12th Aug

CR IP TI ON BS SU

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

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

52 die in India as bus plunges into gorge

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www.kuwaittimes.net

RAMADAN 24, 1433 AH

Mexico upsets Brazil to win 1st gold in football

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87 killed as 2 strong earthquakes hit Iran Panic, injuries; big aftershock rumbles through

Obama hosts iftar at White House WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama offered a warm personal tribute to Hillary Clinton’s close aide Huma Abedin, who some conservative Republicans claim has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Obama used the occasion of a dinner celebrating the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to pour praise on his “good friend” Abedin, a Muslim American, in a highly public and strong statement of presidential support.

He said Abedin, who has been at Clinton’s side in the White House, the Senate, her 2008 Democratic campaign against Obama and in her globe-trotting travels at the State Department, had worked tirelessly to represent the United States. Clinton, now Obama’s top diplomat, has relied on Abedin’s expertise and “so have I”, the president added. “ The American people owe her a debt of gratitude because Huma is an American patriot, and an example of what we need in this country - more public servants with her sense of decency, her grace and her generosity of spirit.

“So, on behalf of all Americans, we thank you so much,” Obama told Abedin, at an iftar dinner marking the end of Ramadan’s daily fast, in the State Dining Room of the White House. Obama also said an attack at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin is an assault on religious faith and has no place in the United States. He said such an attack “is an attack on the freedom of all Americans.” He says no American should ever have to fear worshipping in public.

Abedin has been the target of a small group of Republican lawmakers, including former presidential Continued on Page 13

Ramadan Kareem

Muslim relations with other faiths

By Hassan Bwambale

A

s man is sociable by nature, he is bound to interact and have social relations with other human beings regardless of color, race, nationality or religion. All mankind are brothers and sisters in that they originated from the same pair of a male and a female (Adam and Eve), and all are creatures of God. Islam has defined such relations and molded them in the matrix of justice, equality, tolerance, compassion, and love, among other noble qualities.

Since man was created, among other things, to develop the living conditions on earth, it then behooves him to co-exist peacefully and cooperate with other members of the human race. God says: “Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help ye not one another in sin and rancor.” (5:2) The entire life of any Islamic society should be regulated by the Islamic Law. This Law calls for establishing strong relations between Muslim and non-Muslim citizens. Muslim-Christian relations are governed by the following saying of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) : “He who harm a non-Muslim harms me, and he who harms me, harms God, and he who harms God will be punished.”

MUSLIM ESTABLISHMENT Muslims’ relations with non-Muslims are defined by the following verses of the Holy Quran: “God forbids you not with regard to those who fight you not for (your) faith nor drive you out your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them, for God loves those who are just. God only forbids you with regard to those who fight you for (your) faith and drive you out of your homes from turning to them (for friendship and protection). It is such as turn to them (in these circumstances) that do wrong.” (60:8-9) According to the Holy Quran, a Muslim is required to deal kindly and justly with all people regardless of religion, color, nationality or ethnicity or gender.

However, if they are openly hostile and aggressive, a defensive position is allowed. Taking meals with the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) Islam permits Muslims to eat of the meat of the slaughtered animals of the People of the Book provided it is Halal (lawful) God says: “The food of the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them.”

(5:5) NON-MUSLIMS IN A MUSLIM SOCIETY When the People of the Book live as non-Muslim citizens under Islamic sovereignty, they enjoy a special status and are referred to along with other minorities as, “Ahludh-dhimmah,” or “Dhimmie,” Continued on Page 13

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama celebrates the holy month of Ramadan by hosting an iftar dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House late on Friday. Huma Abedin, aide to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is seen at right. — AP

Max 47º Min 35º High Tide 06:09 & 20:41 Low Tide 13:37 & 23:56

TEHRAN: Two strong quakes in quick succession struck towns and destroyed villages in northwest Iran, killing at least 87 people and injuring 600 yesterday, officials said.

The scale of the disaster was still emerging, with the casualty toll creeping up as the hours ticked by.

Officials had to use radios because of disrupted telephone communications in the region and dispatched helicopters to remote villages.

The head of the regional natural disasters centre, Khalil Saie, who gave the latest casualty count to state television, said: “We are asking people to not panic. Help is arriving and rescuers are already at the scene.” The quakes measured 6.2 and 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale, according to Tehran University’s Seismological Centre. The US Geological Survey, which monitors seismic activity worldwide, ranked them as more powerful than that, at 6.4 and 6.3, respectively.

According to the local Red Crescent director, cited by the official news agency IRNA, 210 people were rescued from the quake rubble and taken to hospital.

An emergency services official said 66 rescue teams were at work, using 40 devices and seven dog squads to detect buried survivors. He said 185 ambulances had been sent to the area. Those hurt were taken to hospitals in Tabriz and Ardebil, the two biggest nearby cities, both of which escaped relatively unscathed by the temblors.

The towns of Ahar and Varzaqan, 60 kilometers from Tabriz, were the hardest hit, being closest to the epicenters of the two quakes. Heris, another town close by, was also badly shaken. Scores of villages were decimated.

“Sixty villages have been 60 to 80 percent destroyed and four villages were 100 percent destroyed,” Saei said. There were “30 deaths in Ahar, 40 deaths in Varzaqan and 10 deaths in Heris,” he said. Another seven people had died as they were being transferred to hospital. Municipal officials in Ahar and Varzaqan were giving higher counts, suggesting the overall toll could rise further.

Continued on Page 13

Romney unveils deficit hawk as running mate Mitt, Ryan vow to ‘save the American dream’ NORFOLK: White House challenger Mitt Romney unveiled deficit hawk congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate yesterday, in a bid to revive his flagging campaign to oust President Barack Obama.

Buoyed by a boisterous crowd, the pair pledged to restore the country to greatness by reversing the Obama administration’s failures, with Ryan saying their goal was nothing less than to “save the American dream.”

“We can turn this thing around,” the seven-term congressman from Wisconsin told cheering supporters in Norfolk, Virginia in the shadow of a hulking grey battleship appropriately named the USS Wisconsin. “High unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is not a new normal. It’s the result of misguided policies,” 42-year-old Ryan insisted, in his first public comments since becoming Romney’s running mate. “That is why we need new leadership to become part of the solution, new leadership to restore prosperity, economic growth and jobs,” he

added. “It is our duty to save the American dream for our children and theirs.”

In recent weeks Romney has slumped behind Obama in opinion polls, with the incumbent taking a clear lead nationally and in most of the dozen swing states that will decide the November 6 election.

A Fox News national poll on Thursday put Obama at 49 percent to Romney’s 40 while a CNN poll had Obama at 52 percent, seven points up on the Republican, a multimillionaire investor and former Massachusetts governor.

But by picking Ryan, a darling of small government conservatives, and embarking on a four-day bus tour across four battleground states, Romney hopes to regain the initiative in the run-up to November’s vote. The Ryan rollout was impressively choreographed but did not go off without a hitch. Romney made a cringe-worth gaffe when he introduced the wonkish budget hawk as “the next president of the United States.”

Continued on Page 13

NORFOLK: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney (left) introduces his vice presidential running mate, Wisconsin Rep Paul Ryan yesterday in Norfolk, Va. — AP

US and Turkey weigh no-fly zones for Syria US heaps sanctions on Iran, Hezbollah

RABAT: Local residents pray in front of the mosque during Ramadan in Rabat.

The seats outside cafes are empty and streets eerily quiet in the hour before sunset, as Moroccans wait to break the day-long Ramadan fast. But one group is causing a stir by flouting religious convention. — AFP (See Page 10)

ISTANBUL: The United States and Turkey are looking at all measures to help Syrian rebel forces fighting to overthrow President Bashar Al-Assad, including a no-fly zone, as the conflict there deepens, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday. Clinton told reporters after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that their countries needed to get into detailed operational planning on how to assist the rebels and bring a halt to the violence.

Overnight Syrian and Jordanian forces clashed along the border in an

incident that highlighted international concerns that the civil war in Syria could ignite a wider regional conflict.

The clashes also emphasized the urgent need for planning on what could follow Assad’s fall. “Our intelligence services, our military have very important responsibilities and roles to play so we are going to be setting up a working group to do exactly that,” Clinton said.

Asked if such discussions included options such as imposing a no-fly zone over territory that Syrian rebels claim to Continued on Page 13

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

LOCAL

Informants to be rewarded for assisting police New set of instructions released

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Your days could be numbered if people who know your ways notify the police on your activities! Tipping off police on illegal activities conducted by brothels, bootleggers or others will now be amply rewarded. Lt Gen Ghazi AlOmar, Ministr y of Interior ’s Undersecretary has released new set of instructions to grant rewards, including cash payments to civilians who help prevent a criminal act or provide valuable information to police. “This could help us considerably in apprehending criminals,” said a police officer who spoke with the Kuwait Times.

“Valuable information will be treated confidentially so that people who cooperate with authorities can

Dr Fahad Al-Enezi

be protected and rewarded,” he added. According to a report published by some Arabic dailies, the cash prize can reach up to KD 500 depending on the nature of crime and assistance provided. Both Kuwaitis and expatriates can benefit from the new regulation, said the source.

The informant could also be honored with a certificate and an official media statement. People who refuse to become an accomplice to crime and instead report the case to police will also be given rewards, the source added.

However, some say such rewards must be placed in a proper context since it could be misused just to claim a reward. “I agree with the plan but authorities should be more careful. We do not know how it is

going to affect us ordinary, peaceloving people. We do not know if we will be targeted or pin-pointed by someone else who just wants to take revenge for personal gain,” said a 27-year-old Palestinian who works as a secretary.

A citizen told Kuwait Times that the proposal should be drafted and circulated in the official gazette to make it clear to public.

“A lot of crimes are taking place every day. We see that in newspapers and it becomes ordinary to some of us. But again, authorities should classify the crimes - is bullying included in crimes that await rewards. Is simple harassment included? What kinds of evidence are acceptable to authorities? These are important aspects in introducing new regulations,” he said.

KUWAIT: Medical staff of the children’s ward at Jahra hospital in colourful dress.

Medical staff for children at Jahra hospital wear colorful uniforms KUWAIT: Medical staff of the children’s ward at Jahra hospital have been given uniforms that are decorated with pictures of cartoon figures, eliciting positive and joyful reaction from children under treatment, said Dr Fahad Al-Enezi, Head of the ward.

Dr Al-Enezi said that he had pondered about the idea of wearing doing away with plain white

uniform a month after assuming the post. He indicated that wearing colorful outfits was the first step of a broad plan to modernize the ward.

Al-Enezi commissioned Dr Eman Al-Haseni and Dr Talal Al-Shammari to implement the plan to secure the white uniforms with diverse colors and designs of 200 beloved cartoon characters.

The fresh colorful outfits were accepted and warmly applauded by the children and parents. AlEnzi hoped for other hospitals to take a similar initiative to please the children.

Dr Al-Enzi thanked Director of Al-Jahra Hospital Dr Shahab AlM ehindi and head of nursing unit Moudi Al-Ajmi for their support. — KUNA

Georgia moves ahead - but 2008 war consequences remain to be dealt with

By Grigol Vashadze Foreign Minister of Georgia

T

he pictures of war on major news networks mean destruction, devastation and despair for those embroiled in conflict. If the eye of an international reporter ever returns to those areas as the years pass, one usually sees a grim reality, where human suffering prevails, with no hope in sight. This was one possible scenario for my country as well, as it was invaded by the neighbor vastly superior in size and military capabilities. Still worse was the threat of obliteration of our very statehood and of our way of life.

Yet neither of these was to pass. Georgian people defended their homeland. Our friends and allies stood by us on the international arena to rebuke the invasion. Georgia keeps its identity as a free nation and is moving ahead, though ever-mindful of the threat that is still looming from the two Russian military bases that were set up on occupied territories, in violation of the ceasefire agreement and fundamental principles of international law.

The country withstood the shock and managed to rebound to achieve steady economic growth, with real GDP growing 6.4% in 2010 and 7% in 2011. As this year wanes, we expect to be opening a major railway route linking Central Asia with Turkey and onwards to Europe. UN World Tourism Organization singled out Georgia for its remarkable growth in tourism - arrivals have almost tripled in the past five years, from just below a million in 2006 to close to 3 million in 2011. Georgia still remains as one of the safest and least corrupt countries in Europe, where business is easy to do.

Georgia’s democratic choice remains unshaken. The citizens will vote on 1 October to elect the new Parliament and to rejuvenate our democracy. Our public service halls - the key way in which citizens interact with the government on a daily basis - won a prize at the UN’s world-wide, peer-nominated contest for its innovative design of services. Our nation is

negotiating the Association Agreement and the free trade agreement with the EU, implementing reforms to strengthen our justice system, local governance and penitentiary.

While we are proud of our successes, we call attention to the plight of the thousands who were displaced during the war, whose homes were often razed to the ground in an act of ethnic cleansing. Immediately after the war the government made sure most of these families met the winter of 2008 under the new, own roof, but

to offer services, to build confidence and to restore the social fabric that linked our communities for centuries. Georgia keeps neighborly relations with the Russian people - we have cancelled visa requirements for all Russian citizens this March and the tourists have poured in, despite the propaganda of fear by the Kremlin. We are ready to engage in constructive talks with Russia. Georgia made unilateral pledge not to use force. There has been no reciprocity, but we hope, often beyond hope, that the

In August 2008, thousand of Russian troops and armor rolled into Georgia, as the Russian aviation was pounding country’s military, infrastructural and civilian targets.

Four years on, Georgia stands strong in asserting its identity as a liberal, democratic state, its economy is surging ahead and the government works hard to take care of the persons displaced during the conflict.

Our friends stood by us in 2008. We need their support still so that those residing in 20% of our territory occupied by Russia can partake in and benefit from the progress Georgia has achieved. their rights are far from being acknowledged, their loss is far from compensated. Justice is yet to be restored.

As we work to advance our nation, we need help and support of the international community to condemn and reverse the occupation, to make our successes available to those that reside on the 20% of the Georgian territory currently occupied by the Russian troops. In the 21st century no power can afford to lock the people behind the barbed wire, to raze villages to give way to military bases, to deprive children the right to study in their mother tongue, to make carrying the gun the only available employment.

We have reached out to all those who reside on occupied territories wishing to engage them,

hearts and minds in Moscow will slowly be changing.

Georgia has achieved a lot, but we still need a friendly hand so that all of our compatriots may live in peace, dignity and security.

The governments and civil society of the free world should continue delivering loud and clear message to the government of the Russian Federation that the military occupation cannot be tolerated, that systematic abuse of human rights cannot be window-dressed as nation-building , that ethnic cleansing has no place in modern society.

Four years after the war, the Georgian nation stands tall, looks into the future and demands justice for all of its residents.

(From Georgian Embassy in Kuwait)

KAC slams MPs for ‘obstructing fleet’s renovation’ KUWAIT: The Kuwait Airways Corporation rejected accusations made recently by lawmakers that blamed the management for failing to renew the carrier’s fleet, insisting in a recent statement that the Parliament foiled multiple attempts to purchase new planes since 2005.

“The Parliament’s state budget committee unanimously agreed to cancel a KD 1.5 million deal that was supposed to become the first installment in purchasing KAC’s fleet,” read the KAC statement, urging the public to refer to minutes of the parliament’s sessions on the ninth and tenth of July 2007.

The deal was reportedly explained to the committee by then Managing Director Sheikh Talal Mubarak AlSabah, who gave details about a study carried out with the IATA “which proved the need to buy new aircraft to the KAC’s fleet.”

Government eulogizes late NA Speaker Al-Sarhan KUWAIT: Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah expressed deep sorrow at the passing away of former National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Zaid Al-Sarhan who died at the age of 92. In a statement to KUNA, Sheikh Mohammad, also Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, said the Council of Ministers extended deepest condolences for the family of ‘the deceased’ and remembered Al-Sarhan’s enormous patriotic contributions while he was speaker of parliament in 1967-1970. During his speakership period, Al-Sarhan contributed to boosting stability during an important period of the history of Kuwait, said the minister. —-KUNA

KUWAIT: Several citizens staged a protest outside the Embassy of Myanmar on Friday night in protest against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in the Burmese region of Arakan. The protestors, led by lawmakers and political activists, demanded that the Burmese ambassador be expelled ‘in retaliation to massacring Muslims in Burma,’ according to an Alaan news website report. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Suades role in fostering women position hailed INJE, SOUTH KOREA: This South Korean town, located in the south of the country, will host a ceremony today to honor a number of distinguished intellectual figures and writers, including the eminent Kuwaiti poetess Sheikha Suad Al-Sabah.

The award will be handed over to the Kuwaiti acting Charge d’Affairs, Abdul Rahman Shehab Al-Shehab, who would represent Sheikha Suad at the ceremony for the Manhae award 2012.

Manhae award, the top honoring for literary works in South Korea, was recently granted to Sheikha Suad. Manhae was a poet and writer who devoted his life for promotion of ideal thoughts, reforms and wisdom. He was a patriotic South Korean poet, famous for his limitless support for

freedoms, equality, progress and peace.

His writings focus on a basic theme, love for all living creatures.

The Asian Journalists Association is due to organize the ceremony. The award is granted by the Society for the Promotion and Practice of Manhae’s Thoughts, which announced last March, winners of the 2012 Manhae Prize, given in three different categories. Sheikha Suad won the award in literature.

The winning announcement mentioned that Dr Suad Al Sabah “helped in fostering the woman position in the Arab World, as she has been devoted to poetry writing since 1961, with more than 15 volumes of poetry published, and she also assured the importance of having scientif-

ic assistance, through her studies, and gave the Arab youths the chances to promote their literary works.”

Sheikha Suad has issued 15 divans. The first one was “Min Omri” (From My Life), published in 1963. The last one was titled, “Letters from the Beautiful Time,” printed

by Suad Al-Sabah Publishing House in 2006. The eminent poetess and writer had delved into patriotic issues, with the release of her book, “Allow me to Love my Country,” issued in 1990, in addition to her historic publications, such as “Falcon of the Gulf Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah,” published in 1995.

Sheikha Suad is writer of a long chain of articles and researches, addressing issues concerning Muslim and Gulf

women, such as an article themed ‘Women Workers in the Gulf,’ a research about Kuwaiti female workers and another about role of women in development in the Arab and Islamic countries. Her poetic works have been translated into English, French, Spanish, Italian and German. The crux of her writings center on basic freedoms of the human race, as well as eliminating barriers of discrimination between the two genders. Moreover, she is credited for being among the ardent female strugglers who succeeded in attaining political franchise for the Kuwaiti women. In appreciation of her robust stance in support of Arab human rights, she was granted membership number-one by the Arab Human Rights Organization. — KUNA

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

LOCAL

Opposition bloc demonstrates against Cabinet’s decision Coup against the Constitution

By A Saleh KUWAIT: The opposition bloc has officially announced plans to lead mass public demonstrations as part of efforts to reject the Cabinet’s decision to contest the constitutionality of constituencies distribution by referring the electoral system to the Constitutional Court. The efforts aim to “force the government to revoke their decision and call for new elections as per the current system,” in addition to calling for “the resignation of the Cabinet and Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah,” reads a statement released after holding a meeting with the majority bloc - a coalition of oppositionists who dominated majority seats in the annulled 2012 parliament at the diwaniya of Ahmad AlSaadoun on Friday night.

The demonstration will be staged at the Iradah Square sometime after the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, against what Al-Saadoun described in a statement following the meeting “the Cabinet’s coup against the Constitution and cooperation with forces of corruption.”

Lawmaker Musallam Al-Barrak announced his intension to establish “the National Front

for Protection of Constitution to thwart attacks on the government and corrupt forces.” The outspoken oppositionist figure urged citizens to join “a historic political battle” to protect “the Constitution and its values that ensure freedom and dignity.”

Bloc member Osama Al-Munwer also stated that “the Cabinet fails to evaluate the current regional situation,” adding that “we will not be less than Arab communities that give their blood to take back their rights.” Fellow bloc member Dr Obaid Al-Wasmi said in a separate statement that calls demanding the ouster of Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah are “long overdue.”

Meanwhile, Khalid Al-Khalid, Secretary General of the National Democratic Alliance accused the government of “tampering with the electoral system by challenging the constitutionality of the law partially.”

MP Ali Al-Deqbasi argued that the government ‘pushes’ people to the Iradah Square “by ignoring opinions of the public who demand that the electoral system is not tampered with,” confirming that he will be present during the planned demonstration. Meanwhile, Islamist MP Mohammad Hayef announced

that he supports a sit-in at the Iradah Square but rejects demonstrations and marches that usually follow later. This comes amid indications that the Constitutional Court could look into the government’s appeal “during the second half of September,” according to anonymous sources, who further indicated that the 2009 Parliament “will not be dissolved until the verdict is passed.”

Other sources reported that “talks are currently ongoing to allow the 2009 parliament to convene so that the state’s budget is passed before being put on hold until the dissolution.”

In a related note, government sources denied rumors indicating that the Cabinet plans to consider the option of writing off loans “as a step to gain public support and curb public protests after referring the electoral law to the Constitutional Court.”

In other news, MP Saleh Ashour heavily criticized MP Khalid Al-Sultan who made statements that hint at his disapproval by appointing Shiite citizens over suspicions of being linked to an alleged Iranian-sponsored “coup plot against the ruling system in Kuwait.”

‘Police officer’ arrested in Jahra KUWAIT: Jahra police arrested a citizen who posed as a police officer and then chased two girls to their homes. A security source said policemen responded to a call about a fight in Saad Al-Abdallah, where four citizens were arrested including three brothers. He said the reason behind the fight was the suspect’s pursuit of the sisters, who had stopped them near one of the roundabouts claiming he was a police officer and asking for the girl’s IDs. The source said the two girls refused to hand over their IDs and drove off. The suspect chased them to their house, where the girls’ brothers confronted him and asked for his ID. When the suspect refused, the brothers proceeded to assault the man before the arrival of police.

Upon further investigation authorities identified the man as a government employee and he was charged accordingly.

Youth attacks dad A young man beat his father in their Qairawan house just minutes before the father left to attend late night prayer. A security source said that the father, who works for the interior ministry, was getting ready to leave for prayers when he purportedly admonished his daughter for something. His son became involved in the dispute, which led to a verbal exchange and eventually escalated to the son physically assaulting his father in front of family members.

The father was taken to hospital for treatment and the son was placed under arrest.

Gold theft Two Syrian women stole gold jewelry worth KD 4000 from a Mubarikya shop. The store manager told Salhiya police that two girls entered the shop and pre-occupied the manager with conversation. According to the shop keeper, one of the girls asked the Asian worker to show her some jewelry. As another customer entered

the shop, the girl concealed some pieces and continued to examine the rest, while her friend continued to talk to the manager. The two left the shop without buying anything, but the Asian worker noticed that some jewelry was missing. By reviewing the tape of the store camera, they discovered the theft, estimated at KD 4000. The manager told police that he did not know anything about the suspects. Detectives are looking for the two thieves.

Purse snatched A woman who was shopping in Abu Halaifa Mall lost KD 300, her civil ID and her mobile telephone when someone snatched her purse.

The woman filed a complaint at the police station.

Woman warned A police patrol noticed several cars being driven slowly, and upon investigation noticed a woman walking on foot with the cars following her. When policemen stopped the cars the girl became angry and police had to warn her to not interfere with the investigation. The drivers were issued tickets and the girl was taken to the police station for questioning.

Masked thieves Jahra detectives are looking for masked thieves who stole a safe from the bedroom of a citizen in the Saad Al-Abdallah area. The citizen told police that a neighbor noticed a car parked in front of the house before masked men got in and sped away. The man was able to provide a license plate number to authorities. Detectives are working on the case.

Drug addict Police sent an Egyptian expat to drug authorities when he was caught under the influence and with Tramadol tablets in his possession. A

police source said when officers stopped the man he was visibly afraid, so they searched him and found the Tramadol. The suspect was arrested and transferred to the drug authorities. - Alrai Asian in hospital An Asian expat was admitted to Farwaniya Hospital ICU in critical condition, after reportedly conducting a very delicate procedure on himself. The man claimed he had injured himself to take revenge against his wife. Detectives later found out that pimps had punished him by severing a sensitive part of his body. A security source said the Asian man arrived at Farwaniya Hospital with blood covering his lower body.

Doctors gave him the necessary treatment and placed him in the ICU due to extensive bleeding. The man said that he was arguing with his wife, who lives in their home country, about how she wants him to return home and not have her live alone. According to the man, the argument led him to inflict the injury upon himself. The source said that detectives gathered information about the Asian and found that he works as a pimp and it is possible that rival pimps may have been responsible for his injuries. Further questioning will be made when the victim’s condition improves.

Guardsman jailed Hawally Security Director Brig. Ghuloum Habib ordered a National Guardsman to be jailed in Maidan Hawally police station. A security source said that a call came from a billiards parlor about a man in a uniform playing billiards while drinking liquor. Witnesses say they had warned him about the danger of what he was doing, but he threatened to harm them. When patrolmen arrived at the scene, they reported the man to be visibly intoxicated. Police will inform his place of work, so they might take necessary actions.

Asian driver held with 25kg of hashish

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: The drug traders pictured after their arrest

KUWAIT: Drug enforcement agents confiscated 25 kilograms of hashish from an Asian trailer driver who was delivering the drugs to a Kuwaiti citizen. Earlier information received alerted authorities that a large smuggling operation was to occur on the Abdally border. Based on that information, investigations were made into the location and identities of the smugglers.

They identified one suspect as an Asian trailer driver who works transporting goods back and forth from Kuwait to Iraq. Based on that information, coordination with customs was made and customs officials were supplied with information about the driver and trailer. The driver was stopped at the border before Iftar and his vehicle was searched.

After searching the trailer they discovered a gas cylinder with 25 kilograms of Hashish hidden inside. He confessed to the crime of trafficking drugs on behalf of a Kuwaiti man. In order to apprehend the Kuwaiti suspect, the driver was allowed to cross the border with the drugs.

When the citizen met the truck to receive the drugs at Amghara, he sensed the presence of drug enforcement agents and tried to flee. Authorities arrested him, though the suspect resisted the arresting officers. He confessed to the charges and both the driver and the Kuwaiti man were transferred to the appropriate authorities.

Shuwaikh fire The operation room received a report yesterday evening about a fire that broke out at a store that belongs to a company in the Shuwaikh area. Shuwaikh Industrial Fire Center responded to the alarm, supported by Shuhada Fire Center. The store area is 1800 square meters and contained electrical materials. Fire fighting was led by Capital Fire Center Director Colonel Hamad Al-Hadlaq.

Fire vehicles were dispatched to several locations under the supervision of Shuwaikh Industrial Fire Center Director Colonel Ali Abbas. Fire fighting continued for several hours and during Iftar time, operations asked for the support of Ardiya Fire Center and City Fire Center to replace firemen from the participating centers. Also, a number of Ministry of Interior Patrol Officers were available to organize traffic and ambulances in the event of casualties. The fire was brought under control quickly, while the investigation into the cause of the fire continued until midnight.

Pearl diving trip this month KUWAIT: The 24th Annual Pearl Diving Trip will take place between the 23rd and 30th of this month under the patronage of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, featuring nine ships provided by HH the Amir and the late Amir HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

This was announced by Fahad Al-Fahad, Chairman of the Kuwait Sea Sports Club(KSSC) who described the Amir’s continuous sponsorship of the annual event “a true embodiment of

the great importance that HH gives to preserving heritage, celebrate the legacy of forefathers and instill a sense of loyalty among youngsters.”

Furthermore, Al-Fahad indicated that this year’s event is being held at the right time “in line with the need of activities to instill the spirit of national unity within young men by following the same approach through which the forefathers maintained their unity.”

“The Pearl Diving Trip portrays a good image

of national unity when Kuwaiti young men from all social segments gather at a single ship and share the spirit of solidarity and work to earn their livelihood,” Al-Fahad added.

The tournament takes place this year under exceptional circumstances including lack of time due to the fact that Ramadan fell during the school’s summer break, in addition to a budget shortage “which forced the KSSC to reduce the number of ships participating,” Al-Fahad said.

KUWAIT: Municipal authorities seized food that is unfit for human consumption from a warehouse located in Shuwaikh, Faleh Al-Shemmari, Head of Capital’s Municipal branch said yesterday. The confiscated food products will be destroyed. The Municipality, since the advent of the fasting month of Ramadan, has been inspecting warehouses and stores suspected of storing inedible food. Citations were also issued. —Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

local

TEC holds Ghabqa for employees KUWAIT: Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of TEC Khalid Abdullah Al-Ghanim extended an invitation to employees to attend a Ramadan Ghabqa held at Safir International Hotel. Al-Ghanim met the company’s leader in the presence of more than 350 employees. He welcomed the audience and thanked them for accepting the invitation. Al-Ghanim pointed out that top man-

agement of the company is keen to protect the rights of employees and give them a chance to prove themselves and upgrade the level of services. They pointed out that there are plenty of future plans to improve the performance of all employees. As usual, AlGhanim and high ranking officials of the company honored ideal staff for the year 2012. There are 30 employees from different

sectors of the company. Fahad Al-Jazzaf was chosen as the ideal staff for planning and projects office, and the ideal employee of 2012.

The Public Relations Department prepared a program for valuable prizes which was distributed to winners. In the end, AlGhanim invited everyone to enjoy the open buffet prepared by Safir International Hotel.

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait sponsored a Ghabqa held recently by the management of the Husain Makki Jumaah Center for medical, nursing, and technical staff on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. The CBK’s decision to sponsor the event “expresses appreciation to the center’s staff for the great efforts exerted in serving patients,” said Amani Al-Waraa, Assistant General Manager - Advertisement and Public Relations Department.

Kataeif

Balah Alsham

INGREDIENTS:

By Swiss Bel Hotel INGREDIENTS:

NO: 15537

24

RAMADAN 24, 1433 AH

Where is the Umayyad Mosque?

Morocco Damascus Cairo

•10 pcs. Kataeif pancake(available in market) •200 gm sweet Arabic cheese/ crushed walnut with little cinnamon •50 gm sugar •Oil for frying • Ghee for roasting •1 lt cold syrup PROCEDURE: 1. Place 20 gm either filling in the middle and fold it in halves to form a half circles.

2. Press the edges with your finger tips.

3. For frying heat up oil and deep fry, plunge them into syrup for 10 sec.

4. For roasting, arrange them on a baking tray and brush ghee heavily then bake at 200 c for 20 mins then pour the syrup.

5. Serve warm or at room temperature.

• 2 lt water • 900 g butter • 1.3 kg flour • 1/2 tsp salt • 24 eggs • 10 ml vanilla essence • 2 lt cold syrup • 1 lt oil for frying PROCEDURE: 1. Boil water, salt and butter 2. Add flour and stir till the side loses from the pan.

3. Put the roux in a machine and cool it down at speed 1.

4. Add egg slowly and essence.

5. Fill the piping bag and pipe it into hot oil 3 inches long.

6. Fry till golden brown.

7. Have the cold sugar syrup ready by side.

8. Remove the churos from the oil and plunge it into the syrup for 10 sec.

local

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

‘Thank you VIVA family’

Group photo of the VIVA Family

(Left) VIVA Ghabqa (centre) Mesut Curtis performing his religious chants and (Right) presenter Osama Fouda and renowned actor Dawood Hussein entertaining the attendees.

KUWAIT: In celebration of the holy month of Ramadan, Kuwait’s newest and most advanced mobile telecommunications service provider, VIVA, organized its annual Ramadan Ghabqa event for its employees, entitled ‘Thank you VIVA family’, at the Sheraton hotel on Aug 1, in a pleasant evening filled with exciting surprises.

The event, themed “Thank you VIVA family” in recognition of the company’s employees and their efforts, was attended by VIVA’s Chief Executive Officer, Eng. Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Badran, management from all sectors and departments, along with the company’s employees, in an effort to reinforce relations.

The Ramadan Ghabqa commenced with a welcome speech by VIVA’s CEO: “I would like to wish each and every member of the VIVA family good health, happiness, and prosperity. We chose the theme “Thank you VIVA Family” for this year’s Ghabqa to express our deep appreciation for all the hard work put in by each and every one of you. We would like to thank you all for your devotion and commitment to elevating and improving our company’s performance since the launch of our commercial operations over three years ago. Our success has only been possible due to the great team work and unity of the VIVA family.”

The evening started with a short documentary which highlighted VIVA’s main achievements during the past three years, followed by the Zen Balance Act, an expressive presentation that exhibits the unity amongst VIVA’s family.

Marina FM’s renowned radio host, Osama Fouda and the renowned actor Dawood Hussein, were both present, performing live and entertaining the attendees. In addition, the Islamic Macedonian chanter of Turkish origin, Mesut Curtis, impressed the crowd with his powerful voice and passionate religious chants. Furthermore, many exciting competitions were arranged for the employees, with the evening coming to an end with a raffle draw and exciting prizes. VIVA is dedicated to holding its annual Ramadan Ghabqa which is aimed at joining members of the VIVA family, management and employees, to enjoy the spiritual and social atmosphere that the Holy month of Ramadan brings with it.

Qatar Airways hosts special Ghabqa for guests

KUWAIT: More than 150 guests attended a Qatar Airways Ghabqa dinner that was held in Kuwait to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. Corporate stakeholders, trade partners and representatives from leading Kuwaiti newspapers, magazines, television and radio attended the event held at the Sheraton, Kuwait City.

Representing Qatar Airways was Country Manager Kuwait, Mohammed Yousef Al Jumairi. He addressed guests with a warm welcome, emphasizing the importance of the Kuwaiti market to Qatar Airways. “The Kuwait - Doha route offers passengers the best level of comfort and service, with excellent onward connections to Europe, Middle East, Africa, North and South America, South Asia and Asia Pacific.”

“Access to the airline’s Doha-based hub is seamless, with 56 flights a week from Kuwait, providing excellent connectivity onwards to more than 100

business and leisure destinations worldwide. It is wonderful to share the celebration of Ramadan with some of our most important stakeholders in Kuwait,” Al-Jumairi said Jumairi added, we are celebrating Iftar with all our passengers throughout the holy month of Ramadan by offering guests who are fasting with a specially designed Iftar box. The box consists of traditional and local gastronomical delights usually associated with breaking the fast.

In addition to water, laban, dates and sweets to enjoy at the moment of Iftar, the specially designed boxes also contain a selection of mouth watering delicacies. These boxes are available exclusively onboard Qatar Airways operated flights between Doha and the Gulf, Middle East and the Levant. Passengers who are not fasting will continue to enjoy Qatar Airways’ unrivalled five-star service on all its flights to any one of the

airline’s leisure and business destinations worldwide.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 15 years of operations, currently operating a modern fleet of 110 aircraft to 118 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

Since the beginning of the year, Qatar Airways has launched flights to Baku (Azerbaijan); Tbilisi (Georgia); Kigali (Rwanda); Zagreb (Croatia), Erbil (Iraq), Baghdad, and most recently, Perth (Australia) and Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) with many more destinations planned during 2012.

Over the next few months, Qatar Airways will launch services to a diverse portfolio of new routes, including Yangon, Myanmar (Oct 3); Maputo, Mozambique (Oct 31) and a date yet-tobe announced to the Serbian capital Belgrade.

NBK Ramadan tent continues receiving fasters

NBK Ramadan Tent receiving fasters daily during the holy month of Ramadan KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait’s (NBK) Ramadan tent held near the Grand Mosque will continue receiving fasters for Ramadan Iftar banquets during the last days of R amadan as par t of NBK’s “Do Good Deeds in the Holy month of Ramadan” campaign.

NBK Public Relations O fficer Talal Al-Turki said that NBK’s Iftar tent, which comes as a part of a well-mapped social program which

features a multitude of philanthropic ac tivities, will keep its doors open for Iftar over the last ten days of Ramadan.

In addition it will be distributing Iftar meals via special convoys to strategic and crowded areas in Kuwait.

“In the light of the unprecedented attendance the Al Watani Iftar tents are witnessing, it is expected that a new record number, that will

Talal Al-Turki

exceed 100,000 Iftar meals, will be set this year. NBK staff volunteers are all set to host and attend fasters at NBK Iftar tents during the last ten days of Ramadan.” Al-Turki added. By ‘Doing Good Deeds’ NBK hopes to encourage a greater sense of community and charity during Ramadan and encourages its customers and staff to participate by ‘doing good deeds’ all month long.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

LOCAL kuwait digest

In my view

Victims of propaganda

A losing battle

By Waleed Al-Rujaib

By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed

he government proceeded with contesting the constitutionality of the electoral law, against political and public demands which tried to warn against facing public fury. The step was taken under the pretext that the current distribution of constituencies is unfair, although none of the systems adopted in Kuwait’s history are fair.

All elec toral system’s prac tices have brought unpleasant results in addition to unlawful practices like vote buying and primary elections.

This procedure, given the headaches it is going to cause to the government and disappointment to the public, comes at an unsuitable time in which people around the world and Arab countries call their governments to initiate actual reforms towards achieving more freedom, social justice and democracy.

While some Arab governments seek to maintain good relations with people, our government takes a provocative step that reflects more obstinacy than wisdom.

In the meantime, there are more persisting subjects that require focus of efforts such as fighting corruption and curbing steadily increasing sectarianism.

I t is definitely not a suitable time for maneuvering and show of power, especially that the government will most definitely lose this battle, given many failed experiences in political prosecution, suppression of demonstration and limiting freedoms.

When the 2009 parliament was dissolved following unprecedented public pressure, that does not mean that the public will ever allow for a corrupt parliament to resume activity. It also does not mean that the public will buy the government’s attempts to tamper with the electoral system.

The issue in Kuwait is more than just a contest between a majority and a minority in Parliament. It is an issue of political reform that is long overdue, and can be achieved through democratic regulations that allow the establishment of political bodies.

The government will not be able to pass their argument as much as they try to convince the public because the level of Kuwaiti people’s awareness are far improved today due to continuous activity and demands for reform, enabling them to differentiate between what is good for MPs’ personal interest. — Al-Rai

ropaganda has been playing a significant role for both sides in the Syrian conflict since the beginning of the crisis, although the Assad regime has been more successful in achieving its goals.

Despite its failure to stop the uprising, the regime managed to prolong its life more than it deserved with the support of propaganda machinery.

The latest of the lies dished out by the regime to Reuters is a statement attributed to the commander of Free Syrian Army Riad Al-Asaad. The counterfeit report says 1,000 soldiers of his army were killed and his forces suffered a crushing defeat.

This is not by any means the first lie, as there is seemingly an army of officials busy spinning lies. They also forge photos, reports and news in various languages. While the propaganda targeting the West portrays the revolutionaries as Al-Qaeda terrorists combined with a handful of Muslim fundamentalists, it strives to convince the Arabs that the uprising against the regime is a conspiracy jointly hatched by the United States and France.

On the other hand, the regime’s messages to its own people are of varying colors and shades. It tells the Christians that Islamists are fighting against them, while the people who back the revolution are told that the revolutionaries are colluding with Israel against Islam and Arabs and that the military seized Israeli supplied weapons from the revolutionaries. The regime also resorts to sending fake messages to the revolutionary ranks such as the message to the victorious revolutionar y fighters in the battle of Haffah against the regime forces.

When the revolutionary fighters wrenched control of Haffah in the Latakia governorate from the regime’s security forces, the propaganda machine sent a counterfeit message to the revolutionaries for a tactical retreat from the town. Unaware of the malicious designs of the propaganda, the fighters pulled out of town believing that the order came their FSA command, an FSA source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

It is no wonder some Western politicians and media persons are following a proregime line being misled by the huge quantity of lies that reach them. Another surprising fact is that the Russian foreign media service also circulates propaganda material churned out by the Assad regime apart from its own creations.

Stranger still is how some bloggers and researchers amidst us Arabs repeat the regime’s propaganda despite the ease with which they can check the facts. When Sultan Al-Qasimi wrote alleging partisanship and forgery of video clips and news reports to support the revolutionaries, I was under the impression that it was a forged propaganda product.

But it turned out that not only did he commit a gross mistake but also proved that the Syrian regime can succeed in misleading even learned Arabs. What he said did not deserve to be said even a year ago when the revolution was in its initial stage. All facts about the Syrian issue are clear for the people in the region, no matter what their leanings or affiliations are.

The Syrian regime is doing worse things than the horrendous facts coming to light in the images and video footings that are being aired daily from the battle zones and wrecked towns. It is hard to believe that Iranians and Russians are fighting along with the regime forces over the last one year.

Although we knew about it earlier, we hardly had any presentable proof.

When any news of mercenaries fighting for the regime is repor ted, the regime’s media presents the issue as though it is a move to help the oppressed people struggling for survival. The concrete evidence to prove the presence of Iranian mercenaries came to light a few days ago when the revolutionaries hijacked a bus carrying members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

The regime’s propaganda machines struggled to portray the Iranian soldiers as pilgrims. But no foreign tourist or pilgrim goes to Syria these days. All those who appeared in the video were able-bodied men of combat age and no women or children were seen among them. It is easy to make comparisons and criticize from a distance and reduce all developments in Syria to pure political issues. On the other hand, developments in Syria are as clear as daylight and supported by the huge volume of irrefutable evidences.

Seventeen months of the uprising is enough for anyone to ascertain the facts. Reducing and presenting the issue as events of political hostilities to distant readers with the help of media propaganda will not change the reality that has been unfolding before the citizens, and that is the most impor tant thing.

But the Syrians would not have risked their lives for an evil and wicked regime for such a long period of time. Unsupported they are fighting for the defense of their families and their neighborhoods. This is the real fact, not canards for political propaganda.

But for the fact that the Assad forces are unsure of its plight and fighting unwillingly, it would have won the war long ago. It has a huge collec tion of weaponr y ; its forces are half a million strong and are backed by an uninterrupted flow of suppor t from his allies. However, now he is under siege in the capital.

T

P

kuwait digest

Unite against all dangers

By Abdullah Al-Misfer Al-Adwani

W

hen are we going to wake up? The world around boils with dangers and disasters are very close, yet we in our state we do not move; we are busy only fighting, amending the constitutions, playing against the nation’s well-being and opposing the national popular majority. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is moving forward and the regional states are getting ready for a day in which sorrow is useless.

Did we learn from the invasion experience?

Did we gain any experience from our painful past? Where are we with respect to what is happening in the world, with the Western military preparations that indicate a close military attack against our Persian neighbor at the opposite coast; who might do like Shamshoon did when he destroyed the Temple because of who was in it? The surrounding danger and evaluation of the situation has been dealt with by many people during the past few days. How has our government prepared for the possible scenarios, and how will it act if anything happens?

The strange thing is that big politicians are talking about this, yet we have never heard a

voice from the government to reassure the people that we are ready for whatever comes.

Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah warned two days ago that there are some external agendas working to spoil the area, explaining that the Western military movements indicate possible military action against Iran in the near future.

Are we ready for this near future? Sheikh Mohammad said that there is indeed a strange gathering from our societies who are trying to split our unity, to make the other ask for help from the outside. At the same time, there are some who want to export the Iraqi case to the regional states and Kuwait. Where are we in all of this?

Sheikh Mohammad pointed to the necessity for unity in the GCC against any possible dangers, emphasizing that the GCC states should provide the support to protect us, especially now that the Syrian volcano might affect the regional states. So where is our readiness for all of this? How long will we continue to sleep and wake only after the wrong thing happens? May Allah protect us. — Al-Anbaa

kuwait digest

Protection of the consumer

By Faisal Al-Zamel

I

NO: 15535

22

RAMADAN 22, 1433 AH

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

Salman Al-Faresi Othman Ben Affan Hamza Ben Abdulmuttalab

n the United States, efforts are made to reduce the speed of the consumption train which is attacking the middle class in a race to own wealth at the expense of all other moral needs. An example of this: one of the schools that takes care of children on behalf of their working parents has imposed a fee on parents who arrive late to receive their children. The result is that parents increased their delaying in arriving to pick up their children, because that simply meant a chance to work more, and earn more at the children’s expense.

Even when this school wanted to go back to the old system, parents continued to delay, as their sense of responsibility had been spoiled the minute they heard of the chance to earn extra income. At the same time they wonder if they can motivate children to study and read in exchange for some money instead of other things that could motivate them more. What the child needs is more quality time with the parents...money is a short cut for time!!

This subject is not limited to only the US, as the consumption express train has now covered the entire world. They are trying there to reduce its speed. One of the bankers told me, he had interviewed potential employees in the bank where I work, and had noticed the phrase “unengagement period” on the CVs of a number of applicants he met. Some of them stop working for one year and others for six months. When I asked they said after years of work and collecting money, they stop working for a period of time in order to volunteer in some public services in the city or the hospital for elderly persons, or to serve their church.

The feeling they get from this not working for themselves is priceless.

Real happiness has nothing to do with materials. He who follows the news of wealthy people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and others who allocate billions of dollars for charity, know that the efforts of reducing the speed of the consumption train is real. For us in our area, there is competition for giving, not with just money, but with time as well. In Yemen, for example, there is a Kuwaiti woman who has lived there many months so she might take care of orphans. Also, Kuwaiti men are travelling in different countries to create charity projects under very hard conditions.

Reducing the speed of the consumption train requires attention of the individual to other means of achieving happiness — things far more effective than the joy of eating, drinking, buying clothing and other beautiful things, which all become ugly after a while.

We look for someone to take it and we try to get rid of it, while the joy others get through giving is unlimited and cannot be forgotten. Lastly, Omar Ben Al Khattab saw Jaber Ben Abdullah in the market for two consecutive days buying meat. When he asked him about it, Jaber replied that he liked eating meat., Omar asked him if he just bought whatever he liked, whenever he liked? Could he not control his stomach for a couple of days?!

And when prices rose during Omer Ben Al Khattab’s rule, people naturally complained. He answered them, saying by not buying, prices will fall down, just ignore buying. Those two rules are a good foundation to protect the consumer. — Al-Anbaa

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

‘Green-on-blue’ attacks spiking in Afghanistan Page 11

After long fight, opening day for US mosque Page 9

HIMACHAL PRADESH, India: People perform rescue work near a wrecked bus that plunged into a deep gorge in this state yesterday. — AP

52 killed in India bus accident Overloaded bus plunges into gorge SHIMLA, India: At least 52 people were killed and 45 injured when a heavily overloaded bus plunged into a gorge yesterday in northern India, in one of the worst road accidents in the country in recent years. The bus, which was carrying over 100 passengers - many of them on the roof veered off the road in a sparsely populated and hilly area of the state of Himachal Pradesh. “Fifty-two people have been killed and 45 injured in the accident,” Sunil Chaudhary, district deputy commissioner, told AFP, adding the death toll could rise because at least a dozen of the injured were in a critical condition. There were anguished scenes as families came to claim the bodies of the victims. Many of the dead

had boarded the 42-seater bus when their own bus broke down, locals told AFP. Some of the bodies were taken away by their families for cremation while the state government brought in four truckloads of wood to cremate other victims at the accident site. The cause was not immediately known but some witnesses said that the driver lost control of the vehicle on a sharp bend. The accident occurred in the morning near Chamba town, about 190 km from the state capital Shimla. The area where the accident happened is treacherous and known for zigzag turns. Villagers were the first to reach the accident site and frantically struggled to pull the dead and injured from the twisted wreckage. Later,

6 killed in Iraq attacks BAGHDAD: Bombings and a shooting against Iraqi security forces, a Shiite mosque and a local official killed six people and wounded dozens of others, security and medical officials said yesterday. “Three policemen were killed and two others wounded by a bomb targeting their patrol in Al-Muqdadiyah this morning,” said a police lieutenant colonel in the town, which lies in restive Diyala province.

Dr Ahmed Ibrahim from the main hospital in the nearby provincial capital Baquba, 60 kilometers north of Baghdad, confirmed the toll. On the outskirts of the main northern city of Mosul, meanwhile, a suicide car bomb near a Shiite mosque killed two people and wounded 40 others, police First

Lieutenant Salim Metta and Dr Salam Bahnam from Mosul General Hospital said. And just outside Haditha, in Anbar province northwest of the capital, city councilman Nabil Shaaker was killed and two of his brothers wounded when gunmen fired on their car, according to a police lieutenant colonel and a city doctor. The latest violence brings the number of people killed in attacks in Iraq so far this month to at least 105, including 55 security forces members, according to an AFP tally based on security and medical sources. While violence has decreased from its peak in 2006 and 2007, attacks remain common across Iraq. There were attacks on 27 of the 31 days in July. Official figures put the number of people killed in attacks in

BAGHDAD: Iraqis inspect the aftermath of a car bomb that exploded near the town of Suwayrah. — AP

July at 325, the highest monthly death toll since August 2010.

6 KILLED WHILE SWIMMING In another development, gunmen killed six young Arab men while they were swimming in a predominantly Turkmen town in north Iraq yesterday, security and medical officials said. “The six martyrs were Arab residents from Amerli,” said Colonel Khalid Hassan AlBayati, police chief of the town of Tuz Khurmatu, 175 kilometers north of Baghdad. Amerli lies just outside Tuz Khurmatu, which is mostly populated

by Shiite Turkmen. “This is a terrorist act, not a criminal act. Two gunmen attacked them while they were swimming,” Bayati said. A police lieutenant colonel said the attackers were riding motorcycles and had fired on the group while they were in a pool in Tuz Khurmatu.

A doctor in the town’s hospital confirmed receiving the six bodies, adding that all had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The latest violence brings the number of people killed in attacks in Iraq so far this month to at least 113, including 57 security forces members, according to an AFP tally based on security and medical sources. While violence has decreased from its peak in 2006 and 2007, attacks remain common across Iraq. There were attacks on 27 of the 31 days in July. Official figures put the number of people killed in attacks in July at 325, the highest monthly death toll since August 2010.— Agencies

emergency crews arrived, covering the dead in white sheets. The bus had been on its way to Chamba from Dulera when it flew off the road. Thirty-nine people were killed instantly while the others died on the way to hospital, Chaudhary said.

It was the second major bus tragedy in a week, in a country where road accidents with dozens dead at a time are common. On Wednesday, 31 people were killed when their bus tumbled into a gorge in Meghalaya state, in India’s remote northeast.

In 2008, some 63 bus passengers returning from a religious celebration were killed when a burst tyre ignited the

vehicle’s fuel tank east of the Taj Mahal city of Agra. India has the highest annual road death toll in the world, according to a 2009 World Health Organization report, with accidents caused by speeding, careless driving and treacherous roads. Himachal Pradesh’s Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal offered his “heartfelt condolences to the families of the dead” and said the next of kin would get 100,000 rupees ($1,800) from the government.

“The state government has ordered an inquiry into the accident,” Dhumal said. The Chamba district borders Indian Kashmir and has been lashed by heavy monsoon rains in the past few days. —AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

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

Defections and attrition warfare, weapons of Syria’s revolt BEIRUT: In their bid to overthrow President Bashar Al-Assad the armed rebels of Syria are stepping up a war of attrition against the regime and trying to push more officials to defect, experts say. “The (rebel) Free Syrian Army has established a strategy based on depriving the enemy of its cadres, by encouraging defection from the regime, while weakening it militarily through guerrilla warfare,” said Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.

After prime minister Riad Hijab joined the opposition this week, FSA spokesman Kassem Saadeddine told AFP that “one of the opposition’s main objectives, in order to bring down the regime, is to encourage defections”.

“After Hijab’s defection, we have received several calls from senior officers and officials, asking us to help them flee,” he said via Skype. Hijab was the highest-ranking official to defect

since an anti-regime revolt broke out in March 2011. He announced breaking ranks with the Syrian regime on Aug 5 but only arrived in neighbouring Jordan two days later, according to authorities in Amman.

An amateur video posted on YouTube on Tuesday showed Hijab seated on the floor of a house, surrounded by members of his family and activists, a clear confirmation he was under FSA protection. “The FSA helped him cross the border,” Saadeddine said, without giving details of the operation.

Hijab’s defection shows that “the regime is disintegrating”, said Abdel Basset Sayda, head of Syria’s main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council (SNC).

Washington agreed. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said reports of the defection of Hijab and senior officials were “just the latest indication that Assad has lost

control of Syria and that the momentum is with the opposition forces and the Syrian people”. “It’s clear that these defections are reaching the highest levels of the Syrian government and demonstrate that the Syrian people believe Assad’s days are numbered.”

Military expert Jeffrey White, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said it took “some kind of network to make this (defection) happen.

You have to have a system, a way of getting in touch and communicating two ways. That could be electronic, but also trusted agents”. He noted the difficulties involved in ensuring that whole families escape safely, saying it requires more than “some guy throwing his family in the car”. “There has to be some physical process to get the person or multiple persons to the border.

Someone at the border to receive them or escort them in transit,” said White.

The SNC has made multiple calls to

regime troops and officers, as well as intelligence agents and diplomats, to defect, a member of the opposition group told AFP. “We expect the wave (of defections) to pick up speed,” the member said.

Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, an Arab diplomat said Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar set up a $15 billion fund in May to help encourage regime figures to defect, in a bid to see Assad out by the end of 2012. On the ground, the rebels seek to stretch the regular army’s forces as far as possible, by opening multiple fronts at once.

“There is a war between a militia that is trying to expand its operations over the whole of Syria’s territory on one hand, and a strong regular army on the other,” said Kahwaji. “The principle of a guerrilla is war of attrition.” At this stage of the conflict, the rebels, said Kahwaji, are taking the initiative. “The rebels choose the time and the place of the

outbreak of each new battle,” he added.

The FSA launched the battle to “liberate” Damascus before withdrawing from the capital, after three weeks of fighting. The rebel army then kickstarted the “battle for Aleppo,” the country’s second city and scene of raging combat. At the same time, the FSA is staging operations in the northwest province of Idlib, Daraa in the south and Deir Ezzor in the east, targeting army convoys and regime checkpoints.

In the border area with Turkey, an AFP journalist saw convoys of dozens of vehicles travelling under the cover of night. A Syrian activist said the convoys carry “weapons from Turkey into Syria”.

The opposition has said that Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Libya have provided the rebels with weapons, but the FSA says they are not the weapons they need. “If we had weapons of quality, we would have already liberated the country,” said Saadeddine. — AFP

Syria, Jordan forces clash in border area Rebels plan counter-attack after setback in Aleppo

TEHRAN: Advisor to the Iranian President Ali Akbar Javanfekr (right), Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri (center), advisor to the supreme leader, and Ayatollah Mohammad Hasan Akhtari look at a rifle sized from Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah fighters during the 2006 war in Lebanon at an exhibition about the war yesterday. — AP

Iran’s Syria diplomacy ‘exacerbates divisions’ TEHRAN: As Syria’s conflict grinds bloodily on, Iran threw its diplomatic muscle this week into trying to save its Damascus ally - but Western observers said the effort was likely to worsen the crisis. “Distrust between Iran and the West means Iran’s attempt at a parallel diplomatic track simply exacerbates the divisions between those, like Russia and Iran, who want (President Bashar al-) Assad to stay and the rest of the world who see that his violent actions against his own people mean that this is simply untenable,” one Western diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Iran sent two top envoys to several countries in the region this week including to Syria, where Assad was told Tehran would never let its “axis of resistance” with him fold. It also hosted a conference of like-minded nations in Tehran calling for a Syria ceasefire.

The pro-Damascus initiatives launched by Iran compete head-on with a Western-backed diplomatic track that is tilted in favour of Syria’s opposition.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added momentum to that second track on Saturday by holding talks in Istanbul with Turkey’s leaders and Syrian opposition figures. The duelling diplomacy has left the quest for peace in Syria fragmented and impotent, analysts say.

In the meantime, the body count in Syria, where savage fighting is raging in the commercial hub of Aleppo, has surpassed 21,000 since the insurgency started in March 2011. Iran is committed to ensuring the Syrian regime’s survival.

As Saeed Jalili, a top aide to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Assad when he flew to Damascus to see him on Tuesday: “Iran will never allow the axis of resistance - of which Syria is an essential pillar - to break.”

That “axis” forms a Shiite-run crescent stretching from Tehran to the Mediterranean. It is headed by the Islamic Republic of Iran and includes Assad’s government and Hezbollah in Lebanon, all of which are unified by antiIsraeli policies. Tehran’s support for Syria got complicated last week, when rebels captured 48 Iranians in Damascus and accused them of being Iranian Revolutionary Guards on a “reconnaissance mission”.

Tehran eventually acknowledged that the men included “retired” Revolutionary Guards, but insisted they were in the Syrian capital on a religious pilgrimage, not on military duty, and demanded their immediate release. Iran denies US accusations it has military personnel in Syria to help Assad’s forces against the rebels. — AFP

ALEPPO, Syria: Syrian and Jordanian forces clashed along the border overnight in an incident that highlighted international concerns that the civil war in Syria could ignite a wider regional conflict. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stepped up efforts to tackle the worsening Syria crisis yesterday when she arrived in Turkey for talks with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and members of the Syrian opposition. Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad tried to snuff out resistance in Aleppo, the country’s biggest city, but rebels said they would hit back despite having lost ground and run low on ammunition. “We can handle the bombing,” rebel commander Abu Thadet said in Aleppo. “It’s the snipers that are making it hard.”

The border clash broke out after Syrian refugees tried to cross into Jordan, a Syrian opposition activist who witnessed the fighting said. Syrian troops fired across the frontier and fighting ensued, a Jordanian said. No one was reported killed on Jordan’s side.

Armoured vehicles were involved in the clash in the Tel Shihab-Turra area, about 80 km north of the Jordanian capital Amman, the Syrian activist said. Jordanian troops have fired near the border in the past to stop Syrian forces shooting at fleeing refugees.

But the latest clash - the most serious incident between the two countries since the uprising against Assad began 17 months ago is likely to alarm Western powers who fear any spread of violence in a region divided over the conflict. Assad, who is allied to Irans, is fighting to crush a rebellion that aims to end his family’s four decades in charge of Syria. A member of the country’s Alawite minority, he is battling mostly Sunni Muslim foes who Damascus says are backed by Sunni-led states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Syria’s long border with Jordan has been an escape route for Assad opponents, including Prime Minister Riad Hijab who defected this week. In Aleppo, Syria’s economic hub and a crucial arena in the conflict, rebels were regrouping at the headquarters of the Seyoof al-Shahbaa brigade after retreating from Salaheddine - the district that controls access to the city from the south. They were preparing to return to the district, a former rebel stronghold, to join other fighters. “The reason

we retreated from Salaheddine this week is due to a lack of weapons,” commander Thadet said.

Weapons merchants say they are out of stock and bullet prices have gone up 70 per-

been much more efficient at rooting out rebels than in Aleppo, a city of 2.5 million where fighters have flooded in from rural regions. The United States imposed a new round of sanctions on Friday that targeted

DAMASCUS: Wael Al-Halqi (left), the former Syrian health minister, is sworn as prime minister by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad at the Presidential Palace yesterday. — AP cent in the past two days, Thadet told Reuters.

Fighting has ebbed and flowed over the past week but Assad’s forces were in control of much of Salaheddine yesterday. Thadet leads a brigade of 30 fighters but 10 are wounded, mostly by sniper fire. Snipers are positioned even in areas that rebels claim to control. His men have broken down walls within apartment buildings to make covered paths through Salaheddine as the open streets are too dangerous. While Assad’s grip on the country has been eroded as the uprising has gathered momentum, his forces have consistently demonstrated their overwhelming firepower advantage against lightly armed rebels.

In Damascus, residents reported shelling of the southeastern district of Shebaa and said nine tanks could be seen on the road heading out to the airport. Forces in the capital have

Syria’s state-run oil company Sytrol for trading with Iran, and the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah for aiding the Syrian government.

Repeated rounds of US and European sanctions, announced every few months, have had a negligible impact on the war. Russia and China have blocked UN Security Council action that would have allowed tighter, global sanctions against Damascus. “There will be no winner in Syria,” UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon said in a statement on Thursday. “Now, we face the grim possibility of long-term civil war destroying Syria’s rich tapestry of interwoven communities.” Diplomats said veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi could be named next week to replace the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, who quit after his peacemaking efforts proved futile in the face of Security Council division. — Reuters

Iranian pilot campaigns to lift airline sanctions

Truth as elusive as militants in Sinai SHEIKH ZUWAYID, Egypt: As the sun set over his desert village in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Abu Asma sat down to break his Ramadan fast when he heard gunfire from the army outpost down the road. He ignored it, and then a bullet hit his little brick home. The shooting was over in minutes. Neighbours went to the outpost near Israel’s border to investigate and found more than a dozen dead soldiers.

Some had been shot in the head.

“Whoever did this was very well trained,” Abu Asma said.

The massacre on Sunday, as the neighbours describe it, sent shockwaves across Egypt and prompted the army to launch an unprecedented operation to flush out Islamist militants from the lawless peninsula. Helicopters crisscross the skies as military trucks haul tanks to the area near the borders with Israel and Gaza in preparation for what the military says will be a decisive confrontation with the militants.

Authorities believe the militants are radical Islamist Bedouins and suspect the involvement of extremists in Gaza. Egypt has requested information from Gaza’s Hamas rulers on three suspects belonging to a radical militant group called the Islamic Army, a senior security official said. The military and police have already boasted successes, claiming the killing of 20 militants in air strikes - the first in the Sinai for decades - and the arrest of six “terrorists”. But the claims meet with scepticism from villagers who charge that

the security forces missed their elusive quarry, who simply melted away into the vast mountainous desert. Instead the security forces resorted to the arbitrary tactics of the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak, fanning longstanding grievances against the central government, villagers say. In Tumah, a small village of sparse brick homes where the air strikes against the militants were reported to have taken place on Wednesday, residents said the military’s claims were pure propaganda.

There was indeed a site, on the village’s outskirts, which the Islamist militants used as a training base, said one resident of the area, Eid Sawairka. The militants were long gone when armoured personnel vehicles raided the village backed by helicopter gunships, he said.

An elderly man at the village mosque, who gave his name as Abu Mohammed, told a similar story. “ There were 45 armoured personnel carriers and police vehicles, and two helicopters. They fired two rockets but they didn’t hit anything.”A few kilometres away, in the village of El-Jura, residents showed AFP the site of a helicopter rocket strike on Wednesday morning. “I heard a whoosh, and then an explosion,” said Mohamed Yusef. The rocket punched a hole in a cinderblock wall of a storehouse for dry wood metres from his home, he said, dangling the spent rocket in his hand.

The other landed in the sand. — AFP

TEHRAN: An Iranian pilot who guided an Iran Air Boeing passenger plane to a safe emergency landing last year despite broken front landing gear has launched a campaign to lift Western sanctions that restrict the import of civilian plane spare parts. Captain Hooshang Shahbazi, hailed by Iran’s media as a hero, told AP in an interview that sanctions are “inhuman” and claimed they violate international conventions to which the United States is a signatory.

US sanctions prevent Tehran from updating its 35-year-old American aircraft, and European parts or planes are extremely difficult to obtain. Iran now relies on Russian aircraft, mostly older planes built before the fall of the Soviet Union for which parts are harder to replace. Although some technical openings exist for Iranian carriers to obtain US spare parts, such as conducting the repairs outside Iran, the difficult licensing and oversight procedures make them extremely difficult to act upon. Meanwhile, Iran’s state carrier Iran Air was placed under specific US sanctions last year over alleged links to the military.

Iran has a history of frequent air accidents blamed on its aging aircraft and poor maintenance.

Iran Air’s fleet mainly includes Boeing and Airbus aircraft, many

of them bought before the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution that led to a breakdown in ties between Tehran and Washington.

“To achieve human goals, one should not threaten lives of human beings,” Shahbazi said. “ There are things that should never be threatened such as human lives, access to medicine and access to food. Even during World Wars I and II, there were no sanctions on these,” he added.

The pilot’s fame comes from a courageous manoeuver he executed in Tehran last October, landing safely using only the rear wheels of a Boeing 727 flying from Moscow. Setting the air-

craft’s nose down gently on the tarmac at the last second, the emergency move allowed 94 passengers and 19 crew members to escape unhurt. “Lift aviation sanctions. Save passengers’ lives. The Iranian people are innocent” reads a slogan on his website (capt-shahbazi.com). So far, 123,970 people have joined a petition he has launched.

“President Obama appeared on TV during Iran’s new year holiday with a message of equality, brotherhood and friendship to my countrymen,” Shahbazi said.

“Then, the next day, he sat at his desk and signed a decree to extend the sanctions on Iran’s

TEHRAN: Iranian pilot Hooshang Shahbazi checks the Internet at his home Aug 6, 2012. — AP

civilian aviation industry, putting the lives of Iranians in danger. My question is: Is that not paradoxical?”

Iran has acknowledged in the past that its air industry was suffering from US sanctions, and that it has sought to buy newer second-hand planes such as Airbus models from third countries to compensate for the shortage of passenger aircraft. In recent years, Iran has started producing small passenger aircraft with assistance from Ukraine, with the first 52-seat Iranianassembled passenger plane entering service in 2002. The twin-propeller Iran-140 plane is assembled domestically with parts and technology from Ukraine, but it is still not widely used because only a few have been produced.

While civilian aircraft sanctions have been in place for more than three decades, Western powers have offered to ease sanctions on spare parts in return for a halt to Iran’s uranium enrichment activities. Iran has rejected the offer, likening it to swapping diamonds in return for peanuts. The West accuses Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the charges, saying its program is peaceful and geared toward producing electricity and radioisotopes used to treat cancer patients. — AP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

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

After long fight, opening day for US mosque MURFREESBORO, Tennessee: Muslims in the Tennessee city of Murfreesboro said Friday they hope the opening of their new mosque after more than two years of controversy will be a new beginning for relations with the community, particularly their opponents. Islamic Center of Murfreesboro members include immigrants from Iraq, Egypt, Syria and other countries, as well as American converts. Many of them said that before the opposition to their new building they had always found Murfreesboro to be a welcoming community. If it were not, the congregation would never have grown to the point where they needed to build a new mosque, they said. “We are here 30 years and I never had a problem with the people here,” said Safaa Fathy, a member of the mosque’s board of directors. “It only started two years ago.”

That’s when the Islamic center received permission to construct a new mosque to replace their overcrowded space in an office park. Since then they have had to deal with public protests, vandalism, arson of a construction vehicle and a bomb threat.

Opponents of the project held a protest rally and then sued the county to stop construction. Their attorneys claimed in court that Islam was not a real religion deserving First

Amendment protections. They also claimed that local Muslims were part of a plot to overthrow the US constitution and replace it with Islamic law.

They were unable to prove those claims, which were thrown out by the judge, but construction was nearly halted anyway when that judge ruled in May there was not sufficient public notice for the meeting where mosque construction was approved. Last month, a federal judge granted the mosque’s request for an emergency order that would open the building in time for the holy month of Ramadan, which is still under way.

Matt Miller had just converted to Islam and begun worshipping at the mosque when the controversy erupted. He said all of his friends, whom he describes as “regular American barhopping citizens,” support the new mosque and are happy for the congregation.

He does sometimes worry that opposition to the mosque could turn violent, but said a friend told him to think about it this way: “If the way you go is praying in the masjid (mosque) during Ramadan, what better way is there?” Miller said he thinks the opposition will die down after the mosque holds an open house and people “see that there are no underground tunnels. We’re not here to take over the

world. We just don’t want to worship in a shoebox anymore.”

Fathy ’s daughter Amirah Fathy drove up from Atlanta on Friday to celebrate the mosque opening with her parents. She said she never felt hostility because of her religion while growing up in Murfreesboro. When the controversy over the new building started

congregation meeting in a one-bedroom apartment when she was a child.

“It was such a mess,” she said.

Surveying the spacious, 12,000-sq-ft building with its high ceilings, tile hallways and numerous windows, she said, “The feeling is just overwhelming, the feeling of joy, happiness.”

About half of the building is taken

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee: A woman takes a picture of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro after midday prayers on Friday. — AP it was “so strange,” she said. “I think we up by the large, open worship space. just got too much attention and peo- Worshippers sit on the floor, where a ple got nervous. People fear what they decorative carpet pattern divides the don’t understand.” She remembers the space into rectangles about 2’ by 4’

each, showing members where to sit and pray. Because they prostrate themselves during prayers, men are in the front of the room and women in the back. Soon, there will be a nursery for small children, but on Friday, the little ones ran around their mothers, playing and sometimes shouting while older siblings tried to quiet them.

Some men were dressed in suits, while others wore button-down shirts and slacks or T-shirts and jeans. A few wore the traditional clothing of their countries, including long shirts that fall to the knees and small, brimless hats.

The women covered their hair with colorful scarves and wore robes or long skirts. Some younger women pulled on skirts over their jeans as they walked in. In the front of the room, the imam stood in front of a small alcove with an arched opening. On either side, windows looked out on construction vehicles, still at work landscaping the property.

During his sermon, Imam Ossama Bahloul told the congregation that sometimes people worried about the opposition they have faced will ask him “Why us?” In his answer, he turned the idea that mosque members are victims on its ear. “Maybe it’s because God knows we are strong enough to deal with this,” he told them. “So be proud.” — AP

US soldier gets life term for bomb plot Defiant Abdo doesn’t ask for mercy

NORFOLK, Virginia: Republican vice presidential candidate, US Rep Paul Ryan speaks during a campaign rally in front of the USS Wisconsin yesterday. — AFP

Ryan seen as bridge across GOP spectrum JANESVILLE, Wisconsin: Even before Wisconsin sent Paul Ryan to Congress, he was meticulously carving a path that seemed to point only upward. As a young Capitol Hill staffer, he impressed Republican lawmakers with his hustle and intellectual curiosity. He blended quickly with an elite crop of conservative thinkers. By his 30s, he was a congressman on his way to becoming a Republican name brand with his pushthe-edge budget proposals. Ryan’s climb reached new heights Saturday when Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced him as his running mate.

“Mitt’s Choice for VP is Paul Ryan,” said a phone app Romney’s team created to spread the word to supporters. As the chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan gives Romney a link to Capitol Hill leadership and underscores Romney’s effort to make the election a referendum on the nation’s economic course. Romney also could see his standing improve in Wisconsin, a state President Barack Obama won handily four years ago but that could be much tighter this November.

Even so, Ryan has been a doubleedged sword for Romney. The congressman’s endorsement of Romney came at a critical stage of the Republican primaries, giving him a boost in the Wisconsin race.

But it also meant Romney was embracing the Ryan-sponsored budget proposal that Democrats fiercely target as painful to the poor and elderly. Still, the squarejawed congressman is viewed as a bridge between the buttoned-up Republican establishment and the riled-up tea party movement. At 42, Ryan has spent almost half of his life in the Washington fold, the last 14 representing a southern Wisconsin district that runs from the shores of Lake Michigan through farm country south of Madison.

Ryan grew up in Janesville and still lives just down the block from where he spent his boyhood. His father, a lawyer, died of a heart attack when Ryan was a teenager. It’s why Ryan is a fitness buff, leading fellow lawmakers through grueling, early-morning workouts and pushing himself through mountain climbs. That same intensity propelled him on the political front, too. He was first exposed to Congress as a summer intern to Sen Robert Kasten. With an economics degree in hand, Ryan worked his way through committee staff assignments, a prominent think tank and top legislative advisory roles until opportunity arose with an open seat from his home turf. He leveraged Washington connections, local ties forged through the family construction

business and the backing of anti-abortion groups en route to his surprisingly comfortable victory.

As a 28-year-old, Ryan entered Congress brimming with idealistic views about forcing government to become leaner and less intrusive, principles he thought even fellow Republicans were abandoning too readily. “One of the first lessons I learned was, even if you come to Congress believing in limited government and fiscal prudence once you get here you are bombarded with pressure to violate your conscience and your commitment to help secure the people’s natural right to equal opportunity,” Ryan wrote in a 2010 book.

Critics question Ryan’s own consistency. They note that he backed a costly prescription drug benefit during Republican George W Bush’s presidency that added strain to the Medicare budget, which Ryan touted at the time as “one of the most critical pieces of legislation” enacted since he joined Congress. He said in a June interview with AP that he took a “defensive” vote to ward off a more expensive Senate version. More recently, Ryan served on a bipartisan presidential debt commission but balked at its report because a tax increase was on the menu of options. He is a disciple of and past aide to the late Rep Jack Kemp, once a Republican vice presidential nominee himself who effusively promoted tax cuts as a central tenet for economic growth.

From the title page of his idyllic “Path to Prosperity” budget plan down to the most scrutinized fine print, Ryan is adept at framing proposals in the most pleasant terms. Ryan’s opponents charge that his call to open Medicare to more private competition is too risky even if implementation would be a ways off; he counters that the latest version was fashioned in consultation with prominent Democrats in hopes of heading off an all-out program collapse that would devastate the financial security of future retirees. Foes say his plans to scale back food stamps and housing assistance are mean-spirited; Ryan describes the moves, which would allow states to further customize their welfare programs while imposing tougher time limits and work requirements, as empowerment for the downtrodden who he argues are being lulled into lives of complacency and dependency. It took time for Ryan’s own party to get fully behind his ideas. A few years ago, when Ryan first proposed dramatic changes to entitlement programs like Medicare some Republicans were skittish because Democrats pounced on the plans as undermining the health program accessed by millions of retirees. — AP

WACO, Texas: Naser Jason Abdo sat alone in court with his hands shackled and a white cloth secured over his mouth and neck. The soldier who went AWOL and plotted to kill other troops outside a Texas Army post remained defiant Friday as he was sentenced to life in prison, not asking for mercy and vowing to never end what he considers his holy war. “I will continue until the day the dead are called to account for their deeds,” Abdo said in a low, gravelly voice through the cloth mask. A federal judge sentenced Abdo, 22, to two life terms plus additional time. The federal prison system offers no chance of parole. He was convicted of planning what he claimed would have been a massive attack on a Texas restaurant filled with troops from Fort Hood.

In court, Abdo referred to Maj Nidal Hasan the Army psychiatrist soon to be tried in a deadly shooting rampage at that Army post as “my brother”. He said he lived in Hasan’s shadow despite “efforts to outdo him.” Abdo became a Muslim at age 17. Outside court, prosecutor Mark Frazier said Abdo had come close to carrying out the attack. US Attorney Robert Pitman compared the plot to recent mass shootings at a movie theatre near Denver and a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee. “In the wake of the tragic events in Colorado and Wisconsin, this is yet another reminder that there are those among us who would use or plan to use violence to advance their twisted agenda,” Pitman said.

Arguing for a life sentence, Frazier had said Abdo still presented a threat. Abdo’s mouth was covered in court, Frazier said, because he had earlier spat his own blood at agents believing he was infected with HIV. That belief turned out to be wrong. “He felt it was his duty to take lives, even after incarceration,” Frazier told the court. Abdo was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Kentucy, when he was arrested with bomb-making materials last summer at a Fort Hood-area motel. A federal jury convicted him in May on six charges, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Abdo also was found guilty of attempted murder of US officers or employees and four counts of possessing a weapon in furtherance of a federal crime of violence.

Representing himself, Abdo told the court how his effort to become a conscientious objector led him to Fort Hood. He grew up in Garland, Texas, and enlisted in the military in 2009 thinking the service would not conflict with his religious beliefs. But as his unit neared deployment, the private first class applied for conscientious objector status, writing in a letter that accompanied his application that he wasn’t sure “whether going to war was the right thing to do Islamically”.

Abdo’s unit was deployed to Afghanistan without him. He said he would refuse to go even if it resulted in a military charge against him.

But his conscientious objector status was put on hold after he was charged with possessing child pornography in May 2011. Abdo told the court he felt the pornography accusation was made only because he had tried to

leave the Army. “I just can’t imagine a worse stigma being placed on a person,” he said of that charge. A month later, after his efforts to reach out to the media had failed, Abdo said he decided he “was going to go on jihad.”

Then, over the Fourth of July weekend, Abdo went AWOL. In a police interview, Abdo said he wanted to carry out the attack because he didn’t “appreciate what (his) unit did in Afghanistan.”

His plan, he told authorities, was to place a bomb in a busy restaurant filled with soldiers, wait outside and shoot anyone who survived and become a martyr after police killed him.

According to testimony, Abdo told an investigator he didn’t plan an attack inside Fort Hood because he didn’t believe he would be able to get past security at the gates. Abdo said Friday he would not ask US District Judge Walter Smith for a lighter sentence. — AP

WACO, Texas: Naser Jason Abdo, riding in a federal vehicle and wearing a facial mask, arrives at the US Federal Courthouse on Friday. — AP

Batman shooter impressed neuroscience program DENVER: The Colorado theater shooting suspect left a good impression on people he met in his pursuit of a neuroscience career, with a reference describing him as having a “great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity”. That account came in a recommendation letter sent to the University of Illinois’ neuroscience program as part of James Holmes’ application to the school last year. The names of those who wrote the letter were blacked out. The letter and all of the university’s documents related to Holmes were provided to AP on Friday after an open records request. The NewsGazette in Champaign, Illinois, first obtained the documents.

Holmes declined to attend the highly selective program, and instead attended the University of Colorado, Denver, studying neuroscience until he dropped out in June. He gave no reason for declining the Illinois offer, and no reason for dropping out in Colorado. University of Colorado officials have declined to release

Holmes’ records, citing a Colorado judge’s gag order that does not apply to other states. Holmes is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 in the attack during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie. Holmes attorneys say that he is mentally ill.

Letters, his resume and a personal statement written by Holmes paint a picture a bright student who was committed to

James Holmes

pursuing a career as cognitive neuroscientist.

“Researching learning and memory interests me because these are the very cognitive processes which enable us to acquire information and retain it,” he wrote in his personal statement. “They are at the core of what distinguishes us as people.”

In recommendation letters, Holmes is described as being in the top 1 percent of his honors classes with a cumulative grade point average of 3.949.

“He takes an active role in his education, and brings a great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity into the classroom,” one recommendation letter reads. “James received excellent evaluations from the professors and graduate students with whom he worked and was mentored.”

Another letter describes him as “a very effective group leader” on assignments. That description is a stark contrast to his demeanor in court, where he seems dazed, looking straight

ahead and avoiding eye contact with those sitting in the courtroom. As part of his application, Holmes submitted a picture of himself standing next to a llama.

It’s unclear whether he submitted the photo as a way to make his application stand out, but it seemed to work.

Samuel Beshers, neuroscience program coordinator, referred to Holmes as “llama” in emails.

Beshers did not return a message left at the school.

“Your personal and professional qualities are truly outstanding,” and “you will be an excellent match for our program,” read the letter accepting Holmes into the program after the school paid his travel expenses for a visit. At least two researchers were vying for Holmes to join their laboratories, and the school offered him a stipend $22,600 per year and free tuition. Holmes sent an email to the school declining their offer.

“My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused,” he wrote. “Best wishes in your candidate search.” — AP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

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

Swedes summoned by Belarus security police ‘Teddy bear’ stunt trio ready to meet KGB

RABAT: A picture taken on Friday shows a local resident hiding to smoke during Ramadan near a mosque.— AFP

Little sympathy in Morocco for Ramadan boycott group RABAT: The seats outside cafes are empty and streets eerily quiet in the hour before sunset, as Moroccans wait to break the day-long Ramadan fast. But one group is causing a stir by flouting religious convention. Masayminch (“We’re not fasting” in the local Arabic dialect) was founded last month by Moroccan youths seeking to defend individual liberties, starting with the right of non-believers to eat, drink or smoke in public during the Muslim holy month. “The essential vision is to tell society that we are different, and that we shouldn’t have to hide to live in peace,” Imad Iddine Habib, 23, a cofounder of the group, told AFP. Morocco has a reputation as a particularly tolerant Muslim country, where the form of Islam practised is distinctly moderate. There are plenty of bars in the main cities, though they tend to close during Ramadan and some may refuse to ser ve Moroccans. Women enjoy relatively extensive freedoms. But it remains a deeply religious society - 89 percent of Moroccans consider religion to be “very important” in their lives, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Centre, a US think-tank.

For a Moroccan not to fast during Ramadan is viewed as something of a taboo. “Most people are shocked if they see someone eating in the streets.

There’s a feeling of resentment, that they are not respecting society,” said Omar Benjelloun, a human rights lawyer. At the heart of the debate is article 222 of Morocco’s penal code, which states that anyone “breaking the fast in a public place during Ramadan, without a reason accepted” in Islam, can be imprisoned for up to six months and fined.

Communication Minister Mustapha El Khalfi, of the PJD, the moderate Islamist party that came to power after winning the November elections, was quoted as saying last month that the government would be “firm in enforcing the law, as it has been since taking office”. Getting round the problem is straightforward enough - most shops remain open during the day, so if your self-discipline weakens as your stomach starts to growl, there’s no law to stop

you going home for a bite to eat.

But people do get into trouble. Local media repor ted last week that four youths, two men and two women, were arrested near the central town of Beni Mellal, northwest of Marrakesh, and are awaiting trial, after a farmer saw them eating and smoking by the roadside and informed the police. Another incident highlighted the depth of feeling over the issue. Two young men filed a complaint against the son of an MP, independent daily Al-Ak hbar Al-Youm reported this month, accusing him of ramming into them in his car and causing injuries, after they criticised him for smoking in public.

Habib, the Masayminch activist, argues that although Morocco is a largely Islamic society, there are many non-practising Muslims who simply fast to avoid getting into trouble, and accuses those who defend the law of “hypocrisy”. “People drink and smoke.

There is prostitution everywhere. But then (during Ramadan), they don’t tolerate that you are not a Muslim,” he told AFP. “We want to abrogate this law. We are not believers, and society has no right to impose its beliefs on us,” he added.

But even for progressively-minded Moroccans who would like to see greater personal freedoms and who fear the kind of restrictions that a more Islamic government might impose, the Masayminch activists are barking up the wrong tree. “Individual liberties and human rights are much more important than having a picnic during Ramadan,” said Benjelloun, the lawyer. “ What Masayminch are doing doesn’t serve the cause of secularism and modernity. This is a gift to their enemies,” he added, referring to hardline Islamists.

At one of the few cafes open for business during the day in central Rabat, Jose, 46, believes it is simply a question of respecting the country’s Islamic culture. “Even if you are not a Muslim, if you want to smoke or eat, you should do so in private. These people are spitting on society,” says the Spaniard, enjoying a coffee in the cafe’s upstairs section that allows customers to be served out of sight. — AFP

Crowds gather to welcome Gabon opposition leader LIBREVILLE: Hundreds backing Gabon’s main opposition leader risked sanctions yesterday, gathering to welcome Andre Mba Obame back from 14 months in France after his claim to have won presidential elections.

Obame, leader of the now dissolved National Union (UN) party, is due to arrive at the capital Libreville’s Leon Mba airport yesterday evening to a hero’s welcome, despite official warnings that this was illegal. “A dissolved, and therefore unauthorised, party is not allowed to hold rallies. That’s the law. Those who are involved obviously risk punishment,” said presidential spokesman Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze. His return is a key event in Gabon, which has not had a main opposition figure to President Ali Bongo Ondimba since the death of Pierre Mamboundou, leader of the UPG (Union of the Gabonese People), in October 2011. Once close to Ali Bongo’s father Omar Bongo Ondimba, Obame switched sides after the older Bongo’s death in 2009 to form the opposition to the late president’s son.

Obame’s party was dissolved by authorities in 2011 after he proclaimed himself president in a 2009 election won by Bongo.

Accused of “disturbing public order” and “threatening state authority”, for which he risks a prison sentence of between two months and one year, and stripped of his parliamentary immunity, Obame left Gabon for France. Authorities deny that an

increased police presence in the capital in the last few days is linked to the politician’s return, which they called a “non-event”. “You cannot reproach state authorities for not maintaining the security of Gabonese and then complain when police are out on intersections”, said Bilie-By-Nze. Though officially dissolved, the UN continues to function and party supporters have mobilised for Obame’s return, timed for just a few days before Gabon’s independence day on Aug 17.

In recent days, minibuses have brought people from the province of WoleuNtem in the Fang heartlands - the ethnic group to which Obame belongs and hundreds of posters put up around the capital. The National Union and other opposition groups have demanded a national conference to demand sweeping reforms including the dissolution of Gabon’s national assembly and a new constitution. They also want elections in 2013.

According to the presidency, “no conference is needed” as “Gabon is not a country in crisis”. In returning, Obame risks imprisonment if authorities decide to pursue him. “Mr Mba Obame himself said he was ready to take up his work again. So he is ready to answer a call to justice;” said Bilie-ByNze. Last month a combative Obame said he was ready for the fight. “I left Gabon in a wheelchair, I’ll come back on my two legs. People that have said I’m dead and gone had better prepare to fight against my ghost.” — AFP

STOCKHOLM: Three Swedes behind the socalled “teddy bear” stunt in Belarus which is believed to have sparked a diplomatic row with Stockholm have been summoned by Minsk’s KGB security police, they said yesterday. “We’ve received a document from the KGB. ... Three of us have been asked to appear before the KGB,” Tomas Mazetti, the co-founder of the advertising agency that orchestrated the stunt, told AFP. Swedish activists flew a plane over Belarus early last month and dropped hundreds of teddy bears attached to little parachutes carrying signs calling for freedom of speech and human rights.

The KGB had said in a statement earlier it was investigating “the illegal crossing of the state border of Belarus by Sweden nationals in a small airplane”. In three separate “notices of appointment” written in English and posted on its website, the KGB said that Mazetti, Hannah Frey and Cromwell Per, all Swedish nationals, must appear before Belarus authorities within 10 days. The notices said that if they did not comply they faced a fine or “correctional work for up to two years, or imprisonment for up to six months”.

Mazetti said the letter did not spell out why the Swedes were being summoned, but his understanding was that they had been asked to appear as witnesses - not suspects. “The let-

ter refers to ‘refusal or avoidance of a victim or a witness to appear’, it doesn’t refer to suspects,” he said. However, Mazetti said the Swedes would seek guarantees from the KGB before travelling to Minsk.

“We’re going to demand guarantees that the KGB does not indict us. They’ve said they would agree to that previously, but we want guarantees,” he said. The KGB statement pledged to observe the Swedes’ rights “in accordance with the Belarus’ legislation”.

On Aug 3, Minsk expelled the Swedish ambassador to Belarus alleging he was trying to “destroy” ties with the ex-Soviet state, a move Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt conceded could be linked to the teddy bear incident. Sweden retaliated, refusing to welcome a new ambassador to replace an envoy who left the post several weeks ago, and withdrew residency permits for two Belarus diplomats who were asked to leave the Scandinavian country.

On Aug 8, Minsk announced it was expelling all Swedish diplomats, giving Sweden until Aug 30 to remove them, and closing its Stockholm mission. Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko dismissed the country’s top border control official and the top air force commander after the teddy bear incident. Minsk also demanded that Vilnius investigate the incident, saying the Swedish plane had crossed into

Belarus from Lithuania. “Lithuania should not be sitting like mice under a broom. They must answer to us why they provided their territory for national border violation,” Lukashenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency on Thursday. “If there is anyone who won’t find it funny, it is Lithuania,” he warned. “Currently data is being collected, and the request for legal assistance will be considered,” Ruta Dirsiene, the Lithuanian state prosecutors’ spokesman, told AFP. The European Union held an emergency meeting Friday to discuss a response to the expulsion of the Swedish diplomats but shied away from a mass diplomatic retaliation.

However EU Political and Security Committee chairman Olof Skoog said, “There is going to be a very clear message to all Belarussian ambassadors around Europe in the next few days.

European ambassadors to Belarus had been previously recalled in February after Minsk responded to new EU sanctions targeting Lukashenko’s regime for human rights abuses by suggesting that envoys from Poland and the European Commission leave the largely isolated country. Skoog said sanctions on Belarus would be discussed again in October, and that “the decision against the Swedish embassy will of course also have an effect on how we discuss our relations with Belarus”. — AFP

Forest fire prompts new evacuations in Canaries MADRID: Hundreds of hectares were again in flames in Spain’s Canary Islands and mainland Galicia region yesterday as a pitiless heat wave showed no signs of letting up. The most devastating fires of the past decade had been close to being brought under control before storming back to life on La Gomera in the Canaries. Forest fires that broke out a week ago have already ravaged some 3,000 hectares of land on La Gomera, including about one-tenth of the Garajonay nature reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site. “The fires are still burning on three fronts,” an emergency services spokesman said, adding: “There is no positive change for the moment.” Water-dropping aircraft resumed their rotations as blazes erupted anew in Garajonay, home to rare subtropical forests, which covered the Mediterranean region tens of millions of years ago but have now largely disappeared. It also boasts 450 plant species, including eight found only in the park. Ventura del Carmen Rodriguez, Gomera island’s environment secretary, said last week that it would take 30 to 40 years for Garajonay’s burned areas to recover.

Three more villages were evacuated overnight after 300 people fled their homes to safety on Friday, as roads leading to the affected areas were cut off.

Restaurateur Victor Manuel Garcia, 40, said he was among a handful of residents in his village, Chipude, to stay put. “There’s not as much black smoke,” he told AFP by telephone. “It’s hot but there is less wind.” Chipude was evacuted for the first time last week and again on Friday, but Garcia said “someone had to stay in case of an emergency”. He had expected his 40-seat restaurant to fill up with tourists attending a village fete beginning Sunday, but that had to be cancelled.

Meanwhile on the mainland in northwestern Galicia, two villages in Ourense province were evacuated Friday as flames devoured another 800 hectares of vegetation, the regional government said. Spain has been battling fires both in the Canaries, which are off the Moroccan coast, and on the mainland after a winter that saw almost no rainfall, leaving the

Spanish landscape its driest in seven decades. A wave of hot weather from Africa last week pushed temperatures past 40 degrees Centigrade (104 degrees Farenheit), increasing the risk of further wildfires. Between Jan 1 and July 29, wildfires destroyed 130,830 hectares of vegetation in Spain, according to the agriculture ministry. — AFP

ARURE, Spain: Members of the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardi Civil Espanola) evacuate residents in this town yesterday after eight days of forest fires on the Spanish Canary island of La Gomera. — AFP

Tunisia activists braced to fight for women’s rights TUNIS: Tunisian women are rising up against a proposed article in the new constitution seen by many as an Islamist ploy to reverse the principle of gender equality that made Tunisia a beacon of modernity in the Arab world when it was introduced six decades ago. The National Constituent Assembly, elected after the downfall last year of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, is currently drafting a new national charter. The NCA parliamentary committee adopted last week a proposed article that activists say would compromise rights enshrined in the Personal Status Code (CSP) promulgated in 1956 under Tunisia’s first president, Habib Bourguiba. The article must still be ratified at a plenary session of the interim parliament.

The 1956 code was the first of its kind in the Arab world. It abolished polygamy, under which Muslim men are allowed to have as many as four wives, and the practice of repudiation, under which husbands could divorce simply by saying so three times. At the same time, it instituted not only judicial divorce but also civil marriage. It is a system now deeply rooted in Tunisian society, where women are active in all sectors of society.

While none of these principles would be lost under the

proposed article, activists fear that its language represents a step toward rolling back their rights. At issue, concretely, is that women’s place in society would be defined in terms of their relation to men. The offending article stipulates that the state guarantees “the protection of women’s rights... under the principle of complementarity to man within the family and as an associate of man in the development of the country”.

A petition addressed to the NCA, and so far signed by more than 8,000 people on the Internet, says “the state is about to vote on an article in the constitution that limits the citizenship rights of women, under the principle of their complementarity to men and not their equality”. The petition stresses that women, who “are citizens just like men, should not be defined in terms of men.” Meherzia, a teacher, told AFP that “‘equality’ becomes ‘complementarity’, but in fact it is the whole legal framework for relations between men and women that changes”.

Lawyer Sadok Belaid, at a debate on the CSP at Tunisia’s Centre for Research on Women, said the “risks of regression are not just linked to women’s rights; it is a challenge to one whole model of society.”

The Human Rights League, feminist NGOs and the powerful

General Workers’ Union (UGTT) are planning a march in the capital on Monday evening to coincide with the anniversary of the Personal Status Code’s promulgation. The interior ministry has allowed the march to take place on Mohammed V Street in central Tunis, but not on the main road running though the capital, Habib Bourguiba Avenue. In France, a group of NGOs and expatriates have also called for a gathering on Monday evening in Paris to “safeguard” the rights of Tunisian women. The moderate Islamist party Ennahda, which heads the ruling three-party coalition after winning the first post-revolution polls in October, has repeatedly stressed its commitment to the rights of women and to the CSP. Ennahda’s historic leader Rached Ghannouchi sought earlier this week to play down the controversy. “Some MPs (in the NCA) have seen in this phrase some sort of retreat on fundamental principles like equality, on which there is a consensus between Ennahda and its main coalition partners,” the Congress for the Republic and Ettakatol, both centre-left parties, he said.

But many remain fundamentally opposed to the complementarity clause. “We are demanding the withdrawal of this article pure and simple, as it constitutes an assault on the

gains made by women and on their humanity,” Ahlem Belhaj, president of the Association of Women Democrats, told AFP. And some rights are still to be gained. For years, feminists have demanded equality of inheritance. As it stands now under sharia (Islamic law), a woman is entitled to just half of what her brother receives.

The protest is even more poignant, coming amid controversy over 28-year-old Habiba Ghribi, who became the first Tunisian women ever to win an Olympic medal when she took the silver this week in the 3,000m steeplechase. Ghribi’s wore typical running attire - shorts and a top that left her midrift bare - and the reaction from some quarters illustrates why Tunisian women are concerned.

“Tunisia does not need medals that come from women who are uncovered and naked. We should strip the nationality of she who has dishonoured Tunisia with her nudity and debauchery,” said one comment on Facebook. That brought a retort from MP Ibrahim Kassas, of the independent Al-Aridha party. “ The underpants of Habiba Ghribi have honoured us,” Kassas joked during a radio debate with female Ennahda MP Farida Labidi on Tuesday. “What have (Ennahda MPs’) underpants done for us?” — AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

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

Mute Indian stranded in Pakistan desperate for home KARACHI: When South Asia’s nuclear rivals celebrate 65 years of independence next week, a deaf and mute Indian woman stranded in Pakistan will be thinking of only one thing: how to get home to see her family. Geeta, now 21, was found by police 13 years ago, sitting alone and disorientated on a train that had come across the border into Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore. As no one claimed her, officers took Geeta to the Edhi Foundation, Pakistan’s largest and best-known charity, in whose care she has remained ever since.

Geeta, desperate to get back to India, has tried to run away several times but, defenceless and unable to explain where her family live, has failed.

However, activists are now making a renewed push in the hope that Indian and Pakistani authorities can intervene to find her parents. “It is simple for her,” Bilqees Edhi told AFP at the tiny apartment where she cares personally for Geeta in the same building as an orphanage and a hospital. “She thinks she’ll be in India as soon as she leaves us. She desperately wants to meet her family but she only knows she lives in India, nothing else.”

At first, Geeta lived in a shelter in

Lahore as the charity tried to track down her family, but years went by without success. After she tried to escape several times and quarrelled with staff, Bilqees, who always had an easy relationship with her, brought her to Karachi six months ago and welcomed her into her own home. Short and thin with a pale complexion, Geeta has her own form of sign language and can write in Hindi: “India, seven brothers, three sisters”. She adopts the Hindi custom of greeting elders by touching their feet and pressing her two palms together close to her heart in the gesture of namaste.

Speaking through sign language, she said one day she became annoyed after being told off by her parents, left the house and kept walking for hours.

“Then,” she swings her hands back and forth in a loop, a sign for a moving train, “I boarded the train and slept.” Geeta writes that her mother used to call her “Guddi”, which means doll in Urdu and Punjabi. Through sign language, she says her home is next to a river, set in fields with the house behind a hospital and a restaurant. “You know, it could be any village or town. We have so many places like this,” sighs Bilqees in quiet frustration.

An official in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, when contacted by AFP, said he would inquire into the case, but was unable to comment for the moment. Zohra Yusuf, chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, has offered to help by taking up the case with the High Commission, and calling on the Indian media to help find her family. Geeta is not the first Indian child to stray into Pakistan. Other cases of children straying across the border have previously been resolved with them handed back to their home country. One runaway teenager, who crossed over to Lahore then took the train to Karachi, was handed back in 2009 after police found him wandering around and he said he was from Kanpur city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, police official Afzal Khan said.

Three years ago, Bilqees says she managed to repatriate another Indian girl, who had also strayed across the border after a row with her parents. “But, fortunately she could speak and tell us her whereabouts, which enabled us to arrange for her safe return.” For now, Geeta watches Indian soap operas on a small TV, and observes the dawn to dusk fast of the Muslim holy month of

Ramadan, although she also prays at a small Hindu shrine in a corner of Bilqees’ veranda. “She worships there and fasts as well with us,” explains Bilqees. Geeta touches her lips and ears to indicate that her siblings can hear and speak. Then

her smile tinges with sadness. She looks at the sky and moves her arm slowly upwards, mimicking a plane. “She says she wants to go home as soon as possible,” interjects Ismat, a teenager who lives in the orphanage upstairs. — AFP

KARACHI: Geeta, a deaf and mute Indian girl, communicates her story through her own form of sign language during an interview at a charity on Aug 8, 2012. — AFP

‘Green-on-blue’ attacks spiking in Afghanistan Three more US soldiers killed by Afghan in grim day for NATO

NEW DELHI: India’s Vice-President Hamid Ansari (left), Indian President Pranab Mukherjee (center) and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pose for a photo after Ansari’s swearing-in ceremony at the presidential palace yesterday.

Ansari was sworn-in as the 14th Vice President of the country for the second consecutive term by Mukherjee. — AFP

13 die as lightning hits B’desh mosque DHAKA: At least 13 Muslim worshippers were killed and 15 hurt when lightning struck a mosque in a remote village in northeast Bangladesh as they held special Ramadan prayers, police said yesterday. The imam was among those instantly killed when a lightning bolt hit the tin-and-thatch building at Saraswatipur village, about 200 km from the capital Dhaka, late on Friday. The lightning appeared to “electrify” the mosque after hitting a rooftop microphone being run on power from a car battery, local council member Abul Kalam told AFP by telephone.

About 35 people from the village in the lake district of Sunamganj were holding prayers known as taraweeh - offered during the holy fasting month of Ramadan - at the time, police chief Bayes Alam said. “All 13, including the imam, died on the spot. The bodies and faces of some of the victims were burnt,” Alam told AFP, adding six of the injured were hospitalised. Locals had turned the flimsy structure into a mosque because access to the village’s more substantial concrete-roofed mosque had been made difficult due to recent heavy rains that have swollen the Saraswati river.

Villagers rushed to help after hearing cries, Kalam said. “It was a terrible scene. Dozens were lying on the floor - some dead, others writhing in pain,” he said, adding most of the victims were young men in their 20s and 30s.

“We took the injured in three boats and headed to hospital in Dharmapasa”, the closest big town, he said. “But it took hours to get there,” he added. Lightning is a major threat in Sunamganj, home to some of Bangladesh’s biggest lakes. Most lightning strikes occur during the monsoon season between June and September when the district receives huge amounts of rainfall.

Across the South Asian country, hundreds of people are killed by lightning strikes every year, with most dying while attempting to save rice crops from flooding. Bangladeshi environmentalists blame global warming, which has unleashed a growing number of tropical storms, for the increase in the frequency, devastation and deaths caused by lightning strikes in recent years. In May last year, at least 29 people were killed - most of them farmers who were harvesting rice - and dozens injured when a series of lightning strikes hit several districts in a single day. — AFP

KABUL: Seven international soldiers have been killed by their local colleagues in a bloody week of violence in Afghanistan, further eroding trust between foreign troops and the Afghans they work with. Six died on Friday alone - three American soldiers were shot by an Afghan policeman who invited them to a meal and three other troops were killed by an Afghan civilian employed on a NATO base, military and Afghan officials said.

NATO has about 130,000 soldiers helping the Afghan government fight an insurgency by Taleban Islamists, but they are due to pull out in 2014 and are increasingly working with Afghans they are training to take over.

Green-on-blue attacks, in which Afghans turn their weapons against their foreign allies, have killed a total of 34 international soldiers this year, according to a NATO count.

The seven deaths this week - one soldier was killed on Tuesday - make up around 40 percent of the total of some 17 foreign troops killed. “Clearly as far as the future partnering and training and mentoring of Afghan forces

by NATO and the US is concerned, it is going to have a very negative effect and the lack of trust between the two sides is going to grow,” said author and analyst Ahmed Rashid. “NATO will have to impose new security measures for its own troops when they are dealing with Afghans or training Afghans, which will put even more distance between the two sides,” Rashid told AFP. Some of the attacks are claimed by the Taleban, who say they have infiltrated the ranks of Afghan security forces, but many are attributed to cultural differences and antagonism between local and US-led allied forces.

“What we identified was that most of them were caused by personal grievances and stress situations,” the chief spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, Brig-Gen Gunter Katz, told AFP. “Those isolated incidents don’t reflect the overall security situation in Afghanistan. As we speak 500,000 soldiers and policemen are working together to contribute to a more secure and stable Afghanistan,” he said. “We are confi-

WAGAH: Pakistani Hindu pilgrims arrive at the India-Pakistan border post yesterday. A group of 232 Pakistani Hindu pilgrims are arriving in India for planned religious visits to sacred Hindu and Sikh shrines in Amritsar, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Delhi and Indore on a month-long tour. The visit of Pakistani Hindu pilgrims follow reports of intimidation and conversion of Hindus in the Muslim-majority country. — AFP

JALALABAD: Afghans travel in a motorcycle cart while transporting a traditional tandoor oven yesterday. — AP

dent that the morale (among international troops) is still good and those incidents will not affect our transition process.”

Katz agreed, however, that there had been an increase in so-called green-on-blue attacks this year, up from a total of 21 incidents and 35 deaths in all of 2011.

“Insurgents understand that this type of action is the most effective one, so they tend to use it as much as they can,” a Western security source said. “But apart from that, there is a general feeling of Afghans being fed up with the foreign troops, cultural issues.”

On Tuesday, an American soldier died in the east when two men in Afghan army uniform opened fire, and on Thursday an Afghan soldier was killed after turning his weapon on NATO troops, also in the east. Then on Friday an Afghan police officer opened fire on four American soldiers he had invited for a meal, killing three of them, Afghan officials said.

The Taleban claimed that attack and said the shooter had fled and joined their ranks. Katz said that the shooter had been detained, without giving further details.

Also on Friday, an Afghan civilian employed on a NATO base shot dead three international coalition soldiers, ISAF said.

“The shooter was not in uniform and our current reporting indicates he was a civilian employee authorised to be on the base, but there is no indication he was an Afghan service member,” an ISAF spokesman said. The spokesman said he had no information on how the civilian got hold of a weapon on the shared Afghan-NATO base in southern Afghanistan, and provided no further details.

President Hamid Karzai “strongly condemned the killing of six NATO soldiers in two separate incidents,” attributing them to “terrorists wearing military uniforms”, his office said in a statement. — AFP

SRINAGAR: Kashmiri Muslims stand on the remains of a collapsed bridge as volunteers and rescue workers search for missing people in water in Dal Lake yesterday. Dozens of people were injured when the wooden bridge collapsed during a protest in demand for proper roads in downtown Srinagar yesterday. — AP

‘US must seal border for Waziristan push’ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has told Washington that US forces must seal the Afghan border in the event of any offensive against the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network in North Waziristan, an official said yesterday. The Haqqanis, blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan and whose leaders are understood to be based in the Pakistani tribal district, is one of the thorniest issues between Islamabad and Washington. “The Americans have been repeatedly told that they will have to seal off the border on the Afghan side whenever an operation is launched in North Waziristan,” a senior Pakistani security official told AFP. Without protecting the porous, mountainous border, militants would simply escape into Afghanistan, where Pakistan has no writ, the official explained. He claimed that Americans have “never been encouraging on this point” and accused them of

failing to seal the border when operations were planned twice before in North Waziristan. On Aug 3, The Wall Street Journal reported that Pakistani and US officials were considering joint counter-terrorism campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan against the Haqqanis and Taleban fighters who attack Pakistan.

The paper said the campaigns would mark an upturn in cooperation after more than a year of rancorous relations and stamp out major threats facing each country. Pakistani officials later denied any agreement with the United States for a joint operation in North Waziristan, and said “routine” actions on each side of the border “should not be mistaken for ‘joint operations’”.

Washington has long demanded that Pakistan take action against the Haqqanis, whom the United States accused of attacking the US embassy in Kabul last September and acting

like the “veritable arm” of Pakistani intelligence.

Pakistan has in turn demanded that Afghan and US forces to do more to stop Pakistani Taliban crossing the Afghan border to relaunch attacks on its forces. The senior official told AFP that Pakistan had been able to “speak their heart and mind” on the issue during last week’s visit to Washington by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief. Lieutenant General Zaheer ul-Islam, in the first such visit for a year, and CIA director David Petraeus discussed some of the most intractable issues on both sides that have fractured the anti-terror alliance.

“The Americans were clearly told that Pakistan will not allow American boots on its soil for any operation and whenever an offensive is launched, it will be done by us,” the official told AFP. “We told the Americans that it is simply not possible for Pakistan

to launch a fresh offensive in North Waziristan at the moment because it will have a very negative impact,” he added.

Some analysts question to what extent Pakistan can win a full-on battle against the disciplined Haqqani faction, particularly when its troops are already over-stretched against local Taleban elsewhere in the northwest. Islam gave the CIA in Washington “two loud and clear messages”, said the official no American boots on Pakistani soil and that US drone strikes on Islamist militants, which Islamabad brands a violation of its sovereignty, must stop. Many in Pakistan accuse the Americans of demanding a Pakistani offensive to mask their own failings in the 10-year war in Afghanistan. “I will be surprised if Pakistan agrees to a joint operation,” said political analyst Hasan Askari. — AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

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

‘Was it worth it?’ ask young Nepal Maoist fighters JIRI, Nepal: As youths they were idealistic Maoist soldiers fighting to bring revolution to Nepal but now that their leaders are in power, many say the party has abandoned its faithful. Among a class of 12 students on an engineering course designed to help them rejoin civilian life after the war ended in 2006, there is deep resentment and a sense of betrayal that the sacrifices they made have been

forgotten. “Party cadres and supporters have begun to question what the party has achieved. What have we got?” said Ratna Kumar Century, a stocky 28-yearold, as he fumbled with a computer mouse. “The establishment faction has betrayed the people,” he said. “They said we will create a new Nepal which will be inclusive and reformative. But they seem content with the status quo.”

JIRI, Nepal: This photo taken on June 6, 2012 shows Nepalese students attending an engineering class at the Jiri Technical Institute along with former Maoist fighters. — AFP

The former rebels at the Jiri Technical Institute in northeast Nepal are among thousands of Maoists offered a new start after living in UN-monitored camps for five years when peace was declared. They are being taught to design the roads, buildings and canals that will form the future of a state they waged a guerrilla war against for a decade, but it is not a future they look forward to with much hope. Instead they see their leaders talking politics in mansions in Kathmandu, and they complain that they are an ignored and inconvenient part of the past. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Maoist chief known as Prachanda (“the fierce one”), once inspired devotion among his fighters as they brought the government to a standstill in a civil war that claimed 16,000 lives. He became prime minister for eight months after the Maoists won elections in 2008 and his party oversaw the abolition of the monarchy, but is now held in little esteem.

“People placed their hopes on Prachanda. But he drifted from his path,” said Century, who was attracted to Maoism’s aim to destroy elite hierarchies such as Nepal’s Hindu caste system. “If the sacrifices and struggles were just for elevating leaders to power, was it worth it?” he said. Century was among 19,000 Maoists confined to cantonments because of disagreements between

Nepal’s political parties over the future of the former fighters after the war finished.

A deal was reached last year that 6,500 fighters would be integrated into the national army while the rest would be given money or vocational training courses like the one in Jiri. Their 15month course, funded by German aid agency GIZ, is divided between on-thejob experience and classroom sessions designed to help them find jobs, but many find it hard to look past their brutal wartime experiences.

Mahesh Bogati was born into a family of poor subsistence farmers in Nepal’s remote Karnali region and spent five years fighting government troops as part of the Maoist “people’s war”. The 28-yearold traded his textbooks for guns when he was just 17. “I spent several years as a fighter in the war. During those years, all I learned is how to lay an ambush and make bombs and improvised devices.

Because of the war I also missed my studies,” Bogati told AFP. “My comrades and I are facing the challenge of civilian life.

But our leaders are more concerned about remaining in power. They have forgotten us. They are enjoying their luxurious life in Kathmandu while we are worried about our future.”

The growing distrust among grassroots activists was fuelled in January when it emerged that Prachanda had

moved into a lavish mansion in the capital, a property he has since said he intends to give up. Two months later party officials were accused of corruption after it was revealed they had offered Prachanda’s son $250,000 to climb Mount Everest.

The Maoists are currently running the country as a “caretaker” government with no parliament and no real mandate after the legislature was dissolved when it failed to agree on a new peacetime constitution. Worsening the political turmoil, last month a hardline faction of the party broke away, a move that some students suggest could inspire former rebels to take up arms again if another insurgency is launched.

The party leaders insist Nepal is in a “transitional” phase towards achieving social justice and rejects claims that the insurgency achieved little. “There is no reason to regret the time spent fighting the people’s war,” party spokesman Shakti Basnet told AFP. With Nepal’s postwar development bogged down and most of the country still desperately impoverished, the difficult task of fostering a more positive attitude among the Jiri students falls to the principal, Ram Hari Khanal. “There were doubts over this program. We were not sure whether it would be successful or not. But I am optimistic about their future,” he said. — AFP

Bo’s wife blames mental breakdown for murder Gu likely to be spared execution HEFEI, China: The wife of Chinese politician Bo Xilai, whose downfall rocked the ruling elite, has admitted murdering a British businessman and blamed her actions on a mental breakdown, state media said. Gu Kailai told her trial that she poisoned Neil Heywood after being pushed over the edge by fears that her son was in danger, Xinhua news agency reported late on Friday, more than a day after the trial wrapped up. The former top lawyer said she would “accept and

dover of power later this year, and observers say the party is keen to swiftly draw a line under the controversy.

According to Xinhua, Gu told the court that “during those days last November, I suffered a mental breakdown after learning that my son was in jeopardy”. The son, Bo Guagua, and Heywood got into a dispute over a land project, Xinhua said, citing Gu’s testimony. The court heard that Heywood had demanded £13 million

HEFEI, China: This frame grab taken from video shows Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, being escorted into the courtroom for her murder trial on August 9, 2012. — AFP

calmly face any sentence” handed down by the court in the eastern city of Hefei following the seven-hour trial, one of the most high-profile in recent Chinese history.

The verdict will be delivered at a later date, possibly days or weeks away, and while murder carries the death penalty in China, experts say Gu is likely to be spared execution and will instead face a long jail term. Heywood’s murder and allegations of a cover-up sparked the biggest political scandal in China for years and led to the downfall of Bo, who had been tipped to become one of the ruling Communist Party’s top leaders. It exposed deep divisions among China’s rulers ahead of a sensitive 10-yearly han-

($20 million), and sent Bo Guagua an email threatening “you will be destroyed”, according to a source who was in the room for the hearing and requested anonymity.

According to Gu’s testimony, she felt that “I must fight to my death to stop the craziness of Neil Heywood”. Gu then met Heywood for a drink in a hotel room in the southwestern city of Chongqing, where her husband was at the time Communist Party boss, according to Xinhua. She then killed him by pouring poison into his mouth when he was drunk and scattered pills across the hotel room floor to make it look as if he had overdosed.

The scandal came to light several months

after the murder when Chongqing police chief and Bo’s right-hand man, Wang Lijun, fled to a US consulate and alleged a cover-up. “The case has produced great losses to the Party and the country, for which I ought to shoulder the responsibility, and I will never feel at ease,” Gu told the cour t. A domestic helper, Zhang Xiaojun, also admitted at the hearing to aiding Gu in the murder, said Xinhua. Four police officers also admitted on Friday to covering up Gu’s involvement in the killing, a court official said.

After the scandal erupted, Bo was dismissed as boss of Chongqing and from the party’s Politburo and placed under investigation. He has not been heard from since April. Gu’s carefully stage-managed trial, and that of four police officers accused of covering up the murder, were being closely watched for any hints on Bo’s likely fate, although he has not been implicated in the Heywood murder. But in several reports on the case released by Xinhua late Friday, totalling around 3,600 words, the former top politician was not mentioned once.

Xinhua said that a panel asked to assess Gu’s mental state had concluded that she had been treated for depression and had taken drugs to combat the condition in the past. However, the experts said Gu still bore “full criminal responsibility”. On Friday four senior police officials in Chongqing admitted covering up the murder to protect Gu. Tang Yigan, an official with the Hefei Intermediate Court in eastern China, told reporters that a verdict in their case would be given at a later date. “The defendants admitted that the charge of bending the law for selfish ends was basically correct,” he said of the four, named as Guo Weiguo, Li Yang, Wang Pengfei and Wang Zhi. The court heard how the officers covered up Gu’s involvement in Heywood’s death by “forging interview scripts and hiding evidence”, agreeing to say he died of excessive alcohol consumption. On Saturday, Chinese Internet censors blocked searches for the worlds “Gu Kailai”, “Bo Xilai” and “Neil Heywood” although some web users did manage to comment on the case. “It is not a judicial trial, it is a political trial and a trial for the privileged,” said one web user named A’bang-kunshou. Gu’s trial drew comparisons with that of Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s widow Jiang Qing, who along with the three other members of the “Gang of Four” was convicted for fomenting the tumultuous Cultural Revolution. — AFP

MARIKINA CITY, Philippines: A man uses a bicycle to transport a sofa chair in Tomana slum in the suburbs of Manila yesterday following floods that submerged 80 percent of Manila early in the week. — AFP

Philippines rushes aid as floods kill 66 MANILA: Philippine authorities scrambled to provide food and other emergency provisions yesterday to more than two million people affected by widespread flooding, as the death toll rose to 66, officials said. The flooding that submerged 80 percent of Manila early in the week has largely subsided, allowing people to return to their homes, but more than 100 low-lying towns and cities to the north remain under water. Civil defence chief Benito Ramos said the huge displaced population, including 441,000 people crammed in crowded evacuation camps, would need to be fed and taken care of for at least another seven days.

“The bulk of our operations involves relief, but also clean-up,” Ramos told AFP. “Volunteers are packaging 100,000 food packs for immediate distribution.”

The government’s disaster co-ordination council said it was serving nearly 758,000 people displaced by floods on Saturday, significantly more than the previous day as tens of thousands trickled into evacuation centres overnight.

But with 2.68 million people affected, up from 2.44 million on Friday, many are having to fend for themselves. In Calumpit, a farming town about 50 km north of Manila, unmarried construction

Ernesto kills 9 in Mexico

Chavez says detained US ‘mercenary’ was Marine CARACAS: President Hugo Chavez said Friday that a US “mercenary” arrested for entering Venezuela illegally confessed to having served in the Marines and had been to Iraq and Afghanistan. The US State Department earlier said it had not been informed about the arrest of any US citizen in Venezuela but that Caracas should “uphold its obligations” and allow consular staff to meet with the detainee if he is indeed an American. A day after saying said the man of Latino descent appeared to be a “mercenary”, Chavez told reporters he had “confessed” to having served in the US Marines. “He confessed to having been a Marine. He said he had served in the Marines, (but) he refuses to cooperate,” Chavez said.

The firebrand leftist leader did not identify the man but said he had been to Iraq in 2006, Jordan in 2007 and Afghanistan various times since 2004. He said the man was

detained in the past week, without giving a specific date. The State Department said in a statement that it had seen reports of the arrest but had not been formally notified

by Venezuelan authorities. “If it has in fact detained a US citizen, we are confident Venezuela will uphold its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and grant US consular officials access to any detained US citizen without delay.”

Chavez is a vocal critic of Washington.

The United States and Venezuela have had troubled relations for years, and have not had ambassadors in each other’s country since 2010. The Venezuelan president, who took power in 1999, is seeking re-election in October after declaring himself free of the cancer he has battled for a year. He has often denounced “American imperialism” and accused the United States of seeking to destabilize his government. — AFP

worker Ronaldo Cruz stepped out of his house, stuck in waist-deep floods, to ask for food from better-off neighbours and relatives. “We’ve been waiting for relief aid, but none has arrived,” said the 32year-old, who lives with seven other relatives. “Perhaps there isn’t enough to go around,” he told AFP. With evacuation centres packed to capacity and houses inundated by flood water, many residents of Calumpit are forced to live on their rooftops. The UN World Food Programme said it was providing 52.5 tonnes of high-energy biscuits and hiring trucks to help the government transport other relief supplies.

“WFP is saddened by the humanitarian impact of the non-stop rains over the last week in the Philippines,” its country chief Stephen Anderson said in a statement.

The UN body said it also plans to distribute supplementary food to about 77,000 children in the flooded areas.

The government said yesterday that 66 people had been confirmed killed, up from 60 on Friday. The Philippines endures about 20 major storms or typhoons each rainy season. But this week ’s rains were the worst to hit Manila since Tropical Storm Ketsana killed 464 people in 2009. — AFP

JAMAPA, Mexico: State police evacuate residents after the Jamapa River overflowed in this town on Friday. — AP

XALAPA, Mexico: Ernesto killed at least nine people in Mexico, officials said Friday, with the dissipating storm threatening more heavy rain and possible flooding. In the southeastern state of Tabasco, a 17-year-old fisherman drowned off the coast of the town of Centla, according to authorities, and the body of a second victim was found in the Samaria River. A landslide in the neighboring state of Veracruz left five dead and one missing on Thursday.

“Three people died when a tree fell” amid strong winds and rain in the municipality of Rio Blanco, Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte told reporters.

Another woman was killed in her car when a river swept across a highway, and lightning fatally struck a 62year-old man, according to a government report. In the southwestern state of Oaxaca, authorities said a woman was killed when heavy rains and landslides caused her car to crash. A child less than 12 years old died in his home

after the runoff from a hill caused the building to collapse.

Ernesto, which has petered out, made landfall for a second time near the Mexican port of Coatzacoalcos on Thursday, dumping heavy rain and causing flooding in the Gulf coast region. The high mountains of southern Mexico have disrupted the storm, whose remnants are expected to move off Mexico into the eastern Pacific over the weekend, when it could become a tropical cyclone, according to the USbased National Hurricane Center.

It first became a hurricane on Tuesday, before being downgraded to a tropical storm and heading back out to sea. As the storm moves inland, some areas could still see up to 38 cm of rain before skies clear, the NHC said, adding that the storm would likely disintegrate. Mexican civil defense officials said 10 communities had been cut off by flooding, although no major damage was reported. —AFP

NEWS

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

LONDON: Australia’s Elizabeth Cambage jams her finger into the eye of Russia’s Natalya Vodopyanova while defending a drive to the basket during a women’s bronze medal basketball game at the 2012 Summer Olympics yesterday in London. — AP

Muslim relations with other faiths

US and Turkey weigh no-fly zones for Syria

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

translated as (those guaranteed safety, security and protection by God, His messenger and Muslims.) NonMuslims are granted that security and protection provided they pay the “Jizyah,” (capitation tax). They should also respect the Islamic constitution, which is the Holy Quran. Some early encounters between Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Christians-Bahira, the Monk: When Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was 12 years old, he set out to Syria with his paternal uncle, Abu Talib. When they reached Busra, a monk named Bahira, invited them to a sumptuous meal. After realizing that Muhammad was the prophet mentioned in some Christian books that he had read, he advised Abu Talib to return to Makkah with the boy lest he (Muhammad) be harmed by the enemies of Arabs.

- After Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) received the first revelation, he rushed to his house in utter fear and anxiety. His wife, Khadija, comforted him and took him to her cousin, Waraq ibn Nawfal (a Christian Priest) who confirmed to him that it was the beginning of a very challenging and yet rewarding mission. He said: “The angel who brought to you the revelation is the same who brought it to Moses. I wish to be alive so that I support you when your people will drive you away from this land...” (Al-Bukhari 1/2,3) RELIGIOUS DEBATES The Holy Quran prohibits serious religious debates and discussions tainted with malice and rancor, for they

result in hostility, resentment, and bitter feelings. God says: “... and do not dispute with the People of the Book except with better means (than mere disputation) unless it be with those who inflict wrong (and injury).

But say, “We believe in the revelation, which has come down to you. Our God and your God is one, and it is to Him that we bow in submission.” (29:46) Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) priorities upon arrival in Medina: After building a mosque as a place of worship, community center, courthouse, etc, and establishing brotherhood amongst Muslims, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) signed a treaty with the Jews of Medina, which was also binding to other non-Muslims living in Medina. The treaty stipulated the following: COMMON DEFENSE: this means if anyone came to attack Muslims, Jews and other non-Muslims of Medina would stand side by side with Muslims to repulse the enemy and vice versa.

FREEDOM OF WORSHIP: this granted everyone freedom of worship in whatever place was dedicated for that.

LEADERSHIP OF PROPHET: Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was elected unopposed as head of the state of Medina. Finally, I wish all Muslims today would live up to the aforementioned principles that paved the way for the prosperity and development of Muslims and their relations with others. In a short span of time, Muslims were able to achieve a great deal of victories on many fronts. We should be practical and avoid mere lip service to the principles of Islam. — Courtesy, AWARE Center

Romney unveils deficit hawk as running mate Continued from Page 1 Laughter and awkwardness ensued as Ryan strode down the USS Wisconsin. Romney retook the podium, put his arm around Ryan, and said: “Every now and then I make a mistake... but I did not make a mistake with this guy.” Ryan is chairman of the House Budget Committee, and earlier this year unveiled a budget plan-widely backed by Republicans-that slashes federal spending and lowers taxes for all Americans and corporations.

Most controversial, it overhauls entitlement programs Medicare and Medicaid, and Democrats immediately went on the attack, alleging that the cuts would hurt the elderly who rely on such aid to pay for healthcare.

Obama’s campaign offered a swift retort to the new Republican ticket, warning that Ryan stands for “flawed” economic policies that would repeat “catastrophic” mistakes of previous Republican administrations.

“Mitt Romney has chosen a leader of the House Republicans who shares his commitment to the flawed theory that new budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy, while placing greater burdens on the middle class and seniors, will somehow deliver a stronger economy,” Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said. Ryan’s status as a Washington insider may turn off some voters, with Congress saddled by its lowest approval ratings on record, but Ryan said it complements Romney’s executive and private sector success.

“I have worked closely with Republicans as well as

Democrats to advance an agenda of economic growth, fiscal discipline, and job creation,” Ryan said. “Real solutions can be delivered. But it will take leadership, and the courage to tell you the truth.” Citing the anemic economic recovery, unemployment above eight percent, soaring deficits and federal spending, and plunging wages and home prices, Ryan said it was time to elect Republicans to end the “record of failure.”

“Governor Romney is the man for this moment, and he and I share one commitment: we will restore the dreams and greatness of this country,” he said.

Conservative pundits, many of who had been pressing for Ryan to be chosen, were broadly happy with the relaunch. Many expected Romney to go with a safer pick, such moderate conservative Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, or former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, whose blue-collar roots would have helped the ticket connect with everyday voters.

Romney’s one-time rival for the Republican nomination, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, expressed support for the pick yesterday. “Mitt Romney made a very courageous decision for a big solutions, big choice election with Paul Ryan,” Gingrich posted on Twitter. And Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who experts considered to be in the running to be on the ticket, offered praise for his “good friend” Ryan. “He has the courage of his convictions, which is what our nation needs,” Jindal said, in a statement distributed by Romney’s campaign.— AFP

87 killed as 2 strong earthquakes hit Iran Continued from Page 1 Allahverdi Dehqani, a lawmaker in Varzaqan, confirmed that “most of the villages around Varzaqan have been damaged.”

Residents in the region were terrified as their homes shook around them when the quakes hit, and they fled into the streets for safety, according to reports. Rescue operations were continuing into the night. Tehran University’s Seismological Centre said the first earthquake hit at 4:53 pm (1223 GMT) with an epicenter just 60 kilometers from Tabriz, close to Ahar, and at a depth of 10 kilometers. The second-actually a

big aftershock-rumbled through just 11 minutes later from nearly the same spot. A series of 17 smaller aftershocks rating 4.7 or less rapidly followed.

The disaster zone was located around 90 kilometers from the borders with Armenia and Azerbaijan, and around 190 kilometers from the border with Turkey.

Iran sits astride several major fault lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes, some of which have been devastating. The deadliest was a 6.6-magnitude quake which struck the southern city of Bam in December 2003, killing 31,000 people-about a quarter of the population-and destroying the city’s ancient mudbuilt citadel. — AFP

control, Clinton indicated that was a possible option.

“The issues you posed within your question are exactly the ones the minister and I agreed need greater indepth analysis,” Clinton answered, although she indicated no decisions were necessarily imminent. The imposition of no-fly zones by foreign powers were crucial in helping Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi last year.

But until recently, the United States and its European allies have expressed reluctance to take on an overt military role in Syria’s 17-month-old conflict. The rebels are believed to be getting arms from Saudi Arabia and Qatar but only non-lethal assistance from the United States. Davutoglu, responding to a similar question on next measures, said it was time for outside powers to take decisive steps to resolve the humanitarian crisis in cities such as Aleppo, which is under daily Syrian government bombardment.

Clinton heard first-hand accounts of the violence in Syria from six female refugees, among some 55,000 sheltering in Turkey in camps along its long shared border. These included a 42-year-old woman who had fled Idlib after Assad’s soldiers forcibly evacuated her village and set it on fire. “We heard their terrible stories,” she said. “One woman fled after the regime’s forces burned down her village, another came after they broke into her home, beat her and her children.” Clinton also met Syrian students, one of whom told her of his hope the Syrian opposition will be able to present a unified front both inside and outside Syria.

Washington sees Turkey, one of Damascus’ harshest critics, as the key player both in supporting Syria’s opposition and in planning for what US officials say is the inevitable collapse of the Assad government. US officials are particularly interested in Turkey’s analysis of the political forces emerging as Syria spirals into chaos hoping that together they can puzzle out the complex patchwork of rebel groups jockeying for position.

Clinton and other US officials have in recent weeks cited rebel gains on the battlefield and the defection of senior Syrian military and political figures, including Prime Minister Riyad Hijab, as signs that Assad’s rule is crumbling.

They have also highlighted rebel claims to control a

“corridor” from Aleppo to the Turkish border as a potential future opposition safe haven, which could present the United States and its allies with a policy predicament on whether to defend it against government attack. Clinton said the United States worried about the chance of other groups such as the Kurdish separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or al Qaeda exploiting the chaos in Syria to gain a foothold. Turkey this week accused Assad of supplying arms to the PKK, and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has raised the possibility of military intervention in Syria if the Kurdish threat increases.

“We are absolutely committed to supporting Turkey against the PKK,” she said.

Meanwhile, fresh sanctions slapped by the United States are meant to “expose and disrupt” links between Iran, Lebanon’s armed Hezbollah movement and Syria, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday. She said the “number one goal” of Washington and Ankara was to hasten the end of Al-Assad’s regime in Damascus and stop the bloodshed, while warning that Syria must not become a haven for Kurdish rebels battling Turkey.

“We are continuing to increase pressure from outside,” Clinton told a joint press conference in Istanbul after meeting Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Syrian opposition activists. “Yesterday in Washington we announced sanctions designed to expose and disrupt the links between Iran, Hezbollah and Syria that prolong the life of the Assad regime.”

Washington on Friday announced sanctions against Syrian state oil company Sytrol for trading with Iran, in a bid to starve both Tehran and Damascus of much-needed revenue.

The US Treasury also said it was adding the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which has close ties with Iran and Syria, to a blacklist of organizations targeted under Syria-related sanctions. Washington already classes Hezbollah a “terrorist organization” and it is under US sanctions, but Friday’s move explicitly ties the group to the violence in Syria, where Assad is attempting to put down a 17-month revolt. The sanctions are designed to increase pressure on Damascus as the conflict escalates sharply after the failure of former UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan and his dramatic resignation. World powers are expected to name veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi as their new envoy for Syria early next week. — Agencies

Obama hosts iftar at White House Continued from Page 1 candidate Michele Bachmann, who have alleged she is part of a Brotherhood conspiracy to influence US foreign policy. Abedin has won bipartisan support.

Republican Senator John McCain spoke strongly in her defense, saying she was a devoted public servant full of “decency, warmth and good humor”. Abedin was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1976 but moved with her family to Saudi Arabia when she was two.

Her father was born in India under British rule and her mother is Pakistani. “Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit,” McCain said. Members of Congress, including Minnesota Congresswoman Bachmann, wrote a letter to the deputy inspector general of the State Department alleging the conspiracy and demanding a probe.

Abedin came under the spotlight last year when her husband, New York congressman Anthony Weiner, resigned after sending lewd online messages and photographs on his cell phone and then lying about it. The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist political movement founded in Egypt in 1928 and a staunch opponent of several Middle East governments that enjoyed US backing, notably Israel and the formerly secular regimes in

Egypt and Tunisia.

Obama also celebrated women athletes from Muslim nations who are making their debut in the Olympics.

“Here in America, we are incredibly proud of Team USA,” Obama said, noting that a majority of the American delegation to the London Olympics were female. “Also, for the very first time in Olympic history, every team now includes a woman athlete - one of the reasons is that every team from a Muslim majority country now includes women as well,” Obama said at the iftar grouping prominent members of the US Muslim community.

“That is worth applauding,” Obama said, as his audience started to clap. Among athletes making history in London was middle distance runner Sarah Attar who made history by becoming the first female athlete to represent Saudi Arabia in Olympics track and field. Attar, one of two women sent to the London Games by Saudi Arabia finished a distant last in the 800m, nearly 44sec behind Kenya’s Janeth Busienei.

But Attar, 19, who wore a white hood, long-sleeved green top and black leggings, described appearing in the Olympics as “an incredible experience”. “It is a historic moment. I hope it will make a difference. It is a huge step forward. It’s a really incredible experience,” said Attar, who was born and raised in the United States. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei all fielded female participants in the Olympics for the first time this year.— Agencies

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Issues

The right way to help Syria rebels

By Dalia Dassa Kaye and David Kaye s diplomatic options for ending the conflict in Syria have failed, calls to arm and provide air support for Syrian rebels are becoming more widespread - with several senators, a former Bush administration senior official and a former Obama State Department official leading the charge. Although we share their commitment to a humanitarian end to the brutality of the Assad regime, arguments to support the rebels militarily are based on three common assumptions that do not withstand scrutiny: — Military support will make the war shorter and enable the rebels to win. Analysis by close observers, such as the widely respected and nonpartisan International Crisis Group, suggests that a protracted civil war based on sectarian divides would probably continue even after President Bashar Assad falls. It’s not clear how outside air power or arms for the rebels would quell such sectarian conflict (and no one is talking about sending ground troops).

As a result, a clear-cut military victory that ends the bloodshed seems increasingly unlikely, with or without US support. To the contrary, outside military involvement may only increase the incentives for Russia and Iran to continue to support the regime now and its remnants after Assad goes. - Increased and direct military assistance to the rebels will expand US influence after Assad falls. Pro-interventionists often argue that staying out of the Syrian conflict will lead the opposition to resent and resist US influence after Assad falls, throwing the opposition into the sway of less liberal influences. But, just as in other conflicts in which the United States has lent support, military assistance may not buy us long-term political influence.

In any event, while rebel groups may resent being turned down by the Americans now, it is hard to imagine they would turn their backs on US support that is likely to stream in quickly after Assad is gone. Moreover, what alternative partner would be as attractive to a new Syrian government as the United States? The Russians and Iranians, with their unwavering support for Assad, have all but written off their prospects for ties with future leaders.

- American military support will stem Al-Qaeda’s growing influence. A more likely outcome is that a US military role would bring extremists more, not less, support. Al-Qaeda would be happy to exploit US support for more liberal secular opposition groups as a way to taint those factions and erode their influence among the Syrian population. And how can we be sure that American weapons don’t make their way into the hands of extremist elements within the opposition?

It may very well be that, in the heat of struggle, most Syrian opposition fighters and an array of civil society activists want US military support. And we are not ruling out logistic or even military support of a humanitarian nature if the situation drastically deteriorates. But the demand for US arms now doesn’t make it the right option, for the activists or for the United States. The risks are high, something even the supporters of arming the rebels acknowledge, without sufficient evidence that such efforts would prove effective.

It’s also important to remember that military might isn’t the only way to support the activists and fighters. The Obama administration, far from sitting on its hands, as Sen John McCain and his colleagues allege, has led international efforts to isolate and sanction those most responsible for the regime’s violence, and those efforts - along with diplomacy to bring Russia and China along - should be strengthened. The State Department and others are already working with Syrians to prepare for a post-Assad world.

Even there, however, US policy should have a light touch, focused on encouraging Syrians - especially those within the country - to begin building a pluralistic polity, embracing and empowering its many ethnic groups while being governed by the rule of law. Sunni Muslim leaders especially should be encouraged to embrace those minorities most fearful of Assad’s ouster, especially the Alawites.

American influence flows not only from our weapons but from the concrete assistance we can provide after the uprising, such as security sector reform, humanitarian and economic assistance, and technical and legal training. Being a partisan to the conflict through military support - causing us to be seen, for instance, as an opponent of key “losing” ethnic groups - would make such assistance less effective.

As they move beyond the shadow of four decades of Assads, Syrians will have to decide how to go forward, such as what institutions to build or rebuild and how to do it, what principles should guide a new government, how to replace authoritarianism and corruption with the rule of law, and whether to hold accountable those responsible for the violence of recent months and the decades of abusive rule by the regime. We should be there to support those efforts, but it would be infinitely more complicated if we enter with the force of arms.— MCT

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Iran seeks to save pivotal Syrian ally

By Marcus George ran, dismayed at the plight of Syrian President Bashar AlAssad, is seeking to shore him up and counter a perceived drive by Western and US-aligned Sunni Muslim nations to roll back its own power in the Middle East. A hastily-convened conference in Tehran on Thursday looked like an attempt by the Islamic Republic to forge a coalition of friendly countries opposed to Western and Arab support for rebels determined to end four decades of Assad family rule. Iran, handed geostrategic windfalls in the past decade

by Washington’s elimination of two of its main enemies, Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan, now fears the pendulum of regional influence could swing the other way. Success for the Sunni-led uprising in Syria could have grave implications for the Shiite rulers in Tehran and their vaunted “axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States. The axis has already lost one cog, Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni Islamist group which turned against Assad months ago for his bloody repression of foes including the Muslim Brotherhood.

Assad’s fall would weaken a pivotal component, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, for which Syria has provided arms, support and a route for weapons from Iran, the Shiite group’s main patron. It would also complicate life for Syria’s eastern neighbor Iraq, whose Iran-friendly Shiite-led government fears that a mainly Sunni leadership could take power in Damascus in place of one dominated by Assad’s Shiite-rooted Alawite minority.

Western officials have accused Iran of providing funds, weapons and intelligence support to Assad in his struggle to crush opposition. Syrian rebels also says Tehran has sent Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah fighters against them.

How far Iran will go in backing Assad, widely perceived across the Arab world as a tyrant killing his own people, is an open question - and one sometimes debated openly in Tehran.

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RELIGIOUS POLARISATION “There are rational views versus radical ones, but this is Iran. It’s very difficult to be more flexible, to argue for change,” said one Tehran-based diplomat. The political and military hardliners in control say Syria stood by Iran in its hour of need, the only Arab nation on its side in the 198088 war with Iraq, and deserves loyalty now. They also view the conflict in Syria as an extension of a sectarian power struggle with Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia, as well as a US-led campaign to shackle its nuclear ambitions by sanctions or if necessary by military force.

“Iran doesn’t accept this is about opening Syria up to democracy. It’s not at all democratic,” said Mohammad Marandi of Tehran University. “Saudi advocates Wahhabi Islam and Iran believes it’s pushing for religious polarization.” Iran said it had won support at Thursday’s conference for its call for a halt to violence in Syria and dialogue between Assad and his foes on the Syrian leader’s “reform” program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said outside interference was worsening the crisis. “It will be a mistake to think that with the continuation of pressure and unwise moves, the Syrian leadership would finally collapse,” he added. Iranian officials have in recent weeks offered to host talks between Syria’s government and opposition, although Assad’s foes have shown no interest in such a dialogue with the man they want to topple, let alone one organized by Tehran.

Iran may be seeking a diplomatic role after the failure of Kofi Annan’s U.N.-backed peace plan, but its chances of success appear doomed from the start, as perhaps its authors know, since Tehran’s policy is predicated on keeping Assad in power. “Iran is trying to take control of and redirect a failed diplomatic process, even though these endeavours will likely fail,” said Anthony Skinner of the Maplecroft risks consultancy. “Tehran is attempting to offset pressure from allies of the armed and unarmed opposition in Syria. It might also show that Iran is running out of ideas on what to do.”

HONEST BROKER Salehi, in an opinion piece in the Washington Post on the eve of the Tehran meeting, presented Iran as “part of the solution, not the problem” - as the United States contends. “As the world has witnessed during the past decade, we have acted as a stabilizing force in Iraq and Afghanistan, two other Muslim countries thrown into turmoil,” he wrote, alluding to US-led military interventions in both states.

Salehi also said Syrians should decide their own destiny

through a forthcoming presidential election, decreed by Assad. Tehran has resisted any negotiated transition requiring Assad’s exit and the loss of a partner who has helped Iran flex its muscles in Lebanon and in the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Earlier this week, senior Iranian envoy Saeed Jalili was in Damascus for talks with Assad, declaring that his country wouldn’t allow “the axis of resistance, of which it considers Syria to be an essential part, to be broken in any way”.

Next week President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries set to focus on the Syrian crisis. Iran will want to prevent any attempt to suspend Syria’s membership of the Jeddah-based OIC. While Iran has repeatedly denounced Turkey and Qatar, alongside Saudi Arabia, for supporting Syrian rebels, it has been forced to seek their help in securing the release of 48 Iranians kidnapped by the insurgents last week.

Syrian rebels accuse them of being elite Revolutionary Guards sent to assist Assad’s forces in crushing the opposition. Salehi has acknowledged that some are retired Guards or soldiers, but said they were religious pilgrims, not fighters. Maplecroft’s Skinner said concern over the captives might in part have motivated Iran’s flurry of diplomacy. “If they are serving members of the Guards, then Iran’s diplomatic initiatives may be linked to the hostagetaking because of the sensitive information they may have,” he said.

For Iran, “losing” Syria would be a damaging blow, but prolonged post-Assad instability might offer opportunities to a country adept at pursuing its interests in a conflict-ridden region, as it has shown in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. “Assad is far from gone and even when he is, things are going to be chaotic for a while,” said Dina Esfandiary of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. “ “And Iran thrives in that kind of context.”—Reuters

In Ramadan, rule-breakers pushed underground

By Diaa Hadid longside hundreds of millions of Muslims observing the sunrise-to-sundown fast of Ramadan, a minority in the community goes underground each year during the holy month, sneaking sandwiches and cigarettes when no one is looking. They include Muslims ambivalent about their faith or outright atheists, nicotine addicts too hooked to quit for 15 hours straight or those who simply don’t want to deal with a day of being hungry.

The Ramadan dodgers indulge in secret - mostly to avoid offending those who are fasting or to avoid embarrassment. Community pressure is powerful. Many say they don’t break the rules openly because they fear the disapproval of wives, neighbors and colleagues, or want to set a good example for their children. “I tried to fast, but it’s pointless. I need to smoke,” said Ahmed, a 28year-old electrician, puffing on a cigarette at midday in the privacy of a windowless office in an industrial park in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

He said he didn’t want his fiancee or his mother to know he wasn’t fasting. “I’m saving myself a headache,” he said, laughing. In some places, authorities enforce adherence. Saudi Arabia threatens to expel even nonMuslim expatriates seen violating Ramadan. In Muslimmajority Malaysia, officials randomly inspect restaurants and parks and nab hundreds of Muslims every year among those eating or drinking. Usually it means a fine amounting to around $300, but repeat offenders in some states can get a year in prison. Still, the potential chiding from friends and family generally is reason enough to lay low.

In Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, marketing executive Amri said he eats in his car while heading to or from work and hides a water bottle in a work bag for secret sips at the office. He’s an atheist but in the eyes of the law and society, he’s Muslim. “I’m sure some of my colleagues also don’t always fast, but it’s something that nobody wants to admit. Half of it is the fear of being caught by (the authorities), half of it is the fear that people will look at you negatively,” he said. Ahmed, Amri and others who acknowledged violating Ramadan spoke with The Associated Press on condition that their full names not be used, another sign of the taboo’s power.

During Ramadan, healthy Muslims must abstain from food, drink and cigarettes during daylight hours. The elderly, the very young, the sick as well as menstruating and nursing women are not required to fast. Ramadan is typically a joyous time. Families gather for meals at night and sit together to watch the season’s best soap operas.

People pray more. There’s a spirit of warmth, a break from routine. For the observant, fasting is a reminder of the deprivations of the poor. It also brings a sense of community, so even many who don’t consider themselves religious or slide on daily prayers throughout the year join in.

But it’s not for everyone. “I don’t believe in fasting,” said a 59-year-old Palestinian-American supermarket owner from Los Angeles. Raised near Jerusalem in a devout Muslim family, he let go of his faith after moving to the US decades ago. On a recent trip back, he was reprimanded by his more devout son, 32-year-old Basil, when he unthinkingly ate cake in their car while in a traf-

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fic jam of Muslim fasters near Ramallah. “Basil smacks my hand. He says, Dad, Dad, what are you doing? You can’t do that! Look at the people looking at us!” he recalled. “I had something in my mouth. I stopped chewing it out of fear. People were looking at me,” he said.

Chain-smoking Palestinian truck driver, Raed, 32, keeps his non-fasting secret from his four children, having his morning coffee and cigarette while they are sleeping. At the same time, he pays his sons, ages 6 and 11, a dollar for every day they fast. “I want them to be better than me,” he said, sipping thick black Turkish coffee in an industrial district near Ramallah. Raed said he doesn’t fast because his job is too difficult. “That’s empty talk,” countered his wife Nahla, 29. “It’s the cigarettes that are killing him.” Ramadan violators are expected to pray for forgiveness, fast to make up for lost days and give charity in recompense.

Religious observance in general has increased dramatically since the 1970s in the Arab world and other parts of the Muslim world, as political Islam rose to prominence and secular nationalist and leftist ideologies faded from the scene. The rise of Islamic political parties in the region in the wake of last year’s Arab Spring protests is likely to reinforce this trend, said Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Doha Center, a think tank. The intensity of Ramadan coercion varies. Most widespread is the closing of restaurants during daylight hours. Alcohol, which is forbidden in Islam no matter what month it is, often disappears during the holy month.

In Ramallah, where devout and secular live side-byside, some cafes leave their doors coyly half open, a sign that it’s business as usual. One restaurant offers free soup for Muslims wishing to break their fast after sundown.

Other customers can order booze. Police allow restaurants to operate normally in areas with a strong Christian minority and foreigners, such as biblical Bethlehem.

Almost all bars in Egypt shut down or stop serving booze. City bylaws in Jakarta, capital of world’s most populous Muslim country, Indonesia, prohibit nightclubs, bars and massage parlors from operating.

In contrast, restaurants serving alcohol operate normally in Lebanon, with its large Christian minority. And then there are the places where authorities take action.

In West Bank areas under the Palestinian self-rule government, police have detained 10 people for violating the fast in public, said police spokesman Mansour Khazamiyeh. Violators are generally jailed until Ramadan’s end. It’s also an offense in the Gaza Strip, ruled by Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, but police spokesman Ayman Batniji said nobody has been arrested yet. Egyptian Islamic clerics issued a religious ruling demanding that the government ban public eating in Ramadan, even for the 10 percent Christian minority.

Similar requests were made in the past before the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise to power in Egypt this year, but so far the Arab world’s most populous country doesn’t enforce the fast. Anyway, the biggest punishment for some is the guilt. Abdul-Latif, a 45-year-old Afghan shopkeeper in Kabul, said he and his buddies sneaked some cigarettes - but he didn’t feel good about it. “It would be such a shame if my family knew,” he said. “It’s also shameful for me. When it becomes time to eat at night, everyone else enjoys it more than me. I know about my shame.”— Agencies

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

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Howard heads to Lakers in 4-team, 12-player deal LONDON: All-Star center Dwight Howard was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, the last act of his long, drawn-out departure from the Orlando Magic.

It took four teams, 12 players, five draft picks and countless rounds of talks with different clubs to get done, but it finally was completed Friday after the NBA reviewed and approved the deal.

“It was just a very tough situation for everybody to let go,” Howard said. “I’m finally glad that it’s over with. Myself and the Magic organization, we can all start over and begin a new career. Today is a fresh new start for all of us.”

So after an offseason where the Magic fired coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith, now they’re truly beginning anew.

Howard is gone as well, the second time the franchise has lost a big-man star to the Lakers.

In 1996, the Magic watched Shaquille O’Neal sign as a free agent with the Lakers. At least this time, when they lost someone with the “Superman” nickname, they got something back.

Even while otherwise busy at the London Olympics, L.A. star Kobe Bryant quickly proclaimed that the Lakers are “locked and loaded to bring back the title.” He spoke with Howard on Friday morning, and interrupted his pursuit of a gold medal to talk about how the Lakers look very much like a major contender for another NBA title.

“I’ll probably play two or three more years.

Then the team is his,” Bryant said. “I’m excited for the franchise because now they have a player that can carry the franchise well after I’m gone. This should be his and he should want to accept that challenge.”

A lot of players found new homes, including Andrew Bynum, sent by the Lakers to the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers sent Andre Iguodala - part of the U.S. Olympic team, set to play a semifinal game at the London Games on Friday - to the Denver Nuggets. “I know my best basketball is ahead of me,” Iguodala wrote on Twitter.

Orlando got guard Arron Afflalo and forward Al Harrington from Denver, forward Moe Harkless and center Nikola Vucevic from Philadelphia, and forward Josh McRoberts and guard Christian Eyenga from the Lakers.

The Lakers got Howard, guard Chris Duhon and forward Earl Clark from Orlando. The Magic also traded guard Jason Richardson to Philadelphia.

Orlando also gets five draft picks over five years. “A primary goal for our basketball team is to achieve sustainability while maintaining a long-term vision. We feel this deal puts us in a position to begin building in that direction,” Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said.

“In addition to the six players joining our team, we will be in a position to maximize our salary cap flexibility in the near future, as well as utilize the multiple draft picks we have acquired going forward.”

The Lakers pulled off the deal and some-

how kept Pau Gasol in the process - something many didn’t expect when the Lakers first started getting mentioned in the Howard trade mix.

The trade was announced during the Spain-Russia semifinal matchup at the Olympics. Gasol scored 16 points, helping the Spanish team reach the gold medal game with a 67-59 win.

Afterward, that was secondary. He was still with the Lakers, and now has the game’s most dominant big man alongside him.

“That’s big news,” Gasol said. “Huge. I’ve been involved in so many talks and so many rumors. I feel relieved. I’m anxious and excited to be back with our team.”

The Magic said they were also getting a second-round draft pick from Denver next year, a first-round pick from either Denver or New York in 2014, a conditional first-round pick from Philadelphia and a conditional second-round pick from the Lakers in 2015, and a conditional first-round pick from the Lakers in 2017.

“Are we taking a step back? Absolutely, we are,” Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said. “But we’re taking a step back with a vision.”

Howard averaged 20.6 points and 14.5 rebounds in 54 regular-season games for Orlando last season. In eight seasons with the Magic, he averaged 18.4 points and 13.0 rebounds. And he would figure to make the Lakers even more of a title contender. — AP

Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

sp orts Probe into Armstrong doping

‘Cash for medals’ charges

Former WRC driver dies

AUSTIN: A federal judge had tough questions for US anti-doping officials about the fairness of their effort to prove seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong cheated, grilling them at length in a hearing Friday. But US District Judge Sam Sparks also asked attorneys for the cyclist why the federal court should step into an arbitration process already set up to handle doping cases in sports.

In a 2 1/2-hour session, Sparks criticized USADA about the vagueness of its charges and wondered whether Armstrong would get a legitimate chance to defend himself against allegations that he used performanceenhancing drugs throughout his career.

Sparks also questioned USADA officials about why they don’t turn their evidence over to the International Cycling Union, which has tried to wrest control of the Armstrong case from USADA in recent days. — AP

LONDON: With the men’s Olympic boxing medals to be decided this weekend, the sports’ governing body announced late yesterday it is sueing the BBC over repeated allegations of cash for medals. The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has begun legal action after the broadcaster repeated on Friday night that boxing medals could be bought at London 2012.

Azerbaijani boxers, super heavyweight Magomedrasul Medzhidov and heavyweight Teymur Mammadov both lost their semi-finals on Friday, leaving them with bronze medals. No other Azerbaijani boxers are left in the competition. On Friday, the BBC repeated the allegation first made in a Newsnight documentary last September that around $10m had been paid from Azerbaijan to boxing authorities in return for two gold. Both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and AIBA investigated the BBC’s original claims, failing to find any wrongdoing and now the governing body are hitting back.

“In September last year the BBC alleged that AIBA took a $10 million bribe from Azerbaijan in exchange for two gold medals at the Olympic Games in London,” said AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu in a statement. “Both AIBA and the IOC investigated the claim and could find no evidence to support it. “The BBC re-broadcast the allegation last night (in a website report), on the eve of the semi-finals, having been told it is untrue. — AFP

PARIS: Former Citroen World Rally Championship driver Philippe Bugalski has died at the age of 49, the French manufacturer confirmed yesterday.

Bugalski, who was originally from Vichy in central France, died following a fall at his home in the Seine-et-Marne region, east of Paris on Friday.

“Philippe Bugalski passed away this Friday at the age of 49. All the @citroen family is sad after losing such a great guy,” Citroen Racing wrote on their Twitter account on Saturday.

The French driver, nicknamed ‘Bug’, joined Citroen in 1998 and gave the team their first WRC win in 1999 in Catalonia in the Xsara Kit Car, following that with a win in Corsica. He retired from professional rallying in 2003.

Reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb paid tribute to his former team-mate, saying in a Citroen statement: “I feel really upset by this tragic news.

We’ve just lost somebody who was incredibly special. — AFP

MLB results/standings Cincinnati 10, Chicago Cubs 8; Baltimore 7, Kansas City 1; Boston 3, Cleveland 2; San Diego 9, Pittsburgh 8; Philadelphia 3, St. Louis 1; NY Yankees 10, Toronto 4; LA Dodgers 5, Miami 2; Atlanta 4, NY Mets 0; Houston 4, Milwaukee 3;Detroit 6, Texas 2; Chicago White Sox 4, Oakland 3; Tampa Bay 12, Minnesota 6; Washington 9, Arizona 1; LA Angels 6, Seattle 5; Colorado 3, San Francisco 0.

American League National League Eastern Division Eastern Division Washington 70 43 .619 W L PCT GB Atlanta 65 47 .580 4.5 NY Yankees 66 46 .589 NY Mets 54 59 .478 16 Baltimore 61 52 .540 5.5 Philadelphia 51 61 .455 18.5 Tampa Bay 60 52 .536 6 Miami 51 62 .451 19 Boston 56 58 .491 11 Central Division Toronto 53 59 .473 13 Cincinnati 67 46 .593 Central Division Pittsburgh 63 49 .563 3.5 White Sox 61 50 .550 St. Louis 61 52 .540 6 Detroit 61 52 .540 1 Milwaukee 51 60 .459 15 Cleveland 52 61 .460 10 Chicago Cubs 44 67 .396 22 Minnesota 49 63 .438 12.5 Houston 37 77 .325 30.5 Kansas City 48 64 .429 13.5 Western Division Western Division San Francisco 61 52 .540 Texas 65 46 .586 LA Dodgers 61 52 .540 Oakland 60 52 .536 5.5 Arizona 57 56 .504 4 LA Angels 60 53 .531 6 San Diego 50 64 .439 11.5 Seattle 51 63 .447 15.5 Colorado 41 69 .373 18.5

Yankees pound Blue Jays TORONTO: Ichiro Suzuki matched a career high with five RBIs as New York beat injury-riddled Toronto. New York starter Freddy Garcia (6-5) allowed two runs in six innings, walking none. He retired his final eight batters to win in Toronto for the first time since 2000 with Seattle.

Toronto starter Ricky Romero (8-9) lost for the eighth time in nine starts as the Blue Jays dropped their fourth straight.

Romero gave up a creditable three runs in seven innings but remained winless since June 22. He is 0-8 with a 7.26 ERA in nine starts since.

Tigers 6, Rangers 2 In Arlington, Detroit’s Austin Jackson hit an inside-the-park home run and a triple as the Tigers beat the Texas Rangers 6-2 on Friday in a clash of American League heavyweights.

Jackson notched his first career inside-the-park homer in the seventh inning after the right fielder made a diving attempt to catch the ball, which bounced in front of him and then over his glove and to the wall. Prince Fielder hit his 20th homer, a three-run shot in the sixth that put the Tigers up 4-2 and chased Scott Feldman (6-7).

Detroit starter Max Scherzer (11-6) struck out eight in six innings. Jackson led off the fourth with a triple and was driven in by Miguel Cabrera, whose 96 RBIs tied him again with Josh Hamilton of the Rangers for most in the majors.

Hamilton got his 96th RBI in the first inning with his 31st homer of the season, tying him with Adam Dunn of the White Sox for the major league lead.

White Sox 4, Athletics 3 In Chicago, Jordan Danks hit his first major league homer in the bottom of the ninth inning as Chicago overcame a three-run deficit to top Oakland.

With two outs in the ninth, Danks sent the first pitch he saw from Pat Neshek (11) deep into the right-field seats for a solo

TORONTO: New York Yankees’ Russell Martin is hit by a pitch from Toronto Blue Jays David Carpenter during ninthinning baseball game action. —AP

shot. Chicago reliever Brett Myers (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning to take the win.

Angels 6, Mariners 5 In Anaheim, California, rookie sensation Mike Trout tied a career high with five RBIs, including a three-run homer and a rare two-run sacrifice fly, as Los Angeles edged Seattle.

Kendrys Morales led off the ninth against Josh Kinney (0-2) with his second double of the game and was replaced by pinch-runner Peter Bourjos. After an intentional walk, both runners advanced on Howie Kendrick’s sacrifice. Another intentional walk brought up Maicer Izturis, who watched Kinney’s pitch skip past catcher John Jaso, allowing Bourjos to dash home from third.

Angels closer Ernesto Frieri (1-0) earned his first American League win, striking out the side in the ninth on 13 pitches.

Orioles 7, Royals 1 In Baltimore, Manny Machado thrust himself into the Orioles’ record book in his second major league game, hitting two home runs and driving in four runs to carry Baltimore past Kansas City.

At 20 years and 35 days old, Machado is the youngest Oriole ever to have a multihomer game. Boog Powell was 20 years and 258 days old when he did it in May 1962.

Machado hit a solo shot in the fifth inning and a three-run drive in the sixth.

Both homers came off Luke Hochevar (710) and gave Baltimore its sixth win in seven games. Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez (4-2) allowed one run in eight innings, striking out five and walking one.

Rays 12, Twins 6 In Minneapolis, Matt Joyce hit a tworun homer and a two-run double while Jose Molina drove in three runs as Tampa Bay downed Minnesota.

Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson (7-7) won despite lasting only five innings. He left with an 8-1 lead after a six-run second by the Rays, who batted around twice and won their fourth straight.

Twins rookie Cole De Vries (2-3) was roughed up from the first pitch when Desmond Jennings hit the first of six doubles by the Rays. De Vries got only four outs and gave up eight runs.

The Rays started a 10-game road trip in style, finishing one short of their season-high in runs. All but one starter got a hit.

Red Sox 3, Indians 2 In Cleveland, Clay Buchholz pitched a complete game to guide Boston past Cleveland. Buchholz (10-3) gave up one earned run in his second complete game of the season and fifth of his career. He hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in five consecutive starts, the longest streak by a Boston starter since Tim Wakefield did it six straight in 2002. — AP

Nationals, Braves advance PHOENIX: Washington’s Stephen Strasburg allowed just one hit over six innings as the Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-1 on Friday, notching their seventh straight win.

Strasburg (13-5) struck out six and threw 58 of his 104 pitches for strikes. He raised his season innings total to 133 1-3, closing in on the 160-inning cap the Nationals have planned for him in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery.

Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse homered for the Nationals, who remained 41/2 games ahead of second-placed Atlanta in the National League East. Arizona starter Trevor Cahill (9-10) went six innings, allowing four runs.

Braves 4, Mets 0 In New York, Paul Maholm pitched a shutout in just his second start for Atlanta, leading the Braves over New York.

Maholm (10-7) threw 95 pitches in his fourth career shutout and sixth complete game. He struck out five and walked none for his sixth victory in seven decisions.

The Braves got two-run homers from Jason Heyward and Dan Uggla. Heyward connected in the first inning to help spoil Matt Harvey’s (1-3) home debut with the Mets. Uggla went deep in the eighth for his first homer in more than a month.

Padres 9, Pirates 8 In Pittsburgh, Chase Headley homered from both sides of the plate for the first time in his career and drove in five runs to rally San Diego past Pittsburgh. Headley hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run fifth inning that tied the score 7-7. His two-run drive in the seventh off Tony Watson (5-2) put the Padres ahead 98. San Diego ran its winning streak to 10 games in Pittsburgh and hasn’t lost at PNC Park since 2009. The Padres have won five straight games overall. Brad Brach (1-2) got his first major league win and Huston Street pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 21st save in as many opportunities.

Dodgers 5, Marlins 2 In Miami, Hanley Ramirez drove in two runs playing for the first time against the team that traded him last month, and Los Angeles beat Miami. Ramirez, who spent seven seasons with the Marlins, broke a tie in the sixth inning with an RBI single. He added a single with the bases loaded in the seventh.

Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (10-6) allowed two runs in 6 1-3 innings to win his third consecutive start. Marlins starter Mark Buehrle (9-11) failed for the fifth time in a row

PHOENIX: Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper (34) ducks under the throw as he is forced out at second by Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew on an attempted double play during the seventh inning. —AP Aroldis Chapman came out of the bullpen to reach the 10-win milestone for a 12th consecutive season. Buehrle allowed four runs in to stop an eighth-inning rally in which the White Sox scored two runs to close to within a six innings. run. Chapman got the final out by strikeout with a runner on third, then retired the side in Phillies 3, Cardinals 1 In Philadelphia, Roy Halladay pitched eight the ninth to record the save.

Chicago lost for the ninth time in 10 games innings to guide Philadelphia past St. Louis. It was the second straight outstanding outing and made five errors - by five players - that led for Halladay (6-6), who missed 42 games with to two unearned runs. a muscle strain. He matched a season low by Rockies 3, Giants 0 allowing just two hits, while striking out eight In San Francisco, Tyler Chatwood combined and walking none. He didn’t allow a hit after with three relievers on a shutout as Colorado the third, retiring 16 of his final 17 batters.

Philadelphia’s Chase Utley hit a tiebreaking beat San Francisco. Chatwood (2-2) pitched two-run homer in the eighth. The Cardinals five scoreless innings in his second start this threatened in the ninth. With runners at the season. Wilin Rosario doubled twice and corners, Carlos Beltran tried to steal second scored a run while Tyler Colvin added two hits but left too early and was cut down. Barret and an RBI for the Rockies, who scored all their runs off Tim Lincecum (6-12). San Browning (0-1) took the loss.

Francisco fell into a tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West.

Reds 10, White Sox 8 In Chicago, rookie Todd Frazier doubled Astros 4, Brewers 3 twice and drove in four runs to power In Houston, Brian Bogusevic’s RBI single in Cincinnati past Chicago, ending the Reds’ seathe ninth inning capped a two-run rally that son-worst losing skid at five games.

Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run homer in the lifted Houston over Milwaukee.

It was the first win this season for the Astros third against Justin Germano (1-2) as the NL Central leaders built a 5-1 lead. Ludwick also in their last at-bat and it broke a five-game losdoubled, walked and matched his career best ing run. Wilton Lopez (4-1) struck out two in a perfect inning for the win. The Brewers have with four runs.

Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey (10-7) lost 10 straight road games for the first time allowed four runs in 5 2-3 innings. He set his since 1992. John Axford (4-7) was charged with his eighth blown save. —AP career high for wins, topping last year’s nine.

Al-Roudhan Tournament KUWAIT: The organizing committee of the late Abdallah Mushari Al-Roudhan Indoor Soccer Tournament held a celebration in memory of the Late Sameer Saeed during the 22nd day of the tournament.

The celebration began with a television report on the career of Sameer Saeed, then MC Mohannad Yousuf said prayers on behalf of the late Saeed.

Meanwhile the 22nd day of the tournament witnessed another surprise when the second place finisher of last year Talabat.Com bowed out to Talal Al-Mohammad 2-3 in penalty kicks.

Kuwait International Bank defeated Kuwait Investment 20 while the third match was won by Qadisiya 4-0

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

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Juventus lift Italian Super Cup BEIJING: Serie A champions Juventus scored twice in extra time to beat nine-man Napoli 4-2 in an eventful Italian Super Cup at the Beijing National Stadium yesterday.

An own goal by Christian Maggio and a calm finish

by Mirko Vucinic in the first half of extra time gave Juventus the first trophy of the season after Napoli had twice led in normal time at a rain-soaked Bird’s Nest.

Italian Cup winners Napoli lost goalscorer Goran Pandev and Juan Camilo Zuniga in the last 10 minutes of normal time through red cards, while coach Walter Mazzarri was also sent off, for dissent.

Pandev was shown a straight red for abusing a linesman, and Zuniga was dismissed for two bookable offences.

Juventus’ new signing Kwadwo Asamoah showed his worth on his debut by scoring the first goal and setting up the fourth, and he continually troubled Napoli down the left wing.

Juventus, who went unbeaten last season, were dealt a blow on Friday when coach Antonio Conte was banned for 10 months over a match-fixing scandal, but the Turin club showed no signs of pressure as they took early control.

Napoli took the lead against the run of play in the 27th minute through Edinson Cavani.

Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon came off his line to make a valiant save but the striker slotted in the rebound.

Juventus equalised through Asamoah 10 minutes later, when the Ghana midfielder found the net with a powerful left-foot shot from outside the box. Napoli restored the lead three minutes later after another defensive lapse from Juventus.

Leonardo Bonucci’s attempted clearance hit Pandev, who calmly flicked the ball over an advancing Buffon.

Juventus equalised for the second time when Arturo Vidal converted a penalty in the 74th minute after Vucinic was brought down.—Reuters

BEIJING: Juventus’ captain Gianluigi Buffon (center) holds the Italian Super Cup trophy while celebrating with his teammates after winning 42 against Napoli at China’s National Stadium.—AP

Tiger lurks at Kiawah KIAWAH ISLAND: Battling strong winds that buffeted the Ocean Course, Tiger Woods pushed himself into contention at the PGA Championship to end Friday’s second round tied for the lead with Vijay Singh and Swede Carl Pettersson. A three-putt bogey on the 18th hole, where he missed a short putt for par, was a frustrating conclusion for Woods but his one-under-par 71 for a four-under total of 140 was a fine score in extremely challenging conditions where the average was over six strokes over par.

“I’m very pleased to be able to shoot under par today. That was the goal, anything par or better today was going to be a great score, and I was able to accomplish that,” said Woods.

England’s Ian Poulter, who shot a 71, was one stroke back while Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (75) and Welshman Jamie Donaldson (73) were both at two under.

Four-times champion Woods made three birdies and two bogeys while hitting 10 of 14 fairways but it was a sign of how tough approach shots were in the swirling wind that he hit only half of the greens in regulation. He was majestic on the greens on the front nine - he one-putted seven of his first nine holes, including twice for birdie, as he hunted down overnight leader Pettersson.

Woods went close to chipping in for birdie on the par-four ninth when his ball settled agonisingly on the edge of the cup but his luck returned on the next hole where his putt circled the hole before sliding in. From then, on the tougher back nine, it was a case of damage limitation in winds reaching a peak of 38 miles per hour and the former world number one survived, with a birdie on the par-four 12th the highlight.

“Wow, it was tough out there,” said

Woods. “You can’t take anything for granted, a simple tap-in is not a simple tap-in. The putter is oscillating all over the place and the ball is oscillating and you have to make an adjustment.

“It was a tough day. I mean, your start lines, Holy Cow, we are starting balls so far off line, to have it come back in. There’s so much drift to this wind.” Adding, along with Woods, to the retro-feel of the leaderboard, twice PGA winner Vijay Singh posted an impressive three-under-par 69 - the only player to score in the sixties.

The 49-year-old Fijian, champion in 1998 and 2004, called on all his experience to handle the difficult coastal conditions.

“Nobody is used to winds like this,” threetimes major winner Singh said after mixing five birdies with three bogeys. “You’re contending for a major but we didn’t expect wind like this. These are really strong winds.

“Yeah, I love contending in the majors, but you just contend with yourself and try to make a score if you can.”

Pettersson, who started on the back nine, looked to be the classic ‘one-round wonder’ with two bogeys in his first three holes but he recovered well with three birdies, including a chip-in from 20 yards on the par-four first.

However, the Swede let his solo lead slip on the front nine with three consecutive bogeys as he ended with a two-over 74.

“I let it slip a little bit but overall I played pretty good. I think two-over today is like two-under yesterday,” he said. Poulter put himself firmly in the frame until bogeying the 18th to fall one shot behind the leaders while McIlroy recovered from four bogeys in his first 13 holes with two birdies to card a respectable 75.—Reuters

KIAWAH: Luke Donald of England watches his drive from the seventh tee during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament.—AP

Rangers settle for point in third-division opener GLASGOW: Rangers needed a last-minute equaliser to spare their blushes as the Glasgow giants started life in the Third Division with a 2-2 draw against part-timers Peterhead yesterday.

It is an amazing fall from grace for the Ibrox club, who were making their debut in Scottish football’s lowest tier after being demoted when the old company couldn’t be saved from liquidation. Teenager Barrie McKay had scored Rangers’ first ever goal in Scotland’s lowest tier in the 27th minute before strikes from Rory McAllister, who had been a thorn in Rangers’ side all day, and Scott McLaughlin turned the game on its head.

But, with time running out, Andrew Little knocked the ball over the line after substitute Kevin Kyle’s header crashed off the bar.

Rangers are overwhelming favorites to stroll to automatic promotion in a league otherwise comprised of part-time and amateur sides.

However, despite dominating possession, they struggled to break down the defence of a team who had been the favorites to win the title before Rangers dropped down the leagues.

Visiting manager Ally McCoist admitted he was relieved to get a point in the end. “I felt we defended appallingly to be honest. We didn’t match their aggression and if our boys at any time thought this was going to be a cake-walk they know where they are now,” he said.

“I am not going to start panicking but overall

I still think we will play better and we’ll certainly pass the ball better but enormous credit must go to Peterhead.”

Despite losing such a late equaliser, Peterhead manager Jim McInally, a former Scotland international midfielder, was delighted with his side.

“I can’t believe I have gone into a dressing room that is disappointed at drawing 2-2 with Rangers,” he said. At tiny Balmoor Stadium in Peterhead, a fishing port on Scotland’s northeast coast, McCoist sent out a starting line-up containing eight full internationals.

They struggled to make their quality tell in the early stages and it was Peterhead who had the first real chance when McAllister’s header from a corner was knocked off the line by McKay. Rangers went on to take the lead when Lee McCulloch headed Lewis MacLeod’s long ball into the path of McKay, who took a touch before sending an angled shot past ‘keeper Paul Jarvie from eight yards. Peterhead could have been level soon after when the Rangers defence switched off at a free-kick allowing McAllister space for a shot, but he sent his miscued angled effort from six yards well wide.

Goalkeeper Neil Alexander came to Rangers’ rescue on the hour mark when he tipped McAllister’s curling shot from the edge of the box on to the bar, but the striker was not to be

denied four minutes later. He showed the quality that took him to the top flight earlier in his career with Inverness when he sent USA international Carlos Bocanegra the wrong way before curling a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.

Peterhead then stunned the visitors when they took the lead late on. Alexander’s punched clearance from a corner deflected off Kirk Broadfoot into the path of McLaughlin, who sent a vicious volley flying past the helpless ‘keeper and into the net.

However, Little came to the rescue at the death when Kyle’s header came off the bar and the striker reacted quickest to knock the ball in from two yards with his knee.—AFP

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

German Super Cup Bayern v Dortmund ............... 21:00 Dubai sports

FA Community Shield Chelsea v Man City ................. 15:30 Al Jazeera Sport +5

Djokovic and Isner reach semis at soggy Toronto TORONTO: Defending champion Novak Djokovic, playing his second match in four hours, stormed into the semis of the Toronto Masters on Friday while Canadian Milos Raonic failed to deliver a similar outcome for the home crowd.

Djokovic, who was among several players playing two matches to make up for Thursday’s washout, defeated German Tommy Haas 6-3 3-6 6-3 hours after dispatching American Sam Querrey 6-4 6-4 in a contest interrupted by a three-hour rain delay. The top-seeded Serbian, who needed 2-1/2 hours to get by Haas, will next face fifth-seeded compatriot Janko Tipsarevic, who kicked off the evening session with a 6-4 6-4 win over Spain’s Marcel Granollers. Tipsarevic had reached the last eight by beating Croatia’s Marin Cilic 6-2 6-4 earlier on Friday.

Raonic, playing in his home tournament for the first time since breaking into the world’s top 25, fell 7-6 6-4 to eighthseed American John Isner, who earlier edged Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber. The big-serving Canadian was on court for the first time since Tuesday, having been handed a walkover to the quarter-finals after Olympic singles champion Andy Murray pulled out due to injury.

While Raonic managed 13 aces in the match, Isner controlled the rallies, clinching the match with a volley to the open court after one of his own booming serves left the 16th seed well out of position.

Isner will now face Frenchman Richard Gasquet, a 5-7 6-1 6-1 winner over American Mardy Fish. —Reuters

TORONTO: Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a serve during the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank at Rexall Centre at York University.—AFP

Transfer woes cloud City’s Shield preparations BIRMINGHAM: Roberto Mancini admits Manchester City’s Community Shield clash with Chelsea today has been overshadowed by the transfer row that threatens to derail the Premier League champions before they have even started their title defence.

Mancini’s side will face European champions Chelsea in the traditional curtain raiser to the English season at Villa Park this weekend and the fixture should have been an ideal chance for City to flex their muscles by showing off new additions to their squad.

But instead City boss Mancini has been unable to make a single major signing since that dramatic May day when his team were crowned English champions for the first time in 44 years.

Mancini had hoped City’s incredible 3-2 win over QPR, which wrestled the title from Manchester United on the final day of the season, would be the springboard for significant investment in the trans-

fer market during the close-season. The Italian clearly has a talented squad already, but he believes more options are required in every area to cope with the renewed challenge from United and Chelsea, as well as improving their chances of mounting a strong campaign in the Champions League. With that in mind, it is easy to see why Mancini has become frustrated as the club’s football administrator Brian Marwood failed to secure deals for Arsenal forward Robin van Persie, Liverpool defender Daniel Agger and Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi.

Now their rift is casting a cloud over City’s preseason preparations with their Premier League opener against Southampton just over a week away.

“Sorry, but I know that for you (the media) these questions are more important than the match but for this you should talk to Brian Marwood, not with me,” Mancini said. “I don’t want to talk about the

market. I don’t know what I should say in this moment because after three or four months I don’t know. I’m not happy but I won’t say anything at the moment.

“I think we have a good team but we built this team two years ago. “I think that it is impossible that after two years ago you did everything well. You still need to improve. “You need to improve when we have a training session, we need to improve in every way.”

City duo Micah Richards and Gareth Barry are set to miss Sunday’s glamour game, with the latter facing up to a month on the sidelines, while captain Vincent Kompany will undergo a fitness test 24 hours before the game.

Italian striker Mario Balotelli and Spanish midfielder David Silva, who both starred at Euro 2012, will feature from the bench after only beginning their pre-season preparations six days ago following extended leave.

Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo has warned City that everybody will be out to turn them over this season. “It’s certainly hard to stay at the top,” Di Matteo said. “There’ll be a lot of good teams this season. The Premier League is getting more balanced every year.

“They have a good squad and they will be difficult to catch, but that’s the job of all the other teams - to try and win against Manchester City.”

However, the Italian did admit it will be tough for his side to challenge the two Manchester sides this season having finished 25 points behind them last season.

“There’s been a big gap last season, and that is one of our challenges this season, to bridge that gap,” Di Matteo said. “25 points are a lot of points, with both Manchester teams.

“It’ll be a tough season ahead but we’ll try and compete.” Chelsea have a fully fit squad to choose from ahead of the clash at Villa Park.—AFP

18

London 2012 Olympic Games

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

Pistorius ‘wins’ despite no Olympic medal LONDON: By the time Oscar Pistorius got the baton he was so far behind that he wasn’t going to catch the pack on the final lap, even if the carbonfiber blades he was running on had superchargers. He and his South African teammates had no chance for a medal in the 4x400 final, though on this night the Olympics for them were about more than just winning a gold.

Pistorius would finish last, just as he had in the 400-meter semifinal a few days earlier. Though he was secondfastest of the four men on his team, his performance in these games should finally put to rest claims he has an unfair advantage because of the springs he runs on.

The results hardly mattered. His appearances at these games were more groundbreaking than spectacular even if it was a bit of a thrill watching him get around the track so fast on legs that were amputated beneath the knees before his first birthday.

The crowd packed into the Olympic

stadium roared their support. His fellow runners showed theirs afterward with hugs and pats on the back.

He was a runner, and that was all.

That was more than OK, because that’s all Pistorius ever wanted to be.

Accepted for what he does, not for the way his missing legs force him to do it.

“Just a regular guy to me,” US runner Tony McQuay said. “I don’t even look down and see what he’s running with down there. Doesn’t matter to me. I know Oscar’s heart. Oscar’s a great guy.”

Pistorius has gotten about everything he can out of his J-shaped Cheetahs blades, but it still doesn’t give him the push to start a race like runners with calf muscles or the ability to make a turn like runners who have ankles.

At first glance, you’d think he should be some sort of superman, bounding past other runners on his springs. The reality is, the blades help level the playing field but don’t give

him any special advantage. He still has to be a supremely trained athlete to even compete against the world’s best on two good legs. The best thing about it all in London may have been just how normal it seemed. That was all Pistorius could have asked out of an Olympics he had to fight to be in. The medals could wait for another time say Rio, four years from now, when Pistorius thinks he will really be in his prime. This was more about competing hard and being accepted and, if they awarded a gold for that, Pistorius would have it around his neck.

“This week has just been one of the biggest blessings for me,” Pistorius said. “It’s taught me a lot. I’ve been inspired by so many athletes. Just to have had that opportunity to step outside, it’s been absolutely phenomenal.

I’m sure in a week I’m going to have the same emotions that I’m going to have in 40 or 50 years’ time.”

Pistorius isn’t going to be the only one who has memories. Eighty thou-

sand people in the stadium kept their eyes trained on him while he tried unsuccessfully to catch even one runner while the team from the Bahamas overtook the US on the last lap to win the gold medal. Flashes went off throughout the stadium as he ran; it didn’t matter than he was last.

His teammates will savor this night, too. “Ten or 20 years from now we will still remember the day we ran with Oscar,” said L.J. Van Zyl, who handed the baton off to Pistorius for the final lap.

Pistorius said he hasn’t had a chance to reflect on what the week meant, though he believes it will inspire others with disabilities to try to perform beyond what people think they can do.

He never came close to winning a medal in his two races, but he achieved his goal of running in a 400meter semifinal. The 400 relay final was more of a bonus, with South Africa getting in only after a protest over a

collision in a heat the day before, when Pistorius was waiting for teammate Ofentse Mogawane to hand him the baton.

“Far beyond my expectations,” Pistorius said, referring to his Olympic experience. “If I took all the positive things I thought might come out of this and multiply it by 10, it still couldn’t come close.”

More positive things could follow.

Pistorius is competing in the Paralympics later this month, where he will defend his 100, 200 and 400 titles from Beijing and try for four gold medals.

“My job at the end of the day is to run,” Pistorius said. “We’ve got the Paralympics in three weeks and I’m so proud to be a Paralympian. There are so many athletes just like myself who sacrifice things day in and day out.” The sacrifice for this week didn’t show up in the medals chart. But Pistorius is still one of the biggest winners in these games. —AP

Australia beats Britain for bronze LONDON: Australia won its sixth straight Olympic field hockey medal yesterday, beating Britain 3-1 in the bronze match at Riverbank Arena yesterday to help make up for its surprising failure to win the gold. The fourth bronze in five Olympics was a consolation

Britain, which was chasing its first medal since it won the 1988 Seoul Games. Then, slowly, they hugged and backslapped each other and the reaction of their fans helped them appreciate the bronze was an accomplishment worth celebrating. Their moods lifted the longer they walked a lap of honor around the blue pitch with the pink fringe

LONDON: Australia’s team poses for photographs after winning the men’s field hockey bronze medal match against Britain 3-1 at the 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP prize for the top-ranked and world champion Australians, who were expected to cruise in London to their second-ever Olympic title.

Germany, however, inflicted in the semifinals only the third defeat of Australia in a major tournament in three years, and the lingering pain was evident at the final whistle yesterday.

There wasn’t much joy on the faces of the Australians, who seemed as subdued as

and they stopped twice for group photos.

Britain also perked up, as its fourth placing was its best Olympic finish since Seoul. It hadn’t beaten Australia in the Olympics since then, and the weight of a minority share of turf and ball was too great to overcome.

Goals were conceded to Simon Orchard, Jamie Dwyer and Kieran Govers, and Britain equalized against the run of play thanks to

Iain Lewers’ second career goal in a solid rebound from the record 9-2 defeat to the Netherlands in the semifinals.

The only surprise about the first goal was that Australia had to start from their own half. Joel Carroll’s long pass up the left wing found Dwyer, who spun out of three defenders to center to an unmarked Orchard, who scored from the top of the circle in the 17th.

Dwyer and Govers had shots blocked and Britain leveled out of the blue. The 19-yearold Harry Martin’s rush up the middle forced the team’s only penalty corner of the match, and Ashley Jackson hit the ball to the left post for Lewers to deflect in.

Soon after, Australia midfielder Chris Ciriello got in the face of unfazed Britain captain Barry Middleton and was booed for the rest of the match every time he touched the ball. Except at the end of the half, when his penalty corner shot was saved, prompting a rousing cheer.

Britain remained under siege from the start of the second half, and their cause wasn’t helped when Alastair Wilson was sinbinned for five minutes. In that time, Australia had two penalty corners saved.

Ironically, when Wilson returned, Australia scored. Matt Gohdes’ shot deflected to Dwyer, who volleyed in his own rebound for 2-1 after 48 minutes.

James Fair, Britain’s goalkeeper and constant savior, made more saves on Carroll and Russell Ford, but a glove save on Dwyer was diverted straight to Govers, and he volleyed in Australia’s third goal.

Germany and the Netherlands met late yesterday in the final. Earlier, Belgium beat Spain 5-2 to finish fifth, six places higher than its world ranking, and South Africa topped India 3-2 for 11th, leaving the eighttime champion last for the first time in an Olympics. —AP

Female Syrian hurdler disqualified for doping

Syria’s Ghfran Almouhamad

LONDON: A female hurdler from Syria was k icked out of the London Olympics yesterday after failing a drug test. The IOC said 400-meter hurdler Ghfran Almouhamad tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine on Aug. 3. Her backup “B” sample confirmed the positive finding.

The 23-year- old athlete finished eighth and last in her firstround heat on Aug. 5. The IOC said Almouhamad has been disqualified and stripped of her Olympic accreditation.

The IOC sent her case to the IAAF to officially change the results and consider any further action against the athlete.

Almouhamad was one of 10 Syrian athletes, six men and four women, registered to compete in seven different sports in London.

The Syrians came to the Olympics despite the escalating violence in their homeland. Protests against President Bashar Assad’s regime began in March 2011 and became a civil war which activists say has killed at least 20,000 people.

The head of the Syrian Olympic Committee, Gen. Mowaffak Joumaa, was denied a visa to come to London by British authorities. Almouhamad is the seventh positive case reported by the IOC since the Olympic body started its games testing program on July 16.

She is only the second athlete who competed in London that has been sanctioned for doping. The others were caught before competing.

American judo fighter Nick Delpopolo was expelled after testing positive during competition for marijuana, which he said he

unintentionally consumed in something he ate. Gymnast Luiza Galiulina of Uzbek istan and Albanian weightlif ter Hysen Pulaku were expelled for failing pre-games tests. Galiulina tested positive for the diuretic furosemide, while Pulaku was caught for using the steroid stanozolol.

Russian track cyclist Victoria Baranova was disqualified after testing positive for testosterone on July 24 in Belarus, and Colombian 400-meter runner Diego Palomeque was suspended for a testosterone positive on July 26 in London. Italian race walker Alex Schwazer was formally disqualified by the IOC af ter the I talian Olympic Committee removed him from the team for a positive EPO test in Italy before the Games. —AP

LONDON: Elena Oblova, Skudina Ekaterina, and Elena Syuzeva of Russia (left) and Tamara Echegoyen, Angela Pumariega, and Sofia Toro of Spain sail on an Elliott 6m class during the London 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

Aussies, Kiwis defeat British for gold medals WEYMOUTH: Britannia was supposed to once again rule the waves at the Olympic sailing regatta, with some predicting the home team could win a medal in each of the 10 classes.

Australia and New Zealand? Not so popular with the pundits coming in. But the trans-Tasman contingent is making Team GB feel not so great. Australia’s Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page, and New Zealand’s Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie won the gold medals in the 470 men’s and women’s classes by overwhelming their British rivals on Weymouth Bay on a spectacular sunny Friday afternoon.

The Australians lead the British three to one in gold, with only the women’s match racing to be decided. The Australians will pick up either a gold or silver in that event Saturday as skipper Olivia Price and her crew advanced to the finals against Spain’s Tamara Dominguez and her crew.

The victory by Belcher and Page guaranteed that Australia will win more sailing gold medals than the strong, well-funded British team. That’s a remarkable feat, although the British will lead all countries with five sailing medals - one gold and four silvers.

Belcher and Page backflipped off their dinghy after the finish, causing it to capsize. When Aleh and Powrie came ashore, their teammates and coaches lifted them up, boat and all, and carried them into the boat park.

“I didn’t think that was possible to lift a 470 with two people in it,” Aleh said. “That was pretty amazing, just knowing all those people were here to see us and help us out.”

Aleh and Powrie came into the medals race level on points with the British crew of Hannah Mills and Saski Clark. The British forced the Kiwis to the right side of the course because they liked the left side, but then the wind shifted. That put the Kiwis solidly in the lead and they sailed on to victory. The British finished ninth in the 10boat fleet.

It’s the first gold medal for the Kiwis in a boat with a rudder since 1984, when Russell

Coutts topped the Finn fleet and Rex Sellers and Christopher Timms won the Tornado class. Coutts went on to become the most dominant skipper in America’s Cup history.

New Zealanders have been strong in windsurfing in recent Olympics, but until these games, they hadn’t won any medals in boats with rudders since 1992.

“It’s the start of another good time for New Zealand,” Aleh said. “It’s been a while since the Kiwis have brought back the medals. This year it’s a gold and a silver, now. Hopefully it’s just the beginning.”

On Wednesday, the Kiwi 49er skiff crew of Peter Burling and Blair Tuke took silver.

Aleh was inspired to get into sailing by Team New Zealand’s victory in the 1995 America’s Cup. “I just was watching it on T V and I thought it look pretty fun,” she said. “I don’t know how I got dinghy sailing mixed up with the America’s Cup, but I guess I was watching the Kiwis just smacking everyone on the world stage. I liked the idea of that.”

The women’s 470 bronze medal went to Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkout of the Netherlands.

Belcher and Page finished second in the men’s medal race behind Croatia, with the British duo of Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell finishing fourth to take the silver. All the Aussies had to do was finish ahead of Britain.

The British needed to finish ahead of the Aussies, with a boat between, to win the gold. Patience and Bithell got ahead of Belcher and Page at the start before being overhauled by the Aussies on the first downwind leg. Argentina’s Lucas Calabrese and Juan de la Fuente won the bronze.

After Belcher and Page capsized their boat after winning, Patience and Bithell, and Calabrese and de la Fuente followed suit. The six sailors congratulated each other together.

“That was a good moment, actually,” Patience said. “You travel around the world tour together for years and you make great friends along the way.” Page was on the winning 470 crew in Beijing, sailing with Nathan Wilmot. —AP When Page and Belcher came ashore

Kirdyapkin walks to gold in 50K race LONDON: Sergei Kirdyapkin of Russia won gold in the grueling 50-kilometer walk at the London Games yesterday, breaking the Olympic record by more than a minute to come in ahead of Australia’s Jared Tallent. Kirdyapkin took a commanding lead at the 45-kilometer mark and crossed the finish line near Buckingham Palace in 3 hours, 35 minutes, 59 seconds - 54 seconds ahead of Tallent, who claimed silver. Si Tianfeng of China was 1 minute, 17 seconds behind to win bronze.

The previous Olympic mark of 3:37.09 was set by Alex Schwazer of Italy when he won the race at the Beijing Games four years ago. Schwazer was expelled from the London Olympics after he failed a doping test before the games. He later admitted having used the blood-boosting hormone EPO, saying he felt immense pressure to defend his title in London. With Schwazer out, Russian walkers

were the favorites to claim the gold. A Russian last won the event at the 1992 Barcelona Games and Kirdyapkin said the walkers trained as a team in the lead up to the Olympics and raced together on Saturday along the streets of central London.

“It was just the destiny today that one would go first and the others go after,” he said. After leading most of the race, world champion Sergei Bakulin finished sixth, 2 minutes and 56 seconds behind the winner. His Russian teammate and a medal favorite, Igor Erokhin, was fifth. Kirdyapkin won the world championship title in 2005 and 2009, but failed to finish the race in Beijing. “Compared with Beijing, today it all went perfectly well,” Kirdyapkin said. “It’s the Olympic gold medal, so for me it’s the most important.” His wife, Anisya Kirdyapkina, is competing in the 20K race walk later on Saturday.

She won bronze at the worlds in South Korea and finished second at the 2010 European championships. “We’ll all be supporting her all the way,” Kirdyapkin said. Tallent’s wife Claire, was to compete

in the 20K women’s race walk later Saturday. Her 50K silver medalist husband said he hoped that just hours after his own exhausting event, he would have enough energy to stand up to hopefully see her reach the podium. “I will be cheering as loudly as I can,” Tallent said. “Hopefully she can get up on the dais as well.” Tallent won silver in Beijing and took bronze at the worlds in South Korea last year.

He drew valuable lessons from the race at the worlds to clock his personal best of 3 hours, 36 minutes and 53 seconds in London. Tallent fell behind at the beginning and was mostly racing in the chasing group. He pushed harder after the 35-kilometer mark to race closer behind Kirdyapkin and the other Russians. “I really learnt a lot last year from Daegu when I went out too hard,” Tallent said. Russians are also set to dominate the women’s 20K event.

Defending champion Olga Kaniskina will aim to become the first female walker to retain her title since 1992, when the women’s race walk was included in the Olympic program. —AP

LONDON: Russia’s Sergey Kirdyapkin celebrates winning the men’s 50-kilometer race walk at the 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP

19 SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

Red welt over eye, Olympic gold in hand LONDON: You wouldn’t know by watching Jordan Burroughs that Americans can’t fight anymore. Not the men, anyway. And not at these Olympics.

Just three days after the US men’s boxing team exited the games empty-handed for the first time, the best and cockiest middleweight freestyler in the world guaranteed the men’s wrestling team wouldn’t do the same.

With a partisan crowd at the ExCel trading chants like punches and the clock running down in each of the first two rounds, Burroughs coolly executed a double-leg takedown of Iran’s Sadegh Saeed Goudarzi to lock up the gold medal match.

Then he waltzed into a room packed with reporters and turned on the charm. Even with a bright red welt throbbing over his left eye, his joy was unmistakable.

“Did it make any difference that you were wrestling an Iranian?” a reporter asked, mining the geopolitical angle.

“If the Queen of England stepped out onto the mat,” Burroughs replied mischievously, “I’d probably double-leg her.”

With each answer, he looked and sounded like the star his sport desperately needs. A smart, funny bundle of energy who dreamed up the Twitter handle (at)alliseeisgold a year ago, Burroughs turned out to be just as comfortable behind a microphone as he is at his keyboard. “How will you resist the money MMA (mixed martial arts) is going to throw at you?”

“I got another at least five years of wrestling in me, so I’m definitely going to Rio. That’s the goal right now,” Burroughs said, referring to the 2016 Summer Games site.

“Plus, I’m not as tough off the mat as I am on it. I’ve never been in a fight before in my life and I’m pretty scared to get punched in the face.” “You said you wanted to be an American hero. Are you?”

“I guess we’ll see in the morning,” Burroughs said, his widening grin revealing a wrestler’s cauliflower ears, puffy and misshapen after years of scar tissue growing over cut after cut. “How much is this win likely to do for wrestling?”

“Poker is on ESPN more than wrestling,” he said, somehow smiling even wider, “and I just drew a royal flush.” A half-hour was barely enough. Burroughs could go on this way forever, but you get the point. The problem is that the U.S. wrestling and boxing teams used to be full of guys like him, world champions

LONDON: Gold medalist United States’ Jordan Ernest Burroughs, participates in the medals ceremony for men’s 74-kg freestyle wrestling competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP who were as talented as they were dedicated and entertaining. No more.

Some are siphoned off by the better paydays in mixed martial arts and ultimate fighting - the UFC circuit claims nearly 70 percent of its fighters wrestled in high school and college, including stars Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.

Burroughs isn’t going there, at least not right away. But U.S. coach Zeke Jones knows every day he has him around, the program

will be an easier sell.

“He hasn’t even scratched the surface of his potential. He’s already a much better freestyler today than he was a year ago, because he’s learning the game, learning the tactics,” Jones said. “He loves being the ambassador. He’s only going to get a lot better.”

It used to that USA Wrestling needed little help to keep its best in the system. Past greats like John Smith and Cael Sanderson segued into coaching and 1996 gold medalist Kurt Angle turned to the WWE to pay bills. But fewer and fewer prospects these days are willing to endure the low-budget living for long.

The lack of depth and the continued strength of traditional rivals Russia and Iran eventually caught up with the US men’s team.

They won only a single gold medal in the three previous games and Burroughs - the reigning world champion, who came in with 38 straight wins before adding four in a row Friday - was considered the only lock. Things were even worse this time around for the Greco-Roman wrestling team. Like the U.S. men’s boxing team, it failed to advance even one competitor into the semifinal round, meaning coach Steve Fraser’s job could be in jeopardy.

Things are more hopeful on the freestyle side. Though the team is light on international experience, it qualified wrestlers in all but one of the 14 weight classes and the sport remains popular at the high school level, though funding at colleges is shakier every year. In a bid to add some buzz, USA Wrestling staged a wrestle-off for the last spot on the men’s team in Times Square and a new booster program called “Living the Dream Medal Fund’ will pay Burroughs $250,000 for his Olympic gold.

Only a year ago, he was still “a poor college kid” at Nebraska, occasionally forced to choose between a midnight snack or a gallon of gas for his old beater of a car.

“Are you going to get that Audi you’ve been talking about?” Burroughs was asked at one point. “My mom,” he said, “might want me to take her shopping first.”—AP

Untouchable Kanaeva defends rhythmic gold LONDON: With a display of stunning elegance and control, Russia’s Evgeniya Kanaeva retained her Olympic rhythmic gymnastics title yesterday to confirm her status as the sport’s outstanding performer. The three-time world champion scored a total of 116.900 points to finish 2.400 points above compatriot Daria Dmitrieva at Wembley Arena in west London, while Liubou Charkashnya of Belarus took the bronze medal.

Kanaeva becomes the first person to have won two individual rhythmic gymnastics titles at the Olympics, following her success in Beijing four years ago.

“I’m very happy that I’ve succeeded in two consecutive Olympics and I really appreciate the people who have supported me, like my coach and my parents,” said Kanaeva. “It was great to see lots of Russian supporters in the audience.

It’s very important to have that kind of support and people cheering for me.”

The 22-year-old from Omsk topscored in three of her four routines, keeping Russia on top of the podium for the fourth straight Games after previous successes for Yulia Barsukova in 2000 and Alina Kabaeva in 2004.

Along with synchronised swimming, rhythmic gymnastics is one of only two sports at the London Games that is practised exclusively by women. The gymnasts perform floor routines accompanied by music with four pieces of apparatus-a hoop, a ball, a set of clubs, and a ribbon-and are awarded a score by three juries.

Kanaeva had dropped her hoop during qualifying on Thursday, but she made no such mistake during a delightful opening routine with that piece of apparatus and took the lead with a score of 29.350 points.

Rhythmic gymnastics is often described as a cross between ballet and gymnastics, but the ball routine suggests freestyle football is an element of the mix as well.

The final clashed with the culmination of the men’s football tournament next door at Wembley

LONDON: Gold medallist Russia’s Evgeniya Kanaeva (center), silver medallist Russia’s Daria Dmitrieva (left) and bronze medallist Belarusí Liubou Charkashyna bite their medals during the podium ceremony for the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP Stadium, but even Brazil and Mexico’s millionaire players would have marvelled at the audacity of Kanaeva’s footwork with the ball.

Like all the gymnasts, Kanaeva displayed remarkable dexterity and flexibility to send the rubber ball rolling around the contours of her body, even cradling it in the small of her back at one point.

After two rotations, she led Dmitrieva by 1.900 points but a

faultless display with the clubs enabled her to stretch her advantage to 2.600 points ahead of the final routine.

To the tune of Chopin’s ‘Fantasie-Impromptu’, Kanaeva brought home the gold with a beautifully accomplished 90-second ribbon display that drew roars from the sizeable Russian contingent in the crowd.—AFP

Aussies take home bronze LONDON: Olympic all-time women’s basketball scoring leader Lauren Jackson found that taking home a bronze for Australia as a winner feels much better than settling for silver with a defeat. The 1.96m star for the Women’s NBA Seattle Storm as well as the Aussie Opals scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to

lead the Aussies over Russia 83-74 yesterday, Australia claiming a medal for the fifth Olympics in a row. “It feels better than when we won the silver,” Jackson said. “You don’t win the silver.

You lose that game. We won this game. We won bronze.

“There was no way we were going home empty-handed.” Australia, which lost to the United States in the semi-finals, also took bronze

LONDON: Australia’s Elizabeth Cambage (14) cheers during a women’s bronze medal basketball game against Russia at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

at the 1996 Olympics and captured silver in 2000, 2004 and 2008 with losses each time to US teams packed with WNBA talent in the final.

“I’m not going to shed any tears,” Jackson said about the bronze. “I am walking away with my head held high. I’m proud of the girls and we are about to go and have a few drinks. That was our best game. We finally put it together.”

Jackson boosted her record career Games total to 575 points while Kristi Harrower added 21 points in her Olympic farewell and Suzy Batkovic scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Australia.

“It’s special,” Harrower said. “I had a good game individually but it’s important that we won. Last three times we’ve lost and today we leave on a win. “The girls put me on their shoulders after the match and it was a really special moment.” Jackson did not address her own future for playing with the Opals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, when she will be 35. “I’m getting a bit old,” she said. “My body is feeling worn down although it’s funny I’m starting to feel I’m playing better basketball than I have in two years. Who knows?

“I just want this moment to be about Kristi and what she has done for basketball in Australia. She had the game of her life and led us. For her to have that game is fitting.”

Russia, which had taken bronze medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, was led by US-born Becky Hammon’s 19 points. She helped Russia pull within 76-71 with 80 seconds remaining before Harrower hit four late free throws to seal victory. “We’re a young team. We are a rebuilding team. The future is bright for us,” said Hammon, who said she doubts she will play in the 2016 Games at age 39. “The team will do better next time.”—AFP

LONDON: Medals table after 12 of 32 events yesterday.

Nation G United States 41 China 37 Britain 26 Russia 19 South Korea 13 Germany 10 France 10 Hungary 8 Australia 7 Italy 7 Netherlands 6 Kazakhstan 6 Japan 5 New Zealand 5 Iran 4 Ukraine 4 North Korea 4 Spain 3 Belarus 3 Jamaica 3 Cuba 3 South Africa 3 Ethiopia 3 Romania 2 Denmark 2 Brazil 2 Czech Republic 2 Kenya 2 Poland 2 Turkey 2 Croatia 2 Switzerland 2 Canada 1 Colombia 1 Sweden 1 Mexico 1 Azerbaijan 1 Georgia 1 Argentina 1 Lithuania 1 Slovenia 1

S 26 25 15 24 7 19 9 4 16 6 5 0 14 3 5 2 0 9 4 4 3 1 0 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 5 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1

B 29 21 18 28 7 14 12 4 12 8 8 4 17 5 1 9 2 4 5 3 4 1 3 2 3 8 3 3 6 1 1 0 12 4 3 2 5 1 2 2 2

Tot 96 83 59 71 27 43 31 16 35 21 19 10 36 13 10 15 6 16 12 10 10 5 6 9 9 13 8 8 10 5 4 3 18 8 7 6 8 4 4 4 4

Norway 1 Tunisia 1 Dominican Republic1 Ireland 1 Latvia 1 Algeria 1 Bahamas 1 Grenada 1 Venezuela 1 Egypt 0 India 0 Mongolia 0 Slovakia 0 Armenia 0 Belgium 0 Bulgaria 0 Estonia 0 Finland 0 Indonesia 0 Malaysia 0 Serbia 0 Taiwan 0 Thailand 0 Botswana 0 Cyprus 0 Guatemala 0 Portugal 0 Uzbekistan 0 Greece 0 Moldova 0 Qatar 0 Singapore 0 T & Tobago 0 Afghanistan 0 Bahrain 0 Hong Kong 0 Kuwait 0 Morocco 0 Puerto Rico 0 Saudi Arabia 0 Tajikistan 0

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

1 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

3 3 2 4 2 1 1 1 1 2 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Russia grabs 4th synchro team gold LONDON: Russia set itself apart from the competition yet again at the London Olympics, winning the team synchronized swimming for its fourth consecutive gold medal in the event.

The Russians showed why they’ve been the sport’s dominant power since the 1998 world championships. Their height, speed, legwork and synchronization in the pool is far superior to anything the rest of the world is doing. And the other countries know it.

“We are still some distance from Russia.

They will be our targets in the future for a long while,” China coach Zhang Xiaolei said. “Maybe gold will be our long-term aim. Russia is our motivation.”

The Russians earned 98.930 points for a team free routine on Friday that featured swimmers doing acrobatic flips and pirouetting like ballerinas above the water.

Having already won the team technical competition, they totaled 197.030.

“I am very happy that we managed to get the result with the girls and that we carried on the tradition of synchronized swimming,” Anastasia Davydova said through a translator.

The team of Davydova, Maria Gromova, Natalia Ishchenko, Elvira Khasyanova, Alexandra Patskevich, Svetlana Romashina, Anzhelika Timanina and Alla Shishkina swam in black, red and gold suits featuring a spider web design on the back.

“The theme was a lost world like a big spider’s net,” Patskevich said. “We wanted people to get the goosebumps.” The Russians swam, flipped and kicked their way through the songs “War” and “Step” by Denis Garnizov.

Davydova became the most successful swimmer in the sport with her fifth gold medal, including three in the team event.

Her teammates Gromova and Khasyanova also earned their third gold medals in the team competition.

“This was the hardest medal for me to win and the happiest,” Davydova said. “I finish my career on a peak.” She plans to retire and get started on developing the next generation of young Russian swimmers as a coach beginning in September.

“We train children from three years of age at school,” Davydova said in explaining her country’s success in a sport that uses nose clips, hair gel and dramatic makeup.

“By 15 they are already ahead and competing.”

Ishchenko and Romashina claimed their second gold medals of these games after winning the synchro duet event. With Russia a virtual lock for gold, it was left to China and Spain to swim for silver. The U.S. didn’t qualify for the team event.

China took second at 194.010, edging Spain by 0.89 points. The Spanish settled for the bronze at 193.120 four years after winning silver in Beijing.

Wearing hot pink, purple and white suits, the Chinese marched in lockstep onto the deck. With their dramatic “Butterfly” music under way, they flipped one swimmer in the air.

Moments later, another swimmer was flipped horizontally, and she rolled multiple times like a log before hitting the water.

Two swimmers flipped in opposite directions, drawing cheers and a score of 97.010 for their free routine.

“That was the best performance ever,” swimmer Jiang Tingting said. “We have been training for so many years and we have been through a lot of things. We have been working very hard, we have overcome a lot of injuries, and we have made it.” China earlier won the bronze in synchro duet. The Spanish wore silver-sequined suits and matching caps resembling fish scales that shimmered in and out of the water. Spain was so eager to win a medal that all of the team’s swimmers cut their hair above their shoulders in a good-luck ritual a night earlier.

Spain coach Elisabet Fernandez said it took an hour for the nine swimmers to get into their suits and special glue was used to adhere the suits and caps to their skin.

Spain’s two biggest moves involved one swimmer diving over the top of another who formed a bridge with her back fully arched out of the water - supported by four swimmers - and a swimmer who appeared to be walking on water as the others held her up from underneath. The team imitated dolphins, sharks and waves during the ocean creatures-themed routine that earned 96.920.

“We were very happy to have the bronze. We didn’t expect to get silver,” swimmer Thais Henriquez said. “The routine went very well and we were very pleased to have achieved our objectives.

What we wanted to do was to make the team shine.”—AP

Kirdyapkin walks to gold in 50K race

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

18

LONDON: Mexico players pose for photos with their gold medals after winning the men’s soccer final against Brazil at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

Mexico upsets Brazil to win gold WEMBLEY: With a goal in less than 30 seconds, Mexico extended Brazil’s wait for a first Olympic football gold for at least another four years.

Oribe Peralta stunned the Brazilians by scoring after just 29 seconds in the Olympic final Saturday and the heavily favored South Americans never recovered, losing 2-1 after a late comeback attempt came up just short.

The surprising result left Mexico celebrating its first Olympic gold in men’s football - and Brazil wondering if it will ever add the elusive title to its long list of triumphs in football.

Peralta took advantage of a mistake by the Brazilian defense in the opening minute and slotted a low right-foot shot just inside the near post. It was the fastest Olympic goal since FIFA began keeping record of the competition 36 years ago.

The striker added the second with a firm header from a free kick in the 75th.

Hulk scored for Brazil in injury time, but Oscar missed a header in the final seconds to waste the last chance for a comeback.

Brazil was also trying to win its first gold,

which is the only significant trophy the five-time world champions haven’t won in football. The Brazilians established the London Games as the team’s priority this year and arrived as the heavy favorite after bringing most of its top players for the competition.

As Mexican players jumped up and down at midfield in celebration, the Brazilians dropped to the ground in despair. Neymar, touted as the future of Brazilian football, was one of them, sitting stoned-faced. Real Madrid left back Marcelo dropped his head and cried as his teammates came to try to console him. The Mexicans started celebrating early in front of a crowd of 86,162 at Wembley.

Peralta’s goal came after Manchester United right back Rafael tried to make a pass backward. Mexican midfielder Javier Aquino intercepted the ball, sending it forward to Peralta just outside the area. With no defenders near him, he calmly fired his shot into the left corner.

Peralta’s second goal came on a firm header from near the penalty spot after a free kick cross by Marco Fabian. Peralta broke away from Hulk and ran unmarked in a semicircle behind other Brazilian defend-

ers to power in a header from near the penalty spot. Brazil coach Mano Menezes heavily complained of the foul call that led to the second goal by the Mexicans.

Mexico could have added a second goal after another mistake by the Brazilian defenders in the 64th. Captain Thiago Silva lost the ball in front of the goal and Marco Fabian sent an overhead kick onto the crossbar with the goalkeeper beaten.

The Mexicans also had a goal by Peralta disallowed for offside in the 69th, and Fabian missed the open net with his header from a corner in the 72nd.

Mexico’s previous best Olympic showing was at the 1968 Mexico City Games, when it lost to Bulgaria in the semifinals and then fell to Japan in the bronze match.

Brazil appeared shaken by the early goal and struggled to create scoring opportunities to try to equalize the match.

Neymar started playing better in the second half and helped Brazil push forward, but struggled to get his efforts on target.

Hulk scored the team’s only goal with a low shot from inside the area in the first minute of injury time. Chelsea playmaker Oscar had the chance to equalize in the final moments, but his header from inside

the six-meter box sailed just over the crossbar. FIFA said Peralta’s goal was the fastest at least since the 1976 Olympics, when football’s governing body began keeping record of the competition. The fastest goal in a senior competition was scored by Turkey’s Hakan Sukur 11 seconds into a match in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

FIFA said the fastest goal in all competitions was scored by Brazil’s Fabinho after nine seconds in the 2007 Under-17 World Cup in South Korea.

Mexico won despite playing without Giovani Dos Santos, one of the team’s biggest stars. He was ruled out of the final because of a right hamstring injury.

It was Brazil’s first Olympic final in men’s football since the 1988 Seoul Games, when youngsters Romario and Bebeto ended with the silver. Brazil also lost the final four years earlier at the Los Angeles Games.

Brazil had to settle for the bronze in Beijing, when a team led by Ronaldinho lost to Lionel Messi and Argentina in the semifinals. The Brazilians also left with the bronze in 1996 in Atlanta with a team that included Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Bebeto.—AP

Gabon fighter makes history LONDON: Anthony Obame made Olympic history yesterday by winning Gabon’s first ever medal when he reached the men’s taekwondo heavyweight final, guaranteeing him at least silver. But there was heartache for Dada Modibo Keita who missed out on doing likewise for Mali when he fell to Italy’s Carlo Molfetta in the other semi-final. Keita will still have a chance to make history for the African country, though, when he fights for bronze in the evening session. But it was Obame who stole the headlines as he stunned three-time world champion Bahri Tanrikulu of Turkey in the semi-finals with a last-second kick for a narrow 3-2 win.

His unlikely run to the final began with a 7-2 defeat of Samoa’s Kaino Thomsen-Fuataga in the first round.

And after drawing 6-6 with Robelis Despaigne of Cuba he snatched the winning golden point in an extra period to progress to the semis.

He trailed Tanrikulu, the silver

medallist in Athens eight years ago, by two points at the end of the first round.

But a point in the second and another in the third levelled matters before his last-gasp winning kick.

Tanrikulu had earlier beaten Beijing winner Cha Dong-Min of South Korea.

Twice world champion Keita beat Akmal Irgashev of Uzbekistan and Canada’s Francois Coulombe-Fortier before coming unstuck against Molfetta. In the women’s heavyweight category world champion Anne Caroline Graffe of France will fight Serbia’s seventh seed Milica Mandic for the title.

Graffe, 26, from French Polynesia, is the over-73kg world champion but had initially been overlooked for the Olympic over-67kg heavyweight division in favour of world under-73kg champion Gladys Epangue. Only four categories each for men and women are disputed at the Olympics rather than the eight in all other competitions. However, Graffe was given a reprieve when injury forced Epangue out of the Games.—AFP

LONDON: Turkey’s Bahri Tanrikulu fights Gabon’s Anthony Obame (in red) during their semifinal round match in men’s plus 80-kg taekwondo competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

Bolt aiming for record LONDON: Hours before the world’s fastest men bid for a sprint relay world record, two-time world champion Sergei Kirdyapkin claimed an Olympic record in the 50 kilometer race walk, the longest event in the track and field program.

Bolt will be happy to cut just .01 of a second off the 4x100-meter relay world mark his Jamaican team set last year. For all the excitement that Bolt has already generated at the Olympics, one thing is still missing for him in London: a world record. It has flashed up twice already in other events in yellow on the stadium time clock: “WR” - for the men’s 800 meters and the women’s 4x100 relay.

In Beijing Bolt had three world records to go with his three gold medals. After just missing out during his golden 100 and 200 meters in London, he will have to count on his teammates to help him in the 4x100 relay. On Friday, they proved they were ready.

With Bolt resting up, his Jamaica relay teammates easily qualified for late yesterday’s final in 37.39 seconds. The American team trumped them with 37.38 seconds for a US record, the fourth best time in history and proof that the sprint relay will be much more than just a Jamaican race against the clock.

Late yesterday, Bolt will have the chance to show if he can make enough of a difference on the fast track in the finale of the weeklong US-Jamaican battle for sprint supremacy. While Bolt is still waiting to set a world best time in London, others have beaten him to it. Allyson Felix won her second Olympic gold medal and added a world record for good measure as she helped the US women’s relay team power past its Jamaican rivals in the 4x100 meters.

One day earlier, David Rudisha of Kenya set a new mark in the 800.

“This isn’t the end for me,” Felix said. While Bolt will be seeking his third gold late yesterday, so will Felix in the 4x400 relay. “It’s just going to

be exciting,” she said. The 200-meter champion ran a blistering second leg and 100-meter silver medalist Carmelita Jeter finished off the world record performance, pointing to the time clock with her mouth wide open as soon as she got past the finish line, seeing that the 27year-old mark of the former East Germany was gone. The US team finished in 40.82 seconds, shaving a massive 0.55 seconds off the old mark. “To look up and see we had a world record, it was just crazy,” Felix said. “I didn’t think that was going to happen.” Almost as amazing as the U.S. women’s 4x100 relay record was the stunning loss by the US men’s 4x400 relay after it had won every Olympic gold medal in the event since boycotting the 1980 Moscow Games.

In a thrilling finish, Ramon Miller of the Bahamas chased down and swept past Angelo Taylor in the final straight to deprive the United States of a gold it long thought it had a lock on. “I tried to kick and come home. Unfortunately, Ramon had more than I did,” said Taylor, a twotime Olympic champion in the 400meter hurdles.

Such was the surprise that it overshadowed Oscar Pistorius’ last race at the London Games. Pistorius, known as the “Blade Runner,” got the South African baton in last place and crossed the line in eighth in an anticlimactic performance after he became the first amputee runner in track and field to compete at the Olympics.

“It has been incredible to be here,” said Pistorius, a double amputee who runs with the aid of carbon fiber blades. “Just to participate has been great and now I am really looking forward to the Paralympics.” One favorite who lived up to the billing was Renaud Lavillenie of France, who won pole vault gold with an Olympic record jump of 5.97 meters. Former worldrecord holder Tatyana Lysenko of Russia, who served a two-year doping ban until 2009, set a games record of 78.18 meters to win the hammer throw.—AP

Kingfisher Airlines Q1 losses double Page 22

Indonesia’s economy holds strong Page 23

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

URC announces H1 net profit of KD 16.4m

Kuwait market indices continue decline Page 24

Page 26

ISLAMABAD: In this photo, Pakistani fruit vendor Suhail Reza, 21, uses a lamp to light his cart on the side of a dark street as he waits for customers. — AP

No end in sight for Pakistan’s energy crisis Blackouts range from 16-22 hours a day ISLAMABAD: India may claim the world’s biggest blackout, but in neighbouring Pakistan an endemic energy crisis blamed on years of mismanagement cripples the economy and makes millions of lives a daily misery. Six weeks after the new prime minister in Islamabad promised the shortage would be his top priority, blackouts have reached a peak-reportedly up to 16 hours a day in urban areas and as much as 22 hours a day in the countryside. But with political posturing becoming more acute as the weak coalition stutters towards general elections, there is no quick end in sight. Unprecedented power failures blacked out over half of India for two days last week, affecting more than 600 million people when three national grids collapsed. But in Pakistan, shortages day in day out highlight chronic underinvestment in infrastructure, long-term planning sacrificed to short-term expediency, lack of leadership, cronyism and corruption. For ordinary people it is almost unbearable, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims forgo food and water from dawn to dusk, coinciding this year with temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).

Peak demand for electricity in the summer is around 18,000 megawatts, with a third of that coming from air-conditioning, but power companies only manage to supply 13,000 to 14,000 MW. Angry protests and riots erupt every few days and the

central bank has warned the energy shortages have effectively put a ceiling on economic growth. The government’s Planning Commission says power cuts shaved three to four percent off GDP in the financial year 2010-11, with industry bearing the brunt.

At the heart of the problem is so-called “circular debt”, which the commission says stood at $4.4 billion in 2011-12. The dual effect of the government setting low electricity prices and customers failing to pay for it means state utilities lose money, and cannot pay private power generating companies, which in turn cannot pay the oil and gas suppliers, who cut off the supply.

“It’s a crisis of management, a crisis which has been born out of indecisiveness, born out of procrastination, not taking the decisions required at the right time,” said Shahid Sattar, the Planning Commission’s member for energy. He dates the problem to the rule of military strongman Pervez Musharraf, when a massive boom in demand was not matched by investment in new power stations.

‘Never have stability’ Raja Pervez Ashraf, burdened by corruption allegations from his time as water and energy minister but sworn in as prime minister on June 22 after the Supreme Court sacked his predecessor, promised to fix it.

In mid-July, a 12 billion rupee ($127 million) bailout led to a noticeable let-up in

the blackouts, but since then cuts have been as bad as ever. Opposition leaders have sought to make hay, with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) backing protests and complaining vociferously that his province is suffering an unfair share of the power cuts.

He has been photographed working in a tent, without fans or air-conditioning, as a gesture of solidarity with the sweltering masses. With polls expected by April and rivalry fierce between the PPP and the PML-N, led by Sharif’s brother Nawaz, there is little appetite for cooperation even on what analysts agree is a “genuine national crisis”. But neither is there a quick solution for whoever wins. The government needs to pay its bills, but the country also needs to generate more power. Major projects such as the $12 billion Diamer Bhasha dam, which is expected to generate 4,500 MW, will not come online for another five or six years.

The rivers and valleys of the mountainous north may offer more than 50,000 MW of untapped hydroelectric potential, but Sattar says power generated from it could be unreliable and cannot guarantee yearround supply. Coal reserves have been found in the Thar desert, but the quality is uncertain and international donors are unwilling to pump money into such an environmentally damaging form of energy.

The government is keen to develop

nuclear power as it tries to wean itself off expensive imported hydrocarbons-the country spends 7.5 percent of GDP on buying fuel, according to the Planning Commission. There are currently three nuclear plants generating a total of 740 MW of power and there are plans to expand this to 8,800 MW, but only by 2030.

Saeed Alam Siddiqui from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission said two new reactors to be built by the end of 2017 would generate an extra 680 MW. But as Pakistan is not party to the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty it is excluded from trade in nuclear materials and technology, and can rely only on its neighbour China for help.

Parallel effor ts to reform publiclyowned generating and distribution companies have met fierce resistance -an attempt to replace the CEOs of power companies last year ended in failure after industrial action. With Pakistan’s 180 million population growing rapidly and demand rising by around 1,500 MW every year, a daunting battle lies ahead.

If no solution is found and violent protests continue, political analyst Hasan Askari warns Pakistan’s ability to function as a state could be under threat. “If these people can challenge one government they can challenge any government,” he said. “Violence and agitation become the normal political style and you never have stability.” — AFP

Standard Chartered waived attorney-client privileges WASHINGTON: Standard Chartered, the British bank facing explosive money laundering allegations from New York State’s top bank regulator, appears to have been burned by a decision to waive attorney-client privilege, a move that usually helps appease US authorities. While firms on occasion hand over troves of privileged documents to investigators, that practice generally comes with an understanding that the information will not be made public. But the 27-page complaint filed earlier this week by the New York State Department of Financial Services, a newly created regulator led by former prosecutor Benjamin Lawsky, is jam-packed with emails detailing damning legal advice used to illustrate a “rogue institution.”

Lawyers who work on similar investigations say that Lawsky’s actions may make corporations think twice before turning over sensitive documents. “The action of this regulator will have a deterring effect on the nature and extent of cooperation in similar kinds of cases without some specific assurances,” said Robert Bennett, a prominent white-collar defense attorney at Hogan Lovells who represented Enron and HealthSouth in criminal investigation. In a surprise move, the New

York regulator broke away from federal authorities also probing the bank and threatened to strip Standard Chartered of its state banking license. It alleged that Standard Chartered “schemed” with the Iranian government and hid $250 billion of transactions in violation of US sanctions on Iran.

Standard Chartered has denied the accusations and noted that it approached all the US agencies, including the Treasury Department and New York Federal Reserve Bank, in January 2010 to come forth with its own review of its transactions. It said it “waived its attorney-client and work product privileges to ensure that all the US agencies would receive all relevant information.”

While direct regulators like the Department of Financial Services do have access to the legal files of the banks they regulate, even without a waiver, it is rare for regulators to exploit the documents in such a public fashion. In a coordinated investigation, the state regulator would typically act in concert with its federal counterparts. Standard Chartered’s cooperation could ultimately benefit the bank in the form of a more lenient settlement. Reuters reported on Friday the bank is in talks to resolve the probe and could

enter a settlement next week.

Representatives of the New York regulator, the US Justice Department, and Standard Chartered all declined to comment.

Building a case New York’s case against Standard Chartered seems to heavily based on emails that could be considered privileged; nearly every page of the order includes emails or memos that seemingly constitute legal advice. It quotes a 1995 email, for example, in which the bank’s general counsel suggests London operations could keep New York out of the loop and route suspect transfers to another clearing bank in the United States to keep the New York branch on the right side of the law. In 2001, another email from a group legal adviser suggested payment instructions for Iranian clients shouldn’t identify the client or the purpose of the payment.

That same year outside lawyers told the bank it should provide additional information to its New York branch about certain payments, an instruction reiterated by outside lawyers in 2003, according to emails quoted in the order. The New York case also includes details of 2005 emails and notes from the

bank’s lawyers discussing sanctions concerns.

Waiver pullback The waiver of attorney-client privilege became a central focus of regulators about a decade ago when a spate of corporate accounting scandals, such as those at Enron Corp and WorldCom Inc, came to light. To get to the bottom of cases, the government pressured companies to waive the privilege. A Justice Department memo explicitly allowed prosecutors to consider whether a company waived privilege as a factor in deciding whether to charge a company.

But corporate lawyers began complaining that the policy weakened the ability of attorneys to speak candidly with their clients, and the Justice Department revised its guidelines in 2008 to prohibit prosecutors from asking companies to waive privilege. Companies don’t often provide waivers anymore, defense lawyers said, especially since such waivers could open to door to private plaintiffs obtaining those same documents. “It’s pretty infrequent,” a former federal prosecutor said.

“You don’t want to waive it, because it opens the floodgates and exposes it to civil litigants.” — Reuters

Berlusconi says Italian exit from euro would be disaster PARIS: Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday his People of Freedom (PDL) party firmly opposed Italy leaving the euro and believed such a policy would be disastrous.

Berlusconi alarmed many observers earlier this year by musing openly about Italy quitting the euro zone, but he told the French newspaper Liberation in an interview that his remarks had been misreported. He said some members of his party had raised the possibility just to put pressure on Germany to relent with its demands for painful fiscal austerity.

“I always said that the exit of one or more of its members would mean the disintegration of the euro zone. It would mean the failure of a historic project to unify Europe and no one could want that,” he said. “Within the PDL, we all consider that an exit from the euro would be a disaster.”

Berlusconi, who resigned last November to cede the premiership to technocrat Mario Monti, also said he had not yet decided whether to lead his party in next April’s general election.

“It’s a fact that the whole party, starting with the members of parliament, are asking me to come back to benefit from my popularity at the general election,” said the 75-year-old billionaire, who has served three times as prime minister. “I have not yet decided but one thing is for sure: I have always been at the service of my country.” The PDL’s parliamentary leader, Fabrizio Cicchito, said last month that Berlusconi would be the party’s candidate. The Mediaset magnate has kept a low profile since resigning in the middle of financial turmoil that risked tipping the euro zone’s third largest economy into a Greek-style crisis.

Monti has ruled out running in next year’s election and polls suggest a centre-left bloc around the Democratic Party would win, with the PDL battling for second place with the maverick 5 Star movement led by former comedian Beppe Grillo.

Berlusconi told Liberation the country’s left had not modernised itself and was stuck with an outdated tax-and-spend model ill-suited to Italy’s troubled economic situation.

“What pushes me to remain active is a sense of responsibility toward my country and, perhaps, the bitterness of not having accomplished everything which I wanted,” he said. Berlusconi, on trial on allegations of paying for sex with a teenager, said he was a victim of “a lynching for political ends”.

“Nothing strange took place, just some friends who came to my house with admirers - none of whom was an escort girl - for some dinners which were

22

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

BUSINESS

Kingfisher Airlines Q1 losses double ‘High fuel costs, interest rates’ blamed

LA PLATA: A new diesel hydrodesulfurization unit is pictured in La Plata, some 50 Km south of Buenos Aires. — AFP

Argentina’s YPF says Q2 net profit up 8% BUENOS AIRES: Argentina’s state-controlled energy company YPF had an 8 percent increase in second quarter net profit to 833 million pesos ($181 million), it said in its first earnings statement reflecting performance since the company was nationalized in May. Reporting late on Friday, YPF said the company had a net profit of 771 million pesos in the second quarter of 2011. YPF said second quarter operating profit was 1.86 billion pesos, up 25.5 percent from the second quarter of 2011. Quarterly ordinary revenues rose 17.7 percent to 16.08 billion pesos, thanks to higher liquid fuel prices, it said.

The government grabbed a 51-percent stake in YPF from Repsol after accusing the Madrid-based parent company of under investing in Argentine production.

Spain was incensed by the nationalization and is helping Repsol press for compensation that may take years to settle.

“These earnings seem positive, but it is too early to say whether YPF will turn out to be one of the well-run state oil companies, such as Petrobras in Brazil and

Ecopetrol in Colombia, or one of the poorly run ones,” said Ignacio Labaqui, who analyzes Argentina for Medley Global Advisors in New York.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez easily won re-election last October, promising to increase state involvement in Latin America’s No. 3 economy. The 59-year-old Peronist leader is part of a bloc of regional governments - including Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia - bent on regaining control of their natural resources from foreign companies. YPF’s first-half net profit was 2.13 billion pesos ($462 million), down from a revised 2.37 billion pesos in the same 2011 period, the statement said.

The Fernandez administration, also on Friday, ordered a tax hike on biodiesel exports, a move it said was needed to bring down domestic fuel prices. YPF on Thursday opened a diesel fuel refinery near the city of La Plata that is expected to produce 1.75 billion liters per year as part of Argentina’s plan for regaining energy self-sufficiency after years of rising fuel imports. — Reuters

MUMBAI: Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines yesterday said quarterly losses more than doubled from a year earlier, fuelling fresh doubts about the future of the private Indian carrier. Kingfisher’s net loss widened to 6.60 billion rupees ($120 million) in the financial quarter to June from a loss of 2.63 billion rupees in the same period last year, as revenues slumped due to reduced operations.

“The company has suffered substantial losses and its net worth has been eroded,” the airline said in its earnings statement.

But Kingfisher-which has never posted a profit since its launch in 2005 said it still hoped to “get recapitalised” and added it was “in discussion with several strategic and financial investors to bring in fresh capital”.

The company, which is carrying a $1.4 billion debt load, did not identify the potential investors. The airline, controlled by Indian liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, blamed the latest loss on “high fuel costs, high interest rates, depreciation of the rupee and expenses due to the return of aircraft to lessors”.

Revenues fell by a fifth to 3.01 billion rupees for the April to June period. The airline owes millions of dollars in taxes as well as money to suppliers, lenders, partners and staff. The company needs an immediate infusion of at least $500 million to keep flying, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, a regional consultancy. Kingfisher’s shares have steadily lost ground and hit a record low of 7.27 rupees on Friday ahead of its earnings results as investors bailed out fearing a large loss.

France’s Hollande approval rating hit by weak economy PARIS: French President Francois Hollande’s approval rating has dipped to 46 percent three months after winning office, pollster Ifop said yesterday, suggesting a weak economy had cut short the Socialist leader’s honeymoon period.

The survey showed Hollande - who won office on May 6 with nearly 52 percent of votes - had not benefited from the postelectoral bounce enjoyed by his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. Sarkozy’s approval rating climbed to 65 percent in the weeks after his victory.

However, Hollande took office amid gloomier economic prospects, with unemployment at a 13-year high of 10 percent and France expected to slip into recession this year. The Ifop poll, published in right-leaning newspaper Le Figaro, said that 51 percent of those

questioned thought France was changing for the worse, with just 17 percent convinced it was changing for the better.

In 2007 after the election of Sarkozy, 45 percent of those questioned said France was changing for the better. “In this very pessimistic climate and with regard to the very small room for manoeuvre which exists, the confidence ratings for Hollande and his government are consistently below 50 percent,” said Jerome Fourquet of Ifop. Hollande has insisted his government will meet France’s deficit targets of 4.6 percent of GDP this year, obliging him to unveil a 7.2 billion euro package of tax rises, mostly on wealthy households and large corporations. To meet next year’s 3 percent target, he will need to find some 33 billion euros in tax rises and savings. — Reuters

The carrier has scaled down its operations dramatically in recent months-halting international operations completely-in a bid to curb costs and now has the smallest market share among Indian airlines at just 4.2 percent. The airline was forced to cancel over 30 flights on Wednesday after pilots and engineers refused to show up for work because of

soon clear a stalled proposal to allow foreign carriers to invest in domestic airlines, seen as a potential lifeline for airlines such as Kingfisher, named after the tycoon’s flagship beer label.

There had earlier been some expressions of interest, but no foreign carrier has recently said it might want to put money in the carrier.

MUMBAI: An Indian labourer watches a Kingfisher Airline flight take off from the city airport in this photo. — AFP unpaid wages. Kingfisher’s woes have boosted the for tunes of its rivals such as Jet Airways and low-cost carriers SpiceJet and IndiGo, which have raised ticket fares and attracted new passengers. Last week, Jet and SpiceJet both reported unexpected quarterly profits. Mallya hopes the government may

“The time has come for the airline to stop all operations, completely restructure the company and management, while paying back its dues,” said Sharan Lillaney, analyst at Mumbai’s Angel Broking, earlier in the week. “ The airline has no money and is going down,” Lillaney said. — AFP

Time for bulls, bears and wallflowers Wall St Week Ahead NEW YORK: It’s another one of those moments that always follow a big move in the stock market: Either you’re a believer - or you’re not. Right now, the market has its fair share of both. The S&P 500 is up 12 percent so for this year. Through July, it had its best first seven months since 2003 and its second-best seven-month run since 1998. That sounds like a bull market. But there is clearly a disconnect between the way markets have performed and the high level of caution among many investors. That is mainly due to the perception that things have the potential to go horribly wrong - incredibly fast.

The danger for investors is that they focus too much on the potential risks, such as the breakup of the euro zone, and end up getting left on the sidelines when markets move higher as they have done since the start of June, said Doug Cote, chief market

strategist at ING Investment Management, in New York. “We are in a bull market,” he said. “The mistake investors have made is too much attention on global risk, and not enough attention on fundamentals that are very resilient.”

Cote believes that record high aggregate earnings for S&P 500 companies this year and signs of improvement in the labor market mean investors should be taking on more risk rather than fretting about the dangers stemming from Europe’s debt crisis.

No easy choices But for the more equivocal souls, the market is presenting a difficult dilemma, and strong convictions either way are elusive.

David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Boston, says it’s an uncomfortable time for many investors, who are caught between missing a rally and getting blindsided by some

nasty event that sends markets into a tailspin. “It’s a dilemma that is uncomfortable to watch and to function in,” said Joy, who helps oversee $571 billion in assets. “It’s one of those markets where you’re running a big risk being out.”

Joy says the rally is being driven by the hope of more “easy money” policies from central banks in the United States, Europe and China. He has had doubts about the strength of the economy for many months. At the same time, he has been worried by the recent spate of cautious outlooks from corporate managers. But he also knows what investors ignore at their peril: “You can’t fight the Fed.”“I don’t like the fundamentals, I don’t like what I’m seeing economically, I don’t like what I’m seeing in terms of earnings forecasts going forward, but I recognize that central banks can trump all of those

things,” Joy said. “You may be right on the fundamentals, but wrong on the price action of the market.” Both the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve are due to meet during the first half of September.

Investors are hoping the ECB will buy bonds of troubled European nations in a bid to ease the debt crisis.

Caution cuts both ways But Joy is also cautious about what many are describing as early signs of stabilization in the US economy after a soft patch earlier in the spring and summer.

The July nonfarm payrolls report, which showed US employers had done the most hiring in five months, is not enough to convince investors like Joy who want to see more confirmation before unwinding their defensive stance and getting more aggressive. — 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 .4380000 .3450000 .2870000 .2810000 .2960000 .0040000 .0020000 .0762840 .7432150 .3860000 .0720000 .7285900 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2810000 GB Pound/KD .4405100 Euro .3478080 Swiss francs .2894970 Canadian dollars .2828380 Danish Kroner .0467280 Swedish Kroner .0420510 Australian dlr .2978180 Hong Kong dlr .0362250 Singapore dlr .2259930 Japanese yen .0035790 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0765350 Bahraini dinars .7456550 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0749530 Omani riyals .7301550 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Malaysian Ringgit

3.553 5.072 3.053 2.141 3.173 220.090 36.173 3.425 6.439 8.876 89.338

.2850000 .4480000 .3550000 .2970000 .2890000 .3040000 .0070000 .0035000 .0770510 .7506840 .4060000 .0780000 .7359120 .0510000 .2831000 .4438020 .3504070 .2916600 .2849520 .0470770 .0423650 .3000440 .0364960 .2276820 .0036060 .0051640 .0021540 .0030220 .0034910 .0771070 .7512270 .4004240 .0755130 .7356110 .0068280

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 74.883 77.158 729.380 745.850 76.464

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 48.250 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.466 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.309 Tunisian Dinar 176.65 Jordanian Dinar 396.190 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.884 Syrian Lier 4.899 Morocco Dirham 32.64 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 280.700 Euro 354.52 Sterling Pound 441.820 Canadian dollar 274.79 Turkish lire 152.400 Swiss Franc 295.01 US Dollar Buying 279.500 GOLD 293.000 148.000 75.250

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria

SELL CASH

302.400 750.620 3.710 287.500 554.300 46.000 48.000 167.800 46.810 353.600 37.090 5.310 0.032 0.161 0.234 3.690 399.980 0.191 93.310 44.600 4.340 233.100 1.828

48.800 733.150 3.080 6.970 78.070 75.360 228.400 36.440 2.688 444.300 43.200 294.700 4.400 9.270 198.263 76.960 282.600 1.360

10 Tola

GOLD 1,708.830

Sterling Pound US Dollar

732.970 3.012 6.750 77.640 75.360 228.400 36.440 2.137 444.300 293.200 4.400 9.170 76.860 282.200

COUNTRY

Currency

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 444.300 282.200

SELL DRAFT

300.900 750.620 3.447 286.000

228.400 46.448 352.100 36.940 5.115 0.031

SELL DRAFT

Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

302.17 287.28 294.38 351.25 281.80 444.46 3.68 3.452 5.104 2.140 3.207 3.001 76.79 750.34 46.39 401.47 733.41 77.82 75.36

SELL CASH

310.000 286.000 295.000 353.000 283.500 447.000 3.630 3.580 5.300 2.350 3.650 3.150 77.450 750.00 47.700 399.000 736.000 78.000 75.800

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 399.940 0.190 93.310 3.220 231.600

Rate for Transfer

Selling Rate

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro

282.150 286.860 445.100 352.360

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

291.455 746.985 76.795 77.445 75.205 397.730 46.401 2.136 5.108 3.002 3.448 6.742 692.115 4.595 9.045 4.375 3.235 89.740

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee

282.300 2.999 5.135 2.145 3.457 6.795 76.965 75.440 750.500 46.398 447.400 2.990 1.550 354.800 288.700 3.195

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

282.250 351.800 444.050 285.710 3.650 5.115 46.465 2.139 3.443 6.738 3.005 750.400 76.800 75.300

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

BUSINESS

KCIC WEEKLY ANALYSIS ON ASIA

Indonesia’s economy holds strong Boom in consumption keeps growth afloat

I

ndonesia’s growth engine continues to chug on, against a backdrop of falling demand, thanks to a booming domestic consumption sector.

Indonesia’s growing population and rising middle class, is fuelling the rise in consumer spending on products ranging from luxury cars, to high-end phones and clothing.

Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) surprised analysts this month after it logged in a pick-up in its pace of growth, growing from 6.3 percent in the first quarter of 2012 to 6.4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter. After China, Indonesia’s growth rate is among the highest in the world’s leading economies. Due to slowing external demand, analysts were expecting growth to slow down to 6.1 percent; but unlike its regional peers, Indonesia relies more on its domestic sector to keep growth robust, as opposed to its export sector. Whilst the exports sector has traditionally been the main driver of growth in Indonesia, resilient consumption levels are helping to offset the dwindling demand for exports. The consumption sector makes up

almost 2/3 of the Indonesian economy, or almost 60 percent and is expected to continue to keep the growth rate buoyant, hovering above or just above the 6 percent mark, until at least the end of this year. Investment is also sustaining GDP growth on the back of strong foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, after Indonesia was awarded its second credit upgrade at the start of this year, just a month after the first upgrade. Fitch, one of the three leading rating agencies, upgraded Indonesia’s sovereign debt to “investment grade” (relatively low risk of default) in December last year.

Moody’s rating followed suit just a month later. The upgrades have helped lower the cost of borrowing for the local government and firms, and have made the country more attractive in the eyes of investors, giving capital inflows a lift.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the economic output or of the size of the economy - adjusted for inflation or deflation. It is the sum of the values of all final goods and services produced by that country or region over a given time period. The values depend on

the quantities (volume) of the goods produced and their prices. Real GDP is a measure that holds prices constant by using a given year’s value (the base date) for all items and services.

Then these values are used to calculate GDP for years prior to the base year and subsequent years. GDP can be measured in several ways, and Statistics Indonesia, the government body responsible for national accounts data, publishes GDP by expenditure and sector output.

The graph illustrates the expenditure breakdown of GDP, which consists of private consumption, government expenditure, fixed capital investments, exports and imports. Private consumption is a strong driver of growth in the domestic-oriented Indonesia, but traditionally exports have contributed more to GDP growth, as shown by the graph.

Easing credit policies and high consumer confidence are likely to keep consumption levels robust, until year-end, and in turn keep growth buoyant. Export growth however, is expected to slow, due to the fragile economic recovery in the US and growing debt problems in the euro zone.

Policymakers in Indonesia must remain mindful of the growing trade deficit as exports continue to fall, and imports continue to rise on the back of a booming domestic consumption sector.

With China being one of Indonesia’s key customers, it is highly vulnerable to the way China’s growth rate pans out. Raw commodities, coal, and crude and palm oil, comprise almost 70 percent of the nation’s exports, which are mainly demanded by China.

Thus, if China’s economy continues to slow, commodity prices will fall further, which could subsequently lower the level of household spending, consumer confidence and business confidence, and undermine both consumption and investment levels. Rising import levels, along with the fall in the rupiah, Indonesia’s currency, is also putting upward pressure on domestic inflation, which will gradually make the need for a rate hike more pronounced. If Bank Indonesia does not endorse a rate hike this month, another solid growth figure in the third quarter of this year, may summon them to reconsider their decision, especially if the rupiah continues to underper form and inflation creeps even higher.

Bayt.com research

Six ways to create a winning office setting

O

ffice environments have a tall order to fulfil - along with being functional, they also have to be practical, comfortable and inspiring. Since an average person spends almost twothirds of the day at work (in most cases indoors), multi-national employers and SMEs alike are increasingly giving office interiors the attention they deserve. In many cases these employer’s efforts are being rewarded, with improved employee morale and productivity, as well as being recognized by international institutions such as Great Places to Work .

Statistics from Bayt.com’s recent ‘Absenteeism in the Workplace in the Middle East & North Africa’ (July 2012) poll reveal that almost 32.7 percent of professionals rate the working environment in their company as ‘fair’ to ‘poor’. The same poll showed that almost a quarter (23.4 percent) of employees feel that the absenteeism in their organization is high.

Great office environments also communicate a lot about the corporate vision, values, leadership and culture. Just like at Bayt.com, where its value of “openness of communication” is reflected in transparent and open management offices - one of the several reasons Bayt.com was awarded ‘Top Ten Places to Work in the UAE’ for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012).

Considering that there is more to a great office than desirable physical attributes (the human element is also important), the career experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading job site, have these tips to recommend to help turn uninspiring clinical spaces into hotbeds of creativity and productivity.

1. Cubicles vs. open-plan offices: While cubicles have been a staple of most office space designs during the 20th century, the 21st century workplace thrives on information sharing and collaboration.

The new ‘groupthink’ model is increasingly being favored by employers. But the

open-plan setting also has its cons i.e. lack of boundaries means more interruptions.

A comfortable ‘middle ground’ can be found in the form of semi-enclosed spaces (also favored at all 11 Bayt.com regional offices), which while providing a private corner, do not completely cut-off employees from one-another.

2. Encourage flexibility: Workplaces in the modern sense of the word need not be confined to a certain location. With flexi-time and work-life balance increasingly becoming a part of the modern day HR parlance, today’s workplaces need to be technologically integrative and flexible. This means giving employees access to technology that makes video-conferencing and online-file sharing possible.

3. Colour is good: Colours have long been recognized by psychologies for their mood-altering properties. Apart from being a quick and cheap interior design tool, they also add an instant pizzazz to

the space. The colour ‘blue’ while being identified by psychologists as the most productive colour making it favorable for office spaces; it is also a par t of the Bayt.com corporate colour scheme. Other positive colours include orange for warmth and excitement and green to boost tranquility and health. However it’s important not to go overboard with bold colours and balance them with optimal spaces.

4. Get thoughts and ideas flowing: The ‘thought mirror’ is an integral part of the pantry at Bayt.com HQ and serves as a blank canvas for employees to share their ideas, unleash their creativity and voice their opinions.

5. Online shared spaces: Offices rarely operate as isolated units. Online communication and virtual collaboration are an integral part of current day work-culture as most companies have far flung regional/international offices. In such a situation, having a space online to share the positive and informal vibe is important. Such a space could be created, like in the case of Bayt.com’s online internal ‘Love Wall’ where employees can award ‘love touches’ to colleagues based on the Bayt.com values, or you could use free online services such as Yammer.

6. Congratulate publicly: While camaraderie can be built virtually, there is no substitute for in-person interaction. At Bayt.com these get-togethers take the form of month-end Fiesta’s where top performers are awarded ‘Star’ awards and also personal milestones of ‘Baytheads’ are celebrated.

Building amazing workplaces is all about balancing great physical spaces with the right human factor. As demonstrated above, possibilities are endless when it comes to creating winning office environments, and they need not require large expenditures. With collaborative efforts and the intent, this is very much achievable.

German-Swiss tax fraud row grows BERLIN: Accusations that Swiss banks are helping German citizens dodge taxes grew yesterday, as Switzerland’s President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf dismissed the charges. German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported that tax authorities were investigating Swiss bank Julius Baer as well as the banking giant UBS, suspected of transferring German clients’ funds to Asia, including Singapore.

Widmer-Schlumpf for her part told Swiss newspapers there was no evidence of this practice, adding, “The banks have pledged not to make this sort of transfer for tax reasons.” She noted that a SwissGerman agreement yet to be ratified provided for German assets in Swiss banks to be taxed in Switzerland. FAZ quoted western North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)

state tax official Manfred Lehmann as saying that illegal movements of cash to Asia by a “hard core” of tax evaders had been observed for some time.

State tax authorities allege Swiss banks are aiding German clients to evade tax by routing funds through their branches in such centres as Hong Kong, China and Singapore. The daily said that Julius Baer had warned customers that they might figure on a compact disc of data on German clients of Swiss banks suspected of tax evasion recently bought by NRW authorities. Quoting legal sources, it said some of them had already been consulting lawyers on the issue. The purchase of bank data by the NRW government has angered the German federal and Swiss authorities, which want to ban the practice under the new treaty. — AFP

Price index declines by 0.42% MARKAZ WEEKLY RESEARCH KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti market closed on a negative note this week. The price index declined by 0.42 percent closing at 5,699.36. The weighted index lost 0.35 percent, closing at 393.23, while the Kuwait 15 index declined by 0.08 percent closing at 949.72. Liquidity levels grew modestly by 9 percent during the week.

The market traded 422 million shares with a value of KD 58.8 million.

Sector performance Real estate was the top traded sector this week, contributing 35.1 percent to the total traded value. Financial Services and Banks sector followed with 22.3 percent and 20.7 percent respectively.

Kuwait Remal Real estate Company, which gained 7.5 percent during the week, closing at KD 0.43 was the top traded stock with trading value of KD 12.5 million.

Loser, winners 142 companies were traded during the week out of which 51 closed positive, 66 were negative and 25 unchanged.

Boubyan International Industries Holding Company was the biggest gainer, increasing 13.7 percent during the week and closing at 58 fils. On the other side of the spectrum, First Takaful Insurance Company was the biggest loser, shedding 19.7 percent to 57 fils.

24

business

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

Market indices continue decline for 4th week BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week in the red zone. The price index ended last week with a decrease amounted to 0.42 percent, while the weighted index declined by 0.35 percent compared to the closings of the week before, whereas KSX-15 Index dropped by 0.08 percent. Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover increased by 9.37 percent, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 11.78 million, whereas trading volume average was 84.66 million shares, recording decline of 15.73 percent.

The stock market indices continued to decline for the fourth consecutive week under the selling pressures and the speculations that controlled the traders’ behavior. In addition, quick profit collection operations, which was present in some daily sessions, had a negative impact on the indices’ performance.

KSE Market performance was unstable last week with a negative trend. Although some sessions witnessed limited increases due to selective operations on small and largecap stocks; the quick profit collecting operations thereafter caused the indices to decline once again. Moreover, it was noticed that most market liquidity focused on a limited number of stocks due to the safe stocks preferred by the traders, amid fears of a stop trading penalties to some companies’ stocks who past due the declaration period for their semi-annual financial results. By the end of the week, the price index closed at 5,699.4 points, down by 0.42 percent from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 0.35 percent weekly loss after closing at 393.2 points. Moreover, the KSX-15 index recorded 0.08

percent weekly loss after closing at 949.7 points.

Sectors’ indices Most of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the red zone, while the other four recorded increases. The Oil & Gas sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 4.10 percent to end the week’s activity at 805.25 points. The basic materials sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 1.40 percent, closing at 882.97 points, followed by the financial services sector, as its index closed at 818.75 points at a loss of 1.06 percent. The healthcare sector was the least declining as its index closed at 974.21 points with a 0.02 percent decrease. On the other hand, last week’s highest gainer was the technology sector, achieving 1.97 percent growth rate as its index closed at

997.63 points. Whereas, in the second place, the insurance sector’s index closed at 915.24 points recording 0.86 percent increase. The real estate sector was the least gainer as its index closed at 885.49 points with a 0.10 percent increase.

with a turnover of KD 18.05 million or 30.64 percent of last week’s total market trading value. The financial services sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of KD 13.11 million represented 22.27 percent of the total market trading value.

Sectors’ activity The Financial Services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 185.97 million shares changing hands, representing 43.93 percent of the total market trading volume. The real estate sector was second in terms trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 30.75 percent of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 130.16 million shares. On the other hand, the real estate sector’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value;

Market capitalization KSE total market capitalization declined by 0.52 percent during last week to reach KD 26.59 billion. With the end of last week, most sectors of the Kuwait Stock Exchange recorded a decline in value, The oil & gas sector headed the decliners list as its total market capitalization reached KD 317.32 million, decreasing by 3.54 percent.

The financial services sector was the second in terms of recorded decline with 1.76 percent decrease after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 2.65 billion.

The third place was for the consumer goods sector, which total market capitalization reached KD 600.76 million by the end of the week, recording a decline of 1.51 percent.

The banks sector was the least declining with 0.04 percent recorded decrease after its market capitalization amounted to KD 13.17 billion. On the other hand, The Insurance sector headed the growing sectors as its total market capitalization reached KD 319.03 million, increasing by 1.52 percent. The technology sector was the second in terms of recorded growth with 1.49 percent increase after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 65.70 million. The real estate sector was the least Industrials with 0.40 percent recorded growth after its market capitalization amounted to KD 1.30 billion.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

BUSINESS

Elliott Wave Principles in Action applied to euro

By Kamel Mansour

W

hether Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, “overpromised and under delivered” as the news media have summarized his actions, the euro will not change its main downward trend. The market is expected to swing from a bottom in September 2012 to a top in October 2012. The market will see heavy selling in the fourth quarter of 2012. The euro will depreciate versus the dollar to levels lower than parity by first quarter of 2014. The euro will not disappear as many are claiming. Market forces are playing their roles and we need to perceive the exchange as a colossal pendulum swinging between continents.

We shall not be surprised when waves unfold under the Elliott Principles whose essence of analysis is to provide a vehicle to surf the waves.

In my June 2011 article when the euro was hovering at 1.4900 marks, I quoted: “...Despite elongated upward corrections, it is trending downward for a long period to come with the first swing to target at least 1.2000 marks on the euro in the coming few quarters. .... the corrective and downward movement from March 2008 would not change. The key element in the impending move from May 2011 is whether the market will unfold in 3 sub-waves or 5 sub-waves. Irrespective of the unfurling of these sub-waves, we are unmistakably moving downward to, at least, 1.2000 marks on the euro in the next few quarters....” A perfect call in both price and time was made on the euro using Elliott Wave Principles and the 1.2000 level was seen in July 2012.

“Accuracy is in every case advantageous to beauty... Besides, we may observe, in every art or profession, even those which most concern life or action, that a spirit of accuracy, however acquired, carries all of them nearer their perfection, and renders them more subservient to the interests of society.”(David Hume - 1737). Recently in my March 2012 article, I pointed out that Intermediate II wave would range between 1.2600 and 1.4200 levels on the euro. Indeed, the latter target did not materialize and the corrective wave which commenced from the levels 1.2600 did not meet the price forecasted.

Elliott noted that waves could cut short based on variety of events. But that did not change the overall declining big picture and Intermediate wave II finished at 1.3285 end of April 2012 before Intermediate Wave III commenced. Waves are culmination of sentiments of the majority of the market players. Trends can change and waves can be recounted if the Rules are broken.

The wave principle in brief A wave is a movement in the market upward or downward until it is interrupted by another movement in the opposite direction. Each completed wave becomes a sub wave of a larger wave of the next higher degree. It can range from tick by tick intervals up to centuries long. Elliott classified, with ingenuity, the degrees of waves as follows, in an ascending order: Subminuette, Minuette, Minute (m), Minor (M), Intermediate (I), Primary (P), Cycle, Super Cycle (SC), Grand Super Cycle (GSC).

Various Elliotticians have different practical classifications of the various waves but, in the end, they all consent to the fact that any five impulsive or upmove will finish the next higher Wave 1 which is then followed by a reaction of three corrective or down-moves to end Wave 2 and then up, down and up till Wave 5 is terminated. Henceforth, it will constitute Wave I of a larger degree. The largest of the waves is the Grand Super Cycle.

In the normal market jargon of our daily life, a bull market defines an up-move and a bear market indicates either a correction or a down-move. What sets the wave principle aside and ahead is primarily its characteristics of design and form. The waves take shape and thence, a pattern emerges which allows one to judge the probable impact of future amplitude and time with some degree of accuracy.

If one accurately defines the start of a new move then the end of the second (corrective) wave of the same degree that follows, one knows that the next wave will make up the third wave that shall be more or less comparable in its degree to that of the first which shall pose no major danger of risk of reversal.

In such a circumstance, investment decisions and trade positions can be taken with minimal risk and equanimity, only if one is knowledgeable of Elliott Wave Principles.

A completed bull market cannot consist of three waves, it must consist of five waves and if one finds three divisions in an up-wave, the formation has not yet completed and there are two more legs to

undergo which can be translated into one more bull and another bear moves. Impulse waves can extend more than their normal five waves to indicate the market has impetus to go further to add on an extra four waves to its pattern and, if the market is still filled with momentum, this strength will push for another additional new set of four waves. It is like a rocket whereby the first stage of the extension has its own engine and propellant to advance it up.

Similarly, the second stage also has its own booster.

The final extended period is always thronged with hefty speculation and entrenched with bubbles, such as the Internet Bubble at the turn of the second millennium.

The Wave may extend or shorten in form as a result of political, economical, governmental, social or even ecological news and may take ample time to allow the investors to decide where the market is heading, but the shape is unchanged irrespective of the type of the move whether corrective or impulsive. Corrections are of different types but one thing for sure, they retain the 3 wave structure no matter which degree they are in the cycle. All smaller sub consolidations will be composed of sets of 3s of each of these categories: 3 Minors, 3 Intermediates, 3 Primaries and then 3 Cycles to complete the Super Cycle. They are like strata of Patterns that have to be built up to attain the final Main Consolidation Form.

In order not to digress into their complicated ramifications, the Inverted Zig-Zag, for instance, is a term given to the 5-3-5 set of corrective waves in a downward trend. The market moves in a five waves opposite the main down trend followed by a three corrective waves in the direction of the main down trend which should not cover the whole ground of the first five waves. Thereafter, it ends with a five wave move to finish the pattern.

Recap of Waves in Motion The Euro Super Cycle I (SC 1) was composed of 5 Cycle waves which commenced in October 2000 at 0.8225. These Cycle ending wave dates can be delineated as follows: Cycle 1 (C1) - January 2001 at 0.9595 Cycle II (C2) - February 2002 at 0.8560 Cycle III (C3) - January 2004 at 1.2898 Cycle IV (C4) - November 2005 at 1.1638 Cycle V (C5) - March 2008 at 1.5904 Super Cycle II (SC2) is composed of 3 Cycle waves which commenced in March 2008. The First Cycle or Cycle I (C1) is in the making whereby the ending wave dates can be delineated as follows: Primary I (P1) - June 2010 at 1.1875 Primary II (P2) - May 2011 at 1.4939 Primary III (P3) is in the making. The First Intermediate Wave (I1) of Primary III of Cycle I the Super Cycle II started on May 3rd, 2011 and ended on January 12th, 2012, finishing the Fifth Minute (m5) of Fifth Minor (M5) of First Intermediate (I1). It spanned 37 weeks in time.

The Second Intermediate (I2) commenced on January 12th, 2012 and finished on April 30th, 2012 at a high of 1.3284. The high of I2 did not materialize at 1.3484 on February 28th, 2012 because the waves have not finished their formation. I2 price composition along with their ending dates can be delineated as follows: Minor 1 (M1) - January 26, 2012 at 1.3233 Minor 2 (M2) - February 15, 2012 at 1.2973 Minor 3 (M3) - which was composed of 5 minute waves Minute 1 (m1) - February 28, 2012 at 1.3484 Minute 2 (m2) - March 14, 2012 at 1.3003 Minute 3 (m3) - April 1, 2012 at 1.3379 Minute 4 (m4) - April 15, 2012 at 1.2994 Minute 5 (m5) - April 30, 2012 at 1.3284 The Third Intermediate (I3) commenced on April 30, 2012 at 1.3284 and the wave price composition along with their ending dates can be delineated as follows: Minor 1 (M1) - May 31st, 2012 at 1.2287 Minor 2 (M2) - still unfolding and is composed of: Minute 1 (m1) - June 19, 2012 at 1.2742 Minute 2 (m2) - is still in the making and has not yet bottomed on July 23, 2012 at 1.2041. It is expected to continue till September 2012. It will hover slightly below July 23, 2012, with a maximum support by the lower channel at around 1.17-1.18 range.

Minute 3 (m3), the last sub wave in Minor 2, will change direction off the bottom expected in September 2012 to top in October 2012.

Analysis of Waves “When a truth is necessary, the reason for it can

be found by analysis, that is, by resolving it into simpler ideas and truths until the primary ones are reached.” (Leibniz, 1670) I want to re-iterate that I have expanded on one of Elliott Wave Principles, the only additional approach I devised and invented outside the original Elliott parameters. It was the re-plotting of full data series in a new graphical methodology that discounted the inflation factor embedded throughout the price history. The reason for reminding the reader is that channels and target ranges, when applied on the actual euro data chart, may not give the same results as when they are plotted over the re-calculated data.

From October 2000, the Old time Low of the euro at 0.8225 Level, to March 2008, the Final wave High reached (before the Irregular B wave) at 1.5904, was 89 months - a Fibonacci figure.

From October 2000 Low to October 2012 is 144 months, a Fibonacci figure.

From the March 2008 High to October 2012 is 55 months, a Fibonacci figure.

This makes October 2012 an important date to look for a change in the direction of the euro.

Primary II (P2) of Cycle I of Super Cycle II, which formed an Inverted Zig-Zag, commenced in June 2010 and Topped on May 3rd, 2011 at 1.4939. Its Second Intermediate (I2), which was the bottom of the first reaction, made a low in January 2011 at 1.2879.

After 12 months, the First Intermediate (I1) of Primary III from May 2011 High bottomed in January 2012 at a level that was lower than the January 2011 Low. In Elliott Terminology, this formation is certain that the Euro is forming an elongated C wave composed of Five Intermediaries, of which the first and the second have finished and the third is in the making.

Channeling The channeling technique will play a very important role in the composition of the waves to ensue.

On the monthly chart, the first two Intermediate waves I1 and I2 have clearly defined the track of the future path of the whole Primary III which will unfold in 5 Intermediate waves.

The upper channel from the Top formed in May 2011 has capped all the highs until May 2012. The lower channel, when extended from the bottom formed in January 2012, will indeed uphold the bottoms of the market for many months to come.

Similarly, the weekly chart’s upper channel that defined the Second Minor (M2) and Fourth Minor (M4) of the Intermediate 1 (I1) confided the movements of all the highs of the five Minute waves of I2.

Head and Shoulder Formation I would like to digress a little from the Elliott Wave Principles and cite a formation familiar to technical analysts; the Head and Shoulder formation which is the largest ever seen. The neck of the head and shoulder tracks from the Low of November 2005 at 1.1638 to the Low of June 2010 at 1.1875. The former was the Bottom of the Cycle IV of the Super Cycle I. The latter was the Bottom of Primary I of Cycle I of Super Cycle II where the latter is still in formation. The time span between these two lows was 55 months; a Fibonacci integer.

This neck was an excellent support to the low reached in July 2012. When the neck line is extended into the channel, it makes the support at 1.2050 a swinging point for the potential breakout of the market. With the head and shoulder formation, the peak height of March 2008 to the neck, if extended from the neck breaking point at 1.2050 will give an estimate of 0.8800 on the Euro.

Momentum indicators Elliott depended on the shapes of waves, sub waves and their relative position vis-‡-vis the overall structure to reveal the strength of the subsequent moves. If we look deeper into the structure and movement of the waves in the channel and contemplate on the psychology behind the waves and their corrections, we notice few important similarities between Minor 2 of Intermediate 1 and Minor 2 of Intermediate 3.

Minor 2 (M2) of Intermediate I (I1) was an irregular running correction with end of Minute 3 of Minor 2 falling short of the top of Minute 1 of Minor 2.

Minor 2 of Intermediate III (I3), currently in the making, has shown an irregular correction with Minute 2 (m2), still being formed, was lower than the bottom of M1 of I3. Minute 2 of Minor 2 may post new lows

by September 2012. Minute 3 (m3) of M2 is very unlikely to reach the top of Minute 1 (m1) @ 1.2742

since the upper channel has a steep downward slope.

These irregular (m2) formations accompanied with truncated (m3) will give a rapid decline downward in the euro. This is the nature of Minor 3 (M3) of Third Intermediate (I3) impulses.

Intermediate II did not even come close to the lows of Minor 1 of Intermediate 1, another weak signal.

Combining all these weaknesses together, the market is expected to be quite severe in its third wave of the third wave or Minor 3 of Intermediate 3 which conforms to the swiftness expected in the Head and Shoulder potential breakout.

Swing symmetries In his opus magnum 1946 Nature’s Law, Elliott defined a quasi-cyclical nature of waves which were Fibonacci related in their time, their price and their ratio elements. My findings, which ought to be relayed, are extraneous to the Elliott Wave Principle.

The coincidences derived showed impeccable symmetry of Bottoms and Tops of Super Cycle I when compared to Bottoms and Tops of Super Cycle II using the Old Time High in March 2008 as the point of reflection.

“What is joy without sorrow? What is success without failure? What is a win without a loss? ... You have to experience each if you are to appreciate the other ...” (Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 -1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain) The market functions in the same way. It moves up and down creating fulcrums that are culminations of balances of price, balances of time and combinations of both. These spans of time are compared to March 2008 which acted as a line of symmetry whereby the bottoms or tops formed on the uptrend gave exactly bottoms or tops on the downtrend and consequently, are expected to forecast the next bottoms or tops.

From Bottom Cycle IV of Super Cycle I (November 2005) to Top Cycle V of Super Cycle I (March 2008) took 28 months. From Top Cycle V (March 2008) to Bottom Primary I (June 2010) of Cycle I of Super Cycle II took 27 months.

From Top Primary II of Cycle IV of Super Cycle I (December 2004) to Top Cycle V of Super Cycle I (March 2008) took 39 months. From Top Cycle V (March 2008) to Top Primary II of Cycle I of Super Cycle II (May 2011) took 38 months.

From Top Cycle III of Super Cycle I (January 2004) to Top Cycle V of Super Cycle I (March 2008) took 50 months. From Top Cycle V (March 2008) to Top of Intermediate II of Primary III of Cycle I of Super Cycle II (May 2012) took 50 months.

From Bottom Primary IV of Cycle III of Super Cycle I (September 2003) to Top Cycle V of Super Cycle I (March 2008) took 54 months. If we added 54 months to Top Cycle V (March 2008), we would reach September 2012 where a Bottom is expected.

From Bottom Cycle II of Super Cycle I (February 2002) to Top Cycle V of Super Cycle I (March 2008) took 73 months. If we added 73 months to Top Cycle V (March 2008), we would expect the Euro to form a Major Bottom in April 2014 in line with that of Cycle II. Should we continue in the same methodology, we are left with Cycle I of Super Cycle I that has not transposed its reflection to the Top Cycle V of Super Cycle I (March 2008).

Potential Target of End of Primary III “I hold that the mark of a genuine idea is that its possibility can be proved, either a priori by conceiving its cause or reason, or a posteriori when experience teaches us that it is in fact in nature.” (Leibniz, 1670) Minor 1 of Intermediate III, when compared to Minor 1 of Intermediate I, was 7.35 percent more. If this psychological increase in sentiments were utilized, we should roughly have the following estimate formation: Intermediate III - is expected to Bottom at 1.1085.

It was calculated by multiplying 7.35 percent by the amplitude of I1.

Intermediate IV - is expected to Top at 1.1650.

The movement of this correction was assumed to be in line with the amplitude of I2 simply because of the channel that engulfed the whole P3 movement.

Intermediate V - is expected to Bottom at 0.9850.

This final Intermediate was assumed to be in line with the length of I1.

The potential target estimate of the end of Primary III will be very close to the Top of first Impulse Cycle I of Super Cycle I reached in January 2001 at 0.9595; a logical stopping point for the Elongated C wave on the way down.

Philippine mining reforms ignored at gold-rush site MOUNT DIWATA: The Philippine government wants to close thousands of small-scale mines blamed for environmental devastation, but Reynaldo Elejorde insists his chaotic gold-rush mountain town will survive. The 53-year-old former carpenter and his family have been digging alongside hordes of others into the rich veins of Mount Diwata since the 1980s, and the efforts have allowed them to survive just above the poverty line.

“We will insist that we stay here because this is our only livelihood,” said Elejorde, dressed in a dirty T-shirt and shorts with a flashlight tied to his head as a makeshift mining lantern, during a typical day of hard toil. President Benigno Aquino announced mining reforms last month that his government said would better regulate a chaotic industry, improve environmental standards and deliver a bigger share of revenues to state coffers.

Part of the planned reforms would ensure more strict government supervision of places such as Mount Diwata, a product of a unique Philippine law dating back decades that allows individual miners to set up their own operations. A tribesman’s discovery of gold in what was then a logging area in 1983 started a mad scramble to Mount Diwata of labourers, farmers, ex-soldiers and former guerrillas from all over the country, all seeking to get rich.

Today scores of tightly packed houses made of scrap wood and roofed with tin sheets or tarpaulin sit on the mountainside, many of them built over tunnels that the homeowners excavate. About 42,000 people live on and around the mountain, according to the village census, but residents say the population swells and the honeycomb of tunnels get busier when the price of gold rises. The site is just 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of the major trading city of Davao, but it can be reached only through muddy roads and it has earned a reputation as a lawless “Wild West” site.

A major environmental problem The government’s small-scale mining provisions were originally intended to give poor, mainly rural people a chance to earn a little money, according to the head of the government’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Leo Jasareno. But it has been widely exploited and most of the small-scale miners today, including those in Mount Diwata, violate the conditions for small-scale mining by using explosives and poisonous chemicals such as mercury, Jasareno said.

Jasareno estimated that there may be as many as 300,000 such small-scale miners across the country, creating a major environmental problem. With few safety regulations, workplace deaths also occur frequently. At Mount Diwata, five people were reported killed in a landslide in December last year.

“The executive order (Aquino’s mining reforms) will address all the problems in small-scale mining. Environmental problems will be addressed as well as safety,” Jasareno told AFP in Manila. Some of the key reforms will be to restrict small-scale operations to “community mines”, so that they can be more closely supervised, while others deemed to be dangerous or bad for the environment will be closed.

But at Mount Diwata, community leader Franco Tito said miners had seen similar efforts from previous governments come and go, with no effect. “It is just a duplication of past presidential orders, local ordinances, republic acts, special laws and what have you, which are basically telling us to stop the mining activity,” he said. Tito said he suspected the national government’s real agenda was to hand the mountain’s resources over to a big mining company, and that the miners would resist any effort to move them.—AFP

BUCHAREST: A Romanian man in his wheelchair passes an exchange and pawn office’s rates notice.

After two years of severe recession, Romania seemed on track to resume, though modest, sustainable growth. — AFP

26

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

BUSINESS

Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas production at 70,000 barrels per day

URC announces H1 net profit of KD 16.4 million Marina Hotel records high occupancy rate KUWAIT: United Real Estate Company (URC), the leading real estate developer in the Middle East, recorded a net profit of KD 16.4 million in the first six months of 2012, an increase of 223 percent from 2011 mid-year net profit announcement.

Commenting on this announcement, Tariq Mohammad Abdul Salam, URC Chairman said, “I am very happy with these record results and that the company is committing to applying an ambitious, diverse and flexible strategy which will reinforce the company’s ability to further achieve such outstanding results”.

URC’s earning per share in the first half of 2012 increased to 14.41 fils from 4.37 fils from the same period in 2011 and shareholders’ equity increased by 7.9 percent from the same period in 2011 to reach KD 207 million. H1 results also displayed an increase in return on equity (ROE) from 2.6 percent to 7.9 percent in H1 2012, an increase of approximately 223 percent. Mid-year results were supported by stable growth in rental and hotel income as well as strategic acquisitions and dispositions of assets.

Interest Coverage Ratio has increased from 2.9 in H1 2011 to

6.1 in H1 2012 URC’s key return drivers are attributed to maintaining a sizeable portfolio of quality properties and hotels that generate stable rental income. URC’s Marina Mall and Crescent continue to be an important income-generating asset and its flagship Marina Hotel, recorded an average occupancy rate of more than 77 per-

standing returns for the first three months of the year. Chief Executive Officer, Mohammed Ahmed Al-Saqqaf, commented, “the sale of Verdun was not a one-off sale, but rather a part of a larger strategic transaction where URC acquired full ownership of our high-end residential development in Beirut, Raouche View at 1090. As a real estate

Tariq Mohammad Abdul Salam

Mohammed Ahmed Al-Saqqaf

cent in the first half of 2012.

One of the most important transactions in the first half of the year was attributed to the sale of a land in Verdun, Lebanon.

This successful asset sale enabled the company to achieve out-

development company, we continue to seize investment opportunities that fit with our strategic plan and deliver the returns our shareholders require.”

The company’s business strategy continues to focus on retail,

commercial, hospitality and residential projects, capitalizing on its exper tise in these areas.

Significant geographic diversification has allowed URC to maintain a regional stronghold in Jordan, Oman, Egypt and Lebanon. URC has continued to leverage its experience in the commercial and hospitality segments to further develop its presence in the regional real estate market through strategic partnerships or holdings in related companies. The company continues to source new investment opportunities with a focus on income-producing properties with competitive yields.

Mohammed Ahmed AlSaqqaf, CEO, stated that, “URC is now embarking on a new phase of growth with the Executive Management Team in place to roll out a five -year corporate strategy plan for driving longterm sustainable growth. With continued suppor t from the largest shareholder, KIPCO, URC is backed by a financially-sound shareholder with a long-term strategic vision. I would also like to thank the company’s executive management for their continuous efforts and exceptional performance”.

ARABAL 2012 presents market factors DOHA: The program of Arab International Aluminium Conference (ARABAL 2012), which will be held in Doha from November 20-22, 2012, will include a discussion panel on aluminium prices, the related supply and demand factors, and a historical view on the price levels and the prospects in the light of the current economic and political changes in different parts of the world.

In this regard, Qatalum, organizer of Arabal 2012, said that the main productive sectors of global economy were most impacted by declining growth rates, and are still suffering from various pressures, including direct pressures such as

the local demand rates and the cost of energy needed for operation and production, and indirect ones such as the soaring competition in terms of quality and prices, and the difficulty of opening new markets. It has been noticed that the impacts of the global economic crisis are still hitting economies and pushing the growth indices down to its lowest levels, despite the continuous bailouts and stimulus packages. It is expected that the main productive sectors will

remain under pressure on the medium and long term outlook, as rising activities and demand require a return to pre-crisis levels. This return is not possible based on the current data about the global economic and financial system, which is experiencing a period of recovery and restructuring. Aluminium industry boasts a significant investment momentum in the region and world.

Yet, these large investments face the existing global economy’s challenges and obstacles.

Aluminium prices reflect all the changes and developments of global economy since the precrisis period, during the period and up to date, as aluminium is an industry that is correlated with

many other economic sectors. Rising demand for aluminium industry outputs means there is vibrant activity in transport, real estate, industry and other vital sectors, which, in turn, means the return of operation and production to high levels.It is worth mentioning that aluminium prices have fallen from their peak at $2,620 per metric tonne, according to the three-month official price on the London Metal Exchange, to $1701 per metric tonne in 2009. Prices came back grad-

ually to move on an upward trajectory in 2010, closing at an annual average of $2,198 per metric tonne and then up to an annual average of $2,419 per metric tonne in 2011. Expectations about aluminium price indices this year varied from optimistic to conservative outlooks. Prices were estimated at $2400 per metric tonne according to optimistic outlook, down to $2,325 per metric tonne according to neutral outlook and to $2,100 per metric tonne according to conservative viewpoints. Prices on LME contradict all these expectations, with the three-month official price showing a declining trajectory since the first quarter of the year, at $1,840 per metric tonne. LME aluminium Prices on cash basis were estimated at $1,806, during the same period, while prices of future contracts were better than current ones, estimated at $1,955 per metric tonnes during 2013.

It must be taken into account that the prevailing aluminium prices are an end result of the current financial, investment and economic activities and the forces of supply and demand. The difficulty in estimating prices during the coming period is based on size and nature of the surrounding challenges and changes in aluminium, particularly the amount of competition on the basis of quality of production, ease of access to markets of demand, level of cost flexibility, energy prices and availability, exchange rates and the significant impact caused by the size and sustainability of government support to the aluminium industry in terms of the level of competitiveness and opening markets.

The 16th Arab International Aluminium Conference (ARABAL 2012) will be held at the Grand Hyatt Doha November 20-22, 2012, under the patronage of Dr Mohammed bin Saleh AlSada, Minister of Energy and Industry, Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum. This year’s edition of the conference will discuss a number of important issues related to the aluminium industry, including the technology in use, environmental effects, security and safety, manufacturing industries, market factors and their effects on aluminium prices, recycling, and many more important topics that will be addressed by over 30 renowned figures from various disciplines.

NBK announces winners KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced seven winners in the second week of its innovative campaign for the holy month of Ramadan. The campaign aims to reward all NBK credit cardholders with a chance to win cash prizes every day when using their credit cards at selected Co-ops and super-

markets in Kuwait. Every KD 10 spent at selected co-op and local supermarket using any NBK Credit Cards (Visa, MasterCard and Diners Club) will give the customer one chance into the weekly draw. This exclusive promotion runs until August 21, 2012.

NBK Credit Cards are accepted

worldwide and are the safest, most convenient and rewarding way to pay. The benefits include free travel insurance, complimentary airport lounge access, concierge service, purchase protection, extended warranty and more. The award winning NBK Rewards loyalty program rewards NBK Credit Cardholders

with a range of valuable discounts and a point redemption scheme redeemable at numerous shops and restaurants throughout Kuwait. For more information log onto nbk.com or contact Hala Watani on 1 801 801, or or follow NBK on Twitter @NBKPage, and on Instagram @NBKPage.

Leading Middle East private oil and gas company Crescent Petroleum and its partner and affiliate Dana Gas PJSC, the region’s first private-sector natural gas company, have, in their capacity as joint operator of the Kor Mor field, announced that total production in their major gas operations in the Kurdistan region of Iraq has grown steadily to reach 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with total investment to date approaching $1 billion. The production includes 330 million cubic feet of gas per day and 15,000 barrels per day of condensate liquids, and there are plans for further expansion.

In total, over 249 billion cubic feet of gas and 11.7 million barrels of condensate liquids have been produced by the companies since the start of production in October 2008, with the gas supply to local power stations enabling 1,750 MW of new electricity supply. This has ensured almost continuous power supply for 4 million people in the Kurdistan region, in contrast to the electricity crisis in other parts of Iraq, and provided billions of dollars of savings in fuel costs for the government and very significant environmental benefits in cutting down pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, while transforming the economic and social environment. “ We are proud to be the largest investors in the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas sector, and to have already enabled major economic and social benefits for the people of the Kurdistan Region and all of Iraq, especially with the improved and secure electricity supply,” said Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and Member of the Dana Gas Board of Directors. “We are in discussions with the KRG Ministr y of Natural Resources on the next phase of development and expansion, to grow our operations and enable further progress and prosperity for the local community.”

The project partners had by the end of June invested a total of $963 million under contracts signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for the Khor Mor and Chemchemal blocks in April 2007.

Major achievements of the project so far include: installing a 180km gas pipeline across challenging mountainous terrain

that required the clearing of minefields; first gas production after only 16 months; drilling successfully to tertiary reservoir formations at depths of 2,300 metres, and importing and installing over 64,000 tonnes of equipment in over 3,500 truckloads, and state-of-the-art gas processing plant imported from the USA. Marking the production milestone, Rashid Al-Jarwan, Executive Director of Dana Gas, said: “This important milestone has been achieved with the cooperation and support of the KRG, as well as our part-

ners, contractors and local staff. In addition regular payments are now being received by the producing companies, and we are working with the KRG to improve and resolve the outstanding receivables.”

During the project’s construction phase, work opportunities were provided for over 2,000 Iraqi workers from all ethnic groups and sects, supported by expatriate workers from over 20 countries regionally and worldwide. The companies have successfully implemented a nationalization programme, and already achieved the target of 80% local staff ratio in their operations by the end of 2011.

Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas have also implemented a corporate social responsibility programme to support the local communities, including providing school supplies, drinking water treatment, generators and fuel enabling 24 hour electricity for the local villages, mobile medical units, and youth sports facilities. These initiatives are assisting the local communities in improving their standard of living, health, well-being, security and stability and the development of human capital in the Kurdistan Region.

Special discount on Mercedes-Benz accessories, items during Ramadan KUWAIT: Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Company, the authorized general distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Kuwait, is conducting a special promotion on its Boutique & Accessories items, till August 31, 2012 at all of its parts centers in Kuwait. The Mercedes-Benz Boutique & Accessories portfolio is characterized by its attention to detail and its passionate spirit. The stylish product range, featuring genuine accessories and tailored collections, offers endless possibilities to adapt your vehicle and your personal space to suit your requirements.

The portfolio offers discerning MercedesBenz clientele an environment that matches their sophisticated lifestyle in and around their exclusive automobiles with the three-pointed star. Put simply, it delivers even more Mercedes.

Collection products must also comply with strict testing standards before being approved by Mercedes-Benz Accessories.

The material quality and properties of each product are extensively examined by the Societe Generale de Surveillance

(SGS), which was founded in 1878. No product is approved for production unless it has successfully completed these tests. Customers are welcome in our parts and boutique centers in Shuwaikh, Al-Rai and Ahmadi and can avail a special 35 percent on any Boutique & Accessories they purchase from us. For more information you can call on the following numbers : Shuwaikh 1833111, Ext-277, for Al-Rai 24763084 and for Ahmadi 1833111, Ext-164 .

“We are very pleased to offer this opportunity to our customers and Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts during the holy month of Ramadan” said Kanwarjit Singh, Parts Manager, Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Co. For more information on Mercedes-Benz products and services please visit www.mercedesbenz.com.kw or become a friend: www.facebook.com/MercedesBenzKuwa it. You can also download the iPhone application for Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Company by searching for ‘MBKuwait’ in the App Store.

Gulf Bank announces Al-Danah winners KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its 31 Al-Danah weekly draw on August 5, 2012, announcing a total number of 10 Al-Danah weekly prize draw winners, each awarded with prizes of KD 1,000. The 31st Al-Danah weekly winners are: Abdulrazaq Abdulateef Al-Nesef; Faraj Mahrous Sedrak; Najla Ibraheem Al-Hosaini; Fatma Tawfiq Ahmad Al-Ali; Ali Habeib Mohammed Al-Dhafiri; Ali Mohammed Naser; Souad Ateya Mohamed Hasan; Mohammed Ahmad Husain Malek; Abo Alsuod Mhmoud Shihata Mohammed and Meshal Azeub Shadad.

Gulf Bank encourages everyone in Kuwait to open an Al-Danah account and/or increase their deposits to maximize their chances of becoming a winner in the upcoming weekly (KD1,000 each for 10 winners). Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah allows customers to win cash prizes and encourages them to save money. Chances increase the more money is deposited and the longer it is kept in the account.

Al-Danah also offers a number of unique services including the Al-Danah Deposit Only ATM card which helps account holders deposit their money at their convenience; as well as the Al-Danah calculator to help customers calculate their chances of becoming an Al-Danah winner.

To be part of the Al-Danah draws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, transfer on line, or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance. Customers can also log on to www.e-gulfbank.com, Gulf Bank’s website, to find all the information regarding Al-Danah or any of the bank’s products and services or log on www.e-gulfbank.com/aldanahwinners, to find out more about Al-Danah and who the winners are.

Hyundai Motor launches media website SEOUL: Hyundai Motor Co. global headquarters in Seoul has launched its first full-ser vice media Web site, www.hyundaiglobalnews.com, designed to provide news and information and engage in conversation with the global media covering Hyundai. The site will distribute Hyundai Motor news from headquarters and Hyundai affiliates around the world, creating a one-stop-shop for media members - and anyone else - interested in Hyundai. Media members can easily find and email media contacts at headquarters and major subsidiaries around the world. A downloadable video and photo library showcases Hyundai vehicles, which are searchable by model year. “The new Hyundai Global PR media center will be an invaluable tool for media members covering Hyundai,” said Seung-Tack Kim, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai Motor. “The clean and intuitive design of the media center is easy to use and will help elevate the Hyundai brand to Modern Premium status.”

Features of the site include: Photos and video of Hyundai cars, facilities and events; news from Hyundai headquarters and the company’s operations all over the world, all in one place. The sign-up function to receive news alerts is under the headline, “For Media Only” on the left side of the main page.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

Nuke reactor shut down for safety controls BRUSSELS: A reactor at one of Belgium’s two nuclear power plants will remain shut “at least” until the end of the month to allow checks for potential cracks in its core tank, authorities said yesterday.

The 1,003-megawatt Doel 3 reactor, which has been in service since 1982, has been offline since service checks in June. Those checks employed a new ultrasound technology, Belgium’s Federal Agency for nuclear control (AFCN/FANC) said on its website.

Inspectors found “several indications of defects” in the steel base of the core tank, AFCN/FANC said, adding that additional checks, started on July 16, are ongoing. The Doel plant is situated on the outskirts of Antwerp in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium.

The agency insisted that there was “no danger for the population, workers or the environment” since the reactor has been emptied of its nuclear fuel. Since there are 21 other reactors in the world

BEIJING: Visitors inspect a vehicle equipped with hi-fi speaker system on exhibition at a modified car show in Beijing yesterday.

Scientists find algorithm to source online rumours LAUSANNE, Switzerland: Rumours on the internet, terrorist attacks and epidemics can all be tracked to their originating points with a new mathematical formula developed by researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne, the school said yesterday.

“Using our method, we can find the source of all kinds of things circulating on a network, just by ‘listening’ to a limited number of members,” said Pedro Pinto, who worked on the algorithm with a team of scientists.

For example, if a story spreads to 500 users of the online social network Facebook, investigators would need to look at messages from only 15 or 20 people to find out who started the rumour.

Pinto’s team was also able to identify the brains behind the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York in hindsight.

“By reconstructing the message exchange inside the 9/11 terrorist network extracted from publicly released news, our system spit out the names of three potential suspects - one of whom was found to be the mastermind of the attacks, according to the official enquiry,” Pinto said.

The method can also be used to find out where epidemics start, by creating models of rivers and human networks through which a disease spreads.

Computer viruses can also be tracked to their originators, the institute said.— dpa

Android extends lead over Apple in world smartphone market SAN FRANCISCO: Android-powered smartphones continue to extend their lead over Apple’s iPhones in the world smartphone market, and accounted for 68 per cent of all smartphones shipped in the second quarter of 2012, according to figures released this week by IDC. The market research firm said that eight vendors sold a total of 104.8 million handsets running on Google’s Android operating system, with Samsung accounting for 44 per cent of the total, or 46 million handsets.

Apple’s market share was 16.9 per cent, or 26 million units, representing a drop from the 18.8-per-cent market share it enjoyed in the year ago quarter. Blackberry saw its market share drop from 11.5 per cent to 7.4 per cent but Windows phones grew from 2.3

per cent to 5.4 per cent. “Android continues to fire on all cylinders,” said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends program.

“The market was entreated to several flagship models from Android’s handset partners, prices were well within reach to meet multiple budgetary needs, and the user experience from both Google and its handset partners boosted Android smartphones’ utility far beyond simple telephony,” Llamas said.

The new figures came as Apple and Samsung are embroiled in a bitter patent battle in courts around the world, with Apple claiming that the largest vendor of Android phones has “slavishly copied” its iPhone designs. — dpa

Match.com wins dismissal of lawsuit by online daters DALLAS: Internet daters aren’t likely to get a date in court with Match.com.

The online matchmaking service, a unit of IAC/Interactive Corp, won the dismissal on Friday of most of a lawsuit that contended the company duped consumers into believing it had millions of subscribers when more than half were inactive, fake or scammers.

US District Judge Sam Lindsay in Dallas ruled that Match.com had not breached its user agreements, finding the pacts do not require it to remove dormant or inaccurate profiles.

The language of the agreements “in no way requires Match.com to police, vet, update the website content” or verify the accuracy of profiles on the site, the judge wrote.

Jeffrey Norton, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the law firm Newman Ferrara, in an e-mail said, “we are reviewing the decision and considering our options.”

A spokesman for Match.com said it was pleased with the ruling, adding that it had always maintained that the allegations were “unfounded.”

The lawsuit, which had sought classaction status on behalf of Match.com subscribers, was filed in 2010 by several users of the site.

The judge dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims of breach of contract, and asked the plaintiffs to explain why he should not also toss out claims of deceptive trade practices brought under Texas law.

He gave them until Aug 27 to respond and said if they did not he would dismiss that claim as well.

O ther I nternet dating sites also have faced similar consumer lawsuits.

In 2007, Yahoo Inc agreed to pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of allowing fake profiles from people not interested in using the site for dating. — Reuters

of the same type as the Dutch-manufactured Doel 3 - including another one at the other Belgian nuclear plant of Tihange - AFCN/FANC said it alerted other national safety watchdogs about the problem.

However, a spokeswoman for the agency, Karina De Beule, could not confirm a report by French newspaper Le Monde that 10 reactors were in the United States, two each in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, and one each in Sweden and Argentina.

“Since the manufacturer no longer exist, we do not know who its clients were,” she told dpa.

Last month the Belgian government adopted a nuclear phaseout plan that foresaw the shutting down of Doel 3 in 2022 and the complete abandonment of nuclear energy by 2025. But if Doel 3 were to fail its tests, it would not be allowed to enter into service again. Authorities would then likely have to amend their phase-out plans to make up for the loss of capacity. — Reuters

BEIJING: A woman inspects a modified American Jeep Wrangler exhibited at a modified car show in Beijing yesterday. — AP photos

Wired reporter hack reveals perils of digital age An interesting twist to new age SAN FRANCISCO: The perils of modern dependence on Internet-linked gadgets and digitally-stored memories remained a hot topic yesterday in the wake of a hack that wiped clean a Wired reporter’s devices. Mat Honan laid out at wired.com in gripping detail how his “digital life was destroyed” right down to irreplaceable photos of his baby daughter.

Honan next week is to share his quest to repair the damage.

“The take-away from his bad experience is that people need to be careful with using an online service, especially a backup service,” Lookout Mobile Security engineer Tim Strazzere said.

“The main part is to mitigate risk; he lost a lot of personal information.”

Basic hacker skills were combined with “social engineering,” the art of sweet-talking someone like a customer service rep into bending rules during a phone call, to compromise Honan’s Google, Twitter, and AppleID accounts.

Honan told of his @mat Twitter handle apparently being the coveted prize for hackers who deleted his Gmail account and erased the data from his iPhone, iPad and MacBook

laptop computer to hide their trail.

The data-wiping feature was created by Apple to let people protect digital information if devices are lost or stolen.

He said his Twitter account was used to fire off offensive messages.

“In many ways, this was all my fault,” Honan wrote. “My accounts were daisy-chained together.”

“But what happened to me exposes vital security flaws in several customer service systems, most notably Apple’s and Amazon’s.”

Hackers were able to get bits of information from Apple and Amazon tech support that helped them achieve their mission, according to Honan.

Apple did not respond to an AFP request for comment, but reportedly gave Honan a statement saying his data was “compromised by a person who had acquired personal information about the customer.”

“In addition, we found that our own internal policies were not followed completely. We are reviewing all of our processes for resetting account passwords to ensure our customers’ data is protected.”

The “daisy chain” mistake Honan described

A hybrid car with proven reliability BERLIN: As a forerunner in the hybrid car revolution, the Toyota Prius has long held a special status among car lovers.

The Japanese vehicle’s exterior was always considered to be technically advanced, rather than a work of beauty, but the later Prius models have been easier on the eye while maintaining their technical excellence.

Journalists from the German car magazine Auto Bild have twice taken the Prius on a 100,000-kilometre endurance test, with impressive results.

The first occasion was a complete success while on the second run, two headlight bulbs failed. However, by the end of the test three-quarters of the cooling agent used in the air-conditioning system had escaped.

The extremely complex hybrid engine, in particular, is unproblematic with just the 12-volt starter battery failing at times.

Toyota fired the opening salvo in the hybrid car technology battle when the Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997, making it the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle. It was subsequently introduced worldwide in 2000.

The car-maker described the Prius as the first car to combine a conventional internal combustion engine with an electric propulsion system.

A completely redesigned Prius model that was even more environ-

mentally friendly went on sale in 2004 and was given another revamp in 2006. The third generation Prius has been on the market since 2009 and underwent an upgrade in April 2011.

The Prius Plug-in Hybrid is based on the conventional third generation model but can drive much further on electric power and was unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Customers certainly are not spoilt for choice when it comes to the Prius.

The first generation model was powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 53 kW/72 hp, which was supported by a 33 kW/44 hp electric motor.

According to Toyota, the hybrid engine in the second-generation Prius produced a combined 82 kW/113 hp. The third-generation 1.8l four-cylinder engine gives 73 kW/99 hp while the combined hybrid propulsion system gives 100 kW/136 hp.

The Prius cost in the region of $28,000 dollars when it went on sale in 2001, and would probably still have a resale value of just under $4,000, even with over 150,000 km on the clock.

A later second-generation model with 80,000 km on the clock would cost approximately 11,900 dollars while a fully-equipped 2009 Executive model with 46,000 km would still cost around $20,000. A new Prius costs from $32,000 upwards. —-dpa

is especially perilous when it involves making links between work and personal accounts, according to Strazzere.

An example would be using one’s personal email address as the place to send password reset messages automatically generated by online services that require login information.

Getting access to a personal email account could then give hackers keys to any password protected services someone uses - such as Twitter, Facebook or office email.

“It is an interesting twist to the new age,” Strazzere said. “These new capabilities are great tools, but it is a scary thing that if one gets compromised it can hurt you so much more.”

His recommendations included keeping work and personal online accounts separate, even going so far as to have “throw-away” Web-based email accounts for matters such as password resets.

Pictures, documents or other data stored in the Internet “cloud” or on personal devices should be backed up as well as being encrypted. Some online services provide the option of “two-factor authentication” that tightens security on password resets. —- AFP

Free phones to 6 million poor families NEW DELHI: India’s ruling coalition is finalizing a plan to give away mobile telephones to 6 million poor households, reports said this week.

The scheme named “a phone in every hand” is expected to be announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his Independence Day speech on Aug 15, the Times of India quoted sources in his office as saying.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party called it a desperate attempt by the government to woo voters ahead of the 2014 elections.

“First, electricity should be provided to people in villages. Without electricity, what is the use of free mobile phones?” NDTV news channel quoted party leader Balbir Punj as saying.

“The government has not been able to implement any scheme without corruption,” he said.

Slowing economic growth and the inability of Singh’s minority government to push through promised reforms have hurt image over the past two years, along with several financial scandals.

The proposed phones for the poor scheme would provide 200 minutes of free time for each and is expected to cost 70 billion rupees (about 1.26 billion dollars), the newspaper reported..

About 50 per cent of the cost is likely to come from the bidder who provides the service and the rest from the government’s Department of Telecommunications, it said. India is the world’s second-largest mobile phone market with more than 900 million users.

Unnamed officials involved in preparing the plan were quoted as saying it would ensure contact with millions of beneficiaries of state-sponsored welfare programmes. All households falling below the official poverty line would be eligible to receive a mobile phone. According to the 2001 census, at least 5.9 million households in India were categorised as impoverished. — dpa

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

H E A LT H

TALLULA: Tony Frost, of Frost Farms, surveys a pond in the cattle pasture that serves as the water source for his cattle that has nearly dried up in Tallula, Ill. After months of drought, the central Illinois creeks and ponds that the 300 cows and calves drink from on the farm are dry or close to it. Frost has to buy and haul water, about 4,000 gallons a day, split up in four trips to different pastures. (Right) A stock tank is filled with water by Tony Frost, of Frost Farms, for his cattle in Tallula, Ill.— AP

As drought worsens, Obama calls for new farm bill WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama urged members of Congress yesterday to pass a farm bill that would help the agricultural sector cope with the most severe drought that has struck the United States in half a century. “They need to pass a farm bill that not only helps farmers and ranchers respond to these kinds of disasters, but also makes necessary reforms and gives them some certainty year-round,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

“That’s the single best way we can help rural communities right now, and also in the long-term,” he added. The appeal came one day after the Department of Agriculture slashed production estimates for its globally crucial corn and soybean crops, saying the record heat across the farm belt had cut expected output to the lowest level in six years. The department predicted corn prices would soar as

high as $8.90 a bushel, compared to its July projection of $6.40. Soybean prices were expected to hit $15-17 a bushel, $2.00 higher than the USDA forecast last month.

It said the record temperatures across the country in July left much of both crops damaged, sending yields per acre on corn to the lowest level since 1995 and, for soybeans, the lowest since 2003. The US farm belt has been ravaged by the most stifling drought since the 1950s, which intensified when the country’s contiguous 48 states endured the hottest July on record last month. In some rural areas, municipal water suppliers are talking about mandatory restrictions because they have seen such a dramatic drop in the water table that they fear being unable to fulfill deliveries to customers.

While weather forecasters are predicting a cool-

ing of temperatures across the Midwest in the next week, it is unlikely to reverse those numbers as most of the crops are already maturing. Obama said that half of the corn crop in the United States was in poor or very poor condition while cattle farmers were struggling to feed their animals. “And if we don’t get relief soon,” he warned, “Americans everywhere will start feeling the pinch, with higher prices on grocery store shelves all across the country.” Analysts point out that this price hike - coupled with rising gasoline prices - could come right before the November 6 presidential and congressional elections, affecting their outcome.

The president said the White House had been working with the Department of Agriculture and other agencies to make sure the government was doing everything it could to help farmers and ranch-

ers fight back and recover from this disaster. “Already, we’ve given farmers across 32 states access to lowinterest emergency loans,” he pointed out. “We’ve opened up more federal land for grazing. And we’re working with crop insurance companies to give farmers a short grace period on their premiums, since some families will be struggling to make ends meet at the end of the year.”

Obama also noted that this past week, his administration had announced an additional $30 million to help get more water to livestock and restore land affected by the drought. He said the administration was making it easier for farmers, ranchers and businesses to get emergency loans, and the Department of Transportation was helping truck drivers deliver supplies to states that needed them the most. — AFP

Fainting spells have genetic basis: Study Fainting, like dimples and dyslexia, can run in the family

PARIS: A woman in a wheelchair looks at a window at the Montsouris Institute in Paris.

Becoming a mother when suffering from a disability is often a source of anxiety, and doubt, especially since very few structures in France help disabled women to overcome their difficulties during pregnancy and after birth. — AFP

Stressed-out men prefer a fleshier woman: Study WASHINGTON: There may be a love story at the intersection of the nation’s battered economy and a steady rise in its obesity rates: Compared with men without a care in the world, men who are stressed out are more likely to find a rounder, plumper woman more attractive. Men under stress not only rated the attractiveness of heavier women more positively, they found women appealing across a wider size spectrum than did men who were not stressed, says a new study published by the open-access journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One. Those findings are in line with long-standing evolutionary theories of how humans define beauty ideals in the opposite sex.

Whether it’s a man’s square chin or the curve of a woman’s waist, physical traits that project good health, maximum fertility and access to food and shelter promise the interested party the prospect of a good mate for carrying forth one’s genes, and are thus more attractive. By this reasoning, traits that convey ample access to food and an ability to withstand hardship will become more appealing in places and at times when food supplies are scarce or threatened.

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Westminster in London, gathered 81 heterosexual male university students between the ages of 18 and 42, and divided them into two groups. Each individual in the no-stress group was shown to a quiet room before he was asked to judge a series of photographic and standardized images of

women who ranged from emaciated to obese. To induce stress in the members of one group, the researchers put individuals in a mock job-interview situation, standing each man before a video camera, tape recorder and a panel of four judges and asking him to make a five-minute pitch for himself. The “stressed” participants were then further rattled by having to count backward from 1,022 by factors of 13.

In the wake of those trials, the average “ideal” body shape identified by the stressed men was larger than that identified by men who had not experienced the combined pressures of a job interview and arithmetic gymnastics. The stressed men rated female body shapes at a higher body-mass index as more attractive than did the unstressed men. At the same time, the stressed men were a little less discriminating in their references than were the unstressed men: They found themselves attracted to a wider range of body shapes and sizes than did the unstressed men.

In designing their experiment, the researchers acknowledged that beauty ideals are strongly influenced by culture and can differ markedly among various ethnic groups.

As a result, all of the participants in the study were white British men. Further research, the researchers said, might aim to flesh out how the experience of chronic stress - a more toxic form of stress than that induced in a 15minute job interview - might account for differences in body-size judgments within and between ethnic groups. — MCT

Greenland’s ice sheet thinning at uneven pace, scientists find LOS ANGELES: The Greenland ice sheet, the second-largest ice body in the world, has lost its ice in fits and starts - with short bursts of dramatic ice loss separated by periods of stability, a study has found. Scientists predict that if Greenland’s entire ice sheet were to melt, sea levels would rise more than 20 feet.

But though recent observations have shown dramatic losses, they cannot easily predict what the pace of future loss is likely to be.

One of the issues is how far the data go back. Scientists track ice mass patterns via satellites in space, but such images date only to 2000, making predictions tentative. The new study, published Aug. 3 in Science, extended the time period for which Greenland’s ice can be observed by using photographs taken from airplanes dating back to the 1980s. “When people took those

photographs way back then, they weren’t looking for changes in anything. They didn’t realize things were changing,” said study coauthor John Wahr, a physicist at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Kurt Kjaer, science director at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, and colleagues used the aerial data to create a map of ice sheet elevations in Northwest Greeland. This was done by matching pairs of photographs of the same area of ice taken from slightly different angles to create a three-dimensional image. The scientists then used satellite data to extend the record up to the present day.

Using these digitally produced models of the area’s elevation, the scientists found high amounts of ice thinning - up to 150 meters in some places - had occurred on the ice sheet during the last 25 years.—MCT

LOS ANGELES: If catching sight of blood or standing all day makes you woozy enough to black out, your genes are partly to blame.

Fainting, like dimples and dyslexia, can run in the family, a new study shows. Fainting is fairly common - nearly one in four people experience it at least once during his or her lifetime. But researchers have long debated whether this behavior is written into our DNA or is more influenced by the environment around us. Enter the identical twins. Studies of such siblings, whose genetic material is almost exactly the same, are one of the surest ways to figure out how much genes influence a particular trait.

For this particular study, reported Tuesday in the journal Neurology, researchers in Australia and Germany put out a call for volunteers to the Australian Twin Registry, an organization that helps connect twins with medical and scientific researchers. Researchers recruited 36 pairs of identical twins and 21 pairs of same-sex fraternal twins (who are no more similar genetically than a

regular brother or sister). In every pair, at least one twin had a confirmed fainting episode.

Researchers phoned up the twins and asked each about their fainting history, whether they had particular triggers or forewarning symptoms, and if any other family members also fainted.

In all, 57 percent of the study subjects said they reacted to typical fainting triggers, such as the sight of blood, injury and pain, medical procedures, prolonged standing or scary thoughts.

Others said that additional factors brought on their fainting, such as illness or dehydration. Pairs of identical twins were much more likely to both experience fainting than were pairs of fraternal twins, the researchers reported. This was especially true for fainting associated with common triggers, and for frequent fainters (those who had experienced three or more fainting episodes).

Since identical twins have essentially the same genes, and fraternal twins share only 50 percent of their genes on average, this makes a strong case that fainting is partly genetic. The

researchers don’t think the tendency to faint is controlled by a single “fainting” gene, however. If that had been the case, they would have been able to trace the inheritance of that single gene as it was passed down through each twin pair’s family tree. Instead, the researchers suspect it’s a complex trait, like height or skin color, that results from multiple genes and environmental factors.

The study authors say the reasons for fainting probably span a spectrum from mostly genetic to mostly environmental, depending on the individual. Their results suggest that genes might play a larger role in people with more frequent fainting spells or who succumb to typical triggers such as blood or pain. Environmental factors may have a larger influence among those who faint infrequently and for less common reasons such as dehydration. So if you’re prone to fainting, best not to put your identical twin in charge of the smelling salts - chances are, he’ll be needing a whiff as well. — MCT

British ‘cherished, lousy National Health Service’ NEW YORK: So, how is it that the population most confident that it will receive treatment of the highest possible standard, featuring the latest medical advances, actually has the worst survival rates in precisely those diseases that require the most up-to-date treatments? One explanation is ignorance. The average Briton or Swede is unlikely to know that the five-year survival rate for colorectal cancer is 51.6 percent in Britain but 59.8 percent in Sweden, or that the 30-day fatality rates for myocardial infarction in those two countries are 6.3 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. (The figures for the United States are 65.5 percent and 5.1 percent.)

By contrast, the average Briton knows that if he suffers a heart attack, he will be taken to the hospital and connected to a lot of machines, from which he concludes that he is having the best possible treatment. In my youth, I often heard the refrain that the NHS was “the envy of the world,” and people in Britain In April, the British Medical Journal published an article about two studies conducted by the New York-based Commonwealth Fund. The studies compared the health-care systems of 14 advanced countries, and on the 20 measures of comparison, Britain’s centralized National Health Service performed well in 13, indifferently in two and badly in five.

On several measures, the NHS came out the worst of all the systems examined. For example, it ranked worst for five-year survival rates in cervical, breast and colon cancers. It was also worst for 30-day mortality rates after admission to a hospital for either hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke. On only one clinical measure was it best: the avoidance of amputation of the foot in diabetic gangrene.

This hardly seems like a cause for national rejoicing, yet according to the report, the British were the most satisfied with their health care of all the populations surveyed.

They were the most confident that in the event of illness, they would receive the best and most up-to-date treatment; and they

were the least worried that their personal finances would prevent them from receiving proper treatment are still inclined to believe that, even though they probably have never met anyone who envied the NHS and, indeed, probably know Continental Europeans residing in Britain who hurry home as soon as they require medical treatment, horrified by the prospect of subjecting themselves to a British hospital.

That said, there are some strengths the system can claim. Medical care is coordinated, for example, by means of a universal (and compulsory) system of family doctors.

The lack of such coordination in the United States leads not only to a high rate of medical error but to duplication of effort. The American rate of polypharmacy (the taking of four or more medicines daily) is twice the British rate. This difference is unlikely to reflect genuine need; the American polypharmacy rate is also 2{ times the Swiss rate, and whatever one might think of British medical care, few would impugn the quality of care in Switzerland.

Traditionally, the NHS has been inexpensive compared with most healthcare systems. But this reality is changing quickly. The NHS was inexpensive in part because it rationed care by means of long waiting lists.

I once had a patient who had waited seven years for a hernia operation. The surgery was repeatedly postponed so that a more urgent one might be performed. Such rationing has become increasingly unacceptable to the population. This was the ostensible reason for the Labor government’s doubling of health-care spending from 1997 to 2007.

To achieve this end, the government used borrowed money and thereby helped bring about our current economic crisis. Waiting times for operations and other procedures fell, but they will probably rise again as economic necessity forces the government to retrench. But the principal damage that the NHS inflicts is intangible. Like any centralized healthcare system, it spreads the notion of

entitlement, a powerful solvent of human solidarity. Moreover, the entitlement mentality has a tendency to spread over the whole of human life, creating a substantial number of disgruntled ingrates.

And while the British government long refrained from interfering too strongly in the affairs of the medical profession, no government can forever resist the temptation to exercise power. Eventually, it will dictate, because that is what governments and their associated bureaucracies do. The government’s hold over medical practice in Britain is becoming ever firmer; it now dictates conditions of work and employment, the number of hours worked, the drugs and other treatments that may be prescribed and the way in which doctors must be trained.

Doctors are less and less members of a profession; instead, they are production workers under strict bureaucratic control.

In a centralized system, the setting of targets can lead to organized deception as well as distortion of effort. For example, when the British government decreed that every patient arriving in the emergency room should be admitted to a hospital ward within four hours if admission was necessary (and that hospitals would face fines if they failed to achieve this goal), traffic jams of ambulances formed outside one hospital, with patients prevented from entering the emergency room until the hospital could comply with the directive.

Other hospitals designated corridors as wards so they could claim that patients on stretchers had been admitted in time. In the United States, after President Obama’s health-care law proposed fining hospitals that readmitted too many patients within 30 days of discharge, editorials in the New England Journal of Medicine pointed out the dangers posed by that rule. They omitted to say that when giant bureaucracies set targets for others to reach, they intend not so much to procure improvement as to impose control. — MCT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E Google changes search to limit pirated material NEW YORK: Google has taken a step against piracy, announcing Friday that it will update its search algorithm to de-emphasize sites with a history of copyright infringement. The algorithm will now factor in how many times a site has received valid copyright removal notices, and those with more notices will appear lower in the results. “This ranking change should help users find legitimate, quality sources of content more easily - whether it’s a song previewed on NPR’s music website, a TV show on Hulu or new music streamed from Spotify,” Amy Singhal, SVP of engineering at Google, said in a note on the Google search blog.

Whether this will impact the prevalence of YouTube in search results remains to be seen.

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it is incumbent upon the copyright holders, like Viacom, to file takedown notices when they find illicit material.

However, those companies have urged Google, by far the most dominant search engine, to change its search to prioritize legal content, among other measures. Though copyright hounds like the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America would like to see Google do more, this is a first step. “We are optimistic that Google’s actions will help steer consumers to the myriad legitimate ways for them to access movies and TV shows online, and away from the rogue cyberlockers, peer-to-peer sites, and other outlaw enterprises that steal the hard work of creators across the globe,” the MPAA’s Michael O’Leary said in a statement.

“We will be watching this development closely - the devil is always in the details - and look forward to Google taking further steps to ensure that its services favor legitimate businesses and creators, not thieves.” “This should result in improved rankings for the licensed music services that pay artists and deliver fans the music they love,” RIAA Chairman and CEO Cary Sherman said in a statement. “This change is an important step in the right direction - a step we’ve been urging Google to take for a long time - and we commend the company for its action.”— Reuters

After Curiosity, uncertainty lingers on NASA’s program US hashing out plans for follow-up missions PASADENA: This week’s arrival of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity set the stage for a potentially game-changing quest to learn whether the planet most like Earth ever had a shot at developing life, but follow-up missions exist only on drawing boards. The United States had planned to team up with Europe on a trio of missions beginning in 2016 that would culminate in the return of Mars soil and rock samples to Earth, an endeavor the National Research Council considers its top priority in planetary science for the next decade.

Citing budget concerns, the Obama administration terminated NASA’s participation in Europe’s ExoMars program earlier this year, spurring the US space agency to re-examine its options before another flight opportunity comes and goes. Earth and Mars favorably align for launches about every 26 months. The situation is complicated by massive budget overruns in the $2.5-billion Curiosity mission, intended to determine if Mars could now or ever have supported microbial life, and in the $8 billion James Webb Space Telescope, a successor to the Hubble observatory.

Those overruns are partly to blame for leaving Mars exploration short of the multibillion-dollar commitment needed for another “flagship” mission of the scale it would take to fetch rocks and soil from the Red Planet and bring them home. A NASA repor t due for release this month is expected to outline lower-cost alternatives for Mars missions that could launch in 2018 and 2020. A second rover mission to follow up on Curiosity’s findings or to explore one of three other candidate landing sites originally identified for Curiosity would be “the next logical step,” said NASA’s Mars exploration program chief, Doug McCuistion. But he doubts he will have the money for it.

Although unlikely to draw a crowd to New York’s Times Square like Curiosity’s spectacular landing did, a new orbiting

satellite to detect and analyze minerals or peer beneath the planet’s surface with infrared eyes would help scientists zero in on the best place for an eventual samplereturn mission. It also would provide a welcome backup communications link for Curiosity and any future landers and rovers, scientists say.

PLAN B “We have to address the overall goal that the (National Research Council) decadal survey set for Mars exploration, which is sample return,” NASA’s chief Mars scientist, Michael Meyer, told Reuters. “I suspect there are other things that we may do on Mars, but if they don’t help sample return they may be viewed as a nonstarter.” Searching for evidence of life or its key ingredients on Mars, believed to have once been warmer and covered with water like Earth, is not the only rationale for a sample-return mission. Detailed analysis of

Martian minerals also could tell the story of what happened to the planet itself and why it ended up the cold, dry and acidic desert that exists today. “Finding life is not why most of the science community is interested in sample return. There’s a reasonable proportion who figure, ‘Well, we don’t see life on Mars now, so it’s probably not there, and that if the only payoff is finding life you’re wasting your time.’ That’s some of the science community,” Meyer said. “The fact that you could look at all the information that’s in your samples, determine what environments it saw, is tremendous. There’s a lot of things that would really boost our understanding that have nothing to do with life,” he said.

VIKING, REVISITED Fresh off the heady days of its Apollo moon missions, NASA took a stab at a direct search for life on Mars with its Viking probes in the 1970s. Most scientists

SPACE: This NASA image shows a portion of the first 360-degree panoramic view from NASA’s Curiosity rover, taken with the Navigation cameras. — AFP

chalked up the results as a big negative, and exploration of the fourth planet closest to the sun slipped into a 20-year hiatus.

Later, encouraged by discoveries of life in extreme environments on Earth, scientists returned to Mars with orbiters and a pair of small sur face rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, to consider a tangential question: Since life on Earth depends on water, where did Mars’ water go?

Rather than focus on direct detection of living organisms or fossilized remnants, NASA’s strategy has been to “follow the water,” by looking for particular rocks and features that form when water is present.

Curiosity’s landing site in Gale Crater, located in the southern hemisphere near the planet’s equator, was selected in part because it is one of the lowest places on the planet. “Water flows downhill, so we chose to go to a low place,” said John Grotzinger, a California Institute of Technology geologist who is the mission’s lead scientist.

At the center of the crater is a 3-mile- (5kilometer-) high tower of layered rock, named Mount Sharp, which is believed to have formed from the remains of sediment that once filled the impact basin. During its planned two-year mission, the rover is expected to ascend Mount Sharp, analyzing and dating its rocks and soil and looking for niches that may once have supported, and perhaps still host, life.

That information, in turn, will sharpen planet-wide analysis of Mars that is obtained from orbital imagery and sensors. “We’re going to get some ground truth to figure out the most interesting places to do sample return,” said NASA’s associate administrator for science, John Grunsfeld, a former astronaut. The only other Mars mission in NASA’s pipeline at the moment is an atmospheric probe scheduled to launch at the end of next year. The agency plans to submit its followup Mars proposals to the White House in September, in time for the fiscal year that begins in October 2013.— Reuters

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

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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Greetings

he Kuwait Banks Club hosted a Girgian event at Hawally Park for members and their families, featuring various activities and competitions. The event was attended by top KBC officials including Chairman of the Board Ahmad Sultan, Treasurer Mohammad Al-Sayegh, Head of the Sports Committee Khaili Al-Blushi, Head of the Social Committee Reem Al-Wuqayan and Assistant General Manager Abbas Al-Blushi.

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ara Ahmad is celebrating her 1st birthday with her brother Islam, who is also celebrating his graduation from the first grade at the British School of Alexandria.

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Aware Centre he AWARE Management is glad to inform you that Summer 3 Arabic language courses will begin on August 12, 2012 until September 26, 2012. 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. We cater to teachers, travelers & those working in the private business sector. Arabic classes at the AWARE Center are unique because students are provided with the chance to practice their Arabic through various social activities that aim at bringing Arabs and Westerners together.

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AWARE Arabic courses highlights * Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics * Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic * Combine language learning with cultural insights * Taught in multi-nationality group settings * Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs.

For more information, call 25335260/80 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw.

Attention Kids!

EF VBS 12 starting from Aug 24, 2012. Six Exciting days of singing, games & bible stories for children of all ages. HURRY Limited Seats. Register Online www.cefkuwait.org.

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IKEA Kuwait announces Facebook and Twitter Fan Contest winners KEA Kuwait recently announced the winners of its month long Facebook “Show your love towards IKEA and win” and Twitter’s “Tweet and Win” based competition for all its fans in Kuwait. Fans were required to express their love to IKEA in 500 words by either tweeting or posting it on the company Facebook wall page to win a surprise gift.

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India’s Flag Hoisting Ceremony n the occasion of the Independence Day of India, a Flag Hoisting Ceremony will take place at the Indian Embassy premises on Arabian Gulf Street at 0700 hours on Wednesday, August 15, 2012. The flag hoisting will be followed by the reading of the message of the Honorable President of India and singing of patriotic songs. All Indian nationals are cordially invited to attend the function. The customary Open House Reception after the ceremony is not being held this year in view of the holy month of Ramadan.

IKEA Kuwait received more than 300 postings of which the best 3 entries won on both with Nadine Labban, Noor Hellewa and Abdullah Zaghloul being the lucky Facebook winners while Leila Fatema, Mesh Ana and Majd Hassaneiah were all gifted the VEJMON Side table for winning the Twitter contest.

The winners were selected by IKEA

he Commercial Bank of Kuwait continues its summer campaign to distribute water, facemasks, hand sanitizers and head covers to workers in order to protect them from health risks as a result of exposure to high temperatures and sandstorms. The campaign was launched before Ramadan and the bank decided to continue with it during the holy month. “CBK volunteers distribute bags containing the banks’ gifts to workers before iftar time,” said Amani Al-Wara’a, Assistant General Manager, Advertisement and Public Relations Department.

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Burgan Bank celebrates Girgian with the special care complex

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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

prices.. Ikea stands for “I”, Innovating designers... “K”, kind employees... “E”, Endless creativity... Amazing furniture”.

IKEA Kuwait continues to provide enhanced functionality and engage its fans through interactive online features and activities with an aim to provide an overview of the company’s latest initiatives.

CBK helps workers deal with summer

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urgan Bank recently celebrated Girgian at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor’s special care complex. The bank’s famous “BuBa” Kids Account character welcomed children, orphans as well as the elderly with a range of Girgi’an boxes, as well as other forms of entertainment that highlighted the importance and true spirit of the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Burgan Bank continues to support the different segments across the Kuwaiti society. The bank’s corporate social responsibility portfolio continues to grow with a wide array of initiatives that demonstrate its leadership as a financial institution that is socially dedicated.

judges on the basis of their answers and they were quoted to have said that “Happiness, satisfaction, trust, all in one place Ikea Kuwait, Where you can add a magic touch to your life.. Simplicity, high quality and reasonable price!

This is how I can describe Ikea! ..Like a successful piece of art when an artist releases I love Ikea’s affordable and good

‘Leniency of Islam’ An unprecedented initiative of KTV2 (English channel) is the new program by the name ‘Leniency of Islam’ presented by Shaikh Musaad Alsane and directed by Hamid Al-Turkait. The program is mainly meant to address the expatriates living in Kuwait. Religious questions are received through the program email qislam@tv.gov.kw and sms can be sent to- 97822021 and answered by the lecturer and Imam in Awqaf Ministry Shaikh Musaad Alsane - a Master Degree holder in Sharia and fiqih from Kuwait University. So don’t forget to watch the program every Friday at 1:00 pm.

Registration for Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament begins Once again this year, the stage is set for the fourth annual ‘Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament’ to be held from August 3 to 9 at the Kazma Sporting Club, Adailiya. Abdulrahim Al-Awadi, the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee has announced that doors are now open for registration to all those who are interested in participating, stating that the deadline for registration will be August 1. The participation in this tournament is open to all and will fall under three categories this year. The first category is for amateurs from

ages 17 and above, second category is for professional players from ages 20 and above and the third category is for ladies 17 and above. Following its last three years of grand success, the 4th annual Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament is being organized during Ramadan for squash lovers who will have an opportunity to practice the sport while being encouraged to develop their skills in a healthy, competitive and social environment. All details pertaining to the tournament and means to participate can be found on the tournaments facebook page under ‘Ramadan Stars Squash Tourney’ or follow the official twitter page @RamadanStars for updates. The registration is taking place at GO SPORT store located at The Avenues Mall.

Alawadi also pointed out the great interest the ‘Ramadan Stars Squash tournament’ received from the private sector, where companies took the initiative in sponsoring the tournament. Alawadi expressed his gratitude and thanks to Kazma Sporting Clun, Go Sport, Comtel, Vio, Unite Colors and Alawadi Photography guaranteeing unique prizes for all winners.

Burgan Bank announces branch timings for Ramadan Burgan Bank announced its new branch timings which will be applicable all throughout the holy month of Ramadan. All Burgan Bank branches will commence work in one shift from 10 am to 1:30 pm.

Additionally, the Airport branch will be open seven

days a week in the mornings from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm and in the evenings from 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm. On this occasion, Burgan Bank extends its best wishes to everyone during the holy month of Ramadan.

KIB announces Ramadan working hours Kuwait International Bank has announced its working hours during the holy month of Ramadan in a press statement released by the bank stating: “We would like to congratulate our valued customers on the start of the holy month of Ramadan, and we are glad to announce that the bank’s working hours will be from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm at the head offices and its 18 branches distributed around Kuwait.” Similar to every year, KIB services and products will be accessible to all customers during the bank’s working hours, and around the clock customers can perform their banking transactions and submit their enquiries through Al-Dawli Weyak which offers a dedicated 24/7 call center and can accessed from anywhere around the world. KIB customers can also use Al-Dawli Online and SMS Banking to further manage their accounts and banking needs around the clock. For more information on KIB’s services and products, please visit the bank’s website on www.kib.com.kw or check the latest updates on www.facebook.com/aldawlibank or follow us on Twitter @alDawliBank.

31

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

WHAT’S ON

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian ConsulateGeneral in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE

The Embassy of Argentina requests all Argentinean citizens in Kuwait to proceed to our official email ekuwa@mrecic.gov.ar in order to register or update contact information.

The embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the embassy. The registration process helps the Argentinean Government to contact and assist Argentineans living abroad in case of any emergency.

The Voluntary Work Center hosted its annual ghabqa at Al-Meilam Hall in Adailiya.

—Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

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EMBASSY OF BANGLADESH

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will follow the following office hours during the holy month of Ramadan. Sunday to Thursday: 9 am - 3:30 pm. Friday and Saturday: Weekly holidays.

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EMBASSY OF BRITAIN Consular section at the British Embassy will be starting an online appointment booking system for our consular customers from Sunday, 01 July 2012. All information including how to make an appointment is now available on the embassy website. In addition, there is also a “Consular Appointment System” option under Quick links on the right hand side on the homepage, which should take you to the “Consular online booking appointment system” main page.

Please be aware that from 01 July 2012, we will no longer accept walk-in customers for legalisation, notarial services and certificates (birth, death and marriages). If you have problems accessing the system or need to make an appointment for non-notarial consular issues or have a consular emergency, please call 2259 4355/7/8 or email us on consularenquirieskuwait@fco.gov.uk. If you require consular assistance out of office hours (working hours: 0730-l430 hrs), please contact the Embassy on 2259 4320.

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EMBASSY OF INDIA During the holy month of Ramadan, the office timings of the Indian Passport and Visa Service Centres of BLS International Visa Services Co, Kuwait, situated at (i) Emad Commercial Centre, Basement Floor, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Sharq, Kuwait, and (ii) Mujamma Unood, 4th floor, Office No. 25-26 Makka Street, Fahaheel, Kuwait, will be from 8.00 am - 3.00 pm from Saturday to Thursday (i.e. six days a week). Tokens for submission of applications will NOT be issued after 2.00 pm. Delivery of passports and visas will be from 11.00 am onwards. Embassy of India, Kuwait, will maintain its usual working hours.

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EMBASSY OF KOREA The Embassy of the Republic of Korea and its consular section will be closed on Wednesday, August 15, 2012 to observe Korean National Liberation Day. Work will be resumed at the Embassy on Thursday, August 16, 2012.

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EMBASSY OF MEXICO The Embassy of Mexico is pleased to inform that it is located in CLIFFS Complex, Villa 6, Salmiya, block 9, Baghdad street, Jadda Lane 7. The working hours for consular issues are from 9:00 to 12:00 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 14:00 to 15:00 hours for lunch break. The Embassy of Mexico kindly requests all Mexicans citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the e-mail: embkuwait@sre.gob.mx in order to register or update contact information. Other consultations or/and appointments could be done by telephone or fax: (+965) 2573 1952 ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, AlSalaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, e-mail:myankuwait11@gmai1.com ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF THAILAND The Royal Thai Embassy in Kuwait, wishes to invite the Kuwaiti companies that deal business with Thai companies or those agencies of Thai commercial companies to visit the Embassy’s Commercial Office to register their relevant information to be part of the embassy’s business and trade database. The Royal Thai Embassy is located in Jabriya, Block 6, Street 8, Villa No. 1, Telephone No. 25317530 25317531, Ext: 14.

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EMBASSY OF PHILIPPINES

In reference to our announcement last July 14 2012 announcing the transfer and opening of our new Philippine Overseas Labor Office due on August 1 , we regret to inform Filipinos in Kuwait that due to unavoidable circumstances, the August 1 opening will be moved to new date August 5. POLO will be closed to public transactions on July 30, 31 and August 1 & 2. For emergency please contact the POLO hotline at Tel 99558527.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 Air Jaws 2 01:40 Animal Cops Houston 02:35 Cats 101 03:30 Great Animal Escapes 03:55 Great Animal Escapes 04:25 Wild France 05:20 Squid Invasion 06:10 Dogs 101: Specials 07:00 Karina: Wild On Safari 07:25 Meerkat Manor 07:50 Bondi Vet 08:15 Corwin’s Quest 09:10 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 09:35 Breed All About It 10:05 Crocodile Hunter 11:00 Dogs 101: Specials 11:55 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 12:50 Wildest Latin America 13:45 Galapagos 14:40 Rescue Vet 15:05 Rescue Vet 15:35 Wild Animal Orphans 16:00 Wild Animal Orphans 16:30 Cats 101 17:25 Bad Dog 18:20 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 19:15 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 20:10 Dolphin Days 20:35 Dolphin Days 21:05 Wild France 22:00 Monster Bug Wars 22:55 Wildest Latin America 23:50 Untamed & Uncut

00:05 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 01:20 Cash In The Attic 02:10 Cash In The Attic 02:55 Bargain Hunt 03:40 Bargain Hunt 04:30 Come Dine With Me 05:20 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 06:35 Saturday Kitchen 2007/08 07:00 MasterChef Australia 07:50 MasterChef Australia 08:15 MasterChef Australia 09:05 MasterChef Australia 09:30 MasterChef Australia 10:00 MasterChef Australia 10:50 MasterChef Australia 11:35 MasterChef Australia 12:00 MasterChef Australia 12:50 Come Dine With Me 13:40 10 Years Younger 14:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 15:45 DIY SOS 16:10 DIY SOS 16:35 Holmes On Homes 17:25 Baby Borrowers USA 18:10 Baby Borrowers USA 18:55 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 20:10 Out Of The Frying Pan 21:00 Masterchef: The Professionals 21:30 Masterchef: The Professionals 22:25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 23:45 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:15 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00

BBC World News London Live Mixed Britannia BBC World News London Live Sport Today Working Lives BBC World News London Live Middle East Business Report BBC World News London Live BBC World News BBC World News London Live Dateline London BBC World News London Live Mixed Britannia BBC World News London Live Click BBC World News London Live Newsnight BBC World News London Live

08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:15 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:15 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:15 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:15 23:30

India Business Report BBC World News London Live Fast Track BBC World News London Live Sport Today BBC World News BBC World News London Live Dateline London BBC World News London Live Worlds Of English BBC World News London Live Working Lives BBC World News London Live Newsnight BBC World News London Live Collaboration Culture BBC World News London Live Sport Today Click BBC World News London Live Mishal Husain Meets BBC World News London Live Mixed Britannia BBC World News London Live India Business Report BBC World News London Live Our World BBC World News London Live Sport Today Collaboration Culture BBC World News London Live BBC World News BBC World News London Live Sport Today Mishal Husain Meets

00:10 Puppy In My Pocket 00:35 Tom & Jerry Kids 01:00 Scooby Doo Where Are You! 01:25 The Flintstones 01:50 Pink Panther And Pals 02:15 Looney Tunes 02:40 Popeye Classics 03:00 Dexter’s Laboratory 03:25 Tom & Jerry 03:50 Looney Tunes 04:15 The Scooby Doo Show 04:40 Johnny Bravo 05:00 The Flintstones 05:25 The Jetsons 05:50 Wacky Races 06:00 Johnny Bravo 06:15 Dexter’s Laboratory 06:35 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 07:00 Bananas In Pyjamas 07:25 Jelly Jamm 07:50 Baby Looney Tunes 08:15 Gerald McBoing Boing 08:40 Ha Ha Hairies 08:55 Pink Panther And Pals 09:15 The Garfield Show 09:40 Tom & Jerry Tales 10:05 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 10:30 What’s New Scooby-Doo? 10:55 The Looney Tunes Show 11:20 Dexter’s Laboratory 11:30 Scooby Doo And The Ghoul School 13:10 Dastardly And Muttley 13:35 The Scooby Doo Show 14:00 Dexters Laboratory 14:15 Dexter’s Laboratory 14:40 The Garfield Show 15:30 Looney Tunes 16:20 Tom & Jerry 16:45 Tom & Jerry 17:00 Pink Panther And Pals 17:25 Pink Panther And Pals 17:50 Johnny Bravo 18:05 Johnny Bravo 18:30 The Jetsons 18:55 The Flintstones 19:20 Dastardly And Muttley 19:45 Popeye 20:00 Dexter’s Laboratory 20:10 The Looney Tunes Show 20:30 Tom & Jerry Tales 21:00 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 21:25 The Garfield Show 21:50 What’s New Scooby-Doo? 22:15 Droopy & Dripple 22:40 Scooby-Doo And ScrappyDoo 23:05 Popeye 23:20 The Jetsons 23:45 Duck Dodgers

00:30 Bakugan: New Vestroia 00:55 Bakugan: New Vestroia 01:20 Powerpuff Girls 02:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 03:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 03:25 Ben 10 03:50 Adventure Time 04:15 Powerpuff Girls 04:40 Generator Rex 05:05 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:55 Angelo Rules 06:00 Ed, Edd n Eddy 06:25 Casper’s Scare School 07:00 The Powerpuff Girls 07:15 Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi 07:40 Total Drama: Revenge Of The Island 08:05 The Amazing World Of Gumball 08:30 Adventure Time 08:55 Regular Show 09:20 Batman Brave And The Bold 09:45 Green Lantern: The Animated Series 10:10 Thundercats 10:35 Hero 108 11:00 Adventure Time 11:25 Grim Adventures Of...

12:15 Courage The Cowardly Dog 13:05 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 13:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 13:55 Powerpuff Girls 14:45 Thundercats 15:10 Generator Rex 15:35 Ben 10 16:00 Ed, Edd n Eddy 16:50 The Amazing World Of Gumball 17:15 Adventure Time 17:40 Regular Show 18:05 Total Drama: Revenge Of The Island 18:30 Powerpuff Girls 18:55 Courage The Cowardly Dog 19:45 Johnny Test 20:35 Hero 108 21:00 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 21:25 Redakai: Conquer The Kairu 21:50 Grim Adventures Of...

22:00 Codename: Kids Next Door 22:50 Ben 10 23:15 Ben 10 23:40 Chowder

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:15 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:15 08:30 09:00 09:15 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:15 18:30 18:45

Mainsail World Sport World Report Talk Asia World Report Amanpour CNN Marketplace Europe CNN Marketplace Africa The Brief CNN Presents CNN Newsroom Business Traveller Inside Africa World Sport Inside The Middle East World Report CNN Marketplace Middle East Talk Asia World Report CNN Marketplace Europe Eco Solutions World Sport Living Golf African Voices The Brief World Report World’s Untold Stories CNN Presents World Report Cnngo Fareed Zakaria GPS State Of The Union International Desk Inside Africa Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Africa Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Middle East

ROLLERBALL ON OSN ACTION HD

19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30

World Sport Mainsail International Desk African Voices International Desk Inside The Middle East Fareed Zakaria GPS World Report World’s Untold Stories

00:40 First Week In 01:35 Surviving Disaster 02:30 How Do They Do It? 03:00 How It’s Made 03:25 How Do They Do It? 03:55 How It’s Made 04:20 How Do They Do It? 04:50 How It’s Made 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 How Do They Do It? 06:35 How It’s Made 07:00 How It’s Made 07:25 How Do They Do It? 07:50 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 08:45 Crash Course 09:10 Fifth Gear 09:40 How Do They Do It? Turbo Specials 10:30 Hillbilly Handfishin’ 11:25 River Monsters 12:20 How It’s Made 14:10 How It’s Made 14:35 Auction Kings 16:25 Auction Kings 16:55 Border Security 18:45 Border Security 19:10 Mythbusters 20:05 Mythbusters 21:00 Stan Lee’s Superhumans 21:55 Rattlesnake Republic 22:50 Finding Bigfoot 23:45 Finding Bigfoot

00:35 Prank Science 01:00 Prank Science 01:25 Weird Or What?

02:15 Game Changers 02:45 Sport Science 06:05 Sport Science 07:00 Curiosity: How Will The World End? 07:50 Mighty Ships 08:40 Head Rush 08:43 Stunt Junkies 09:10 Stunt Junkies 09:40 Nextworld 10:30 Game Changers 10:55 Game Changers 11:20 Junk Men 11:45 Junk Men 12:10 Curiosity: How Will The World End? 13:00 Sci-Fi Science 13:25 Sci-Fi Science 13:50 Human Nature 14:45 Weird Or What?

15:35 Eco-Tech 16:25 Head Rush 16:28 The Tech Show 16:55 The Tech Show 17:25 Mars: The Quest For Life 18:15 Game Changers 18:40 Sci-Fi Science 19:05 Sci-Fi Science 19:30 Human Nature 20:20 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 21:10 Curiosity: How Will The World End? 22:00 Human Nature 22:50 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 23:40 Junk Men

00:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 00:55 Style Star 01:25 25 Celebrity Near Death Experiences 03:15 E! Investigates 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Then And Now 05:30 Then And Now 06:00 15 Remarkable Celebrity Body Bouncebacks 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Extreme Close-Up 09:45 Extreme Close-Up 10:15 THS 11:10 Ice Loves Coco 11:35 Ice Loves Coco 12:05 E! News 13:05 Style Star 13:35 Style Star 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:55 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 16:55 Behind The Scenes 17:25 Behind The Scenes 17:55 E! News 18:55 Khloe And Lamar 19:25 Giuliana & Bill 20:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 22:25 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 22:55 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

00:30 01:20 02:05 02:55 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00

A Haunting The Haunted Ghost Lab A Haunting A Haunting On The Case With Paula Zahn Mystery Diagnosis Disappeared FBI Files Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared FBI Files Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared FBI Files

17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Australian Families Of Crime American Greed Scorned: Crimes Of Passion

00:00 Making Tracks 00:30 Making Tracks 01:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 01:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 02:00 Kimchi Chronicles 02:30 Kimchi Chronicles 03:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 04:00 Bondi Rescue 04:30 Bondi Rescue 05:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 05:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 06:00 Kimchi Chronicles 06:30 Kimchi Chronicles 07:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 08:00 Bondi Rescue 08:30 Bondi Rescue 09:00 Long Way Down 10:00 On Surfari 10:30 On Surfari 11:00 Treks In A Wild World 12:00 Bondi Rescue: Bali 12:30 Bondi Rescue: Bali 13:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 13:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:00 Kimchi Chronicles 14:30 Kimchi Chronicles 15:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 16:00 Bondi Rescue 16:30 Bondi Rescue 17:00 City Chase Rome 18:00 Making Tracks 18:30 Making Tracks 19:00 City Chase Rome 20:00 Departures 21:00 Travel Oz 21:30 Travel Oz 22:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 23:00 Gone to save the planet 23:30 Gone to save the planet

00:00 Making Tracks 00:30 Making Tracks 01:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 01:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 02:00 Kimchi Chronicles 02:30 Kimchi Chronicles 03:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 04:00 Bondi Rescue 04:30 Bondi Rescue 05:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 05:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 06:00 Kimchi Chronicles 06:30 Kimchi Chronicles 07:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 08:00 Bondi Rescue 08:30 Bondi Rescue 09:00 Long Way Down 10:00 On Surfari 10:30 On Surfari 11:00 Treks In A Wild World 12:00 Bondi Rescue: Bali 12:30 Bondi Rescue: Bali 13:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 13:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:00 Kimchi Chronicles 14:30 Kimchi Chronicles 15:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 16:00 Bondi Rescue 16:30 Bondi Rescue 17:00 City Chase Rome 18:00 Making Tracks 18:30 Making Tracks 19:00 City Chase Rome 20:00 Departures 21:00 Travel Oz 21:30 Travel Oz 22:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 23:00 Gone to save the planet 23:30 Gone to save the planet

00:00 Salvage Code Red 01:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 02:00 Megacities 03:00 Crash Science 04:00 The Last Lioness 05:00 Alaska State Troopers 06:00 Sea Patrol 07:00 One Ocean 08:00 Salvage Code Red 09:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 10:00 Megacities 11:00 Blowdown 12:00 Lion Army 13:00 Alaska State Troopers 14:00 Sea Patrol 15:00 One Ocean 16:00 Salvage Code Red 17:00 Britain’s Underworld 18:00 Megacities 19:00 Megacities 20:00 Engineering Connections 21:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 22:00 Pirate Patrol 23:00 Naked Science

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:00 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05

Alaskan Killer Shark My Life Is A Zoo Bear Nomad Monster Crocs Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy How Big Can It Get Wild Chronicles Wild Chronicles The Invaders The Invaders Python Hunters Prehistoric Hunters In The Womb Restless Planet

TAKE SHELTER ON OSN CINEMA 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

The Living Edens Aerial Assasins Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy Ultimate Predators GPU Caught In The Act Built For The Kill Monster Fish Ultimate Predators GPU Caught In The Act Built For The Kill The Living Edens

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:00 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Alaskan Killer Shark My Life Is A Zoo Bear Nomad Monster Crocs Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy How Big Can It Get Wild Chronicles Wild Chronicles The Invaders The Invaders Python Hunters Prehistoric Hunters In The Womb Restless Planet The Living Edens Aerial Assasins Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy Ultimate Predators GPU Caught In The Act Built For The Kill Monster Fish Ultimate Predators GPU Caught In The Act Built For The Kill The Living Edens

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

The Collector-18 The Perfect Host-PG15 Lords Of Dogtown-PG15 Men In Black-PG15 Red Faction: Origins-PG15 The Devil’s Teardrop-PG15 So Close-PG15 Red Faction: Origins-PG15 Twins Mission-PG15 So Close-PG15 Hackers-PG15 Rollerball-18

01:00 Africa United-PG15 03:00 The Eagle-PG15 05:00 Glorious 39-PG15 07:15 Africa United-PG15 09:00 The Eagle-PG15 11:00 Green Lantern-PG15 13:00 Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs.

Evil-PG 15:00 A Trace Of Danger-PG15 17:00 African Cats: Kingdom Of Courage-PG 19:00 13-PG15 21:00 The Adjustment Bureau-PG15 23:00 Take Shelter-PG15

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Friends 02:00 Friends 02:30 Seinfeld 03:30 Perfect Couples 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Weird Science 06:00 Friends 06:30 Dharma And Greg 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 09:00 Weird Science 09:30 Mr. Sunshine 10:00 Mr. Sunshine 10:30 Dharma And Greg 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 12:30 Friends 13:00 Weird Science 13:30 Dharma And Greg 14:00 Perfect Couples 14:30 Mr. Sunshine 15:00 Mr. Sunshine 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report

16:30 Friends 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Whitney 18:30 Last Man Standing 19:00 Two And A Half Men 19:30 The Office 20:00 Friends With Benefits 20:30 Breaking In 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Saturday Night Live 23:00 Seinfeld 23:30 Friends With Benefits

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

C.S.I. C.S.I. New York C.S.I. Miami Drop Dead Diva Desperate Housewives The View Good Morning America The Practice Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Desperate Housewives The View C.S.I. Drop Dead Diva C.S.I. Miami Live Good Morning America The Practice The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Covert Affairs Bones Burn Notice Top Gear Specials Desperate Housewives

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

Criminal Minds C.S.I. Miami Revenge C.S.I. New York Drop Dead Diva Revenge Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street Necessary Roughness C.S.I. C.S.I. Miami Drop Dead Diva Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Necessary Roughness Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Necessary Roughness Covert Affairs Bones Burn Notice Top Gear Specials Grey’s Anatomy

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 PG15 15:00 17:00 18:45 21:00 23:00

Game Of Death-PG15 Lords Of Dogtown-PG15 Salt-PG15 Drunken Master-PG15 Riddles Of The Sphinx-PG15 Salt-PG15 True Justice: Deadly Crossing-

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 12:45 15:00 16:45 PG 19:00 21:00 23:00

Return To Paradise-PG15 Moonlight And Valentino-PG15 The Game Of Their Lives-PG15 Mademoiselle Chambon-PG15 At Risk-PG15 Little Man Tate-PG 2001: A Space Odyssey-PG15 At Risk-PG15 Bobby Jones: Stroke Of GeniusDon’t Look Back-PG15 Fargo-18 Random Hearts-PG15

00:00 Daydream Nation-PG15 02:00 B-Girl-PG15 03:30 Just Go With It-PG15 05:30 Morning Glory-PG15 07:15 Despicable Me-FAM 09:00 Cars 2-FAM 11:00 Just Go With It-PG15 13:00 Hurricane Season-PG15 15:00 My Girlfriend’s BoyfriendPG15 17:00 Cars 2-FAM 19:00 Due Date-PG15 21:00 Chronicles Of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader-PG 23:00 Take Shelter-PG15

00:00 Life In A Day-PG15 02:00 Rango-FAM 04:00 Blackthorn-PG15 06:00 Bodyguard: A New BeginningPG15 08:00 Miles From Nowhere-PG15 09:45 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps-PG15 12:00 Blackthorn-PG15 14:00 Senna-PG15 16:00 Miles From Nowhere-PG15 18:00 The Tender Hook-PG15 20:00 The Fourth Kind-PG15 22:00 The Switch-18

02:30 NRL Premiership 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 Live NRL Premiership 09:00 Trans World Sport 10:00 Super Rugby Highlights 11:00 Olympic Men’s Boxing 12:50 Live Olympic Men’s Athletics 15:45 Olympic Men’s Basketball 18:15 Olympic Men’s Water Polo 21:45 Olympic Games Summary 22:45 Live Olympic Games Closing Ceremony

02:00 03:00 05:00 08:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:50 15:05 16:50 19:35 21:30

UFC Countdown Live UFC 150 Prelims Live UFC 150 Live NRL Premiership PGA European Tour Weekly Futbol Mundial Olympic Women’s Basketball Live Olympic Men’s Basketball Live Olympic Men’s Diving Live Olympic Men’s Basketball Olympic Men’s Mountain Bike Live The PGA Championship

Riddles Of The Sphinx-PG15 Smoke Screen-PG15 Alive-PG15 X-Men-PG15 Splinter-18

00:15 02:00 05:30 06:30 07:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 15:25 17:30 22:30

Olympic Women’s Hockey AFL Premiership Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Live AFL Premiership NRL Full Time Total Rugby Olympic Men’s Hockey Live Olympic Gymnastics Olympic Men’s Wrestling NRL Premiership

The Joneses-PG15 Kuffs-PG Double Wedding-PG15 The Open Road-PG15 16 To Life-PG15 That’s What I Am-PG15 Mean Girls 2-PG15 Frank McKlusky, C.I.-PG15 That’s What I Am-PG15 French Kiss-PG15 Airheads-PG15 The Trip-PG15

01:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 02:00 WWE SmackDown 04:00 WWE Bottomline 05:00 V8 Supercars Highlights 07:00 WWE Bottomline 08:00 WWE NXT 09:00 WWE Experience 10:00 WWE This Week 10:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 11:00 Olympic Sailing 15:25 Live Olympic Men’s Boxing 18:05 Olympic Women’s Modern Pentahlon 21:30 UFC 150 Prelims 23:30 UFC 150

Classifieds SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines QTR JZR ETH RJA KAC GFA UAE ETD FDB MSR RBG QTR KAC KAC KAC THY CLX DHX JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC JZR IRA KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB IRA ETD GFA UAE MEA MSR MSC JZR JZR KAC MSR SYR KAC KNE KAC QTR SVA RJA KAC KAC ETD UAE UAL GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY KAC KAC KAC KAC MSR MSC KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA KAC ALK KLM UAE ETD KAC QTR LMU AIC FDB GFA UAL JZR DLH JZR THY JAI PIA

Arrival Flights on Sunday 12/8/2012 Flt Route 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 620 ADDIS ABABA 642 AMMAN 108 GENEVA 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 3553 ALEXANDRIA 138 DOHA 1742 JEDDAH 544 CAIRO 1746 JEDDAH 770 ISTANBUL 792 LUXEMBOURG 170 BAHRAIN 503 LUXOR 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 555 ALEXANDRIA 615 SHAHRE KORD 284 DHAKA 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 603 SHIRAZ 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 871 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 618 ALEXANDRIA 401 ALEXANDRIA 561 SOHAG 775 JEDDAH 742 DAMMAM 610 CAIRO 341 DAMASCUS 774 RIYADH 472 JEDDAH 538 SOHAG 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 640 AMMAN 788 JEDDAH 1762 JEDDAH 303 ABU DHABI 857 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 177 DUBAI 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO 786 JEDDAH 166 PARIS 624 SOHAG 405 SOHAG 618 DOHA 674 DUBAI 102 NEW YORK 572 MUMBAI 562 AMMAN 389 KOZHIKODE 61 DUBAI 647 MUSCAT 402 BEIRUT 146 DOHA 221 BAHRAIN 514 TEHRAN 229 COLOMBO 417 AMSTERDAM 859 DUBAI 307 ABU DHABI 172 FRANKFURT 136 DOHA 1109 ALEXANDRIA 981 CHENNAI 59 DUBAI 217 BAHRAIN 981 BAHRAIN 239 AMMAN 636 FRANKFURT 539 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 574 MUMBAI 205 LAHORE

Time 0:20 0:50 1:45 2:10 2:15 2:20 2:25 2:30 3:10 3:20 3:20 3:25 3:35 4:10 4:15 4:35 4:55 5:00 6:05 6:15 6:30 7:15 7:30 7:35 7:35 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:25 9:30 10:00 10:45 10:55 11:25 12:00 12:25 13:00 13:25 13:30 13:35 13:45 14:15 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:55 15:00 16:35 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:00 18:15 18:40 18:40 18:55 19:00 19:20 19:25 19:35 19:35 19:50 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:20 21:25 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:40 23:40 23:50 23:55

Airlines AIC FDB UAL DLH JZR MSR DHX JAI THY ETH UAE FDB RBG ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR RJA GFA THY JZR KAC CLX BAW IRA KAC KAC ABY KAC UAE QTR FDB ETD IRA KAC KAC GFA KAC KAC JZR MEA KAC UAE MSR KAC MSC KAC JZR MSR SYR KAC KAC KNE SVA KAC RJA KAC JZR ETD JZR QTR UAE GFA ABY UAL SVA JZR MSR MSC KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC GFA DHX ALK KLM ETD UAE KAC QTR KAC KAC LMU QTR AXB FDB GFA KAC JZR KAC

Depature Flights on Sunday 12/8/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA 52 DUBAI 981 WASHINGTON 637 FRANKFURT 554 ALEXANDRIA 615 CAIRO 373 BAHRAIN 573 MUMBAI 773 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 3554 ALEXANDRIA 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 774 JEDDAH 537 SOHAG 792 GIALAM 156 LONDON 614 SHAHRE-KORD 171 FRANKFURT 117 NEW YORK 126 SHARJAH 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 133 DOHA 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 602 SHIRAZ 741 DAMMAM 773 RIYADH 214 BAHRAIN 1761 JEDDAH 541 CAIRO 776 JEDDAH 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 872 DUBAI 623 SOHAG 10 LONDON 406 SOHAG 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 342 ALEPPO 561 AMMAN 673 DUBAI 473 JEDDAH 503 MADINAH 617 DOHA 641 AMMAN 513 IMAM KHOMEINI 538 CAIRO 304 ABU DHABI 238 AMMAN 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 128 SHARJAH 982 BAHRAIN 511 RIYADH 266 BEIRUT 621 ALEXANDRIA 402 ALEXANDRIA 361 COLOMBO 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 283 DHAKA 351 KOCHI 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 543 CAIRO 222 BAHRAIN 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 417 DAMMAM 308 ABU DHABI 860 DUBAI 343 CHENNAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 1110 ALEXANDRIA 147 DOHA 390 MANGALORE 60 DUBAI 218 BAHRAIN 411 BANGKOK 528 ASSIUT 415 KUALA LUMPUR

Time 0:05 0:10 0:25 0:30 0:30 0:35 0:40 0:50 2:15 2:45 3:45 3:50 4:00 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:00 6:50 7:05 7:10 7:35 8:05 8:15 8:25 8:35 8:55 9:05 9:05 9:35 9:40 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:25 10:25 10:25 10:45 11:10 11:30 11:50 11:55 12:00 12:20 12:25 12:30 13:00 13:10 13:20 14:30 14:35 14:40 15:05 15:15 15:45 15:45 15:50 16:25 16:50 17:20 17:30 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:50 19:55 20:00 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:45 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:30 23:40 23:50 23:50

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for single Indian bachelor in two bedroom flat in Khaitan near Kuwait Finance House. Contact: 66141908. (C 4102) 12-8-2012 Sharing accommodation available for a Keralite bachelor at Sharq, near Amiri hospital, beside Holiday Inn. Call 99387111.

Sharing accommodation for Christian couples or working ladies in Abbassiya. Contact: 66538532. (C 4099)

FOR SALE Toyota Prado 2006, golden color, 6 clr, full options, KD 4,900. Tel: 50699345.

(C 4096) Mitsubishi Galant 2011, excellent condition, km 20000, KD 2,950. Tel: 66729295. (C 4097) 7-8-2012

CHANGE OF NAME I, Rejimol Joseph holder of Indian Passport No: J5394310 hereby change my name REJIMOL JOSEPH PARAMMAVIL. (C 4098) 8-8-2012 I, Rajee Ramanathan Koolathu, daughter of Koolath Velappan Ramanathan holder of Indian Passport No. K1677756 have embraced Islam religion with new name Fathima Raja.

(C 4095)

POLICE STATION

Al-Madena Police Station 22434064 Al-Murqab Police Station 22435865 Al-Daiya Police Station 22544200 Al-Fayha’a Police Station 22547133 Al-Qadissiya Police Station 22515277 Al-Nugra Police Station 22616662 Al-Salmiya Police Station 25714406 Al-Dasma Police Station 22530801 Prayer timings

SITUATION VACANT A Kuwaiti family looks to hire a driver with a Kuwaiti license, transferable visa and good knowledge of Kuwait areas. Contact: 99401126. (C 4103) 12-8-2012

Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

03:48 11:53 15:29 18:31 19:55

No: 15537

MATRIMONIAL Orthodox parents (Ex NRI) invite proposals for their daughter (22/166) B.Tech, fair from parents of professionally qualified boys (M.Tech, B.Tech) with good family background Orthodox or Jacobite.

Email: bsamuel@nascorporate.com.

(C 4094) 4-8-2012

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

34

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

stars CROSSWORD 765

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) You feel increased self-confidence and courage today. You command the support of others and advance your goals through leadership and generosity. There is pleasure through physical activity, such as sports, games and dancing. It pleases you to see that the kids in your neighborhood are industrious this afternoon and can create their own fun. A few trash bags taped together and a little trickle of water and they can slide almost anywhere. You may take your turn at running through the sprinklers that are set up between the houses. Later this weekend you may help a friend move. Others may find you especially witty. You have a way of helping others and making their load lighter. This evening turns out to be a lovely, romantic time.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You may develop an interest in spiritual studies and selfimprovement. You feel optimistic, tolerant and secure. You may find travel to be rejuvenating—bringing renewal to your sense of optimism. You can release outmoded beliefs and discover hidden truths. You and a friend will visit and laugh and share memories as though you were visiting each other from your high school days. Everyone needs a friend with whom laughter and old memories can be shared, and you enjoy yours. A fishing trip, golf or any other type of hobby may be a big topic of conversation. A summer youth camp will hire you and your friends to come and teach these activities. You already have an idea of how to teach from your own youth camp experience.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. Take in solid food.

4. Freshwater green algae.

10. The United Nations agency concerned with the international collection of meteorological data.

13. Psychoactive substance present in marijuana.

14. A period of time when something (as a machine or factory) is functioning and available for use.

15. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

16. A period of time spent sleeping.

17. A conversation between two persons.

18. A chronic skin disease occurring primarily in women between the ages of 20 and 40.

19. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

21. An Indian side dish of yogurt and chopped cucumbers and spices.

23. The corporate executive responsible for the operations of the firm.

25. A public promotion of some product or service.

26. (Old Testament) The 2nd son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel.

30. A mound of stones piled up as a memorial or to mark a boundary or path.

31. Worn or shabby from overuse or (of pages) from having corners turned down.

35. A former agency (from 1946 to 1974) that was responsible for research into atomic energy and its peacetime uses in the United States.

39. A challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy.

40. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

42. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

43. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

45. A sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow).

46. A colorless and odorless inert gas.

48. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh.

50. Large high frilly cap with a full crown.

54. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

57. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

58. Offering little or no hope.

61. An informal term for a father.

63. Thickening of tissue in the motor tracts of the lateral columns and anterior horns of the spinal cord.

64. (pathology) An elevation of the skin filled with serous fluid.

65. Having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly.

66. A widely distributed system consisting of all the cells able to ingest bacteria or colloidal particles etc, except for certain white blood cells.

67. Muslims collectively and their civilization.

68. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

DOWN 1. An inactive volcano in Sicily.

2. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

3. A protocol developed for the internet to get data from one network device to another.

4. A feeling of intense indignation (now used only in the phrase "in high dudgeon").

5. An inferior imitator of some distinguished writer or artist of musician.

6. Indicating the most important performer or role.

7. Small drought-resistant sorghums having large yellow or whitish grains.

8. The United Nations agency concerned with international maritime activities.

9. Reduce the level of land, as by erosion.

10. Gully or streambed in North Africa and the Middle East that remains dry except during rainy season.

11. A republic on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean.

12. (Greek mythology) One of the mountain nymphs.

20. Type genus of the Aceraceae.

22. Having the leading position or higher score in a contest.

24. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

27. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

28. 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.

29. A long thin fluffy scarf of feathers or fur.

32. A Hindu prince or king in India.

33. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

34. A young woman making her debut into society.

36. A metallic element having four allotropic forms.

37. Someone who is morally reprehensible.

38. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

41. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

44. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

47. Spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation.

49. The 10th letter of the Greek alphabet.

51. Look at with amorous intentions.

52. Having or denoting a low vocal or instrumental range.

53. On the positive side or higher end of a scale.

55. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

56. An informal term for a father.

59. An extension at the end and at right angles to the main building.

60. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

62. Aromatic bulb used as seasoning.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You have increased self-confidence to try new things that are daring, unusual and inventive to pursue your goals for greater independence. It is a time of change, stimulating friends and new acquaintances. Today is favorable for enterprises in the technology and entertainment fields. This can be a progressive period of unexpected and favorable change, bringing you a greater choice of independent activities. Your intuitive and inventive energies are steady and favorable for all technological and humanitarian enterprises. Friends and colleagues tend to give you their approval of whatever you want to involve yourself with today.

Your happy emotional outlook makes you popular. It is a good time for romance and marriage.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You have a confident, optimistic outlook marking a busy time in your life. Your interest increases in neatness, organizing and labeling everything. You may decide to pick out a color to paint the inside of the garage with sometime soon. Back up and see things from a distance. Cleaning out a garage, putting shelving up and preparing to paint, some boxes appear that have not seen the light of day in a decade. Squelch the desire to do everything by yourself. You are a loyal friend and today there are opportunities for your friend(s) to do special things for you—allow this to happen. You may treat to pizza if you actually accomplish things. Look at it this way, the time will go faster and you will get rid of a few things you never use anyway.

NON SEQUITUR

Leo (July 23-August 22) You begin constructive personal changes now. You seek the trust and confidence of others. Today is favorable for the study of life’s deeper meanings. You may desire to change your domestic conditions. This could mean redecorating or renovating your home—perhaps you can afford a pool now! Some family ties may change and adjustments will have to be made.

This can result in emotional upheavals, or a revision of the family structure. A specific individual may be a powerful influence in your life. Now can be a time of increased planning regarding corporate business, insurance, taxes and inheritance.

You have a deepened emotional sensitivity and insights drawn from memory. Ill feelings of the past can be set aside now.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You may desire to make fundamental changes in your lifestyle at this time. You have greater self-confidence and determination to succeed in the projects you begin now. As you embark on new beginnings you will end old conditions. Look at your passions and attachments in order that you may leave behind unnecessary baggage as you move forward. This can be a time of leadership in your community—you have the power to sway others and initiate reforms.

This may also mean that your ability to sway others around to your way of thinking will leak into your professional world. Your competitive attitude may also stimulate possible aggressiveness and jealousy in relationships—careful. Avoid dangerous situations that would involve anger.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You feel energetic, strong and can confidently take the initiative to bring some matter to a quick resolution. This is a constructive time for exercise, self-improvement or competitive efforts. If there is any difficulty, you can take a leadership role and stimulate others into action. You combine drive and courage with ambition and self-control. You accomplish much now toward your goals through careful, hard work. You are a fair-minded person.

Work with tools or machines go smoothly this afternoon. Your faith, optimism and self-respecting honesty help you gain the goodwill and favor of others. Wearing neat, smart looking clothes are important in the workplace. You should find some reasonably priced clothes to your work wardrobe.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) This can be a favorable time for writing, serious study, teaching and catching up on correspondence. Communications and travel related to career are beneficial. Your insight regarding the welfare of others is sharp and you may dig up covert information that allows you to act with more honesty and courageous conviction. This is a favorable time to eliminate nonessentials and strengthen your security or work toward self-improvement. You tend to be highly idealistic in your romantic life. Careful—you may unrealistically bestow your affection on the wrong people. Your intuitive, psychic abilities are stimulated—you are especially sensitive to beauty, art and music at this time. Now is a good time for some community involvement.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution

The creative freedom you lack in the working world, you make up for on your off-work hours. You may find an opportunity to show off your talented handiwork abilities. You could be surprised at just how much your talent will be in demand when others see your work. This may be a good time to demonstrate your ability with specialty tools. You could make a wall plaque and etch little cherubs on it, then give it a finish. One neighbor is interested in a bricked mailbox. This is the perfect time to improve communication with neighbors, groups and organizations. Your interests may become more humanitarian at this time. You know just how to create a water tower that will produce fresh water to a couple of homes that have no water.

Your emotional needs will make themselves known, even if they must come out in explosive confrontations. On the other hand, if you are in touch with your feelings and use them to guide you in a balanced way, you will experience none of this tension. Lovers, children and other people or things dear to your heart are emphasized at this time. Being appreciated and admired for your gifts and talents is powerful; there are rewards for your actions. Taking chances can bring big new and positive changes your way. You could be most persuasive with others and persuasive in speech and communication. The situation is a natural for selfexpression and lends itself to your professional or political insights. A good conversation with family is possible.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Communication with influential people is on the agenda today—whether you are working or not. You enjoy talk that involves your personal goals for the future. A short trip or games could be intellectually stimulating. New and unusual experiences will present themselves soon. You meet interesting and dynamic people in creative or technological fields and will develop new friendships. Personal magnetism draws you to others and you are prone to a sudden and perhaps unstable infatuation. You may wish to break from your usual routine and improve yourself in some fun way. Your innovative ideas gain support from effectual people. With your new self-awareness and resolve, you can assume a leadership role in your community.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Your optimistic attitude and self-respect open the door for growth and social expansion. Good luck today helps you towards your goals. Influential people give you their support. This time is favorable for travel, culture, sports, outdoor activity, creative activities, romantic opportunities and contact with foreigners. Also, the time is favorable for religious and legal matters. Generosity, financial gain, hospitality and favors may be bestowed upon you. This can be a relaxed time of imaginative meditation, healing and spiritual inspiration. You feel optimistic and hospitable—able to help those less fortunate. It’s a favorable time for vacation, religious pilgrimage, artistic pursuits and cultural or educational improvement.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Kaizen center

25716707

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TATE T OF K KUW WAIT A

Te el.: 161

DIRECTORA AT TE GENE GENERAL OF CIVIL AV VIA ATION T METEOROLOGICAL DEP PARTMENT A

262 - 2630 Ext.: 2627

WWW.MET.GOV V.KW .

Very e hot h with light to moderate freshening gradually north westerly wind, with speed of 15 - 40 km/h

BY Y NIGHT:

Relatively hot with light to moderate north westerly wind, with speed of 12 - 35 km/h

No Current Warnings arnin a

WA ARNING

22459381

48 °C

35 °C

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

48 °C

35 °C

Al-Mirqab

22456536

NUW WA AISEEB

46 °C

31 °C

WA AFRA

ST TAT TION

48 °C

32 °C

SALMI

47 °C

30 °C

ABDAL LY

48 °C

31 °C

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

JAL ALIY YA AH

47 °C

31 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FAILAKA A

47 °C

33 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

43 °C

37 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

41 °C

35 °C

W.Hawally

22630786

WA ARBA A - BUBY YAN A

48 °C

28 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

SFC. CHART

11/08/2012 0000 UTC

4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA AY

DA AT TE

WEA ATHER T

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

New Jahra

24575755 Sunday

12/08

very hot + chance for raising dust

49 °C

36 °C

NW-N

20 - 40 km/h

West Jahra

24772608

Monday

13/08

very hot + raising dust

49 °C

36 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

South Jahra

24775066

Tuesday

14/08

very hot + raising dust

48 °C

34 °C

NW

25 - 45 km/h

North Jahra

24775992

Weednesday

15/08

very hot

47 °C

33 °C

NW

20 - 40 km/h

North Jleeb

24311795

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT

PRA RA AY YER TIMES Fajr

03:47

MAX. Temp.

49 °C

Sunrise

05:14

MIN. Temp.

36 °C

Zuhr

11:53

MAX. RH

17 %

Asr

15:29

MIN. RH

06 %

Sunset

18:32

MAX. Wiind

N 39 km/h

Isha

19:56

TOT TAL AL RAIINF FALL A L IN 24 HR.

00 mm

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

23900322

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

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22617700

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25625030/60

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22613623/0

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2572-6666 ext 8321

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23713100

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24334282

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25655535

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Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

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25343406

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25739272

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22562226

22618787

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22525888

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25653755

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25620111

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22610044

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25327148

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22666300 25728004

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25355515

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24726446

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25654300/3

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

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22639939

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25633324

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25345875

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22636464

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25322030

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22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

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25722291

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22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

22545171

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24810598

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22545171

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24742838

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22434853

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22545051

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24711433

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24316983

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23927002

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24316983

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23262845

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25610011

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25616368

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36

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Routh and Ford welcomes a boy randon Routh and Courtney Ford have welcomed their first child into the world. The ‘Superman Returns’ actor and his partner - who have been married since November 2007 - became parents to a boy, Leo James Routh, and Brandon can’t stop looking at his newborn son, who weighs 8 lbs. He told PEOPLE: “We’re in awe. We can’t take our eyes off him!” The couple revealed in March that Courtney was expecting, and they found it hard to keep her pregnancy a secret after everyone on the set of his new series ‘Partners’ kept asking him about it. He said: “Everyone on set keeps asking, ‘Do you have kids?’ And I’ve had to say, ‘Well, not yet!’ It’s the truth. The baby hasn’t been born yet!”Courtney - who is known for her roles on ‘True Blood’ and ‘Parenthood’ - admitted she had used a number of excuses, such as food poisoning and flu, but they only worked “for so long”. She added: “It started getting difficult to hide what was happening. Flu and food poisoning excuses only work for so long, and by the last episode I could no longer button my pants! I just tried to joke that I had a big lunch.”

B

Barlow

‘determined’ to perform at the Olympics closing ceremony

he Take That singer has endured a tragic week after his daughter Poppy was delivered stillborn on Monday, but he is said to be keen to take to the stage alongside his fellow band members Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange. A source told The Sun newspaper: “Gary is going through a terrible time. The last week has been awful - as everyone can understand. “The band have been there for him and totally understand if he doesn’t do the gig, Take That are on the running order and the organizers are prepared for all eventualities, but they all know Gary will be determined to perform.” They haven’t rehearsed this week for obvious reasons but they are professionals and can turn it on under pressure. “It will be a tough call for Gary but everyone will back his decision.”Gary - who has three children, Daniel, 11, Emily, nine, and three-year-old Daisy with wife Dawn -

T

took to his twitter account on Wednesday to thank fans for their “lovely messages” of support following the loss of the couple’s fourth child. If Gary decides to perform then Take That will sing their 2008 hit ‘Greatest Day’ at the closing ceremony, which is due to feature a Spice Girls reunion as well as performances by music legends George Michael, Sir Paul McCartney, Ray Davies from The Kinks, Kate Bush and Liam Gallagher. The ‘Wannabe’ group - made up of Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown, and Melanie Chisholm - will sing a medley of their hits, while George is expected to do ‘Faith’ and ‘Freedom’.

Duchess Catherine cheers Team GB’s hockey players to victory

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Middleton ‘devastated’

by Lagerfeld swipes ippa Middleton is “devastated” by Karl Lagerfeld’s cruel taunts about her looks. The legendary Chanel designer caused controversy last week when he said the party planner the younger sister of Britain’s Duchess Catherine - should “hide her face” but friends of the brunette beauty have advised her to retain a dignified silence. A source told Closer magazine: “Pippa’s devastated by Karl’s cruel comments - she’s always been confident about her looks. But she doesn’t want to retaliate and start a war of words. Her friends have tried to make her laugh about it as Karl is hardly a supermodel himself.” Karl famously hit out at Pippa - who wowed onlookers with her pert posterior at her sister’s wedding to Prince William in April 2011 - saying he did not think of her as a beauty like Catherine, who was known as Kate Middleton before she married. He said: “Kate Middleton has a nice silhouette and she is the right girl for that boy. I like that kind of woman, I like romantic beauties. “On the other hand, her sister struggles. I don’t like the sister’s face. She should only show her back.”

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Campbell wishes she was a sprinter aomi Campbell wishes she were an Olympic sprinter. The 41-year-old supermodel has been enjoying the short-distance track events at the London games and particularly admires the runners’ “elegance”. And Naomi even thinks she could do well in a race. She told Britain’s Vogue magazine: “If I were an athlete I would be a sprinter. It looks so elegant - and I can definitely hold my own.” However, despite her sporting ambition, Naomi recently said she has no desire to give up her catwalk career to do something else because she loves the way she can constantly “reinvent” herself as a model. She said: “I still love what I do. It’s a new challenge to see how people can change your look. I like words like transformation, reinvention, and chameleon. Because one word I don’t like is predictable.” However, the British beauty is still bemused to be called a supermodel. She said: “I would never call myself that. I don’t have any superhuman powers.”

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Weisz had ‘fun’ making ‘Oz’ achel Weisz had “the most fun ever” making ‘Oz: The Great And Powerful’. The 41-year-old actress went from tough action stunts on ‘The Bourne Legacy’ to working on the ‘Wizard of Oz’ prequel with an all-star cast and loved every minute of filming her role as the Wicked Witch of the East. She said: “That was the most flat-out fun I have ever had making a film. It’s all in the Emerald City. James Franco is the Wizard and I am the Wicked Witch of the East, Mila Kunis is the Wicked Witch of the West and Michelle Williams is Glinda the Good Witch, very saintly and put-upon and beautiful. “I got to shoot lightning out of my fingertips, fly around in a black sequined dress and wear lots of red lipstick. It was a complete antidote to doing ‘Bourne’ - not that ‘Bourne’ needed an antidote.” Rachel admits she was constantly “terrified” on the set of ‘The Bourne Legacy’ - in which she stars opposite Jeremy Renner - because the stunt work was so challenging. She told Stylist magazine: “The stunts were terrifying. There were weeks spent on the back of a motorcycle, with Jeremy riding it, jumping over intersections and down staircases, and jumping off bridges in harnesses and onto moving buses. It was a challenge. “I was genuinely scared - I didn’t have to do any acting at all when we did the action scenes. I would be phoning home saying, ‘I’m terrified.’ I’m sure it must have been safe but it didn’t feel it.”

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Chuck D blasts Jay-Z and Kanye West he veteran Public Enemy rapper has recorded a track, ‘Catch the Thrown’, as a response to the hip-hop stars’ collaborative single ‘Watch the Throne’, which questions what the pair stand for and represent. He said: “Hip-hop celebrates those that want to make a killing, instead of those that can make a living. “I like those guys, but they make me laugh sometimes because I don’t get who they’re here for, other than themselves.” Chuck also sees himself and Public Enemy’s other main rapper, Flavour Flav, as The Rolling Stones of hip-hop, because they have been rapping so long and still continue to record and tour. He added: “I already see us as The Rolling Stones of rap. I’m 52 and Flav’s 53, that’s 105 years coming at ya.” Chuck has no plans to retire anytime soon, and would love to continue like an old blue musician, saying: “I would like to [still be going in another 25 years].

B.B. King’s still doing it at 87.”

—Bang Showbiz

T

ritain’s Duchess Catherine was all smiles as she cheered Team GB’s Olympic hockey team to victory. The 30-year-old royal - who was captain of the hockey team when she was a pupil at Marlborough College - watched on in delight as the British women’s hockey team won their first Olympic medal for 20 years after defeating New Zealand 3-1 to take bronze at the Riverbank Arena in Stratford, east London. After the game Catherine - who was known as Kate Middleton prior to her nuptials with Prince William last year - congratulated the players and commented on the great atmosphere in the stadium. She told them: “Well done, I really enjoyed the game and the atmosphere.” Team GB hockey star Alex Danson - who netted the first goal of the match - revealed the duchess’ support made her “proud to be British”. She told MailOnline: “She came to see us afterwards and said congratulations. “She said she desperately wanted to be a part of it today and see us get that win, which we’re just so proud that we were able to do. “She used to play hockey at school and she’s got a hockey background so she could probably give us some tips. “Her support has meant so much. To have Kate here makes me feel so proud to be British.” The event was Catherine’s 19th Olympic engagement since the London 2012 Games began late last month, and she has seen Team GB win 10 medals in total. The brunette beauty sat alongside William to witness Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter Zara Phillips take silver in the evening competition and earlier this week she saw Team GB’s female boxer Nicola Adams win gold at the ExCel centre.

Stuart, director of ‘Willy Wonka,’ dead at 83 el Stuart’s family says the award-winning documentary filmmaker who also directed “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” has died. His daughter, Madeline Stuart, said he died Thursday night of cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He was 83. During the 1960s and 1970s, Stuart and David L. Wolper established a base of West Coast documentary production at a time when New York filmmakers and TV network news dominated the field. Stuart’s dozens of documentary films include three editions of “The Making of the President” and, for PBS’“American Masters,” portraits of the artist Man Ray and the director Billy Wilder. Stuart’s groundbreaking film “Wattstax” focused on the 1972 music festival and Los Angeles’ largely black Watts community in the wake of the 1965 riots. In 2005, PBS aired “The Hobart Shakespeareans,” Stuart’s profile of a teacher in inner-city Los Angeles whose fifth-grade class each year performed a play by William Shakespeare. Stuart made “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” a children’s classic starring Gene Wilder, in 1971. His other features include the 1969 comedy, “If it’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.”

M

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

lifestyle M U S I C

&

M O V I E S

Universal announces release for Cruise, Howard projects

U

In this photo provided by Parkwood Entertainment, singer Beyonce performs “I Was Here” in the United Nations General Assembly Hall, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012.—AP

niversal assigned release dates to pictures from Guilermo Del Toro, Ron Howard and Tom Cruise on Friday, further building out the studio’s schedule for the coming year. “Rush,” which stars Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl as a pair of Grand Prix racing rivals, will bow Sept. 20. Oscar winner Ron Howard is directing from a script by Peter Morgan (“The Queen,” “Frost/Nixon”).

Olivia Wilde also stars in the film, which Andrew Eaton, Howard, Brian Grazer, Eric Felnner, Peter Morgan and Brian Oliver are all producing. The film is set in the golden age of Formula 1 racing when Englishman James Hunt (Hemsworth) and Austrian Niki Lauda (Bruhl) competed for an edge on and off the track.

“Mama,” a thriller produced by Guillermo Del Toro, will open Jan. 18. It stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Jessica Chastain as a couple in search of two lost young girls. Coster-Waldau plays Uncle Lucas, whose nieces are the ones missing, while Chastain plays Lucas’ girlfriend Annabel.

After they find the girls, they become convinced that some supernatural presence has entered their home. Andres Muschietti directed from a script he cowrote with Barbara Muschietti and Neil Cross.

Meanwhile, Universal announced Friday that “Oblivion,” which stars Tom Cruise, will move from April 26 to April 19 with an IMAX Exclusive April 12.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the movie chronicles Jack Harper (Cruise), one of the last drone repairman still working on Earth. He has been part of an operation to extract resources from the planet, but discovers a stranger from a downed spacecraft who causes him to question his life and the world around him.

Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo and Coster-Waldau are among the other cast members. None of these films is a summer tentpole, though the IMAX Exclusive suggests Universal has high hopes for this next Cruise film. Universal’s big summer releases next year include the sixth “Fast & Furious” film and “Despicable Me 2.”—Reuters

‘Into the Woods’ with

Amy Adams: S

uperstar singer Beyonce has serenaded a different New York City venue: The United Nations. Beyonce performed her song “I Was Here” on Friday in the UN’s General Assembly Hall in honor of

World Humanitarian Day, which is Aug. 19.

A music video of the performance will debut the same day.

Beyonce sang in front of hundreds, including Julia Stiles, R&B singer The-

Dream and songwriter Diane Warren, who wrote the song. Warren said in an interview that she initially called Beyonce’s husband, Jay-Z, and played the song for him over the phone. He quickly called Beyonce, and days

later she recorded it. It appears on her album “4,” released last year. Anderson Cooper hosted, saying with a laugh: “Is this what happens at the UN every Friday night?”—AP

US singer-songwriter Neil Diamond receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, outside the Capitol Records Building in Hollywood, California, on August 10, 2012.

—AFP photos

Neil Diamond

gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

US

musical icon Neil Diamond-who penned and sang hits like “Sweet Caroline” and “Red Red Wine”-crowned his nearly five-decade career Friday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “This is probably the most fun,” the 71-year-old singer told reporters after the ceremony. “I didn’t have to campaign for it. They wanted me. They opened their arms and took me in, and that makes it all the better.”

The star with Diamond’s name can be found on Vine Street, in front of Los Angeles’s landmark Capital Record Building, a day before the artist launches a series of con-

certs at the city’s Greek Theater. Born in New York in 1941, Diamond has sold over 125 million albums worldwide.

Fifty-six of his songs have made Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 list of the most heard songs, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

“He is one of those people, rare in entertainment, who America loves,” said renowned composer Randy Newman at the ceremony, comparing him to Bing Crosby and Judy Garland. Diamond just released a deluxe edition of his album “Hot August Night,” celebrating the 40-year anniversary of its first release. Anyone can nominate an artist to

receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but the celebrity must approve the request.

Each star on the Walk of Fame costs $30,000, according to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which administers them. The amount is usually paid by a movie or television studio or a record label, which is why the ceremonies often coincide with the launch of a new product. The ceremonies are open to the public, allowing fans to get an upclose glimpse of their favorite artists.—AFP

‘The Bourne Legacy’: What the critics are saying B ring back Jason Bourne. That’s the take-away from America’s critics, most of who argue that “The Bourne Legacy ” suffers from the lack of Matt Damon’s amnesiac super-spy. The spinoff premiered Friday with Jeremy Renner playing Aaron Cross, another genetically enhanced operative for the same shadowy government program.

Rachel Weisz co-stars as the scientist on the run with Cross from assorted bureaucratic baddies. Tony Gilroy, who wrote the original Bourne films, directs this latest installment. Reviewers complained that the new film was nothing more than a tired rehash of its paranoiac predecessors. In particular, TheWrap’s Alonso Duralde said “The Bourne Legacy” suffered from “franchise fatigue” and had too many scenes of cumbersome exposition.

“If nothing else, ‘The Bourne Legacy’ is an object lesson about what the phrase ‘cut to the chase’ means,” Duralde wrote. “The ultimate legacy of ‘The Bourne Legacy’ is

that a lot of very talented actors (including Donna Murphy, Corey Stoll, Stacy Keach and Zeljko Ivanek) will now be able to afford to do Ibsen in the Park next summer, thanks to the fat Hollywood check they picked up for a movie that asks little of them but to point at screens and bark out

some version of ‘arglebargle-science-jargon-bring-him-in!,’” he added.

Also left cold by the frenetic action unfolding on screen was Time Magazine’s Richard Corliss, who said the new film was more about trying to wring the franchise for more profits than it was an attempt to

explore fresh narrative angles. Corliss also faulted Renner, complaining that the actor was ill-suited to the big-budget action roles he has favored of late.

“Renner’s anonymity worked splendidly in The Hurt Locker,” Corliss writes. “Since then, in standard-issue action fare like ‘The Avengers’ and the fourth ‘Mission: Impossible,’ he has looked uncomfortable, trying to Act when the other performers, more used to the camera’s rapt gaze, know how to simulate having a good time. Now, a star without star quality, Renner plays it a little too nice as the junked-up renegade spy.”

Adding his voice to the collection of naysayers was Roger Ebert. The Chicago Sun-Times’ critical kingpin said that the film adds up to a series of incoherent chase sequences that left him checking his watch. “I freely confess that for at least the first 30 minutes I had no clear idea of why anything was happening,” Eber t wrote.— Reuters

What critics think

“I

nto The Woods,” Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel’s revival of the classic Stephen SondheimJames Lapine musical, opened at New York’s Delacorte Theater in Central Park Thursday with a starry cast that included Amy Adams making her New York stage debut. The 1987 musical that weaves together familiar fairy tales and characters won three Tony awards - for Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason) - in its original Broadway production. Unlike the original, this “Into The Woods” features a young boy as the narrator, replacing the Mysterious Man, who has run away from home.

“Into the Woods” is a hot ticket, in part because of the cast, which also includes Broadway stars Donna Murphy, who can be seen in “The Bourne Legacy” playing the Witch and Denis O’Hare of “True Blood” as the Baker. Glenn Close - or at least her voice - makes a cameo, as The Giant. Plus, it’s Sondheim. And, of course, tickets are free. So what did the critics think of three-time Oscar nominee Adams and the Public Theater’s production?

Ben Brantley of the New York Times was not a fan of the overall production, writing, “This high-concept repackaging of beloved archetypes feels like the work of an overeager Hollywood production team desperate to tap the tweener market.” Of Adams, he said the actress, appearing as the Baker’s Wife, “remains an attractive blank throughout, without the nervy, dissatisfied restlessness the part requires.”

Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal said Adams “proves to be a very good singer who is also at ease onstage, though she lacks the apple-crisp bite of irony that Joanna Gleason brought to the original 1987 Broadway production. Of the production, he said, “It’s hard to imagine a production of ‘Into the Woods’ going flat, but that’s what this one does.” New York Daily News critic Joe Dziemianowicz called the production “a mixed bag,” saying it “can be shrill and alienatingly eccentric, from characterizations to costumes. Some key performances fail to bring out the beauty of the music or to pop as colorfully as they might - or both.”

Adams, he wrote, “has a pretty voice, but she’s upstaged by her huge boule-shaped coif.”

Peter Marks of the Washington Post, noting that Adams was “an irresistible presence in such films as ‘Enchanted,’” wrote that she is “merely pleasant” in this production, while other performances, “come across at times as shrill or, even more often, laboriously bedraggled.”

Not every critic was so harsh. Frank Scheck of the Hollywood Reporter said, “The bucolic setting of Central Park’s Delacorte Theater adds immeasurably to the impact of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s 1987 fairy tale-inspired musical. This version doesn’t entirely smooth out the rough edges of this darkly beguiling work. But its numerous imaginative touches, as well as a first-rate cast headed by Amy Adams (in her New York stage debut), Donna Murphy and Denis O’Hare, provide ample compensations.”—Reuters

Amy Adams

38

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

LIFESTYLE T r a v e l

5 free, non-political things to do in

CHARLOTTE Photo shows a statue at Independence Square in downtown Charlotte.

Photo shows a car drives under the canopy of oak trees on Queens Road West in Charlotte, N.C. —AP photos resident George Washington spent the night in a Charlotte inn once and came away unimpressed, referring to the city in his diary as a “trifling place.” The Queen City - named after the wife of King George II, who ruled the colonies - has made up for lost time and now is best known as a business city, home to Duke Energy and the place where Hugh McColl started a small bank called NCNB, which grew to become the Bank of America. Soon, Charlotte will be known as a city that hosted the Democratic National Convention.

Here are five of the best free things to do in Charlotte - and not a one involves holding a sign of support for a candidate or wearing a funny hat.

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Independence square At the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets stand four bronze statues, one on each corner. Three statues - commerce, transportation and energy - look toward the fourth, which represents the future. The first statue shows a black laborer, representing the workers who built Charlotte’s first railroads. The second statue shows a prospector panning for gold, representing the discovery of gold near Charlotte in 1799, with another figure representing banking and finance, said to be modeled on former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

The third statue shows a female textile mill worker and a child, representing minors who worked in the mills before labor laws outlawed the practice. The fourth statue representing the future also has a mother and child, with the state flower, the dogwood.

The nearby Bechtler Museum of Art charges admission but you can take pictures for free standing beneath the 17-foottall (5-meter) sculpture “Firebird,” a new favorite spot for tourist photos.

The square is named for the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

Though widely disputed by historians, some claim that the Mecklenburg document was signed May 20, 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence -

the one written by Thomas Jefferson - was ratified by the colonies on July 4, 1776. (The existence of another document, the Mecklenburg Resolves, signed May 31, 1775, is not disputed by historians.)

Cambridge, Mass., renowned for urban planning. Charlotte textile, banking and utility company families lived there. A Nolen employee, Earl Sumner Draper, planted trees before houses went up, and today rows of willow oaks cre-

Frescoes Ben Long, who grew up in Statesville, N.C., studied fresco painting in Italy before bringing the art to churches in his home state. His largest and first secular fresco is a three-panel

located in the three-story archway leading to the courtyard at Transamerica Square. It portrays the many faces of North Carolina, including the UNC Tar Heel mascot and former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl.

Tours Several self-guided walking tours can be found online at http://www.charlottesgotalot.com/default.asp?charlotte=208 . One starts at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and goes past the Bechtler, Mint and Levine museums with a stop at Settlers’ Cemetery, where town founder and Revolutionary War hero Thomas Polk is buried. The 24-stop tour ends at the Epicentre, an entertainment facility with great views.

Tours of public art include a free shuttle service called the Gold Rush, as well as the Arts &Science Council’s 31-stop walking/shuttle tour, which includes the frescoes and the Trade and Tryon statues, http://www.artsandscience.org/programs-a-services/public-artprogram/public-art-walking-tour .

Other walking and driving tours are outlined at http://www.cmhpf.org/educationneighsummary.htm and http://www.historiccharlotte.org/ .

The green The Green, a 1.5-acre (.6 hectares) downtown park at 435 S. Tryon St., is a literarythemed park with sculptures of giant books, pages and a walkway of sounds. Bright signs mark the intersections of author names, including “Emily” and “Bronte,” “Herman” and “Melville,” and “Alice” and “Walker.” —AP

Photo shows statue of a woman holding a baby at Independence Square in downtown Charlotte.

Queens road west A wide street with million-dollar homes, Queens Road West is part of the Myers Park neighborhood developed at the turn of the 20th century by the firm of John Nolen of

Photo shows a woman walking through the “Firebird” sculpture in front of the Bechtler Museum of Art in downtown Charlotte.

ate “a green cathedral,” says Tom Hanchett, staff historian at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte. Houses here typically don’t have “for sale” signs. Nope, that’s too gauche.

Instead, they’re advertised as “available.”

painting in the Bank of America Corporate Center representing themes of making/building, chaos/creativity, and planning/knowledge.

Another Long fresco titled “Continuum” is

Photo shows a general view of Independence Square in downtown Charlotte.

Photo shows visitors walking past “Charlotte” signs at The Green park in downtown Charlotte.

A photo shows the birthplace of President James K. Polk in Pineville, N.C. Delegates in town for the Democratic National Convention.

A photo shows the fuselage of US Airways flight 1549 aircraft resting inside at the Carolina Aviation Museum in Charlotte.

39

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

LIFESTYLE T r a v e l

Campers get their morning started during an outdoor skills camping class in Mikado, Michigan. —MCT photos

Campers fuel a fire for baking pottery during an outdoor skills camping class.

Make fire and eat cattails

at outdoor skills camp

By Ellen Creager ne dumb camper-me-left a tent pole at home. No problem for Jim Miller, owner of Willow Winds. He cut the trunk of a young tamarack, bent it into an arc, sharpened each end and, voila! Nature’s tent pole.

It’s not that someone else couldn’t have figured out how to rig up the tent. It’s the way Miller did it-so gracefully, quietly and efficiently that the tamarack of the proper size was simply waiting in his forest, bent to his will, and the ground then agreed to hold the arc in place without any staking at all.

In outdoor survival circles, Jim Miller is famed for his brain-tanned deer hides so authentic that they have been used in costumes for the films “Legends of the Fall” and “The Indian in the Cupboard.” He builds wigwams and tepees for cultural sites. He runs adult camps at his 20-acre property northwest of Oscoda, Mich., teaching how to tan hides, make canoes, paddles and birch bark containers, using native edible plants, orienteering and fire-building.

And as a low-cost vacation, an outdoor skills camp can’t be beat. Five days at Willow Winds is $225, and short weekend programs cost less.

Offered across the United States, outdoor skills camps range from doomsday survival courses to floaty shamanic wanderings. They teach everything from desert tracking to candle-making, hand-felting of mittens to evasion techniques. Some camps teach primitive skills simply as survival. Others do so only in a cultural context that respects native people. Miller, 56, has seen all factions at huge national outdoor skills gatherings, such as the Rabbitstick Rendezvous in Idaho.

“You had core survivalists, hippies and the barter camp, where people live off the grid,” he recalls. Miller is none of those; he is more of a teacher. He uses skills in a functional way in his own life. He wears moccasins that he made from doeskin tanned from a deer that he killed. If his efforts are artistic, that’s good. He has no barrels of rifles buried in the yard.

“I don’t want to run away from something. I try running toward something,” he says. “I’m not a doomsday prepper. What I’m doing is not fear-based.” That is true. His camp is, well, peaceful. This year, there are six people enrolled besides me, ages 15 to 54. The activities flow one into another, with no written list, whistles or taps. We just follow along, eat when we have a chance, sleep when we finish.

Miller does not baby-sit. He assumes you know how to pitch a tent and cook. He assumes you are careful with knives, that you can recognize poison ivy, can use an ax and handle fire.

The only other woman is staying off-site with her husband, so I have a spot away from the guys to pitch my tent amid the towering trees. Miller’s property abuts the Huron National Forest, so it’s quiet. The first night, I sleep 10 hours straight.

Miller and his wife, Cheryl, are Port Huron natives. They have three children and three grandchildren. Here, they spread out. They live in a conventional house (dial-up Internet and no cable TV) with chickens and a big garden, a workshop and a pond. Woodland paths branch out to campsites and an outdoor fire pit.

Nearby is a log cabin he built in 2000. He just

O

completed a Finnish sauna, which campers are free to use.

Yet except for the sauna, an outdoor skills vacation is not plush. That’s OK with campers.

“In my own crude way I’ve been trying to do things on my own, bone up on my survival skills. But my thinking has been shifting over the years from ‘Rambo’ to living,” says Jeff Emmerling, 40, a kick-boxing instructor from

54, of Saginaw, who is here to step out of his daily routine as the owner of a commercial brokerage company. He is disappointed the group is so small but is very interested in learning about edible wild plants like ground nuts, sorrel, thistle, nettles and cattail. To some, they’re weeds. To us, they’re food.

For me, every single thing I saw at Willow Winds was a revelation. I had never eaten a

at the bow and spindle, perhaps you’ll never need a match again.

Miller even makes oil from birch bark, stuffing rolled bark into a small metal drum so fire can cause the bark’s oil to drip into a can below the ground.

If the modern world were to end tomorrow, Willow Winds would be fine. Miller would know not just how to make a stand; he would know

shops focused on skills like paddle-making, and does special camps for groups.

More schools: Outdoor skills schools range from hard-core wilderness survival to traditional arts. Here’s a sampling: The Great Lakes Traditional Arts Gathering is held in August on Drummond Island. This year’s

Jim Miller shows how to use pieces of wood and friction to start a fire.

Jim Miller made this birch bark canoe.

Miller shows which part of a cattail is edible.

A bow and arrows sit atop a birch bark canoe made by Jim Miller.

Farmington Hills, Mich. “I’ve watched every episode of all those ‘prepper’ TV shows, where you’re in the middle of nowhere and you have to get out. But what I’m interested in is, what if you want to live out there?”

Miller believes people should learn the basics of survival-how to make fire and shelter and find water. He makes fire by whirling a stick between his hands. He shows campers how to make a bow and spindle fire starter, which involves whittling, cutting, tying and also chopping bits of wood with a sharp ax, something some campers seem precariously rusty at. “It puts the ‘ax’ in ‘accident’” jokes Michael Keenan,

Miller shows how birch Miller strips basswood off bark can be removed from a linden tree to use for the tree for use in canoes lashing to secure a tent. or baskets.

corm (tuber) of a cattail. Never pulled up roots to find ground nuts. Never scouted for spruce roots in the forest, or split them with a knife, or built myself a fire-starting kit, or spun a stick with a bow so that I got smoke (alas, not a coal, that takes more practice ). I never bent birch bark over a flame so it became malleable, or made a basket with it, or used an awl, or threaded spruce roots across the top.

But Miller is an advertisement for the old skills humans used to know by heart. If you get good at baskets, you may someday graduate to making birch bark canoes, something Miller demonstrates around the state. If you get good

Details are shown from a birch bark canoe.

how to make a life. It is a very useful vacation to learn some of that.

If you go: Willow Winds in Mikado, Mich., offers various classes. In late June each year, Jim Miller holds the five-day Michigan Outdoor Skills School (MOSS), $225, teaching such living-off-the-Earth skills as: pottery, fire by friction, cordage (rope making), wild edibles, birch-bark containers, orienteering, a two-hour canoe ride, natural shelter construction and more. Participants bring their own camping supplies and food. During the year, Miller also holds one- to three-day work-

event, Aug. 2-5, was full, with 300 participants.

Dates for 2013 will be announced by midAugust. Cost is $250, including food; bring your own camping gear. The gathering features primitive and native skills taught in a cultural context. (www.islandgathering.org, 574-518-0774) Midwest Native Skills Institute in Cleveland offers everything from wilderness survival to shamanic journeys. (www.survivalschool.com, 888-886-5592). —MCT

A bark container made by Miller.

Beyonce performs and films music video at UN

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012

37

Indian college students wearing traditional Punjabi clothing dance during Teej festival celebrations at Khalsa college for women in Amritsar yesterday. The Teej festival marks the start of the rainy season.—AFP

The Who, Spice Girls to rock Olympic closer Y

T

he London Games are set to end in a blazing tribute to British pop and pizazz, with a closing ceremony that will see stars from the Spice Girls to The Who turn Olympic Stadium into a giant jukebox of musical hits. Two weeks of sporting drama wrap up today with what music director David Arnold has called “the greatest after-party in the world.” “If the opening ceremony was the wedding, then we’re the wedding reception,” Arnold told the Daily Telegraph - with everyone from the Pet Shop Boys to Annie Lennox and Fatboy Slim on hand to get people dancing.

Although organizers have tried to the ceremony under wraps, many details have leaked out in the British media - and some of the performers have let the cat out of the bag themselves. The Who, George Michael, Muse and Ed Sheeran have all said they will take part in a show that will include performances of 30 British hit singles from the past five decades.

Tips and photos have emerged from the rehearsal venue, an old car plant in east London. The Spice Girls were photographed dancing atop black London taxis, so a rendition of their biggest hit, “Wannabe,” seems certain. So does an appearance by surviving members of Queen, whose “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” have been ever-present at the games.

And Ray Davies of The Kinks is tipped to perform his majestic London ballad “Waterloo Sunset.” Paul McCartney has already performed at the opening ceremony, but it’s inconceivable that there won’t be a bit of Beatles music in a tribute to the best of British pop. And organizers will want to include younger acts such as Tinie Tempah, Jessie J, Emeli Sande and the Kaiser Chiefs.

Organizers have said they want the ceremony to be a “cheeky” reflection of modern Britain, so expect touches of Monty Pythonesque humor - perhaps even Python Eric Idle leading a mass rendition of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” The Daily Mail newspaper published photographs of what it said was the set, involving reconstructions of London landmarks such as St. Paul’s Cathedral and Tower Bridge.

The show won’t be short on spectacle. Director Kim Gavin has overseen tours for the band Take That and directed London’s 2007 Princess Diana memorial concert.

Designer Es Devlin has created sets for everyone from Lady Gaga to the Royal Opera. As with director Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony, London is aiming for a plucky, irreverent tone far removed from Beijing’s 2008 Olympic closer, which was heavy on precision displays of fireworks, acrobatics and dancing.

“It’s not anything desperately profound,” London games chief Sebastian Coe said. “It’s not the opening ceremony but I think it will be great. It’s basically a tribute to British music over the last few decades. It’s fun.”

There will also be a section of song and dance created by the next Summer Games host country, Brazil. And of course there will be ceremonial elements, including an athletes’ march, the raising of the flags of Greece - birthplace of the Olympics- current host Britain and 2016

America: A patchwork of potato chip varieties

games host Brazil, speeches and the extinguishing of the Olympic cauldron, marking the handover of the games to Rio. But the main event will be a mashup of music, theater, circus and hit parade. The ceremony is just the cherry on top of London’s weekend of gold-medal parties. It’s about time, say some social observers, who claim that London’s party scene has been muted during the games, dragged down by economic recession.

Britain’s economic gloom means nightclubs and popup venues have had to work to lure athletes and celebrities. But they are giving thanks for Olympic swimmers, whose events ended last weekend, leaving them free to party. The paparazzi were also thankful, filling newspaper pages with party-hardy Olympians.

US champion Michael Phelps - who ended his Olympic career with 22 medals, 18 of them gold- has been spotted in London’s Soho nightlife district.

Teammate Ryan Lochte was photographed leaving the Chinawhite nightclub - long a favorite of partying British royalty. This time around, the club has drawn athletes in droves by offering gold medalists a free Golden Cocktail a concoction of champagne, cognac and real gold flakes priced, for the rest of us, at 2,012 pounds ($3,150).

Lochte emerged looking a bit bleary-eyed, but it could have been the chlorine. Zara Phillips, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and a member of Britain’s silver medalwinning equestrian eventing team, was spotted drinking champagne and dancing shoeless at the club.”I’ve heard it’s not been easy for a lot of venues in London, but we’ve been very lucky,” said Chinawhite club manager James Spallone. He said the venue was designed to be “a safe haven for athletes to let their hair down.”“They are amongst their peers. They know everybody,” he said.

Swimmers have not been the only athletes blowing off steam. Cyclist Bradley Wiggins tweeted pictures of himself celebrating with a drink in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral after winning gold in the road race. “Getting wasted,” he tweeted. Another cyclist - 20-year-old Gijs van Hoecke of Belgium - was sent home after photos appeared of him looking very drunk while leaving a London nightclub.—AP

ou say potato, I say pot-ah-toe ... chip. And that’s just the start of it.

Though thin and flat may be America’s general standard - and bestselling variety - of this ubiquitous snack, regional and sometimes hyper-local preferences for different calibers of crunch, thickness, seasonings and endless other elements have created a surprisingly diverse culinary patchwork of chip styles around the country. That’s right - the chips you nosh in the Northeast could be wildly different than those savored in the South.

Midwesterners, for example, prefer a thicker, more substantial chip. Big, hearty chips also sell well in New England and the Rockies, though in the latter area those progressive mountain folk want theirs with artisanal seasonings. Southerners love barbecue flavor, chip industry executives say, but it needs to be sprinkled on thin, melt-inyour-mouth chips. Southwestern states predictably go for bold and spicy. Local flavors - such as New Orleans Cajun and Mid-Atlantic crab seasoning - find their way onto chips in those places. And people all across the country, it seems, love a curly, shattering kettle chip.

“People like the potato chip they grew up with,” says Jim McCarthy, chief executive officer at the Rosslyn, Va.based Snack Food Association, a trade group that represents the many denizens of convenience store shelves.

“There’s a very strong brand recognition and brand loyalty to the chip you grew up with.”

Potato chips are America’s number one snack, according to the group’s 2012 state of the industry report, and Americans spent $9 billion on them in 2010, 50 percent more than on the No. 2 snack, tortilla chips. More than half of those sales go to Plano, Texas-based Frito-Lay North America, whose original thin, crispy chip is the top-seller. But hometown styles still claim their territory. In the Pacific Northwest, Seattle’s thick-cut Tim’s Cascade Style offers big bite and bigger flavors, such as jalapeno made from real peppers and a salt and vinegar chip that “makes you pucker” says Dave West, sales director for the company.

Over in the Rockies, kettle-cooked Boulder Canyon chips pair their crunchy bite with artisanal seasonings such as vinegar, spinach and artichoke, and balsamic and rosemary. Down the map in the Southwest, Arizona-based Poore Brothers offers two varieties of kettlecooked chips with mouth-numbing

In this image taken on July 30, 2012, from left, Poore Brother’s Habanero, Route 11 Chips Chesapeake Crab, and Boulder Canyons Vinegar, potato chips are shown in Concord, N.H.—AP heat from jalapenos and habaneros.

“People in this region really tend to like this pepper, these stronger, spicier flavors,” says Steven Sklar, senior vice president of marketing at Phoenix, Ariz.based Inventure Foods Inc., which owns the Boulder Canyon and Poore Brothers brands. “You’ve got a hard bite with a strong flavor. The combination makes a big difference.” While Southerners like spice, industry executives say, the region’s traditional chip is thin and flaky.

“The southern consumer prefers a lighter, thinner potato chip,” says Julie McLaughlin, director of marketing at Birmingham, Ala.-based Golden Flake Snack Foods, which makes Golden Flake Thin & Crispy Potato Chips. The company sells across 10 states in the Southeast, McLaughlin says, and its best-selling chip is “Sweet Heat Barbecue,” one of five barbecue varieties it makes. Golden Flake also offers a thick-cut, wavy chip, McLaughlin says, “for the transplants.”

And then there are the niche chips, the hyper-local flavors that connect people to their culinary heritage. In New Orleans, Zapp’s makes “Spicy Cajun Crawtaters,” designed to mimic the flavor of a seafood boil. Nottingham, Penn.-based Herr Foods makes a Philly cheesesteak chip, as well as one meant to taste like boardwalk fries. For other Mid-Atlantic producers such as Hanover, Penn.-based Utz Quality Foods and the Mount Jackson, Va.-chippery Route 11 Potato Chips, crab seasoning is must, but may be for locals only.

“If you’ve never had a blue crab

experience, or been at a crab feast, you’re kind of like, ‘What is this?’” says Sarah Cohen, Route 11 president and co-founder. “If I see somebody ordering a lot of crab and they’re in Kansas City, we’ll call them up to see if they understand what the crab is. Usually they don’t, and they’re thankful that we called.” Advances in potato chip making technology and distribution have flattened what may once have been a much wider variety of regional chip preferences, some analysts and executives say. Potato chip making began in the mid-19th century with mom-andpop operations in practically any small town with access to potatoes, oil and a kettle to fry them in.

Today, the industry uses “chipping potatoes” grown specifically for the purpose, and has developed technology to produce a more uniform chip. Advances in packaging and the emergence of big box chains mean chips now can travel much farther, spreading once local tastes throughout the country.

“Through the mass marketers, through Costco and BJs, Walmart, a lot of product that was regional has now become national,” says the Snack Food Association’s McCarthy. “You can find Utz potato chips in California and before you couldn’t.”

For sure, standardization and competition from giant producers like Frito-Lay may have squeezed some smaller companies out of business, executives say.

But it may be the predominance of those flat, mass-produced chips that has also kept regional passions alive. —AP