bishop added yesterday: “I did not deem it approDesmond Tutu “On these grounds alone, in a consistent priate to have this discussion. As the date drew world, those responsible for this suffering and nearer, I felt an increasingly profound sense of disloss of life should be treading the same path as some of their comfort about attending a summit on ‘leadership’ with Mr Blair.”

African and Asian peers who have been made to answer for Continued on Page 13

Netanyahu urges ‘clear red line’ to stop Iran

Benjamin Netanyahu

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world powers yesterday to set a “clear red line” for Tehran’s atomic program that would convince Iran they were determined to prevent it from obtaining nuclear arms. Netanyahu’s remarks suggested a growing impatience with Israel’s main ally, the United States, and other countries that have been pressing him to give diplomacy and sanctions more time to work and hold off on any go-it-alone strike on Iran. Recent heightened Israeli rhetoric has stoked speculation that Israel might attack Iran before the US elections in November, believing that President Barack Obama would give it military help and not risk alienating pro-Israeli voters.

“I believe the truth must be stated: The international community is not placing a clear red line Continued on Page 13

Max 45º Min 32º High Tide 01:25 & 13:21 Low Tide 07:06 & 19:25

DUBAI: Bahrain has criticised Iranian officials and demanded an apology over a mistranslation of a speech

by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, which replaced the word “Syria” with “Bahrain” when he listed Arab states that had experienced revolts since last year. The reference was diplomatically sensitive because Iran, a Shiite power and an ally of the Syrian government, has expressed sympathy with a Shiite-led democratic protest movement in Bahrain against the ruling AlKhalifa family. The Khalifas, backed by Washington, are Sunni Muslim.

Morsi, a Sunni Islamist who was elected president this year, gave the speech on Thursday during a meeting in Tehran of the Non-Aligned Movement, a group of 120 mostly developing nations. He did not mention Bahrain, and the Bahraini government lodged a complaint with Iran’s charge d’affaires on Saturday over the mistranslation on Iranian state television and radio.

“This is a violation, fabrication and unacceptable media behaviour that shows how Iranian media is interfering in Bahrain’s internal affairs,” Bahrain’s government-run news agency BNA said late on Saturday, adding that Bahrain had demanded an apology. The head of Iran’s state media said yesterday the word “Syria” was Continued on Page 13

More talks before Gulf integration

JEDDAH: Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah attends a regular ministerial meeting of the GCC yesterday. — AFP

JEDDAH: Gulf Arab foreign ministers said a plan to integrate their six countries, proposed by Saudi Arabia last year as a response to Middle East turmoil, needed more discussion after they met in Jeddah yesterday. Saudi King Abdullah had urged the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to move “to the stage of unity in a single entity” at the end of a speech in December that focused on last year’s Arab uprisings- and a perceived threat from Shiite power Iran. The GCC countries, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, in January ordered a committee to study the idea and it presented its proposals to the foreign ministers before yesterday’s meeting.

“Given the need for more time and discussion, the council decided to assign the general secretariat with finalising the viewpoints of member countries and

Continued on Page 13

Pak imam held in blasphemy case ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani cleric who accused a young Christian girl of blasphemy in a case that sparked international concern was remanded in custody yesterday on suspicion of evidence-tampering and desecrating the Holy Quran. The girl, Rimsha, has been held in prison since being arrested in the poor Islamabad suburb of Mehrabad more than two weeks ago accused of burning papers containing verses from the Quran, in breach of Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws. A medical report last week said she had a mental age of less than 14 and her case has prompted concern among Western governments and anger from rights groups who say Pakistan’s strict blasphemy legislation is often abused to settle personal scores.

Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti, the imam of the mosque in Rimsha’s area, who first gave police the burned papers as evidence against her, was detained by police on Saturday evening. “The imam was arrested after his deputy Maulvi Zubair and two others told a magistrate he added pages from the Quran to the Continued on Page 13

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani policemen escort Islamic cleric Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti upon his arrival at a court yesterday. — AFP

in the

news

Mali Islamists ‘kill’ Algerian diplomat

19 dead in Iran bus accident

NOUAKCHOTT: Mali extremists said yesterday they have executed an Algerian diplomat who was kidnapped during their takeover of northern Mali, according to a statement published by a Mauritanian news agency. Tahar Touati, the Algerian vice-consul “was executed this morning (Saturday) at dawn,” said the statement from the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) published by online news agency ANI. MUJAO had on Aug 24 given an ultimatum to Algeria, threatening to kill the hostage after Algiers rejected its demands for the release of three jihadists arrested in the south of the country.

“The execution of the diplomat came after the expiry of an ultimatum given to the Algerian government,” said the statement. “Algerian negotiators refused to agree on a deal to release the hostages at the last minute,” it added.

TEHRAN: A bus overturned in southern Iran yesterday killing 19 of its passengers, the state broadcaster’s website reported, blaming excessive speed for the accident. Another 25 passengers were injured as the vehicle came off the road 55 km west of the city of Shiraz in the early hours of the morning, the deputy head of Iran’s traffic police, Colonel Samad Esfandiari, said. “The driver lost control due to excessive speed and negligence,” Esfandiari said. Iran has one of the world’s highest rates for road deaths. Around 20,000 people die in traffic accidents each year in a country with a little over 17 million vehicles for its 75 million population. The high toll is blamed on disregard of traffic rules, unsafe roads and poor emergency services.

AZAZ, Syria: Boys play on a Syrian military tank destroyed during fighting with rebels in this town on the outskirts of Aleppo yesterday. — AP (See Page 8)

Iran Bushehr reactor reaches full capacity TEHRAN: Iran’s sole operational nuclear power reactor has reached full capacity, a senior official said yesterday.

Iran’s deputy nuclear chief, Mohammad Ahmadian, said the reactor at the Bushehr power plant was brought to its “full capacity of 1,000 megawatts” Friday evening. The reactor went into operation for the first time last year at minimum capacity. The Islamic Republic built the nuclear power plant in the southern Iranian port city with Russian help. The facility is a cornerstone of Iran’s drive to become a technological leader among Muslim nations, with efforts such as an ambitious space program and long-range missile development. Iran also runs smaller research reactors and is building another power reactor. The United States and some of its allies believe the Bushehr plant is part of an Iranian attempt to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies the accusation.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

LOCAL

Kuwaiti youth assaults two doctors at Jahra hospital Two injured in fight KUWAIT: A man was arrested inside the Jahra Hospital for attacking two physicians treating his father, who had suffered a brain hemorrhage. The two Egyptian doctors, orthopedic and internal medicine specialists, were reportedly attacked after an argument with the man when they refused to immediately perform a CT scan on his father, as demanded by him. The man flew into a rage when the doctors said the scan will be done at the scheduled time. The man, a Kuwaiti citizen in his twenties, was taken into custody by AlNa’eem police station officers, pending legal action.

Adan brawl Two youngsters were seriously injured in a brawl between two groups early Saturday morning in Adan that was reportedly sparked by the harassment of a homosexual man. The youngsters were taken by ambulance and admitted to the intensive care unit of Adan Hospital with deep stab

wounds. Detectives identified one of the six attackers according to a description provided by an eyewitness. He was arrested in his house, which was located in the same area where the fight occurred, along with another man who was later found to have been involved in the fight. The suspects revealed that they had lured the victims into a trap “after they harassed a homosexual man known to them”. A search is on for the remaining suspects.

Dad busts partying kids A Kuwaiti father had his two sons arrested for turning the family house into a wild party venue. The father made an emergency call to police after locking up his sons who had invited two women, an Egyptian and Syrian national, to the house when the family had gone out. The brothers and their girlfriends face charges including alcohol abuse.

Ingrate son A middle-aged man approached

Al-Ferdous police station officers recently to press charges against his son, who allegedly assaulted him.

The 54-year-old stateless national provided a medical report showing bruises sustained after his son reportedly beat him during an altercation. The suspect, who is in his twenties, has been summoned by police for investigations.

Domestic violence An Egyptian man was arrested for breaking his wife’s arm after an altercation over her spending habits. Khaitan police station officers were first approached by the Egyptian woman, who provided a medical report which confirmed a broken right arm.

She explained that her husband assaulted her when she spent eight thousand Egyptian p o u n d s o n p e r s o n a l i t e m s, instead of handing the money to her mother-in-law, as her husband instructed her to.

The man admitted to beating his wife, but added that he

did not mean to break her arm.

Nugra suicide A Bangladeshi man was found dead inside his apartment in Nugra following an apparent suicide. Police and paramedics reached the apartment on receiving a call from the victim’s roommate and found the dead man hanging from the ceiling fan. The body has been taken to the forensic department for further investigation.

Drunk driver Police are searching for a man who reportedly harassed a female driver and followed her to her home in Jabriya. The suspect, who was under the influence of alcohol, reportedly fled after the woman slapped him when he stopped her at her front door and enquired if “a room was available for rent”. The woman called police, but the suspect managed to flee before officers arrived at the scene. — Al-Rai, Al-Anbaa, AlWatan

Call for collective action to promote urban development NAPLES, Italy: Chairperson of Kuwait’s Volunteer Center and Honorary President of the Consultative Committee of the UN Human Settlements Organization (HABITAT) Sheikha Amthal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah urged yesterday the international community and organizations to act collectively to promote urban development across the world.

In her speech at the opening session of the Sixth World Urban Forum, kicked off here, Sheikha Amthal underlined the growing role of women and youth in developing their societies and overcome the serious challenges facing human settlements.

“Women and youth’s contributions to environment protection and sustainable development efforts are indispensible,” she stressed.

Sheikha Amthal, who was recently chosen to head the Gulf Consultative Committee for Human Settlements, underscored the need to promote voluntary work among all people for the benefit of the whole human community.

She pointed out that the environmental aspects should be taken into account in the planning and the execution of development projects in all global communities.

“The relief and rebuilding efforts in the disasters-stricken areas must also take the environmental aspects into account,” she said.

To help achieve this goal, Sheikha Amthal called for the creation of an international database about volunteers and professionals in urban development across the world and launch information networks among relative organizations to exchange data and experience.

Meanwhile, Sheikha Amthal spoke highly about the great role played by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) governments in offering relief aid to poor, disasters and warravaged nations and promoting and financing sustainable development projects in developing countries through special funds and organizations.

She lauded the GCC efforts to achieve urban development goals, protect the environment and promote sustainable development. Sheikha Amthal hailed GCC leaders, particularly His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, for their support to urban and sustainable devel-

opment funds and civil society organizations.

Organized jointly by UN-Habitat, the Government of Italy, the Campania Region and the City of Naples, the theme for this year’s meeting is The Urban Future. Over 3,000 participants from 114 countries will take part in the premier conference on cities and urban issues. The forum’s focus on areas of discus-

tions in urban development. The exhibition, which will be open to delegates and the general public, is an opportunity to share experiences, best practices and innovative ways from all over the globe to improve cities.

The World Urban Forum was established by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing problems facing the world

NAPLES: Chairperson of Kuwait’s Volunteer Center and Honorary President of the Consultative Committee of the UN Human Settlements Organization Sheikha Amthal AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah arrived here on Saturday to take part in the Sixth World Urban Forum. Sheikha Amthal was received at the airport by Kuwait’s Ambassador to Italy Sheikh Jaber Duaij Al-Ibrahim Al-Sabah and the Commander of Kuwait Military Airport. sion are: Urban Planning: Institutions and Regulations, including the improvement of Quality of Life; Equity and Prosperity: Distribution of Wealth and Opportunities; Productive Cities: Competitive and Innovative Cities and Urban Mobility, Energy & Environment.

In parallel with these main dialogue sessions, there will also be an additional 160 networking, side and training events and the World Urban Forum exhibition will showcase some of the world’s leading cities and innova-

today: rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies.

The Forum is one of the most open and inclusive gatherings of its kind on the international stage. It brings together participants from all over the world representing governments, academia, civil society and the private sector as partners working for better cities. Previous meetings were held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002, Barcelona in 2004, Vancouver 2006, Nanjing in 2008 and Rio de Janeiro in 2010. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Ahmadi Governor Sheikh Dr Ibrahim Al-Duaij Al-Sabah met recently with Muna Al-Sallal, General Director of the Ahmadi Educational Directorate to discuss the latest preparations taken for the governorate’s schools for 20122013 academic year.

Govt seeks new measures to enforce new budget KUWAIT: The government may resort to a legal recourse to execute urgent projects until a new budget for the 20122013 fiscal year is passed, suggested sources yesterday.

The state’s new budget can only be passed by the Parliament which has not been able to convene since a Constitutional Court ruling passed in June reinstates the assembly elected in 2009. It was dissolved late last year.

While the Constitution gives the Cabinet the authority to pass important regulations by passing ordinances, such decisions can only be made if the Parliament is dissolved. In the meantime, the Cabinet is reportedly waiting for the Constitutional Court to pass a ruling regarding the constitutionality of the electoral law, before any step to dissolve the 2009 parliament is taken.

While the verdict is expected to be passed by the end of the month, the Cabinet is left to handle expenses in accordance with last year’s state budget, which means that any projects requiring additional budgets cannot be executed.

Sources spoke anonymously to Al-Rai about the possibility of adopting a policy through the Finance Ministry, by which projects can be financed periodically through a certain clause that allows the government to finance projects in stages. “For example, a KD 1 billion project can be divided into five stages; each of which costs KD 200 million. The request to finance each stage is only made after the previous stage is finished,” one source explained.

Finance Ministry insiders meanwhile estimated the next fiscal year’s budget at KD 24 billion, up by around KD 2 billion than last year’s based on a $75 per

barrel oil rate. The budget allocated to pay public sector salaries have increased by around KD 1.2 billion as a result of salary increase and allowances passed during the past year, reported Al-Rai. Separately, MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun is expected to host a number of independent politicians to discuss latest developments in the political scene, including “the drop of public support to the opposition bloc since the annulment of the 2012 parliament.”

Many oppositionists chose not to take part in a demonstration held last week because “they preferred not to bear political responsibilities for topics that were discussed, including constitutional monarchy and elected cabinet demands,” a source told Al-Qabas.

The protest, which is the first to be held against the Cabinet’s decision to refer the electoral law to the Constitution Court, featured mediocre level of attendance which; according to the source who spoke to Al-Qabas, “is caused by the fact that the Nahj group which organized the event is led by individuals associated with the Islamic Constitutional Movement, as believed by the independents who plan to meet with Al-Saadoun soon.”

The opposition bloc, a coalition of oppositionists who dominated majority seats in the 2012 parliament, was scheduled to meet last night at MP Ali AlDeqbasi’s diwaniya for the first time since last Monday’s mass protest. On that regard, MP Khalid Al-Sultan reiterated in recent statements to Al-Rai that the meeting was to focus on “the National Front for Protection of the Constitution which features representatives from all political groups, youth activists and labor unions,” reported Al-Rai.

KU ready for new academic year KUWAIT: Kuwait University (KU) Departments announced yesterday its readiness for the new academic year 2012-2013 to welcome enrolled students, in addition to faculty members.

Heads of KU departments expressed their keenness in meeting all needs of faculty members and students, and exerting all possible efforts to maintain an appropriate academic atmosphere.

Ali Al-Ostath, Head of the Academic Affairs Department in KU, said in press remarks that all new faculty members and administrative personnel were properly welcomed by the department.

Assuring that all facilities were presented to new faculty members, wishing

them success and progress. The Furnishing and Housing Department in KU is also ready for the new academic year, Anwar Al-Rghaib Head of the department said.

A total of 35 apartments are prepared to receive faculty members in Shuwaikh, besides preparing classrooms and other facilities in KU. The Head of Nutrition Depar tment in KU Mohammad AlKhalfan said that all KU cafeterias were under maintenance during the summer season, and are all now ready to welcome students.

The department also allocated locations to be hired by fast-food companies, Al-Khalfan added. —KUNA

Gulf Bank welcomes young divers from pearl diving expedition KUWAIT: Gulf Bank welcomed home pearl divers at the successful conclusion of the 24th Memorial Pearl Diving Expedition, organized by Kuwait Sea Sport Club(KSSC) under the auspices of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The expedition consisted of nine fully crewed dhows, with 160 divers on-board, who sailed from Kuwait on Aug 23, and returned safely on Aug 30 to a traditional reception and an enthusiastic welcome by families, friends and well-wishers.

The closing day ceremony, also called ‘Youm Al-Quffal’ in Arabic, was attended by Jamal Shehab, Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, representing HH the Amir, Maj Gen Faisal Al-Jazzaf, Chairman of the Public Authority for Youth and Sport, Retired Lt Gen Fahad Al-Fahad, the President of the Sea Sport Club, Ahmad Alghanim, VicePresident of the Sea Sport Club, Ali AlQabandi, Head of Sea Heritage Committee of the Sea Sport Club, as well as a number of VIPs and ministry representatives who took the opportunity of welcoming back and honoring young Kuwaiti divers, as well as the captains of the dhows for upholding and preserving the traditional legacy of Kuwait. With the traditional tunes of a Kuwaiti band playing in the background, the divers showcased pearls

and shells to the audience.

Commenting on the return of the divers, Fawzy Al-Thunayan, General Manager of Board Affairs at Gulf Bank said, “We are extremely proud of the young Kuwaitis who have completed this year’s journey. The annual pearl diving expedition is a national event that revives the iconic cultural aspect of our honorable heritage, and is an important symbol of Kuwaitis’ loyalty

to their homeland. We salute all the divers and crew members of our Gulf Bank boom, led by Captain Ali AlMubarak and assisted by Abulrahman Al-Basheer, Yousuf Bushehri, and Chief Sailor Ali Dashti, who ensured a safe voyage for everyone on the dhow.”

Gulf Bank believes that heritage and tradition must be preserved, and takes it upon itself to communicate these core values across its daily operations

and extensive network of 56 branches.

This is reflected in the Bank’s corporate logo, a simple reminder of Kuwait’s proud heritage and the historic journeys made by Kuwaitis in the past. The Bank has also utilized ‘Al Danah’, meaning large pearl, as the Al-Danah account campaign logo. The journey, which is organized each year by the Committee of the Marine Heritage of the Kuwait Sea Sport Club, has Kuwaiti

sailors using dhows to sail great distances away from their families and to dive for pearls in the traditional way.

The memorial journey serves to remind new Kuwaiti generations of the difficulties and challenges faced by their forefathers in earning their living, along with a message urging these generations to uphold the traditions and values their ancestors developed during that time.

Maj Gen Faisal Al-Jazzaf, Retired Lt Gen Fahad Al-Fahad, the president of the Sea Sport Club and Fawzy Al-Thunayan, General Manager, Board Affairs at Gulf Bank examining the pearls collected. (Right) Pearl divers showcase their findings at the Gulf Bank

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

local

Slow procedures allow ‘legal release’ of crime suspects KUWAIT: Suspec ts facing serious charges are now have a better chance of being freed than ever, given the current regulations which limit the maximum number of days by which they can be remanded into custody until investigations are completed. Before its annulment by a Constitutional Court order last June, the 2012 parliament passed an amendment reducing the maximum period that a suspect can be remanded in custody to 48 hours. Ever since the law was passed in May, it has been followed by the M inistr y of I nterior and Public Prosecution Department. The problem that according to sources have surfaced recently, lies in the fact that judges are forced by law to release suspects on bail regardless of the severity of charges they are facing, and that as investigations continue to take longer time than required.

Legal sources, who preferred to

keep their identity anonymous, commented by describing the issue as being ‘very dangerous.’

“The current situation featuring prolonged legal procedures and lack of immediate cooperation with the court system serves only the suspects,” one source told Al-Qabas daily. A suspect can for example be referred to the Public Prosecution Department before investigations are fully completed, increasing the risk of said suspect be found not guilty for lack of evidence or improper legal procedures. Otherwise, a suspect can be released on bail, pending investigations, which raises concern about potential criminals being released to society. A travel ban would prevent a suspect from fleeing the country in this case. “The only solution for this problem is to speed up investigations and other legal procedures so that they can finish within the maximum reprimanding period,” sources said.

Fake employment costs KD10 million per month KUWAIT: At least forty percent of Kuwaitis working in the private sector are considered to be part of the inactive labor force, costing the country more than KD10 million a month in social support, a local daily reported yesterday, quoting a government official. “Fake employment has become an increasing phenomenon in private companies due to a lack of proper monitoring”, the Management and Government Restructuring Program insider told Al-Jarida recently.

The term ‘fake employment’ is used to refer to the practice by which a private company hires Kuwaiti staff members who make little to no actual contribution to the company. It is done to meet a minimum percentage in total staff that the government requires to be filled by Kuwaiti workers. And while the source admitted that the MGRP does not have accurate statistics about this issue, he noted, “The MGRP feels, given its closeness

to Kuwaitis in the private sector, that the phenomenon is increasing”. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, indicated that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor is responsible for curbing the spread of this problem “due to their responsibility over inspection and monitoring duties”. Female citizens hired in trading and real estate companies, despite having below-average educational qualifications, are one example mentioned by the sources of fake employment practices found among private firms in Kuwait.

In other news, the Ministr y of Social Affairs and Labor allocated a KD13,000 budget to implement a multi-year project to support Kuwaiti female workers who have children below school age under their care.

KD7,500 of this project is scheduled to be spent in 2012, a ministry insider told Al-Jarida on the condition of anonymity.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Seif Palace yesterday Issam Al-Houti, who was released by kidnappers in Lebanon last week. Al-Houti expressed gratitude for Kuwait govt’s postive efforts for his release. Sheikh Nawaf praised the ‘great’ efforts by the Lebanese political leadership, which contributed to the release of Al-Houti.

Cabinet, opposition responsible for political crisis in Kuwait Group slams ‘corrupt’ politicians

By A. Saleh KUWAIT: A political group accuses the opposition of taking illegal benefits with the help of their positions at the 2012 parliament, claiming that they “played suspicious political roles to make deals after gaining a majority in the parliament”. “Recent orders in which candidates directly connected with some Majority Bloc members occupying leading posts in the government is clear evidence that the opposition has been par t of political deals with the Cabinet”, reads a statement released by the 11/11 Forces group.

The group’s Secretary General, Nasser AlShulaimi, further held the Cabinet and the opposition responsible for the “deteriorating situation and ongoing political crisis” in Kuwait. “The current conflict is viewed as taking place between two parties with conflicting interests, whereas in reality these parties are two sides of the same coin whose interests happened to clash at the present time”, the statement quoted Al-Shulaimi as saying. He added that the government wants an electoral system “shaped according to their demands”, while the “fake opposition seeks a system by which they can regain a majority in

Delay in mail, parcel deliveries

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: It’s quite normal for people to complain over having to wait for a long period to receive their parcels or mail. This seems to have become even longer now. However, this depends on the content of the shipment usually, especially if it was materials that are subject to checking or examination by some authorities.

The mail couriers are usually faster than the regular public mailing, yet they can’t assure delivering the shipment in less than 10 days.

“Any delay in receiving is not caused by our company and the Customs Department is responsible for it. The Ministry of Health is also involved in some cases. So we always tell the customers that it may take between 10 and 14 days depending on customs checks. All shipments are subject to customs checks, then some are also subject to verification by the Ministry of Health, such as medicines, healthcare products and others. In the end, the time taken for the customs check depends on how

busy they are,” Waleed from Aramex told the Kuwait Times.

Some products are forbidden to be sent with Aramex, while there are products allowed to be sent but forbidden to be released by the Customs Department in Kuwait.

“There is a whole list of forbidden items at www.shopandship.com. For instance, all liquids, food, weapons, money, cigarettes, powders, CDs and many other items are not allowed to be sent. Thus there are some items that are allowed to be shipped from the point of origin while not being released by the customs, such as different pills or others,” he added.

According to Waleed, the customs charges have increased this year. “Previously the customer was paying a 5 percent customs duty for a parcel containing items costing more than USD 100. Now, even if it is less that USD 100, the customers will still have to pay KD 2.5 for the parcel. Most items are subject to customs checks, while others are not. Books, for instance, are not subject to customs fees, while outfits

are,” he pointed out. Alice from DHL explained that the period of parcel delivery depends on the country from where the parcel was sent. “It may take from 3 to 4 days if it came from Europe. This period includes customs checking, but doesn’t include the examination by the Ministry of Health for the items that require this procedure.

This will take a few days, so the estimated period will be a week or more. After the parcel arrives in Kuwait, it goes from customs to the Ministry of Health and the customer produces the reference for the parcel and in some cases receives it from the Ministry of Health. All books have to pass through a censorship, which usually takes two working days,” she noted.

Some liquids are allowed to be sent with DHL. “Perfumes can be sent, though only in 30 ml size or less. Other liquids have different permissible measures, but we follow international restrictions. For parcels weighing above 5kg, the customer has to get approval from the Ministry of Health,” noted Alice.

High traffic on KIB ATMs at Oula fuel stations KUWAIT: Kuwait International Bank has witnessed high traffic on its recently installed ATMs at Oula Fuel Stations that are distributed in strategic locations and areas around Kuwait.

The installation of ATMS came as part of KIB’s strategy to expand and enlarge its network to meet the customer’s needs and become accessible to them wherever they are.

On the occasion, Marketing Manager at KIB Tareq said: “We have witnessed an increase in traffic and usage on our ATMs since we first started operating them at Oula fuel stations.

The high turnoutconfirms the need for more ATMs at different locations in Kuwait and is an assurance that our ATMs are reaching more customers thus enhancing their trust and loyalty in our products and high quality services we are providing them.”

Al Ajlan added: “The installation of the ATM machines in Oula fuel stations has positioned KIB to have the second-largest network of ATM (off-site ATM) on the level of Islamic banks in Kuwait.” In conclusion, Al Ajlan confirmed KIB’scommitment to meeting the customer’s expectations and promises to continue in investing in new means and channels to make its customer’s Islamic Banking experience a more convenient and flexible one at all times.

the parliament”. The 11/11 Forces group has been offering lawmakers ideas to achieve political reform since 2008, and until the 2012 parliament was annulled last June by a Constitutional Court ruling.

“The fact that the opposition ignored these offers proves their unwillingness to go ahead with achieving political reform that is considered the main gateway towards achieving reform in all other fields”, Al-Shulaimi said.

Meanwhile, Al-Shulaimi described the level of speech made by the opposition during last week’s demonstration as “a weak and laughable demonstration of powers that can’t even be categorized as a political speech”, adding that this “reflects a miserable political reality led by a group lacking proper vision and ideology to effect change”.

Tehran’s “aligned” stance A Kuwaiti lawmaker criticized the position that Iran took in support of the Syrian regime while hosting the Non-Aligned Summit recently, saying, Tehran “violated the basic principle of the Non-Aligned Movement of supporting suppressed nations”.

“Iran’s violation of the movement’s principles

and their support to [Syrian President] Bashar AlAssad’s regime, including armed support, makes countries consider support for the unarmed Syrian people against the regime’s injustice”, MP Khalid Al-Adwah said in a statement yesterday.

Kuwaitis rescued off Saudi shore Three Kuwaitis were among six people rescued by Saudi Arabian officials when their fishing boat malfunctioned miles from the kingdom’s eastern shores. The three Kuwaitis and three Saudi friends were floating for hours in the middle of the sea until a unit from the Eastern Province Border Security Department of Saudi Arabia managed to locate and rescue them. No injuries were reported during the incident.

Housing projects The Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) will be provided with new areas to build houses, as part of an agreement reached recently with the Kuwait Municipality. The PAHW reportedly plans to use the area, located west of Abdullah Al-Mubarak, which is to the west of Saad Al-Abdullah and north of AlSubbiya, to build 52 thousand housing units for citizens.

4

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

LOCAL

Bangladeshi cleaner wins grand prize

1st prize

2nd prize

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: A 30-year-old Bangladeshi cleaner won the grand prize of ‘a trip for two to London’ and a host of other prizes at the Kuwait Times (KT) Ramadan Quiz raffle draw held recently.

KT readers flocked to the Swimming Pool Complex on Thursday night to witness the raffle draw, which gave away

three main prizes and 50 other valuable gifts. It was held under the supervision of Ministry of Commerce officials, the general manager of Etihad Airways, Nabil Matarweh, general manager of Gulfmart, Ramesh T.A., and representatives of Touristic Enterprise.

Ali Reza Abdul Haque, from Sylhet, Bangladesh, who works as a cleaner and a tea boy at the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce

and Industry (KCCI), won the grand prize courtesy of Etihad Airlines, in his second attempt at the competition. In addition, he also won two signature watches, a two-night stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, a mobile phone and vouchers courtesy of Crowne Plaza Hotel. “I am very delighted to have won the first prize,” Ali Reza, who collected the prizes yesterday, said. “I remember joining last year’s Ramadan Quiz but getting noth-

Children receiving gifts from Adnan Saad, Marketing Director, Kuwait Times.

A winner receiving her prize.

Waiting for the result.

One of the winners poses with Adnan Saad.

5

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

LOCAL

ing; now I got plenty and am thankful to Kuwait Times for all the prizes I received,” he said.

Ali Reza, who is married, said, “I am still waiting for the right time to start a family. It’s a big responsibility so probably the money I got now, [from the sale of the ticket] can be saved for my future.” Ali Reza used to collect the pages of the Kuwait Times bearing the quiz questions from his office and if he missed one issue, he would buy that issue from the nearby baqala. “It was an amazing experience.. There were confusing questions but I answered them all anyway,” said Ali Reza, who has lived in Kuwait for the last 12 years.

Abdullah Issa, 53, was the second prize winner, who took home a Nikon Camera (SLRD3 100), an LG Chocolate mobile phone, an Eleysee watch, a two-night stay at Crowne Plaza Hotel, a smart TV courtesy of Gulfmart, an Ardeco make-up set, and a lunch and dinner buffet voucher from Ruby Tuesday. He said he won because Allah wanted to reward him abundantly, especially after converting to Islam five years ago. “I was new to the faith, but I am studying the Quran very well, just as I studied the Biblewhen I was a Christian. Probably it’s the reward for my dedication,” he said. Abdullah admitted that he is now a committed Muslim and that he would like to share his newfound faith with his family and friends.

Abdullah, who is from Chennai, India, works as a security guard at Toyota.

Meanwhile, Sameeh Nadi Al-Sayed, 24, an Egyptian, won the third prize. He works as a broker at a real estate company. It was his first attempt at the contest. “Someone from the Kuwait Times called yesterday. I was

shocked because I wasn’t expecting anything at all since it was my first time and I was not 100 per cent sure about my answers, but I got the third prize anyway,” he said. “So I was thankful for the unexpected gifts I received this year,” said Al-Sayed, who won an LG Chocolate mobile phone, a Carlo Cardini men’s watch, a two-night stay at

Crowne Plaza Hotel, a DE 1000 dictionary, a Nikon SLR700 camera, a smart TV courtesy of Gulfmart, a lunch and dinner buffet voucher from Ruby Tuesday and a Dexon DVD player.

The raffle draw closing ceremony for Ramadan Quiz contest was attended by participants who thronged the venue and went

home with lots of small but valuable gift items from the Kuwait Times. There were 50 major prizes given by the newspaper .

Abdulrahim Ibrahim, who won the 39th prize, said for the past four years he had participated and had not expected anything, though he would always win minor prizes. “I may not have won the major prize, but the

excitement and happiness I had in joining the contest makes me a real winner. I love attending the raffle contest because at the end of the day even though you are not called a winner you will go home with something in your hand,” he said. “For instance, my two daughters left the venue with two dolls from Kuwait Times. My wife also won some raffle vouchers,” he added.

Over 16,000 readers participated in the Kuwait Times Ramadan 2012 competition, held every year for four consecutive years now. “The success of this event is due to our readers’ participation, without you this contest will not be possible,” said Adnan Saad, the Kuwait Times marketing director who was the overall coordinator for the contest. “I am delighted to announce that we had over 16,000 participants, but of course not all of them were included in the raffle draw since some failed to answer correctly. Most of them got more answers wrong, so, from the total participants we selected only 279 who had received just two wrong answers.

“I was really amazed because religion and belief didn’t stop anyone from participating,” he said, adding, in conclusion, the Ramadan contest next year will be more exciting. “I shall tell you, the first prize will help furnish your home with appliances and home equipment.

Hence, the questions will be more difficult and Kuwait Times will be stricter on the eligibility to participate. Again, I would like to thank to all those who participated in this event.” Kuwait Times would like to thank the following sponsors who assisted in making this event possible: Etihad Airways, Ashraf and Co., Gulfmart, Swiss-Bel Hotel and Touristic Enterprise.

The winners pose with the dignitaries. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

Ramadan Quiz 1) Fasting during Ramadan is from?

A) Dawn - sunset 2) Arabs make up what percentage of Muslims around the world?

A) 15%

9) When in the Gregorian Calendar is the month of Ramadan each year?

A) It moves forward 10 days each year

17) Which Sura has no Fa ’letter in it?

A) Al Fatiha

25) What is the name of the only woman mentioned in the Holy Quran?

A) Lady Mariam (PBUH)

10) What does Eid Al-Fitr literally mean?

A) Festival of Breaking the Fast

18) Who was the only Prophet who saw and talked to Almighty Allah?

A) Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)

3) Ramadan is the .... month of the Islamic calendar?

A) 9th

11) The dawn prayer for Muslim called?

A) Fajr

19) Who is the leader of Angels?

A) Angel Jibril (PBUH)

4) The country with the largest Muslim population is?

A) Indonesia

12) In Islam at what age does a child become an adult (responsible for their actions) A) Puberty

20) How long did Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) live?

A) 63 years

27) How many sons did our Holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) have?

A) Three but they passed away in their childhood

21) What was the name of the Messiah (Jesus)’s mother?

A) Lady Mariam/Mary (PBUH)

28) Where did the first group of Muslims migrate before the Prophet (PBUH) to Madinah?

A) Habshah, now called Ethiopia

5) The meal at the time of breaking the daily fast is known as?

A) Iftar 6) Shortly before the daily fast begins, Muslims are advised to?

A) Eat a meal

13) Which Prophet was called “The Father of Prophets?

A) Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) 14) What is the heart of Quran?

A) Surat Yaseen

22) Who was the companion who advised the messenger of Allah (PBUH) to dig the tunnel?

A) Salman Al-Faresi

7) The special prayers held every evening during Ramadan are called?

A) Taraweeh

15) How many Suras (chapters) are there in the Holy Quran?

A) 114 Suras

23) Which is the only country mentioned in the Holy Quran?

A) Egypt

8) Who is required to fast the month of Ramadan?

A) Everyone

16) Which Sura is full of mentioning Allah?

A) Al Mujadila

24) Where is the Umayyad Mosque?

A) Damascus

26) What is the name of the youngest daughter of our Holy Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Sallam?

A) Fatima

29) What gift did he bring back from Allah from the miraculous night journey to the heavens?

A) Five times daily salah 30) Name the sura which if recited three times merits the same reward as reciting the whole Quran?

A) Surah lkhlas

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

LOCAL In my view

letters to Badrya

New political alignments

A role model Hi Badrya,

By Abdel Bari Atwan

R

egarding your comments in the article entitled ‘Under the Poverty Line,’ may be the UN only surveyed Kuwaitis. If they are aware about expats’ salary package, they would have had a completely different view about poverty level. With a salary of KD 120 within last four years, no increments and prices touching the sky, who will be suffering more, a person earning KD 1,000 or an expat earning KD 120?

Thanks A reader

T

he ongoing search for a solution to the Syrian crisis, coupled with Egypt President Mohammad Mursi’s sudden and unexpected transformation from puppet to strongman, appears to be producing new political alignments and loyalties in the Middle East after half a century of stagnation.

No country in the region would be immune from a drive for dismantlement Iran and Turkey, for example, both have ethnically diverse populations. The break-up of once great nations would weaken collective Muslim power on the world stage and greatly benefit Israel.

The first hint of change came at the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit held in Makkah early last month. Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz greeted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a bear hug while Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul and Mursi were left on the sidelines. Given that Ahmadinejad has been persona non grata in Saudi Arabia since his last visit in 2007 the warmth of this encounter was surprising.

Later, Ahmadinejad was embraced again, this time

by Mursi. King Abdullah’s opening speech emphasised the need for reconciliation between the Shiite and Sunni branches of Islam and he called for the establishment of a centre for dialogue between the Islamic doctrines. He said that sectarianism was at the heart of the current bloodshed in the region - an obvious reference to the Syrian crisis which has spilled over into Lebanon.

The king’s words reflected a widely-shared concern that the bitter sectarian violence which erupted first in Iraq, and latterly in Syria, may spread throughout the region, dragging the entire Middle East into a conflict pitting a Sunni bloc, led by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, against the Shiites of Iran, Iraq, Hezbollah and elements of the population in Syria and Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia itself has a restive Shiite minority in the oil-rich east of the country.

The king’s warmth towards Ahmadinajad suggested the desire for rapprochement between the main Sunni and Shiite players. The king may also be among those wise observers who fear the potential dismantlement of strong Arab countries along ethnic and sectarian lines. This is particularly likely in Iraq, where de facto Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish enclaves are already clearly delineated; in Libya, the people in the oil-rich eastern part of the country announced that they were now citizens of an autonomous state, Barqah, with Benghazi as its capital; and in Syria, the prospect of a mini-state for the minority Alawites on the northern part of the coastline is frequently mooted, while the Kurds now control five northern provinces.

No country in the region would be immune from a drive for dismantlement - Iran and Turkey, for example, both have ethnically diverse populations. The break-up of once great nations would weaken collective Muslim power on the world stage and greatly benefit Israel. A shared antipathy for Israel has already led Saudi Arabia to announce that it would shoot down Israeli warplanes entering its airspace en route to attack Iran. It is also possible that Saudi Arabia, the land of Islam’s holiest cities, Makkah and Madinah, is seeking to reassert its position as leader of the Sunni world. Recent times have brought new challenges, first from economic superstar, Istanbul (capital of the Ottoman Caliphate), and latterly from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (rooted in the great Al Azhar mosque of Cairo). Hence the sidelining of Gul and Mursi and the embracing of Ahmadinejad since no challenge for the Sunni leadership will emanate from Qom. Meanwhile Mursi is pursuing his own entente with Ahmadinejad as the Muslim Brotherhood establishes itself as a new regional force via the political process.

The Brotherhood already has close ties with Turkey and, while Anwar Sadat and his successor, Hosni Mubarak, severed all diplomatic relations with Iran in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution, Mursi visited Tehran on Thursday and there is talk of reopening an Egyptian Embassy there after a 33 year absence. We should not forget that the majority of Egyptians do not reject Shiism out of hand, aware of their own cultural and religious heritage: the Shiite Fatimid Caliphate, which dominated the Arab world for most of the 10th century, had Egypt as its political, cultural and religious centre and established the city of Cairo.

Egypt is a plausible contender for the role of Iran’s new best Arab friend. Will we see a new, muscular, and potentially anti-western alignment between Egypt, Turkey and Iran?

There are implications here for Syria too. Mursi has already taken the initiative, suggesting a ‘contact group’ to broker a solution to the current crisis comprising Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The proposal has been welcomed by Tehran. When UN Peace envoy Kofi Annan insisted some months ago that Iran should be part of negotiations on Syria his advice was rejected by the West and its allies. Will Mursi succeed where the veteran international diplomat has failed? In his speech to the non-aligned nations in Tehran, Mursi overtly criticised the “oppressive Syrian regime”, but stopped short of advocating military intervention.

If the first signs of a thaw in relations between Riyadh and Tehran continue, might we see the Gulf states reluctantly shifting towards a political, rather than military, solution for Syria? Iran is unlikely to compromise on its support for the regime, regardless of the atrocities it has perpetrated, and has already said that it favours allowing Bashar Al Assad to serve the remainder of his presidential term, facing a ballot in 2014 which would offer him an ideal face-saving exit route.

kuwait digest

Stop criticising ruling family

By Abdallah Al-Najjar

M

ember of Parliament Mubarak Al-Waalan is ate Kuwait and its people from the Iraqi army!

Third, who said that all members of the Al-Sabah my dear friend, and that should not mean that I can remain silent about his unbalanced family were outside the country during the invasion? speech during the Irada gathering last Monday when Many of them were with the steadfast people in he said that if it was not for Kuwaitis’ solidarity the Kuwait, and they made many contributions that were regime would not have returned to power again and no less than what citizens were doing, despite the danger of their status and the that the invasion was a historic possibility of capturing them at oppor tunity to take over the any moment by Iraqis, as the case regime. Further, he wanted to Who said that all was with the late Sheikh Salem explain the false statements that members of the AlFahad Al-Salem and the late a group from the majority wants Mubarak Jaber Al Ali, and to change the regime and take it Sabah family were out- Sheikh for me, as one of the steadfast from the Al-Sabah family.

As he represents the nation, side the country during people, I knew that large amounts of cash were being delivered to and I am one of those people, I tell him that there were many the invasion? Many of families from Sheikh Ali Salem AlAli, who was in a very compromiswords and deeds that could have them were with the ing situation as members of the been an alternative to his stateruling family, and inside the counment and explains your opinion steadfast people in tr y, along with several other of the kind family, but for you to say that if it was not for the soli- Kuwait, and they made sheikhs. Then, while many people leaving the country for many darity of the people that regime many contributions were reasons, I personally saw Sheikh would not have returned, is not correct! that were no less than Mishal Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, while entering from a neighboring Sabah is part of the people, what citizens were countr y, as he par ticipated in and remained with them during the occupation, which the invasion to liberate the doing, despite the dan- resisting was a courageous act that many country; this is first, and second, if it was not for Allah then the ger of their status and would not do, so how would it be if he was a member of Al-Sabah? efforts of the late Sheikh Jaber the possibility of capFor your information, my Al-Ahmad in the United Nations, brother Mubarak Al-Waalan, the and the efforts of HH the father turing them at any majority of the people does not Amir the late Sheikh Saad Alagree, or wish or even think about Abdallah, as well as the diplomoment by Iraqis. anyone ruling them other than matic effor ts by HH the Amir the Al-Sabah family!

Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad when This is the only family in the GCC countries that is he was foreign minister, and the effective moves of our Ambassador to Washington, the late Sheikh close to the people, and it is the only one that accepts Saud Al-Nasser Al-Sabah, then the major countries criticism from members of the National Assembly, and around the world headed by the US, France, and it is the best family among ruling families around the Britain would not have massed their forces to liber- world, not only in the Gulf. — Al-Watan

kuwait digest

In my view

Lost lives at Mubarak

Our limping democracy

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

G

overnment is silent these days and count till ten before issuing any declaration on the current political situation in the state.

This is not in line with the adage - silence is wisdom, but because the government with its ministers, leaders, consultants and the consultants of its consultants are like us, the public that does not know what will happen later due to the constitutional crisis, since even the government does not know what is happening today.

By God, no one knows precisely what is happening now, forget what will happen tomorrow.

Now everyone is waiting for 5th September to learn of the court decision on the five constituencies and whether the constituencies are going to be constitutional or not. We doubt that a decision will be issued at all, or that it may be shelved for a review, when we all go back to the long waiting period, and with that the political scene will get more cloudy and uncertain.

Nothing in politics calls for easy solutions, or free solutions, since each political solution has a cost, and a very high cost, and the cost for solving the five constituencies will be very high. I am not talking here about the constitution dissolving, by which the court will hand down its decision next month, but talking about the political cost based upon which one of three scenarios shall be chosen. Either we will continue with five constituencies with four votes, which up to now seems to be least wanted, as the authority does not want it.

The second is to issue a decree to go back to 25 constituencies or a decree with five constituencies and one vote and, again, the political cost will be very high, and any one of them will cause scars on the face of Kuwaiti democracy, which will change its appearance forever and in such a way that it will become uglier than it is now.

Our democracy is limping along without political parties, and with any amendments to the number of constituencies voters will be reduced and our democracy will be handicapped. Of course, there are beneficiaries behind these crises, and the political cost shall harm our democracy, and this is a crime that one should not think that people will remain silent about it. — Al-Anbaa

By Afrah Abdullah Buair

T

he Mubarak Hospital can arguably be called Kuwait’s worst medical facility when it comes to performance and taking care of patients’ lives. What forces me to make this claim are several incidents I’ve seen with my own eyes and some others related to me by others.

My grandmother was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital, which clearly lacked professional conduct.

One of these incidents happened on the day my grandmother died. Earlier that day, my father, brother, sister and I took my grandmother to AlRumathiya polyclinic to have her treated, which involved some bandaging. Moments after she entered the room, my grandmother lost her ability to speak. And shortly afterwards, while the nurse stood there helpless, the doctor came and checked my grandmother’s heartbeat and told my father that her pulse was weak.

All that the doctor did afterwards was call for an ambulance to take my grandmother to the Mubarak Hospital. She was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital, which clearly lacked professional conduct . Moments later, doctors pronounced my grandmother dead without even taking any kind of effort to revive her. This incident struck the whole family like a thunderbolt. My father couldn’t believe his ears when the doctors said my grandmother was dead, as he kept insisting that she was in a reasonably good state of health. I have heard similar accounts from people who had walked out of the Mubarak Hospital in a worse state than they were before. For example, one of our neighbor’s father died a day before he was scheduled to be discharged, as a result of an incorrect prescription resulting in his being administered a wrong injection that affected his internal organs..

I hope the officials of the Ministry of Health seriously look into this issue.

As salaam Alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatum, I just read your article that appeared in Kuwait Times -’Under the Poverty Line.’ I must say you are one of the few people who really care about how expats live here especially when 60 to 70 percent live below poverty lines. It is a wonder. They have to sacrifice a fancy life style like eating out.

I even read the article ‘Bogus poverty’ and ‘Poverty with High Salaries.’ Be it in ministries or the private sector, expatriates are mostly not paid their due even if they work for 16 hours straight.

My husband works for Ministry of Interior. I know what being unpaid for working overtime hours feels like. There are times when we pray to receive a KD 50 bonus to offset the ever increasing cost of living. I am not here to complain but really appreciate the fact that you understood.

Thank you for the thoughtful article.

Sincerely, A happy expat Dear Mrs Darwish, I just wanted to tell you that I admire your writing and objectivity. I look forward to your articles that appear in Kuwait Times and read them with joy. As an expat living in Kuwait and owning a private business, I interact with a lot of ‘locals,’ and wish that they could adopt your view and way of thinking. I hope, as time goes by, that you will influence many others who read your column.

All the best wishes and regards, Maja Corridon

kuwait digest

The opposition never changed

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

M

any youth groups that are eager for change are apparently starting to reevaluate their relationship with the opposition, especially after last week’s demonstration that exposed the true colours of some Majority Bloc members..

While this step has come late, I believe it’s important to recognize and applaud the courage and honesty of young activists, who find no problem in changing their mind about certain issues over which they previously supported the opposition - even if this step is only limited to questioning the real motives behind the Majority Bloc’s actions.

The Majority Bloc brought nothing new during their demonstration at the Iradah Square. While some of them had their reactionary approaches exposed, the fact is that all of them are hiding similar reactionary views. The same group, including Musallam Al-Barrak, Ahmad Al-Saadoun, as well as all religious and tribal members, stood firmly against Kuwaiti women acquiring political rights. They threatened to stage demonstration throughout Kuwait, or in their words “from Kuwait City to Jahra”, if these rights are enforced.

They are the same politicians, in person and in their political approach, who stand in the face of celebration, holding music concerts or Ramadan celebrations. Their religious-tribal mindset is behind regulations that include forcing segregation in public schools, which is against the constitution and that clearly stands against parents’ rights to raise their children - let alone teenagers the way they want.

The same group created a case of inequality in the citizenship law when they insisted that nonMuslims are never naturalized citizens. They are the same group of politicians who passed audiovisual and press regulations that limit freedom of expression and publication. They are behind the campaign defending the government’s restrictions on people’s rights to public gatherings. They are the reason behind social, political and even economic underdevelopment the country has been suffering for the past four decades.

Most recently, the opposition yielded to the government’s orders by which the people’s right to demonstration was limited to a certain square in Kuwait, in violation of the constitution that they continue to claim they seek to protect. Last but not least, the opposition is behind calls in recent months to limit construction of churches or Hussaniyas (Shiite mosques), and put all necessary issues on hold to legislate laws protecting Prophets and religious figures from insult.

The opposition never changed. There’s nothing they did during last week’s demonstration which they never did before.

In the end, I would like to make a suggestion to Kuwait’s Information Minister, who I believe should join the opposition following recent statements in which he demanded “freedom and the right of pluralism for the Syrian people”. He made these statements in Kuwait, where his ministry oversees the implementation of a law that bans expression of ‘different’ opinions in the media, and where the government prevents any mass demonstrations for Kuwaitis outside the Iradah Square. — Al-Qabas

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

US suspends Afghan police recruit training Page 12

Bombs rock Damascus, envoy says change ‘unavoidable’ Page 8

ADDIS ABABA: The coffin of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi arrives at Holy Trinity church for burial in Addis Ababa yesterday. Meles Zenawi died on August 20, 2012. His funeral marks the end of a 21 year rule of the country. — AFP

Thousands join funeral of Meles One dead, 40 hurt in Romanian bus crash VIDAUBAN: A bus carrying Romanians from Spain blew a tyre and overturned in southern France yesterday, killing a baby girl and injuring more than 40 people, some seriously, local officials said.

The accident happened at 0740 GMT near the town of Vidauban as the bus, carrying 50 people, travelled towards Nice, police said. The bus veered across the highway after blowing a tyre, struck another vehicle and tipped over a security barrier. No one was injured in the other vehicle.

According to an updated toll from the local prefect’s office, as well as the 18-month-old girl who died during the accident, 30 people suffered light injuries and 12 were hurt seriously, including the bus driver. Seven escaped unharmed. Authorities sent 120 emergency workers, 30 ambulances and several helicopters to the scene and victims were evacuated to hospitals in Marseille, Nice and Toulon. Markings on the bus indicated it belonged to Rosu Tour, a transport and travel company based in the northern Romanian city of Bistrita. The Romanian foreign ministry said it had been rented to a company in the eastern city of Suceava, the Mediafax news agency reported.

The bus had departed from Madrid and was heading to Bistrita, Clara Staicu of the Romanian embassy’s consular department told AFP, adding that it was running on a regular bus route and was not a tourist charter.

“Our consul in Marseille is at the scene and is putting together a list of the injured persons to contact the families,” she said. Expressing “profound sadness” at the accident, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said a judicial probe would be held to determine its cause.

Local prosecutor Danielle Drouy-Ayral told AFP it was too early to determine the cause of the accident. “Was the flat tyre the cause of the accident or a result of it? This is something that needs to be determined. At present, the cause of the accident is not known,” she said, adding that witnesses would be interviewed once medical emergencies had been dealt with. —AFP

Ethiopia’s new leader vows to maintain ‘progress’ ADDIS ABABA: Tens of thousands of Ethiopians and many African leaders mourned late strongman Meles Zenawi yesterday at the first state funeral for a leader of the Horn of Africa nation in over 80 years.

Followed by giant crowds, Meles’ flag-draped coffin was carried on a carriage through the capital from the National Palace to the vast Meskel Square, his family dressed in black following behind, many in tears.

The long-ser ving prime minister, who died last month aged 57, was hailed as an African hero and was a key Western ally in a region home to Al-Qaeda-linked groups, but also criticised by rights groups for a crackdown on basic freedoms. “The late prime minister was working not only for the renaissance of Ethiopia, but also for the renaissance for all of Africa,” deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said in a speech after prayers at Meskel Square.

Hailemariam, who will lead the government until national elections in 2015, sat behind the coffin, which was placed on a stage above the huge crowd in the square.

“All his initiatives will keep going forward, all the transformation plans will progress,” he said. His widow Azeb Mesfin closed the ceremony in the square-paying tribute to a man she said “never cared for himself, but only for his country-before the funeral cortege moved to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, where Meles was buried.

People wailed as a 21-gun salute was fired as the coffin was lowered into the grave.

Presidents of all Ethiopia’s neighbours-with the exception of arch-foe Eritrea-attended, including Djibouti’s Ismail Omar Guelleh, Kenya’s Mwai Kibaki, South Sudan’s Salva Kiir, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, and Somalia’s Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. South African President Jacob Zuma said Africa had “lost one of the greatest sons of the continent”, while Paul Kagame of Rwanda said Meles had “led a humble and simple life, but very meaningful one”.

Benin’s president and current Africa Union chairman Thomas Boni Yayi hailed Meles’ “driving force” in efforts to end conflict, while US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice praised Meles for his “selfless” efforts.

“Even as we argued whether about economics, democracy, human rights, regional security or our respective foreign policies, I was always struck by two things, Meles was consistently reasoned in his judgments and thoughtful in his decisions,” Rice said. Senior officials from China and the European Union were also attending the funeral.

Religious leaders from E t h i o p i a’s Christian Orthodox Church, dressed in flowing embroidered ro b e s a n d c a r r y i n g re d and gold velvet umbrellas, held prayers for the sea of mourners.

Meles died in a Brussels hos pita l on Au g u s t 2 0 after a protracted illness.

He had not been seen in public for t wo months, spurring rumours about his health.

Th e fo r m e r re b e l turned regional strongman took power in 1991 af ter toppling dic tator M engistu Hailemariam, remaining at the helm of Ethiopia-a relatively stable countr y in the volatile Horn of Africa region-until his death.

H is s u cces s or Hailemariam will be sworn in after Meles is buried, although no date has been fixed. He is a relatively unknown politician who hails from the south, unlike many of the country’s political elite who are from the north.

While Ethiopia has

Al Qaeda-linked militants killed in south Yemen SANAA: Two Al Qaeda-linked militants and a pro-government tribesman were killed in clashes in Yemen’s restive south yesterday, a local official and a tribesman said. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has made its base in the impoverished state, which slid into chaos last year after protests that eventually forced veteran ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

The group has mounted operations in n e i g h b o u r i n g S a u d i A r a b i a a s we l l a s attempting to launch attacks against the

United States. The Yemeni army helped by local tribes launched a US-backed drive in May to drive Islamist militants from Ansar alSharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), an offshoot of al Qaeda, out of several southern towns they had held for more than a year.

The two militants killed in yesterday’s violence in Abyan province were from Somalia and Pakistan, the tribesman said. Ansar alSharia has attracted hundreds of foreign fighters since it seized the towns in the south and declared them Islamic emirates.

S o m e o f t h o s e m i l i t a n t s h a d p re v i o u s l y fought in Afghanistan. A defence ministry website said an al Qaeda commander, Khaled Batees, was among eight Islamist militants killed by a US drone strike in a remote part of the eastern province of Hadramout on Friday. Batees had previously been captured by security forces but escaped prison during the uprising last year. Washington, which fears the spread of Islamist militanc y in Ye m e n , h a s s t e p p e d u p a t t a c k s b y unmanned aircraft this year. —Reuters

hosted a series of state funerals in recent decadesincluding that of popular musician Tilahun Gessesse in 2009 — the last leader to be so honoured was Empress Zawditu in 1930. Ethiopia’s last emperor Haile Selassie, who was murdered in 1975 by coup leaders, is also buried at Holy Trinity Cathedral. —AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

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

Lebanese learn of mother’s slaying in Syria on TV KHIBET SILIM: “She was buried before I could even say goodbye to her, my poor, dear mother,” says Manal who was shocked by footage of her mother’s body at a Syrian massacre while watching television in Lebanon.

On the weekend of August 25 and 26, the bodies of more than 330 people were discovered in the town of Daraya, near Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Government and rebel forces have blamed each other for the killings.

Manal’s slain mother, Siham Sallum,

had lived in Daraya for six years with her Palestinian second husband. They had moved there in 2006 while a war between Israel and Hezbollah raged in neighbouring Lebanon.

“She told us life was becoming unbearable in Lebanon because of war, and that things were more secure in Syria,” said Katia, Sallum’s daughter-in-law. “How ironic. Now it’s Syria that is at war.”

On August 26, Sallum’s youngest daughter Manal joined a group of people watching a broadcast on Syria’s pro-regime channel Al-Dunya.

“Suddenly, I saw a close-up on the

face of a woman,” Manal lamented. “I recognised her face, her scarf, her clothes, and I cried: ‘Mama! That’s my mother!’”

Her face weary with pain, Manal said she had spoken to her 49-yearold mother every day, begging her to return home. Then on August 25, she tried to reach her, to no avail. The army staged an assault on Daraya that lasted several days. The town is located near several rebel-held areas in Damascus province. Though the bodies were found after the offensive, it remains impossible to determine the exact circumstances of the vic-

tims’ deaths.

According to the Obser vator y, which relies on a network of doctors, lawyers and activists on the ground, the deaths were caused by “bombings, clashes and executions.”

Citing acquaintances in Daraya, Sallum’s son Mohammed said his mother was kidnapped by the rebel Free Syrian Army on Saturday alongside her husband and several other residents of the town.

The rebels, he said, promised they would set them free the next day.

“The rebels were getting ready for a prisoner exchange with the army, but

the operation went wrong,” said Mohammed. “ There was bombing and fighting, and the rebels killed their hostages.”

But according to Syrian opposition activists, the FSA was only holding three army officers-and no civilians-at the time. “This is a lie propagated by the regime to justify what they did here,” an activist in Daraya who identified himself as Abu Ahmed told AFP via Skype.

“Many people had already been killed by the army’s bombings even before they launched their assault on the town,” he added. — AFP

Bombs rock Damascus, envoy says change ‘unavoidable’ Bulldozers demolish homes

GAZA CITY: Ismail Haniya, the head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip (R) chairs a meeting with members of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza City yesterday. Haniya, announced a cabinet reshuffle, appointing seven new ministers including a new finance minister. — AFP

Hamas announces cabinet reshuffle GAZA CITY: Ismail Haniya, head of the Hamas government in Gaza, announced a cabinet reshuffle yesterday, appointing seven new ministers including a new finance minister. Haniya said the reshuffle was “normal procedure after nearly six years of work by some ministers and in order to achieve specific goals for the current period.”

And he said the new cabinet was partly a reaction to the changing landscape of the Middle East in the wake of uprisings in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and other Arab countries. “This shuffle will give us an opportunity to deal with these changes,” he said.

The reshuffle was approved by Gazabased Hamas MPs from the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) or parliament, which comprises legislators from across the Palestinian territories. The Hamas-dominated parliament came into being in 2006 after the Islamist group won a crushing electoral victory, but it has been largely largely non-functional since then.

The surprise election victory escalated long-running tensions between Hamas and the rival Fatah party which spilled over into fighting in the summer of 2007. The violence left the West Bank and Gaza divided, with Fatah governing the West Bank and Hamas the Gaza Strip.

Haniya said he had postponed carrying out the cabinet reshuffle several times to allow time for a reconciliation process between Fatah and Hamas to succeed. The two sides have been trying to implement

the terms of an April 2011 reconciliation deal for months now, but appear no closer to achieving either the consensus interim government or the legislative and presidential elections called for by the agreement.

The West Bank government of president Mahmud Abbas underwent a shake-up in May, bringing in seven new ministers and drawing fierce criticism from Hamas. At the time, Hamas said the reshuffle proved Abbas was not committed to forming a national unity government.

Haniya said he remained ready “to take the necessary measures to agree on a unity coalition government if the appropriate conditions arise.” Under the reshuffle, onetime Hamas economy minister Ziyad alZaza will become the new finance minister, as well as taking on the role of deputy prime minister with wide-ranging powers.

Other ministers named include Mufiz alMakhalalati, who will take over the health ministry, Yusef Sobhi Aghreyz at the ministry of housing and public works and Mazen Haniyeh to the justice ministry.

Ismail Radwan, a Hamas leader and former spokesman, will become the minister of religious endowments, Mohammed Jawad al-Farra becomes minister of local government and Abdul Aziz al-Tirshawi takes the agriculture portfolio. Haniya said the new government’s priorities would be “ending the siege and easing the problems of citizens, especially with regard to electricity and water.” — AFP

DAMASCUS: Twin bombs exploded near a tightly guarded government compound in the heart of Damascus yesterday, state media said, as new international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said change in Syria was “unavoidable.”

Speaking to satellite channel AlJazeera as he took over as UN-Arab League envoy from former UN chief Kofi Annan, Brahimi carefully refrained, however, from publicly calling, as his predecessor had, for President Bashar al-Assad to quit.

Four people were wounded in the twin bombings which struck in the Abu Remmaneh district where several security service buildings and the office of Vice President Faruq al-Shara are located, state television said. The attack, which state media blamed on “terrorists”-the government’s standard term for rebels fighting to end Assad’s rule-came a day after a bombing killed 15 people in a southern suburb of Damascus.

They were among at least 168 people killed on Saturday — 110 civilians, 32 soldiers and 26 rebels, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The watchdog gave a preliminary toll of 36 people killed countrywide yesterday — 21 civilians, 12 soldiers and three rebels.

Shara is the highest-ranking Sunni Muslim in Assad’s minority Alawite-led government and was the subject of repeated defection rumours last month before he made a public appearance during a visit by a senior envoy from key ally Iran.

The Ahfad al-Rasul (Grandchildren of the Prophet) brigade of the rebel Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on Facebook, in which it also threatened to attack Assad’s palace.

State media earlier Sunday reported that a car bomb explosion near a mosque at Sbeneh in the southern outskirts of the capital the previous day killed 15 people.

Sbeneh is a poor neighbourhood where anti-government sentiment is strong. Also yesterday, the Britainbased Observatory reported that the army had targeted homes in the capital for destruction, using bulldozers. It said regime forces stormed the restive outskirts of the upscale

DAMASCUS: A handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows a member of the Syrian security forces inspecting the wreckage of a vehicle in Al-Mehdi Street in the Abu Remmaneh district of the Syrian capital Damascus yesterday as Syrian state TV reported twin bombings near security service buildings in the centre of the capital and said they wounded four people. — AFP Damascus district of Mazzeh, demolishing three shops and five homes.

The violence in the capital came as the army renewed its bombardment of rebel-held areas in the provinces.

Shelling of Qusayr destroyed the last working bakery in the rebel-held part of the central town, activists said, aggravating a growing food shortage and highlighting the plight of civilians trapped by the fighting.

Human rights watchdogs have expressed growing concern about deteriorating conditions in areas under protracted siege and bombardment by the army, including parts of second city Aleppo and third city Homs.

“The shelling of Hanano did not stop from midnight until 5:00 am,” an activist told AFP from the proopposition northeastern district of Aleppo, a city of some 2.7 million people and a major battleground between troops and rebels since July 20. “People are used to the power cuts, but the most difficult thing is getting hold of medicines, food

and milk,” the activist told AFP by Skype. Brahimi, who took over as international peace envoy on Saturday, told Al-Jazeera that “change is necessary, indispensable, unavoidable.”

He said his position was to engage all the parties and he would not be drawn on Assad’s future. “It is too early to speak about who should go and who should stay,” he told the channel. “This is not a step backwards. Mr Assad is there and is the president of the present government,” he said. “Kofi talked to him, and I will talk to him.”

Similar comments by the veteran Algerian diplomat soon after his nomination last month drew an angry reaction from Syria’s exiled opposition, which accused him of giving Assad’s regime a “licence to kill.” Brahimi, who will formally take the reins in handover ceremony with Annan and UN chief Ban Kimoon on Tuesday, has been holding meetings at the UN headquarters in New York. He takes over amid

mounting pessimism about the prospects for peace after Annan announced he was stepping down last month, blaming divisions in the international community for the failure of his April six-point peace plan.

The main opposition Syrian National Council, meanwhile, has agreed to expand to include more groups opposing Assad and will reform to be more representative, a spokesman told AFP. At a meeting in Stockholm late Saturday, the SNC agreed to expand its membership and to hold a vote later this month to elect its leadership, spokesman George Sabra said.

The move follows criticism from both within and outside the group that it is failing to unite the diverse opposition forces working against Assad, after more than 17 months of brutal conflict.

The violence has since intensified with August much the bloodiest month of a conflict that has killed more than 26,000 people, according to Syrian Observatory figures. —AFP

‘World’s youngest mayor’

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Queen Rania (R) meet with Australia’s Governor General Quentin Bryce and her husband Michael Bryce (L) in Amman yesterday. — AFP

Iran plans major air defence exercise TEHRAN: Iran plans to start a major military exercise later this month to test its air defence systems, a top Revolutionary Guards commander said in comments published yesterday. The exercise was announced by Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, who heads the elite force’s air defence command, amid rising speculation that Israel is weighing the option of a pre-emptive military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“All of the air defence systems of the Guards as well as those of the army will be used in the drill,” which is planned to run from September 21 to October 21, Esmaili was quoted as telling the official IRNA news agency.

He told the Young Journalists Club, a group affiliated to Iranian state television, that his unit’s priority was protecting nuclear facilities. “The nuclear sites are our priority and most of the (air

defence) systems, as well as cover t defence units, have been set up around them,” he said.

In addition to the air defence systems, fighter and bomber jets will be used in the exercise, which Esmaili said will simulate “unexpected scenarios” to test the forces’ crisis management.

The Mehr news agency quoted another commander as saying that Iran had set up radar, missile and electronic warfare units near its northwestern border. “This equipment has been installed in more than 300 locations,” Rasoul Rezvani-Kia, head of the northwestern air defence command, was quoted as saying.

As its standoff with the West over its controversial nuclear programme has dragged on, Iran has held such exercises two or three times a year, with the most recent staged in July. —AFP

ALLAR: Like most Palestinian teens, Bashaer Othman goes back to school this week after a long summer break. But rather than hanging out with friends, this 16-year-old has spent the past two months serving as mayor of a small town in the northern West Bank. Sitting at a large desk in front of three framed photographs of president Mahmud Abbas, prime minister Salam Fayyad and veteran nationalist leader Yasser Arafat, Othman smiles as she signs a document allowing a resident to pay his large water bill in instalments.

“It’s not about the title, it’s about serving the town,” says the teenager, who was just 15 when she took over from mayor Sufiyan Shadid on July 2 for a two-month stint as the top official in Allar, a town of 8,000 residents.

The idea, she says, came out of a national youth parliament project run by the Sharek Youth Forum, which aims to involve youngsters in the day-to-day workings of Palestinian local government. The project has been running across the Palestinian territories but Othman was the first to take on such a high-profile role, in a move which was “fully supported” by Shadid, she says.

The teenager says she knew “nothing” about the job at first but “with the help and cooperation of council members and the mayor,” she quickly learned. “I come to my office every morning at 8:00 am and look over many files, sign papers and meet with council members. I also have to do a lot of field visits to solve urgent matters,” she told AFP. “I was scared about taking on so much responsibility, it was a big challenge,” she said, explaining that her position was “not just a formality” and that she was given “full powers” as mayor. But she is proud of her role. “I’m the world’s youngest mayor, it’s incredibly exciting,” she says.

After six hours at work, Othman is free to go home, where she quickly switches to a more routine teenage existence-”playing computer games,” she grins. There are 11 councillors at the town hall, six from the ruling Fatah party, and five from the Islamist Hamas movement, which

rules the Gaza Strip. All of them pitched in to support her, she says. “I was afraid that some of the council members and employees would be against me and not help, but it turned out that everyone was supportive, which helped me do my job.” Shadid said the project has benefited everyone-both the youngsters and the council.

“The aim is to encourage young people and prove that they can take responsibility when given a chance,” says Shadid, who has been the town’s mayor for 12 years. “We must always inject new blood into all Palestinian institutions with no exception so that they don’t get flabby,” he told AFP. As part of the agreement, Othman was granted full powers as mayor, although a technical restriction with the bank meant she was only permitted to sign off on financial matters of up to 300 shekels ($75/60 euros) “Anything above that amount is governed by the bank and they need an authorised signatory, which is me,” explains Shadid.

There were a few minor gripes about why a

boy wasn’t chosen over a girl, but for the most part residents have been supportive. “The fact that a girl of her age became mayor is a good thing,” says Faiza Abu Saada, a housewife. “As long as she is up for it, she should be given the chance.”

Well-digger Fahmi Ammer agreed. “It is a great idea. Young people should be given more chances.” For the Sharek Youth Forum, the project has been a resounding success. “This is the first time that someone from the programme has worked in a real local council for this long and with such responsibility and authority,” said Wissam Shweike, who coordinates the local youth council programme. As her time in office draws to a close, Othman now has other priorities to attend to-like buying a new school bag and uniform. But the experience has given her a taste for leadership, and she is now hoping to see the electoral law amended “so that the age of candidacy will be changed from 24 to 20,” she says. “I aspire to run for office one day and become mayor again.” — AFP

GAZA CITY: Palestinian school children are seen on the first day of the new school year in Gaza City yesterday. — AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

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

World’s newest nation South Sudan names UN ambassador JUBA: South Sudan has appointed its first ambassador to the United Nations, bolstering a small and inexperienced diplomatic corps which has been struggling to make the new nation’s case in disputes with Sudan over oil and the shared border.

South Sudan seceded from its northern neighbour in July last year under a 2005 peace deal, and has been trying to build up state institutions after decades of devastating civil war. Nearly a year after declaring independence, Juba had only managed to set up about half of the 22 embassies it set as its initial goal, the foreign min-

ister told Reuters in June. Francis Deng, a respected scholar and former special adviser to the UN Secretary General on the prevention of genocide, has been appointed South Sudan’s permanent representative to the United Nations.

Deng told Reuters he would work to improve the South’s “waning” image abroad, but that it would not be easy.

“South Sudan has gone from people being very sceptical about its independence to supporting it, to now feeling somewhat negative,” he said.

Having a UN ambassador could help South Sudan gain other nations’

support in its disagreements with Sudan. The two countries have yet to work out a list of issues related to partition, and the disputes have at times turned violent.

In April, South Sudan occupied an oil-producing region long held by Sudan, provoking widespread condemnation. South Sudan said the land was disputed, but its poor diplomatic presence made that case harder to sell, diplomats said at the time.

South Sudan withdrew from the region under pressure, and tension has since eased. Deng said he hoped for a breakthrough between the two

sides at African Union-brokered talks resuming this week in Ethiopia.

“I believe that we have probably gone through the worst already, and that an agreement is in sight,” he said.

“In fact the agreement has been reached, it’s just that it’s supposed to be a package and so the other elements have to be included.”

A deal between the two sides on border security could open the way to resuming oil exports, which the landlocked South shut down in January in a dispute with Khartoum over how much it should pay to send the crude through Sudan.

The move wiped out 98 percent of South Sudan’s state revenues, and Deng said this would affect the funds available for diplomats representing the South. “I’m quite impressed the South has been able to function this far with no revenues from oil,” he said.

“I still don’t fully understand how that’s possible.”

South Sudan voted overwhelmingly to secede in a 2011 referendum promised by the peace deal that ended the civil war.

Some 2 million people died in the conflict, fought over religion, ethnicity, oil and ideology. — Reuters

Obama, Romney trade job barbs in swing states Gearing up for next week’s convention

MOSCOW: Members of historical clubs, dressed as French soldiers and Russian soldiers prepare to the re-enactment of the 1812 battle between Napoleon’s army and Russian troops in Borodino, some 120 km from Moscow yesterday during the celebration of the 200th anniversary of this battle. — AFP

France and Russia draw old swords at 1812 battle BORODINO: Thousands of mounted French and Russian actors yesterday recreated a 200-year-old battle at the gates of Moscow that led to the fall of Napoleon and the rise of Russian patriotic fervour. President Vladimir Putin arrived to oversee the grandiose festivities after seeing his government spend $1.1 million (900 million euros) on a celebration of not only Russian history but also its military and resolve.

France is represented at the sleepy Borodino field 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Moscow by former president Giscard d’Estaing and 1,550 actors who began crossing swords with 1,450 Russians before nearly 100,000 history buffs. “The entire people rose against the invaders.

Its unprecedented heroism, spiritual strength and heartfelt love for the land filled our country with an tremendous force that had never been seen before,” Putin said in a keynote address. The people’s heroic resolve “was futile to resist and impossible to defeat,” the Russian leader added as a heavy mist rolled over the lush greens of the immaculately trimmed grass around the memorial. World War II and the Battle of Borodino “were proof of the unparalleled patriotism of our people, who defended our country and guaranteed it the role of a great world power,” he concluded in a firm voice.

Putin’s chief of staff had earlier urged Russian authorities to use the occasion to expand “the patriotic education of youth”. The elaborate reenactment-replete with cannons and feather-capped blue uniforms for the French-crowns weeks of celebrations that kicked off when 23 Cossacks on horseback began a two-month march on Paris on August 12. Putin is also making the increasingly power ful Russian Orthodox Church an instrumental part of the occasion as he seeks

to cement its place in society. Putin’s strategic use of nationalism has served the ex-KGB spy well since he rose to power in 1999, a period in which he has remained Russia’s most popular and dominant politician.

But it has also hampered his relations with the United States and divided parts of Europe over how to handle a big neighbour that makes periodic threatening noises. France itself has remained one Putin’s closest partners under a policy that survived the Soviet era and stretches back to the days when Napoleon’s exploits inextricably linked the histories of the two states.

The Russians’ advance on France brought words like “bistro” to Western culture and the writings of Victor Hugo and Honore de Balzac to tsarist courts and-after many more decades-most basic schools. The September 7 clash of the giants at Borodino represented the definitive example of a general winning the battle but losing the war.

Napoleon watched his smaller army of 20,000 soldiers overcome 45,000 foes after a day of carnage and then decided to take time to recover before pushing on to Moscow. He apparently had no idea that the tsar’s great Field Marshal Kutuzov decided to retreat the day after battle after learning that half his soldiers had been lost.

It was a fatal mistake for Napoleon and one that possible altered the course of history for much of Eastern Europe. The Russians had time to regroup in nearby villages and then plot strategy as Napoleon’s stunned generals entered the ashes of a Moscow that still smouldered from the day the natives had burned down the city and left. They then drove out Napoleon’s demoralised soldiers before marching on to Paris and helping make French into the second language of all Russian aristocrats. — AFP

BERLIN: German Rabbi Daniel Alter (L) and Berlin’s Senator for Integration Dilek Kolat listen to a speech during a rally themed “No Antisemitism in Friedenau” yesterday in Berlin. Alter is victim of a brutal daylight beating in front of his sixyear-old daughter on August 30, 2012, that sparked furious condemnation in Germany, with some Jewish groups saying they feared a rise in anti-Semitic behaviour. The attack on the 53-year-old man by four youths left him hospitalised and the Jewish community outraged, already up in arms over a court ruling in western Germany that outlaws religious circumcision. — AFP

WESTMINSTER: US President Barack Obama takes his campaign to the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado yesterday as he and Republican challenger Mitt Romney fight for votes in key battleground states that will determine the outcome of the November election.

The president was on a four-day trip through swing states in the lead-up to his renomination at the Democrats’ meeting in North Carolina. Today, he will travel to Louisiana to tour damage in the wake of Hurricane Isaac, which forced the Republican convention to start a day late. He will visit Virginia on Tuesday.

Gearing up for next week’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, Obama on Saturday rallied supporters in Iowa, a Midwestern state that helped launch his successful 2008 White House campaign.

He mocked this week’s Republican gathering in Tampa, Florida for promoting an outdated policy agenda from the “last century” heavy on conservative social policies. “It was a rerun. We’ve seen it before. You might as well have watched it on a black and white TV,” Obama joked to supporters in Urbandale.

“Let me recap it for you: Everything’s bad, it’s Obama’s fault and governor Romney is the only one who knows the secret to creating jobs and (making) the economy” grow.

He lambasted Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, for failing to offer any new ideas in his address to Republican activists.

Instead, Romney reiterated “the same old policies that have been sticking it to the middle class for years,” Obama said. “They talked a lot about me. They talked a lot about him, but they didn’t say much about you.”

Speaking in Sioux City at a later rally, the president criticized Romney for having “nothing to say” about Afghanistan, where US troops have been fighting the Taliban and their Al-Qaeda allies for nearly 11 years.

In the meantime, campaigning in the crucial battleground state of Ohio, Romney said Obama had failed to fulfill his promise to revamp the sagging US economy, comparing his record to that of a failing sports coach.

He noted that 23 million people are now out of work or have stopped looking for work or are underemployed in the United States.

“Let me tell you, if you have a coach that’s 0 to 23 million, you say it’s time to get a new coach,” Romney said in Cincinnati, fresh from

being crowned the Republican Party’s official presidential candidate.

“It’s time for America to see a winning season again, and we’re going to bring it to them.” Responding to Obama’s earlier jab, Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said the president’s policies “have taken us on a road to declining incomes, higher unemployment

ural resources. “Paul Ryan and I have a plan that’s going to get America working again. It’s going to create about 12 million new jobs in America and about 460,000 jobs right here in Ohio,” Romney said, touting his energy policy.

However, the first tracking polls made during or after the Republican National Convention indicated the Republican nomi-

COLORADO: US President Barack Obama greets Kristin Harper, 9, of Aurora, Colorado, upon arrival at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado on Saturday. — AFP and more uncertainty for the middle class.”

“And in the face of a record of failure, he offered no new solutions, just misleading attacks.” Stubbornly high US unemployment, which has topped eight percent for 43 consecutive months, and a bumpy economic recovery are widely seen as the biggest hurdles to Obama’s hopes of winning the national vote on November 6.

On the heels of the Republican nod, Romney and his White House running mate Paul Ryan are seeking to maintain momentum as Obama and his Democratic Party ready for their convention starting today.

The pair were due to appear for a joint rally later in Jacksonville, Florida. Ohio, along with Florida and Pennsylvania, is considered crucial to the outcome of the election. Recent polls have shown Obama leading in Ohio, a major coal producer. But Romney is not far behind and is fighting hard-he has visited the state and outlined his goal to help make America more energy independent by developing nat-

nee was not getting much of a so-called postconvention “bounce.” In a Gallup survey out Saturday, Obama was still leading 47 percent to 46 percent. The same picture was in the Ipsos poll where the president was ahead by one percentage point, 44-43.

Only a Rasmussen poll had Romney up-but only by three points — 47 percent to 44 percent. The coveted “bounce” - a jump in the surveys - is usually due to extensive publicity received by a candidate during the convention prime-time events. But it largely depends on the candidate whether it evaporates a few weeks after or he manages to keep at least some of the benefit.

The focus of the political action has already shifted to the White House incumbent.

Obama’s top adviser David Axelrod said Friday that the president would use the Democratic convention to deliver the specifics Romney’s convention speech-which he said was packed with personal anecdotes and patriotic platitudes-lacked. — AFP

Angola’s Dos Santos declared president-elect LUANDA: Angola’s long-ruling Jose Eduardo dos Santos was declared president-elect in state media yesterday, even as votes were still being counted and the opposition said it was gathering evidence of fraud.

The government-mouthpiece Jornal de Angola ran a front-page headline declaring “Large victory for MPLA” alongside a full-page picture of Dos Santos clapping.

“The MPLA is the big winner in the 2012 general elections, and everything points to a victory of more than 75 percent of the ballots cast,” the paper said on its website. “ The head of the party list, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is the president-elect of the republic.”

The paper made the announcement as the National Electoral Commission said 72 percent of polling stations had reported results, giving the ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) nearly three-quarters of the vote.

The commission could not give an indication of exactly when the official, final results would be released, but that announcement could still take days. Many of the ballots yet to be counted were in the capital Luanda, home to nearly a third of the country’s registered voters, where opposition parties were performing better.

Angolans voted Friday for 220 members of parliament, with the leader of the winning party awarded a five-year term as presi-

dent. That left Dos Santos all but certain to extend his nearly 33year rule over Africa’s secondlargest oil producer, despite a series of urban protests demanding that more of the nation’s wealth go towards helping the 55 percent of the population living in abject poverty.

Those frustrations appeared to have taken a toll on his party in Luanda, where the MPLA had 57 percent of the vote with about one -third of polling stations reporting. The main opposition, the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita), had nearly 18 percent of the national vote, and 27 percent in Luanda. The breakaway Casa party, formed by dissenters from both the main parties, had around 4.6 percent of the national vote but more than 12 percent in the capital. Unita leader Isaias Samakuva has long criticised the electoral process, saying the voters roll hadn’t been authenticated while some 2,000 of his party’s observers were denied accreditation to polling stations.

A statement on the party ’s website said both Unita and Casa “are preparing to present documents that prove the results presented by the National Electoral Commission are not the same as those tabulated inside the polling stations in different parts of the country”.

Unita so far appeared to have made gains over its performance in 2008 elections, the nation’s first peacetime vote when it took just

10 percent and the MPLA claimed 81 percent.

Few international observers watched over the vote. Teams from the African Union and the Southern African Development Community planned to present their initial findings later Sunday.

The infamously gridlocked streets of Luanda have been unusually quiet since Friday, when the government declared a holiday for the election, giving the country a three-day weekend.

Walking along the city’s newly renovated bayside boardwalk, Sergio Jose, 22, said he did not expect the results to cause any unrest, regardless of the outcome.

“Everyone should accept the result, for whoever wins,” he said. But officials from Unita and Casa could not say when they would deliver their official reactions to the results, and much will depend on the outcome of the vote in Luanda where both parties appeared to have made gains. — AFP

Bumbling Clegg faces more leadership dissent LONDON: Pressure is mounting on Britain’s deputy prime minister Nick Clegg amid fresh warnings from within his own party over his leadership, newspapers reported yesterday.

The Sunday Times weekly reported that senior Liberal Democrat figures have said that the Clegg is not “indispensable” and could be replaced by Britain’s current business secretary Vince Cable at the head of the party.

The Lib Dems are the junior partner in a coalition government, led by Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party, which was formed in May 2010. Adrian Sanders, a veteran Liberal Democrat lawmaker, told the Sunday Times that Clegg needed to stop “just bumbling along worrying about the future” and to take action to rebuild support in the party.

His comments were echoed by the Lib Dem peer Trevor Smith, a former professor of politics, who told the paper that Clegg was “just a cork bobbing on the waves” with “no strategic vision at all”.

“It’s not as if Clegg is indispensable,” the paper reported him as saying. “Vince Cable possesses the appeal and the credibility to lead the Liberal Democrats into the next election.” Andrew Bridgwater, vice-chairman of Devon and Cornwall regional party and chairman of the Liberal Democrat education association, went even further, calling on Clegg to quit as leader. “The sooner Nick resigns and creates a vacancy for Vince, the better,” he told The Independent on Sunday weekly. — AFP

11

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

international

Australia rejects Papuan independence SYDNEY: Australia categorically rejected Papuan independence yesterday saying it could not lead to a viable nation and would “completely rupture” ties with Indonesia were Canberra to weigh in.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said public opinion in Australia was “in support of Indonesian sovereignty over the two Papuan provinces” and though Canberra pressed Jakarta on human

rights in the region its own position was firm.

“Our opposition to Papuan secessionism is founded on pragmatism and principle,” Carr told Sky News. “The position in international law is Indonesian sovereignty, and while we make representations as required about human rights issues there... we are unequivocal.”

The issue was thrust into the spot-

light last week when an Australian documentary crew raised questions about the involvement of Indonesian counter-terrorism police in the shooting of independence figure Mako Tabuni.

Canberra said it had appealed to Indonesia for a full and open inquiry into Tabuni’s death and continued to press its neighbour on human rights in the restive province. Carr yesterday denied that Papuan independence was

a matter of diplomatic concern between the nations but counselled Australians, particularly religious and trade union groups, against supporting the separatist movement.

“The cost of engaging at a serious level in that sort of activity would be a complete rupture in AustraliaIndonesia relations,” the foreign minister said.

“It would serve no good whatsoever

because the nation that they would be seeking to create would not be viable, and were it to be created-and that is inconceivable-Australia would be picking up the bill.”

Poorly armed separatist groups have for decades fought a low-level insurgency in resources-rich Papua, a Dutch colony annexed by Indonesia in 1969 and granted special autonomy in 2001. —AFP

Tokyo surveys disputed isles in row with China Surveyors were acting ‘illegally’: China

BASEY: Residents look at the collapsed altar wall of a chapel after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on August 31 in Basey, western Samar province, in the central Philippines yesterday. Families returned to their quake-devastated homes in the central Philippines yesterday, ignoring government warnings to relocate away from danger zones. —AFP

Philippine families rebuild amid further quake fears GENERAL MACARTHUR: Families returned to their quake-devastated homes in the central Philippines yesterday, ignoring government warnings to relocate away from danger zones.

Men, women and children picked through the debris in the quiet fishing town of General MacArthur looking for materials to salvage from their splintered wooden houses.

The area faces the Pacific Ocean on the country’s eastern seaboard, where a 7.6-magnitude offshore quake struck Friday, triggering a tsunami alert that forced over 130,000 people to flee.

“We thank the Lord that no big waves came, but still, the earthquake destroyed our home,” said Rosel Aruera, a 20-yearold mother of two, as she surveyed her the remains of her home. b”It was so strong we were thrown off our bed and minutes later our floor and walls crumbled.”

Hers was among 80 seaside homes built on stilts using cement and wood, common structures in many coastal areas across the Philippines. “We have nowhere else to go, that is why we are trying to rebuild here,” she said.

Village chief Amador Evallo said the local government had repeatedly warned people to relocate to safer areas inland. “All of their houses have been destroyed, and now they are trying to rebuild on the same spot. But what happens when another ear thquake or tsunami comes?” he said. “That would be a nightmare.” The quake, which triggered landslides in which one woman died, also sparked tsunami warnings as far away as Indonesia, Japan and Papua New Guinea. Waves of up to half a metre (20 inches) hit parts of the Philippines’ eastern coast but were not high enough to cause any damage.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in Manila said most of the homes destroyed were those made of light materials, while overall damage to infrastructure remained minimal.

But NDRRMC chief Benito Ramos said the quake served as another reminder for many local governments to improve disaster preparedness and relocate entire villages away from danger zones.

“We are lucky this time. But we can’t count on luck all the time,” he said. “We also understand that politically it is easier to say they will relocate communities, but it is more difficult to implement.”

The Philippines is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world, with an average of 20 typhoons battering the island nation every year.

It also sits on the Pacific Rim of Fire-a belt around the Pacific Ocean dotted by active volcanoes and unstable ocean trenches. Heavily populated urban areas on the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, including the capital Manila, sit on or are near at least four fault systems.

The most active of these, the Valley Fault System, cuts through the eastern section of the island, including across Manila and suburban areas to the south.

That fault moves once every 200 to 400 years, the last time in the 17th century, seismologists said.

Ramos said a 2004 study jointly carried out with Japan said a movement of the Valley Fault System could trigger a 7.2-magnitude quake, flattening 40 percent of all buildings in Manila, a city of 15 million. Tens of thousands would also die, he said.

“Friday’s earthquake off the coast is reminding us that that these faults could move any time,” Ramos said. —AFP

TOKYO: A team of Japanese surveyors yesterday sailed to a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea which the nationalistic governor of Tokyo wants to buy, in a move China described as “provocative”.

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, known for his outspoken views, dispatched the team, which arrived at the island chain claimed by both countries, known in China as Diaoyu and in Japan as Senkaku.

Ishihara wants to buy them from their private owners to highlight Japan’s claim and build a small harbour for fishing vessels.

The 25-member team remained on their boats to survey the shoreline and waters around the rocky uninhabited isles, Japanese television showed.

The national government rejected their request to land on the islands. “Seeing it with your own eyes is different from seeing them on a map,” Seiichiro Sakamaki, the Tokyo official leading the team, told Japanese television networks as he stood aboard a survey ship near the islands.

“The scale and size are very clear to see.

The governor has asked what could be done to build a small harbour. We want to check the islands with that in mind,” he said. Ishihara, a vocal critic of China, has previously said he hoped to visit the islands himself in October when he sends another survey mission.

Chinese state media said the surveyors were acting “illegally”, describing yesterday’s mission as the “latest provocative move that infringes on Chinese territory”.

“To curb such provocations and ease tensions over the islands, the Japanese government should avoid being crippled by the right-wingers and handle relevant issues from the overall interests of the Sino-Japanese relations,” a commentary on Xinhua news agency said.

Testy Japan-China ties turned for the worse in August after pro-Beijing activists landed on one of the islands, which are controlled by Japan. They were arrested by Japanese authorities and deported.

ISHIGAKI: A survey ship dispatched from the Tokyo metropolitan government arrives at a port in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Tokyo city officials intending to buy tiny islands at the center of a longtime territorial dispute with China will travel by the boat to survey the area ahead of the purchase they hope will bolster Japan’s claim. —AP About a dozen Japanese nationalists raised their country’s flag on the island days later, prompting protests in cities across China.

The car of the Japanese ambassador was targeted in Beijing when an unidentified man

“The new guy has good relations with Hu Jintao and also has ties with the new incoming leader,” Bill Bishop, a Beijingbased consultant and writer of the Sinocism China Newsletter, told AFP. “He will be an extremely influential person in Beijing, the party general secretary needs someone like this who is competent and can be trusted.”

“More importantly this is really an indication that things are on track and that the next Party Congress is reasonably imminent.”

No dates for the congress have been announced, but it is widely expected to take place next month.

China’s authoritarian politics largely take place in secret. Analysts believe the ongoing transition has been badly hampered by the ouster of charismatic politician Bo Xilai, whose wife was given a suspended death sentence last month for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. Before the murder scan-

newspaper said Sunday.

By avoiding Ishihara’s direct involvement in managing the disputed islands, Japan wants to prevent the dispute with China from heating up further, local media have said. —AFP

Clinton must press Indonesia on rising intolerance: HRW

MANDALAY: Myanmar Buddhist monks rally on the streets of Mandalay yesterday as they support the country’s president, Thein Sein, and protest against the UN over the recent violence in Rakhine state, a western part of Myanmar. Fighting between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine state has left almost 90 people from both sides dead since June, according to an official estimate, although rights groups fear the real toll is much higher.

Speaking a dialect similar to one in neighbouring Bangladesh, the Rohingya are seen by the Myanmar government and many Burmese as illegal immigrants. —AFP

China starts reshuffle ahead of leadership change BEIJING: China’s ruling Communist Party has announced a reshuffle to a key post, state press said yesterday, a move widely seen as ushering in a once-a-decade leadership transition later this year.

Li Zhanshu, 62, former head of the southwest province of Guizhou, was Saturday named to head the party’s powerful Politburo general office, the People’s Daily reported, a job that puts Li in charge of the party’s day-to-day workings. Li replaces Ling Jihua, outgoing President Hu Jintao’s top aide, who has been named to head the party’s United Front Work Department, the paper said.

As part of the leadership transition, Hu will step down as the party’s general secretary-the top party post-at a Party Congress expected to take place in the coming weeks and resign from the presidency at a parliamentary meeting next March, ending his 10 years as China’s top leader. Current Vice President Xi Jinping is slated to replace Hu in both posts.

ripped the national flag off the vehicle.

Japan’s national government is also considering buying the islands for 2.05 billion yen ($26 million) from the same landowners with whom Ishihara is negotiating, the Nikkei

dal broke in February this year, Bo had been seen as a candidate for promotion to China’s top ruling body, the party’s Politburo Standing Committee.

Meanwhile, police in southern China have arrested a man suspected of threatening to blow up a commercial jet, following a similar incident affecting a flight from Beijing, state press said yesterday. Police arrested Xiong Yi, 29, in Dongguan city on Saturday after tracing an anonymous phone call threatening a flight from Shenzhen airport on Thursday, Xinhua news agency said.

Xiong confessed that he warned airport officials that explosives would be detonated on a Shenzhen Airlines flight 45 minutes after take-off, forcing air controllers to divert the flight, the report said.

After inspecting the grounded plane, police found no dangerous items on board, it said.

The incident happened a day after an Air China plane bound for New York was forced to return to Beijing following a similar unspecified threat.

After police determined that no dangerous materials were on that flight, the Air China plane flew to New York following a delay of several hours.

Authorities are still investigating the incident, while Beijing airport authorities warned passengers to be prepared for increased security measures, state media said yesterday.

In June, six members of China’s Uighur minority tried to hijack a Chinese domestic flight departing from a restive city in the far-western Xinjiang region, but crew members and passengers thwarted them, authorities said.

The Tianjin Airlines plane, bound for the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi, returned safely to the airport in Hotan city after a struggle between the hijackers and the crew members and passengers. —AFP

JAKARTA: Human Rights Watch yesterday called on US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to pressure the Indonesian government to address rising religious intolerance, a day ahead of her visit to the country. Indonesian authorities have failed to adequately address increasing incidents of mob violence by militant Islamist groups against religious minorities, including the Ahmadiyah Muslim sect, Christians, and Shiites, the New York-based rights watchdog said. “Secretary Clinton should press the Indonesian government to take concrete steps to address rising religious intolerance,” the group’s Asia advocacy director John Sifton said in a statement.

“Indonesia needs to recognise that oppressive laws and policies against religious minorities fuel violence and discrimination,” he added.

Clinton is expec ted to visit Jak ar ta on September 3 as part of an 11-day Asia trip.

Indonesia’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion but rights groups say violence against minorities has been escalating since 2008. In February 2011, a 1,500-strong mob of Muslims set two churches alight and ransacked a third in the town of Temanggung, on the island of Java, as they demanded that a Christian man be sentenced to death for insulting Islam.

HRW said that in the few cases of violence that have resulted in prosecutions, the authorities had of ten failed to charge all those involved, and punishments had been remarkably light.

Violence against Shiites in East Java last month, in which dozens of homes were torched and two Shiite men killed, underscored the continuing decline in security for religious minorities, it added.

“Holding minority religious beliefs in Indonesia should not put one’s life and property at risk,” Sifton said.

“Secretar y Clinton should not miss this important opportunity to speak out strongly on these issues,” he added.

HR W also called on Clinton to urge the Indonesian government “to release immediately and unconditionally” all political prisoners held for the peaceful expression of their political views. —AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

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

Myanmar to allow daily newspapers next year YANGON: Myanmar’s new information minister yesterday predicted newspapers would be able to publish daily from early 2013, heralding fresh reform for a sector recently freed from decades of draconian censorship.

Aung Kyi told the Myanmar Times that state-owned newspapers-currently the only news publications able to be printed daily-would also be revamped with private sector involvement in the coming months. “It is my sincere belief that daily [private sector] newspapers are essential for a democratic country,” said Aung Kyi, who replaced a prominent hardliner last

week when he was appointed as part of a cabinet reshuffle seen as promoting reformists in Myanmar’s government.

The former labour minister, who acted as the liaison between Myanmar’s previous junta government and democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi while she was under house arrest, said a code of practice should be discussed before changes were made to publication rules for private weekly journals.

He declined to give a firm date for the issuing of daily publication licences to private sector news groups-many of which have turned to the web to provide

up-to-the-minute content for a population hungry for information after years of restrictions-but estimated it could be “early next year”.

“I am sincere in wanting to achieve a comprehensive press media law that meets international standards,” he said, suggesting that the new proposed legislation could be delayed to give time for consultation with journalists and experts.

In August Myanmar announced the end of pre-publication censorship, previously applied to everything from newspapers to song lyrics and even fairy tales. Stateowned dailies include the English lan-

guage New Light of Myanmar, which has shown scant signs of modernisingexcept for an increase in celebrity gossipsince the country began its reforms.

But Aung Kyi said these publications were in line for “significant changes”.

Since taking office last year, President Thein Sein has overseen a number of dramatic moves in Myanmar such as the release of hundreds of political prisoners and Suu Kyi’s election to parliament.

Reporters jailed under the junta have also been freed from prison and a lighter touch from censors had already seen private weekly journals publish an increas-

ingly bold array of subjects. But there have been recent signs that it will take time for both newsrooms and the authorities to adjust to the new era of openness.

Two journals were recently suspended for a fortnight for prematurely printing stories without prior approval from the censors, prompting dozens of journalists to take to the streets in protest.

And the mining ministry is suing a weekly publication that reported the auditor-general’s office had discovered misappropriations of funds and fraud at the government division. —AFP

Double suicide attack kills 12 in Afghanistan Two US soldiers killed in Ghazni: NATO

NEW DELHI: Indian police personnel detain Tibetan activists during a protest outside the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi yesterday. China’s Defence Minister Liang Guanglie was due to arrive in Mumbai for a visit which India hopes would help repair the cracks in their prickly bilateral ties, local media reports said. — AFP

Chinese defence minister visits India NEW DELHI: Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie was due to start a four-day visit to India with concerns over competing influence across South Asia likely to be high on the agenda. General Liang was expected to arrive in Mumbai from Sri Lanka, and would hold talks with his counterpart A.K. Antony in New Delhi on Wednesday, the Times of India newspaper reported.

The visit is the first by a Chinese defence minister in eight years, and comes amid India’s fears about Chinese activity in nations such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh that India sees as within its sphere of influence.

India and China also have territorial disputes along their shared border, particularly in the nor theastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, where the two countries fought a brief but brutal war in 1962. The presence of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in the Indian hill town of Dharamshala is another cause of prickly relations between the two emerging nations.

Yesterday, Tibetan exiles held a small demonstration close to the Chinese embassy in New Delhi to protest against Liang’s visit, burning a Chinese flag and shouting slogans

demanding freedom for Tibetans living in China. While in Sri Lanka, Liang stressed China sought only “harmonious co-existence” with other countries. “The Chinese army ’s effor ts in conducting friendly exchanges and cooperation with its counterparts in South Asian nations are intended for maintaining regional security and stability and not targeted at any third party,” Liang said. Indian government officials confirmed Liang’s trip but declined to give further details. The Times of India said he would be travelling with a 23-member delegation and that renewed joint military training exercises would be discussed during talks.

“With China itself requesting the visit, it’s a significant step towards repairing the cracks in bilateral defence ties,” an unnamed official told the newspaper. China claims all of Arunachal Pradesh as well as other areas in the northwestern province of Kashmir in disputes that have been the subject of 15 rounds of fruitless talks. A build-up of Chinese military infrastructure along the border has been a major source of concern for India, which increasingly sees Beijing as a longer-term threat to its security to traditional rival Pakistan. —AFP

Senior N Korean official meets Iranian leader SEOUL: North Korea’s ceremonial head of state has vowed to strengthen ties with Iran and reaffirmed a shared hostility towards the United States during a meeting with Iran’s leader, state media said yesterday.

Kim Young-Nam, attending a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, met with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday to clarify Pyongyang’s “firm stand” to boost ties with Iran, the North’s KCNA said.

Kim stressed the need for more bilateral exchanges among high-level delegations as well as to boost economic and diplomatic ties during the talks that took place in a “friendly atmosphere”, it added.

The Iranian authorities said boosting bilateral relations would be beneficial to both nations, praising the North’s “steadfast antiimperialist, anti-US stand”, KCNA said.

“At the talks both sides exchanged views on... strengthening cooperation on the joint anti-imperialist, anti-US front and in the nonaligned movement,” it said.

Kim Young-Nam also met Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani Saturday and

expressed Pyongyang’s support for Iran’s drive for “peaceful nuclear energy”, the Fars news agency said.

North Korea and Iran are both subject to international sanctions over their nuclear activities and their governments share a deep hostility towards the United States.

During Kim’s latest trip to Iran, the two countries also signed an agreement to cooperate on science, technology and education, KCNA said.

Kim Young-Nam acts as head of state because the country’s late founding leader Kim Il-Sung has been declared “eternal president”. The impoverished but nuclear-armed North is led by Kim Il-Sung’s grandson Kim Jong-Un. An Iranian delegation visited North Korea in July for talks and the two sides put forward a “common front against imperialism and hegemony”, the North’s state media said earlier. In May 2011 a UN sanctions report said the two countries were suspected of sharing banned ballistic missile technology, a charge denied by Tehran. — AFP

PASIG CITY: Filipino schoolchildren wearing raincoats gather on a pitch to form a human peace sign to mark commemorations of the National Peace Consciousness Month in Pasig City in the eastern suburbs of Manila yesterday. —AFP

KABUL: Two suicide attackers, one driving a fuel tanker, blew themselves up near a US base in eastern Afghanistan late on Saturday, killing at least 12 people, officials said. The attack around dawn in the town of Sayed Abad in Wardak province, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Kabul, served as a reminder that even after a decade of fighting, tens of thousands of US and foreign troops are still engaged in a war that shows no signs of slowing down despite the start of a withdrawal of coalition forces.

The US-led NATO coalition said that no American or coalition troops were killed in the blasts. It confirmed that a number of troops were wounded, but did not say how many, in accordance with coalition policy.

Shahidullah Shadid, a spokesman for the Wardak provincial governor, said one suicide bomber detonated a vest rigged with explosives outside a compound housing the district governor’s office as well as local police and Afghan army headquarters. A second bomber driving a fuel tanker detonated his bomb on a road separating the compound from the base.

Shadid said the dead included eight civilians and four Afghan police. Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, which he said was targeting the US base.

Government officials said the first attacker blew

himself up to try to eliminate the Afghan security force guarding the compound and clear the way for the truck to hit the base down the road from the governor’s complex. The second bomber then blew up the fuel tanker as he was approaching the base. One of the town’s main bazaars is also located near the bomb site.

“A small explosion happened followed by a big one caused by a truck,” said eyewitness Hamidullah, who like many Afghans goes by one name. “In these explosions a lot of people were wounded and also a large number of shops were destroyed. I fell down on the ground and everything around me was destroyed.”

Officials said the second blast was far larger than the first. “It was a very powerful explosion. It broke windows all over the area,” said provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Qayum Bakizai. “Most of the injuries are from broken glass from the windows of homes and shops. It was so powerful we couldn’t find much of the truck.”

The governor’s office said in a statement that 59 people were wounded - 2 NATO troops, 47 civilians and ten Afghan police officers. Last year, the same base in Wardak was the target of another suicide bombing. That blast, which occurred on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, wounded 77 American soldiers and killed five Afghans. No US troops were killed

when the massive truck bomb exploded outside the base. In a separate incident Saturday, NATO said that two US soldiers were killed in eastern Ghazni province. It did not provide any further information or details about the deaths, the first this month. A total of 53 foreign troops were killed in Afghanistan in August.

The United States and other countries have already begun drawing down their forces in Afghanistan as part of a strategy that aims to hand over security responsibility to the Afghans by the end of 2014, when nearly all foreign troops are set to leave the country. President Barack Obama has pledged to remove 23,000 US troops by the end of September, bringing the number of American forces down to 68,000.

There are currently 129,000 troops serving with the coalition, according to US Maj. Gen. Joseph Reynes Jr., director of operations at the Allied Joint Forces Command in Brunssum, the Netherlands. He said earlier this week that the number will drop to 108,000 by the end of October and dip under 100,000 by the end of the year. The troops are to be replaced by Afghan army and police units, but many have questioned the effectiveness of an Afghan force that has high desertion rates and is often poorly disciplined. The Afghan security forces are supposed to reach a high of about 350,000 at the end of the year. — AP

Rushed Afghan exit ‘bad for image’: Australia

KABUL: Afghan labourers load a cart with bricks at a brick factory on the outskirts of Kabul yesterday. Over a third of Afghans are living in abject poverty, as those in power are more concerned about addressing their vested interests rather than the basic needs of the population, a UN report said. — AFP

US suspends Afghan police recruit training KABUL: US special forces in Afghanistan have suspended training for about 1,000 Afghan police recruits to vet existing members, the military said yesterday, after a surge in insider attacks on NATO. There has been a sharp rise in socalled “green-on-blue” attacks in recent months, in which members of the Afghan security forces turn their weapons on their Western allies, sometimes their military trainers.

In more than 30 such incidents this year, 45 coalition troops have been killed-about 14 percent of the overall death toll in the war for 2012. Most have been American, though the latest to die were three Australian troops.

“Current partnered operations have and will continue, even as we temporarily suspend training of about 1,000 new ALP (Afghan Local Police) recruits while re -vetting current members,” a spokesman for the US forces in Afghanistan, Colonel Thomas Collins, said.

Taleban insurgents claim responsibility for many of the attacks, saying their fighters have infiltrated the Afghan army and police, but NATO says the majority of the incidents are due to cultural differences and personal animosities. Last month was the worst for insider attacks in more than 10 years of war, with nearly one in three international coalition deaths caused by Afghan allies.

The ALP-which has around 16,000 members according to the Afghan interior ministry-is a US-sponsored police force recruited to fight Taliban insurgents in remote areas of the Afghan countryside, though it has been accused

of corruption and violence towards civilians. “While we have full trust and confidence in our Afghan par tners, we believe this is a necessary step to validate our vetting process and ensure the quality indicative of Afghan Local Police,” the US spokesman said.

The Washington Post said the re-vetting process would affect more than 27,000 Afghan troops.

The suspension was temporary, the colonel said but gave no timeframe.

Training for the Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army-carried out

by NATO rather than the US-will not be affected by the halt.

Afghan interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said: “We want all the training programmes for our police forces to continue and we are in discussion with our NATO partners about it.”

There are about 130,000 US and NATO troops in Afghanistan fighting the Taleban insurgency and training the Afghan security forces since the Taliban were ousted from power in late 2001 in a US-led invasion.

The US-led NATO troops will withdraw at the end of 2014, giving all security responsibilities to the Afghan forces in a US- designed programme that began earlier this year.

According to the Post, numerous military guidelines were not followed by either Afghans or Americans because of concerns that they might slow the growth of the Afghan army and police.

The Taleban have stepped up their attacks in recent months as par t of efforts by the insurgency to undermine the transition process. — AFP

SYDNEY: Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr yesterday acknowledged the nation’s weariness with the Afghan conflict after five more troop deaths but warned of “enormous” damage to its image if it pulled out now.

Carr said an accelerated Australian withdrawal would also put other coalition nations under significant pressure from their own citizens to follow suit, jeopardising the chance to leave Afghanistan with a stable government.

“The choice here is whether we have a panicky dash, Australia rupturing an alliance that is the largest in history ...

Australia making a dash for it that would do our reputation harm, enormous harm,” Carr told Sky News. “(It would send the message to) Turkey or Germany-you’re now embarrassed, you’ve got to justify to your own electorates why you’re sticking with this task but we Australians are out of it”.

Australia lost five soldiers in two separate incidents Thursday in its deadliest day in Afghanistan and the worst day for combat casualties in its history since the Vietnam War, renewing questions about its involvement.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Australia’s resolve after Prime Minister Julia Gillard restated her government’s commitment to Afghanistan despite the latest deaths, which took its total toll to 38.

Carr said “everyone is weary of this war”, including the insurgents, but emphasised that Australia had to stay the course. “I don’t want to give the impression that it’s only a consideration of the US alliance that keeps us sticking to this programme for a phased, orderly, controlled withdrawal,” Carr said. “But I can assure you the US would be very critical of (an) Australia which suddenly altered its character and said ‘we’re not with the other 50 nations, we’re not with plan that’s been put into place ... we’re bolting’.”

Carr noted that 75 percent of Afghanistan now had security from local forces and 5,000 mid-level insurgent fighters had laid down their weapons, adding that Australia’s final 2014 exit date was not negotiable.

“The United States has made it very clear, and we’ve done, that there’s no appetite on our side to stay there a day longer than we need to,” he said.

Australia, a key ally of the US, has said it is committed to remaining in its base in Uruzgan province where it has some 1,550 troops until it can hand over security to local forces, likely in late 2013. — AFP

MALE: In this photograph taken on August 31, 2012, former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed addresses journalists in Male. The Maldives government yesterday accused former president Mohamed Nasheed fof “seeking to inflame” unrest in the island nation and said unruly protests by his supporters would no longer be tolerated. —AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

NEWS

Rabbit ‘Mary Lou’ clears an obstacle during the Kaninhop (rabbit-jumping) competition in Weissenbrunn vorm Wald, southern Germany, yesterday. Competitors take part in three different categories with an obstacle height ranging between 25 and 40 cm. — AP

Netanyahu urges ‘clear red line’ to stop...

Pak imam held in blasphemy case

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

for Iran and Iran does not see international resolve to stop its nuclear program,” Netanyahu told his cabinet. “Unless Iran sees this clear red line and this clear resolve it will not stop moving forward with its nuclear program, and Iran must not have nuclear weapons,” he said, repeating his view that sanctions so far have not curbed Tehran’s atomic ambitions.

Although Netanyahu did not single out Obama in his criticism, Israeli officials have said they hope for stronger language from the president about possible US military action. Obama, who has had a frosty relationship with Netanyahu, has insisted he will not allow Iran to build atomic weapons and that all options are on the table. Israel’s popular YNet news website described the prime minister’s latest comments as a stinging rebuke of Obama. In a US election year, Republican candidate Mitt Romney has also sharply criticised Obama’s handling of Iran as not being tough enough.

And in another sign of a rift with Washington, Israeli officials voiced disappointment over recent remarks by the United States’ top general signalling reluctance to intervene on Israel’s behalf if it attacked Iran. Tehran says it is refining uranium to fuel a planned network of nuclear power plants so that it can export more of its oil and gas. The United States and its allies accuse Iran of a covert bid to develop the capability to make nuclear bombs. Israel, believed to have the only atomic arsenal in the Middle East, views a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, has suggested Washington would not be drawn into con-

flict with Iran should Israel attack. “I don’t want to be complicit if they choose to do it,” Britain’s Guardian newspaper quoted him on Friday as saying. Gilad Erdan, Israel’s environment minister, said on Israel Radio that Dempsey’s remarks “were definitely not to our liking”. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said the general’s choice of words “was not the best”. Israeli officials have said Israel has yet to decide on whether to attack Iran, amid divisions within its security cabinet and warnings by military and security chiefs that a strike would have only a limited effect.

A United Nations report said on Thursday Iran had more than doubled the number of centrifuges in its fortified bunker at Fordow since May, despite Western pressure and threat of Israeli attack. The new machines are not yet operating, the report said. “The report confirms what I have been saying for a long time, international sanctions are a burden on Iran’s economy but they are not in any way delaying the advancement of Iran’s nuclear programme,” Netanyahu told his cabinet. “The Iranians are using the talks with the world powers to win time and to advance their nuclear program,” he said.

An Iranian general said that if Israel were to strike Iran, Israeli officials would be the target of retaliation, Iranian media reported yesterday. “In case of Israel’s military attack against Iran, the officials of (Israel) will be among the first victims of such an attack,” Mohammad Ali Assoudi, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told Iran’s English-language Press TV. His broadcast remarks gave no details, but Press TV paraphrased him as saying Israel’s policies had induced hatred of its officials among residents of the occupied territories. —Reuters

More talks before Gulf integration Continued from Page 1 presenting them to the ministerial council in its next session to study and give a recommendation on it to the supreme council,” the GCC said in a statement after the meeting. The statement did not disclose what form unity might take or the views of the different members. Before a GCC summit in May, there had been widespread speculation in Gulf Arab countries that some form of closer union would be announced, but after discussing the idea, the leaders said they needed more time to study it.

Gulf sources said at the time that not all the countries supported the idea of moving towards a closer union. In April, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who did not attend yesterday’s meeting after having an intestinal operation last month, called on the group to integrate their foreign

and security policies. Uprisings against long-standing government across the Middle East and the regional rivalry with Iran over the conflict in Syria have presented Gulf Arab countries with challenges to their security. Gulf Arab countries have accused Iran of backing a rebellion by the Shiite majority against the Sunni monarchy ruling Bahrain, and accuse it of illegally occupying disputed islands claimed by the UAE. Saudi Arabia and Qatar also back the rebellion Syria against the government of President Bashar Al-Assad, who is allied to Tehran.

The GCC has in the past focused on closer economic integration. The six monarchies have agreed to a customs union, but are still hammering out how to divide revenues, have discussed a single currency, but are divided on where to locate its central bank, and are considering introducing value-added tax at a unified rate. A joint missile shield, urged by Washington for nearly three decades, has not been agreed. —Reuters

Bahrain wants apology over Iran...

Continued from Page 1 mistranslated on only one of its channels. “In a verbal mistake, this translator said ‘Bahrain’ instead of ‘Syria’ and this became a pretext for Western media,” Ezatollah Zarghami was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency. Morsi perturbed his hosts in his speech by describing the government of Syria as “a regime that has lost its legitimacy” and calling for its ouster.

His words prompted Syrian delegates to leave the hall.

Egyptian newspapers said Morsi was also misquoted as hoping for the “continuation of the Syrian regime”.

Some Iranians complained online about the Bahrain mistranslation, which was an embarrassment for Tehran as it sought to make diplomatic capital from hosting the summit last week. “With that intentional translation by Iran’s state television, a great insult was delivered to its viewers,” a reader who gave his name as Ahmadi wrote on the website of the Asr-e Iran newspaper, which published a correct translation of the speech. Another reader wrote on the website: “For us who were listening on the radio, whenever Morsi said ‘Syria’, the Persian translator, who did not have the required integrity, translated it as ‘Bahrain’!!”

The Bahraini statement did not name the television channel that it said changed the words, as several state channels transmitted Morsi’s speech live, including two in Farsi: IRINN and Channel One. IRINN broadcast the speech using the official interpretation of the summit, which clearly mentioned Syria, as verified by AFP. Channel One used its own interpreter who may have substituted the word “Syria” with “Bahrain” in its broadcast, according to a video posted online by the Dohabased Al-Jazeera satellite news channel. However, AFP yesterday was unable to verify the authenticity of the video with Iranian television officials.

When UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Tehran last week he strongly criticised Iran’s human rights record and lack of transparency over its nuclear program. However, Iranian media focused on his references to Iran’s importance in the world and generally ignored his criticisms. Iran’s deputy

foreign minister on Saturday suggested Morsi was misinformed about Syria. “Many of Morsi’s views accord with Iran’s and it is only in some issues like Syria that he has different views. If Morsi had more information about Syria, he would change his views,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as saying by Mehr.

Separately, Morsi’s spokesman Yassir Ali said yesterday Morsi made no mention of resuming ties with Iran during his visit to Tehran, denying statements by Iranian officials. “The meeting between President Mohamed Morsi and his Iranian counterpart (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad did not broach the subject of boosting the level of representation or of opening an embassy,” said Ali, quoted by the state-owned daily Al-Ahram.

Morsi’s attendance of the NAM summit in Tehran last Thursday was the first time an Egyptian head of state had set foot in Iran since the two countries broke off diplomatic ties in the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution there. They have since maintained interests sections in their respective capitals. According to Ali, the two leaders agreed to hold “more dialogue to examine common affairs, including regional issues”.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told Iran’s Arabic-language broadcaster Al-Alam that Morsi and Ahmadinejad had discussed the Syrian conflict and their severed diplomatic ties when they met on Thursday. The Islamic republic had several times sought to normalise relations with Egypt since the overthrow of president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Morsi hails from Egypt’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood and says he is seeking broader relationships in the Middle East, including with Tehran. But he has so far reacted with caution to Iran’s overtures.

In recent weeks, the conflict in Syria has given Morsi the chance to reach out to Iran. The Egyptian leader invited Tehran to attend a contact group meeting with Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia - three countries favourable to a regime change in Damascus. According to his spokesman, Morsi stressed to his Iranian counterpart that Arab opinion did not accept “support for the Syrian regime”, the official MENA news agency reported. —Agencies

burnt pages brought to him by a witness,” police investigator Munir Hussain Jaffri said. Zubair and the two others, Mohammad Shahzad and Awais Ahmed, said they had urged Chishti not to interfere with the papers, Jaffri said.

“They protested that he should not add something to the evidence and he should give the evidence to the police as he got it and should not do this,” Jaffri said. “But they said Chishti said, ‘You know this is the only way to expel the Christians from this area.’”

On Aug 24 Chishti told AFP he thought Rimsha had burned the pages deliberately as part of a Christian “conspiracy” to insult Muslims, and said action should have been taken sooner to stop what he called their “anti-Islam activities” in Mehrabad. Jaffri said the cleric was arrested at his home on Saturday under the blasphemy law. “By putting these pages in the ashes he also committed desecration of the Holy Quran and he is being charged with blasphemy,” he said.

Rimsha’s lawyer Tahir Naveed Chaudhry said the case against her was fatally flawed. “This development has created doubts and under the law, the benefit of the doubt is always given to the accused,” he told AFP. “Now it has been fully proven that it was a conspiracy. We want that Rimsha should be acquitted immediately.” Still, Rimsha may be in danger if she returns from jail to her village. Some Muslim neighbours insist she should still be punished, and said the detained imam was a victim.

Chishti, who arrived at court yesterday blindfolded and handcuffed and guarded by armed police commandos, was remanded in custody for 14 days and will be held at the same jail as Rimsha. Speaking to reporters, Chishti said the allegations against him were “concocted”. Rao Abdur Raheem, the lawyer for Rimsha’s accuser, her neighbour Hammad Malik, said the development was intended to “spoil” his case and he accused the authorities of interfering.

“They are pressurising the complainants and witnesses to facilitate the bail of Rimsha,” he told the court. “They are

making threats on behalf of the people sitting in the president’s house.”

A medical report earlier this week said Rimsha appeared to be around 14 years old, which would make her a minor, and had a mental age below her true age, but the court has yet to decide whether to accept the assessment. Some reports have said Rimsha has Down’s Syndrome. She is being held in a high-security jail in Islamabad’s twin city Rawalpindi and on Friday a judge extended her remand for another two weeks. Yesterday around 150 Christians and rights activists held a protest march in Rawalpindi calling for Rimsha’s release. Blasphemy is a very sensitive subject in the Pakistan, where 97 percent of the 180 million population are Muslims, and allegations of insulting Islam or Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) often prompt a furious public reaction.

Rimsha’s arrest triggered an exodus of several hundred Christians from her village after mosques reported over their loudspeakers what the girl was alleged to have done.

In the village, many Christian homes - crude cement structures along crowded, dusty alleys - are still padlocked. A few Christians have returned but are reluctant to discuss Masih’s case, saying it was up to the courts.

“We are poor people. What can we do?” said one, Mahmood Masih, adding that he was not scared of his Muslim neighbours. Muslims in the village, where mangy dogs sniffed through piles of garbage near goats as an ice cream seller pedalled by on his bike, were far more vocal.

“If the cleric gets charged in this case we are all behind him. There will be unrest,” warned Tasleem Maqbool, a woman in a black veil who said her daughter saw Rimsha throwing away trash that included burned religious materials. Village clerics like Chishti hold far more sway over Pakistanis than government officials. They lead prayers and give guidance on many aspects of life. “The cleric should be freed,” said Noman, a 12-year-old boy wearing a t-shirt and shorts as bearded men gathered at the village mosque and barefoot children played nearby. “She (Rimsha) should be punished.” — Agencies

Blair, Bush should face trial over...

Continued from Page 1 He added: “Leadership and morality are indivisible.

Good leaders are the custodians of morality. The question is not whether Saddam Hussein was good or bad or how many of his people he massacred. The point is that Mr Bush and Mr Blair should not have allowed themselves to stoop to his immoral level. If it is acceptable for leaders to take drastic action on the basis of a lie, without an acknowledgement or an apology when they are found out, what should we teach our children?”

The Nobel Peace Prize winner also argued that the 2003 Iraq war to oust Saddam Hussein had created the backdrop for civil war in Syria, and a potential wider Middle East crisis involving Iran. “The then-leaders of the US and UK fabricated the grounds to behave like playground bullies and drive us further apart,” he wrote.

“They have driven us to the edge of a precipice where we now stand - with the spectre of Syria and Iran before us.”

Blair issued a stern defence yesterday in response to the article. “To repeat the old canard that we lied about the intelligence is completely wrong as every single independent analysis of the evidence has shown,” he

said. “And to say that the fact that Saddam massacred hundreds of thousands of his citizens is irrelevant to the morality of removing him is bizarre. We have just had the memorials both of the Halabja massacre where thousands of people were murdered in one day by Saddam’s use of chemical weapons; and that of the IranIraq war where casualties numbered up to a million including many killed by chemical weapons. In addition his slaughter of his political opponents, the treatment of the Marsh Arabs and the systematic torture of his people make the case for removing him morally strong.

But the basis of action was as stated at the time.”

The Hague, Netherlands, based court is the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal and has been in operation for 10 years. So far it has launched prosecutions only in Africa, including in Sudan, Congo, Libya and Ivory Coast. While the International Criminal Court can handle cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, it does not currently have the jurisdiction to prosecute crimes of aggression. Any potential prosecution over the Iraq war would likely come under the aggression category. The US is among nations which do not recognize the International Criminal Court. — Agencies

Shareholders in Global approve final...

Continued from Page 1 “The other SPVs, one SPV or more that are going to be created, will participate in the capital increase of the company and it is going have a debt equivalent to $430 million,” she said. There is no reduction in principal as a result of the plan.

According to the proposal, Global will offer KD 122.2 million ($434 million) of new shares, which will be held by one or more of the SPVs. The whole plan is still subject to creditor approval. “We know there has been good progress (in getting approval), we know a percentage of the banks have agreed...we are positive,” Ghunaim told reporters. “The core fee business of the company will remain protected from any volatility in the market or

burdens on interest expense and debt that seem to be difficult moving forward.”

Global was one of several Kuwaiti investment firms hit hard by the global financial crisis. Sources said in January that Global had laid off 17 percent of its staff, or 60 employees out of 350, across the Gulf region as part of cost-cutting measures at the debt-laden firm. Global, which counts the governments of Kuwait and Dubai as major shareholders, asked bank creditors in September last year t o suspend payments on a 1.7 billion plan agreed in 2009.

Shares in Global have not traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange since December after the bourse suspended the stock for having accumulated losses which exceeded 75 percent of its capital. — Reuters

14

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

opinion

THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF ESTABLISHED 1961

Founder and Publisher

YOUSUF S. AL-ALYAN Editor-in-Chief

ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-ALYAN EDITORIAL : 24833199-24833358-24833432 ADVERTISING : 24835616/7 FAX : 24835620/1 CIRCULATION : 24833199 Extn. 163 ACCOUNTS : 24835619 COMMERCIAL : 24835618 P.O.Box 1301 Safat,13014 Kuwait.

E MAIL :info@kuwaittimes.net Website: www.kuwaittimes.net

Issues

Kenya Muslim riots expose rifts

By Richard Lough and Joseph Akwiri he assassination of a Muslim cleric in Kenya’s port of Mombasa and deadly riots that followed have exposed deep social, political and sectarian divides that could unleash more violence ahead of a presidential election next year. Unidentified gunmen sprayed bullets into the car of Aboud Rogo on Monday, killing a man accused by both the Kenyan government and the United States of helping Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants in Somalia. Rogo’s supporters fought running street battles with the security forces in the hours after his death, and sporadic violence continued over the following days.

Churches were torched and two grenades were thrown at police vehicles. At least five people have been killed.

The government says the violence was organised by Kenya’s “enemies” and blames Muslim radicals - including the slain cleric - for supporting Al-Shabaab, the Islamists that Kenya’s military has been battling since invading Somalia last year. Muslims, who predominate in many neighbourhoods of Kenya’s second largest city, blame the authorities for the cleric’s killing, and say it is part of a campaign against their community and faith. They say the spontaneous outpouring of fury was a natural response, both to the assassination and to decades of political and economic marginalisation in an area where shanty towns cluster in squalor alongside luxurious white sand beach resorts.

“Incited? I don’t need to be incited to riot when I have eyes to see my sheikh has been killed by the government,” said Otieno Ramadhan, 25, a Muslim convert who sells charcoal. “We youth from the coast don’t have anything to show, no jobs - yet other people get employed daily at the port. All they have brought us here is drugs to kill us slowly,” he added. “I will riot. They can shoot us dead if they wish.” Ahmed Yahya, a 27-year-old butcher, recalled how the sensation of rage coursed through him when the news of the cleric’s killing reached the mosque where he was praying in Mombasa’s rundown Kisauni district. He and other worshippers poured into the streets. The crowd chanted “the police are killers”. “Rogo was a staunch Muslim, that is what I admired most about him: his firm and bold stands on matters of Islam. But, you see, to be a firm Muslim doesn’t make you a terrorist,” Yahya said, hacking at a slab of meat in his shop.

Rogo had built up a loyal base of supporters in parts of Mombasa, with many of his sermons posted online and on social media. The riots broke out as word of the killing spread through Kisauni and another neighbourhood, Majengo, Rogo’s own backyard. “The sheikh challenged us to be real Muslims, by word and deed, ready to do anything to defend our religion, even die,” said Yahya.

Muslims make up barely 11 percent of the population of Kenya but were long the predominant religious group along the coast, where the local Swahili culture was influenced for centuries by Indian Ocean trade links with the Middle East. Coastal Swahili Muslims complain that they have lost land and jobs to settlers from inland, while seeing little of the wealth generated by tourism on their beaches and traffic at their port, which serves most of east and central Africa. “The Kenyan coast faces historical injustices such as limited job opportunities, and this has led people to believe this government is against Islam,” said Phyllis Muema, who runs a community group operating programs for unemployed youth.

In Mombasa’s Kisauni and Majengo districts, youths idle in the rubbish-strewn streets lined by dilapidated housing and open gutters. Unemployment is rampant; so is drug addiction. An outlawed coastal group, the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), wants to secede from Kenya. It has threatened to stage unrest if its demands for independence are not met by next year’s presidential election.

The group has distanced itself from the violence that followed Rogo’s assassination and denies government assertions that it is linked to Islamic radicalism or support for Shabaab. “We are not involved with these issues. It is not our arrangement, it is not our project,” MRC SecretaryGeneral Randu Nzai said.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said it was clear the violent reaction to Rogo’s killing was organised. He blamed the country’s enemies for seeking to “create religious animosity”. “Why deliberately attack churches? That must be part of an organised reaction. Where did the grenades come from? It confirms our worst fears that there is a serious underground organisation conducting this,” Odinga said this week. A senior government official told Reuters police were hunting for three Muslim clerics allied to Rogo, and suspected of fanning the unrest. He declined to disclose their identities.— Reuters

T

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.

Jihadist shift seen in Pakistan

By Kathy Gannon n the Pakistani tribal regions that harbor Al-Qaeda and a cauldron of other jihadist groups, militants from Central Asia, China, Turkey and even Germany are growing in number, eclipsing Arabs and possibly raising new challenges not just for the US but for Europe, Russia and China, say intelligence officials, analysts and residents of the area. Al-Qaeda, the organization that plotted the Sept 11, 2001 attacks from Afghanistan, consisted largely of Arabs, who were led by Osama bin Laden, a Saudi. But stepped-up US drone strikes, Pakistani military offensives and dwindling cash reserves have driven out many of the Arabic-speakers in recent years, says Mahmood Shah, a retired brigadier and former security official in the tribal regions.

While there are no exact numbers, Shah said intelligence sources in the tribal regions put the number of Arab and African jihadists at about 1,500, compared with 3,500 to 4,000 ranging from Chinese Uighurs and Uzbeks to recruits from Turkey, the Russian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan as well as native and immigrant Germans.

Two senior US officials said the drone war was affecting Al-Qaeda numbers and morale. The deaths of high-profile Al-Qaeda figures such as Abu Yahya AlLibi, killed in a drone strike in June, have made others skittish, prompting some to leave Pakistan for other battlefields in Syria, Yemen, Iraq or their home countries, the officials said.

In separate inter views, both Americans cited the case of a Saudi named Najam, who lost his legs to a drone at about the same time as Libi died. They said Najam, who came from an affluent family, was able to reach an agreement with the Saudi government to return to his wife and children.

Intelligence suggests that Najam’s treatment has encouraged other militants to seek similar deals, switch to other battlefields or seek leniency from their governments, both US officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss information gleaned from on-theground intelligence.

None of the Central Asian groups figuring in the apparent demographic change are new to the tribal regions.

Some were welcomed to Afghanistan decades ago during the 1980s Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Others arrived during the Taleban’s rule of Afghanistan that lasted from 1996 to the Americanled invasion of 2001. The breakaway Chechen government even had an embassy in Kabul. The Sept 11 attacks focused global attention on the Arab militants, but the changing demographics could have implications for Europe as well as Russia and China, analysts say.

The arrest in Madrid a month ago of three men who allegedly had explosives and reportedly trained in Pakistan’s tribal areas seems to highlight the changing

I

reality. Two of them, Eldar Magomedov and Mohamed Ankari Adamov, were said to be Russians of Chechen descent while the third, Cengiz Yalcin, is Turkish.

Spanish officials allege they were planning an attack in Spain or elsewhere in Europe. There was no identification of the target. Analysts and officials who track militant movements say they believe Al-Qaeda’s leadership, including Egyptian Ayman Al-Zawahiri, remains in Pakistan, where its redoubts have shrunk further under Pakistani military assaults, according to Shah, the ex-brigadier, who was interviewed in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar near the tribal regions. But jihadists from outside the Arab world have been getting more

said Rolf Tophoven, director of the German Based Institute for Terrorism Research and Security Policy. According to the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks Islamist extremist messages, the IJU is known as the European affiliate to Al-Qaeda. SITE described the IJU’s rise in prominence as a significant development within the global jihadist movement. The IJU, like other jihadi groups, seeks the installation, if necessary by force, of Islamic governments and revenge for Western attacks. In 2005 the US State Department designated the IJU a Foreign Terrorist Organization. For the past 30 years, Bruce Hoffman, director of the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Washington’s Georgetown

now, but at a lower level,” he said in an interview. Ivan Safranchuk, an associate professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, told The AP that the governments of the Central Asian republics also fear instability from neighboring Afghanistan once NATO and US troops leave in 2014.

Safranchuk, who edits the Great Game, a magazine focused on Central Asia, said training camps in Pakistan have attracted mostly Uighurs and recruits from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. “If a new battle front opens in Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan, say, these militants will naturally be dispatched there,” he said.

Stephen Sestanovich, an expert on Russian and Eurasian affairs at the US-

In this Aug 5, 2012 file photo, Pakistani Taleban patrol in their stronghold of Shawal in the Pakistani tribal region of South Waziristan. — AP attention. A report on extremist trends released last month by Germany ’s domestic intelligence said the Islamic Jihad Union, headquartered in Pakistan’s tribal area, is “widening its sphere in the sense of global jihad to include Europe.”

Once dominated by ethnic Uzbeks, the IJU has sought to recruit German converts who have embraced a radical form of Islam as well as Germans of Turkish origin, say analysts familiar with the organization. In 2007, German intelligence foiled a terrorist plot planned by ethnic German converts to Islam who belonged to the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU).

“They (IJU) want to recruit Turkishorigin people but maybe born in Germany, established here and with a German passport ... they train them and build them up and send them to Germany as well as to other European countries to commit acts of terrorism,”

University, has been tracking terrorist groups and studying insurgencies. He said that European governments as well as China and Russia have good reason to keep a close eye on the tribal regions of Pakistan. “The IJU was also strengthened by their access to German converts,” he said, as well as to disaffected members of China’s Muslim Uighur minority, concentrated in Xinjiang, western China, whose radicalization “the Chinese are very concerned about.”

Russia too has strong interests in the Muslim-dominated republics that were par t of the Soviet Union, and in Chechnya and Dagestan, Hoffman said.

The threat from the changing jihadist demographics is “more in the future than immediately.

The main threat is that the existing nucleus will attract more and as time goes on the threat will increase. It exists

based Council on Foreign Relations, agreed that Russia and the Central Asian republics have a stake in what happens after the 2014 withdrawal. “It’s a reminder to the Russians that the US, departure from Afghanistan is going to be a very mixed blessing. That’s why (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has actually been talking up Russia’s stake in American success there. ... Putin and Russian intelligence doubtless worry that Central Asia will be destabilized.”

While the demographics may be changing, the militant presence in the tribal regions remains strong, despite the drone attacks and the local public’s growing expectation of a Pakistani military sweep, according to Safdar Hayat Khan, head of the Tribal Journalists Union, in an interview in Peshawar. “There are still so many foreigners there,” he said. “They keep coming and going.” — AP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

sp orts Maradona takes Dubai sports ambassador role

Sudanese fans stone Egypt star Al Hadary

DUBAI: Diego Maradona was appointed Dubai Honorary Ambassador of Sports yesterday, less than two months after being sacked by the United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl. The Argentine voiced a desire to coach in China during a trip to Beijing in August, but has accepted the ambassadorial role with Dubai Sports Council (DSC) after turning down “unsatisfactory” coaching offers. His new role will also help resolve a dispute with Al Wasl, which sacked him in July just over a year into a two-year contract. “Dubai Sports Council and I have discussed a few ideas and they are serious about upgrading the sports sector in Dubai,” the 51-year-old World Cup winner told a news conference in Dubai. “For those who think that I have fallen down or I have collapsed, I’m stronger now.”

The former world player of the year offered few details as to what his job will entail and Ahmad al-Sharif, secretary-general of Dubai Sports Council, was similarly vague. “Maradona will inspire the new generation of talented players to reach the highest athletic levels possible,” said Sharif. Maradona’s appointment comes after he was sacked as coach of Dubai-based Al Wasl following a trophyless season in which the club finished eighth in the 12-team UAE Pro League and suffered a surprise defeat in the Gulf Champions League final. The Argentine’s 800,000 UAE dirhams ($217,800)a month contract with the club was until August 2013, which the Dubai Sports Council will now take over, said DSC spokesman Murad al-Masri. —Reuters

JOHANNESBURG: Egypt goalkeeper Essam Al Hadary suffered a cut lip and broken teeth after being stoned following a CAF Confederation Cup match in Sudan this weekend.

Al Hadary had helped Omdurman club Al Merreikh defeat Al Ahly Shandy 20 in an all-Sudan Group A match-a result that triggered stone throwing by supporters of the losers. The star, who is still first choice goalkeeper for record seven-time African champions Egypt at the age of 39, received hospital treatment before joining national squad team-mates in Cairo ahead of a friendly against Benin. “I thank God for saving my life,” Al Hadary said on his website. “Incidents like these are too common and fanatical fans must realise football matches are sporting activities and not wars.”

Merreikh lead the group by two points at the halfway stage after arch domestic rivals Al Hilal were held 1-1 at bottom-of-the-table InterClube of Angola. Captain Kialunda put the Luanda police team ahead during the first half and Zimbabwean Edward Sadomba levelled 19 times from time with his third goal of the season. Former Confederation Cup runners-up Merreikh have seven points, Hilal five, Ahly three and InterClube one with three rounds left and two semi-finals slots up for grabs. Giantkillers AC Leopards from Congo Brazzaville came from behind to draw 1-1 at Stade Malien of Mali in Group B and keep alive hopes of making the last four of the second-tier competition.

Ousmane Cisse scored for 2009 Confederation Cup winners Stade after 35 minutes and Treston Lakolo equalised before half-time to leave the home side still seeking their first mini-league victory. —AFP

Hafeez eyes Pakistan win ABU DHABI: Vice-captain Mohammad Hafeez said Pakistan were focussed on winning the third one-day match at Sharjah Stadium here today to take their first series against Australia in ten years.

Pakistan and Australia go into the third and final one-day at 1-1, with Australia winning the first match here by four wickets before their rivals earned a series-levelling seven wicket win in the second at Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Hafeez said records did not matter as Pakistan always go for a win. “We, as a team, think about winning every game but if in the process we are able to achieve a record then it’s fine,” said Hafeez of Pakistan’s prospects of winning their first one-day series against Australia since 2002.

Hafeez said Pakistan’s varied bowling gave them the edge over Australia. “We want to take the winning momentum of the second match into the third and our varied bowling attack gives us an edge ovr Australia,” said Hafeez, himself part of the spin trio led by Saeed Ajmal. —AFP

Yankees restore AL East lead

ST. LOUIS: Cardinals’ Matt Holliday and third base umpire Brian Runge agree that Holliday is safe at third after he advanced on a fly out by Carlos Beltran in the sixth inning during a game between the Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants. —AP

Cardinals end losing Streak WASHINGTON: David Freese homered, drove in three runs and had a go-ahead single in the ninth inning Saturday as the St. Louis Cardinals ended a four-game skid with a wild, 10-9 win over the Washington Nationals.

Matt Holliday also homered and Matt Carpenter smacked a three-run double for the Cardinals, who had scored only one run during their four losses while allowing 32.

Freese, John Jay and Allen Craig each had three of the Cardinals’ 14 hits.

The NL East-leading Nationals led 6-2 in the second inning and, after falling behind by two runs in the fourth, rallied for three in the sixth to take a 9-8 lead. Adam LaRoche and Danny Espinosa each homered for Washington.

St. Louis tied it in the eighth on Carlos Beltran’s pinch-hit single off Nationals reliever Sean Burnett. Craig led off the ninth with a single against Drew Storen (1-1). One out later he stole second base and later raced home on Freese’s looping hit over the Nationals infield.

Giants 5, Cubs 2 In Chicago, Tim Lincecum pitched fourhit ball into the seventh inning and Xavier Nady had a three-run double in his first game of the season, helping the NL Westleading Giants beat the Cubs.

Lincecum (8-14) allowed two runs on David DeJesus’ seventh homer and struck out seven over 6 1-3 innings in a solid effort on a breezy day at Wrigley Field.

Nady, promoted from Triple-A Fresno when major league rosters expanded Saturday, hit a bases-loaded smash past third and into the left-field corner to give San Francisco a 4-0 lead in the first.

Phillies 5, Braves 1 In Atlanta, Cliff Lee took advantage of some rare run support, throwing seven scoreless innings to lead the Phillies past the slumping Braves.

Jimmy Rollins hit his 16th homer for the Phillies, who got off to a good September start after a strong August. The wild cardleading Braves are heading in the opposite direction with three straight losses and only four wins in their past 14 games, rekindling memories of their historic collapse last season.

Lee (4-7) came in with a record that was hardly indicative of the way he’s pitched this season. The Phillies had been held to three runs or fewer in 14 of his 23 starts.

The Phillies knocked out Tim Hudson (13-5) and blew the game open with two runs in the sixth.

Brewers 3, Pirates 2 In Milwaukee, Corey Hart homered to lead off the ninth inning and lift the Brewers to a win over the Pirates. The win was the Brewers second straight over the Pirates and the team’s 10th win in its last 12 games. The Pirates lost for the ninth time in the last 12 games as Pittburgh continues to try to stay in the National League Wild Card playoff race.

Leading off the ninth inning, Hart hit the second pitch he saw from Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan (4-1) for his 26th home run of the season into the Brewers bullpen in left field.

It was his third career game-ending home run. John Axford (5-7), who got out of a

bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth inning by striking out Alex Presley, got the win for the Brewers.

Mets 5, Marlins 3 In Miami, Kelly Shoppach hit a go-ahead two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning that cleared the bases when center fielder Justin Ruggiano misplayed the ball, lifting the Mets to a victory over the Marlins.

The Mets had been frustrated most of the night by Josh Johnson, who was on the verge of snapping a personal four-game losing streak.

Johnson allowed a run and three hits in eight innings and held the Mets hitless until the fifth. He left leading 3-1. New York rallied for four runs in the ninth against closer Steve Cishek (4-2).

Astros 2, Reds 1 In Houston, Cincinnati second baseman Wilson Valdez’s error on a routine grounder

by Jose Altuve with two outs in the ninth inning lifted the Astros to a win over the Reds.

Pinch-hitter Matt Downs doubled off the left field wall with two outs in the ninth.

Sean Marshall (4-5) intentionally walked Matt Dominguez before hitting pinch-hitter Brandon Barnes to load the bases.

Altuve hit the ball directly at Valdez, who was playing second after Brandon Phillips was ejected in the previous inning, and it rolled between his legs - allowing Downs to trot home and Houston to break a six-game skid. Wilton Lopez (6-3) got the last two outs in the ninth inning for the win.

Rockies 9, Padres 1 In Denver, Jhoulys Chacin pitched seven strong innings, Dexter Fowler hit his first career grand slam, and the Rockies beat the Padres.

Tyler Colvin also homered and doubled to drive in three runs to help the Rockies cool off the Padres, who had won 10 of their previous 11.

Chacin (2-4) allowed one run on five hits for his second win since coming back Aug. 21 after spending more than three months on the DL because of inflammation in his pitching (right) shoulder.

Edinson Volquez (9-10) went 4 2-3 innings and allowed five runs on nine hits in losing to the Rockies for the first time in three starts this season. He struck out five and walked three.

Dodgers 2, D’backs 1 In Los Angeles, Josh Beckett pitched 6 2/3 strong innings for his first victory since being traded to the Dodgers and Andre Ethier hit a tie-breaking home run in the sixth inning to help Los Angeles beat the Diamondbacks, snapping an eight-game skid against their NL West rival.

Beckett allowed one run and six hits, struck out nine and walked one to end a career-high five-game losing streak that began on July 20, when he was still with Boston. He had lost his first start since being traded to the Dodgers on Aug. 25, a 4-1 defeat at Colorado last Monday.

The Dodgers have dropped five of eight since the blockbuster trade that brought them Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto among eight players. —AP

NEW YORK: Shortstop J.J Hardy’s bases-loaded error let New York complete a seventh-inning comeback and the Yankees stung the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 Saturday to restore their AL East lead to three games.

Shut down all afternoon, the struggling Yankees rallied for three runs in the seventh against a suddenly shaky Baltimore bullpen. The streaking Orioles had won 13 straight one-run decisions before falling apart as the calendar turned to September.

Newly promoted Eduardo Nunez hit an RBI single with two outs that chased Wei-Yin Chen (128) and made it 3-2. Pedro Strop, one of baseball’s best relievers, walked Ichiro Suzuki and then threw two quick strikes to Derek Jeter before walking him, forcing home the tying run.

Nick Swisher followed with a hard, one-hop grounder that ate up Hardy, who leads major league shortstops in fielding percentage, and the Yankees took the lead.

Boone Logan (6-2) pitched two scoreless innings and Rafael Soriano worked the ninth for his 35th save in 38 chances.

Angels 5, Mariners 2 In Seattle, Mark Trumbo hit a two-run single in the eighth inning that helped hand Felix Hernandez his first loss in nearly threemonths, and the Angels beat the Mariners.

Hernandez (13-6) lost for the first time since June 12. He entered this outing 9-0 with a 1.40 ERA over his previous 14 starts, including a perfect game.

The Angels have won five in a row. King Felix gave up five runs four earned - in 7 1-3 innings. He yielded nine hits, walked two and struck out seven. Ervin Santana (811) went seven innings. He gave up two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out two.

Rays 5, Blue Jays 4 In Toronto, Matt Joyce homered and had three RBIs, Ryan Roberts also connected and Tampa Bay beat the Blue Jays. For the second straight day, the game ended with the potential tying run thrown out at home plate. This time, Colby Rasmus singled to center off Fernando Rodney, but catcher Jose Molina hauled in a high throw from B.J. Upton and blocked Omar Vizquel’s path to the plate, tagging him out to end it.

Rays starter Jeff Niemann left in the fourth inning with tightness in his right arm, bringing an early end to his comeback from a broken right leg.

Wade Davis (2-0) worked 2 1-3 innings and Rodney got five outs for his 40th save in 42 chances.

Henderson Alvarez (7-12) lost for the fifth time in six starts, allowing four runs and five hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out two.

(4-0) retired the first 14 batters until Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s bunt single with the infield shifted. The rookie right-hander struck out five and walked none while giving up three hits in seven innings.

Dustin Pedroia’s two-out RBI single in the sixth was all Boston

NEW YORK: Yankees’ Nick Swisher (33) watches as his batted ball is booted by Baltimore Orioles shortstop JJ Hardy (not pictured) with the bases loaded in the seventh inning allowing the go-ahead run to score in a baseball game. —AP Athletics 7, Red Sox 1 In Oakland, Coco Crisp hit a leadoff home run and finished a triple shy of the cycle to back A.J. Griffin’s gem, and Oakland beat Boston for its season-high eighth straight win.

Brandon Inge’s two-run double highlighted a four-run third inning against lefty Felix Doubront (10-7) and Chris Carter added his 13th homer to lead another overpowering A’s victory. Oakland pounded Boston 20-2 on Friday to hand the franchise its most lopsided loss in more than a decade. Griffin

managed in its fifth straight loss.

The low-budget A’s, which won 74 games last year, improved to 7557.

Twins 3, Royals 1 In Kansas City, Joe Mauer hit a grand slam and Chris Parmelee added a three-run shot and Minnesota outlasted Kansas City to complete a sweep of a doubleheader.

Justin Morneau drove in two runs and Minnesota rookie Cole De Vries beat the Royals 3-1 in the first game. Mauer’s grand slam in

the second inning of the nightcap was the third of his career and the first by the Twins this year.

Mauer’s ninth home run came after Pedro Florimon’s double was sandwiched around walks to Drew Butera and Ben Revere.

Parmelee homered in the first with Alexi Casilla and Josh Willingham aboard. Luke Hochevar (7-13) lasted just 1 2-3 innings, the shortest outing of his career. Hochevar faced 14 batters, 10 reached (six hits and four walks) and eight scored before he was replaced by Everett Teaford, who threw 5 1-3 scoreless innings.

The Twins led 8-2 after two innings, but Twins right-hander Liam Hendriks, who is 0-9 in 15 career starts, was unable to pick up the victory.

Anthony Swarzak replaced Hendricks, who allowed five runs, three earned, and 10 hits. Swarzak (3-4) was credited with the victory, allowing two runs and one hit in 2 2-3 innings.

Eric Hosmer’s two-run, two-out single off Casey Fien, the fourth Minnesota pitcher, made it 8-7 in the seventh inning.

Salvador Perez went 4 for 5, matching his career high in hits, and drove in a Kansas City run with a first-inning single. Glen Perkins saved both games and is 10 for 13 for the season.

Tigers 5, White Sox 1 In Detroit, Max Scherzer allowed four hits in eight scoreless innings, and the Tigers pulled within a game of first place with a victory over the White Sox. Detroit has taken the first two games of this series from the AL Central-leading White Sox and will send Justin Verlander to the mound Sunday to try for a sweep.

Scherzer (15-6) won his fifth straight start, striking out nine with one walk.

Delmon Young homered and tripled for the Tigers. Francisco Liriano (5-11) allowed three runs, four hits and seven walks in fourplus innings.

Indians 4, Rangers 3 In Cleveland, Jeanmar Gomez and three Cleveland relievers combined to beat the Rangers, and the Indians snapped a sixgame losing streak.

Gomez worked 5 2-3 innings.

Joe Smith, Esmil Rogers and Vinnie Pestano finished. Pestano allowed two hits over 1 1-3 innings for his first save.

Cleveland scored four runs in the first inning off Scott Feldman (6-11). The Indians are 42-24 when scoring four or more runs. —AP

Geale steals Sturm’s thunder SYDNEY: Australia’s Daniel Geale added American judge Eugene Grant had Sturm Felix Sturm’s WBA middleweight Super title ahead 116-112. to his IBF crown with a shock split decision Geale began to take control of the fight win in the German’s backyard on Saturday. in the middle rounds, hurting Sturm with “It’s a dream but we did some stinging body blows, but believe it could happen,” Geale the German hit back late, maktold Fox Sports TV by teleing it hard for the judges. phone on Sunday after an “I’m feeling a little bit tired impressive performance in but pretty good,” said the 31Oberhausen. year-old Geale, who became the “We thought we could go first Australian-born boxer to over there and do it. He’s been unify two globally recognised a great fighter for many years titles in the same division. but he’d never fought me “I’m still extremely hungry before. We had a game plan and want to win more, beat and stuck to it pretty well. more champions,” he added “There was a couple of times after a successful third defence where I caught him with some of his IBF title improved his power shots and hurt him,” record to 28-1, with 15 knockDaniel Geale added the Tasmanian-born outs.

Geale, who fights out of Sydney.

“The middleweight division has got lots British official Dave Parris and South of strong fighters and I beat one of them African Stanley Christodoulou both scored tonight. Now I want to take on some of the the fight 116-112 in Geale’s favour, while others.”

Sturm, unbeaten in six years coming into the fight, left the ring with a record of 37-32, 16 of his wins coming by KO. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s Gennady Golovkin defended his WBA and IBO middleweight belts with his 11th consecutive victory on Saturday, stopping Poland’s Grzegorz Proksa in the fifth round of an impressive American debut.

Golovkin (24-0, 21 KOs) battered his Polish opponent in every round, dropping Proksa (28-2) in the first and fourth rounds before the referee halted the bout.

Golovkin is a Kazakh-born fighter who lives in Germany and trains in California. He had never fought in the US before this bout at a casino in upstate New York, but he is determined to become a stateside star.

Golovkin is ranked among the world’s top middleweights, although his talent could make him unattractive to the winner of the showdown between’s the division’s best: Sergio Martinez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Sept. 15. —Agencies

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

sp orts

Williams says ‘privilege’ to play in Japan TOKYO: All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams has spoken of the “privilege” of joining Japanese rugby union outfit Panasonic Wild Knights as he prepares to make his debut in the country’s Top League.

The World Cup winner was an onlooker as his new club romped to a 44-13 win over the Ricoh Black Rams in their league opener on Saturday but is expected to play next week against NTT Communications Shining Arcs.

“I think it’s a privilege. It’s great to

come to a team in Japan. I’m just looking to enhance the team,” Williams said.

“For me, my focus here is to just play well for Panasonic.”

Williams, who helped Waikato Chiefs win the Super rugby title last month, said: “For me, I just want to play well, representing Panasonic well, play some good footie.”

The centre was part of the All Blacks line-up that crushed Australia 22-0 last month but their policy of only selecting players who ply their trade in New

Zealand will likely put an end to his international career, for the time being at least.

“He is the player everybody wants to see. He joined our practice this week and he started understanding our tactics. I plan to send him onto the pitch for our next game,” said Panasonic coach Norifumi Nakajima.

Williams, who is also New Zealand’s heav y weight boxing champion, announced that he would return to rugby league, his old stomping ground,

earlier this year after a season with Panasonic, and is heavily rumoured to be joining the Bondi-based Sydney Roosters.

The 27-year-old is reportedly trying to convince mercurial Wallaby Quade Cooper to join him in the switch to Australian rugby league, with the divisive flyhalf under a cloud after the thrashing by the Kiwis. “If people are saying he is not wanted in rugby... if they think he is not good enough to be playing for Australia then I would love

to lure him across to rugby league for a year,” Williams told Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

“I will try. I would definitely love to play alongside him. I think he would be a success-I have spoken to him about it.”

Cooper, 24, has been under heavy scrutiny since his inconsistent performances at last year’s World Cup, which culminated in a serious knee injury that sidelined him for much of the 2012 Super Rugby season.—AFP

McIlroy leads with Tiger lurking at Deutsche Bank

COLUMBUS: Bradley Roby No. 1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes dives on the loose ball for a touchdown after Zac Murphy No.45 of the Miami Redhawks fumbled a punt during the third quarter.—AFP

Buckeyes defeat Ohio State NEW YORK: Braxton Miller helped make Urban Meyer’s first game as Ohio State coach a record-breaking romp for the Buckeyes, who beat Miami of Ohio 56-10 in college football on Saturday.

Miller rushed for 161 yards, a record for an Ohio State quarterback, and threw for two scores and 207 yards. Meyer, who won two national titles at Florida, is unbeaten in 11 season openers. He had worked as a TV analyst a year ago after stepping down from the Gators job due to health and family considerations. He was hired last November to revive the beleaguered Buckeyes.

Beleagured hardly begins to describe the situation at Pennsylvania State, which is starting afresh after the death of coaching icon Joe Paterno and the sexual abuse scandal.

Bill O’Brien, who was hired to lead the Nittany Lions in a new direction, saw his team build an 11-point lead over Ohio, but quarterback Tyler Tettleton accounted for three second-half touchdowns by the visitors, who won 24-14.

University of Southern California made a winning start, beating Hawaii 49-10.

Marqise Lee caught a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage and returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score.

Alabama’s retooled defense showed it could still dominate as the Crimson Tide began its season with a 41-14 win over Michigan. A.J. McCarron threw two touchdown passes.

Louisiana State had an easy 41-14 victory over North Texas, with Kenny Hilliard rushing for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

Oklahoma was a 24-7 winner of University of Texas El Paso, with Landry Jones throwing two touchdown passes and Damien Williams running 65 yards for another score in the fourth quarter.

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota made an impressive first start, passing for 200 yards and three touchdowns as the Ducks beat Arkansas State 57-34.

Georgia beat Buffalo 45-23, with freshman Todd Gurley running for three touchdowns and Aaron Murray passing for three more as the Bulldogs overcame a sloppy first half.

Florida State trio Lonnie Pryor, James Wilder Jr., and Debrale Smiley combined for seven rushing touchdowns to lead the Seminoles over Murray State 69-3. Arkansas defeated Jacksonville State 49-24, with quarterback Tyler Wilson setting the school record for yards passing in a season opener.

He finished 19 of 27 passing for 367 yards and three touchdowns.—AP

NORTON: Rory McIlroy fired a second consecutive six-under 65 to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Saturday but Tiger Woods was lurking just two shots back.

The world number one set the pace in the morning wave with an impressive round consisting of six birdies, an eagle and two bogeys to lead by one over former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

South African Oosthuizen matched McIlroy’s 65 to move to 11-under 131 at the FedEx Cup playoff event while Woods and fellow American Ryan Moore shared third at 10-under 132.

“I’m very pleased with how I played today, how I played yesterday as well, and I’m in a great position,” McIlroy said. “I got off to a nice start and just kept the momentum going.

“Everything seemed to work pretty well out there. I felt like I drove the ball a bit better today and hit more fairways, which gave me some more opportunities to make birdies, and I was putting well enough to take a few of those.”

McIlroy finished nine shots behind Barclays Classic winner Nick Watney in week one of the playoffs in his first appearance after claiming the PGA Championship.

The 23-year-old was unperturbed, however, suggesting the greens in New York were not entirely up to scratch and he just needed to shake a little rust off his putter.

He leads the field in strokes gained putting and total putts after the opening two rounds.

“There’s been a big improvement in my putting from last week to this week,” he confirmed. “I wasn’t

NORTON: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland in action during the second round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston.—AFP

very comfortable on the greens at all last week. They weren’t the best surfaces. I think everyone saw that. “This week the surfaces are much better, and it gives you a little more confidence that you can roll your putts at the hole a bit more.” Woods had the opposite problem, lamenting a poor day on the greens.

After ranking seventh in the field in strokes gained putting on day one, the 2006 Deutsche Bank champion fell to 68th in the field in round two. “I’m happy with the way I hit it but I didn’t putt very

good,” Woods said. “I didn’t really make anything. Today was one of those days where I had some good looks, missed them, but didn’t feel like I was really rolling it correctly. “My speed is good, it’s just that I need to make a few more. “Hopefully tomorrow will be a lot better.”

Oosthuizen’s round was highlighted by a magical hole out flop shot for eagle from just off the drivable par-four fourth. He added five birdies with just the lone bogey.

“I played really well and I hit

the ball nicely,” Oosthuizen said.”Hit a few loose drives out there but gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities.” The playoffs are over for several players who missed the cut, including K.J. Choi and Rory Sabbatini.

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

Ramsay wins European Masters

SPAIN: Spanish cyclists Alejandro Valverde (left) of the Movistar Team, Joaquim Rodriguez (center) of Katusha Team and Alberto Contador (right) of the Saxo BankTinkoff Bank Team ride during the fifteenth stage of the Vuelta tour of Spain.—AFP

Piedra wins Tour stage SPAIN: Spaniard Antonio Piedra won yesterday’s 15th stage of the Tour of Spain, a 186.5km ride from La Robla to Lagos de Covadonga, while compatriot Joaquim Rodriguez kept the overall race lead.

The Caja Rural rider soared ahead of a breakaway group of riders at the start of the final climb of the race to cross the finish line just ahead of Spain’s Ruben Perez Moreno of Euskaltel.

France’s Lloyd Mondory finished the stage in third place. Rodriguez held on to the overall leader’s red jersey as well as his 22-second lead over Spain’s

Alberto Contador, who is in second place. Another Spaniard, Alejandro Valverde, is in third place in the overall standings, one minute and 41 seconds behind the leader.

Today sees the peloton head into a third straight mountain stage-a 183.5kilometre ride from Gijon to ValgrandePajares that features inclinations of 24 percent during the final three kilometres. Tomorrow is a rest day. The 21stage Tour of Spain — one of cycling’s three ‘major tours’ along with the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia-finishes on September 9 in Madrid.—AFP

SWITZERLAND: Richie Ramsay of Scotland captured the biggest title of his professional career yesterday, shooting a 5-under 66 to win the European Masters by 4 strokes.

The overnight leader was never headed in the final round to finish on 16-under 267. Four players tied for second. Ramsay earned Ä350,000 ($440,000) prize money for his second European Tour victory, following the South African Open title in 2009.

“It’s just incredible, the whole day went to plan,” said Ramsay, adding that the victory would move his career “up a notch. It definitely pushes me to another level.”

The 29-year-old Scot, who won the 2006 United States Amateur Championship, is set to move up the world rankings from No. 110 into the top 70.

“It’s a bigger win than the US Amateur,” said Ramsay, who is based in Atlanta. “If you look at the field and the place and the way that I did it.”

Ramsay has never led a tour event after 54 holes, and countryman Paul Lawrie was favored yesterday as he sought back-to-back victories after winning the Johnnie Walker Championship.

Lawrie shot 70 for a share of sixth place in his last tournament before joining Europe’s team for the Ryder Cup from Sept. 28-30 at Medinah, Illinois.

Second place was shared by Fredrik Andersson Hed of Sweden, Marcus Fraser of Australia, France’s Romain Wattel and Danny Willett of England, who played in the final threesome with Ramsay and Lawrie. After three days of rain, fog and low temperatures in the Swiss Alps, Ramsay finally played in bright sunshine on the Seve Ballesterosdesigned course circled by snow-capped mountains.

Ramsay began his round with a one-stroke lead and was quickly joined at 12 under by Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion who made eagle as the younger Scot made birdie.

Despite missing birdie chances at Nos. 5 and 6, Ramsay completed the outward nine holes in 31.

He led by three at the turn from Willett, as Lawrie was let down by his driving off the tee.

Ramsay’s stretched his lead to five as both playing partners dropped shots at Nos. 10 and 11, then dropped his first shot since Friday afternoon at the par-3 13th.

He effectively sealed the title by holing his approach shot - a wedge from 130 yards (119 meters) - for eagle at the par-5 14th. “I just put my foot on the gas and that gave me some breathing space,” Ramsay said.

Mathias Gronberg hit a hole-in-one at No. 3, sinking his 7-iron from 191 yards (175 meters). The Swede went round in 71 to finish on 8 under, eight shots behind Ramsay.—AP

CRANS MONTANA: Richie Ramsay of Scotland poses with his trophy after winning the European Masters golf tournament at Crans-Sur-Sierre Golf Club.—AFP

Fever down Sky INDIANAPOLIS: Indiana Fever clinched their eighth straight WNBA playoff berth by beating Chicago Sky 81-64 on Saturday, completing their fifth consecutive win.

Briann January scored 19 points, while Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas added 17 each for the Fever, who moved two games behind first-place Connecticut in the Eastern Conference. Indiana tied Seattle (2004-11) and Los Angeles (199906) for the longest run of postseason appearances in league history. Epiphanny Prince scored 22 points to lead the Sky, which has lost 11 of its last 12. Chicago dropped half a game behind New York for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East.

The Sky have nine games remaining,

including one at New York on Friday.

Indiana used an 18-3 run to take a 45-31 lead at the break.

Meanwhile in the Western Conference, Phoenix Mercury notched its first back-toback wins of the season by downing the San Antonio Silver Stars 94-90.

DeWanna Bonner had 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots for the Mercury, who moved past Tulsa and out of last place Western Conference. Sophia Young had a careerhigh 32 points and added eight rebounds for San Antonio.

In Saturday’s other game, New York Liberty won its first game in four by defeating Washington Mystics 79(equals)73.—AP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

sp orts

Button wins Belgian GP

NEW YORK: Lleyton Hewitt of Australia hits a return to David Ferrer of Spain during their men’s singles match at the 2012 US Open tennis tournament.—AFP

Federer, Serena march on in US Open heat NEW YORK: Top-ranked Roger Federer continued his dynamic US Open form in near-tropical conditions on Saturday while fourth seed Serena Williams braved the steaming heat to avenge a shock defeat she suffered in January.

With a potential semi-final showdown with Federer looming, Andy Murray remained in the hunt for his first grand slam crown by defeating Spain’s Feliciano Lopez to reach the fourth round. Women’s second seed Agnieszka Radwanska set up a fourth-round tussle with Italy’s Roberta Vinci by stopping Jelena Jankovic 6-3 7-5 at a steamy Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“With the hot conditions you really have to fight yourself more than your opponent,” said Pole Radwanska, a sentiment echoed by several players. Federer cruised past Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-4 6-4 in two hours and two minutes, blasting seven aces and 30 winners against the 25thseeded Spaniard.

The Swiss master, however, deviated from his normal baseline game and rushed the net 27 times, a tactic that earned him 26 points.

“I had no clue my stats were that good,” he said. “Fernando did have some good chances for good passing shots. Looking back, I don’t remember missing too many volleys and overheads. “Probably half the time I didn’t have to volley because it was hard to hit a good pass. It was windy. Usually when I do come in, it’s probably on one I can be very offensive on.”

Federer has not lost a set at the US Open this year, as he moves closer to a sixth title at the National Tennis Center. Next up is either American Mardy Fish or Frenchman Gilles Simon for a place in the quarter-finals.

Verdasco, 28, had 35 unforced errors and 10 double faults as he lost to Federer for the fifth time in as many meetings. Like Federer, Williams has not lost a set but needed a break of serve in the final game of the opening set to grab the momentum as she ousted Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 6-0.

Makarova buckled under the pressure of her first-set letdown and was blown away in the second in just 32 minutes. The Russian knocked out Williams in the fourth round of this year’s

Australian Open and the American said she was motivated to turn the tables at the year’s final grand slam tournament.

The 30-year-old Williams, a three-times US Open winner and 14-times grand slam champion, said it was painful to watch a video of her defeat by Makarova.

“Knowing that I lost (I thought it) could definitely happen again,” said the Wimbledon and London Olympic champion. “I did not want that to happen. “Whether I learned something from that match, I don’t know. I really hate watching matches that I lose unless I’m punishing myself. I didn’t punish myself.”

Williams punished Makarova on Saturday, enjoying a 31-10 advantage in winners and claiming all eight of her service games.

Murray, who won Olympic gold last month, recovered from a mid-match lapse to defeat Lopez 7-6 7-6 4-6 7-6 in three hours and 53 minutes. The Briton was leading 4-2 in the third set before Lopez fought back to send the match into a tense fourth set.

“The last few sets were tough,” said Murray. “I just played a little bit better at the end of the tiebreaks, a little bit more solid than him, and that was the difference.” Murray said the oppressive heat made the match “mentally and physically challenging”.

“I actually felt better towards the end of the match than I did maybe halfway through it,” he said. “It was probably down to a combination of things, having not played that much in these conditions. It’s just taking a while to get used to it. “I usually have three weeks in Miami before the US Open but I couldn’t this year because of the Olympics. It was a nice problem to have though.” A sombre Lopez said Murray deserved to win the match. “I was two sets to love down and I was still was believing that I could make it, even a break down in the third,” he said.

“It was a tough, tough match. Long rallies. It was hot. “Andy’s making you always play one extra ball. It’s not like I should have won but I could have won.” Third seed Murray next plays 15th-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic, who beat American James Blake 6-3 6-0 7-6.—Reuters

Bell tolls for England LONDON: Ian Bell made 88 as England beat South Africa by six wickets in the fourth one-day international at Lord’s yesterday to go 2-1 up with one match to play in the series.

Bell’s innings was the cornerstone of England’s 224 for four as they won with 20 balls to spare after good work by their bowlers restricted South Africa to 220 for eight.

Together with Warwickshire colleague Jonathan Trott (48), Bell shared a second-wicket stand of 141 after England lost captain Alastair Cook in the first over of their innings when he was lbw to a superb late inswinger from fast bowler Dale Steyn.

However, the Proteas-without rested paceman Morne Morkel-couldn’t make further early inroads despite Steyn hitting Trott, a former South Africa youth international, on the finger.

As the floodlights took full effect on a gloomy day where the overcast conditions had prompted Cook to field first, Bell cover-drove left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell for four and advanced down the pitch to flat bat him over cover-point for another boundary.

Bell later drove left-arm spinner Robin Peterson high over long-off for six. He was reprieved though on 65 when dropped by Peterson at mid-on off Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Next ball Bell pulled the left-arm seamer for four.

Trott’s patient innings ended when he was lbw on the sweep to slow left-armer Dean Elgar after South Africa reviewed Australian umpire Simon Taufel’s original not out decision.

After Ravi Bopara fell cheaply following a brief rain break, Bell tried to slap a short ball from Steyn on the offside and was caught behind one-handed by leaping South Africa captain and wicket-keeper AB de Villiers to end a 137-ball innings featuring a six and eight fours.

England still needed a further 35 runs for victory but the innings ended in a blizzard of boundaries, with left-hander Eoin Morgan a runa-ball 36 not out and Craig Kieswetter, who ended the match with a superb off-driven six off Steyn, unbeaten on 21.

Earlier, James Tredwell atoned for dropping two catches with three wickets as England restricted South Africa to 220 for eight.

The off-spinner took three for 35 in eight overs, with all his wickets stumpings completed

by Kieswetter-the first England wicket-keeper to have three stumpings in a one-day international.

Tredwell, who took two for 49 in England’s four-wicket series-levelling win across London at The Oval on Friday, got his chance this campaign when England rested number one spinner Graeme Swann because of a longstanding elbow injury.

And it seemed England might miss Swann as much for his slip catching as his bowling on Sunday when Tredwell dropped openers Hashim Amla, on four, and Graeme Smith, on 26, both off fast bowler Steven Finn.

Dropped catches had helped Amla become the first South African to a Test triple century, at The Oval last month, and make 150 in an 80-run win in the second one-dayer in Southampton.

As it was, missing Amla yesterday ‘only’ cost England 41 runs when he was bowled by medium-pacer Bopara for an innings top score of 45.

Amla’s exit was the start of a South Africa collapse from 100 for one to 115 for four with JP Duminy stumped off a well-flighted Tredwell delivery. De Villiers (29) and Parnell (five) were also both stumped by Kieswetter as Tredwell took two wickets for no runs in five balls. The series concludes at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge ground on Wednesday.—AFP

SPA: Jenson Button coasted to his second victory of the season at the crash-marred Belgian Grand Prix yesterday, with Formula One championship leader Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton forced out after a spectacular pileup at the start.

It was Button’s first victory at Spa and the 14th of the British driver’s career - and probably one of the easiest as he led from start to finish, oblivious to the mayhem behind him.

“This is such a special circuit, so to get a victory here from light to flag is very special,” Button said.

“It hasn’t been an easy year for me. We’re going to enjoy this for a little while longer before we head to Monza and hopefully do the same.”

Button triumphantly zigzagged across the track as he approached the finish line and then clapped his hands together in celebration. He then stood on his McLaren and leaned his head back as he clenched both fists.

“The car felt very good to drive and I could control the degradation of the tires. It’s always easier to do that when you’re leading,” said Button, who climbed to sixth place overall. “It’s a massive long shot to win the title, but today proves that you can claw back 25 points very quickly. There’s still 63 points to make up, but anything’s possible.”

Defending champion Sebastian Vettel benefited from the chaos to finish second and trim Alonso’s lead to 24 points - putting the two-time champion right back in contention.

“I was reasonably confident because I know anything can happen here and you can overtake,” Vettel said. Kimi Raikkonen was third, continuing the consistent form he’s shown all season long with his third straight podium and sixth overall.

“My car was not the nicest to drive the whole race,” Raikkonen said. “I was fighting to get the best out of it and we managed to get some key points, so that was the main thing.”

The crash, which was triggered by Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, also took out Mexican driver Sergio Perez, and Grosjean himself.

Grosjean went for a small gap and clipped Hamilton’s McLaren. That sent both cars spinning and led to Grosjean’s Lotus flying over Alonso’s Ferrari, which then took out Perez’s Sauber. All four drivers escaped unhurt.

“I’m fine and 100 (percent) already thinking (about) Monza!” Alonso said on his Twitter page. A visibly frustrated Hamilton briefly confronted Grosjean after the incident and tapped the side of his own helmet with his finger after getting out of his car.

Grosjean’s actions may be investigated as he took the dangerous option of changing direction moments after the start as he went for the gap.

SPA: McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson Button of Britain kisses his trophy on the podium after he won the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.—AP Following a miserable day’s qualifying on Saturday, Vettel was relieved to get on the podium after starting from 10th on the grid.

“It was a crazy race, after the first corner where a few cars went off,” the German driver said. “The car was quite good in the race and we were able to pick up some pace. It was a fantastic race, great to come second.”

Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg was fourth for Force India, ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa in fifth and Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who had started from 12th because of a gearbox penalty.

Alonso, who had picked up points in every race this season, was lucky to escape serious injury as Grosjean’s Lotus went over his car and narrowly missed the Spaniard’s head.

Button was not affected by the crash and maintained his lead as the safety car went out onto the track and piles of smashed car parts were cleared from the track.

A veteran of 222 races, Button shrugged off the incident. He was seven seconds clear of Nico Hulkenberg after 12 laps.

Michael Schumacher, chasing his second podium position of the season in his 300th career GP, drove aggressively on the Spa circuit where he made his F1 debut 21 years ago. The 43-year-old

Ashwin’s five once again torments New Zealand SCOREBOARD Scoreboard at the close of the third day of the second and final test between India and New Zealand in Bangalore yesterday: New Zealand first innings 365 India first innings (overnight 283-5) G. Gambhir b Southee 2 V. Sehwag c Flynn b Bracewell 43 C. Pujara c Boult b Southee 9 S. Tendulkar b Bracewell 17 V. Kohli lbw b Southee 103 S. Raina c Van Wyk b Southee 55 MS Dhoni lbw b Southee 62 R. Ashwin not out 32 Z. Khan c Van Wyk b Southee 7 P. Ojha c Van Wyk b Southee 0 U. Yadav b Boult 4 Extras: (b-11, lb-2, w-1, nb-5) 19 Total: (all out; 96.5 overs) 353 Fall of wickets: 1-5 2-27 3-67 4-80 5-179 6-301 7-312 8-320 9-320.

Bowling: Boult 23.5-2-90-1 (2nb), Southee 24-6-64-7 (1nb, 1w), Bracewell 20-4-91-2, Franklin 10-4-17-0 (1nb), Patel 19-5-78-0 (1nb) New Zealand second innings B. McCullum c Dhoni b Yadav 23 M. Guptill b Yadav 7 K. Williamson c Sehwag b Ashwin 13 R. Taylor lbw b Ojha 35 D. Flynn c Sehwag b Ashwin 31 J. Franklin st Dhoni b Ashwin 41 K. van Wyk lbw b Ashwin 31 D. Bracewell lbw b Ojha 22 T. Southee b Ashwin 2 J. Patel not out 10 T. Boult not out 0 Extras (b-4, lb-12, w-1) 17 Total (nine wickets; 69 overs) 232 Fall of wickets: 1-30 2-31 3-69 4-111 5-140 6-195 7-216 8-222 9222 Bowling (to date): Zaheer 12-2-37-0, Yadav 14-0-62-2 (1w), Ojha 20-6-48-2, Ashwin 22-1-69-5, Raina 1-1-0-0.

SCOREBOARD LONDON: Final scoreboard in the fourth one-day international between England and South Africa at Lord’s yesterday: South Africa G. Smith c Kieswetter b Dernbach 29 H. Amla b Bopara 45 JP Duminy st Kieswetter b Tredwell 18 AB de Villiers st Kieswetter b Tredwell 39 F. du Plessis b Bopara 1 D. Elgar c Kieswetter b Finn 35 W. Parnell st Kieswetter b Tredwell 5 R. Peterson not out 31 R. McLaren run out (Dernbach) 1 D. Steyn not out 3 Extras (lb7, w6) 13 Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 220 Fall of wickets: 1-68 (Smith), 2-100 (Amla), 3-106 (Duminy), 4-115 (Du Plessis), 5-166 (De Villiers), 6174 (Parnell), 7-214 (Elgar), 8-215 (McLaren) Did not bat: L Tsotsobe Bowling: Finn 10-0-33-1 (1w); Anderson 7-0-320 (1w); Dernbach 9-0-51-1 (1w); Bopara 9-0-34-2 (1w); Patel 7-0-28-0; Tredwell 8-0-35-3.

England A. Cook lbw b Steyn 2 I. Bell c de Villiers b Steyn 88 J. Trott lbw b Elgar 48 R. Bopara c de Villiers b McLaren 6 E. Morgan not out 36 C. Kieswetter not out 21 Extras (b3, lb7, w11, nb2) 23 Total (4 wkts, 46.4 overs) 224 Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Cook), 2-143 (Trott), 3-156 (Bopara), 4-186 (Bell) Did not bat: S Patel, J Tredwell, S Finn, J Anderson, J Dernbach Bowling: Steyn 9.4-0-47-2 (2w); Tsotsobe 8-036-0 (3w); McLaren 9-0-52-1 (6w); Elgar 5-0-15-1; Parnell 8-0-39-0 (2nb); Peterson 7-1-25-0 Result: England won by six wickets Man-of-the-match: Ian Bell (ENG) Series: England lead five-match series 2-1

stormed into second after 15 laps, with Vettel climbing to third as they pushed their soft tires to the limit. Schumacher proved to be a bit too aggressive, however. He almost careered into Vettel at the Bus Stop chicane as he cut across him going into the pits for a tire change. Schumacher faced a stewards’ inquiry for the risky move. Vettel said it was a moment of confusion and that Schumacher should not be punished. It was nervous in the pit lanes, too, as Heikki Kovalainen’s Caterham was released too quickly and clipped an HRT entering the pit lane for a tire change.

Button came in on lap 22 for his only stop, and still had a comfortable lead of 13 seconds on Vettel coming out. McLaren sounded supremely confident that the one-stop strategy would carry Button all the way, saying “Plan A is good” over the race radio and that he was “pulling away” from Raikkonen.

Schumacher pitted for a second tire change with eight laps remaining. Raikkonen’s Lotus team, meanwhile, ordered him to save 10 percent on KERS for the remainder of the race. With two laps remaining, Lotus then asked Raikkonen to step up the pace just to make sure of third place, to which the Finnish driver retorted bluntly, saying “well, give me more power then.”—AP

LONDON: England batsman Ian Bell (left) gets back to his crease during the fourth One Day International cricket match against South Africa at Lords.—AFP

BANGALORE: India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin once again turned out to be New Zealand’s tormentor with his fifth five-wicket haul that left the visitors at 232 for nine at the close of the third day’s play in the second and final Test yesterday. New Zealand, trailing 1-0 in the two test series, have a lead of 244 runs with their number 10 batsman Jeetan Patel (10) and number 11 Trent Boult (nought) at the crease.

Batsman Virat Kohli, who completed his second Test century in the morning, said India had enough time to chase down any target with two more days left in the match.

“When you have a lot of time you don’t have to think about the target, you just play normal cricket,” Kohli said. “I don’t think the wicket is doing so much that we have to be worried about the target that’s been set. “If we think to bat three-four sessions, we should be in a good position to win the match.”

Ashwin, who took 12 wickets in the first test at Hyderabad which the hosts won by an innings and 115 runs, and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (2-48) got into the act after paceman Umesh Yadav (2-62) sent back the openers.

Right-hander Martin Guptill (seven) fell in the first over after the lunch break when he played a full toss from Yadav on to his stumps.

The paceman returned in his next over to dismiss the dangerous Brendon McCullum (23), who got a feather edge to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps.

Kane Williamson (13) was caught by Virender Sehwag at slip off Ashwin while Ojha dismissed first innings centurion Ross Taylor (35), out leg before trying to play the sweep.

Left-hander James Franklin (41) and wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk (31) added 55 for the sixth wicket to extend New Zealand’s lead before Ashwin ended the resistance by trapping Van Wyk lbw.

The New Zealand batting tail failed to wag after Franklin was out stumped, trying to dance down the wicket to the 25-yearold off-spinner.

Bob Carter, the New Zealand assistant coach, hoped their lead would be sufficient to press for a series-levelling victory.

“Now we have a handy lead and that has given us an opportunity in this game,” Carter told reporters. “We have three young bowlers who are raring to go.

“We are going to go out there and look to a fresh guard. We are going to look to make the ball swing and get into a good enough position to press for a win.”

Earlier, Tim Southee mowed down India’s batting lineup with the second new ball to pick up a career-best seven wickets as the hosts were dismissed for 353 in their first innings.

Paceman Southee, 23, who took three wickets on Saturday, destroyed India’s hopes of a first-innings lead with figures of seven for 64, the best by a New Zealand bowler in an innings in India, to give his team a slim 12-run lead.

“I really thought it was a wonderful per-

formance. In this test after being selected, he really paid back the selectors and I think he really bowled very well to the overnight batsmen today,” Carter added. “To get Kohli, who was on a hundred, the way he did was an outstanding piece of bowling.

“Seven wickets in India is not just something that he would remember, that’s what we all would remember as well.”

Kohli, unbeaten on 93 overnight, struck two boundaries to complete his second test century before he became Southee’s first victim of the morning.

The 23-year-old Kohli (103) hit 14 fours and a six and added 122 runs for the sixth

BANGALORE: India’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni bats during the second day of the second cricket Test match against New Zealand.—AP wicket with captain Dhoni. He misread an incoming delivery from the right-arm paceman, who was drafted in for the second test replacing pace colleague Chris Martin, and was caught plumb in front of the stumps.

Dhoni (62), who hit his 26th half-century in tests, was also out lbw to become Southee’s 50th test victim. Zaheer Khan (seven) and Ojha (nought) were next to go, both edging Southee deliveries to wicketkeeper van Wyk in the same over.

Ashwin (32 not out), put down by Guptill on 13 off Southee, added 33 crucial runs for the last wicket with Yadav (four) to cut New Zealand’s advantage.

But left-arm seamer Boult finally broke through the stubborn resistance by bowling out Yadav to end the innings.—Reuters

18

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

China, Britain win gold LONDON: China set a world record as they defeated Great Britain yesterday in the thrilling final race at the Velodrome, meaning both track cycling teams finished the London 2012 Paralympics with five gold.

In an exciting farewell at the 6,000capacity venue, China won the mixed C1 to C5 team sprint in 48.454 seconds, ahead of Britain in 49.519 — both faster than the world record China had earlier set in qualifying. The Velodrome has proved a happy hunting ground for Britain, the hosts having won seven out of 10 golds during the Olympics and also topping the Paralympics medal table.

From the 18 events, Britain won 15 medals (five gold, seven silvers and three

bronzes), to finish ahead of China on nine (five gold, one silver, three bronzes) and Australia on eight (four golds, two silvers and two bronzes).

Fittingly, the final anthem played was Britain’s “God Save the Queen”, for Anthony K appes and his pilot Craig MacLean who won the men’s individual B sprint.

In B classification races, athletes with a visual impairment compete on a tandem bicycle with a sighted pilot on the front.

Contested in three duels over six laps, Kappes and MacLean beat compatriots Barney Storey and his guide Neil Fachie, who pulled up in the second race. “I just kept the power on the pedals. I didn’t know it was quite so convincing till we

LONDON: Great Britain’s Anthony Kappes (left) and Craig Maclean (pilot) celebrate after winning gold in the Men’s Individual Cycling B Sprint final race at the Velodrome during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. —AFP

crossed the line,” MacLean said.

Kappes and MacLean’s win meant that the final event, the mixed C1 to C5 team sprint, disputed over three laps, would determine whether Britain would reign alone at the top of the gold medals count.

C1 to C5 cyclists have an impairment that affects their legs, arms and/or trunk. The lower the class number, the greater the impact of their impairment.

China’s Ji Xiaofei (C4), Liu Xinyang (C5) and Xie Hao (C2) edged out Britain’s JonAllan Butterworth (C5), Darren Kenny (C3), Richard Waddon (C3).

“We just put focus on the race and all the energy into the race,” Liu said. “We didn’t cooperate very well in the qualifier, so before the final we talked about cooperation and tried to do better.”

Kenny said: “It’s been the most amazing experience to race in this Velodrome. In a way it’s good us getting beaten, it’s just showing how the standard is going through the roof. Our days of dominance are starting to go. “We’d like it to have gone the other way, when it’s that tight, but it’s exciting like that.”

Earlier in the 3,000m women’s individual B pursuit, Philippa Gray and her pilot Laura Thompson of New Zealand, who set a new world record of 3:31.530 in qualifying, won the gold medal in 3:32.243.

Ireland’s Catherine Walsh and Francine Meehan were beaten into second place in 3:36.360. “There were two options: either catch the Irish or beat our own time and just hang on for dear life,” said Gray.

Costing £87 million ($138 million, 110 million euros) and clad in cedar, the Velodrome has been the scene of many memorable days of racing. When it reopens, the venue will form the heart of a new VeloPark for use by the local community, clubs and elite cyclists. The cycling action now switches to Brands Hatch, the former Grand Prix motor racing circuit outside London, where four days of medal events begin on Wednesday. —AFP

Huang tops golden day at rowing LONDON: China’s Huang Cheng yesterday pulled off a stunning win in the men’s arms-only single sculls, winning gold to inflict the first defeat on Britain’s defending champion Tom Aggar in his international rowing career.

Huang, 30, set a world best of 4min 45.02 seconds in the heats of the ASM1x race and, despite the Briton being favourite for the title, stormed to victory over the 1km course in 4mins 52.36 secs, three seconds ahead of Australia’s Erik Horrie.

Aleksey Chuvashev of Russia took bronze while Aggar, unbeaten since taking up the sport in 2007, trailed in an agonising fourth at a blustery Eton Dorney west of London.

“I am very excited for the gold and for breaking the record. I followed my coaches’ instructions.

The first part, I went at normal speed. From the 250m I started using all my energy and I had good control,” Huang told reporters.

Horrie, a former wheelchair basketball player for Australia, said he was more than happy with his silver after suffering a small seizure on Friday, which put his participation in Saturday’s repechage in doubt.

But the 32-year-old said he took satisfaction from being an inspiration to others and was also looking forward to meeting the latest addition to his family after his first son was born four days ago.

“Hopefully when I get home to my girls (daughters Maddison and Summer) and my new boy Lewis, I’ve got a good excuse for missing the birth,” he said, laugh-

ing. Aggar, 28, said he was “devastated” by the defeat. “Going in I was the favorite on paper and had great preparation. But when asked for more today it just wasn’t there. The standard has moved on massively and I just wasn’t myself today. I will be back. I’m a fighter through and through,” he said.

In the women’s equivalent (ASW1x), two-time world champion Alla Lysenko of Ukraine took gold in 5mins 35.29secs ahead of 2010 world champion Nathalie Benoit of France and Liudmila Vauchok of Belarus. Huang’s victory was one of two rowing golds for China on Sunday, with world champions Fei Tianming and Lou Xiaoxian winning the trunk and arms mixed double sculls (TAMix2x), also after posting a world best time in qualifying.

The duo never looked in danger after pulling away from Perle Bouge and Stephane Tardieu of France before midway point.

They crossed the line almost six seconds ahead in 3mins 57.63secs. Oksana Masters and Rob Jones, of the United States, were third.

Britain’s Nick Beighton, a former soldier who lost both legs on a tour of duty in Afghanistan, and partner Sam Scowen, were adrift of the medals.

In the legs, trunks and arms (LTAMix4+) mixed coxed four, though, Pamela Relph, Naomi Riches, Dave Smith, James Roe with cox Lily van den Broecke gave the home crowd something to cheer about when they beat Germany by half a length.

Uk raine pipped China for bronze. —AFP

Boccia gets under way at Paralympic Games LONDON: The London 2012 Paralympic boccia got under way yesterday, a sport for disabled athletes that players say combines the tactics of chess and the precision of snooker.

Similar to boules, boccia is one of the few Paralympic sports with no Olympic equivalent, and the crowd at the ExCeL exhibition centre’s South Arena 1 were soon getting into the action despite many having no prior knowledge of the game.

“Boccia is a tactical sport like chess, snooker and boxing rolled into one,” said Ireland’s Padraic Moran, following a 17-3 defeat in the team event to world number one South Korea.

“So you don’t really play boccia, you play a mixture of other games. That’s why it’s a difficult game and such a good sport,” he told AFP. “And this is the best job in the world to have,” he added.

Boccia players throw, kick or use a ramp to propel a ball from a seated position so that it lands as close as possible to the “jack” target ball. The leather balls containing plastic granules are designed to roll, although skilful players can make them bounce.

In each “end” in the match, the winning side scores one point for each ball they got closer to the jack than their opponents. All seven medal events are mixed gender and feature individuals, pairs or teams. There are four classifications of ability, the first three for athletes with cerebral palsy.

Salome Stokes, 20, a student from Shropshire in western England, was among those watching the sport for the first time.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” she told AFP. “We thought we would make a point of coming to see this and find out a bit more about it. It’s nice to support something that’s unique to the Paralympics. “Once I understood what was going on, and the scoring, I really got into it.”

The Czech Republic earned the first victory

of the 2012 Games, beating Hong Kong 6-5 in the BC4 pairs. Defending champions Great Britain beat Argentina 8-4 in the BC1-2 team contest in a pool match that was at 4-4 going into the sixth and final end.

“That game was a really good advert for our sport,” Britain’s captain Nigel Murray told AFP. “The Argentinian kicker has got incredible control and I think David Beckham would be proud of some of the things he can do with his foot.

“What you’ve got to do in boccia is put

your opponents immediately under pressure.

People could see the tactical side of the game.

“People started to get into the game applauding and cheering and that’s what we want.

“The good thing about boccia is you can pick it up quite easily. In excess of 40 countries play it.”

Team-mate Zoe Robinson, 22, added: “It’s amazing to be here after all these hard years of training and to come back and to try and defend our title is just brilliant. “It means everything.” —AFP

LONDON: Argentina’s Pablo Gonzalez (left) looks on as Britain’s Nigel Murray (right) plays a shot during the Boccia mixed teams-BC1-2 heats at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. —AFP

Paralympics medals table LONDON: Medals table after the third day of competition at the 2012 Paralympic Games on Saturday: Belarus 1 1 1 3 Gold Silver Bronze Total Japan 1 1 0 2 China 20 15 21 56 Norway 1 1 0 2 Australia 11 5 13 29 Egypt 1 0 2 3 Great Britain 9 16 11 36 Denmark 1 0 1 2 Ukraine 9 6 7 22 Hungary 1 0 1 2 Russia 8 9 5 22 Latvia 1 0 0 1 United States 6 6 10 22 Macedonia 1 0 0 1 Nigeria 4 3 0 7 Morocco 1 0 0 1 Brazil 4 2 3 9 Romania 1 0 0 1 Cuba 4 2 2 8 Serbia 1 0 0 1 Ireland 4 0 0 4 C Republic 0 3 1 4 Germany 3 6 7 16 Mexico 0 2 1 3 Canada 3 4 1 8 Sweden 0 2 0 2 Iran 3 0 1 4 Algeria 0 1 5 6 Spain 2 7 6 15 Argentina 0 1 2 3 France 2 3 3 8 Croatia 0 1 1 2 South Africa 2 2 4 8 Belgium 0 1 0 1 New Zealand 2 2 3 7 Uzbekistan 0 1 0 1 South Korea 2 1 1 4 Taiwan 0 1 0 1 Italy 2 1 1 4 Israel 0 0 3 3 Azerbaijan 2 0 1 3 Venezuela 0 0 2 2 Poland 1 4 1 6 Austria 0 0 1 1 Turkey 1 3 1 5 Bulgaria 0 0 1 1 Netherlands 1 2 5 8 Hong Kong 0 0 1 1 Tunisia 1 2 0 3

LONDON: Australia’s Kelly Cartwright competes in the Women’s Long Jump F42/44 Final athletics event during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. —AFP

Organisers defend drug-testing policy LONDON: London Paralympics organisers yesterday defended their decision not to drug-test every medal winner at the Games, insisting that the procedures were tight enough to prevent dopecheats prospering. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said they expected to carry out some 1,250 tests at the Games, a 25 percent increase on the number conducted in Beijing four years ago. But unlike at the Olympics, where every gold, silver and bronze medallist had to give samples, not every medal winner will undergo testing at this edition of the Paralympics.

The president of the IPC’s anti-doping committee, Jose Antonio Pascual, said analysing samples from every medallist would be impossible, as there were 503 golds on offer compared with about 300 at the Olympics. “The IPC anti-doping programmes, as in previous Games, (tries) to cover all countries and all sports. But the fact is that at the Paralympic Games, we have a lot of medal events... around 500,” he told a news conference.

“That makes testing for every single athlete having gold, silver and bronze not possible.” Instead, Pascual said that as well as testing at least one medallist, there was random testing of other competitors, which was a strong enough deterrent to prevent doping violations.

“They know that if they get a medal they have a high probability of being tested but it’s not 100 percent,” he added.

A total of 207 tests have been conducted in the first three days of competition, with 476 before the start of the

Games last Wednesday. So far, no athlete has tested positive for banned substances, Pascual told reporters.

In powerlifting, a “high-risk” area for performance-enhancing drugs in the past, all competitors will have been tested, said IPC spokesman Craig Spence, who also played down reports of widespread “boosting” at the Games.

“Boosting (artificially raising blood pressure to improve performance, particularly among competitors with spinal injuries) was outlawed by the IPC in 2004.

It’s performance-enhancing and most importantly a health risk,” he said.

“In Beijing we tested 37 athletes and we had no positive tests.” London 2012 director of sport, Debbie Jevans, meanwhile rejected suggestions that cost was a factor in the decision not to drug-test all medal-winners, although Pascual said money had to play a part if there were not enough resources.

Drug tests are being carried out at 20 facilities at competition venues and at the athletes’ village, with 363 doping control officers and other staff from 33 countries worldwide, said Jonathan Harris, head of anti-doping for the Games. He said few exceptions were made because they were dealing with athletes with disabilities and all tests in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code.

All samples are tested at a high-tech laboratory that runs around the clock in Harlow, about 20 miles (32 kilometres) north of the Olympic Park in east London.

Athletes are only informed of positive tests. — AFP

19

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

SPORTS

PSG project needs time, says club president PARIS: Wealthy Paris St Germain may have to wait years to achieve their ambition to win the Champions League, according to club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

Qatari investors have spent around 250 million euros ($315.12 million) since buying PSG in April 2011 to sign expensive players like Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Brazil defender Thiago Silva and Argentina forward Ezequiel Lavezzi.

The club, however, could only finish second in Ligue 1 behind Montpellier last season and they have begun this campaign with three disappointing draws.

“Winning the Champions League is not easy. What Chelsea did last season was impressive but it took them nine

years to win it,” said al-Khelaifi, referring to billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich’s purchase of the London club in 2003.

“Of course we want to win the Champions League one day but we are realistic - it takes time,” he told Reuters in an interview.

PSG travel to Lille later on Sunday (1900 GMT) and al-Khelaifi said there was no panic over their mediocre start to the Ligue 1 campaign.

“The start of the season has not been very good for us, for sure, but it’s normal when you build a team,” he explained. “We are satisfied with the team we have. The players have to learn to play as a team because it’s not just about buying players, it’s also a question of playing together.

“There is a lot of work to do. We need to show on the pitch that we are really willing to work hard.” PSG, back in the Champions League for the first time since 2005, have been drawn alongside Porto, Dynamo Kiev and Dinamo Zagreb in Group A this season.

“We have been very clear about our objective which is to be really competitive in the Champions League,” added al-Khelaifi. “Being competitive means fighting in each match and giving 100 percent.

“But I am confident in our team. We have an experienced coach (Carlo Ancelotti) and we are really excited.

“We are here for Paris,” added alKhelaifi. “Paris is unique, it is the only club in the capital.

“I’m expecting a lot from PSG in terms of resources, revenue, fans, results.” The 39-year-old businessman said it was important for the squad to believe in the club’s plans.

“This is not just about money, it’s a challenging project,” added alKhelaifi. “We are not a big club yet and to become a big club we need challenging players.

“It’s really important to have a squad that understands where we want to go and that’s simple - we want to be one of the best clubs in Europe.”

The involvement of the Qatari investors could also have a knock-on benefit to Ligue 1 which is rated in Europe below the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spain’s La Liga

and the German Bundesliga.

“We are focused on Paris St Germain of course but we also have to think globally and see how we can make PSG and other clubs international brands,” said Al-Khelaifi. “The French league deserves to be at a higher level than it is today.”

That may prove tough to accomplish especially since French soccer did not grant the Qatari investors a warm welcome when they arrived, and often complain PSG buy their players abroad rather than at home.

“We tried to buy French players,” said Al-Khelaifi. “But the clubs refused to sell them to PSG. “If we don’t buy players here, we have problems, and if we want to buy players here, we still have problems. It’s difficult.”—Reuters

Bayern smash 10-man Stuttgart

FRANCE: Rennes’ French midfielder Vincent Pajot (left) vies with Marseille’s French defender Jeremy Morel (right) during the French L1 football match.—AFP

Gignac keeps Marseille run going PARIS: Marseille moved back to the top of the Ligue 1 table yesterday after continuing their perfect start to the campaign thanks to a 3-1 home victory against Rennes at the Stade Velodrome.

New signing Joey Barton could not play as he continues to serve a 12-game ban handed down for incidents while at Queens Park Rangers at the end of last season, but the Englishman looked impressed as he watched Andre-Pierre Gignac’s magnificent 84th-minute volley fly past Rennes ‘keeper Benoit Costil to put the home side 2-1 up.

Before that, OM appeared in danger of dropping their first points of the season after Julien Feret thumped a volley high past Steve Mandanda from close range in the 57th minute to cancel out full-back Jeremy Morel’s first Ligue 1 goal for Marseille, which arrived before the interval.

Loic Remy came off the bench and missed two glorious chances to add to Marseille’s lead before Rennes captain Romain Danze turned a cross into his own net in stoppage time to seal the points for the home side.

Marseille are two points clear of Lyon at the summit thanks to their best start to a season since they returned to the top flight from a sojourn in the second division in 1996, and their miserable end to last season is now but a distant memory.

“It was a goal of great class,” said Marseille coach Elie Baup of Gignac’s crucial strike. “But the team as a whole pushed for the win. I could feel that the players were not willing to accept a 1-1 draw.

“I have lots of confidence in the players who are in the dressing room, a

group of players who have shown a desire to surpass themselves and to succeed. “It’s great to see their enthusiasm and the pleasure they take from playing the game.”

Earlier yesterday, Bordeaux continued their unbeaten start but had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw with Nice at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.

Three days after a dramatic win against Red Star Belgrade that took Les Girondins into the Europa League group stage, Francis Gillot’s side were lacking in inspiration against their visitors from the south coast. After Bordeaux were reduced to 10 men when Lamine Sane was sent off just after the hour mark, the match appeared all set to end goalless until substitute Henri Saivet struck for the hosts with four minutes remaining. But Nice levelled two minutes into injury time thanks to a cute lob from Mahamane Traore. Nice are still looking for their first win under new coach Claude Puel.

Later yesterday, winless Paris SaintGermain head to Lille for the game of the weekend at the northern club’s new Grand Stade.

On Saturday, Lyon had to come from behind to beat Valenciennes 3-2 in their first game since the departure of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to Tottenham Hotspur.

Champions Montpellier won for the first time this season, 3-1 at bottom side Sochaux, while Ludovic Giuly scored his first Ligue 1 goal since February last year in Lorient’s 3-0 home win against Nancy. There were also wins on Saturday for Saint-Etienne, Brest and Ajaccio, while Toulouse and Reims drew 1-1.—AFP

Motherwell top SPL GLASGOW: Motherwell striker Michael Higdon fired his side to the top of the Scottish Premier League as his hat-trick clinched a 4-1 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle yesterday.

Stuart McCall’s side had crashed out of the Europa League against Spanish club Levante in midweek, but Higdon’s heroics ensured they bounced back in style at Fir Park.

Motherwell are one point clear of second placed Celtic, although the champions have a game in hand. Tom Hateley had opened the scoring for the hosts when his 11th minute corner caught Inverness goalkeeper Ryan Esson off guard and flew straight into the net.

Jut one minute later Higdon increased ‘Well’s lead with a powerful finish before former Motherwell winger Richie Foran reduced the deficit with a looping header in the 28th minute.

The hosts made it 3-1 on 72 minutes when Higdon intercepted a poor backpass and burst into the area before driv-

ing his shot home off the base of a post.

And the English striker completed his hat-trick in style by lashing high into the net from Henrik Ojamaa’s cross seven minutes later. Inverness’ woes were complete when Andrew Shinnie’s penalty was saved by Darren Randolph in the closing stages. In the day’s other match, Hearts squandered a chance to go top as the Edinburgh side lost 1-0 at home against struggling Dundee.

Hearts, who bowed out of the Europa League despite a battling display at Liverpool on Thursday, looked short of energy and inspiration at Tynecastle.

Dundee started the day bottom of the table and without a goal to their name this season, but they took the lead in the third minute through Ryan Conroy’s penalty after Marius Zaliukas fouled Colin Nish. And Hearts wasted their best opportunity to get back in the match when John Sutton saw his spot-kick saved by Rab Douglas before the break.—AFP

BERLIN: Bayern Munich floored ten-man VfB Stuttgart 6-1 yesterday, with Germany’s Thomas Mueller scoring twice, to finish the second weekend of the Bundesliga season at the top of the table.

Having signed Javi Martinez for a Bundesliga record 40 million euros ($50.3m) on Thursday from Athletic Bilbao, Bayern still managed to rout Stuttgart before the Spain midfielder came on for the final 13 minutes.

“He has already hinted that he can play well, I think he is exactly the sort of player we need,” said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes at the Allianz Arena.

“We made life hard for ourselves in the first few minutes, then little by little we took control of the game and played outstandingly well.”

Bayern had to come from behind after Stuttgart took a 25th-minute lead courtesy of a brilliant volley from Austria striker Martin Harnik.

The home side roared back as Mueller scored his first after following up his long-range strike, which was parried by Stuttgart ‘keeper Sven Ulreich, to stab home on 32 minutes.

His Germany team-mate Toni Kroos then added a second a minute later with a superb hit after Bayern broke the Stuttgart defence.

Luiz Gustavo-whose place in the side has come under threat following Martinez’s arrival-drilled home the third from 30 metres to make it 3-1 at the break.

And the hosts maintained their assault on the Stuttgart goal with three goals in four second-half minutes. Striker Mario Mandzukic grabbed his fourth goal in three competitive appearance for Bayern two minutes after the break, before Mueller and Bastian Schweinsteiger added headers to make it 6-1 after only 51 minutes.

To compound Stuttgart’s misery, striker Vedad Ibisevic was shown a straight red card for headbutting Bayern defender Jerome Boateng, who was also booked, on 74 minutes, before Schweinsteiger made way for debutant Martinez.

Bayern’s win put them top of the league on goal difference ahead of promoted Eintracht Frankfurt, who routed nine-man Hoffenheim 4-0 on Saturday to maintain their perfect start.

Earlier ten-man Wolfsburg suffered their worst Bundesliga home defeat this century after they were routed 4-0 by local rivals Hannover 96, who finsh the weekend third.

Felix Magath’s Wolves were put to the sword by a rampant Hannover team as the 2009 German champions suffered their worst defeat at home since a 7-2 hammering by Werder Bremen in September 1999.

Tunisia defender Karim Haggui opened the scoring after only 10 minutes before Poland striker Artur Sobiech scored the first of his two goals on 26 minutes. The Wolfsburg defence capitulated in a devastating four-minute spell as first Denmark midfielder Leon Andreasen, then Sobiech popped up with headers to make it 4-0 before the hour.

To rub salt in Wolfsburg’s wounds, 20-year-old defender Robin Knoche was sent off for his second yellow card on 65 minutes for a foul on Konstantin Rausch. Schalke 04 enjoyed a 3-1 win at home to

GERMANY: Stuttgart’s Mexican defender Maza (left) and Bayern Munich’s French midfielder Franck Ribery vie for the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga football match.—AFP Augsburg on Saturday to finish the weekend fourth as Dutch winger Ibrahim Afellay, who the Royal Blues have signed on a season-long loan from Barcelona, made his debut in the dying stages.

Champions Borussia Dortmund are sixth after coming from behind to draw 1-1 at Nuremberg as Czech Republic striker Tomas Pekhart’s header was cancelled out when Dortmund midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski fired home before the break.

Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, who has rejoined Hamburg from Tottenham Hotspur, could

only watch as his new teammates lost 2-0 at Werder Bremen in the North German derby.

Bremen midfielder Aaron Hunt converted a penalty before Nils Petersen fired under Hamburg goalkeeper Rene Adler to seal the three points.

Leverkusen grabbed a 2-0 win at home to Freiburg thanks to goals in each half from Gonzalo Castro and defender Philipp Wollscheid. Fortuna Duesseldorf held Borussia Moenchengladbach to a goalless draw in Saturday’s late game to finish the weekend fifth in the table.—AFP

Juventus rout Udinese ROME: Juventus capitalised on the early expulsion of goalkeeper Zelijko Brkic to maintain their perfect start to the season with a commanding 4-1 win at Udinese yesterday.

The Serie A champions are still missing coach Antonio Conte from the touchline due to his 10-month ban for not revealing information about match-fixing while he was at former club Siena.

But the normally vociferous Conte, watching from higher up the stands at the Stadio Friuli, had little to get worried as Juve kept to the script a week after their season-opening home win over Parma.

The visitors looked the superior side even before Udinese ‘keeper Zelijko Brkic was sent off for what the referee deemed was a foul on onrushing Juve striker Sebastien Giovinco in the 12th minute.

After Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal had slammed the ball past replacement ‘keeper Daniele Padelli from the spot, Juventus’s superiority in all areas of the field came to the fore.

But despite dominating, it took time for Juventus to finally break down the Udinese defence.

Swiss midfielder Stefan Lichtsteiner had missed a superb chance to open the scoring for Juve early on when he overshot his attempted lob of Brkic.

And then Marko Vucinic, also unmarked in the area, saw his angled shot superbly parried by the hand of Padelli on 39 minutes. The Montenegrin made amends minutes later.

Former Udinese midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah’s holding skills drew the defence, the Ghanaian squared to the unmarked Vucinic on the edge of the area and he had time and space to pick his spot.

ITALY: Lazio’s Brazilian midfielder Anderson Hernanes (right) vies for the ball with Palermo’s Argentinean midfielder Nicolas Santiago Bertolo during their Italian Serie A football match.—AFP Giovinco should have scored moments after the restart but after running onto a slick backheel from Vidal and then drawing two defenders, the Italian sent his effort over the crossbar from close range.

Minutes later, he also made amends.

Whe n P a nd e l l i f a i l e d t o hol d C l a ud i o Marchisio’s shot from outside the area, the diminutive striker sprinted towards goal to bundle the loose ball into the net.

U d i ne s e ’ s he a d s w e nt d ow n, a nd ha l f w a y t hr ough t he s e c ond p e r i od Giovinco produced a fine individual effort beating Padelli with a low angled shot.

The rout was well and truly on but to the Bianconeri’s credit, they fought back and were rewarded, somewhat fortunately, when Andrea Lazzari slammed the ball past Gianluigi Buffon after a defensive mixup.—AFP

Ramsay wins European Masters

16

Bayern smash 10-man Stuttgart

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

19

Ashwin’s five once again torments New Zealand

Page 17

LONDON: Manchester United’s Robin Van Persie (right) shoots at the goal past Southampton’s Jose Fonte during their Premier League football match.—AFP

Van Persie marks Fergie milestone with hat-trick Southampton 2

Man United 3

SOUTHAMPTON: Robin van Persie struck twice in the dying moments to complete his first Manchester United hat-trick and ensure Sir Alex Ferguson’s side marked the manager’s 1,000th English league game with a 3-2 victory over Southampton yesterday.

Ferguson appeared destined for disappointment on his landmark occasion when United trailed with three minutes of normal time remaining at St Mary’s.

But van Persie-who had earlier cancelled out Rickie Lambert’s 16th minute opener and missed a penalty after Southampton had again gone ahead through Morgan Schneiderlinequalised from close range in the 87th minute after Rio Ferdinand’s header had struck the post.

Then with the game in stoppage-time, the Holland international met Nani’s corner with a near post header that brought the striker’s 100th Premier League goal and secured a fortunate win for Ferguson’s team. Van Persie’s late intervention was agonising for a Southampton side who had performed well and dominated periods of the game but are still looking for their first point of the season.

“It was a good feeling afterwards,” van Persie told Sky Sports. “I’m very disappointed with the penalty. When that happens at 2-1 down, you can’t take a penalty like that. Something went wrong big time.

“I have to say a big thank you to Paul Scholes. Every single pass he hit was the right one. It was unbelievable. He is man of the match for me.”

Ferguson provided a reminder of his ruthless streak before kick-off when he revealed goalkeeper David De Gea had been dropped as punishment for his error in the 3-2 victory over Fulham, with Anders Lindegaard recalled at the Spaniard’s expense.

In front of Lindegaard, Ferdinand and

Nemanja Vidic were reunited in central defence for the first time since last December.

But despite their combined wealth of experience, it quickly became clear Lambert was capable of troubling the United backline with Ferdinand in particular suffering a testing opening 45 minutes.

The visitors started brightly enough with van Persie producing two moments of quality, a neat backheel followed by an expert chest and volley, that suggested it could be a long afternoon for Nigel Adkins’ side.

But a clever corner routine created an opening for Adam Lallana that the Saints captain fired wide moments before Lambert claimed his second league goal of the season with 16 minutes gone.

Jason Puncheon cut inside and sent a left foot cross towards Lambert at the far post and the forward was far too powerful for his marker Rafael da Silva, rising to head home past Lindegaard.

However, van Persie produced an outstanding finish for the 23rd minute equaliser, volleying home from a tight angle after being picked

out by Antonio Valencia’s deep cross and profiting from right back Nathaniel Clyne’s slip.

Southampton refused to be intimidated and were rewarded for their adventure 11 minutes after the restart when Schneiderlin headed the home side into the lead for a second time.

This time Lambert turned provider, crossing for the midfielder who profited from yet another slip, this time by Patrice Evra, to send a free header well clear of Lindegaard.

With more composure, Southampton might have added a third but they conceded a penalty when Jos Hooiveld clattered through the back of van Persie in the 69th minute.

The United striker stepped up to take the spot-kick but appeared to be caught in two minds as he sent a poorly struck chip to Kelvin Davis’s right and the keeper saved easily.

That brought redemption for Davis whose poor kick had gifted Nani possession immediately before van Persie was fouled.

But there would be further twists as van Persie went from zero to hero with a closerange equaliser and then a clinical stoppagetime header to steal the points.—AFP

Arsenal pile on misery for Liverpool Liverpool 0

Arsenal 2 LIVERPOOL: Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla ended Arsenal’s barren start to the Premier League season in an impressive 2-0 victory at Liverpool yesterday that condemned the hosts to their worst start in 50 years.

One point from the opening three games under new manager Brendan Rodgers represents the worst opening to a league campaign since 1962-63 for a Liverpool team which was not helped by a mistake by goalkeeper Pepe Reina which gifted Cazorla his goal.

The manner of the defeat, against an Arsenal team which had failed to score in the first two matches of the new season, was particularly disappointing given Rodgers’ failure to sign a new forward before the transfer window closed on Friday. With England centre-forward Andy Carroll having been allowed to join West Ham

on loan, Rodgers had expected to sign Fulham’s Clint Dempsey as his replacement.

But Tottenham signed the American instead and that failure, plus the evidence of their opening three games, suggests this will be a trying season for the Merseyside club.

Arsenal’s first league goal in 211 minutes of the new campaign came in the 31st minute at Anfield and was a devastating example of the art of the counter-attack.

Podolski started the move inside his own half, taking a pass from his back line, and moving the ball on to Cazorla before starting a sprint into the Liverpool area.

The German forward timed his run to perfection, arriving on the end of Cazorla’s angled pass to beat Reina from 12 yards.

That was also the first real chance of a drab opening between two clubs long considered among the true giants of the European game but currently struggling to maintain their status among the English elite.

Liverpool appear to be in the greater trouble and might have been in further trouble before the interval from another Arsenal break that ended with a superb pass from Abou Diaby to Olivier Giroud which the Frenchman shot woe-

LONDON: Arsenal’s English forward Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (left) vies with Liverpool’s English midfielder Raheem Sterling during the English Premier League football match.—AFP forward was found by Stewart Downing’s clever fully wide from eight yards.

In the 10 minutes between the two Arsenal backheel and unleashed a drive from the edge chances, Liverpool had at least started to show of the area which Vito Mannone tipped over.

Reina was forced into action as Arsenal signs of life with promising teenager Raheem Sterling striking the post on the turn after con- responded, via Carl Jenkinson’s ambitious longrange shot, with the Spanish goalkeeper reactnecting with Steven Gerrard’s header.

Liverpool showed more ambition upon the ing sharply to keep out the attempt.

Cazorla also came close, driving Podolski’s restart, but that allowed the Gunners to play on the counter-attack and Reina was soon required lay-off just the wrong side of Reina’s left-hand to save well, parrying a shot from Kieran Gibbs post.

These were warning signs which Liverpool at his near post after Podolski played him in.

Luis Suarez appealing for a penalty after failed to heed and the same pair of Arsenal playappearing to go down under contact from Per ers combined to carve out their second goal Mertesacker before the controversial Liverpool after 67 minutes.—AFP

EPL results/standings Liverpool 0 Arsenal 2 (Podolski 31, Cazorla 68); Newcastle 1 (Ben Arfa 59) Aston Villa 1 (Clark 22); Southampton 2 (Lambert 16, Schneiderlin 55) Manchester United 3 (Van Persie 23, 87, 90).

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

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

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

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

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

8 10 6 8 6 4 4 2 4 3 7 3 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 4

2 2 1 5 5 3 3 0 4 4 6 3 2 4 7 5 5 7 9 8

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

Ben Arfa rescues Newcastle NEWCASTLE: France midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa resNewcastle 1 cued a point for Newcastle with a superb equaliser in yesterday’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at St James’ Park.

Aston Villa 1 Alan Pardew’s side were trailing to Ciaran Clark’s first-half opener until Ben Arfa’s moment of magic on the hour ensured a share of the spoils despite an erratic display from the hosts.

Villa manager Paul Lambert finally secured his first point since arriving from Norwich in pre-season, but he will be disappointed his team didn’t win as they had dominated for long periods.

Villa arrived bottom the table after their first two games and Lambert took a gamble by dropping Irish goalkeeper Shay Given following his error-prone start to the season.

But Darren Bent served warning of Villa’s intent with 19 minutes gone when he forced Tim Krul to save, with Fabricio Coloccini blocking Andreas Weimann’s follow-up, and the Newcastle goalkeeper had to deny Bent again seconds later.

Villa took the lead in the 22nd minute as Clark stooped to head home Barry Bannan’s cross with the Newcastle defence caught flat-footed.

Pardew’s men almost equalised when Demba Ba drilled a cross towards Papiss Demba Cisse, whose shot seemed destined for the back of the net before Given’s replacement Brad Guzan somehow managed to keep it out with his foot. To cap a frustrating half, Newcastle lost defender Danny Simpson to injury and Ba then fired across goal when well placed.—AFP

Al-Meshal wins KD 125,000 in NBK’s Al-Jawhara draw Page 22

Europe enters crucial stage of crisis Page 23

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

Deal junkies hurt US stores’ profits

Osborne promises more action to help delicate UK economy Page 23

Page 24

PTUJ: Aljosa Tusek, owner of Tushek Supercars drives his Tushek Renovatio T500 supercar around Ptuj. (Inset) General view of Tushek Renovatio T500 supercar. — AFP photos

Slovenian supercar maker vrooms in style Supercar can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds PTUJ: Out of a little garage in northeastern Slovenia, comes a new supercar... and it is already joining the ranks of the world’s elite, alongside Lamborghini and Ferrari. Only six months after presenting his first prototype at Monaco’s Top Marques event, Aljosa Tusek, 46, has been invited to London’s exclusive Salon Prive car show which runs Wednesday through Friday, and customers from all over the world keep calling him. Far from a sleek assembly line however, his Renovatio T500 saw the light of day in a friend’s garage. A former racer, Tusek designed it in his spare time, building it with the help of about 10 fellow car enthusiasts over several years, while balancing a full-time job as a distributor for an international tyre company.

“A moment comes when you decide to stop racing, but you do not want to quit it. “Since I could not find a car that would satisfy me the way racing did, I decided to make it myself,” Tusek told AFP while showing off his creation in a modest hangar in Ptuj, in northeastern Slovenia. Using the Slovak K1-Attack racer as a basis, he created a supercar equipped with an Audi V8 FSI engine with 450 horse power, that weighs approximately one tonne and can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h (62 miles per hour) in 3.7 seconds.

And the 300,000-euro ($375,000) car-listed as one of the highlights at the Monaco show-has already earned a shining review from the renowned BBC auto

show Top Gear, which described it as “massively fast”, “agile” and “quite civilised”. The “newcomer from Slovenia... looks very much at home next to the established exotica from Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini”, it added. A supercar-a fast, powerful or luxurious car-usually costs between 500,000 and 600,000 euros but Tusek consciously kept the price down to sell his first models more easily, to enter the market and to get his name known.

‘Everyone can buy a Ferrari’ “Brands like Ferrari have developed strongly, increased their production and market share. That makes it less interesting for extremely wealthy customers. “They do own a Ferrari but it is no longer a status symbol, everyone can buy it,” he told AFP. Tushek on the other hand-the company has an added “h” in its name to make it easier for non-Slovenians to pronounce-will produce only a limited number of each model. So far, Tusek has built three cars and sold two of them, but his long-term plans are to speed up production and deliver 10 cars per year. Waiting time should not exceed six months, he says.

For that, he will hire 10-15 people, mostly engineers and friends who already helped him produce the first cars, working during their free time while keeping steady jobs. For Tusek too, retreating to the garage has

always been a means to escape daily stress. “I did not start this for the money... I started it with the idea of making the car I would like to drive,” he said.

From his early childhood, he raced: first with gocarts, then motorbikes and finally cars, winning various regional races. Now still, he takes his creations very seriously, testing them on the road so that nothing will surprise the future owners. The global crisis does not worry him. “This is the best time to start with a business like this. There will be a way out of recession, because there has to be, and when that happens we will already be a strong company.”

Still, if he had the choice, he would live in Monaco, Switzerland or a major capital like Paris or London. “There you can see that for some there is no crisis at all, there are so many wealthy people,” Tusek said, and admitted to targeting British and French millionaires, to whom he hopes to sell at least three more cars by the end of the year. In the meantime, he is preparing a new supercar, the Forego T700, which will be presented next year and should exceed the Renovatio both in terms of power and price, at twice the cost. “I’m not thinking about the price of the product, I’m thinking about the people who already have many cars,” says Tusek. “We want our cars to be excellent, so that those who have fuel in their veins, like cars and are lucky enough to have sufficient money, see that we offer something different.” —AFP

Qatar National Bank picks JP Morgan for Egypt buy DUBAI: Qatar National Bank, the state lender seeking to boost its regional presence through acquisitions, has hired JP Morgan Chase to advise on its planned buy of Societe Generale’s Egyptian arm, three sources said. SocGen is in early talks with QNB to sell its 77.2percent stake in National Societe Generale Bank - the Egyptian lender which has a market value of around $2.3 billion - as the French bank seeks to shore up its capital through divestments.

“The talks are initial but they definitely have the firepower for an asset of that size. JP Morgan is assisting QNB on the deal,” one of the sources said.

SocGen, which recently sold fund management unit TCW, is being advised by US bank Morgan Stanley Inc on the transaction, a second source said.

Discussions with SocGen are at an early stage and subject to a due diligence process, QNB said in a statement on Thursday. QNB was not available for comment yesterday when contacted by Reuters. The bank did not respond to several calls and emails seeking comment.

SocGen officials were not available for comment outside business hours in Paris yesterday. If an agreement is reached between the Qatari and French banks, QNB may be forced into a mandatory offer to minority shareholders which would see them acquire the entire bank, a note from Egypt-based investment bank EFG Hermes said. A full takeover would likely cost QNB between 15.9 billion and 18 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.61-$2.95 billion), the note added.

NSGB, which operates around 160 branches across the North African country, is one of the largest banks operating in Egypt and has assets of around $10.5 billion. It also offers private banking and investment banking services in Egypt. NSGB shares rose 10 per-

cent on the Egypt bourse yesterday, the first day of trading after QNB announced its interest. The bank commands a higher valuation than some of its peers, trading at around 1.9 times its book value.

However, EFG Hermes said QNB may need to offer 2.2-2.5 times the bank’s book value to secure a deal, implying a transaction value of 12.3-13.9 billion pounds for SocGen’s stake. “It’s one of the trophy assets on the banking space in Egypt. The central bank in the country does not give out banking licences easily and for lenders like QNB who are looking to expand, acquisition is the best option,” the second source said.

Aggressive expansion QNB, one of the largest Gulf Arab banks which is 50-percent owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, is keen to expand its footprint in the region and has been snapping up assets at a rapid pace. On Thursday, the bank said it raised its stake in Commercial Bank International to 39.9 percent from 16.5 percent. It also raised its stake in Iraq’s Mansour Bank and bought a 49 percent stake in Libya’s Bank of Commerce and Development earlier in April.

However, the lender is known to be aggressive on price and lost out to Russia’s Sberbank in bids for Turkey’s Denizbank earlier this year. On the other hand, French lenders are shedding non-core assets globally and assets in Egypt are seen as ripe candidates for divestment. BNP Paribas, another French lender, is said to be seeking initial bids for the sale of its Egyptian retail arm, expected to generate between $400 million to $500 million, with QNB interested in the business, sources said last month.

“They may bid for both and try to get the best price out. They certainly won’t be allowed to buy

both by the Egyptian central bank,” a second banking source said. Credit Agricole also owns 60-percent of Credit Agricole Egypt and operates a retail, corporate and private banking business in the country. — Reuters

Kuwait reveals KD 10.2 billion budget surplus KUWAIT: Kuwait revealed a budget surplus of KD 10.205 billion for the fiscal year 2011-12, based on an crude price of $60 per barrel. According to figures released and published on the official website of the Ministry of Finance, this surplus - within the period between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012 was achieved through revenue worth KD 30.236 billion, actual expenses of around KD 17.007 billion and actual commitments worth KD 3.023 billion.

The projected financial statements for the fiscal year 2011-12 indicate a deficit estimated at about KD 7.334 billion, through revenue estimated at KD 13.445 billion and expenses (after adjustment) estimated at KD 19.434 billion as well as obligations estimated at about KD 1.344 billion. The data also showed that the oil revenues collected in Kuwait amounted to KD 28.569 billion, an increase of KD 16.2 billion (132 pct) compared to the budget estimates of oil revenues for the same previous year, which amounted to about KD 12.3 billion. The date added that oil revenues alone achieved last March amounted to about KD 3.091 billion, KD 2.065 billion more than the estimated monthly average, representing 49.6 percent. —KUNA

Spain meets conditions for aid already: Rajoy MADRID: Spain will consider seeking extra aid from Europe on top of a 100 billion rescue of its financial sector but does not see any need for new conditions, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an interview published in European newspapers yesterday. Rajoy said he wanted to see details of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) programme to buy debt of euro-zone countries with high borrowing costs before deciding whether to proceed with a request.

“If I believe it is good for Europe as a whole, for the euro, and for Spain, I will do it, and if not, not,” Spanish daily ABC quoted him as saying, regarding seeking more aid for Spain. ECB board member Joerg Asmussen said on Thursday the ECB should only buy sovereign bonds of troubled euro-zone states if the International Monetary Fund was involved in setting conditions. Spain is already struggling to implement austerity measures to reduce its debt burden and rescue banks hit by a collapse in property prices and Rajoy is reluctant to undertake any more for fear of being caught in a recessionary spiral.

But Germany fears the bond buying plan to help Spain and other indebted euro-zone countries lower their borrowing costs will expose it to too much risk, leaving the ECB with a delicate negotiating task. German central bank chief Jens Weidmann was reported on Friday to have threatened to resign over the bondbuying plan. He has declined to comment on the report. ECB President Mario Draghi is trying to hammer out a deal before an ECB policy meeting on September 6.

Rajoy’s comments, made on Wednesday, came ahead of a scheduled visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel later this week to the Spanish capital and as a Spanish request for a European rescue package is seen as increasingly inevitable. “The looming challenge is to resolve the problems of the euro’s instability and to advance European integration,” he told French newspaper le Journal du Dimanche. “I sense that Merkel is ready to take it on.” To receive aid from the European rescue funds, the existing EFSF or the pending ESM, he said Spain did not need to meet any further conditions than it already is under the terms of the banks rescue and the excessive deficit procedures. “Spain, of course, is going to comply with them. It already is. And it’s not easy,” he said.

“We are doing reforms. That is what the European Council said that countries have to do to go to the EFSF or the ESM to seek help to stabilize the euro.”

Praises Merkel Rajoy said he felt ECB President Mario Draghi agreed with him that Spain’s high borrowing costs were related to investor fears over the euro rather than the fundamentals of the Spanish economy. He said the current situation in which some European countries financed themselves at negative rates and others paid “unsustainably high rates” had to end. “The current situation cannot be sustained over a longer period of time,” he was quoted as saying in German daily Bild. “Therefore we must solve the problem of divergent yields now.”

Rajoy said measures had to be taken to dispel “with all clarity and decisiveness the doubts over the continued existence of the euro.” In a sign he hoped Merkel would persuade reluctant German officials to back the ECB plan, he praised her as someone who governed “with great soundness.” The Draghi plan involves any country wanting the ECB to buy its bonds to seek help from the euro-zone rescue funds first- to which conditions would be attached. It is aimed at buying the euro-zone governments time to negotiate legal and political hurdles to a longerterm response to the euro-zone crisis. Three euro-zone sources have told Reuters Spain was already negotiating with euro-zone partners over conditions, though the country has not made a final decision to request a bailout. Spain’s borrowing costs remain painfully high though they have recovered somewhat from a peak hit in July. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond remains just below 7 percent, a level seen as unsustainable in the medium term. —Reuters

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

BUSINESS

Years of US fines over Iran looming for foreign banks New rules, regulators’ push drive negotiations LONDON/FRANKFURT: For years, the United States struggled to get foreign bankers to comply with its effort to throttle Iran’s economy but a couple of billion dollars in fines, not to mention lurid headlines and talk of jail time, has suddenly got their attention. A half-hearted shuffling forward to settle years-old claims of busting US sanctions on Tehran is becoming a stampede since Washington tightened rules to punish Iran’s nuclear programme and a new aggression among regulators so alarmed many banks that shareholders will be paying out billions more for years to come.

Deutsche Bank and Italy’s Intesa San Paolo are among big names that may soon join the still short list of foreign banks that have so far paid more than $2.3 billion in fines; some still protest their innocence but have regarded the cash as the price of keeping access to the U.S. market - and keeping executives out of court, or even jail.

The drama played out last month between Standard Chartered and the New York state supervisor who threatened to strip the august British institution of its vital Wall Street banking licence was not entirely typical. But StanChart’s about-face within days, from vigorously defending past deals with Iranian clients to handing over $340 million - 5 percent of its pretax profit was illustrative of an industry-wide shift in mindset. “The acceleration in a sense is coming from (the banks’) side defensively,” said Michael Malloy, a professor at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in California.

“The notion being that it would be better to get out in front of this and confront the difficulty and come clean rather than wait for the authorities to ferret you out,” said Malloy, who previously worked for the US Treasury. Clearly, it is not something all boards will shout about; when another British bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, made mention of talks with regulators on US sanctions regulations in its quarterly report last month, it took another two weeks before many investors became aware of the issue via the media.

But, after Standard Chartered and June’s record $619-million fine paid by Dutch bank ING, the list of European banks going public with warnings about possible U.S. payouts includes Germany’s Commerzbank and HVB, a unit of Italy’s Unicredit, as well as HSBC in Britain. And Chinese banks have become

embroiled in the process too, with the New York Times reporting on Wednesday that prosecutors said they had found evidence in their investigations that they, too, may have flouted US sanctions against Iran. By contrast, US regulators long gave little opportunity to domestic banks to deal with Iran at all, leaving American bankers now little troubled by inquiries into past transactions.

Fined so far It has taken time to reach this point; since Britain’s Lloyds TSB Bank Plc became the first to settle, forfeiting $350 million in January 2009 for masking the origin of payments to evade US sanctions on Iran, Libya and Sudan between 2002 and 2007, others to pay penalties have included Credit Suisse, in December 2009, Barclays, in August 2010, and ABN Amro - now part of RBS. Yet, as disclosures by the regulator in the Standard Chartered case made clear, bank executives were discussing among themselves the risk of personal criminal liability as long ago as 2006, as they sought to maintain profitable business despite confusion over exactly what was permitted under US sanctions rules which had last been substantially altered in 1997.

Political heat over Iran’s nuclear programme grew as Tehran defied UN resolutions in 2006 and denied Western accusations it was seeking atomic weaponry, but only in late 2008 did the US Treasury ban a key element of non-US banks’ business with Iranians, known as “U-turn” transactions, by which they passed dollars for Iranian clients anonymously through the US system.

Since 2009, the US Justice Department (DoJ), the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office have clamped down on banks dealing with countries blacklisted by Washington.

The sharp tightening of US sanctions late last year, while not strictly relevant to past conduct, and the heightening of political drama over threats by Washington’s ally Israel to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities also seems to have limited bankers’ appetite for defending in public their dealings with Tehran, however strong many believe their legal cases would be.

“It is a ver y intense area of focus,” said Michael Zolandz, an attorney with law firm SNR Denton in Washington. “We’re certainly sensing

from large international banks... that the pressure on them to disclose transactional information, to start sharing account data and monitor payments... is definitely increasing.”

‘Price of doing business’ The rules for U-turn transactions in particular have long been ambiguous at the least, legal experts say: “Even after recent settlements there remained a need to clarify how the sanctions regime would be interpreted and enforced, which underlines how much uncertainty there is,” said Susannah Cogman, at London law firm Herbert Smith. But despite that lack of clarity over their previous business dealings with Iran, few Western banks now seem ready to put up much of a fight against the United States government. “To an extent this is the price of doing business in - and with - the US,” said Cogman, an expert on regulatory disputes. Showing an early willingness to cooperate could also help the banks limit the damage and avoid criminal charges.

“There is also the very real possibility of criminal sanctions,” said Malloy at the University of the Pacific. “A showing of good faith and attempt to cooperate once you’ve been made aware of the problem would protect you in most cases.” Deutsche Bank in 2007 stopped taking on new business with counterparties in Iran, and, in a mark of the sensitivity to the risk to employees of US legal action, a regulatory filing from March this year shows it did not involve any American citizen in either a managerial or operational role in Iranian transactions.

Commerzbank warned last month it faced a financial hit to settle the US probes into violations of sanctions on Iran and other countries, which could exceed provisions. Also last month, Italy’s UniCredit said it was reviewing its German unit HVB to check “historic compliance”, adding that the New York County District Attorney’s Office, the DOJ and the OFAC were leading an investigation.

French banks BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole are conducting inquiries into US dollar payments to check whether they are in breach of US sanctions, they said late in August. And Intesa Sanpaolo is still subject to an assessment by the OFAC, which could lead to administrative sanctions, half-year financial statements show. It has no further information on the timing or the size of any possible fine.— Reuters

Al-Meshal wins KD 125,000 in NBK’s Al-Jawhara draw KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced the winner for August’s KD 125,000 Jawhara monthly prize as Minor Mohamed Bader Naser Al-Meshal. The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

NBK recently re-launched Al-Jawhara account offering customers more chances to win bigger prizes; KD 5,000 week ly, KD 125,000 monthly and a grand prize of KD 250,000 quarterly draw. Minor Mohamed Bader Naser AlMeshal, the winner of August ’s KD 125,000 draw expressed his happiness in winning Al-Jawhara monthly prize.

“Winning KD 125,000 came as a complete surprise. I truly thank NBK for its great services and offers and for always

being number one in the market,” he said.

Al-Jawhara account offers numerous benefits to NBK customers. Not only is it an interest-free account with regular deposit and withdrawal privileges, but also entitles account holders to enter the weekly, monthly and quarterly AlJawhara draws. Each KD 50 in an Al Jawhara account entitles the customer to one chance in any of the draws.

All prizes are automatically credited to the winners’ accounts the day after the draw. The more money held in your AlJawhara account, the greater your chances of winning. Jawhara accounts are available to both Kuwaitis and expats and can be opened at any one of NBK’s branches around Kuwait.

Mohamed Bader Naser Al-Meshal

CHARLOTTE: US Airways planes sit on the tarmac at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport on September 1, 2012. American Airlines and US Airways have announced that they have begun merger talks. — AFP

Spanish banks saddled with repossessed realty BENALMADENA: Despite slashing prices by up to 60 percent, Spanish savings bank Cajamar has sold only half of the flats at a luxury block it owns on Spain’s Costa del Sol. Last year, the bank ended up in possession of the “Mirador de Benalmadena” apartment building near Malaga, which has just over 100 flats, in settlement of debt by a property developer. “Now that we own it, prices are down a great deal over what the developer wanted,” said Joaquin Luque, who manages the bank’s properties, as he walked by a huge empty pool surrounded by lush gardens and sea views.

A two-bedroom apartment that used to cost 400,000 euros ($500,000) is now available for 250,000 euros, he said. “If a visitor arrives and makes an offer, we study it,” said Luque as he clutched a batch of keys to unsold apartments in his hand. Cajamar, like the majority of Spanish banks, has been saddled with a huge stock of repossessed real estate, including land and half-built residential properties, since a property bubble collapsed in 2008.

Most of the property is connected to developers who have been unable to repay their loans. With banks under pressure to clean up their balance sheets and real estate prices still sliding, lenders have launched aggressive sales campaigns for their repossessed properties.

BBVA, Spain’s second-biggest bank, wants to sell all of the property on its hands within 18-21 months. It has 8.7 billion euros ($10.9 billion) of real estate on its books. The country’s biggest lender, Santander, has said its “toxic assets will be ‘water under the bridge’ by 2013”.

Bank branches across Spain prominently display colourful brochures offering flats at rock-bottom prices. “A house by the sea from just 36,700 euros,” reads a brochure put out by Soria, the real estate arm of Banco Sabadell. “Discounts of up to 70 percent until September 30,” says another advert. With Spain suffering a near 25 percent unemployment rate and credit scarce, banks are looking to offload their real estate to foreign buyers, especially properties located in tourist resorts.

One-third of the 676,000 new homes up for sale in Spain are on the coast, said Jose Manuel Galindo, the president of the Spanish Property Developers Association which is working with the government to promote Spanish real estate abroad. “You have to identify the most active markets. We are thinking of European Union members and also emerging countries. Russia for example is a very active market, and other markets like China,” he said.

“We are working with the foreign ministry to simplify the bureaucracy involved in buying a home in Spain,” he added.

The association wants the government to ease rules for entry visas and the transfer of capital to Spain to pay for a property. Some banks are getting into the role of property developers, building properties on land they received to settle debts.

“There are banks which have land that no one will buy now,” said Fernando Encinar, the head of the research department at real estate website Idealista.

“And if they are in well located cities, where they know that if they build affordable houses they will be able to sell them, so they are building.”

Construction of new homes though is far from the level it was at the height of Spain’s credit-fueled property boom. A total of 76,005 new homes were built in Spain last year, down from 737,186 in 2006.

Building more homes in a country that has over one million still unsold is justified because “there are areas where there still exists demand if the price is reasonable”, said Encinar. “There are other areas where no one wants to buy and where new homes will not be built for a long time,” he added. While in the hills overlooking Benalmadena large cranes are building a new apartment complex overlooking the sea, just 30 kilometres (18 miles) away in Malaga an unfinished apartment block belonging to Cajasur is covered in graffiti. “Maybe one day we will see the demolition of an unfinished property development and the land will be allowed to return to nature,” said Encinar. — AFP

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds

.2740000 .4420000 .3510000 .2920000 .2820000 .2900000 .0040000 .0020000 .0763660 .7440070 .3870000 .0720000 .7293660 .0430000

.2860000 .4550000 .3610000 .3030000 .2950000 .3040000 .0067500 .0035000 .0771330 .7514840 .4100000 .0780000 .7366960 .0510000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2813000 .2834000 GB Pound/KD .4448900 .4482110 Euro .3532000 .3558370 Swiss francs .2940930 .2962890 Canadian dollars .2844570 .2865810 Danish Kroner .0474150 .0477690 Swedish Kroner .0424010 .0427170 Australian dlr .2915530 .2937300 Hong Kong dlr .0362670 .0365380 Singapore dlr .2243760 .2260510 Japanese yen .0035800 .0036070 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 .0051240 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 .0021480 Pakistan rupee .0000000 .0030010 Bangladesh taka .0000000 .0035010 UAE dirhams .0766170 .0771890 Bahraini dinars .7464510 .7520230 Jordanian dinar .0000000 .4008490 Saudi Riyal/KD .0750330 .0755930 Omani riyals .7309340 .7363910 Philippine Peso .0000000 .0067440

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Currency US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah

Rate per 1000 (Tran) 282.500 2.987 5.089 2.139 3.450 6.735 77.020 75.490 751.000 46.314 453.800 2.990

Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee

1.550 361.100 292.400 3.200

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 282.400 356.000 447.800 286.900 3.610 5.077 46.330 2.135 3.450 6.705 2.994 751.600 76.960 75.460

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

SELL DRAFT 297.76 290.10 299.95 357.86 282.25 449.11 3.67 3.463 5.072 2.136 3.178 2.990 76.91 751.53 46.40 402.11 734.58 77.94 75.48

SELL CASH 310.000 289.000 297.500 357.000 283.150 449.000 3.630 3.560 5.350 2.310 3.650 3.150 77.400 750.000 48.600 400.000 736.000 78.000 75.850

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar

Selling Rate 282.450 289.885 448.955 355.694 296.330 747.780

UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

76.880 77.530 75.285 398.155 46.378 2.131 5.073 2.983 3.452 6.695 692.855 4.600 9.075 4.380 3.265 90.040

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY 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 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

SELL CASH 295.800 751.410 3.720 290.200 554.900 46.000 48.700 167.800 48.550 359.000 37.110 5.370 0.032 0.161 0.236 3.700 400.400 0.191 93.560 44.500 4.340 230.400 1.830 49.900 733.930 3.080 6.960 78.150 75.440 227.920 36.480 2.691 452.000 43.700 299.300

SELL 294.300 751.410 3.452 288.700

227.900 46.325 357.500 36.960 5.080 0.031

400.370 0.190 93.560 3.190 228.900 733.750 3.002 6.702 77.720 75.470 227.920 36.480 2.132 450.000 297.800

Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

4.300 9.390 198.263 77.040 282.900 1.360 GOLD

4.300 9.240 76.940 282.500

10 Tola 1,768.740 Sterling Pound US Dollar

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 450.000 282.500

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.553 5.072 3.053 2.141 3.173 220.090 36.173 3.425 6.439 8.876 89.338 GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal 74.883 Qatari Riyal 77.158 Omani Riyal 729.380 Bahraini Dinar 745.850 UAE Dirham 76.464 ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 48.250 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.466 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.309 Tunisian Dinar 176.65 Jordanian Dinar 396.190 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.884 Syrian Lier 4.899 Morocco Dirham 32.64 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 280.700 Euro 354.52 Sterling Pound 441.820 Canadian dollar 274.79 Turkish lire 152.400 Swiss Franc 295.01 US Dollar Buying 279.500 GOLD 20 Gram 293.000 10 Gram 148.000 5 Gram 75.250 Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Malaysian Ringgit

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

business

Europe enters crucial stage of crisis NBK WEEKLY MONEY MARKET REPORT

A

fter extremely quiet past couple of weeks, investors and politicians return from their breaks, while Europe enters in a crucial stage of its crisis. The major risk events go from the potential ECB bond buying, the Dutch election on September 12, the German Constitutional Court ESM ruling, the European Finance Ministers meeting in two weeks, the expected final outcome of Spanish bank recapitalization needs by the end of September, and finally the Troika’s report on Greece in October. After the Fed’s Jackson Hole event on Friday, the market await the possible but low probability of QE3 announcement on the next FOMC meeting, followed by all the political shenanigans of the upcoming election and the fiscal cliff debate.

While China’s top leaders offered German Chancellor Angela Merkel cautious support for the EU’s efforts to resolve the crisis by first fully evaluating the risks inherited in the investment, Spain was in focus with Valencia requesting 4.5 billion in aid, a billion more than estimated and Andalusia and Extremadura to be the next regions to ask for aid.

Spain Prime Minister Rajoy reiterated however, that Spain won’t seek a second bailout until European leaders make aid conditions clear which surely will do little to impress EU officials. It is not clear what Rajoy is waiting for, however he concluded that the state has been helping the regions overcome a liquidity squeeze since his government came to power and it will continue as long as necessary. The euro traded in a very narrow range during the past week, reaching a low of 1.2466, ending the week after Jackson Hole at 1.2579 after Bernanke’s comments. The pound experienced the same pattern as it reached a low of 1.5755, however closing the week at 1.5866. Commodities continued to trade on hope that the Fed will move and implement a new wave of QE next week. Gold traded as high as $1,693 and Brent continue to be supported above the $100 mark and closed the week at $114.57.

Consumer confidence falls in August Despite the improving job and housing market, consumer confidence fell on Thursday to the lowest level since November 2011. The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index in August fell to 60.6, down from 65.4 in July. The overall drop in confidence appears at odds with recent upside surprises in consumer spending such as July retail sales, however, the number has been extremely volatile lately and might not affect dramatically the Fed decision on September

13. US GDP on the other hand released on Wednesday came slightly better than expected. The nation’s GDP expanded at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the second quarter. The slight increase over the previous quarter mainly reflected upward revisions to consumer spending and US exports.

banking union and an economic integration by the EU would brighten the outlook for the country. The IMF also wants Europe to move faster on developing a banking union, a pan-euro credit-insurance system and deeper economic integration that could pave the way for common debt sharing such as euro bonds.

Jobless claims near a four-year low The Case-Shiller housing index indicated that housing market in the US has been firming. The better than expected figures released this week showed an increase of 0.5 percent from a year earlier compared to expectations of 0.1 percent. House prices moved into positive territory in June for the first time since the third quarter of 2010. However, the 2010 episode was due to the first time home buyer tax credit, thus the better comparison is probably December 2006 the last time prices were in positive territory.

European unemployment accelerates Euro area unemployment rose to a record 11.3 percent in July, the same as in June after that month’s figure was revised higher. The number represents the highest since the series started in 1995. On another front, inflation in Europe accelerated to 2.6 percent in august from 2.4 percent in July, higher than economists’ estimates of 2.5 percent. The surge in commodity prices especially energy prices during the past two months affected the number to the upside, while left consumers with less money to spend. As the European Central Bank will be publishing its latest economic projections next week, the rising inflation above the Bank’s target could dampen the ability of the ECB to cut interest rate further.

Europe & UK Europe awaits Spain’s request for bailout In a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy, French President Hollande suggested the next EU summit on October 19 is one where the European Union must “make decisions concerning the Euro zone, lasting decisions.”

He also said, “We’ve been putting off choices for too long, and we’ve let doubt take hold”. The statement slightly disappointed investors who were expecting something definitive from the ECB and the Eurogroup meeting on September 14. On another burning front, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has asked Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti to delay any bailout request for Italy, and newspapers article also persisted that she will ask the same of Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy when they meet in Madrid next Thursday.

The reason behind Merkel’s requests is to calm tensions with the German Bundesbank head Jens Weidmann, who has been opposing any action from the European Central Bank to buy Spanish or Italian bonds. According to Reuters, Bundesbank chief Weidmann considered resigning several times due to his opposition to the bond-buying plan by the European Central Bank, however was persuaded by the German government to remain in his role.

Spain did not ask for help from IMF The IMF said that Spain has not requested any financial assistance but noted that the progress on a

Questioning Rio’s boom RIO DE JANEIRO: To many in this coastal metropolis, Rio de Janeiro has never had it so good. After decades of decay, crippling crime rates, and a loss of big business to rival Sao Paulo, Rio is on the rise. A recent boom in Brazil’s economy, the discovery of massive offshore oilfields nearby, and Rio’s planned hosting of the World Cup and Olympics in the next four years have restored some of the splendor to the tropical city of 6.5 million people. But one local official is tired of the exuberance.

Marcelo Freixo, a 45-year-old state assemblyman, thinks Rio needs a reminder of all that is wrong - from uneven development to deep inequality to corruption and organized crime.

Now, the schoolteacher turned human-rights activist turned politician hopes his call for a reality check can help him, in October elections, topple the popular mayor who presides over all the preening.

“What good is all this progress if it’s not addressing our core problems?” asks Freixo in his cluttered office behind the state assembly house. “We need better schools, better hospitals, safer neighborhoods, not just spectacle.”

It’s tempting to dismiss Freixo as a spoilsport.

His slight build, heavy brow, and modest wardrobe give him a scholarly, almost clerical, air that runs counter to Rio’s colorful cockiness. Were it not for the presence of bodyguards needed after a crackdown he waged on crooked cops, he would still pass for an academic.

But Freixo’s arguments matter to many in a city that symbolizes the frustrations of Brazil itself, a country that has long struggled to fulfill its enormous potential. After past glory as a colonial stronghold, the seat of the Portuguese crown and the capital of an independent Brazil, Rio went into decline when Brasilia became the capital in 1960. As industry grew in S„o Paulo, Rio lost its standing as Brazil’s financial center. Like the rest of the country, it succumbed to economic volatility for most of the past half-century and suffered poverty, ramshackle development, and crime.

But as Brazil entered a period of sustained growth over the last decade, though, Rio’s fortunes reversed.

Recovering past glory Billions of dollars worth of investments poured in after new oil was discovered south of its famous beaches. Rio is one of 12 venues for the 2014 World Cup and it alone will host the 2016 Olympics, requiring investments of at least $14 billion. The changing tide has spawned a property boom. Drug lords have been chased out of some of Rio’s notorious favelas, or slums. Its decrepit old port is being made over so cruise and luxury vessels can berth at docks until recently lined by crack dens.

Still, the progress lacks balance, Freixo argues. It’s all happening along a narrow strip of coastline that is home to the elite, beaches and tourist attractions, and the corridor where World Cup and Olympic activities will take place. The rest of the city, Freixo says, remains neglected - giving Rio some of the worst health, educational, and social statistics in Brazil. Murder rates in poor neighborhoods are as much as 20 times higher than those of rich areas, approaching levels of countries at civil war. “There are millions of cariocas who don’t benefit at all from the recent development,” he argues, using the term for Rio natives. “The city focuses exclusively on tourism and big events - not the people who actually live here.”

Slim odds Eduardo Paes, the incumbent mayor, disagrees. New roads and bus lines, Paes argues, are already helping legions who flock daily

from working-class neighborhoods. The refurbished port and new Olympic facilities will further development in marginal areas nearby. Paes scoffs at Freixo’s underdog candidacy and his recent advances in polls. He refuses to accept Freixo’s charge that the city, obsessed with “spectacle,” ignores everything else.

“There is still a lot to do,” Paes admits. “No one is saying this is paradise on earth.” Paes heads a coalition of 20 centrist and center-left parties, backed by big business, with a 30-fold advantage in financing. After early advertising - Paes grins from posters on hillsides, lamp posts, and bridges - he enjoys a towering poll lead over Freixo, the second-place candidate, and three others.

Despite the odds, Freixo believes he could force a runoff. What he lacks in financing he makes up for in buzz - enjoying support from intellectuals and artists, including influential songwriter Caetano Veloso, author of his campaign jingle. He is also drawing growing numbers of young voters, so many of whom turned up for a recent speech that Freixo moved the event at the last minute from an auditorium to a nearby plaza.

Freixo has surprised people before. He grew up across Guanabara bay in Rio’s sister city of Niteroi. Neither of his parents, who worked as support staff at local schools, went past middle school themselves. A lifelong interest in human rights began when he played soccer, as a teen, in a local jail with convicts on recess. After studying economics and history at a Rio university, Freixo taught in area schools and gave remedial courses in prisons.

As Brazil’s military dictatorship gave way to democracy in the mid-1980s, he took part in local organizing for the leftist Workers’ Party, now Brazil’s dominant political group, and began researching police abuses and prison conditions. “He has an analytical mind that sees beyond individual incidents and abuses,” says Tim Cahill, a London-based researcher for Amnesty International. “He understands the structural and policy problems behind them.”

Freixo also caught the eye of Chico Alencar, a state assemblyman, now in Congress, who hired him as an adviser. After the Workers’ Party won Brazil’s presidency in 2002, Freixo, Alencar and others grew disaffected by its move to the center. They formed the PSOL, a leftist party known for its focus on education, poverty, and human rights. In 2005, Renato, a younger brother, was fatally gunned down. Investigators believe the murder was vengeance from crooked police officers after Renato fired them from a moonlighting gig as guards at the building where he lived and acted as superintendent.

The next year, colleagues persuaded Freixo to run for the state assembly. With just over 13,000 votes, the lowest of any Rio legislator that election, he scraped into office.

Fighting the power On his first day in the legislature, Freixo called for the creation of a committee to go after corrupt cops and their infamous militias, which control crime and entire neighborhoods in Rio’s sprawling suburbs. Though most legislators resisted - some were on militia payrolls - they relented when a police torture scandal sparked cries for a clean-up.

Ultimately, Freixo’s efforts led to the expulsion of four fellow legislators and the indictment of 226 police officers. The clean-up brought a surge in support. Freixo was reelected to the assembly in 2010 with nearly180,000 votes, more than all but one other Rio legislator. The writers of “Tropa de Elite,” a blockbuster film about Rio police, wrote a Freixo character into a sequel. He also earned new enemies. — Reuters

European Central Bank still divided ECB’s executive board member Joerg Asmussen stated this week that the ECB will only intervene in bond markets in parallel with the EFSF and later the ESM, and that the IMF should be involved in any bailout program. “From my point of view this means that the IMF will be involved in setting the economic adjustment programmes because the IMF of course has unique know how and has high leverage as an external policeman in these cases,”. Asmussen also mentioned that the program is still under development and that ECB President would discuss the results on next ECB meeting. The central banker added that countries must first make a formal request for aid.

German business confidence suffering German Business Confidence has fallen for the fourth month in a row to a 29-month low. The IFO index fell to 102.3 in August from a downwardly revised 103.2 in July. This drop indicates that German companies fear their European export markets will continue to weaken and the demand from emerging economies is slowing down.

August despite the large expected boost from the London Olympic Games. The index remained at this level or below since July 2011, the longest such slump since the survey was launched in 1974. U.K’s largest business lobby urged Britain’s government to take bold steps to boost investments, and the Bank of England to start buying company’s loans in order to get the economy out of recession.

Asia Japan industrial output unexpectedly drops Japan’s industrial production unexpectedly fell in July. Output fell 1.2 percent in July from June, when it advanced 0.4 percent. A slowdown in exports and the slowing down in car sales have placed pressure on manufacturing and growth in the country. Japan’s government this week downgraded its economic assessment for the first time in 10 months on weakness from global demand. Exports also fell the most in six months in July and retail sales dropped more than economists’ forecast in July.

Commodities Gold moving higher on renewed hopes Comments from the Fed President Ben Bernanke at the Jackson Hole convention ignited the yellow metal and pushed it to a new high this week. After an initial drop of almost 10$, investors quickly digested Bernanke’s comments and concluded that the new Quantitative easing was imminent and just a question of time. Gold ended the week at 1691.

Oil markets revived on hope of stimulus Despite a lower global growth and lower gasoline consumption in the US, Oil prices have been well supported in the past two month mainly due to temporary factors such as fears from hurricanes, refinery fires, and turmoil in the Middle East. As the US presidential election approaches quickly, the major spike in gas prices in the next two months would swing votes in the US presidential election. Rumors this week that the President of the US would release crude from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve in coordination with the International Energy Agency and other IEA members eased crude prices. However, the situation in the Middle East remains the major factor affecting energy prices.

UK consumer confidence further deteriorates The GfK consumer confidence index was unchanged at -29 for a fourth consecutive month in

Kuwait The USDKD opened at 0.28185 yesterday morning.

Ny probes private equity tax scheme

LONDON: In this photo, head of Barclay’s retail and business banking operations, Antony Jenkins is pictured. — AP

Barclays chief to scale back investment banking LONDON: The new boss of British lender Barclays wants to shrink its investment bank division as he seeks to move on from rate-rigging and mis-selling scandals, he indicated in an interview published on yesterday. Chief executive Antony Jenkins told The Sunday Times newspaper that there was “no doubt” that tough banking sector regulations would “make some activities in investment banking difficult to make an adequate return on”.

He added that profits would be hit by British plans to force banks to ringfence their retail activities. At the same time, Europe’s major banks will also be forced to hold more cash as a buffer against any other financial crises, under looming Basel III rules. “There are a number of external factors coming down the line and regulation is clearly a very powerful one,” Jenkins told The Sunday Times.

In a separate inter view, the new Barclays chief added that he wanted to do more “listening than talking” as he seeks to turn the group’s fortunes around. “I’m going to spend a lot of time with external

shareholders. I’ll be listening a lot more than I’m talking. That’s an important way of operating,” he told the Sunday Telegraph.

“I want to hear what’s on investors’ minds. If they’ve got concerns about how we run the bank, then I would anticipate we’ll change the way we do business.”

Jenkins, formerly Barclays’ retail and business banking boss, was appointed chief executive last Thursday with immediate effect. He replaced US national Bob Diamond who resigned in July over the notorious Libor rate-rigging scandal.

As well as the Libor case, which has cost the bank £290 million ($460 million; 366 million euros) in fines, Barclays has been involved in the payment protection insurance scandal and the mis-selling of interest rate swaps to businesses. In another heavy blow, Barclays revealed last week that the Serious Fraud Office was probing payments made to Qatar Holding, which it tapped for funds at the height of the 2008 global financial crisis to avoid part-nationalisation. — AFP

Osborne promises more action to help delicate UK economy LONDON: Britain’s recession-hit economy is healing but the government must do more to boost growth, including speeding up infrastructure projects, boosting airport capacity and creating a small business bank to increase lending, Britain’s finance minister said yesterday. George Osborne has come under increasing pressure to take more action to revitalise Britain’s flagging economy, prompting some politicians from the ruling Conservative Party to call for him to change his policies or go.

“Our economy is healing, jobs are being created. It is taking time, but there is no easy route to a magical recovery,” he told the BBC. “We have to do more and we have to do it faster,” he said. He said the government would push for measures to speed up construction plans and said legislation would be announced next week to allow the government to underwrite infrastructure projects. One potential infrastructure

project that has become highly controversial is a third runway at Britain’s largest airport Heathrow, something explicitly ruled out by the Conservatives in their pre-election manifesto and opposed by environmental groups and people living nearby.

Osborne said all options should be examined, but political consensus must be reached. Foreign Secretary William Hague yesterday told Sky News that a third runway was not an option. Osborne said the low level of bank lending was one of the economy’s key weaknesses, and proposed a “small business bank” to bring together existing schemes to boost lending to small businesses. “The weakness in our banking system is one of the biggest problems we’ve got .... we do need to actively consider now and actively work on as we are at the Treasury a small business bank sponsored by the government,” he said, giving no further details. — Reuters

NEW YORK: At least a dozen US private equity firms have been subpoenaed by the New York state attorney general as part of a probe into whether a widely used tax strategy that saved these firms hundreds of millions of dollars is proper, a source familiar with the situation said on Saturday. Among the firms that were subpoenaed are Bain Capital LLC, KKR & Co LP, TPG Capital LP, Apollo Global Management LLC and Silver Lake Partners LP, the source said.

Bain was once headed by Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate who hopes to unseat President Barack Obama in the Nov 6 election. The subpoenas, which were sent out in July, seek documents related to the conversion of fees these private equity firms charge for managing investors’ assets into fund investments, the source said. This means the investigation predates the release last month of confidential Bain fund documents by Gawker that revealed such a practice.

The practice is known as a “management fee waiver.” As fund investments, the income would be taxed as capital gains, which attract rates around 15 percent. Without the conversion, the fees would be ordinary income, taxed at rates around 35 percent. Other firms that received subpoenas include Sun Capital Partners; Clayton, Dubilier & Rice; Crestview Partners; H.I.G. Capital; Vestar Capital Partners; and Providence Equity Partners.

Jennifer Givner, a spokeswoman for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office, declined to comment. The firms were not immediately available for comment. The investigation comes in the midst of a heated US presidential election campaign. Romney has been scrutinized for his tenure as head of Bain, through which he amassed much of his estimated $250 million fortune. The timing of the probe and Schneiderman’s credentials as a Democrat could raise eyebrows in political circles.Romney’s record at Bain is already a target of attack by President Barack Obama’s campaign and has put an uncomfortable spotlight on the industry. A probe into a potential tax dodge by the industry could further play into the Democrats’ hands.

Romney earned about $13 million in income over the past two years from carried interest, or the portion of a private equity fund’s profits that goes to its managers, according to his campaign, which has issued a statement denying that he ever profited from using a management fee waiver. With the latest probe, Schneiderman, who has been in office for less than two years, follows in the footsteps of predecessors Andrew Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer, who played the role of sheriff of Wall Street.

Schneiderman, who is co-chair of a mortgage crisis unit under Obama, has looked into mortgage practices at banks.

Other high-profile cases involving financial institutions include an investigation of possible manipulation of the Libor benchmark international lending rates by banks. The tax probe is being conducted out of the New York Attorney General’s Taxpayer Protection Bureau, which was set up in early 2011. The agency was established “to root out fraud and return money illegally stolen from New York taxpayers at no additional cost to the state,” according to the AG’s website. In April, the AG’s office also sued Sprint Nextel Corp for more than $300 million, accusing the company of tax fraud by deliberately not collecting or paying millions of dollars of taxes for its cell phone service.

Private equity firms sometimes grant investors a waiver of their management fee - typically charged at 1-2 percent of investments - in exchange for being able to use that capital as their own investment income in the fund. The benefit for the investor is recouping its fee, while the fund manager gets extra incentive to make the fund perform well but is also taxed less on this money. —Reuters

NEW YORK: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. — AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

business

KSE manages to recover from August losses BAYAN INVESTMENT MONTHLY REPORT KUWAIT: Two of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) indices ended the month of August in the green zone. The price index ended the month with an increase amounted to 2.49 percent, and the weighted index raised by 1.21 percent, while KSX15 Index decreased by 0.27 percent compared to the closings of July. Furthermore, August turnover decreased by 16.99 percent, compared to the preceding month, reaching KD 275.56 billion, whereas trading volume was 3.27 billion shares, recording decrease of 4.63 percent.

KSE witnessed different effects during August, as the market started the month with notable presence for selling pressures and the speculations that controlled the traders’ behaviors. In addition, quick profit collection operations, which were present in some daily sessions, had a negative impact on the indices’ performance. Nevertheless the market managed to recover from most of its losses during the last third of it, as a result of active purchasing power and collection activities on many stocks, with special attention to the small-caps, which resulted in pushing the Price Index to its highest levels since more than a month, recording annual gains. Moreover, as the 6 months announcement period has ended, the number of declared companies reached 89 percent. The total number of declared companies reached 177 out of 199 listed companies, realizing approximately KD 663.46 million, with a decline of 31.98 percent compared to same companies’ results for 2011. By the end of the month, the annual gain of price index reached 0.83

percent since the beginning of the year, whereas the weighted index declined by 1.34 percent compared to the closing of last year. KSX-15 index lost 4.54 percent compared to its level at inception and application to the new trading system.

Market indices Main indices The price index closed the month at 5,862.56 points, gain 142.2 points, a percentage of 2.49 percent compared to July closing. On the other hand, KSE’s weighted index ended August activity at 400.18 points, after increasing by 4.78 points, at a percentage of 1.21 percent. KSX-15 closed The month at 954.56 points, losing 2.62 points, a percentage of 0.27 percent compared to July closing.

Sectors’ indices Nine of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the green zone, while the other three recorded declines.

Last week’s highest gainer was the Telecommunications sector, achieving 8.86 percent growth rate as its index closed at 939.79 points.

Whereas, in the second place, the oil and gas sector’s index closed at 896.68 points recording 8.23 percent increase. The consumer goods sector came in third as its index achieved 5.76 percent growth, ending the week at 982.16 points.

On the other hand, the technology sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 1.56 percent to end the week’s activity at 1,005.70 points.

The consumer services sector was second on the

losers’ list, which index declined by 0.83 percent, closing at 942.88 points, followed by the insurance sector, as its index closed at 912.63 points at a loss of 0.16 percent. On the other hand, the financial services sector’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value, with a turnover of KD 87.43 million or 31.73 percent of last month’s total market trading value.

The banks’ sector took the second place as the sector’s August turnover of KD 61.96 million represented 22.48 percent of the total market trading value.

Listed stocks The share of Egypt Kuwait Holding Company dominated the first place in terms of shares volume with a total of 470.97 million shares; followed in the second place by Al-Mudon International Real Estate Company with 214.53 million shares changing hands. The third position in the list was for National Cleaning Company with a volume of 204.20 million shares. Tijara & Real Estate Investment Company was the heaviest traded company in terms of value, with a total turnover of KD. 34.75 million dominating the top place in this list, followed by Egypt Kuwait Holding Company which turnover totaled to around KD 18.68 million.

Finally the third position was for Ithmaar Bank with a turnover of KD 16.87 million.

Gainers and losers During August, 60 declines and 87 advances were recorded compared to end of previous month’s prices. Furthermore, prices of 22 stocks

closed unchanged among 169 stocks participating to the month’s trades out of the 199 listed securities in the regular Market.

Top gainers Gulf Investment House share was the month’s top gainer with an increase of 42.55 percent in its share price ending August at 33.5 fils up from 23.5 fils in July. The second place in the list was for Real Estate Trade Centers Company closing at 44.5 fils up from 32.5 fils, an increase of 36.92 percent.

Finally, Ithmaar Bank ranked third with a 35.71 percent increase in its share price which ended the month at 47.5 fils.

Top losers The share of Taiba Kuwaiti Holding Company was the top loser during August with a drop of 36.84 percent, closing at 60 fils down from its listing date price closing, which was 95 fils. Al-Safwa Group Company ranked second in this list with its share closing at 13 fils, a 18.75 percent drop compared to the previous month’s closing at 16 fils.

The third place was for United Foodstuff Industries Group Company as its share price declined by 16.52 percent to close at 192 fils.

Market capitalization The total market capitalization of Kuwait Stock Exchange recorded 1.12 percent increase to reach KD 27.08 billion by the end of August, some KD 297 billion growth compared to past July.

Deal junkies hurt stores’ profits NEW YORK: Joelle Daddino is making it difficult for stores to make money. Like many Americans who’ve grown accustomed to deep discounts, Daddino has become so obsessed with sales that she refuses to shop any place that isn’t having one. “If I don’t have a coupon or it’s not on sale, I just won’t buy it,” says the Yaphank, NY, resident. During the recession, retailers had more sales to lure cash-strapped Americans into stores. Now, that strategy has backfired. It has bred a group of deal junkies that won’t shop unless they see “70 percent” signs or yellow clearance stickers. They’re a thorn in the side of most retailers because the discounts it takes to get them into stores eats away at profits. In fact, retailers’ annual profit growth was cut in half between 2006 and last year, according to a survey of 122 merchants by Retail Metrics, a research firm.

So, big chains like JC Penney and Lowe’s are trying to wean sale-addicted customers off of sales in favor of everyday low pricing.

It’s the biggest shift in pricing in decades, but retailers have a long way to go to convince shoppers that predictable pricing is better than the temporary promotions that they’ve grown to love. In fact, early this year, nearly three-quarters of 1,000 shoppers surveyed by consumer research firm America’s Research Group said it would take discounts of at least 50 percent to get them to buy a given item.

That’s up from 52 percent in 2005.

Paco Underhill, whose company Envirosell studies consumer behavior, says retailers are to blame for the increase. He says their discounting during the downturn created shoppers who think everyday pricing “takes some fun out of ” shopping. To help break the vicious cycle of discounting, Underhill says merchants have to think of ways to attract shoppers that can be just as intoxicating as two-hour sales or coupons. That could mean top-notch service or exclusive merchandise, for instance. “Sales are just like heroin,” he says.

Now, retailers are trying to replicate the success of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer that was founded 50 years ago on “everyday low” prices. Experts say WalMart’s strategy has worked because it built its reputation on being able to offer customers the lowest prices every day. In fact, the company’s revenue at stores opened at least a year in its US namesake business fell for two years when it veered away from the strategy in favor of temporary price cuts. The company has since been able to turn around its business in part by renewing its commitment to everyday low prices.

Penney executives say they considered Wal-Mart’s model when they decided to change the retailer’s pricing strategy. It was part of an attempt to turn around the Plano, Tex-based chain, which has had annual sales declines in four of the past five years. In February, JC Penney Co eliminated coupons and the nearly 600 sales it used to have annually. It lowered prices in its stores permanently by 40 percent. The company’s three-tier price strategy also included monthly sales on select items and clearance sales every other Friday.

“Wal-Mart taught us all in the ‘80s when you get a steady sales process, what happens?

You can manage the business better,” Penney’s CEO and former Apple executive Ron Johnson says. “All good happened from a predictable sales pattern.” But Penney, which has 1,000 stores, has learned that it’s not so easy to duplicate Wal-Mart’s magic.

Customers have not embraced the new pricing: Penney recently reported its second consecutive quarter of big losses due to severe sales drops. And its stock has lost over 40 per-

cent of its value since early February.

Now, Penney is changing its pricing - again - to add back more sales. Among other changes, the company began eliminating last month its monthlong sales and instead is increasing its clearance sales to every Friday.

Johnson acknowledged that Penney made some mistakes, but he’s vowing to stick to the everyday pricing plan. “Withdrawing from our promotional model to a more everyday model has been harder than we anticipated,” Johnson told investors in August. “But it doesn’t change our conviction that the promotional model had run its course, and we have a far better path forward.”

Wendy Ruud, a former Penney’s customer, isn’t waiting around to see if Penney executives are right. The Boca Raton, Fla. resident hasn’t been back to Penney since the new pricing plan was implemented earlier this year. Instead, she’s gone to Macy’s Inc. and Sears, Roebuck and Co. for clothing. “When you have a sale, you really feel you are getting a better deal or a bargain,” Ruud, 49, said.

Penney isn’t the only retailer finding that everyday pricing is a tough sale to shoppers.

Even merchants who are returning to their roots of offering permanently low prices are finding it tricky.

Like Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, the nation’s second largest home improvement chain, built its business around “everyday” low pricing. But then the company strayed away from that and started offering more sales when the housing market tanked in 2006. Shortly after, the company’s performance began to lag behind its bigger rival Home Depot, which never veered away from its everyday pricing strategy.

Since last summer, Lowe’s flip-flopped. It has been permanently cutting prices on a wide variety of items to better compete with Home Depot.

But the strategy hasn’t worked. Lowe’s posted a 10-percent drop in net income amid a 0.4 percent decline in revenue at stores opened at least a year in the second quarter.

Lowe’s Cos. acknowledged that the pricing shift has been a problem.

The company says it experienced light traffic over Memorial Day weekend in appliances, flooring, cabinets and countertops because of

its reduced discount offerings. So executives say the retailer overcompensated by increasing promotions too much afterward, which hurt profit margins.

Lowe’s is still sticking to its everyday price plan, but it’s re-evaluating to find the right balance between everyday low prices and temporary promotions. “We knew it was going to be difficult,” CEO Robert Niblock says.

“But we may have been overly optimistic.” Not every retailer is finding it hard to convince shoppers that everyday low pricing is better than fleeting sales. Clothing chain Stein Mart has had some bumps, but it’s starting to see positive results from its pricing shift.

At the end of last year, Stein Mart started cutting back on coupons, which it had relied on for two years. It’s now concentrating on what made the chain successful: offering permanent discounts of up to 60 percent on major brands such as Lucky and Nine West that department stores carry at full price. The company permanently cut prices up to 8 percent on select items, though it declined to offer details.

The 260-store chain, based in Jacksonville, Fla., says it changed its pricing after it found out that coupon purchases accounted for almost a third of sales in recent years, up from just around 5 percent from 2004 through 2006. Its goal is to cut coupon use by 50 percent this year.

Stein Mart says its pricing shift has been successful in part because it has simultaneously focused on boosting its offerings of trendy, brightly-colored merchandise in stores. It says that has helped to offset any backlash from it cutting back on coupons.

In the latest quarter, Stein Mart’s net income dropped 44 percent, dragged down by expenses related to software-related costs.

But revenue at stores opened at least a year rose 1.6 percent.

It’s a modest increase, but it’s significant because it reversed four straight quarters of sales declines. “Our strategy is working very well for us,” the retailer’s interim CEO Jay Stein, the grandson of founder Sam Stein, told investors last month. “We’re getting back to our old self, a successful specialtystore environment at discount prices.” — AP

Dr Anoop AV, Director, Malabar G&D, Ahammed, Chairman, Malabar Group, Suriya, Tamil actor, Shafeekh VS, Corporate Executive Director, Malabar G&D, Abdul Salam KP, Group Executive Director are pictured.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds unveils brand ambassador Malabar Gold & Diamonds, one of the world’s top jewelry retailers, announced that it has signed renowned South Indian actor ‘Suriya’ as its brand ambassador.

“We are proud and privileged to join hands with the sensation of today, ‘Suriya’. He is very grounded, accessible, celebrated, prestigious and a forward thinker, which are the very values that Malabar Gold & Diamonds identifies with,” said Ahammed. He also added that, “The aura of commitment, moral and high family values surrounding this strong personality made the brand decide that he is the unanimous choice to represent them”.

During the course of announcing the brand ambassador, Suriya and Ahammed also unveiled the latest CSR initiative of the brand - a commitment to educational scholarship for women under its ‘Empowering education, Empowering womanhood’ initiative in Chennai. This initiative will provide Rs 2 crore as educational scholarship for 10, 000 higher secondary girl students in government schools across Tamilnadu for a year. The initiative is aimed to create awareness of the importance of educating women in bettering families.

At present, Malabar Gold & Diamonds has four showrooms in Tamilnadu in the cities of Chennai, Coimbatore, Erode and Salem. A new showroom, at Vishal-DeMal, Madurai, will be inaugurated on September 9 and take the total count to

five. The Group plans to branch out its network in Thanjavur, Dharmapuri, Hosur, Ramanathapuram and also add two showrooms in Chennai at Velacheri and Vadapalani in the year 2012. It also plans to have showrooms in Vellore, Kumbakonam, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Trichy, Tuticorin, Tiruvannamalai and Pondicherry in 2013. Malabar Gold & Diamonds aims to set up 35 showrooms across Tamilnadu by 2015 with supply chain centers at Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds has announced a four-year expansion plan with an investment of Rs 5,000 crores in order to raise its retail network from its current 70 outlets to 220. The program is expected to create 15,000 jobs and triple the company’s annual turnover to Rs 30,000 crores (about $6 billion) to make it the world’s leading jewelry brand. As part of the plan, the company is investing over Rs 500 crores ( about $100 million) to roll out more than 20 retail outlets this year.

The Group is expanding across India and GCC countries, as well as in UK, USA and the Far-East, including countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, China, and Ceylon. By 2013, the group plans to launch 22 showrooms across GCC, in addition to its existing 25 showrooms. The domestic expansion plan targets to branch out the network in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Punjab and Haryana.

Chaos and demands for answers after Venezuela refinery blast

CHICAGO: In this Aug 22, 2012 photo, a shopper pushes a trolley through the clearance section of a store. — AP

PARAGUANA: Against a smoke-blackened skyline of blazing fuel storage tanks, residents who lived alongside Venezuela’s biggest oil refinery wandered through what looked like a war zone for days. As a gas leak seeped around the tanks soon after midnight last Friday, shimmering slightly in the dark, people in the slum across the street from the Amuay facility were either asleep, or outside chatting with neighbors. Then the sky split open. The explosion damaged 1,600 homes, officials said late on Saturday after a week-long recovery effort on the Paraguana peninsula, by the Caribbean sea in western Venezuela. Some were reduced to their concrete foundations.

The blast also shattered a National Guard barracks even closer to the tanks.

Forty-two people were killed in the global oil industry’s worst accident for 15 years. But the problems for the residents of the poor AlÌ Primera and La Pastora

districts were far from over. As the inferno blazed for four days in the giant tanks, threatening more blasts, gangs of robbers roamed some areas, breaking into the less-damaged homes before carrying away fridges and televisions.

“My children asked me, what will we do with a collapsed house? With all the effort that we put into our home, then overnight it’s been reduced to this,” said Mabel Serrano, 30, who stayed in the rubble for three days before deciding to abandon the smashed structure. In a slow-motion exodus, they picked up and left this week along with other families who lived on their road, loading their belongings onto trucks provided by state oil company PDVSA. As they crunched through broken glass, carrying boxes and appliances, teams of firefighters were aiming spumes of foam at the storage tanks, which continued to belch flames and columns of thick black smoke into the air. — Reuters

25

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

BUSINESS

92% companies submit financial statements for H1 ALSHALL WEEKLY ECONOMIC REPORT KUWAIT: By the end of August 2012, the fifth month of the current fiscal year 2012/2013 has passed and Kuwaiti oil prices are still consolidated and have revived their rise above the $100 per barrel level due to the political risks. Average Kuwaiti oil price for most of August scored about $108.6 per barrel, with a noticeable rise by $10 over July average ($98.6 per barrel). As such, the average price of the Kuwaiti barrel of oil for the first five months of the current fiscal year scored about $104.7 per barrel, a $39.7 per barrel increase (61.1 percent) over the new hypothetical price for the current budget at $65 per barrel -which is both meaningless and baseless. April’s average price was the highest at $116.9 per barrel, thus August’s average price lower by $8.3 per barrel ($104.5 per barrel average price in August 2011).

Last fiscal year 2011/2012 which ended on 31/03/2012 scored an average price of $109.9 per barrel for the Kuwaiti oil. Kuwait is assumed to have achieved actual oil revenues during the first five months in the amount of about KD 11.3 billion (We lowered our expectation, calculated based on exporting 2.7 million barrels of crude oil per day, until the issuance of the monthly financial reports of the State from the Ministry of Finance).

Assuming production levels and prices would continue at their present level, an assumption which is unrealistic on the price side, probable oil revenues would score about KD 27.1 billion for the entire current fiscal year, which is KD 14.3 billion above the budget estimate. Adding KD 1.2 billion in non-oil revenues, total budget revenues for the current fiscal year would score about KD 28.3 billion. With an expenditures allocations figure at KD 22.7 billion, the resultant will be a hypothetical surplus by about KD 5.6 billion, however, it will be higher when calculating the estimated budgeted expenses for the entire fiscal year 2012/2013.

Profits of listed companies - First half 2012 183 out of 199 listed companies (about 92 percent) submitted their financial statements for the first half of 2012 after excluding the deleted, the suspended companies and the ones with varying financial statements’ dates. The net realized profit level in the amount of KD 707.4 million is fine though it is 3.4 percent less than profits of the first half of 2011 in the amount of KD 732.3 million after excluding the unrepeated profits of Al-Wataniya Telecommunications in the amount of KD 278 million. However, what causes concern is the sharp drop by 46.4 percent of the second quarter profits vis-‡-vis the first quarter profits, an indication which warrants follow up in the remaining two quarters of this year. 7 active sectors out of 12 achieved higher profits than the first half of 2011 with the technology sector

being the best, though it is minor and insignificant. The financial services sectorinvestment- came second and reduced its losses from KD 23.9 million to about KD 6.4 million.

As it is the core and the beginning of the problem, what it achieved seems good. However, though the sec tor achieved KD 24.3 million profit in the first quarter it lost them all plus KD 6.4 million losses in the second quarter. This means the cause of the problem has not been treated and the improved performance in the first quarter was exceptional. First half year profits’ components indicate that the top 10 companies participating in the profit gain or loss reduction include only one leader company while there were three other leader companies within the 10 companies which affected the profit level negatively. This is another uncomfortable index which requires remedy before the infection exacerbates. On the companies’ level, 106 companies improved their performance including 60 companies with improved profits. 46 companies reduced their losses or turned to profits meaning that 57.9 percent of the companies which announced their results have improved. Performance of 77 companies dropped, with 67 companies therein achieving less profits while 10 companies shifted from profit to loss.

Zain company achieved the highest level of absolute profits by KD 141.9 million followed by the National Bank of Kuwait by about KD 120.8 million. Global company achieved the highest level of absolute loss by KD 20.6 million followed by Safwa by about KD 18.3 million. Details are displayed in the three attached tables.

Kuwait Stock Exchange performance August 2012 KSE performance during 8/2012 (19 working days) was better compared with July due to the rise in all major indexes as well as the general index (AlShall Index). AlShall index closed at 413.6 points, an increase by 1.6 points, or 0.4 percent vis-‡-vis the preceding month (412 points). The index scored its

AlShall index lost about 8.1 percent in the period from the end of 2011 to the end of 8/2012 the stock market’s weighted index lost 1.3 percent. On the contrary, KSE price index rose by about 0.8 percent. These discrepancies are due to the fact that AlShall index does not take into account the cash distributions which equal 3.5 percent and with their deduction, AlShall index drops by

highest reading during the month and scored 414.7 points on Wednesday, August 29, 2012. But it registered its lowest reading at 403.7 points on Monday, August 13, 2012.

Price index went up by 2.5 percent and the market’s weighted index rose by 1.2 percent during the month.

4.6 percent which is closer to the drop in the market’s capital value since the beginning of the year, by about 3.8 percent. Value of traded shares (in 19 working days) scored about KD 275.6 million (US$ 975 million), a drop by KD 55.9 million as compared to KD 331.5 million in July 2012 due to fewer working days and by KD 4.7 million if compared with the same month of 2011.

Daily average value of traded shares increased to KD 14.5 million, up by KD 91.9,000 (0.6 percent) above July’s value in the amount of KD 14.4 million. It also went up by 8.7 percent above the daily average value of the same month last year. The highest value of traded shares in one day was achieved on Tuesday August 28, 2012 and scored KD 22.9 million. Value of traded shares bottomed on Thursday August 16, 2012 at KD 8.5 million. Volume of traded shares during the month dropped by about 155.7 million shares to 3272.7 million shares (3428.3 million shares in July, 2012). The daily average of traded shares increased by about 23.2 million shares, up by 15.6 percent to 172.2 million shares (149.1 million shares in July) and a rise by 126.8 percent over the daily average trading for 8/2011.

Number of concluded deals during the month scored 58.4 thousand deals, a daily average of 3075 deals up by 2.8 percent over July 2012 average deals (2,989 deals).

Total market value of 199 listed companies scored about KD 27.839 billion up by KD 416.7 million (1.5 percent) compared with KD 27.422 billion on 31/07/2012. But compared with the end of 2011 (for the same 199 companies which are common in the two periods), we find the value dropped by 3.8 percent when it scored KD 28.945 billion end of last year. The companies whose market value increased in the past part of 2012 were 96 (out of 199), value of 96 companies dropped and value of seven companies did not change. Four sectors out of 12 operating sectors achieved rise in capital value with the Real Estate sector scoring the highest rise at 21.6 percent, then the Health Care sector at 6.6 percent. On the other hand, 8 sectors achieved decline with the Insurance sector achieving the highest drop at 13.9 percent followed by the Consumer Services sector at 13.6 percent.

In general, total trading value of the year, until the end of August, vis-‡-vis the same period of 2011, went up by 8.9 percent.

Total value of traded shares scored KD 4.757 billion (about $16.7 billion) (KD 4.396 billion for the same period in 2011) distributed among 56.1 billion shares through 744.2 thousand deals. The daily average trading value for 167 working days scored about KD 28.5 million, up by 8.9 percent vis-‡-vis KD 26.2 million in the same period in 2011.

Gulf Bank financial results -June 30, 2012 Gulf Bank announced its semiannual results for the period ending June 30, 2012

which indicate that the bank achieved profits, after deducting KFAS and national labor taxes and the Zakat, by about KD 12.8 million down by KD 5.5 million or about 30 percent vis-a-vis KD 18.3 million for the same period 2011.

It is worth mentioning that the main reason for reduced net profit is due to increasing provisions by about KD 4.5 million (11.1 percent) to KD 45.3 million up from KD 40.8 million in the same period last year. The bank’s total operational revenues declined slightly by KD 1.4 million (1.2 percent) to KD 115.8 million (KD 117.1 million in the same period 2011) as a result of the drop in the item of net gain from dealing in foreign currencies and derivatives by KD 2.2 million to KD 9.4 million vis-‡-vis KD 11.6 million for the same period 2011. Item of net income from commissions and fees declined to KD 1.9 million and scored KD 14.4 million (KD 16.3 million in June 2011). Net interest income rose by 15.1 percent (KD 7.7 million) in June 2012 due to a drop in interests charges by KD 4.1 million in addition to increased interests’ revenues by about KD 3.6 million.

Net interest margin (the difference between received and paid interests) went up from 2.4 percent in the end of June 2011 to about 2.7 percent for the same period 2012 due to a rise in total interests and dropping interests’ charges as we mentioned above while the bank’s net profit margin declined from 15.6 percent in 6/2011 to 11.1 percent in 6/2012.

The bank’s financial statements show that the bank’s total assets rose by KD 89.9 million (1.9 percent) to KD 4875.8 million (KD 4785.9 million in 12/2011). Bank assets increased by about KD 173.5 million (3.7 percent) vis-a-vis KD 4702.4 million in the end of 6/2011. Item of loans and advances to customers increased by 1 percent, KD 32.9 million, to a total of KD 3366.9 million (69.1 percent of total assets) vis-‡vis KD 3334.1 million (69.7 percent of total assets) in 12/2011.

Comparing them with their level in the counterpart period 2011, we find they went up by 3.8 percent (KD 124.3 million) and scored KD 3242.7 million (69 percent of total assets). Available-for-sale investments went up by 24.5 percent, KD 26 million, and scored KD 132 million (2.7 percent of total assets) versus KD 106 million (2.2 percent of total assets) in 12/2011. When we compare them with their level in the same period 2011, we find they increased by 29.2 percent or KD 29.9 million and scored KD 97.3 million (2.2 percent of total assets).

Government assets (bonds and bills) went up by KD 21.9 million (2.6 percent) and scored KD 869.6 million (17.8 percent of total assets) vis-a-vis KD 847.7 million in 12/2011 (17.7 percent of total assets). Government assets decreased KD 10.8 million (1.2 percent) when compared with their value in June 2011 when they scored KD 880.5 million (18.7 percent of total assets). Results of analyzing financial statements indicate that the bank achieved return on assets average (ROA) by 0.53 percent (0.79 percent in 6/201 1). Return on average equities index (ROE) went down from 8.7 percent in June 2011 to 5.9 percent this year. Return on capital (ROC) index scored 9.7 percent this year (14.6 percent in 6/2011). Earning per share (EPS) scored 5 fils (7 fils per share in 6/20 1 1).

Annual return on the share market value scored 2.3 percent (2.6 percent for 6/20 1 1).

Price multiplier/book value index scored 2.6 times in 6/2012 (3.2 times in 6/20 1 1), because of the decrease of the stock price by 19 percent compared to the same period in the previous year. The price multiplier to earnings index scored about 43.5 times compared to 38.6 times in the same period in the previous year.

The weekly performance of Kuwait Stock Exchange The performance of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) for the last week was mixed compared to the previous one, where all the major indices showed an increase while the general index showed a decrease. AiShall Index (value weighted) closed at 413.6 points at the closing of last Thursday, showing a decrease of 0.4 points or about 0.1 percent compared to previous week’s closing, and a decrease of 36.6 points or about 8.1 percent compared to the end of 2011.

26

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

BUSINESS

Zain announces management team’s new structure KUWAIT: Zain Group, the pioneer in mobile telecommunications in eight markets across the Middle East and North Africa, announces changes to its executive management aimed at further streamlining the company’s operations and re-energizing its drive to remain ahead of competitors.

Zain Group places a great deal of responsibility in the hands of its executive management and as such the company looks to refresh its key team members from time to time in order to maintain the dynamism and creativity within its senior ranks.

Under the new management structure, a new position of

Nabeel Bin Salamah

Group Deputy CEO has been created, to which Hisham Akbar has been appointed, in addition to his new role as Zain Group’s Chief Operating Officer, Osama Matta as the Chief Financial Officer, while Hisham Allam as the Chief Technology Officer, Saud Al-Zaid as the Group’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Antonio Lopez as the Chief Strategies and Business Development Officer, and Jawdat Al-Dajani as Chief Commercial Officer.

Commenting on the amendments, Zain Group CEO Nabeel Bin Salamah said: “I wish the members of the management team the best in their future endeavors. I have every confi-

dence that they shall rise to meet the challenges and responsibilities set in front of them, and shall contribute to the continued innovation and success of the Zain Group.”

Bin Salamah continued: “Thanks to our long experience and diversified footprint across the region, we have gained numerous competitive advantages. Through our evolving operational model, we intend to continue looking to achieve strong growth across all our markets, which enjoy a high degree of potential.”

According to Bin Salamah, the amendments underlines the group’s current top priorities,

DCB sponsors Indian Association Congress Mumbai-based congress gathers big industry players under one roof MUMBAI: The Dubai Convention Bureau (DCB) - a division of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM)was a lead sponsor of the two-day Indian Association Congress (IAC) held in Mumbai on August 24 and 25. The sponsorship falls in line with their vision to position Dubai as the leading tourism destination and commercial hub of the world.

On the occasion, Hamad Mohammed Bin Mejren, CDME Executive Director, Business Tourism commented, “IAC forms a major regional platform with many important organizationswithin India’s versatile trade industry gathered under one roof and as such we are very pleased to have been able to contribute to this important gathering. India is a significant market for Dubai’s business tourism industry and the sponsorship of the congress’ two luncheons provided excellent networking opportunities for organisations to explore Dubai as a premium MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) destination.”

The congress was organised as a mega networking event at Hotel Trident Nariman Point in Mumbai with the aim to create a platform for decision makers of various fields like medicine, education and trade, to come together and share their best practices. Running for its second consecutive year the IAC has been a success with several big industry players in attendance including All India Plastics

Manufacturers Association, Indian Vegan Society and Regional Coordinator of International Vegetarian Union, Bombay Management Association, among others.

During the conference, several issues regarding the future of associations in India were

Hamad Mohammed Bin Mejren highlighted and discussed including opportunities, challenges for international associations, fostering better ties with the members, future strategies for the association sector of the country, and its role and importance as the backbone of India’s booming economy.

Mejrenfurther said, “Dubai has been ranked in the top fifteen best MICE destinations in Asia Pacific and the Middle East region, after well established destinations like Singapore, Hong Kong and Melbourne. DCB with its multi-pronged approach and skilled team is working hard to further elevate the profile of the city”.

In 2011 Dubai hosted 34 international association meetings, not taking into account corporate meetings, and was ranked one of the major international meeting destinations globally by the International Convention and Congress Association.

The Dubai Convention Bureau is a division of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, a non-profit government funded organization, whose aim is to further develop and increase Dubai’s share of the international MICE and special events markets, whilst maximizing the economic prospects of Dubai. The DCB is dedicated to pursue and win events through national and international promotions to advance the position of the Emirate as a leading business tourism destination.

The DCB’s service standards are accredited

by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance LRQA as part of the BestCities Global alliance, convention and visitor bureaus that deliver the world’s best service experience for the meeting industry. Consistently high service standards and close cooperation among the partners yield great results for our customers.

installments without added costs, which complies with the principles of the Islamic Sharia,” explained Al-Salem. “Besides its distinctive contemporary design, the cards operate with the latest smart chip technology, providing trust and security for the client when used locally or internationally.”

‘VISA Platinum’ card holders can enjoy unconditional access to over 600 VIP airport lounges and more than 90 international airports in 300 cities with the full utilization of the leisure services offered, regardless of the type of the air carrier and the ticket booked.

Warba Bank has also launched its VISA prepaid card, which is topped up from personal account transfers, helping a customer control their amount of spending by determining the ceiling of their expenditure. The card provides maximum security features to enjoy shopping locally, internationally, or via the internet. It can also be used for local cash withdrawal from Warba Bank’s ATMs, or internationally from any ATM machine that carries the international VISA Card logo.

Credit card and prepaid card holders can enjoy ‘My Box’ service from Posta Plus, the delivery service company in Kuwait. ‘My Box’ provides two local delivery addresses in the US and UK, which can be used to direct all online purchases and regular mails to the subscriber’s door step in Kuwait.

Meanwhile, customers from the age of 18 and above can make use of prepaid cards that enjoy the electronic smart chip technology with maximum security.

Al-Tijari announces Najma draw winners KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al-Najma Account draw yesterday. The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry represented by Abdulaziz Ashkanani. The winners of the Al-Najma Daily Draw who take home KD 7,000 are: Abdulla Mohammed Jaber Hussain; Thageb Ali Mohammed Nawaz Boot; Atef Abu Al-Yameen Faraj; Al-Amir Mohammed Wajdi Al-Ghoury; and Omar Farouq Sarkar Ibraheem Sarkar. 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 June 19 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 two 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.

Hisham Akbar

VIVA announces lucky winners of BMW 320i Executive Model 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” campaign while continuing to shower its customers with luxurious cars every week. The latest lucky winners were Nuha Abdullah Alkhelawi, Mohammad Mayeen, Mohammad Ahmad Saleh and Mohammad Zaki Hamdan, who each won a brand new BMW 320i.

In celebration of this occasion, VIVA announced that it will be drawing two new cars every week starting yesterday, until Sunday, September 23, 2012, granting customers the chance to win a brand new BMW 320i or a Ford Mustang Coupe.

VIVA congratulated each of the lucky winners and invited its customers to participate in the longest ongoing campaign of its kind.

The VIVA “Win a Car Every Week” offer is available only to prepaid customers.

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 KD 3.9 service, which gives customers full and unlimited BlackBerry Services. This option provides customers with 15 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 and a Ford Mustang Coupe.

VIVA also created the ‘Flavor of the Week’, an additional means to entering the draw and increasing the customers chance to win a new car every two weeks.

The ‘Flavor of the Week’ will be a ‘special service’ for those two weeks, to which the customers can subscribe.

This week’s ‘Flavor of the Week’ will last until 12 September 2012, and will give prepaid customers six chances to win the BMW 320i or a Ford Mustang Coupe upon using the International Bundle to get 30 international minutes for KD 3 by sending “1” to 242 or “3” to 535. 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.

VIVA’s ‘Win a car every week’ drive marks first anniversary

Warba Bank launches suite of 9 personal banking cards KUWAIT: Warba Bank, the recently opened Islamic bank in Kuwait, announced yesterday the launch of nine banking cards catering to its retail customers. The bank is offering five debit cards aligned to bank accounts: standard debit cards; ‘Lamar’ card for ladies; ‘Shabab Warba’ for young people; ‘Tala’ card for children; and ‘Safwa’ for clients seeking elite services.

The cards are considered part of the special services offered by the bank to its customers, enabling them to transfer their salaries to their accounts, in addition to receiving multi-purpose ATM cards for cash withdrawal and to pay for purchases through various points of sale both locally and internationally. ‘Safwa’ card holders will also have the privilege to access airport lounges in the Middle East.

Adnan Salman AlSalem, Chief Retail Banking Officer at Warba Bank, said: “Warba Bank’s suite of nine personal banking cards has been designed to meet the highest international standards, and compete with the best products available in the market today.

Furthermore, although our cards offer a wide array of value added benefits, they are available to our customers with competitive fees.”

Warba Bank has also launched three credit cards: the ‘Classic’ card, the ‘Gold’ card, and the ‘Platinum’ card through which customers can choose their preferred type of payment: installments or full payment.

“The bank’s credit cards are unique for their granted credit ceiling and the freedom offered to choose the best way to pay back the due balance either in full amount or in

aimed at intensifying its efforts to invigorateits operations in a way that optimizes the company’s performance and fulfills its ambitions to continue being the leading mobile operator in the region.

Bin Salamah concluded: “The new management structure is meant to introduce further balance between Zain Group’s current operational goals on the one hand and its future plans on the other. The pro-active steps that we are taking are set to help reinforce the group’s competencies in the face of intensifying challenges it faces in the highly competitive markets in which we operate.”

TOKYO: Picture shows children playing at Japan Airlines’ automatic check-in counter at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. JAL said its relisting on Tokyo’s stock market could raise as much as $8.4 billion, as it continues a return to strength less than three years after being forced into bankruptcy. —AFP

Burgan Bank announces names of Yawmi account winners KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday the names of the five lucky winners of its Yawmi account draw, each taking home a prize of KD 5,000. Winner’s names will also be announced through Marina FM on a daily basis during their prime shows. The lucky winners for the five daily draws took home a cash-prize of KD 5,000 each, and they are: Yasen Ahmed Yasen Mohammed; Mohammad Abdullah Mohammad Hassan; Maya Mohammed Habhab; Amir Mohd Reda Fathalla Gholami; and Khaled Abdullah Alhelow.

The newly re-launched Yawmi Account is better, easier and faster than any day before. With its new and enhanced features, the Yawmi Account has become more convenient, easier, and faster for customers to benefit from. Now, customers will be eligible to enter the draw after 48 hours only from opening the account. Customers are also required to deposit KD 100 or equivalent only to enter the daily draw, and the coupon value to enter the draw stands at KD 10.

The newly designed Yawmi account has been launched to provide a highly innovative offering along with a higher frequency and incentive of winning for everyone. Today, the Yawmi account is a well understood product, where its popularity can be seen from the number of increasing account holders. Burgan Bank encourages everyone to open a Yawmi account and/or increase their deposit to maximize their chances to becoming a daily winner. The more customers deposit, the higher the chances they receive of winning the draw. Opening a Yawmi account is simple, customers are urged to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch and receive all the details, or simply call the bank’s Call Center at 1804080 where customer service representatives will be delighted to assist with any questions on the Yawmi account or any of the bank’s products and services, or log on to Burgan Bank’s www.burgan.com for further information.

KUWAIT: In celebration of the first year option is to subscribe to the BlackBerry anniversary of its hit campaign “Win a car KD3.9 service, which gives customers full every week”, VIVA, Kuwait’s newest and and unlimited BlackBerry Services. This most advanced mobile telecommunica- option provides customers with 15 autotions service provider is increasing its cus- matic chances to enter the draw each week. tomers’ chances to win a fabulous car, by In addition, customers who purchase a new drawing two cars and choosing two win- prepaid line are given a single entry to the ners every week rather than one. Starting draw on the week they activate their new from September 2, 2012 and until line and send the SMS “GO” to 535.

Customers can also subscribe to both September 23, 2012, lucky winners will be options, increasing their driving home in either a chances each week to win a BMW 320i or a Ford Mustang luxurious car. In the case a Coupe every week! customer does not win, the Draws will take place on points will be accumulated each of 2, 9, 16 and 23 of and carried on to the next September. This campaign is draw. The upcoming draw the longest ongoing camprizes will be a brand new paign of its kind in Kuwait, and BMW 320i and a Ford is available only to VIVA’s preMustang. VIVA also created paid customers. Commenting the ‘Flavor of the Week’, an on this occasion, Salman Bin additional means to entering Abdul Aziz Al-Badran, VIVA’s the draw and increasing the Chief Executive Officer said, customers’ chances to win a “This celebration marks the Salman Bin Abdul new car every week. The first year anniversary of our Aziz Al-Badran ‘Flavor of the Week’ will be a successful campaign “Win a car every week”, which has come as an ideal ‘special service’ for that week, to which the rewarding scheme for our customers, and customers can subscribe.

Prepaid customers interested in the full, their continued loyalty and trust in VIVA’s services. We wish them all the best of luck unlimited, local KD 3.9 BlackBerry offer, and invite everyone to participate in this spe- can send an SMS with the number ‘2’ to ‘535’. For the full menu of the prepaid cial edition of the weekly draws.”

Entering the draw can be done through offers, send an SMS with the word “GO”, to two options. The first option is to subscribe number ‘535’. To find out more about with 500 Fils per day giving customers infi- VIVA’s numerous competitive promotions, nite minutes and SMS to any VIVA line. This products and packages visit any of the 14 option entitles the customer to one chance VIVA branches or visit our website at to enter the draw each week. The second www.viva.com.kw.

IKEA Kuwait launches user-friendly application KUWAIT: IKEA Kuwait announced yesterday that it has launched a new smartphone application to complement the recently launched 2013 IKEA Catalogue.

The new initiative, which is part of IKEA Kuwait’s continuous innovative strategy, provides users with easy access to high quality new images, films, 3D models, catalogues, brochures, as well as other extra content that are not usually found in printed catalogues.

This first-in-Kuwait application is found across smartphones and tablets using the Android as well as IOS operating systems, and is renowned for securing important extended content that is readily available.

Users need to scan their selected pages on the application and accordingly will access the extended content, of which will also be available at IKEA Kuwait’s website.

The new application also holds the digital version of the new IKEA catalogue along with the relevant brochures.

To download the application, customers are urged to visit the iTunes App store online or Google Play (Android market) and install the new IKEA Application, which serves both the IKEA Catalogue Innovation and the Digital IKEA Catalogue.

With smartphones becoming increasingly popular, IKEA Kuwait is keen on using this technology to benefit customers and shoppers to ensure added convenience and handiness. The new application will further give ease of access to customers who wish to access the latest IKEA Catalogue on their smartphones for simple navigation across a range of sections and categories with absolute mobility.

27

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

Technologies lead to new kinds of work, raise productivity CHICAGO: The United States faces a protracted unemployment crisis: 6.3 million fewer Americans have jobs than was true at the end of 2007. And yet the country’s economic output is higher today than it was before the financial crisis. Where did the jobs go?

Several factors, including outsourcing, help explain the state of the labor market, but fast-advancing, IT-driven automation might be playing the biggest role.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, people have feared that new technologies would permanently erode employment. Over and over again, these dislocations of labor have been temporary: technologies that made some jobs obsolete eventually led to new kinds of work, raising productivity and prosperity with no overall negative effect on employment.

There’s nothing to suggest that this dynamic no longer operates, but new research is showing that advances in workplace automation are being deployed at a faster pace than ever, making it more difficult for workers to

adapt and wreaking havoc on the middle class: the clerks, accountants, and production-line workers whose tasks can increasingly be mastered by software and robots.

“Do I think we will have permanently high unemployment as a consequence of technology? No,” says Peter Diamond, the MIT economist who won a 2010 Nobel Prize for his work on market imperfections, including those that affect employment.

“What’s different now is that the nature of jobs going away has changed. Communication and computer abilities mean that the type of jobs affected have moved up the income distribution.”

Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee study information-supercharged workplaces and the innovations and productivity advances they continually create. Now they have turned their sights to how these IT-driven improvements affect employment. In their new book, Brynjolfsson, director of the Center for Digital Business at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and McAfee, its princi-

pal research scientist, see a paradox in the first decade of the 2000s. Even before the economic downturn caused U.S. unemployment to rise from 4.4 percent in May 2007 to 10.1 percent in October 2009, a disturbing trend was visible. From 2000 to 2007, GDP and productivity rose faster than they had in any decade since the 1960s, but employment growth was comparatively tepid.

Brynjolfsson and McAfee posit that more work was being done by, or with help from, machines. For example, Amazon.com reduced the need for retail staffers; computerized kiosks in hotels and airports replaced clerks; voice-recognition and speech systems replaced customer support staff and operators; and businesses of all kinds took advantage of tools such as enterprise resource planning software. “A classically trained economist would say: ‘This just means there’s a big adjustment taking place until we find the new equilibrium-the new stuff for people to do,’?” says McAfee.

We’ve certainly made such adjustments before. But whereas agricultur-

al advances played out over a century and electrification and factory automation rolled out over decades, the power of some information technologies is essentially doubling every two years or so as a consequence of Moore’s Law. It took some time for IT to fully replace the paper-driven workflows in cubicles, management suites, and retail stores. (In the 1980s and early 1990s productivity grew slowly, and then it took off after 1996; some economists explained that IT was finally being used effectively.) But now, Brynjolfsson and McAfee argue, the efficiencies and automation opportunities made possible by IT are advancing too fast for the labor market to keep up.

More evidence that technology has reduced the number of good jobs can be found in a working paper by David Autor, an economist at MIT, and David Dorn, an economist at the Center for Monetary and Financial Studies in Madrid. They too point to the crucial years of 2000?2005. Job growth happened mainly at the ends of the spec-

trum: in lower-paying positions, in areas such as personal care, cleaning services, and security, and in higherend professional positions for technicians, managers, and the like. For laborers, administrative assistants, production workers, and sales representatives, the job market didn’t grow as fast-or even shrank. Subsequent research showed that things got worse after 2007. During the recession, nearly all the nation’s job losses were in those middle categories-the positions easiest to replace, fully or in part, by technology.

Brynjolfsson says the trends are “troubling.” And they are global; some of the jobs that IT threatens, for example, are at electronics factories in China and transcription services in India. “This is not about replacing all work, but rather about tectonic shifts that have left millions much worse off and others much better off,” he says.

While he doesn’t believe the problem is permanent, that’s of little solace to the millions out of work now, and they may not be paid at their old rates even when they do find new jobs. —MCT

Online social lives set to get significantly busier The law of online sharing

BEIJING: A Ford stretch-limousine sits parked outside a luxury car dealer in Beijing yesterday. US auto giant Ford Motor Co. said on August 28 it would bring its Lincoln brand to China in two years, pitching the vehicle to the luxury segment of the world’s largest car market. As the world’s largest auto market, China has become increasingly important to foreign players like Ford and General Motors. — AFP

Digital technologies to make health care more effective WASHINGTON: Nanosensors patrolling your bloodstream for the first sign of an imminent stroke or heart attack, releasing anticlotting or anti-inflammatory drugs to stop it in its tracks. Cell phones that display your vital signs and take ultrasound images of your heart or abdomen. Genetic scans of malignant cells that match your cancer to the most effective treatment.

In cardiologist Eric Topol’s vision, medicine is on the verge of an overhaul akin to the one that digital technology has brought to everything from how we communicate to how we locate a pizza parlor. Until now, he writes in his upcoming book The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care, the “ossified” and “sclerotic” nature of medicine has left health “largely unaffected, insulated, and almost compartmentalized from [the] digital revolution.” But that, he argues, is about to change.

Digital technologies, he foresees, can bring us true prevention (courtesy of those nanosensors that stop an incipient heart attack), individualized care (thanks to DNA analyses that match patients to effective drugs), cost savings (by giving patients only those drugs that help them), and a reduction in medical errors (because of electronic health records, or EHRs). Virtual house calls and remote monitoring could replace most doctor visits and even many hospitalizations.

Topol, the director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute, is far from alone: e-health is so widely favored that the 2010 US health-care reform act allocates billions of dollars to electronic health records in the belief that they will improve care.

Anyone who has ever been sick or who is likely to ever get sick-in other words, all of us-would say, Bring it on.

There is only one problem: the paucity of evidence that these technologies benefit patients. Topol is not unaware of that.

The eminently readable Creative Destruction almost seems to have two authors, one of them a rigorous, hardnosed physician/researcher who insightfully critiques the tendency to base treatments on what is effective for the average patient. This Topol cites study after study showing that much of what he celebrates may not benefit many individual patients at all. The other author, however, is a kid in the electronics store whose eyes light up at every cool new toy. He seems to dismiss the other Topol as a skunk at a picnic.

Much of the enthusiasm for bringing the information revolution to medicine reflects the assumption that more information means better health care. Actual data offer reasons for caution, if not skepticism. Take telemonitoring, in which today’s mobile apps and tomorrow’s nanosensors would measure blood

pressure, respiration, blood glucose, cholesterol, and other physiological indicators. “Previously, we’ve been able to assess people’s health status when they came in to a doctor’s office, but mobile and wireless technology allow us to monitor and track important health indicators throughout the day, and get alerts before something gets too bad,” says William Riley, program director at the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute and chairman of a mobile health interest group at the National Institutes of Health. “Soon there won’t be much that we can’t monitor remotely.”

Certainly, it is worthwhile to monitor blood pressure, glucose, and other indicators; if nothing else, having regular access to such data might help people make better choices about their health.

But does turning the flow of data into a deluge lead to better results on a large scale? The evidence is mixed. In a 2010 study of 480 patients, telemonitoring of hypertension led to larger reductions in blood pressure than did standard care.

And a 2008 study found that using messaging devices and occasional teleconferencing to monitor patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease reduced hospital admissions by 19 percent. But a 2010 study of 1,653 patients hospitalized for heart failure concluded that “telemonitoring did not improve outcomes.” Similarly, a recent review of randomized studies of mobile apps for smoking cessation found that they helped in the short term, but that there is insufficient research to determine the long-term benefits. Given the land rush into mobile health technologies, or “m-health,” the lack of data on their helpfulness raises concerns.

“People are putting out systems and technologies that haven’t been studied,” says Riley.

These concerns also apply to technologies we don’t have yet, like those nanosensors in our blood. For instance, studies have reached conflicting conclusions about whether diabetics benefit from aggressive glucose control-something that could be provided by nanosensors paired with insulin delivery devices. Several studies have found that it can lead to hypoglycemia (dangerously low levels of blood glucose) and does not reduce mortality in severely ill diabetics. And sensors may be no better at detecting incipient cancers or heart attacks. If the ongoing debate about overdiagnosis of breast and prostate cancer has taught us anything, it should be that an abnormality that looks like cancer might not spread or do harm, and therefore should not necessarily be treated. For heart attacks, we need rigorous clinical trials establishing the rate of false positives and false negatives before we start handing out nanosensors like lollipops.

NEW YORK: The idea of limitless growth gives sleepless nights to environmentalists, but not to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

He espouses a law of social sharing, which predicts that every year, for the foreseeable future, the amount of information you share on the Web will double.

That rule of thumb can be visualized mathematically as a rapidly growing exponential curve. More simply, our online social lives are set to get significantly busier. As for Facebook, more personal data means better ad targeting. If things work out, Zuckerberg’s net worth will follow a similar trajectory to that described in his law of social sharing.

That law is said to be mathematically derived from data inside Facebook. In ambition, it is closely modeled on Moore’s Law, which was conceived by the computerprocessor pioneer Gordon Moore in 1965 and has been at work in every advance in computing since.

Also an exponential curve, it states that every two years twice as many transistors can be fitted onto a chip of any given area for the same price, allowing processing power to get cheaper and more capable.

There’s a hint of vanity in Zuckerberg’s attempt to ape Moore. But it makes sense to try to describe the mechanisms that have raised Facebook and other social-Web companies to power.

The Web defines our time and is being rapidly reshaped by social content-from dumb viral videos to earnest pleas on serious issues.

Facebook’s success has left older companies like Google scrambling to add social features to their own products. Zuckerberg’s Law can help us understand such a sudden change of tack from a seemingly dominant company, just as Moore’s Law has long been used to plan and explain new strategies and technologies.

Inasmuch as Facebook is the company most invested in Zuckerberg’s Law, its every move can be understood as an effort to

sustain the graceful upward curve of its founder’s formula. The shortterm prospects look good for Zuckerberg. The original Moore’s Law is on his side; faster, cheaper computers and mobile devices have made sharing easier and allowed us to do it wherever we go. Just as important, we are willing to play along, embracing new features from Facebook and others that lead us to share things today that we wouldn’t or couldn’t have yesterday.

Facebook’s most recent major product launch, last September, is clearly aimed at validating Zuckerberg’s prophecy and may provide its first real test. An upgrade to the Open Graph platform that unleashed the now ubiquitous Like button onto the Web, it added a feature that allows apps and Web sites to auto-

matically share your activity via Facebook as you go about your business. Users must first give a service permission to share automatically on their behalf. After that, frictionless sharing, as it has become known, makes sharing happen without your needing to click a Like button, or to even think about sharing. The most prominent early implementation was the music-streaming service Spotify, which can now automatically post on Facebook the details of every song you listen to. In the first two months of frictionless sharing, more than 1.5 billion “listens” were shared through Spotify and other music apps. News organizations like the Washington Post use the feature, making it possible for them to share every article a person reads on their sites or in a dedicated app. Frictionless

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

sharing is also helping Facebook drag formerly offline activities onto the Web. An app for runners can now automatically post the time, distance, and path of a person’s morning run.

Frictionless sharing sustains Zuckerberg’s Law by automating what used to be a manual task, thus removing a brake on the rate at which we can share. It also shows that we are willing to compromise our previous positions on how much sharing is too much.

Facebook introduced a form of automatic sharing four years ago with a feature called Beacon, but it retreated after a strong backlash from users. Beacon automatically shared purchases that Facebook members made through affiliated online retailers, such as eBay. Frictionless sharing reintroduces the same basic model with the difference that it is opt-in rather than opt-out. Carl Sjogreen, a computer scientist who is a product director overseeing Open Graph, says it hasn’t elicited anything like the rage that met Beacon’s debut.

“Everyone has a different idea of what they want to share, and what they want to see,” says Sjogreen.

Moreover, judging by the number of Spotify updates from my Facebook friends, frictionless sharing is pretty popular.

Privacy concerns will surely arise again as Facebook and others become able to ingest and process more of our personal data. Yet our urge to share always seems to win out. The potential for GPSequipped cell phones to become location trackers, should the government demand access to our data, has long concerned some people. A South Park episode last year even portrayed an evil caricature of Apple boss Steve Jobs standing before a wall-sized map labeled “Where Everybody in the World Is Right Now.” Six months later, to a mostly positive reception, Apple debuted a new iPhone feature called Find My Friends, which encourages users to let Apple track their location and share it. —MCT

Digital raiders leap aboard failing websites

By Matt Schwartz NEW YORK: Until a few months ago, Poetry.com held more than 14 million usersubmitted poems, some dating back to the mid-1990s. The site existed to make money: it had ads and at one point sold $60 anthologies to fledgling poets who wanted to see their work in print. But to the users, Poetry.com was much more than a business. It was a scrapbook, a chest for storing precious emotional keepsakes. And they assumed, perhaps naively, that it would always be there.

On April 14, the owner of the site abruptly announced that it had been sold and that every poem would be removed by May 4.

“Dear Poets,” read an e-mail sent to the roughly seven million users. “Please be sure to copy and paste your poems onto your computer and connect with any fellow poets offsite.”

Users who saw the notice rushed to notify their fellow poets, some of whom had not logged on in months. At 12:01 am on the appointed date, all 14 million poems disappeared from public view. “Your poems are GONE,” wrote 1VICTOR, one of the site’s users.

“This tells me that their intentions is not on the soul of poetry! But the goal of growing in hits.”

This trove of poems might have been forever lost had Jason Scott not arrived on the scene.

Scott is the top-hat-wearing impresario of the Archive Team, a loosely organized band of digital raiders who leap aboard failing websites just as they are about to go under and salvage whatever they can. After word of what was about to happen at Poetry.com reached the Archive Team, 25 volunteer members of the group logged in to Internet Relay Chat to plan a rescue. “We were like, well, screw that!”

Scott recalls. When sites host users’ content only to later abruptly close shop, he says, “it’s like going into the library business and deciding, ‘This is not working for us anymore,’ and burning down the library.”

Scott and the Archive Team do not seek permission before undertaking one of their raids, though as a rule they only go after files that are publicly available, and Scott says most sites do not complain. They devised code that would copy the poems on Poetry.com and duplicate them in a network of donated server space in such far-flung places as London, Egypt, and Scott’s own home in New York state. The members working to save the contents of Poetry.com, who are known by such handles as Teaspoon, DoubleJ, and Coderjoe, met up on one of the Archive Team’s IRC channels and divided the poems into blocks, ranging in size from 100,000 to one million files.

Most of the team began on the poems that

might be considered the best-the ones with the most votes and awards-and worked backward from there.

Unlike other operations, this one encountered resistance. “Poetry.com was actively working against us at every turn,” says Alex Buie, a high-school senior from Woodbridge, Virginia, who collaborates with Scott on the Archive Team. Buie says someone from Poetry.com e-mailed to complain that the Archive Team was scaring away the company that was about to buy the site. The site even blocked some of the Archive Team members’ IP addresses, he adds. But the group persisted.

By the time Poetry.com went dark, the team had saved roughly 20 percent of its poems.

Today the site is a wasteland, filled with eerie, spam-filled forums and promises by the new owner to restore users’ poetry at some point in the future. People tend to believe that Web operators will keep their data safe in perpetuity. They entrust much more than poetry to unseen servers maintained by system administrators they’ve never met. Terabytes of confidential business documents, e-mail correspondence, and irreplaceable photos are uploaded as well, even though vast troves of user data have been lost to changes of ownership, abrupt shutdowns, attacks by hackers, and other discontinuities of service. —MCT

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

health & science

(Left) A five-month leopard from Sri Lanka, born in the bioparc of Doue-la-Fontaine, is pictured next to his mother Iris yesterday. The Sri Lanka leopard is the largest feline in the island country that shares its name. Rare in captivity, it is threatened by the destruction of its habitat. Three young panthera live in the Zoo of Doue-La-Fontaine. Ciuttai, Cingha and Lanka are the children of Iris (6 years) and Bonhomme (12 years). (Center) An Indian nature lover holds a Indian cobra during an awareness campaign in Siliguri yesterday. The campaign intends to educate and inform residents of the cobra. (Right) A Czech scientist holds a bat late on Saturday during an educational event part of the European ‘Night for Bats’ in Mikulov. — AFP

NYC health commissioner: Scold or lifesaver?

NEW YORK: Critics call him a puritanical scold, Gotham’s Dr No and a nursemaid to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s nanny state. Meet Thomas Farley, New York City’s health commissioner.

Farley, a pediatrician and endurance athlete, says they are wrong about his efforts to help New Yorkers eat better, smoke less and exercise more - moves that have been linked to New York’s recent gains in average life expectancy, the biggest gains of any metro area in the country.

“Anybody who is first at doing something is going to get a lot of criticism. And this is New York, this is the way we deal with each other,” said Farley, who hopes to roll out two of his

most controversial health initiatives this month.

One is a plan to restrict the size of sugary drinks to 16 ounces or less nearly everywhere they are sold, which is expected to be approved soon by the city health board. The other is a push to have hospitals promote breastfeeding by making baby formula less available to new mothers.

Behind the desk in Farley’s office in Queens are reminders of the marketing muscle he’s up against: eye-catching tobacco products, colorful 23-ounce sugary drinks and a cache of baby formula sent unsolicited to an expectant mother on his staff. The unquestionably fit Farley shared his height - 6 foot 2 inches - but declined to reveal his weight or age, although he appears to

be in his mid-50s. Each day he leaves the Manhattan apartment he shares with his wife, also a pediatrician, and their four daughters for a 4-mile run, a 10-mile bike ride or weight lifting and a swim.

His chief vice is pastries, and he immediately regretted telling a reporter that as a boy in New Jersey he ducked into the woods to smoke cigarettes with friends until he was caught. Farley graduated with honors from Haverford College.

After receiving his medical degree from Tulane University, he spent 11 years with the Louisiana Office of Public Health. He took the helm in New York in 2009 after Thomas Frieden left to run the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the head of an agency with 6,000 employees and a $1.6 billion budget, Farley today shoulders what he calls Bloomberg’s legacy as “the world’s first public health mayor.” Along with his predecessor, Farley is credited with pioneering bans on smoking and trans fats, mandates to reduce salt and post calorie counts, and initiatives that pushed junk food to the back of corner grocery stores. At the same time, the city has reclaimed streets and created construction incentives to transform bike riding, walking and stair climbing into almost unavoidable exercise.

Those efforts are being replicated in cities across the globe - calories are now printed on menus in Seattle, and in Hanoi smoking is no

longer allowed in public places - even as they come under fire from restaurant groups, food and beverage companies, and small business owners. Farley brushed off criticism that he’s trampling personal freedoms as a gripe from industries motivated by unfounded fears of lost profits. “We’re creating a healthier environment that gives people the freedom to just go about their business without having to worry so much about being vigilant about their health behavior,” Farley said. “He really said that?” asked Andrew Moesel, spokesman for the New York City chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, which opposes the proposed soda ban. — Reuters

30

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

WHAT’S ON

Premier GOAL Academy, Everton hold Open Day

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

he Premier GOAL Academy in association with Everton FC are holding their Open Day at Shaab Park GOAL Football Centre on Saturday 8th September from 0900-1200 and 1500-1700.

Sponsored by Porshe Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company and under the patronage of HE the British Ambassador to Kuwait, Frank Baker, everyone is invited to attend.

There will be football matches, penalty shoot-outs, diving headers, shooting and coaching drills organized by the team of fully qualified UK coaches and coaching assistants. The 2012-13 schedule and program will be available, along with the new playing strips. The PGA offers organized football coaching for boys and girls aged from 3 to 19 years with players grouped according to age and ability. There are also Girls only groups from 11 years and above, specialist Goalkeeping coaching and Freestyle sessions.

Tours to Dubai and England are planned during this season along with Festivals of Football, tournaments, competitions and regular fixtures for selected players. For the real English Premier League experience come along and discover what the P.G.A. has to offer - the biggest and best football academy in Kuwait with fully qualified coaches delivering the proven Evertonway coaching program. For further details contact Academy Director Mike Finn on 99981327, Executive Director Baker on 66918666 and check out the website; http://www.pgakuwait.com.kw/

T

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

W

Greetings

Onam - Eid Fest 2012 celebrations uwait Helpline Welfare Association celebrated Onam - Eid Fest 2012 with traditional gaiety and friendship at Alphonsa Auditorium Abassiya. The cultural fest was inaugurated by the well known social activist and media personality Thomas Mathew Kadavil.

Helpline Welfare Association president Unnikrishnan presided over the meeting. Vibheesh Thikkodi, Coordinator of Vichar Bharathi, Vineesh Vasudev, Jensen Baby, M N Muhammadali and V Sakeer felicitated the cultural meeting. Grand musical programs with many Kerala’s traditional cultural events were showcased on the occasion.

K

Aware Diwaniya

appy birthday dear Anna & Hannah (Chakkara & Vava) Wilson Manjaly.

Best wishes from parents, relatives and friends.

H

T

Register and Win with your most patriotic answer ulu Hypermarket, the retail major in the region, in association with Q8India.com, a leading online Indian community portal, is holding a Register and Win with Your most Patriotic Answer competition.

The campaign, which concludes on 6th September, 2012 invites any Indian in Kuwait to visit www.Q8India.com and register to answer the question, ‘Why I am proud to be an Indian?’ Two winners, with the best answers, will be selected from among the participants and will win shopping gift coupons worth KD25 from Lulu Hypermarket.

L

Tulukoota Kuwait ‘Merit Scholarship’ pplications are now being invited for “Tulukoota Kuwait Merit Cum Means Scholarship” to be awarded during Tuluparba 2012 scheduled to be held on October 11 and 12, 2012. The objective of this scholarship is to provide financial assistance and support to deserving meritorious students, to enable them to pursue their higher studies. Applications are accepted from minimum one year valid Tulukoota Kuwait member’s children studying either in the State of Kuwait or in India and scoring high grades in Xth and XIIth standard Board Examination held for Academic year 2011-2012. Copies of marks sheet, proof of income, Civil ID, TKK membership number, contact number and photo to be submitted along with the application for scholarship to TKK Welfare officer Suresh Shyam Rao, contact No: 65976789. Applications will be accepted from September 130, 2012. Candidates obtaining high grades but not eligible for merit cum means scholarship shall be honored with merit certificate and medal during Tuluparba 2012. For more information contact: Sathyanarayan, Willson D’souza; Suresh Shyam Rao. Mail Id: secretary@tulukootakuwait.org, website: tulukootakuwait.org.

A

Tulukoota Kuwait Tulu Parba Competition 2012 ulu Parba Competitions are here again and Tutu Koota Kuwait is very excited to invite all the Tuluvas to join us on the event to be held on Friday, September 21, 2012, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm at the Indian Community School Auditorium, Khaitan. Join us for an enthusiastic and entertaining day with lots of fun and creativity. Competitions for various age group planned for the day include: Dance Solo and Group, Fancy Dress Solo and Group, photography of toddlers and origami, post card writing, drawing for children; Tu Dhantina Atil and Beeda Kattunu for ladies solo; while we have Peta Kattunu and Gali Pata Malpunu for Men Solo; married couples have Adarsh Dampati and hair styling, while we also have a game planned for the senior citizens.

For further details and registrations, you can contact Jaya Karkal, Janet D’Souza, Sushma Bangera, Geetha Suvarna, Rekha Sachu, Vidya Vittal.

You can also send an email to: secretary@tulukootakuwait.org, sathya6585@yahoo.com or sushma7manoj@yahoo.com. For more details on the rules and regulations please visit our website: www.tulukootakuwait.org. Hurry up! Kindly rush to give your names for registrations as the last date for accepting registrations is September 14, 2012. Mail ID: secretary@tulukootakuwait.org, website: tulukootakuwait.org.

T

Fr Zakariah Ninan in Kuwait St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church Kuwait office bearers receive Rev Zakariah Ninan at Kuwait International Airport. Fr Zakariah is in Kuwait to lead a Lent convention.

Make friends with Movenpick Hotels & Resorts’ new Facebook application new Facebook application has been launched making it easier than ever to book a room or a table at Movenpick Hotels & Resorts in the Middle East and Asia.

Each hotel has its own distinctive Facebook page showcasing promotions, dining options and information about activities and special room rates. If guests like what they see, they can make their room or restaurant reservations through Movenpick Hotels & Resorts’ Facebook application, the new one stop shop.

“For many people Facebook has become a preferred method of communication so it is important that we engage and listen to our

A

guests on their terms,” said Toufic Tamim, vice president sales and marketing - Middle East, M?venpick Hotels & Resorts.

“Facebook has become an important platform for making rec-

ommendations as well as an interactive means of keeping in touch with friends, family and colleagues.

For Movenpick Hotels & Resorts it is

another great way to keep our guests up to date with their favourite hotels and restaurants as well as share news and views,” says Tamim.

According to Facebook, as of June 2012 there were 955 million monthly active users speaking more than 70 languages. At least 552 million people use the social network every day.

Technology may be ever-changing with super-connectability, smart phones and tablets shaping the world, but some things stay reassuringly the same. One of them being M?venpick Hotels & Resorts’ reputation for warm and welcoming Swiss hospitality.

Premier GOAL Academy he Premier GOAL Academy in association with Everton F.C. are holding their Open Day at Shaab Park GOAL Football Centre on Saturday 8th September from 09001200 and 1500-1700.

Sponsored by Porshe Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company and under the patronage of H.E. the British Ambassador to Kuwait, Frank Baker, everyone is invited to attend.

There will be football matches, penalty shoot-outs, diving headers, shooting and coaching drills organised by the team of fully qualified UK

T

coaches and coaching assistants.

The 2012-13 schedule and programme will be available, along with the new playing strips.

The P.G.A. offers organised football coaching for boys and girls aged from 3 to 19 years with players grouped according to age and ability. There are also Girls only groups from 11 years and above, specialist Goalkeeping coaching and Freestyle sessions.

Tours to Dubai and England are planned during this season along with Festivals of Football, tourna-

ments, competitions and regular fixtures for selected players. For the real English Premier League experience come along and discover what the P.G.A. has to offer - the biggest and best football academy in Kuwait with fully qualified coaches delivering the proven Evertonway coaching programme. For further details contact Academy check out the website; http://www.pgakuwait.com.kw

Audition for ZEE International Antakshari or the first time Indian Cultural Society brings you live excitement of ZEE - International Antakshari in Kuwait. Audition & first round will be held in Kuwait, thereafter followed by semi finals in India & Grand Finale in Dubai. Complete team of Carnival films and Zee TV will be in Kuwait for the final round of selection on Friday 5th October with Jaaved Jaaferi: Celebrity Judge, Akriti Kakkar: Female Bollywood singer and host of Antakshari, Manish Paul: Host for auditions, Sarfaraz Khan: actor, director and producer.

Michael Amin: Producer & director Carnival Films

F

World. Musicians, male singers and many more for live performances.

Final audition at 10am & music show at 7.30 pm at AIS-Hawally.

Criteria for audition entry 1. Age - 15 years and above 2. Ability to sing 3. Bollywood trivia knowledge 4. Registrations are open to all nationalities residing in GCC countries. Participant should be present on audition date as per given time frame.

NSS Kuwait Onam celebrations on Sept 28 Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

he AWARE Center cordially invites you to its diwaniya presentation entitled, “Participants of the Middle East Partnership Initiative Share Their Exciting Experiences,” by Farah Al-Shamali and her friends on Tuesday September 4, 2012 at 7:00 pm. For years, Kuwaiti youth have been engaging with the outside world whether to share their culture, customs and traditions or learn about those in these countries they venture to engage with. As a result of this exposure, they become very cosmopolitan in outlook and have far better reach, coming back very ambitious to effect positive changes in their society, be it politically or economically, engaging more closely with civil society and what have you.

A prominent group from this pool of young people is those that participated in the Middle East Partnership Initiative, a program initiated by the Department of State in December 2002. As local chapters come into existence across the region, come listen to a selection of these motivated individuals as they share their experiences and how they plan to make the valuable knowledge they learned applicable in Kuwaiti society. For more information, call 25335260/80 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw.

SS Onam will be celebrated on September 28 (Friday), at Carmel School, Khaitan from 9:30 am.

Nair Service Society (NSS) Kuwait is one of the largest socio-cultural organization in Kuwait formed in the year 2001 and now has more than 3,000 Indians as members. On Sept 28, a full day variety entertainment program depicting the rich heritage and art forms of Kerala has been planned and the major attractions are drama “Aaal Roopam” (Dummy) directing by Shemej Kumar and musical drama “Ravanaputri” a unique art form, organizing by NSS Vanitha Samajam.

N

Raveendran Nair, President of Nair Service Society (NSS), Kuwait will preside over the function and . KR Rajan, Secretary, HRD, Nair Service Society (NSS), Changanassery, Kerala will be the Chief Guest. Nair Service Society (NSS) Kuwait is introducing first time in Kuwait “Onam Valla Sadhya” a vegetarian banquet with around 50 dishes. The renowned Master of the Kitchen Aranmula Nadamangalath Vijayan and his team, will be supervising NSS Kuwait’s Onam Sadhya kitchen this year. This year more than 1,500 people are expected to enjoy the NSS taste of Vijayan.

Arabic courses PC and all its branches are opening Free Arabic Language Course for non-Arab ladies accessible in beginners and advance levels. Class will commence on September 14, 2012. Islamic and Quran courses are also presented in different languages.

Registration is on! Call the nearest IPC branch: Salmiyah: 25733263, 97533263; Kheitan: 24730137, 99285459; Mangaf: 23723002 ext. 124/123; Jahra: 24558830, 97533948.

I

AWARE Arabic courses highlights * Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics * Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic * Combine language learning with cultural insights * Taught in multi-nationality group settings * Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs.

For more information log onto: www.aware.com.kw.

Winter 2012 AMIE examination he AMIE Winter 2012 examinations will be held between Dec 01-07, 2012 as follows: Section A (Diploma) - December 1-4, 2012 Section A (Non-Diploma) - December 1-7, 2012 Section B - December 1-7, 2012 The last date for submission of examination application forms are given hereunder: Candidates not appeared at Summer 2012 Exam: Aug 21 - Sept 21, 2012 Candidates appeared at Summer 2012 Exam: Sept 21 - Oct 19, 2012 Candidates who intend to appear for the Winter 2012 examination must apply directly to Kolkata by filling the prescribed application form along with requisite amount of demand draft in favour of The Institution of Engineers (India), payable at Kolkata. The details of the examination is available at the website www.ieindia.org.

T

31

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

WHAT’S ON

Embassy Information

Friends of Kannur conducts blood donation camp o commemorate Indian’s 66th Independence Day and to celebrate the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan, Friends of Kannur Kuwait Expats Association, FOKE conducted Blood Donation Camp at Kuwait Central Blood Bank, Jabriya.

The camp was officially inaugurated by prominent Kuwaiti personality Abdulaziz Ahmed Alduaij in presence of dignitaries including Dr Nampoory, Chairman of Indian Doctors forum, and Dr Murali Gopal, former general secretary of Indian Doctors forum.

In his introductory speech, Abdulaziz Ahmed Alduaij specified the importance of such blood donations, especially in the holy month of Ramadan. Donation is the noble act of charity and when it comes to donating blood, the association is doing the biggest thing for the society, he said.

More than 125 members from all walks of life came forward voluntarily to attend the blood donation program irre-

T

spective of their Friday Engagements.

FOKE is encouraging the Blood Donation Camp among its members as an act of Charity and uphold the slogan of “DONATE BLOOD SAVES LIFE”. It’s noted that FOKE has conducted similar blood donation camp last year also where large number of FOKE members donated their blood at Kuwait Blood bank.

Donation of Blood is a noble cause and has no side effects in human body.

Further Medical Science specifies that the act of donating blood enhances the production of new blood cells.

FOKE officials thanked each and everyone who participated in the noble act of charity. FOKE also thanked Central Blood Bank officials and all paramedical staffs who helped for the success of conducting the Camp. The Central Blood Bank officials well acknowledged the FOKE’s commitment especially when they are facing scarcity of blood in the Bank.

KDNA distributes fund for family

ozhikode District NRI Association Treasurer Santosh Punathil handed over the Family Relief Fund of Rs one lakh to late Shafeeq Rahman’s mother Pathey at their rented house in Kozhikode, Kerala.

Shafeeq Rahman was a Kozhikode native who worked in Kuwait, died in a train accident near Trissur during his

K

vacation. KDNA Investment & Benefit Secretary Ilyas Thottahil, Farwaniya Area President Ubaid Chakittakandy, Farwaniya Area Treasurer Azeez Palat, Central Executive Committee member AK Afzal, Manossor Alakkal were few among the association representatives who attended this humble function.

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian ConsulateGeneral in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, AlBanwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas online at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

■■■■■■■

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.

■■■■■■■

La Tomatina & Tapas Festival n celebration of the annual La Tomatina Festival in Bunol Spain, Safir Hotel & Residences Kuwait hosted the launching of its first La Tomatina & Tapas Festival at Chit Chat CafÈ & Restaurant under the patronage of the Spanish Ambassador H.E. Angel Losada last August 29, 2012. This month long tomato and tapas festival will showcase a wide variety of Tapas and Paella recipes starting form 29th August to 29th September, 2012.

The General Manager Mr. Saif Mohammed and the Safir Fintas team welcomed the distinguished guests from the Spanish Embassy and from

I

the local media. Inspired by the actual event during the celebration of La Tomatina Festival in Spain, a friendly tomato fight was organized for the guests. However, instead of the real ripe red tomatoes, soft red balls were provided for everyone to throw against each other.

After the playful brawl that ensued, the guests were treated into a lavish variety of Tapas and Paellas - true Spanish cuisines with all the flavorful goodness of tomatoes that is the high light of this tomato festival.

Sample this real Spanish treat at Chit Chat CafÈ & Restaurant and savor not just one but a wide array of Tapas and Paellas to dig on in!

Places of interest

EMBASSY OF BRITAIN Consular section at the British Embassy will be starting an online appointment booking system for our consular customers from Sunday, 01 July 2012. All information including how to make an appointment is now available on the embassy website. In addition, there is also a “Consular Appointment System” option under Quick links on the right hand side on the homepage, which should take you to the “Consular online booking appointment system” main page.

Please be aware that from 01 July 2012, we will no longer accept walk-in customers for legalisation, notarial services and certificates (birth, death and marriages). If you have problems accessing the system or need to make an appointment for nonnotarial consular issues or have a consular emergency, please call 2259 4355/7/8 or email us on consularenquirieskuwait@fco.gov.uk. If you require consular assistance out of office hours (working hours: 0730-l430 hrs), please contact the Embassy on 2259 4320.

■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 12:30 to 01:00 pm for lunch break. Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday.

The Canadian Embassy will be closed on Sunday and Monday 19 and 20 August 2012 on the occasion of Aid Al Fitr. The Embassy will resume its duties on Tuesday 21 August 2012. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

■■■■■■■

Sadu House Al Sadu House stands on Arabian Gulf Street near the National Museum, representing one of the last preserved pre-oil -era dwellings in Kuwait. Al Sadu House became a centre for Bedouin art and the sale of traditional goods In 1979. Visitors can observe Bedouin women weaving at their looms, handmaking carpets, camel bags and tent screens.

Opening hours are Saturday to Thursday from 8:00 am to 1:00 p.m and from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m daily except Friday. (Tel: +965 2243.2395) Admission is FREE. Science & Natural History Museum A wealth of education awaits the visitor to the Science and Natural History Museum on Abdulla Al Mubarak Street. Each gallery contains either a collection or an exhibit covering a wide range of themes. Collections on display Include fossils, stuffed animals, skeletons, and dried flowers. There are exhibits on health, petroleum, space travel, and electronics, among others. Forming part of the National Museum complex, the wonderful, modern Planetarium In the museum complex has shows at around 18:00 daily: local children, convinced the room is spinning, clap In syncopated beats every time the accompanying music begins.

A museum planetarium shows: Mornings: 1st Show: 10:00 a.m; 2nd Show: 11:00 a. m; 3rd Show: 12:00 p.m Evenings: 1st Show: 5:00 p.m; 2nd Show: 5:45 p.m; 3rd Show : 6:00 p.m. Note: Friday & Saturday no morning shows. (Tel: +965 22451195; +965 22456534). Admission is FREE. The Dickson House The house of the first British political agent In Kuwait is still standing. The Dickson House, located across from the dhow harbour east of Sief Palace, was originally a Kuwaiti home built in 1870, but was given to Britain to use as residential headquarters.

The compound was expanded several times over the years, but stands as an excellent example of early Kuwaiti architectural styles.

Opening hours are from Saturday to Thursday 8:30 a.m-12:30 p.m and 4:30 a.m-8:30 p.m Friday 4:30 a.m - 8:30 p.m. Admission is FREE. Al-Qurain Museum Located in the residential suburb of Qurain, This small museum is a memorial to a cell of young Kuwaiti patriots who tried to resist arrest in February 1991. Early In the morning, Iraqis bombarded the house for hours with machine guns, bombs and

eventually a tank.

Monday to Saturday 8.30 a.m - 12.30 p.m; 4.30a.m -8.30 p.m Friday morning off. Afternoon: 4.30 a.m8.30 pm. Winter Visiting hours: 4-8.30 pm. 1st Day of Eid off. Tel: +965 25430343 Al Hashemi Marine Museum The World’s largest wooden dhow, owned and build by Hussein Marafie,Al Hashemi is a ‘Baghalah’ of monumental proportions. Baghalah is a large wooden cargo vessel which sailed the seas in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Constructed next to Radisson SAS Hotel, the doubledecked Al-Hashemi II is dry-docked next to pre-oil era Kuwaiti village and marine museum containing models of extinct and modern dhows The lower deck has the grand ballroom - one of the finest in Kuwait. Al-Hashemi II has earned the distinction of being listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The museum is opened Sat. Thu. from 9 am till 5 pm.

Admission is FREE. Oil Display Centre The Oil Display Centre at Kuwait is located 20 kilometers in the southern direction from main city of Kuwait. Oil display center In Kuwait is set In the Ahmadi area, which is the primary hub of Kuwait’s oil production where many oll-fields and oil wells are located. This center is a learning ground for all those who wonder how oil processing is done. It gives an opportunity to the tourists to know all about the history beginning from how oil was explored, drilled, produced and processed In Kuwait.

The Oil Display Center Is located 20 kilometers away from Kuwait City, in the southern direction.

This small center throws an insight into Kuwait’s oil business and the work of the Kuwait Oil Company, which owns it. It is definitely worth a visit. Opening hours Sat - Wed 07:00 am -3:00 pm. It is open by appointment. Tel: +965 23982393; 23989111; 23981678. KOC can also arrange for groups to tour the oil fields themselves.

Kuwait Memorial Museum Before the Iraqi invasion, the museum housed a collection that has been acclaimed by International art historians as one of the most comprehensive collection of Islamic arts. Located near the National Assembly, comprising of four buildings and a planetarium. In 1997, the Muhallab II, the replacement for the magnificent trading dhow from the 1930 that graced the front yard of the museum before it was burned by the Iraqis, was constructed on site and

now is open to visitors. Tel (2451195) Tareq Rajab Museum Tareq Rajab opened his private collection of Islamic art treasures to the general public in 1980.

The Tareq Rajab Museum in Jabriya features ceramics, silver and gold jewelry, and musical instruments.

It also houses one of the finest collections of old Qurans and at her Arabic manuscripts in the world.

All artifacts are of Arab or Muslim origin and are labeled for easy viewing. Visiting hours are from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Saturdays through Thursdays. On Fridays, the museum is open to the general public only in the mornings, with afternoons reserved for tours. Opening hours 9:00 -12:00 noon; 4:00-7:00 pm; Ramadan open on weekdays: 09:00-12:00; noon 7:00 pm-10:00 pm; Fridays usual time. (Tel: +965 25317358) Entry is KD2 / Adult. Children and students are FREE. Al Shaab Leisure Park Located on Arabian Gulf Street, this park has variety of games & amusements for young & old including carousels, dodmegs, bowling hall, billiards, snooker and tennis as well as a theatre and a cinema. All the amusements are linked by paths that meander through gardens and around water fountains. There is a restaurant block containing branches of most fast food outlets in Kuwait.

Open daily from 4 pm to midnight (from 10 am on weekends), entry is 500 fils a head and games cost 250 to 750 fils a go, though a full ticket may be purchased for a KD 2.500 (Tel: 5613777) http://www.shaabpark.com The Scientific Center Kuwait Scientific Center in Kuwait is located on the waterfront at Ras Al Ardh in the Salmiya region in Kuwait which serves as a center for environmental education of the gulf region. Kuwait Scientific Center at Kuwait was initiated by late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and its compound covers an area of over 80,000 square meters with the building itself covering over 18,000 square meters.

The major attractions of the Kuwait Scientific Center in Kuwait which the tourists must see are the Aquarium and the interesting Discovery place.

There is also a 250 seat IMAX film theater. (Tel: +965 1848888) http://www.tsck.org.kw Courtesy: Dispatches Magazine

EMBASSY OF FRANCE The Embassy would like to inform that starting September 2nd, 2012, visa demands for France will be handled by the outsourcing company “Capago - MENA Company”. Capago - MENA’S Call Center will be operational starting Sunday August 26 for setting appointments beginning September 2nd (+965 22270555). During a transitional period Al-Qabas will continue receiving visa applicants until August 27, then the visa section at the French Embassy (Mansouriah, Street 13, House 24, (+965 22582020) will handle those applications from August 28 until today.

■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the Kenyan community residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that the Embassy has acquired new office telephone numbers as follows: 25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries 25353987 - Fax Our Email address: info@kenyaembkuwait.com.

■■■■■■■

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.

■■■■■■■

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.

■■■■■■■

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.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 01:40 02:35 03:30 04:25 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:25 08:15 08:40 09:10 09:35 10:05 11:00 11:25 11:55 12:50 13:15 13:45 14:40 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:25 18:20 19:15 19:40 20:10 20:35 21:05 The...

22:00 23:50

Swarm Chasers Animal Cops Houston Monster Bug Wars Wildest Latin America Wild France Great Ocean Adventures Dogs 101 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer Austin Stevens Adventures Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Breed All About It Animal Crackers Animal Crackers Ultimate Air Jaws Wildlife SOS International Orangutan Island Animal Cops Houston Vet On The Loose Vet On The Loose Animal Precinct Ultimate Air Jaws Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Michaela’s Animal Road Trip Cats 101 Dogs 101 Wildlife SOS International Orangutan Island Animal Kingdom Shamwari: A Wild Life Jaws Comes Home: Return Of Shark Rampage 1916 Animal Cops Houston

23:50 Animal Cops Houston 00:15 DIY SOS 01:10 MasterChef Australia 08:25 Celebrity Fantasy Homes 09:15 Celebrity Fantasy Homes 10:00 Bargain Hunt 10:45 Antiques Roadshow 11:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 12:20 10 Years Younger 13:10 Gok’s Fashion Fix 14:00 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 14:45 Bargain Hunt 15:35 Antiques Roadshow 16:25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:10 Come Dine With Me 18:00 MasterChef 18:50 MasterChef 19:40 Home Cooking Made Easy 20:05 James Martin’s Favourite Feasts 20:30 Open House 20:55 Open House 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Edition 00:40 American Guns 07:00 American Chopper 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 X-Machines 12:20 Crash Course 12:45 Fifth Gear 13:15 How Do They Do It? Turbo Specials 14:10 Border Security 14:35 Auction Hunters 15:05 Ultimate Survival 16:00 American Chopper 16:55 Fifth Gear 17:20 Deadliest Catch 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 Deconstruction 21:30 Hillbilly Handfishin’ 22:25 River Monsters 23:20 Robson Green’s Extreme Fishing Challenge 23:20 Surviving Disaster 00:05 00:35 01:25 02:15 02:45 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:50 07:53 08:20 08:50 09:40 10:30 10:55 11:20 12:10 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:50 14:45 15:35 16:00 16:03 16:30 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

Stuck With Hackett Prophets Of Science Fiction Engineering Ground Zero Game Changers Human Nature Catch It Keep It Prophets Of Science Fiction Bang Goes The Theory Game Changers Brave New World Head Rush Weird Connections The X-Testers Sport Science Smash Lab The Gadget Show The Gadget Show Kings Of Construction Game Changers Game Changers Tech Toys 360 Tech Toys 360 Race To Mars Smash Lab The Gadget Show Head Rush Weird Connections The X-Testers What’s That About?

Sport Science NASA’s Greatest Missions Things That Move Things That Move Man Made Marvels China The Gadget Show Things That Move Man Made Marvels China Sport Science

05:10 05:35 06:00 06:15 06:40 07:05 Fairies 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:10 09:25 09:35 09:45 10:00 10:25 10:50 11:15 11:25 11:40 12:05 12:30 12:55 13:20 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:40 17:00 17:30 17:55 18:20 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:30 22:55 23:20 23:45

00:25 01:20 02:15 Ride 02:40 Ride 03:10 03:35 04:05 04:30 05:00 05:55 07:00 07:25 07:55 08:50 09:45 10:40 11:05 11:35 12:30 12:55 13:25 14:20 15:15 15:40 16:10 17:05 18:00 18:25 18:55 19:50 20:45 21:40 22:05 22:35 23:30

Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents Phineas And Ferb Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck The Adventures Of Disney Recess So Random Timon And Pumbaa Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Handy Manny The Hive Mouk Jonas So Random Hannah Montana Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Kim Possible Shake It Up Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas And Ferb Timon And Pumbaa Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm So Random Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Austin And Ally Phineas And Ferb A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Jessie Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Jonas Jonas Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Kim Possible

TNA: Greatest Matches M1 Selection 2010 Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Ed’s Up Ed’s Up Ed’s Up Ed’s Up Summer Dew Tour 2011 Summer Dew Tour 2011 Ride Guide Snow 2009 Ride Guide Snow 2009 Alli Presents AMA Motocross 2011 Blood, Sweat And Gears Fantasy Factory Fantasy Factory Pro Bull Riders 2010 Transworld Sessions Transworld Sessions Mantracker World Combat League Fantasy Factory Fantasy Factory Alli Presents AMA Motocross 2011 Transworld Sessions Transworld Sessions Pro Bull Riders 2010 Mantracker World Combat League Ed’s Up Ed’s Up TNA: Greatest Matches M1 Challenge

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:55 Food Network Challenge 01:45 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 02:35 Unwrapped 03:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:15 Guy’s Big Bite 04:40 Outrageous Food 05:05 Unique Eats 05:30 Chopped 06:10 Barefoot Contessa 07:00 Iron Chef America 07:50 Barefoot Contessa 08:40 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:05 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:30 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 09:55 Cooking For Real 10:20 Cooking For Real 10:45 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 11:10 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 11:35 Hungry Girl 12:00 Chopped 12:50 Guy’s Big Bite 13:15 Cooking For Real 13:40 Barefoot Contessa 14:05 Barefoot Contessa 14:30 Kid In A Candy Store 14:55 Kid In A Candy Store 15:20 Unique Sweets 15:45 Staten Island Cakes 16:35 Barefoot Contessa 17:00 Barefoot Contessa 17:25 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:15 Guy’s Big Bite 18:40 Unique Sweets 19:05 Unique Sweets 19:30 Chopped 20:20 Iron Chef America 21:10 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 21:35 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 22:00 Extra Virgin 22:25 Extra Virgin 22:50 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 23:40 Guy’s Big Bite

20:20 Bang Goes The Theory 00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:05 03:30 03:55 04:20 04:45

Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Replacements Replacements

00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:05 02:55 03:45 04:10 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50

Stalked: Someone’s Watching I Was Murdered Evil, I Evil, I American Greed Scorned: Crimes Of Passion Stalked: Someone’s Watching I Was Murdered On The Case With Paula Zahn Mystery Diagnosis Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift

08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:40

00:00 00:30 01:00 02:00 03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 Planet 13:30 Planet 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00

Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Street Patrol Street Patrol Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Stalked: Someone’s Watching Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Stalked: Someone’s Watching Stalked: Someone’s Watching Scorned: Crimes Of Passion Dr G: Medical Examiner

Kimchi Chronicles Kimchi Chronicles City Chase Rome Departures Travel Oz Travel Oz Don’t Tell My Mother On The Camino De Santiago The Best Job In The World Kimchi Chronicles Kimchi Chronicles City Chase Rome Departures Travel Oz Travel Oz Don’t Tell My Mother On The Camino De Santiago The Best Job In The World Kimchi Chronicles Kimchi Chronicles Food Lover’s Guide To The Food Lover’s Guide To The Departures Travel Oz Travel Oz Don’t Tell My Mother On The Camino De Santiago The Best Job In The World Kimchi Chronicles Kimchi Chronicles Graham’s World Graham’s World Long Way Down Destination Extreme Destination Extreme The Best Job In The World The Best Job In The World Meet The Natives: USA

23:00 Naked Science 00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 India) 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 India) 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Caught In The Act Lion Warrior The Living Edens World’s Deadliest Animals World’s Deadliest Animals Expedition Wild Caught In The Act The Living Edens World’s Deadliest Animals World’s Deadliest Animals Crocodile King Crocs Of Katuma Predator CSI Hooked Wild India (aka Secrets of Wild Built For The Kill Built For The Kill Orca Killing School Monster Jellyfish Wild Mississippi Wild India (aka Secrets of Wild World’s Deadliest Animals World’s Deadliest Animals Crocodile King Crocs Of Katuma

23:00 Hunter Hunted 00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 PG15 10:00 12:00 14:00 PG15 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 20:00 22:00

30 Days Of Night: Dark Days-18 Fighting-PG15 Homecoming-18 Rocky-PG15 Snake In The Eagle’s ShadowAll Star Superman-PG15 Dad Savage-PG15 Snake In The Eagle’s ShadowLast Breath-PG15 Dad Savage-PG15 Sleep Dealer-18 Across The Hall-PG15 Fighting-PG15 Homecoming-18

00:00 Breaking In 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Friends 02:00 Friends 02:30 Seinfeld 03:00 Whitney 03:30 Last Man Standing 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 06:00 Friends 08:30 Whitney 09:30 Two And A Half Men 10:00 The Office 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 14:00 Last Man Standing 14:30 The Office 15:00 Two And A Half Men 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Friends 18:00 Whitney 18:30 Raising Hope 19:00 Allen Gregory 20:00 Best Friends Forever 21:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 21:30 The Colbert Report Global Edition 22:00 Veep 23:00 Seinfeld 23:30 Best Friends Forever

00:00 Warehouse 13 01:00 True Blood

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

Grey’s Anatomy Grey’s Anatomy Switched At Birth Drop Dead Diva Warehouse 13 Emmerdale Coronation Street Private Practice The Ellen DeGeneres Show Switched At Birth Drop Dead Diva Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Private Practice Warehouse 13 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Private Practice Drop Dead Diva Switched At Birth The Newsroom Top Gear (UK) Grey’s Anatomy

01:00 Windtalkers-PG15 03:15 Warbirds-PG15 05:00 The Craigslist Killer-PG15 07:00 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course-PG15 09:00 Triassic Attack-PG15 11:00 The Craigslist Killer-PG15 13:00 The Front-PG15 15:00 Triassic Attack-PG15 17:00 The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen-PG15 19:00 Walled In-PG15 21:00 Puffball: The Devil’s Eyeball-R 23:00 A Way With Murder-18

PROGRAM FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (30/08/2012 TO 05/09/2012) CINEMA SHARQIA-1 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) No SUN+TUE+WED SHARQIA-2 BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED SHARQIA-3 THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

2:00 PM Fri 1:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

23:00 Luster-18

01:00 Walled In-PG15 03:00 Puffball: The Devil’s Eyeball-R 05:00 The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen-PG15 07:00 The Front-PG15 09:00 The Net-PG15 11:00 The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen-PG15 13:00 Bangkok Adrenaline-PG15 15:00 The Net-PG15 17:00 Ip Man-PG15 19:00 Quarantine 2: Terminal-18 21:00 The Nun-18 23:00 Dorothy Mills-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 PG15 07:15 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:15

Partir-18 Black Snake Moan-18 When A Man Loves A WomanUnanswered Prayers-PG15 Sunny And The Elephant-PG15 Veronica Guerin-PG15 Ice Dreams-PG15 Sunny And The Elephant-PG15 The Eclipse-PG15 Romeo Is Bleeding-18 Broken Embraces-18 Garden State-18

23:30 Square Grouper-18

00:45 02:45 05:15 07:15 09:00 11:45 13:45 16:15 18:30 20:30 23:00

Black Snake Moan-18 The Help-PG15 Take Shelter-PG15 Hurricane Season-PG15 The Help-PG15 12 Dates Of Christmas-PG15 Another Year-PG15 Jane Eyre-PG15 Teen Spirit-PG15 Inception-PG15 Bridesmaids-18

00:00 The Three Bears: The Amazing Adventurers-FAM 02:00 Emperor’s Secret-PG 04:00 Cher Ami-PG 06:00 The Three Bears: The Amazing Adventurers-FAM 08:00 The Adventures Of Don Quixote-FAM 10:00 Paws-PG 12:00 Cher Ami-PG 14:00 Marco Macaco-FAM 16:00 Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas-FAM 17:45 Paws-PG 20:00 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed-PG 22:00 Marco Macaco-FAM :15

Resident Evil 4: Afterlife-18

00:00 Rugby Union Currie Cup 02:00 Senior European Tour Highlights 03:00 Cricket One Day International 10:00 Trans World Sport 11:00 America’s Cup World Series Highlight 12:00 Live NRL Premiership 14:00 Senior European Tour Highlights 15:00 Top 14 17:00 Super League 19:00 Trans World Sport 20:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 21:00 This Week In WWE 21:30 Rugby Union Currie Cup 23:30 Challenge Series Golf Highlight

00:15 NRL Premiership 02:00 UFC 151 05:00 WWE This Week 05:30 WWE Bottomline 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 PGA European Tour 11:30 Senior European Tour Highlights 12:30 AFL Premiership 15:00 NRL Premiership 17:00 Senior European Tour Highlights 18:00 Rugby Union Currie Cup 20:00 NRL Premiership 22:00 The Open Championship Official Film 23:00 America’s Cup Highlights

MUHALAB-1 BRAVE (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN BRAVE (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY(2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY(2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY(2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED MUHALAB-2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES = EK THA TIGER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:30 PM 12:45 AM

1:00 PM 4:15PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 12:00 AM

MUHALAB-3 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

FANAR-1 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-2 THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY(2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:45 PM 9:30 PM 12:15 AM

FANAR-3 INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN JOKER (Hindi) EK THA TIGER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) JOKER (Hindi) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 7:15 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-4 TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL No SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-5 BRAVE THE DARK KNIGHT RISES BRAVE THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE DARK KNIGHT RISES NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 11:45 PM

MARINA-1 INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN THE DARK KNIGHT RISES JUST CRAZY ENOUGH THE DARK KNIGHT RISES INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN THE DARK KNIGHT RISES NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 1:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-2 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 12:30 PM THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) 2:30 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 5:15 PM THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) 7:30 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 10:15 PM THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital)12:30 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED MARINA-3 BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) 12:45 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-1 BRAVE (2D-Digital) BRAVE (2D-Digital) BRAVE (2D-Digital) BRAVE (2D-Digital) BRAVE (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

JOKER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

AVENUES-2 JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN ( INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-3 THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-4 THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-5 TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 1:00 AM

AVENUES-6 TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 1:00 AM

AVENUES-7 EK THA TIGER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) JOKER (Hindi) EK THA TIGER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) JOKER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) EK THA TIGER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) No SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM

AVENUES-8 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

AVENUES-9 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) No SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-10 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 2:30 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 5:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 9:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 2:57 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-11 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

360º- 1 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

360º- 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 1:30 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 4:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 8:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 11:15 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 360º- 3 BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

360º- 4 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (3D-Digital) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (3D-Digital) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (3D-Digital) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (3D-Digital) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (3D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

360º- 5 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

360 º- 6 JOKER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) EK THA TIGER (Hindi)(2D-Digital) JOKER (Hindi) (2D-Digital) EK THA TIGER (Hindi)(2D-Digital)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM

11:30 PM

360º- 7 INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

360º- 8 THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:15 PM 6:00 PM 8:45 PM 11:30 PM

360º- 9(VIP-1) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:15 PM 6:00 PM 8:45 PM 11:30 PM

360º-10 (VIP-2) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

360º- 11 TORAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

360 º- 12 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) 360º- 13 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM

2:30 PM 5:45 PM 9:00 PM 12:15 AM

360º- 14 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 12:30 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital)3:45 PM THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) 7:15 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 10:15 AM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 1:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED 360º- 15 JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

IMAX Cinema THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) 5:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) 9:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-IMAX) 12:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.1 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) 12:45 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.2 THE EXPENDABLES 2 BRAVE (2D-Digital) BRAVE (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 9:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.3 JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) 1:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 3:30 PM JUST CRAZY ENOUGH (2D-Digital) 6:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 9:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 12:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.4 INTERVIEWWITH A HITMAN (2D-Digital) 1:30 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 3:30 PM INTERVIEWWITH A HITMAN (2D-Digital) 5:45 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 7:45 PM INTERVIEWWITH A HITMAN 10:00 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 12:05 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED BAIRAQ-1 BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

BAIRAQ-2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 4:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 1:15 AM

Classifieds MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JZR QTR JZR ETH RJA GFA UAE ETD THY FDB MSR QTR JZR KAC THY JZR DHX MSR JZR KAC BAW KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY KAC QTR RJA FDB ETD BAB KAC GFA IRC UAE MEA JZR MSR IRC MSC JZR MSR GFA KAC FDB OMA KNE JZR QTR SVA RJA KAC JZR KAC QTR SYR KAC KAC ETD KAC UAE UAL GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY IRA KAC QTR BAB KAC FDB KAC MSC MSR KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC FDB MEA QTR GFA FDB ALK TMA UAE JZR ETD BBC ABY QTR LMU JZR AIC GFA UAL JZR TAR JZR DLH MSR THY KLM PIA

Arrival Flights on Monday 3/9/2012 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 620 ADDIS ABABA 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 768 ISTANBUL 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 503 LUXOR 544 CAIRO 770 ISTANBUL 1541 CAIRO 170 BAHRAIN 2104 CAIRO 555 ALEXANDRIA 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 284 DHAKA 132 DOHA 5522 AMMAN 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 436 BAHRAIN 344 CHENNAI 213 BAHRAIN 6521 LAMERD 871 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 618 ALEXANDRIA 6791 MASHAD 401 ALEXANDRIA 561 SOHAG 610 CAIRO 219 BAHRAIN 672 DUBAI 57 DUBAI 645 MUSCAT 472 JEDDAH 535 CAIRO 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 640 AMMAN 788 JEDDAH 257 BEIRUT 546 ALEXANDRIA 134 DOHA 341 DAMASCUS 118 NEW YORK 538 SHARM EL SHEIKH 303 ABU DHABI 802 CAIRO 857 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 177 DUBAI 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 3407 MASHAD 542 CAIRO 144 DOHA 438 BAHRAIN 786 JEDDAH 63 DUBAI 104 LONDON 405 SOHAG 620 ASSIUT 618 DOHA 674 DUBAI 742 DAMMAM 572 MUMBAI 774 RIYADH 61 DUBAI 402 BEIRUT 146 DOHA 221 BAHRAIN 59 DUBAI 229 COLOMBO 213 BEIRUT 859 DUBAI 135 BAHRAIN 307 ABU DHABI 43 DHAKA 129 SHARJAH 136 DOHA 2109 ALEXANDRIA 539 CAIRO 975 CHENNAI 217 BAHRAIN 981 BAHRAIN 529 ASSIUT 327 TUNIS 239 AMMAN 636 FRANKFURT 614 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 411 AMSTERDAM 239 SIALKOT

Time 0:15 0:20 0:50 1:45 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:50 3:10 3:20 3:25 3:55 4:10 4:35 4:55 5:00 5:40 6:00 6:15 6:30 7:15 7:45 7:50 8:05 8:20 8:25 8:30 8:45 9:00 9:05 9:20 9:30 9:35 9:45 10:00 10:15 10:45 10:55 11:05 11:25 11:55 12:00 12:25 13:30 13:40 13:40 13:45 14:00 14:15 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:55 15:00 15:00 15:05 15:15 15:55 16:00 16:10 16:35 16:40 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:10 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:45 19:00 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:40 20:00 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:45 20:55 21:00 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:25 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:10 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 22:55 22:55 23:10 23:35 23:40 23:40 23:45

Airlines AIC UAL DLH MSR JAI PIA THY ETH RJA THY UAE FDB ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR MSR JZR GFA THY JZR KAC KAC BAW FDB JZR ABY KAC KAC UAE RJA QTR FDB KAC ETD BAB GFA IRC KAC KAC MEA JZR UAE MSR KAC IRC MSC KAC JZR GFA FDB MSR OMA KAC JZR KNE SVA KAC RJA JZR QTR KAC KAC SYR ETD JZR QTR UAE GFA JZR ABY UAL SVA IRA QTR FDB BAB KAC MSC JZR MSR KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC MEA FDB KAC GFA JZR DHX ALK JZR ABY ETD UAE QTR KAC KAC TMA LMU JZR BBC QTR GFA KAC KAC TAR

Depature Flights on Monday 3/9/2012 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD 981 WASHINGTON DC 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 573 MUMBAI 206 PESHAWAR 773 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 643 AMMAN 769 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 2105 CAIRO 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 534 CAIRO 545 ALEXANDRIA 537 SHARM EL SHEIKH 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 126 SHARJAH 671 DUBAI 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 5523 AMMAN 133 DOHA 56 DUBAI 801 CAIRO 302 ABU DHABI 437 BAHRAIN 214 BAHRAIN 6522 LAMERD 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 872 DUBAI 619 ASSIUT 103 LONDON 6792 MASHHAD 406 SOHAG 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 220 BAHRAIN 58 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 646 MUSCAT 673 DUBAI 538 CAIRO 473 JEDDAH 501 JEDDAH 617 DOHA 641 AMMAN 528 ASSIUT 135 DOHA 773 RIYADH 741 DAMMAM 342 DAMASCUS 304 ABU DHABI 238 AMMAN 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 134 BAHRAIN 128 SHARJAH 982 BAHRAIN 511 RIYADH 3406 TEHRAN 145 DOHA 64 DUBAI 439 BAHRAIN 501 BEIRUT 402 ALEXANDRIA 184 DUBAI 621 ALEXANDRIA 283 DHAKA 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 331 TRIVANDRUM 351 KOCHI 403 BEIRUT 60 DUBAI 543 CAIRO 222 BAHRAIN 502 LUXOR 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 1540 CAIRO 120 SHARJAH 308 ABU DHABI 860 DUBAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 214 BEIRUT 2110 ALEXANDRIA 554 ALEXANDRIA 44 DHAKA 147 DOHA 218 BAHRAIN 411 BANGKOK 411 BANGKOK 328 DUBAI

Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:35 0:50 1:10 2:15 2:45 3:10 3:40 3:45 3:50 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:00 6:40 6:55 7:05 7:10 7:30 8:10 8:20 8:25 8:25 9:00 9:05 9:20 9:35 9:40 9:50 10:00 10:05 10:05 10:15 10:25 10:45 11:15 11:30 11:45 11:55 12:15 12:20 12:25 12:30 12:55 13:00 13:10 13:20 14:25 14:25 14:30 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:45 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:15 16:25 16:30 16:55 17:20 17:30 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:30 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:35 20:40 20:50 21:05 21:15 21:25 21:30 21:35 21:45 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:30 23:40 23:40 23:45

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

ACCOMMODATION

SITUATION VACANT

Available one bedroom for an Indian executive bachelor in a 2 B/R, 2 bathroom CA/C apartment /new building across Salmiya Garden block 10 from 1st September to stay with a couple, the person should be non-smoking with clean habits. Contact: 25653928 / 66015253. (C 4123)

Cook for Kuwaiti family, available in Kuwait with transferable residence, experience in houses, not restaurants. Call: 94088822.

(C 4116)

Fully furnished flat for rent for 3 to 4 months near Indian Public School, Salmiya. Good location.

Contact: 50166063.

(C 4124) 3-9-2012

Sri Lankan lady looking for a part time job, European or American house. Please call: 55680045. (C 4114) 30-8-2012

A room available in a furnished two bedroom flat in Salmiya for a working class single lady- close to the bus stop. Please call 66801355 Required one room in a decent accommodation for one mature person in Khaitan/ Farwaniya/ Omeria.

Call 66773840.

(C 4120) Sharing accommodation available for decent bachelor non smoking, Amman street, one big room, opposite to Al Rashid hospital.

Contact 66232356. (C 4121) 2-9-2012 Deluxe Villa in Block 5 Mishref suitable for diplomatic mission and organizations residence. Safety and security fence and ample parking space. For information, call: 99123411. (C 4113) 29-8-2012 Three bedroom CAC flat available with a South Indian family for Indian executive lady or bachelor. Contact: 99515956.

28-8-2012

Required English speaking maid / nanny. Please call 99824597. (C 4117) 1-9-2012

Looking for a Table Tennis partner who knows good English, have a great sense of humor and can play from 9am to 10am (one hour) in the morning in Mansouriya, on Friday & Saturday and on another day during the working days. Please send your reply to email giving your age and photo. Email: hgharbaly@hotmail.com (C 4110) 27-8-2012

FOR SALE Jaguar XK8, 1998, good condition, KD 1,750/- and Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign, 4 door 1995, KD 750/-.

Contact: 99696299.

(C 4112) 30-8-2012 Mitsubishi Galant 2007 (new body) golden color, km 32000 only, excellent condition, KD 1900. Mob: 50699345. (C 4111) 29-8-2012 For sale villa furniture like new contains of one bed room , dining room, living room fully equipped

kitchen. Washer & dryer.

Very reasonable price . Tel 97211688 27-8-2012

MATRIMONIAL

Proposals invited from parents of professionally qualified and well settled boys for a beautiful RC/SC girl, 26 years, 170 cm, M.Sc nursing (final year), wheatish complexion, belonging to an aristocratic family from Thamarassery diocese. If interested, please send your complete details to: matri3333@yahoo.com (C 4109) 27-8-2012

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation required for a lady from Salwa to AlRai and back, office hours 8 am to 5 pm. Contact 66751476. (C 4115) 1-9-2012

112

CHANGE OF NAME I, Megala Devi, holder of Indian Passport No: G1871523 converted to Islam do hereby change my name to Ayesha. (C 4119) I, Vadoulia Pauluse Mariamma, D/O Thomas Vadoulia Pouluse Fernandes, holder of Indian Passport No: G8814851 converted to Islam do hereby change my name to Mariyam Moidu. (C 4122) 2-9-2012 I, Arbab Raza Khan, s/o Mr. Masood Raza Khan, holder of Indian passport No. G7270724 hereby change my name as Mehboob Raza Khan. (C 4089) 30-8-2012 I, Loyela Joao Borges, resident of Grande Neura post, Neura IIhas Goa, have changed my name from Loyela John Borges to Loyela Joao Borges. Herein after in all my dealings and documents I will be known by the name Loyela Joao Borges.

29-8-2012

34

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

stars CROSSWORD 785

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) It is all too often that we forget about the people that have made a positive difference in our life and now is a good time to show appreciation to one or two of them. “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” You may find your self more emotional than usual, so keep conversations light. Phone calls and short visits give you the opportunity to seal the social ties you enjoy. A friend may be pushing you to make a choice that you have been contemplating lately. Consider writing a for-and-against list, it will help you make your decision in only a few minutes. There is a do-it-yourself project that you have been wanting to attempt and this evening is a good time to begin the job. There are plans in the works to throw a party.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You have private goals to be realized now as your domestic life becomes most important. This may necessitate that you gain better control of your financial security and earning power. Initially, you will need to be more resourceful in your finances and develop a more practical sense of values. You are serious about your finances. Have strength—through hard work and prudent organization you will gradually build up your savings and wealth. You will do a good deed for someone today—who knows, someday you may be asking someone for a favor. It is good that you enjoy novels and the simpler forms of entertainment. You may enjoy getting together with friends to play card or board games later today.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. 100 pyas equal 1 kyat.

4. A composition that imitates somebody's style in a humorous way.

10. The supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe.

13. The fatty flesh of eel.

14. A river that rises in northern Colombia and flows generally eastward to the Orinoco in central Venezuela.

15. A unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters.

16. A small piece of cloth.

17. Greek mythology.

19. African mahogany trees.

21. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series).

23. An associate degree in applied science.

25. A sock with a separation for the big toe.

27. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else.

30. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

31. A genus of Mustelidae.

35. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

37. A motley assortment of things.

39. An independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest.

40. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

42. One of the five major classes of immunoglobulins.

43. A light touch or stroke.

45. Primitive reptile having no opening in the temporal region of the skull.

47. An associate degree in nursing.

49. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal.

51. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion.

58. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring in the air.

61. An amino acid that is found in the central nervous system.

62. An angular shape characterized by sharp turns in alternating directions.

63. A cloth used as a head covering (and veil and shawl) by Muslim and Hindu women.

65. The 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

66. The capital and largest city of Japan.

67. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.

68. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

DOWN 1. An incidental benefit awarded for certain types of employment (especially if it is regarded as a right).

2. Not only so, but.

3. Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves.

4. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

5. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

6. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.

7. Two performers or singers who perform together.

8. Fiddler crabs.

9. An informal term for a father.

10. (Greek mythology) Goddess of the earth and mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient mythology.

11. Toward the mouth or oral region.

12. Declare untrue.

18. Norwegian composer whose work was often inspired by Norwegian folk music (1843-1907).

20. A member of an extinct North American Indian people who lived in the Pit river valley in northern California.

22. A small pellet fired from an air rifle or BB gun.

24. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

26. American professional baseball player who hit more home runs than Babe Ruth (born in 1934).

28. Japanese ornamental tree with fragrant white or pink blossoms and small yellow fruits.

29. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

32. Wading birds of warm regions having long slender down-curved bills.

33. East Indian cereal grass whose seed yield a somewhat bitter flour, a staple in the Orient.

34. Advanced in years.

36. Open-heart surgery in which the rib cage is opened and a section of a blood vessel is grafted from the aorta to the coronary artery to bypass the blocked section of the coronary artery and improve the blood supply to the heart.

38. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

41. The cry made by sheep.

44. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

46. Small beads made from polished shells and formerly used as money by native Americans.

48. Submerged aquatic plant having narrow leaves and small flowers.

49. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element.

50. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

52. Formerly a large constellation in the southern hemisphere between Canis Major and the Southern Cross.

53. The capital and chief port of Qatar.

54. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

55. Avatar of Vishnu.

56. In bed.

57. Flat and uninspiring.

59. Being one hundred more than two hundred.

60. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank.

64. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Before this morning slips away, you do some serious thinking about how to help a child or employee who has come to your attention because of some shortcoming. Seeking the advice of a counselor as to how you might go about helping this person or a recommendation of a good book might be a good idea. It would not take much guidance but you want to be able to do the right thing by this person. The problem you see is temporary but you can and will make a difference with your careful consideration. Animals are the other side of this day and a trip to the pet store, a zoo or a neighborhood animal that has gotten free from restraint may keep you busy and energized. Whatever the case, there is plenty to talk and laugh about over the evening meal.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You have great opportunities for leadership without unpleasant duties or responsibilities. Now that you may be at home for the day, you may decide to make a concentrated effort to keep focused on non-work issues. You gather useful information that will serve your personal goals, and you improve your ability to express yourself with reason and sincerity. Self-improvement and the influence of those around you can go along educational, religious, philosophical or cultural lines. You find it easy to identify with most people and sometime today you will find yourself surrounded by several different types of people from a variety of backgrounds. You enjoy whatever communication can be had and may even be able to do a little networking.

NON SEQUITUR

Leo (July 23-August 22) YYou are outgoing and enjoy being around people. This is a good time to become involved with some form of volunteer service. If there is something going on in your city and you always wanted to help but for some reason held back . . . now is the time to check it out. It could be that you will only inquire about certain sections of the city and actually make the call next week. There are opportunities in many cities to help out in city services, such as fire, police or parks departments. If you volunteered in a garden for tourists to visit, you might learn special growing techniques for your living area. Your own experience in certain subjects can prove to be very helpful. You could meet your next mate, your next job, your next hobby.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Domestic and parental instincts are accented today. You desire the comforts and activities of home and the emotional involvement of your family. You may need to devote more of your time to your family and express yourself more now. A family needs to know the people that interact within the unit and this is as good a time to contribute as any. Consider making plans for future gatherings such as camping out, backyard get-togethers or having a show-and-tell hobby time. When people talk about the things they like, they reveal a part of themselves that is very seldom seen. This evening is good for studying, reviewing the week ahead, summarizing the day’s activity and planning future gatherings. More than ever, your family is most important to you.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You have done some successful work when it comes to developing a mature attitude about consideration for others. Improved resourcefulness and material values can lead to better financial security. You have ideas for making money and insuring security. It is a good time for financial planning and correspondence. You may travel for business. Social and business communications may require tact and diplomacy. Short trips can be pleasurable if travel is not a consideration. Now is a favorable time for public relations and dealings with the communication media. You will want to hunt for bargains, store useful goods, pay debts and plan your future investments. Use your money wisely; you are apt to be tempted to spend more on speculation.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) As you embark on new beginnings, you will end old conditions. Look at your passions and attachments in order that you may leave behind that unnecessary baggage. Mental effort intensifies now. You may have a curiosity about the unknown with a compulsive train of thought directed toward finding answers within yourself or toward solving problems.

Investigation and scientific research is favorable—perhaps an invention is developing. Communications may involve corporate business, insurance, taxes or inheritance. You may be privy to secret plots. You can be subject to uncompromising mental attitudes and irrevocable decisions. Your family relationships stabilize in a time of contentment.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution

Don’t be surprised if you have to spend more money today than you had anticipated. The emphasis now is on important social and professional agreements. Initially, there is a change coming from private to public responsibilities. You will have less time to spend with family and old friends. Many times you may feel lonely, unpopular, unloved or unwanted, but with effort, those feelings will change. As you take on more responsibility in your profession, you will tend to choose partners and associates who share some of your goals and objectives.

You tend to make more contacts with older, more experienced people and those in position of authority. Your sense of justice intensifies as you become more sensitive to the needs and rights of others.

Find more ways to make your inventiveness work for you.

Today may be a day of compromise. Your ability to communicate your position and come to a successful resolution is key to whether or not you will succeed during your next opportunity to negotiate. You may desire greater intellectual freedom and excitement. Freedom of speech and access to information is more important to you now. You may take an interest in old and unconventional ideas. Your thinking tends to be intuitively inspired. Psychic impressions may confuse your practical thought processes. At times communication can be evasive, secretive and obscure. You may develop an intellectual interest in psychology, mysticism, art, healing or poetry.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Today you may find that family members or friends want a lot of your attention. It could be that you will need to be flexible and use a little give-and-take attitude. A family meeting or vote among friends could be in order. It must be great to have as many friends as you do or to have as many family members that want to spend the day with you. You may open up to a friend today and discover things about them as well as yourself that you never had known before. You will impress people in conversations and perhaps even communicate to loved ones on a new level this evening. There is insight as well as foresight in your communication with others—practical and romantic. Balance and moderation are the keywords for now.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Your thinking tends to be inspired by intuitive ideas. You tend to be radical when it comes to self-analysis—which means health care, food, physical well-being, etc. Work on your sensitivity to criticism—find some positive tools and occasionally, laugh at yourself! The answers you come up with today could improve things in the future. You may want to share your new discoveries but it may be best to wait until you have named and dated the paperwork for proof that you had the idea first. Perhaps you should mail it to someone. Garage sales are tempting to visit and you may decide a garage sale could be something you might conduct. If you or your partner have been neglecting the needs of the other, this evening may become an especially sweet.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Fayhaa

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

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

22451082

Al-Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W.Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

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

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

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

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

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

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Paradis accuses Klum on cheating with bodyguard

he ‘Kiss from a Rose’ singer slammed his estranged spouse with who he raises Leni, eight, Henry, six, Johan, five, and twoyear-old Lou - for “fornicating with the help” and blamed her romance with Martin Kristen for their split in January after seven years of marriage. Speaking after Heidi and Martin were pictured looking close in Sardinia, Italy, Seal told TMZ: “That’s what happens when two people separate, they move on and generally meet other people in their lives. “I certainly don’t expect Heidi to all of a sudden become a nun. But as always my main priority is the emotional wellbeing of my children, and to be quite honest, if there is going to be someone else there in their lives, I would much rather it was a familiar face. “That’s the only thing I would have preferred. Whilst I didn’t expect anything better from him [the bodyguard], I would of thought that Heidi would have shown a little more class and at least waited until we separated first before deciding to fornicate with the help, as it were. I guess you all now have the answer you have been looking for the last seven months.” However, despite Seal’s claims, Heidi is said to have insisted to friends that her relationship with Martin - who has worked with her for four years - was “strictly professional” during her marriage. One pal admitted the supermodel has got “very close” to her bodyguard since separating from the singer whose hard partying was rumored to have contributed to the marriage breakdown - but their relationship is currently “undefined”. The pal added: “It’s sad but not surprising that he would resort to making excuses for their divorce when the real reason is looking him in the mirror.”

T

included in best friend’s vows he ‘Angels’ hitmaker is very close to childhood pal Jonathan Wilkes and the singer’s partner Nikki has always been resigned to the fact he would play a prominent role in their lives together. Nikki said: “There were always three of us in our relationship, we went everywhere together. Jonathan added: “Even at our wedding, our vicar said, ‘Nikki, do you take Johnny and Robbie to be your lawful wedded husbands?!’ “We went on tour together in 2006 which was just mad, surreal and crazy. We had a ball and I got to see the world. I took Nikki and [my son] Mickey - he was just 16 weeks old and he’d been to nine countries! It was amazing.”

The ‘She’s The One’ star now lives in Los Angeles with wife Ayda Field - who is pregnant with their first child but Jonathan is still very close to his best friend and phones him every day. He said: “I’m very lucky, there aren’t many people that I have special relationships with like that and we’ve been through thick and thin together. “It’s rare to have that, but I take it for granted at times and Rob would say the same, because people don’t have friends from age four or five, but we’re still strong and so close - he’s my best mate.”

T

Phillips:

he singer-and-actress - who announced in June she had split from Johnny Depp after 14 years together- has reportedly embarked on a romance with millionaire French businessman Guy-David Gharbi after first meeting on a flight from Los Angeles to Paris in May. A source close to Johnny and Vanessa who have kids Lily-Rose, 13, and Jack, 10, together - said: “The relationship coming to an end has been tough on both Johnny and Vanessa. “What they care about more than anything is remaining a close family because their two kids are and always will be their main priority. “But Vanessa and GuyDavid have become close over the last few months and even though they are still taking things slowly, they are dating now. Guy-David’s made his feelings clear for Vanessa but told her he’s happy to give her all the time she needs. “They’ve been going for quiet romantic dinners in Paris and just enjoying each other and having fun.

It’s been a very healing thing for her.” Johnny - who was romantically linked with actress Amber Heard following his split from Vanessa - is said to have given his blessing to his former partner’s new relationship and he is pleased she has found happiness. The source added to The Sun newspaper: “GuyDavid’s put a smile back on Vanessa’s face, she looks younger and is even singing and writing songs again. “Which after two years of heartache and turmoil for both of them has really warmed Johnny’s heart.

“Johnny has given Vanessa full access to the house in Plan de La Tour in the South of France and told her it will always be her home too.

“She stayed there with Guy-David the week before last after a family trip on the yacht Vajoliroja in Saint-Tropez. “Johnny’s a good and emotionally evolved guy and all he wants for her now is for her to be happy. “Things are going well for them.”

T

Seal

Williams

Craig

values audience opinion for James Bond

Medal was best gift

he sportswoman and her spouse Mike Tindall celebrated one year of marriage on July 30, but their celebrations were muted as she was competing in the crosscountry stage of the team eventing, for which she eventually won a silver medal. Mike said: “I managed to get a card from the local supermarket in Greenwich the day before, when she was doing the dressage. “I couldn’t find a proper card shop but at least I bought her a nice bunch of flowers from Greenwich Market. “To be honest, the best present for both of us was her going clear that day in the cross-country in the park.” Despite Zara’s joy at winning an Olympic medal, Mike admitted his wife was a “little down” that Team GB failed to scoop gold as she blamed her performance in the first round of show jumping - where she accrued seven faults - for her team missing out on first place. He added: “Zara was a little down at first and thought she was responsible for Britain failing to win gold. But medals are won and lost over three days and there were all kinds of other reasons - such as William Fox-Pitt’s time faults in the cross-country - why we didn’t end up with gold. “After a day, the disappointment of not winning gold turned into delight she had won silver and since that day I’ve hardly seen her without it.”

T

Kroeger ‘embarrassed’ of

Lavigne ‘Halo 4’

soundtrack influenced by Massive Attack he record producer and composer Neil Davidge has worked with electronic band since the nineties - contributing to albums ‘Mezzanine’, ‘100th Window’, ‘Collected’ and ‘Heligoland’ - and says all of them influenced his work on video game ‘Halo 4’. He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: “My work with Massive Attack gave me a lot of creative freedom to explore new ideas and new approaches. It has influenced me as a composer hugely. I’ve had free reign. I haven’t had a record company breathing down my neck. “I always look for something new when I make music. I’m looking for an original sound I can mix with the more classical melodic approach that I did with Massive Attack.” Neil spent two years working on the soundtrack to the latest game in the series, which will be the first of a new series named the ‘Reclaimer Trilogy’. Neil also worked with 14 pioneering electronic musicians on a remix album of the tracks he’s produced for ‘Halo 4’ - the first time this has happened in the gaming series - including contributions from DJ Skee, Gui Boratto, Caspa, classical rock group Apocalyptica and ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha. He added: “In the past I’ve done a lot of remixes myself, especially with Massive Attack. It is something I enjoy very much. The prospect of these mixing artists taking my work, taking it and changing it, was very exciting. I’ve been very pleased with the results.”‘Halo 4’ launches worldwide 6th November exclusively on Xbox 360. —BANG Showbiz

T

has a new boyfriend

he Nickleback frontman - who proposed to the Canadian singer after a whirlwind romance - has not yet introduced his mother to his future wife, and became redfaced when he had to explain they were getting married because his mom is a big fan of her music. He said: “You never know what your parents are going to say when you tell them you’re getting married - especially when it’s with someone they haven’t met yet. My mom is a huge fan of Avril’s, so putting her on speakerphone and telling her the news was hilarious and equally embarrassing.” The ‘Sk8r Boi’ hitmaker has yet to even take Chad to her hometown, but he knows where she will take him when he does make it there. He added: “I find [going back home] almost as terrifying as telling your parents you’re going to tie the knot. You just never know when someone is going to come out of the woodwork with a story that’s starts with, ‘Let me tell you about the time...’ “But I know she is dying to take me to La Pizzeria to try her favourite pizza in the world.”

T

he British actor never used to worry about what people thought of his career choices until he took on the role of the iconic spy and he knows the films have to do well or the series won’t continue. He said: “‘Skyfall’ made me remember why I do it. You know, I did a lot of movies before Bond and I used to work because I wanted to work with certain directors and great scripts and I kind of didn’t care what people thought. “Bond movies live or die on their popularity. They force you to care about what people think. And I’m involved on a very deep level. “I have it in mind all the time; if it doesn’t make any money we’re in trouble.” However, Daniel admits the pressure of success can be an “enemy” as he can’t afford to have any nerves playing Bond. He explained to Esquire magazine: “So there’s that kind of pressure, and there’s an enemy in any art form, acting especially. “If you’re worried about what people are going to think, then you’re kind of nervous. But Bond can’t be nervous. Be relaxed and enjoy it, that’s what people want to see.

“They want to see a man enjoy fear, enjoying champagne enjoying martinis, enjoying the fact he’s got a beautiful woman.”

T

37

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

LIFESTYLE

Film offers rare glimpse into Orthodox sraeli director Rama Burshtein brings her own ultra-Orthodox Jewish community to the big screen in “Fill the Void”, a film about a young bride torn between love and familial obligations premiering at the Venice festival. The film centers on Shira, an 18-year-old Hasidic girl who is thrilled about her forthcoming arranged marriage with a young man whom she has only briefly seen in a supermarket. Tragedy strikes when Shira’s older sister Esther dies giving birth, leaving the family crushed by grief.

Esther’s husband Yochai is quickly pressed to remarry a widow in Belgium, but the girls’ mother is desperate to keep her only grandchild in the country - and soon Shira is asked to step into her sister’s shoes. The film, set in the secluded Hasidic community living in secular Tel Aviv, offers a rare glimpse into the Orthodox way of life, its rigid customs and traditions, but also deals with the wider themes of relationships and family pressures.

“People don’t know much about this world, so it’s not a question of celebration or criticism, it’s a window into this world,” said New York-born Burshtein, who grew up in a secular family but became ultra-Orthodox shortly after graduating.

“I love this world, I come from it, I chose it, I was not born in it. But I think we hear many voices (in the film), I think it’s open,” she told reporters.

Burshtein has spent more than a decade teaching and making cinema for the Orthodox Jewish community, some of them for women only as Hasidic men are barred from viewing women on the big screen. She is one of 21 female directors at the Venice film festival this year, and one of the four competing for the top Golden Lion prize.

The heavy female presence on the Lido waterfront, including Saudi Arabia’s first woman filmmaker, is in stark contrast to this year’s Cannes

I

Photo dated October 14, 2011 shows US songwriter Hal David after being honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. —AFP

Songwriter

Hal David dies at 91

al David, a lyricist who along with composer Burt Bacharach took the pop world by storm in the 1960s with hits such as “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head” and “Walk on By,” died in Los Angeles on Saturday at age 91, a representative said. David died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of complications from a stroke, said Jim Steinblatt, spokesman for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, or ASCAP. Earlier this year, David and Bacharach received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress, during a White House musical tribute.

David, a native of Brooklyn, New York, began his songwriting career in the late 1940s by collaborating with writers he had met at Manhattan’s famed Brill Building, which at the time was the center of the pop industry. He started working with Bacharach in the late 1950s and their songs were recorded by such artists as Frank Sinatra, Marty Robbins, Tom Jones and Barbra Streisand. The singer most associated with the songwriting duo is Dionne Warwick, who rose to fame by scoring a number of Top 10 hits in the 1960s with material from David and Bacharach. Bacharach’s and David’s song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head” was written for the 1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and won the Academy Award for Best Song.

They also won a Grammy in 1969 for best score from an original cast show album for their Broadway musical “Promises, Promises,” which included the song “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again.” The play returned to Broadway in 2010 starring

H

Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes. The songwriting duo’s other hits included “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” and “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” which is best known from a version by the Carpenters.

David and Bacharach parted ways in the early 1970s. David went on to work with other composers. With Albert Hammond, he wrote the hit “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.” Eunice David, the songwriter’s widow, who married him in 1988, said she used to watch him sit in an old rocking chair and write on a legal pad.

“All of a sudden, I’d look up and there it was filled with lyrics,” she told Reuters. “It never ceased to amaze me how that happened.”

Songwriter Paul Williams, president and chairman of ASCAP, said in a statement that David was “simple, concise and poetic.” “It is no wonder that so many of his lyrics have become part of our everyday vocabulary and his songs ... the backdrop of our lives,” Williams said. David served as president of ASCAP from 1980 to 1986.

His parents were immigrants from Austria.

His older brother, Mack David also achieved success by composing or co-writing a number of songs, including the 1944 “Candy” and the English version of Edith Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose.” David is survived by his wife, sons Jim and Craig, three grandchildren and two stepsons. —Reuters

festival, where the absence of female directors in the main competition led to accusations of sexism in the French press and further afield. Film critics have branded Venice’s 69th edition a “pink festival” but artistic director Alberto Barbera, who took over the helm of the world’s oldest movie showcase this year, said this was not intentional.

Jewish life

“I don’t like the idea of Indian reserves or pink quotas. It’s just a sign that women’s creativity is very present in a world that for decades has been dominated by men,” he told reporters at the opening of the festival last week. —Reuters

(From left) Israeli actress Hadas Yaron, actor Yiftach Klein, film director Rama Burshtein and actress Irit Sheleg pose during the photocall of “Lemale et ha’ chalal (Fill the Void)” during the 69th Venice Film Festival yesterday at Venice Lido “Lemale et ha’ chalal (Fill the void)” is competing for the Golden Lion in the Venezia 69 section of the festival. —AFP

Women directors shine at Venice film fest ith women directing 21 of the 52 films being shown at this year’s Venice film festival, organizers said the time for international recognition of women’s contribution to cinema has finally come. “I think it’s a sign of the times,” festival director Alberto Barbera said. “Cinema for over a century was a very maledominated environment. Finally, even cinema has realized that there is female creativity,” he said.

The festival opened with “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” by Mira Nair and four of the 18 films vying for the Golden Lion award are directed by women-in contrast to the Cannes festival where there were no women in the running. “We did not have a quota for women directors. We chose the films without any prejudices and we realised later that a third were by women,” Barbera said.

At a conference on the theme in Venice, Nair said she had always believed in female potential and never saw being a woman as an obstacle to her work. “I am beyond gender, inspired by art,” Nair said, although she pointed out that women could access unknown realities from which men are excluded. She gave as an example her 1985 documentary “Indian Cabaret” about two strippers in Mumbai but stressed that creativity was neither male nor female.

Some of the women directors taking part said being singled out made them uncomfortable, however, and they just wanted equal treatment in a tough sector. “I think it’s limiting to say: ‘I’m a female director’,” said Zoe Cassavetes, the daughter of US actor-director John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands and the director of a short called “The Powder Room”. “It’s very difficult for anyone trying to make a film.... I think the faster we can put to the side that we are women directors, the bigger chance we have,” said Cassavetes, best known for her 2007 film “Broken English”.

But Giada Colagrande, the wife of Hollywood veteran Willem Dafoe, said the situation in Italy was very different from the United States. “In Italy

W

only five or six percent of directors are women. I think we should have a greater consciousness of this because it’s really a problem,” she said.

Women “are slaves of a prejudice that affects your mentality, your approach,” said the director, who also brought a short to Venice.

While actresses are often the stars of the red

Jessica Woodworth as co-director (“La cinquieme saison”), Rama Burshtein (“Fill the void”) and Valeria Sarmiento (“Linhas de Wellington”).

Argentinian director, producer and screenwriter Lucrecia Martel said she could not understand what all the fuss was about since she said that in Argentina starting in the 1980s women

(From left) Film director Susanne Beer, Irish actor Pierce Brosnan and Trine Dyrholm pose during the photocall of “Den Skaldede frisor (Love is All You Need)” during the 69th Venice Film Festival yesterday at Venice Lido. “Den Skaldede” is presented out of competition. —AFP carpets in Hollywood or Cannes, women directors are still relatively rare at international festivals. Cannes festival president Gilles Jacob said earlier it was “shameful” that only one womanJane Campion (“The Piano Lesson”) — has won the Palme d’Or. Festival director Thierry Fremaux said: “It is not in Cannes in the month of May that we have to ask ourselves the question, it’s yearround.” The four women in competition in Venice are Francesca Comencini (“Un giorno speciale”),

have been a major presence in filmmaking. “For the women of my generation, being a director or a producer was completely normal,” she said. She added: “Many times the obstacles in history that seem giant can be stupid and can be easily changed.” —AFP

Second ‘Hobbit’ movie gets new name he third film in the upcoming “Hobbit” movie trilogy will be released worldwide in July 2014, the movie studios behind the venture said on Friday, and the second film now has a new name. The third film-”The Hobbit: There and Back Again”-will open in movie theaters on July 18, 2014 - just seven months after the newly titled second film “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” arrives on Dec 13, 2013. The second film originally carried the “There and Back Again” title.

The first film, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” starring British actor Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, has already been set for a Dec 14, 2012 opening. Director Peter Jackson, Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, and MGM announced in July that the 3D-film adaptation of the classic novel by JRR Tolkien would be split into three films rather

T

Italian actress Romina Mondello and Ukrainian born actress Olga Kurylenko pose during the photocall of “To the wonder”. —AFP

Boos for Malick’s ‘To the Wonder’ in Venice ult US director Terrence Malick’s latest work “To the Wonder” failed to impress its first viewers at the Venice film festival yesterday, with more than a few boos amid tepid applause. The eagerly awaited flick with Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Olga Kurylenko and Rachel McAdams is ambitious in scope, exploring many forms of love through beautifully shot imagery and poetic voiceovers by its protagonists.

It starts with a love story between Affleck and Kurylenko that finds its perfect expression in the picturesque cloister garden of Mont Saint Michel in France-the “Wonder” in the film and an idyll that quickly turns sour. The couple move to Oklahoma in the United States where they meet a priest played by Bardem, who is himself falling out of love with God as he is confronted with the poverty and misery in the underbelly of middle America.

This is self-indulgent filmmaking-a

C

charge also levelled against Malick for his last film “The Tree of Life” starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, which still impressed the jury in Cannes last year and won the Palme d’Or. In “To the Wonder” there is little acting in the traditional sense and many of the emotions are portrayed through facial expressions and gestures.

While Kurylenko-the Bond girl in “Quantum of Solace”-and Bardem mostly manage to pull this difficult performance off, Affleck is unconvincing with his gormless expressions interspersed with occasional scowls and smiles. While the traditional end-of-love story left viewers unsatisfied, the more moving parts of the film were the exploration of divine love and natural beauty, like the warming light felt by Bardem through a stained glass window. —AFP

than the two originally envisaged.

Warner Bros executives said they believed the third movie would play well in the summer - the most lucrative period for the movie industry and the launch pad for action-packed blockbusters. “We wanted to have a shorter gap between the second and third films of ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy. Opening in July affords us not only the perfect summer tentpole, but fans will have less time to wait for the finale of this epic adventure,” Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. said in a statement.

“The Hobbit” is the prequel to Tolkien’s epic fantasy “The Lord of the Rings” which Jackson made into three Oscar-winning films about 10 years ago. —Reuters

Nun sues Disney for $1 bn over ‘Sister Act’ pparently, imitation isn’t always the sincerest form of flattery. At least in the case of “Sister Act.” The Walt Disney Company and Touchstone Pictures are being sued for $1 billion - yes, with a “b” - by a nun who claims that her life story was stolen and used in the 1992 film “Sister Act.” In a suit filed in New York Supreme Court last week, Queen Mother Dr Delois Blakely of the Franciscan Handmaids of Mary Convent in Harlem claims that “Sister Act” - and its 1993 sequel, as well as a stage musical adaptation - used “plaintiff’s actual life experiences without her permission or authorization, thereby irreparably damaging her by depriving her of the windfall of financial gain reaped by defendants.”

“The subplots actualized in the said motion picture ‘Sister Act’ and portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg are her real life experiences,” the suit adds. Blakely sued Disney, as well as producer Scott Rudin and Sony Pictures, late last year over the matter, but had that suit voluntarily dismissed in January. Disney has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment. —Reuters

A

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

lifestyle F A S H I O N

street looks

Newer making their way to ski slopes M

ore street styles are making their way on to snow slopes, from longer lengths in women’s jackets to high-performance hoodies that could be worn while riding or skiing - or in the city later. Makers of ski pants and jackets also are offering some styles this winter with flaunted opulence but also recycled materials in response to separate trends for outrÈ designs and eco-elegance. The over-the-top luxury is showing up in gold and fur accents, and exotic animal skin prints in offbeat colors, said Jeanine Pesce, trend analyst of the fashion forecasting firm Style sight. This coming winter, Obermeyer, for example, is offering slim puffy down coats in a python pattern, in either shiny blue or

Photo shows Anne Maria Dacyshyn, Global PR Director for Burton, shows Burtonís newest tech apparel collection at the annual SAI Snow Show. —AP photos

Ailanto Roberto Torretta

Spanish

fashion week

Model Carlie Sis wears an Obemeyer coat at the annual SAI Snow Show in Denver that will be available for the coming ski season.

silver.

On the other end of the spectrum, designers are giving a nod to what Pesce calls an “anti-outerwear” movement. At early and late-season on-mountain events, skiers and snowboarders have been taking to the snow wearing sweatshirts, vests and flannel shirts, without coats. Burton’s newest tech apparel collection includes pieces that would look at home on a city street but also work for the slopes. The men’s collection has a waterproof soft-shell hoodie with fleece lining, performance denim jackets and pants designed with insulation and waterrepellant materials, and a technical, highperformance corduroy. For women, there’s a quick-drying tank top with an antimicrobial finish, aimed at keeping odor at bay, to wear as a layer under ski gear or later for an apres-ski happy hour.

“Anything goes ... if you can make it functional and lightweight,” said Burton spokeswoman Anne-Marie Dacyshyn. On the sustainability front, Mountain Dew has partnered with Burton to produce apparel that incorporates recycled plastic bottles into not just T-shirts but also outerwear.

Mountain Dew’s involvement allows Burton to sell the garments for less than what it might otherwise cost, according to Burton.

Designers are still playing with volume and including patches of mismatched patterns on outerwear. The playfulness in volume could start showing up in insulated skirts for women and pant shapes that feature a more bulbous, insulated short, with skintight leggings peeking out underneath for both men and women, said Pesce, who attended this year’s annual SIA Snow Show, where retailers can see what manufacturers have ready for the upcoming season. She sees a mixing of materials, patterns and colors. That could mean colors that intentionally clash, argyles and plaids mixed with stripes, and textural corduroys or tweeds paired with waterproof materials. — AP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

lifestyle F A S H I O N

Models display outfits from the Ana Locking SpringSummer 2013 collection at the Madrid Fashion Week in Madrid yesterday. —AFP photos

Ditch the baggy suit, fashion experts advise Ryan P

aul Ryan prepared for the biggest speech of his career last Wednesday, in front of a television audience of tens of millions of voters. Style experts hoped to find some time to do some clothes shopping as well. Ryan’s budget-cutting plan has made him one of the most polarizing figures in US politics, but many of those who know fashion agree on one thing: The man needs serious help with his wardrobe.

When Mitt Romney added Ryan to the Republican ticket this month, fashion experts panned the 42-year-old Wisconsin congressman’s duck-billed loafers, floppy shirt collars and baggy suits. GQ, the men’s magazine, called Ryan’s boxy black suit a “suburban dad special,” while Esquire compared it to a trash bag. Women’s Wear Daily called his choice of square-toed shoes “one of the most grievous mistakes a man can make.”

Ryan looks “like a boy wearing his father’s suit,” said Jesse Thorn, editor of the menswear blog Put This On. Ryan

probably won’t need the support of fashionistas to win the vice presidency on Nov 6, but some clothing experts wonder whether voters might conclude that a man who wears suits that seem to be a couple of sizes too large isn’t ready to be one heartbeat away from the Oval Office. “If the suit’s too big for him, it seems like the job is too big for him,” said Laurie Graham, a Los Angeles image consultant who works with business clients. Ryan also gets low marks for wearing his suit without a tie, an increasingly popular look among political candidates striving for the approachable look. “To me it looks like they had to run out of the house because it was on fire,” said David Hodgkins, owner of David Wood Clothiers in Portland, Maine. “It’s incomplete; it’s like a shoe without shoelaces.”

known for sleeping in his Capitol Hill office and staying up late studying budget tables, rather than hitting Washington’s party scene. “I wonder if there was some point in his life when he was 15 or 20 pounds heavier, and went into a Men’s Wearhouse, had himself measured and wrote it down for posterity,” Thorn said.

Ryan’s poorly fitting suits threaten to obscure looks that routinely are described as boyishly handsome and a body that has been toned by the vigorous P90X fitness regimen. TMZ, a gossip website, wrote that Ryan might be “the hottest vice presidential candidate ever.” The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress, named him one of the 50 most attractive people in politics in 2008. “Forget the budget: Paul Ryan is hot!” wrote Politico, another publication for Washington insiders.

Hottest veep candidate ever?

Ryan’s appearance could be a reflection of his monk-like focus on fiscal policy. A wonk’s wonk, Ryan is

Wardrobe malfunctions Unlike female politicians whose clothing and hairstyle choices are dissected endlessly, male politicians typi-

cally enjoy less scrutiny and face fewer fashion risks. For decades, the choice of lawmakers and officials has been a dark suit with a white shirt and red or blue solid tie to convey an aura of power and authority. President Ronald Reagan’s brown suits were a rare exception, but they helped to bolster his image as a western outsider with few ties to Washington.

Clothing, however, occasionally can trip up male politicians. Vice President Al Gore was mocked during the 2000 presidential campaign for heeding the advice of a consultant who told him to wear ear th tones. And President Barack Obama drew snickers when he was photographed in high-waisted “dad jeans” a few years ago.

President George HW Bush only deepened his blue-blooded reputation when he argued that he wasn’t a “Brooks Brothers Republican” because he wore J Press suits - another brand favored by old-money New Englanders. For political candidates, a sudden fashion transformation

doesn’t always work out.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin traded in her turtlenecks and fleece vests for designer outfits after she was chosen as Republican John McCain’s vice presidential running mate in 2008.

But the $150,000 cost of the makeover led to uncomfortable questions for the campaign, particularly when it became clear that the Republican Party had paid for the clothes. For Ryan, it won’t be too difficult to up his sartorial game when he takes the podium at the Republican convention in Tampa on Wednesday night, fashion experts say.

Black cap-toe shoes, a dark, slim-fitting suit from a maker such as Brooks Brothers or Southwick, a white shirt and a solid or striped tie would convey confidence and authority, menswear experts said. Most importantly, it would not distract from the message Ryan hopes to convey to voters. “It’s his job to look responsible,” Thorn said.

“His priority should be to look like he has his act together.” — Reuters

Say ‘Yes’in style: La Mariee, the new Bridal Boutique at Al Ostoura A

l Ostoura International Company is thrilled to announce the opening of the “La MariÈe” bridal boutique.

Totally dedicated to future brides, the boutique is home to an extensive collection of world-renowned designers’ bridal gowns, headpieces, shoes and accessories.

Located in the Thuraya Complex on the root floor, the new boutique is exquisite and specifically designed for the “La Mariee’, the French meaning of ‘The Bride”. The beautiful bridal boutique reflects a home-like atmosphere. Adorned with an inspirational decor that translates the feel of a cozy luxurious French apartment, the boutique has elegant wood floors and a small twist of vintage paintings of the early 1900’s thrown in to contribute to the relaxed and sophisticated ambiance full of intimacy and seclusion.

The boutique carries a comprehensive collection of the finest in couture wedding dresses and styles of all types are available to choose from. Whether the bride is looking for a traditional dress design or desires to make a more modern fashion statement, the very exquisite and top of the line designers, such as Alberta Ferretti, Amsale, and Reem Acra are available to satisfy the bride’s particular tastes, as well as Jenny Packham, Lanvin and other international brand names coming soon.

It doesn’t end with the wedding dresses.

The boutique is also filled with lovely treasures to complete the look from couture wed-

ding veils, elegantly crafted bridal headpieces and bridal shoes.

About the concept behind the opening of the boutique, Al Ostoura’s Creative Director, Rarnzi Tabiat explains: “The concept of La Mariee was born from the strong demand of our very glamorous clientele to provide them with the best Bridal they can find in the region. As our customer is a well informed and well travelled client, it was natural for us

to cater to her bridal needs with a very glamorous and a French-chic bridal apartment concept. Our customer is also used to the best and it is only normal that she is treated in the best manner when she comes to us. In the “La Mariee”, we want her to enjoy a truly memorable experience and to be styled to perfection. So, we created this calming and inspirational atmosphere to ensure that she will live her dream ... which will be one of her

most important events ... and our bride doesn’t deserve anything less than that”, The dedicated and talented team of La Mariee provides a complete one-on-one service by appointments to fit the bride with the perfect gown for her. They will work with the bride-to-be, her family and friends from the moment they walk into the boutique to the day the bride will pick up her dress. Expert inhouse alterations are also provided on site to assure the best fit for the bride.

The “La Mariee” bridal boutique reflects Al Ostoura’s passion for design, quality and detail to offer to each bride an enjoyable experience with the highest levels of expertise and customer service from start to finish.

To complete her perfect look, the bride can also choose a resplendent necklace, or earrings or even bracelets from the Al Ostoura’s jewelry stores available in the complex.

Moreover, Al Ostoura’s portfolio of high end brands for top designers such as Alaia, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chloe, Dries Van Noten, Giambattista Valli, Lanvin, Marc Jacobs, and Nina Ricci. Stella McCartnoy and many other desirable designers for happy occasions are all very conveniently located in the Thuraya Complex. Other members of the bride’s and groom’s families can equally find their choices of haute couture dresses to celebrate the special occasion.

Six Senses Spa One of the best 15 new health spas in the world

A

beer Al Bahar, Public Relations and Comm Manager in Commercial Real Estate Company stated that the Six Senses Spa-Kuwait, which was opened in June 2011, was chosen amongst the first new international spas to be opened within the twelve past months.

According to the Conde Nast Traveler Magazine Six Senses Spa was selected as one of the best fifteen spas in the world. It combines the Arabic and modern style over an area of 1500 square meters in a special and quite place with a charming overview over the Gulf coast in Missoni HotelKuwait within the symphony project, one of Commercial Real Estate Company projects.

It is worth noting that Six Senses Spa-Kuwait provides treatment and spa facilities as well as swimming pools and the latest technologies in the fields of health, security and sports equipment. Abeer Al- Bahar indicated that the Commercial Real Estate Company exerted all possible efforts to provide the best and most luxurious services for the comfort of the spa visitors so as to provide the best services and to guarantee the best luxurious conditions.

Songwriter Hal David dies at 91

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

fears

Taiwan over downside of education

W

hen Hsu Chung-hsin went to university three decades ago he became part of a small elite in Taiwan. Now virtually everyone can enter higher education. That, he thinks, is deplorable. “It’s become so easy. As long as you’re willing to pay the tuition, you can go to university. That’s no good,” said Hsu, a legislator with a PhD in law from Cambridge. “It doesn’t influence the top universities. It’s the low-end universities that are affected. Their quality is low. The teaching is not so serious and the students are not so hard-working.”

Declining birth rates and an explosion in the number of universities-there are more than 160 for a population of 23 million-mean the vast majority of high school students gain entry to higher education. Taiwan had a total of 1.35 million university students at the end of June 2012, according to Ministry of Education figures. But the boom has serious downsides for Taiwan-with a polarized system resulting in many people receiving a sub-standard education that does not meet the overall needs of the economy.

The standard university entrance examonce a dreaded rite of passage-has become little more than a formality. In 2011, the latest year for which figures are available, 90.4 percent of applicants gained admission. That compares starkly with 1975, when just over a quarter of people made it past the exams, ensuring a Darwinian struggle for survival where the cream rose to the top. Now the pressure is off and operators of the island’s cramming schools preparing teenagers for the entrance exam report a relaxed atmosphere in their classrooms. It means the archetypal hardcore Taiwanese high school student who burned the midnight oil in an effort to secure perfect grades is probably already in a minority.

“Some high school students take it really easy. If you just want to make it to university, any university, you’ll be fine no matter what,” said Abby Yao, a 24-year-old psychology student at Fu Jen Catholic University. “It’s totally different from our parents’ generation. Back then it was, like, one in four who could get into university.” Kuo Wen-chung, a senior manager with the Yu Da Education Institution, a popular cramming school, agrees that youngsters now take it easier. “Definitely the students are less competitive than earlier generations, even though their parents have lavished more money on them,” he said.

There are still people who study as hard as ever. They are the ones striving to make it into the top universities, which educate roughly one third of the student body. But the other two-thirds risk ending up on the wrong side of an increasingly polarized education system, with the good, mostly state-run, universities on one hand and the not-so-good. mostly private, ones on the other. Many people enter university even though it might not be in their own long-term interests, according to Kenneth Lin, an economist at National Chung Cheng University. “The private universities just take the ones with low exam scores, because if they don’t have enough students, they’ll go bankrupt,” said Lin. “But the students face poor job opportunities when they leave, and in fact they would be better off going to a vocational school and then getting a job in manufacturing.”

According to legislator Hsu, from the small opposition party Taiwan Solidarity Union, a university system divided into two distinct tiers is the opposite of what Taiwan needs right now. Taiwan should give more people a vocational education, as it did in the early post-war years, he said. “Although they had no degree, they had a special expertise, whether it was as a mechanic or an architect,” he said. “That was the basis for Taiwan’s economic miracle from the 1960s to the 1990s. It provided a sufficient labor force for our industry.”

Now the educational system does not necessarily produce the people the economy needs, and as a result Taiwan is in the paradoxical situation that it struggles with unemployment at the same time as industry cannot find workers. Taiwan’s jobless rate hit 4.31 percent at the end of July. The non-agricultural sector had an unmet demand of 202,000 workers in February, according to the most recent figures.

The island needs to take a U-turn, Hsu argued.

Part of the reason for the plethora of universities is that many are upgraded vocational colleges, and he believes the process needs to be reversed. But turning them back into institutions that produce highly skilled workers will not be easy in a society obsessed with education.

“The parents are the major difficulty. We have to persuade them not to hope that everyone of their children can become a lawyer or a doctor,” Hsu said. “In fact, carpenters and butchers with special skills may end up having better lives. And anyway, not everyone in a society can become president. Only one.’ — AFP

37