4 Dec

CR IP TI ON BS SU

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

US warns Syria regime over chemical weapons

www.kuwaittimes.net

MOHARRAM 20, 1434 AH

Police relocate explosives as US town evacuates

Dubai-based artist showcases ‘bleeding Syria’

SA ruin Ponting farewell with emphatic win

NO: 15647

150 FILS

7Kuwait 10Cabinet 40 quits16in 40 PAGES

post-election formality Opposition to stage post-election demo

Max 21º Min 08º High Tide 01:54 & 16:20 Low Tide 09:06 & 20:56

By B Izzak

Diabetes linked to hearing loss NIIGATA: Diabetes has already been tied to an increased risk of kidney and cardiovascular troubles, nerve damage and vision loss, and now a Japanese study finds diabetics to be more than twice as likely as those without the disease to have hearing impairment. In a review of past research on the issue, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, scientists found that younger diabetics were at even higher risk than older adults, though they could not explain why.

“Current meta-analysis suggests that the higher prevalence of hearing impairment in diabetic patients compared with nondiabetic patients was consistent regardless of age,” wrote lead researcher Chika Horikawa, at Niigata University Faculty of Medicine, and colleagues. It’s not the first time researchers have found a link between diabetes and hearing loss. In 2008, researchers from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) saw similar patterns in a sample of more than 11,000 people, with people with diabetes twice as likely to have hearing loss as those without.

It’s thought that high blood sugar levels brought on by diabetes may lead to hearing loss by damaging Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received the Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak as he tenders the Cabinet’s resignation yesterday. — KUNA

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah yesterday accepted the resignation of the Cabinet submitted by Prime Minsiter Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah in a measure required under the constitution. The Amir asked the premier and other ministers to continue as a care-taker government until the new Cabinet is formed.

Under Kuwaiti law, the Cabinet must resign after the announcement of the parliamentary election results and a new Cabinet must be formed before the National Assembly holds its first session which must be within two weeks of the results. The Amir also issued a decree inviting the new National Assembly to convene on December 16 during which the Assembly will elect the speaker, deputy speaker and members of various committees.

The Amir will start consultations by meeting with the former and current speakers of parliament in addition to a number of senior officials before asking the outgoing premier or someone else to form the new Cabinet.

The decision on the new premier is expected to be made before the end of the week in order to give him sufficient time to pick up the ministers. The new Cabinet does not require a vote of confidence from the Assembly and its unelected members automatically become members of the National Assembly and enjoy almost similar rights like elected MPs. The Cabinet must include at least one elected MP. Continued on Page 13

Kate, William expecting baby Israel’s E1 plan angers Europe

CAIRO: A girl with the colors of Egypt’s national flag and Arabic that reads, ‘Egypt, Morsi’ painted on her face attends a demonstration in front of Egypt’s top court, in Cairo. — AP

Top judges override referendum boycott Egyptian civil disobedience widens CAIRO: Egypt’s Supreme Judicial Council has cleared the way for a referendum on a new constitution which President Mohamed Morsi hopes will end a political crisis that has split the country. Some judges had called for their colleagues to shun the Dec 15 plebiscite, which must be supervised by the judiciary like all elections in Egypt. But the council’s decision suggests enough officials can be mobilized to oversee the vote.

“The Supreme Judicial Council has met and agreed to delegate judges to oversee the constitutional referendum,”

Mohamed Gadallah, a legal adviser to Morsi, told Reuters on Monday. State media also reported the decision of the council. Gadallah said about 10,000 members of the judiciary are needed for the monitoring. These do not all have to be judges and could include officials in prosecutors’ offices for example.

“This moves Morsi closer to credible judicial supervision of the referendum but probably will do little to reassure his opponents of the legitimacy of the process, beginning from the formation of Continued on Page 13

JERUSALEM: Israel faced concerted criticism from Europe yesterday over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to expand settlement building after the United Nations’ de facto recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Britain, France and Sweden summoned the Israeli ambassadors in their respective capitals to hear deep disapproval of the plan to erect 3,000 more homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Ahead of a Netanyahu visit this week, Germany, considered Israel’s closest ally in Europe, urged it to refrain from expanding settlements, and Russia said it viewed the Israeli moves with serious concern. Angered by the UN General Assembly’s upgrading on Thursday of the Palestinians’ status in the world body from “observer entity” to “non-member state”, Israel said the next day it would build the new dwellings for settlers. Such projects in the past, on land Israel captured in a 1967 war and which Palestinians seek for a future state, have routinely drawn almost pro forma world condemnation.

But in a dramatic shift that Netanyahu would have certainly realised would raise the alarm among Palestinians and in world capitals, his pro-settler government also ordered “preliminary zoning and planning work” for thousands of housing units in areas including the so-called “E1” zone east of Jerusalem. Such construction in the barren hills of E1 still on the drawing board and never put into motion in the face of opposition from its main ally, the United States - could bisect the West Bank, cut off Palestinians from Jerusalem and further dim their hopes for a contiguous state.

The settlement plan, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, would deal “an almost fatal blow” to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Britain made clear it would not support strong Israeli retaliation over the UN vote, which Palestinians sought after peace talks collapsed in 2010 in a dispute over settlement building.

“We deplore the recent Israeli decision to build 3,000 new housing units and unfreeze develop Continued on Page 13

Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate LONDON: Prince William’s wife Catherine is expecting a baby, and is in hospital suffering severe morning sickness, St James’s Palace announced yesterday, ending months of speculation about a royal pregnancy. Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the royal family are “delighted” by the news of the pregnancy, it said in a statement, with the baby set to be the third in line to the British throne.

“Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby,” St James’s Palace said in a statement, using the couple’s official titles. “The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news,” the statement said.

Continued on Page 13

in the

news Tehran shuts schools

Saudi F-15 jet crashes RIYADH: A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 jet crashed in the Gulf during a routine training exercise late on Sunday and the pilot has not been found, the defense ministry said yesterday. Saudi Arabia maintains a powerful air force supplied primarily by equipment made in the United States and Britain. Last year Washington announced a $29.4 billion deal to sell the new F-15, made by Boeing, to the Saudi air force.

Industry sources have said the Saudis will buy 84 of the jets. The plane that crashed was based at the King Abdulaziz Air Base in the kingdom’s Eastern Province and piloted by Lieutenant Fahd bin Falih Al-Masarir, a defense ministry statement said. The ministry said the jet went down in Saudi waters and that authorities were investigating the cause of the crash. Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter and main Arab ally of the United States, also has Tornadoes and Typhoons in its air force.

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah AlKhalid (center left) and Dr Ali bin Shukr, UAE Ambassador cut the anniversary cake to mark UAE’s 41st National Day. (See Page 2)

TEHRAN: Schools, universities and government agencies in Tehran will be closed today and tomorrow due to pollution, the province’s governor Morteza Tamadon said on state television. “To avoid reaching distress levels, an order was given to shut down ministries, institutes, universities and schools across Tehran province except for the towns of Damavand and Firouzkooh” in the north, said Tamadon. “Banks will not be closed. We urge people to cut down on unnecessary city travel,” he told residents of the province who are officially said to number 12 million. Air pollution has reached a critical level in the past few days due to trapped smog in the Iranian capital, as well as several other major cities, including Isfahan and Arak. Each year around this time, the pollution forces the closure of schools and government institutes for several days. Principle air pollutants in Tehran are fumes from Iranian-made vehicles which on average consume more fuel than in other countries with a generally lower quality gasoline.

Qaeda leader quits BAMAKO: An Algerian-born jihadist who heads one of the most powerful and feared cells of AlQaeda’s North African branch has decided to leave the Al-Qaeda franchise in order to create a movement spanning the entire Sahara desert, said one of his close associates and a local official who had been briefed on the matter. Moktar Belmoktar, formerly the head of a cell of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, is one of the most prolific kidnappers operating in Mali’s lawless north. He is linked to the abduction of a group of tourists in 2003 in southern Algeria, as well as the top United Nations diplomat in Niger, Robert Fowler, who was grabbed on the side of a road in 2008. The deputy mayor of a town in the Timbuktu region of northern Mali, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety, confirmed that AQIM ‘katiba’, or cell, leader Belmoktar had left the Al-Qaeda franchise.

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

LOCAL

UAE celebrates national day

H.H. Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad with UAE Ambassador

Oman’s Ambassador Al-Maashani, KUNA Chief Sheikh Mubarak Al-Duaij, Information Minister Mohammad Al-Abdallah, Dr. Abdelrahman Al-Awadhi, Deputy Amiri Diwan Affairs Minister Sheikh Ali Al-Jarrah, Nasser Al-Sayer and Abdelwahab Al-Wazan.

KUWAIT: Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Kuwait Dr Ali Bin Shukr hosted a reception on the occasion of his country’s 41st National Day anniversary. State officials, diplomats and other dignitaries attended the event.

—Photos by Yasser AlZayyat Info Ministry Undersecretary Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud, Najlaa Al-Naqi

Sheikh Ali Al-Jaber, Dr. Abdelaziz Al-Fayez and Sheikh Abdallah Al-Jaber.

Former speaker Jassem Al-Khoraffi and Dr. Shukr

Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid and Dr. Ali bin Shukr, UAE Ambassador cut the celebratory cake.

Ambassadors at the celebration

Five in race for NA Speaker’s position MPs outline priorities

By A. Saleh and agencies KUWAIT: MP Ali Al-Omair announced yesterday his plans to compete for the speaker’s post when the newly elected parliament holds its inaugural session. AlOmair, who had earlier hinted about this step after he was elected last Saturday, is now in competition with MPs Ali AlRashid, Ahmad Al-Mulaifi, Essam AlDabous and Saad Al-Khanfour for the speaker’s position.

Meanwhile, MP Adnan Abdulsamad announced his plans to run for the Deputy Speaker’s post, joining MPs Saadoun Al-Otaibi, Maasouma AlMubarak, Mubarak Al-Khurainej, Askar AlEnizy and Khalid Al-Adwa who all have already announced their intention to compete for the position. In the meantime, MPs spoke to the press about issues that would receive priority in their agendas. Al-Omair told Al-Rai on Sunday that

he plans to focus on education and environment as he intends to run for the education committee while calling for the formation of a temporary committee to deal with environmental affairs. MP Safaa AlHashim announced, meanwhile, her plans to run for membership of the financial committee in order to “push several pending draft laws,” in addition to calling for the formation of a temporary committee for women’s affairs “to redress the female citizens’ law that fails to address all the issues faced by every Kuwaiti woman.”

Also on Sunday, MP Saud Al-Huraiji told Al-Anba newspaper about his intention to “launch coordination and talks with fellow lawmakers in order to establish an Islamic bloc [inside the parliament] that seeks justice and equality.”

“The bloc would seek to eliminate extremism while maintaining the Islamic identity that was distorted by the actions of some extremists,” he further explained.

Separately, MP Saleh Ashour hoped for the formation of a “strong cabinet that is serious in seeking a new and active cooperation with the parliament with its new composition.” In statements to Al-Qabas on Sunday, he said that the Cabinet which is set to be formed within a couple of weeks “is required to deeply consider the results of the recent elections.”

Speaking of the Cabinet, Al-Jarida reported yesterday quoting “parliamentary insiders’ that several lawmakers have already started networking with each other to prevent current ministers from being reappointed. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the sources mentioned “Defense Minister Ahmad Al-Khalid AlSabah, Interior Minister Ahmad Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah and Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah” as not being favoured by several MPs due to the stance that these ministers adopted in the past towards them.

Kuwait to host Yacht Show 2013

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: The moment of truth for Kuwait’s maritime industry has finally arrived as the country hosts one of the biggest and most luxurious maritime events in the Middle East - ‘Kuwait Yacht Show 2013’.

The major event, which showcases yachts from local and international brands, usually happens in the UAE or other GCC countries, and is finally taking place in Kuwait from Feb 3-7, 2013.

The show, organized by the PH7 Events, will be one of the biggest events to happen in Kuwait. It is set to be held at the Marina Crescent under the sponsorship of Burgan Bank and Wataniya Telecom. Announcing the upcoming event at the Marina Hotel yesterday, Seina Mokaddam said that Kuwait will witness the dawn of a new era in maritime industry. “With the first edition of the Kuwait Yacht Show, we seek to raise the profile of the nation by presenting a marine show befitting Kuwait’s maritime status,” Mokaddam said.

He told reporters that Yacht Show 2013 will be the biggest and it will serve as firm foundation for what is likely to become an annual event in Kuwait. “We are committed to take the first step although it takes a lot of effort, hard work, money and lots of support from maritime industry, media and so on to make the upcoming maritime show possible,”

Mokaddam emphasized. The event will showcase major maritime product lines, from yacht to jet ski to equipments necessary for the maritime businesses.

Exhibitors that have already confirmed their participation include leading figures in the Kuwait marine industry such as Thunayan Al-Ghanim from Al-Ghanim

Seina Mokaddam Marine, dealers of Bombardier Recreational Products; Abdulla Al-Salem from Sultan Al-Salem & Sons, dealers of Sunseekers, Yamaha, and other marine brands; Ahmad Al-Amiri from Seas & Deserts, dealers of Azimut, Sea Ray, Boston Whaler, and other marine brands; Adel Al-Summait from Al-Boom Marine, dealers of Gulf Craft and many other marine brands and Adnan Al-Attar from Marco Marine, dealers of Al-Dhaen Crafts.

“We are glad that PH7 Events is organizing the Yacht Show in Kuwait. We

believe that the Kuwaiti market is the biggest in the Middle East and it is really a great opportunity for a company like us to be part of it. As Kuwaitis, we are proud of it and we hope for its success,” said Ahmad Al-Amiri from Seas & Deserts as they participated in the media briefing yesterday. According to Al-Amiri, the yacht industry is growing rapidly as many, especially from youth sector, found water sporting activities trendy and challenging.

Thunayan Al-Ghanim from Al-Ghanim Marine told Kuwait Times that such an effort is being appreciated since he knows how the bureaucracy works in Kuwait.

“We usually attend and participate in the UAE yacht exhibits, but we do not have here our own exhibitions. The few held before used to be organized by foreigners. We have tried many times to arrange such events but it did not materialize because of the extensive documentation that was required. Now that we have it, we are very keen on participating in the big event,” Al-Ghanim said. Meanwhile, Mokaddam thanked the media and announced plans to donate the 2013 ticket sale proceeds from the event to the Children Diabetes cause. Mokaddam also noted that the opportunity to sponsor the upcoming Kuwait Yacht Show is still open for companies that want to take part in an event that will be highly advertised and covered by the local and regional media, an event befitting Kuwait’s status and heritage.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

LOCAL

Kuwait plays pioneering role in serving disabled The world’s largest minority

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Over a billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) observed as it celebrated the International Day for Persons with Disability yesterday. Persons with disabilities, “the world’s largest minority”, often face hurdles in participation in all aspects of society, experts on disability

representing various institutions working in the field said at a press conference on the occasion.

These hurdles can take a variety of forms, including those relating to the physical environment, information and communications technology (ICT), legislation or policy, societal attitudes or discrimination. The fact remains that persons with disabilities do not have equal access to society or services, including education, employment, health care,

Gad Elbeheri, Sahar Al-Shawa and Stein R Hansen

KUWAIT: A group photo of UNDP officials with representatives of local NGOs and public institutions. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

transportation, political participation or justice.

Sahar Al-Shawa, Program Analyst at UNDP, reviewed the achievements of the Early Learning and Disability Program and the work of UNDP in this field.

“These achievements reflect the pioneering role Kuwait is serving the disabled and providing ideological leadership to the NGOs that work for the disabled. First, we helped in producing more than one computer test for diagnosing ‘Dyslexia’ for the Kuwait Dyslexia Society. We also helped in producing a documentary for the Center for Child Evaluation and Teaching (CCET), drafted a strategic plan to develop the Kuwait Society for Autism, and helped in increasing the awareness about learning challenges and disability through participation in different conferences and forums,” she explained.

The UNDP had more achievements in this field. “We produced the first guide that included information about all public institutions serving the disabled. We produced and printed test for evaluating levels in Arabic language for grades 110. We also participated in the education integration program executed by the CCET for the Ministry of Education. The UNDP also participated in a study on violence against children for the Kuwait Society for Child Protection. We provided courses to train the national manpower in charge of different societies. All these are just a few examples highlighting UNDP’s interest in development,” AlShawa added.

On his part, Stein R. Hansen, UNDP Resident Representative spoke about the Early Learning & Disabilities Challenges Project. “Our celebration today is to raise awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities and to celebrate Kuwait’s achievements in caring for the disabled and enabling and empowering them to contribute fully in the development of their community,” he stated.

Kuwait plays a significant and leading role amongst Arab States in terms of awareness, advocacy and recognition of early learning challenges, disability and inclusion. “We, at UNDP, have devoted

one of our main national projects in collaboration with our partner the Supreme Council for Planning & Development to learning challenges and disability with the related emphasis on early intervention, the development of diagnostic tools and capabilities as well as training and intervention programs,” he further said.

He said he was proud that most of their local partners in Kuwait were specialized governmental and non-governmental organizations dedicated to the service and care of persons with disabilities such as the Centre for Child Evaluation & Teaching, Kuwait Society for Protection of Children, Kuwait Teachers’ Association, Kuwait Autism Society, Kuwait Dyslexia Association, Kuwait Association for Learning Differences, Ministr y of Education, Ministry of Health, Public Authority of the Disabled and Kuwait University.

The Secretary General’s Message on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities: This year’s Paralympic Games were a reminder of the immense potential of persons with disabilities to soar and to inspire. One girl wrote to a Paralyrnpic gold-medal champion, “Watching as you overcame the difficulties of life, reaching for new victories and new heights in sports, I derive strength and inspiration.”

Persons with disabilities have a significant positive impact on society, and their contributions can be even greater if we remove barriers to their participation. With more than one billion persons with disabilities in our world today, this is more important than ever.

Our challenge is to provide all people with an equal access they need and deserve. Ultimately, this will create a better world for all. As negotiators at this year ’s “Rio+20” United Nations Sustainable on Conference Development agreed, accessibility is critical to achieve the future we want.

Together, we must strive to achieve the goals of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: to eliminate discrimination and exclusion, and to create societies that value diversity and inclusion.

News

in brief

Dairy company dealings KUWAIT: The President of Cooperatives Union, Abdelaziz Al-Samhan, issued a decision to suspend dealings with one of the major dairy companies because its products were not priced through the union. The order became effective on Dec 1. The decision followed the company’s failure to respond to the union’s requests to review its prices, according to the chairman of the prices committee, Adel Al-Hassan. He said the union deals with all companies equally and no exceptions were made for any company. He added that many other companies responded to the union and circulars were sent to cooperatives. Al-Hassan called upon cooperatives to comply with the union’s letter to stop dealing with the said company, adding that teams will visit the coops to ensure compliance.

350 killed in accidents KUWAIT: A total of 350 people died in traffic accidents while 60 others died due to drug overdose this year, according to two separate statistical reports showing data gathered till November 2012. Of the total road fatalities, 87 percent were men while 13 percent were women, according to the Traffic General Department’s statistics made available by a security source.

Meanwhile, the report shows that about 7,000 people were also injured in 66,810 accidents reported during the first ten months of the year, including around 3,500 who received serious injuries. Violation of traffic regulations and driving vehicles unfit for long travel were described as prime reasons behind the accidents by the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He added that the number of traffic tickets issued this year as of October-end reached 2,870,600, up by seven percent compared to the same period last year.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

LOCAL

Al-Qanaei elected as AIPS Asia President

Al-Qanaei honors KJA President Ahmad Behbehani KUWAIT: Al-Qanaei gestures after being elected.

KUWAIT: Faisal Al-Qenaie, the Secretary General of the Kuwait Journalists Association, was elected as President of International Sports Press Association’s (AIPS) Asia chapter as the 16th Asian Sports Press Conference concluded on Sunday in Kuwait.

Al-Qenaie was elected by default after his only competitor, J. Otgontsagan of the Mongolia Sports Press Association, conceded his nomination. The closing ceremony took place at the Hashemi Ballroom in the Radisson Blu Hotel, and was attended by President of the Kuwait Football Association, Sheikh Talal AlFahad Al-Sabah, KJA President Ahmad AlBehbehani as well as Information Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary Yousuf Mustafa who represented the ministry’s Undersecretary Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah.President of the International

Al-Qanaei honors the AIPS delegation.

Al-Qanaei honors long-time Kuwaiti sports journalist Mohammad Al-Misned

AIPS President Gianni Merlo honors Sheikh Talal Al-Fahad Al-Sabah

Open Day at Shaab Park for MFA customers KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait will be organizing an Open Day at Shaab Park exclusively for its My First Account customers on Saturday. The entire park will be closed from 10am until 8pm just for MFA customers and their families to enjoy their time and have the perfect weekend with Al-Tijari.

Customers will enjoy over 20

Sports Press Association (AIPS) Gianni Merlo appreciated the “excellent organization” of the conference and expressed faith in the ability of Al-Qenaie, who also serves as the Vice President of the AIPS, to lead the continental association efficiently over the next four years.

Al-Qanaei’s election paves the way for the head office of AIPS Asia to return to Kuwait after a 22-year-long hiatus. It was shifted to South Korea back in 1990.

Several top attendees and delegation members commended the successful organization of the conference, including AIPS First Vice-President Esat Yilmaer of Turkey, Treasurer Jorge Ribeiro of Portugal, and AIPS Secretary General Roslyn Morris of Australia. Al-Qanaei honored senior guests as well as the Asian delegations at the end of the conference.

free rides plus three exciting games for half off and McDonalds will also be giving MFA customers and their families discounts on their meals.

Aside from the games and rides, there will also be numerous fun activities including face painting, crazy hair artists, Henna tattoos, balloon decorations and

more surprises. My First Account customers can pick up their free entrance tickets from any of the Al-Tijari branches located all over Kuwait.

My First Account is a special savings account for kids from 0 14 years old and is the best choice for parents who want to secure their children’s future.

Al-Qanaei honors Sheikh Talal Al-Fahad Al-Sabah

AIPS President Gianni Merlo honors Information Ministry Undersecretary Assistant Yousuf Mustafa.

Armed man raids wife’s family house Death triggers row over transfer of body KUWAIT: A man, carrying a weapon and accompanied by his brother, stormed his estranged wife’s family house in Rumaithiya late Saturday morning and asked her at gunpoint to return. The brother engaged in a scuffle with the wife’s brothers and also fired at the police officers who reached the scene. Later, police arrested everyone involved in the case.

The wife had left her husband’s house a few days earlier and when he asked her to return at gunpoint, she locked herself inside a room while her brother made an emergency call to the police who soon arrived at the scene. Meanwhile, her husband scuffled with his brothersin-law after handing over the firearm to his own brother. The husband and his brother tried to intimidate officers by firing gunshots in their direction with bullets hitting a patrol vehicle and damaging it. The husband managed to escape even as police arrested his brother and also the wife’s brothers. By next morning, however, he too was tracked down and arrested at the Mubarak Hospital. The husband and his brother were referred to the proper authorities to face charges.

Asian dies A man was declared dead at the Abu Hlaifa polyclinic, but the death triggered a row about who will transfer the body to the hospital

and then take it to the forensic department. Staff at the medical facility reportedly called the police after the ambulance department of the Health Ministry refused to transport the body, claiming it was not authorized to do so. Police explained that they indeed cannot transfer the body but told them to contact the forensic department.

The Asian man had reportedly visited the polyclinic several times complaining about a kidney related affliction, but collapsed during visit this time.

Maid commits suicide A domestic worker committed suicide inside an Ali Sabah Al-Salem house recently, according to preliminary investigations. The Ethiopian woman was reportedly found hanging in the kitchen. Her employers called the police. Investigators believe that the maid used a piece of cloth as a noose which she put around her neck and tied the other end to the ceiling, before climbing on to a chair that was found knocked off nearby. The body was taken to the forensic department.

Investigations are on to determine the circumstances that led to the suicide.

Man assaults officer A Kuwaiti man verbally assaulted a traffic police officer outside a polling station on election day after

he was issued a traffic violation citation since he had parked his car for a brief period in a no-parking zone to cast his vote. Now, he faces charges for offending officer on duty. Meanwhile, a female supervisor at a polling station pressed battery assault charges against another woman after a fight reported at a polling station in Salmiya. The suspect had reportedly attacked the volunteer following a confrontation when the latter was organizing the queue.

Son assaults father A Syrian man physically assaulted his father and stole KD400 before escaping from their house in Jahra recently. The suspect beat up his father who tried to stop him from hanging out with people he termed ‘bad friends’. The man stole money that he had asked for to spend during his nights out with his friends, after which his father reported the incident at the area’s police station.

A search is on for the son.

Teen missing Investigations are on in search of a teenager reported missing by her family at the Mahboulah police station on Sunday. In their statement to officials, the girl’s family members explained that they had been searching for the 14-year-old after she failed to return from school but in vain. A case was filed.

Eight injured in road accidents

By Hanan Al Saadoun KUWAIT: A 38-year-old Pakistani expat was left with a fractured right leg in a car accident on the Sixth Ring Road, opposite Al Ghazali. He was taken to the Farwaniya Hospital.

A 34-year-old bedoon man who was involved in a motorcycle accident at Al Kheiran at the entrance of 287, suffered facial injuries and oozed blood from his mouth. He was rushed to the Adan Hospital.

A car accident on 5th Ring Road opposite Al Rumaithiya left two Kuwaiti men, each 18 years of age, with multiple injuries. Both were taken to the Mubarak Hospital.

A 15-year-old Syrian expat was hit by a passing car

when he was crossing the road in Jleeb Al Shouyouk, opposite Canary restaurant. The injured man was taken to the Farwaniya Hospital.

In a similar accident that happened early morning at Al Beda near fishermen deewan, a 27-year-old Egyptian expat was run over by a passing car, leaving him with a head injury. He was taken to the Mubarak Hospital and admitted to its intensive care unit.

A car accident at Al Oqaila opposite Al Bairaq complex left an 18-year-old Kuwaiti woman with back pain.

She was taken to the Adan Hospital.

A 33-year-old Kuwaiti man suffered a fracture in his right leg when he met with a motorcycle accident on 4th Ring Road opposite Hawally. He was taken to the Mubarak Hospital.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

LOCAL UN chief’s visit ‘opportunity to settle Kuwait issues with Iraq’

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah receiving Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Jamal Shehan at the Seif Palace yesterday.

Kuwait witnessing ‘a positive period’ ahead Top priority to democracy KUWAIT: Information Ministry Undersecretary Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah denied any fears prompted by the victory of 17 Shiites in the National Assembly elections and said all those who won belong to the larger Kuwaiti family and remain at the service of Kuwait first and foremost. He said Kuwait’s relations with all the countries are based on good neighborhood and mutual respect. Expressing optimism about Kuwait witnessing a positive period ahead since many competent and experienced candidates won the elections, he said with the cooperation of the government, they can fulfill the aspirations of the citizens to push an agenda of development.

Sheikh Al-Humoud was speak-

ing to journalists on the sidelines of the press conference held by the international observers about KTV coverage. He said he has left it to the viewers to judge, and added, “I do stress that one of main duties of Kuwait TV and the Ministry of Information is to urge for democracy and positive participation. That is also the approach adopted in the past.”

He said regardless of the difference in views, everyone was committed to work in the interest of Kuwait now and in future under the wise leadership of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad.

Sheikh Al-Humoud congratulated HH the Amir and the Kuwaiti people for the democratic “festival” and the election of a new parliament, adding that everybody was waiting for more

achievements that can lead to a comprehensive development and prosperity for the Kuwaiti people.

Sheikh Salman thanked the media for its transparent and effective coverage of the elections. He also thanked the Arab and international transparency committee for monitoring the elections, adding that its report is clear evidence about the validity of the democratic experience, and the keenness of the Amir, the government and the people for a constructive democratic experience.

When asked about the treatment of the two Japanese journalists who were involved in a traffic accident, he said they are both in hospital in a critical condition and “we wish them all the best.”

Undersecretary Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah

UNITED NATIONS: “ The visit of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to Kuwait, slated for Dec 5 and 6, is a great chance to work on settling some issues with Iraq and its timing is very opportune,” Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi said yesterday. The ambassador added that the timing is very wise, “as it enables the discussions and efforts to benefit from current and recent enthusiasm and development in cooperation between Kuwait and Iraq. We shall push for Iraq meeting what remains of its obligations as stated by UN Security Council” resolutions. These are mainly dossiers on border demarcation, removal of incursions onto Kuwaiti territory, compensations for farmers, as well as the key dossiers on Kuwaiti PoWs and Missing and restoration of Kuwaiti property.” The diplomat noted what he called “encouraging gestures” on the Iraqi side recently, which he took to mean that things “are going in the right direction” and he expected many key issues would be settled once and for all in a matter of weeks.

On our part, we (Kuwaitis) have a sincere desire to open a new page and to sign agreements with Iraq” in many fields ... It is time we took steps to take our relations further.” Going back to the visit by the UN chief, the ambassador noted it would provide opportunity to discuss other issues as well, including the very strong cooperation between Kuwait and the international body.

Kuwait had never wavered from stressing its commitment to the secretary general’s priorities for his second tenure, most important-

ly regarding pre-emptive diplomacy, peaceful settlement of disputes, countering climate change, and making progress in terms of sustainable development.” There would also be continuation of discussions started during the September meeting between Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and His Highness the Prime Minister on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The visit expresses esteem of Kuwait’s role within UN bodies, its financial support of UN funds and initiatives, and its hosting of regional offices and headquarters for several UN organizations The naming of Kuwaiti charity personality Abdullah Al-Mutawwa recently as the UN Secretary” General’s Personal Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs in Kuwait was proof of estimation of Kuwait’s relief and humanitarian work. It was also a vote of trust in the legality of all such work and conformity to international humanitarian work criteria,” the ambassador pointed out.

Kuwait’s most recent humanitarian gestures includes a donation of $20 million for aid and relief for Syrian refugees, both within and outside of Syrian territory. The donation was made through Kuwait Red Crescent Society and the International Islamic Charitable Organization. There was also a donation of $10 million to a number of UN agencies exerting effort in this field. Secretary Ban had last visited Kuwait in March 2012, and in January 2009 before that, when he took part in the Arab Economic, Social, and Development Summit hosted by the country. Ban had back then inaugurated “UN House.” — KUNA

Kuwaiti parliament enriched Arab political sphere: Media CAIRO: The Kuwaiti National Assembly (NA) considerably enriched Arab parliamentary life and the Kuwaiti democracy is both unique and highly evolved, said Egyptian media figures yesterday.

With reference to Saturday’s NA elections, seasoned media personality Wagdy Al-Hakim said, “Kuwait is the oasis of true democracy in the region,” and this is cause for pride for any ruler. “Many Arab peoples only aspire to the level of freedom enjoyed by Kuwaitis.” “The true mettle of the Kuwaiti people came through to shine upon the Iraqi occupation, as citizens put aside all their differences and put their homeland top priority.” Al-Hakim added the executive authority in Kuwait shows an example of respecting the word of the judiciary. It maintains separation of specialties of the different authorities and did not object to a legal decision to date, because respect of the legal system is an engrained principle in the country, he noted.

Ahram Daily Editor in Chief Adel Abou Taleb for his part remarked that the Kuwaiti

democratic experience is the top example in the Gulf, and stressed any legal measures taken by the government to safeguard this experience and achievement comes in the best interest of Kuwaiti citizens. On some who oppose the new election system, he said that reform only comes through active participation in the electoral process.

He noted there had been other but less successful attempts at democracy in the region. In Kuwait, there is more agreement on priorities among Kuwaiti parties than anywhere else. “The ebb and tide we see and the tug and pull is a healthy phenomenon that all democracies go through from time to time.”

The journalist touched on the political shift, both recent and ongoing, in many parts of the Arab World and said that while this would have an impact on performance of some political groups in the Gulf, the impact would be limited. “Societies are not one and the same, and the Gulf society has its very distinctive character and values system and rules of the game, accordingly, differ.” —KUNA

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

LOCAL

kuwait digest

kuwait digest

Interference in other’s affairs

Message to our new MPs

By Ambassador Faisal Rashid Al-Ghais

By Arwa Al-Waqian am writing this article as a message to the newly elected MPs, and it is a very simple one: We are a people fed up with profane language used in parliamentary dialogues and discussions. We are fed up with sectarianism and tribalism and we surely do not wish all this to be repeated in the new parliament.

We are a group of Kuwaiti people who never gave up hope and, with all due respect to those who did, did not boycott the elections simply because we still want to be part of the change.

Our message to you, the new MPs, is that we want you to improve your language. We want you to discuss issues that we only heard you talking about in your electoral campaigns.

We hope you now put your money where your mouth is. We want the educational and health sectors to witness real development instead of mere statements that play on voters’ emotions.

We want to see the end of the daily traffic congestion in Kuwaiti streets. We want to see more developmental projects. We dream of retaining Kuwait’s old image and reputation as the ‘Pearl of the Gulf’. We want Kuwait to be a local and international tourist attraction. We want you to facilitate daily transactions with the state. We want more justice for unmarried women. We want women to be promoted to the highest positions in various government establishments.

We want unemployment to end. We want to eliminate the culture of ‘wasta’. We want your voice to actually represent us. You are all well aware of the demands of the Kuwaiti people and it is high time you paid this country back for the sake of Kuwait itself and nothing else.

You always have to remember that despite the frustration, we never lost hope when we disagreed with those who boycotted the elections.

We voted for you despite many attempts to convince us that you do not deserve our votes.

So, do not let us down because we did not. And remember, Kuwait unites us, so do not let anything divide us. Let us work for it. —Al-jarida

n Nov 28, 2012, local newspapers published a reply from the embassy of the Egyptian Arab Republic to a statement by the Democratic Forum in which the latter had asked the Egyptian President to withdraw the latest constitutional declaration. The embassy considered that statement as interference in Egypt’s internal affairs.

I, as a Kuwaiti citizen who follows politics and who worked in diplomatic circles for 42 years in various posts and places, believe that the Egyptian embassy was within its rights to respond as it did. The Democratic Forum’s statement made me wonder even when it was issued because the forum arrogated to itself the right to evaluate a local event in another country, and that too to a point of demanding something from its president which only the Egyptian people have the right to do.

I consider this statement yet another mistake made by the Democratic Forum after its earlier mistake of becoming allies of religious parties, its traditional enemy, to oppose the recent elections in Kuwait. This opposition to the entire democratic process caused a rift in its ranks, exemplified by the case of Dr Ahmad Al-Munayes and Ahmad Obeid. He may have issued this statement to distance himself from this alliance after realizing the magnitude of the harm that he and the Kuwait National Alliance suffered in the eyes of the Kuwaiti popular opinion.

I think that Egypt was perfectly right in replying as it did. We have nothing to do with the much stronger criticisms made by several Western governments, Arab entities and international organizations, such as Amnesty International. If the Egyptian government responds to them, then it is its concern. In return, we hope that our brothers in Egypt do not interfere in the internal affairs of Kuwait or of any other Gulf country.

There are many examples of the interference of senior officials of the Justice and Development Party, which is affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood and rules Egypt today, in the internal affairs of the Gulf countries overtly and covertly. The Democratic Forum’s statement mirrored such interferences.

If the unjustified interference of the Democratic Forum in the Egypt’s internal affairs was made by a small private Kuwaiti political gathering which had no relation with the Kuwaiti government, and was in the form of a statement only, the Egyptian interferences in the Kuwaiti and Gulf affairs were by senior officials in the ruling party in Egypt and were not only verbal.

Rather, the Egyptians interfered by actually urging their followers in the Gulf and directly cooperated and coordinated with them.

No Kuwaiti has the right to interfere in Egypt’s affairs but we have the right to answer frankly and strongly any interference by any Egyptian official or media in our internal affairs. It is difficult to draw a distinction between the Egyptian state and the Muslim Brotherhood Party because this party rules there.

Despite that, we will continue with our efforts to differentiate between them because the Egyptian state and the Egyptian people have a special place in our hearts.

We hope that the Muslim Brotherhood Party in Egypt does not feel happy with the presence of some of its followers in the Gulf who take orders from it, and are connected to it to the extent of being totally obedient to the general mentor and guide, despite their latest claim that they are independent of him.

Governments and people of the Gulf are aware of the religious parties’ plans, be it the Brotherhood or Salaf, and no one can blame the people of this region if they have serious doubts about the intentions of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement and feel that it may actually be evil. Just as we do not allow ourselves to interfere in the affairs of others, similarly we do not brook any interference in our Kuwaiti or Gulf affairs.

The Egyptian government moved quickly through its embassy in Kuwait to answer the first case of interference in Egypt’s internal affairs, even if that was by a private entity and not an official one. It rightly did its duty, but I find it strange that our government, which is trembling in fear because of the religious parties’ domination, does not dare to take any stand about the Brotherhood or its masters abroad. Further, it does not dare to deny any of their requests. It then befalls upon some writers to take the responsibility of responding to the Brotherhood because they are keen to keep Kuwait from being hijacked in the name of religion.

As for the brothers in the Democratic Forum, did they ask their new allies, Hadas and Salaf, about the reason behind allowing and blessing the interference by the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt in their own country’s affairs? —Al-Watan

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kuwait digest

A picture with Kim

By Dr Ibtihal Al-Khateeb am writing this article before the declaration of election results since this is an opportunity for me to discuss something that is more serious than the elections and their results. I want to discuss the government’s approach and its repercussions, as well as the false claims about freedoms at a time when the opposition has always been blamed for violating freedom.

I have to make an assertion here about the fact that considerable sections of the current public movement have separated themselves from the opposition whose leaders are generally among those who violate their freedoms, and who promote sectarianism and tribalism.

The assault on civil liberties has always been my main concern. While sectarian and tribal conflicts are extremely dangerous I believe that depriving people of their freedoms is worse. While warning the people about the opposition’s allegedly extremist approach served as a main motivation in urging the people to vote, the supposedly civilized Kuwaiti government has banned Saudi author Dr. Badriya Al-Bishr from entering the country.

Ostensibly, the objection is because of a sentence in one of her books allegedly perceived as being offensive to God. Incidentally, the same book was available at the recently concluded International Book Fair.

How can people who voted in the recent elections feel that the government is a better bet than the opposition? Now that the opposition is no longer present on the political scene, how can the government explain humiliating Dr. Al-Bishr the way it did? How can they justify putting her on a plane back to Dubai

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without even allowing her to collect her passport which was with the police and had to be later sent back to authorities in Dubai?

In the meantime, the government has allowed Kim Kardashian to enter Kuwait and made sure she had a very welcoming stay including an opportunity for her fans to get their pictures clicked with her for only KD 350. Of course, I do welcome Ms. Kardashian in Kuwait, though I have no idea about her exact artistic merit, because her visit and the attention surrounding it are part of the freedom, openness and respect that Kuwait grants to all human beings as long as they mean no harm to the security of the country.

The difference, however, is that our societies are forced into eternal hibernation, and whoever tries to wake us up is immediately slapped in the face with a Kim Kardashian in order to make us happily go back to sleep. That is what our government did, the same government that many of us embraced in order to escape the opposition’s frying pan. Both of them burn us. Both of them want us to remain inactive because thinking “exhausts” us and any movement “hurts” us, while any attempt to find a different way than that of the government or the opposition is considered “jumping towards the unknown.”

I am going to continue walking towards the unknown and take shade under its darkness, instead of being in the presence of a tribal, sectarian opposition or shake hands with a government that leaves its airport wide open to Kim Kardashian - with all due respect to her, as a human being that is - while closes it in the face of Dr. Badriya Al-Bisher. —Al-Jarida

kuwait digest

We are not outlaws

By Thaar Al-Rashidi n old saying, older even than our democracy, says: “Don’t be happy for the wedding, as divorce is tomorrow.”

In its zeal to present a one-sided picture of political events in the country, Kuwait TV on Saturday completely shunned all media professionalism and chose not to report the real happenings on the ground. We really wished that Kuwait TV, as an official broadcaster, had reported on the elections without any unnecessary interference. An announcer on Kuwait TV said on Saturday that “the biggest losers in the one man-one vote system are the serving MPs who created the culture of wasta in the society.”

As a matter of fact, I have no idea from where did this announcer get this wrong and baseless information. If, with this statement, she was trying to refer to the opposition MPs, then she should know that the Prime Minister, who is the chairman of her minister, had said, “If the opposition leaders had contested this election, they would have succeeded.”

Accordingly, I wish that the Minister of Information puts his TV announcers through an educational course, particular the announcers who handle political programs. Otherwise, he can ask them to confine themselves to handling variety programs.

The same genius TV announcer described those boycotting the elections as “outlaws”. Then, my dear, three quarters of the Kuwaiti public are now outlaws. In general, the TV announcer whose program was aired at 1:45 pm on Saturday said that the Minister of Information is the one who said that election boycotters are outlaws, something I never heard the minister saying.

Either Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah did say this, in which case it would require an apology to be tendered immediately to the citizens, or the TV announcer has attributed this remark to him unjustifiably, and should, therefore, be held accountable immediately and made to apologize for describing three-fourths of the public as “outlaws”.

No, we boycotted the elections, and we are not outlaws. In fact, we exercised our right to refuse participation and there is nothing in the law or any article or phrase or draft that says that “anyone who does not participate is a criminal or an outlaw.” Boycott is a peaceful way to register objection. Boycotters did not steal a tender and did not take bribes from influential people.

Your Excellency, the respected Minister of Information, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah, either you actually said that boycotters are outlaws, or the TV announcer attributed this to you. In either case, we await an apology and, being a boycotter, I consider myself as having been accused of being an outlaw and I need an official apology from the respected Minister of Information.

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NOTE: Whoever voted on Saturday also exercised his right and is entitled to his opinion which we must respect. Similarly, those who boycotted also exercised their right and stayed at home and we have to respect them too. —Al-Anbaa

latter to the editor

Family visas for Pakistanis Dear Ms Darwish, an you help mend broken families? An expat population of 122,000 in Kuwait is frustrated for not being able to have their immediate family members live with them, but these expats have no choice. Family visas for Pakistani nationals in Kuwait are banned for more than two years, resulting in split families. The newly weds cannot bring their wives and the newborns cannot enjoy the bliss of living with both parents.

The children who left Kuwait for higher studies cannot return to meet their parents, and the sons and daughters cannot invite their aged parents to share some happy moments together in Kuwait.

Support and comments on a recent petition on change.org on the subject are evidence of the distress in which these families find themselves. (http://www.change.org/petitions/ministry-ofinterior-kuwait-remove-the-family-visa-bans-onpakistani-nationals) I know Kuwait as a land of beautiful family-oriented people, a place where I as an expatriate was able to work and live and raise my children in a safe environment.

The Kuwait that I know needs to open the family visas for Pakistani nationals to end the misery of thousands of people.

Samina Mujtaba A Pakistani expatriate

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

Nobel laureate urges US to join landmine treaty Page 10

Clinton in Prague to lobby for Westinghouse nuke bid Page 8

ALEPPO: A picture shows the Dar Al-Shifa hospital in the northern city of Aleppo, after part of it was bombed by a regime aircraft in November. The area around Aleppo has also seen some heavy clashes the past few days, particularly since the rebels shot down two regime aircraft late last month. — AFP

Clinton warns Syria over chemical arms Heavy bombardment renewed around Damascus BEIRUT: Syria said yesterday it would not use chemical weapons against its own people after the United States warned it would take action against any such escalation.

The statements came amid media reports, citing European and US officials, that Syria’s chemical weapons had been moved and could be prepared for use in response to dramatic gains by rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Al-Assad.

“Syria has stressed repeatedly that it will not use these t ypes of weapons, if they were available, under any circumstances against its people,” the foreign ministry said. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had earlier warned that Washington would take action if Syria used the weapons.

“I am not going to telegraph any specifics what we do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people, but suffice to say, we are certainly planning to take ac tion if that eventuality were to occur,” she said

during a visit to Prague yesterday.

The opposition believe that Assad, who has upped his response to rebel gains in the 20-month-old revolt, could turn to heavier weapons and some have suggested he might use chemical weapons.

The rebels have begun to advance quickly in recent weeks after months of slow sieges to cut off army routes and supplies. In the past few weeks, they seized several militar y bases around the country, and an oil field and hydro-electric dam in the northeast. Rebels are using anti-aircraft weapons to attack the military helicopters and fighter jets that have bombarded their positions with impunity until now.

The main focus for the army in the past five days has been Damascus, where security forces are pushing back hard against the rebels and trying to seal the capital off from rebeldominated suburbs.

The opposition-linked Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian army was trying to take over Daraya, on the southern out-

skirts of Damascus, and was attacking rebels with rockets as it advanced into some parts of the town.

A Syrian security source said that the army had blocked three entrances into Daraya and was optimistic it could take the town. Rebels said they would be able to hold their ground. “ There have been several attempts to storm Daraya and each time the army has suffered major losses. This is not new,” said activist Samir Al-Shami, of the Syrian Youth Union in Damascus.

O ther ac tivists repor ted heav y bombardment of the towns of Deir al-Asafir and Beit Saham, which are close to the highway leading to Damascus International Airport, the scene of three days of heavy clashes that effectively closed the airport.

EgyptAir said it had resumed flights after a three day suspension, saying the situation around the airport was now stable. All other airlines contacted said their flights were still suspended, citing concerns by local staff that the road was still unsafe.

Rebels had been planning an

advance on the capital, Assad’s power base.

The army struck back around the airport last Thursday and since then the suburbs of Damascus have been rocked by fierce clashes and heavy shelling. Activists described continuous shelling that killed more than 56 people around Damascus. More than 200 people died across Syria on Sunday, according to the Observatory.

Neither side has the upper hand in the fighting around Damascus. A previous attempt by rebels last July to hold ground in the city was crushed, but the fighters fell back into the suburbs and nearby countr yside.

The Obser vator y repor ted air and ar tiller y bombardment in towns across Syria on yesterday. An air strike on the northern border town of Ras Al-Ain, which it said killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 30, prompted Turkey to scramble fighter jets along the border.More than 40,000 people have died in the conflict, with hundreds more killed each week. — Reuters

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

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

‘Doomsday’ hill may be one Israeli settlement too far WEST BANK: The hillside called E1 is one of the few places around Jerusalem that Jesus Christ might still recognise: a stony, dusty, barren slope on the way down to the desert and the Dead Sea. If Israel carries out plans announced this week, it is destined to be the site of another Jewish settlement city, on occupied land that the Palestinians believe must be part of the state for which they have just won de facto UN recognition.

Roads that seem to go nowhere run up its rocky slopes and streetlights provide slivers of shade from the often fierce sun. There is an Israeli police station, but no houses or shops.

Known simply by its administrative name, E1 (East One), this exposed stretch of West Bank land is at the centre of a growing diplomatic dispute pitting Israel against both the Palestinians and also many of its Western allies.

Stunned by the vote last week in the General Assembly that accorded Palestine the status of a “non-member state” at the United Nations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government resurrected an old plan to build on the empty outcrop.

Critics immediately warned that populating E1 with Israelis would cut off East Jerusalem and carve up the West Bank, effectively thwarting any chance of viability for a Palestinian state and thereby extinguishing the Middle East peace process.

“This is not a routine settlement.

This is the doomsday settlement,” said Daniel Seidemann, the founder of Terrestrial Jerusalem, an Israeli nongovernmental organisation that monitors urban development in and around the holy city.

“The message Israel should have learned from the UN vote is that we are on very thin ice,” he added. “By threatening E1 you are standing on thin ice and jumping up and down.”

That view is rejected by supporters of the project, who say construction is long overdue and represents natural expansion from the neighbouring Maale Adumim settlement - a city of red-roofed apartment blocks that is home to more than 30,000 people.

Over half a million Israelis now live on land taken in the 1967 Middle East war, claiming historical and biblical ties to territory that the Palestinians say belongs to them. The E1 site cov-

ers only some 4.6 square miles (12 square km) but is geographically sensitive because it not only juts into the narrow “waist” of the West Bank, but also backs onto East Jerusalem, where Palestinians want to establish their capital.

Building on this area would complicate efforts to draw the contours of a contiguous state for the Palestinians, making it more difficult for surrounding Arab communities to link up.

However, supporters of the project say it is not a deal-breaker for any peace treaty, arguing there would be enough space on either side of the hill to enable a broad corridor that could connect the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem, respectively north and south of Jerusalem.

“The media are telling lies about this conflict all the time,” said Eli Har Nir, the municipality general director of Maale Adumim. “You can’t even see Jerusalem from here. There is still six kilometres of open land that does not belong to E1 or to Maale Adumim,” he said, arguing that this space could be used to build roads for Palestinians.

Israel’s closest ally, the United States, sees it differently and succes-

sive administrations have cautioned against any building on the largely unpopulated expanse of E1. The White House swiftly denounced Friday’s announcement, which cam along with news that the government also plans to build 3,000 additional homes in other, undisclosed West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements.

A number of European Union governments went further, with Britain, France and Sweden summoning their respective Israeli ambassadors to protest at what they saw as an unacceptable reprisal against the Palestinians for the UN vote.

The mood in neighbouring Maale Adumim was more celebratory of the Israeli move. Locals urged Netanyahu not to buckle under pressure but to push ahead with the long-delayed E1 plans. “Successive governments have all promised to build here, but what you can see around me are empty hills, rocks and sand, not apartments,” said Maale Adumim mayor Benny Kashriel.

“I hope that this government, with this decision, will come through immediately,” he told reporters gathered on top of E1. Israelis have already

named the prospective settlement Mevasseret Adumim - Tidings of Adumim. Maale Adumim itself means Red Heights - a reference to the surrounding mountains that glow at sunset.

Preparation for building started long ago and a sealed-off bridge stands ready to link Maale Adumim with its projected sister settlement, while a major road intersection swings up into E1 from the highway that heads down to the nearby Dead Sea. If you take the exit today, the only people you are likely to find are Bedouin shepherds following their ragged goat herds in search of the occasional tuft of grass.

Israeli authorities drew up plans in 2006 to move the Arab Bedouin to another site. They have yet to act on it, but rights groups say the project is specifically designed to clear the way for E1 development.

Israel’s Maariv newspaper said yesterday that the Israeli planning committee for the West Bank would convene on Wednesday to approve plans for public review. Without further delays, the earth-movers could be sent in within a year. —Reuters

Clinton in Prague to lobby for Westinghouse nuke bid US officials stress reduction of reliance on Russia

TUNIS: An October 2, 2012 file photo shows Tunisians taking part in a demonstration to protest violence against women in front of a court in Tunis where a young Tunisian woman, allegedly raped by two policemen, was due alongside her fiance, facing charges of indecency, in a case that has sparked outrage in the north African country. — AFP

Tunisia prosecutor appeals ruling on raped woman TUNIS: The public prosecution in Tunisia has appealed against last week’s court ruling to drop a case of possible indecency against a young woman allegedly raped by two policemen, her lawyer said yesterday.

“We just found out this morning that the prosecution has lodged an appeal,” Bochra Belhaj Hmida told AFP. “It’s their right, legally, there’s nothing that can be said about that. But on the moral front...”

A Tunis judge last Thursday dropped the case against the woman, whose identity has been kept secret, while two accused officers are to face rape charges and a third for extortion.

The 27-year-old rape victim faced possible indecency charges with her fiance based on the testimony of the alleged rapists, policemen who say they took the couple by surprise in an “immoral position” just before the alleged attack.

A judicial source has previously said that the police had taken the couple by surprise as they were having sex in their car. Two of them then took the woman to a police car, where they raped her in turn, while a third restrained and tried to

extort money from her fiance at a bank cashpoint, the source added.

Last month a magistrate had questioned the woman, alleged raped on September 3, to decide whether she was to be charged with indecency, which could carry a six-month prison sentence.

The case sparked a storm of protest in Tunisia, with NGOs, media and opposition figures saying the proceedings had transformed the victim into the accused and reflected the Islamist-led government’s policy towards women.

Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, from the ruling Islamist party Ennahda, said in October that the policemen, arrested shortly after the incident, would be “severely judged”. But he also said there may be a case of indecency to answer.

However, President Moncef Marzouki in October offered a state apology to the woman. Since the Islamists’ rise to power after last year’s revolution, feminist groups have accused police of regularly harassing women, by challenging them over their clothing or if they go out at night unaccompanied by family members. — AFP

Russia, Turkey downplay their differences on Syria ISTANBUL: The leaders of Russia and Turkey yesterday downplayed differences over the Syrian civil war, saying they shared the common goal of trying to end the humanitarian crisis there and hailing their countries’ booming trade ties. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, one of Syria’s few remaining allies, said he understood Turkish concerns about its border security after Syrian shells hit Turkish territory in recent months. But he warned that Turkey’s request that NATO deploy Patriot missiles on its border with Syria could escalate fears of a wider conflict. Turkey and its Western and Arab allies are calling for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“We share Turkey’s concern about the developments on the border,” said Putin.

“But we are calling for restraint because increasing (military) potential will not settle the situation but create the opposite effect.” After meeting Putin in Istanbul, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Turkish and Russian foreign ministers will work together more intensively on the Syrian

problem. Russia has blocked tough action against Syria with its Security Council vote at the United Nations, while Turkey has urged the establishment of an internationally protected buffer zone for civilians in Syria.

Putin and Erdogan emphasized the blossoming economic ties between their two countries, saying they should aim for bilateral trade to triple to $100 billion a year. Russian and Turkish officials signed 10 agreements on trade, energy, finance, banking and other issues. Putin, who was making his first trip after a two-month hiatus that raised concerns about his health, showed some rigidity in his movements but no sign of pain or difficulty. He walked past television cameras and climbed the podium without showing discomfor t, and seemed at ease turning around in his seat and shaking hands with officials during the signing ceremony. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, shrugged off a question about whether the president felt any negative effects of air travel, saying Putin was fine.— AP

PRAGUE: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to convince Czech leaders yesterday to pick US firm Westinghouse over a Russian rival for a $10 billion nuclear power project, the country’s biggest-ever public energy tender.

US officials traveling with Clinton, who will also meet Prime Minister Petr Necas, said the Temelin nuclear project could create up to 9,000 US jobs and would help ease the former Soviet-bloc nation’s energy reliance on Russia.

Majority state -owned Czech firm CEZ has applied to build two new reactors at its 2,000 megawatt Temelin nuclear power plant, which would be one of the largest public investments in Europe this decade.

Westinghouse, a unit of Japanese firm Toshiba Corp, is competing with Russia’s Atomstroyexport, which is bidding in a consortium with a Russian-owned Czech group.

“We are not shy about pressing the case for Westinghouse to expand the Temelin nuclear power plant, because we believe that company offers the best option for the project in terms of technology and safety,” Clinton said in a news conference after meeting with Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg.

“So we clearly hope that Westinghouse will receive the utmost consideration as this process moves forward.” CEZ, central Europe’s biggest energy group, with a market capitalization of $17.8 billion, wants to pick a winner and sign a contract by the end of 2013.

CEZ threw out a bid from France’s Areva in October, saying the company failed to meet “crucial requirements”. The Czech antimonopoly office has said CEZ cannot sign a contract until it rules on Areva’s appeal.

US officials said formal negotia-

PRAGUE: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) receives from Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg (L) a file photo showing her and her husband, former US President Bill Clinton, visiting former Czech President Vaclav Havel, before a meeting yesterday in Prague. Clinton arrived in the Czech Republic for a brief visit, hoping to win a tussle with Russia and help secure a $10 billion nuclear plant contract for US giant Westinghouse. —AFP tions between the two bidders and the Czech government are expected to start in December.

“There will be the opportunity for the Secretar y to support ...

Westinghouse,” a senior State Department official told reporters.

“It could be great in lots of ways - for American jobs, American companies, for energy security and diversity in the Czech Republic, for jobs in the Czech Republic and for a scientific and innovation partnership with the United States.”

The United States is stressing Westinghouse’s safety record, given concerns about nuclear reactors following the Fukushima disaster in

Japan last year. Officials will also underline the advantage of reducing the Czech Republic’s reliance on Russia for energy.

Clinton will also discuss energy security with EU officials in Brussels tomorrow.

The secretary of state’s visit to Prague follows US Assistant Secretar y of Commerce Nicole Lamb-Hale’s trip last week. LambHale said the US Export-Import Bank would be interested in financing the deal if Westinghouse is chosen. The Czech bid to expand its nuclear capacity has run into opposition from neighbours Austria and Germany. The latter plans to close

its nuclear power plants in the wake of Fukushima.

According to US officials, the Czech Republic currently gets 60 percent of its oil, 70 percent of its gas and 100 percent of its nuclear fuel from Russia.

Many Czech officials fear an over-reliance on Russian energy will put their country under too much influence from its former communist master.

The Russian bidders have sought to allay Czech fears about energy reliance on Moscow and have stressed there would be high participation by domestic firms if they won the tender. — Reuters

Iran MPs to look into case of hunger-striking lawyer DUBAI: Iranian legislators are to visit Tehran’s Evin prison and look into the case of an imprisoned lawyer on hunger strike there amid concerns over her deteriorating condition, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist, is serving a six-year jail sentence after being arrested in September 2010 on suspicion of spreading propaganda and conspiring to harm state security.

Sotoudeh began a hunger strike on Oct. 17, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI), in protest against a travel ban placed on her young daughter and authorities’ limits on visits with her family.

The parliamentary committee has decided to visit Evin, where Sotoudeh is being held, to determine if conditions there conform to the law, legislator Mohammad Hassan Asfari told the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA).

“If the stories regarding Ms. Sotoudeh are true, we will request an explanation from (the justice

minister),” Asfari was quoted as saying by ILNA. The committee would intervene in the case if Sotoudeh’s claims were genuine but would do nothing if her actions were to “create a controversy”, Asfari added.

Reza Khandan, Sotoudeh’s husband, told Reuters in an email yesterday that he welcomed the parliament’s visit to Evin. “In this situation of silence and ignorance and indifference on the part of those involved, this is good news,” he said. “My wife has a clear condition for stopping her hunger strike, and that is the suspension of the judiciary’s case against our daughter ... this is a legal request.”

Khandan said he had visited Sotoudeh on Sunday and was seriously concerned about her health.

Fellow prisoners have told him her body will no longer even accept fluids, Khandan said.

“Most likely in the next few days they will have to take her to the hospital,” Khandan said. On hunger strike for nearly 50 days, Sotoudeh has had severe weight loss and has had to be taken to the prison infirmary several times, according to

ICHRI. Sotoudeh and Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi were awarded the European Union’s Sakharov prize for human rights and freedom of thought last month. She has defended journalists and rights activists, including Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi and Dutch

national Zahra Bahrami, who was hanged in January 2011 on drug trafficking charges.

On Friday the United States demanded that Iran free Sotoudeh, and sharply criticised Iranian authorities for their treatment of her. — Reuters

ISTANBUL: Turkish women hold as they gather near the Russian consulate in Istanbul protesting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Istanbul, yesterday. Putin arrived in Istanbul for a landmark visit due to focus on resolving differences with Turkey over the 20-month crisis in war-ravaged Syria. — AFP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

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

Italy’s new centre-left leader Bersani faces test ROME: Democratic Party chief Pier Luigi Bersani won primaries yesterday to lead Italy’s centre-left but now faces the challenge of uniting different currents in his party, Italian media reported yesterday.

“A new life is beginning for the leader of the Democratic Party. The most difficult one,” the centre-left La Repubblica daily said. “The primaries have created a new party, which has already changed both internally and in terms of its image externally,” it said.

Bersani won out against his more centrist rival, Florence mayor Matteo Renzi, making him a favourite to be Italy’s next prime minister.

All recent opinion polls point to the Democratic Party as the winner of a general election expected in March or April of next year. The 37-year-old Renzi’s strong showing in the primaries is seen as reflecting a desire for renewal within the Democratic Party, many of whose members like Bersani himself are former members of the

Italian Communist Party.

The top-selling Corriere della Sera daily said Bersani’s victory made him “an independent and weighty candidate for the post of prime minister”. “In order to last and have credibility in Italy and abroad, he cannot give in to those who consider the Monti experience a surrender to liberalism,” it said, in reference to Italy’s current Prime Minister Mario Monti.

Monti has implemented an ambitious programme of austerity and

reforms since coming to power in November 2011 and many Italians are feeling the pinch. La Stampa daily said Bersani now had to “unite the runnersup” from the primary race including supporters of Renzi and Nichi Vendola, governor of the Puglia region and a traditional leftist fiercely opposed to Monti’s policies.

Using a Vatican metaphor, La Stampa said Bersani had “overcome the resistance of his Curia but now he has 100 days to gain the strength and

the standing to become pope”. The Il Messaggero daily said he has to work on “the best form of coexistence between the two souls of the Democratic Party” and warned that sometimes the best solution to divisions was “separation”.

Il Fatto Quotidiano said: “Today there are two Democratic Parties”. “ Will the centre -left be a joint Bersani-Renzi ticket or will they be like an estranged couple living in the same house?”— AFP

Ukraine cabinet quits, PM’s future uncertain Yanukovich may reinstate him

BERLIN: The word “Cool” was written on a snow-covered car yesterday in Berlin. — AFP

Britain seeks appeal over terror suspect Abu Qatada LONDON: Britain’s interior ministry said yesterday that it had applied for permission to appeal against a decision by judges preventing terror suspect Abu Qatada from being extradited to Jordan.

“We confirm that we have submitted our grounds for appeal,” a Home Office spokesman told AFP. A judge will now consider the ministry’s application for an appeal, which can be made only on a point of law.

Abu Qatada-dubbed Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe-was released last month following the ruling that he could not be extradited over fears that evidence obtained through torture could be used in his trial.

The radical Islamist cleric’s release was a severe blow to the British government, which has kept him in custody for most of the last decade and repeatedly tried to send him to Jordan to face trial. Abu Qatada was convicted in absentia in Jordan in 1998 for involvement in terror attacks, but British and European judges have accepted his argument that evidence obtained by torture might be used against him in a retrial.

Prime Minister David Cameron said last month that he was “completely fed up with the fact that this man is still at large in our country ”. Abu Qatada, a Jordanian of Palestinian origin in his early 50s, is current-

ly under curfew 16 hours a day and is wearing an electronic tag, but he is free to leave his home in northwest London between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm. The European Court of Human Rights had ruled earlier this year that he could not be deported while there was a “real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him” in a possible retrial.

Home Secretary Theresa May ordered his extradition anyway after Jordan gave assurances that he would be treated fairly.

But last month, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission-a semi-secret panel of British judges that deals with national security matters-agreed with the European judges that he should not be deported, and he was freed on bail.

The cleric, whose real name is Omar Mohammed Othman, arrived in Britain in 1993 claiming asylum and has been a thorn in the side of successive British governments.

Videos of his sermons were found in the Hamburg flat used by some of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

He has also defended the killing of Jews and attacks on Americans.

A Spanish judge once branded him the right-hand man of late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Europe, although Abu Qatada denies ever having met bin Laden.— AFP

Congo rebels wait for 48-hour deadline to pass GOMA: Rebels, who finally withdrew from this regional capital over the weekend, said they are waiting for a 48-hour deadline to expire yesterday afternoon, before deciding if they will take back the city.

After a nearly two-week occupation, the M23 rebel group agreed to leave Goma on the condition that Congo’s government enters into negotiations with them by 2 pm yesterday.

“We are currently 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside of Goma. We gave Kinshasa a 48-hour deadline, and we are now waiting for these 48 hours to expire,” said rebel spokesman Col. Vianney Kazarama, who was reached by telephone. “You should call Congo and ask them what they plan to do.

They have not yet contacted us. And we are waiting to see what happens, before pronouncing ourselves.”

Despite the rebels’ retreat from Goma, which was a pre -requisite set by the Congolese government for negotiations, President Joseph Kabila has not yet made clear if the government will negotiate.

Congo’s government spokesman was not immediately available for comment late Monday morning, with an aide saying he was in a meeting. On Sunday, the spokesman for the government, Lambert Mende, said the president would listen to M23’s grievances and then give them an

answer about negotiations.

“No one will give them the chance,” to return to Goma, he said. In recent weeks, the enormous, jungle-covered nation of Congo, whose capital is over 1,000 miles away from this provincial eastern city, came closer to blows with its smaller, but more developed neighbor, Rwanda, which is accused of arming the M23 rebels, as well as of sending soldiers across the border.

The rebels claim to be fighting for the better implementation of a March 23, 2009 peace accord, which saw them integrated into the national army. Analysts, including with the United Nations Group of Experts, say that the real reason for the rebellion is Rwanda’s desire to annex territory in the mineral-rich mountains at the border between the two countries. In Goma, residents whose lives were upended two weeks ago when rebels invaded the town on Nov. 20, tried their best to go about their lives. Most shops had re-opened, as the city of 1 million was slowly trying to get back to normal despite incertitude about what will happen in coming hours. A woman selling secondhand clothes at the Virunga market said she had no choice.

“We’re not going to wait forever, are we? I need to feed my children,” said Anette Murkendiwa. Callimachi contributed to this report from Dakar, Senegal. — AP

KIEV: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov’s government yesterday, without indicating whether he would re-appoint the long-time ally ahead of tough IMF loan talks.

The move had been expected after several cabinet members including Azarov were elected to parliament on Oct. 28, something which obliges them to give up their ministerial roles.

Yanukovich told Azarov’s government to stay on in an interim capacity, according to a decree published on the presidential website, and some commentators said he may keep the same team.

The 64-year-old Azarov has spent two and a half years trying to revive the debt-ridden economy, but economic growth rates have slowed this year as demand has shrunk for Ukraine’s main exports such as steel.

The pragmatic, dour Azarov has resisted IMF pressure to carry out reforms such as raising the price of gas for households, an unpopular move that would have rebounded on the ruling Party of the Regions in the October election.

Yet he is seen by some as a safe pair of hands and many commentators believe Yanukovich, who brought him in as prime minister when he himself was elected in February 2010, might not want to take a chance to appoint a new face just now. “Yanukovich will not take risks and complicate things at a time when the world economy is in crisis,” said political analyst Taras Berezovets.

Yanukovich’s Regions party fell short of its own expectations in the October vote, but still looks likely to be able to pull together a majority in the next parliament, which convenes for its first session on Dec 12.

Central bank chief Serhiy Arbuzov, with

whom Yanukovich is personally close, has been mooted for some time as a possible successor to Azarov. Azarov had indicated previously that he wanted to stay. However, in a statement yesterday, he said he had held his “last government meeting as prime minister”. His spokesman said those comments did not mean he was definitely leaving.

“Conclusions (that Azarov is not coming back for sure) are incorrect,” Azarov’s spokesman Vitaly Lukyanenko told Reuters. As acting prime minister, Azarov is still expected to lead talks on a fresh lending agreement with an International Monetary Fund mission due to arrive in Kiev on Dec 7.

Whether or not he will keep his post thereafter will only become certain when the new parliament meets on Dec 12. Any cabinet nominations by Yanukovich are widely expected to be endorsed by parliament, given that the Regions believe they are close to nailing down a majority.

If Arbuzov, who unlike Azarov has made no populist pledges ahead of the October election such as promising not to raise gas prices - took over the talks with the IMF, it might be an early indication of a planned reshuffle.

“We believe that the formation of the new cabinet (if led by Arbuzov) may accelerate negotiations and ease the agreement with the IMF,” BNP Paribas analyst Julia Tsepliaeva said.

Ukraine says it hopes to use fresh IMF loans to repay $6.4 billion of its debt to the Fund falling due next year. The IMF, in turn, insists that Kiev needs to raise gas and heating prices for households to cut the growing budget deficit.

In addition to the IMF talks, Azarov has been at the forefront of tough - and so far unsuc-

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. cessful - negotiations with Russia, Ukraine’s main energy provider, to try to bring down the cost of imported natural gas, which the government says is way above market prices and a huge drain on the economy. — Reuters

Slovenian election sets stage for cuts, protests LJUBLJANA: Borut Pahor’s election as Slovenian president makes it easier for the government to implement austerity measures, but it also set the stage yesterday for more protests in the small eurozone country.

“Pahor won the elections with his promise of breaking the deadlock in the decision-making process between the government and the opposition,” Tanja Staric, a columnist for the Daily Delo, wrote yesterday under the headline “Victory in times of uncertainty”.

“Now the two (Pahor and Prime Minister Janez Jansa) will have to convince the majority of citizens that the government’s austerity plan is good, otherwise street protests will continue and even escalate.”

After police had to intervene last week against violent demonstrators in the capital Ljubljana and second city Maribor, new protests have been called for Monday evening in both cities, although it was unclear how many people would attend.

The centre-left Pahor, who was ousted as prime minister a year ago, romped to victory Sunday with 67.44 percent of the vote, against just 32.56 percent for the incumbent Danilo Turk, an independent.

Although the president’s job is largely ceremonial, Turk made life difficult for the centre-right Jansa, criticising the government’s efforts to cut the deficit. Pahor is expected to be more accommodating.

“The elections are over and I hope tensions will now ease a bit, giving the government and all those trying to bring Slovenia out of the crisis at least a little room for manoeuvre,” Jansa said late Sunday after congratulating Pahor. Slovenia, once seen as a star new member of the European Union, is suffering one of the deepest recessions in the eurozone, while problems

LJUBLJANA: President elect, Slovenia’s former prime minister Borut Pahor, right, accompanied with his spouse Tanja Pecar talks to the media in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Sunday. Pahor, who has called for unity in the tiny EU nation amid growing discontent with government tax hikes and spending cuts, won the presidential election. The person on the left is member of security. — AP with its banks have raised fears it may need a bailout.

The government wants to reform the recession-hit country’s pension system and the labour market and to raise the retirement age. It is also trying to set up a “bad bank” to take the large volume of bad loans off struggling lenders’ balance sheets.

Analyst Matevz Tomsic from the Nova Gorica School of Advanced Social Studies faculty said Pahor’s victory opened the way for “normalising relations between the government and the president.”

But the centre-left opposition and unions are trying to call referendums

to block the reforms and recent weeks have seen demonstrations by people angry not just about cuts but at the political class in general.

Public-sector unions have announced a general strike if the government persists in a five-percent cut of public sector spending in 2013.

“The demonstrations are obviously a reflection of people’s rage. It’s been ‘cooking’ for quite some time,” Vlado Miheljak from Ljubljana University told AFP. This frustration was evident in the rock-bottom turnout for Sunday’s election of 42 percent, the lowest in the former Yugoslav republic’s two-

decade existence as an independent country. Pahor, who was ousted as prime minister in 2011 after failing to push through reforms, said on Sunday that he would not ignore the rising discontent.

“The financial crisis has extended to the political system too and affected public trust in politicians,” the 49year-old said. “If we politicians show that we are capable of unifying on something that will bring the country out of the crisis, then the will to protest on the streets might calm down,” Pahor said. “I will not submit to anyone and I will collaborate with everybody.” — AFP

French right-wing in bid to end leadership war

BUCHAREST: A man rests on a bench at a bus station by electoral posters of Fair Romania Alliance (ARD) opposition coallition reading in Romanian “Restart the heart of Romania, we have new people” featuring former Prime Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu and former Interior Minister Vasile Blaga, in Bucharest yesterday. Rulling coalition Social Liberal Union (USL) and opposition coalition ARD are the main competitors for the votes of Romanians who will go to polls on December 9, 2012 to vote for the new parliament. — AFP

PARIS: The two politicians engaged in a shambolic battle to lead Franceís rightwing opposition met yesterday in a lastd i tc h b i d to re a c h a d e a l a h e a d o f a deadline imposed by ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy if they donít stop squabbling. Jean-Francois Copeóthe twice declared winner of last monthís vote for the leadership of the UMP par tyómet w i t h fo r m e r p r i m e m i n i s te r Fra n co i s Fillon in the National Assembly. If they do not come to an agreement on when to hold a fresh vote by Tuesday, Sarkozy plans to announce that they are both

unfit to rule, sources close to the former president and ex-UMP leader have said.

Sarkozyís entourage said he was infuriated by the deadlock after the November 18 UMP elec tion that was marred by allegations of irregularities and ballot-stuffing. The UMP, the political heir to the movement founded by Charles de Gaulle after World War II, has been on the verge of collapse over the bitter and very public dispute between Cope and Fillon.

Both Fillon, 58, and Cope, 48, are fiscal conservatives advocating free-mar-

ket policies and economic reforms, but Cope has carved out a niche on the right of the UMP with his tough-talking approach to immigration and Islam.

Sarkoz y has no official post in the UMP after his defeat in the May presidential election to the Socialist Francois Hollande. But he is anxious to keep the UMP together in case he decides to make a comeback bid for the presidency in 2017. Sarkozy, who wields influence over both Cope and Fillon, is currently seen as the only unifying figure who can salvage the party. — AFP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

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

Risk is at heart of debate on troop withdrawal WASHINGTON: The debate over how many US troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014 comes down to risky business. There is a risk that leaving too few troops after 2014 would stop or stall the already slow development of the Afghan army and police, whose competence - and that of the Afghan government as a whole - is crucial to ending the war successfully.

On the other hand, keeping too many foreign troops beyond 2014 might only prolong Afghanistan’s dependence upon them, while Western forces absorb even more casualties. Perhaps the greatest risk is that a wrong calculation by the US on troop levels could enable the Taliban and affiliated insurgents to regain lost territory and influence.

President Barack Obama has pledged to wind down the 11-year-old war, even as Congress presses for an accelerated withdrawal. The intent, approved by NATO in 2010, is to remove combat forces by the end of 2014 but to continue yet-to-be-defined security assistance.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has described the broad outlines of a post2014 plan that amounts to a scaleddown version of what US and NATO forces are already doing: fighting terrorists, training and assisting the Afghan forces, and providing logistical support.

Panetta won’t say how many forces would be needed for that set of missions, but analysts estimate as much as 10,000 to 15,000. Military commanders

have laid out options for a post-2014 force ranging from about 6,000 to 15,000, and Panetta and other members of Obama’s national security team are debating that issue now, with a decision expected by the end of the year.

But the final number for the end of 2014, and how quickly the military gets to that level, depends on how the White House assesses the political and military risks of having too few troops there to keep the terrorists at bay, or having too many to satisfy war-weary and budgetconscious Americans.

Underlying that debate is perhaps the starkest risk - that by pulling out troops too quickly, Obama would become the president who lost the war and enabled another devastating attack on America.

There are currently about 66,000 US troops in Afghanistan, and commanders would like to maintain as big a force as possible through most of 2013. But others argue that as support for the war continues to sink in Congress and across America, significant cuts must be made at some point next year.

A Pew Research Center poll in early October found that 60 percent of respondents favored removing U.S. troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible, with 35 percent saying they should stay until the country is stable.

That’s a nearly complete reversal from a September 2008 Pew Research poll that showed 33 percent wanted troops out

as soon as possible and 61 percent said they should stay until the country has stabilized. “You don’t want to keep everything in place and then fall off a cliff at the end of 2014,” former Pentagon policy chief Michele Flournoy said in an interview with The Associated Press. “You want to gradually step down your residual presence so you have confidence in it, and so you’ve had a chance to work through some of the issues and challenges that emerge as we go into the latter stages of transition.”

Flournoy, who has been mentioned as a possible defense secretary after Panetta steps down, said the military will likely reduce the force in several steps next year, leaving time between cuts to reposition troops.

Any substantial reductions are likely to take place early in the year and again toward the fall, so that the military can maintain a consistent troop strength during the peak fighting season that runs from roughly April to October.

“It’s very hard to be repositioning your force as you’re fighting. So they’ll argue for having a plateau during the fighting season and then taking a steeper drawdown,” Flournoy said.

The troop totals also depend on several outside factors, including the commitment of NATO par tners and the desires of the Afghan government. So far, Obama has revealed little of his thinking about the drawdown. But during an October presidential debate he

signaled an inclination for a deep reduction, saying, “ There’s no reason why Americans should die when Afghans are perfectly capable of defending their own country.”

Panetta’s description this week of the three missions he would like US troops to continue after 2014 suggests a need for a fairly substantial presence. Some experts argue that the US would have to maintain as many as 30,000 troops in order to continue targeting the terror groups that - if left unchallenged - could regain territory and once again become a threat to the US. Military analysts Frederick and Kimberly Kagan lay out a case for keeping such a large counterterrorism force, complete with drones, airstrikes and special operations forces bolstered by enough support troops to provide protection on the bases.

Michael O’Hanlon, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said that arguments for maintaining a force of 30,000 beyond 2014 are unrealistic in light of other Obama administration priorities. He said it’s important to let the Afghans know that the US will not abandon them, but also noted that how much progress Afghan forces make over the next year will also be an important factor. If they improve, he said, there may be a greater inclination to stick with the mission, but if they don’t, “you could ask yourself why do we waste more time, resources and blood over achieving gains that are probably

going to be ephemeral and fleeting anyway.” Army Maj. Gen. James Huggins, who returned in September from a oneyear tour as commander of allied forces in southern Afghanistan, said fears of abandonment are real. Huggins recalled a former district governor in the Afghan province of Kandahar, who fought with the US-supported mujahadeen against the Soviets in the 1980s, telling him last year that the Taleban was able to seize power in 1996 because the US abandoned Afghanistan shortly after the Soviet army withdrew in defeat.

At a public symposium on the war on Friday, Huggins said the number of allied troops in his sector fell from a peak of 25,000 to 13,800 as of Oct. 1. He said he was “a little concerned” with that lower number. He did not express a view on the prospect of further reductions in 2013. Members of Congress want to accelerate the troop withdrawal. The Senate voted 62-33 on a non-binding resolution that would speed up the pullout by an unspecified amount. And while the House voted in May to maintain a force of 68,000, there have been indications more recently that support for that may be faltering. In September, Republican Rep. C.W. Bill Young, a defense hawk and chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees defense spending, said the US should withdraw its forces from Afghanistan. “We’re killing kids who don’t need to die,” Young said. — AP

Nobel laureate urges US to join landmine treaty Four fifths of UN members have joined pact

MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto, front, second from right, delivers a speech during a signing agreement ceremony in Mexico City, Sunday.

Newly inaugurated President Enrique Pena Nieto and top opposition leaders have signed an agreement to increase Mexico’s economic growth, employment and competitiveness. — AP

Louisiana town evacuated, police relocate explosives NEW ORLEANS: A town in northwest Louisiana was being evacuated and state police were starting a criminal investigation of a company after finding about 6 million pounds of explosive material used in howitzers they say was stored illegally.

Boxes and small barrels of the M6 artillery propellant were found both outdoors and crammed into unauthorized buildings leased by Explo Systems Inc. at Camp Minden, the former Louisiana Army Ammunitions Plant, state police superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson said yesterday.Police were evacuating the town of Doyline, about 270 miles northwest of New Orleans. About half the town’s 800 residents left Friday.

The company’s “careless and reckless disregard made it unsafe for their own employees, for schoolchildren in Doyline, for the town of Doyline,” Edmonson said.

The company is located on a portion of the former ammunition plant’s 15,000 acres that is leased for commercial use. Other sections are used for National Guard training. Capt. Doug Cain, a state police spokesman, identified the product as M6 propellant, used in howitzers and other artillery. The pellets are largely compressed nitrocellulose, also known as guncotton.

Authorities had estimated the total at 1 million tons after an investigator looking into an Oct. 15 explosion at Explo Systems saw cardboard boxes on long rows of pallets

behind a building.

They found more stacked in sheds and warehouses when crews returned Saturday to begin moving the boxes into bunkers about two miles away on the former munitions site, which covers nearly 23.5 square miles just north of Doyline.

“It wasn’t in their storage magazines.

They had it hidden on the property, away from the storage magazines where we would expect to find it,” Cain said.

Edmonson said, “It was stuffed in corners. It was stacked all over.” He said that in two days, crews have moved just under a million pounds from the tightest-packed buildings into approved containers and onto 27 tractor-trailers to move to storage bunkers. Another 250,000 pounds has been moved a safe distance from the bulk of the material.

It won’t all have to be moved into bunkers to let people return home - the evacuation could be lifted once the propellant is divided into amounts that won’t threaten the town if some ignites, with each area a safe distance from the others, Edmonson said. Company officials could not be reached Sunday. The owners reportedly are returning Monday from a business trip to South Korea, but the manager has been working with state police from the start, Edmonson said. Doyline was used to film some scenes for the HBO vampire series “True Blood.” — AP

Colombian rebels face deadline for peace deal

BOGOTA: Colombian leftist rebels faced yesterday a new deadline for striking a peace deal with the government after President Juan Manuel Santos warned they have less than a year to reach a negotiated end to Latin America’s longest-running insurgency. The warning on peace talks came after the Colombian military launched a new operation against the FARC rebels at the weekend, in which it said at least 20 rebels were killed.

“This has to be a process of months, rather than years. In other words, this should not last any longer than November next year at the latest,” the president said at an event in the Caribbean resort city of Cartagena. “But it is important to be patient, and not demand immediate results, because... some very complicated issues are being discussed.”

However, Santos did not specify what will happen if the newly-imposed deadline is not met. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Latin America’s longest running insurgency, started talks formally with Bogota on October 18 in neutral

Norway. The talks moved to Havana on November 19 and will resume this week.

It is a conflict that has dragged on for almost a half century, with some 600,000 dead, 15,000 missing and four million people domestically displaced. Last Thursday, Colombian government and rebel negotiators reported progress in the first peace talks in a decade.

On the delicate process of the FARC making a transition to a civilian political force, Santos said his government would agree to them trading bullets for ballots as long as they were not “politicking with their firearms.” “If the FARC indeed wants to end the conflict and move from bullets to the ballot box, take part in politics and seek to achieve goals in democratic processes, they will find the government most willing and cooperative,” he said.

“But if what they are seeking is once again to put their revolution by decree on the table, over there in Cuba, and change the constitution and the country and its public policy, there won’t be any peace there,” he warned.—AFP

GENEVA: Nobel Peace Laureate and anti-landmine campaigner Jody Williams called on the United States yesterday to join a worldwide pact banning the weapons and leave Russia and China among the few world powers who still reject it.

Williams, who in 1991 launched the grassroots drive which brought the Mine Ban Treaty into existence six years later, was speaking at a news conference before a weeklong meeting of the 160 signatory countries to discuss how to improve the accord.

“Since (Barack) Obama has been re-elected as president, we are hoping that the United States will now put in writing what it is doing in practice,” said Williams, noting that no US landmines had been produced or deployed since the early 1990s.

“If it is doing it already, why not ratify the treaty?” asked Williams, a US citizen who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work as head of the Geneva-based International Campaign to Band Landmines (ICBL).

This week’s gathering at the United Nations European headquarters is formally a 15-year review of the pact which bans the production, deployment and export of landmines and provides for helping victims.

It obliges signatory states to destroy stock piles and clear mines on their territory, even if deployed by other countries during conflicts, and offers them financial support for this costly and often dangerous effort. Since 122 states joined the accord when it was opened for signatures in 1997 in Ottawa, nearly 40 more have come in, including

GENEVA: Victim of a landmine Cambodian Tun Chan Nareth attends the opening day of the 12th assembly of countries party to the international Ottawa Treaty banning the use of landmines yesterday at the United Nations offices in Geneva. —AFP three over the past 12 years, taking the total to 160, or more than four fifths of UN members. Poland is due to announce its ratification during the week-long meeting, a development that brings all members of the 27-nation European Union as well as the entire NATO alliance, apart from the United States, under the treaty umbrella.

When explaining past decisions to stay outside the pact, Washington has said it could not meet its national defence needs or security commitments to allies if it signed. The Obama administration has indicated that it is reviewing its

position and has sent an observer delegation to this week’s meeting.

US officials say their country has already taken a strong lead in addressing humanitarian issues linked to mines.

They say the United States is the largest single contributor to funds for helping victims of the weapon, a fact confirmed by the ICBL, and has contributed over $2 billion in aid across 90 countries for the destruction of conventional weapons.

But there has been no sign from Russia or China that they may be reconsidering their stance. Both say

they need the weapon to protect long land borders.

The ICBL says only India, Myanmar, Pakistan and South Korea all with sensitive frontiers-are known to be actively producing mines, which were killing or injuring 12 people a day worldwide on average during 2011.

Last week the ICBL’s annual Landmine Monitor said that this year only Syria had deployed the weapons, laying them along its borders with Lebanon and Turkey as it battles insurgents seeking the overthrow of President Bashar alAssad. — Reuters

Third strong storm drenches North California SAN FRANCISCO: The third powerful storm in a week drenched an already saturated Nor thern California, but concerns of serious flooding eased as the system moved through faster than expected.

The storm dropping as much as an inch of rain per hour Sunday in some areas, toppling trees and knocking out electrical service to tens of thousands of people, officials said. Rivers across Northern California swelled from the deluge, but did not flood as extensively as had been expected, officials said.

Forecasters had issued flood

warnings for the Napa and Russian rivers, two rivers nor th of San Francisco with a history of flooding, as well as the Truckee River, near Lake Tahoe, but by Sunday afternoon had canceled the warning for the Russian River. “It (the storm) moved through a lit bit faster than it was looking like it would, so it didn’t plant on top of us and keeping raining,” said Austin Cross, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “The period of heavy rain didn’t last as long.”

In Napa, where officials had handed out more than 8,000 sand-

FOLSOM: Runners gather as the rain near the start of the California International Marathon yesterday, in Folsom California. The third powerful storm in a week drenched Northern California yesterday. — AP

bags and about 150 tons of sand before the storm hit, officials breathed a sigh of relief Sunday afternoon after the heaviest rain moved out of the area and the city appeared to avoid any major damage from the storm. “ There were predictions of the river getting above flood stage, but that did not occur,” Napa city spokesman Barry Martin said. “We’ve had some minor street flooding and some of the intersections were flooded.” Flood construction projects were credited with keeping the river within its banks through the city, while most of anticipated flooding, expected around 6 p.m. Sunday, was expected to hit a mostly agricultural area outside of the city, officials said.

In Truckee, 30 miles west of Reno, city officials were focusing on snow removal Sunday afternoon instead of flood control after the town received 4 to 5 inches of snow in the morning, said Assistant City Manager Alex Terrazas.

“We continue to keep an eye on the river, but things are certainly better than they could have been,” he said. “We’ll transition back to flood management if we need to.”

Besides the speed in which the system moved through the area, weather officials were heartened by colder temperatures than expected

in the mountains, meaning more snow and less rain fell.

In far Northern California, flood warnings remained in effect Sunday for the Eel, Navarro and Mad rivers.

Meanwhile, as Pacific Gas & Electric crews worked on restoring power, about 57,000 people from Santa Cruz to Eureka, including about 13,000 people in the San Francisco Bay area, remained without electricity Sunday afternoon as the powerful winds from the storm knocked down trees and sent broken tree limbs and branches across power lines, officials said. “It really did broadside California,” PG&E spokesman Joe Molica said of the storm. About 2,000 PG&E crews were work ing Sunday to tr y to restore power, Molica said. Wind gusts, recorded as high as 60 miles per hour in parts of the Bay area, were blamed for knocking over a big rig truck as it drove over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge at around 5 am Sunday.

Tow crews had to wait for the winds to subside later in the morning before they could remove the truck, officials said. Also, train service on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system was disrupted for about an hour Sunday morning because of an electrical outage blamed on the weather.—AP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

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

Maldives risks Indian fury over airport deal MALE: The Maldives said yesterday it would ignore a court ruling staying its decision to kick out Indian infrastructure group GMR, risking a deeper a row with New Delhi, which has threatened to cut off aid.

GMR, which won a 25-year contract to manage and upgrade the main international airport in the Maldivian capital under the former government, was given five days to leave the country last week

by President Mohammed Waheed’s administration.

The privatisation deal has been targeted by Waheed and others in the government over alleged corruption and for patriotic reasons, leading to fury in India, the regional power. GMR said yesterday it had won “injunctive relief” against the decision in the Singapore High Court, where arbitration was being heard, but the Maldivian government said it would ignore the ruling.

The decision to terminate the lease was “nonreversible and non-negotiable”, government spokesman Masood Imad told AFP from the capital Male. “We will not accept the (interim) order,” he added. India, whose influence in the Indian Ocean faces competition from China, warned its southwestern neighbour yesterday that it might freeze annual aid worth $25 million due in 2013 after a review of the airport decision.

The treatment of GMR has also raised concerns about the investor climate in the Maldives, an upmarket honeymoon destination, at a time when the country is seeking foreign financing for tourism projects after a year of political turmoil.

“We are not happy with the way Maldives cancelled the GMR airport deal. This has surely left an impact on our bilateral ties,” an Indian foreign ministry official told AFP in New Delhi, asking for anonymity. A second official in the ministry said next year’s financial aid of $25 million would be provided only “after every aspect of the airline deal is reviewed”. “A decision whether the money should be given or not will be taken soon,” he said, also on condition of anonymity.

Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure signed the deal to manage the airport in 2010 under former President Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected leader who was ousted after violent protests in February this year. Nasheed’s deputy, Mohamed Waheed, assumed the presidency in what the former government initially described as a “coup” but which has since been judged a legal transfer of power.

In November, senior Indian officials in New Delhi welcomed an injured opposition Maldivian politi-

cian who claimed he was beaten up by police in what was viewed by some as a sign of India’s concern about political violence.

New Delhi is also eyeing growing Chinese influence in the Maldives, where Chinese visitors are now the most numerous tourist group and where Beijing opened an embassy in November last year.

Officials at GMR termed the Singapore court verdict staying the cancellation order as a “victory of light over darkness”. “The government of Maldives had made a unilateral move and completely irrational move and the court recognised it,” a senior GMR official told AFP. Also yesterday, the Maldivian parliament adopted a motion to hold a secret no-confidence vote against Waheed, who depends on a coalition of parties for survival. Meanwhile, Maldivian parliament yesterday voted to hold a secret vote on a no-confidence motion against President Mohamed Waheed in a move that threatens the leader who took charge during turmoil less than a year ago.

The 75-member parliament voted 41 to 34 in favour of a secret vote against Waheed who took power after the ousting of the country’s first democratically elected president in February, the parliament website showed. No date has been fixed to

take up the no-trust vote, but the MDP has expressed confidence of mustering the required simple majority to topple Waheed who depends on a coalition of parties for survival. “This decision to have a secret ballot is a big blow to the government,” opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokeswoman Shauna Aminath told AFP by telephone. There was no immediate comment from the administration.

The MDP has already submitted a resolution calling for the removal of Waheed, but it had been held up until legislators could agree on how they should conduct the vote amid government calls to ensure an open ballot. The Maldives is best known for its upmarket tourism industry but has recently been troubled by an increase in political unrest and religious extremism.

Mohamed Nasheed, the nation’s first democratically elected president, resigned in February after weeks of street protests against his administration and a mutiny by police and army officers. He claimed he was ousted in a coup. A Commonwealth-backed probe, however, found that the transfer of power was legal, but the international community has pressed Waheed to hold early elections to end political instability. — AFP

India navy chief says China build-up a ‘major concern’ China’s military budget reach $106 billion

MANILA: A masked witness points to identify his alleged Abu Sayyaf kidnappers during a confrontation at the Department of Justice courtroom in Manila, Philippines yesterday. Government prosecutors ordered the reinvestigation of the 2002 kidnapping of six members of the Christian sect Jehovahs’ Witnesses, two of whom were beheaded, following claims by the 17 arrested suspects that they were innocent. Eight of the suspects were positively identified by two witnesses. — AP

Afghan minister repeats plea for militias to regroup KABUL: An Afghan cabinet minister and onetime warlord called yesterday on former antiSoviet guerrillas to regroup and rearm to prevent a slide into civil war once most foreign forces leave the country by the end of 2014.

Ismail Khan, the energy and water minister and an influential former mujahideen commander, reiterated during a parliamentary session a call to arms that incensed Afghan officials and led some lawmakers to try to impeach him yesterday.

But Khan emerged unscathed with the support of 140 of 172 members present, dealing a blow to efforts by President Hamid Karzai to assuage public fears about the effectiveness of Afghanistan’s security forces after their foreign backers leave.

Brought into Karzai’s government as a symbol of national unity, Khan was chided last month for urging people in his power base of the western Herat province to “step forward, take arms and defend the country” in areas where police and troops were unable to operate. Khan insisted he was committed to Afghanistan’s stable future, having played a role in the creation of the current political structure. “I’m not making my speech here as a minister but as a person who has fought for more than 21 years for the independence of Afghanistan,” he said during a 90-minute rebuttal, televised live on state television.

“I call from this tribune to all mujahideen not only in Herat, but all mujahideen in Afghanistan, the saviour soldiers of this country - don’t let it go back to insecurity.”

The government is concerned “irresponsible armed groups” could heed Khan’s request and undermine efforts to win public confi-

dence in the 350,000 foreign-trained Afghan security forces.

The regrouping of militias could also further destabilise the country by renewing tribal and ethnic conflicts and turf wars over wealth, resources and power. Mohammad Naeem Lalai Hamidzai, a lawmaker for Kandahar province, accused Khan during the debate of distributing weapons and trying to consolidate his political power in Herat.

“Do you think that this is the time to have a parallel security structure, against our strong national security forces?” he asked him. “You are the cabinet minister... Why don’t you call on our mujahideen to support Afghan security forces?”

Violence is intensifying across Afghanistan ahead of the withdrawal of the bulk of foreign troops and an election in April of 2014, which will bring an end to Karzai’s final term in office and has led to concerns about poll fraud and power struggles.

Peace talks facilitated by US diplomats involving the Afghan government and Taleban representatives broke down in March and efforts to revive them appear to be stumbling.

In the past two weeks, suicide attacks claimed by the Taleban have targeted symbols of the Western presence in Afghanistan, including a NATO base in Kabul’s diplomatic enclave and two US military installations, killing more than a dozen Afghan police and soldiers and wounding scores of civilians.

Five people were killed in a suicide attack at a US airfield in Jalalabad on Sunday. Two bombers and seven insurgents armed with rifles and rockets were also killed. — Reuters

NEW DELHI: Children of survivors and supporters of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy participate in a protest near Indian prime minister’s office on the 28th anniversary of the tragedy, in New Delhi, India, yesterday. Protesters demanded prime ministers’s intervention on punishment of the corporations and their officials and adequate compensation for all victims. — AP

NEW DELHI: India’s navy chief said yesterday that Beijing’s growing maritime strength was a “major, major cause for concern” and pledged to support a state energy firm in its contentious search for oil in the South China Sea. Admiral D.K. Joshi told journalists that China’s push to upgrade its navy was “truly impressive” and said that India had to adapt its own strategy accordingly. “It is actually a major, major cause of concern for us, which we continuously evaluate and work out our options and our strategies for,” Joshi said.

“The modernisation is truly impressive,” Joshi added. China, which put its first aircraft carrier into service in September, has been locked in a series of disputes over strategic islands in the region, including with Vietnam and the Philippines over territory in the South China Sea. India signed a pact with Vietnam in October last year to expand oil exploration in the South China Sea. Although Beijing has urged New Delhi not to push ahead with the project for the sake of “peace and stability”, Joshi said that the

Indian navy was ready to support state energy firm ONGC and had carried out exercises in preparation.

“In certain sectors ONGC Videsh has certain interests. It has energy exploration blocks, three in number, and since it is an area of Indian interest the Indian Navy, should there be a need, would stand by,” Joshi said referring to the firm’s international subsidiary.

“Not that we expect to be in those waters very, very frequently, but when the requirement is there for situations where the country’s interests are involved, for example ONGC Videsh, we will be required to go there and we are prepared for that.

“Are we holding exercises for that nature? The short answer is ‘yes’”. The admiral also argued that disputes over freedom of navigation within the South China Sea must be resolved in line with international treaties.

“Not only us, but everyone is of the view that they have to be resolved by the parties concerned, aligned with the international regime,

which is outlined in UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), that is our first requirement,” he said.

New Delhi is also wary of growing Chinese influence around the Indian Ocean, where Beijing has funded or plans to invest in major infrastructure projects, including ports in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and military-ruled Myanmar.

China’s military budget officially reached $106 billion in 2012, an 11.2 percent increase.

According to a report issued by the Pentagon in May, Beijing is pouring money into advanced air defences, submarines, anti-satellite weapons and anti-ship missiles that could all be used to deny an adversary access to strategic areas, such as the South China Sea. At a key Communist Party congress earlier this month, outgoing President Hu Jintao urged China to push forward fast-paced military modernisation and set the goal of becoming a “maritime power”. India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and still have unresolved territorial disputes. — AFP

Thousands flee as typhoon blows into Philippines MANILA: Thousands of villagers fled from their homes yesterday as a strong typhoon roared closer to the southern Philippines, prompting authorities to suspend sea travel in high-risk areas and halt gold-mining in a mountain town notorious for deadly landslides.

President Benigno Aquino III appeared on nationwide TV to appeal to people in Typhoon Bopha’s path to move to safety and take storm warnings seriously even though many communities were still basking in sunny weather yesterday.

“This typhoon is not a joke,” Aquino said after meeting top officials in charge of disaster-response.

“It could be the strongest to hit the country this year,” he said. “But we can minimize the damage and loss of lives if we help each other.”

The storm was approaching from the Pacific Ocean with sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour (109 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 210 kph (130 mph). Its eye was last tracked at 390 kilometers (242 miles) southeast of Surigao del Sur province’s Hinatuan township and the typhoon was expected to hit land around dawn today.

Bopha, which has a 600-kilometer- (373-mile-) wide rain band, was expected to barrel across southern and central provinces before blowing out into the South China Sea on Thursday, according to government forecasters.

Aquino said army troops were deploying search and rescue boats in advance and villagers were being pre-emptively evacuated. Authorities ordered small boats and ferries not to venture out along the country’s eastern seaboard, warning of rough seas and torrential rain and wind that could whip up four-meter (13-foot) waves.

Thousands of villagers moved out of their homes in high-risk coastal villages and along rivers, including in southern provinces that were devastated in December by a deadly storm. In the mountainous Compostela Valley, authorities halted mining operations and ordered villagers to evacuate to prevent a repeat of deadly losses from landslides and the collapse of mine tunnels seen in recent storms. Residents in a riverside village that was wiped out by the storm in December in southern Cagayan de Oro city moved to a government hall, carrying TV sets, bundles of clothes and a pig.

Nearly 8,000 villagers were moved to four government shelters in Hinatuan, the coastal town that was directly in Bopha’s path until the typhoon began to veer slightly, officials said. Bopha, a Cambodian word for flower or a girl, is the 16th weather disturbance to hit the Philippines this year, less than the 20 typhoons and storms that normally lash the archipelago annually. Forecasters say at least one more storm may hit the country before Christmas. — AP

DHAKA: In this photo taken on Friday Nov. 29, 2012, garments workers of the Tazreen Fashions Ltd., shout slogans during a protest outside their factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Major retailers have disavowed the Bangladesh garment factory where 112 workers died in a fire last month, but the survivors of the fire have not. Factories like the one gutted on Nov 24 are a rare lifeline in this desperately poor country, and now many of the more than 1,200 surviving employees have no work and few prospects. The banner held by the workers reads: “We demand salary of three months and 13 days.” — AP

Bangladesh fire victims want old jobs back DHAKA: As 112 of her co-workers died in a garment-factory fire, Dipa Akter got out by jumping from the third floor through a hole made by breaking apart an exhaust fan. Her left leg is wrapped in bandages and she has trouble walking, but now she wants back in.

“If the factory owner reopens the factory sometime soon, we will work again here,” the 19-year-old said. “If it’s closed for long, we have to think of alternatives.” Major retailers whose products were found in the fire have disavowed the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory, but workers who survived have not. They can’t afford to.

Factories like the one gutted Nov. 24 are a rare lifeline in this desperately poor country, and now many of the more than 1,200 surviving employees have no work and few prospects. Akter spent 25 minutes trying to get down the smoke-filled stairs before jumping, which she said was “the only option other than being burned.”

Despite her injuries and trauma, she needs the job. Without it, she said, she would either be a housemaid or jobless in her home village.

Almost one-third of Bangladesh’s 150 million people live in extreme poverty. There are few formal jobs in villages, where about 70 percent of the population lives. Garment work is one of the few paths to secure a stable income, collect some savings and send money to family - especially for young, uneducated rural women, who are already trained to make clothes at home.

The industry has given women in this Muslim-majority, conservative nation an accepted opportunity to leave their homes and join the main workforce. “I have a life here.”

Akter said. “I have a timetable to wake up in the morning and I know when I should go to bed.”

Akter made about 4,550 takas ($57) a month sewing pants, shirts and nightgowns. Her husband makes about the same at another factory, but she said it is impossible for them to survive just on his salary.

The landlord is demanding rent and she has bills at a grocery shop. “I am in big trouble because I don’t have any savings,” Akter said.

The government announced Saturday that it would give 200,000 takas ($2,500) to the families of those who died in the fire and 50,000 takas ($625) to the injured. It also said uninjured workers would get their November wages, but many employees are demanding four months’ salary as compensation. It is not yet clear when, or even if, Tazreen will rebuild the factory.

“If I am not compensated, I have to start begging. I have to move to the street,” said Ferdousy, a worker who uses only one name.

With overtime, the 20-year-old earned up to 7,000 takas ($87) a month from Tazreen as a sewing machine operator. She fled the factory unharmed by bolting out as soon as the fire alarm went off, ignoring her supervisors’ insistence that she stay at her station.

But now she needs to work again, or to be compensated while the company rebuilds. But her husband needs treatment for asthma and is too sick to work. Her two children need food.

The rent needs to be paid. “I worked hard to support my family. I always tried to cross my production targets so I could earn extra money to support my family. But now I have no place to go,” she said.—AP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

NEWS Diabetes linked to hearing loss

Israel’s E1 plan angers Europe

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

blood vessels in the ears, said Horikawa. Horikawa and colleagues collected information from 13 previous studies examining the link between diabetes and hearing loss and published between 1977 and 2011.

Together, the data covered 7,377 diabetes and 12,817 people without the condition.

Overall, Horikawa’s team found that diabetics were 2.15 times as likely as people without the disease to have hearing loss. But when the results were broken down by age, people under 60 had 2.61 times the risk while people over 60 hand 1.58 times higher risk. Some experts caution that this kind of study does not prove that diabetes is directly responsible for the greater hear-

ing loss rates. “It doesn’t definitively answer the question, but it continues to raise an important point that patients might ask about,” said Steven Smith, a diabetes specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The researchers note that future studies that take more factors into account, such as age and noisy environment, are needed to clarify the link between diabetes and hearing loss. Still, Horikawa told Reuters Health in an email, people should recognize that diabetics may be at risk for hearing loss based on their results. “Furthermore, these results propose that diabetic patients are screened for hearing impairment from (an) earlier age compared with non-diabetics,” said Horikawa, adding that hearing loss has also been linked to an increased risk of depression and dementia. — Reuters

Kate, William expecting baby Continued from Page 1 William, the son of heir to the throne Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, married the former Kate Middleton in April 2011 and there has been intense speculation about when the couple, who are both 30, would have a baby. “The Duchess was admitted this afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with Hyperemesis Gravidarum,” the statement said, defining the condition as “very acute morning sickness, which requires supplementary hydration and nutrients”.

“As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter,” the statement said. British Prime Minister David Cameron said the royal couple would make “wonderful parents”. “I’m delighted by the news that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting a baby,” he wrote on his Twitter account. “They will make wonderful parents.”

Speculation about a royal pregnancy intensified last week following an incident when the couple visited Cambridge, the historic English university city which is home to their dukedom. William laughed and said “I’ll keep

that” when he was given a home-made baby romper suit on Wednesday as they made their first visit as a couple to the city. Samantha Hill, 27, hand-stitched the tiny outfit with the words “Daddy’s little co-pilot”, a reference to William’s job as a search and rescue helicopter pilot with the Royal Air Force.

“I made it for when his little one comes along,” said Hill, whose own daughter Beth is just four weeks old. “He’s a helicopter pilot so his baby will think his daddy is cool.” The baby news comes just over one year since Commonwealth nations agreed to scrap centuries-old laws barring firstborn daughters from inheriting the British throne.

The laws also barred anyone married to a Roman Catholic from inheriting the throne. The 1701 Act of Settlement had formalized the policy of male primogeniture, although the tradition dates back even further to feudal times and beyond. Under the law, female heirs to the throne had been passed over if younger male heirs are available. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953 only because she did not have any brothers. The queen already has two great-grandchildren through her eldest grandchild Peter Phillips, the son of her daughter Princess Anne.— AFP

Kuwait Cabinet quits in post-election...

Continued from Page 1 In a related development, head of the National Election Commission Ahmad Al-Ajeel said the voter turnout for the Saturday’s election boycotted by the opposition was 39.7 percent against the opposition claim that the turnout was as low as 26.7 percent. The Cabinet considered the results of the election as the true reflection of the selection of the Kuwaiti people.

The opposition, which has rejected the election and its outcome and called for the abolishing of the new Assembly, yesterday announced it will stage a new demonstration on Saturday. Organizers of ‘Karamat Watan’ (Dignity of a Nation 4) procession said on their Twitter account that the aim of the procession is to regain the nation’s sovereignty. The organizers however did not announce the timing and location of the procession which would be the fourth over the past few weeks.

The opposition has called for abolishing the new

National Assembly and the withdrawal of the one-vote decree which triggered the ongoing confrontation between the government and the Islamist, nationalist and liberal opposition. Former opposition MP Faisal AlMuslim also called on newly elected MPs to resign. But the new lawmakers were busy yesterday coordinating the election of the post of speaker and other key jobs in the new Assembly.

So far, MPs Ali Al-Omair, Ali Al-Rashed, Saad AlKhanfour, Ahmad Al-Mulaifi, Saadoun Hammad, Bader Al-Bathali and others declared their intention to contest the speaker ’s post. MPs Adnan Abdulsamad, Maaasouma Al-Muabrak and others have expressed the desire to contest the post of deputy speaker. Those two posts are permanent throughout the duration of the assembly while other posts and membership of assembly committee change every term. The opposition also held a meeting late yestrday to review their plan of protests after the election.

ment in the E1 block,” a Foreign Office spokesman said.

“We have called on the Israeli government to reverse the decision.”

But a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron played down talk of recalling Britain’s ambassador in Tel Aviv.

“We are not proposing to do anything further at this stage,” the spokesman said. “We are continuing to have conversations with the Israeli government and others.” France expressed “serious concerns” to the Israeli ambassador, reminding him that settlement building in occupied territories was illegal and an “obstacle” to reviving peace talks with the Palestinians.

A French Foreign Ministry official, responding to reports Paris might bring its Tel Aviv envoy home, said: “There are other ways in which we can express our disapproval.” Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said Israel could not have remained indifferent to the Palestinians’ unilateral move at the United Nations. In Europe only the Czech Republic voted against the resolution while many countries, including France, backed it. Netanyahu also plans to visit Prague this week to express his thanks.

“I want to tell you that those same Europeans and Americans who are now telling us ‘naughty, naughty over our response, understand full-well that we have to respond, and

they themselves warned the Palestinian Authority,” Steinitz told Army Radio. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said building in E1 “destroys the two-state solution, (establishing) East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine and practically ends the peace process and any opportunity to talk about negotiations in the future”.

Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesman for the Hamas Islamist movement that governs the Gaza Strip, said the settlement plans were “an insult to the international community, which should bear responsibility for Israeli violations and attacks on Palestinians”. Only three weeks ago, Netanyahu won strong European and US support for an offensive in the Hamas Islamist-run Gaza Strip, which Israel said was aimed at curbing cross-border rocket fire. Favored by opinion polls to win a Jan. 22 national election, he brushed off world condemnation of his latest settlement plans and complaints from critics at home that he is deepening Israel’s diplomatic isolation.

He told his cabinet on Sunday that his government “will carry on building in Jerusalem and in all the places on the map of Israel’s strategic interests”. But while his housing minister has said the government would soon invite bids from contractors to build 1,000 homes for Israelis in East Jerusalem and more than 1,000 in West Bank settlement blocs, the E1 plan was still in its planning stages. “No one will build until it is clear what will be done there,” the minister, Ariel Attias, said on Sunday.— Reuters

Top judges override referendum boycott Continued from Page 1 the constitutional assembly,” said Elijah Zarwan, a fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Judicial dissent has complicated the Islamist leader’s effort to end the crisis over Egypt’s political transition by driving through a new constitution in a snap vote in a drafting assembly dominated by his Islamist supporters.

The influential but unofficial Judges Club had called on Sunday for a boycott of the referendum which Morsi hopes will douse anger over a decree he issued on Nov. 22, expanding his powers and temporarily putting himself above judicial review. Such a boycott, even if not all judges joined it, could undermine the credibility of the plebiscite and worsen disputes that have plagued Egypt’s path to political change since a popular revolt overthrew Hosni Mubarak nearly 22 months ago.

The judiciary, like Egyptian society at large, is split over the vote on the constitution, the way in which it was drafted and Morsi’s decree, seen by his opponents as a power grab and by his supporters as necessary to keep the transition on track. There was no direct comment from the judicial council, the body which formally oversees judicial affairs.

Many judges voiced outrage at Morsi’s decree, which caused unrest in which three people were killed and hundreds wounded. Even his justice minister and vice president - brothers who were formerly respected judges who advocated judicial independence in Mubarak’s time - have expressed misgivings. The opposition has called for another mass protest today in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the cradle of the anti-Mubarak revolt.

Morsi’s opponents have camped out there since Nov 23.

Some activists plan to march to the president’s office.

Several independent newspapers will not publish today in protest at what they call Morsi’s “dictatorship”.

The constitution, which if approved would override the decree, is itself contested by opposition groups who

say the Muslim Brotherhood hijacked the drafting of a document they say has no legitimacy in a deeply polarized society. “Settling this matter using the ballot box is an illegitimate trick representing false democracy,” liberal opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said on Twitter.

The Judges Club boycott call carries echoes of Mubarak’s days, when independent-minded sections of the judiciary refused to oversee elections unless he enacted judicial reform. However, one leading figure in that campaign for judicial independence, former Judges Club head Zakaria Abdel Aziz, said the judges had a “national duty” to oversee this referendum. “A lot of judges called me and they are heading in the direction of supervising the referendum,” he said.

“The head of the Judges Club is pushing in the direction of scorched earth,” he said. “He and some of those that support him have pulled the judges into a political battleground.” Ahmed El-Zind, who now heads the Judges Club, has staunchly opposed Morsi’s decree, taking the side of the former prosecutor general, a Mubarak-era appointee sacked under its provisions. “We will not supervise a referendum that slaughters the nation’s rights,” Zind told Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper on Monday. Zind’s critics say his enthusiasm for an independent judiciary only became apparent after Morsi took office.

The Judges Club recommendation for a referendum boycott by judges is not binding. Its earlier call for a judicial strike against Morsi’s decree saw partial success, with the Cassation Court and Egypt’s highest appeals court ceasing work. On Sunday, the Supreme Constitutional Court, the highest in the land, followed suit, complaining that Morsi supporters outside its headquarters were intimidating the judges. The court had been due to hear cases contesting the legality of parliament’s Islamist-led upper house and of the assembly that wrote the constitution, which was handed to Morsi on Saturday. — Reuters

14

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

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Issues

EADS revamp brings govt out of shadow

By Tim Hepher n imminent shake-up of EADS is expected to lead to a rise in state shareholdings in Europe’s largest aerospace group, but in reality merely changes the rules for what is already a wary co-habitation. Officials were putting finishing touches on Sunday to a deal to bring Germany on board with 12 percent of the maker of Airbus jets and Ariane rockets, at parity with France. The move paves the way for an exit by founder companies Daimler, the German carmaker, and French media firm Lagardere, increasingly viewed as state proxies.

Germany has not been a shareholder until now while France previously allowed itself to be represented by Lagardere. Spain will continue to hold up to 5.5 percent, leaving combined government shareholdings close to 30 percent and a larger float. It is not the pure-market solution EADS Chief Executive Tom Enders, a critic of state interference, might have wanted. But experts say it will clear the air by getting rid of a complex shareholder pact between France, Lagardere and Daimler in which it was not always easy to see who pulled the strings.

For critics of state involvement, an example of the risks now facing EADS unfolded even as the details were being worked out. The French government struck a deal for investment in a steel plant after publicly threatening its nationalization. Few are in a better position to reflect on the love-hate relationship between state and industry than the plant’s owner, Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, head of ArcelorMittal. Branded unwelcome in France by one minister for threatening steel jobs, he is also one of a core group of independent board members shaping EADS, which builds French nuclear missiles.

Officials say the strongest efforts will be made to avoid governments exerting pressure on EADS through the shareholdings.

Firstly, none of the government shareholders will have the broad strategic powers over industrial decisions which the French enjoyed-but rarely used-under the existing pact. Measures such as a French veto on acquisitions over 500 million euros, which is small change in aerospace, will vanish. Secondly, there are proposals to exclude actively serving civil servants from a radically altered board to be built around a new chairman and adopted by an extraordinary general meeting. Finally, the combined blocks will represent far less than the current level of more 50 percent for governments or proxies.

There are likely however to be guarantees on national security.

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POLITICAL POWER Analysts say the move could remove ambiguity, encouraging governments to deal openly rather than lurking behind proxies. “It is about the best corporate governance you can expect in European defense,” said Agency Partners analyst Nick Cunningham. Still, some will see the move as a victory for political power over shareholder power. Just weeks ago, France had snubbed Germany by refusing to hammer out a joint position on proposals to merge EADS with UK arms firm BAE Systems. It was an implicit reminder that France’s main European partner was not an EADS shareholder.

Following Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to block the merger last month, the new structure enshrines the view that Germany has equal status in the flagship European company. In Berlin, some officials are pushing for greater influence over Airbus, which they consider too French. Yet it is not known how this would translate into the boardroom because there is little tradition of direct German government shareholdings in industry, at least at federal level. There are worrying signs too about how the shake-up will be viewed in the United States, where EADS wants to grow. “People are saying to EADS, ‘See? We said you were state-controlled’,” a senior US source said. Analysts say that may curb the group’s ability to try out other major deals with US content after the BAE attempt, forcing it to adopt a back-to-basics strategy, at least for now.

BOARDROOM TEST EADS faces three immediate tests that may determine how investors and partners view the new era of co-habitation. It will hold a forum on Monday when EADS will discuss its direction for the first time since BAE talks failed. Analysts are looking for an update on the company’s strategy of balancing civil and defense activities, which no longer seems tenable. A second will be the composition of the new board. Anglo-American Chairman Sir John Parker, who heads the EADS nominations committee, is seen as a key player in attempts to keep politics out of the selection process as far as possible. —Reuters

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.

Gaza, Catalonia and Romantic Nationalism

By George Friedman ast week was spent obsessed with Gaza. In the end, nothing changed. A war was fought without an Israeli ground assault but with massive air and rocket attacks on both sides. Israel did not have the appetite and perhaps the power to crush Hamas.

Hamas did not have the power to compel Israel to change its policies but wanted to achieve a symbolic victory against Israel. Both decided that continued fighting made little sense and allowed the Americans and Egyptians to bless a settlement. Everyone from Iran to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood played a role, and then the curtain on this act went down. It will come up again. It was not trivial for those who lived through the conflict, but in the end it changed little.

In this context, focusing on Catalonian elections would seem frivolous, but it is the nature of geopolitics that the quiet and odd may have more significance in the long run than the events that carry noisy headlines. Catalonia is a region in northeastern Spain. Its capital, Barcelona, is the second-largest city in Spain and the country’s industrial and commercial hub. Catalonia is also a region that for decades has had a substantial independence movement seeking to break away from the rest of Spain.

In a regional election held Sunday, the movement for independence remained strong but also became more complex. The regional president, Artur Mas, had called early elections as a way of measuring support for a referendum on secession. Mas’ party actually lost 12 seats in the election, though another independence-oriented but more left-wing party doubled its seats. Together, the pro-independence parties increased their share by one seat and have the necessary two-thirds majority to force a non-binding referendum.

Without going too deeply into the morass of regional politics, the long-standing dispute between Catalonia and Madrid has been deepened by the financial crisis and the issue of how the burden will be shared. Originally, Mas had not supported independence but rather greater autonomy for Catalonia. However, he did want a deal with Madrid in which the austerity burden placed on Catalonia would be mitigated. Madrid rejected the deal, which drove Mas toward advocating independence and calling the early elections.

With Sunday’s election results, the independence movement has become more intense and more radical. The mainstream pro-independence party lost, but smaller and more left-wing parties made gains, a trend we expect to grow in Europe as the economic strains increase.

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Europe’s Border Imperative Since World War II, there has been an underlying principle in Europe that borders are sacrosanct, that they will not be changed.

The fear has been that once borders become an issue again in Europe, the tensions that tore Europe apart prior to World War II would re-emerge. This was not universally respected, of course.

Serbia’s borders were forcibly changed after the Kosovo war (and Spain is one of four EU countries that did not recognize Kosovo due to its own secessionist movement). But the idea of one state making territorial claims on another was contained.

What was not contained was the self-revision of national borders. The two most famous cases were the “velvet divorce” of Czechoslovakia, where two nations, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, emerged peacefully. Nor, obviously, did that principle preclude devolution, or the fragmentation of countries into smaller nationally based entities, in either Yugoslavia or the Soviet Union

itself. A wave of countries buried in larger transnational entities emerged in Europe in the 1990s, sometimes peacefully and sometimes not.

This did not mean that tensions did not continue to exist. In Belgium, French-speaking Walloons and Dutch-speaking Flemings have been hostile to each other since Belgium was established in the 19th century. Slovakia and Romania have large Hungarian populations, separated from Hungary under the post-World War I redrawing of the internal borders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Occasionally there are mild nationalist rumbles among the Hungarians in both countries seeking reunification. There is a Scottish secessionist movement in the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is peaceful now but it retains a secessionist movement.

There are a variety of such movements in Italy.

For the most part, these movements have not been something to take seriously. Even the Catalan movement is far from achieving independence. Still, we are in a period of European history in which borders are not redrawn primarily due to states seizing territory from each other; rather, the odds that increasingly prevalent secession movements could change the borders are moving from the realm of the preposterous to that of the almost conceivable. That is not a trivial evolution because in such matters the trajectory, rather than the credibility at any one moment, is most important. As pressures build in Europe, what was inconceivable could become surprisingly practical in a relatively short period of time.

The European Summit to discuss the EU budget last week was a demonstration of the degree to which national interest-and nationalism-defines the existing European states. The issue in Europe is who is going to bear the burden of austerity that the European political and economic system is imposing. Whatever the idea of Europe might be, the reality is that the political power rests in the nation-states, and the presidents and prime ministers are elected by nation-states. They respond to their constituents, and the constituents want to deflect costs. The ongoing EU budget dispute is a convenient opportunity for any government that wants to demonstrate to its public that it is being vigilant in minimizing the costs of austerity. The degree of acrimony and indeed hostility among the states-which formed and shifted coalitions over the budget while trying to shift the financial burden to other states-was startling if you looked at it through the eyes of 2000. The structures of the European Union are rapidly devolving into its constituent nationstates. The question of who will bear the burden within nationstates is emerging as an equally divisive issue. This in turn intersects with deep rivers of European history. Catalonia has long argued that it was a separate nation from Spain, based on history and culture, and historically it has had a degree of autonomy. The issue remained relatively quiet until it became clear that Spain’s EU membership would have significant economic implications. The tradition of Catalan nationalism then turned from nostalgia to a vehicle to deflect economic pain by shifting it from Barcelona to Madrid.

NATIONALISM’S DIFFICULT LEGACY There is a profoundly important tradition in Europe of romantic nationalism. In its liberal form, it is the idea that every nation has the right to self-determination. The problem is defining what constitutes a nation, and for the romantics that was defined by language, distinct history, culture and so on. It is also defined by self-perception. A nation exists when its inhabitants see themselves as a distinct people. Implicit in romantic nationalism is a conflict. When one notion of romantic nationalism denies the legitimacy of competing

claims by a nation’s constituent parts, romantic nationalism can become oppressive rather than liberating. In response, the constituent parts sometimes invent national identities for a variety of reasons, destabilizing the whole. The European notion of nationalism can be quite destabilizing and in its most militant form can become brutal.

The hymn of the European Union is Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” from the 9th Symphony. It is a celebration of the French Revolution and the spirit of liberation that followed. The liberation was not only of the individual but also of the nation from dynasties. It was the combination of the notion of individual rights, national self-determination and national identity. The European Union was intended to embody these things. They are not lost but under strain, and the point of the strain is the nation, which, rather than forming a community, now forms competing parts in what is a zero-sum game.

Where this ends is the problem, since the history of Europe after Beethoven was not what he would have hoped for.

Just as interesting is what happens to the Catalonias, the buried nationalisms within existing nation-states, that are now prepared to challenge the legitimacy of a country like Spain and demand liberation from it and the right to its own authentic nationalism. What began in the velvet divorce, peaceful and reasonable, now can become much less friendly under the pressure of severe economic pain. What other hidden nationalisms will emerge to use the shield of national self-determination to deflect economic pain? It is easy to dismiss this as an archaic sentiment and as something that cannot destabilize Europe now. But then there is little in European history to allow Europeans that kind of self-confidence.

It is important to benchmark this by the most extreme sort of consequence that we saw in Gaza. Zionism is a movement that grew out of European romantic nationalism. It drew on Jewish history, culture and religion to legitimize the right to a Jewish nation.

Palestinian nationalism also grew out of European romantic nationalism. The idea of the nation-state, which took root in the Arab world in the late 19th century and was later promoted by Arab leftwing secularists in the 1950s, very much derived from the idea of nation-states’ replacing European empires. The Palestinian national movement derived from this tradition, claiming the right of a Palestinian nation distinct from other nations.

Visit our Israel page for related analysis, videos, situation reports and maps. Here we see the bitter side of the “Ode to Joy,” rooted in geography. To have a nation, you must have a place that is its own.

Ever since the French Revolution, nations have been fighting over their place in Europe. The occupation of Europe from 1945 to 1991 suspended the argument, and from 1991 — the end of the Cold War and drafting of the EU-forming Maastricht Treaty-until 2008, the suspension seemed eternal. Very slowly, the inconceivable is becoming far-fetched and the far-fetched merely unlikely.

Romantic nationalism can fulfill a people’s dreams or nightmares and usually does both. Gaza gives us a sense of the nightmare, Catalonia a sense of the dreams. But in most places, and in Europe in particular, the distance between dreams and nightmares is not as great as people might like to think. Economic pain coupled with romantic nationalism, now bound together through a massive structure like the European Union that is incapable of understanding the forces that are lurking beneath the surface, have always had a way to generate nightmares in Europe. It is all inconceivable now.

But European history is the history of the inconceivable. I doubt that the founders of Zionism in the 19th century envisioned Gaza as their future.-—Stratfor

Muslim American women reclaim their narrative

By Shazia Kamal uring this 2012 election year, Muslim women from all parts of the United States rallied together to mobilize their communities to get out the vote. A social media campaign led by activist Zeba Iqbal encouraged Muslim American men and women to amplify their influence in their respective spheres and relay the importance of voting. We held the power to elect those that would make the best decision for our future. Irrespective of the candidate, the message to Muslim American women was strong and bold: reclaim the Muslim American narrative to be an effective decision-maker by claiming the vote.

In March 2009, Asma T Uddin and a group of dynamic young Muslim American women launched the web magazine, AltMuslimah.com, an online space to discuss gender issues in Islam and beyond. Living in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious world, these women needed a space to talk about issues like relationships and marriage, women’s roles in political and social issues, and intersections of belief, practice and lived realities. These were critical conversations, especially during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and in a nation where beliefs

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persisted that Muslim women were oppressed by a religious doctrine, rather than by misguided individuals. It was time to reclaim the narrative.

Today, a new generation carries the torch, instigating opportunities for dialogue. Muslim women are proving themselves as community stewards and problem-solvers. Their education, expertise and experiences debunk the myth that they are oppressed, and show that they are more than capable of speaking about universal issues alongside members of other faiths.

As a Muslim American woman, I too felt the calling to demonstrate my commitment to educate my community about Islam and Muslims. I had always felt inclined to express what it was like to balance multiple identities, and AltMuslimah was the perfect forum for such expression.

Moreover, it opened doors to dialogue with other faiths as well, presenting an opportunity to build understanding and harmony from the local to the global scale.

Like the founders of AltMuslimah.com, other Muslim American women are reaching across faith lines to amplify voices of positive change and community-building. From classrooms to courtrooms, non-profits to social media, Muslim

American women have been paving the way for healthy communities for decades. They have been public servants, doctors, teachers and mentors, athletes and artists - all contributing to a more prosperous nation. Reclaiming the narrative comes in multiple forms. While some encourage discussion of social issues, others think about how they can build bridges to make the nation safe and secure. For Rabia Chaudry, a safer nation means collaborating with law enforcement agencies to find solutions that protect everyone.

Chaudry is the Founder and President of the Washington, DC-based Safe Nation Collaborative, an initiative that works to build bridges and trust between Muslim American communities and law enforcement. She and her organisation work to educate law enforcement officials on Islam and Muslims and engage in dialogue to promote understanding and cohesion. Such work is especially important as misinformation can create suspicion of Muslim communities. The Safe Nation Collaborative exemplifies the importance of reaching out to work towards a safer and healthier nation.

The Muslim American women’s narrative also champions the virtue of community service. Hind

Makki is an independent consultant on interfaith, immigration and anti-racism issues and a blogger on Patheos.com, a site that engages in global dialogue about religion and spirituality. Makki’s work instils appreciation and recognition of the many faces that contribute to the United States of America and the world. For Makki, opening spaces for discussion on pressing issues like immigration and anti-racism as well as interfaith relations are part of the package of community service. Her narrative provides a holistic approach to addressing global and local issues. Aside from reclaiming the narrative of Islam and Muslims in their individual ways, Muslim women leaders in America as a whole are reclaiming a narrative that previously painted them as inactive and uninterested in societal affairs. Today, Muslim American women are translating the virtues and moral foundations of their faith to a language of solutions for education, health and harmony in the country they call home.

The next generation will be equipped with the unique lessons and experiences of these Muslim women as they take on the task of building stronger societies. —CGNews Shazia Kamal is the Associate Editor of Altmuslimah.com

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

sp orts Auckland City ready For Club World Cup YOKOHAMA: Auckland City striker Manel Exposito said yesterday the part-timers will relish their underdog status at the Club World Cup as they prepare to rub shoulders with some of the planet’s best sides. The former Barcelona player said the New Zealanders-the only amateur outfit competing at the tournament in Japan, which starts Thursday were confident going into the event featuring European champions Chelsea and Copa Libertadores winners Corinthians.

The Oceania champions kick the tournament off in Yokohama with a quarter-final play-off match against the hosts and newly crowned J-League winners Hiroshima Sanfrecce. “For us it is easier to be underdogs,” said Exposito, who also played for Atletico Madrid. “We are the underdogs and we know the game is going to be really, really hard, so the pressure is on them,” the 31-year-old veteran added, saying their previous appearances at the premier club event would give them confidence. — AFP

Sao Paulo beat Corinthians

FIFA suspends S Korean player

RIO DE JANEIRO: South American champions Corinthians were beaten 3-1 away by Sao Paulo in their final match on Sunday before heading to Japan to take part in the Club World Cup. It was also a bad day for Brazilian champions Fluminense, crowned with three matches to spare three weeks ago but beaten 2-1 by Vasco da Gama in a match played mainly by their reserves in a nearly empty Engenhao in Rio. Sport became the fourth and last team relegated after they lost 1-0 away to Nautico in the Recife derby, joining already condemned Palmeiras, Goianiense and Figueirense. Gremio also had an unhappy farewell to their Olimpico stadium, to be demolished after 58 years’ service, in a poor 0-0 draw with Internacional in the Porto Alegre derby.

The result allowed Atletico Mineiro to move above them into second place after a 3-2 win over Cruzeiro in the Belo Horizonte derby, putting them directly into the group stage of next year’s South American Libertadores Cup. Third-placed Gremio, who failed to beat an Inter side down to nine men for the final half hour, will have to win a preliminary round tie to qualify for the group phase, as will fourth-placed Sao Paulo. Goalkeeper Muriel was sent off four minutes after halftime and Brazil striker Leandro Damiao was also dismissed on the hour. The club have built a new stadium, considered the most modern in Brazil, which they will occupy from next season. — Reuters

SEOUL: FIFA has suspended a South Korean player for two international matches over a post-match political gesture at the London Olympics, the South’s football body said yesterday. FIFA’s disciplinary committee has also slapped a fine of 3,500 Swiss francs ($3,781) on Park Jong-Woo following his actions, which relate to an island dispute with Japan, the Korean Football Association (KFA) said.

The association itself was warned for failure to properly instruct players on rules of conduct.

“We’ve decided to humbly accept FIFA’s decision after consultations with Park Jong-Woo,” the KFA said in a statement.

The 23-year-old midfielder was excluded from the awards ceremony for his country’s bronze win in August after he held up a sign reading “Dokdo is our land” while celebrating the Korean team’s 2-0 victory over Japan. The Seoul-controlled islands, known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan, are the subject of a decades-old territorial dispute. The incident came hours after South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak paid a surprise visit to the disputed islands, angering Japan. — AFP

Magic stun Lakers

Lexi Thompson

Lexi prepares to defend Dubai title DUBAI: Last year, it was a chat with the stars from the “Twilight” franchise. This year, it’s a meeting with Tiger Woods and a role in his popular golf video game. Life keeps getting more surreal for American teenager Lexi Thompson, who is in the United Arab Emirates to defend her title at the Dubai Ladies Masters, which begins Wednesday. She won the tournament in 2011 at 16 to become the youngest winner on the LPGA and European Tour. She then lost her LPGA record to Lydia Ko, a 15-year-old amateur from New Zealand who won the Canadian Women’s Open in August.

Along with Thompson, the field includes Michelle Wie and LPGA Championship winner Shanshan Feng.

Thompson hasn’t won a tournament this year but four top-five finishes on the LPGA Tour has ensured her star continues to rise and with it the perks of celebrity. She got to meet the 14-time major champion Woods at the Notah Begay Challenge in August.

“I’ve always looked up to him so it was great to meet him and talk to him,” Thompson said. “And he said, ‘I’ll play golf with you any time’, and that means a lot coming from a person at that level.”

Just as good was being invited to play a role in Woods’ video game. Thompson wore sensors on her body, head and shoes to ensure the game was as realistic as possible and is looking forward to the result.

“I’ve seen some of the pictures of my animation and it looks so real,” Thompson said. “It will be interesting to play (against) me in the video game. It will be pretty weird but it will be awesome.” Feng, the first major winner from China, has also emerged on the tour from a breakout season in 2012. Along

with her first major victory, she has had eight top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour.

She also won the Japan Open.

“It feels really good after I won all the tournaments, and it makes me feel like a star,” Feng said. “I still have space to improve and hope I can do even better.”

The 23-year-old Feng said she hoped her success can further raise the profile of golf in China. The country already hosts several high-profile men’s tournaments including the HSBC Championship and BMW Masters and this year produced Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old boy who will be playing in the Masters next year.

But the sixth-ranked Feng said the popularity of golf still trails far behind sports like table tennis and badminton.

“I would say in China we focus more on the sports that are in the Olympics,” Feng said. The 2016 Olympics offer the chance to show that “Chinese can be good in golf and we can get medals.”

Despite all the young golfers coming up, 49-year-old Laura Davies - a seventime Ladies European Tour money title winner - dismissed retirement talk. “(49year-old) Vijay (Singh), I don’t think he’s being asked when he’s going to retire.

(53-year-old) Freddie Couples, he’s older than me, no one is asking him when he’s going to retire,” she said. “Every time I win a tournament, someone says ‘when are you going to retire?’”

Davies had an Achilles injury from playing in a celebrity football match and dropped to 174th in the rankings. But she insists the passion is still there, with a top 10 finish at the Indian Open last week. “I haven’t won in two years, but I know I can still win and I know I’m still good enough,” Davies said. “It’s just a matter of putting it right and doing it when you need to do it.” —AP

Poulter grapples with the art of scheduling LOS ANGELES: Scheduling tournaments at the right time in the best place is one of the trickiest tasks for a global player and Ian Poulter readily admits he overplayed his hand in what proved to be an exhausting 2012 campaign.

The flamboyant Englishman rebounded from a slow start to the season with a spectacular run of success and consistency that included his second World Golf Championships (WGC) win but he ran out of gas in his last two events, in Dubai and California. “I put myself in a situation this week where, to be honest, I’m kind of spent,” Poulter told Reuters after finishing 17th in an elite 18-player field at the World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods in Thousand Oaks on Sunday.

“My body was just telling me, and I was making stupid mistakes. The first two days I was tired on the golf course and obviously it (jet-lag) takes its toll out of you. It’s hard to get it exactly right.

“There are so many good tournaments around the world and I would love to play all of them but unfortunately we can’t. You have to look at it, plan it and try and play where you know you can perform.” Poulter closed with rounds of 71 and 72 to end a rain-soaked week at Sherwood Country Club a distant 17 shots behind winner

Graeme McDowell but he can reflect on a 2012 season that enhanced his status as one of the game’s best and most inspirational players. He recorded three top 10s in the majors, came from behind to seal a two-shot victory in the HSBC-WGC Champions Tournament at Missions Hills in China last month and underpinned an astonishing fightback by Europe at the Ryder Cup in October. “It’s been amazing, the back half of the season,” smiled the 36year-old Englishman. “Three top 10s in the majors, then I got to the Ryder Cup and backed that up with some great golf.”

Poulter, with his trademark eye-bulging and fist-pumping passion, ended an astonishing week at Medinah Country Club with a perfect 4-0-0 record as Europe came from behind on the last day to beat the United States 14-1/2 points to 13-1/2. “That Ryder Cup far surpasses anything I’ve ever felt before on a golf course,” said Poulter, who was the heartbeat of the European team that week. “It was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, full of amazing golf, amazing drama and a week that I will never forget.” The only blemish on Poulter’s otherwise glittering career resume is his failure to win one of golf’s four majors and that remains a cherished target for 2013, among others. — Reuters

LOS ANGELES: The Orlando Magic caught fire in the fourth quarter to stun the Los Angeles Lakers 113-103 and get the better of former player Dwight Howard on Sunday.

In their first meeting since trading Howard to Los Angeles in the off-season, the struggling Magic surprised the Lakers by scoring 40 fourth-quarter points to snatch the road victory.

Arron Afflalo led the way with 30 points while Glen Davis added 23 and 12 rebounds to help Orlando (6-10) snap a three-game losing streak and win the battle against Howard. “It means a lot to me,” Magic guard Jameer Nelson told reporters of the win. “We can all say it was just a basketball game, but we know (it wasn’t).” Kobe Bryant tallied a game-high 34 points and Howard finished with 21 and 15 rebounds against his old team, but it was not enough to help the Lakers (8-9) under new coach Mike D’Antoni.

Los Angeles blew out Denver in one of their best performances of the season on Friday, but are just 3-4 since D’Antoni took over. Things have not gone smoothly for Orlando either this season since a souring relationship with All Star center Howard led to them trading him to the Lakers. Howard, who spent his first eight seasons in Orlando, said Sunday was just another game. “That chapter was closed when I was traded. It wasn’t emotional,” Howard said. “It just bothered us that we didn’t play the way we needed to. We were a step slow tonight.” The Magic found their form in the fourth where they entered trailing by four before outscoring the home team by 14.

An 8-0 run late in the period gave Orlando a 98-89 advantage before Nelson added a three-pointer to all but clinch the win. Nelson finished with 19 and 13 assists as the Magic shot 50 percent from the field and stretched the Lakers defense with 34 assists. Los Angeles is adjusting to new roles under D’Antoni, and Pau Gasol in particular is having a difficult time. The Spaniard had 11 points and seven rebounds but found himself on the bench in the late minutes for a second straight game. “I like to be out there. It’s upsetting for me as a player but I won’t allow it to irritate me,” Gasol said.

“Coach makes his decisions and you have to respect him.”— Reuters

LOS ANGELES: Lakers forward Metta World Peace (left) dunks as Orlando Magic forward Moe Harkless defends during the first half of their NBA basketball game.—AP

NBA results/standings NY Knicks 106; Phoenix 99; Orlando 113; LA Lakers 103.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT GB NY Knicks 12 4 .750 Brooklyn 11 5 .688 1 Philadelphia 10 7 .588 2.5 Boston 9 8 .529 3.5 Toronto 4 13 .235 8.5 Central Division Milwaukee 8 7 .533 Chicago 8 7 .533 Indiana 8 9 .471 1 Detroit 5 13 .278 4.5 Cleveland 4 13 .235 5 Southeast Division Miami 12 3 .800 Atlanta 9 5 .643 2.5 Charlotte 7 8 .467 5 Orlando 6 10 .375 6.5 Washington 1 13 .071 10.5

Western Conference Northwest Division Oklahoma City14 4 .778 Utah 9 9 .500 Denver 8 9 .471 Minnesota 7 8 .467 Portland 7 10 .412 Pacific Division Golden State 10 6 .625 LA Clippers 10 6 .625 LA Lakers 8 9 .471 Phoenix 7 11 .389 Sacramento 4 12 .250 Southwest Division Memphis 12 3 .800 San Antonio 14 4 .778 Houston 8 8 .500 Dallas 8 9 .471 New Orleans 4 11 .267

5 5.5 5.5 6.5 2.5 4 6 0 4.5 5 8

McDowell wins World Challenge THOUSAND OAKS: Graeme McDowell loves nothing better than to close out a long year with a win, and there’s no better place for him to do that than Sherwood Country Club and the World Challenge. Two years ago, he rallied from four shots behind in the final round and beat Tiger Woods in a playoff. Staked to a twoshot lead on Sunday, McDowell never let Keegan Bradley catch up to him, and he protected his lead on the back nine with a pair of superb short-game shots to save par. One of them was a 75-foot lag putt to within tap-in range, critical for someone coming off a three-putt bogey. The other was a delicate chip behind the 17th green that the ball had to land in the rough, and then the fringe, or it would have raced by the cup. It stopped a fraction of an inch away from falling.

The only debate was which win was more meaningful. “It’s been a frustrating year,” McDowell said. “This really caps off my sea-

THOUSAND OAKS: Graeme McDowell celebrates with the trophy after winning the World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks. —AP

son.” Two years ago, the win capped off an amazing year in which McDowell won his first major at the U.S. Open and delivered the winning point for Europe in the Ryder Cup. What made Sunday so special was the fact he hadn’t won anything at all - nothing since that last World Challenge win two years ago.

“It’s been too long. It’s been a hell of a two years since I sat here as a winner,” McDowell said after closing with a 4-under 68 for a three-shot win. “We all put winning up on a pedestal as the ultimate goal. We like to say that it’s all about the process and going through the motions and trying to get better.

But let’s be honest. We all measure ourselves by the win. I can say that now.

“For two years, I’ve been saying things like ‘processes’ and ‘trying to get better’ and ‘be patient’ and ‘hopefully the wins will come.’ So I’m just relieved, really. I guess I got fed up with telling everybody that I’m playing well.

I’m relieved to get across the line and take some nice confidence into this little off period I’ve got coming up.”

McDowell was headed home to Northern Ireland for a few days before taking the rest of his 10-week break in his new house at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla. He just finished building the house, which sits across from a lake instead of a golf course - “I get enough views of golf courses,” he said. He just got engaged last month. He is opening a tavern outside the gates of his Orlando club called “Nona Blue.”

There are a lot of changes in his life, and that’s why it was important for him to get into that old habit of winning. “I know I’m good enough,” McDowell said. “I think when you know you’re good enough, it gets even more frustrating.” The three-shot margin made it look easier than it was.

Sherwood was playing longer than ever in a light rain, giving an advantage to a big hitter like Bradley, not to mention tournament host Tiger Woods. Even when McDowell built a four-shot lead through 11 holes, a careless three-putt bogey on the 13th brought Bradley

within two shots with five holes to play.

McDowell responded with the 75-foot putt that he lagged to tap-in range. From a precarious spot behind the 17th green, he had to land his chip in the rough and hope it would hop onto the fringe and not run too far by the hole. He pulled it off perfectly. “It was an inch away from sticking in the fringe, and about 116th of an inch away from going in the hole,” he said.

He made one last birdie he didn’t need, extending his dominance at Sherwood. It was the 10th time in 12 rounds at Sherwood that McDowell has shot in the 60s, and he now has two wins and a runner-up finish in his three trips to the World Challenge. He finished on 17-under 271 and earned $1 million against the 18-man field.

Bradley, who was within one shot after a birdie on the fifth hole, closed with a 69. Bo Van Pelt had a 70 to finish third. Woods, the tournament host and five-time champion, was never in the picture. He didn’t make birdie until the 13th hole and shot 71 to tie for fourth. “Graeme really likes this place,” Bradley said. “Just when I thought maybe I’d have a good chance, he’d hole a putt or hit a chip like he did on 17. He’s a champion. I don’t expect anything less out of him.”

Woods, needing a fast start, was stuck in neutral. He failed to birdie the par 5s on the front nine and dropped a shot on the seventh hole when his flop shot below the green came out heavy. He didn’t make his first birdie until the par-5 13th.

“I struggled with my game a little bit this week,” said Woods, playing for the first time in five weeks. “I just managed myself well to get around in these conditions.” Van Pelt opened with two birdies and tried to hang around in contention on the back nine. But this was a duel from the start, and Bradley never could get closer than one shot with his 18-foot birdie on the fifth hole. Two holes later, Bradley made bogey on the eighth and McDowell was back in command. — AP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

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Doping, ethics cases top agenda for IOC board LAUSANNE: Four months after the highs of the London Olympics, the IOC is turning to less uplifting matters: drug-tainted medals from past games, ethics violations in ticket sales and suspension of national Olympic bodies.

The fate of Lance Armstrong’s bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Games and doping cases involving five medalists from the 2004 Athens Olympics are high on the agenda for the IOC’s two day executive board meeting starting today in Lausanne.

Also on the table are proposed sanctions against Olympic officials and ticket agents accused of unauthorized sale of London tickets and the proposed suspension of the Indian Olympic Association for political interference.

The IOC board also will receive reports on preparations for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. With concerns mounting about the state of progress in Rio, the IOC will be looking for assurances that the first Olympics in South America are on track.

Doping issues will be at the forefront of the meetings, which have been moved to a Lausanne hotel because the International Olympic Committee headquarters are still being repaired after flood damage caused by a burst

water main. Five doping tests from 2004 came back positive earlier this year when the IOC reanalyzed about 100 Athens samples to catch any drug cheats who had avoided detection.

The IOC held disciplinary hearings for the five East European athletes - all medalists - over the weekend, and will now consider disqualifying them and removing the medals.

The group includes shot put gold medalist Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine and three bronze winners women’s shot putter Svetlana Krivelyova of Russia, discus thrower Irina Yatchenko of Belarus and weightlifter Oleg Perepechenov of Russia. Their names were first reported last week by German public broadcaster ARD. The identities were confirmed to The Associated Press by two Olympic officials with knowledge of the cases.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because the cases remain confidential while the disciplinary process is ongoing. The fifth athlete is Ivan Tskikhan of Belarus, who won silver in the hammer throw in Athens. He was publicly identified by the Belarus Olympic Committee and sent home from the London Games.

Whether or when the IOC would reallocate the medals is uncertain. If Bilonog’s victory in the shot put is

erased, Adam Nelson of the United States could move up to gold.

In 2004, the Athens Games produced a record 26 doping cases and six medalists - including two gold winners - were caught. Since Athens, the IOC has been storing doping samples from each Olympics for eight years to allow for retesting when new detection methods become available.

The Athens retests have caused a rift between the IOC and World AntiDoping Agency. WADA leaders publicly criticized the IOC for not retesting more of the 3,000-plus samples. The IOC said it assessed the quality, quantity and chain-of-custody of the samples, as well as the considerable cost and logistics of retesting.

The IOC, meanwhile, wants to get back the bronze medal that Armstrong won in the road time trial in Sydney, following the damning U.S. AntiDoping Agency’s report that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles from 1999-2005.

The board could decide to strip the medal this week or wait another few weeks until cycling’s governing body has officially notified Armstrong of the loss of all his results since August 1998.

IOC lawyers are studying whether the eight-year statute of limitations applies.

“The board is following a zero-tolerance policy on doping,” IOC vice president Thomas Bach, who heads the body’s doping investigations, told The Associated Press. The IOC has no plans to reallocate Armstrong’s medal, just as the UCI decided not to declare winners for the Tour titles revoked from the American. Spanish rider Abraham Olano Manzano, who finished fourth in Sydney, would not be upgraded and the bronze medal placing would be left vacant in the Olympic records.

The IOC is also investigating Levi Leipheimer, a former Armstrong teammate who won the time-trial bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games. The American confessed to doping as part of his testimony against Armstrong in the USADA case. Also now in doubt is the silver medal in the women’s discus from the London Olympics.

Darya Pishchalnikova’s sample from an out-of-competition test in May was negative at the time, but came back positive for a steroid when it was retested last month with a new method. The former Olympic and world champion’s case now lies with the IAAF and may not reach the IOC for some time.

On another matter, the IOC board will act on recommendations from the ethics commission for sanctions in con-

nection with irregularities in the sale of Olympic tickets.

The IOC opened a probe in June after Britain’s Sunday Times reported that national Olympic committee officials and ticket agents in several countries were caught offering tickets on the black market for up to 10 times their face value. The paper turned its evidence over to the IOC, which has been studying it for several months.

At issue are ticket allocations given by local organizers to the 200-plus national Olympic committees to sell in their home countries. The committees appoint a local organization to sell the tickets. IOC rules prohibit national committees from selling tickets abroad, inflating ticket prices or selling tickets to unauthorized resellers.

The highest-profile official implicated in the newspaper’s undercover investigation was Sypros Capralos, head of the Greek Olympic Committee.

He has denied any wrongdoing. The IOC will rule on a proposal to suspend India because of government interference in the national Olympic body’s elections, scheduled for Wednesday.

The IOC has told the Indians they must adhere to their own constitution and Olympic Charter and not follow the government sports code. —AP

South Africa ruin Ponting farewell with emphatic win

ISLAMABAD: Indian disabled cricketer Rajesh Surve plays on the side during a Twenty20 match against Pakistan disabled cricket team to mark the World Disabled Day. Pakistan beat India by 71 runs.—AP

Ponting’s career comes to an anti-climatic close After 168 test, Ponting pulls stumps PERTH: His final innings was ushered in by a guard of honor from the South African players as he strode to the crease, and his last departure from the arena as a test player was on the shoulders of his Australian teammates. Those were the unforgettable moments for Ricky Ponting from his 168th and last test. One thing he’d like to forget - his scores. He was out for 8 in his last innings yesterday and Australia was comprehensively outplayed in a 309-run defeat by Graeme Smith’s South Africans, who extended their lead in the test rankings with the victory.

“I just felt there was one last push from me. The game and the day was set up for it, but it didn’t last long enough,” said Ponting, who equaled Steve Waugh’s Australian record for most test caps and finished as the second-highest scorer behind Sachin Tendulkar in test cricket. “I was comfortable with the decision (to retire) before this game anyway. I just had a bit more of a fairytale ending in my own eyes than what’s happened this week.”

Ponting made his test debut on the same ground at the WACA against Sri Lanka in 1995 and, in the 17 intervening years, played with and against some of the greatest cricketers of all time. He was the most successful ever captain in terms of win-loss ratios with 48 test wins before standing down last year, handing the reigns over to Michael Clarke. His 108 wins in test matches are more than any other player.

Ponting finished with a career tally of 13,378 test runs, including 41 centuries, at an average of just under 52 in 287 innings. He shares the mark with Waugh for guiding Australia to 16 consecutive test wins, and he guided the Australians to back-to-back World Cup titles in 2003 and ‘07 during a record unbeaten run. He had his tough moments, including a public admission early in his career that he had a problem with alcohol, and three Ashes series defeats to England later on, but his lasting legacy revolves around his uncompromising approach to the game, his superb pull shot and his athletic, accurate fielding.

Ponting has silenced his critics so many times in the past that it almost became second nature, ending a year without a century to blast a hundred in a losing cause in the World Cup quarterfinal against India in 2011, and following that up with a double-century at the start of 2012 against India to prolong his test career. But only weeks away from his 38th birthday, he finally conceded that his run of low scores in the series with top-ranked South Africa was enough evidence that it was time to go.

“I’ve really put a lot of my pressure to

per form. It’s always been about big games and big series for me,” he said. “I haven’t been able to deal with it as well of late as I would have liked to. “Normally for me when those big moments come around or I’ve been under pressure, I’ve been able to find something within and go out and score runs and make it all go away. But I haven’t been able to do it,” this time. Ponting went to the crease at 11:37 a.m., acknowledging a guard of honor afforded by the South African players on either side of him, and clearly determined to do something special for Australia in his last innings in international cricket.

He faced five balls before getting off the mark with a trademark pull shot to the boundary from Morne Morkel. Seven balls later he hit a drive to the boundary, moving to 8 from two scoring shots and showing signs that his footwork hadn’t entirely deserted him despite a lean run containing scores of 0, 4, 16, 4. But by 12:27 pm it was all over when he edged left-arm spinner Robin Peterson to Jacques Kallis at first slip. Australia finished 309 runs short of its improbable victory target and South Africa retained top ranking.

Ponting accepted the sporting gestures from the South Africans that bookended his innings, stopping to shake hands with Proteas skipper Graeme Smith on his way to the crease, and holding himself together to shake hands with every fielder who ran up to him to acknowledge his contribution to the sport before he left the WACA. “That caught me by surprise. Graeme’s gesture,” Ponting said. — AP

PERTH: South Africa asserted their position as the best team in the world with an emphatic 309-run victory over Australia in the third test to clinch the hard-fought series 1-0 and ruin Ricky Ponting’s farewell yesterday.

Ponting had been hoping to sign off in his 168th test with a victory that would have allowed Australia to leapfrog the Proteas and return to the summit of the game they dominated for so much of his career.

They never looked getting anywhere near the winning target of 632 they had been set, however, and were bowled out for 322 in their second innings shortly before the scheduled close of play.

Appropriately, it was the South African bowling unit which sealed the victory after finally firing in Perth to turn the series around with a devastating spell on the morning of day two at the WACA. “Day two for me has got to go down as one of the highlights of South African cricket,” skipper Graeme Smith, whose team are unbeaten in their last nine tests on the road and in away series since 2006, told reporters.

“Then today to take 10 wickets and put our marker firmly down in Australia was special.”

The hosts had had the better of day one as well as the drawn tests in Brisbane and Adelaide but the South Africans struck back with a vengeance to become the first team since West Indies in the 1980s and 1990s to win consecutive series Down Under.

“It’s been outstanding what we’ve been able to achieve,” Smith added. “I think for us to win back-to-back series in England and Australia ... is the proudest achievement of my career.” Australia captain Michael Clarke was named Man-of-the-Series for his double centuries in Brisbane and Adelaide and praised his team for taking the Proteas so close. “I don’t want to take anything away from South Africa,” he said.

“They showed why they are the number one team in the world. When they had momentum, they went with it and when they didn’t, they worked their backsides off to get it back.” The South Africans got the best possible start to the day on Monday with two early wickets which brought 37-year-old Ponting to the crease for his 287th and final test innings 45 minutes before lunch.

Welcomed onto the field by a guard of honour of applauding South Africans, he lasted just 40 minutes and 23 balls before the same players were shaking his hand as he headed back to the pavilion with eight runs to his name.

Two fours, the first a vintage pull, closed his test tally at 13,378 runs for an average of 51.85 from 168 matches - the second highest run count in the long history of the game.

Spinner Robin Peterson (3-127) will go down in the record books as the last bowler to dismiss the Tasmanian, tempting Ponting into an attempted cut which ended up as an edge into the hands of Jacques Kallis in the slips.

The former Australian captain took off his helmet and raised his arms to accept the applause of the crowd before taking his leave

from the field where he made his test debut 17 years ago.

“I probably had in mind a bit more of a fairytale ending than I’ve had here,” he said in an emotional news conference. “Graeme’s gesture, that sort of thing will live with me forever.” Opener Warner (29) had lasted just two deliveries in the bright morning sunshine before edging the ball to Smith in the slips off the bowling of Vernon Philander.

Watson (25) was the next to depart with Smith again taking the catch after Morne Morkel had softened the all-rounder up with some short bowling. Ed Cowan outlasted Ponting and had just reached his half century

when he fell for 53, leaving Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey to try and build the sort of partnership they enjoyed when Australia were in the ascendancy in the first two tests.

It was not to be, though, as Clarke (44) was stumped charging down the wicket to Peterson with Hussey (26) and Matthew Wade (10) soon following him back to the dressing room.

The tea break only delayed the departure of Mitchell Johnson (three) and John Hastings (20) but Mitchell Starc (68 not out) and Nathan Lyon wagged the tail with some vigour in a 10th wicket partnership of 87. — Reuters

PERTH: South Africa’s cricketers celebrate after winning the third Test match against Australia. South Africa won the match by 309 runs and the series 1-0. —AP

SCOREBOARD PERTH, Australia: Scoreboard at the end of the fourth day of the third Test between Australia and South Africa at the WACA Ground yesterday: South Africa 1st Innings 225 (F. du Plessis 78 not out; N. Lyon 3-41) Australia 1st Innings 163 (M. Wade 68; D. Steyn 4-40) South Africa 2nd innings 569 (H. Amla 196, AB de Villiers 169; M. Starc 6-154) Australia 2nd innings (overnight 40-0) E. Cowan c Elgar b Steyn 53 D. Warner c Smith b Philander 29 S. Watson c Smith b Morkel 25 R. Ponting c Kallis b Peterson 8 M. Clarke st de Villiers b Peterson 44 M. Hussey c de Villiers b Steyn 26 M. Wade c Smith b Peterson 10 J. Hastings c Smith b Morkel 20 M. Johnson c de Villiers b Philander 3

M. Starc not out 68 N. Lyon c Smith b Steyn 31 Extras (lb3, w2) 5 Total (all out, 82.5 overs) 322 Fall of wickets: 1-40 (Warner), 2-81 (Watson), 3-102 (Ponting), 4-130 (Cowan), 5-188 (Clarke), 6-198 (Hussey), 7198 (Wade), 8-204 (Johnson), 9-235 (Hastings), 10-322 (Lyon).

Bowling: Steyn 22.5-6-72-3 (1w), Philander 21-8-41-2, Morkel 16-2-57-2 (1w), Peterson 20-2-127-3, Elgar 1-0-4-0, du Plessis 2-0-18-0.

Result: South Africa won by 309 runs South Africa win series 1-0 Man of the match: Hashim Amla (RSA) Man of the series: Michael Clarke (AUS)

Dettori to learn cost of failed doping test

PERTH: Australia’s Ricky Ponting watches South Africa’s players celebrate their win over Australia in the third cricket Test match. —AP

PARIS: Legendary jockey Frankie Dettori will today learn his fate for failing a drugs test when French racingís ruling body France Galop issue their verdict at a disciplinary hearing. The England-based Italianóprobably racingís most well known personality failed a dope test after riding in the Prix de líArc de Triomphe trials at Longchamp on September 16.

Through his lawyer, Christopher Stewart-Moore, the jockey admitted to testing positive for a nonperformance enhancing product.

But both France Galop and Dettoriís legal team have stead-

fastly refused to identify the substance. British media have reported that it was a recreational drug which could see him receive a sixmonth worldwide ban. However, a more run-of-the-mill product, such as treatment for a common cold, would see him escape with a reprimand.

The feeling from racing insiders is that with the dossier having been handed on to the stewards by the medical commission, after they heard Dettoriís account a fortnight ago, is that he is facing a highly-damaging ban of several months. It will be especially dam-

aging for the exuberant Dettori because he recently had his lucrative contract with the Dubai-based Godolphin Operation terminated after 18 years of success for both parties. The final straw for both sides came not with the dope test failureóthough they may have already been aware of itóbut when Dettori accepted the ride on Epsom and Irish Derby champion Camelot for Godolphinís bitter rivals Coolmore Stud in Octoberís Arc. It brought to a head the deterioration in the relationship between both Godolphinóthe brainchild of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin

al-Maktoumóand the jockey.

Ironically it was a previous drugs offence that had seen him able to sign for Godolphin after a highprofile contract in Hong Kong fell through when he received a police caution in 1993 for possessing a small amount of cocaine. A sixmonth ban for Dettori when he has become a freelance rider will be costly. While it would see him back in the saddle by June 4, he will have missed all the main European Guineas classics (over a mile) as well as the blue riband Epsom Derby and the Oaks (both run over 1 Ω miles). — AFP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

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Surfing on crest of wave in China HAINAN ISLAND: A beginner paddles his surfboard out into Hainan Island’s warm waters wearing white gloves, a mask and snorkel. Another has his board back-to-front, while a woman wants to wear her leg rope like a dog collar. Surfing has a long way to go in China but there is no denying the sport has a future here. A year after the Association of Surfing Professionals held its first event in China on the lush, palm-tree lined island, surfing’s popularity has blossomed.

Surf schools have sprouted up, an enormous clubhouse sits on the beach at the main break of Riyuewan Bay and grinning Chinese children ride the waves. “A lot has happened in those 12 months,” Darci Liu, the first Chinese surfer to compete in a pro event when the world longboard title was held on Hainan in 2011 said. “We did not know if it was real or not.

Maybe no one would care. But there really is interest, even more than I expected. “It is just so different to Chinese people,” the former ballerina added.

“We grow up thinking the ocean is something to be scared of, but people are seeing it can be enjoyed.” The ASP’s 2011 debut in China attracted worldwide headlines. Liu was profiled

by CNN and the New York Times, per-

fectly scripted in her role of “dancing across the South China Sea”. Hawaii’s Kelia Moniz demonstrated all the elegance and beauty of traditional malibu riding to win the 2012 Swatch Girls Pro China last week, but surfing is the big winner. “This is just the beginning.

No one surfed a couple of years ago but now I think Chinese people are starting to see they don’t have to be terrified of the sea,” Liu added. “It is a place to respect and enjoy. We can play out there. People have started coming from the mainland, asking us: ‘Can you show us how to surf?’ I hope in my lifetime that I see a Chinese surfer as a world champion. I think I will.”

‘GOOFY-FOOTER’ A lavish opening ceremony with fireworks and dancers was attended by 10,000 people. Close to 1,000 spectators lined the sand for the first morning of competition at Riyuewan Bay - a year ago three men and a dog had looked on. Teenagers waxed the underside of their boards instead of the top while tentative adults, raised in the belief the ocean was to be feared, felt salt water on their faces for the first time. They caught waves on their bellies, knees, sitting down, sideways, wrong ways.

The mayor of Wanning, Wu Mingyang, watched it all with a wide grin. “The first event was big news on Hainan Island and elsewhere in China but not many people knew about surfing,” he said through a translator.

“Now they have seen it happening in Chinese waters and the fascination is here with us. With surfing still being a new sport, we have uncrowded and unspoilt coastline for miles. “I have enjoyed watching the Hawaiians and the local Chinese wildcard, Darci. I should get some lessons from the girls, though, before I go in the water. I can use all the help with surfing I can get.” An estimated $500,000 was poured into the contest by Swatch and the local government. There was a live, worldwide Internet broadcast and the surfers were treated like royalty.

The poster girl for the event was American Kassia Meador, a photogenic ‘goofy-footer’ from California. The road from Sanya Phoenix Airport to Riyuewan Bay was dominated by billboards featuring Meador cross-stepping on a tidy left-handed wave.

She helped Liu with training sessions for youngsters, learned the Mandarin for ‘Can you surf?’ and said surfing’s push into China was genuine.

“Being involved in a sport that is young to the Chinese people when to

us, it has been around forever, that’s blowing my mind,” she said. “When I was growing up, surfing was all about the adventure, finding new places, meeting new people, and that’s what we’re doing here. There’s a bunch of kids surfing now and it’s like watching a new seed being sprouted. It’s starting to dawn on us all that it’s real.”

HAWAIIAN FEEL Palm trees and warm water give Hainan the look and feel of Hawaii.

Riyuewan is a beginners’ paradise.

Unthreatening waves and an easy paddle to the lineup. Before learning to surf, however, most Chinese need to work out how to swim. Education is key. Respect for the ocean. Keeping it clean. The simplicity of technique.

Understanding the danger and the joy of waves. The ASP’s General Manager for Australasia, Dane Jordan, surfed solo when he made his reconnaissance mission to Wanning three years ago. “This trip, I’ve been out there with 20 local surfers at any one time,” he said. “It might sound like a small number but it’s a significant rise and a step in the right direction. “From a historical point of view, it’s quite an honor for the ASP to be here. There was a great buzz last year and it opened the eyes of the surfing world to the poten-

tial of China. “No one knew you could surf here. There’s probably a billion people in China who didn’t know they had great waves on their doorstep.”

With huge hotels being constructed the length and breadth of the booming island to accommodate the influx of visitors, contest director, and former president of the ASP, Brodie Carr said he hoped to coastline’s beauty would be preserved. “As surfers, we live in the ocean and I hope the coastline here stays as it is. We’ve found more waves that no one has surfed and we know there are other places to explore. “It is all untouched territory as far as surfing is concerned and the potential is enormous.”

Carr said the competition on Hainan was just the start of surfing in China. “If I was looking into my crystal ball at where surfing in China might be heading in 10 to 15 years, my experience through working in the Olympic movement showed that whenever China gets behind something, they do it fast and they do it great. “In the future I would love to see China represented in long boards and short boards on the men’s and women’s world tours. “If that can be achieved, it will be a truly great thing for our sport. A whole new world will be opened up.” — Reuters

Brazil must not repeat 1950 World Cup ‘national tragedy’

LONDON: An International Rugby Board (IRB) employee sticks the teams name into the relevent pool groups during the Rugby World Cup draw in London yesterday. —AFP

England, Wales and Australia in same rugby World Cup pool LONDON: England, Wales and Australia were all drawn together in a potential ‘group of death’ when the draw for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England was made yesterday. The trio all found themselves in Pool A at a draw conducted at London’s Tate Modern gallery.

This means one of the sport’s traditional powers will be knocked out before the quarter-finals, with only the top two teams from each of the four pools going through to the knockout stages.

Wales were beaten 14-12 by Australia, twice the world champions, in Cardiff on Saturday-their eighth straight defeat by the Wallabies. England are currently in confident mood after their 38-21 victory over reigning world champions New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday.

The All Blacks, who’ve never lost a pool match, were drawn in a Pool C with Argentina, Tonga and two as yet unqualified teams in Europe 1 and Africa 1.

South Africa, winners on home soil in

1995, were in Pool B with Samoa, Scotland, Asia 1 and Americas 2. France, beaten finalists in New Zealand last year, were in a Pool D with a strong Six Nations bias as it also included major European rivals Ireland and Italy as well as Americas 1 and Europe 2. The eight remaining teams will come from a series of global qualifying matches that started in Mexico in March and will culminate in 2014. The 2015 World Cup in England, the eighth edition of the tournament, will run from September 18 to October 31, 2015, with the final at Twickenham.

Full draw Pool A - Australia, England, Wales, Oceania 1, Repechage winner Pool B - South Africa, Samoa, Scotland, Asia 1, Americas 2 Pool C - New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga, Europe 1, Africa 1 Pool D - France, Ireland, Italy, Americas 1, Europe 2. —AFP

AFC Wimbledon ‘proud’ despite bitter Cup loss MILTON KEYNES: AFC Wimbledon coach Neil Ardley expressed pride in his team after seeing them lose to an injury-time goal in their FA Cup grudge match at MK Dons. AFC were formed by protesting fans 10 years ago after the Football Association sanctioned plans to move Wimbledon, the 1988 FA Cup winners, 56 miles north from south London to the Buckinghamshire town of Milton Keynes.

Sunday’s second-round tie was the first ever meeting between the clubs and the animosity was apparent throughout.

Visiting fans brandished posters, sang derogatory songs and even hired an aircraft to fly over Stadium MK trailing a banner that read: ‘We are Wimbledon’.

AFC’s directors, meanwhile, shunned their hosts’ hospitality to sit among the 3,000 travelling fans, while many supporters simply boycotted the game altogether. League One (third tier) MK Dons eventually prevailed 2-1 through a fine stoppage-time back-heel by Jon Otsemobor, but Ardley said his players had no reason to feel downhearted. “I’m proud of the club for where they’ve come in the last 10 years,” he said. “This is a celebration of us and the way we have handled the week. This moment, which a lot of our fans dreaded, has come and gone.

“I’m relieved we have done the club proud. We can say we had a real good go at it. From the fans’ point of view, I don’t think they will ever forget, but it is a milestone for them that they have got this game out of the way. “This is a celebration more than anything. It has been draining and they will feel the same. This was the first time and the more you talk about it, globally, it is one of the most unique games there is. “It’s

SAO PAULO: Brazil must not repeat the “national tragedy” of losing the 2014 World Cup as it did when it hosted the event in 1950, the country’s Minister of Sport Aldo Rebelo said. “We cannot repeat the national tragedy of 1950 when we lost to Uruguay,” Rebelo told foreign journalists visiting Brazil as part of the buildup to the finals. “It was like losing to your younger brother. Losing to Argentina, well that would be like losing to your brother-inlaw and that is something that you also can never accept in the family.” With seven months to go before the start of the Confederations Cup, next year’s precursor to the World Cup finals, Rebelo said that he was optimistic that all the airports, hotels and necessary infrastructure would be ready in time.

However, he said that underlying everything in soccer-mad Brazil was the trauma that followed the 1950 defeat at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Watched by what is still the biggest crowd ever to assemble for a soccer match - estimated at between 199,000 and 205,000 - Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 to claim their second World Cup after winning the inaugural tournament in Montevideo in 1930.

Brazil had to wait until the arrival of a 17-yearold Pele to win its first World Cup in 1958. In 2014 it will be aiming to become world champions for the sixth time, and erase the memory of 1950 once and for all.

Rebelo told Reuters: “Losing to Uruguay in 1950 not only impacted on Brazilian soccer. It impacted on the country’s self-esteem.

Brazilians felt defeated as a country and only felt redeemed when we won the 1958 World Cup and we abandoned what the writer Nelson Rodrigues called ‘the stray dog complex’ so winning the World Cup is very important to us. “There are defeats and there are defeats, but we do not want another one like we had in 1950 and we are counting on a vic-

RIO DE JANEIRO: A Brazilian Indian holds one end of a banner as he joins a protest against the privatization of the Maracana stadium, in Brazil. About 500 people, including Indians and students, protested Saturday, against privatization of the stadium because it will lead to the demolition of a nearby museum and a public school. —AP tory because we are playing at home and I am same kind of quality that Lucas and Neymar not being modest but we have the best play- have on either side of the field. ers in the world. “We are different to the “Argentina has an exceptionally good playEuropeans. Our style is based on technical er in Lionel Messi but he does not have anothexcellence as well as creativity, a capacity to er player on the other side of the field as good improvise and the offer of freedom to our as him to help him, and Argentina’s defenders artists. “European style is based on tactical dis- are not as good as ours.” cipline and collective force and if we copy the Rebelo did not mention world champions Europeans we’ll be lost. We will lose.

Spain, widely regarded as favorites heading “We have the force, the technique and cre- into the 2014 World Cup finals. The Spanish ativity and technical discipline to win the side are admired in Brazil for playing a style of World Cup. I am optimistic now that (Luiz football reminiscent of the “beautiful game” Felipe) Scolari is back as the coach. I am opti- made popular by the great Brazilian teams of mistic about our players. No team has the the past. — Reuters

Tijuana win 1st Mexico league championship Toluca denied record-equaling 11th title

Jon Otsemobor in action in this file photo. a situation that never has happened or will happen again. Both clubs need to move on and next time there is a meeting between us, there is not so much of a gulf between the two teams.” Amid all the acrimony, a major police presence was in force to ensure emotions remained in check.

That was going to plan before Jack Midson’s header to cancel out Stephen Gleeson’s first-half goal for MK Dons prompted a small pitch invasion that could prompt the Football Association to investigate. There was jubilation for the hosts when Otsemobor flicked in the winner, but MK Dons manager Karl Robinson was in no mood for joyous celebrations. — AFP

MEXICO CITY: Tijuana won their first Mexican league championship on Sunday five years after being founded and 18 months since their promotion to the first division. Two goals in two minutes from substitute Richard Ruiz and Colombian Duvier Riascos midway through the second half gave the small border town club a shock 2-0 win away to favourites Toluca in the second leg of the Apertura final.

Tijuana, coached by Argentine Antonio “Turco” Mohamed, won 41 on aggregate after beating Toluca, who were looking to equal Guadalajara’s record 11 titles, 2-1 at their Caliente ground on Thursday.

“This is a huge satisfaction, we’ve been preparing for this for six months, no one gave a cent for this team but our humility and work were reflected on the pitch today,” Tijuana captain Javier Gandolfi told Televisa.

Tijuana’s ‘Xolos’, or ‘Aztec Dogs’, went ahead in the 70th minute when Ruiz rammed the ball home after a shot from team mate Fernando Arce came back off the post. Two minutes later, in a fast counter-attack, Riascos ran onto a

through ball from Ecuadorean midfielder Fidel Martinez, rounded the goalkeeper and put the tie beyond Toluca. “I’m happy, we deserved this. We did great things, we responded to the support of the people of Tijuana with a title they’d never had,” said Riascos, while thousands of fans celebrated after watching the match on giant screens at their Caliente stadium. Guadalajara, knocked out by Toluca in the quarter-finals, ended their relationship with Dutch great Johan Cruyff, who was taken on as a consultant in February.

“Guadalajara has decided to end its contract for services and advice with Johan Cruyff’s consultancy by virtue of not having achieved the results and objectives set out at the beginning,” the club said in a statement. However, it added the Chivas will continue to be coached

by Dutchman John van’t Schip, who was appointed by Cruyff in April.

“There will be no changes in the coaching staff since we have managed to implement a working methodology that is the basis for the successful development of the club.” — Reuters

MEXICO: Tijuana’s Javier Gandolfi (center) holds up the Mexican national soccer league trophy at the end of the Mexican League final soccer match against Toluca. —AP

18

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

sp orts

Man City seek crumbs of comfort in Dortmund LONDON: It was never meant to be like this for Manchester City. England’s best team entered the Champions League in September full of hope but yesterday they travel to Borussia Dortmund with only a consolation prize on offer.

An unlikely victory at leaders Dortmund will probably be enough to take third spot in Group D with Ajax Amsterdam, the English club’s rivals for a Europa League spot, away at second-placed Real Madrid.

But whatever happens the sense of anti-climax will still hang heavy over big-spending City. There is a school of thought that City might be bestserved if they were able to concen-

trate solely on the Premier League title race with Manchester United and not be weighed down with Europa League commitments.

Coach Roberto Mancini may already have one eye on next weekend’s Manchester derby and is likely to rest key players although he would have noted United manager Alex Ferguson’s early shots in the phychological warfare.

“Yes, you can have more time on the training ground, but then you have got to deal with the fact that you are not in European football,” Ferguson said in the Sunday Express newspaper of City’s Champions League demise.

“Every manager wants to do well in

Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said he was relieved to go into a Champions League week with their qualification already wrapped up as several of his players are feeling the strain of an already busy schedule in three competitions.

Defender Neven Subotic is nursing an adductor muscle problem while Sven Bender played with an injury against Bayern. “We have to see who we can have fit to play,” Klopp said.

“This phase is tough on all my players. I am just happy to have already reached the round of 16.” The Ruhr Valley club are unbeaten in the group phase so City may have some spare time on their hands come March. —Reuters

Europe. Losing in Europe is never healthy for a big club. How do you keep players happy? “City are out of the League Cup. Going out of the Champions League is no good for a club of that size,” added Ferguson. “ There’s nothing better than big European nights. It keeps the momentum going for your season.”

City will want to end their Group D campaign on a high while Dortmund are already assured of top spot whatever the result of today ’s match.

Bundesliga champions Dortmund are going into the game after a confidence-boosting 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich on Saturday kept them in the race to defend their title.

LONDON: Manchester City’s manager Roberto Mancini takes to the touchline in this file photo. —AP

Chelsea’s CL hopes hang by a thread

Lucas Leiva

Lucas laps up plaudits after comeback win LIVERPOOL: Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva successfully came through his comeback match in the 1-0 win over Southampton at the weekend and feels the team’s return to form can help their Champions League push. The 25-year-old supplied Liverpool with defensive backbone in the win to move the club to within seven points of third-placed Chelsea.

“It shows the Premier League is very tight at the moment,” said the Brazil international, who returned for Saturday’s victory after three months out with a thigh strain - coming just four matches into his comeback from knee surgery a year ago.

“The gap to third place is not too bad.

If we had had a few more wins we would be closer but we can’t change that. “We have a lot of games now and if we can get three or four wins in a row I think we will be very close to the top four. “If we can turn draws into wins it will be even better but we have to keep believing as there are a lot of positive things at the moment.” Midfield teammate Joe Allen was just one of many onlookers to welcome back the gifted international.

“You’re always going to miss quality players like Lucas and it’s great to have him back in the side,” said the Wales international. Having already played all of the

Premier League’s top seven, Brendan Rodgers’ side have a run of six matches of which they will be expected to win the majority.

“The manager said to us that the decision-making in the final third could be better and as soon as we make the right decisions we will start to score more goals,” continued Lucas.

“It’s a new process with a new manager and a new style of game. “At the end of May I think we will have more positives than negatives to take. The difference Lucas made to the team dynamic did not go unnoticed by Rodgers.

“I thought he was terrific. He gives us great stability when we haven’t got the ball, he intercepts, gets the ball back quickly and can read the game,” he said.

“Him coming in allows the two other more advanced players to play in that central corridor and run higher up the pitch and get in the box. Rodgers described the weekend performance as “sensational” and believes the plans he instigated on his arrival in the summer are finally starting to bear fruit. “It is going to take time but these are the ideas we are trying to put into the team in terms of patience,” he added. “It has all taken time but I can see great improvements.” —AFP

Australia ramps up racing crackdown MELBOURNE: Australian thoroughbred racing has moved to strengthen anti-corruption powers after being embarrassed by a string of scandals during the peak racing season.

Australia’s racing industry has been rocked by a wide-reaching police probe into race-fixing in the southern state of Victoria that has swept up prominent jockeys and cast doubts over the sport’s integrity in recent months.

Racing Victoria (RV), which overseas the country’s richest race in the Melbourne Cup among other marquee events, said it would add two full-time stewards to its integrity unit and push for harsher penalties for race-fixing offenders. “Deterrence and detection are the platforms of our integrity program and the additional stewards will ensure an even greater presence in the field,” RV chief executive Bernard Saundry said in a statement yesterday.

“We are undertaking an extensive review of the introduction of minimum and maximum penalties which would serve as a further deterrent for those considering breaching the rules.

“The introduction of harsher penalties definitely has merit and will be given very strong consideration.” Racing Victoria is itself under scrutiny over the handling of a betting scandal involving Damien Oliver, one of the country’s most prominent jockeys. Oliver, who rode Media Puzzle to victory in the 2002 Melbourne Cup, was banned for a total of 10 months last month after admitting to placing a A$10,000 ($10,400) bet via a third party on a rival horse in 2010.

Despite being under investigation, Oliver was permitted to ride throughout the state’s high-profile Spring Carnival, including last month’s A$6.2 million Melbourne Cup, sparking a storm of criti-

cism from local media following reports the 40-year-old had already confessed his guilt to investigators. Victoria’s racing minister has demanded a probe into the handling of the case, which cast a pall over the running of the country’s most famous race.

Oliver’s ban, which will still allow him to participate in the most lucrative races during next year’s Spring Carnival, had opened up new lines of enquiry for other potential breaches in the betting scandal, Racing Victoria said. — Reuters

Matches on TV (Local Timings) UEFA Champions League PSG v Porto Aljazeera Sport +5

22:45

Dinamo v Kiev Aljazeera Sport +8

22:45

Olympiacos v Arsenal Aljazeera Sport +1

22:45

Real Madrid v Ajax Aljazeera Sport +4

22:45

Montpellier v Schalke Aljazeera Sport +10

22:45

Malaga v Anderlecht Aljazeera Sport +9

22:45

Dortmund v Man City Aljazeera Sport +6

22:45

AC Milan v Zenit Aljazeera Sport +2

22:45

LONDON: Although Rafa Benitez can’t be blamed for Chelsea’s current plight in the Champions League, elimination this week would give his many critics further ammunition at the end of a tortuous first two weeks in charge of the club. Roberto Di Matteo’s final act as Chelsea manager was to oversee a 3-0 loss at Juventus that leaves the team on the cusp of becoming the first reigning champion to fail to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.

For the holders to squeeze through, they will need to beat FC Nordsjaelland and hope already-qualified Shakhtar Donetsk defeat Juventus in Ukraine in the other Group E match. Only two other last-16 spots are up for grabs in the final round of matches, with Benfica and Celtic battling for second place in Group G while Galatasaray and Cluj vying for the runner-up spot in Group H. But much of the focus will be on Chelsea, which only seven months ago was targeting a prosperous future among Europe’s elite after winning its first Champions League title.

The London club was placed in a tough group in the defense of the trophy, however, and has only won two of its five matches - one of the victories being sealed in stoppage time at home to Shakhtar. The change in manager hasn’t had the desired effect for owner Roman Abramovich, with Benitez yet to win after three Premier League games and facing the wrath of Chelsea fans angry at Di Matteo’s abrupt dismissal. Benitez even admitted after Saturday’s 3-1 loss at West Ham that he wasn’t sure he’d see out his seven-month interim stint, “I would say that it depends on the things that we can do on the pitch,” Benitez

said. “So, if we improve on the pitch, it will be easier for everyone.”

Chelsea denied Monday that Avram Grant, a former interim manager himself at the club in the 2007-08 season, had been lined up for a return to Stamford Bridge as an advisor to Benitez. The odds aren’t completely against Chelsea, which should comfortably see off

LONDON: Chelsea’s manager Rafael Benitez gestures in this file photo. —AP Nordsjaelland - a Danish side with just one point so far. Although Shakhtar is through, it will want to qualify in first place to set up what would probably be an easier match in the last 16. Juventus, which was held 2-2 at home by the Ukrainian champions, would finish top of the group with a win but isn’t likely to settle for just a point, according to midfielder Claudio Marchisio.

“We can’t go out onto the pitch hoping to take it easy,” said Marchisio, who scored twice in a 3-0 derby win for the Serie A leaders over

Pundits blame fatigue for the All Blacks loss WELLINGTON: New Zealand rugby pundits yesterday blamed tiredness at the end of a long season for the All Blacks’ shock loss to England, also suggesting over-confidence contributed to the defeat.

Media were full of praise for England after they ended the world champions’ 20-Test winning sequence with a famous 38-21 victor y at Twickenham, comparing them to Martin Johnson’s 2003 World Cup winners.

“England didn’t just ambush the No1 side in the game at Twickenham... they ambushed the rugby world,” former All Black half-back Justin Marshall wrote in the Dominion Post. The New Zealand Herald pointed out it was England’s biggest win over the All Blacks, surpassing a 13-0 result in 1936, and the New Zealanders’ second heaviest defeat ever, after a 28-7 loss to Australia in 1999. While skipper Richie McCaw said after the game that a stomach bug in the tourists’ camp had not affected his team, the Herald’s Wynne Gray said it could not be ignored when searching for reasons behind the lacklustre display.

“The lack of sting from the start suggested illness which swept the team during the week had a severe impact,” he wrote. “If the team wasn’t affected by illness, it was some lesson from England... they had a hunger that has not been apparent since the World Cup-winning group from 2003.”

Former All Blacks captain Stu Wilson said New Zealand had “nothing in the tank” in the final Test of a draining season. “It was just one too far for our boys, who got second,” he told Radio New Zealand.

“They were beaten by a very good side, a very young side, I might add, and we’re looking a bit old and weary.”

In the lead-up to the game, New Zealand were touted as possibly one of the greatest rugby sides ever and Fairfax Media correspondent Toby Robson said some players had bought into the hype, to the frustration of coach Steve Hansen. “Hansen is big on staying grounded, but his players were inflated with helium in the buildup to their final Test of the season,” he wrote. “His players got ahead of themselves and paid the price.”Marshall dismissed suggestions illness and fatigue were behind the loss, saying the tourists were simply beaten by a better team.

“The All Blacks were out-thought, more than anything. England came with a game plan that we simply didn’t think they could deliver,” he wrote.

“Maybe they even surprised themselves.” After handing out rugby lessons to opponents for 20 straight Tests, Marshall said the New Zealanders had now been given one by England and rookie players who had until now only tasted success with the All Blacks should “suck it up”. “The next major challenge in this part of the world will come in the 2015 World Cup and the likes of (Israel) Dagg, (Julian) Savea, (Sam) Whitelock and Aaron Smith will now know the sort of challenges they’ll be up against,” he said. — AFP

local rival Torino on Saturday. “We’ve got to play like Juve. Yesterday’s win gives us a lot of motivation to face Shakhtar, which I believe is the toughest team in the group.” Celtic and Benfica are level on points going into their final matches Wednesday, with the Portuguese team ahead courtesy of a better head-to-head record from their two matches.

Celtic may well be the slight favorite to advance as while the Scottish champions play Spartak Moscow at home, Benfica has the daunting prospect of a trip to Barcelona, which is guaranteed to top the group. “We are not counting on Barcelona to do the job for us,” Celtic defender Efe Ambrose said. “We have to do that at Celtic Park.” Galatasaray and Cluj are also tied on seven points, with the second-place Turks holding the head-to-head advantage. Galatasaray just needs a win at eliminated Braga to progress ahead of the Romanian side, which visits first-place Manchester United.

“No one should be fooled by the fact that Braga is last-placed in the group,” Galatasaray defender Emmanuel Eboue said. “They beat us 2-0 here (in Istanbul). We need to concentrate hard and fight hard.” Top spot - and what could prove to be a crucial seeding for the knockout stage - is yet to be decided in four of the groups, with AC Milan, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain among the teams hoping to move up a place from second. English champion Manchester City needs to beat Borussia Dortmund away and hope Ajax loses at Real Madrid to finish third in Group D and qualify for the Europa League. City was eliminated from the Champions League a fortnight ago after a home draw to Madrid. — AP

Top spot still target for defiant Wenger PARIS: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insisted he still harbours aspirations of knocking rivals Schalke off their perch atop Group B as the final round of Champions League group stage fixtures takes place this week.

The Premier League side ensured their progression to the knockout phase for a 13th straight year with a 2-0 victory over Montpellier a fortnight ago, but the Gunners must beat Europa-League destined Olympiakos today if they hope to avoid a seeded team, such as Barcelona, in the next round.

Schalke top the group on 11 points after five matches with Arsenal one behind, but the German side’s superior head-to-head record means Wenger’s charges would qualify as runners-up should the two teams finish level on points. Despite conceding he may rest some of his fatigued players, Wenger was adamant the north Londoners would be fully focused on trying to wrest control of the group away from Schalke.

“There is something at stake and I’ll have to give a breather to some players who are on the edge, as well as go over there and win our game to make sure that we do the job until the end,” the Frenchman told Arsenal.com.

“That’s what I will try to achieve. I’m confident that (already eliminated) Montpellier will want to finish the Champions League well. There’s a chance that Montpellier can beat Schalke,” he added, referring to today’s other Group B fixture. Arsenal have endured a difficult past week with successive draws against Aston Villa and Everton capped off by Saturday’s dismal 2-0 defeat at home to Swansea, a result that saw them drop to 10th in the table.

Wenger believes the trip to Greece could provide the perfect antidote. “We hope that we get a good performance at Olympiakos. It’s important for us.

Away from home, I’m not too concerned. We look like we play a little bit with the handbrake at home,” he said.

Manchester City’s Champions League dreams were prematurely extinguished for a second year running following a 1-1 draw at home to Real Madrid last time out. With just three points, City can finish no higher than third and must win at Group D winners Borussia Dortmund to even stand a chance of extending their European adventure.

“We will try but we need to win in Dortmund and it will not be easy because Dortmund are in a good condition,” said City boss Roberto Mancini.

However if Ajax, who travel to Spain to

face Madrid, match City’s result, the defending Premier League champions will be left with just domestic honours to play for.

Madrid are guaranteed second place, leaving them exposed to Manchester United and potentially Bayern Munich in the round of 16 draw.

Top spot is still a possibility for both Porto and Paris Saint-Germain in Group A, with the pair set to meet at Parc des Princes in the French capital.

Porto, on 13 points, are one ahead of a faltering PSG outfit that lost for the third time in five Ligue 1 matches on Saturday, with the Parisians’ 2-1 reverse at Nice prompting an angry outburst from coach Carlo Ancelotti. “I have the impression that the players aren’t focused on the club’s project. We lack solidarity on the field. Right now, it’s the whole team that annoys me,” snarled the Italian after the defeat on the Cote d’Azur.

Meanwhile Dinamo Zagreb, still without a goal or a point in the competition, are in danger of equaling Anderlecht’s record run of 12 consecutive defeats in the competition. They host Dynamo Kiev, who are assured of third place. Competition debutants Malaga, who host Anderlecht, are already through as winners of Group C, while second-placed AC Milan, in action at home to Zenit Saint Petersburg, have also booked their spot in the next round. Both Zenit and Anderlecht have four points, but the Belgians must pick up more points than Zenit, or overturn a goal difference deficit, to claim third ahead of their Russian counterparts. — AFP

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger

19

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

SPORTS

Betis down Deportivo

BUENOS AIRES: Under a confetti rain, Velez Sarsfield’s Fabian Cubero holds up the Argentina’s soccer league trophy in celebration at the end of an Argentina’s soccer league soccer match against Union.—AP

Velez win 9th league title BUENOS AIRES: Top-scorer Facundo Ferreyra struck twice to give Velez Sarsfield a 2-0 home win over Union which clinched Argentina’s “Inicial” championship on Sunday. Velez clinched their ninth league title with a match to spare, taking 38 points from 18 matches for an unassailable fivepoint lead over second-placed Lanus, who lost 1-0 at River Plate. It was coach Ricardo Gareca’s third championship with Velez in three and a half years. Ferreya scored in the 48th and 84th minutes at the Fortin against bottom team Union, who have gone 22 league games without a victory dating back to last season.

“Chucky” Ferreyra put Velez in front with a header and took his championship tally to 11 with a brilliant second goal, curling the ball left-footed inside the far post from striker partner Lucas Pratto’s low right cross. “I’d like to thank Gareca for the faith he showed in me,” the 21-year-old Ferreyra told reporters. Right back and captain Fabian Cubero, a veteran of all three championship victories under the same coach, added: “(Gareca) knows how much we love him.” River, watched from the heaving Monumental stands by new coach Ramon Diaz, who takes charge late yesterday, scored in the 76th minute when Uruguayan striker Rodrigo Mora headed home midfielder Leonardo Ponzio’s free kick from the right.

Diaz, who steered River to seven league

and regional titles between 1996 and 2002, came out onto the pitch before kick-off to a standing ovation from the crowd, welcoming him back after 10 years. “It was a very good farewell for (departed coach Matias Almeyda) and a welcome to his successor,” Ponzio told reporters. Almeyda quit during the week and reserve team coach Gustavo Zapata took charge for Sunday’s match.

Despite the win and an encouraging second half performance, Diaz will have seen he faces plenty of work to mould another title winning River side. Lanus lost momentum, dropping five points in their last two matches after a run of seven victories, while Belgrano beat Tigre 1-0 at home in Cordoba to climb to equal second on 33 points. Boca Juniors, Apertura champions this time last year, could have also gone joint second but lost 1-0 away to outgoing title holders Arsenal, who won for the fourth time in succession. Coach Juan Antonio Pizzi’s San Lorenzo notched a fourth win in five matches, coming from a goal down to beat Independiente 2-1 at home to keep the Red Devils mired in relegation trouble. The season is divided into two championships, the Inicial and the Final, which kicks off in February after the summer recess, with the two winners meeting in a grand final in June unless the same team win both. In previous seasons there were also two championships, Apertura and Clausura, but no overall winner.— Reuters

Champions Siolim United — Dubai

MADRID: Joel Campbell showed what Arsenal are missing this season with his sweetly struck shot giving Real Betis a 3-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga on Sunday. The on-loan 20-year-old curled a 25yard effort into the top corner to put Betis clear in fourth place and demonstrate the talent of a winger who is still raw around the edges.

Campbell moved from Saprissa in his native Costa Rica to Arsenal in 2011 but was first loaned out to French side FC Lorient before joining Betis last summer. Although blessed with pace and plenty of natural ability his performances have been erratic but he made the most of his chance against Deportivo with Juan Carlos injured in left midfield.

Deportivo had responded with a brace from Ivan Sanchez-Rico ‘Riki’ after a Ruben Castro double had put the Andalusians ahead but Campbell picked up a pass from Benat Etxebarria and fired home the winner.

In a message to the Costa Rica football federation, Betis coach Pepe Mel claimed that Campbell’s development has been affected by international commitments. “Although they may be angry with me in Costa Rica it is normal that a player doesn’t settle if he is all the time in a plane,” he said.

“When he is a full season with us without leaving he is more in the team as he is used to our system. I think that is good for everyone: for Costa Rica and Betis and if he does well then next year Arsenal will benefit as well.”

Second-from-bottom Deportivo have only two wins all season but they have played some entertaining football with a talented forward line inspired by the veteran Juan Carlos Valeron.

Joel Campbell Riki should have put Deportivo ahead after 14 minutes but his shot from close range was parried by keeper Adrian San Miguel and then minutes later Valeron clipped the top of the crossbar with a strike from distance.

Deportivo had the majority of the ball but Betis’ improved results have been largely down to a more defensive approach and the use of the wings to counter-attack especially away from home.

They took the lead after 38 minutes with full-back Ignacio Perez ‘Nacho’ crossing for Castro to head home and it was the same combination that doubled the advantage after the break as Castro this time side-footed the ball in.

Deportivo appeared dead and buried but an inspired Riki headed in a Laure Sanabria

cross and latched onto a loose ball in the area to equalise but it was not enough with Campbell giving Betis the three points.

A late goal from substitute Roger Marti gave European chasing Levante a 1-1 draw away to Celta Vigo who went ahead through Enrique De Lucas and bottom side Espanyol under new coach Javier Aguirre drew 0-0 away to Granada.

Victor Casadesus grabbed a late equaliser for 10-man Mallorca who drew 1-1 with Zaragoza. Glenn Loovens conceded a penalty and was red-carded after 12 minutes for a foul on Emilio Nsue and while Helder Postiga missed the spot-kick he scored moments later. Mallorca laied siege to the Zaragoza goal and eventually drew level through Victor four minutes from the end.—AFP

Ancelotti under pressure as PSG takes on Porto PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti may be battling for more than first place in Group A against FC Porto today. The Italian may be fighting for his future amid reports that the club’s rich Qatari owners have lost patience following a terrible run of domestic form.

“It’s a difficult time for us,” Ancelotti said. “At the moment we lack consistency, intensity and the taking of responsibility ...

My players don’t form a team, they’re still a sum of individuals.”

Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Nice was PSG’s third in the past five league games and came only days after it was knocked out of the League Cup quarterfinals by SaintEtienne on penalty kicks.

Ancelotti snapped after the Nice loss, which knocked PSG out of the top three places, and promised radical changes to his team

and his management style, but the changes may come elsewhere.

Sports daily L’Equipe reported yesterday that owners QSI have had enough. Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger are the names being put forward as a potential replacement for Ancelotti. Ancelotti and sporting director Leonardo were seen as the perfect tandem to lead PSG to glory, but their impact has fallen way below expectations. Last season, coach Antoine Kombouare was replaced by Ancelotti before the winter break - even though PSG was three points clear of Montpellier and still involved in the French Cup under Kombouare. “As a coach I have to take my responsibilities but the players must do like-

Runners-up Goa Maroons

wise,” Ancelotti said. “I have to find solutions with the players I have.”

PSG must beat Porto at Parc des Princes to finish at the top of the group - but the Portuguese club will be feeling confident after beating PSG 1-0 earlier this season. Porto lost for first time in an official game this season last weekend, going down 2-1 against Braga in the Portuguese Cup to lose its 18-match unbeaten record. But Porto is still unbeaten in the domestic league, where it hasn’t lost since last January, and shares top place with Benfica, while PSG has slipped down to fourth in the French league. “We will keep working and prepare the team for Paris Saint-Germain,” Porto coach Vitor Pereira said, adding that he felt his team was unlucky to lose against Braga after having

a player sent off.

Brazilian center back Maicon is out with a right ankle injury but otherwise Porto will be at full strength. In Group A’s other match, Dinamo Zagreb must beat Dynamo Kiev to avoid another humiliating Champions League campaign. Last season, Dinamo lost all six group games and has lost five this time - conceding 13 goals without scoring one. Dynamo flew to Zagreb without Coach Oleg Blokhin, who still cannot travel with the team for medical reasons. On Friday, Dynamo beat Hoverla Uzhgorod 4-2 to remain in third place in the domestic league, 14 points behind leader Shakhtar Donetsk.

Meanwhile, Dinamo labored to a 1-0 home win against Lokomotiva to remain 10 points clear at the top of the Croatian league.— AP

Aldona United — Dubai

Siolim United Dubai lift RBFC Open Rolling trophy Tournament held in memory of Late Sheikha Huda Bader Al-Sabah KUWAIT: After the success of the inaugural Tournament last year, Real Betalbatim F.C. had the privilege in organizing the 2nd Edition of Open Rolling Football Tournament in fond memory of Late Sheikha Huda Bader Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah on 27/10/2012 at Surra Grounds and they have proved yet again and shown everyone that they are the best in organizing Football Tournaments. The weather too played its part in ensuring that we had a beautiful weather throughout the day. And late in the evening the Heavens opened up and we had some beautiful showers to the excitement of the Spectators who had turned up in large numbers to witness the event. The day will be remembered and cherished by children and families who witnessed the event for years to come, as it was like an Family outing and children made the most use of it.

This year a total of 24 Teams participated, 3 Teams from Dubai, namely Aldona United F.C., Siolim United and Vanxim Divar and a total of 21 Teams from Kuwait namely, AVC, Don Bosco Oratory, Navelim Youth Center, DHL, KGA, Indian Strikers, Real Betalbatim F.C., CRC Chinchinim, Veterans United, Goa Maroons, National Catering Co., Nagoa Verna F.C, Friends Circle, Fahaheel Brothers,

The English School, Blue Racers Guirim, Sparx, Skynet Raiders, Curtorcares United, St. Domnic Savio and Rising Stars.

The Tournament was conducted on a League cum Knock out basis and a total of 68 Matches were held during the entire day from 07:00 am until 07:30 pm. The Tournament commenced with a once minute silence in fond Memory of Late Sheikha Huda Bader Mohammed Al-Ahmed AlSabah in whose memory the Tournament was being held. It was interesting to note that all the matches were played at a very fast pace and Teams vying to qualify for the Knockout stages. A total of 8 Teams qualified for the Knockout stages and renown teams to miss out were last year’s Winners, Aldona United, Vanxim Divar, Navelim Youth Center, DHL and Fahaheel Brothers to name a few. Third Place Winners were Indian Strikers and The English School, Salmiya had to settle for a Fourth Place.

Before the Finals National Anthems of Kuwait, India and RBFC were played and Balloons with Ribbons were released to mark the event and it was a treat to watch. So also a Children Exhibition match between City Boys Blue and Kheitan Boys White was held in order for them to show their talent. They all were

cheered and supported by their Families and a large Holiday Crowd. Highlight of the Day was an Women’s Exhibition Match which was thoroughly enjoyed by all the spectators and above all the women themselves as it brought back their memories of youth.

The Finals took place between new outfits Siolim United, Dubai and Kuwait Giants Goa Maroons, and was played at a blistering pace and it was a thrill for the spectators to watch. Both the Teams showed tremendous skills and ball control and were vying for the prestigious Rolling Trophy.

The Finals had all the ingredients necessary to make it a memorable Finals. Players who won the hearts of the Spectators were Federico, Newton and Joel for Siolim United and Blesson D’Souza and Regi Rodrigues for Goa Maroons. And in the end had to be decided by a Tie-Breaker and was once again won by a Dubai based Team, Siolim United and they ensured yet again that the Trophy will take a Flight to Dubai.

All the 68 Matches were officiated by renowned Referees Body namely, Indian Football Referees Association (IFRA) and hats off to them for officiating so many matches on a single day without any incidents whatsoever. The Referees officiating the Finals

were presented with a Mementos.

A large holiday crowd along with Children waited anxiously for the Chief Guests, Sheikha Hanouf Al-Sabah and Sheikha Dalal AlSabah to arrive but due to Prior commitments and bad weather could not witness the event.

Guest of Honor, HK Mohan, First Secretary, Embassy of India and KIFF President Fidelis Fernandes, ensured the day’s proceedings were not jeopardized and spoke on the event highlighting the mega event and gave away the Prizes.

RBFC President, Vijay Gonsalves spoke on the occasion and thanked Sheikha Hanouf Bader AlSabah and Sheikha Dalal Bader AlSabah for supporting RBFC in their activities. He also thanked RBFC Executive Committee for their tireless efforts in ensuring a successful Tournament. Further he thanked all the 24 participating Teams, Supporters of RBFC, Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi, Gulf Cables, Manoj Cardoso (Al-Bahar Group, Peter Mendes (Lays), IFRA Officials, Immaculate Gonsalves, Gasper Almeida, Media Supporters, and the Spectators for witnessing in large numbers in making this event a success. RBFC CEO, Robin Fernandes flew all the way from Goa to witness this Tournament.

Free refreshments to all the spectators on the day were pro-

Indian Strikers (3rd Place) vided by Lipton, Lays and Bernard.

Photographers, Simon Dias and Agusto Fernandes captured the day’s proceedings, renowned MC’s Alex Taylor and Lloyd D’Souza took control of days proceedings and DJ Mario provided sweet music to the ears of the spectators.

The Winners Trophy and Gift Voucher was awarded to Siolim United, Dubai at the hands of HK Mohan and Runners-up Trophy and Gift Voucher was awarded to Goa Maroons at the hands of KIFF President, Fidelis Fernandes.

Trophies were awarded to Best Goalkeeper - Martin Dias, The English School, Best Defender -

Regi Rodrigues, Goa Maroons, Best Midfielder - Joel Jeogie, Siolim United, Best Striker Frederico Fernandes, Siolim United, Best Discipline Team Indian Strikers, Player of Finals Blesson D’Souza, Goa Maroons, Player of Tournament - Newton Pereira, Siolim United and Highest Scorer - Lloyd Mascarenhas, Don Bosco Oratory. So also Mementos were presented to all the 24 participating Teams. RBFC does not want to take any credit but instead give credit all the participating Teams and Spectators for their support in making this event a success.

Betis down Deportivo

McDowell wins World Challenge

19

15

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

Man City seek crumbs of comfort in Dortmund

Page 18

OAKLAND: Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson (33) leaps in front of Oakland Raiders linebacker Miles Burris (56) during the third quarter of an NFL football game.—AP

Broncos, Patriots, Falcons win divisions MIAMI: If NFL executives really adore parity, they must be wincing at the early division clinchings by the Broncos, Patriots and Falcons. Not to mention the Texans securing at least a wild-card berth, with nearly all of December still remaining.

Sure, there could still be some close races, particularly in the NFC North and for the wild cards. But after Sunday’s action, four teams already can make plans to play in January. The Broncos (9-3) won their seventh straight, 31-23 over Tampa Bay, to take the AFC West. “It’s one step,” veteran cornerback Champ Bailey said. “It’s not like we’ve done everything we want to do.” New England (9-3) won its fourth AFC East crown in a row and the 10th for Tom Brady, a record for a quarterback, when it downed Miami, 23-16. “It means something,” star receiver Wes Welker said after the Patriots’ sixth win in a row. “I guess you get kind of spoiled at times. It’s kind of just another hat and T-shirt, but they are not easy to come by. You just go out there and try to play well and do the things we do. I think you do get spoiled a little bit with the things we do, but I’ll take them as they come.”

managed only 56 yards on 18 carries for Tampa Bay (6-6).

Broncos 31, Buccaneers 23 At Denver, Peyton Manning threw three touchdowns, including one to defensive tackle Mitch Unrein. Manning threw for 242 yards. He now has 29 touchdown passes on the season, moving past Jake Plummer and John Elway for the most by a Denver quarterback in a single year. Manning threw two of the scores to Demaryius Thomas, who finished with eight catches for 99 yards, and Broncos linebacker Von Miller returned an interception for his first NFL score. Rookie running back Doug Martin

Colts 35, Lions 33 At Detroit, top overall pick Andrew Luck guided a sensational 11-play, 75-yard drive that took just 67 seconds. He threw a short pass that Donnie Avery took 14 yards into the end zone with no time left.

The Colts (8-4) stayed in control of the AFC wild-card race one season after going 212. Detroit (4-8) lost for the fourth straight time, including three in a row at home after leading in the final quarter.

Patriots 23, Dolphins 16 At Miami, Brady was sacked four times and threw an interception, just his fourth all season. But a botched punt, roughingthe-punter penalty and fumble by Miami led to 17 New England points, and another penalty negated a Dolphins touchdown on an interception. The Patriots (93) are assured of their 12th consecutive winning season. Miami (5-7) lost to New England for the fifth straight time.

Texans 24, Titans 10 At Nashville, the Texans set a franchise record for wins in a year and have won six in a row. Rookie Whitney Mercilus recovered a fumble and had two sacks for a, well, merciless defense. After needing overtime in their past two wins, the Texans forced six turnovers and had six sacks of Jake Locker. Matt Schaub threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns, and Arian Foster ran for a TD. The Texans swept Tennessee (4-8), the team they replaced in Houston, for only the second time.

Chiefs 27, Panthers 21 At Kansas City, Mo, the Chiefs gave

EAST RUTHERFORD: Arizona Cardinals tight end Rob Housler (84) is tackled by New York Jets linebacker Calvin Pace during the second half of an NFL football game.—AP

themselves a reason to be proud a day after the Belcher tragedy. Belcher shot his girlfriend multiple times at a residence near Arrowhead Stadium, then drove to the team’s practice facility and turned the gun on himself as general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel looked on.

On Sunday, Brady Quinn threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns, and Jamaal Charles ran for 127 yards as Kansas City snapped an eight-game losing streak during one of the most difficult seasons the franchise has ever experienced. “I’m just trying to get through the rest of today,” said Quinn, who threw his first two touchdown passes in three years. “The emotions of what has taken place will probably hit home for a few guys the next few days, when they realize what’s taken place.”

Seahawks 23, Bears 17 At Chicago, the Seahawks (7-5) got only their second road win in seven games - they are perfect at home - when rookie Russell Wilson connected with Sidney Rice on a 13-yard touchdown with 7:33 left in overtime. That finished off a 12-play, 80-yard march with the OT kickoff. Seattle took a 17-14 edge lead with 24 seconds to go in regulation on Golden Tate’s slaloming 14-yard run after taking a short pass from Wilson. But the Brandon Marshall beat double coverage to haul in a 56-yard pass the set up Robbie Gould’s 46-yard field goal as time expired to send it into OT. The Bears (8-4) fell into a tie atop the NFC North with Green Bay. Rams 16, 49ers 13 At St Louis, the Rams (5-6-1) and 49ers (8-3-1) nearly played their second tie of the season. But rookie Greg Zuerlein kicked a 54-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in overtime after booting a 53 yarder to tie it as time expired in regulation. The Rams scored twice in the final 3:04 of regulation, getting their lone touchdown when rookie Janoris Jenkins rolled 2 yards into the end zone with an errant pitchout by Colin Kaepernick. San Francisco had a chance to win in OT, but David Akers was barely wide right on a 51yard field goal.

Steelers 23, Ravens 20 At Baltimore, Shaun Suisham kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired for the undermanned Steelers (7-5). Playing without injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for a third straight week, the Steelers got a solid effort from thirdstringer Charlie Batch: 25 for 36 for 276 yards and a touchdown. He moved the Steelers 61 yards before Suisham’s winning kick. The Ravens (9-3) could have clinched a playoff berth with a victory.

Instead, Baltimore had its 15-game home

winning streak snapped and also lost for the first time in 13 games against division opponents.

Packers 23, Vikings 14 At Green Bay, Wis., James Starks had Green Bay’s first TD on the ground in almost two months, Morgan Burnett picked off Christian Ponder’s throws twice and the Packers (8-4) moved into that tie atop the NFC North with the Bears. Green Bay has won 10 in a row in the division.

Adrian Peterson had an 82-yard TD run and finished with 210 yards for Minnesota (6-6), the most he’s had since suffering major knee injuries last December.

Ponder’s picks were thrown in the end zone and around the Green Bay 10.

Bengals 20, Chargers 13 At San Diego, Andy Dalton’s run up the middle for a 6-yard touchdown with 4:11 left gave Cincinnati (7-5) its fourth straight victory. Jermaine Gresham caught a 19yard TD pass from Dalton and BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for 118 yards on 25 carries. The Chargers (4-8) lost their fourth straight game and for the seventh time in eight games.

Cowboys 38, Eagles 33 At Arlington, Texas, Tony Romo threw three touchdown passes to break Troy Aikman’s career franchise record. Romo now has 168. The Cowboys (6-6) trailed 27-24 when Romo led an 86-yard drive sparked by a 35-yard pass to Dez Bryant on third down. Bryant gave Dallas the lead when took a screen pass from the 6 and got inside the pylon with 5:40 remaining.

The Eagles (3-9) lost their eighth straight game despite 169 yards rushing and two touchdowns from rookie Bryce Brown a week after he set an Eagles rookie record with 178 yards. But Brown also has fumble issues and Dallas went ahead by 11 when Morris Claiborne returned Brown’s fumble 50 yards for a touchdown.

Damaris Johnson returned a punt 98 yards for Philly with 31 seconds left.

Bills 34, Jaguars 18 At Orchard Park, N.Y., Ryan Fitzpatrick led five straight scoring drives. Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes and scored on a 1-yard plunge in providing a spark to an injury-depleted offense that finished the game minus its top two receivers. Fred Jackson had 101 yards rushing and C.J. Spiller scored on a 44yard run that put Buffalo (5-7) up 34-10 early in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars fell to 2-10.

Jets 7, Cardinals 6 At East Rutherford, NJ, third-string QB Greg McElroy stepped in for a struggling

NFL results/standings Seattle 23, Chicago 17 (OT); Green Bay 23, Minnesota 14; St. Louis 16, San Francisco 13 (OT); NY Jets 7, Arizona 6; Kansas City 27, Carolina 21; Indianapolis 35, Detroit 33; Buffalo 34, Jacksonville 18; New England 23, Miami 16; Houston 24, Tennessee 10; Denver 31, Tampa Bay 23; Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 20; Cleveland 20, Oakland 17; Cincinnati 20, San Diego 13; Dallas 38, Philadelphia 33.

New England NY Jets Buffalo Miami Baltimore Pittsburgh Cincinnati Cleveland

W 9 5 5 5 9 7 7 4

Houston Indianapolis Tennessee Jacksonville

11 8 4 2

Denver San Diego Oakland Kansas City

9 4 3 2

NY Giants Dallas Washington Philadelphia

7 6 5 3

Green Bay Chicago Minnesota Detroit

8 8 6 4

Atlanta Tampa Bay New Orleans Carolina

11 6 5 3

San Francisco Seattle St. Louis Arizona

8 7 5 4

American Football Conference AFC East L T OTL PF 3 0 0 430 7 0 1 228 7 0 0 277 7 0 2 227 AFC North 3 0 0 303 5 0 0 254 5 0 0 302 8 0 1 229 AFC South 1 0 0 351 4 0 0 265 8 0 1 248 10 0 3 206 AFC West 3 0 0 349 8 0 1 258 9 0 0 235 10 0 1 188 National Football Conference NFC East 4 0 0 305 6 0 0 280 6 0 0 295 9 0 1 217 NFC North 4 0 0 296 4 0 1 294 6 0 0 262 8 0 2 300 NFC South 1 0 0 317 6 0 0 333 7 0 1 321 9 0 1 235 NFC West 3 1 1 289 5 0 0 242 6 1 0 221 8 0 1 186

Mark Sanchez and led New York (5-7) to its only score. With Tim Tebow inactive as he heals from two broken ribs, coach Rex Ryan pulled Sanchez for McElroy - as the crowd at MetLife Stadium cheered wildly late in the third quarter. McElroy led the Jets on an impressive drive, connecting with Jeff Cumberland on a 1-yard touchdown. The sagging Cardinals (4-8) have their own troubles at quarterback. Ryan Lindley was ineffective in his second NFL start as Arizona lost its eighth straight game after a 4-0 start.

PA 260 296 337 249

PCT .750 .417 .417 .417

242 230 260 265

.750 .583 .583 .333

221 306 359 342

.917 .667 .333 .167

244 257 376 322

.750 .333 .250 .167

226 295 285 320

.636 .500 .455 .250

259 198 272 315

.667 .667 .500 .333

229 285 327 292

.917 .500 .417 .250

171 202 267 234

.708 .583 .458 .333

Browns 20, Raiders 17 At Oakland, Brandon Weeden threw for a career-high 364 yards and a touchdown as Cleveland (4-8) snapped a 12game road losing streak. Weeden hit fellow rookie Josh Gordon on a 44-yard score in the second quarter and Trent Richardson scored on a 3-yard run after Sheldon Brown made an interception deep in Cleveland territory when the Raiders (3-9) were driving. The Browns (48) got their first road win since beating Indianapolis 27-19 on Sept 18, 2011. — AP

Business

Jordan raises overnight rate to bolster dinar Page 22 China manufacturing hits 13-mth high in November

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

Mindshare Media Summit, a push forward for industry

Page 23 China overtaking US as global trader: Report

Page 25

Page 24

JAKARTA: Indonesian workers inspect shells of Toyota vehicles at the assembly line of Toyota Motor’s Indonesian unit, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) plant in Karawang industrial center outside Jakarta yesterday. —AFP

Batelco to buy CWC assets in $1bn deal CWC shares surge to 2-wk high, Batelco unchanged DUBAI: Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) has agreed to buy Cable & Wireless Communications’ assets in Monaco and some islands in a deal worth up to $1 billion, hoping growth overseas will offset falling revenue and market share at home. Batelco, which has little debt, has reported falling profit in nine of the past 10 quarters and this slump has led it to expand abroad, although its moves had been limited to Middle Eastern countries like Jordan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

For CWC, the deal will allow it to cut debt and focus on a smaller geographical area.

State-controlled Batelco will buy CWC’s Monaco and Islands division, which own stakes in telecom operators in 12 markets including the Maldives, Channel Islands and the Seychelles, providing fixed-line, mobile, broadband and television services.

It will also buy a 25-percent shareholding in Compagnie Monagesque de Communications (CMC), which holds CWC’s 55 percent interest in Monaco Telecom. Monaco Telecom in turn holds a 36.8 percent stake in Roshan, a mobile phone operator in Afghanistan. The total price for these transactions is $680 million, Batelco said yesterday, adding it had appointed BNP Paribas and Citigroup to help it raise up to $1 billion though a bond issue and a loan facility.

“Batelco’s revenues and earnings are going down and the company is looking at cost reduction and restructuring to boost its margins,” said a Middle East telecom analyst.

“Batelco wanted to buy brownfield operations (established businesses), it didn’t want new licenses, and there aren’t many available at the $1 billion ticket range.” Reuters reported in September the two companies were in talks regarding the Monaco and islands assets. BNP and Citi were advising Batelco on the deal, the sources said.

Batelco, which has a market value of $1.53 billion according to Reuters data, also entered into

option agreements which will allow the Bahraini firm to buy a controlling interest in CWC’s remaining 75-percent interest in CMC for an extra $345 million. “We believe this is a good deal for CWC,” EspÌrito Santo Investment Bank wrote in a research note, claiming it provided a 40 percent premium to current valuations. “A deal like this has been perceived as difficult to execute due to the geographic spread of the assets. We are now more confident in management’s ability to execute deals at good multiples.”

CWC’s shares were up 4.9 percent at 1135 GMT, after hitting a two-week high, while Batelco ended unchanged in Bahrain.

In a separate statement, CWC said the Batelco deal would cut its debt to $937 million.

The operator is also in talks to sell a majority stake in Macau’s largest telecom group. “Our strategy to expand in Central America and the Caribbean is predicated on really moving out of all aspect of the eastern part of our business, so Monaco and the Islands and Macau,” said CWC finance director Tim Pennington.

Batelco’s home revenue may be in decline it fell 12 percent in the nine months to Sept. 30, accounting for 60 percent of group earnings but it is buying a CWC division facing similar difficulties.

Monaco and Islands had revenue of $586 million in the year ending March 31, down from $605 million a year earlier. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell over the same period to $186 million from $207 million. CWC’s effective stake in its Monaco and Islands division is about 65 percent, the Middle East telecoms analyst said, meaning Batelco will be working with local shareholders in the various units.

“The key question is whether this deal will add incremental value for shareholders,” added the analyst. “These new units may offer data revenue growth, but is the net earnings growing, and if yes, by how much?” — Reuters

Even without US cliff, world economy teeters WASHINGTON: The global economy is on edge and that’s without the US “fiscal cliff.”

Among rich nations, the US outlook remains the least troublesome. But given a recession in the euro zone and a recent contraction in Japan, that’s not saying a lot.

At the same time, many emerging markets are hurting. India is likely to log its weakest growth in a decade this year and Brazil’s economy is also sputtering. Luckily, growth in China appears to be firming.

In the United States, the economy faces growing challenges even without the ongoing political wrangling over the $600 billion in government spending reductions and expiring tax cuts set to kick in at the start of next year. The coming week brings a slew of reports expected to show the US economy struggling.

Data on Friday will likely show employment growth slowed to just 100,000 jobs last month from 171,000 in October, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

US manufacturing data this week is also likely to suggest a fourth-quarter slowdown is at hand. Indeed, some worry the fourth quarter, which has been affected by the impact of superstorm Sandy, will bring the world’s largest economy remarkably close to stall speed.

“The risk of seeing a negative sign in front of fourth-quarter GDP is nontrivial, to say the least,” said Tom Porcelli, economist

at RBC Capital Markets. Following figures showing consumer spending fell in October for the first time in five months, Porcelli revised down his forecast for fourth-quarter US GDP growth to a 0.2 percent annual pace from 1 percent.

The United States’ travails come against a troubling global backdrop. Europe is still a mess. Greece’s latest debt deal quelled immediate concerns of a financial market meltdown, with terms of the country’s bond buy-back plan likely to be announced early this week. But the country remains mired in a deep depression, with little prospect for recovery, and not everyone is convinced it will be able to remain a part of the single currency.

“We expect the euro to come under pressure again soon, and continue to forecast that the exchange rate against the dollar will tumble to parity next year as Greece eventually leaves the euro zone,” said John Higgins, economist at Capital Economics in London. The attention of financial markets has also quickly returned to Spain, where the economy continues to worsen despite an improvement in credit market conditions prompted by hopes of eventual help from the European Central Bank. Spanish retail sales plunged 9.7 percent in October, pointing to a further sharp contraction for a country that has been in recession for more than a year.—Reuters

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

BUSINESS

Jordan raises overnight rate to bolster dinar Tightening expected to stem capital flight AMMAN: Jordan raised its overnight rate on dinar deposits yesterday by 75 basis points to 4 percent, acting to bolster the currency and guard against capital flight at a time of domestic unrest.

It was the third time the Central Bank of Jordan has raised the deposit rate this year as it seeks to encourage investments in dinardenominated assets.

The bank said it also raised its one week repo rate, by 50 basis points to 4.25 percent.

Bankers said transfers of dinar assets into dollars have increased following nationwide protests last month after the government ended fuel subsidies, pushing through steep price hikes to keep a lid on a budget deficit that has widened to $3 billion.

The lifting of the subsidies was a condition for a $2 billion standby loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), improving

chances of foreign donor support for the ailing economy.

“The central bank is concerned about consolidating monetary stability and creating the right climate to spur domestic and foreign investment,” it said in a statement.

Jordan faces a period of slow economic growth and investor sentiment has been soured further by the civil unrest.

Economists said the hike, which will hurt companies struggling during the downturn by raising cost of credit, showed policymakers were focused on bolstering the dinar’s attractiveness rather than spurring the economy.

Bankers said the rise in the overnight dinar rate would push the differential between returns on three-month dinar and dollar deposits with commercial banks to above 4.5 percent, acting as a brake on capital flight.

“The central bank has no other instrument

Qatar hands new backing to Airbus mini-jumbo

Saudi Nov business activity growth slows to 1-year low RIYADH: Growth in business activity in Saudi Arabia dived to a one-year low during a November marked by extended public holidays but it remained well above the 50-point mark separating expansion from contraction, a survey showed yesterday.

The SABB HSBC Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index fell 2.8 points to 57.0 on a seasonally adjusted basis in November, its lowest level since October 2011. The fall in the index was the biggest in the three years the survey of over 400 private companies has been running, but Saudi business growth remains strong by international standards.

The world’s top oil exporter has enjoyed high energy prices in recent years and boosted its economy with strong government spending, a trend economists expect to continue.

In November, Saudi Arabia hosted the

annual Hajj pilgrimage and marked the Eid Al-Adha holiday, entailing a twoweek government holiday and a break of about a week for many private companies.

Business managers also reported employment rose for the fourteenth consecutive month in November, and at a higher rate than in October.

Output growth slowed 4.4 points to 60.2, while new orders fell 5.2 points to 64.0, with both measures weakest since September last year. An HSBC research note said the November readings appeared to run against other economic indicators showing continued strong Saudi economic expansion.

“Employment, for example, gained speed in November, while purchases for stocks were unchanged and delivery times lengthened,” it said, adding that point of sales transactions and credit growth were both strong. — Reuters

Iraqi telecom Asiacell to launch IPO on Jan 3 DUBAI: Iraqi telecom operator Asiacell will launch its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) on Jan 3, a company spokesman said yesterday, in what is likely to be the country’s largest-ever share sale.

Asiacell, a subsidiary of Qatar Telecom (Qtel), aims to sell a quarter of its stock in the IPO and will list on the Iraq Stock Exchange on Feb 3, the spokesman said.

The company has until Dec. 25 to tell the market regulator the number and price of the shares it wants to sell.

Asiacell - given an enterprise value (equity plus debt) of $4.4 billion in 2011 by brokerage Nomura Holdings -

received preliminary approval from Iraqi regulators to launch its share sale in August this year. Morgan Stanley ceased to be a bookrunner on the IPO in September, signalling it will increasingly rely on local investors.

Asiacell and rival operators Zain Iraq (a subsidiary of Kuwait’s Zain ) and France Telecom affiliate Korek had been required to float a quarter of their shares

by August 2011 as part of their $1.25 billion license agreements. All have yet to do so and the planned share offerings would still be the first major IPOs since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. — Reuters

except to raise interest rates to protect the dinar,” one banker said. Jordan’s $7 billion of foreign reserves have come under severe pressure from the wave of unrest triggered by the Arab Spring, falling to almost half their levels of a year ago, according to central bank data.

The bank said it kept other key interest rates unchanged, with the discount rate staying at 5.00 percent and the one day repo rate at 4.75 percent.

The bank raised rates last year after a period of cuts that ran from 2008, when it eased monetary policy to cushion the economy against the impact of the global financial crisis and to curb inflation.

Bankers predicted yesterday’s hikes could be followed by other rate increases and would bolster dinar accounts in a banking sector with over $34 billion deposits. — Reuters

LONDON/PARIS: Qatar Airways has upgraded an order for Airbus A350 aircraft to larger variants, a move that includes new backing for a model designed to compete with Boeing Co’s 777 mini-jumbo. The European planemaker, part of EADS, announced the move as the influential Gulf airline said it preferred the two largest models of A350 for its business model, confirming a trend towards more seats to cope with regular increases in passenger traffic.

The A350 comes in three models - the two smallest compete with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner while the largest, the 350-seat A350-1000, aims for a crucial niche dominated by the 777.

Many experts see the lucrative market for jets just below 400 seats as the next major battleground between the world’s top planemakers. Boeing is looking at revamping its 777 design.

Airbus said Qatar Airways had upgraded its order for the largest A350-1000 variant to 37 planes from 20 and increased its order for the base model, the A350900, by three planes to 43, confirming what aviation sources had previously told Reuters.

However these are not net new orders, since the same airline has scrapped an order for the A350-800, the smallest variant which faces speculation about its future due to weak sales. The upgraded order will net Airbus an extra $2.8 billion at list prices. In volume, Qatar’s A350 order remain at 80 units. Qatar Airways is the launch customer for the future A350 and is also a major user of the 777, Boeing’s most profitable plane.

Airbus said separately it had won approval from European authorities to deploy drag-reducing wingtip devices that will allow airlines to cut fuel bills by more than it had expected. The so-called sharklets, which are made from composite materials and are 2.4 metres tall, are upward-slanting wingtips designed to help narrowbody A320 aircraft fly further on the same amount of fuel. “The certification of Airbus’ sharklets is a milestone which paves the way for airlines to benefit from savings in fuel of around 4 percent,” Tom Williams, executive vice president of programs at Airbus, said in a statement. “That’s better than we’d anticipated.” — Reuters

ATHENS: Greek municipal workers protest in central Athens yesterday against the austerity measures and the expected layoffs in their sector. Greece’s PDMA national debt agency said it had begun a voluntary buyback of the country’s bonds at heavily discounted prices, a condition for receiving its latest instalment of EU-IMF bailout funds. —AFP

Nigeria learns prudence - oil savings more than double ABUJA: Cost-cutting has helped restore Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) to some $9 billion in oil savings, or more than double what it was a year ago, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said yesterday.

Okonjo-Iweala was addressing delegates at the annual Nigerian Economic Summit in the capital Abuja, whose themes include fiscal prudence and reducing the high cost of governance in Africa’s top oil producer. Nigeria is Africa’s second biggest economy and its sovereign debt is closely watched by foreign investors, especially since JP Morgan included it in its emerging market index in October. Flush with oil cash, the country has been seen as a relatively safe destination for frontier debt investors, but poor fiscal management has dogged it for decades - something Okonjo-Iweala has made her top priority to fix.

“Before you can even look at the centres of the economy and trying to change them and create jobs, you must have macro-economic stability,” Okonjo-Iweala said. “We have introduced a measure of fiscal discipline.”

“The fact that (forex) reserves are climbing now is not a miracle. It happened because of proper fiscal management. We have about $9 billion in the excess crude account. Last year it was $4 billion, so it’s more than doubled,” she added. The figure is still lower than the $20 billion it had in it in 2007, but this was reduced to $3 billion when Jonathan took office in early 2011, despite a year of record high oil prices.

She said that some of this would have to be used to pay for the latest round of Nigeria’s costly food import subsidies. he finance minister faces a showdown in parliament over the government’s latest budget, with some lawmakers saying too much money is being set aside as oil savings when the country needs more spending on things like infrastructure.

A 4.93 trillion Nigerian naira ($31.35 billion) budget plan that President Goodluck Jonathan presented to parliament for

2013 cautiously assumes oil prices to be $75 a barrel, but many legislators want this inflated - especially with prices now hovering around $112 a barrel. Oil earnings over the benchmark price get deposited into the ECA, which is used to save for future generations or cushion against oil price shocks.

Critics say running Nigeria’s government still saps too much of the budget Okonjo-Iweala said the share of such recurrent expenditure had been reduced to 68.8 percent in next year’s budget, from its current 71.47 percent in this year’s. “And it will continue to come down,” she said.

Analysts say much of the excess costs are on unproductive staff, especially Nigeria’s bloated civil service. Central bank governor Lamido Sanusi sparked outrage last week when he was quoted in the local press as saying half of civil servants should be sacked to reduce the cost of governance. “When we talk about reducing the cost of governance ... it has to be made clear that part of this cost is people in the civil service,” Okonjo-Iweala said in support of Sanusi.

Investors and rating agencies have welcomed Okonjo-Iweala’s austerity drive, with Standard & Poor’s the latest to upgrade Nigeria’s debt to BB-, with a stable outlook. One major fiscal headache remains the motor fuel subsidy, the biggest single item in Nigeria’s budget.

Jonathan attempted to scrap it in January, but a week of strikes and protests forced him to partially reinstate it.

Since then, a parliamentary inquiry has uncovered multibillion dollar fraud in the subsidy’s administration, and the government has exposed subsidy claims to stronger checks. Okonjo-Iweala said that 232.2 billion naira of subsidy claims had been rejected so far, because the fuel marketers could not substantiate them.

There has been speculation Jonathan will try to remove the popular subsidy which many Nigerians see as the only benefit they get from living in an oil-rich state early next year. — Reuters

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

.2750000 .4480000 .3640000 .3010000 .2810000 .2900000 .0040000 .0020000 .0762300 .7426870 .3880000 .0720000 .7280720 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2808000 GB Pound/KD .4502910 Euro .3659670 Swiss francs .3033870 Canadian dollars .2829220 Danish Kroner .0490550 Swedish Kroner .0422900 Australian dlr .2922710 Hong Kong dlr .0362320 Singapore dlr .2300700 Japanese yen .0034090 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0764810 Bahraini dinars .7451240 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0749000 Omani riyals .7296350 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - transfer Irani Riyal - cash

3.424 5.177 2.919 2.176 3.254 231.880 36.413 3.444 6.900 9.201 0.271 0.273

.2850000 .4600000 .3680000 .3080000 .2910000 .3000000 .0067500 .0035000 .0769960 .7501510 .4070000 .0770000 .7353900 .0510000 .2829000 .4536580 .3687040 .3056560 .2850380 .0494220 .0426070 .2944560 .0365030 .2317900 .0034350 .0052210 .0021910 .0029430 .0034930 .0770530 .7506970 .4001410 .0754600 .7350920 .0069760

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 75.383 77.570 733.270 749.830 76.873

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 47.900 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.107 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.317 Tunisian Dinar 180.320 Jordanian Dinar 398.220 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.894 Syrian Lier 3.860 Morocco Dirham 33.595 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 282.200 Euro 369.120 Sterling Pound 453.780 Canadian dollar 285.340 Turkish lire 158.140 Swiss Franc 306.070 Australian dollar 294.670 US Dollar Buying 281.000 GOLD 323.000 163.000 85.500

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria

SELL CASH

297.800 750.090 3.690 287.600 553.900 46.000 50.100 167.600 47.900 370.900 37.080 5.450 0.032 0.161 0.246 3.520 399.700 0.191 95.210 45.500 4.340 235.200 1.827

50.900 732.630 3.080 7.090 78.020 75.310 232.620 34.780 2.685 456.000 43.300 308.200 3.700 9.550 198.263 76.900 282.400 1.360

10 Tola

GOLD 1,823.610

Sterling Pound US Dollar

732.450 2.937 6.920 77.590 75.310 232.620 34.780 2.180 454.000 306.700 3.700 9.380 76.800 282.000

COUNTRY

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 454.000 282.000

SELL DRAFT

296.300 750.090 3.446 286.100

232.600 46.130 369.400 36.930 5.180 0.031

399.660 0.190 95.210 3.250 233.700

SELL DRAFT

Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

297.63 288.39 309.48 370.69 281.60 454.95 3.50 3.466 5.153 2.182 3.236 2.924 76.74 749.81 46.11 401.19 732.89 77.76 75.30

SELL CASH

297.000 288.000 309.000 370.000 283.000 456.000 3.690 3.570 5.400 2.300 3.650 3.150 77.300 749.000 47.750 399.000 732.000 77.850 75.800

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer

Selling Rate

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro

281.950 284.605 452.950 367.870

Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

305.110 746.455 76.740 77.390 75.150 397.450 46.125 2.174 5.178 2.917 3.450 6.891 691.625 4.420 9.265 4.375 3.330 92.655

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

Currency

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee

282.000 2.919 5.185 2.185 3.467 6.940 76.880 75.355 749.700 46.123 457.800 2.990 1.550 373.400 290.000 3.265

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

281.900 369.650 454.350 286.150 3.470 5.181 46.135 2.164 3.456 6.895 2.925 750.650 76.600 75.275

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

BUSINESS

‘Known unknowns’ seem less menacing LONDON: The big “known unknowns”, to borrow from former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, are now so familiar to most global investors that they have to think long and hard about risks looming in 2013.

That’s not to say money managers see no big pitfalls for next year. On the contrary: the world economy has rarely faced so many threats of political, policy and financial accidents.

And a glance at the election calendar for next year - with polls in Italy, Germany, Israel and Iran - shows there’s no shortage of “event risks”. It’s just that a dominant triad of make-or-break issues that have hung over world markets for more than two years now - euro survival, the US “fiscal cliff” and a Chinese hard landing - have almost become a tiresome mantra for most fund managers. Many positioned against these or deserted related markets many moons ago and, for all the punch they still pack, it’s now incremental shifts in probabilities that have become key. The consensus from this week’s Reuters Investment Outlook Summit for 2013 was that all three issues remain worrisome, but the men-

ace from each is substantially less than a year ago. On balance, most see the euro intact for the foreseeable future, with regional markets healing as recession-hit economies stabilise late next year. The United States is widely expected to reach some deal to limit tax hikes and spending cuts that could release pent-up corporate activity. And China may now even see at least a few quarters of a cyclical upswing.

The positive tilt emerges when they combine that with still-extreme investor positioning, unprecedented commitment to monetary policy support and zero official interest rates, a US housing recovery, easing fiscal drags in Europe and structural boosts such as the shale gas revolution in North America. So much so that many chief investment officers and top fund strategists feel a big market turn may well be in the offing - even if five years of rolling financial, economic and political crises make all of them hyper-cautious in calling it so baldly.

The relentless demands of paying down debt, or deleveraging, may persist for years and keep aggregate world growth subdued. Yet markets should

move in advance to price any normalization.

Ewen Cameron Watt, chief strategist at Blackrock Investment Institute - the research hub of the world’s biggest asset manager - saw a “slow turn” on the horizon. “There’s $1.7 trillion of investor cash on the sidelines. It is not going to come back in one go. It’s hard to think that world is going to grow very fast. But a grinding bull market is possible.”

Barings Asset Management Chief Investment Officer Marino Valensise reckons equity markets and risk assets could make a “substantial rally” over the next 12 months, even if they may have to pay some of that back again over subsequent years.

Giordano Lombardo, CIO at Pioneer Investments, talked of a “normalization of risk appetite” for investors and flagged a strategic push to accumulate euro zone equities in particular.

But if the three dominant world risks are now in the “well known unknowns” category, what then of the wildcards?

With nearly all funds at this year’s summit seeking to cut back on superexpensive government bonds such as

US Treasuries, German bunds or British gilts, many nursed longer-term worries about these and related credit spread markets.

Andreas Utermann, CIO at Allianz Global Investors, reckoned the eventual popping of a “massive bubble” in core bonds would hit all markets. But this wouldn’t happen as long as central banks kept buying bonds as part of quantitative easing programmes and was therefore probably not a story for 2013. Utermann saw a real risk of some blowup in the Middle East having a dramatic impact on oil prices and, by extension, a fragile world economy.

Even though hedge funds often thrive as much in big market downdrafts as bull markets, CQS founder Michael Hintze also reckoned regional conflict was a unpredictable variable.

“There’s a whole load of geopolitical stuff out there that’s absolutely not trivial. You could have Iran, the Middle East, Syria, Nigeria - what happens with narco terrorism in Mexico?” he said. “Who knows what’s going to happen in North Korea or the South China Sea where 40 percent of world’s trade goes through?”

Axa Investment Managers chief

strategist Franz Wenzel was concerned about Japan, still the world’s third largest economy. “Japan has, sadly, become a sideshow for many people but it’s still a hugely important producer of electronic goods and sharp deterioration there could have ripple effects everywhere.”

Valensise at Barings said a wildcard could be “serious social unrest” or an extreme political development in the United States. “With this sort of inequality and political partisanship, you can’t rule it out,” he said.

Rod Paris, Head of Investments at Standard Life Investments, reckoned another outside risk lay in reforms to battered banking sectors. Doubts and delays might prompt investors to withdraw again and trigger more bank capital stress and deleveraging.

Others worried about unfinished business at the euro-zone’s core.

“France is becoming increasingly uncompetitive. It’s elected somebody, frankly, that had an insane economic plan,” said Richard Cookson, CIO at Citi Private Bank. “Buying French government 10-year debt at 2.14 percent must count as one of the worst investments

China manufacturing hits 13-month high in November Second largest economy emerging from slumber

HYDERABAD: Indian laborers work at a construction site in Hyderabad. India’s economic growth slid to 5.3 percent in the September quarter, stuck at its lowest levels in three years as New Delhi struggles to enact reforms to kick start Asia’s third-largest economy. —AP

Indian factory index at five-month high: HSBC MUMBAI: India’s manufacturing activity rose in November to its fastest pace in five months led by a rise in new orders, a private business survey showed yesterday. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from HSBC India Manufacturing, which gives a snapshot of manufacturing health from output to jobs, climbed to 53.7 in November, compared to 52.9 in the previous month. A figure of over 50 indicates growth in the sector while below 50 points to contraction. “The manufacturing sector gained momentum thanks to a strong pick up in new orders, which lifted output growth,” said HSBC chief economist Leif Eskesen.

The survey’s findings-based on data from more than 500 manufacturerscome after India’s economic growth

eased to 5.3 percent in the JulySeptember quarter, extending a slowdown since the start of the year. The survey showed that both input and output prices rose sharply in November.

“Inflation picked up again as higher raw material prices increased input costs for firms,” Eskesen said, adding that data suggests the country’s Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would continue to abstain from easing its monetary policy. Indian inflation was at 7.45 percent in October, still well above the central bank’s comfort zone of around five percent. The RBI has kept its benchmark interest rate on hold since April due to inflationary pressures, disappointing government and business leaders who want a cut to boost the economy. — AFP

S Korea tightens monitoring of FDI SEOUL: The South Korean government unveiled measures yesterday allowing it access to more details on the activities of foreign investors in a bid to reduce volatility in financial markets.

Until now, Seoul banks must report a daily change of money volume in financial investment accounts held by foreigners.

But under a new rule to take effect in April, they will have to offer a detailed breakdown of the money flow by types of investment such as stocks and bonds, the Bank of Korea and the finance ministry said in a joint statement. The change will allow Seoul financial authorities to better track capital flows of foreign investors and to respond to sudden volatility in markets-particularly stock markets-more quickly and effectively, it said.

“Since the global financial crisis, capi-

tal flows in foreigners’ stock trading have become far more volatile than before... the change will help us monitor the money flows of foreign investors more closely,” it said. The move came less than a week after the authorities announced a plan to lower the ceiling on foreign exchange forward positions by foreign and local banks in a bid to ease volatility in the currency market.

The Korean won has gained about nine percent against the dollar since May a worrying trend for the country’s export-driven economy which is already struggling with the impact of the downturn in its US and European markets.

Seoul fears that “hot money” coming into the country could exit just as swiftlyas it did during the 1997-1998 East Asian financial crisis, which forced the country to seek IMF aid, and the 2008 global crisis. — AFP

BEIJING: Manufacturing activity in China hit a 13-month high in November, HSBC said yesterday, in another sign that the world’s second largest economy is emerging from a drawn-out slumber.

The banking giant’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) hit 50.5 last month, up from 49.5 in October, putting it above the 50 mark that indicates growth. A reading below signals contraction.

The figure signals a return to growth after 12 consecutive months of contraction as the crucial manufacturing sector has been hit by a global slowdown as well as the debt crisis in key market Europe, where demand for Chinese goods has slumped. It is the highest reading since October last year, when the figure was 51, according to HSBC data.

China’s official PMI reading also showed expansion in November for the second month in a row, hitting 50.6, compared with 50.2 in October and 49.8 in September.

Despite the news, Shanghai’s composite index slipped, trading 0.36 percent lower in

afternoon trade. The HSBC index, compiled by information services provider Markit, tracks manufacturing activity and is a closely watched barometer of the health of the economy. Qu Hongbin, a Hong Kong-based economist with HSBC, said: “This confirms the Chinese economy continues to recover gradually.” The bank expects China’s economic growth to pick up modestly to around eight percent in the fourth quarter as government “easing measures continue to filter through”, he added. New export orders increased at “a market rate”, with a number of firms linking the rise to a pick-up in demand, particularly in Europe and the United States, HSBC said.

Tang Jianwei, a Shanghai-based economist for Bank of Communications, tipped conditions to further improve next year. “Next year the economic outlook will be better, especially with the coming of the Chinese New Year when demand will increase. We will likely see steady improvement in PMI in the next few months,” he told AFP. China’s economic growth hit a more than

three-year low of 7.4 percent in the third quarter from July to September. But recent data has fuelled optimism that the worst is over. Exports, industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment-a key gauge of infrastructure spending-have all shown improvement.

Premier Wen Jiabao and Commerce Minister Chen Deming have both said in recent months that they expect China to achieve its targeted 2012 growth rate of 7.5 percent despite the impact of the global slowdown. China cut interest rates twice this year and decreased the amount of funds banks must keep in reserve three times since last December to encourage lending.

But it has avoided the kind of huge stimulus package it tabled after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, which sent inflation soaring. Economists argue the country faces mounting pressure to restructure its economy to ensure long-term growth, such as reducing its reliance on exports, while boosting domestic consumption. — AFP

Singapore Airlines in talks to sell Virgin stake SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines said yesterday it was in talks with “interested parties” on a possible sale of its 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic as media reports listed US carrier Delta as a possible buyer.

“Singapore Airlines wishes to announce that it is in discussions with interested parties concerning the possible divestment of its 49 percent shareholding in Virgin Atlantic Limited,” the carrier said in a statement. “These discussions may or may not result in a transaction,” it added without naming any of the parties involved in the talks.

Virgin Atlantic was founded by British transport mogul Richard Branson in 1984, with the flamboyant entrepreneur owning a majority 51 percent stake in the airline. Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper identified Delta as one of the interested parties and reported that it had approached SIA directly over the stake, which SIA bought for 600 million pounds ($962 million) in 1999.

If the sale goes through, Delta’s European partner, Air France-KLM, may also buy part of Branson’s 51 percent stake which would see him losing control for the airline he founded for the first time, the report added.

Delta was not immediately available for comment.

Virgin Atlantic has over the years offered fewer benefits to SIA, said Timothy Ross, the head of Asia-Pacific transport research at Credit Suisse. “Virgin contributes very little to Singapore Airlines, they have been unable to generate any real synergies and there’s essentially been no marriage of the brands, no leverage of network opportunities,” he told AFP. — AFP

NICOSIA: A man passes by a small shop in the old city in the divided capital of Nicosia yesterday. Cyprus’ finance minister last week urged lawmakers to approve a first batch of spending cuts and tax hikes agreed with international creditors by Dec. 13, when the other 16 EU countries that use the euro are expected to discuss a bailout deal. —AP

Murdoch’s British newspaper chief to leave company

RAWALPINDI: Pakistani commuters wait at a train crossing near the railway station in Rawalpindi. Pakistan’s growth remains too weak, underlying inflation is high and the trade balance is heading in the wrong direction, the IMF said in a statement. — AFP

NEW YORK: Rupert Murdoch’s top newspaper lieutenant in Britain is to leave his post at the end of the year, it was announced Sunday, heralding the start of a major shake-up at parent company News Corporation.

The sudden departure of Tom Mockridge, chief executive since July 2011 of News International, which encompasses The Sun, The Times, and The Sunday Times in London, was made public by Murdoch himself. It sets the stage for a restructuring of News Corporation into two separate divisions with a publishing arm controlling newspapers and an entertainment business controlling the company’s television and film interests.

That recently announced move

came in the wake of heavy criticism, including from shareholders, about the company’s handling of a phone hacking scandal that erupted in Murdoch’s media empire in Britain. In the wake of the illegality, the News of the World newspaper was closed and a major police investigation is ongoing with court cases against two former Murdoch editors scheduled to take place next year.

Mockridge’s decision to leave also comes amid much speculation that he was to miss out on the top job at News Corp’s new publishing division.

The favorite for that post is reportedly Robert Thomson, the top executive at the Murdochowned Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, and a for-

mer editor of The Times in London.

Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corp, said in a statement that it had been his pleasure to have Mockridge as a colleague for 22 years.

“Tom has always been a skilled executive and a trusted friend. His decision to step down is absolutely and entirely his own,” the magnate said. “I am sorry to see him leave us but I know he will be a great success wherever he goes.”

Murdoch, 81, added that Mockridge’s long tenure encompassed “his early days with our newspaper group in Australia, his incredible work building SKY Italia,” as well as “his steadfast leadership of News International.” News Corp, one of the world’s biggest mediaentertainment conglomerates,

owns the 20th Century Fox film studios and Fox broadcasting operations, along with cable television assets, newspapers in the US, Britain and Australia.

It also owns the HarperCollins publishing house. A company statement said Mockridge joined News Ltd in Australia in 1991, was CEO of Foxtel from 1997 to 2000, and spent a year with Murdoch’s son James at Star TV. He then transferred to New Zealand as CEO of what was then the company’s newspaper operations and Chair of SkyNZ, before moving to Italy in 2002 to create Sky Italia.

Mockridge then took the role of CEO European Television, and serves on the boards of BSkyB and Sky Deutschland and is Chair of Fox Turkey. — AFP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

BUSINESS Oil steadies around $111 on signs of China revival LONDON: Oil held around $111 per barrel yesterday on signs China’s economic growth was beginning to recover, although gains were limited by concern about the economic welfare of the United States, the world’s top oil consumer. Activity in China’s manufacturing sector quickened for the first time in 13 months in November, a survey of private factory managers found, adding to evidence of a pickup after seven quarters of slowing growth. “China’s data has been broadly supportive of risk markets and entirely consistent with recent numbers suggesting overall improvement in growth,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst, CMC Markets in Sydney. Brent futures were off 5 cents at $111.18 per barrel by 0952 GMT, after rising 2.3 percent in November. US crude fell 19 cents to $88.72 per barrel. US crude futures are trading at around a $22 per barrel discount to Brent futures, narrower than the $25.5 discount seen in mid-November.

The gap is expected to remain wide as geopolitical risks will keep Brent elevated although US prices may rise moderately due to an expected pick-up in demand, Credit Suisse analysts said in a report. The HSBC Purchasing Managers Survey (PMI), which focuses on private export-oriented manufacturers, rose to 50.5 in November, inching above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction for the first time in 13 months.

Investors will now be awaiting China’s industrial output and trade data later this month for further confirmation of revival in the world’s biggest energy consumer.

Concern over the United States’ fiscal deficit and talks on the upcoming fiscal cliff, a $600 billion package of tax hikes and spending cuts which may plunge the world’s biggest economy into deep recession, kept oil price gains in check.—Reuters

China overtaking US as global trader: Report Trend is changing the way people do business SEOUL: Shin Cheol-soo no longer sees his future in the United States. The South Korean businessman supplied components to American automakers for a decade. But this year, he uprooted his family from Detroit and moved home to focus on selling to the new economic superpower: China.

In just five years, China has surpassed the United States as a trading partner for much of the world, including US allies such as South Korea and Australia, according to an Associated Press analysis of trade data.

As recently as 2006, the US was the larger trading partner for 127 countries, versus just 70 for China. By last year the two had clearly traded places: 124 countries for China, 76 for the US. In the most abrupt global shift of its kind since World War II, the trend is changing the way people live and do business from Africa to Arizona, as farmers plant more soybeans to sell to China and students sign up to learn Mandarin.

The findings show how fast China has ascended to challenge America’s century-old status as the globe’s dominant trader, a change that is gradually translating into political influence. They highlight how pervasive China’s impact has been, spreading from neighboring Asia to Africa and now emerging in Latin America, the traditional US backyard.

Despite China’s now-slowing economy, its share of world output and trade is expected to keep rising, with growth forecast at up to 8 percent a year over the next

decade, far above US and European levels. This growth could strengthen the hand of a new generation of justnamed Chinese leaders, even as it fuels strain with other nations.

Last year, Shin’s ENA Industry Co made half his sales of rubber and plastic parts to US factories. But his plans call for China, which overtook the United States as the biggest auto market in 2009, to rise fivefold to 30 percent of his total by 2015. He and his children are studying Mandarin.

“The United States is a tiger with no power,” Shin said in his office, where three walls are lined with books, many about China. “Nobody can deny that China is the one now rising.” Trade is a bit like football - the balance of exports and imports, like the game score, is a neat snapshot of a jumble of moves that make up the economy, and both sides are apt to accuse each other of cheating from time to time. Also, the US and China are both rivals and partners who can’t have a match without each other, and a strong performance from both is good for the entire league.

Trade may get less publicity than military affairs or diplomacy, yet it is commerce that generates jobs and raises living standards. Trade can also translate into political power. As shopkeepers say, the customer is always right: Governments listen to countries that buy their goods, and the threat to stop buying is one of the most potent diplomatic weapons. China has been slow to flex its political muscle on a large scale but is starting to push back in disputes over trade, exchange rates and climate change.

“When a German chancellor or French president goes to China, right at the top of the list, he’s trying to sell Airbuses and other products and is being sensitive to China’s political concerns, like on human rights,” said C. Fred Bergsten, a former US Treasury Department official who heads the Peterson Institute for International

to meet the “China price” or were pushed out of the market.

As the new millennium dawned, the US remained by far the world’s dominant trader, rivaled collectively by Europe but no single nation. However, from 2000 to 2008, China’s imports grew 403 percent and exports 474 percent, driven in part by its entrance into the World Trade Organization and its move to higher-value production. China’s imports of oil and raw materials for its factories propelled resource booms in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. China’s demand for steel for manufacturing and construction grew so fast that its mills now consume half the world’s output of iron ore.

Zambia, a major copper producer, switched to the China column in 2000. Australia, a coal and iron ore exporter, followed in 2005. Chile, another copper supplier, moved in 2009.

Meanwhile, exports surged as Apple, Samsung, Nokia and other electronics giants shifted final assembly to China. Shipments of mobile phones, flat-screen TVs and personal computers have jumped sevenfold over the past decade to nearly $500 billion. That made China a major customer for high-tech components supplied by countries such as South Korea, which swung into China’s column in 2003, followed by Malaysia in 2007.

In the US, Vermont-based manufacturer SBE Inc. started exporting capacitors - energy-storage devices used in computers, hybrid cars and wind turbines - in 2006. The company now gets 15 to 20 percent of its revenue from China, and has hired 10 employees there.

As China grew richer, its people spent more. Chinese ate more pork, fried chicken and hamburgers, rapidly sending up the demand for soybeans to make cooking oil and feed for pigs and cows. Some cattle ranchers in Latin America turned grazing land into fields of soy, a crop few in their region consume. Soybean exports

GOODYEAR: Stacey Rassas (right), a quality control manager at a Suntech Power Holdings Co, a Chinese-owned solar panel manufacturer, examines a solar panel with her co-worker Frank Garcia at a company facility in Goodyear, Arizona. The factory makes solar panels for one of the world’s biggest solar manufacturers. —AP Economics in Washington.

The United States is still the world’s biggest importer, but China is gaining. It was a bigger market than the United States for 77 countries in 2011, up from 20 in 2000, according to the AP analysis.

The AP is using International Monetary Fund data to measure the importance of trade with China for some 180 countries and track how it changes over time. The analysis divides a nation’s trade with China by its gross domestic product.

The story that emerges is of China’s breakneck rise, rather than of a US decline. In 2002, trade with China was 3 percent of a country’s GDP on average, compared with 8.7 percent with the US. But China caught up, and surged ahead in 2008. Last year, trade with China averaged 12.4 percent of GDP for other countries, higher than that with America at any time in the last 30 years.

Of course, not all trade is equal. China’s trade is mostly low-end goods and commodities, while the US competes at the upper end of the market. Also, even though Chinese companies invest abroad and employ thousands of foreign workers, they lag behind American industry in building global alliances and in innovation, which is still rewarded in the marketplace.

China’s competitive edge remains low labor and other costs, while the US is the world’s center for innovation in autos, aerospace, computers, medicine, munitions, finance and pharmaceuticals. The Chinese have yet to build a car that will pass US or European emission standards.

And the United States still does more trade overall but just barely. If the trend continues, China will push past the US this year, a remarkable feat for a country so poor 30 years ago that the average person had never talked on a telephone.

“The center of gravity of the world economy has moved to the east,” said Mauricio Cardenas, the finance minister in Colombia. Like most of Latin America, his country is still more closely tied to the US, but its trade with China has risen from virtually nothing to 2.5 percent of GDP, a more than tenfold increase since 2001. “I would say that there is nothing comparable in the last 50 years.”

In one sense, China’s growing presence in trade is just restoring the Middle Kingdom to its historic dominance. China was the biggest economy for centuries until about 1800, when the Industrial Revolution propelled first Europe and then the US into the lead.

China began its return to the global stage in the 1990s as a manufacturer of low-priced goods, from Tshirts to toys. Factories in other countries slashed costs

helped push Brazil into the China column in 2010, and put China neck and neck with the US as Argentina’s top trading partner.

In the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, some 10,000 miles (17,000 kilometers) from Beijing, farmer Agenor Vicente Pelissa and his family raise cattle and soy on 54,300 acres, a farm twice the size of Manhattan. Half their 21,000-ton annual soybean harvest goes to China.

“We’ve invested more in technology and in better machines and equipment to meet this rising demand,” Pelissa said. “If it hadn’t been for China, we would not have not modernized our operations, at least not as quickly as we did.”

Even in the US, better known for manufacturing, farmers are rushing to sell to China. The United States is the largest exporter of soybeans to China, followed by Brazil and Argentina. China’s purchases of American soybeans have risen from almost nothing 20 years ago to a quarter of the crop: 24 million tons worth $12.1 billion, America’s largest export to China. The boom is having a profound effect on farming communities, said Grant Kimberley, whose family farm near Des Moines, Iowa, now grows 4,000 acres of soybeans, up from 3,500 eight years ago.

“It’s provided more revenue for these farmers than they’ve ever seen in their lives,” said Kimberley, who is also director of market development at the Iowa Soybean Association. He said he sees more young people returning to the farm. “People can see there’s an opportunity to make nice livings for their families.”

It was the 2008 global crisis that showed the resilience of China’s exporters. The recession set everyone back, but China less so than the US or other major traders such as Germany. China does a bigger share of its trade with developing countries that suffered less and rebounded faster, while the United States sells to rich economies that are struggling. Chinese companies have boosted exports by 7 percent this year despite anemic global demand.

During the recession, Shin, the South Korean auto parts manufacturer, saw his sales fall 50 percent. He shut one of three production lines, and banks stopped lending him money. But China’s auto market was powering ahead. So Shin hired an employee in China, and is now making plans for his first factory there. On a business trip to Germany, clients told him their Chinese factories would be larger than those at home. Parents like Shin, who work at companies doing business with China, in turn fed enrollment growth at schools such as Teacher Ching, a Chinese-language kindergarten in Seoul. — AP

25

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

business MINDSHARE MEDIA SUMMIT

A push forward for industry

Samir Ayoub DUBAI: Mindshare, an agency dedicated to innovative brand development for its clients, recently concluded its 3rd annual Media Summit, held on November 20that the Address Dubai Marina in the United Arab Emirates. The unique event brought together some of the brightest minds in technology and marketing, focusing on the theme, “Generation Multi-Screen”.

Through a number of engaging presentations, the summit took a winding journey of discovery into the potential future of our ‘multi-screened’ world in which smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, and televisions have taken a dominant

role in daily life. Over 300 attendees from a range of industries, from marketing professionals to business leaders and media, participated in the event.

The summit featured some of the foremost thinkers on the intersection of social behavior and consumer electronics, including keynote speaker Mike Walsh, a best-selling author on trends in technology. Also giving remarks were Olivier Van Duuren from Microsoft’s Solutions & Innovations team, and Jeff Cole from the Center for the Digital Future, while Jamil Abu-Wardeh, founder of JAW Media, looked at the potential growth and influence of stand-up come-

French economy continues to skid PARIS: The French economy is struggling, data showed yesterday, with manufacturing still contracting in November and auto sales down by a fifth. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a leading indicator compiled by the Markit research firm, put the French manufacturing sector at 44.5 points in November. While that represents a gain from 43.7 in October and the best result in three months, it is still far a reading of 50, which would suggest expansion.

The survey of company purchasing managers found that the volume of new orders continued to decline sharply, reflecting essentially weakening demand inside the country. The French economy has essentially marked time since the end of last year.

Data released last month showed 0.2 percent growth in the third quarter, but also a 0.1 percent contraction in April to June.

The French government still expects 0.3-percent growth for the year. Meanwhile new car sales plunged by 19.2 percent in November

on a monthly basis and by 13.8 percent in the first 11 months of the year, the French automobile manufacturers association CCFA said yesterday.

The CCFA said it expected French new car sales to be down by about 14 percent for 2012 as a whole to reach a 15-year low. In November a total of 144,694 new cars were registered in France, the association said in a statement.

French car makers were among those that suffered the biggest drops.

Sales by PSA Peugeot Citroen, the second-biggest European auto manufacturer, were down by 22.9 percent in November and by 17.7 percent in the first 11 months of the year. Sales by the Renault group plunged 33.5 percent in November and 21.7 percent for the 11 months. The markets shrugged off the data, focusing instead on positive Chinese manufacturing data, with Paris’ main stock index briefly rising above 3,600 to a one -year high.

Shortly before 1400 GMT the Paris CAC 40 was up 1.29 percent to 3,600.48 points. — AFP

dy on social media platforms. Mindshare Global Digital Leader Norm Johnston gave a presentation on the effect of the multiscreen lifestyle on human social behavior, and Robbie Douek, Head of Mobile Product Solutions SEEMEA at Google, talked about how our electronic ‘smart’ devices are getting intuitive with each passing day. The final addition filling out the line-up of speakers was Osman Sultan, CEO of du Emirates Integrated Telecommunications PJSC, who briefed the audience on mobile and multi-screen developments particular to the UAE market. “Once again we have been able to push the boundaries with this

media summit,” commented Samir Ayoub, Chief Executive Officer of Mindshare in the MENA region. “Analyzing the current use of digital technology in our lives has been a major part of this event, but simply looking at the present is not enough.

As an industry, we need to try to predict what the technological landscape will look like in six months or a year, if not farther down the road. As humans, we do this best in a collective environment where our minds are being bombarded with different perspectives. We believe we created such an environment with this forum, and have no doubt that all the participants are going to leave

with new ideas about the future of both marketing and technology.” Mindshare, part of the WPP global communications group, was launched in 1997 and now has over 100 offices around the world.

In October 1999, Mindshare MENA was the first independent agency launched in the region. Today Mindshare has over 13 offices in 10 countries across the GCC, Levant, and North Africa.Mindshare works collaboratively with clients to increase brand awareness among consumers. The goal is to heighten brand recognition and exposure - thereby increasing profits - by creating unique solutions for clients’ communications challenges.

Greece launches vital bond buyback program Bid to avert bankruptcy before year-end ATHENS: Greece launched yesterday an operation to buy back debt at a big discount, a vital part of a repackaged rescue plan to avert bankruptcy before the end of the year.

Euro-zone finance ministers are expected to review the details of the operation when they meet later in Brussels, as well as discuss help to Cyprus and banking supervision. The national PDMA debt agency said it had begun offering to buy back Greek bonds from private investors on a voluntary basis, a procedure closely watched on financial markets where there was uncertainty over whether enough investors would accept the terms.

The buyback is a condition for Greece to receive its latest instalment of EU-IMF bailout funds. The PDMA said in a statement that eligible holders had been invited to submit by Friday Greek sovereign bonds to receive payment of between 32.2 and 40.1 percent of the face value.

Those who participate will receive in exchange six-month bills issued by the EU’s EFSF rescue fund with upto 10 billion euros ($13 billion) available for the operation. Up to 20 series of Greek sovereign bonds with a face value of 62.3 billion euros held by private creditors are eligible for the buyback.

In March, Greece’s private creditors had already agreed to write off about 107 billion euros’ worth of Greek sovereign bonds and many institutional investors such as banks and insurance companies have completely written off the value of Greek debt in their

balance sheets. The value of Greek bonds has plunged in value as the debt crisis has risen in intensity and since the massive debt writedown by private bondholders at the beginning of the year.

On the euro-zone bond market, the interest rate on Greek-10-year bonds fell sharply yesterday to 14.670 percent, the lowest since the debt restructuring in March, from 16.131 percent at the close on Friday. At Natixis bank in Paris, bond strategist Jean-Francois Robin said that “the market no longer fears that the country might leave the euro-zone ... things are going in the right direction.” By using newly-borrowed money to buy back its sovereign bonds at a heavy discount, Greece reduces the total burden of debt in what amounts to a refinancing scheme.

The International Monetary Fund and the euro-zone agreed last week in principle to release 43.7 billion euros in rescue loans in four instalments from December to March to enable Greece to avoid bankruptcy.

But increasingly concerned that Greece’s debt is again increasing to unsustainable levels despite the writedown by private creditors, they required a number of steps be taken, including the voluntary buyback program.

The IMF has indicated it wants to wait until a successful buyback is conducted before releasing its portion of the rescue loans, while EU officials have expressed confidence the funds will be disbursed.

The results of the buyback should be

known by December 13, when euro-zone finance ministers are expected to decide on the release of the funds. The EU has resisted pressure by the IMF for official creditors the write down the value of their loans to Greece, but the interest rates on rescue loans are being cut. The euro-zone and IMF also agreed last week to loosen Greece’s debt target to reaching 124 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, from an expected 190 percent next year.

A successful buyback would allow the government to cut its debt by 20 billion euros, according to Greek bank Eurobank. Moody’s rating agency said last week that it was uncertain if there would be sufficient participation in a buyback “to contribute to a meaningful debt reduction”.

Jean-Francois Robin, a analyst at Natixis investment bank said “the question is whether this offer will have the same success as the March 2012 restructuring.”

The participation of Greek banks, which 17 billion euros in sovereign debt, is likely to prove crucial to the program. Last week Greek banks signalled their reluctance to accept further losses on their government bond holdings after the March writeoff.

Last week Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said “the success of the operation is a patriotic duty.” Greek banks are also in critical need of the release of the rescue loans, a major part of which is dedicated to recapitalizing them. — AFP

Germany eyes balanced budget this year: FM

LONDON: Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne (right) speaks to head of revenue and customs (HMRC) Lin Homer during a visit to the offices of the HMRC, in Westminster, central London yesterday.— AFP

FRANKFURT: The German finance ministry said yesterday it expects to reach a balanced budget this year, two years earlier than expected. Under rules enshrined in the European Union’s Maastricht Treaty, member countries are not allowed to run up deficits in excess of 3.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and must balance their budgets in the medium term.

Only a few months ago, Berlin had been projecting a deficit ratio of about 0.5 percent for 2012, compared with 0.8 percent for 2011. And the overall state or pub-

lic budget was expected to be balanced by 2014. But “on the basis of our updated medium-term projections, Germany will achieve a balanced budget as early as 2012,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

A ministry spokesman attributed the improvement to higher tax revenues and lower financing costs as a result of low interest rates. “Based on current assumptions, the overall Maastricht deficit will be brought down completely to zero this year,” the statement said.

The German economy, Europe’s

biggest, has managed to hold up fairly well so far, shrugging off the worst of the debt crisis that has pushed many of its neighbors into recession. Unemployment is also close to historic low levels meaning tax revenues are strong and jobless payouts low.

And while borrowing costs for debt-wracked countries are high, Germany has benefitted from ultra-low borrowing costs as a result of its safe-haven status. The public budget is even expected to move into a modest surplus of 0.5 percent in both 2013 and 2014 before coming back to zero in

2015 and 2016, according to the ministry’s medium-term projections.

The country’s overall debt levels are therefore also falling with the debt-to-GDP ratio projected to stand at 81.5 percent this year, two percentage points lower than forecast back in the summer, the ministry said. In 2011, the debt ratio stood at 80.5 percent.

And it could even drop as low as 73 percent by 2016, the ministry predicted.

EU rules put a ceiling of 60 percent on a member country’s debtto-GDP ratio. — AFP

26

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

business

Qualitynet begins voting for ‘Fakkar Ana Khouf?’

Home video contest via its Facebook page • Valuable gifts awaiting lucky voters KUWAIT: Qualitynet, Kuwait’s No 1 Total Solutions Provider announced yesterday, the commencing of voting for the Home Video Contest “Fakkar Ana Khouf?” for all its fans via its official facebook page: facebook.com/qualitynetkw, where the winning entry secures the grand prize of Ten Thousand Kuwaiti Dinars in cash.

Nael A Al-Awadi, GM - Admin, HR and Marketing stated that the voting, which will be open for a week from the 2nd till the 9th of Dec ‘12, is the second and most important stage of the competition, where Qualitynet’s facebook fans can evaluate and vote for their favourites from among all the competing videos on its Facebook page. “A custom voting app has been designed to enable our Facebook fans to watch the Top 10 videos and cast

votes for their favorites. In addition to the contest winner, we are also rewarding our voters with exciting gifts, through a draw that will be held at the finale event on the 15th of Dec ‘12”, said Awadi.

Awadi added that the judges panel, namely Abdul Aziz Al-Jasmi (Director), Bashar Al-Shatti (Artist) and Essa Al-Kooheji (GM - Consumer Services), had a tough time short-listing the Top 10 videos. “The many videos that we received were diverse in thought, creativity and execution. The final ten that were chosen to be taken to the next stage, were chosen based on the standards exercised, the performance of the actors, the execution and concept, among other factors,” said Awadi.

Awadi explained how the public votes that the Top 10 videos gather on Facebook would constitute towards

70% of the final outcome, and that 30% rests with the Judging Panel. The home video which receives the highest combined scores from the judges & public votes will be awarded the first place and a cash prize of KD10,000.

The results will be announced on December 15th through Qualitynet’s social networking channels and at an event at the Avenues Mall, with Abdul Aziz Al Jasmi, Bashar Al-Shatti and the contest finalists. Awadi also said that “In addition to handing over the Grand Prize for the contest winner, we will also hold a draw for rewarding our Voters and Audience at the event”.

To stay updated on the latest events, offers and services from Qualitynet, follow us on Facebook (QualitynetKw), Twitter (Qualitynet_q8), Instagram (Qualitynet_q8) and YouTube (QualitynetKwt)

Nael A Al-Awadi, GM - Admin, HR and Marketing

Xpress Money offers free remittances to Palestine from ME after Gaza strife

The Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG

The Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG

Mercedes-Benz Kuwait AMG annual sales boom with record demand AR Albisher and Z Alkazemi Co year to date AMG sales up 50% in 2011 KUWAIT: AR Albisher and Z Alkazemi Co, the exclusive general distributor for Mercedes-Benz in Kuwait -is on track to cross the finish line with a best ever sales year for Mercedes-AMG in 2012, with year to date (YTD) sales up 50% on 2011 in October. Spearheading Kuwait’s spectacular Mercedes-AMG sales achievements was the relentless success of AMG SUVs, which fueled the boost with the newly launched G 63 AMG and ML 63 AMG. Affalterbach’s C-Class family, which includes the C 63 AMG Sedan, C 63 AMG Coupe, and most powerful CClass of all time -the C 63 AMG Coupe Black Series, also significantly surged sales in Kuwait.

The charismatic CLS 63 AMG also proved popular with customers keen to experience the AMG brand mantra of ‘Driving Performance’, along with the SLS AMG super sports car variants crowning the range. Speaking from the showroom’s dedicated AMG display lounge, Michael Ruehle, General Manager, Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Co, said: “Kuwait is a market that appreciates the power, precision and pure driving pleasure that is delivered by the Mercedes-AMG performance division. With an armada of new models now available in Kuwait and with more on the way, we are confident of finishing the 2012 chequered flag with a record year.”

The G 63 AMG New to the Mercedes-Benz Kuwait showroom, the evergreen off-road classic has kept its character as it goes hightech with a raft of future-oriented systems. With new features including spray-controlled petrol direct injection, the ECO start/stop function and generator management, the twin tailpipes on both sides at the rear roar out the hallmark AMG eight-cylinder sound that means so much to the vehicle’s many admirers.

The G 63 AMG boasts a massive 544hp AMG 5.5-litre V8 biturbo engine with AMG SPEEDSHIFT PLUS 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission system. 760 Nm of torque accelerates the exclusive SUV icon from zero to 100 km/h in just 5.4 seconds, topping out at a phenomenal 210 km/h (electronically limited).

The ML 63 AMG With unparalleled ride comfort, and cavernous, high-quality luxury interiors, the newly launched ML 63 AMG uniquely

embodies both Mercedes-Benz Middle East and Levant’s 2012 strategies of ‘The Year of the SUV’ and ‘Year of the AMG’, confidently conveying intent to meet performance with sophistication.

Driven by 525 horses and 700 Nm of torque, the ML 63 AMG 5.5 litre V8 bi-turbo engine, made famous by the award winning CLS 63 AMG, thunders it from 0-100km/h in a sports car beating 4.8 seconds. An optionally available AMG Performance package delivers a further 15hp and 70 Nm, allowing the luxury sports SUV to harness 557hp and 760nm to rocket to a century in a blistering 4.7 seconds.

The C 63 AMG Sedan The latest C 63 AMG Sedan, which arrived in the region in Q3 last year introduced the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7speed sports transmission, and retained the power of its predecessor. The output of the AMG 6.3-litre V8 engine is unchanged at 457 hp and can be increased to a maximum of 487 hp with the optional AMG Performance package.

Agility, grip and ride comfort have been enhanced as a result of numerous measures to optimise the AMG sports suspension. New assistance systems and a new generation of telematics with internet access increase both safety and comfort.

The C 63 AMG Coupe The C 63 AMG CoupÈ enhances the AMG family of CoupÈs: in addition to the CLS 63 AMG and the CL 63 AMG, Mercedes-AMG is able to offer a dream car featuring a highperformance eight-cylinder engine. The AMG 6.3-litre V8 engine in the C 63 AMG CoupÈ has a maximum output of 457 hp and peak torque of 600 Nm, delivering powerful traction and first-class performance figures. The CoupÈ accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds and the top speed is 250 km/h (electronically limited).

The CLS 63 AMG With distinctive design elements inspired by the breakthrough SLS AMG super sports car, the segment smashing four-door coupÈ CLS 63 AMG sports a new scowl courtesy of LED High Performance headlamps, available to the image

Jazeera Airways reports Oct 2012 operational performance report KUWAIT: Award-winning Jazeera Airways today issued its October 2012 Operational Performance Report which showed that the airline has grabbed increasing market shares to popular destinations of Amman, Cairo and Beirut.

The report, which presents market share figures based on official statistics from Kuwait’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA), also showed that the airline continued to have market share lead on key routes, and a continued lead in on-time performance (OTP) against all other airlines in the Middle East as ranked by the independent US-based OTP tracker FlightStats.

The airline’s OTP for the month was 94%, making Jazeera Airways the most punctual airline in the Middle East for the 22nd month in-a-row according to FlightStats.

The report also showed that Jazeera Airways grabbed a 38% market share on the Kuwait-Amman route, up 6% from October 2011. Jazeera Airways was once again the leading Kuwaiti airline on the route. The airline also saw a 42% increase in number of passengers on the route, compared to October 2011.

The airline grabbed a 28% market share on the KuwaitCairo route, a 4% increase in market share from October 2011, accompanied by an39% increase in number of passengers on the route, compared to October 2011.

Jazeera Airways grabbed a 37% market share on the Kuwait-Beirut route, up 6% from October 2011. Jazeera Airways was once again the leading Kuwaiti airline on the route.

In October, popular tourism destinations of Istanbul and Sharm El Sheikh closed with a significant increase in number of passengers, with a 54% increase on the KuwaitIstanbul route and a 44% increase on the Kuwait-Sharm El Sheikh route. The airline was the leading airline between

Kuwait and Sharm El Sheikh with a 61% market share, and was the only Kuwaiti airline serving the Kuwait-Istanbul route.

Other report highlights include that the airline was the leading Kuwaiti airline to the high-demand destinations of Dubai and Bahrain, with a 16% and 9% market shares respectively. Number of passengers was up by 18% on the Kuwait-Dubai route and 12% on the Kuwait-Bahrain route.

Jazeera Airways also captured leading market share figures on another four of the six Egyptian destinations it serves.

The airline had a 30% market share on the KuwaitAlexandria route, a 45% market share on the Kuwait-Assiut route, a 42% market share on the Kuwait-Sohag route, and a 74% market share on the Kuwait-Luxor route.

elite as with a with a 5.5 litre V8 engine - developing 525 hp and 700 Nm of torque, which can be optionally boosted to develop 557 hp and 800 Nm of torque via the performance package.

SLS AMG Coupe The first car to be built by AMG from the ground up, the arrival of the SLS AMG set new benchmarks in its segment and struck a chord with performance-hungry automotive enthusiast’s everywhere with global sales placing the SLS in top position within the super sports car segment.

The list of highlights for the SLS AMG reads impressively: aluminium space-frame body, AMG 6.3 litre V8 front midengine with dry sump lubrication, 571 hp and 650 newton metres of torque, seven-speed dual clutch transmission in transaxle configuration and a nimble double-wishbone aluminium sports suspension. This unique combination of high-tech engineering ensures driving dynamics of the highest order throughout the entire lifecycle.

SLS AMG Roadster This super sports car thrills with a perfect synthesis of open-top driving pleasure, outstanding driving dynamics and systematic lightweight construction, with the overall visual appearance of the new two-seater marked by its purist design.

Technological highlights of the SLS AMG Roadster read like an A-B-C of modern sports car engineering: the combination of an aluminium spaceframe body, an AMG 6.3-litre V8 front-mid engine with dry sump lubrication developing a peak output of 571 hp and 650 Newton metres of torque, a seven-speed dual clutch transmission in a transaxle arrangement and a sports suspension with aluminium double wishbones is guaranteed to make the hearts of sports car enthusiasts beat faster - while ensuring outstanding driving dynamics and roadster motoring pleasure.

Jettisoning the iconic gullwing doors of its older brother, the compact fabric soft top of the SLS AMG Roadster marks an evolution for the ground breaking super sports car, opening and closing in just eleven seconds, and able to be operated on the move at speeds up to 50 km/h.

Xcite.com launches sign up campaign KUWAIT: Kuwait’s leading e-commerce portal for consumer electronics www.xcite.com continues to explore different opportunities to reward its customer base. The campaign under the title “Sign Up and Win” gives customers a chance to win valuable prizes on a weekly basis by signing up to xcite.com’s newsletter.

Every week there will be a different prize, and the winner will be picked at random. Once the winner is selected they will receive an email from X-cite indicating when and where they would pick up their prize. This week’s winner will enjoy a 16GB Black iPhone 5.

The daily newsletter guarantees customers are up to date on the latest products, promotions, deals of the day and online exclusives. By subscribing to the newsletter not only do customers have the chance to get the best deals in the market, but they will also be eligible to win amazing weekly prizes. To subscribe to the xcite.com newsletter, please visit the following page: www.xcite.com/signup In a very short period of time, X-cite’s online portal www.xcite.com has grown to become the region’s largest consumer electronics and home appliances retailer.

Through different activities and a strong online presence, X-cite has actively expanded its customer reach and is currently serving a large online customer base. This in turn has enabled xcite.com to communicate, engage and satisfy the diversified segments on these trendiest platforms. xcite.com’s strategic communication through social and online media keeps customers updated about the latest offers, promotions, new arrivals, discounts and also exclusive prizes through various competitions and activities.

DUBAI: Xpress Money, one of the most dependable global money transfer brands, yesterday announced a free remittance drive to Palestine from the Middle East, expressing its solidarity with the people of Palestine suffering from the Gaza strife.

In a statement, Xpress Money said that the free remittance drive will help members of the Palestinian diaspora spread across the region, and well wishers transfer funds to kith and kin in Palestine free of cost for a month starting from November 24 2012 till December 25, 2012.

“There will be no charges or commissions at the send and receive end of the money transfer chain,” said Sudhesh Giriyan - Vice President & Business Head, Xpress Money, adding that “the gesture has been conceived in the wake of the untold sufferings faced by innocent Palestinians in the current scenario of aggression.”

“As a community-focused entity, our corporate philosophy is to extend a helping hand wherever we can to ensure the social and financial security of millions of people including families and children. The free remittance drive to Palestine has been conceived in this spirit,” he said.

Xpress Money has 34 agent locations in Palestine, a prominent receive market, which allows easy access for Palestinians to claim funds sent by their breadwinners abroad. Across the Middle East and North Africa, Xpress Money has an agent network of close to 6700 locations.

Xpress Money is a global money transfer brand with a thriving presence in more than 125 countries in 5 continents across 135,000 agent locations across the world. Working towards the goal of Bringing Home Closer to millions of migrants residing away from their homes, Xpress Money aims to be the most dependable international money transfer brand.

Sudhesh Giriyan

Citi to issue commercial cards in Kuwait LONDON: Citi, through its transaction services unit, is launching a commercial card offering in Kuwait to its local large corporate and multinational clients, thereby strengthening its commercial card offering throughout Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA).

With Kuwait added to the list of issuing countries, Citi Commercial Cards are now available in over 100 countries, with local currency issuance in over 65 markets.

The launch of Kuwait is part of Citi’s strategy of expanding its Cards business globally and brings a best in class product suite with unsurpassed global acceptance, globally consistent customer experience and the opportunity for clients to obtain greater visibility on their corporate spend.

Steve Robson, EMEA Head of Wholesale Cards, Citi Transaction Services, said: “It is a major achievement to add Kuwait to our global footprint. Our clients are looking more than ever for efficiencies and for a consistent offering across all markets and by expanding into Kuwait we are once again able to help them streamline the whole process of expense management and optimise their working capital position.”

Ozgur Kutay, Citibank Kuwait CEO and General Manager, has been working extensively with the Central Bank of Kuwait to ensure this innovative new product adheres to all the requirements of the local regulator while meeting Citi’s Clients global needs.

Nadeem Saleh, Head of Citi Transaction Services for Kuwait added: “Offering the full suite of global Commercial Cards products is a great addition to the local offering and we are once more breaking new ground in Kuwait. Our corporate and public sector clients will benefit from a sophisticated global offering which addresses one of their biggest needs - efficiency in payments and processes.”

Citi Commercial Cards: The proprietary issuance capabilities in over 100 countries including an unrivalled local currency footprint in over 65 markets, positions Citi as a pre-eminent commercial cards provider to large and multi-national organizations worldwide. Citi’s Commercial Cards programs are used by nearly 500 multinational corporations at the core of their expense management strategy, making Citi a premier cards issuer in terms of technology, innovation and card volume.

27

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

US election, iPhone 5, Kardashian top Yahoo! 2012 searches LOS ANGELES: The US presidential election became the most-searched item and Kim Kardashian was the most-searched person on Yahoo! in a year when online searches were dominated by big news stories and pop culture obsessions, the search engine company said yesterday.

The search term “election” topped the list of searches, led not only by extensive media coverage but also widening conversation on online social media platforms. The term “political polls” was No. 8 of the top 10 Yahoo! searches of the year.

“The 2012 elections dominated the online searches, which is amazing

because if something is in the news, it’s already accessible ... people were really saturated by it, but even so, that was a key word that people typed throughout the year,” Vera Chan, Yahoo!’s web trend analyst, said in a conference call.

Chan said only two other news stories have topped the list in the past decade, those being the death of Michael Jackson in 2009 and the BP oil spill in 2010. “iPhone 5” came in at No. 2, which Chan said was interesting “in a post-Steve Jobs era” because while Apple Inc’s iPhone has featured regularly in the top searches since the first generation emerged in

2007, this was the first time a specific model had appeared high on the list.

Reality star Kim Kardashian was the mostsearched person on the website, coming in at No. 3 and leading six famous women in the top 10. Chan said Kardashian’s “notoriety has kept her at the top,” citing her ongoing divorce saga with ex-husband Kris Humphries, her high-profile relationship with rapper Kanye West and her E! channel reality shows. Sports Illustrated cover model Kate Upton, British royal Kate Middleton, late singer Whitney Houston, troubled former child star Lindsay Lohan and pop

star and former “American Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez all featured in the top 10 after being in the news prominently throughout the year.

Middleton, who was followed eagerly by fans and critics in her first year as a royal married to Britain’s Prince William and being a staple at the London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, also garnered the mostsearched scandal of the year when a French magazine published photos of her topless. “Olympics” came in at No. 7 on the list, as many turned to online media to watch and keep tabs on the

global sporting event held in London during the summer.

On Yahoo!’s separate list of topsearched obsessions, pop culture dominated this year, with “The Hunger Games,” reality star Honey Boo Boo, erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey,” British boy band One Direction, Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song “Call Me Maybe” and Korean rapper Psy’s “Gangnam Style” featuring in the top 10.

Yahoo! Inc compiles its annual search lists based on aggregated visitor activity on the network and billions of consumer searches. —Reuters

Vatican discloses Pope’s Twitter handle: @pontifex ‘Brave new world of Twitter’

ISTRES: This Dec 1, 2012 photo provided yesterday, by Dassault Aviation, shows a technician preparing the pan-European stealth combat drone demonstrator Neuron before taking off for its first flight in Istres, southern France. French defense company Dassault-Aviation is the lead contractor on the “Neuron” project launched in 2005 involving firms from France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Greece and Switzerland to provide a test bed for developing future combat aircraft. —AP

Clashes over Internet rules to mark Dubai meeting DUBAI: The head of the UN’s telecommunication overseers sought yesterday to quell worries about possible moves toward greater Internet controls during global talks in Dubai, but any attempts for increased Web regulations are likely to face stiff opposition from groups led by a major US delegation.

The 11-day conference - seeking to update codes last reviewed when the Web was virtually unknown - highlights the fundamental shift from tightly managed telecommunications networks to the borderless sweep of the Internet.

But others at the Dubai conference including a 123-member US delegation with envoys from tech giants such as Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. - worry that any new UN oversight on the Internet security could be used by nations such as China and Russia to justify further tightening of Web blocks and monitoring.

“Love the free and open Internet? Tell the world’s governments to keep it that way,” said a message on the main search page of Google.com with a link for comments directed to the Dubai conference.

The Dubai gathering will confront questions that include how much sway the UN can exert over efforts such as battling cyber-crimes and expanding the Internet into developing nations. The secretary-general of the U.N. International Telecommunications Union, Hamadoun Toure, said that accusations how the meeting could limit Web freedoms is “completely untrue” and predicted only “light-touch” regulations.

“Many countries will come to reaffirm their desire to see freedom of expression embedded in this conference,” he told reporters on the meeting’s opening day.

However, the outcome of the Dubai gathering is far from certain.

The 193 nations at the meeting have put forward more than 900 proposed regulatory changes covering the Internet, mobile roaming fees and satellite and fixed-line communications. Broad consensus is needed for any item to be adopted for any changes - the first major review of

the UN’s telecommunications agenda since 1988, well before the Internet age.

The gathering is also powerless to force nations to change their Internet policies, such as China’s notorious “Great Firewall” and widespread blackouts of political opposition sites in places including Iran and the Gulf Arab states. Last week, Syria’s Internet and telephone services disappeared for two days during some of the worst fighting in months to hit the capital, Damascus. The head of the US delegation in Dubai, Ambassador Terry Kramer, told reporters last week in Washington that all efforts should be made to avoid a “Balkanization” of the Internet in which each country would impose its own rules and standards that could disrupt the flow of commerce and information.

“That opens the door ... to content censorship,” he said. The International Trade Union Confederation, representing labor groups in more than 150 countries, claimed a bloc that includes China, Russia and several Middle East nations seeks to “pave the way for future restrictions on both internet content or its users.”

“It is clear that some governments have an interest in changing the rules and regulations of the Internet,” the confederation said in statement yesterday. Another likely battle that will take place in Dubai is over European-backed suggestions to change the pay structure of the Web to force content providers - such as Google, Facebook Inc. and others - to kick in an extra fee to reach users across borders. Advocates of the changes say the money raised could pay to expand broadband infrastructures in developing countries.

Toure said he hoped for a “landmark” accord on trying to bring broadband Internet to developing countries. “The Internet remains out of reach for 2/3 of world’s people,” said Toure, who is from Mali. The UN telecommunications agency dates back to 1865, when the telegraph revolutionized the speed of information.

Over the decades, it has expanded to include telephone, satellite and other advances in communications. —AP

VATICAN CITY: It’s official. Pope Benedict’s handle on Twitter will be @pontifex. He already has 1.2 billion “followers” in the standard sense of the word but next week he will have another type when he enters what for any 85-year old is the brave new world of Twitter.

The Vatican said yesterday that the pope will start tweeting on December 12, the feast of the Madonna of Guadalupe.

“The handle is a good one. It means ‘pope’ and it also means ‘bridge builder’,” said Greg Burke, senior media advisor to the Vatican. “The pope wants to reach out to everyone,” he told a news conference.

The first papal tweets will be answers to questions sent to #askpontifex. The tweets will be going out in Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese, German, Polish, Arabic and French.

Other languages will be added in the future.

“We are going to get a spiritual message.

The pope is not going to be walking around with a Blackberry or an iPad and no one is going to be putting words into the pope’s mouth. He will tweet what he wants to tweet,” Burke said.

Primarily the tweets will come from the contents of his weekly general audience, Sunday blessings and homilies on major Church holidays. They will also include reaction to major world events, such as natural disasters.

Benedict will be sending his first tweet himself on Dec. 12 but in the future most will be written by aides and he will sign off on them before they are sent in his name. But while the pope will be one of the world’s most high-profile tweeters and have many followers, he will not be following anyone himself.

The pope’s Twitter page is designed in yellow and white - the colours of the Vatican, with a backdrop of the Vatican and his picture. It may change during different liturgical seasons of the year and when the pope is away from the Vatican on trips.

The Vatican said precautions had been taken to make sure the pope’s certified account is not hacked. Only one computer in the Vatican’s

secretariat of state will be used for the tweets.

“The Pope’s presence on Twitter is a concrete expression of his conviction that the Church must be present in the digital arena,” the Vatican said. “This initiative is best understood in the context of his reflections on the importance of the cultural space that has been

social networks offered “a great opportunity”, but warned of the risks of depersonalisation, alienation, self-indulgence, and the dangers of having more virtual friends than real ones.

In 2009, a new Vatican website, www.pope2you.net, went live, offering an application called “The pope meets you on Facebook”,

ROME: View of the official Twitter account of Pope Benedict XVI in Rome yesterday.

Pope Benedict XVI will join Twitter from December 12, with regular tweets in eight languages from the account @pontifex just in time for Christmas. —AFP brought into being by the new technologies ... the pope’s presence on Twitter can be seen as the ‘tip of the iceberg’ that is the Church’s presence in the world of new media,” it said in a statement.

The pope, who still writes his speeches and books by hand, has given a qualified blessing to social networking. In a document issued last year, he said the possibilities of new media and

and another allowing the faithful to see the pontiff ’s speeches and messages on their iPhones or iPods.

The Vatican famously got egg on its face in 2009 when it was forced to admit that, if it had surfed the web more, it might have known that a traditionalist bishop whose excommunication was lifted had for years been a Holocaust denier. —Reuters

Sender of first text message ‘amazed’ 20 years on LONDON: The British software engineer who sent the world’s first text message 20 years ago said yesterday that he is amazed at how the technology has developed.

The engineer, Neil Papworth, was chosen by chance to send the message-which read “Merry Christmas”-to a director at British telecommunications giant Vodafone after he had worked on developing the software.

Vodafone wanted to develop the technology as an improvement on paging, Papworth said, and no one realised then how it would change the culture of communication forever — 150 billion texts were sent in Britain alone last year.

“They thought it would be used as an executive pager so that secretaries could get hold of their bosses while they were out and about and they could send them messages and tell them what to do and where to go,” Papworth told BBC radio.

On December 3, 1992, he was 22 and working for a company called Sema Group Telecoms at Vodafone’s offices in Newbury, southeast England, developing what was known as a Short Message Service Centre (SMSC).

Mobile phones did not at that point have keyboards so he typed out the message on a computer keyboard. “I used to go down there every day, help them test the system, hook it

up to their network and we did a lot of testing down there over the next few weeks,” Papworth said.

“Then it came to a day when they wanted to send this message and I don’t remember exactly how it came about, but I was the one who was down there and so I was the one who got to send it in the end.

“The message was ‘Merry Christmas’. It was to a man called Richard Jarvis, he was a director at Vodafone at the time who was at the Vodafone Christmas party on the other side of town.”

Far from realising he was part of a historic event, Papworth said his overwhelming emotion was one of relief. “Having this message work was important, so for me when it went through it was more a relief than anything else that our software had been demonstrated to work and it had done its job,” he said.

As text messaging quickly gained in popularity, Vodafone ordered more and more equipment to support the system. “So it was good for business when it took off because we sold more systems, but it was also quite amazing to see how many people use it and the range of applications people have found for it,” Papworth said.

Papworth now lives in the French-Canadian city of Montreal with his wife and three children and works as a software architect. —AFP

Study shows growth in second screen users NEW YORK: Television viewers were once called couch potatoes. Many are becoming more active while watching now, judging by the findings in a new report that illustrates the explosive growth in people who watch TV while connected to social media on smartphones and tablets.

The Nielsen company said that one in three people using Twitter in June sent messages at some point about the content of television shows, an increase of 27 percent from only five months earlier.

And that was before the Olympics, which was probably the first big event to illustrate the extent of second screen usage.

“ Twitter has become the second screen experience for television,” said Deirdre Bannon, vice president of social media at Nielsen. Social networking is becoming so pervasive that the study found nearly a third of people aged 18to-24 reported using the sites while in the bathroom.

An estimated 41 percent of tablet owners and 38 percent of smartphone owners used their device while also watching television at least once a day, Nielsen said.

That percentage hasn’t changed much; in fact, 40 percent of smartphone owners reported daily dual screen usage a year earlier, Nielsen said. The difference

is that far more people own these devices and they are using them for a longer period of time. The company estimated that Americans spent a total of 157.5 billion minutes on mobile devices in July 2012, nearly doubling the 81.8 billion the same month a year earlier.

“There are big and interesting implications,” Bannon said. “I think both television networks and advertisers are onto it.” The social media can provide networks with real-time feedback on what they are doing. The performance of moderators at presidential debates this fall was watched more closely than perhaps ever before, because people were

instantly taking on Twitter to provide their own critiques.

It also makes for some conflicting information: Twitter buzzed with complaints last summer about NBC’s policy of airing many Olympics events from London on tape delay, yet ratings for the prime-time Olympics telecast soared past expectations.

The increase in people watching television and commenting about it online would seem to run counter to another big trend this fall: more people recording programs and watching them at a later hour. Those contrary trends both increase the value of live event programming like

awards shows or sporting events.

The Nielsen study also found that 35 percent of people who used tablets while watching TV looked up information online about the program they were watching. A quarter of tablet owners said they researched coupons or deals for products they saw advertised on television as rapid as the use of social media while on television is growing in the United States, it already lags behind other countries. Nielsen said that 63 percent of people in the Middle East or Africa report using social media while on TV, and 52 percent of people in Latin America. —AP

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health & science

HPV tied to throat cancers: Study

MEXICO: Carolina Nunez Hernandez (62), who was infect- Roselia Vargas (57) from Morelia, Michoacan State, and ed with HIV by her partner, receives a beauty treatment as infected with HIV receives a beauty treatment before a part of workshop. —AFP photos photo session.

Battling HIV, Mexican women reclaim sexuality in photo shoot MEXICO CITY: Rocio Ramirez poses for a portrait with a colorful Mexican shawl covering one side of her near naked body, revealing her erotic side to prove that HIV has not robbed her sexuality and self-esteem. Smiling with straight black hair for another shot, Ramirez holds a female condom as part of a photographic workshop to show that women with HIV/AIDS can still feel beautiful despite the virus and the side effects of their treatment. Ramirez said she decided to bare almost all during the event titled “On eroticism, and a bit more” in order to “reduce the discrimination against women who live with HIV.” Organized this month by the group Comprehensive Health for Women (SIPAM), a dozen women-activists who carry the HIV virus-were prepared for the cameras by stylists and make-up artists.

The stigma of carrying HIV is not the only thing haunting them. Ramirez has been taking antiretroviral drugs since 1997 to combat the virus. But the treatment can cause lipodystrophy in some people, a condition in which deposits of fat appear in various areas of the body. The fat can appear around the abdomen and in the back of the neck, an effect called “buffalo hump.”

The aim of the pictures, which will be displayed at the National Human Rights Commission, is to build up the self-esteem of women whose sto-

ries are “always a bit of tragedy,” said Alejandrina Garcia, coordinator of SIPAM’s Women and HIV program.

Most Mexican women who have HIV are monogamous married housewives, she said.

They are often infected by their husbands and

Carolina Nunez Hernandez (62), who was infected with HIV by her partner, poses for a picture.

only find out that they have the virus when the man or one of their children become sick or die of AIDS, Garcia said. Sometimes they learn that they have HIV during pregnancy. Roselia Vargas, a 57-year-old grandmother, discovered she had HIV in 1998 when her husband was tested after falling seriously ill. “I didn’t have information. I knew it was something deadly and I had even heard on the radio that it could be contracted with a mosquito bite,” said Vargas, who wore a long white dress for her photo session. Despite her husband’s infidelity, and her own health problems, Vargas cared for him until he died because he was “the love of my life.”

“I accompanied him because I loved him very much and I didn’t want him to die alone,” she said, adding that she did it for her daughters too. More than 147,000 Mexicans were HIV-positive last year and another 9,600 people are expected to contract the virus this year, according to the National Center for the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS. Mexican men account for 75 percent of HIV cases. David Alvarado, president of the Mexican Foundation Against AIDS, said Mexican women are often at risk because “they don’t always have the ability to negotiate the use of a condom with their partner.” —AFP

(Top from left ) Rosamaria and widows Lupita, Roselia, and Rocio and (front L-R) Ruth and Flor, all leaders of organizations in their communities who were infected with HIV by their husbands or partners, pose for pictures as part of workshop on sexuality held at the Cultural Centre of Spain and promoted by the Integral Health for Women (SIPAM).

Rosamaria (33), fictitious name, from Tijuana and infected withHIV, poses for pictures.

NEW YORK: A sexually transmitted infection usually thought of in connection to cervical cancer is also tied to a five-times greater risk of cancer of the vocal cords or voice box, according to a Chinese study.

Chinese researchers, whose work appeared in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, combined the results of 55 studies from the past two decades and found that 28 percent of people with laryngeal cancers had cancerous tissue that tested positive for human papilloma virus (HPV).

But that rate varied widely by study, from no throat cancer patients with HPV to 79 percent with the infection. “HPV infection, especially high-risk type HPV16, was found to be significantly associated with the risk of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma,” wrote Xiangwei Li, from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking University Medical College, the lead researcher.

Along with their larger review, the researchers analyzed 12 studies that compared cancerous and non-cancerous tissues from a total of 630 patients. They found the cancerous throat tissue had 5.4 times the odds of testing positive for HPV infection, compared to the non-cancerous tissue. “We’re finding that HPV appears to be linked to a number of squamous cell carcinomas of the head, neck and throat,” said William Mendenhall, a radiation oncologist from the University of Florida in Gainesville who didn’t take part in the study.

“I think the risk of HPV on laryngeal cancer is probably relatively low,” he

added. “Most of the patients we see currently that come in with laryngeal cancer have a strong history of cigarette smoking, also heavy drinking.” Along with tobacco and alcohol, having a poor diet and exposure to certain chemicals can increase a person’s risk of laryngeal and other head and neck cancers.

The American Cancer Society estimates 12.360 people will be diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in the United States in 2012 and there will be 3,650 deaths from the disease. Mendenhall said that of all head and neck cancers, HPV seems to play the biggest role not in laryngeal cancer, but in cancer of the tonsils and back of the tongue.

“The exposure is probably decades earlier. Someone who develops a base of tongue cancer when they’re 50, they probably were exposed to the virus years before, in their teens or 20s.” At least half of sexually-active people get HPV at some point in their lives, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but the virus is usually cleared by the immune system. Only some of the 40-plus HPV strains have been tied to cancer.

Based on the current findings, it’s difficult to know how many of the laryngeal cancers in the original studies were actually caused by the virus, researchers said.

But Mendenhall said that extending HPV vaccinations to boys and young men, as the CDC has recommended, “will hopefully reduce at least some of these HPV-related cancers.”—Reuters

Study links relaxation method to reduced hot flashes NEW YORK: Studies of the effects of relaxation techniques on menopause symptoms have yielded mixed results so far, but a study from Sweden comes down in favor of the approach as an alternative to hormone therapy. Postmenopausal women trained to relax before and during the onset of hot flashes cut the frequency of those events in half during the three-month trial, researchers wrote in the journal Menopause. Women in a comparison group that got no treatments experienced little change in their symptoms.

Hormone replacement therapy is thought to help by stabilizing the hormone fluctuations of the years just before and after menopause, but not all women can take hormones because of other health conditions or risk factors. Many don’t want to because of possible risks from the hormones themselves. “Applied relaxation can be used to treat vasomotor symptoms (such as hot flashes) in postmenopausal women,” wrote lead author Lotta LindhAstrand of Linkoping University.

Lindh-Astrand and her colleagues set out to test the effects on menopausal hot flashes and quality of life of a method called applied relaxation that was developed in Sweden in the 1980s, based on cognitive behavior therapy. The researchers recruited 60 healthy Swedish women and randomly assigned a little more than half to practice applied relaxation and the rest to a comparison group that received no treatment. The women, mostly in their fifties, had all stopped menstruating a year or more earlier but still experienced hot flashes or night sweats.

The 33 women in the therapy group learned to focus on breathing and releasing muscle tension before and during hot flash-

es. For the first week, the women observed and recorded what they felt before and during a hot flash or other menopausal symptom. Next, they were encouraged to spend 15 minutes twice a day tensing and relaxing muscles from head to toe, Gradually, they learned how to decrease the time needed to relax by focusing on controlled breathing and not tensing the muscles.

Toward the end of the study, the women were instructed to practice relaxation 20 times a day in 30-second sessions. The final “homework” exercise required the women to use these breathing and relaxation skills to quickly relax during a hot flash situation. At the beginning of the study, all participants experienced an average of 10 hot flashes a day. After three months, researchers reported that the applied relaxation group had an average of four flashes a day while the comparison group averaged eight. They also found improvements in sleep and aches and pains, among women in the relaxation group.

“The results tell you that yes, this seems to work,” said Kim Innes of West Virginia University, who has studied mind-body therapies for menopause systems but was not involved in the study.”This was a moderatesized trial that yielded promising - although not definitive - findings regarding the efficacy of applied relaxation.” Innes and other researchers said the mechanism behind mind-body therapies and their effect on menopausal symptoms is not completely understood, but it could be linked to the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for “fight or flight” responses as well as basic functions like heart rate, blood pressure and sweating. —Reuters

New Alzheimer’s drug studies offer patients hope TRENTON: For Alzheimer’s patients and their families, desperate for an effective treatment for the epidemic disease, there’s hope from new studies starting up and insights from recent ones that didn’t quite pan out. If the new studies succeed, a medicine that slows or even stops progression of the brain-destroying disease might be ready in three to five years, said Dr. William H. Thies, chief medical officer of the Alzheimer’s Association. The group assists patients and caregivers, lobbies for more research and helps fund studies.

“The number of smart people working on this problem means to me we’ll begin to manage it better in the very near future,” Thies said. “It may be as short as three years away.” That’s only if government and other sources provide tens of millions of dollars for additional research and more patients join clinical studies. After decades of stumbles and dozens of promising experimental drugs failing, scientists think they’re now on the right track. They’re targeting what they believe are the mechanisms to arrest a disease that steadily steals patients’ personality and ability to remember, think and care for themselves.

A vaccine is in mid-stage testing, and drugmakers shy about funding expensive treatment tests could start as many as 30 studies once they’re more confident that their approach is sound, Thies said. Early next year, the first study to try to prevent Alzheimer’s begins - in people a decade away from

symptoms but who have a genetic mutation that causes early onset Alzheimer’s. It will include three drugs that each attack the country’s No. 6 killer in a different way. And in May, the Obama administration unveiled an ambitious national plan to fund new research, better train those caring for Alzheimer’s patients, and help families get needed services via a new website, www.alzheimers.gov .

The number of Alzheimer’s patients in the US is expected to jump from the current 5.4 million to 16 million by 2050. Costs for care, mostly from taxpayers, could skyrocket from roughly $200 billion this year to $1.1 trillion in 2050. Currently a handful of treatments only ease symptoms temporally. Yesterday drugmaker Merck & Co. announced it’s just begun the first combined mid- and late-stage study of a BACE inhibitor. That’s a new type of drug designed to slow mental and functional decline by limiting production of beta amyloid, the protein that’s the main ingredient in brain-damaging amyloid plaques considered the most likely cause of Alzheimer’s.

After safety testing of the drug MK8931 in about 200 patients, the 78week study, known by the acronym EPOCH, will quickly expand to as many as 1,700 patients. That phase will test the daily pill at three different doses, compared with a dummy pill.

Combining study phases should shave some time from the yearslong, and often billion-dollar, research process. If MK-8931 works EPOCH

would give Merck one of the two major patient studies needed to win approval from government regulators, said Darryle D Schoepp, Merck’s head of neuroscience research. Merck also has some backup compounds and plans other studies, including some on patients very early in the disease, Schoepp told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.

In earlier research MK-8931 blocked formation of almost all the toxic amyloid plaques, he said. “No one’s ever done that before,” Schoepp said. “If (amyloid) plaques are the cause, the medicine will work.” Merck’s MK-8931 and some other experimental drugs aim to turn off the Alzheimer’s “faucet” by blocking production of amyloid beta. Other experimental drugs instead aim to bail out the sink while the faucet’s still running, either by removing clumps of amyloid plaque from the brain or by binding to bits of amyloid beta protein and clearing them from the brain before they clump into plaques.

Researchers were frustrated this year by failures of two biologic drugs that targeted amyloid beta - bapineuzumab from Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, and solanezumab from Eli Lilly and Co. Both are drugs are injected because their large molecules can’t pass through the digestive tract into blood vessels. Their size might have limited how much medicine could get inside brain cells.

However solanezumab showed signs that attacking beta amyloid beta was

effective. While it didn’t help most patients in the study, it slowed mental decline by about a third in patients with mild forms of the disease - a first for that approach.

That’s added to researchers’ growing belief that patients must be treated early on, before Alzheimer’s has destroyed much of their brains. The big prevention study to start early next year, called DIAN TU, is meant to help find a way to do that, by testing drugs on people with a family history and genes that make them likely to develop Alzheimer’s in their 50s, rather than after 65.

One part will test the Roche Group’s biologic antibody drug gantenerumab, which removes amyloid beta plaques from the brain. It’s already in late-stage testing in patients who don’t have symptoms but have abnormally high levels of amyloid beta in spinal fluid. Another part will test Lilly’s solanezumab, which binds to smaller bits of beta amyloid and clears them from the brain before they clump into plaques.

The third study drug could be Lilly’s BACE inhibitor, now in midstage testing in Alzheimer’s patients. The company expects by mid-2013 to complete work needed to determine whether the drug is right for the prevention study.

Meanwhile two late-stage patient studies started this fall with a drug called LMTX developed by TauRx Pharmaceuticals Ltd. It targets tangles in the brain with an abnormal

version of a protein called tau. Thies, of the Alzheimer’s Association, thinks the disease likely is caused by a combination of those tau tangles and amyloid beta plaques.

The key issue for all these drugs will be what side effects they cause, because patients would take them for many years. Patients and families are anxious for a drug that slows or stops Alzheimer ’s. “ When you’re faced with a diagnosis that tells you your brain is being eaten up,” said patient Ron Grant, “and you start seeing who you were no longer being who you are, and the only thing you can expect is being worse, in this day that’s totally unacceptable.”

The Oklahoma City prison chaplain was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2007 at age 55 and had to stop work barely a year later. He’s helped found a support group for early onset Alzheimer’s patients, participated in a clinical trial and takes the drugs Namenda and Razadyne, which he thinks have limited his symptoms.

But PET scans of his brain show the disease is progressing. The former avid reader can no longer follow a book’s plot or remember where he left off. The federal government doesn’t spend enough on Alzheimer’s, said Grant, who helps lobby Congress for more funding.

“The biggest thing standing between us and a treatment for this disease is money,” he said. —AP

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health & science

OHIO: Michelle Lang-Schock is comforted by surgeon Dr Lee Anne Sprance, left, and her husband, Harry Schock, right, after Dr Sprance explains the results of the pathology from her mastectomy.

Kari Kovach, breast care coordinator at Parkview Center, instructs Michelle Lang-Schock smiles as she hears reassuring words from Michelle’s mother Lin Lang-Tyler, left, Harry Schock and Michelle’s surgeon Dr. Lee Anne Sprance before the mastectomy of Schock’s aunt, Cheri Howard, right, how to remove fluid from Michelle’s sur- left breast. gical drains.

Fighting for their lives: Pregnant woman battles breast cancer OHIO: The expectant mother peered anxiously at the ultrasound monitor for signs of life. Just 24 hours earlier, she lost her left breast to cancer.

She could only pray that she didn’t lose her baby, too. Six months after exchanging their wedding vows, Michelle Lang-Schock and her husband, Harry Schock, are facing more challenges than many couples face in a lifetime. Together, they’re fighting to save her life while anticipating the birth of their child in May. “I think God gave me this baby,” she said, “so I could concentrate on something positive instead of sulking in the negative.”

Michelle, or “Missey” as many of her friends and family members call her, was going through a divorce after a 12-year marriage in February 2010 when mutual friends introduced her to Harry, who also was divorced. The two grew close, spending time together and with their children-three for her and two for him. He stayed by her side and patiently comforted her for months when she mourned the death of her exhusband, the father of her two youngest children, in a house fire.

On May 5 of this year, they exchanged wedding vows while surrounded by family and friends in Urbana, Ohio, where most of Michelle’s family lives. The couple then spent six blissful days honeymooning in Florida before returning to their home in Wadsworth, Ohio, which they share with his daughter, Alaina, 17; and two of

her children, Max, 9; and Isabella, “Bella,” 6. His son, Trevor, 8, also visits.

The honeymoon didn’t last long. By the end of the month, Harry lost his job as a restaurant manager, joining Michelle in the ranks of the unemployed. After years in the restaurant industry, he decided to pursue a new career and go to truck driving school.

When Michelle started to grow increasingly tired, she figured it was from all the stress. That stress only increased in August, when she found a lump in her right breast. She instantly panicked. The branches of her family tree were weighed down by cancer, including several relatives with breast cancer. Because the couple were unemployed and didn’t have health insurance, Michelle qualified for a free mammogram through the Breast and Cervical Cancer Project, also known as the “Pink Ribbon Project.” The state-sponsored program provides free mammograms and cervical cancer screenings to qualified uninsured women. If cancer is discovered, the program helps enroll the women in Medicaid to make sure all their needed care is immediately covered.

Before giving Michelle a free mammogram to rule out cancer in her right breast, the ultrasound technician at Akron General went through all the typical questions. “Is there any chance you’re pregnant?” Michelle laughed.

She’s 41 and he’s 52. With five children ages 6

to 20 between them, adding a baby to their blended family wasn’t something the couple intended. “Well, there’s always a chance,” she chuckled, dismissing the thought.

The newlyweds were relieved when the mammogram and an ultrasound determined the lump Michelle had felt was simply a fatty tumor, not a cancerous mass. Nevertheless, a nurse case manager recommended she still follow up with a doctor just to be safe, given her family history. The day before her appointment with Dr. Lee Anne Sprance, medical director of the Breast Care Program at Summa Barberton Hospital, Michelle continued to feel tired and forgetful. A trip to the drug store and $9 later, a home pregnancy test revealed Michelle and Harry were expecting a surprise addition to their family. Still getting used to the idea of being pregnant, Michelle wasn’t too concerned when she went to her appointment with the breast specialist. During the exam, she told Michelle to lift her arms over her head. Sprance agreed the lump in Michelle’s right breast wasn’t a problem.

But she paused as she examined the other breast. “There’s something here.” The “something” Sprance saw was a small, barely noticeable dimpling under Michelle’s nipple, which only was visible after she lifted her arms.

A subsequent ultrasound and biopsy in the days that followed confirmed the diagnosis: Michelle has breast cancer, which spread to at

least one of her lymph nodes. Had the cancer not been detected, it likely would have continued to silently grow and spread, fueled by the hormones of her pregnancy, until it was too late.

The couple agreed they would fight to beat the cancer while preserving the life of their unborn child. Harry made one exception. “If it comes down to losing you to keep the baby,” he told her, “I want you.”

That evening after learning she has cancer, Michelle and Harry had a family meeting and broke the news to their children. Max fell on the floor and burst into tears. “I already lost my daddy,” he sobbed. “I can’t lose you, too.” “I’m not dying,” Michelle reassured him. Her oldest son, Jacob, 20, embraced her. “I’m not crying,” he said, “because I know you’re going to be OK.” A breast cancer diagnosis while expecting is rare, occurring in a range estimated at one in every 1,000 to one in every 10,000 pregnancies, according to the American Cancer Society. In Michelle’s case, both her pregnancy and cancer treatments are being covered by Medicaid, a joint state and federal program for low-income residents. Her high-risk obstetrician, Dr John W. Stewart Jr, has faced the challenge of caring for a pregnant woman with cancer a handful of times during his 20-year career. “You’re always having to weigh maternal benefit versus fetal risk,” he said.

“You’re treating two patients, not just one.

Obviously, if bad things happen to moms, then

it affects the babies.” His recommendation: Be as aggressive as safely possible with the cancer treatment. “We need to take care of the mom first,” he said. “We don’t necessarily delay treatment. We’re not trying to deliver orphans. We want that mom to be able to take care of that baby.” Michelle’s doctors consulted to determine the best way to preserve both lives. Sprance wanted to keep the surgery and anesthesia to a minimum. So Michelle’s plans to have her right breast and ovaries removed to prevent another cancer diagnosis were put on hold until after her baby’s birth.

But delaying the mastectomy for the left breast wasn’t a viable option. In those months, the cancer could grow, with devastating consequences. As long as Michelle got enough oxygen throughout the two-hour procedure, Stewart had assured them, the baby should be fine. But knowing Michelle would need to see for herself, he offered to perform an ultrasound after surgery so she could know her baby’s heart was still beating. As she waited in the pre-op area at Barberton Hospital in late October, surrounded by family and close friends, Michelle clutched a small stuffed cat named Ringo that her son Max gave her to keep her company. He took an identical one to school with him that day. Before she left for surgery, her pastor joined her in prayer. “It’s going to be fine,” she said confidently to the anxious group. —MCT

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WHAT’S ON

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! This summer, let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

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Embassy of India condolence message ith profound sorrow, the Embassy of India announces the sad demise of the former Prime Minister of India, I K Gujral, on November 30, 2012. The Government of India has announced State mourning for seven days from 30th November to 6th December 2012. A condolence book is being kept open in the Embassy on December 3 and 4, 2012 from 1000 hrs to 1200 hrs and 1500 hrs to 1600 hrs.

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South African Embassy closure n the occasion of Christmas, Good Will Day and the New Year, the South African Embassy will be closed from Sunday, 23rd December 2012 to Tuesday, 1st January, 2013. The Embassy will resume its normal working hours on Wednesday, 2nd January 2013. Please note that the Working hours will be from 8h00 to 16h00 & the Consular Section operation hours will from 8h30 to 12h30, for emergencies please contact number 94924895. “On the behalf of the South African Embassy, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”.

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Announcements Joy of Christmas

GUST students visit Dar Al-Athar Al-Isalmiyyah

hristmas is the Season of new beginnings and second chances! Headlines of disease, disaster and death slowly but surely acclimatize us to permanently anticipate the darker side of life. Men’s Voice Kuwait and Choral Society has always carried the message of love, hope and unity, touching the hearts of thousands, regardless of age, creed or religion. Every year we look forward to ring the Christmas season with a night of joyous music. Popular 12-year-old choir draws us to the brighter side with the “The Joy of Christmas” a wonderful Concert on Friday, December 7, 2012 at 7 pm at Carmel School Auditorium, Khaitan.

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he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) Art in Culture and Architectural History students visited the Dar Al-Athar Al- Islamiyyah accompanied by their Instructor Astrid de los Rios.

The visit offered GUST students an amazing opportunity to combine two very different aesthetic experiences in one afternoon. On one hand, they could appreciate the unique architectural features of the building itself; the former historic American Mission Hospital, which was transformed in 2011 into the Amricani Cultural Centre. And on the other, they were introduced to the exhibition Treasury of the Worldby courtesy of Sheikha Alia AlSabah.

The Al-Sabah Collection possesses an unparalleled assemblage of Islamic jewelry and jeweledartifacts. In addition to what is certainly the largest and most representative collection of mediaeval Islamic jewelry in the world, the collection houses an incomparable representation of the jewelry and jeweled objects of the Mughal and Deccan territories of India from the 16th to

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TASK general body meeting echnical Staff Association of Kuwait (TASK), Kuwait are conducting their General Body meeting on December 7, 2012 Friday 4:00 pm at Hi-Dine Auditorium. Election will be conducted for selecting new office bearers for the year 2013. The committee is inviting all members and technical staff non-residents from India in Kuwait to join hands with TASK and strengthen the association.

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Goan Culinary Club he Goan Culinary Club - Goa encourages you to log on to their website where you can find a video of Odette and Joe Mascarenhas sharing their thoughts on Goan cuisine. These videos were recorded at the launch of the Goan Culinary Club in Goa on March 3, 2012.

Thanks to support from all at the Goan Culinary Club, we have made great progress in six months.

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18th centuries. The latter has been extensively shown worldwide in the “Treasury of the World” exhibition; its first venue was the British Museum in London in 2001.

The Mughal Dynasty that ruled India from 1526-1857, was founded by Babur and is known to be one of the greatest Islamic states of the Indian subcontinent. It developed a heightened awareness and appreciation of all things beautiful -architecture, gardens, jewels, perfumes, and religious art.The Treasury of the World collection currently on display at the Amricani consists of a dazzling display of artifacts of the Mughal period, including jeweled items of personal adornment, princely weapons, carved jade and crystal bowls set with precious stones, ancient rubies and emeralds with calligraphic inscriptions, and other art-historically important pieces representative of several imperial reigns.

Looking at the display student Anfal AlQallaf said:”The Islamic Art principles we studied in class came to life when translated from words into those exquisitely craft-

Basketball Academy he new Premier Basketball Academy offers coaching and games every Friday and Saturday from 10 am onwards for 6 to 18 year olds, boys and girls. Located in Bayan Block 7, Masjed Al-Aqsa Street by Abdullah Al-Rujaib High School. Free Basketball and Tee Shirts for all participants, with certificates and special awards on completion of each 6 week course. Qualified and experienced British and American Coaches, Everyone Welcome.

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Arabic courses WARE will begin Winter 1 Arabic language courses with new textbooks and curricula on from December 2, 2012 until January 24, 2013. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed & courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. For more information or registration, please log-on to our website.

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Christmas Bazaar

APAK new office-bearers ngamaly Pravasi Association Kuwait (APAK) New Managing Committee for the year 2012-2013 has taken over on November 23, 2012. President Bacon Joseph, Vice President Prabhullakumar, General

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Secretary Martin Kurian, Joint Secretary Johnson Ouseph, Office Secretary Lijesh Paul, Treasurer Sajeev Paul, Joint Treasurer Pappachan T.S, Auditor Jose Varghese, Advisory Board Chairman Jacob Pynadath.

alesian Cooperators are orgainising their Annual Christmas Bazaar, on Friday 07th December, 2012 from 9.30am to 12 noon @ IEAS (Don Bosco School). As all the proceeds go to for a good cause...your presence will make a difference!

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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

Alex Chacko, father of Nidhi Eley Alex who scored the second highest mark in class 12 CBSE science stream among the students of Mar Thomites in Kuwait, receives certificate in honor of her from Dr Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan during the golden jubilee celebrations of Mar Thoma parish in Kuwait.

ed artifacts on display at the Amricani Centre.”

What was once a hospital has been converted into a multi-use facility known as the Amricani Cultural Centre which today symbolizes Kuwait’s patronage to the arts and culture. This compound of hospitals is one of the only two remaining examples of Gulf Mission style architecture in the world. The building became known as Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah (DAI), where Sheikha Hussah Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah became the organization’s Director General.

GUST Architectural History student, Wallaa Hisham said: “To have such rare Gulf architectural samples preserved for future generations is already a great accomplishment and to have it had recycled into a museum that houses such a complete collection is just wonderful!

Before we went on our trip I didn’t know about its existence now I’m telling all my friends to go.”

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WHAT’S ON

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department.

All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office).

In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

The World Champion, Andrew Henderson and AUK Sports Coordinator, Trevor Taylor

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Freestyle Football Judges

From left: Third Place Winner, Ahmed Mustafa and World Champion Andrew Henderson

AUK football freestyler wins trip to Chelsea he American University of Kuwait played host to the first ever Kuwait Freestyle Football Talent Quest earlier this month. Sponsored by Tonino Lamborghini and supported by The Freestyle Football Federation, this four day event promoted freestyle football around Kuwait, offering audience members a chance to learn new freestyle skills from professional freestylers and the opportunity to compete in a freestyle football competition were the winner received a fully paid trip to London to watch a Chelsea FC game, as well as VIP treatment and Chelsea FC souvenirs. The event was held in a different location each day, taking

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place in three select universities and at the 360 Mall.

Throughout the day Andrew Henderson, the current World Freestyle Football Champion, showcased his amazing talent, displaying tricks that seemed near impossible to perform. When he wasn’t performing, Mr. Henderson was out meeting the AUK community, personally giving freestyle pointers and teaching the crowd crazy tricks. Also giving freestyle tips were some of the top freestylers in Kuwait. In the evening there was a freestyle football competition, were people could display their freestyle skills. Participants had one minute to show-off their skills in front of a panel of pro-

The World Champion, Andrew Henderson and the winning contestants

fessional judges, which included Andrew Henderson himself and Dan Wood, CEO and President of the Freestyle Football Federation.

At the end of the day, the judges picked the top 3 freestylers from AUK. Third place went to Ahmed Mustafa. Second place was awarded to HovigMouradian. First place, including a fully paid trip to London to watch a Chelsea game, was given to Amr Abdulraheem.

The Judges and the Host

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Canadian Embassy in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 7:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed for lunch from 12:30 to 13:00. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday.

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EMBASSY OF CYPRUS In its capacity as EU Local Presidency in the State of Kuwait, the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, on behalf of the Member States of the EU and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, would like to announce that as from 2nd October 2012 all Schengen States’ Consulates in Kuwait will use the Visa Information System (VIS). The VIS is a central database for the exchange of data on short-stay (up to three months) visas between Schengen States. The main objectives of the VIS are to facilitate visa application procedures and checks at external border as well as to enhance security. The VIS will contain all the Schengen visa applications lodged by an applicant over five years and the decisions taken by any Schengen State’s consulate. This will allow applicants to establish more easily the lawful use of previous visas and their bona fide status. For the purpose of the VIS, applicants will be required to provide their biometric data (fingerprints and digital photos) when applying for a Schengen visa. It is a simple and discreet procedure that only takes a few minutes. Biometric data, along with the data provided in the Schengen visa application form, will be recorded in the VIS central database. Therefore, as from 2nd October 2012, first-time applicants will have to appear in person when lodging the application, in order to provide their fingerprints. For subsequent applications within 5 years the fingerprints can be copied from the previous application file in the VIS. The Cypriot Presidency would like to assure the people of Kuwait and all its permanent citizens that the Member States and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, have taken all necessary technical measures to facilitate the rapid examination and the efficient processing of visa applications and to ensure a quick and discreet procedure for the implementation of the new VIS. ■■■■■■■

TEMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the Kenyan community residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that the Embassy has acquired new office telephone numbers as follows: 25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries 25353987 - Fax Our Email address: info@kenyaembkuwait.com.

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EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, Al-Salaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com.

Pictured are the Everton and AC Milan U-15 Academy teams after their weekend match at Bayan. Players from the Everton Academy will be representing Kuwait in Dubai this weekend when they will compete in an International Academies Tournament.

Indian Embassy Announcements Indian Embassy passport and visa Passports and visa applications can be deposited at the two outsourced centers of M/S BLS Ltd at Sharq and Fahaheel. Details are available at www.bls-international.com and www.indembkwt.org.

Consular Open House Consular Wing is providing daily service of Open House to Indian citizens on all workings days from 1000 hrs to 1100 hrs and from 1430 hrs to 1530 hrs by the Consular Officer in the Meeting Room of the Consular Hall at the Embassy. For any unaddressed issues, Second Secretary

(Consular) can be contacted. Furthermore, the head of the Consular Wing is also available to redress grievances.

Indian workers helpline/helpdesk Indian workers helpline is accessible by toll free telephone number 25674163 from all over Kuwait. It provides information and advice to Indian workers as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. The help desk at the Embassy (Open from 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 4:30PM, Sunday to Thursday) provides guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal and other issues. It also provides

workers assistance in filling up labour complaint forms.

For any unaddressed issues, the concerned attachÈ in the Labour section and the head of the Labour Wing can be contacted.

Legal Advice Clinic Free legal advice is provided on matters pertaining to labour disputes, terms of contracts with employers, death/accident compensation, withholding of dues by employers, etc. by lawyers on our panel, to Indian nationals on all working days between 1500hrs to 1600hrs.

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EMBASSY OF UKRAINE The Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait would like to remind that the external polling station No 90046 was created in the Embassy’s premises at the following address: Hawalli, Jabriya, bl.10, str. 6, build. 5. The working hours of the polling station: Sunday from 13.00 to 17.00 pm; Monday from 13.00 to 17.00 pm; Tuesday from 13.00 to 17.00 pm; Wednesday from 13.00 to 17.00 pm; Thursday from 13.00 to 17.00 pm; Friday from 10.00 to 13.00 pm; Saturday from 10.00 to 13.00 pm On October 28, 2012 the working hours of the polling station from 8.00 am to 20.00 pm. Please be advised to refer to the Embassy to check your data in the Electoral Register as well as to pick up your personal invitation from the polling station if you did not receive the document by post.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:50 Animal Cops South Africa 01:45 Human Prey 02:35 Untamed & Uncut 03:25 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 04:15 My Cat From Hell 05:05 Wild France 05:55 Call Of The Wildman 06:20 Going Ape 06:45 Dolphin Days 07:35 Wildlife SOS International 08:00 The Really Wild Show 08:25 Animal Planet’s Most Outrageous 09:15 Cats 101 10:10 Must Love Cats 11:05 Wild France 12:00 Last Chance Highway 12:55 Shamwari: A Wild Life 13:50 Wildlife SOS International 14:15 Bondi Vet 14:45 Animal Cops Philadelphia 15:40 Wild France 16:35 Going Ape 17:00 The Really Wild Show 17:30 My Cat From Hell 18:25 Natural Born Hunters 19:20 Cats 101 20:15 Monkey Life 20:40 Bondi Vet 21:10 Call Of The Wildman 21:35 Going Ape 22:05 Wild France 23:00 Gator Boys 23:55 New Breed Vets With Steve Irwin

00:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 00:45 Come Dine With Me 01:35 Antiques Roadshow 02:25 Gok’s Fashion Fix 04:05 Baking Made Easy 04:30 Indian Food Made Easy 04:55 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 05:40 Celebrity MasterChef 06:30 Eating With The Enemy 07:15 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 08:00 MasterChef Australia 09:35 Gok’s Fashion Fix 11:15 Bargain Hunt 12:00 Antiques Roadshow 12:50 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 13:30 Come Dine With Me 14:20 Ty Pennington’s Homes For The Brave 15:05 Ty Pennington’s Homes For The Brave 15:50 Bargain Hunt 16:35 Antiques Roadshow 17:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 18:10 Come Dine With Me 19:00 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 19:55 Rhodes Across Italy 20:45 Come Dine With Me 21:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:10 Bargain Hunt

00:00 Business Edition With Tanya Beckett 00:30 Hardtalk 01:00 BBC World News America 01:30 BBC World News America 02:00 Newsday 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 BBC World News 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Asia Business Report 06:45 Sport Today

07:00 BBC World News 07:30 Hardtalk 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:00 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 BBC World News 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 BBC World News 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 World Business Report 11:45 BBC World News 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 Hardtalk 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 World Business Report 13:45 BBC World News 15:00 GMT With George Alagiah 15:30 GMT With George Alagiah 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 BBC Focus On Africa 21:00 BBC World News 21:30 World Business Report 21:45 Sport Today 22:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 23:00 BBC World News 23:30 World Business Report 23:45 Sport Today

00:05 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:10 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:00 04:30 04:55 05:20 05:45 06:00 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:30 07:55 08:10 08:35 08:50 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:00 13:15 13:40 13:55 14:20 14:35 14:50 15:20 15:45 16:10 16:35 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:40 19:05 19:30 19:45 20:00 20:15 20:40 20:55 21:20 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40

Taz-Mania Pink Panther And Pals Moomins Tom & Jerry Kids A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Puppy In My Pocket Wacky Races Looney Tunes Duck Dodgers Dastardly And Muttley Dexter’s Laboratory Wacky Races Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show Moomins Looney Tunes Tom & Jerry Tales Dexter’s Laboratory Baby Looney Tunes Jelly Jamm Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Ha Ha Hairies Tom & Jerry Kids A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Puppy In My Pocket Wacky Races Looney Tunes Duck Dodgers Popeye Top Cat The Flintstones Dastardly And Muttley Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Bananas In Pyjamas Moomins Dexter’s Laboratory Johnny Bravo Tom & Jerry Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show What’s New Scooby Doo? Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry Tales The Looney Tunes Show Taz-Mania Pink Panther And Pals Moomins The Garfield Show Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Cartoonito Tales Puppy In My Pocket The Garfield Show What’s New Scooby Doo? Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry Tales The Looney Tunes Show

00:40 Chowder 01:30 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 01:55 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 02:20 Foster’s Home For...

02:45 Foster’s Home For...

03:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 04:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 04:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:50 Adventure Time 05:15 The Powerpuff Girls 05:40 Generator Rex 06:05 Ben 10 06:30 Ben 10 06:55 Angelo Rules 07:00 Cow & Chicken 07:30 Casper’s Scare School 08:00 Eliot Kid 08:45 Johnny Test 09:05 The Powerpuff Girls 09:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 10:20 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 10:45 Courage The Cowardly Dog 11:35 Adventure Time 12:00 Regular Show 12:25 Transformers Prime 12:50 Ben 10: Omniverse 13:15 Courage The Cowardly Dog 14:05 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 14:30 Young Justice 14:55 Codename: Kids Next Door 15:45 Ben 10: Alien Force 16:10 Ben 10: Alien Force 16:35 Powerpuff Girls 17:00 Angelo Rules 17:20 Young Justice 17:40 Hero 108 18:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 18:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 18:50 Johnny Test 19:15 Adventure Time 19:40 Regular Show 20:05 Green Lantern: The Animated Series 20:30 Ben 10: Omniverse 20:55 Generator Rex 21:20 Level Up 21:45 Grim Adventures Of...

22:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 23:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:50 The Powerpuff Girls

00:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson 01:00 Amanpour 01:30 World Sport 02:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 03:00 World Report 03:30 World Sport 04:00 Anderson Cooper 360 05:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 06:00 Quest Means Business 07:00 The Situation Room 08:00 World Sport 08:30 African Voices 09:00 World Report 10:00 World Report 11:00 World Sport 11:30 Talk Asia 12:00 World Business Today 13:00 Amanpour 13:30 Going Green 14:00 World One 15:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 16:00 News Stream 17:00 World Business Today 18:00 International Desk 19:00 Global Exchange 20:00 World Sport 20:30 Going Green 21:00 International Desk 22:00 Quest Means Business 23:00 Amanpour 23:30 CNN Newscenter

00:15 01:10 02:05 03:00

Outback Truckers Deadliest Catch Gold Divers Mythbusters

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ON OSN ACTION HD

03:55 04:20 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:10 14:35 15:05 15:30 16:25 17:20 18:15 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25 23:20

Border Security Dirty Money Auction Kings How Stuff’s Made How It’s Made Hillbilly Handfishin’ Wheeler Dealers Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Border Security Dirty Money How Stuff’s Made How It’s Made Outback Truckers Deadliest Catch Gold Divers Border Security Dirty Money Auction Kings Ultimate Survival Wheeler Dealers Hillbilly Handfishin’ Mythbusters How Stuff’s Made How It’s Made Border Security Dirty Money Auction Kings Flying Wild Alaska Masters Of Survival Ultimate Survival

00:40 The Gadget Show 01:05 The Tech Show 01:35 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 02:25 Mega World 03:15 Prototype This 04:05 Weird Connections 04:35 Brave New World 05:25 How Do They Do It? 05:50 How Do They Do It? 06:15 The Gadget Show 06:40 The Tech Show 07:05 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 08:00 Mega World 08:50 Brave New World 09:40 Head Rush 09:43 Things That Move 10:10 How Stuff’s Made 10:40 How Do They Do It? 11:05 How Do They Do It? 11:30 Engineered 12:20 Prototype This 13:10 The Gadget Show 13:35 The Tech Show 14:00 Mega World 14:50 Brave New World 15:45 Weird Connections 16:10 How Do They Do It? 16:35 How Do They Do It? 17:00 Head Rush 17:03 Things That Move 17:30 How Stuff’s Made 18:00 Engineered 18:50 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 19:40 Prototype This 20:30 Junk Men 20:55 Junk Men 21:20 Bad Universe 22:10 The Gadget Show 22:35 The Tech Show 23:00 Junk Men 23:25 Junk Men 23:50 Bad Universe

00:10 00:20 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:05 03:30 03:55 04:20 04:45 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:15 06:40 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:00 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 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:40 17:00 17:30 17:55 18:20 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:30 22:55 23:20 23:45 23:55

00:55 01:25 03:15 03:40 04:10 05:05 06:00 07:50 08:20 09:15 10:15

Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Phineas And Ferb Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm Recess So Random Good Luck Charlie Doc McStuffins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Hive Mouk Jonas So Random Hannah Montana Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Kim Possible Shake It Up Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas And Ferb Hannah Montana Hannah Montana So Random Suite Life On Deck Shake It Up Austin And Ally Jessie A.N.T. Farm 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 That’s So Raven Cory In The House Kim Possible Hannah Montana Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Fish Hooks Fish Hooks

Style Star Too Young To Kill Behind The Scenes Extreme Close-Up E!es E!es THS Behind The Scenes Scouted Scouted THS

12:05 12:35 13:05 13:35 14:05 York 15:00 15:30 15:55 16:25 16:55 17:25 17:55 18:25 18:55 19:25 19:55 20:55 21:25 22:25 23:25 23:55

Married To Jonas Married To Jonas Ice Loves Coco Ice Loves Coco Kourtney & Kim Take New

00:40 01:30 02:20 02:45 03:05 03:30 03:55 04:45 05:30 06:20 06:45 07:10 08:00 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:05 10:30 Jones 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:15 14:40 15:30 Jones 16:20 16:45 17:10 18:00 18:50 19:40 20:05 20:55 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:50

Dr G: Medical Examiner The Haunted Crime Scene Psychics Crime Scene Psychics I Married A Mobster I Married A Mobster Reel Crime/Real Story Dr G: Medical Examiner The Haunted Crime Scene Psychics Crime Scene Psychics Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite

01:55 03:45 05:30 07:00 08:45 10:50 12:20 13:50 15:15 16:50 18:25 20:30 22:00 23:35

Style Star Married To Jonas Married To Jonas Married To Jonas Married To Jonas Married To Jonas Married To Jonas Married To Jonas Married To Jonas Married To Jonas E!es Married To Jonas Opening Act Fashion Police Chelsea Lately Scouted

Murder Shift Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Murder Shift Disappeared Forensic Detectives Street Patrol On The Case With Paula Zahn Stalked: Someone’s Watching Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Deadly Affairs Killer Kids

The Red Shoe Diaries Neon City Midnight Witness Order Of Death The Unforgiven A Man Called Sarge Till There Was You Driving Me Crazy Parker Kane Starcrossed De-Lovely While Justice Sleeps Extreme Close-Up Rollerball (1975)

00:15 Market Values 00:45 Roam 01:10 Deadliest Journeys 2 01:40 Perilous Journeys 02:35 One Man & His Campervan 03:00 One Man & His Campervan 03:30 Banged Up Abroad 04:25 Don’t Tell My Mother 05:20 Into The Drink 05:45 Into The Drink 06:15 David Rocco‚Äôs Dolce Vita 3 06:40 David Rocco‚Äôs Dolce Vita 3 07:10 Street Food Around The World 07:35 Market Values 08:05 Roam 08:30 Deadliest Journeys 2 09:00 Perilous Journeys 09:55 One Man & His Campervan 10:20 One Man & His Campervan 10:50 Banged Up Abroad 11:45 Don’t Tell My Mother 12:40 The Green Way Up 13:05 The Green Way Up 13:35 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 4 14:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 4 14:30 Street Food Around The World 14:55 Market Values 15:25 Roam 15:50 Travel Madness 16:20 Perilous Journeys 17:15 One Man & His Campervan 17:40 One Man & His Campervan 18:10 Banged Up Abroad 19:05 Don’t Tell My Mother 20:00 Street Food Around The World 20:30 Market Values 21:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 4 21:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 4 22:00 Into The Drink 22:25 Into The Drink 22:55 David Rocco‚Äôs Dolce Vita 3

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Alaska State Troopers Warrior Road Trip Warrior Road Trip Departures Ape Genius World’s Deadliest Animals Departures Trapped Alaska State Troopers Warrior Road Trip Warrior Road Trip Departures Engineering Connections Hunter Hunted Which Way To Big, Bigger, Biggest Ancient Megastructures Prehistoric Predators Shark Men Racing To America Alaska Wing Men World’s Deadliest Animals Racing To America Trapped

SPUD ON OSN CINEMA

00:00 Animal Autopsy (AKA Inside Nature’s Giants) 01:00 Squid vs. Whale 01:55 Wild Russia 02:50 World’s Wildest Encounters 03:45 Monkey Thieves 04:10 Monkey Thieves 04:40 Built for the Kill 05:35 Hidden Worlds 06:00 Hidden Worlds 06:30 Wild Russia 07:25 World’s Wildest Encounters 08:20 Monkey Thieves 08:45 Monkey Thieves 09:15 Shark Men 10:10 Python Hunters 11:05 Animals At The Edge 12:00 Lizard Kings 13:00 Nordic Wild 14:00 Fish Tank Kings 15:00 Monkey Thieves 15:30 Monkey Thieves 16:00 Shark Men 17:00 Python Hunters 18:00 Animal Intervention 19:00 Wild Russia 20:00 World’s Wildest Encounters 21:00 Monkey Thieves 21:30 Monkey Thieves 22:00 Shark Men 23:00 Python Hunters

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 PG15 09:30 12:00 14:00 PG15 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Scream Of The Banshee-18 Machete-18 Botched-18 Largo Winch 2-PG15 True Justice: Dark VengeanceKingdom Of Heaven-PG15 Friday Night Lights-PG15 True Justice: Dark VengeanceDad Savage-PG15 Friday Night Lights-PG15 Quarantine 2: Terminal-18 Nowhere To Run-18

01:00 Last Ride-18 03:00 What’s Wrong With VirginiaPG15 05:00 Big Fat Liar-PG 07:00 Soldier Love Story-PG15 09:00 What’s Wrong With VirginiaPG15 11:00 Judy Moody And The Not Bummer Summer-PG15 13:00 Spud-PG15 15:00 Fighting-PG15 17:00 Water For Elephants-PG15 19:00 The Lincoln Lawyer-PG15 21:00 Middle Men-18 23:00 I Melt With You-R

00:00 Napoleon Dynamite 00:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 01:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 01:30 Don’t Trust The B In Apartment 23 02:00 Eastbound & Down 02:30 Family Guy 03:00 Breaking In 03:30 Hot In Cleveland 04:00 Samantha Who? 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 06:30 Friends 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Samantha Who? 08:30 Breaking In 10:00 Modern Family 10:30 Best Friends Forever 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 12:30 Samantha Who? 14:00 Hot In Cleveland 14:30 Best Friends Forever 15:00 Modern Family 15:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 16:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 16:30 Friends 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 How I Met Your Mother 19:00 Modern Family 19:30 Community

20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 American Dad 22:30 Allen Gregory 23:00 Family Guy 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Body Of Proof Boardwalk Empire Justified The Tudors Burn Notice Revenge Body Of Proof Emmerdale Coronation Street White Collar The Ellen DeGeneres Show Revenge Burn Notice Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show White Collar Body Of Proof Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show White Collar Grey’s Anatomy Private Practice Hawthorne Pillars Of The Earth The Tudors

00:00 Malibu Shark Attack-18 01:30 Assassination Games-18 03:15 The Godfather-18 07:00 Men In Black-PG15 09:00 Kull The Conqueror-PG15 11:00 All Star Superman-PG15 13:00 Green Lantern: Emerald Knights-PG15 15:00 Kull The Conqueror-PG15 17:00 Behind Enemy Lines-PG15 19:00 Walled In-PG15 21:00 Nowhere To Run-18 23:00 The Thaw-PG15

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Submarine-PG15 Nacho Libre-PG Jumping The Broom-PG15 The American President-PG15 Below The Beltway-PG15 The Search For Santa Paws-PG Jumping The Broom-PG15 Robots-PG The Search For Santa Paws-PG The Family Stone-PG15 Extract-PG15 28 Days-PG15

01:30 03:00 05:45 PG15 07:45 10:00 11:45 13:30 15:15 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Best Laid Plans-PG15 Munich-18 When A Man Loves A WomanA L’origine-PG15 Roger And Me-PG15 Light It Up-PG15 The Game Of Their Lives-PG15 Roger And Me-PG15 Loosies-PG15 Tresor-PG15 Swing Kids-PG15 Ripley’s Game-PG15

01:15 Black Forest-PG15 03:00 Sammy’s Adventure: The Secret Passage-FAM 05:00 Lord Of The Dance-PG 07:00 Lies In Plain Sight-PG15 09:00 Ways To Live Forever-PG15 10:45 Into The Wind-PG15 11:45 Muhammad And Larry-PG15 12:45 Seabiscuit-PG15 15:15 Henry’s Crime-PG15 17:15 Ways To Live Forever-PG15 19:00 Win Win-PG15 21:00 The Ledge-PG15 23:00 Scream 4-18

01:00 Mr. Popper’s Penguins-PG 02:45 Free Birds-FAM 04:15 Arthur And The Revenge Of Maltazard-PG 06:00 The Fantastic Adventure Of The Ugly Duckling-FAM 08:00 The Ugly Duckling In Tales Of Mystery-FAM 10:00 Gulliver’s Travels-PG 11:30 Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown-PG 12:45 The Fantastic Adventure Of The Ugly Duckling-FAM 14:15 Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate-PG 16:15 Princess Sydney: The Legend Of The Blue Rabbit-FAM 18:00 Gulliver’s Travels-PG 20:00 Little Secrets-PG 22:00 The Fantastic Adventure Of The Ugly Duckling-FAM 23:30 The Ugly Duckling In Tales Of Mystery-FAM

02:00 05:00 05:30 13:30 14:00 17:00 19:00

HSBC Sevens World Series Futbol Mundial Live Cricket Test Match ICC Cricket 360 HSBC Sevens World Series Rugby Union International Cricket Test Match

00:30 Rugby Union International 02:30 Top 14 04:30 Trans World Sport 05:30 Extreme Sailing Series 06:00 Extreme Sailing Series 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 08:00 Rugby Union International 10:00 Top 14 12:00 Trans World Sport 13:00 Extreme Sailing Series 13:30 PGA European Tour Highlights 14:30 PGA European Tour Weekly 15:30 Top 14 17:30 Trans World Sport 18:30 Futbol Mundial 19:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 20:00 HSBC Sevens World Series 23:00 WWE SmackDown

02:00 Spirit of a Champion 02:30 Golfing World 03:30 Pro 12 05:30 Show Jumping 06:30 Sea Master Sailing 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Snooker UK Championship 12:00 Fukuoka Marathon 15:00 Top 14 Highlights 15:30 Spirit of a Champion 16:00 Live Snooker UK Championship 21:30 Spirit of a Champion 22:00 Live Snooker UK Championship

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:30 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:30 19:00 20:00 20:30 22:30

European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed WWE NXT WWE Bottom Line UAE National Race Day V8 Supercars V8 Supercars WWE Bottom Line WWE Vintage NHL European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series WWE Experience V8 Supercars V8 Supercars Prizefighter

Classifieds TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

CHANGE OF NAME

I, Salim holder of Indian Passport No: J4441787 hereby change my name to Muslim Tankiwala S/O Rajbali Tankiwala. (C 4237) 4-12-2012 I, Robino Joao Novals,

holder of Indian Passport No: H0590686 issued in Kuwait, change my name to Robino Joao Novais.

(C 4235) 1-12-2012 I, Wahid Hussain, s/o Abdul Hakim Ansari, Vill & PO. Nawada, P/S Barauli, Dist. Gopal Ganj, Bihar,

India, is declaring that my name, Vahid Husen Abdul Hakim Ansari (Surname to Given name order), written in my Passport (No. K7916220) is wrong. The correct name is Wahid Hussain. (C 4233)

SITUATION VACANT Required a decent babysitter for a small Pilipino family in Hawally. Contact: 60387734.

3-12-2012

Prayer timings Fajr:

05:03

Shorook

06:27

Duhr:

11:38

ACCOMMODATION

Asr:

14:30

Maghrib:

16:50

Isha:

18:11

For bachelor or couple Filipino only near Gulfmart Farwaniya, block 1.

Available on December 25, 2012. Contact: 94418396.

29-11-2012

MATRIMONIAL Proposals invited for a beautiful girl, aged 28 years, height 164 cms, belonging to Malankara Catholic denomination, working with MOH Kuwait as B.Sc nurse and shortly moving to Kerala on annual vacation. Email: bijily92@gmail.com

THE PUBLICAUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

GOVERNMENT WEB SITES Kuwait Parliament www.majlesalommah.net

The Public Institution for Social Security www.pifss.gov.kw

Ministry of Interior www.moi.gov.kw

Public Authority of Industry www.pai.gov.kw

Public Authority for Civil Information www.paci.gov.kw

Prisoners of War Committee www.pows.org.kw

Kuwait News Agency www.kuna.net.kw

Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mofa.gov.kw

Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affair www.islam.gov.kw

Kuwait Municipality www.municipality.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Oil) www.moo.gov.kw

Kuwait Electronic Government www.e.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Electricity and Water) www.energy.govt.kw

Ministry of Finance www.mof.gov.kw

Public Authority for Housing Welfare www.housing.gov.kw

Ministry of Commerce and Industry www.moci.gov.kw

Ministry of Justice www.moj.gov.kw

Ministry of Education www.moe.edu.kw

Ministry of Communications www.moc.kw

Ministry of Information www.moinfo.gov.kw

Supreme Council for Planning and Development www.scpd.gov.kw

Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation www.awqaf.org

No: 15647

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines KLM JAI THY DHX JZR QTR ETH GFA PIA UAE ETD OMA QTR FDB MSR RJA DHX THY JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE GFA ABY QTR FDB ETD IRA GFA JZR MEA MSR UAE GFA KAC FDB KNE KAC SVA KAC QTR JZR

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 4/12/2012 Flt Route 411 AMSTERDAM 574 MUMBAI 772 ISTANBUL 372 BAHRAIN 539 CAIRO 148 DOHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 239 SIALKOT 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 643 MUSCAT 138 DOHA 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 642 AMMAN 170 BAHRAIN 770 ISTANBUL 503 LUXOR 416 JAKARTA 157 LONDON 412 MANILA 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 332 TRIVANDRUM 855 DUBAI 223 BAHRAIN 121 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 605 ISFAHAN 213 BAHRAIN 165 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 610 CAIRO 871 DUBAI 219 BAHRAIN 514 TEHRAN 57 DUBAI 472 JEDDAH 362 COLOMBO 500 JEDDAH 546 ALEXANDRIA 140 DOHA 561 SOHAG

Time 0:30 0:30 0:35 0:40 0:50 1:00 1:45 1:50 1:55 2:35 2:45 2:50 3:00 3:05 3:10 3:15 5:15 5:30 5:55 6:25 6:40 6:45 7:40 7:45 7:55 8:05 8:15 8:40 8:45 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:45 9:55 11:20 11:55 12:45 12:50 13:35 13:45 13:50 14:10 14:20 14:30 14:30 14:45 14:50

KAC KAC QTR UAE ETD RJA GFA SVA QTR ABY UAL SYR KAC JZR RBG KAC BAB FDB MSC JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC OMA FDB JAI AXB MSR KAC IRA ABY QTR ALK MEA QTR GFA ETD UAE FDB KLM AIC JZR PIA JZR UAL BBC DLH

562 284 134 857 303 640 215 510 144 127 982 341 542 177 3553 786 438 63 2405 787 166 618 742 104 674 774 647 61 572 393 618 678 619 129 146 229 402 136 221 307 859 59 415 981 239 205 185 981 43 636

AMMAN DHAKA DOHA DUBAI ABU DHABI AMMAN BAHRAIN RIYADH DOHA SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES DAMASCUS CAIRO DUBAI ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI SOHAG RIYADH PARIS DOHA DAMMAM LONDON DUBAI RIYADH MUSCAT DUBAI MUMBAI KOZHIKODE ALEXANDRIA ABU DHABI LAR SHARJAH DOHA COLOMBO BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI DUBAI AMSTERDAM CHENNAI AMMAN LAHORE DUBAI BAHRAIN DHAKA FRANKFURT

14:55 15:10 15:30 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:50 17:55 17:55 18:00 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:45 18:55 19:05 19:10 19:20 19:30 19:35 19:35 19:50 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:30 20:35 20:35 20:45 20:55 21:20 21:25 21:30 21:35 21:40 22:00 22:05 22:30 22:45 23:00 23:05 23:25 23:45 23:55

Airlines AIC AXB BBC UAL DLH JAI DHX KLM KAC ETH THY PIA FDB UAE OMA ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR GFA RJA THY KAC JZR FDB BAW KAC KAC GFA KAC ABY UAE FDB ETD QTR GFA IRA KAC KAC MEA KAC MSR JZR UAE GFA FDB KAC

Departure Flights on Tuesday 4/12/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA 390 MANGALORE 44 DHAKA 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 573 MUMBAI 373 BAHRAIN 411 AMSTERDAM 283 DHAKA 621 ADDIS ABABA 773 ISTANBUL 240 SIALKOT 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 644 MUSCAT 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 643 AMMAN 771 ISTANBUL 545 ALEXANDRIA 560 SOHAG 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 101 LONDON 513 TEHRAN 224 BAHRAIN 561 AMMAN 122 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 133 DOHA 214 BAHRAIN 604 ISFAHAN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 611 CAIRO 176 DUBAI 872 DUBAI 220 BAHRAIN 58 DUBAI 673 DUBAI

Time 0:05 0:15 1:00 1:10 1:20 1:30 1:40 1:45 2:25 2:45 2:55 3:10 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:00 4:10 4:50 6:05 6:55 7:00 7:05 7:35 7:45 8:15 8:25 8:45 9:20 9:25 9:30 9:30 9:45 9:55 10:00 10:05 10:30 10:40 10:45 11:30 11:50 12:55 13:00 13:45 13:50 14:15 14:20 14:30 15:05

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

KNE SVA KAC JZR KAC QTR KAC KAC JZR ETD JZR QTR UAE RJA GFA JZR SVA ABY JZR QTR SYR RBG UAL FDB BAB MSC FDB OMA JAI KAC AXB ABY KAC MSR IRA DHX ALK MEA ETD QTR GFA KAC FDB JZR UAE KAC KLM QTR JZR KAC

473 501 617 786 677 141 773 741 238 304 538 135 858 641 216 184 511 128 266 145 342 3554 982 64 439 2404 62 648 571 351 394 120 343 607 618 171 230 403 308 137 222 301 60 554 860 205 415 147 528 411

JEDDAH JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH ABU DHABI DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM AMMAN ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH SHARJAH BEIRUT DOHA DAMASCUS ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN ASSIUT DUBAI MUSCAT MUMBAI KOCHI KOZHIKODE SHARJAH CHENNAI LUXOR LAR BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI ALEXANDRIA DUBAI ISLAMABAD DAMMAM DOHA ASSIUT BANGKOK

15:10 15:45 15:45 15:50 16:00 16:15 16:25 16:30 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:50 17:55 18:15 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:45 18:50 19:00 19:00 19:10 19:25 19:30 19:55 20:40 20:55 21:10 21:10 21:15 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:30 21:50 21:55 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:50 23:55

34

stars CROSSWORD 28

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) Taking things easy is a good choice for today but may not last long. The usual workflow is simple but there could be additional and unexpected work this afternoon. There is a willingness to be helpful to others, but some of this day, you will reserve for yourself. Music is likely to play a more important role for you today— perhaps you have bought some new holiday music to add to your own inventory. A young person may request that you volunteer or give money to a particular charity—get a receipt. You may find you are creative in finding ways to get this young person to earn a few dollars that this same person can contribute to this charity—do not push. You are a good teacher! The old adage of early to bed is not a bad idea for this evening.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) The beginning of the end of any year always seems to put a little more energy in our steps and a longer than usual to-do list for each remaining day. There are plenty of opportunities to excel in your professional activities. Today may be one of your best days. When you deal with the public you seem to be able to excel above your own expectations. You may even decide that this is the day to move forward with a new plan regarding an advertisement or production on the Internet—gaining a broader clientele.

Good surprises this afternoon and evening may bring news about friends that you have not heard from in some time. All of you may have had some travel experience and tonight would be a good time to share pictures and stories.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. A quantity of no importance.

5. Tree of the genus Catalpa with large leaves and white flowers followed by long slender pods.

12. The compass point that is one point west of due south.

15. Expel, as of gases and odors.

16. A studio especially for an artist or designer.

17. A plant hormone promoting elongation of stems and roots.

18. French writer and existentialist philosopher (1905-1980).

19. Wood of a sumac.

20. A magnetic tape recorder for recording (and playing back) TV programs.

21. Of or relating to or characteristic of Thailand of its people.

22. Type genus of the Salmonidae.

24. With rapid movements.

26. A waste pipe that carries away sewage or surface water.

29. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

31. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

33. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

37. A Chinese god worshipped in the form of an idol.

41. A region of Malaysia in northeastern Borneo.

43. (used of count nouns) Every one considered individually.

44. (Old Testament) The wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac.

45. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

47. A large bundle bound for storage or transport.

48. Violently urging on by whipping or flogging.

53. Expressive of contempt.

55. A strong emotion.

56. A lipoprotein that transports cholesterol in the blood.

57. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material.

58. A small cake leavened with yeast.

60. A very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk.

65. (Islam) The man who leads prayers in a mosque.

69. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

73. The 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet.

74. The act of dividing by cutting or splitting.

76. An alliance made up of states that had been Soviet Socialist Republics in the Soviet Union prior to its dissolution in Dec 1991.

77. Headdress that protects the head from bad weather.

78. (of racket strokes) Made across the body with back of hand facing direction of stroke.

79. Hormone secreted by the posterior pituitary gland (trade name Pitressin) and also by nerve endings in the hypothalamus.

DOWN 1. A structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young.

2. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else.

3. English theoretical physicist who applied

relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

4. King of the Huns.

5. Conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC).

6. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series).

7. A unit of magnetic flux density equal to one weber per square meter.

8. A white crystalline double sulfate of aluminum.

9. Large luxurious car.

10. Seed of a pea plant.

11. Requiring secret or mysterious knowledge.

12. The ninth month of the civil year.

13. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

14. Commodities offered for sale.

23. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

25. A member of the majority people of Punjab in northwestern India.

27. Profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger.

28. Inquire about.

30. A port city in southwestern Iran.

32. A ruler of the Inca Empire (or a member of his family).

34. Lower in esteem.

35. Do something that one considers to be below one's dignity.

36. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium.

38. Any of various herbaceous plants of the genus Atriplex that thrive in deserts and salt marshes.

39. Food mixtures either arranged on a plate or tossed and served with a moist dressing.

40. Having a shell or or containing shell.

42. Be compatible or in accordance with.

46. A town in north central Oklahoma.

49. A self-funded retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement.

50. A republic in West Africa.

51. Toward the mouth or oral region.

52. God of the earth.

54. A city of northern Poland near the mouth of the Vistula River on a gulf of the Baltic Sea. 59. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring in the air.

61. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

62. Anything that serves as an enticement.

63. The Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan.

64. The 20th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

66. Any of various minerals consisting of hydrous silicates of aluminum or potassium etc. that crystallize in forms that allow perfect cleavage into very thin leaves.

67. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

68. A mixture of mashed malt grains and hot water.

70. A state-chartered savings bank owned by its depositors and managed by a board of trustees.

71. South American wood sorrel cultivated for its edible tubers.

72. Either extremity of something that has length.

75. In operation or operational.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

You might like to ignore responsibilities and do some socializing, but realities demand that you tend to business this morning. The pace of business is good and it looks as though the prognosis for future business is good. You have a prospect list and today you will connect and accomplish what you set out to accomplish. Someone you thought was a person that you did not want to have in your life will do something uniquely positive. This makes you stop and think about how you see people you have not gotten to know very well. Traveling is an option this coming weekend, albeit just for two days and one night, but the idea is something that you may want to enjoy. This would not be a long-distance trip but one that would afford you some nice relaxation.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) This is a good day to achieve or complete whatever needs to be accomplished.

Good eye-hand coordination and a sustained effort make almost any task run well. You are expressive and creative in the subjects surrounding high tech or any activity that also involves lecturing, teaching, helping the elderly, nursing and just generally letting yourself be known. Saying and writing things that have pizzazz counts for a lot now. You may feel like exercising or getting out and about this afternoon. You may be able to enjoy some exercise activity with a friend. You are most happy in a relationship that allows freedom of expression from both sides. A visitor in your home this evening may compliment you on your tastes or belongings.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You are entering a phase of professional directness—one marked by forceful and powerful feelings. Emotions in particular, or the feelings of those around you, may be very important. Others understand exactly what you mean and you can make decisions on the input that you get from others. The noon break brings opportunities to enjoy co-workers in a different type of setting. There may be talk of past traditions and life styles—an understanding about the way the past and present shapes our present and future. Your energy and light-hearted attitude will encourage others today. You may find yourself in some volunteer service this evening. Do not overextend your energies—your loved ones enjoy your company as well.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Set your mind to taking the world as it unfolds today, in easy, little steps. Not as an unimportant day, but as a viewer, watching a movie. Perhaps you could view your own behavior as the different scenarios unfold. This is a fascinating way to see yourself as the world sees you. You will pick up some important hints on ways you can help yourself. The less you push yourself, the better your performance. You will encourage others through your new attitude. You may even learn to change the world around you for the better, one positive action at a time. A friend is a joy to be with after work today. You may find a way to give or volunteer your efforts tonight. After volunteering you and your friends might gather at a fun restaurant to visit.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) Double-check addresses, signatures, mathematical equations, etc. Today is an easy day to forget the routine matters. You could trade with a friendly co-worker and check each other’s work. Look for new ways to be expressive. While you can be sensitive, you can also be most persuasive. You can laugh at yourself over any tense feelings and see this seesaw of emotions as an indication that growth is taking place. You may find someone close to you understands. You could come up with new solutions or inventions. Being more in touch with other people gives you a sense of belonging. Some helpful guidance with young people this afternoon is very helpful. Enjoy some quiet times with a loved one this evening— share your ideas.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Looking forward to the end of the year may create opportunities to be original in the way that you decide to save or invest. Perhaps you are looking to register a deduction and the time may be right to donate your car to a charity. There are all sorts of choices along this line of charity and you will still get a good deduction for something that would have cost a pretty penny to update. Another solution to slow a financial leak or to save a bit of money is to secure parts of your income into financial packages that cannot be easily used up. A new home or a refurbished area may be where most people will find you this winter. Perhaps this is a garage, art or workroom. You are very artistic and creative and will find many ways to create gifts to give or to sell.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You may find it very tempting to stay in bed a little longer this morning. You manage to recover from those reveries and find that you could share a ride with someone this morning, bringing to light a few new jokes and some invigorating conversations. You are able to insert a bit of levity and common sense into every situation.

Because of this, once you get started, you create a perfect day for you as well as all that are around you. Perhaps you need a vacation and this will happen soon. Go ahead and start planning on where you might like to visit during this wonderfully invigorating trip—perhaps the mountains or the seashore. Eliminate a few holiday errands this evening and catch up on your rest. You may find yourself enjoying a special hobby.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Fairness with and responsibility to other people in your life are emphasized today.

You may be called upon to organize some low-cost improvements in the workplace. Whether this is your place of business or someone else’s place of business, you dive into this as though you had nothing else to do today. Don’t forget, you also have your own calls to make and schedules to keep. You are making headway with your debts—particularly if there is extra income coming in just now. Continue your careful attention to these matters. There is a sense of support and harmony that makes this a positive time. Young people may present some challenges today but you are able to give them the attention that is needed.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) It will help if you trust in yourself and bide your time for a while; you will find answers to some long-time puzzles that have remained unsolved for a long while. Easy does it; you may find yourself becoming so involved that you pull in some overtime before you realize it. This is obviously a high-energy day—much can be accomplished. Make your holiday list and get out among crowds of people this evening. You might gain some good ideas for those hard-to-please people on your list. Try writing ideas on your list—do not buy just yet. Tonight you may spend some time sending out greeting cards or at least addressing them. People take advantage of your good nature but your choice to loan money last month was a good one; it will be returned.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Marriage and other close relationships give rise to great expectations. This is a time to enjoy and appreciate your ties to others and to seek and promote harmony in the interaction between people. In-depth discussions and probing conversations find you at your mental best, particularly during a conference call today. If this call is one to drum up business . . . you do well. There could be some professional advancement made on a day such as today. Charm and sharp vision are your keys to advancement. Young people, friends and neighbors could be visiting you this evening—you find the interactions between everyone quite a lot of fun. Some long-time tensions between some people have disappeared and you are feeling good. Dress warmly and comfortably.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TAT TE OF KUW K WA AIT

Te el.: 161

DIRECTORA ATE T GENERAL GENE OF CIVIL AV VIA ATION T METEOROLOGICAL DEP PARTMENT A DA AY Y: Monday

03/12/2012

BY Y DA AY:

Sunny with light to moderate north westerly to light variable wind, with speed of 08 - 26 km/h and some high clouds will appear

BY Y NIGHT:

Cold with light variable wind, with speed of 06 - 20 km/h and some scattered clouds will appear

No Current Waarnings arnin

WA ARNING

14 °C

22451082

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

20 °C

08 °C

Mirqab

22456536

NUW WA AISEEB

22 °C

10 °C

Sharq

22465401

WA AFRA

22 °C

08 °C

Salmiya

25746401

SALMI

18 °C

06 °C

ABDAL LY

19 °C

08 °C

Jabriya

25316254

JAL ALIY YA AH

19 °C

08 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FAILAKA A

19 °C

10 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

19 °C

13 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

19 °C

17 °C

W Hawally

22630786

WA ARBA A - BUBY YAN A

19 °C

07 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

ST TATION T

SFC. CHART

03/12/2012 0000 UTC

4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA AY

DA ATE T

WEA ATHER T

Tuesday

04/12

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

Weednesday

South Jahra

24775066

Thursday

North Jahra

24775992

Friday

North Jleeb

24311795

Fintas

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

partly cloudy

21 °C

10 °C

VRB-SE

08 - 26 km/h

05/12

partly cloudy + scattered rain

22 °C

14 °C

SE

15 - 40 km/h

06/12

partly cloudy

21 °C

12 °C

NW-N

15 - 40 km/h

07/12

sunny

21 °C

11 °C

NW-SE

08 - 26 km/h

PRA RA AYER Y TIMES

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT

Fajr

05:02

MAX. Temp.

19 °C

Sunrise

06:26

MIN. Temp.

07 °C 83 %

24884079 24892674

Zuhr

11:38

MAX. RH

24719048

Asr

14:30

MIN. RH

Sunset

16:49

MAX. Wind

Isha

18:11

TOT TAL AL RAIINF FALL A L IN 24 HR.

24710044

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

23900322

31 % NW 36 km/h 00 mm

03/12/12 02:58 UTC

V1.00

T1.06

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Dr. Salem soso General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Al-Jahra

25610011

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Expected Weeather for the Next 24 Hours

21 °C

N Khaitan

22545171

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

07:00

Issue Time

KUW WA AIT CITY

Omariya

Al-Shuhada

WWW.MET.GOV V..KW

MIN. REC.

Firdous

Ext.: 2627 262 - 2630

22418714

Fax: 24348714

MAX. EXP P.

Ardhiya

PHONE

Al-Madeena

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Olivier Martinez drops Aubry charges livier Martinez is “no longer interested” in pursuing criminal charges against Gabriel Aubry. The two men were involved in a brawl last month when the model returned his four-yearold daughter Nahla to the home she shares with his ex-partner Halle Berry and French actor Olivier but one of the conditions reached by the former couple in a settlement last week was that Olivier wouldn’t take the matter any further, A source said: “Olivier informed the LAPD and the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office that he was no longer interested in pursuing criminal charges against Aubry. “The LAPD had turned the case over to the Attorney’s Office to determine if any charges should be filed. However, since the complaining witness has subsequently indicated he doesn’t want to proceed, it is likely the case is dead on arrival. “Aubry and Berry worked out a confidential settlement last week that included specific language about how none of the parties - Halle, Gabe or Olivier - would pursue criminal charges against the another. All sides managed to agree to satisfactory terms with the focus being on ending the mayhem for the sake of Halle and Gabriel’s daughter Nahla.” In addition, Gabriel who despite being identified as the one who started the fight in police reports suffered extensive injuries - has agreed to drop his bid for a permanent restraining order against Olivier. The source continued:”Gabriel suffered horrific injuries from the fight, but as part of the settlement he reached with Halle on Thursday he agreed to drop the bid for the permanent restraining order against Martinez. “Gabriel feels there are enough layers of protection in the settlement agreement that will protect him and Nahla.”

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Marceau hopes to push French cinema in China conic film actress Sophie Marceau said yesterday France needs to start pushing its films in China where there is a huge but restricted market for movies that is largely dominated by Hollywood. Marceau is in Beijing to promote her latest film “Happiness Never Comes Alone,” a romantic comedy that is one of 34 foreign films approved to be shown in China in 2012. “There is a market to exploit here, but it must be done quickly,” Marceau, who is hugely popular in China, told AFP. “The American film industry is more accessible, much stronger and much more spectacular. We are not into spectacular; our films are ‘human’.” Chinese audiences like films with a human element, she said, but such films need more promotion especially if they expect to compete with Hollywood blockbusters. “It is important

I

to fight because we are going up against dinosaurs that know very well how to promote film,” the 46-year-old said of Hollywood’s marketing prowess. “We are a bit weak in this area. France is never preoccupied with exporting its culture because we are a bit pretentious; we think people will come to us.” For millions of Chinese, Marceau is the incarnation of the elegance and romanticism of France, a nation famed for fashion, luxury and the art of living.

“Despite a very restricted quota ... with only about three or four French films allowed by China annually, I have been able to get barely one (film) in a year,” she said with a satisfied grin. “The Chinese like my face.”

Pete Doherty has amnesia attacks ete Doherty recently woke up with no memory of who he was. The troubled rocker - who is addicted to heroin had such a “horrible” feeling when he had no grasp on his identity and fears bouts of amnesia are only going to get worse. He said: “The other day I hadn’t slept for a week and I was coming home [to Paris] on the Eurostar. I fell asleep for an hour, woke up and didn’t know who I was. “I was completely devastated and burst into tears ... I knew I shouldn’t be crying.

The train manager said, ‘What’s the matter?’ I told him straight, ‘Look, I don’t know who I am, I don’t know where I am.’ He said, ‘You’re Peter.’ And I was going, ‘No, no I’m not.’ Then bang, everything flooded back. I got my bag and ran off. It was a really horrible feeling and I can imagine it in a few years just lasting longer and longer.” Pete, 33, also admitted he gets a bigger “rush” from sleeping well than taking drugs and is often shocked when he realizes how different he feels when he is refreshed from slumber and not high. The Libertines musician - who was previously in a relationship with Kate Moss - realizes he needs to sleep more as it is better for his health and voice.

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper: “It’s not actually that exciting to be ruined all the time. The rush you get from having a good night’s sleep is so exotic, to feel powerful and clean, capable and potent, as opposed to washed up, impotent and mute. “It’s like if you sing and you’ve been up for four nights, your voice is puny and has no power. The difference when you’ve rested and had a banana in the morning, it’s outrageous! “You can scare yourself sometimes with what a bit of healthy living can do.”

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Lohan’s bank accounts seized by IRS

indsay Lohan’s bank accounts have been seized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The troubled actress’ accounts have been seized so the US government can recover some of the huge outstanding tax debt she owes. The government previously filed liens against Lindsay for 2009 and 2010, claiming she owes $233,904 in unpaid federal taxes. The 26-year-old Hollywood star has already been helped out by her friend Charlie Sheen, who gave her $100,000 to help her get back on track with her finances, but sources tell website TMZ she’s still falling dramatically short, as she also owes money for 2011.

Lindsay has spent most of this year trying to get her career back on track, and after filming roles in TV movie ‘Liz and Dick’ and ‘The Canyons’ as well as stripping off naked for a Playboy photo shoot, she is set to earn more than $2 million by the end of this year. Money is not the only worry the star has. After a lengthy bout of legal troubles and spells in jail and rehab came to an end earlier this year, last week she was involved in an altercation at a New York nightclub, leading to charges of third degree misdemeanour assault, which she denies. She had also been charged with lying to police about being behind the wheel of a car accident in June, and could have her probation revoked. Lindsay is also reportedly refusing to enter rehab, telling friends who are trying to get her to seek help she doesn’t need to go to a treatment facility for the sixth time.

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Lagerfeld collaborates with Melissa footwear

arl Lagerfeld is teaming up with shoe company Melissa.

Chanel’s creative director has signed up to design four seasons’ worth of enviable footwear for the brand, which is best known for its fashionable jelly shoes. Paulo Pedo, CEO of Melissa Shoes, told WWD that it was “one of the most exciting collaborations the company has ever seen.” The shoes will be unveiled to the public in March and available to buy from next autumn. Karl’s first capsule collection will be tailored to autumn/winter 2013 trends. Melissa footwear is no stranger to collaborations, having previously teamed up with iconic designers Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier and Gareth Pugh, as well as Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio.

The shoes are made of 100 per cent recyclable plastic and have been spotted on the likes of Anne Hathaway, Kate Moss and Katy Perry. Eccentric designer Karl is also thought to be collaborating with rapper Kanye West - who owns ready-towear line, Dw Kanye West - after the pair were overheard at a New York business lunch plotting ideas for a new clothing line.

The 79-year-old fashion maestro is showing no signs of slowing down and recently said: “Why should I stop working? If I do, I’ll die and it’ll all be finished... I would be stupid to stop that. Work is making a living out of being bored.”

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Klum’s elaborate Cleopatra

costume at Haunted Holiday party eidi Klum dressed as Cleopatra for her Haunted Holiday party on Saturday. The supermodel look astonishing as she stepped out at the bash at night spot Finale in New York City as the Egyptian Pharaoh in a floor-length golden gown complete with a spectacular gold headdress and hundreds of shimmering Swarovski crystals on her face. Heidi is famous for wearing incredible costumes at her annual Halloween parties but she postponed this year’s celebration because she didn’t think it would be appropriate to celebrate the spooky holiday in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy which ravaged New York on October 29. She said: “Sandy hit and I was like, ‘I can’t do a Halloween party. We can’t have fun when so many people’s lives have been destroyed.’ “Heidi’s Haunted Holiday party was sponsored by Svedka Vodka and Smartwater and was held to raise money The American Red Cross Hurricane Sandy relief effort. Other guests included Katie Couric, who wore a box of eggs on her head, and Mickey Rourke who sneaked into the nightclub dressed as himself. Heidi - who at previous parties has dressed as an ape and a robot - loved her Cleopatra costume but admitted it took hours to adorn her face with the crystals because each one was individually glued on. She said: “Putting the outfit on takes five minutes, but doing all these hundreds of stones on my face took a little longer. The face took a long time because they’re all individually put on.” On Sunday the 39-year-old beauty - who split from her husband Seal in January - teamed up with AOL to deliver aid to areas of Long Island wrecked by the super-storm on Sunday.

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Hilton donated toys to Mumbai orphanage

aris Hilton has donated toys to a children’s orphanage in Mumbai, India. The 31-year-old socialite has been walking the catwalk for India Resort Fashion Week 2012 but during a break from the shows she showed her charitable side by taking a sack of fun gifts to deprived kids at a children’s home. Writing on her twitter account, she revealed: “In Mumbai, just went to the toy store and bought lots of toys. On our way to the children’s orphanage to go drop off the presents. (sic)” After completing her visit, the blonde beauty was delighted her good deed left the children smiling. She added in another tweet: “Just left the children’s orphanage. They all loved the presents I brought. What an amazing feeling to see them all smiling and so happy. (sic)” Paris was joined by her 21-year-old model boyfriend River Viiperi - who also took the time to share what an amazing time he is having in India and

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praised his girlfriend for having a “heart of gold”. He posted on his twitter account: “In Mumbai with my baby @ParisHilton she has a heart of gold! Got loads of toys for some needed orphan children #Respect #Love #PreXmas. (sic)” Before arriving in Mumbai, Paris was in Goa on Friday for the third day of the fashion event, modelling a glittering gown by designer duo Falguni and Shane Peacock.

After the show the two designers threw her a party, to which she and River entered riding an elephant. Paris tweeted: “Wow! What an amazing night! @RiverViiperi and I made a grand entrance to our party tonight riding in on a huge elephant. Only in Goa! “What a fun night! Thank you @FalguniPeacock & @ShanePeacock for throwing the party tonight for @RiverViiperi and I. #GoodTimes #YES! (sic)”

Cruise hires luxury helicopter while in London om Cruise has hired a helicopter to fly him around London. The ‘Mission: Impossible’ actor has splashed out on a luxurious chopper designed by Hermes for his stay in the UK while he films his upcoming movie ‘All You Need Is Kill’ - in which he plays a soldier fighting a war against aliens. The Sun newspaper describes the limited edition helicopter as a “living room in the sky” and it boasts cream leather interior and noise-minimizing walls to guarantee a quiet flight. Tom, 50, recently brought London’s Trafalgar Square to a standstill as he filmed helicopter and tank scenes in the busy tourist destination. Despite complaints, a spokesman for the City of Westminster insisted the disruption was worth it because the movie “raises the profile of the city and is good for tourism”. Tom split from his wife Katie Holmes after five years of marriage earlier this year and the couple’s six-year-old daughter Suri flew to the UK from New York City to spend some quality time with her father last month. —Agencies

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37

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012

LIFESTYLE F e a t u r e s

The rugged peaks of the Court of the Patriarchs are among the best-known features of Zion National Park in southwest Utah, which gets three million visitors a year.

Heading to the

By Jack Broom ick your pleasure: Scrambling up a steep ridge, 1,000 feet above a canyon floor? Or gliding in a golf cart down a manicured fairway, where a carpet of emerald green offers a striking contrast to the red-rock desert? At first blush, the two outings might seem to have little in common. But having done them on successive days in Southwest Utah this fall, I can identify two key similarities: Both call for sunscreen and each goes a lot better if you avoid going off a cliff. Visiting the dramatic spires and vistas of Zion National Park has been on my to-do list for decades. And recently a friend mentioned that St. George, Utah, the closest sizable city, has become a bit of a golf hub. That revelation, and a little online research, turned the matter from a notion into a plan: hiking boots and golf clubs were tossed into the Camry trunk for the two-day, 1,200-mile drive from Seattle. Here’s a closer look at Zion hiking and a St George round of golf:

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Angels Landing Somewhere along the steepest section of this 5.4-mile hike in Zion National Park, my right foot slipped a bit, dislodging a couple of dime-sized rock chips.

They bounced once or twice and disappeared. I didn’t see them land. I knew they could be falling 1,000 feet or more.

This is what the news clippings had talked about. It’s why the park’s published guide says the Angels Landing hike is “not for young children or anyone fearful of heights.”

And it’s why a heavy chain is anchored to steel posts to assist hikers along the uppermost half-mile of this hike, which includes crossing a narrow rock “fin” with sheer drops on either side.

The Salt Lake Tribune has reported six fatalities in the last eight years along this route. (And in late October, a 49-year-old

Cavernous red-sand bunkers swallow errant shots at Sand Hollow Resort, one of a dozen courses that have made St George, Utah, a prime golf destination.

sunshine of Utah

California man fell to his death on a technical climbing route below Angels Landing, a route that is not part of the trail.) When my foot slipped, I grasped the chain more tightly. And it took a few moments before I was ready for the next step.

Angels Landing, a hike that gains 1,488 feet, is in the “strenuous” category on the park’s guide, which also lists easy and moderate hikes.

Ruesch, the park’s first custodian.

The “wiggles” lead to Scout Lookout, with views up and down the canyon. This is where my wife, Judy, saying she felt no need to prove her “manhood,” waited while I tackled the final section.

From Scout Lookout, it took about a half-hour, including stops for photos, to reach the top. The payoff was a gently rounded summit, roughly the size of a 7Eleven lot, with a magnificent 360-

Twenty-one paved switchbacks lead hikers up a middle section of Angels Landing trail in Utah’s Zion National Park.

Zion, Utah’s most-visited national park, is known for its narrow canyons and layered sandstone cliffs in shades of red, tan and cream. Though the park is huge, at 229 square miles, visitor activity is centered along a 15-mile stretch of the Virgin River, which carved these rock faces over the eons.

One of the appeals of Angels Landing is that it provides breathtaking views almost from the start of the hike. The first two miles, wide and paved, end in “Walter’s Wiggles,” a set of 21 switchbacks built in the 1920s and named for Walter

degree view. This may indeed attract angels in the next world. For now, it’s drawing visitors from all over this one. I overheard conversations in at least four languages.

Perhaps because I had read about the danger well before the trip, I found the hike a little less scary than I had expected-but a little more strenuous, for a guy over 60. In one spot, I had to use the chain not just to hang onto, but to pull myself up, unclear where my foot should land.

The park’s guide says the Angels

Landing Trail is best from March through October, but it can be hiked year-round as long as it’s free of ice and snow (and avoid it if there are high winds or thunderstorms).

On to the golf course For Northwest golfers, a round of golf in southern Utah may be a bit jarring.

We’re used to seeing tall evergreen trees (or rows of houses) flanking our fairways.

140,000, which sits at 2,800 feet.

With hot summers and mild winters, courses here present contrasts in bold colors: green grass, red-rock desert, black lava rock and blue sky. At Sand Hollow’s 15th hole, a par-3 of 150 yards, I was determined to avoid the chasm on the left. I succeeded-but only by slicing far to the right, up a rocky slope.

After a brief search, I saw I’d suffered a common fate. Thought I didn’t find my

A wary lizard is at home amid Zion National Park’s arid Utah terrain. —MCT photos But guess what runs alongside several holes at Sand Hollow Golf Resort near St George: Nothing.

Just left of the fairway, the earth disappears. It’s a 100-foot drop down to the valley floor, and if you just smacked your $4 Titleist Pro V1 that direction, the two of you are not going to be reunited in this lifetime. Sand Hollow, listed by Golf Digest as one of the nation’s 10 best new courses in 2009, has strengthened St George’s credentials as a year-round golf destination. Golfers can choose from a dozen courses in and around this city of

ball, I did find four others. A doublebogey was a small price to pay for the adventure. Speaking of price, I paid $55, including cart, to play Sand Hollow on a weekday in September, the last month of what the course calls its “offseason.” From Oct 1 to mid-May, a round here is $100 Sunday-Thursday and $125 on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays.

With virtually no trees or water, the course defends itself with brick-red bunkers, undulating greens and patches of desert. Golfers decide how much of a challenge they want, with four sets of

Winter Season gets warmer with

Giordano’s Rider Jackets iordano, one of the world’s leading international apparel retailers, rolled-out its New Winter Collection with leather Rider Jackets and 100% cotton sweaters, for both men and women, as signature pieces. The collection brings a neat, classic and understated elegance

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to the cold months. Giordano’s winter offering is available in all its stores across the region as of December 4.

The jackets are perfect material for the region’s breezy weather during the winter months, lined inside to keep the body warm. Its classic cut provides for slim, clean lines complimenting any body types. Paired with heavy indigo denims, the look is further defined.

“The new Winter Collection is the perfect choice for our customers who are looking for an everyday casual and stylish look this season,” said Ishwar Chugani Managing Director - Giordano Middle East FZE. Giordano’s rider jackets come in three distinct colours - classic Black, Camel Brown and Silver Grey. The winter 2012 outerwear range for both men and women, also includes jackets with Multipockets, Hooded and 2-in-1 Jackets in leather, cotton, nylon and fleece.

Pieces of the outerwear collection are perfect to wear with Giordano’s Long Sleeve cotton Lycra and Mock Neck stretch tees.

To complement the style, a full range of 100% cotton sweaters are available in variety of colours and cuts. From Twisted Heather Red, Ash, Indigo, Granite, Spring White, Burgundy, Duffle Bag, Sangria, and Sapphire, there are many options to easily create a look this winter. The sweater range also comes with variety of neck details including V-neck, round necks, half and full-zip open for a more versatile statement.

The Giordano Winter Collection also features 100% cotton plaid shirts, a vari-

ety of cotton compact knit yarn dyed pique polo shirts in black, red and white stripes. Pairing the tops is easy with the available choice of denim in dark indigo wash and khakis in soft wash finish.

All pieces of the winter collection along with Giordano’s regular range of merchandise can also be purchased online at www.giordano-me.com and will be delivered at customer’s door (United Arab Emirates only) within 48 hours. A Cash on Delivery option is now available for this service.

tees ranging from 5,306 to 7,315 yards.

(From the 6,462-yard white tees, the course carries a rating of 69.6 and a slope of 126, meaning it’s a much tougherthan-average track.) Shots tend to travel farther than at home here, due to the firm, dry fairways and the elevation.

Sand Hollow offers lower rates on its nearby nine-hole “Links Course,” laid out with a minimum amount of landscaping on flat desert terrain. A sign in desert grass off the first fairway warns “rattlesnake habitat.”

I also played another nearby course, Sky Mountain, which also has dramatic views but, with some bare patches on the greens, wasn’t in the same condition as Sand Hollow. Other courses praised by golfers I met included Coral Canyon and The Ledges. Sand Hollow rents vacation villas that could be good bases for groups who want to play this course and others.

We stayed 15 minutes away, in downtown St George, at the Best Western Coral Hills. It’s rightly praised on Trip Advisor in part for its generous complimentary breakfasts. And I apologize to the staff for misunderstanding the directions on the waffle-batter dispenser in the breakfast room, triggering something of a flash flood. St George has an interesting selection of shops and restaurants and something we did not expect: a fantastic outdoor amphitheater where shows and concerts are presented.

It’s called Tuacahn, and is nestled against a red rock wall of Snow Canyon, just north of town. We saw a performance of Disney’s “Aladdin” and marveled at feats of staging that included making a mountain talk and having Aladdin and Princess Jasmine fly over the audience on a magic carpet. —MCT

‘Craziness everywhere’ at UK Turner Prize for art

ne of contemporary art’s most prestigious awards is announced later yesterday, and members of the Turner Prize jury must decide between the first performance artist to be nominated, two filmmakers and the creator of obsessively detailed drawings. The British award, which helped establish the careers of top artists like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, has pushed contemporary art into the public domain, although opinion over the quality of works on display has always been sharply divided. Hirst was presented with the prize in 1995 for a pickled cow and in 2001 an empty room with a light that switched on and off clinched the prize for Martin Creed. The closest thing to a shock this year could be victory for Spartacus Chetwynd, billed as the first pure performance artist to make it to the shortlist who has been chosen for a show she put on at the Sadie Coles HQ gallery in London. Artists living, working or born in Britain aged under 50 are eligible for the 25,000 pound ($40,000) prize, and they are selected for an outstanding exhibition of their work staged in the last 12 months.

Actor Jude Law will present the award at London’s Tate Britain gallery, which is hosting an exhibition of the four nominated artists, and the evening announcement will be broadcast live on Channel 4.

Chetwynd is best known for her folksy plays, and one of those being performed at the Tate invites visitors to prostrate themselves before a rag puppet “oracle” in the shape of a mandrake root held reverentially by men dressed in green. The second theatrical installation involves hooded puppeteers in childish clown-like costumes performing a play from a passage in the Bible where the Jews decide to have Barabbas released instead of Jesus. “Craziness is everywhere in this year’s Turner Prize,” said Guardian art critic Adrian Searle in his video tour of the Tate’s show, which runs until Jan 6, 2013.

Bookmakers’ favourite Paul Noble produces less hectic, more studied art in the form of meticulous pencil drawings of a fictional metropolis called Nobson Newtown, and he was shortlisted for an exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery in London. Luke Fowler made it to the final four for a solo exhibition at Inverleith House, Edinburgh, which showcased his new film exploring the life of Scottish psychiatrist, R.D. Laing. The 93-minute film, screened in a mini-theatre at the Tate, has divided the art establishment. “This is undeniably a beguiling documentary,” wrote Sunday Telegraph arts editor Alastair Smart. “But I wonder if, at 90 minutes long, an art gallery is the right setting for it.

This isn’t so much film art as an arty film, and its inclusion does neither Fowler nor the Turner any favors.” The fourth finalist is Elizabeth Price, whose video installation “The Woolworths Choir of 1979” brings together photographs of church architecture, internet clips of pop performances and news footage of a fire in Manchester in 1979 in which 10 people died. —Reuters

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This file picture taken on February 19, 2008 shows Indian forest workers watching a rescued tigress leaping into the Sundarikati river after being released from a cage, in Sunderbans, some 150 kms south of Kolkata.—AFP photos

This file photo taken on January 19, 2012 shows Indian customs officials displaying a seized Bengal tiger skin in Siliguri, seized by a team of customs officials from India-Nepal border, some 40 kms from Siliguri.

scar-winning director Ang Lee’s new epic “Life of Pi” showcases the relationship between a teenage Indian boy and a Bengal tiger. But in reality, the predators are under increasing threat from humans. Poaching remains a tremendous danger for the remaining feline population, with rising demand for tiger parts from East Asia, especially China where tiger bone is used in traditional medicines, experts say.

Rising man-animal conflict is also one of the leading causes of decline in tiger numbers. Animal rights group PETA is hoping to use the popularity of the film to focus people’s attention on the real-life plight of Bengal tigers.

“Life of Pi is a work of fiction, but in real life, there are threats to animals in their natural habitat that must be addressed,” said Manilal Valliyate, director of veterinary affairs at PETA-India. India is home to 1,706 tigers according to the latest census, almost half of the worldwide population.

But that figure is a fraction of the 40,000 that roamed the country in 1947 at the time of the country’s independence. In

from the zoo they ran. Pi is initially nervous, but tries to train the cat in the hope it will not kill him as long as he keeps its hunger at bay. The relationship that gradually develops between them over the 227 days they spend together on the lifeboat endears both the characters to the audience.

India has been struggling to halt the tiger’s decline in the face of poachers, international smuggling networks and the loss of habitat which encourages the animals to leave the forest in search of food.

So far this year, 58 tiger deaths have been reported in the country, according to Tigernet, the official database of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. “The tiger’s prey base has been rapidly depleting because we have been eyeing his resources. The predator has to make a lot of effort to get its food,” said Mayukh Chatterjee, a conservationist with Wildlife Trust of India. “In such a scenario, livestock and human beings become easy prey for the tiger and lead inevitably to conflict,” he told AFP.

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one of numerous reported attacks on the endangered big cats, villagers near the Bangladesh-India border bludgeoned a tiger to death earlier this month after it strayed from the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest.

Armed with sticks and boat oars, the angry crowd set upon the animal which was suspected to have attacked a local fisherman. Despite tiger numbers still falling and campaigns in India and Bangladesh to protect the animal, conflicts with humans often prove fatal for one of nature’s most fabled beasts. “The first instinct when a tiger is spotted is to just kill it,” laments Gurmeet Sapal, a wildlife filmmaker based in New Delhi. “The feeling of fear and retribution is so strong that it shuts out any other emotion. What we don’t realise is that the tiger never attacks humans until it is forced to,” Sapal told AFP. In Lee’s movie, the protagonist Pi is forced to share a lifeboat with the tiger after a shipwreck kills his family after they set out for Canada from India, accompanied by animals

on Bon Jovi has been with his band for more than 30 years, so he could be considered something of an expert when it comes to the durability of rock stars. Still, even Bon Jovi is mystified at how the senior set is dominating on the stage. “I can’t get over it,” said Bon Jovi, who will perform next week with Paul McCartney, The Who, Bruce Springsteen and a host of other superstars at the 12-12-12 concert at Madison Square Garden to benefit victims of Superstorm Sandy.

“I’m (expletive) dying already and I’m gonna go out there and play four songs. How do they do it?” he said, joking. “The Who and (Mick) Jagger and McCartney. ... I’m not going to be that journeyman. ... I’m not going to be that 75-year-old guy doing 150 shows a year.” But at 50, he’s not ready for early retirement either. Bon Jovi has a couple of songs in the upcoming Al Pacino film, “Stand Up Guys,” and the band just completed their 12th studio album, “What About Now,” set for release early next year. They also have a world tour kicking off in Connecticut on Feb 9.

Bon Jovi was in a jovial mood when he sat down with The Associated Press last week to discuss his group’s upcoming projects, but turned somber when he discussed some of the more painful events to hit him in 2012: The devastation caused in his home state of New Jersey by Superstorm Sandy and the recent troubles of his 19-year-old daughter, Stephanie Bongiovi, found unresponsive in her dorm room at an upstate New York college last month after an apparent heroin overdose. Still, he discussed it all with candor - and optimism.

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AP: What was the intent of releasing the single, album and tour in stages?

Bon Jovi: I know how to do it. It’s as simple as that. ... New songs are why artists go on the road. That’s why I go on the road. It’s a three-prong play. Writing: You’re intrigued.

Recording: It brings it to life. And then you want to share it.

AP: Tell me about being part of the Jersey rocker pedigree.

Bon Jovi: Depends what day of the week that it is. Those are my roots. That truth helped us not fall into the trap of our peer group in the mid-’80s. Being from New Jersey was actually a great asset, now that I’m a much older, wiser man. ... If you were to ask me about a mistake I have made, it’s calling my fourth album, ‘New Jersey,’ because for the first time in my life, we were compared to the E Street Band. I don’t think we’re anything like the E Street Band.

There’s a Jersey root there. I love the band. I grew up loving them. But I didn’t want to sit up there telling (imitating Springsteen), ‘Jonny when I was 16 ...’ Uh uh. There was a lot of guys jumping on that bandwagon. I didn’t do that.

Filmmaker Sapal says it is only normal for people to think of the tiger as a dangerous animal, but its image as a voracious killer is misplaced. “Tigers never kill for sport. They don’t store meat in the deep-fridge. They kill their prey only when they are hungry,” he said. “If we can make people understand the importance of the tiger in our food chain and ecosystem, we would have won half the battle.” The other half-against poachers greedy for tiger parts-can only be won with constant monitoring and patrolling, says Belinda Wright, director of the non-profit Wildlife Protection Society of India. “The tragedy is tigers are more valued dead than alive by wildlife criminals,” Wright told AFP. “There no longer should be any compromise on our conservation efforts if we want these magnificent creatures to survive.”— AFP

AP: Do you see similarities between you and Bruce Springsteen as philanthropists?

Bon Jovi: My philanthropy is no relation to anybody else’s.

None. My philanthropy and what we do at the foundation speaks for itself and has no relation to anyone’s. I don’t know what he does as a humanitarian. I have no clue. ... I’m talking about what I do at the Soul Kitchen (his community restaurant in New Jersey). It’s a whole other level. It’s millions of dollars in a foundation that does stuff.

AP: You seem to honestly care about people and not just the photo opp. You left London early to see the aftermath of Sandy. Why do you care so much?

Bon Jovi: That’s a deep question without a simple answer. I throw gasoline and light the match on that photo opp guy.

This was the argument in politics this year. Entitlements. I call them empowerments. If a guy doesn’t have to worry so much on how he’s going to have to get fed tonight, maybe he can concentrate on reading the book or going to get a job. Maybe his kids are going to be happier.

AP: With your daughter recently in the news, how do you go forward from there?

Bon Jovi: I didn’t have any sisters. We bring home this girl the first day. Now what? Where’s the manual? There was no manual. So you bring her up the best you can, you surround her with hugs and kisses and know that she may eventually fall down. I appreciate the outpouring of kindness in light of what happened in my household. I’m shocked as much as the next parent with this situation and had no idea. But then you surround them with best help and love and move on, and that’s where we’re at with it.

Steph is a great kid. Great GPA. Cool school, Hamilton College up in Clinton, N.Y. Everything about it is idyllic. She was doing great. Then a sudden and steep decline.

Hopefully, we caught it when we did and that’s the end of it. But who knew? I’ve got three more to come.

AP: Sometimes kids just make bad decisions?

Bon Jovi: I hope so. I’m confident, but no one knows the future. It is what it is. — AP

In this Nov. 29, 2012, photo, rock band Bon Jovi, from left, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Jon Bon Jovi and Tico Torres pose for a portrait in the Brooklyn Borough of New York. — AP photos

Jon Bon Jovi poses for a portrait in the Brooklyn Borough of New York.

This undated publicity photo provided by Jeffrey Richards Associates shows Patti LuPone, left, and Debra Winger during a performance of the David Mamet play ‘The Anarchist,’ at the John Golden Theatre in New York. — AP

avid Mamet’s new play “The Anarchist” contains - shock! - not a single swear word. But some are certain to be used by theatergoers walking out after the show. The brief play that opened Sunday at the Golden Theatre feels as sterile and lifeless as an interrogation, which it basically is - two actresses playing a verbal cat-and-mouse game. It seems more like a fragment of a play, or an acting exercise or a film short. Mamet, who also directs, has written a bouillabaisse of intellectual thought, thick chunks of hard-core Christianity mixed with leftist political and sociological philosophies. Very smart, just not very interesting.

Patti LuPone plays Cathy, a middle-aged prison inmate seemingly based on former Weather Underground member Judith Clark, who got an indeterminate sentence behind bars after a deadly armored truck robbery. After 35 years in prison - with a spotless prison record and a conversion to Christianity - Cathy is now pleading for clemency with the warden, Ann, played by Debra Winger. “I have repented my crime. I have served that sentence four times in excess of that which you would have imposed on a ‘mere’ criminal. Why do you fear me?” Cathy asks.

Her appeal is complicated by the possibility that an accomplice might still be free and that the warden, who is leaving her job, wants to maintain a good legacy. Ann wants a sign, proof that the former revolutionary is sincere. Running an intermissionless 70 minutes, “The Anarchist” starts in second gear and never really speeds up or slows down, just becomes wave after wave of staccato dialogue that is more pleasant on the page than spoken. No one talks like this and the two actresses struggle to make something unnatural seem natural. “The Prophets were demonstrably mad,” says

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Cathy at one point. “They were mad?” says Ann. “They’d seen God,” replies Cathy.

“Have you seen God?” asks Ann. “I would like to see my father,” says Cathy. “Have you seen God?” asks Ann. LuPone, a Mamet veteran who has appeared in his films “Heist” and “State and Main” and his plays “The Old Neighborhood” and “The Woods,” plays Cathy with weary resignation but passion when she explains her faith. Winger’s Ann, the harder part, is more cagy, stiff and humorless. As the play progresses, it’s clear that Ann has an encyclopedic knowledge of her inmate’s life - she throws out references to Cathy’s old writings, letters and even scrawls in the margins of her books.

She is playing the long game and this interrogation - one long, continuous scene set in what Mamet calls “a bare office” - has been mapped out long before. Winger beautifully reveals the reason for her overly magisterial tone.

Credit Mamet for making both his heroines - the playwright is not known for putting women at the center of his plays - sympathetic, despite his own personal political shift from left to right. Ann and Cathy trade arguments about whether people can change and sympathies can alter depending on who is talking. But the playwright undermines that with a creepy fascination with lesbianism and a play that seems to hate pausing even for a second.

It fails to connect to the heart or the mind. But at least it’s mercifully short. No sooner have you arrived at the theater than you are back in the street, puffing in the cold air - and maybe sending out an expletive, too. — AP

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President Barack Obama, right, and first lady Michelle Obama, second from right, with the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors recipients, from left, rock band Led Zeppelin keyboardist/bassist John Paul Jones, singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, comedian and television host David Letterman, bluesman Buddy Guy, ballerina Natalia Makarova and actor and director Dustin Hoffman, stand as the National Anthem is played.

Letterman, Hoffman, Zeppelin honored byObama avid Letterman’s “stupid human tricks” and Top 10 lists vaulted into the ranks of cultural acclaim Sunday night as the late-night comedian received this year’s Kennedy Center Honors with rock band Led Zeppelin, an actor, a ballerina and a bluesman. Stars from New York, Hollywood and the music world joined President Barack Obama at the White House on Sunday night to salute the honorees, whose ranks also include actor Dustin Hoffman, Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy and ballerina Natalia Makarova.

The honors are the nation’s highest award for those who influenced American culture through the arts. The recipients were later saluted by fellow performers at the Kennedy Center Opera House in a show to be broadcast Dec 26 on CBS. Obama drew laughs from his guests when he described the honorees as “some extraordinary people who have no business being on the same stage together.”

Noting that Guy made his first guitar strings using the wire from a window screen, he quipped, “That worked until his parents started wondering how all the mosquitoes were getting in.”

The president thanked the members of Led Zeppelin for behaving themselves at the White House given their history of “hotel rooms trashed and mayhem all around.” Obama noted Letterman’s humble beginnings as an Indianapolis weatherman who once reported the city was being pelted by hail ‘the size of canned hams.’” “It’s one of the highlights of his career,” he said. All kidding aside, Obama described all of the honorees as artists who “inspired us to see things in a new way, to hear things differently, to discover something within us or to appreciate how much beauty there is in the world.” “It’s that unique power that makes the arts so important,” he added. Later on the red carpet, Letterman said he was thrilled by the recognition and to visit Obama at the White House.

“It supersedes everything, honestly,” he said. “I haven’t won that many awards.” During the show, comedian Tina Fey said she grew up watching her mom laugh at Letterman as he brought on “an endless parade of weirdos.” “Who was this Dave Letterman guy?” Fey said. “Was he a brilliant, subtle passive-aggressive parody of a talk show host? Or just some Midwestern goon who was a little bit off? Time has proven that there’s just really no way of knowing.” Alec Baldwin offered a Top 10 reasons Letterman was winning the award, including the fact that he didn’t leave late night for a six-month stint in primetime - a not-so-subtle dig at rival Jay Leno.

Jimmy Kimmel, who will soon compete head-to-head with Letterman on ABC, said he fell in love with Letterman early in life and even had a “Late Night” cake on his 16th birthday. “To me it wasn’t just a TV show,” Kimmel said. “It was the reason I would fail to make love to a live woman for many, many years.” For Buddy Guy, singers Bonnie Raitt, Tracy Chapman and others got most of the crowd on its feet singing Guy’s signature “Sweet Home Chicago.”

Morgan Freeman hailed Guy as a pioneer who helped bridge soul and rock and roll. “When you hear the blues, you really don’t think of it as black or white or yellow or purple or blue,” Freeman said. “Buddy Guy, your blue brought us together.”

Robert De Niro saluted Hoffman, saying he had changed acting, never took any shortcuts and was brave enough to be a perfectionist. “Before Dustin burst on the scene, it was pretty much OK for movie stars to show up, read their lines and, if the director insisted, act a little,” De Niro said. “But then Dustin came along - and he just had to get everything right.” By the end of the night, the Foo Fighters, Kid Rock

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President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama leaves the reception.

US President Barack Obama watches as comedian and 2012 Kennedy Center Honoree late night talk show host David Letterman kisses fellow honoree ballerina Natalia Makarova’s hand.

Singer Aretha Franklin

Comedian and late night talk show host David Letterman and guest.

Blues musician Buddy Guy and guests.

and Lenny Kravitz got the crowd moving to some of Zeppelin’s hits at the Kennedy Center.

Jack Black declared Zeppelin the “greatest rock and roll band of all time.” “That’s right. Better than the Beatles.

Better than the Stones. Even better than Tenacious D,” he said. “And that’s not opinion - that’s fact.” For the finale, Heart’s Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson sang “Stairway to Heaven,” accompanied by a full choir and Jason Bonham, son of the late Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Zeppelin front man Robert Plant and his bandmates John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page seemed moved by the show.

Meryl Streep first introduced the honorees Saturday as they received the award medallions during a formal dinner at the US State Department hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton said ballerina Makarova “risked everything to have the freedom to dance the way she wanted to dance” when she defected from the Soviet Union in 1970. Makarova made her debut with the American Ballet Theatre and later was the first exiled artist to return to the Soviet Union before its fall to dance with the Kirov Ballet. Clinton also took special note of Letterman, saying he must be wondering what he’s doing in a crowd of talented artists and musicians. “Dave and I have a history,” she said. “I have been a guest on his show several times, and if you include references to my pant suits, I’m on at least once a week.”-AP

President Barack Obama with the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors recipients speaks during a reception.

Actor Morgan Freeman

Musician Lenny Kravitz

Stephen Colbert and his wife Evelyn McGee-Colber

Alec Baldwin and wife Hilaria Thomas

President Barack Obama shakes hands with 2012 Kennedy Center Honors recipient actor and director Dustin Hoffman.

Letterman, Hoffman, Zeppelin honored

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A man walks past works by digital artist Tammam Azzam, part of an exhibition titled “The Syrian Museum” on show in Dubai, on November 29, 2012. — AFP photos

popular map on social networks depicting a “bleeding” war-torn Syria has emerged as the centerpiece of an exhibition in Dubai by digital artist Tammam Azzam. The artwork-simply a 4.5 square meter (48.5 square foot) map of Syria painted in red to indicate blood-is one of various pieces portraying the carnage of the conflict while mocking the international community’s inaction. “I used the Syrian map as an icon,” Azzam told AFP. “This map had never meant anything to me during my whole life before. Suddenly, I had a new-discovered nation.”

In many of his works, Azzam, who hails from Syria’s Druze minority heartland city of Sweida, extensively uses the map of his country-where more than 41,000 people have been killed since protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime erupted in March 2011, according to a watchdog. Another artwork shows pieces of the Syrian map burning and falling apart while yet another one portrays it in red, hit by a bullet in its centre, sit-

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A man looks at a painting depicting a map of “bleeding” war-torn Syria.

Digital artist Tammam Azzam, who hails from Syria’s Druze minority heartland city of Sweida, stands in front of his work exhibited as part of an exhibition titled “The Syrian Museum” on show in Dubai.

he Central Asian state of Uzbekistan has with much fanfare put on display what it says is a lost masterpiece of Western art, a painting by Italian Renaissance master Paolo Veronese. The painting, which Uzbek experts say is one of several versions Veronese painted portraying the lamentation after Christ’s descent from the cross, has gone on display at the Uzbek State Arts Museum. However the Italian embassy in Tashkent has urged caution, saying while the show is a remarkable event, further work will be needed to confirm that the picture is a genuine Veronese. The State Arts Museum unveiled the painting in an exhibition called the “Revival of a Masterpiece”, presenting it to the public at a ceremony with Uzbek officials, the Italian ambassador and Russian Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church leaders.

The Arts Museum said the “Lamentation of Christ” was brought to Uzbekistan in the 19th century when the territory was part of the Russian Empire. The picture was part of the collection which belonged to the Romanov dynasty of Russia’s last emperor, Nicholas II. It had already been on display at museums many times as an unnamed artist’s masterpiece, according to Uzbek experts. The painting came to Tashkent as part of the luggage of Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich Romanov, the grandson of Tsar Nicolas I who was exiled to Uzbekistan after falling out with the royal family over an affair with an American woman. “All this time the painting was on the fourth floor of the museum and we thought it was a copy,” said prominent Uzbek artist Sabir Rakhmetov. “We used to bring in our students to copy it.”

Things changed when a young arts expert, Dilshod Azizov, was told two years ago to do some restoration works on the painting which was covered in thick dust.

“Any restoration starts with the attribution and analysis,”

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A man looks at works by digital artist Tammam Azzam.

said Azizov, who graduated from the Saint Petersburg Arts Academy in Russia and worked in Finland for some time as a restoration expert. As the oil canvas painting had no attribution Azizov started to look at archive documents. “I found that the first information about the painting was published by the ‘Turkestanskiye Vedomosti’

ting over the United Nations logo-also in red instead of its original blue color.

This work, as many of his pieces, strongly criticizes the failure of the international community to end the bloodshed in Syria. A part of the exhibition titled “The Syrian Museum” showcases more expensive works combining photographs of the destruction in Syria and famous paintings such as Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”, Edvard Munch’s “Scream” and Francisco Goya’s “The Third of May 1808”.

“How could these civilized nations that claim to support humanity commemorate a painting for Goya because it represents a massacre on one day in the history of the Spanish... whereas they forget that every single day we have a Third of May in Syria?” asks Azzam.

The artist has added part of Goya’s painting portraying field executions to a photograph of destruction in Syria. Other works reflect Azzam’s nostalgia towards his homeland from which he fled a year ago for fear of being called up for reservist duty in the army, which stands accused by the opposition of

carrying out atrocities across the country. In one picture named “Where We Were”, a little girl points to a spot she remembers on the Earth-Syria.

In another, a black map of Syria hangs from a laundry line. “Laundry represents the memories one leaves behind,” explains the 32year-old artist with a distant sparkle in his dark eyes. But a nearby lively work portrays piles of debris ironically in bright blocks of color. “To me, even this destruction is still my colorful country. It is still the place that concerns me,” he says. Azzam says taking up arms in Syria was the only choice people had “because the scale of oppression and violations is different from anything that has happened throughout human history”. But he himself “couldn’t carry a gun”. — AFP

Tammam Azzam stands in front of his work exhibited as part of an exhibition titled “The Syrian Museum”.

newspaper in 1886 and was attributed to Paolo Veronese and belonged to Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich Romanov who lived in Tashkent,” Azizov said.

After the Russian revolution in 1917, Romanov’s collection, including this painting attributed to Veronese, was donated to Tashkent University, where three years

People stand under a huge poster promoting the exhibition dubbed “Revival of a Masterpiece” organizers say is a lost painting by Italian Renaissance master Paolo Veronese, outside an entrance to the Uzbek State Arts Museum in the Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent. — AFP

later the Central Museum of Art was established.

Romanov’s diary says he bought the painting himself when he was in Italy in 1871-72, according to Azizov.

Aziziov started a very long examination of the canvas comparing the painting with other works of Veronese and his followers. Then came ultraviolet, infrared and Xray tests. “All comparison works and tests showed that it was not a copy. For example, the X-ray showed that hands and legs of Christ were drawn several times,” Azizov said.

“When creating a picture, authors usually redraw and change some of its details, and when a copy is made, such changes are not necessary.” Other tests showed that the canvas was restored three times and lost size due to removal of damaged edges, according to the expert.

Chemical, hydrochloric and carbonic analysis of the canvas showed up elements of painting materials which were used by Renaissance artists in Italy. “We have sent the samples of the analysis to foreign experts for international attribution of the Veronese work,” Aziziov said.

Museum workers said the painting again needed painstaking restoration. Italy’s ambassador in Uzbekistan Riccardo Manara praised the discovery as an important event, adding however that further research involving foreign experts was also needed. “I think it is necessary in the future to have international expertise to verify the authenticity of the work,” he told AFP. Veronese painted several versions of the Lamentation of Christ - where Jesus Christ is mourned after being taken down from the cross. — AFP