13th Sep

CR IP TI ON BS SU

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Jordan king says Israel disrupted nuclear plans

150 FILS NO: 15567 40 PAGES

Zuckerberg eyes mobile after Facebook IPO flop

Riyadh steers citizens away from ‘jihad’ in Syria

Messi shackled in Lima, Colombia win again

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www.kuwaittimes.net

SHAWWAL 26, 1433 AH

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Furious mob kills US ambassador to Libya 3 other Americans also killed in attack • Amir sends condolences conspiracy theories

Shame on you filmmaker!

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

I

find it a bit strange how the attack on the American ambassador in Libya, Christopher Stevens, which resulted also in the death of three other diplomats coincided with the news about a film depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a very insulting way. It is a known fact that American embassies around the world are well-protected and they all resemble big fortresses. This is why I could believe the statement of Obama administration that the attack had been pre-arranged and pre-planned. Of course, the murder of the ambassador and any other American or a person of any nationality is a crime and is considered an act of terror. I condemn any murder.

Let me now go back to the movie which was made by an anti-Muslim filmmaker. Jointly, this American Jew and a Coptic Christian American created a movie which depicts Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in all sorts of non-religious ways. According to online reports, the movie and its trailer depict Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in a very insulting way. I cannot even begin to describe in what demeaning ways.

Of course, the producer of the film and the actors taking part in the movie knew exactly what they were doing and knew exactly what the result of this would be - violence and riots.

Plus, the movie called “Innocence of Muslims” reportedly cost millions to make with money raised from the Jewish community. I call this insinuation of hatred and an act of terror that is wrapped in velvet. And do not say that it is about freedom of speech because it is not!

After 9/11, the US has new laws. Let’s see the American government use those against nonMuslims too. The silence of the Arab and Muslim governments is amazing. It reminds me of the silence of the lambs.

KUWAIT: A small group of Kuwaiti protesters gather outside the US embassy in Bayan yesterday to condemn an anti-Islam film made by an Israeli-American. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Max 43º Min 29º High Tide 08:39 & 22:34 Low Tide 02:13 & 15:48

BENGHAZI, Libya: Washington’s envoy to Libya and three other Americans were killed when a mob angered over a movie mocking Islam and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) stormed the US consulate in Benghazi, sparking world outrage and drawing an apology from Libyan authorities yesterday. US President Barack Obama quickly ordered increased security at US diplomatic missions around the world, while slamming Tuesday’s deadly assault in Benghazi, an Islamist stronghold in eastern Libya, that coincided with the anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks in the United States.

“I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens,” Obama said in a White House statement. “I have directed my administration to provide all necessary Christopher Stevens resources to support the security of our personnel in Libya, and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe,” he added.

HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah expressed yesterday in a cable sent to Obama his deep condolences over the attack. Affirming Kuwait’s condemnation of such a heinous terrorist crime, the cable noted that these acts have nothing to do with Islamic values and international norms.

Continued on Page 13

Pakistan factory fires kill 314 KARACHI: At least 314 Pakistanis perished in horrific fires that destroyed two factories in Pakistan, an unprecedented industrial tragedy that prompted calls yesterday for an overhaul of poor safety standards. At least 289 people died at a garment factory in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city and the capital of Sindh province, just hours after 25 died at a shoe factory in Lahore, close to the Indian border. In scenes of horror, relatives watched as loved ones jumped from windows of the four-storey building in Karachi where hundreds were working in a bid to escape the blaze, which began late Tuesday.

Karachi fire chief Ehtesham Salim said rescue workers were facing problems retrieving more bodies from the basement as it was filled with hot water after efforts to extinguish fire. “There are places in the basement which are still smouldering. Water we used to extinguish the fire has made a pool of hot water in the large area of basement and we are trying to cool it down. There is no electricity in the factory. Our operation has slowed down but we have not suspended our effort.”

Karachi’s top administration official, Karachi Roshan Shaikh, told AFP that more victims were being recovered and that he expected the toll to rise.

Continued on Page 13

KARACHI: Pakistani paramedics and rescuers identify the dead bodies of garment labourers who were killed after fire erupted at a factory in Karachi yesterday. (Inset) A man mourns the death of his relatives in the blaze. — AFP

Tabtabaei warns against Indian missionary meet UAE to ban MP

By A Saleh

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller announces the new iPhone 5 during an Apple special event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts yesterday. — AFP

Apple unveils iPhone 5 SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc took the wraps off its fastest, thinnest iPhone yesterday, packing a much larger screen and 4G capability on the fifth version of the smartphone that helped it become the world’s most valuable corporation. The iPhone 5 will go on sale tomorrow from $199, sporting a 4-inch “retina” display, ability to surf a high-speed 4G LTE wireless network, and is 20 percent lighter than the previous iPhone 4S. CEO Tim Cook, who took over from the company’s late co-founder Steve Jobs last year, faces

pressure to keep Apple at the forefront of the industry.

The latest iPhone comes as Apple tries to fend off competition that has reached fever-pitch. Google Inc’s Android has become the most-used mobile operating system in the world, while key supplier and rival Samsung Electronics has taken the lead in smartphone sales. Rivals have been first to market with phones that have bigger displays or run on faster wireless networks.

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KUWAIT: Islamist MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei yesterday warned that an Indian Christian missionary has rented a park in Jleeb tomorrow to meet members of the Indian community in Kuwait and try to convince them to convert to Christianity. On the killing of the US ambassador in Libya, Tabtabaei said that he wasn’t killed intentionally. “The American movie about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is a more serious mistake that cannot be let go without action”, he said, condemning the assault on the US embassy in Libya and at the same time urging the US administration to take all possible measures to stop the Prophet’s (PBUH) blasphemers. “How can some people condemn the killing of the US ambassador and forget about the US government’s leniency towards the producers and the promoters of this blasphemous movie,” he wondered.

On the recent seizures of foul foodstuff and pork-contaminated meat products, Tabtabaei said allowing such foods into the state reveals the extent of corruption in Kuwait.

“Corruption alarmingly has reached the level of manipulating citizens’ lives and their food supplies”, he warned.

Meanwhile, well-informed sources said UAE intends to blacklist Tabtabaei over his activities and cooperation with the Muslim Brotherhood and for applauding the actions of Emiratis whose nationalities had been withdrawn for speaking out against the UAE regime and jeopardizing UAE’s state security. Notably, the UAE has banned a number of Kuwaiti lawmakers, clerics and political activists from entering the Emirates over their affiliation with the Brotherhood.

MOGADISHU: A Somali intelligence police shoots at a man believed to be a rebel who attacked the hotel where newly elected Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (inset) was meeting Kenya’s foreign minister. — AFP

Two days into job, Somalia president survives attacks MOGADISHU: Suicide bombers attacked the hotel where Somalia’s president was giving a news conference yesterday, killing eight people and sending reporters diving for cover. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud - just two days into his job - and the visiting Kenyan foreign minister were unhurt in the attack claimed by Somalia’s Al Shabaab rebels.

The first explosion struck shortly after 2 pm (1100 GMT) as Kenya’s Sam Ongeri

started to speak. Volleys of gunshots erupted as local and foreign journalists ducked behind pillars, velvet red chairs and cameras.

Mohamud, who had been staying at the hotel since being elected on Monday, was unfazed and Ongeri continued his speech, saying: “I believe this is the price of peace.” Seven-and-a-half minutes later, a second explosion erupted.

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

LOCAL

Municipality inspections help reduce food poisoning cases Increased vigil during summer KUWAIT: The phenomenon of food poisoning remains a major threat to citizens and residents of Kuwait due to excessive consumption of junk food during the season when temperatures are high. Doctors define food poisoning as “symptoms that occur due to eating contaminated foods with toxic substances or microbes and are inferred by intestinal disorders, vomiting or diarrhea or both, accompanied by neurological or physiological disorders and high temperature.”

Food safety employee in the Food and Market Control Department in Kuwait’s Municipality, Jassem Mohammad Abdullah, said yesterday that “the Municipality is carrying out inspection campaigns in restaurants on regular basis, and according to the complaints we receive from citizens to monitor various restaurants and markets.”

During these campaigns, inspection procedures take place to ensure the validity of restaurants’ health licenses, workers’ health certificates and compliance with hygienic

standards, the cleanliness of tools, foods and restaurants, he added.

Regarding the difference in the number of food poisoning cases between summer and other seasons, Abdullah said that such cases are in plenty during summer, but there is wide variation in statistics because many cases are not being reported.

Abdullah added that “penalties are imposed against restaurants violating rules, varying according to the violations monitored during inspection, noting that penalties may consist of shutting down the restaurant in cases of grave offenses, paying fines or a warning when the violations are minor.”

In addition, he stressed that these penalties are sufficient enough when applied strictly to curb violations committed by restaurants.

Furthermore, Abdullah concluded that there is coordination between the Municipality and the Ministry of Health as the ministry’s laboratories are to be used, in some conditions, to detect cases of food poisoning.

Bader Hassan, a local restaurant manager, said that ensuring the workers’ compliance with hygienic standards is one of the precautions taken by the restaurants during the summer, in addition to checking the validity of workers’ health certificates.

He added that other precautions are performed such as careful food preservation in cool places, cleaning utensils, maintaining the restaurants cleanliness, noting that summer precautions are various due to the increased likelihood of damage done to food at higher temperatures.

Choosing high-quality meat and vegetables, ensuring the safety of their origin, careful preservation of them and cooking them well to avoid the transmission of bacteria are also measures that are taken in restaurants, he asserted.

Hassan concluded by saying that the Municipality carries out periodic inspection campaigns, adding that the penalties are fair when applied. —KUNA

Electric shocks kill three

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Two electricians were electrocuted to death while they were performing maintenance work on some high voltage wires in Al-Zoor. The two Asian men, aged 36 and 22, were pronounced dead at the scene, after they were killed instantly after reportedly coming into contact with a live electric wire, which they had assumed was disconnected. The deceased’ bodies have been moved to the forensic department and an investigation into the case has been launched.

Meanwhile, a Bangladeshi was hurt fatally by an electric shock in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, and the police are now investigating the circumstances behind the incident. The victim, who was reportedly killed instantly after being electrocuted, has been taken to the forensic department after paramedics pronounced him dead.

KUWAIT: Ahmadi Governor Sheikh Dr Ibrahim Al-Duaij met with the outgoing Japanese Ambassador Yasuyoshi Komizo yesterday at his office in the governorate’s diwan. Dr Al-Duaij expressed gratitude to ‘Japan’s role in pushing forward means of joint cooperation,’ and wished him success in his future endeavors.

Maid injured A domestic worker has been hospitalized after sustaining severe burn injuries from a fire that broke out at her employer ’s house. The woman was rushed to the Farwaniya Hospital after being rescued from the house and is said to be suffering from first degree burns. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the fire broke out owing to a gas leak, which happened because the maid failed to secure the safety valve while changing a cooking gas cylinder. No other casualties have been reported in the fire.

KUWAIT: Symeon K. Keletzis, deputy head of mission and consul, Embassy of Greece, visited Kuwait Times office yesterday and held talks on matters of mutual interest with Editor-in-Chief Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan.

Praise for Kuwait transparency KUWAIT: Kuwaiti companies enjoy high levels of transparency in financial transactions and are applying one of the most efficient programs to fight money laundering and corruption, said Regional Head of HSBC’s Global Payments and Cash Management business in the Middle East and North Africa Natasha Patel.

In a press statement during her visit to Kuwait, Patel said that the Gulf Cooperation Council’s firms also have strict control over their financial transactions which make money laundering and financial crimes very difficult and easy to discover in this region. She added that its branches in the GCC region are applying highlysophisticated and accurate control systems to fight money laundering activities and counter all financial crimes.

Kuwait is a strategic market for HSBC’s

payments and cash management services, she said, noting the bank has a cumulative experience in this domain. Patel pointed out that HSBC’s focus in Kuwait will also be on bringing the world of international financial services to its customer base to help them achieve their growth ambitions.

HSBC is committed to supporting government initiatives to build Kuwait’s economy, she underlined. With regard to the challenges facing the market, Patel highlighted the increase in over risk to business due to the growing instability of socioeconomic conditions globally and in the Middle East. The challenges also include swing in currency rate; fluctuating demand from Europe, China and USA; rising operating costs and fees as well as the increasing compliance-related costs and delays. —KUNA

Commerce Ministry to continue closing down violating shops KUWAIT: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry confirmed yesterday that it would pursue closure of shops and companies accused of dealing in foodstuffs containing pork and lard, denying rumors in some social networking websites that the ministry plans to abstain from imposing such a penalty.

The ministry said in a press statement

yesterday that the closure of law-violating shops and companies would continue as officials and inspectors have testified in front of the public prosecution department complementing legal procedures.

It added that it would spare no effort to continue its oversight role on the commercial sector and will not hesitate to activate all the tools and procedures. —KUNA

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

local

Municipality holds campaign in Capital governorate

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

‘No return for Jaber Al-Mubarak’ KUWAIT: Opposition bloc figure Ahmad AlSaadoun said that he plans to tell His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah during a future meeting about electing a new prime minister from lawmakers elected to the Parliament or handpicked from an elite number of people who are respected for their competency.

HH the Amir conducts consultations with former parliament speakers before exercising his constitutional right to name Kuwait’s prime minister; who has always been a member of the Al-Sabah ruling family since the country’s independence. “HH the Amir appoints the prime minister, only after he discusses all aspects,” Al-Saadoun said, adding that a prime minister from outside of the ruling family “should be elected because it is illogical to remain in the initial years of independence [after the enforcement of the Constitution].”

These are Al-Saadoun’s first statements following a demonstration held by the opposition Monday, to protest the government’s decision to send the electoral law to the Constitutional Court to verify the constitutionality of the five-constituency distribution and voting systems. “Jaber Al-Mubarak should not return [to the PM post],” AlSaadoun asserted, adding that an elected Cabinet ‘must happen in the next Parliament.’

“It is the responsibility of the next Parliament to reject any of the current 16 current ministers,” he added, reported Al-Rai. The majority bloc, a coalition of 34 oppositionists who dominated majority seats in the annulled 2012 parliament were reportedly content with last Monday’s demonstration, according to sources. Furthermore,

sources said that the bloc ‘was not surprised’ by remarks made by Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, who proclaimed Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak “as the last prime minister from the Al-Sabah family,” reported Al-Qabas.

Several bloc members told Al-Rai that the ‘sharp tone of speech’ during Monday’s demonstration reflects “the public’s desire to shape Kuwait the way they want”.

“If [the government] wanted to shape the country on their own way, the public will reshape Kuwait in its own way,” said MP Musallam Al-Barrak. “We look to put the country back on the right track through an elected Cabinet without a Cabinet that is elected through ballot boxes, Kuwait’s problems will not be resolved,” reported Al-Rai. MP Ali Al-Omair criticized the opposition in statements through which he expressed his ‘deep gratitude to Kuwaitis who chose to boycott’ the demonstration at the Iradah Square. “Your decision sends a message which states that Kuwait will not be lost due to the awareness of its people.”

Separately, two liberal groups released a statement blaming “struggle between certain members of the ruling family” and “sectarianism and tribalism reinforced by members of the 2009 and 2012 parliaments,” for the deteriorating situation in Kuwait.

The Democratic Forum and the National Democratic Allowance also recognizes “the Cabinet’s right to head the Constitutional Court regarding constituencies’ issue,” and demanded that any change to the electoral law be made based on a court ruling that will be issued on September 25. It must be made in agreement with political groups and civil society institutions,” reported Al-Qabas.

KUWAIT: The Municipality carried out a campaign at Jaber Al-Ahmad City, Doha, Sulaibikhat which falls under the Capital governorate branch, said Falah Al-Shimmari, Director of Capital governorate municipality

Federation’s General Secretariat and the GCC General Secretariat to explore significant developments and obstacles in the GCC common market.

“The GCC market will lead to remarkable growth in GCC companies production and drop product price which will help it compete with foreign products on local and global markets,” he added.

“It will also create new job openings and allure foreign direct investments to the GCC market,” KCCI Board member Usama Al-Nesif said the common market would help GCC states avoid the negative impacts of the sharp international upheavals. “It would also help address the demographic and unemployment problems in the region,” Al-Nesif said.

ing 30 truckloads of construction remains and garbage from public yards. Ahmad Rashed AlAzemi, Director of Cleaning Administration pointed out that the law will be implemented.

Supervisor Fahad Al-Azemi said that the supervisors are working around the clock as per schedule.

Kuwait protests against Iranian boat incursion Tehran urged to cooperate with IAEA

By A. Saleh KUWAIT: A government official confirmed that Iranian boats entered Kuwaiti territorial waters and that Kuwait officially complained to Tehran about the issue. “Kuwait acts against any breach to the country’s sovereignty by protesting via diplomatic and legal means”, said Director of the Asia Department in the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Mohammad Al-Roumi in a recent statement. Meanwhile, Al-Roumi expressed “Kuwait’s extreme concern from Iran’s nuclear program, especially after the announcement of the activation of the Bushehr nuclear reactor”. He urged Tehran on that matter to “cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency and respect UN Security Council resolutions. Al-Roumi also indicated that a date is yet to be determined to hold a meeting for the Kuwait-Iranian joint committee.

Al-Naibari rejects invitation A senior liberal activist said that he rejected an invitation to join the National Front for the Protection of the Constitution, because he believes that the opposition’s practices contradict with the principles the front stands for.

“Many Majority Bloc members adopt level of speech that reflects arrogance and exclusionary tone”,

GCC common market to give boost to region’s economies KUWAIT: The creation of the common market among Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) member states will have great positive impact on the economies of the region, economic experts and officials agreed yesterday. “The common market will help GCC economies benefit from the smooth move of labor, capital and products which will expand the regional markets and help found mega companies with high-competitive products to invade the global markets,” GCC’s Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs Abdullah bin Jumaah Al-Shebli said. Al-Shebli’s remarks were made in a seminar organized by Kuwaiti Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in cooperation with the GCC Chambers

branch. He said that the campaign is aimed at protecting the environment.

The campaign resulted in 13 abandoned cars being neglected or offered for sale, next to Sulaibikhat cinema and Doha.

The vehicles were impounded to the impound center in Amghara, in addition to lift-

“The common market would play an important role in helping GCC achieving food, water, electricity sufficiency and bolstering external and social security.”

He noted that the GCC has made great strides in the relentless efforts to create the common market and support panGCC economic relations. “Over 40,000 GCC nationals have investments outside their homeland and the pan-GCC trade have jumped to more than $68 billion in 2011,” Al-Nesif revealed. Meanwhile, GCC Chambers Federation General Secretary General, Abdulrahim Al-Naqi disclosed that the number of GCC industrial projects have went up to 180 projects in 2010 with a total capital of approximately $12 billion.—KUNA

Al-Tabtabaei calls for helping Syrian rebels KUWAIT: Kuwaiti donations in cooperation with the Turkish government funded the shipment of anti-aircraft weapons meant for use by the Free Syrian Army, MP Dr Waleed AlTabtabaei announced recently. “The anti-aircraft weapons provided to the Free Army were bought with Kuwaiti donations,” Al-Tabtabaei told the Al-Rai daily after returning to Kuwait from Syria, where he said he had met with Syrian rebels in Idlib. “We entered Idlib through Turkey, and while the ground situation was largely safe, the main threat was posed by the current regime’s aircrafts, which bombards the city from time to time,” he pointed out. AlTabtabaei further called for, “equipping the Free Syrian Army with anti-tank and antiaircraft weapons, or working towards enforcing no-fly zones that will protect innocent civilians from random bombardment.” He also indicated that the rebels “are taking control and fighting back the enemy’s tanks on land.”

The MP also stated that Syrian President Bashar AlAssad won’t step down, “and will fight until his last breath.”

“He knows deep down that he has lost the battle, but continues to stay in power to delay his defeat,” Al-Tabtabaei noted.

former MP Abdullah Al-Naibari said in a recent statement. “The increasing sectarian tone in their speech struck concern within many sectors of our society, especially Shiites and liberals who are often described as followers of corrupt traders”. Al-Naibari added that this approach “deepens social disintegration and could lead to conflicts we might suffer from for years”, mentioning Iraqi and Lebanese societies as examples.

Also, Al-Naibari explained that many positions expressed by the opposition when it comes to public and personal freedoms “contradict with their call to protect the constitution”, and accused the Majority Bloc members of having “flawed political vision for the future of Kuwait”.

Residential projects The Ministry of Public Works finished designs for the Al-Na’ayem City project, which includes residential and industrial areas, as well as warehouses and a scrap yard. This was announced recently by minister Dr Fadhel Safar, who added that “designs for other projects were handed to the Public Authority for Housing Welfare, including the AlMutla’a area and another residential area in Boubyan island”. These projects are part of plans to utilize uninhabited areas in Kuwait to build new residential areas. Safar also revealed that an agreement was reached to turn an area north of AlSubbiya into a residential area.

Soya, corn price hike expected KUWAIT: A new wave of price hikes are expected to be announced by November, after sources at the Kuwait Flour Mill stated that subsidies for animal feed are slated to stop by Nov 1. The KD 24 million in subsidies had been ordered under an Amiri grant about a year ago. Sources estimate the price of an oat bag to jump from KD 3.540 to KD 4.300, owing to drought having hit productivi-

ty in countries exporting oats, corn and soya.

They added that another reason for the rice in soya and corn prices is that these commodities are increasingly being used as fuel, which harks back to previous warnings about the expected fillip in chicken and egg prices on account of the increase in the prices of soya and corn, which are used as ingredients in chicken feed. — Al-Watan

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

LOCAL

0p-ed

in my view

No to a premier from the public

Unveiling injustice

W

By Dr Hamad Al-Majid will not dwell long on the new Egyptian minister’s decision to allow veiled broadcasters to read the news on Egyptian television, for this is a logical and perfectly normal decree in tune with the spirit of democracy that has engulfed Egypt with the breeze of the Arab Spring. However, I do wish to examine the era when such broadcasters were banned, a decision which the Mubarak regime, along with a number of private and public Arab stations, persisted with.

The problem is that in such situations, neither the regime nor its theorists realized that all bans or restrictions on the status of religion only have a fractional impact in the way in which they intended; and it is not an exaggeration to say that such restrictions are often extremely counterproductive. They are accompanied by a public sense of defiance, and a desire to engage in what has been forbidden.

Decades of repression and conflict against the status of religion in the former Soviet Union only served to ignite enthusiasm for it, and hence now in the countries of Eastern Europe, when compared to the West, there is a greater degree of freedom for open religious expression. This was strengthened after religion was set free from the scourge of communism, a scourge that only left a path leading to the abyss, especially in the fields of education and the media. In the Egyptian experience, as well as in Tunisia, there was another problem when it came to restricting the status of religion. There was a failure to convince the masses that the hijab, in all its shape and forms, and likewise some complex Islamic Sunnahs, were the source of the authorities’ chagrin, rather than the spread of political Islam.

Ben Ali’s regime in Tunisia went to great lengths [to combat political Islam] as did Bourguiba’s before that, but we cannot forget the mentor that first taught these regimes such exclusionary practices, the Turkish military government. These regimes broadcasted dull and ignorant propaganda, branding the hijab as “sectarian clothing”, but this policy produced negative results. There was a strong desire

I

The Egyptian and Tunisian regimes acted more royally than the king when they tried to convince their Western allies that they were an impregnable dam preventing the Islamists from coming to power. However, they committed a fatal mistake when they used prohibited “ideological weapons” in their political battle against the Islamists, and restricted Islamic manifestations such as the hijab. to challenge and revive what the regime had tried to combat and restrict, and furthermore a more dangerous sentiment arose, whereby segments of young people became convinced that the regime’s war was being waged on religion as a whole, rather than on political Islam groups.

This polluted atmosphere was a fertile environment to foster advocates of Takfir ideology.

Unfortunately in this case, the politician tried to drag the ordinary religious man into a conflict with political Islam groups using the wrong tools, like when the former Sheikh of al-Azhar, during his tour of one of the learning institutes, asked a veiled student “what is this thing you are wearing?” Such behavior is the most effective way to promote what has been forbidden, and it sent the wrong message to enthusiastic young people, who now thought that their regime was actually in a state of war against religion as a whole.

Then we witnessed a stunning and surprising change after decades of systematic restrictions on religion. In Turkey, where the regime had struggled fiercely with the veil, the era of military dominance and the exclusionists came to a close when they saw - through their own shortsightedness - the wives of the President and the Prime Minister attending official military events in full hijab. We can say the same thing about Egypt and Tunisia, of course taking into account the different experiences of those countries.

The Egyptian and Tunisian regimes acted more royally than the king when they tried to convince their Western allies that they were an impregnable dam preventing the Islamists from coming to power.

However, they committed a fatal mistake when they used prohibited “ideological weapons” in their political battle against the Islamists, and restricted Islamic manifestations such as the hijab.

These weapons were employed to the extent that in Egypt, for example, veiled women were banned from working as television broadcasters, even though the vast majority of Egyptian women wore the hijab. These weapons brought the wrath of the street upon the regimes, and this ultimately secured their downfall, rather than the threat of their Western allies abandoning them. This is the most important observation we can make from the Arab Spring uprisings.

Of course, these regimes have now fallen and there is no use in continuing to preach to them nowadays. What is important is to inform both the public and private sectors in the rest of the Arab countries, and urge them to reconsider some of their media policies that do not suggest an attack on political Islam groups, but rather on the inherent status of religion. The uncontrolled media suppression of religious values is no less dangerous than political repression when it comes to creating an environment of extremism and militancy, and it can even increase the popularity of political Islam groups.

hile it is considered normal in democracies to step up demands for improving the democratic system, it is not only inappropriate, but also dangerous to jump several stages in this discourse involving constructive dialogue and use language that can be compared with making a civil war speech. Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaei’s remarks during last Monday’s demonstration were reminiscent of such a scenario, especially when he proclaimed that Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah is likely to be the last prime minister elected from the Mubarak branch of the ruling family, and that he has already lost the support of a cross section of Kuwaitis.

MP Al-Tabtabaei has the full right to express his own opinion, as long as he is speaking for himself or on behalf of his political party. But when he claims to be speaking on behalf of the Kuwaiti people, it is our right to discuss what is being said on our behalf.

It is both unwise and provocative to declare that Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak will be the last member of a ruling family to be accepted by the public as the prime minister. Basically, it’s the same old demand for an ‘elected cabinet’, which has been couched in different words, but still remains an old proposition, and has been used more frequently of late.

In fact, this demand featured prominently during the establishment of the National Front for the Protection of the Constitution; an organization that does not represent enough sections of the society, that it enables them to adopt such a demand on their behalf.

Having an elected Cabinet is achievable as per the constitution, but HH the Amir still has the right to appoint a prime minister who might not necessarily belong to the ruling family. But the need to have a prime minister, who is not part of the ruling family, must be made in conjunction

kuwait digest

Difficult, complex political system

By Thaar Al Rashidi here is a certain similarity in the circum- taken by the court, the government will base its stances of the current government and ordi- decision of announcing a date for fresh elections nary Kuwaitis when compared with a citizen on an Amiri decree, which has to be passed within who is obliged to use the services of a temporary 10 days of the verdict. maid. He is only liable to pay the maid a daily wage To be more precise, it will be issued during the and she in return is only expected to work during last two days of September or in first week of the hours designated upon for cleaning the citi- October, and because elections are supposed to be zen’s house. held within 60 days of such We can easily draw para decree being passed, It is also noteworthy that the allels between this situatherefore in the beginning power to issue an Amiri decree tion and the scenario exisof December the current will be dissolved by a 2009 tent between Kuwaiti citigovernment will resign zens and their current govand a new government council at the end of October, ernment. The government will be formed within two which implies that the current is expected to only resolve weeks at the most. government will have to resign, urgent matters and its citiTherefore, we will have but will still be asked to deal zens are expected not to to wait till at least a week keep the government waitbefore the New Year to with urgent matters, until the ing and devote a certain find out who forms the results of this year’s election are amount of time to the govnew government or who is declared. ernment based on the conappointed as the nex t stitutional clock. prime minister of Kuwait.

This clock will then be stopped by someone Do you see now how difficult and complex our until the government vacates its office and a real political system is? It is also noteworthy that the government takes its place, which should have a power to issue an Amiri decree will be dissolved by more permanent standing after the elections that a 2009 council at the end of Oc tober, which are expected to be held in December. implies that the current government will have to Why have I concluded that elections will be held resign, but will still be asked to deal with urgent towards the end of December? The answer is very matters, until the results of this year’s election are simple. The constitutional court is expected to declared. As I said earlier, our constitutional clock deliver its verdict on the 25th of this month, and it has stopped ticking and will now restart at the end can be assumed that regardless of the decision of this year. Happy New Year? — Al-Anbaa

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kuwait digest

Personal interests in political scene

By Fahad Al-Handal s reform a public demand? Can democracy con- process. Governments elected after liberation were tain all, or must it be shaped according to cer- supposed to provide widespread development, tain standards? Should freedom be fully or par- including the crucial change needed for improving tially protected? social ideologies, which would have heralded a We are trying to interpret through these ques- new concept of patriotism in which people are tions, the struggle that is currently taking place considered partners in leadership, rather than because of the different opinions expressed across dependents looking towards the government for the political spectrum, which are reflecting the handling state issues. While the performance of negativity that is seeping into all aspects of our the government has continued to deteriorate, the public life. We are no longer capable of differenti- parliament has also failed to accomplish the goals ating between democracy and dictatorship while that would have put the country on the right track expressing our opinions, as we have been unable towards development. This has also led to chaos to find the space for the expression of a third opin- and confusion vis-‡-vis the role of the concerned ion, which might suggest a authorities, especially when meeting point bet ween it comes to situations in There is no doubt that the these opposite ends of the which lawmakers are incaspectrum. This is also evipable of separating interpublic pressure, which preceded dent in the ‘either with me ests aimed at the common the dissolution of the 2009 paror against me’ tenor of good and their own perliament, was driven by protesspeech that is currently virsonal agendas. This forces tors’ frustration at the Cabinet ulent across social netone to reevaluate the perand the parliament’s failure to working sites. formance of the governThere is no doubt that ment and the parliament. carve out a good strategy for the public pressure, which In case, an opposition Kuwait’s future, even twenty preceded the dissolution of party finds itself in a posiyears after Liberation. the 2009 parliament, was tion to control the majority driven by protestors’ frusof seats in the parliament, tration at the Cabinet and the parliament’s failure their performance can be assessed by the quality to carve out a good strategy for Kuwait’s future, of the approach that they adopt, and whether it is even twenty years after Liberation. The practice of a comprehensive strategy at the political, social, developing and building a democratic process, economic and cultural levels, and if it will help deal which commenced some time in between the with any of the flaws present in the previous govbeginning of an implementation of the regulations ernment’s program, which is normally presented at laid down by the constitution and the I raqi the beginning of each parliamentary term.

Invasion, has so far failed to keep up with global But what normally happens in Kuwait is that advancements. monitoring and legislation are driven by personal A stagnant state of affairs has led to the deteri- interests, which lead to political struggle and this oration of the education, health and other sectors, in turn has negative connotations for social and which has not boded well for the development public interest. —Al-Rai

I

A confusion, which perhaps could be intentional, also exists between two ideas, namely the idea of an elected government that embodies all constitutional principles and anoints the country’s public as the source of all power, and the concept of an elected cabinet, which limits the power only to persons holding senior positions in the government. The constitution does not specifically mention that the prime minister should be elected or appointed. with the need to adopt this measure, rather than wish for it. However, is it absolutely necessary to have an elected Cabinet at this juncture, especially given the current developments at the local and regional levels?

The answer to that question is no. We are against the introduction of an elected cabinet at the moment; because the real problem behind Kuwait’s current political crisis does not lie in the present form of governance or in the distribution of electoral constituencies. It is larger, layered and a much more complex than that, and could even worsen if we agree to elect a cabinet at present.

The true crisis actually stems from our failure to improve the current system of ruling, and because we have ignored the basic principles of governing as laid down in the constitution. Either that or these principles have been wrongly applied and in turn have failed to reinforce the sovereignty of the Kuwaiti people and boost freedom and equality across the country.

A confusion, which perhaps could be intentional, also exists between two ideas, namely the idea of an elected government that embodies all constitutional principles and anoints the country’s public as the source of all power, and the concept of an elected Cabinet, which limits the power only to persons holding senior positions in the government.

The constitution does not specifically mention that the prime minister should be elected or appointed. It leaves this decision up to HH the Amir, based on the existent circumstances.

Like all other families living in Kuwait, the ruling family also has competent and incompetent individual members. Selecting a prime minister from outside the ruling family will not necessarily assure that he who is selected will be capable enough to live up to the expectations attached to this post.

Moreover, the presence of sectarian and tribal extremism in the current social and political domain also makes the option of choosing an elected prime minister unsuitable at the present time. Also, the failure of a Cabinet that is led by a member of the ruling family does not warrant demands for appointing a candidate from outside the family. No one can guarantee that a prime minister who is chosen from among the public, will rescue Kuwait from its current ordeal, therefore, we need to stop focusing on this subject and instead look for solutions to our real problems. — Al-Qabas

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

local Three new sponsors for Gulf Women Forum KUWAIT: Three leading companies in development and investment announced joining the sponsors’ team for the Gulf Women Economic Forum, hosted

by Kuwait on Sept 25 and 26. The event, titled “Gulf Women and Investment Opportunities”, takes place at JW Marriott under the patronage of Sheikha Aiydah Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah. “The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development takes part in the event as a golden sponsor, which reflects commitment to support human development and suitable environment for productive investment, in addition to boosting women’s economic capabilities in Kuwait and the rest of Gulf Cooperation Council countries”, said KFAED Media Department Manager Muna Al-Ayaf in a recent statement.

Meanwhile, the Kuwait Financial Center announced taking part as a silver sponsor to the forum “as part of the company’s role as a leading financial institution in Kuwait and the Gulf region in assets and banking investments management”, said Investment Services Department Manager Dina AlRefa’ie.

Also, the Gatehouse Bank of the United Kingdom issued a statement announcing participation at the forum as a silver sponsor. “The participation reflects our commitment to the true economic and investment values that the forum holds”, read a statement released by the bank.

GIC awards KU student KUWAIT: The World Conference on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has awarded student Fahd Dashti from Kuwait University, while in Congress representing the State of Kuwait, a prize for an outstanding student provided by Jack Dangermond, the Honorary President of Esri in recognition for his applications in the use of spatial analysis of geographic information systems.

Kuwait University said in a press statement today that Dashti received a scholarship from Esri as one of the distinguished students of the Department of Geography at the Faculty of Social Sciences to attend the annual conference of GIS users using ESRI technique, which was held in the state of California.

The University added that the student won an Innovation Award for the application of the City of Sabah Al-Salem University using modern techniques with geographic information systems.

Dashti expressed thanks and gratitude to Kuwait University and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Dr Redha Assiri and faculty of the Department of Geography for providing full support and the opportunity to participate in the conference.—KUNA

LONDON: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah arrived at Stansted Airport, yesterday, accompanied by Deputy Chief of the National Guard Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and a delegation of officials coming from the United States. His Highness the Amir was greeted upon arrival by National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Sheikh Shamlan Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United Kingdom Khaled Al-Duwaisan, heads of accredited Kuwaiti offices and Kuwait Embassy staff.

Despite profits, concerns remain over Kuwait long-term prospects Continued dependence on oil KUWAIT: While the economy is surging on the back of higher-than-forecast oil prices that are swelling the state coffers, concerns remain over the state’s long-term prospects. The pace of investment in major capital works projects needed to sustain development, as well as the high cost of state services and wages, could mean that current budget surpluses might become deficits before the end of the decade. In early August, for example, the government released the details of the 2011/12 financial year, revealing that the budget posted a record surplus of $47 billion from total revenue of $107.5 billion, double the forecast earnings when the provisional budget was handed down in early 2011. It is estimated that the surplus came to around 27.1 percent of GDP in 2011, nearly twice the 14.8 percent of GDP for the 2010/11 budget surplus.

The government had initially forecast a deficit for the financial year - the first in more than a decade - based on projected higher expenditures and on a $60 per-barrel price for oil, giving an estimated budgetary shortfall of $21 billion. However, due to increased production, with Kuwait pumping an average of 3 million barrels

per day (bpd) - well up on the 2.2 million bpd it had estimated and the price for a barrel of oil hovering around the $100 mark for the 12-month budget period, the deficit soon became a hefty surplus.

However, the record highs posted also underscore the countr y ’s continued dependence on oil. Of total revenue, all but $6 billion, or 5.5 percent, came from the oil fields, leaving the state not only almost wholly reliant on its hydrocarbons wealth but also extremely susceptible to market fluctuations.

Another contributor to the budget surplus was underspending, which, unlike revenue, was well down on expectations.

Outlays for 2011 came in at $60.5 billion, 12.5 percent below projections the lowest in a decade according to a study conducted by the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).

Daniel Kaye, a senior economist at NBK, said the surplus is a double-edged sword.

“While the surplus is comforting in financial terms, the low spending rate reduced the degree of fiscal expansion and was one reason why economic growth remained sluggish last year,” Kaye told The Financial Times in an interview in midAugust.

Government underspending was largely the result of slow implementation of major development projects and schemes designed to provide employment and boost economic growth, many of which focus on the utilities, industry and transport sectors. In May, the IMF warned that Kuwait’s economy faced fiscal difficulties unless the government moved to reduce state expenditures, and in particular rein in the burgeoning public service wages and pension bill, which account for up to half of all state spending. Failure to do so would mean the country’s fiscal reserves would be whittled away and the budget would slip into deficit by 2017.

It was essential that Kuwait diversify its economy, improve its infrastructure and take steps to promote investment, the IMF report said. A call from the IMF for Kuwait to broaden the state’s revenue base, with one option being a goods and services tax, was roundly rejected by parliamentary deputies at the time, and has not won much support from the government.

According to most estimates, Kuwait’s GDP will grow by around 5.5 percent in 2012, though expansion of the non-oil sector will be around 4 percent, another

indicator of the slower rate of activity in the private sector and the difficulties the state is having in maintaining the flow of investments.

In part, disputes in the political arena have hampered the introduction of new projects, and, as parliament has yet to convene, this year’s fiscal budget, which was due to come into force on April 1, remains unratified. This means the government is operating under the same revenue and expenditure targets set for the 2011/12 budget, rather than the draft for this year, which included much higher spending on capital works, the very thing the IMF said was essential for the economy’s development.

Despite the warnings of the IMF, Kuwait does have the tools needed to create a diversified economy, having set out a programme of investment aimed at broadening the national revenue base, meeting future infrastructure needs and reducing its reliance on oil. As long as the government can clear approval bottlenecks, direct more spending to development and keep its wages bill in check, the economy will be well placed to grow.

— Oxford Business Group

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

LOCAL

Jewelry, phone thieves arrested in Salmiya Housemaid rescues boy from drowning KUWAIT: Hawally detectives arrested a couple responsible for 30 cases of theft reported by jewelry and cell phone shops around Kuwait. The arrests were made after investigations identified the female suspect who was detained near her residence in Salmiya.

After initially denying accusations, the woman, who is in her twenties, admitted committing the crimes with the help of her male partner.

The Kuwaiti man was soon arrested at his Mahboulah residence. He gave details during confessions, including how he used to steal gold jewelry while his accomplice would distract the shopkeeper.

He also revealed how he used to steal phones by pretending to

show the device to his “wife waiting in the car”. The couple remain in custody and face charges pressed by 20 mobile phone stores and 10 jewelry shops.

Meanwhile, Jahra detectives managed to arrest three men who robbed shops around the governorate, after identifying one of the suspects by blood traces found at a crime scene. The suspect was ambushed in Jahra after his blood was found on top of a cashier box at a phone shop where KD 1,500 was reported stolen.

Information provided by the suspect during investigations helped police arrest his two accomplices soon after. The suspects were referred to the proper authorities to face charges.

Work mishap A worker was killed in AlAndalus after falling from a height while fixing electric wirings outside a house. The 28year-old Indian man was pronounced dead by paramedics who arrived shortly after the incident was reported. Preliminary investigations indicated that the man accidently fell after losing balance. Investigations are still ongoing to determine whether foul play is involved.

Jleeb kidnap Investigations are ongoing in search for male suspects who reportedly kidnapped a woman in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. Farwaniya detectives launched investigations after being approached by

an Asian woman, reporting that her compatriot was forced inside a car by suspects who stopped her while she was walking in the area, before they drove away.

Maid saves the day A 10-year-old boy was saved from drowning after his family’s housemaid jumped into the pool to pull him out of the water. The incident happened recently in Hutain where the child, who was left alone with his siblings, decided to swim in the pool at home.

The domestic worker rushed to save the boy when she became alarmed by his siblings’ cries. The child was taken to Mubarak Hospital by paramedics who responded to the housemaid’s call. — Al-Rai, Al-Watan

Wataniya receives candidates as customer care executives KUWAIT: In efforts to improve customer service as part of the developmental process of its recruitment strategy, Wataniya Telecom organized an skills assessment session. The objective behind this initiative was to hire more than 50 candidates for the position of Customer Care Executives. It was held on Sept 9.

Majdi Ghannam, Chief Human Resource Officer of Wataniya Telecom stated, “At Wataniya Telecom, we strive to bring the latest HR techniques to the region while ensuring that we only hire top-caliber individuals.

By holding this event, Wataniya is aiming to support young and career-oriented people. We want creative and passionate individuals who want to work in a challenging and interactive environment. They will make a vital contribution

to Wataniya’s services and customer relations.” He added, “Candidates were tested for a number of different skills and professional qualities. We want to ensure that our employees are the best in the market which in turn will result in providing our customers with the best call center service.”

Wataniya believes in giving the youth of Kuwait growth and development opportunities.

That is why careful selection and training at entry level jobs play a crucial role in Wataniya’s HR policies. Several unique training courses and scholarship programs are available for Wataniya employees so that they can continue to upgrade their knowledge and develop their professional skills. To apply for jobs at Wataniya, candidates should log on to www.wataniya.com.

Al-Obaidi chairs international health conference session

KUWAIT: The Faculty of Engineering and Petroleum at the Kuwait University held the annual gathering for staff members registered for the academic year 2012-2013 at the JW Marriott hotel. — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Safar expresses ministry’s readiness for rainy season KUWAIT: The Minister of Public Works Dr Fadhel Safar underscored here yesterday the ministry’s preparations for the rainy season, which includes cleaning of rain drainage network and the processing of pump equipment to accommodate additional quantities of rain.

Safar told KUNA after chairing a meeting of the Emergency Committee yesterday that the committee is communicating and processing each case to counter the problems that may occur in the rainy season, noting that work is

currently ongoing to clean rain drainage networks.

He explained that contractors have been informed to take precautionary measures and prepare for the season with all available power, indicating that there is cooperation between relevant sectors to coordinate and clean networks and improve slopes in the streets and roads in order to prevent the formation of rain ponds.

He noted that the Emergency Committee is in permanent convention, urging those who

Gulf Bank’s red customers receive student allowances KUWAIT: Gulf Bank announced that customers of its red(tm) program, a unique account designed by the Bank that is tailored specifically for college and university students, will receive their student allowances early the next morning following receipt by the Bank from the competent authorities.

The enhancement is in line with Gulf Bank’s ‘We Promise’ program, which is a commitment from Gulf Bank to its customers to deliver the best and fastest banking services in Kuwait in terms of accuracy, quality and timeliness of transactions.

Najla Al-Essa, Executive Manager, Consumer Banking Group, at Gulf Bank said, “Ensuring our customers are satisfied with our banking services is our number one priority.

We are aware of the importance of our service levels to red(TM) customers which is why we changed our process to ensure that their allowances are available to them as soon as possible. We invite everyone to make use of this feature by opening a red(tm) account with Gulf Bank.”

Customers wishing to take advantage of this benefit must have Gulf Bank’s red(tm) account and transfer their student allowance.

Any student aged between 17 and 24 years can open a red(tm) account, which requires no deposit and is available for both current and savings accounts with

monthly interest payments. To join the red(tm) program, you can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches or contact its Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance.

You can also log on to www.e-gulfbank.com, Gulf Bank’s website, to find all the information they need regarding the red(TM) program and its benefits.

Najla Al-Essa

have complaints to call the emergency reception sector at 150. He said the network capacity allocated to the rain is 50 mm per hour.

The meeting stressed the need for coordination between the ministry’s technical sectors to overcome any problems or obstacles and address the relevant authorities in the state to regulate certain areas to ensure the availability of basic services such as networks of rain and sanitation networks, calling on citizens to maintain the state facilities so as not to hamper their utilization. —KUNA

Kuwait signs new lease agreement for refinery at Rotterdam ROTTERDAM: The Kuwait Petroleum and the Port of Rotterdam signed an agreement to renew the lease of the land of KP refinery in Rotterdam, known as Kuwait Petroleum Europort for another 25 years.

Wael Salmeen, Managing Director KPE said that Kuwait bought the refinery in Rotterdam in 1983.”The land lease expired last December. After conducting thorough negotiations with the port of Rotterdam, we received a very good rate for the land, “ he said after signing the lease agreement with the CEO of Rotterdam port Hans Smits.

“It took eight months of tough negotiations. We hired a legal firm to support us and I am very pleased with the outcome of the lease. This is a commitment from the KPE that we are committed to stay at the site and it is a commitment for port of Rotterdam to support the investment that we plan to do,” said Salmeen.

He said the KP is planning to invest about $880 million in the Orange Project to upgrade and modernize its refinery in Rotterdam. He noted that the KP board has approved to conduct the feed study and Salmeen said they are going to complete the study by end of next March. In April, they will go back to the KPC board for approval for the engineering and procurement phase.

“If we receive the approval then the estimation is that by April 2016 we will commission the project,” he added. Jaap van Dalen, business manager of the Rotterdam Port, said the KP refinery, one of the four refineries at Rotterdam port, is a “very important refinery.” “Liquid bulk is about 45 percent in our total port through put. The fact that we have a number of refineries in Rotterdam is very important to us,” he said. —KUNA

RIYADH: The Minister of Health Dr Ali Al-Obaidi chaired a session here, Wednesday, during ‘International Conference on Healthy Lifestyles and Non-communicable Diseases in the Arab World and Middle East,’ organized by the Saudi Health Ministry under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

Th e s e s s i o n , p a r t o f a fo u r - d ay event which began Sunday, addressed integration of services that counter the spread of non-communicable diseases into basic health care, the minister told KUNA. Health Ministr y ’s Primar y Care Director Dr Rihab Al-Wutayyan reviewed Kuwait ’s progress in implementing global recommendations in this respect and related plans of the ministry.

Kuwait is among the earnest participants in such conferences, he noted, and the ministry is keen on realization of rec-

ommendations of such gatherings and those of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WHO regional office.

“Such opportunities are valuable for exchange of expertise and discussions among leaders, researchers, care providers, and those in the field.”

The health minister and accompanying delegation are planned to leave Riyadh later in the day after taking part in four days’ activities and sessions.

The delegation included Sabah Health Zone Director Dr Adel Al-Asfour, Legal Affairs Director, Dr Mahmoud Abdelhadi, Public Relations and Media Director Faisal Al-Dosiri, and Hussain Mak k i Juma Center for Specialized Surgeries Director Dr Ahmad Al-Awadhi.

It also included Primary Care Director Dr Rihab Al-Wutayyan, Consultant Endocrinologist at Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital, Dr Walid Al-Dhahi and Chest Diseases Specialist at the hospital Dr Abdullah Al-Mutairi. —KUNA

Algeria, Kuwait sign trade, tourism deals ALGIERS: Algeria and Kuwait signed here on Tuesday two cooperation agreements on trade and tourism.

The agreements were signed by Algerian Finance Minister Karim Djoudi and Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf Finance Minister, and Acting Education Minister and Higher Education Minister at the conclusion of the joint committee meeting.

Both sides have set next April for a special committee meeting to take follow up action on investment cooperation file.

The two sides also agreed to organize seminars and commercial-related meetings in Kuwait and Algeria to explore investment opportunities.

Algeria and Kuwait asserted importance or organizing exhibitions for products of both countries.

Djoudi handed over to Al-Hajraf a draft agreement on cooperation and exchange of information between the Bank of Algeria and the Central Bank of Kuwait. Al-Hajraf said he would refer the draft deal to CB for study.

Both parties voiced satisfaction with Kuwait Projects Co’s (KIPCO) partnership with Algeria over the establishment of a pharmaceutical company, producing power generators, farming and creation of other firms. The Kuwaiti side briefed the Algerians over the water desalination experience. — KUNA

ALGIERS: Algerian and Kuwaiti officials signing the cooperation agreements on trade and tourism yesterday.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Pakistani Hindus flee to India, claim persecution

Jordan King accuses Israel blocking nuclear program

Page 11

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Rebels slay 18 Syrian soldiers Fighting rages in the country’s commercial capital

ALEPPO: Bodies of people killed during fighting between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters lay on the ground at a street in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo yesterday. — AFP

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WASHINGTON: US ambassador Chris Stevens had sup- showed him hiking in the mountains. He described how he ported the Libyan revolt that overthrew Muammar fell in love with the Middle East and North Africa during a Gaddafi, but now has now been struck down in an attack two-year stint in the Peace Corps, when he worked as an by forces unleashed after the strongman’s fall. Stevens English teacher in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. He went on to was killed in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi join the State Department, where he served as a US foreign late Tuesday by armed Islamists outraged over an ama- service officer in Jerusalem, Damascus, Cairo and Riyadh over teur American-made Internet video mocking Islam, less the course of a 21-year career.

The Arabic and French-speaking diplomat also served than six months after being appointed to his post.

Stevens had served as envoy to the Libyan rebels from in Libya as deputy chief of mission between 2007 and the early weeks of the February 2011 revolt, during which 2009, shortly after the United States restored relations with NATO aircraft helped rebels overthrow the 40-year-old Gaddafi’s regime. It was not immediately clear why Stevens regime and eventually capture and kill Gaddafi. “I was was in the Benghazi consulate at the time of Tuesday’s thrilled to watch the Libyan people stand up and demand attack or whether those who pelted the building with their rights,” Stevens said in a video introduction released rocket-propelled grenades before setting it on fire knew he by the State Department shortly after he was appointed was there. During Gaddafi’s reign an Islamist demonstraambassador in May 2012. “Now I’m excited to return to tion of the kind that erupted Tuesday night would have Libya to continue the great work we’ve started, building a been unthinkable, but so would the “free, democratic, solid partnership between the United States and Libya to prosperous Libya” that Stevens had said he hoped to help bring about. — AFP help you, the Libyan people, achieve your goals.”

Yesterday, US President Barack Obama praised Stevens as a “courageous and exemplary representative of the United States,” saying he had “selflessly served our country and the Libyan people.” “His legacy will endure wherever human beings reach for liberty and justice. I am proShuwaikh, Sh huwa waik kh, Zina str. strr. st foundly grateful for his service to my Administration, and deeply saddened by this loss,” Obama said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that as last year’s uprising unfolded Stevens had “risked his own life to lend the Libyan people a helping hand to build the foundation for a new, free nation.”

“He spent every day since helping to finish the work that he started.”

Libyans also spoke out against the killing, with Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagur condemning the “barbaric” assault on the embassy.

“Stevens was a friend of Libya and we are shocked at the attacks on the US conWorking Time: sulate in Benghazi,” he 8:00 am - 8:00 pm (Saturday to Thursday) wrote on Twitter. In the Avail of this promotion in all KAICO Quick Service centres State Department video, Stevens talked about growMany Drivers. One Oil. ing up in California and graduating from the Call: 2482 8296 - 5546 6044 University of California at Berkeley. Old pictures

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US envoy a victim of revolt he supported

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Hama, the Observatory reported that eight bodies had been found in farmlands in Halfaya village, following an assault by government forces. It said the number of dead was expected to rise as many people were reported missing. In eastern Syria, troops shelled several districts of Deir Ezzor city, and an unspecified number of people were killed in air strikes on the town of Albu Kamal, the Observatory said.

Rebels launched rocket attacks on a number of army checkpoints in the northwestern city of Idlib, the Observatory added, with locals reporting powerful explosions and columns of smoke rising from the targets. On Tuesday, 138 people - 93 civilians, 19 rebels and 26 soldiers-were killed nationwide, according to the Observatory. Of these, 13 people died in Aleppo, mostly civilians in Sakhur, Sukari and Bustan Al-Qasr.

More than 27,000 people have been killed since the revolt against President Bashar Al-Assad broke out in March 2011, according to Observatory figures. International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was in Cairo on Tuesday to meet exiled opposition leaders ahead of a planned visit to Damascus.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Brahimi will meet Assad in Damascus and insisted that “the violence must stop by both sides.” He told reporters in Bern that he understood the frustration felt by many in the face of the UN Security Council’s apparent paralysis in dealing with the spiraling crisis. But “while we may be frustrated and troubled by not being able to address the situation in Syria, which has reached intolerable circumstances”, he said, “we should not be overly pessimistic about the strength and the commitment of the international community, especially the international organizations.”

“Those countries who might have influence over two parties should exercise” that influence and work towards “a political resolution reflecting the genuine aspirations of the Syrian people,” Ban added. Coupled with the violence is the humanitarian crisis caused by the large number of people fleeing the country or displaced within its borders. The UN refugee agency said the number of civilians who have fled nearly 18 months of violence has reached more than 250,000. And it says more than 1.2 million civilians, more than half of them children, have been displaced inside Syria.— AFP

2012/2537

ALEPPO: Syrian rebels killed at least 18 soldiers in a car bomb and ground attack on a military position in Idlib province yesterday, as fighting also raged in the country’s commercial capital, Aleppo. Four Armenian Syrians were killed and 13 wounded on the road home from the airport after a trip to Yerevan.

“There were 70 to 100 soldiers there when the attack occurred” in the town of Saraqeb, Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “Twenty soldiers escaped, and clashes are still going on,” he added.

Abdel Rahman said the details of the incident were still sketchy, and that he could not say whether the car bombing was a suicide attack. Outside Aleppo, fighting erupted at dawn in the Nayrab area, around five kilometers from the city’s airport, which remained fully operational, the Observatory said.

Over the past several weeks, rebels have taken to attacking military airfields in an attempt to prevent them from being used for launching air strikes, while commercial facilities have been left alone.

However, this is not the first time there has been fighting around Aleppo airport, which serves the country’s commercial capital. A friend of the Syrian Armenians said: “It’s not obvious who opened fire, but the result is that five cars were attacked and four Armenians were killed and 13 or 14 others were wounded.” “Some say it was the FSA (Free Syrian Army), but it’s not clear. We don’t have proof and we should wait and see. I don’t think the FSA would attack random cars in the street.” He said one of those killed “had left his family behind in Armenia, his wife and kids. He had gone back to take care of some things in Aleppo and then return.”

Meanwhile, the army shelled a string of neighborhoods in central Aleppo, including Suleiman Al-Halabi, Sheikh Khodr and Qadi Askar, the Britain-based Observatory said. Helicopter gunships also strafed the rebel district of Bustan Al-Basha, a witness said, and the Observatory reported that rebels used rocket-propelled grenades to attack a security branch in the adjacent Midan neighborhood. Rebels had been trying for four days to enter Midan.

Elsewhere, a boy and a girl were killed and dozens of civilians wounded when the army shelled the rebel village of Latamneh in Hama province, said the Observatory, which gathers its information from a wide network of activists. Also in

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

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

Morocco Islamist government facing a delicate balancing act RABAT: Morocco’s Islamist government, formed in January after winning snap polls aimed at defusing Arab Spring-style protests, faces a tough task tackling social problems, a sluggish economy and political divisions.

In response to popular discontent, Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane has arranged to hold talks with various trade union groups, after meeting last Friday with the four political parties in the ruling coalition.

The secretaries general of those parties, which include Benkirane’s moderate Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD), emphasized the need to rein in Morocco’s budget deficit, according to the official MAP news agency. Less than 12 months after its historic election victory, the PJD is grappling with a deteriorating

economic situation that contrasts with healthy growth rates in recent years of around 4.0 to 5.0 percent.

Benkirane himself forecast 5.5 percent growth in 2012. But such targets now look sorely out of date. Central bank Governor Abdellatif Al-Jouahri in June predicted less than 3.0 percent growth, and speculation about the budget shortfall abounds. MAP on Friday quoted Finance Minister Nizar Baraka as denying rumors that the deficit could reach 9 percent of GDP this year, saying instead that the government hoped to bring it down to just 5 percent.

And at the end of August, in a letter to his ministers on the new budget, Benkirane stressed the need for “vigilant management” of the public debt.

“The preparation of the 2013 budget

comes at a difficult time,” he said, mentioning in particular the problem of the “compensation fund,” which is linked to the costly subsidy of essential goods, as well as to pension reform.

The International Monetary Fund announced early last month that it was opening a “precautionary” $6.2-billion line of credit for Morocco to protect its economy from external shocks.

And touching on the broader social implications of the country’s economic woes, the World Bank’s regional vice president Inger Andersen described the problem of youth unemployment, estimated at around 30 percent, as “very serious.” In the capital Rabat, evidence of this simmering source of discontent is easily found, with nearly 1,000 jobless graduates marching in the streets on Tuesday. Calls for nation-

wide protests to denounce the high cost of living recurred throughout the summer, after the government moved to slash fuel subsidies, driving the price of petrol up by 20 percent.

The ruling party is keen to engage in dialogue on a range of other sensitive subjects, including education, tourism and regionalization, and Benkirane has tabled talks with Morocco’s business confederation, as well as trade unions.

Meriem Bensalah Chaqroun, president of the General Confederation of Moroccan Businesses (CGEM), in an inter view with Moroccan daily L’Economiste on Tuesday, voiced the need for “a clear, coherent and proactive economic policy.” “Since coming to power, the prime minister has received good press coverage and has done

quite well so far, despite the various thorny issues that he faces,” a diplomat in Rabat said.

But those issues, which include political divisions within the ruling coalition, remain potential stumbling blocks as the government gets back to business after the summer break.

Political tensions appeared to surface late last month, when Interior Minister Mohand Laenser, who is in a separate coalition party, banned the closing ceremony of a PJD youth conference in Tangier at which the premier was due to speak.

During their conference, young Islamists had condemned the relationship between Benkirane and King Mohammed VI’s entourage, which is accused of overshadowing the government. — AFP

Jordan King accuses Israel blocking nuclear program Israel dismisses charges as ‘hollow excuse’

CAIRO: An Egyptian man chants slogans during a demonstration in front of the US embassy in Cairo yesterday. — AP

Egypt’s constitution talks stumble on role of Islam CAIRO: A proposal by ultraconservative Salafis to give Egypt’s main Islamic institution the final say on whether the law of the land adheres to Islamic laws threatens to bring the already painfully slow process of drafting the new constitution to a grinding halt. The proposal would give the revered Al-Azhar power similar to a supreme court by making it the arbiter of whether a law conforms with the principles of sharia, already cited in the constitution of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak as Egypt’s “main source” of legislation.

Opponents say the move would only exacerbate Egypt’s volatile politics and make it harder to heal social tensions in a country where one tenth of the population is Christian. The argument is also diverting energy away from other essential points of law - the balance of power between president and parliament, the influence of the army, defense of personal freedoms and an independent judiciary. “Lack of trust is so deep-seated now in Egypt,” said Shadi Hamid, a political analyst at the Brookings Doha Center. “Anything in the constitution will be interpreted through this lens of mistrust.” A constitutional assembly of 100 thinkers, scholars, professionals and political and religious leaders dominated by Islamists is drawing up the constitution, without which the country cannot hold elections to replace a parliament that a court declared void in June. Islamist President Mohamed Morsi holds lawmaking power for now, an awkward arrangement that erodes the credibility of his government, elected after Mubarak was overthrown last year.

Some liberals committed to a more secular state have already boycotted the assembly and are challenging it in court, saying Islamists have too much control and want to turn Egypt into an Iran-style theocracy. “An assembly that doesn’t reflect the

intellectual diversity and a constitution in which core values aren’t agreed on will lead to a deep social rift,” Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, said on his Twitter account earlier this month. He has not responded to invitations to attend a hearing session at the assembly.

BRING BACK SHARIA The assembly aims to complete a first draft of the constitution by late September, although a court has yet to rule on whether the assembly itself is legitimate.

The assembly is working by breaking the document apart: four committees are handling one section each. After they agree the articles in their sections they send drafts to the phrasing committee, which is where the Al-Azhar proposal now sits for debate - now delayed - over the exact wording.

Articles will then be approved by general consensus, or if that fails by more than two-thirds vote, and if that fails, then after more discussion, with at least 57 votes. The draft constitution must finally be approved by public referendum.

Analysts expect the new document to have a more Islamic flavor than its predecessor, including articles prohibiting criticism of God and establishing an institution to collect zakat, or charitable donations for the poor, while cancelling an article banning parties based on religion. At the vanguard of this movement are the Salafis, who were kept out of politics under Mubarak but leaped onto the scene after his fall, taking second place in the country’s first free and fair parliamentary vote in six decades. Their slogan was to “bring back sharia” - laws derived from Islam’s Holy Koran and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad - in the belief it would solve Egypt’s moral and social ills. — Reuters

Pontiff hopes to better Islam, Christian rapport in Mideast VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI hopes to advance the church’s sometimes difficult relationship with Islam and help Christians keep their place in the Muslim world during his trip to Lebanon this week. The 85-year-old pontiff, who sets off for the three-day trip on Friday, has struggled to forge a good relationship with the Muslim community since he controversially appeared to link Islam with violence in a speech in 2006. While pope John Paul II was welcomed by Muslims on his 1997 trip to the Middle Eastern country, the Arab Spring uprisings have revolutionized the region during Benedict’s reign and tensions run higher between the two faiths.

The revolts, which have seen Islamist parties sweep to the brink of power, have left many minority Christians scared of persecution from fundamentalist outgrowths and sporadic violence against them has driven some to emigrate. Many claim that since the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 they have been considered by radical Muslims as being in league with the imperialist West, and 550,000 Christians have fled from that country alone since then.

The eruption of revolutions in pockets of the Middle East has sparked Christian exoduses from affected countries for political, economic and security reasons-and there are fears the Syrian conflict may spill

over in Lebanon.

Benedict could call for negotiations in conflict-torn Syria and an end to violence and is also likely to urge skittish Christians afraid of sectarian breakdown and a rise in Islamist extremism not to flee their homelands. He will no doubt also call on Lebanon’s divided Christian groups to unite. But the Vatican has said the pontiff will avoid intervening politically in his comments on Syria or tell Christians where their alliances should lie. Lebanon’s large Maronite Catholic community in particular is divided over support for President Bashar Al-Assad and the rebels challenging the regime, but Benedict will be keen to make sure he is not seen to be interfering.

Despite the Vatican’s attempts to heal the rift with the Muslim world following the pope’s famous 2006 blunder, tensions still run high. His decision to cite from a 1391 text which read “show me just what Mohammed brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman,” sparked an outcry and demands for an apology from across the Muslim world. Religious observers say that the pope’s point-however badly put-was that violence should never be committed in the name of religion, an issue he feels very strongly about and has brought up several times in his speeches. — AFP

AMMAN: King Abdullah II yesterday accused Israel of disrupting Jordan’s nuclear program which is aimed at meeting its dire energy needs and powering water desalination plants, in an exclusive interview with AFP. “Strong opposition to Jordan’s nuclear energy program is coming from Israel,” the king said.

“When we started going down the road of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, we approached some highly responsible countries to work with us. And pretty soon we realized that Israel was putting pressure on those countries to disrupt any cooperation with us.”

Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. “A Jordanian delegation would approach a potential partner, and one week later an Israeli delegation would be there, asking our interlocutors not to support Jordan’s nuclear energy bid,” Abdullah said during the interview at his palace. Jordan, which imports 95 percent of its energy needs, is struggling to find alternatives to unstable Egyptian gas supplies, which normally cover 80 percent of the kingdom’s power production.

Since 2011, the pipeline supplying gas from Egypt to both Israel and Jordan has been attacked 14 times, with a consequent disruption of supplies. With desert covering 92 percent of its territory, the kingdom is one of the world’s 10 driest countries and wants to use atomic energy to fire desalination plants to overcome its crippling

water shortage. “Nuclear energy will be the cheapest reliable way to desalinate water,” the king said.

Energy experts in Jordan have demanded the country drop its ambitious plans to generate atomic power, following the nuclear disaster in Japan last year. “Jordan will

on March 11, 2011, and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant began leaking radiation into the air, sea and soil, contaminating farm produce and making its way into tap water. The plant was swamped by a ferocious tsunami that left almost 13,500 dead and

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II speaks during an interview with AFP in Amman yesterday. — AFP go only for the most secure, latestgeneration reactor,” the monarch said, answering the critics.

“These are far safer than earlier models, and have multiple features that help them withstand extreme conditions. Japan’s Fukushima disaster involved an old-generation plant.” A 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s northeast coast

King Abdullah warns of looming Syria spillover AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II yesterday warned of a spillover of the Syrian turmoil into the countries it neighbors, saying the risk is “looming closer,” in an exclusive interview with AFP. “I am extremely worried about the risk of a fragmentation of Syria. Over the past few months we have witnessed an increase in sectarian violence,” the king said. “This not only endangers the unity of Syria, but it could also be a prelude to a spillover of the conflict, into neighboring countries with similar sectarian composition. We have already seen signals that this risk is looming closer.” UN investigators have said that growing numbers of victims of the conflict in Syria are being targeted because of their religion, while gross violations of human rights are occurring on a regular basis.

More than 27,000 people have been killed since the revolt against President Bashar Al-Assad broke out in March 2011, according to rights monitors’ figures. During the interview at his palace in Amman, the king called for “a formula for a political transition where all components of Syrian society, including the Alawites, feel that they have a stake in the country’s future.” “An inclusive transition process is the only way to stop the escalation in sectarian violence,” he said. “It is in the best interest of the Syrian people, as it would preserve the territorial integrity and unity of Syria, and it is in the best interest of regional stability and the international community.”

Jordan currently hosts more than 200,000 Syrians who have fled the bloodletting. “I have been saying all along that the issue is not the individual, but the system. If President Bashar were to leave tomorrow, but the system stayed, then what would the Syrian people have achieved?” the king said. The king said that not all Syrians who came to Jordan were seeking safe haven. “We have discovered that a few came here, not to seek safe haven, but to carry out other missions-intelligence gathering on refugees, or schemes to target Jordan’s stability and security,” he added. “Let me simply say, the way Syria deals with its neighbors is one of the potential escalations that we are watching closely.”

Jordan has said it needs $700 million in international aid to cope with the influx of refugees. “You heard that six UN agencies joined Jordan last week in a joint appeal to the international community for immediate assistance. This is urgently needed, to give these suffering families just the basics of life. My country has already crossed its absorption capacity,” he said. — AFP

15,000 missing. Tens of thousands more were made homeless.

“The fact is that worldwide, more plants are being set up.

Countries know their people need energy,” the Jordanian monarch said. He said the nuclear power plant that the government seeks would cost about 3.5 billion dinar ($4.9 billion) “for a plant that would

constitute one third of the total power capacity generated in Jordan today.” “The attacks on the Egyptian gas pipeline over the past two years have cost us already JOD2.8 billion. That could have paid for almost one reactor,” he added.

Jordan is currently weighing an offer by a consortium formed by French nuclear giant Areva and Japan’s Mitsubishi as well as a proposal by Russia’s Atomstroyexport to build the country’s first nuclear plant. A joint venture between Jordan Energy Resources Incorporated and Areva discovered in June more than 20,000 tons of uranium in central Jordan.

HOLLOW EXCUSE Meanwhile, an Israeli official yesterday dismissed charges by Jordan’s King Abdullah II calling the accusation “a hollow excuse.” “Every time that we were consulted on this we adopted a positive approach,” the official said speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The king’s accusations sound (like) a hollow excuse,” he added.

“We were consulted and we always said that of course if this was done according to NPT regulations and supervision and everything, then fine, we have no objection.” Israel, the Middle East’s sole if undeclared nuclear power, is not a signatory to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT ), which regulates nuclear activity. — Agencies

Once dominant Lebanese Christians now a minority BEIRUT: Lebanon, which Pope Benedict XVI will visit this week, is home to 14 Christian denominations among 18 officially recognized faith communities. But figures on religious affiliation in Lebanon are only approximate, because a national census has not been conducted since 1932, when Lebanon was still under French mandate and 51 percent of the population was Christian. And there is little prospect of conducting a new one because of the sensitive political issue of maintaining parity among confessional groups. An unwritten, but rigorously followed tradition mandates that the president always be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shiite.

After the Copts of Egypt, Lebanon’s Christian community is indisputably the second-largest in the Middle East.

Christians now represent nearly 35 percent of the country’s registered population of some 4.6 million people, according to researcher Youssef Shahid Doueihi, of Lebanon’s Maronite Foundation in the World. They consist of six jurisdictions that submit to the authority of the pope, with the Maronite church being the largest Christian group in the country. There are also four eastern Orthodox communities, three Protestant sects and the Egyptian Coptic church, the latest to have been

officially recognized.

The Maronite Church traces its origins to the fourth century Syrian monk Saint Maron, who sought refuge in north Lebanon’s Qadisha Valley after fleeing persecution. It united with Rome in 1736, but maintains its own traditions and practices, including a liturgy in the ancient Syriac language. Many of today’s Christians are descendants of those who converted to Latin, Protestant and Anglican rites during the Ottoman Empire’s various alliances with European powers in the 19th century. The Armenians, who fled genocide in Turkey during World War I, are divided into mainly Apostolic (Orthodox), as well as Catholic and Protestant churches.

The Chaldeans, who are affiliated with Rome, came from Iraq in the 1950s, attracted by what was then an oasis dominated by Christians in a region shaken by nationalist coups. Maronites, who today number just under one million, were the most powerful community prior to Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.

Their influence has since waned as their numbers drop through emigration and low fertility rates. The Maronites along with some 310,000 Greek Orthodox and 204,000 Greek Catholics-a sect that split from Rome in the 18th century-represent nearly all of Lebanon’s 1.59 million Christians. — AFP

HARISSA: A Lebanese woman holds a poster welcoming Pope Benedict XVI, as she makes her pilgrimage to the Lady of Lebanon sanctuary in the northern Lebanese Christian village of Harissa yesterday. — AFP

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

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Chicago’s Mayor, striking teachers still deadlocked CHICAGO: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and unionized teachers argued publicly over how to improve struggling inner-city schools as negotiations remained deadlocked on the second day of a strike that has closed the nation’s third-largest school district. The two sides could not even agree on how far apart they were in the bitter negotiations over a new contract for some 29,000 teachers and support staff who went on strike for the first time in a quarter century.

Speaking at a school where children affected by the strike are being supervised, Emanuel repeated that an agreement with the union was close and there were only two issues in dispute - teacher evaluations and more authority for school principals. Chicago Teachers Union leader Karen Lewis, who has clashed with Emanuel, gave a sharply different description of the talks. She said that they made some progress on Tuesday, but

tors said that if the strike is not settled within 48 hours, some janitors would stop crossing picket lines to clean schools where children are supervised. A poll taken on Monday showed 47 percent of Chicago registered voters supported the union while 39 percent oppose the strike and 14 percent did not know. The poll by McKeon and Associates of 500 Chicago registered voters, has a margin of error of 3.8 percent, and was reported in the Chicago Sun-Times.

only six of nearly 50 provisions of the contract had been agreed.

“To say that the contract will be settled today is lunacy,” Lewis said at an impromptu press conference as thousands of teachers wearing red T-shirts marched in downtown Chicago for the second day. They greeted Lewis with applause and chanted “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Rahm Emanuel’s got to go.” The tough talking Emanuel, who resigned as President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff to run for Chicago mayor in 2011, has shown no sign of backing down in the confrontation.

Chicago unions closed ranks behind Lewis and the teachers on Tuesday. Randi Weingarten, the national president of the union representing Chicago teachers, appeared at a press conference flanked by local union representatives from nurses, janitors, transit workers and police officers to pledge support. The union representing jani-

PATIENCE TESTED With no sign of an early end to the strike, the patience of parents was tested as they juggled child care and work. Many parents stayed home from work with their children on the first day of a strike affecting some 350,000 children. Some who could afford the expense hired caregivers, while others used relatives or friends. “We’re kind of winging it,

to be honest,” said Eve Ludwig, a parent outside one Chicago elementary school. “The kids stayed with their dad yesterday. Today they’re with me.” Chicago school officials said only about 18,000 students took part in a half day of supervision on Monday at 144 public schools, where kids received breakfast and lunch. One complaint from parents was that the centers closed at 12:30 pm. On Tuesday, the school district announced that they would be staying open until 2:30 pm in future. At New Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in the violence-ridden East Garfield Park neighborhood, 26 children showed up on Tuesday compared with 14 on the first day of the strike. Some parents decided to bring children to the church rather than schools, where striking teachers were picketing, said Ticina Cutler, 32, who has three sons in Chicago Public Schools. “I don’t want to cross any picket

lines,” she said. The strike has forced the cancellation of all public school-related extracurricular activities such as sports and the arts. It has not affected about 52,000 students at publicly funded, non-union charter schools attending classes as usual.

NATIONAL IMPLICATIONS The face-off in Obama’s home city is the biggest private or public sector labor dispute in the United States in a year. The stakes are high for both supporters and foes of a national movement for radical reform of urban schools. The most contentious issue is teacher evaluations, which Emanuel insists should be tied to performance of students, and which is at the heart of the national debate on school reform. Emanuel is proposing that Chicago teachers be evaluated based on a system that would rate teachers in several categories. — Reuters

Nuke stockpile security in focus after break-in Aging activists broke into US nuclear bomb facility WASHINGTON: A shocking security breach at what was supposed to be one of the most secure facilities in the United States has put new attention on a proposal to overhaul the way the government oversees its nuclear laboratories and weapons plants.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved a plan to give more flexibility to the contractor-run facilities that make up the US nuclear weapons complex, part of its annual defense policy bill passed in May. The governance reforms were geared to address a long legacy of cost overruns and overly bureaucratic management highlighted in several bipartisan reports on the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which is part of the Energy Department. But some critics say the proposals need a second look in the wake of a July break-in at the Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a contractorrun facility built after the Sept 11, 2001 AlQaeda attacks on New York and Washington, once touted as “the Fort Knox of uranium” because of its security features.

Three aging anti-nuclear activists, including an 82-year-old nun, cut through fences surrounding a facility where highly enriched uranium, a key component of nuclear bombs,

en up the legislation, which is not expected to move through Congress until after the Nov 6 presidential election.

is stored. They vandalized its exterior, going unstopped until they walked up to a security guard’s car and surrendered. “It seems to me this is a great case study of the fact that what you want is more government oversight,” said Peter Stockton, an investigator with the Project on Government Oversight who has extensively studied nuclear security issues.

The incident and the broader issue of government oversight will be in focus on Capitol Hill this week when top Energy Department and NNSA officials testify at the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Armed Services Committee today.

The changes proposed in the defense policy bill would give the NNSA more independence from the Energy Department, cut staff at the NNSA, give more authority to contractors, and change the way the NNSA reviews contractors’ work to “performance-based standards” rather than “detailed, transactionbased oversight.” The White House said in May that it “strongly objects” to the changes in the House version of the bill, which it said would weaken oversight of contractors and lower safety standards for the nuclear weapons complex. The Senate Armed Services Committee did not include similar reforms in its version of the bill. The Senate has not tak-

LEGACY OF POOR MANAGEMENT The Energy Department’s Inspector General found multiple failures of sophisticated security systems and “troubling displays of ineptitude” in a review of what happened at Y-12. The government budgeted about $150 million for security at the facility, which is run

by Babcock & Wilcox Co with security provided by contractor WSI Oak Ridge, owned by international security firm G4S. The investigation into the Y-12 incident found that security officers failed to follow protocol, and also noted that a security camera that would have shown the break-in had been broken for about six months, part of a backlog of repairs needed for security systems at the facility. The NNSA and its contractors removed some staff and supervisors and the government told Babcock & Wilcox last month that its contract could be terminated.

The NNSA, created in 2000 after a national laboratory employee was accused of stealing nuclear secrets for China, has had a long struggle with containing costs.

The Government Accountability Office last

year said the Energy Department’s “record of inadequate management and oversight of contractors has left the department vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.” About 40 percent or $11 billion of the department’s total budget goes to the NNSA, which oversees a network of eight government-owned laboratories and facilities run by contractors. A bipartisan task force in 2009 recommended a governance overhaul to fix problems created by an “excessively bureaucratic” culture.

The laboratories have chafed under what they call redundant and “overly prescriptive” government rules that they say waste scarce resources. In April, the directors of the three weapons labs issued a series of recommendations to overhaul governance, giving the labs more flexibility and cutting back on NNSA oversight.

“Many reports by independent committees have found the micromanagement of the NNSA labs is debilitating and costly, and other reports have called for increased oversight,” the directors said in their recommendations. “While these findings appear to be in opposition, one conclusion is clear - the governance of the NNSA labs is broken and must be changed,” they said.—Reuters

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

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

US, Russia bridge differences on Iran at nuke meet VIENNA: The United States and its Western allies have persuaded Russia and China to support a resolution critical of Iran’s nuclear defiance in hope of showing Israel that diplomacy is an alternative to military force in pressuring Tehran, diplomats said yesterday. The resolution, which demands that Iran stop activities that could be used to make nuclear arms, cannot be enforced by the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, even if approved by vote or consensus as expected today.

But with Israel increasingly floating force as an alternative to failed international efforts to curtail suspected Iranian nuclear activities, the document is significant in seeking to show worldpower resolve in pursuing a diplomatic solution to the standoff. Israel views a nuclear-armed Iran as a mortal threat, citing Iran’s persistent calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, its development of missiles capable of striking Israel, and Iranian support for Arab militant groups.

Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. But it refuses foreign offers

of reactor fuel if it stops making its own through uranium enrichment - a process that worries the international community because it could also be used to arm nuclear warheads. Concerns also focus on IAEA suspicions that Iran has worked secretly on nuclear arms - allegations Iran dismisses as based on fabricated US and Israeli intelligence.

With fears growing over the possibility of Israeli military attack and other diplomatic efforts on Iran deadlocked, diplomats told The Associated Press that a resolution supported by the six powers seeking to engage Tehran on its nuclear program had become a priority discussed at the highest level.

The text was agreed on only after consultations involving US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her counterparts in Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, said the diplomats, who demanded anonymity because the negotiating process was confidential.

While the four Western powers had no differences, it was unclear whether Russia and China - which Iran has relied on to blunt harsh UN and other sanctions - would agree to join

in backing the resolution. The diplomats said that they were persuaded largely with the argument that a signal of big-power unity had to be sent to Israel. A Russian diplomat refused yesterday to discuss how the accord about the resolution came about. Russia and China have been inconsistent in backing such Western efforts in the past.

While joining in a critical resolution at an IAEA meeting in November, they refused to do so in June.

That unity came at a price for the West, however, which had to settle for compromise language in the current text, made available to The AP outside the closed meeting. While expressing “serious concern” over continued Iranian uranium enrichment in defiance of the UN Security Council, the six nations say they back the “inalienable right” of countries that have signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. That is a bow to arguments by Iran, an NPT signatory that it has a right to enrich.

The resolution “stresses” that the IAEA has not reported any nuclear material missing from

Iran sites it is monitoring. Missing material could mean that Tehran is using it elsewhere for weapons purposes. It only “notes” that the agency cannot conclude there is no hidden nuclear activity going on because of “lack of coopera-

amid signs of increased jitters by the Jewish state about Tehran’s nuclear progress.

Most recently, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized what he said was the world’s failure to spell out what

VIENNA: Israel’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Ehud Azoulay, talks on his cell phone before the start of the IAEA board of governors meeting at the International Center in Vienna yesterday. — AP tion” by Iran on agency requests that it be given greater powers to monitor the country. Washington considers any signal to Israel that diplomacy is working crucial

would provoke a US-led military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The comments came in response to US refusals in recent

days to set “red lines” for Tehran.

Israeli officials say American politics do not factor into their thinking, but that the sense of urgency is so grave that the world cannot hold its breath until after the US presidential election in November. “ The world tells Israel, ‘Wait. There’s still time,’” Netanyahu said Tuesday. “And I say: ‘Wait for what? Wait until when?’ Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”

Also Tuesday, diplomats said that the UN atomic agency has received new and significant intelligence over the past month that Iran has advanced its work on calculating the destructive power of an atomic warhead through a series of computer models within the past three years. The diplomats who spoke to the AP said the information came from Israel, the United States and at least two other Western countries.

They demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss classified information member countries make available to the IAEA. — AP

Dutch seen shunning euro radicals in vote Eurosceptical hard left, far right seen fading

SARAJEVO: Catholic priests attend with hundreds of religious leaders the closing ceremony of the global inter-religious forum organized by Catholic, Saint Egidio community in Sarajevo. — AFP

Christianity under threat in Sarajevo SARAJEVO: The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church has warned that Christianity was under threat in Sarajevo, as Muslim and Christian clerics argued during talks meant to promote reconciliation. “Christianity is very threatened here,” Patriarch Irinej said in an interview with Bosnian Serb public television during his visit to Sarajevo, adding the Serb population “today does not live in the city”.

He was in Sarajevo to take part in an annual gathering of the Rome-based Catholic lay community of Sant’Egidio focused on reconciliation in the once war-torn Balkans region. “The most tragic (thing) is that many who might want to, do not have the opportunity to return (to Sarajevo),” Irinej said on RTRS television, calling on Europe to “put right a great injustice”. Before the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia, the scene of some of the worst atrocities committed in Europe after World War II, Serbs were the second largest community in the Bosnian capital after Muslims.

A 1991 census recorded 259,000 Muslims and 157,000 Serbs among Sarajevo’s population of 527,000. The majority of Serbs left Sarajevo, under almost four years of siege by Bosnian Serb troops during the war, for safer areas of Bosnia’s Serb entity. After the war the capital became part of the Muslim-dominated Muslim Croat Federation. Today Muslims represent the overwhelming majority, between 80 and 90 percent, of the population in Sarajevo. Sarajevo’s Muslim mayor Alija Behmen said he would not enter into a debate with the

Serb Orthodox leader.

Some 100,000 people were killed in Bosnia’s war that involved the country’s three main ethnic groups-Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats and Muslims.

Relations between the three main communities remain deeply damaged 17 years on and a dispute between Bosnia’s mufti Mustafa Ceric and Orthodox Bishop Grigorije erupted during Tuesday’s reconciliation talks. Ceric insisted that reconciliation was possible only when the Serbs apologize for the crimes committed during the war, while the bishop accused him of preaching for an “Islamic state” for Bosnia’s Muslims. “ The concept of reconciliation includes the concept of forgiveness. But... to forgive one’s sins, one must recognize committing them,” said Ceric.

Without reacting to Ceric’s remarks, Grigorije recounted a meeting the two clerics had recently with New York’s rabbi Arthur Schneier during which, he said, Ceric called for the establishment of a state for Bosnia’s Muslims. “You said there was no Judaism without a Hebrew state, so there is no Islam without an Islamic state,” Grigorije said. Ceric condemned his claims as “lies”, insisting such “accusations led to genocide on my people, as antiSemitism had led to the Holocaust”, referring to the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica by Bosnian Serb troops. The Sant’Egidio community, which was founded in the Franciscan tradition in Rome in 1968, has frequently acted as a mediator in international conflicts. — AFP

AMSTERDAM: Mainstream pro-European parties looked set to dominate the parliamentary election under way in the Netherlands yesterday, dispelling concerns that radical eurosceptics might gain sway in a core euro-zone country and push to quit the European Union or flout its budget rules.

But the Netherlands is likely to remain an awkward, tough-talking member of the single currency area, strongly resisting transfers to euro-zone debtors, regardless of whether caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberals or the centre-left Labor Party of Diederik Samsom win the most seats.

Opinion polls on Tuesday showed the Liberals and Labor on 36 seats each or the Liberals fractionally in front, with the hard-left Socialists and the far-right anti-immigration Freedom Party fading in third and fourth place respectively. That makes it more likely, though not certain, that Rutte, with the strongest international profile, will stay as premier.

Turnout stood at 13 percent of eligible voters at 0900 GMT, around the same level as two years ago, broadcasters reported, citing a poll

by Ipsos Synovate. Early morning commuters at Amsterdam’s central station were among the first to vote, popping into a still-closed art deco cafe by the railway platform before catching trains to work.

Nienke van Zaambeek, a psychologist, had voted for GreenLeft, saying she was worried about the impact of liberalisation in the health care sector.

“The influence of private companies is getting ever bigger, and the right-wing government has been in favor of more privatization.”

The final days of campaigning became a twohorse race between Rutte, 45, a former Unilever human resources manager dubbed the “Teflon” prime minister because of his ability to brush off disasters, and the energetic Samsom, 41, a former Greenpeace activist whose debating flair wowed voters.

Both leaders voted early, Samsom with his wife and children in the university town of Leiden, and Rutte alone in a polling station inside his old primary school in The Hague.

Rutte repeated his party’s commitment to fiscal discipline. “We have asked Brussels (for deficit limits), and we are doing it...not because of Brussels, but because we believe it is crucial for economic growth,” he said. The far-right populist Geert Wilders, who criticizes Europe and Muslim immigration, also voted in The Hague, accompanied by his state-provided protection officers.

POLITICAL FRAGMENTATION Both Liberals and Labor have played down talk that they will end up in coalition, together with one or two smaller parties. But parliamentary arithmetic suggests this is the most probable outcome given a highly fragmented political landscape. Still, about a fifth of the 12.5 million voters said they were undecided, leaving room for surprises. The Netherlands is one of the few triple-A rated countries left in Europe and a long-standing ally of Germany in demanding strict adherence to fiscal disci-

fy the euro-zone’s new rescue fund and budget pact but also veto powers to parliament over any future increases in the size of the fund. The court rejected requests from eurosceptics and leftists who argued Germany was too exposed to unlimited financial liability.

VOTE FOR YOUR JOB With the focus on the euro-zone crisis and its impact on the domestic economy, Europe took centre stage during the campaign.

Employers’ groups representing big business-

THE HAGUE: Dutch vote in parliamentary elections at a polling station at the City Hall in The Hague yesterday. — AFP pline. The election was seen as a barometer of northern European stamina - both for austerity and for bailouts to keep the single currency bloc intact. Thrifty Dutch taxpayers are frustrated at demands for belt-tightening, especially the steady erosion of their cherished welfare state and pensions, while having to stump up billions of euros to rescue what they see as profligate budget sinners.

“People have become negative about Europe because we give so much money to Greece and other countries and at the same time we are aware of the fact that we badly need money here to pay for schools, for the army and everything,” Jaap Paauwe, a professor of management at Tilburg University said.

As the Dutch voted, Germany’s Constitutional Court gave a green light for the country to rati-

es such as consumer electronics giant Philips as well as small and medium-sized firms that form the backbone of the Dutch economy ran a campaign highlighting the benefits of EU membership.

The main employers’ group hung a banner outside its head office in The Hague proclaiming: “Vote for Europe and your job.” In a pamphlet distributed to voters entitled “ The Netherlands earns its living from Europe”, business groups said the export-dependent economy would lose 90 billion euros a year in sales without the euro and the EU’s internal market.

In contrast, one of the biggest unions posted a cartoon on its website showing the electoral battleground as the Last Chance Saloon with caricatures of Rutte and his allies stalking the saloon bars in the Wild West. — Reuters

Plane crash kills 10 in Russia’s Far East US spies push for renewal of electronic surveillance law WASHINGTON: US intelligence officials made a public plea on Tuesday, the 11th anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, for quick congressional action to extend a sweeping but controversial US electronic surveillance law. Robert Litt, chief lawyer for the Office of Director of National Intelligence, told reporters that winning congressional approval to extend the electronic spying law was the US intelligence community’s “top priority.”

If the law, which expires at the end of 2012, is not extended, Litt said, US spy agencies would lose access to what he described as a “very, very important source of valuable intelligence information.” Relevant committees of both the House of Representatives and the

Senate have approved similar, though not identical, versions of bills that would extend the surveillance law, an updated version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. The Senate Intelligence Committee’s version would extend it until 2017. A Senate Judiciary Committee version would ex tend it only until 2015.

Some congressional officials said the Obama administration was anxious to get an ex tension of the law approved by Congress in the next two weeks, since legislators adjourn for an election break later this month and considerable unfinished business already awaits them for a lame duck session after the Nov 6 general election. — Reuters

MOSCOW: Ten people died and four were injured yesterday when a small plane crashed in Russia’s Far East in the country’s latest aviation disaster, the emergency ministry said. Investigators were looking into the possible causes of why the plane came down 10 kilometers short of its final destination, which included malfunction and pilot error. The An-28 passenger plane made a hard emergency landing in the far-flung Kamchatka region after noon local time (midnight GMT), a spokeswoman with the Far Eastern branch of the emergency ministry said.

The twin-engine aircraft had 14 people on board including two crew, the spokeswoman said by telephone from the city of Khabarovsk. “Ten people have died and four were injured,” she said,

adding that the injured were taken for treatment to the town of Palana. The four survivors, all of them badly injured, were two women, a man, and a 13-year-old boy who is in a coma, the regional government said. The plane took off from Kamchatka’s main airport Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky for a scheduled flight to Palana on the Okhotsk sea coast, but communications went dead at 12:28 pm, the ministry said.

A rescue helicopter located the crash site and the survivors on a hill covered in cedar trees 10 kilometers from Palana, a ministry statement said. The plane sustained “considerable damage,” it said. Rescue workers had to clear away small trees to create a spot for the helicopter to land to take the injured to hospital. The

swampy area is hard to reach and the initial rescue team could only land nearly a kilometer away, said Kamchatka deputy governor Alexander Potiyevsky, according to the regional administration website. The regional government declared a day of mourning Thursday and promised compensation of 200,000 rubles ($6,300) to the families of each of the victims.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal case into possible violation of air transport regulations.

It was taking probes of the plane’s fuel and checking recorded communications of the crew. “The investigation is looking at three versions of events: a technical problem, weather conditions, and actions of the crew,” the committee said. According to the schedule of

the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky airport, the daily flight to Palana is operated by state-owned local carrier FGUPKAP. Kamchatka is a long peninsula in the Russian Far East that lies north of Japan and is accessible practically only by air. Local media reported last month that the airport in Palana was due for repairs in 2012 which would include work on its landing strip.

Russia has a dismal aviation safety record, with older small planes that serve hard-to-reach Siberian and Far Eastern regions regularly making emergency landings. In the latest deadly plane incident in April, a passenger plane with 43 on board crashed shortly after takeoff from the Tyumen airport in Siberia, killing 33 people. — AFP

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

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

Pakistani Hindus flee to India, claim persecution Kidnappings, killings, forced conversions spark exodus JAIPUR: A group of 170 Hindus from Pakistan who travelled to India on pilgrim visas have said they will not return home due to alleged persecution in the Islamic republic. Officials in the western Indian state of Rajasthan have repor ted an increase in Hindu refugees, but Pakistani authorities say the numbers are exaggerated and those who leave are economic migrants seeking better jobs.

The latest group from Pakistan’s Sindh province arrived in the deser t city of Jodhpur at the weekend, and have appealed for help from the Indian government. “Hindus are suffering social and religious persecution in Pakistan,” Chetan Ram, 39, the group’s leader said yesterday. “My wife, mother and family are with me and we

will not return to Pakistan whatever the living conditions are in India.” Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met with some of the group and promised to seek assistance from national authorities.

“The chief minister will extend all possible help to Pakistani members who have arrived here and will take the matter up with the government for their rehabilitation,” Gehlot ’s spokesman said. Many refugees say attitudes to Pakistani Hindus have hardened due to the country’s progressive Islamisation over the last 30 years that has fuelled intolerance of religious minorities.

“I worked as a laborer but could not feed my family because the employer did not pay us regularly,” said Dharma, 27, who uses

only one name. “We were starving without enough food.”

Dharma said he had crossed from Pakistan by train with 23 other family members. “It was painful decision to leave Pakistan because my sister could not come with us as she is married there but we will not go back.”

When British colonial rule ended in 1947, the subcontinent was divided into India, a majority Hindu nation, and Pakistan, a homeland for Muslims.

Hindus make up 2.5 percent of the 174 million people living in Pakistan, where some Hindu community groups say more have left over the last year due to kidnappings, killings and even forced conversions of girls to Islam. — AFP

Pre-9/11, Haqqani urged US ties: Declassified info WASHINGTON: The founder of Afghanistan’s now-scorned Haqqani network voiced hope for cooperation in a meeting with US diplomats two years before the September 11 attacks, according to a declassified document released Tuesday. The United States decided last week to blacklist the Pakistan-linked network as terrorists following a wave of attacks in Afghanistan. The guerrilla group once enjoyed US support as it battled Soviet troops in Afghanistan.

In a document released on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a State Department cable said that US officials met in May 1999 with the group’s founder Jalaluddin Haqqani, who was informally representing the Taleban regime. In the meeting, a diplomat from the US embassy in Islamabad urged the Taleban to expel Osama bin Laden who was wanted over the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania three years before the September 11 atrocity.

The cable said that Haqqani insisted the Taleban had placed “tight controls” on bin Laden and

that the best solution for the United States might be for the Saudi-born Al-Qaeda leader to stay in Afghanistan. Haqqani appealed for dialogue with the United States and voiced frustration over US pressure on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates-US allies that with Pakistan were the only nations to recognize the Taleban government. “Iran, China and Russia want to take over Afghanistan and run it for their gain,” the cable quoted Haqqani as saying.

The “US and Saudi Arabia could help Afghanistan maintain its independence. Do not turn away from us anymore, but deal with us,” he was quoted as saying.

The documents on the Haqqanis were released by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, which obtained them through the Freedom of Information Act. The 1999 cable said that Haqqani”stroking his black beard and adjusting his white turban”offered appreciation for US support against the Soviets but criticized the cruise missile strike ordered by president Bill Clinton

after the embassy bombings.

A “hale and hearty” Haqqani started the talks with US diplomats “by darkly joking that it was ‘good to meet someone from the country which destroyed my base, my madrassa and killed 25 of my mujahedin,” the cable said, referring to Islamic schools and warriors. Hearing Haqqani’s remarks, his assistants “glared sullenly” at the US diplomats, the document said. The cable did not specify the location of the meeting, although it appeared to take place somewhere in Pakistan. US officials often held Taleban meetings at the US embassy in Islamabad before the September 11 attacks.

Secretar y of State Hillar y Clinton, under pressure from Congress, last week agreed to declare the Haqqani network to be terrorists amid US outrage over a series of attacks attributed to the group, including a hotel assault in June that killed 18 people and a siege last year of the US embassy in Kabul. US officials had worried about the impact of relations with Pakistan. Admiral Mike Mullen said before stepping

down last year as the head of the US military that the Haqqani network has become a “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Declassified cables said that Haqqani’s brother Khalil and son Nasiruddin both had links to Al-Qaeda, charges that later became part of UN sanctions against the family members.

Another declassified US document said that Haqqani was a military strategist and a comparative “social moderate” as his Zadran tribe of Pashtuns treated women more liberally than Pashtuns in Kandahar, the base of the Taleban whose 1996-2001 regime imposed draconian controls on women. In the meeting with US diplomats, Haqqani hit back at the criticism of the Taleban. He was quoted as arguing: “Saudi Arabia, a friend of the US and Europe, treated women the same way as the Taleban.”

Jalaluddin Haqqani is now in his 70s and frail and has passed on his seat on the Taleban leadership council to his son Sirajuddin Haqqani, who runs a fighting force of at least 2,000 men. — AFP

MUMBAI: Indian political cartoonist Aseem Trivedi (center) exits a jail after he was released on bail in Mumbai yesterday. — AP

Indian cartoonist charged with sedition freed on bail MUMBAI: An Indian cartoonist detained on sedition charges for drawings that satirize corruption in Indian politics was released on bail yesterday, cheered by hundreds of free speech activists as he left Mumbai’s main jail. Aseem Trivedi was arrested on Sunday after a private complaint over a series of cartoons, including one that depicts the parliament building as a lavatory buzzing with flies.

His arrest rekindled debate on freedom of speech weeks after a clampdown on Twitter in the world’s largest democracy. He instantly became a cause celebre among anti-corruption and free speech activists who complain India’s corruption-plagued government is increasingly intolerant of criticism..

Trivedi originally refused to seek bail demanding the charges be dropped, but accepted the Mumbai High Court’s bail grant of 5,000 Indian rupees ($90) yesterday. “Can we speak freely in this country

or not? Or are we still living under the British rule?,” asked a tousle-haired and bearded Trivedi, triumphantly raising his clenched fist to a cheering crowd of supporters after his release.

Nationalist heroes such as Mahatma Gandhi were frequently charged with sedition in their campaign for independence from Britain. Last month, the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh temporarily blocked access to a number of Twitter accounts including several spoof accounts imitating the prime minister.

The government has also responded angrily to articles by the foreign media criticising Singh’s record on tackling corruption. In April, police arrested professor Ambikesh Mahapatra in the eastern city of Kolkata for allegedly sharing by email cartoons that ridiculed Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal state. Mahapatra was later released. — Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

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

Is North Korea experimenting with change?

PYONGYANG: Deep in the North Korean countryside, in remote villages that outsiders seldom reach, farmers are now said to be given nearly onethird of their harvests to sell at market prices. Collective farms are reportedly being reorganized into something closer to family farms. State propagandists are expounding the glories of change under the country’s new young leader. In the rigidly planned economy of this Stalinist state, could this be the first flicker of reform?

A string of long-doubtful observers have become increasingly convinced that economic change is afoot, akin to China’s first flirtations with market reforms 30 years ago. But, they also warn, exactly what is happening remains a mystery. No outsiders are known to have been to the villages, in Ryanggang province, since the new policies reportedly went into effect. No outsiders have seen the details of the June 28 government order - “On the Establishing of a New Economic Management System in Our Own Style” - that supposedly launched the program. Other reported reforms, from shifts in investment laws to new industrial profit-sharing regulations, are even more opaque.

Still, there are undeniable signs that the world’s most closed-off society may be toying with change, from a carefully scripted campaign to soften the image of the country ’s young leader, Kim Jong Un, to the apparent purging of a hardline general and a series of often-cryptic official statements hinting that Pyongyang is serious about liberalizing its economy. “My gut sense is that something is changing,” said Marcus Noland of the

Washington, DC-based Peterson Institute for International Economics and a leading scholar on the North Korean economy. Kim Jong Un “is trying to do something new.” “Whether that succeeds or not is a completely different issue,” he added.

Like many other analysts, Noland remains pessimistic. The economic reforms appear to be very limited, he noted, and could quickly be abandoned if Kim changes his mind or faces opposition from his core supporters.

North Korea has flirted with radical economic shifts before. The 17-year rule of Kim Jong Il - whose December death paved the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to take power - included market experiments in 2002, and a devastating currency devaluation in 2009 that stripped millions of people of their savings. Nearly all the changes were rolled back amid internal disputes, and fears among the ruling elite that they could lead to demands for change that could spiral beyond the state’s control.

Some change did quietly occur.

Faced with an economy on the verge of collapse, the elder Kim’s regime eventually allowed small-time markets to take root. After reportedly suffering a stroke in 2009 and picking his youngest son as his heir, Kim Jong Il announced a renewed focus on the economy and made a push to draw foreign investment and trade, particularly from China, North Korea’s closest ally. If the latest reform reports are true, they would almost certainly be driven in part by China. Beijing has long pressed Pyongyang to enact reforms similar to its own first steps toward a market economy.

For years, “the Chinese have been

touting their system and their accomplishments, and the North Koreans have been politely nodding their heads and effectively doing nothing” said Evans Revere, a former US diplomat with extensive contacts in the Koreas and China. But with Pyongyang facing a series of major challenges - dire economic straits, international isolation

crafted an image that carefully differentiates the new leader from his father, a distant man who turned North Korea into a nuclear power and a pariah state as its citizens sank into desperate poverty. The younger Kim has appeared on television with his young wife and had his photograph taken on amusement park rides. His haircut and

NORTH HWANGHAE: North Korean farmers pass along farm fields at a collective farm near the town of Sariwon, in North Hwanghae province, North Korea. — AP and a transition to the third generation of Kim family rule - Beijing officials now believe North Korea is serious about change, he said. What is not clear, Revere added, is whether Kim Jong Un is simply telling the Chinese what they want to hear, or if they truly intend to follow through.

And Kim himself? Since coming to power, he and his inner circle have

clothing mimic that of his grandfather, the country’s still revered founder, Kim Il Sung. He has visited the homes of everyday North Koreans, and slapped the backs of young soldiers.

He has also vaguely alluded to the country’s economic problems, saying in his first speech, in April, that North Koreans should never have to “tighten their belts again.” But when the reports

began leaking out in recent weeks about the agricultural reforms, the government response made few things clear. An unidentified government official told the state news agency KCNA that expecting reform “is nothing but a foolish and silly dream,” but added that North Korea “is effecting new innovations and creations in order to make its people enjoy modern and a highly civilized life and live in luxury and comfort.”

Some of the contradiction may simply be semantics, with North Korea objecting to the word “reform” because it could look like a rejection of the policies of Kim Jong Un’s father and grandfather, both of whom are officially worshipped as near-deities. But the reported agricultural reforms, detailed mostly

by South Korean news outlets and based on anonymous sources inside North Korea, are the clearest sign that significant economic change could be at hand.

Agriculture is the fragile backbone of the North Korean economy. Though less than 20 percent of the mountainous country is arable, nearly every patch of land that can be farmed including some parts of the capital - is planted with rice, corn, potatoes, cabbage and more. Tractors and the fuel to operate them remain a luxury, so most work is done by hand and with the help of oxen. On a typical collective farm, hundreds of families occupy small, identical cottages with courtyards where each family maintains a garden. On country roads across the nation, farmers can be seen hauling their crops to market, some on the back of ox-pulled carts, others on the backs of bicycles. — AP

China, Japan dig in heels as Islands row escalates Chinese military issues warning

RATANAKIRI: Cambodian police officials pull the body of dead local journalist Hang Serei Oudom from a car trunk in Ratanakiri province, some 600 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh. — AFP

Cambodian journalist murdered PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian journalist who exposed rampant illegal logging has been found murdered in the boot of his car, police said yesterday, in a country where environmental activists often face violent retribution. Hang Serei Oudom, a reporter at local-language Vorakchun Khmer Daily, was discovered on Tuesday, said senior police officer Song Bunthanorm. The vehicle was abandoned in a cashew nut plantation in northern Ratanakiri province. “It is not a robbery case. It is a murder,” he said, adding that the victim had suffered several blows to the head, probably with an axe. The 44-year-old had been missing since leaving his home on Sunday evening. “He wrote stories about forest crimes involving business people and powerful officials in the province,” said Vorakchun Khmer Daily editor-in-chief Rin Ratanak, adding most of his stories were about “illegal logging of luxury wood”.

Rampant illegal logging contributed to a sharp drop in Cambodia’s forest cover from 73 percent in 1990 to 57 percent in 2010, according to the United Nations.

Local activists said fellow journalists had recently started to fear for Oudom’s safety, as a result of a string of stories he wrote about deforestation and timber

smuggling in the province. In his latest story, posted on the newspaper’s website on September 6, Oudom accused the son of a military police commander of smuggling logs in military-plated vehicles and extorting money from people who were legally transporting wood.

“Before he was murdered, other journalists had warned him not to write critically about the forest crimes,” said Pen Bonnar, provincial coordinator for rights group The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association. He said Ratanakiri was “a dangerous area” for reporters and activists working to combat forest crime, adding that illegal logging was linked to powerful and rich individuals in the region. In its haste to develop the impoverished nation, the Cambodian government has been criticized for allowing well-connected firms to clear hundreds of thousands of hectares (acres) of forest land-including in protected zones-for everything from rubber and sugar cane plantations to hydropower dams.

Rights groups and environmental watchdogs have linked many of these concessions to illegal logging, and say armed government forces are routinely used to act as security guards for offending companies. — AFP

Philippines tags coast ‘West Philippine Sea’ MANILA: President Benigno Aquino said yesterday that the Philippines had officially named South China Sea waters off the country’s west coast the “West Philippine Sea”, in a move that could further raise tensions with China. Aquino said his government would register the new name with the United Nations as part of efforts to delineate its sovereign territory, even those areas claimed by China or others.

“This is to clarify which are the areas that we are claiming,” Aquino told reporters.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the coasts of other countries. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims to the waters, making the area one of Asia’s potential military flashpoints.

The Philippines has been locked in an increasingly bitter row with China this year over their competing claims. Ships from both countries engaged in a stand-

off at Scarborough Shoal, a tiny group of islands in the sea, in April, and the Philippines says Chinese vessels remain there.

The Philippines has also accused China of bullying diplomatic tactics. An administrative order released by the presidential palace yesterday said the “West Philippine Sea” would be included in government maps and charts. “In the exercise of sovereign jurisdiction, the Philippines has the inherent power and right to designate its maritime areas with appropriate nomenclature for purposes of the national mapping system,” it said.”

The maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago are hereby named as the West Philippine Sea. “These areas include the Luzon Sea as well as the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group, and Bajo De Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.” — AFP

BEIJING: China kept up its tough talk yesterday while Japan showed no sign of yielding in a dispute between the world’s second and third biggest economies over uninhabited islets that has raised alarm in Washington and protests from Beijing to Taipei.

The long-running territorial dispute flared last month when Japan detained a group of Chinese activists who had landed on the islands, known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.

Tension increased on Tuesday when Japan, which controls the islands, said it had bought them from a private owner, ignoring warnings from China which responded by sending two patrol ships to reassert its claim, state media reported. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei blamed Tokyo for the “grave condition” of China-Japan relations and warned that Japan must “pull back from the precipice”. “China will take necessary measures based on developments, and will staunchly protect national territorial integrity,” he told a news conference, declining to be more specific. Luo Zhaohui, the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Asian department, met Shinsuke Sugiyama, Japan’s visiting director-general of the Asian and Oceania Affairs, and vowed China would “never accept Japan’s illegal occupation or so-called ‘actual control’ of the Diaoyu Islands”. But the ministry said both sides would “continue to keep in communication”. The Liberation Army Daily, the chief newspaper of China’s military, rained scorn and warnings on Japan. Retired Major General Luo Yuan, a prominent foreign policy hawk, said China’s forces were ready to defend its sovereignty.

Luo’s comments echoed a warning from China’s Ministry of Defense the previous day, and

while the risk of military confrontation remained slim, the fiery words illustrate the domestic pressures for a tough response from Beijing.

“The Japanese government should not place its hopes in its so-called air and sea advantage. Chinese

amphibious landings.

NO RECONSIDERING Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba rejected Chinese demands that Japan reverse its decision to buy the islands. “There

BEIJING: An anti-Japanese demonstrator waves the Chinese national flag during a protest over the disputed Diaoyu islands, known as Senkaku in Japan, outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing yesterday. — AFP and Japanese forces have exchanged blows before,” wrote Luo. “Nowadays, China’s defense forces have achieved advances that nobody can belittle.” State television reported on Chinese military exercises that included

is no way we would reconsider the transfer, acquisition and possession of their ownership right,” Japan’s Kyodo news agency quoted Gemba as saying. Japan’s coastguard said it was monitoring the seas around the islands but had

not seen any Chinese patrol vessels. A coastguard official said foreign ships approaching Japan’s waters would be warned and asked to change course. If they failed to comply and entered Japanese waters, the coastguard would try to force them to change course.

US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell cautioned China and Japan on Tuesday against escalating the dispute, saying the stakes “could not be bigger” and tension could have global repercussions. The row led to antiJapanese protests in China last month and yesterday groups of people approached the heavily guarded Japanese Embassy in Beijing, carrying banners denouncing Japan and shouting slogans. “Stamp Japan into the ground. Leave Japan with nothing. The whole world should boycott Japanese people and their products,” protesters chanted.

Protestor Wang Shuo said the government should consider using force if needed. “Japan is hurting the Chinese people,” he told reporters.

Small groups protested at the Japanese consulate in Shanghai, while in Hong Kong, about a dozen activists scuffled with police as they attempted to march into Japan’s consulate. In Taiwan, which also claims the islands, about 50 protesters gathered outside Japan’s representative office, a day after Taiwan recalled its representative to Japan. Shanghai sports authorities said they were dropping the name of a Japanese company that sponsors their municipal marathon, Toray Industries Inc, in light of the dispute. But despite the angry words and gestures, economic ties between Japan and China are deeper than ever and both are believed to want to keep the feud from getting out of control. — Reuters

Death penalty upheld for Japanese knifeman TOKYO: A Japanese court yesterday upheld the death sentence imposed on a man who ploughed a truck into a crowd of shoppers before stabbing passers-by in a rampage that left seven people dead. Tomohiro Kato, 29, had appealed against the penalty for the 2008 attack in Tokyo’s bustling electronics district of Akihabara, which also left 10 people injured. Kato, who used a double-edged knife in the attack, was sentenced to die last year after telling Tokyo District Court he was “fully responsible” for the bloody massacre on a busy June lunchtime.

However, his lawyers had appealed on the basis that Kato, who did not appear in court, was delusional. Turning down the appeal, presiding judge Yoshinobu Iida told Tokyo High Court the original judgment was sound, Jiji Press reported. “The defendant shows some

sense of remorse, but there are no special circumstances that call for avoidance of capital punishment,” he said, according to broadcaster NHK. At the initial sentencing in March last year, presiding judge Hiroaki Murayama said the killing spree was “a brutal crime that did not indicate a shred of humanity on the part of the defendant,” adding the death penalty was the only suitable punishment.

The noon-time rampage shocked Japan, which has a low violent crime rate, while throwing the spotlight on the online bullying that led up to the attacks in Akihabara, a centre for the manga comic and anime film subculture. In one of the court hearings, Kato said he had committed his crime because he had been the target of online bullying. “I wanted people to know that I seriously wanted to stop the harassment on the Internet bulletin

board that I used,” he said, according to Japanese media. Japan had not seen such a deadly attack since seven years earlier to the day when a former mental patient stabbed to death eight children at an elementary school.

Japan is the only major industrialized democracy apart from the United States to execute criminals, usually for cases of multiple murder. More than 100 people are presently on death row. International advocacy groups have denounced the Japanese system, under which death row inmates can wait for their executions for many years in solitary confinement and are only told of their impending death a few hours ahead of time. The wait can become decades, with Japan’s wheels of justice turning slowly. However, the death penalty is widely supported among the Japanese public. — AFP

NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Saudis steered away from ‘jihad’ in Syria JEDDAH/DUBAI: Loath to foster a new generation of militant Islamists, Saudi Arabia is trying to stop its citizens from joining what some of them see as a holy war against the Syrian government. The Saudi public has grown incensed at the bloody images continuously broadcast of Syria’s violence alongside reports of government forces massacring civilians, and $140 million was raised for Syrian refugees in the first two weeks of a government-organised campaign in August. Riyadh has backed the rebels battling President Bashar Al-Assad, publicly calling on the international community to “enable” Syrians to protect themselves, while sources in the Gulf, Syria and Turkey have said it is secretly funnelling money and arms to the Free Syrian Army.

But mindful of the blowback it previously suffered after Saudi nationals returned home from foreign conflicts politically fired up and ready to wage war on their own government, Riyadh has moved to prevent volunteers from going to fight in Syria. Islamists in Saudi Arabia, who follow a puritanical version of Sunni Islam, denounce Assad and his regime as infidels because of their roots in the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism But in June, Ali Al-Hakimi, a member of the Senior Judicial Council, a government-appointed religious body, said in response to calls for jihad on online forums that this was forbidden unless permitted by the authorities. He added, “Some individual actions can place the state in an awkward position”. Another cleric, Siraj Al-Zahrani, was quoted in Okaz daily last week expressing regrets he had participated in jihad in Afghanistan in the 1980s and warning “families must watch over sons who can be lured into the hot spots in this world”.

“It’s illegal to go abroad and get involved in any ... military actions or fighting. This is known to all Saudis and many people have been prosecuted,” said Mansour Turki, the Interior Ministry security spokesman. “If we have evidence that somebody is leaving Saudi Arabia for the purpose of joining militants he will be stopped and investigated for that,” he said, adding that the authorities had no evidence that Saudis had travelled to Syria so far. “If you allow these things to go on, you are effectively militarising society. And if you allow your people to get involved in these things and the so-called jihad, other people use it against you,” said Saudi analyst Khalid Al-Dakhil.

Some Saudis already appear to be fighting in Syria alongside anti-government rebels, but in seemingly much smaller numbers than during Iraq’s civil war last decade, analysts say. In an online film called “A message from a Saudi fighter with his Syrian brothers”, a young Saudi hunched against a wall clutching a rifle alongside rebels wearing bulletproof vests and carrying bazookas. “I ask God to unite us in heaven and say to my brothers in the Arabian peninsula to fight in the name of God as your brothers in the Levant need fighters of strong faith and chivalry,” he said in a Saudi accent. The video, posted on Aug 16, has been watched more than 121,000 times, according to YouTube, hinting at the allure of jihad in a war constantly broadcast on both private and staterun Arabic satellite channels.

A Gulf source familiar with military movements in the region said thousands of Saudis had sought to head to Syria to join the uprising against Assad, although there is little evidence that many of them have succeeded. “Saudi fighters went into Syria to fight with the rebels ... These fighters are from the people and not official fighters,” the source said, adding they were entering Syria via Turkey and Jordan and that some had been captured. Those who have gone, caught up in the spirit of adventure and religious zeal, are following a well-trodden path.

Saudi Arabia is Islam’s birthplace and the ultra-conservative clerics who controlled the education system in the 1980s and 1990s preached a message of intolerance towards other religious groups and what they saw as heretical Muslim sects, a message they have since reformed. Saudi-born Osama bin Laden led a battalion of Arab volunteers fighting as mujahidin against the Soviet forces occupying Afghanistan in the 1980s, while others joined local Muslim forces in civil wars in the 1990s in Bosnia and Chechnya. “If you’re Saudi it’s less logistically difficult than for other Arabs. You can buy a ticket to Beirut or Istanbul and make your way.

And there is a feeling in Saudi Islamist circles you have to go and fight for Islamic causes,” said Stephane Lacroix, the author of Awakening Islam, a book about Saudi Islamism.

At first, bin Laden and the other fighters were lionised in the Saudi press, welcomed effusively by top royals and praised by the kingdom’s powerful clergy. But even before he dispatched 15 young Saudis and four other Arabs to carry out the Sept 11, 2001,

attacks on the United States, bin Laden had turned against the ruling Al-Saud family, mainly because of its cosy relationship with the West. “They don’t want to repeat the same mistake they made in Afghanistan. Young men went there and learned to fight with many groups of jihadists. Some of those groups accused Islamic countries of being infidels and the young people were influenced by that and went back to their countries and caused problems,” a Saudi who fought in Afghanistan said.

The effect of Sept 11 and a series of attacks by Al-Qaeda inside Saudi Arabia from 2003 to 2006 heightened the government’s alarm just as a new generation crossed the permeable border with Iraq to fight against Shiite militias and occupying Western forces.

The result was a crackdown on militants that included those who had fought in Iraq, and a fatwa from the Grand Mufti against travelling abroad to wage jihad. In the years since, some of the thousands of suspected militants arrested by the Interior Ministry who have been tried in a special criminal court were accused of travelling to Iraq to fight alongside Al-Qaeda.

While state-affiliated clerics have spoken out against fighting abroad, they have also used strong language to denounce the Assad government and urge support for Syrians. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, a member of the Senior Council of Ulama, said that those in charge of carrying out the fighting and jihad in Syria are the Free Syrian Army, “who must be supported”.

The talk in Saudi Internet chatrooms does not focus on such distinctions.

“Abdullah, call for jihad against this Syrian tyrant and his aides and you will find, God willing, strong men who have faith in God to lift the banner of Islam.

Enough weakness,” one user said on a forum on news site Al-Weeam, without giving his name. A Saudi who fought in Afghanistan said Saudis were going to Syria but under the radar of the state.

“The youth of jihad don’t listen to the Council of Senior Clerics,” he said.

The approbation of society at large was a different matter, however. “For me personally, if it were not for my family and current circumstances, I would have gone. The banner is clear for jihad. These are Alawites, hostile toward the Sunnis and Islam,” he added. “ The numbers (of Saudi jihadists) will be a lot less than the past.

In the past the fighter goes and his family is proud of him, now instead they worry about the issue.” — Reuters

Apple unveils iPhone 5 Continued from Page 1 Apple closed that gap with the unveiling of the newest iPhone. Now, Microsoft Corp is pushing its Windows Phone 8 operating system as a third alternative to Apple and Google’s.

The iPhone 5 will hitch a ride on the three largest US carriers - Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc, and Sprint, marketing chief Phil Schiller told a packed auditorium at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. One enhancement was improved battery endurance - the iPhone 5’s power core can support eight hours of 4G Web browsing.”It has always been a major drawback on Android phones,” said Michael Yoshikami, chief executive of the wealth management firm Destination Wealth Management. “To have a thinner phone with a bigger screen with more battery life is a pretty impressive technology advancement.”

Cook began yesterday’s event by saying the company’s notebooks now rank tops in US sales, leading in market share in the past three months. But it is the iPhone that carries the weight of Apple’s future on its slim frame, especially with the company continuing to play its cards close to the

vest about future growth drivers, including an oft-rumored TV device. Analysts have forecast sales of 10 million to 12 million of the new smartphones this month alone.

The iPhone 5 comes with Apple’s newest “A6” processor, which executives claimed runs twice as fast as the previous generation. It will have three microphones and an 8 megapixel camera that can take pictures in higher resolutions. Apple has sold more than 243 million iPhones since its 2007 arrival, and the device proceeded to upend the industry and helped usher in the current applications ecosystem.

Cook told the audience that its apps store now has more than 700,000 on tap - the industry’s largest library.

Apple also is making a lot of headway in a corporate market that has been dominated by struggling Canadian smartphone maker Research in Motion . Cook said almost every Fortune 500 companies was testing or using its iPhones and iPads. Globally, Samsung leads the smartphone market with a 32.6 percent share followed by Apple with 17 percent, according to market research firm IDC. Both saw shipments rise compared to a year ago, with Samsung riding its flagship Galaxy S III phone. — Agencies

Pakistan factory fires kill 314 Continued from Page 1 The toll rose rapidly during the day as firefighters extinguished smouldering embers and found dozens of dead huddled together in the basement and ground floor of the factory, where they suspect that the fire began. “We didn’t find bodies in ones or twos, but in the dozens, which is why the death toll is increasing so alarmingly,” said Salim. Many of those on the upper floors of the building were rescued or jumped to escape the inferno, although dozens broke limbs on impact with the street.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said he had ordered an inquiry into both fires. Officials said the factory in Karachi in particular was in poor condition and lacked emergency exits. “The building has developed cracks and there is a danger it can collapse any time,” Shaikh told Pakistan’s private Geo TV channel. “Owners of the factory have been absconding and raids are being conducted for their arrest,” he said. Officials said two brothers who owned the company had been barred from leaving the country. “Their names have been put on exit control list,” a senior government official told AFP. Irfan Moton, chairman of the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate, told AFP he believed there were 600 to 700 people in the factory when the fire broke out. “We believe many people have come out, but still there are fears the final toll could be higher,” he said. In Jan 2009, 40 people were killed, more than half of them children, when a fire engulfed dozens of wooden homes in Karachi’s impoverished Baldia neighbourhood, but Tuesday’s tragedy was considered the deadliest in Pakistani industry.

“It was terrible, suddenly the entire floor filled with fire and smoke and the heat was so intense that we rushed towards the windows, broke its steel grille and glass and jumped out,” said Mohammad Saleem, 32,

who broke a leg after jumping out of the second floor. “I saw many people jumping out of windows and crying in pain for help,” he said. According to workers, the factory produced underwear and plastic utensils. The garment trade is vital to Pakistan’s shaky economy.

According to central bank data, the textiles industry contributed 7.4 percent to Pakistan’s GDP in 2011 and employed 38 percent of the manufacturing sector workforce. It accounted for 55.6 percent of total exports.

Noman Ahmed, from the NED University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi, said few industries and businesses implement the law on safety and fire exits, finding it easy to avoid because of lack of effective monitoring. “Most of our shopping centres and markets too have no safety mechanism, which the authorities should review seriously, otherwise it could cause graver tragedies in future,” he said. Officials said the cause of the fire was unknown but Sindh industry minister Rauf Siddiqi said the owner could face negligence charges. “We have ordered an inquiry into how the fire erupted and why proper emergency exits were not provided at the factory so that the workers could escape,” Siddiqi said.

In Lahore, flames also trapped dozens of workers in a shoe-making factory, killing 25 and injuring 14 others, where Tariq Zaman, a government official, blamed a faulty generator. “We saw our colleagues burning alive, in flames,” said Shabbir Hussain, from his hospital bed.

“We could do nothing. We saved our lives by jumping from the roof.” The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expressed “grave concern” over the fires and demanded immediate attention to ensuring safe working conditions for factory workers. It called on the government to initiate criminal proceedings against the factory owners and also initiate effective monitoring of workplaces to prevent such tragic incidents in the future. — Agencies

TUNIS: Tunisian protesters burn a US flag bearing a portrait of US actress Marylin Monroe during a demonstration against a film offensive to Islam outside the US embassy yesterday. — AFP

Furious mob kills US ambassador to Libya Continued from Page 1 HH the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah also sent similar cables.

A 50-strong unit US Marine counter-terrorism unit was en route to Libya to bolster security, a defence official said. Stevens, a career officer with the US foreign service, had been in the country for less than four months after taking up his post in the capital Tripoli in May. Witnesses said he was killed when angry Islamists late Tuesday attacked the consulate with rocket-propelled grenades before looting and torching the building.

A security source in Benghazi - cradle of the 2011 uprising that toppled the regime of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi - said it was suspected that the envoy may have suffocated due to carbon monoxide poisoning. A picture taken by an AFP photographer shows what witnesses say is an injured Stevens being aided by Libyans inside the premises of the consulate. A US official said five or six Americans were wounded in the attack. Libya’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi, said up to 10 Libyan security personnel were also killed or wounded.

Obama paid tribute to the Libyans who had given their lives. “Libyan security personnel fought back alongside Americans. Libyans helped some of the diplomats find safety and carried Ambassador Stevens’s body to the hospital where we tragically learned that he had died,” the US president said. “The attack will not break the bonds between the United States and Libya.” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the killings should “shock the consciences” of people of all faiths but vowed that the actions of “a savage and small group” would not make Washington turn its back on Libya.

Obama ordered flags flown at half mast at all US public buildings until sundown on Sunday.

US officials said the precise circumstances of the attack were still under investigation and that it was too soon to conclude exactly what transpired. “It’s too early to say,” a US official, who asked not to be named, told AFP. Initial reports suggested the assault was triggered by outrage over an amateur, American-made movie that denigrates the Islamic faith. But subsequent speculation has raised the possibility of a deliberate plot by Islamist militants. Clips of the film at the centre of the controversy have been posted on the Internet and private satellite channels have been showing segments.

The low-budget movie, “Innocence of Muslims” in which actors have strong American accents, portrays Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent. The film was produced by Israeli-American Sam Bacile, according to the Wall Street Journal.A consultant on the project, Steve Klein, told AFP the name was a pseudonym. He said the filmmaker had been “very upset” by the news of the ambassador’s murder and had gone into hiding.

It was not immediately clear precisely how or where California-born ambassador - the first US diplomat to die in the line of duty since 1979 - was killed during the assault. Stevens was a key player when the Obama

administration supported the anti-Gaddafi insurgency.

US consular staff were rushed to a safe house after the initial attack, Libya’s Deputy Interior Minister Wanis AlSharif said. An evacuation plane with US commando units then arrived from Tripoli to evacuate them from the house. “It was supposed to be a secret place and we were surprised the armed groups knew about it. There was shooting,” Sharif said. Two US personnel were killed there, he said. Two other people were killed at the main consular building and between 12 and 17 wounded.

Accounts of the consulate attack described chaos and bloodshed, with Libyan security overrun and retreating. “We started shooting at them, and then some other people also threw hand-made bombs over the fences and started the fires in the buildings,” said 17year-old Hamam, who took part in the assault and refused to give his last name. “There was some Libyan security for the embassy outside but when the handmade bombs went off they ran off and left,” said Hamam, who said he saw an American die in front of him in the mayhem that ensued. He said the body was covered in ash.

The violence in Benghazi was strongly condemned by Libya’s General National Congress, which nonetheless maintained it plans to elect a new prime minister at a session later yesterday. The first task for the new premier will be to bring order to the myriad of militias born out of last year’s uprising. “We present our apologies to the United States, the American people and the entire world for what happened,” the GNC’s president, Mohamed AlMegaryef, said in a statement. The United Nations also condemned the killings. “The United Nations rejects defamation of religion in all forms. At the same time, nothing justifies the brutal violence which occurred in Benghazi yesterday.” a statement said.

The Benghazi assault came after thousands of Egyptian demonstrators Tuesday tore down the Stars and Stripes at the US embassy in Cairo and replaced it with a black Islamic flag, similar to one adopted by several militant groups. Nearly 3,000 demonstrators, most of them hardline Islamist supporters of the Salafist movement, had gathered at the embassy in a protest over the film.

New protests against the film were held yesterday outside US missions in Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia as well as Egypt. In Tunis, police fired teargas to disperse a crowd of several hundred. The Muslim Brotherhood called for protests outside mosques across Egypt tomorrow, while the Egyptian government condemned the film but called for restraint. The Vatican condemned both anti-Muslim “provocations” and the resulting “unacceptable violence.”

France, which was a major backer of the uprising that ousted Gaddafi, demanded that the new authorities take action to restore order in Benghazi which has seen a wave of violence in recent months. “We had hoped and continued to hope that it would pacify the country but obviously you can always have extremists who behave in this way,” said Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. “It is absolutely unacceptable and the Libyan authorities must react.” — Agencies

Two days into job, Somalia president...

Continued from Page 1 The attacks - on the newly built Jazeera Palace hotel, near the airport and one of the securest places in Mogadishu - underscore the security challenges facing Mohamud, whose election was hailed by many as a way to end 20 years of violent anarchy. “We were behind the Mogadishu hotel blasts. It was a well planned Mujahideen operation,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, a spokesman for Al Shabaab’s military operations, told Reuters.

A journalist accompanying Ongeri said she had seen “pieces of meat flying all over the place” after the first blast.

“Then I saw a second guy shooting as he stormed towards the hotel,” said Jamila Mohammed, who was outside the hotel when the assailants struck. A Reuters witness said the severed leg of one of the suicide bombers wearing a white sneaker could be seen just outside the hotel’s gate where African Union armoured vehicles were parked, at least one of which was splattered with blood. A severed head lay in a large crater in the road dozens of metres away from the hotel, which overlooks the Indian Ocean.

Mohamud’s election by Somali lawmakers on Monday was hailed by his supporters as a vote for change in the war-ridden Horn of Africa country that has lacked effective central government since 1991. Although he is relatively new to politics, the former academic faces old problems: a stubborn Islamist insurgency, acrimonious clan politics, rampant corruption and maritime piracy.

“First and foremost we will address the security issue here in Somalia ... Our priority number one, our priority number two and priority number three is security,” Mohamud

said moments after the blasts to cheers in the audience.

The AU Peacekeeping force AMISOM said a third attacker was shot dead as he attempted to scale the hotel’s courtyard. His body was lying in a pool of blood where three AU vehicles were parked just outside the hotel. “Shabaab are very well-organised. Look at their timing. These people, they are everywhere,” said Mohamed Maie, a foreign ministry official, sitting in the lobby after the attack. “When the hope and aspirations came, that’s the time they wanted to destroy hope. You don’t relax just because some people voted for a positive sign, it doesn’t mean everything is honey.”

Al Shabaab - Al Qaeda-linked militants - said the explosions had killed four members of the security forces.

A Somali ambulance service worker said they had picked up the bodies of five government soldiers and two civilians. “I could also see three dead African Union soldiers,” the ambulance worker said. AMISOM said one soldier died and three were others wounded. The airport compound is a major base for African Union peacekeepers and the surrounding area is considered one of the safest parts of the city. On Tuesday, Al Shabaab branded Mohamud a “traitor” and vowed to continue its jihad against a government it says serves only Western interests.

Kenya sent troops into Somalia in November to help crush the Islamist insurgency. Ongeri said Somalia could count on Kenya’s support. “The bomb blasts will change nothing at all. We are determined. We are there for the course and until that course has been achieved,” Bogita Ongeri, a spokesman for Kenya Defence Forces said. — Reuters

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

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New prez may herald change for Somalia he surprise election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as Somalia’s president may usher in a new era for the war-torn nation, analysts said Tuesday, warning that the new leader faces multiple challenges. “We’ve definitely seen a vote by the parliamentarians for a change of direction,” Ahmed Soliman, Horn of Africa researcher at Chatham House, told AFP. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, an academic and activist, won 190 votes against 79 for the outgoing president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who had been seen as the favourite.

J Peter Pham of the Washington-based Atlantic Council noted that “by all accounts the newly chosen president of the so-called government of Somalia is an admirable individual who is well known and respected by local and international non-governmental organisations.” But he warned “one must avoid the temptation - already succumbed to by some stakeholders - of allowing enthusiasm of the moment to cloud the realities of what actually happened”. “The parliamentarians’ did not so much vote for Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as against the incompetence and corruption of Sharif Sheikh Ahmed,” he said, adding that the lawmakers who voted “were hardly legitimate representatives of the Somali people.”

“The MPs didn’t want another four or five years of Sharif and it’s been very clearly displayed by 70 percent of votes going to the new president,” Chatham House’s Soliman agreed. Sharif, who had seemed confident of re-election, was dogged by allegations of corruption during his tenure. Soliman said it was too early to say whether the new president will be able to consolidate his position with the parliamentarians “and move forward and build a cabinet.”

Pham said Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will be presiding over “an entity more known for stealing foreign aid than using it for the good of the Somali people”. “While the new president may well want to change this, he will have to fight power interests, both old (the functionaries who have carved power bases for themselves) and new (people who spent tens of thousands of dollars last month to become parliamentarians will want to recover their investments).”

For Abdirashid Hashi, an analyst with International Crisis Group in Nairobi, the new president’s resounding victory was also “a protest vote” against Sharif.

Hassan “is very passionate about Somalia,” Hashi said.

“He has a good feel for what’s going on on the ground,” he said. A vendor on the streets of the capital echoed that sentiment. “The new president is a person with credibility. He has been in the country without fleeing in the past 22 years,” Hassan Abdi told AFP, noting that the new president had not “come with a laptop like those from the diaspora.”

Hashi stressed however that the new president faced a daunting task. “There is some optimism about him but he has to gain lots of support” notably that of the international community and “there are huge challenges in front of him,” he said. Pham said one handicap could be that the new leader “does not appear to have a force behind him, military or political. Thus he is weak in comparison to the real power brokers in Somalia.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron hailed as a “significant moment” the election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud but warned the country faced a long road to democracy. The Shabab Tuesday dismissed Monday’s vote as illegitimate. “The process in which Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was chosen was run by the enemies of Somalia,” Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, spokesman of the Al Qaeda-linked Shabab, told AFP. He said the group had “nothing personal” against the new president but that “the whole process is like an enemy project.”

Hashi said some Shabab leaders, who hated Sharif because they saw the Islamist outgoing president as a traitor, might be less harsh on Hassan. Ahmed Soliman noted that under the transitional authorities, bringing the Shabab to the negotiating table had been discouraged, notably by Britain, the United States and the UN Office for Somalia. “For there to be lasting peace... Shabab needs to be incorporated into future dialogue. If Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is able to maintain good links with the Shabab and bring them to the table for dialogue that would be a positive step.” — AFP

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Muslim-Christian ties clouded in new Mideast

By Tom Heneghan hen Middle Eastern Christians and Muslims meet to discuss religion and the region’s future, it can sometimes seem like they are talking about two different places and using divergent meanings for the same words. The Christians, worried by the rise of Islamists since last year’s Arab Spring democratic uprisings, usually speak of reforms they want to see so they and other religious minorities can live as full and equal citizens with the majority Muslims. Faced with the protesters’ grassroots demands for more individual rights, the Muslims often cite the tolerance and co-existence that marked the region’s multicultural past as useful guideposts for interfaith relations going forward.

Some meetings, such as one held in Istanbul last weekend, end with declarations supporting national unity and respect for religious diversity.

But the words can have such different shades of meaning that it’s not clear how much progress is made. “I can’t accept tolerance because that implies domination,” Bishop Munib Younan, the Jerusalem-based leader of Lutherans in Jordan and the Holy Land, told the assembled clerics of both faiths. “I don’t accept being called a minority.”

“Are we ready to separate church and state?” he asked the conference, organised by study centres of Marmara

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University in Istanbul and Turkey ’s Religious Affairs Directorate. “If we don’t separate them, then we can forget equal citizenship.” El Siddiq Omer Yaqub, a lecturer at Tripoli University in Libya, responded with the traditional Muslim view: “You can’t separate religion and state in Islam. The Quran addresses itself to both the state and the people.”

The issue of equal rights will play a central role during Pope Benedict’s three-day visit to Lebanon, which starts on Friday, to highlight Vatican concern for Christian communities depleted over recent decades by emigration and war. Christianity, born like Islam in the Middle East, now accounts for about five percent of the population there. Its faithful are numerous in Lebanon (40 percent) and Egypt (10 percent), but form only tiny minorities elsewhere.

The Ottoman Empire, which dominated the region for centuries until its collapse after the First World War, officially divided its people into majority Muslims and religious minorities to be legally protec ted according to the injunctions of the Quran. This “millet” system let Christians, Jews and other faith minorities manage their own communities. Their laws applied within their ranks, but a legal dispute between a minority resident and a Muslim had to be adjudicated under Islamic law.

The states that emerged from Ottoman and colonial rule have mostly replaced these laws with modern civil

codes, but remnants survive in many places such as the designation of Islam as the official religion or sharia as the main source of the law.

Even more importantly, the division of society into Muslim and non-Muslim remains deeply rooted in the region’s traditions. Christians say this leads to job discrimination against them, creates hurdles in dealing with officials and allows a climate to develop where harassment and attacks are condoned.

“There has to be a cultural revolution to see society as a whole,” said Mona Makram Ebeid, a political scientist at American University of Cairo. “It doesn’t matter what’s written in the law if it is not enforced.”

Reverend M iguel Angel Ayuso Guixot of the Vatican department for interreligious dialogue noted that elections last year had brought Islamist parties to power in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. “There now needs to be a follow-up to further develop and nurture a ‘culture of democracy’ that includes developing a clear rule of law, where all are equal before the law,” he said.

Some Muslim leaders at the conference acknowledged that invoking past harmony did little to solve present problems. “We can’t only refer back to Andalusia,” said Turkey’s top Muslim cleric Mehmet Gormez, alluding to the Islamic state in Spain from 711 to 1492 known for the good relations between its Muslims, Christians and Jews.

“We face the dilemma that societies

no longer work on the multicultural model,” he said. “Even the concepts of majority and minority in our case seem to be wrong... We need a new language to define a new process, and must do this together.”

Muslims also face threats from Salafi radicals using the new freedom to attack those they thought were not Islamic enough. “They want to ostracise others,” said Abdelfettah Mouru, a leading official of Tunisia’s ruling Islamist par ty Ennahda. “It’s not only about Muslims and Christians. It’s between those who respect humanity and those who don’t.” Calls to split religion and politics, a legacy of Christian teaching and Europe’s bloody religious wars, sound different to Muslims whose history and tradition kept them together.

“In the West, religious liberty emerged when Christianity was weakened,” explained Talip Kucukcan, head of Marmara University’s Institute of Middle Eastern Studies. “ This does not give Muslims much confidence.”

Ibrahim K alin, senior adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, said Islam showed “a remarkable tapestry of differences of opinion” but a “neosectarianism” reinforcing narrow religious identities was now on the rise. “ This has something to do with the process of modernisation in Muslim countries that has gone rather astray in many regards in terms of the pressure the nation-state has put on religious identity,” he said. —Reuters

Bibi risks overplaying hand in Iran dispute

By Crispian Balmer he public row between Israel and the United States this week will make it hard for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch a unilateral strike against Iran and risks undermining his domestic standing. Despite years of warning about the dangers of Iran gaining nuclear weapons, the Israeli leader has failed to convince any major world power of the need for military action and has yet to persuade his domestic audience that Israel should go it alone. By raising the stakes with Barack Obama in the middle of the president’s re-election campaign, Netanyahu has drawn criticism from his own defence minister, Ehud Barak, and given Tehran the pleasure of watching its enemies argue over the case for war.

“Netanyahu is overplaying his hand and creating problems for himself with Obama.

This could make life very hard for him should the president win re-election,” said Alon Liel, a former director-general of the Israeli foreign ministry. Infuriated by Washington’s reluctance to lay down clear limits to Iran’s nuclear program, Netanyahu fired a broadside at Obama on Tuesday, saying those who failed to set red lines did not have the “moral right” to prevent Israel from striking.

Further stirring the troubled waters, senior Israeli officials briefed journalists twice in two days to denounce US policymaking, before announcing that the president had refused to see Netanyahu when both will be in New York later this month. The White House denied ever receiving a request for a meeting and Obama swiftly got on the phone for a long chat with Netanyahu, with whom he has notoriously testy relations. In the hours that followed, Israel sought to play down the differences between the two, but the damage was done, with the Israeli press bemoaning a new low in bilat-

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eral ties. “The reality might be less serious than all the headlines are saying,” said Oded Eran, a senior research associate and former head of the Institute for National Security Studies. “However, perceptions are just as important, and in that regard, serious damage has been done to the idea of Israeli deterrence, which may be very hard to rectify,” he added.

Israel, believed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, has long threatened to attack Iran unless it dismantles its ambitious nuclear program that many countries in the West believe is aimed at creating an atomic bomb. Iran denies this and, despite increasingly severe economic sanctions, has shown no sign that it intends to scale back its project or halt its contested uranium enrichment drive. Regularly beating the drums of war, Netanyahu has succeeded in getting alarmed Western allies to turn the sanction screws, but has yet to persuade them of the need for military action, or even to win their backing for a lone Israeli initiative. “The Israeli frustration stems from a sense that sanctions and

negotiations are not as effective as they should be,” said Gidi Grinstein, founder of the Reut Institute think-tank. “But Israeli action in defiance of the United States and without legitimacy is extremely risky.”

Aware that its armed forces might be hard pressed to do significant damage to Iran’s far-flung nuclear sites, Israel has said repeatedly that it wants the US military to do the heavy lifting, arguing a nuclear Iran is a threat to the whole world. But rather than bow to Israeli demands for further clarity, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Washington would not set any deadline with Iran. Her comments triggered fury in Netanyahu’s office. “The easiest thing would be to sit by and not tangle with Obama, but Netanyahu believes he has to state things plainly, even if they are unpopular and cause conflict,” said a senior Israeli official, denouncing “fuzzy remarks” out of America.

Yet Netanyahu might come to rue his outspokenness. Israelis know the United States is by far and away their most important ally and previous premiers who jostled

This Sept 21, 2011 file photo shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking with US President Barack Obama at the United Nations Building in New York City. — AFP

in public with Washington have invariably drawn flak at home. Sure enough, Israeli opposition politicians have denounced the prime minister’s handling of an increasingly complex situation. “Who are you trying to replace? The administration in Washington or that in Tehran?” said Shaul Mofaz, head of the largest opposition party, Kadima, which was briefly part of Netanyahu’s coalition over the summer. “The world is not sick of Israel, the world is sick of Netanyahu and does not believe him.”

Of more concern to Netanyahu was the fact he also received a clear rebuke from his own defence minister, Barak, who issued a statement saying problems with the United States should be worked out behind closed doors and not aired in public. “Despite the differences and the importance of maintaining Israel’s independence of action, we should also bear in mind the importance of the partnership with the United States, and try not to harm it as much as possible,” he said.

Local media said Netanyahu was angered by Barak’s intervention and a senior member of the prime minister’s Likud party accused the defence minister of looking to score political points at a time of growing speculation about the prospect of an early parliamentary election in Israel.

Barak heads the small Atzmaut party in the governing coalition, and opinion polls have indicated it might not win a single seat in parliament in a new ballot. “I am sorry that ... the defence minister has chosen to start his campaign at the expense of national interests and on the back of the prime minister,” said vice prime minister Moshe Yaalon, who has long aspired to the defence portfolio. Barak’s spokesman denied any rift with Netanyahu, but again, the damage was done, with the two men who must work closest together on Israel’s military strategies seemingly at odds over how best to proceed. —Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

sp orts Ferrero to retire next month

Falcons sign Johnson

‘Bolt has bowling talent’

MADRID: Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former world number one who won the French Open in 2003 but whose career has been hampered by injuries, will retire after playing at his home event next month, he said yesterday. “The Valencia Open 500 will be my final tournament, in the best possible scenario,” Ferrero told a news conference presenting the ATP event.

“This season injuries have prevented me from playing with regularity and it was a tough year as I realised on the court that I did not have the same ambition after 14 years at the top level,” added the 32-yearold.

“I am starting a new phase in my life with tremendous excitement, I will continue to be involved with tennis through the Valencia Open, the academy, the foundation that carries my name and other projects.” Ferrero, who has slipped to 111 in the latest singles rankings, turned professional in 1998 and went on to win 15 titles, including the Masters events in Monte Carlo and Rome. — Reuters

NEW YORK: The Atlanta Falcons signed cornerback Terrence Johnson on Tuesday as the National Football League team moved to bolster a secondary that will be without former Pro Bowl selection Brent Grimes for the rest of the season.

Grimes tore his Achilles tendon in Atlanta’s 40-24 season-opening victory over Kansas City on Sunday, a heavy blow for a Falcons team opened the campaign with three top cornerbacks in Grimes, Asante Samuel and Dunta Robinson.

Second-year cornerback Johnson, who played 10 games with two starts for the Indianapolis Colts in 2011, has been added to a secondary where backups Chris Owens and Dominique Franks will now be expected to take plenty of snaps.

The Falcons host Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on Monday and Owens said he was looking forward to the challenge of competing for the open position.

“I’m excited about the opportunity, and it’s all about being focused. We’ve got a great challenge with Peyton ahead of us, so it’s gonna be a good one,” Owens, a third-round pick by Atlanta in the 2009 draft, told reporters on Tuesday.

Robinson will stay on the right for the Falcons while four-time Pro Bowl selection Samuel will take over in Grimes’ position on the left side. —Reuters

COLOMBO: West Indies’ opening batsman Chris Gayle rates the bowling of fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt and reckons the six-times Olympic gold medallist has what it takes to excel at the game. The sprinter expressed his desire to repackage himself as a big-hitting cricketer in Australia’s Big Bash League following an invitation by Shane Warne after he repeated his Beijing 2008 feat with three more gold at this year’s London Games.

Australian spin great Warne contacted Bolt about joining him at the Melbourne Stars club in the Twenty20 league in December.

“He wouldn’t embarrass himself. In a charity game, he actually played against me and almost knocked my head off with a good competitive bouncer,” Gayle told reporters as his team started training for the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. “It is nothing to take lightly. I don’t see anything wrong,” added foremr West Indies captain Gayle, who communicates on a daily basis with Bolt. The sprinter grew up playing street cricket and soccer in Jamaica and during the London Games said he wanted a trial at English Premier League giants Manchester United. — Reuters

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

National League American League Eastern Division Eastern Division Washington 88 54 .620 NY Yankees 79 62 .560 Atlanta 81 62 .566 7.5 79 62 .560 Baltimore Philadelphia 71 71 .500 17 Tampa Bay 77 64 .546 2 NY Mets 65 77 .458 23 Toronto 64 76 .457 14.5 Miami 63 80 .441 25.5 Boston 64 78 .451 15.5 Central Division Central Division Cincinnati 86 57 .601 White Sox 76 65 .539 St. Louis 75 67 .528 10.5 Detroit 74 67 .525 2 Pittsburgh 72 69 .511 13 Kansas City 64 77 .454 12 Milwaukee 71 71 .500 14.5 Cleveland 59 83 .415 17.5 Chicago Cubs 55 87 .387 30.5 Minnesota 59 83 .415 17.5 Houston 45 97 .317 40.5 Western Division Western Division San Francisco 80 62 .563 Texas 84 57 .596 LA Dodgers 74 68 .521 6 Oakland 81 60 .574 3 Arizona 70 72 .493 10 LA Angels 77 65 .542 7.5 San Diego 68 75 .476 12.5 Seattle 68 74 .479 16.5 Colorado 57 84 .404 22.5

Phillies outslug Marlins PHILADELPHIA: Jimmy Rollins homered and drove in three runs and Roy Halladay won again as the streaking Philadelphia Phillies outslugged the Miami Marlins 9-7 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight win.

Despite allowing five runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings, Halladay (10-7) improved to 4-0 in his last five starts.

Juan Pierre and Chase Utley had three hits apiece for Philadelphia, which finished with 15 overall while winning for the 14th time in the last 18 games. The five-time defending NL East champion Phillies, who reached .500 for the first time since June 4, are making a late playoff push. They began the day five games behind St. Louis in the NL wild-card race.

Giancarlo Stanton homered for Miami, which has lost nine of 13. Stanton went deep for the 14th time in his last 17 road games to up his league-leading road total to 21 homers.

Marlins starter Nathan Eovaldi (4-12) gave up five runs and eight hits in fourplus innings. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 33rd save in 37 chances.

Diamondbacks 1, Dodgers 0 In Phoenix, Ian Kennedy pitched neatly into the eighth inning and the Diamondbacks used an unearned run to beat Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers.

Arizona left fielder Jason Kubel robbed Luis Cruz of a two-run homer with a leaping grab at the wall to end the fifth inning.

The lone run came in the seventh, when Paul Goldschmidt reached on shortstop Hanley Ramirez’s throwing error and scored from first on Miguel Montero’s double.

With San Francisco’s win at Colorado, the Dodgers fell six games behind the first-place Giants in the NL West. Arizona ended a six-game home losing streak.

Kennedy (13-11) gave up four hits in 7 13 innings. Kershaw (12-9) allowed three hits in seven innings.

After regular closer JJ Putz blew con-

secutive saves last week, David Hernandez came on in the ninth and gave up a two-out double to Shane Victorino. Adrian Gonzalez then struck out looking.

Giants 9, Rockies 8 In Denver, Madison Bumgarner hit a three-run homer on a night when he struggled on the mound and Brandon Belt drove in four runs for NL West-leading San Francisco.

Belt broke a tie in the fifth with a tworun double. He also brought in a run on a fielder’s choice and added a solo homer for the Giants, who are 20-7 on the road since the All-Star break.

Bumgarner was roughed up by the Rockies, allowing five runs and 11 hits in 4 1-3 innings. But the left-hander gave the Giants a big boost when he drove a 93-mph fastball from Jhoulys Chacin into the left-field seats in the fourth.

Pinch-hitter Tyler Colvin belted a tworun homer for Colorado before Javier Lopez came in and retired Jason Giambi for his seventh save. George Kontos (2-1) got the win and Carlos Torres (4-2) was charged with the loss.

Brewers 5, Braves 0 In Milwaukee, Marco Estrada pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, and Rickie Weeks and Aramis Ramirez homered for streaking Milwaukee.

The Brewers won their eighth in a row at Miller Park and reached the .500 mark for the first time since April 24.

Milwaukee has surged back into the NL wild-card race by winning 17 of 22 overall, and beat the wild card-leading Braves for the second straight day.

Estrada (3-6) was dominant from the start, allowing only two singles to Andrelton Simmons in the first five innings. Estrada allowed four hits in 6 2-3 innings and struck out six.

Four Milwaukee pitchers combined on a five-hitter. Atlanta’s Tim Hudson (14-6) gave up four runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings. — AP

PHILADELPHIA: Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins (right) and Roy Halladay celebrate after Rollins’ two-run home run off Miami Marlins relief pitcher Chris Hatcher in the fifth inning. —AP

Orioles demolish Rays BALTIMORE: JJ Hardy homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs, and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2 Tuesday night to move into a tie for the AL East lead.

Hardy went 4 for 5 to help Baltimore pull even atop the division with the New York Yankees, who lost 4-3 at Boston. The Rays are two games behind the co-leaders.

Chris Davis homered and Matt Wieters had three hits and two RBIs for Baltimore. Hardy hit a two-run homer in the third inning, doubled and scored in the fifth, singled in a run in the sixth and added his 21st homer with a runner on in the eighth.

Baltimore starter Jason Hammel retired 11 of 13 Tampa Bay batters before leaving in the fourth inning with an injured right knee. Steve Johnson (3-0) got the win with 1 1-3 innings of hitless relief.

Ryan Roberts and Elliott Johnson hit solo homers, and Matt Moore (10-10) allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks in four innings for Tampa Bay. Red Sox 4, Yankees 3 In Boston, Jacoby Ellsbury singled in the winning run in the ninth inning and Boston beat New York to drop the Yankees into a tie for first place in the AL East.

Pedro Ciriaco, who started the rally with a single, slid in to beat the throw from right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, giving Boston only its second win in 13 games.

The loss left the Yankees and Orioles tied with 79-62 records. Andrew Bailey (1-0) got the win after allowing one hit in one inning.

David Robertson (1-7) retired his first four batters before giving up three straight singles with one out in the ninth.

Tigers 5, White Sox 3 In Chicago, Doug Fister pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, Austin Jackson hit a tying two-run homer and Miguel Cabrera delivered a go-ahead solo shot as Detroit reduced Chicago’s AL Central lead to two games. Jackson’s 14th homer followed a single by Omar Infante in the top of the fifth off Jake Peavy. One batter later, Cabrera hit his 36th of the season to put the Tigers up 3-2.

The only two hits Fister (9-8) gave up were solo homers to Dewayne Wise and Gordon Beckham. Peavy (10-11) couldn’t hold an early lead. He threw 117 pitches in 5 2-3 innings, yielding six hits, walking two and striking out nine.

Rangers 6, Indians 4 In Arlington, Adrian Beltre homered, Matt Harrison worked into the sixth inning for his 16th victory and AL West-leading Texas beat Cleveland.

Harrison (16-9) struck out six over 5 2-3

innings while becoming the fourth AL pitcher to reach 16 wins. The left-hander allowed five hits and walked three.

Texas scored four times in the second, which started with Beltre reaching on an error that led to three unearned runs. One of those runs scored on the 16th wild pitch by Ubaldo Jimenez (9-16), who has the most losses and wild pitches in the majors. Joe Nathan worked a perfect ninth for his 32nd save.

Mariners 4, Blue Jays 3 In Toronto, Kyle Seager homered and came within a triple of the cycle, and Erasmo

meetings. Salvador Perez extended his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games and threw out two runners trying to steal in support of Smith (5-7), who struck out a career-high seven and gave up seven hits in his first win in four starts. Scott Diamond (11-7) allowed four runs and 10 hits over six innings for Minnesota Athletics 6, Angels 5 In Anaheim, Jerry Blevins got Howie Kendrick to ground into a game-ending double play with two runners on in the ninth inning and Oakland won its fifth straight.

BALTIMORE: Orioles’ JJ Hardy hits a two-run home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays. —AP Ramirez pitched seven innings for his first major league win to lead Seattle over Toronto.

Starting for the first time since June 30, Ramirez (1-2) allowed two runs and six hits, setting down nine straight at one stretch. He walked one and struck out six. Four relievers combined to work the eighth and Tom Wilhelmsen closed it for his 25th save in 28 chances.

Seager had an RBI single in the first, doubled and scored in the third, and added his 18th homer in the fifth as the Mariners snapped a three-game losing streak. Brandon Morrow (8-6) allowed four runs on 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings. He struck out four.

Royals 9, Twins 1 In Minneapolis, Will Smith pitched seven shutout innings and Eric Hosmer homered to lead Kansas City to a win over Minnesota.

Lorenzo Cain fell a home run shy of a cycle and had two RBIs to help the Royals beat the Twins for just the sixth time in the last 16

Brandon Moss and Yoenis Cespedes homered and Dan Straily pitched into the seventh inning of his fourth major league start for the A’s, who won their 11th straight road game, matching the second-longest streak in franchise history.

Torii Hunter and Albert Pujols had run-scoring singles in the ninth for the Angels, who had runners at the corners and no outs before Blevins relieved A’s closer Grant Balfour and earned his first save since 2010. Coco Crisp hit a ninth-inning RBI triple and scored on Hunter’s error in right field for the A’s, who have taken two straight at Angel Stadium with a rookie starter on the mound.

Blevins, who had just one save in his first 204 career appearances, struck out Kendrys Morales. Kendrick then grounded to third, and Oakland smartly turned the double play to end it.

Straily (2-0) yielded seven hits and struck out eight in his first start since coming up from Triple-A Sacramento last week. —AP

Tseng seeking Open hat-trick HOYLAKE: Taiwan’s Yani Tseng has her sights set on making history today when she begins an attempt to win the Women’s British Open for a third year in a row at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

At just 23, Tseng has dominated women’s golf for the past couple of seasons, winning five majors and reigning supreme at the head of the world rankings.

However, this summer, she has suffered a bit of a setback, missing a few cuts, including the Evian Masters in France. But she admitted she has gained inspiration from the men’s world No.1, Rory McIlroy. “He also struggled for a couple of months so I watched his interviews and I have learned a lot from him,” she said. “He said he got back to enjoying and focusing on his own game.

“He also said he had to remember how he loved the game as a kid. That’s the same with me. We are both living the dream so there is no reason to become stressed on the golf course.

“This year I have been too hard on myself. I need to enjoy myself on the course again and that’s what I’m going to do this week.”

After winning at Royal Birkdale two years ago and then successfully defending the title at Carnoustie, Tseng relishes the prospect of a record-breaking hat-trick.

“After what I’ve been through this year, winning this week would be the best trophy ever,” she claimed. “And the tougher the better as far as the weather is concerned.

“I’ve put a three iron in my bag for the first time ever in my professional career because I think I will need it to keep the ball low in the

wind. But I just love the course and I love links golf.” Lydia Ko, the 15-year-old amateur who won the Canadian Open and become the youngest ever winner on the LPGA Tour last month, admitted that Royal Liverpool presents a whole new challenge.

“It’s one of the hardest courses I’ve ever played,” said the New Zealand-based South Korean. “I consider myself quite straight off the tee. But, in practice, I kept going into the rough. It was really windy.” Stacy Lewis, the American world No.2, reckons that Ko could easily be a contender this week. “She’s won

already on Tour so she’s definitely good enough to do it again,” said this season’s twotime LPGA winner.

For Lewis, it is a first visit to the course. “ This is my third British Open and I’ve improved every year,” said the 27-year-old who helped the US win the 2008 Curtis Cup over the Old Course at St Andrews.

“I’ve been practising the little bump and run shots and I just have to what Tiger ( Wo o d s ) d i d h e r e i n t h e 2 0 0 6 O p e n Championship and stay out of the bunkers.” —AFP

Thaworn hopeful of 15th title TAIPEI: Thai veteran Thaworn Wiratchant, winner of a record 14 Asian Tour titles, is hoping to extend his dominance of the circuit by taking the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship which starts today.

The 45-year-old will face stiff competition from his idol Boonchu Ruangkit and countryman Thongchai Jaidee for the $500,000 event taking place at Linkou International Golf and Country club in Taiwan’s capital.

“I want to win more titles and that’s why I’m here in Taipei this week,” said Thaworn, who overtook Thongchai’s record of 13 Asian Tour titles by winning in Malaysia last week. “Why stop when I’m still at the top?

Golf is my life and I’ve worked hard to get to where I’m today. Hopefully I’ll be smiling again on Sunday,” he added.

Boonchu, 56, who has won five times on

the Asian Tour and is regarded as an inspiration for a generation of Thai players, said: “I’m going to give these younger guys a run for their money and it’ll be a test of youth versus experience this week. It’s going to be interesting.”

Australian Marcus Both, who will be playing his 200th event on the Asian Tour when he tees off on Thursday, is hoping he can spoil the Thais’ party and take his third title on the circuit. “You’ve got to play to your strengths and I think I’ve done that over the years. I’ve learnt to adapt to the conditions that we play in every week and be a little smarter about preparation,” he said.

“I really like the course layout here. It’s hot and humid and it’s going to take lots of concentration to avoid making mistakes,” he added. —AFP

sp orts

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Best part of Luck s NFL debut?

It s over.

CHICAGO: There are few times a rookie quarterback looks good in comparison to Peyton Manning.

So if Andrew Luck is still searching for consolation after the 4121 beating the Chicago Bears handed him and his Indianapolis Colts, here it is: the Hall of Fame wasn’t asking for souvenirs from Manning’s NFL debut 14 years ago, either.

When he wasn’t running for his life, Luck managed to carve out enough daylight to complete 23 of 45 passes for 309 yards and one touchdown. He also threw three interceptions and fumbled once - “killers,” Luck called them afterward, adding, “Not too many fond memories of an opening loss.”

Manning no doubt felt the same way after the Miami Dolphins clobbered him in their 1998 opener. He went a slightly better 21 of 37 for 302 yards, but likewise threw three interceptions to a single TD pass.

Manning didn’t have the added burden of following one of the best QBs ever - though much as Colts fans would like to forget, neither really did Luck.

When Manning went down before the start of last season, the quarterbacking job turned into a part-time position that three journeymen - Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky auditioned for, knowing full well they were competing to see which one kept the seat warm for Luck. Yet after last season’s 2-14 record, the bar was even lower than that.

“We fumbled the snap on the first play last season,” secondyear offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo pointed out optimistically, “so at least we got off to little better start this year.”

Much better, it should be noted, since Luck completed an 8yarder to fellow rookie Dominique Jones on his first official down as a pro. And while the Colts’ drive stalled soon afterward, it was sandwiched between two lousy offensive possessions by the Bears, the second of which ended with an interception by Indianapolis linebacker Jerrell Freeman at the 4yard-line that he returned for a touchdown and a fleeting 7-0 lead.

Luck’s day went pretty much downhill from there, mostly because he underestimated how much faster the game was played in the regular season versus the preseason - let alone during those years when he was shredding Pac-10 defenses at Stanford.

“It picked up another notch,” he conceded. Good student that he was, Luck then went on to list nearly every member of the Bears’ defense who was faster than they looked on film, no small feat because they were flying around him nearly all day in a constant navy-and-orange blur.

“There’s a lot of speed out there,” he added. That used to be the reason rookie quarterbacks rarely stepped into a starting job.

Conventional wisdom dictated that it wasn’t simply the much greater complexity of playbooks in the NFL versus college that made that leap nearly impossible; it was how much faster all the Xs and Os on the pages flew on the playing fields.

But last season, five rookie QBs found themselves thrown into a starting role for large chunks of the campaign and acquitted themselves better than could be expected. Their performances ranged from barely adequate (Blaine Gabbert in Jacksonville) to occasionally spectacular (Cam Newton in Carolina) to downright workmanlike (Andy Dalton in Cincinnati).

The NFL is nothing if not a copycat league. That explained the presence of five rookie starters at what has been called the most important - and perhaps toughest - position in any sport. Some got the job because the coach had zero faith in the incumbent, others because of meddling owners. What all of them had in common, Luck noted going into Sunday’s game, were high expectations.

“Any quarterback in the NFL is going to have some pressure on him to win, to succeed, and win now,” he said. “It’s not a culture that likes to wait around for things to get good. I hope I don’t have to wait around to be a decent football player.” — AP

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

sp orts

Murray’s win the antithesis of decades of British failure

WASHINGTON: Golfing legend Arnold Palmer speaks after receiving the Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony at the US Capitol. Palmer was presented with the medal, and was recognized for his contributions to the game of golf and historic contributions to the nation.—AFP

Springboks gear for NZ clash DUNEDIN: South Africa have made two changes to their forward pack for the Rugby Championship test against New Zealand on Saturday, while prop Jannie du Plessis has been given a few more days to prove his fitness ahead of the Dunedin clash.

The Springboks crumbled to a demoralising 26-19 loss against Australia in Perth last weekend and next face a Herculean task of trying to upset the undefeated All Blacks in their southern stronghold and get their tournament back on track.

Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer, who came close to destroying a walkie-talkie out of frustration during the Perth defeat, called up lock Flip van der Merwe in place of the suspended Eben Etzebeth when he named his squad yesterday.

Etzebeth was banned for two weeks for head-butting Wallabies lock Nathan Sharpe during Saturday’s loss. Francois Louw has been promoted from the reserves in place of Marcell Coetzee at blindside flanker, a move seemingly aimed at nullifying All Blacks captain Richie McCaw’s ball-poaching at the breakdown.

“The New Zealanders are good on the

ground which is why we decided to go for a specialist openside flank in Francois,” Meyer said in a media release.

“Marcell has been very good this season and has played a lot of rugby, but in this match we feel he will be more useful as an impact option.”

Du Plessis has been given until Friday to shake off a hamstring injury and will be replaced by Pat Cilliers if he fails to recover in time.

After a home victory over newcomers Argentina and an away draw to the same opponents on the return leg, the Springboks faded badly in the second half against the Wallabies, prompting South African media to question fitness levels.

Former Leicester coach Meyer, who succeeded the controversial Peter de Villiers after their quarter-final exit at the World Cup, has injected fresh legs onto the bench, with lock Andries Bekker, prop Dean Greyling and versatile back Juan de Jongh all called up as replacements.

New Zealand followed up back-to-back victories over the Wallabies with a bruising home win against the Pumas in Wellington last week.—Reuters

LONDON: British tennis was savouring its first male grand slam champion for 76 years on Tuesday but Andy Murray’s extraordinary feat in New York was actually the antithesis of decades of failure from the nation where the sport was born.

The 25-year-old’s refusal to accept second best in Monday’s U.S. Open final against Serbian ironman Novak Djokovic, to stare defeat in the face and still find the will to outlast one of sport’s greatest warriors are not qualities to be found in any of Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association coaching manuals. If they were, Scot Murray might not be ploughing a lone furrow in the world’s top 100 in which he is the only British male.

Thanks to the hugely profitable Wimbledon championships, British tennis enjoys a budget that is the envy of the rest of the world, yet its failure to provide a crop of players capable of competing at the highest echelons of men’s tennis has long been a cause for embarrassment and amusement.

Before a scrawny, teenage Murray announced himself as a major talent by winning the U.S. Open juniors in 2004, Wimbledon nearly-man Tim Henman had shouldered the nation’s hopes year after year along with Canadianborn Greg Rusedski.

Henman grew up with a tennis court in his back garden and Rusedski on the other side of the Atlantic. Like Murray, they were not products of a failing system.

When Henman and Rusedski, a former U.S. Open runner-up, neared retirement, British tennis was staring at an alarming black hole.

However, Murray ’s mother and coach Judy had the courage and foresight to pack her son off to Barcelona aged 15 to acquire a proper tennis education.

Already blessed with a razor sharp tennis mind and a natural feel for ball on strings, it was at the Sanchez Vicario Academy that Murray honed the metronomic groundstrokes that did for Djokovic with thousands of hours of relent-

less hitting drills.

The fruits of that labor soon became apparent as Murray climbed 449 places in the world rankings after turning professional in 2005, reaching the third round of Wimbledon where he lost in five sets to Argentina’s David Nalbandian.

Yet, those early steps into the seniors were difficult ones. Still growing into his 18-year-old frame, Murray’s physical conditioning was clearly lacking, while his messy hair and whiskers, dishevelled appearance and teenage scowl did not endear him to a British public still yearning for that “nice chap Tim” to come up trumps. Not that Murray really cared.

Clearly prepared to go it alone, he focused all his energy on getting fitter and stronger, rather than indulging in popularity contests.

He hired, then fired, Andre Agassi’s former coach Brad Gilbert and surrounded himself with a team with whom he felt comfortable, headed by coach Miles Maclagan who came on board in 2007. Murray reached his first grand slam final in 2008, losing to Roger Federer at Flushing Meadows.

He lost to Federer again in the 2010 Australian Open final and 12 months later fell to Djokovic, meaning that in his first three grand slam finals he had failed to win a single set - prompting unfair suggestions that he was too passive and “choked” when it came to the crunch.

When Djokovic, a few weeks younger than Murray, broke the grand slam domination of Federer and Rafa Nadal, culminating in the Serb’s incredible 2011 when he was

Andy Murray of Great Britain

almost unbeatable, the focus on Murray’s perceived under-achievement grew more intense.

Murray, who had dispensed with Maclagan’s ser vices in 2010, responded by hiring Ivan Lendl at the start of 2012, the poker-faced Czech-born multiple grand slam champion who made a career out of winning titles rather than friends.

It has proved to be a masterstroke with Murray proving beyond doubt he is a bone-fide member of the “big four”.

Few doubted that Murray had what it took to break his grand slam duck but Lendl appears to have eradicated the demons that often haunted the Scot on the biggest of stages.

Murray became the first British man since Bunny Austin in 1938 to reach the Wimbledon final this year and his per formance against Federer illustrated his new belief, even if it did end in tearful failure as the Swiss maestro battled back to victory after Murray had won the opening set.

The British public took Murray to their heart after that emotional defeat and he rewarded them a month later when he returned to the All England Club to beat Djokovic and then Federer on his way to Olympic gold.

Failure to back that up and beat Djokovic in the cauldron-like atmosphere on Arthur Ashe Stadium would have given more ammunition to the doubters.

When he surrendered the third and fourth sets to the rampaging Serb, it looked odds on that Murray would become the first man to lose his first five grand slam finals.

Instead, like a true champion, he found another gear to clinch a momentous five-hour triumph as the New York crowd roared its approval.

With the monkey finally off his back, Federer in the twilight of his career and Nadal’s knees creaking, 2013 promises even greater rewards for Murray whose rivalry with Djokovic is already shaping up to become one of the sport’s most entertaining. —Reuters

Bettman fiddles as NHL lockout looms

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian bodyboarder Luiz Cesar competes in the Rio Bodyboarding International 2012, professionals men championship, 2012 IBA World Championship Tour.— AFP

The ‘paralympic’ nightmare of a Brazilian disabled athlete RIO DE JANEIRO: For Viviane Macedo, Brazil’s five-time wheelchair dancing champion, the Rio Paralympics won’t have to wait until September 2016.

She is already trying to tango with the challenges right here and now, in this city where virtually nothing is done to meet handicapped people’s needs.

At a bus stop, several buses whizzed by, ignoring her. Those that do stop are not equipped to lift her wheelchair. For the 35-year-old Macedo, getting around this metropolis of 6.5 million people, which will host the Summer Olympics and Paralympics four years from now, is a daily nightmare.

Indeed, challenges facing the disabled here run the gamut from subway elevators breaking down a lot, to sidewalks being uncommon, and often pocked with potholes. That makes it hard for anyone in a wheelchair to get around.

Meanwhile traffic lights rarely have sound features for the blind, and taxi drivers often refuse to take clients in wheelchairs.

“It is virtually impossible for me to get on a bus in this city,” said Macedo, who had to move to the Copacabana district to be able to

use the subway, which only runs on two lines and covers part of the tourist area.

And she does not know whether she will be able to stay in the district much longer, given the skyrocketing real estate prices fueled by an oil boom and the approaching 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. Her rent soared 100 percent in one year.

She gets no state aid and is suing city authorities to try to get a computerized prosthesis which costs around $30,000.

Macedo forgets her misery only when she goes dancing the samba or the zouk (a popular French Caribbean dance) or when she teaches her sport to handicapped children.

Wheelchair dancing is not a paralympic sport, but she hopes that the Rio Paralympics, in which 4,200 athletes from 150 countries will compete, will leave a lasting legacy for all of Rio’s disabled.

Only half of the city’s bus fleet is adapted to carry the handicapped, compared with 100 percent in London, which has just staged very successful Paralympics.

Rio city officials have pledged that the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) sys-

tem for the 2016 Olympics will be adapted for people with reduced mobility. But in the Barra da Tijuca district where those buses have begun operating, access ramps are too steep, said Teresa Amaral, president of the Brazilian Institute for the Rights of the Disabled.

“Blind people in Rio are risk-takers. One of my blind friends died, and was run over by a car as she was crossing the street opposite the Blind Institute, where the city’s only traffic lights equipped with a sound alarm for the blind is located,” she says.

On his return from London with the paralympic banner, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes vowed that things will change. “All (Rio residents) must commit to making this city an accessible and welcoming place for the handicapped,” he said.

Brazilian paralympians shone in London, winning 43 medals, the seventh biggest haul among participating nations.

“The disabled athlete often experiences a moment of glor y but when he returns home, he must face a harsh reality: he has no job and his rights are not respected.

After winning gold, some even go hungry,” said Amaral.—AFP

NEW YORK: All these years later, and especially now with the prospect of a lockout looming large this weekend, it’s hard to look at a picture of Gary Bettman without recalling the going-away present one NBA general manager sent the soon-to-be-named NHL commissioner. That was in 1993, when Bettman left his post as general counsel and trusted lieutenant to NBA boss David Stern to try running a league of his own.

“I gave Gar y a puck,” Pat Williams, Orlando’s GM at the time, chuckled, “and he spent the rest of the day trying to open it up.”

Some fans latched onto the joke as though it actually were proof that Bettman knew bubkes about hockey. Others argued his grand plan to put the game on an equal footing with the other major North American pro sports leagues was bound to fail so long as Bettman kept trying to sell it in towns where - as the joke goes the locals’ familiarity with ice began and ended with a drink glass.

Yet the speed and quality of play across the NHL never has been higher, and rarely has it been more enter taining.

Revenues are up, the value of franchises and players’ salaries are way up, the league has a real if still modest - national TV deal and it’s no longer sweeping safety concerns like concussions and fighting under the rug. If his haphazard expansion plan weren’t such a drain on resources and a continuing source of labor-management strife, Bettman’s hockey IQ wouldn’t be an issue in this current debate. But either way, his ego should be.

That’s why I keep picturing Bettman sitting at his desk, turning the black rubber disc over in his hands, desperate to unlock some still-undiscovered secret.

There’s no myster y what the game lacks - competitive balance between the rich and poor teams - or what it needs most at the moment - a new collective bargaining agreement - and the solution to both problems, like that puck, are within the commissioner’s reach.

The two sides are far apart on how to divide a pie that’s grown

from $1.9 billion the year before Bettman and the owners sacrificed the entire 2004-05 season, ostensibly to get fixed labor costs, to $3.3 billion by the end of 2011-12.

The players already have said they’ll keep playing and take less money - that after taking a 24 percent cut in pay under the last deal - but only if the owners use those savings to help prop up the have-nots in the league. That’s where Bettman can make a difference.

Revenue-sharing has been a fact of life in the NFL for more than five decades, and the parity that resulted has been instrumental in pro football’s rise to the top of the sports heap. And despite the other differences between players and owners that nearly led to a labor war little more than a year ago, the NFL retained that part of the bargain.

The NBA canceled nearly a fifth of its regular season last year trying to claw back more money from the players and strengthen the hands of poorer clubs, but wound up settling for less of each rather than sacrifice the rest of its games. MLB learned that lesson the hard way after shutting down the remainder of the 1994 season to get the kind of cost-certainty they have yet to achieve. Because fans were slow to return, baseball’s owners changed their strategy, settling for more moderate concessions in every subsequent negotiation.

Bettman and his owners, however, seem determined to swing for the fences. They thought they’d hit a home run after canceling all of the 2004-05 season to get a hard salary cap, especially after the fans came back the following season and revenues rose to their current levels. All the tough talk so far suggests they’re prepared to do the same thing again.

“We believe that we are paying more than we should be,” the commissioner said recently, noting the average player salary has gone from $1.45 million to $2.45 million under the previous deal. “ They ’ve said publicly they ’d rather keep playing under this deal. My sense is they prefer to keep things the way they are, and that kind of slows up the process.”

NHL Players’ Association chief Don Fehr, who made his reputation representing baseball players, countered, “Employers would always like to pay less. That’s not a surprise to anybody. It’s disappointing sometimes, but it’s not a surprise. From the players’ standpoint, they want a fair agreement, one that is equitable and one that recognizes their contribution.”

After forcing MLB owners to agree to an increase in how much revenue the rich clubs transfer to poorer clubs, mostly through the use of a luxury tax, he’s determined to make sure that any increase in revenue -sharing among NHL clubs isn’t dependent solely on how much his players give back. Under the current CBA, teams share about $150 million, a figure that would rise to $190 under the league’s latest proposal, with nearly all the increase funded by givebacks from the players. Fehr says the players’ association wants the revenue-sharing pool to increase to $250 million and he has a history of getting what he wants, too.

Bettman and the owners would be wise not to test his resolve, or assume the players lined up behind him aren’t more unified and much better organized than they were coming out of the 2004-05 layoff.

So far, it’s Bettman’s side that’s showing a lack of discipline.

Some of the rich clubs have already banished a few of their expensive mistakes to the minors to stay under the current salary cap and 16 clubs - more than half the league - would be over the $58 million cap proposed by the NHL for the 2012-13 season. But that hasn’t stopped the well-off, and even a few of the less well-off teams, from finalizing big-bucks signings in recent weeks.

After not meeting face to face since last week, negotiations resume Wednesday at the league office in New York. If those talks fail because Bettman can’t convince his owners, especially the ones turning a handsome profit year after year, to take what they can get and start sharing revenues in a meaningful way, he can expect plenty of blame and it won’t be long before that puck in his hands starts to feel like a hot potato.—AP

18

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

sp orts

British PM sorry for Hillsborough disaster ‘injustice’ LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron apologised yesterday to families of the 96 Hillsborough football stadium disaster victims after a probe found police tried to blame fans for the 1989 tragedy.

Cameron told parliament the victims had suffered a “double injustice” from official failings that led to fans being crushed in Britain’s worst sporting tragedy and then from police attempts to impugn the dead. “On behalf of the government-and indeed our country-I am profoundly sorry for this double injustice that has been left uncorrected for so long,” said a sombre Cameron.

He was speaking after the sevenmember Hillsborough Independent Panel led by the Bishop of Liverpool published a report following an exhaustive review of thousands of formerly secret documents. The disaster was caused by massive overcrowding in the Leppings Lane End of Hillsborough stadium in the northern English city of Sheffield at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

To ease overcrowding outside, police opened an exit gate, allowing supporters to flood into the central pens. Fenced in, fans were crushed to death. Lawmakers gasped as Cameron said the panel found that police repeatedly tried to cover up evidence

of their own failings following the disaster in a bid to make it look as if fans were at fault.

Police “significantly amended” 164 statements, including the removal of 116 negative comments about the leadership of the police, he said.

By analysing post-mortem reports, the panel found 41 people could potentially have been revived had the emergency services taken more prompt action. “It is right for me today as prime minister to make a proper apology to the families of the 96 for all they have suffered over the past 23 years,” Cameron said. “Indeed, the new evidence that we are presented with today makes clear that these families have suffered a double injustice. “ The injustice of the appalling events-the failure of the state to protect their loved ones and the indefensible wait to get to the truth.

“And the injustice of the denigration of the deceased-that they were somehow at fault for their own deaths.” Cameron said the attorney general would now review the “deeply distressing” report to decide whether to apply to the high court to quash an original, flawed inquest into the tragedy.

In Liverpool, a two-minute silence was observed outside the Anglican cathedral at 3:06 pm (1406 GMT) — the time the match was called off-as a

LIVERPOOL: People gather at St George’s Place to attend a vigil in memory of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough stadium disaster in Liverpool, England. British police and medics whose failures contributed to the deaths of 96 soccer fans in the country’s worst sports disaster unfairly blamed the dead for the 1989 tragedy and sought to cover up their actions, newly disclosed documents revealed yesterday. —AP mark of respect to the victims, ahead of a candle-lit vigil.

Hillsborough Families Support Group member Trevor Hicks, who lost two daughters in the tragedy, said families would now press for criminal action against those involved, adding:

“The truth is out today, justice starts tomorrow.” Cameron said some of the authorities attempted to create a “completely unjust account of events that sought to blame the fans for what happened”. The report found that there had been police efforts “to

develop and publicise a version of events that focused on... allegations of drunkenness, ticketlessness and violence.” Officers carried out police national computer checks on those who died in an attempt “to impugn the reputations of the deceased”, the report said, while the bodies of children were tested for blood alcohol levels. The ground failed to meet minimum safety standards, had inadequate turnstiles, the capacity was significantly over-calculated and the crush barriers failed to meet safety standards. In the disaster’s aftermath, The Sun newspaper, edited by Kelvin MacKenzie, published a front page, headlined “The Truth”, based on allegations from a senior police officer and a local lawmaker about the conduct of supporters.

It still invokes anger in Liverpool, where the tabloid is still widely boycotted. MacKenzie offered his “profuse apologies” Wednesday, saying he too had been “totally misled”.

“I had absolutely no reason to believe that these authority figures would lie and deceive over such a disaster,” he said. “It has taken more than two decades, 400,000 documents and a two-year inquiry to discover to my horror that it would have been far more accurate had I written the headline ‘The Lies’ rather than ‘The Truth’.” —AFP

England to play Brazil and Ireland in 2013

BELFAST: Daniel Alves Da Mota (second left) of Luxembourg celebrates with team-mates Guy Blaise (left) and Chris Philipps (second right) after scoring their late equalizing goal during the 2014 World Cup qualifying football match against Northern Ireland. —AFP

N Ireland stunned by Luxembourg draw BELFAST: Northern Ireland’s hopes of getting to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil suffered a setback as lowly Luxembourg somehow left Windsor Park with a 1-1 draw in a qualifier on Tuesday.

All was going well for the hosts until they conceded an equaliser four minutes from time which left Northern Ireland with just one point from two Group F matches following a 2-0 defeat by Russia last Friday.

Dean Shiels scored his first international goal in the 14th minute to put Northern Ireland 1-0 up, and a further three efforts were then disallowed by the officials, while Chris Brunt also hit the post.

And Northern Ireland’s failure to double their lead was punished in the 86th minute when Daniel da Mota’s shot went in off Ryan McGivern’s shoulder, with goalkeeper Roy Carroll stranded.

The goal sparked huge celebrations on the Luxembourg bench, as indeed did the final whistle, with home fans booing Northern Ireland off the pitch.

“I’m extremely disappointed, it’s a game we clearly should have won,” said Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill. “We had numerous chances in the first half to add to the one goal we

had and we played poorly in the second half.

“We got caught with a very poor goal at the end. I don’t think we deserved that on the night even though the secondhalf performance was way below the standard we’d expect.”

There were cheers instead of jeers earlier in the match when Jonny Evans exchanged passes with Rangers’ Shiels, who coolly lifted his shot over the advancing Jonathan Joubert.

After 21 minutes, Evans thought he had made it 2-0 from a corner routine but the ‘goal’ was ruled out due to a push and Northern Ireland had a second effort disallowed soon afterwards when Lafferty’s shot into the top corner was ruled out for offside.

On the hour, offside again proved Northern Ireland’s undoing with Lafferty flagged after steering the ball in from close range.

Then, with sickening inevitability for the men in green, the equaliser arrived when Luxembourg made the most of the home team having too many men forward to launch a counter-attack. Even then the hosts might have escaped, so wayward was da Mota’s shot until it struck the luckless McGivern. —AFP

Germany wary of slip-up VIENNA: Germany will need to raise its game if it wants to make it to Brazil in 2014, the team warned Tuesday, despite securing another three points against Austria to stay top of its World Cup qualifying group. Goals in each half from Marco Reus and Mesut Ozil ensured Germany stayed ahead of Ireland and Sweden in Group C, after a 3-0 victory against the Faroe Islands in its first qualifier on Friday.

But a goal by Werder Bremen midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic in the 57th minute, as well as narrowly missed chances by a combative Austrian team in the last few minutes before the final whistle, kept the Mannschaft on its toes until the end.

“I’m very happy with the result because we got three points away in Austria against a strong team,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said after the match.

“With the game itself, I’m only marginally happy... all the Austrian chances came from errors on our part. After the 2-1, we should have controlled the

game. “We got ourselves into difficulty and we were lucky (Marko) Arnautovic missed that chance,” he added after the Werder Bremen midfielder missed a close range shot on goal in the dying minutes of the game.

Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira agreed: “We can be happy with our three points but not with the way we won them.” “We were up 2:0 and then we let Austria back into the game with tactical errors. That should not happen.”

Germany seemed to have the game in the bag when Junuzovic hit the back of the net, spurring the Austrians back into action, encouraged by some 47,000 spectators in the packed Ernst Happel Stadium.

“We made mistakes and literally handed our opponents two or three invitations (to score),” said Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller, who helped Germany to its second goal when he was brought down by Austria’s Veli Kavlak, leading to a penalty that was expertly converted by Ozil. — AFP

LONDON: England will play friendlies against Brazil and the Republic of Ireland in 2013 as a way of launching the Football Association’s 150th anniversary, the national governing body said yesterday.

Five-time World Cup winners Brazil will visit Wembley in February as part of a two-match arrangement that sees England heading to South America for a brief tour in June.

Prior to that trip, England will play the Republic of Ireland, also at Wembley, for the first time since their infamous fixture in 1995 was abandoned after a riot by England fans at Dublin’s Lansdowne Road.

Brazil are always a big draw card and the February 6 clash is given added relevance by the fact the South Americans, beaten finalists in the recent men’s Olympic football final in London, are staging the 2014 World Cup. Meanwhile officials will hope for a big crowd for what will be the Republic’s first match at Wembley since 1991, with travelling fans only having to make a relatively short journey and a large expatriate community already in London.

News of these fixtures come after the FA announced their 150th anniversary would also feature a match in August between England and Scotland-international football’s oldest clash.

Club England managing director Adrian Bevington said: “We’re delighted Brazil will kick-off the FA’s 150th anniversary celebrations at Wembley.

“2013 is a landmark year for The FA and an exciting England fixture programme in addition to Wembley hosting the UEFA Champions League Final will form a key part of the celebrations.

“As the most successful footballing nation, with great players and supporters, it will be fantastic to launch this important year in English football’s history against such outstanding opponents as Brazil.

“We also look forward to hosting Republic of Ireland and Scotland at Wembley next year.

These matches are sure to evoke great pas-

sion among supporters.” Meanwhile Bevington added the matches in South America would form a part of England’s plans for the 2014 World Cup-a tournament for which they have still to qualify.

“We have been planning the fixtures in Brazil for over a year, as a key part of our preparation for 2014 — subject to qualification,” he said.

“Our players do not have any experience of playing in South America and it will undoubtedly be beneficial for the team to travel and play in Brazil, a year ahead of the World Cup.

We negotiated our qualifying schedule with a specific view to allowing this.

“While in Brazil, The FA and England squad will play an active role in developing and supporting a charity programme both in advance of and during the summer of 2013 and 2014.”

England, who’ve won the World Cup just once-on home soil in 1966 — were held to a 1-1 draw by a qualifier Ukraine at Wembley on Tuesday. But they remain unbeaten in their quest to get to Brazil 2014, following Friday’s 5-0 win in Moldova. —AFP

WEMBLEY: England’s captain Steven Gerrard (right) hands the captain’s armband to Frank Lampard (left) after receiving a red card in this file photo during the 2014 World Cup qualifying football match against Ukraine. —AFP

France cautious before Spain test PARIS: A new-look France team is in cautiously optimistic mood ahead of next month’s crucial trip to Spain after beginning its World Cup qualifying campaign with wins against Finland and Belarus.

Since Spain knocked out a listless France on the way to its second straight European Championship title - and third consecutive major trophy France has changed coach, with Didier Deschamps replacing Laurent Blanc, and several new players have come into the team.

Despite the rapid turnaround, Deschamps’ team has managed to grind out a 1-0 win in Finland followed by a more convincing 31 home victory against Belarus on Tuesday.

“A leap forward,” read Wednesday’s headline on sports daily L’Equipe, while Deschamps said after the Belarus win that “we’ve fulfilled the terms of our contract with six points from the two games.”

Getting a win, or even a draw, away to World Cup winner Spain on Oct. 16 remains a much different test. “Spain remains the group favorite, they are the nation dominating football,” said France midfielder Rio Mavuba, who was

recalled to the squad by Deschamps more than five years after winning his last cap. “It’s going to be hard, but we have to go there with hope.”

But Spain’s gritty 1-0 win away to Georgia on Tuesday, secured only with a late goal from Roberto Soldado, suggests the Spaniards may also be threatened

by France.

“It proves how hard it is for everyone. I read Xavi’s comments before the match, where he said it would be difficult (in Georgia).

He wasn’t just saying it,” Mavuba said. “ We’ve dealt a blow to Belarus’ morale, so we can focus on Spain now.

I don’t think there’s less pressure on us, no, because we still have to get a result. We’re going to have to try and get something over there.”

Deschamps, who took over from Blanc shortly after the Euro 2012 campaign ended with a dispirited 2-0 loss to Spain in the quarter finals, insists that the team is united once more.

France was widely criticized for the behavior of some players during Euro 2012. Midfielder Samir Nasri was suspended by the French Football Federation for

three games after aiming an expletive-filled rant at a journalist, and wingers Jeremy Menez and Hatem Ben Arfa got onegame bans from the FFF for inappropriate behavior.

Deschamps was quick to praise his team’s unity against Belarus. “There was a good attitude, everyone wanted to work hard together,” Deschamps said.

“Even if everything wasn’t great (on the pitch), that’s the main thing to remember.”

Deschamps, who coached Monaco, Juventus and Marseille at club level, is known for his pragmatic approach. But he has also shown that he can take calculated risks - all of which have paid off.

Deschamps has instilled a raw center half pairing of 22-year-old Mamadou Sakho and 23-year-old Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, with Yanga-Mbiwa looking assured against Finland on his international debut.

As well as recalling Mavuba after a long exile, Deschamps gambled on starting the injuryprone Abou Diaby away to Finaland. Diaby, who did not even start a single match last season for Arsenal, responded with the

winning goal. With Diaby injured for the Belarus game, Deschamps replaced him with Etienne Capoue, and he set France on its way with the first goal.

One worry for Deschamps is the lack of efficiency of his strikers, who have now gone six games without scoring.

Although Benzema has not scored in 12 games for club and country, he again set up a goal, creating France’s third for Franck Ribery.

“I didn’t score, but it doesn’t matter,” said Benzema, who also provided the pass for Abou Diaby ’s goal in Helsinki. “ The main thing is that we won and that we’re improving.”

The partnership between Benzema and Olivier Giroud, with Benzema in a different role out wide on the right and Giroud playing through the middle, caused Belarus problems throughout the match and Deschamps may feel encouraged enough to stick with it against Spain.

He will have to replace YangaMbiwa, however, as the Montpellier player is suspended after picking up successive yellow cards. —AP

19

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

S P ORT S

Not-So-Great Britain learning to win again LONDON: Wars aside, learning to lose used to be as British as warm beer and milky tea. Growing up in Not-SoGreat Britain post-1966, when England football fans last had something to really shout about, meant living with rain and the cold, hard fact that the country which invented a host of modern sports more often than not seemed to have become pretty rubbish at them.

Wimbledon, home of the world’s oldest tennis tournament, became the place where Britons munched on overpriced strawberries while abdicating the business of winning to overseas players - champions from the United States, Switzerland and elsewhere who served up victory, not heroic failures like hometown almost-man Tim Henman.

Rugby was a town in the middle of England that lent its name to the game that New Zealand’s All Blacks subsequently used to rub English noses, actually everyone’s noses, in the dirt.

Cricket, which spread with the British Empire, became a favored Australian method of getting pay-back on the English who once used their land as a

penal colony. Revenge, it turned out, was a dish best served with a hard, leather-wrapped ball in the hands of bowler Shane Warne.

And, with the years, those who could actually remember Geoff Hurst’s hattrick against Germany in the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley Stadium in London dwindled in numbers. Because football is England’s national game, the decades of disappointment that followed - penalty shoot-out losses to Germany and others; being on the receiving end of Diego Maradona’s guile and skills at the 1986 World Cup - did much to create the impression that being British meant being cursed with either bad luck, bad teams or both.

And it was largely, but not wholly, just that - an impression. Because outside of football, there was plenty of British success, like Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill becoming Formula One champions in the 1990s, decathlete Daley Thompson, runner Sebastian Coe, rower Steven Redgrave and many others winning Olympic golds and Jonny Wilkinson’s last-gasp drop goal against Australia that secured the rugby World

Cup for England in 2003.

Still, in the bronze statue of Fred Perry at Wimbledon, at the home of cricket at Lord’s, at Wembley that was demolished and rebuilt, there often seemed to be more reminders of sporting glories past than of glories present.

So starved were Britons of international success that they went giddy for the team of Scottish women that won Britain’s first Winter Olympics gold medal in 18 years in 2002 in - how embarrassing - the non-sport sport of curling.

And, in 1997, BBC viewers elected Greg Rusedski as their British Sports Personality of the Year, with Henman runner-up. That even though Rusedski lost the U.S. Open final to Australian Patrick Rafter and Henman’s best in the Grand Slams that year was reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals. In lean times, they seemingly were the best Britain could muster.

So Britons can be excused for gorging on their summer of sporting success in 2012 like journalists at a free bar.

Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France, Britain placing third on the

medal table at the London Olympics with 29 golds, and Andy Murray ending Britain’s 76-year wait for a men’s Grand Slam tennis champion - July to September have had the feel of a deluge after a drought.

The cynical view would be that every dog has its day, that sporting success comes in cycles and that Britain’s fortunes were bound to change eventually.

The more plausible explanation is that there is little or nothing accidental about it.

Wiggins retrained and remodeled himself, shedding weight, to metamorphose from being a rider who won six medals in track cycling at three Olympics to one who could scale the Tour’s mountains.

Mo Farah, winner of the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in London’s Olympic Stadium, moved to the United States for the training he needed to beat Africa’s distance runners.

Murray leaned on eight-time major winner Ivan Lendl to straighten his mind and attitude after losing his first four Grand Slam finals. The reward: Olympic gold and the first Slam for a

British man since Perry won Wimbledon and the US Championships in 1936.

British success this summer has been built on attention to detail and funding.

It has been as far removed as possible from the “Have a go” bravado of “Eddie the Eagle” Michael Edwards, the British plasterer-turned-ski jumper who flew, barely, at the 1988 Calgary Games with fogged glasses and scant training in his back garden.

In a YouGov poll of 1,704 Britons in August, a few days before the Olympic closing ceremony, 78 percent said the London Games made them more likely to see themselves as a nation of sporting winners. Chris Hoy, who got two more golds in London to become Britain’s most successful Olympian, with six golds in total, said Britons had been accustomed to being “plucky losers” but that is “starting to change.” The trick now is for Britain to make it last.

The footballers can be counted on to ensure that Britain doesn’t get swept away in its euphoria. England played Ukraine at Wembley on Tuesday in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. The score: 1-1. Down to Earth with a bump. —AP

Ronaldo: I’m focused on winning, not contracts MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo is concentrating on playing well for Real Madrid and is not agitating to improve the terms of his contract

with the Spanish champions, the Portugal forward said yesterday.

Arriving back in Madrid after helping his country to World Cup

qualifying wins against Luxembourg and Azerbaijan, Ronaldo wrote on his Facebook page it is “now time to return to the

Cristiano Ronaldo

club and think only about my club”.

He added: “I would like to reaffirm, without being concerned about contracts, that my focus is solely on winning every game and every available trophy with the essential company of my teammates and all madridistas.”

Ronaldo dropped a bombshell after Real’s match at home to Granada this month when he told reporters he was “sad” for professional reasons, prompting speculation he might be seeking an exit.

The world’s most expensive player, who reportedly earns around 11 million euros ($14.18 million) a season, had earlier refused to celebrate his two goals in the 3-0 La Liga victory and would not elaborate on the reasons for his sadness.

He said only that “those who worked in the club” knew why.

Local media have reported he doesn’t feel appreciated and wants more cash and fiercely pro-Real sports daily Marca said on Tuesday he had asked the club to bump his salary up to a post-tax 15 million euros and extend his contract. The 27-yearold former Manchester United player denied last week he is down in the dumps because he is not earning enough but has yet to provide any other explanation. —Reuters

Andres Iniesta

Iniesta sidelined with muscle strain MADRID: Andres Iniesta returned from Spain international duty with a muscle strain in his right leg and will be out for between 10 and 15 days, his club Barcelona said yesterday.

Iniesta will miss Saturday’s La Liga match at Getafe and Wednesday’s Champions League Group G opener at home to Spartak Moscow but could be back for the La Liga game against Granada a week on Saturday.

His Spain and Barca team mate Jordi Alba, who was also called up for Friday’s friendly against Saudi Arabia and Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier in Georgia, has the flu and club medical staff will assess the fullback’s health again on Friday, Barca added.

Forward David Villa, another Spain international, said yesterday he still needed some “running in” after recently returning to action following a broken leg sustained at the Club World Cup in December.

“I was out for many months, almost eight without playing, and that requires a certain recovery process,” Villa told a news conference before Wednesday’s training session.

“You have to be patient because rushing back now would not benefit anyone,” added the 30-year-old, Spain’s record scorer who netted on his first game back for both club and country. “Everything I missed in the meantime won’t come back however fast I go.” —Reuters

Promising Serbia must keep their feet on the ground BELGRADE: Serbia’s emphatic 6-1 win over a lacklustre Wales in Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier has lifted the spirits of the Balkan nation but their senior players are wary of getting too carried away.

Captain Branislav Ivanovic and Aleksandar Kolarov, one of four Serbians to open their international account with a goal against the hapless Welsh, know they must help guide their exciting, young team through the 2014 qualifiers.

“We won’t let the young players lose the plot and the idea is to make sure they keep their feet on the ground and continue to work hard, because we have to take it one

game at a time,” said experienced Chelsea defender Ivanovic.

Manchester City’s versatile Kolarov, who finally scored for his country after 35 internationals, added that consistency rather than sporadic moments of flair would be the key in a tough Group A that also includes Belgium, Croatia and Macedonia.

“You know how it is with young players, one day they are brilliant and the next they are nowhere to be seen if they start basking in glory,” said Kolarov.

“It’s up to the senior players to educate them. Of course, we are all delighted with the 6-1 win over Wales but I’d always swap it

NOVI SAD: Serbia’s players celebrate after scoring a goal during the FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifying football match against Wales in this file photo. —AFP

for six 1-0 wins and we must avoid resting on our laurels.”

Having endured a five -game winless streak after Sinisa Mihajlovic took over as coach in May, including a turgid 0-0 draw away to Scotland in their first qualifier on Friday, Serbia celebrated their biggest win as an independent nation.

Mihajlovic has stuck by his young players and the gamble finally paid off in the thrashing of Wales. “I am happy for the lads. They have taken a huge weight off their backs but it’s essential to carry on in the right direction in the challenging times which lie ahead for this young team,” said the 43-year-old Mihajlovic. Strikers Lazar Markovic and Filip Djuricic, one of the six scorers on Tuesday, can still play for an under-21 side who trounced Macedonia 5-1 on Monday to secure a Euro 2013 playoff berth, suggesting there is a rich supply of young talent.

Dutch-based wingers Dusan Tadic and Miralem Sulejmani, still in their early 20s, were also impressive alongside defender Matija Nastasic, 19, whose performances for Fiorentina earned him a close-season move to English champions Manchester City.

Serbia’s future looked gloomy after they missed out on Euro 2012 and there were few signs of improvement when Mihajlovic took over as they scored once while conceding six goals, looking lost in three defeats and a draw in mid-season friendlies.

Having criticised his team for not being bold enough in their opening qualifier with Scotland, Mihajlovic acknowledged Serbia’s next group game at home to Belgium on Oct. 12 would be the first real test of their prospects of reaching the finals.

“It’s nice to be top of the group, albeit on goal difference, but it matters where we stand at the end of the road to Brazil,” he said with Serbia level on four points with Belgium and Croatia ahead of Scotland on two after two games. —Reuters

AMMAN: Jordan’s Amer Deeb (lef) challenges Australia’s Matt Mckay during their 2014 World Cup Group B qualifying football match in this file photo. —AFP

Aussies lacked mental courage, says Bosnich SYDNEY: Former Australia goalkeeper Mark Bosnich believes a lack of mental courage was at the heart of the Socceroos’ shock 2-1 away defeat to Jordan in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.

The defeat to 87th-ranked Jordan on Tuesday leaves Australia facing a fight to qualify for the finals in Brazil. Australia have just two points from three matches in the final round of Asian qualifying, eight points behind Group B leaders Japan, albeit with a game in hand. In addition to questioning the players’ resolve, he also had a dig at coach Holger Osieck’s preparations. “I assume that he (Osieck) told them to play the short balls,” Bosnich said on Fox Sports. “I think the players, mentally, after they’d been closed down five or six times, they didn’t have the mental courage to do it and took the easy option.

“That’s where it takes the brave player to turn around and say ‘Come on, no matter what happens, keep giving me the ball.’” Bosnich said the players simply were not ready for such a big match. “The biggest concern for me was that from a preparation point of view, they were not up for this game,” said the former Manchester United keeper. “That’s the responsibility for the manager, to turn around and say ‘Regardless if you’re having a bad time you’ve got to be up for it.’” Things could

get even stickier for Australia with a difficult trip to Qatar to play 2007 Asian champions Iraq up next.

Iraq were beaten 1-0 in Japan on Tuesday but showed enough attacking threat to suggest they will be as much of a threat to Australia as Jordan, who were thrashed 6-0 by Japan in June.

“It was definitely a very poor showing in the first half,” said Osieck. “We played a lot of long balls and I don’t know why that happened. “Our passing was a disaster.” Second-half goals from Hassan Abdel-Fattah and Amer Deeb sealed Australia’s fate, a late strike from substitute Archie Thompson providing little consolation for the visitors.

Australia, who qualified for the last two World Cups, reaching the last 16 in Germany in 2006, are still reliant on veterans Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer and Mark Bresciano and have yet to replace the likes of Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and Vince Grella. “The good ship Socceroos is holed below the waterline,” wrote Michael Lynch in The Age. “Coach Holger Osieck has plenty of work to do if he is to stop it listing and then sinking.”

Bosnich warned Australia’s World Cup hopes were hanging in the balance. “We’ve had a few wake-up calls during this qualifying campaign,” he said.

“That’s more than a wake-up call.” —Reuters

N Ireland stunned by Luxembourg draw

Orioles demolish Rays

18

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

British PM sorry for Hillsborough disaster ‘injustice’ Page 18

LIMA: Argentina’s Lionel Messi (center) gestures during a 2014 World Cup qualifying soccer match against Peru. —AP

Messi shackled in Lima, Colombia win BUENOS AIRES: Lionel Messi’s recent goal spree came to an abrupt halt in Argentina’s uninspiring 1-1 draw against Peru as Colombia came out on top in the latest round of South American World Cup qualifiers that concluded on Tuesday.

Argentina lead the nine-nation group ahead of Colombia and Ecuador but only three points separate the top six teams with the series set to reach its halfway mark next month.

Peru laid bare the failings in Argentina’s rearguard that their brilliant forwards often disguise in tricky conditions at the Estadio Nacional in Lima.

Gonzalo Higuain’s fine equaliser was one of the few Argentina highlights in a performance that also featured Sergio Romero’s early penalty save from Claudio Pizarro.

Messi was almost unrecognisable as the

world’s best player, softened by a series of early fouls but not subjected to the aggressive man-marking Diego Maradona endured in a 1-0 defeat in the Peru capital 27 years ago.

He was kept in check by Peru’s heavily populated midfield, which still found space to carry danger to Argentina with defender Carlos Zambrano scoring in the 22nd minute and Luis Ramirez hitting the post in the second half.

“The pitch didn’t help, you needed one or two touches more to control the ball. We left the pitch angry because we couldn’t play our game but an away draw is good,” Messi, who had scored 10 goals in his last six internationals, told reporters.

“We’re bitter at having only seven points when we deserve a few more,” said Peru’s Uruguayan coach Sergio Markarian, who is

attempting lead the team to the finals for the first time since 1982.

“Peru didn’t surprise me. Nowadays, it’s always tough, always very even,” Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella of the result and the tight standings.

Argentina have 14 points, Colombia and Ecuador 13, Uruguay and Chile 12 and Venezuela, looking to reach their first finals, 11. At the end of the marathon campaign, the top four will qualify for the 2014 finals and the fifth-placed team plays off against an Asian nation for a berth in Brazil.

Colombia, with strikers Radamel Falcao and Teo Gutierrez scoring three goals apiece in two matches, followed their 4-0 rout of Uruguay on Friday with Tuesday’s 3-1 away victory over an accomplished Chile side in Santiago. “The team were confident despite falling behind in the first half,” Colombia

coach Jose Pekerman said. “This (confidence) has been very positive for us and confirms the team has potential. This is one of the hardest matches you’ll get in the qualifiers.”

Charged with putting Colombia back on track after a poor start by his sacked predecessor Leonel Alvarez, the Argentine said the key had been to spend the FIFA international date in August practising rather than playing a friendly.

“This double (qualifying) fixture has helped us a lot and I think we’re now enjoying the fruits of our work but it was painful when (critics) didn’t understand our work,” he said.

Ecuador, trained by former Honduras World Cup coach Reinaldo Rueda, picked up a good point with a 1-1 draw at Uruguay, who were thrashed by Colombia in Barranquilla on Friday. “Uruguay had come

Mexico roll, Canada beaten in Panama

New Caledonia thrash Tahiti PAPEETE: New Caledonia scored three goals inside five minutes on the way to a comfortable 40 win over Oceania champions Tahiti in Papeete on Tuesday in the third round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. The loss for Tahiti, who will represent the region at next year’s Confederations Cup in Brazil, severely dampened any hopes they may have had of returning to South America for the World Cup finals.

New Zealand, who were humbled in the semifinals of the Oceania Nations Cup in June and missed out on a big payday from the Confederations Cup, lead the group on a maximum of six points after they beat the Solomon Islands 6-1 in Auckland.

Tahiti were without captain Nicolas Vallar, who was suspended after being sent off in their opening 2-0 loss to the Solomons.

The first half was evenly balanced with both sides creating several opportunities before Cesar Lolohea opened the scoring with a long range shot that came back off the post and rebounded in off Tahiti goalkeeper Xavier Samin in the 57th minute.

He then provided a cross for Bertrand Kai to nod home in the 60th minute to give New Caledonia a 2-0 lead. Two minutes later Lolohea’s delicate chip found Georges Gope-Fenepej, who tucked the ball away to put the game beyond doubt. GopeFenepej completed the rout in the 90th minute with his second goal.

This final stage of qualifying in the Oceania region consists of a single pool of the four teams, all playing each other home and away.

The winner of the pool advances to face the fourth-placed team from the Central and North American confederation (CONCACAF) in a twolegged playoff for a spot in Brazil.

The third round of matches is on Oct. 12 with Tahiti hosting New Zealand in Papeete and the Solomon Islands playing New Caledonia in Honiara. —Reuters

from a tough time and were going to put their best on the pitch, but we were orderly, made the most of the lead (Felipe Caicedo’s eighth-minute penalty) and had good control of the game (in the first half),” Rueda said.

His opposite number Oscar Tabarez, whose side equalised through Edinson Cavani, said: “We recovered the intensity customary in this team’s game.

“We’re going through a lean spell and we’ll see how we overcome it in a month’s time.

This is a long haul. There are teams who were far behind and have recovered in the last two fixtures. I think we can also do that in the coming matches.”

The team that came off worst were Paraguay, accustomed to doing well enough to have reached four successive finals but now rooted to the bottom of the standings after losing to Argentina and then 2-0 to

MEXICO: Mexico’s Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez (left) fights for the ball with Johnny Acosta of Costa Rica during a World Cup 2014 qualifying soccer match. —AP

MIAMI: Mexico booked their place in CONCACAF’s final phase of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup with a 10 win over Costa Rica on Tuesday but the battle for the other five slots remains wide open. A goal on the hour from forward Javier Hernandez was enough to secure a win at the Azteca Stadium for Mexico, who have won all four of their games and lead Group B with 12 points.

‘Chicharito’ headed home a deep cross from Jorge Torres Nilo to ensure Mexico maintained their 100 percent record and gave the Manchester United striker his 26th goal in 41 national team appearances.

While Mexico are through with two games remaining in the third qualifying phase, El Salvador, who won 3-2 in Guyana, are on five points with Costa Rica on four and Guyana out of the running on one. Panama lead Group C on nine points after a 2-0 victory over Canada with goals from Rolando Blackburn and Blas Perez.

The game was stopped after six minutes when stadium lighting went out, and when action resumed after a 15 minute stoppage Blackburn headed Panama in front in the 23rd minute and Perez doubled the lead 12 minutes into the second half.

Honduras and Canada trail Panama by two points, while Cuba are eliminated after failing to get a point, or score a goal, in their four

games so far.

Honduras, who qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, have put themselves firmly back in the frame after picking up six points from their two September games against Cuba.

In-form Jerry Bengtson headed the only goal in the 32nd minute from close range after some lovely work from Roger Espinoza.

It is tight at the top of Group A with Guatemala, the United States and Jamaica all on seven points, with Antigua and Barbuda struggling with just a point.

The United States recovered from their 2-1 defeat to Jamaica in Kingston on Friday with a 1-0 win over the same opponents in Columbus, Ohio, thanks to a 55th minute free-kick from Herculez Gomez.

However, Juergen Klinsmann’s team may have to win their final game at home to Guatemala after the Central Americans maintained their challenge with a 1-0 win in Antigua, Carlos Ruiz scoring in the 25th minute at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. The top three teams from the final round of qualifying, a round-robin involving the six sides that advance from the third stage, will automatically qualify for the World Cup in Brazil. The fourthplaced team will take part in a playoff against the top team in the Oceania region. —Reuters

Business

Iran weighs reform to stem currency crisis Page 22 US wholesale stockpiles up in July, but sales fell Page 23

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Air India hopes to fly into black with Dreamliner

Page 24

German court clears euro rescue fund, fiscal pact Page 25

ATHENS: A street vegetable vendor discusses Greece’s crisis with a man as in the background is seen a protest outside the ministry of Finance yesterday. — AP

Barroso calls for full EU bank supervision Merkel warns as Europe moves closer to banking union STRASBOURG: European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called yesterday for a full EU banking and budget union, key steps in anchoring the bloc’s future as it fights the euro-zone debt crisis.

“Securing the stability of the euro is the most urgent challenge,” Barroso told the European Parliament, and setting up a single bank sector regulator in the shape of the European Central Bank is an essential response. He told lawmakers that simple coordination between member states was no longer adequate and coordinated supervision was an “absolute priority today because it is the basis for better managing banking crises.”

Under the plan, the ECB will assume “strong powers ... for the supervision of all banks in the euro area, with a mechanism for non-euro countries to join on a voluntary basis,” an accompanying statement said. Other provisions cover relations with the current London-based European Banking Authority, establishing a single rulebook, a single supervisory mechanism and steps towards a single system for winding up failed banks.

The EBA will be charged with preserving the “integrity of the single market and (ensuring) coherence in banking supervision for all 27 EU countries.” Ultimate authority over some 6,000 euro-zone banks will rest with the ECB while “national supervisors will continue to play an important role in day-to-day supervision and in preparing and implementing ECB decisions.”

Britain, anxious to protect its giant City of London financial centre, is cautious over the plan while Germany, Europe’s paymaster, wants the ECB to focus on the ‘too-big-to-fail’ banks whose collapse could wreck the system.

In response, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said “it’s not about supervising every bank and in any case the ECB can’t do that.

Rather, it’s about the quality of the supervision, not just about the quantity.”

There should be no rush either, she said, warning that European-wide banking supervision “should not be put in place as quickly as possible and then not work.” EU leaders agreed the new bank supervision system in June as part of a deal to allow the bloc’s rescue funds to directly lend to stricken banks instead of passing

aid through countries and so adding to their debt problems. It is a first step towards a banking union and sits alongside moves towards the deeper economic and political integration needed to tame the debt crisis which has brought the euro-zone economy to a standstill.

Europe moved a step closer to a banking union yesterday with a plan for the European Central Bank to supervise all euro-zone banks, a cornerstone of closer fiscal integration designed to end years of financial turmoil in the region.

Barroso outlined the proposal in his annual “state of the union” address, laying out a path to further economic integration that he said he hoped would underpin the future of the euro currency. The proposed banking reforms, which need to be approved by the European Union’s member states, aim to break the link between banks and states, preventing heavily indebted countries being sucked further into difficulty by distressed lenders in need of rescue.

It tackles a core element of the crisis that first struck banks in Europe almost five years ago and escalated into a sovereign debt crisis in 2010.

Barroso said in the statement that the new

Oil stock release unnecessary: IEA LONDON: Global oil demand is likely to be muted over the next year and supply and inventory levels look comfortable, the West’s energy agency said yesterday, implying there is no need to release emergency stocks to curb oil prices. The United States has been considering an emergency stocks release to help suppress high oil prices, and other members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) such as France and Britain could join the move.

But the IEA, which represents developed energy consuming countries, and the European Union, led by Germany, have opposed a coordinated release of stocks, saying the market does not face a supply crunch.

The IEA’s monthly oil market report on Wednesday implied such a release would be unnecessary. The agency said global oil demand would grow at a steady rate of around 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) or 0.9 percent in both 2012 and 2013, little changed from its previous assessment. “This modest growth rate reflects the combined effects of sluggish global economic activity, historically elevated oil prices and global improvements in energy efficiency,” it said.

“On a forward demand basis, inventory cover looks more comfortable, due mostly to diminishing demand prospects.” The IEA said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which pumps around a third of the world’s oil, produced 45,000 bpd more oil in August at 31.55 million bpd, due to

increases in Angola, Nigeria, Iraq, UAE and Ecuador. The increase in OPEC supply failed to offset fully unplanned production outages in non-OPEC countries. But compared to a year ago, global oil production stands 2.0 million bpd higher due to increases from OPEC, which is pumping way above the levels required by the market and therefore contributing to a large stocks build across the world.

The IEA report reinforced the conclusions of an OPEC report on Tuesday, and comments by Saudi Arabia’s oil minister on Monday, saying the producer group was supplying plenty of crude oil to world markets. This view is supported by independent analysts, who argue growing oil stocks

should eventually curb prices. Oil prices have risen by almost a third over the last three months and global benchmark Brent crude is now around $116 per barrel, well above the cost of oil supply from all the world’s biggest producer regions.

Olivier Jakob, energy market consultant at Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland, said recent surges in oil prices would help depress demand eventually. “This demand destruction is not factored in yet,” he said. The IEA said the call on OPEC crude and stock change was projected to rise by 1.3 million bpd in the third quarter of 2012 to 31.1 million bpd due to a seasonal quarter-on quarter uptick in demand of 1.4 million bpd. — Reuters

One in six Americans poor; US poverty rate unchanged WASHINGTON: The Census Bureau says the number of Americans in poverty stood at 15 percent in 2011 as the number of poor remained at record highs.

About 46.2 million people, or nearly 1 in 6, were in poverty. The figures were better than the expectations of analysts who had predicted an increase due to persistently high unemployment.

The number in poverty in 2010 was

15.1 percent. The unemployment rate improved modestly in 2011, but wage growth was weak. University of Michigan economist Sheldon Danziger calls the poverty figures surprising and a sign that expiring unemployment benefits were able to help workers for much of the year. The median - or midpoint - household income was $50,054. That’s a 1.5 percent decline from 2010. —AP

system, with the ECB “at the core and involving national supervisors, will restore confidence in the supervision of all banks in the euro area.

“We should make it a top priority to get the European supervisor in place by the start of next year. This will also pave the way for any decisions to use European (debt rescue) backstops to recapitalize banks.”

The aim, he said, was “to break the vicious link” seen when over-extended banks have called for massive capital support to stay afloat, putting such a strain on their government’s finances that they in turn need bailouts. “In the future, bankers’ losses should no longer become the people’s debt, putting into doubt the financial stability of whole countries.”

Greece, twice, and Ireland and Portugal have all had to be rescued by the EU with the help of the International Monetary Fund when they could no longer raise funds on the financial markets. Spain, the euro-zone’s fourth-biggest economy, has been pushed to the brink but recent moves by the ECB to cut its borrowing costs and the putting in place of EU debt rescue measures appears to have held the line. Barroso was speak-

ing as Germany’s top court, in a landmark ruling watched around the world, rejected a raft of legal challenges against German ratification of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the fiscal pact.

With the ESM cleared and the ECB ready to intervene on the markets, the EU’s crisis fighting machinery finally begins to take shape, as reflected in a sustained fall in borrowing costs for Spain, Italy and other weaker euro-zone member states. Spanish 10-year benchmark government bonds were returning around 5.60 percent yesterday, compared with record highs above 7.60 percent in July.Europe unveils banking union plan to stem crisis “ The crisis has shown that while banks became transnational, rules and oversight remained national,” Barroso told members of the European Parliament. “We need to move to common supervisory decisions, namely within the Euro area.” “The single supervisory mechanism proposed today will create a reinforced architecture, with a core role for the European Central Bank,” he said. “It will be a supervision for all Euro area banks.” — Agencies

Qatar in highest rally in 1-yr; Gulf stocks up MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Qatar’s bourse made its largest one-day gain in 12 months and all other regional markets also rose after Germany’s approval of euro-zone’s new bailout fund lifted investor risk appetite.

Doha’s index jumped 1.1 percent in its largest one-day move since August 2011 and closed at its highest level since May 9. Heavyweight Industries Qatar rose 3.2 percent, Qatar Electricity and Water gained 0.8 percent and Qatar National Bank advanced 1.2 percent.

“Qatar’s stocks have been underperforming this year and with growing global optimism, investors are increasing exposure to names with strong fundamentals,” said Ahmed Shehada, head of trading at QNB Financial Services. “Foreign interest is holding up in banks as the market catches up to its regional peers.” Doha’s measure is down 2.4 percent year-todate, with only exchanges in Bahrain and Oman performing worse in 2012.

Germany’s top court lifted global shares to a fivemonth high, boosted Italian and Spanish bonds and sent the euro to its highest since early May, by finally giving its go-ahead to the euro zone’s new crisisfighting fund.

Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia’s index gained 0.3 percent, up 10.7 percent up so far in 2012. Petrochemical and banking stocks led the market with Saudi Basic

Industries Corp (SABIC), the world’s largest chemicals producer, rising ( 1 .4) percent.

Gains in oil prices also boosted sentiment. Brent crude rose for a fifth straight session, gaining 40 cents to reach $115.80 a barrel by 1322 GMT. Oil prices impact petrochemical companies’ bottom line and is also seen as a proxy for global economic activity and therefore demand for petrochemical products.

Alinma Bank climbed 0.7 percent and Samba Financial Group added 0.4 percent.

In Dubai, property-related stocks led gains.

Bellwether Emaar Properties gained 2.1 percent, mortgage lender Tamweel climbed 4.7 percent and Deyaar Development added 1.9 percent.

The emirates index closed 0.9 percent higher at 1,571 points, but faces resistance at current levels.

“We had an indication a few days ago on Dubai’s credit-default swaps - they witnessed increased appetite and the yields have shrunk,” said Chahir Hosni, head of Gulf institutional sales at EFG Hermes.

“That has helped sentiment and as we head into the year-end, we’re seeing a shift and market turnover is rising.” Abu Dhabi’s benchmark climbed 0.2 percent to close at 2,602 points. Banks and developers support with First Gulf Bank and Sorouh Real Estate up 0.5 and 2.5 percent respectively. — Reuters

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

BUSINESS

Daman puts IPO on hold due to lack of liquidity DUBAI: Daman Investments, a Dubaibased investment management company, has put on hold plans for an initial public offer (IPO) of its shares, citing liquidity concerns. Daman sold a 22.7 percent stake via a private placement in June, valuing the firm at 440 million dirhams ($120 million). It said it eventually planned to offer shares to the public.

The company had said in 2009 it

would need about three years to prepare for a public listing, and might conduct the IPO by the end of 2012.

“We don’t feel this market is yet ready for an IPO. The liquidity in the market in not enough for an active primary market,” Shehab Gargash, chief executive of Daman, told reporters.

IPO activity in the UAE has been scarce since the global financial crisis.

Market volatility and weak demand

among retail investors, burnt by the collapse in stock prices from their precrisis peak, are cited as the main reasons. In 2009, Daman said it had attracted a strategic investor who committed to invest 100 million dirhams in the company, and was moving ahead to secure additional equity investment of about 200 million dirhams.

But that fund-raising valued Daman at about 850 million dirhams-nearly

double the current valuation-signaling the extent to which investment firms in the UAE have suffered in the global financial crisis. Gargash said the company would continue with its other fund-raising plans.

“We are going ahead with the second round of fund-raising in which we are offering 800,000 shares,” he said, adding that he expected the new shares to fetch more than the 170

dirhams per share obtained in the previous round.

Dubai’s benchmark index is up over 15 percent year-to-date but trading volumes remain well below the 2008 peak. Earlier this week the Al-Habtoor Group, one of the biggest familyowned Dubai conglomerates, said it was looking to raise as much as $1.6 billion in an IPO on the Nasdaq Dubai bourse sometime next year. — Reuters

Iran weighs reform to stem currency crisis Authorities mull centralized currency exchange DUBAI: Iran is hoping that radical reform of its currency market will help to stabilize the rial, which has been badly battered by Western economic sanctions, speculators and inconsistent government policy. The rial’s unofficial rate plunged to record lows around 25,000 to the US dollar this week, less than half its value a year ago, as Iranians rushed to convert their savings into hard currencies. They fear the sanctions, imposed over the country’s disputed nuclear program, will prevent the central bank from preserving the value of the rial.

To combat the slide, authorities have proposed establishing a currency exchange that would bring together major traders and replace the small, scattered money changers which dot Iran’s cities.

The new system, if it takes effect, could be tantamount to a “managed float” of the rial in which the central bank would not fix the exchange rate but would buy and sell currency in the market to ensure the rate did not become too volatile. “What’s important is that the price of currency is set in a transparent market and competitive environment with the supply and demand approach,” Mahmoud Dodangeh, a board member of Iran’s National Development Fund (NDF), was quoted as saying this month by the Iranian Students’ News Agency.

But the proposal has run into heavy criticism from Iran’s private sector. Businessmen argue it would do nothing to solve the country’s underlying economic problems, including double-digit inflation and near-total exclusion from the international banking system because of the Western sanctions.

Asadollah Asgaroladi, a wealthy exporter of Iranian pistachios, dried fruit and caviar, expressed doubts about the new system at a meeting last week of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, and in subsequent media interviews. The currency exchange “will create a new channel for corruption”, Asgaroladi told Fars news agency. “According to the information that has come out so far, it seems that most of the trades in this bourse will be on the part of the government.”

The rial currently trades at two key rates: the government’s official “reference” rate, at which only a limited amount of dollars is available from the central bank, and a much weaker rate determined by an unofficial market, where the vast majority of Iranians obtain

their foreign currency. In January the government tried to close the unofficial market by announcing an 8 percent devaluation of the official rate to 12,260 and saying it would stamp out black market traders.

But the move backfired by alarming ordinary Iranians and accelerating their scramble for hard currency, pushing the unofficial rate even lower. In March, authorities backtracked and said they would let unofficial trading continue. The rial’s slide threatens to push up inflation and fuel capital flight from Iran. It has also inflamed political divisions, with legislative foes of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accusing his administration of foot-dragging and worsening the crisis.

“If the government had launched the currency exchange last year through the central bank, we wouldn’t be witnessing a currency shock in the market,” Gholamreza MesbahiMoghaddam, head of parliament’s planning and budget committee, was quoted as saying

by Fars this week. Authorities blame much of the rial’s weakness on speculators, and argue the new system would break their hold. The exchange would be open to “certified” buyers and sellers, according to government officials quoted in Iranian media this month. Futures contracts - agreements to trade the rial at certain prices on future dates - would become available later on, letting traders lock in prices and ensuring stability.

Ordinary people in need of dollars, such as travellers and students, would buy hard currency from designated banks at prices determined by the exchange, Reza Azimi, director for monetary and fiscal policies at the Ministry of Economics, was quoted as saying by economic daily Donya-e Eqtesad.

“Currently, market factors do not determine prices,” he said. “A few people inside and outside the country have become the decision-makers.” State media said the exchange might be launched at the end of the current Persian calendar month, or Sept 21. The scheme seems to have replaced a previous plan, announced last month by central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani, to devalue the official rate once again.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the government will go ahead with the plan for the exchange in the face of technical challenges and skepticism from some in the private sector. The NDF’s Dodangeh said authori-

ties hoped the price of the rial on the new exchange would settle somewhere between the current unofficial and official rates.

To ensure stability, he said, the government would provide the exchange with an initial $5 billion of foreign currencies drawn from the NDF, a body which invests in infrastructure and is funded by oil revenues.

But to function effectively, the exchange will need to persuade the mass of Iranians that it is producing fair rial rates based on market supply and demand. Otherwise, people will be reluctant to use the exchangedetermined rates and continue to buy and sell dollars through the black market.

“As long as there are multiple rates for the rial, they can’t establish the bourse” because there will be no confidence in the values quoted by the exchange, a Tehran money changer told Reuters by telephone, declining to be named because of the political sensitivity of the issue.

Some Iranian businessmen argue the proposed exchange would merely create a third rate alongside the official and unofficial rates, Donya-e Eqtesad reported. These businessmen speculated the unofficial rate might drop to 30,000. Another big question is whether the supply of dollars in sanctions-hit Iran would in the long term be large enough to meet demand at the rates determined by the exchange.

At the end of last year, Iran had $106 billion of official foreign reserves, enough to cover an ample 13 months of imports of goods and services in normal times, according to the International Monetary Fund. But those reserves may now have started falling as the economic sanctions hurt Iran’s ability to export oil and make financing its other foreign trade more costly. Analysts estimate Iran’s oil exports may have dropped by about 1 million barrels per day from roughly 2.3 million bpd last year. Nader Habibi, an economist at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University in the United States, estimated the government now had about $50 billion to $70 billion of hard currency reserves remaining. Some Iranian members of parliament and importers, including MesbahiMoghaddam, told local media this week that the central bank had for the last several weeks failed to supply enough dollars to meet demand. — Reuters

KOLKATA: Indian vendors gather to sell their wares inside a wholesale vegetable market in Kolkata yesterday. The Indian Meteorological Department has backtracked on their projections of monsoon revival, declaring that the country will have “deficient monsoon” this year. —AFP

Saudi inflation at 3.8%, lowest since Oct 2009 JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation eased to 3.8 percent in August, its lowest level in almost three years, although the monthly increase was the fastest in 10 months, data showed yesterday.

Consumer price growth in the world’s top oil exporter has been slowing gradually since peaking at 5.4 percent in February and March, registering 4.0 percent in July. The month-on-month rate edged up to 0.4 percent in August from 0.3 percent in the previous month, the data from the Central Department of Statistics also showed.

“Over the past year ... what had been driving inflation up slowed down,” said Jarmo Kotilaine, an economist based in Saudi Arabia, who is covering the region.

“There were no major harvest failures.

“This summer that changed due to droughts around the world and the positive dynamics will last for a little but not for long,” he added. Food costs, which account for a quarter of Saudi consumer expenses, rose 0.9 percent in August, the fastest clip in a year, although the annual rate fell to 3.3 percent from 4.0 percent in July. Monthly growth in rents, one of key factors pushing living costs up in the past years, eased slightly to 0.1 percent in August, which was the smallest rise since December 2007. On an annual basis, rental inflation decelerated to a 14month low of 8.5 percent from 9.2 percent in July, the data showed, well below

rates of over 20 percent in 2009 and 2008. “The decline in rental inflation is due to two factors. First is the new rental regulation introduced few months ago and the other is that the construction sector has been active,” said Fahad Alturki, senior economist at Jadwa Investment in Riyadh. “There are new units coming to the market, easing the pressure on the housing market,” he said.

Last year, the government promised to build half a million new homes to ease a housing shortage after social tensions fed the unrest that rocked much of the Arab world. In July, the government passed a mortgage law to stimulate house building, but analysts believe high land prices may prevent any quick resolution to the problem.

Alturki also said that international food prices will put upward pressure on inflation in the coming months but a gradual decline in renovation and rents will work in the opposite direction.

“The rate of inflation will depend on how fast international food prices are rising. In addition, the expectation of another round of quantitative easing is likely to weaken the dollar which may help push domestic inflation,” he said.

The Saudi central bank said last month that data available at the time indicated relative stability in inflationary pressures in the third quarter of this year. — Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds

.2740000 .4450000 .3560000 .2950000 .2860000 .2880000 .0040000 .0020000 .0762980 .7433470 .3870000 .0720000 .7287190 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2810500 GB Pound/KD .4501300 Euro .3599130 Swiss francs .2981960 Canadian dollars .2883600 Danish Kroner .0482970 Swedish Kroner .0423810 Australian dlr .2908590 Hong Kong dlr .0362440 Singapore dlr .2281250 Japanese yen .0035940 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0765490 Bahraini dinars .7457870 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0749670 Omani riyals .7302850 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Malaysian Ringgit

3.553 5.072 3.053 2.141 3.173 220.090 36.173 3.425 6.439 8.876 89.338

.2860000 .4560000 .3620000 .3020000 .2930000 .2980000 .0058500 .0035000 .0770650 .7508180 .4100000 .0780000 .7360430 .0510000 .2831500 .4534930 .3626020 .3004240 .2905150 .0486580 .0426980 .2930320 .0365150 .2298300 .0036210 .0051370 .0021470 .0030020 .0034740 .0771210 .7513600 .4004950 .0755270 .7357410 .0068590

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

293.100 749.550 3.690 293.100 553.500 46.900 49.500 167.800 48.150 366.200 37.020 5.360 0.032 0.161 0.235 3.720 399.410 0.191 93.330 44.900 4.330 234.400 1.826

50.300 732.110 3.070 6.940 77.960 75.250 230.660 36.390 2.685 456.100 43.800 303.400 4.300 9.430 198.263 76.850 282.200 1.350

10 Tola

GOLD 1,838.120

Sterling Pound US Dollar

731.930 2.984 6.798 77.530 75.250 230.660 36.390 2.129 454.100 301.900 4.300 9.300 76.750 281.600

COUNTRY

Currency

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 454.100 281.800

SELL DRAFT

294.600 749.550 3.439 291.600

230.700 46.305 364.700 36.870 5.105 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

296.62 294.13 303.69 364.34 281.85 455.04 3.68 3.454 5.092 2.133 3.188 2.984 76.81 750.47 46.35 401.54 733.54 77.83 75.37

SELL CASH

296.000 291.250 302.000 362.500 282.850 455.000 3.690 3.560 5.325 2.310 3.550 3.150 77.300 748.250 48.300 398.500 735.000 78.000 75.750

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 399.380 0.190 93.330 3.210 232.900

Rate for Transfer

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro

Selling Rate

282.200 289.629 450.538 357.270

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

296.069 747.117 76.811 77.461 75.218 397.803 46.318 2.130 5.098 2.978 3.449 6.779 692.241 4.597 9.067 4.376 3.263 89.960

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

281.800 2.976 5.112 2.139 3.439 6.830 76.830 75.300 749.200 46.249 458.500 2.990 1.550 368.600 296.000 3.200

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

281.950 363.650 453.750 291.350 3.620 5.090 46.350 2.132 3.445 6.780 2.985 750.550 76.820 75.320

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

BUSINESS

Saudi turnover surprises; Egypt seen extending rally MIDEAST MARKETS OUTLOOK DUBAI/CAIRO: High liquidity in the Saudi Arabian stock market over the summer and Ramadan months, which are traditionally dull trading periods, signal investor interest in the market which could lead prices higher in coming weeks. Investors traded 307 billion riyals ($82 billion) worth of shares on the Saudi bourse during June-August, a surge of 83 percent from the year-earlier period, according to stock exchange data.

This has extended a trend of active trading for most of this year; daily turnover spiked as high as 21.6 billion riyals in March, a level not seen since 2007.

Turnover usually drops around 50 percent during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting which ended on Aug. 18 this year, as investors work shorter hours. The reversal in trend may indicate new investor confidence in Saudi equities. “From the brokers’ perspective, margin lending and discounts on commissions have been catalysts to bring back investors to the market,” said Asim Bukhtiar, head of research at Riyad Capital, said in Trading Middle East, a Thomson Reuters online financial community.

“In tandem, the fundamentals and economic picture started to brighten in 2012 with banks reporting strong loan growth and earnings.”

Mid-cap stocks have drawn the largest interest in the liquidity surge, with stocks such as property developer Dar Al-Arkan, telecommunications firm Zain Saudi

and Alinma Bank favorite targets of retail investors’ speculation. “During the summer, investors did not sell their positions to cover margins and appeared willing to pay interest on margins in anticipation of market improvement following the Eid holidays,” Bukhtiar added. Some of the new money in the stock market came from funds being shifted out of undeveloped real estate in search of higher returns, many analysts believe.

“It looks like the additional liquidity is here to stay there are no other accessible investment opportunities except for the real estate sector, which is very illiquid,” said Faisal Al-Othman, portfolio manager at Riyadhbased Arab National Bank. Saudi Arabian companies will begin reporting third-quarter earnings around the first week of October, and investors are hoping for positive earnings surprises from cement and telecommunications firms in particular, he added.

The kingdom’s cement sector witnessed an increase of 21 percent in first-half sales compared to the yearearlier period. This was boosted by a 12.6 percent increase in cement demand and an improvement in cement prices by over 3 percent, according to research

by Kuwait’s Global Investment House. Saudi Arabia’s index peaked at 7,944 points in April, its highest level since September 2008. It then fell sharply, partly in response to weak equity markets globally as the euro

zone debt crisis worsened, and is now trading around 7,100 points, up 11 percent since the end of last year.

The high turnover suggests to many analysts that the market’s risk/reward ratio may favour the bulls for the rest of this year, even if the global investment picture prevents any rapid rally.

“By year-end, the target for the index is 7,600 in the best-case scenario and 7,000 in the worst case. The boundaries are wide, in case of moves in major sectors, petrochemicals and banks, due to global issues,” AlOthman said. Meanwhile, Egyptian equities could scale new highs for the year in coming days as an improving economic outlook encourages foreign investors to reassess a market they fled after last year’s popular uprising, traders said.

A new government has redoubled efforts to secure international help in shoring up the economy and is reaching out to foreign companies in an attempt to secure fresh investment.

New Islamist President Mohamed Morsi has stamped his authority on the powerful military leadership and appointed a government of mostly technocrats who are promising to rein in costly fuel subsidies and improve the investment climate.

Last week Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani, said the Gulf state would invest $18 billion in tourism and industry projects along Egypt’s

Mediterranean coast over the next five years. All of that money may not materialize, but the possibility has convinced many investors that they risk getting left behind in a long-term recovery of Egyptian equities. The benchmark EGX30 index has soared 43 percent since late June, when Egyptians were waiting to learn the winner of the country’s first free election for the presidency, and this week it broke above major technical resistance around 5,600 points, where it peaked in April and June 2011. It ended on Wednesday at 5,726 points.

“We were expecting to end the year at 6,500 and we now think we might reach the 7,000 level,” said Osama Mourad, chief executive of Arab Finance Brokerage, adding that Saudi, Chinese and US portfolio investors had been buying Egyptian stocks. “There might not be any dramatic decisions or surprises in coming days, but the sentiment of foreign and Egyptian investors is phenomenal.”

In another sign of international investors’ confidence, the yield on Egypt’s outstanding sovereign dollar bond maturing in 2020 sank to 5.19 percent this week, its lowest level since December 2010, before major unrest broke out in Egypt. Part of the drop is due to a downtrend in global interest rates, but it also shows investors no longer demand such high returns to compensate them for the risk of buying Egyptian debt. — Reuters

US wholesale stockpiles up in July, but sales fell Companies may cut inventories on falling demand

ATHENS: International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission chief Poul Thomsen (left) arrives at the Greek Finance Ministry in Athens yesterday, for a meeting with the Finance Minister. — AFP

Choosy Omanis add to govt’s unemployment headache MUSCAT: Rushing out of a bank door, Harith Mohsin smiled as he clutched a paper approving a $50,000 state loan to start his own business, happy that he would no longer have to depend on unemployment benefits. Mohsin, 23, is one of 1,500 young Omanis whose lowinterest loans have been cleared since January under the government’s self-employment financing scheme, which aims to reduce an unemployment problem that has triggered political unrest.

“I was looking for a job for a year until the Ministry of Manpower asked me if I would like to operate a business in my hometown,” said Mohsin, who wants to start a tour company in the northeastern city of Ibri, which is near old forts and tombs. “This is an opportunity for me to be my own boss.” Late last year Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who has ruled for 42 years, ordered a fourfold boost in funds available for the program to 60 million rials ($156 million) annually as one measure to slash the jobless rate.

The scheme offers loans with an annual rate of 2 percent and a one-year grace period for repaying credit above 5,000 rials. No interest is charged at or below this amount.

Unemployment among Omani citizens exceeded 24 percent in 2010, according to an International Monetary Fund estimate based on the latest population census, though the IMF conceded that the number might include many people who were not truly looking for work. The government does not release jobless data.

Political stability in Oman, which has seen sporadic street protests demanding jobs and a crackdown on corruption since February 2011, is important for the region because the small oil producer sits on the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost a fifth of oil traded worldwide passes. To appease protesters, the government created some 44,000 new public sector jobs in 2011, raised the minimum wage for Omanis in the private sector, launched a new unemployment benefit, and almost doubled the intake for higher education.

But annual growth of roughly 3 percent in Oman’s native population of about 2 million is aggravating the unemployment problem.

Moreover, despite strong growth in the total number of jobs available, most new private sector positions have gone to some of the over 1 million foreigners working in the sultanate.

Last month, a finance ministry official told Reuters that Oman, flush with a budget surplus from high oil prices, had allocated an additional $1 billion to create new jobs over the next 12 months.

However, a strategy relying on public sector jobs may not be sustainable in the long term.

Oman’s modest proven oil reserves, which provide nearly 70 percent of budget income, are expected to last just 17 years at the 2011 rate of production, according to the BP statistical world energy review from June. Around 45,000 new positions for Omanis are needed each year, twice the number achieved in the five years to 2010, if the government wants to slash unemployment, the IMF estimated in a report last December. “To be sustainable, these new jobs will have to be in the private sector,” it said.

Hence the government’s emphasis on fostering new private sector entrepreneurs such as Mohsin.

Only a fraction of Omanis will ever start their own firms, though; most of those in the private sector will have to work as salaried employees.

And here the government’s plans are running

up against harsh reality, as they are in other Gulf states. Despite Oman’s healthy 2011 economic growth of 5.5 percent, many firms are reluctant to hire locals, blaming insufficient training and education and high salary expectations.

“Only 20 percent of 50,000 jobs were created by the private sector, and only because the government forced them to,” said Ahmed Saleem, a consultant at job recruiter Capital Manpower Co. Khalid Al-Khammasi, 21, who has been looking for work since finishing secondary school in June, said: “I want a job but all three places I have been to insisted on a degree, which I don’t have.

“We can’t all be business people. It is not for some, and I know I would lose money if I ventured in it.” The IMF says reducing unemployment will require diversifying the economy away from oil as well as better education and training, since neither the hydrocarbon sector nor new energy-intensive industries provided many jobs.

One positive sign this month was news that three companies from Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had formed a joint venture to build a $400 million steel plant in the southern city of Salalah. The venture, which is the country’s second steel firm, said it would create job opportunities for over 1,000 Omanis.

Demand for the steel is expected to come from the oil industry and a 5 billion rial project to build a national railway.

But many more such companies will be needed if the government is to meet its projection of seeing between 200,000 and 275,000 job opportunities created in 2011-2015.

Authorities say they will focus on fostering labor-intensive sectors and smaller firms, while improving education and training.

Meanwhile, the launch of the new unemployment benefit has given some Omanis an escape from the private sector. Many find jobs there unattractive because of harder work, longer hours, and often smaller pay and benefits compared to the state sector. “I used to work for 12 hours a day, earning just 290 rials a month as a waiter,” said a 24-year old school graduate who did not want to be identified.

“Why should I do it when I am getting the unemployment benefit of 150 rials a month?”

Mohammed Al-Harthy, human resources officer at property developer Al-Mouj Al-Khaleej Co, said many young people took advantage of the unemployment benefit and never really looked for jobs: “We had 54 of them rejecting positions in the last six months, citing long working hours and lower salaries.” Omanis formed a mere 14 percent of the private sector labor force of 1.3 million in 2011, a central bank report shows, only slightly more than 10 percent in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Worryingly for the government, this ratio may have stopped rising. After the number of Omanis working in the private sector jumped 11 percent a year on average in 2008-2010, it fell 2 percent to 174,441 last year. At the same time, employment of expatriates soared 17 percent to 1.1 million in 2011. Minister of Manpower Sheikh Abdullah Al-Bakri, in a recent newspaper interview, urged job seekers to take any available employment because “there is no shame” in working long hours for less pay.

The IMF said Oman might need to consider raising the cost for foreigners of obtaining work visas, or introducing temporary employment subsidies for Omanis in the private sector, to create the right incentives for more local people to enter employment.—Reuters

WASHINGTON: US wholesalers increased their stockpiles in July from June, but sales fell for a third straight month. Declining sales could force companies to cut inventories in coming months, a troubling sign that economic growth could weaken. The Commerce Department said yesterday that wholesale stockpiles grew 0.7 percent in July, the biggest increase in five months. Sales fell 0.1 percent following declines of 1.4 percent in June and 1.1 percent in May. That marked the longest stretch of weakness since seven straight monthly declines ending in January 2009, a period when the country was in recession.

The slump in sales means it will take wholesalers longer to clear out their stockpiles and could result in cutbacks in orders to factories.

That would mean less production and weaker economic growth.

In July, total US inventories stood at $485.2 billion, 26.1 percent higher than the post-recession low of $384.9 billion in September 2009. As businesses saw demand picking up, they became more hopeful and resumed restocking to meet rising demand.

A weaker global economy has cut demand for US exports, which has weakened manufacturers this year. At the same time, tepid growth in hiring has made American consumers more cautious about spending. US factory activity shrank in August for the third straight month, according to the Institute of Supply Management’s closely watched manufacturing survey.

The US trade deficit grew to $42 billion in July from June, the government said Tuesday.

Fewer exports to Europe, India and Brazil off-

NEW YORK: John O’Hara, center, of Barclays directs trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, yesterday in New York. —AP set a steep decline in oil imports. US employers added just 96,000 jobs in August. That’s down from 141,000 in July and far below the average 226,000 a month created in the January-March quarter.

Growth slowed in the April-June quarter to an annual rate of just 1.7 percent, down from 2 percent in the January-March quarter and 4.1 percent in the final three months of last year. Many

economists expect growth will remain roughly 2 percent in the second half of the year, well short of what is needed to make a significant dent in the unemployment rate.

Stockpiles at the wholesale level account for about 27 percent of total business inventories.

Stockpiles held by retailers make up about onethird of the total, and manufacturing inventories represent about 40 percent of the total. — AP

India July industrial output grows just 0.1%

LONDON: Chairman of Barclays Bank, Sir David Walker, arrives at the Houses of Parliament in London yesterday as he prepares to give evidence to the Commons Treasury Committee on banking standards. — AFP

Banks must change sales sops: Barclays’ Walker LONDON: Banks must change a culture of paying staff commission on sales and put less focus on short-term profits in order to repair their battered reputations, the new chairman of British bank Barclays said yesterday.

“It’s very important we see changes in remuneration practices (that are) tied to sales or revenue,” David Walker told British lawmakers at the start of a three-month inquiry into the banking industry’s standards and culture.

Walker, who authored a 2009 report into corporate governance in banks, will take over as chairman of Barclays in November, charged with rebuilding the reputation of a bank tarnished by a record fine for manipulating interbank lending rates.

Barclays is also battling to recover from a number of broader industry scandals, including the mis-selling of insurance policies and interest rate hedging products to small businesses, and banks’ hunger for profits is widely blamed for causing the 2008 financial markets crisis.

The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards inquiry was launched after Britain’s government came under pressure to scrutinize banks more closely. The Commission is expected to call bosses from all top banks and also regulators, consumer groups and other interest groups, aiming to make legislative proposals

by Dec. 18. Walker, 72, said banks’ integrity had been damaged by a race for market share and too much attention on innovation driving short-term profits. “Making quick returns and keeping abreast of competition overtook old fashioned concerns about integrity,” he said. Walker said he would not have joined Barclays if he didn’t think change could happen.

“In the present environment can the cultural changes be accomplished rapidly? Yes, and they have to be,” he said. “The reason I am confident is that in the recent past boards have just not been focused on culture. Now, because of all the things that have bubbled up to the surface there’s a new focus on culture.”

Changing remuneration was key to start that process and he said sales staff should consider the reputational impact on a bank before the profit, echoing comments by new Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins this week. So-called “free” banking provided by British banks to current account customers who remain in credit has contributed to the mis-selling scandals, Walker added. But he said any bank that stopped the offer would suffer compared to rivals, so it was hard to end the offer of “free” current accounts from within the private sector, hinting that regulators or government might need to intervene. — Reuters

NEW DELHI: India’s industrial output inched up by a meager 0.1 percent in July from a year earlier, data showed yesterday, piling new pressure on policymakers to spur Asia’s third-largest economy.

The once-booming economy has been hit by a combination of high interest rates, Europe’s debt crisis gouging exports, stalled government reforms and sluggish investment.

“It is difficult to be optimistic” that industrial output will show a “meaningful recovery” until domestic interest rates come down and world trade picks up, said Credit Suisse economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde. The scant 0.1 percent growth in July’s manufacturing, mining and electricity output was better than June’s sharp 1.8 percent contraction.

But it missed market forecasts of a 0.5 percent increase and was far below the 3.7 percent rise logged in July 2011, prompting alarm from business leaders who called for coordinated monetary and fiscal intervention. Manu-facturing production, accounting for three-quarters of the Index of Industrial Production, shrank 0.2 percent in July while capital goods output such as heavy machinery-a key barometer-contracted five percent.

Confederation of Indian Industry’s director general Chandrajit Banerjee said implementation of long-stalled measures to further open up the economy to foreign investment were “imperative”.

Rate cuts are long overdue and “the economy is in need of sentiment boosters”, said Banerjee, adding that “invest-

ments have dried up”. But analysts said the output data was unlikely to push India’s hawkish central bank to lower rates at Monday’s scheduled monetary policy meeting with inflation still at elevated levels. Other central banks globally have been easing rates to revive their troubled economies.

But India’s bank has kept borrowing costs on hold since Aprilwhen it cut them for the first time in three years-insisting inflation must recede. Analysts expect figures to be released Friday for August to show inflation nudged above seven percent after slowing to 6.87 percent in July.

The bank’s “preoccupation with high inflation will limit further policy rate cuts in the near term”, said IHS Global Insight economist Jyoti Narasimhan.

Financial markets showed little reaction to the data, with the benchmark Senxex hanging on to a 0.63 percent gain, fuelled by global expectations of US and Chinese stimulus.

India’s pro-business finance minister P Chidambaram has pledged to restart the nation’s “growth engine”. But analysts are skeptical about what he can achieve with the Congress-led government mired in graft scandals that have left it unable to push through politically difficult liberalization reforms.

The economy grew just 5.5 percent in the quarter between March and June-a three-year low.

The government sees growth of around 6.5 percent for the year to March 2013 but many economists expect expansion of 5.0 to 5.5 percent-far below the heady near double-digit levels of the past decade. — AFP

24

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

business With Suu Kyi’s help, Myanmar moves towards investment law NAYPYITAW, Myanmar: A law intended to accelerate foreign investment in Myanmar will be signed soon by the president after pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi helped kill a clause that would have protected crony businessmen, a government minister said yesterday.

The long-delayed foreign investment law, passed by parliament last week and now awaiting approval by President Thein Sein, is widely expected to clear the way for an increase in foreign investment by companies such as Coca-Cola Co in the resourcerich country that emerged only last year from 49 years of military rule. Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning opposition leader, joined other lawmakers in opposing a proposal that would have forced foreign companies to invest at least $5 million of start-up capital to do business in Myanmar, said Soe Thein, a minister in the president’s office, describing her as influential in the debate. That clause, which would have been the largest such provision in Southeast Asia, was widely seen as an attempt to protect a coterie of businessmen who prospered under military rule. It would have dramatically reduced foreign competition, especially among small businesses, if included in the new law.

“She took part in talking about the new foreign investment law and supported dropping stuff like the $5 million requirement,” Soe Thein said an interview. Backing of the investment law marks a significant turn for Suu Kyi, who in June urged corporate executives to avoid “reckless optimism” and warned investors that “even the best investment laws would be of no use whatsoever if there are no courts that are clean enough and independent enough to be able to administer those laws justly”. “We all our

friends now,” Soe Thein, a former naval commander-in-chief and senior member of the ruling military-backed party, said of the prodemocracy leader, who spent 15 years detained at home by the former ruling generals. He said the law would probably be approved soon, although it was unclear if it would be signed before the president and Suu Kyi visit the United States, scheduled for later this month.

Resource-rich Myanmar is opening up to the world after nearly 50 years of military rule and economic stagnation. Western countries have lifted or suspended sanctions since a quasi-civilian government took over last year but most firms are waiting to see details of the investment law, which was held up in parliament for five months as proposed changes went back and forth between the assembly and the president’s office. Among other companies that have expressed interest in investing in Myanmar, one of Asia’s last frontier markets, are hotelier Marriott International Inc, car makers Suzuki Motor Corp and Ford Motor Co plus tech firms Panasonic Corp and Toshiba Corp.

But many executives say they want regulatory clarity in a market dominated for decades by tycoons with ties to powerful generals, a tightly knit circle of cronies who face competitive threats as the government liberalizes the economy.

Soe Thein was speaking on the sidelines of an investment conference held by Euromoney magazine in the capital, Naypyitaw, where the new law was hotly debated. The latest draft raises the maximum share foreign companies can hold in 13 restricted sectors by one percentage point to 50 percent, retaining a protectionist flavor by capping foreign investment in several important industries.— Reuters

Air India hopes to fly into black with Dreamliner NEW DELHI: India’s government yesteday said the purchase of 27 Boeing 787 Dreamliners should help Air India fly into the black and warned it cannot give any more funds to the ailing flagship carrier.

The first new aircraft landed in New Delhi on Saturday, ending a four-year wait by the staterun national airline to add the next-generation jet to its fleet.

“We hope the Dreamliner will take Air India back to the good old Maharajah days,” aviation minister Ajit Singh said, referring to the airline’s mustachioed mascot who was a familiar face when the carrier dominated India’s skies. The carrier’s once-commanding market share has shrunk to 18 percent in the face of fierce competition from private and low-cost carriers that have taken to the air since India liberalized its aviation sector in the 1990s. Speaking to reporters at a ceremony for the Dreamliners at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, Singh urged Air India to take “aggressive” measures to cut costs.

He said the government could not afford to give any more money to Air India after clearing in April a $5.75 billion bailout package to help the carrier, which has accumulated debts of $8.3 billion.

“If Air India is to become competitive with rest of the industry, then it has to take aggressive cost-cutting measures. With today’s fiscal constraints, the government cannot afford to give any more money to Air India,” Singh said.

The company has some of the world’s best-paid pilots and around 30,000 regular staff, giving it one of the highest ratios of employees to planes globally.

Analysts say the workforce needs to be halved to make the airline competitive. The 27Dreamliner deal is part of a 2005 multi-billiondollar project to equip Air India with 68 wide-

bodied aircraft. Air India is the fifth airline in the world to take delivery of a Dreamliner, according to Boeing.

The plane, painted in the red and yellow livery of Air India, will make its first commercial flight on September 19 to the southern city of Chennai from New Delhi.

It will fly to Europe and Australia as soon as Air India’s pilots become more familiar with the aircraft, likely during the winter season.

The Dreamliner is seen as becoming the mainstay of loss-making Air India’s global operations and airline officials hope it will attract new customers.

It is also crucial for Air India’s turnaround

plan because it will replace some older, fuelguzzling planes. India’s fourth-largest airline by market share has been hit hard by high fuel prices and fierce competition which have added to its labor problems, crushing debt and a costly merger in 2007 with domestic carrier Indian Airlines. For Air India, the Dreamliners have been configured to have 256 seats — 18 business class seats and 238 in economy.

They were initially due for delivery between 2008 and 2011 but a row over demands by the airline for compensation for the delay held up delivery. “The last deliveries will be in 2016,” the minister said, adding Air India will receive five more Dreamliners this year. —AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian ground personnel look on as Air India’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Charleston, USA, arrives at Indira Gandhi International airport’s terminal T-3 in New Delhi. — AFP

Q2 2012 GCC corporate earnings show weakness MARKAZ ECONOMIC REPORT KUWAIT: A study of over 650 companies across GCC for 2Q12 earnings revealed weakness according to a new research published by Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz”. The overall net earnings for the second quarter declined by 1% to $13.8b compared to the same quarter last year (year on year). The decline was led by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait companies whose aggregate net incomes dropped 6% and 27% respectively. Bahrain also reported considerable weakness though it has a smaller share. Oman, UAE and Qatar firms’ net income grew 56%, 12% and 8% respectively. Among the three largest sectors (Banks, Commodities and Telecom), commodities showed considerable weakness (-30%) while Banks stayed put (+1%) with Telecom showing some good signs of growth (+8%).

Saudi Arabia Earnings of Saudi Arabian companies totaled $6.5bn, a 6% decrease compared to the same quarter previous year. SABIC, which reported $1.4bn in 2Q profits, saw its bottom-line decline by 35% due to softening of global petrochemical prices and higher raw materials costs. Saudi Banks earnings increased 11% with Al-Rajhi Bank reporting a 14% growth in net income to $558mn, on account of higher operating income. Telecom sector’s earnings grew 18% to $891mn as Etihad Etisalat’s earnings rose 22% to $379mn due to higher revenue from data services.

Saudi Telecom posted a 7% growth in earnings at $642mn Kuwait Kuwait corporate earnings dropped 27% in 2Q12 to $811mn compared to similar quarter in the previous year.

Kuwait saw its earnings recover in the first quarter of 2012 after three consecutive quarters of decline. However Kuwait corporations haven’t been able to sustain the recovery. Bank earnings declined 25% over the year and to $380mn. National Bank of Kuwait’s earnings dropped 41% to $142mn due to a $96.4mn provision it took due to the deteriorating operating environment. Telecom companies reported a bottom-line of $310mn (-20%) Wataniya’s profits fell almost 50% as a result of competitive pressures in the country and negative exchange rate movements in Algeria. Zain earnings dropped 1% over the year, settling at $254mn. However, Real Estate sector per-

formed well with a profit growth of 39%.

UAE During 2Q12, UAE companies posted earnings of $3.0bn, a 12% growth compared to similar quarter in the previous year. Banking sector, which accounts for 54% of UAE profits, declined 7%to $1.6bn. Emirates NBD which had recovered from its lackluster performance during 1Q12 registered 13% fall in net earnings this quarter compared to similar quarter in the previous year. The bank’s 1H12 profits settled 40% lower than that of 1H11 due to gain on the sale of a stake in Network International last year. NBAD reported 2% growth in net income to $285mn primarily due to lower provisioning.

Telecom earnings grew 22% to $597mn.

Etisalat reported a net profit of $508mn, 17% growth buoyed by robust international operations. Real estate continued its recovery with profits of $355mn (1Q12: $342mn, 2Q11: $5mn). While Emaar witnessed a 146% growth in earnings to $167mn driven by increase in contribution of subsidiaries, Aldar’s 228% increase in profits is led by better occupancy.

Qatar Qatar’s earnings continued to grow at a stable rate of 8% compared to similar quarter previous year to $2.6bn.

Industries Qatar’s earnings sustained recovery this quarter too with a 3% growth over the year to $585mn. Bank earnings continue to benefit from higher government spending with growth of 9% to $1.14bn. Qatar National Bank’s net income ($580mn) grew 17%- slowest bottom-line growth in the last 2 years.

Oman Oman’s corporate earnings grew 56% to $469mn, one of the strongest showing. Banking sector profits grew to $173mn (+114%) aided by Bank Muscat’s net income growth of 19% to $91mn.

Bahrain Bahrain’s corporate profits dropped 29% in 2Q12 to $370mn compared to similar quarter previous year. . Banking profits plunged 28% to $186mn. The drastic decline in banking income was led by Bahrain Islamic Bank (a loss of $44mn) and a 25% and 13% decline in earnings of Arab Banking Corporation and United Gulf Bank respectively.

Higher gas costs and lower London Metal Exchange Levels impacted Aluminum Bahrain’s bottom-line (49%) while Bahrain Telecom’s net profit was affected by lack of growth and stiff competition. The company’s 2Q profit was $49mn (-13%) Looking Ahead Based on the current trend, we expect a muted earnings growth of 8% during the year 2012. We expect Saudi Arabia to clock a 9% growth to $27b while UAE is expected to post a growth of 11% to $10.8 b. Kuwait earnings is expected to contract by 5% to $3.9b.

Banks (38%), Commodities (23%) and Telecom (14%) account for over 75% of earnings. We expect Banks to post a growth of 8% to $21.5b, Commodities and Telecom are likely to contract by 1% each. Overall, stock markets should look for triggers other than earnings to support it in 2012.

25

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

BUSINESS

Morgan Stanley, Citigroup settle brokerage row LONDON: Morgan Stanley agreed to buy the rest of a brokerage joint venture from Citigroup Inc at a lower-thanexpected price valuing the business at $13.5 billion, a win for Morgan Stanley although it faces challenges to boost the operation’s profits.

The brokerage business was meant to stabilize Morgan Stanley’s revenue during economic cycles but has not been nearly as profitable as the investment bank had hoped. Costs have run over and technology problems have dogged the joint venture since its inception.

“Morgan Stanley has fabulously disappointed investors with the execution of its integration plans,” said Brad Hintz, a former Morgan Stanley treasurer who is now a bank analyst at Bernstein Research.

The banks restructured the deal so Morgan Stanley can buy Citigroup’s 49 percent stake faster than previously planned. The price they agreed to will trigger a $2.9 billion after-tax charge for Citigroup, which was holding the business on its books at a much higher value.

That charge would wipe out analysts’ third-quarter profit forecast for the bank.

But it will also allow the banks to move past the negotiating table and focus on plans to fix their businesses.

Morgan Stanley’s wealth management business is a key component of its strategy to smooth out earnings, which have been highly volatile over the past several years, and to delve deeper into more reliable revenue streams.

Its wealth and asset management revenue now represents half of net revenue, up from 31 percent in 2007, and its wealth management division has been delivering quarterly revenue in a range of $3 billion to $3.4 billion, even in a flat interest rate environment.

But to achieve its goal of boosting wealth management pretax profit margins to a “midteens” range by June from the current 12 percent, Morgan Stanley will have to deliver on aggressive costcutting targets.

At a Barclays conference on Tuesday, Morgan Stanley Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said that she and other senior executives “remain resolute” on meeting their profit goals by mid-2013.

Eventually, when market conditions improve, management expects the business to deliver margins of 20 percent or more.

“The business provides a stable revenue stream with margin upside,” Porat said. The CFO detailed plans to cut expenses by $300 million a year to reach

profit targets, and noted that Morgan Stanley’s return on equity will increase as it buys a greater stake in Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, since the bank is already holding capital against 100 percent of the business, but had only been taking in 51 percent of its profits.

However, Porat also said the bank expects to take a charge this quarter to reflect the declining value of old software, as well as expenses related to staff cuts and office consolidation.

Morgan Stanley and Citigroup agreed to the joint venture in 2009 in the wake of the financial crisis. Morgan Stanley, the majority owner, had always expected to buy out Citigroup, but it was unclear how much it would have to pay. The two parties had brought the matter to an independent arbitrator for an appraisal when they could not agree on a price. But the decision announced on Tuesday was made by the two banks and not the arbitrator, Perella Weinberg Partners, a source familiar with the matter said.

Under terms of the agreement, Morgan Stanley will buy another 14 percent of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney now and will buy Citigroup’s remaining 35 percent stake by June 1, 2015. Each transaction will be based on the $13.5 billion valuation, and client deposits will

be transferred to Morgan Stanley at no premium. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

For Citigroup, the sale is another step in Chief Executive Vikram Pandit’s campaign to bolster capital levels and shed assets that are not part of a long-term business plan. Those assets, known as Citi Holdings, have declined from a height of $898 billion in the first quarter of 2009 to $191 billion at the end of June.

“As we have shown, the more we put the past behind us, the more we can focus on our future, which is in the core businesses in Citicorp,” Pandit said in a statement.

The charge that Citi will have to take amounts to about 99 cents a share, which would wipe out the 99 cents a share of earnings that analysts, on average, had estimated Citigroup would report for the third quarter.

However, the charge will not affect Citigroup’s capital levels under Basel III regulatory measures, the bank said in an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

Morgan Stanley’s forthcoming $1.89 billion cash payment to increase its stake will also boost Citi’s estimated Tier 1 common regulatory capital ratio by about 14 basis points under Basel III.

The outcome of the dispute was keenly awaited by Wall Street because it could offer clues on expectations of future profitability in the brokerage sector, which has been suffering through low interest rates and weak trading activity for several years.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is the biggest brokerage in the United States with nearly 17,000 financial advisers and $1.71 trillion in assets, so its value is seen as a barometer for the industry.

The deal was seen as a win for Morgan Stanley because the final value came in closer to its initial $9 billion valuation of the business than to Citi’s $23 billion balance-sheet valuation.

“It was a bad transaction for Citi, but the market has known it was probably going to go against them for awhile, so at least it brings closure,” said David Trone, a bank analyst with JMP Securities.

“Sometimes you just want to sell something and you’ll take whatever price you can get.”

Both companies’ stock prices rose on the news. Citigroup shares were up 2.61 percent at $32.66, and Morgan Stanley shares were up 3.85 percent at $17.25 at the close of trading on Tuesday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange. — Reuters

German court clears euro rescue fund, fiscal pact Euro-zone crosses key hurdle to resolve debt crisis

FRANKFURT: A trader watches a screen displaying the judges of the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) as she works in front of a chart of Germany’s share index Dax yesterday at the German stock exchange in Frankfurt/M. —AFP

Spain’s Rajoy studies rescue, says may not be necessary MADRID/HELSINKI: Spain continues to study the price it will have to pay for seeking help from the European Central Bank’s bond-buying program but improved market conditions may make aid unnecessary, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said yesterday.

“I don’t know if Spain needs to ask for it,” Rajoy told parliament in a debate session, referring to an international rescue for Spain. Yields on Spanish bonds have fallen dramatically, to five-month lows, since the ECB agreed last week to launch a new bond-buying program to reduce struggling euro zone countries’ borrowing costs provided they first request assistance from the euro zone’s rescue fund and abide by strict conditions.

Earlier, in an interview with Finnish newspapers, Rajoy said he had no objection to the International Monetary Fund monitoring Spanish compliance with the conditions for any assistance although he has also insisted that no fresh demands should be made on Spain in terms of cutting debt.

“The IMF is already monitoring our economy,” Helsingin Sanomat quoted Rajoy as saying during a visit to Madrid by Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen on Tuesday.

Spain, which has already secured European rescue funds of up to 100 billion euros ($128.5 billion) for its troubled banks, is also struggling with its fiscal deficit, indebted regions and pressure from credit rating agencies.

“In addition to growth, the only option I am considering is using the central bank’s announced mechanism,” Rajoy said,

according to Helsingin Sanomat.

“It is completely ruled out that we would ask for a bailout for the whole country,” he told business daily Kauppalehti. His comments indicated Spain may apply for a precautionary assistance program under which the euro zone’s rescue funds could buy Spanish bonds as they are auctioned without the country being taken off the credit markets, rather than the kind of full sovereign bailout granted to Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

The conditions on a precautionary program would be lighter, and the cost to the rescue funds of supporting the eurozone’s number four economy would be lower. Germany is pushing for tougher conditionality than merely implementing the existing European recommendations that Spain slash its public deficit and reform its economy to make it more competitive.

Even in a “bailout-lite scenario,” an IMF role in helping frame conditions and supervise compliance would be more intrusive than its current level of involvement.

Rajoy repeated that his government would carefully study the strings attached to the ECB’s bond program, but added he would not be told what to do with the budget. “I am prepared to decrease the deficit. But others cannot decide how it will be reduced,” he said.

Rajoy said in a television interview on Monday he would not touch the pension system, although many economists believe reducing unsustainable pension costs would be a likely condition for any assistance program. —Reuters

KARLSRUHE, Germany: The eurozone cleared a key hurdle towards resolving its debt crisis yesterday as Germany’s top court approved a new European firewall for ratification, with some minor conditions.

In a landmark ruling watched around the world, the Constitutional Court overturned a raft of legal challenges aimed at preventing President Joachim Gauck from signing two crucial crisis-fighting tools into law. Delivering a momentous decision with far-reaching implications for the euro’s future, the eight scarlet-robed judges of the Bundesverfassungsgericht said Gauck could finally sign the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and fiscal pact.

The court “rejected the injunctions with the stipulation that a ratification of the ESM Treaty is only admissible if (certain conditions) can be guaranteed under international law,” Chief Justice Andreas Vosskuhle said. “Our examination has shown that the laws with a high probability do not infringe upon the German constitution.

That is why we have rejected the injunctions,” he added. The ruling came on a day of risks for the euro, which has enjoyed calmer times in recent weeks, as an anti-austerity party is seen likely to score big gains in Dutch elections and EU leaders unveiled plans for the first step towards a euro-zone banking union. It will come as an enormous relief to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her fellow European leaders as a rejection of the ESM would have triggered a fresh bout of chaos on financial markets and thrown the euro-zone into a new political crisis.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle hailed the ruling as a “smart decision in the pro-European spirit of our constitution.” “The first light at the end of the tunnel is visible. We must not relent in our decisiveness to overcome the debt crisis with budgetary discipline, orientation toward growth and European solidarity,” added Westerwelle.

European markets were generally in positive territory after the decision, the euro strengthened on the foreign exchange markets and Spanish and Italian borrowing costs dropped. Holger Schmieding, an analyst at Berenberg Bank, hailed it

as “another big step towards defusing the euro crisis” but warned against over-excitement.

“The euro crisis is not over yet. It comes in waves. Grave risks are still ahead,” he said, noting what he said was a “30 percent risk” that Greece may yet be forced out of the eurozone.

The Constitutional Court specified that any financial burden for Germany arising from the ESM is strictly limited to its share of the

Vosskuhle said, referring to the lower and upper chambers.

The court also ruled that Germany must ensure a de-facto opt-out clause if it felt its interests were not being considered. “The Federal Republic of Germany must make it clear that it does not want to be bound to the ESM Treaty as a whole if any reservations it might have should prove ineffectual,” Vosskuhle said.

The 500-billion-euro ESM was set

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) smiles while she talks with German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler (left) during the budget debate of the German Federal Parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin yesterday. Germany’s constitutional court yesterday rejected calls to block Europe’s permanent rescue fund, paving the way for its ratification by the country’s president.—AP fund’s capital or 190 billion euros ($244 billion).

If the burden were to increase beyond that amount, then it could only be done with the express approval of the German parliament, and both the upper and lower houses must be kept fully informed, the court said.

The professional secrecy to which the fund’s employees were bound “must not stand in conflict with the Bundestag and Bundesrat being comprehensively briefed,”

to replace the temporary European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and should have been in place by July 1.

But it needed Germany’s share of the rescue money to function and had thus been held up pending the court ruling. It is designed to come to the aid of debt-stricken countries such as Spain and Italy.

Technically, the court ruling was solely on whether to grant applications for temporary injunctions by eurosceptic politicians and groupings and delay ratification of both

Deutsche Bank crash diet focuses on costs, assets FRANKFURT: Deutsche Bank AG is targeting wasteful spending on IT systems and real estate in an austerity drive to correct previous excesses, Germany’s flagship international bank told analysts yesterday.

The bank, which unveiled a raft of swinging cuts on Tuesday, said it will focus on paring back hundreds of vendors, legal entities and computer systems, and reduce staff in expensive locations such as London and New York, as it adapts to a tougher investment banking environment.

Joint CEOs Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen told shareholders on Tuesday they will put the bank on a crash diet that will involve a 4 billion euros ($5 billion) restructuring charge to glean 4.5 billion euros in savings and will ringfence 125 billion euros of risky assets.

Deutsche Bank will sell 40 buildings, consolidate more than 600 legal entities and downsize the 100,000 cost centres which evolved as part of an entrepreneurial culture of chasing growth during more favorable market conditions. “We have 600 information technology applications within asset and wealth management. It’s a fraction of what we have globally,” Chief Operating Officer (COO) Henry Ritchotte told analysts yesterday.

“Not everybody needs their own COO, not everybody needs their own infrastructure. The process of building up businesses so quickly empowered people to do different things. The processes will now be more top down.” Deutsche Bank will radically pare down the number of vendors it uses and seek instead to build fewer strategic relationships, Ritchotte said.

the ESM or the fiscal pact. The court will decide only at a later date whether the two are compatible with the German constitution, and that ruling could take several months yet.

Nevertheless, the court did provide some strong guidance as what that final ruling might look like. The plaintiffs included the far-left Die Linke party, an initiative called More Democracy grouping 37,000 citizens and an outspoken critic from

Around 60 percent of staff in London and New York was working in infrastructure rather than client-facing areas, Ritchotte explained, adding that some of this work can be done in Mumbai and other lower cost locations.

Deutsche Bank will cut the 11 layers of management down to 8. Managers currently have an average of 5 people reporting to them, this will be raised to at least 8, the bank said. Pay will no longer be linked as strongly to job titles, Ritchotte continued.

“We don’t want to pay people just because they have a seat. We really need to define exactly what, based on the key performance indicators, this means,” Ritchotte said. Aside from detailing steps to reduce costs, Deutsche Bank elaborated on how it will reduce the number of risky assets, which would force the bank

to hold more capital. The new non-core segment will house credit portfolios from units Postbank and Sal. Oppenheim as well as assets including a casino in Las Vegas and Maher Terminals.

The German bank will house 125 billion euros ($160.6 billion) worth of assets which the bank would otherwise have to underpin with more capital as stricter banking rules bite in 2013, Chief Financial Officer Stefan Krause told analysts yesterday.

“It will include assets and liabilities assets which will be hit by Basel III rules and will never deliver sufficient returns,” Krause said.

The assets will be ringfenced, as the onset of stricter capital rules make it harder for Deutsche Bank to achieve its new target of after-tax return on equity of 12 percent, Krause said. —Reuters

the Bavarian sister party of Merkel’s conservatives, Peter Gauweiler.

They had argued that the ESM and the fiscal pact are incompatible with Germany’s Basic Law because they irreversibly delegate national sovereignty to the European level and interfere with parliament’s right to draw up budgets.

Moreover, this is all being decided without the necessary democratic backing, they complained. But the court said such arguments were “unfounded”. —AFP

Barratt to resume dividend next year LONDON: British housebuilder Barratt Developments plans to pay a dividend in 2013 for the first time in five years, it said yesterday, after a drive to build on cheaper land and government moves to support the housing market boosted its annual profit.

Britain’s biggest housebuilder by volume, which last paid a dividend in February 2008, said the country’s housing market remained stable, despite an economic recession. While the number of house purchases has been hit by a reduction in risky lending by banks, prices have been supported by a shortage of new homes and government schemes, such as its NewBuy project to provide financial help for first-time buyers. Last week, the government also unveiled reforms to ease planning laws and boost construction. “There are plenty more opportunities to buy land throughout Britain that meets our criteria,” Barratt’s finance director David Thomas told reporters, adding the company had made a good start to its new financial year. —Reuters

26

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

business

New generation BMW M6 Convertible joins the Coupe A taste of the extraordinary KUWAIT: The new third generation BMW M6 Coupe is joining the recently launched Convertible in the Middle East, seven years after BMW M GmbH first added the high performance sports car to its portfolio. Through expert engines, sport-tuned suspensions, and exceptional technology, BMW has turned the ordinary into the extraordinary. Launched in 2005, the first M6 instantly became the epitome of a highly prestigious breed of top-performance automobiles brimming with motor racing know-how.

The latest generation models are the highest performing in the 6 Series range and occupy an exclusive position in the premium segment thanks to a unique combination of outstanding dynamics, hallmark M model harmony and everyday practicality. Under the bonnet of the new BMW M6 Coupe and the recently launched Convertible, BMW’s motor sport technology ensures that the models raise the bar in performance both on and off the race track. Their dynamic character is defined by mid-range agility, precision when accelerating and precise handling.

The M experience runs through the veins of the models engines. These high performance sports cars exude excellence and are unmatched within the premium segment of the executive class. The interplay of the high-revving 4.4 litre V8 engines and M TwinPower Turbo technology is accompanied by a seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission with Drivelogic, Active M Differential and model-specific chassis technology, all of which ensure you get the drive of your life.

These 560 hp high-performance sports cars offer fuel efficiency which is unmatched by rivals. The new BMW M6 Coupe records average fuel consumption of 9.9 liters per 100 kilometers (28.5 mpg imp) and the BMW M6 Convertible records 10.3 l/100 km (27.4 mpg imp) and 239 g/km, meaning that emissions have been reduced by over 30 per cent in both models compared with their predecessors.

On the exterior, classical proportions and the sporty yet elegant lines of the BMW 6 Series form the foundations for the striking body of the BMW M6

CoupÈ and Convertible. The Convertible boasts exclusive looks underlined by the “fin” architecture of the soft-top roof, whilst the Coupe shows off a strikingly contoured roof made from carbon fibre-reinforced plastic. Even when standing still with the soft-top open or closed, the BMW M6 Convertible turns heads

alloy wheels look more refined with their five intricate double spokes.

Inside the cockpit of the BMW M6 Convertible and Coupe ground-breaking ergonomic design guarantees perfect mastery of the vehicle in every situation.

Advanced equipment comes as standard in both mod-

instrument cluster with black-panel technology and white illumination, to the M Drive buttons positioned next to the centre console allowing the driver to select their preferred driving settings at a touch of a button these high performance sports cars take BMW’s in-car technology to pole position.

whilst the BMW M6 Coupe demonstrates its exceptional power capacity through striking features and impactful lines.

Exterior features include the standard-fitted Adaptive LED Headlights that accentuate the models progressive character, whilst hallmark M styling cues add detail to the bodywork and highlight their performance attributes. Both the Coupe and the Convertible boast head-turning 19-inch M light-alloy wheels featuring seven double spokes with unique two-tone finish, while the optional 20-inch M light-

els. Features include the 2-zone automatic climate control, heated seats with fine-grain Merino leather trim seats for maximum comfort, exclusive carbonfibre interior trim strips, door sill strips with “M6” lettering, automatically dimming rear-view mirror and exterior mirrors, Cruise Control with braking and the BMW Professional radio with HiFi loudspeakers for the ultimate audio experience.

At the heart of the luxuriously sporty interior of the new models lies an unrivalled selection of technology that adds depth to the driving experience. From the

When it comes to BMW ConnectedDrive assistance technology, the BMW M6 Convertible and Coupe boast an impressive range of features which, when combined, enhance comfort and safety. Technologies include BMW Park Assistant, High Beam Assistant, and Lane Departure Warning. Almost all BMW 6 Series equipment options are available for the BMW M6 CoupÈ and Convertible, including Comfort Access, active seats, doors with Soft Close Automatic function, navigation system Professional and the Bang & Olufsen High End Surround Sound System.

Al-Zayani has solution for your daily needs The London Taxi

Samsung launches rose-gold colored 75-inch ES9000 LED Smart TV in Kuwait KUWAIT: Samsung Electronics, a leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, launched its 75-inch ES9000 LED Smart TV in Kuwait. The best-in-class ES9000 meets the rising market demand for televisions 60-inches and larger, and delivers a unique design concept with a beautiful rose-gold-colored finish.

As part of the extra-large-screen premium TV lineup, the introduction of the ES9000-the ultimate TV-positions Samsung to be the global TV market leader for the seventh consecutive year.

“When consumers enter the premium TV market, they should not have to make any compromises when it comes to quality, functionality, features and sophisticated design,” said Vinod Nair, General Manager, TV division at Samsung Gulf Electronics. “The ES9000 was designed with these high expectations in mind-making it simply beyond comparison.”

Adding to the ES9000’s extra-large-screen size-75 inches of purely immersive viewing-are premium design qualities that meet consumers’ varying tastes. The set’s unique and timeless design concept includes a super-slim 7.9 millimeter curved bezel with no visible seams, cleanly complementing the TV’s square stand. Additionally, the TV’s built-in camera is hidden within the top of the bezel, rendering it invisible when not in use. Finally, the application of a luxurious rose-gold-colored finish to the entire body of the set makes it one of the most unique and attractive smart TVs to date.

The ES9000 includes the complete suite of Samsung’s Smart TV features-Smart Interaction, Smart Content and Smart Evolution-that were introduced with Samsung’s flagship Smart TVs earlier this year.

These features enable users to control and interact with their TVs in a more intuitive way; choose from a broader range of premium and signature content that can be shared across multiple devices; and access the latest hardware and software features to constantly receive updates on their Smart TVs. The ES9000 also includes Sound Share, the newest Smart TV feature, which automatically and wirelessly connects TV audio to Samsung’s Series 6 and Series 7 Wireless Audio with Dock Systems.

Furthermore, the ES9000 offers a faster and more seamless Smart TV experience to fit the ultimate lifestyle, through a new dual-core processor that allows consumers to download and use multiple apps while browsing the Web. The ES9000’s picture quality matches this enhanced Smart TV experience, utilizing Samsung’s Micro Dimming Ultimate and Precision Black technology to deliver richer, more optimized color and detail; higher contrast ratios; a 30 percent improvement in sharpness and black levels; and a 60 percent improvement in brightness levels over the ES8000 series-supporting larger screen sizes and longer viewing distances.

ABK holds 4th draw for ‘win a million miles with ABK’ KUWAIT: Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait carried out the fourth draw for its “Win a Million Miles with ABK” summer campaign. The draw was held yesterday, at the main branch, under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The first place prize of 125,000 Skywards Miles was won by Mohammed Sulaiman from the Khaitan branch, second prize winner 75,000 miles Hassan Al-Hasawi from Head Office branch and lastly AbdulWahab AlNakib from the Ministry Complex branch was the third winner with 50,000 Skywards Miles.

Stewart Lockie, GM, Retail Banking stated, “We launched the summer campaign for cardholders to have an opportunity to enter draws to win 1 Million Skywards Miles in prizes. In addition to the prizes clients received up to 7 Skywards Miles for every KD 1 spent using their ABK Emirates credit cards.”

Lockie added, “The summer is almost over, and the campaign has produced 12 lucky winners so far, but we are not done yet, we still have one more winner to announce. The grand draw will take place on the 26th of

September announcing the mega 500,000 Skywards Miles ABK winner!”

For more information you can chat live with an ABK representative on Ahli Chat via our website www.eahli.com or you can call Ahlan Ahli at 1 899 899.

Stewart Lockie

KUWAIT: With almost two years in the market, The London Taxi is becoming ever more visible on the roads of Kuwait. Although not yet at the level seen on the streets of London, its popularity is increasing amongst private purchasers, business users and as a private limousine.

“Interest has grown steadily since the vehicle was first introduced as more people appreciate the versatility of this iconic London landmark.

We all have different motoring needs and requirements and most of the time, it is difficult to cater for these needs in one vehicle. This is where the London Taxi comes in. With years of development and application around the world it’s unique people carrying ability makes it the ideal choice for business, household or social occasions. Whether you are chauffeuring important clients to a business meeting, transporting children and friends to school, or taking your elderly disabled parents to the shopping mall, this vehicle has the versatility to meet people’s diverse motoring needs” said Derek Davies, Automotive Director at Al-Zayani.

More Luxury Features To enhance the ownership experience, customers can choose from a variety of colors (not just black) and specifications, to satisfy their unique personal and motoring needs. Features include LCD screens, all leather interiors, driver intercom, seats opposing each other for more face to face time, spacious leg room, and many more.

Passenger-Driver Privacy The privacy of having separately divided lockable driver and passenger compartments with an independent door locking system gives the passengers the secure and safe feeling of reaching their destination in utter comfort.

Burgan Bank initiates credit card delivery services KUWAIT: Burgan Bank yesterday announced the commencement of its Credit card delivery services to its bank’s valued Premier and Private banking customers, which aims at providing value added services in a timely and efficient manner. As a means to provide enhanced security and privacy to its Premier and Private credit card holders, Burgan Bank enabled a door to door provision to put its customers at ease..

Burgan Bank’s new credit card courier delivery system is an extension of the bank’s extensive solutions to upgrade its valued customers’ banking experience. The bank continues to introduce innovative methods that demonstrate its leadership across the banking sector.

For more information on Posta Plus, call customer care 1881881 or visit website www.postaplus.com and also customers are urged to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch .

The spacious interior enhances the journey with five seat rear compartments trimmed in a variety of materials, including cloth. The London Taxi passenger compartment has many useful touches. There are individual head restraints for every passenger, a child harness and loads of lighting; all of which come in helpful both when you have several children on board and/or when you want to finish some business while in the journey. The passenger compartment controls are positioned on the doors so they are within reach of all passengers. With wide opening doors, a low sill height and a step if needed, the London Taxi is easy to get in and out of for those who find difficulty in entering vehicles. The wide swing doors also help those with limited mobility, as does the intermediate step and swivel seat.

Wheelchair Access Not only that, but the automobiles also include a built in ramp that ensures convenient travel requirements for passengers with special needs. Wheelchair access in some vehicles can be a real problem. However, this automobile has a shallow ramp due to its low floor line, making it suitable for both manual and electric wheelchair users to safely get in and out of the vehicle straight on to, or from, the pavement; therefore, no customer would have to worry again in finding a vehicle that would make it easier for his family members. The passenger compartment is large and designed to accommodate wheelchair users easily. Once in place, the wheelchair and passenger are secured using special harnesses and extendable seat belts.

For all those that would like to benefit from The London Taxi, it is available at Al-Zayani showroom .

The London Taxi

DIFC discusses new markets law at 3rd Knowledge Series event in 2012 DUBAI: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the financial and business hub connecting the region’s emerging markets with the markets of Asia, Europe and the Americas, hosted [today]its third Knowledge Series event this year discussing the introduction of new markets rules as part of the new Markets Law 2012, which came into effect on July 5, 2012.In her opening remarks, Roberta Calarese, Chief Legal Officer, DIFC Authority said: “As DIFC continues to strengthen its position as global financial hub, we have an obligation to keep pace with how international markets are evolving. The new Markets Law is designed to further align this market with other international markets, particularly in Europe, and more broadly to give investors a greater degree of protection.”

In a panel moderated by Gerald Santing, Managing Director, Markets, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the panellists discussed a number of significant changes brought with the new Markets Law 2012, including changes to prospectus disclosure, what activities constitute an offer, market misconduct provisions, corporate governance and oversight of auditors.

As part of the changes, DFSA

undertook regulatory oversight of auditors of publicly listed companies. This fulfils the EU requirement, which states that if the auditors of a listed company in an EU member state are from a jurisdiction outside the EU they must be overseen by a regulator of equivalent quality and status. Therefore, auditors of publicly listed companies now need to be registered with the DFSA before providing any assurance services to listed companies.

The event included presentations by Brad Douglas, Associate Director, Markets, DFSA; Craig Hewett, SVP - Head of Business Development, NASDAQ Dubai; and Naweed Lalani, Senior Manager, Supervision, DFSA. Brad and Craig

were also in the panel discussion which also included Andrew Tarbuck, Partner, Latham & Watkins; Cristina de Torres, Capital Markets Director, PwC; and Rania Fathallah, Executive Director-Investment Banking, SHUAA Capital.

The Knowledge Series is an initiative by the DIFC intended to create dialogue between industry experts and DIFC members about interesting topics in the world of finance.

The sessions are held regularly by DIFC to raise awareness about developments in market practices and regulation, and how DIFC’s clients can take maximum advantage from their presence in the centre and support DIFC’s continuing evolution as a global financial hub.

DUBAI: Roberta Calarese, Chief Legal Officer, DIFC Authority, participates in the panel discussion.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

New nano-code ups the fight against counterfeiters PARIS: Scientists yesterday reported they had invented an invisible tag using the widely-used “quick response” code to help thwart banknote forgers and criminals who sell bogus drugs or fake vintage wine.

The QR code is a square of black and white pixels that can be scanned by a smartphone, which then links to an Internet address. It is being used more and more by museums and companies who want to provide additional information about an exhibition, product or service, but the idea here is to use it as a form of authentication.

Writing in the British journal Nanotechnology, materials engineers led by Jon Kellar at the South

Dakota School of Mines and Technology says their invention comprises a QR code made of nanoparticles that have been combined with blue and green fluorescent ink.

The code, generated with standard computeraided design (CAD) equipment, is sprayed onto a surface-paper, plastic film, office tape, glass-using an aerosol jet printer. It remains invisible until the object is illuminated by a near-infrared laser. The nanoparticles absorb photons at a non-visible wavelength but emit them in a visible wavelength, a trick called upconversion that causes the QR code to pop up almost like magic and allow itself to be scanned.

To see whether the code would stand some of the stresses of banknotes, the researchers printed it onto a piece of paper and then randomly folded it 50 times, without affecting its readability.

“We have done significant wear tests, and all indications are that the ink is very durable,” Kellar told AFP in an email exchange. He admitted though that it was not the final answer to forgers.

“We believe it raises a bar that needs to be continually raised. Counterfeiters are very clever and have access to technology, so we will continue to improve our technology.” The study’s lead author, Jeevan Meruga, said the innovation offers many options for an upgrade.

“We can take the level of security from covert to forensic by simply adding a microscopic message in the QR code, in a different coloured upconverting ink, which then requires a microscope to read the upconverted QR code,” he said. The technique is simple and not time-consuming, according to the scientists. Printing en masse for commercial use would only take about 10-15 minutes. “We have not as of yet done a critical review of costs, so we cannot say anything (about prices) at this point,” said Kellar in response to a question. Near-infrared lasers are quite cheap and easy to operate, and could be used for authentication “outside of the lab” provided the eyes are protected, he said. — AFP

New Apple mobile software to get maps, Siri update New devices will have mapping program, built in-house

SAN FRANCISCO: Lit Motors displays its two-wheeled electric vehicle C-1 during the TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2012 conference on Tuesday in San Francisco, California. — AFP

Zuckerberg eyes mobile SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the social network giant is focused on mobile devices and should be seen as a smart bet despite a “disappointing” stock market debut.

“It is really clear from the stats and my own personal intuition that a lot of energy in the ecosystem is going to mobile, not desktop (computers),” Zuckerberg said during an onstage interview at a TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco.

“That is the future,” he continued. “We are going to be doing killer stuff there.” Zuckerberg was adamant that the company was being underestimated and was on track to make “more money on mobile than we make on desktop.”

His appearance at the conference marked his first public interview since the massive public offering on May 18 that was hotly anticipated-but ended up being a flop. Facebook shares have lost around half their value since the IPO at $38 a share.

“The performance of the stock has obviously been disappointing,” Zuckerberg acknowledged. Facebook has made a priority of following its more than 900 million members onto smartphones and tablet computers, tailoring services and money-making ads for mobile devices.

The shares gained 3.30 percent on Wall Street on Tuesday to close at $19.43. In afterhours trading following Zuckerberg’s remarks, the stock gained 3.45 percent to $20.10.

Zuckerberg rejected criticism that the company is ill-prepared for a shift to mobile devices, where Facebook has only begun to get ad revenues.

“Now, we are a mobile company,” he said.

The company would pursue its “mission” of making the world more social and connected, cranking profit for shareholders, he added.

“Building a mission and building a business go hand in hand,” Zuckerberg said. “From the beginning we’ve had this understanding we’ve had to do both.”

Zuckerberg has stated repeatedly, even in pre-IPO paperwork with US regulators, that Facebook did not build great services to make money but rather made money to build great services.

When pressed on the point, in the context of the California-based company losing more than $50 billion in value based on the stock price drop, Zuckerberg was quick to add that making money was a component of its broader

mission. Zuckerberg conceded that the stock price plummet has dimmed morale of workers compensated with shares but that Facebook staff are accustomed to criticism and “have a pretty good compass” pointing to better days.

Stock compensation for Facebook employees is made based on cash value of shares, meaning that workers are awarded more shares at lower prices, according to the chief executive.

“I actually think it is a great time for people to join and a great time for people to stay and double-down,” Zuckerberg said of the Facebook team. “We are seeing that.”

Zuckerberg rejected suggestions that Facebook would make its own smartphone, adamant that the company had no intention of stepping into the fiercely competitive handset hardware arena. “Apple, Google, everyone builds phones-we are going in the opposite direction,” Zuckerberg said.

“We want to build a system deeply integrated in every device people want to use.”

Zuckerberg’s strategy to have Facebook on every smartphone instead of making a “Facebook phone” makes sense, according to technology analyst Jeff Kagan.

Zuckerberg said Facebook did not plan to take on Google in the online search market but that the social network already handles one billion queries daily from people looking up friends, apps, brand pages and more.

“Facebook is uniquely positioned to answer a lot of questions people have,” he said, giving examples such as finding restaurants friends have enjoyed or checking to see who has connections at particular companies for jobs.

“At some point we will do it,” he continued.

“We have a team working on search.”

Zuckerberg, who holds a controlling interest in Facebook, said that the company has repeatedly seen public opinion swing from unreasonably bright to overly dark. “I would rather be in the cycle where people underestimate us,” Zuckerberg said. “It gives us good latitude to go out and make big bets. I think a bunch of people are underestimating us.”

Kagan said Zuckerberg’s comments rekindled Facebook pre-IPO excitement but did not make up for the fact that the company’s stock has been a loser and it remained unclear how profitable it would become.

“Bottom line, Zuckerberg sounded good,” Kagan said. “However this does not solve the investment problem the company still faces every day.” — AFP

TOKYO: Models display Japanese electronics giant Sony’s new digital cameras “Alpha99” (L) and “Cyber-shot RX-1” (R) at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo yesterday. The new flagship digital camera “Alpha-99” has a 24 mega-pixel 35mm full-frame sized CMOS image sensor, XGA sized OLED electronic view finder and a 3-inch sized variable-angle LCD display, while the new high quality digital compact camera “Cyber-shot RX-1” has a 24.3 mega-pixel CMOS sensor and a Carl Zeiss 35mm/f2 lens on its body. — AFP

SAN FRANCISCO: A new iPhone is getting much of the attention, but Apple’s older phones will get a software upgrade this fall as well. A new operating system sports a different mapping service and a built-in bond with Facebook.

Apple has said that its iOS 6 software will sport more than 200 new features, though some won’t be available on all devices. It will be a free upgrade for iPhones released since 2009, as well as last year’s and this year’s iPad models. It will also work with newer iPod Touch devices.

And of course, it will be on the new iPhone 5, which Apple Inc. is expected to unveil on Wednesday. The company may provide more details then on when the software update will be available for older phones.

Here are some highlights of iOS 6: Maps.

Apple’s mobile devices will have a mapping program, built in-house.

In the past, Apple has given prominent billing to Google Inc.’s mapping app. But the two companies have increasingly become rivals as people buy more devices running Google’s Android operating system. Google also has been keeping some features, including turn-by-turn directions spoken aloud, exclusive to Android.

Apple’s new Maps application will have a voice navigation feature. It will have real-time traffic data and offer alternative routes as traffic conditions change.

It will also include “flyover” three-dimensional images taken by helicopters hired by the company to fly over major cities. Google has been dispatching its own planes to produce similar 3D images.

Apple’s map program will be integrated with its Siri virtual assistant so that you can ask for directions and pose other questions.

Facebook.

The new software promises better integration with Facebook. The upgrade will enable you to log into Facebook just once, and then you will be able to post to the social network from a variety of apps. You can also post about websites directly from Apple’s Safari browser.

Facebook will be integrated with Apple’s online app store so that you can declare that you “like” specific apps there, as well as songs and movies in iTunes.

Events in Facebook’s calendar and birthdays of Facebook friends will also appear on your phone’s calendar.

Siri.

IOS 6 will have enhancements to Siri, which

interprets voice commands and talks back to the user. It is also coming to the iPad for the first time.

Siri, introduced last October with the iPhone 4S, is supposed to get better at fielding questions about movies, restaurants and other things.

Apple says it is partnering with Yelp Inc. so that Siri can include ratings and prices of restaurants when you ask her about places to eat. The company is also partnering with OpenTable Inc. to make reservations.

Siri will now be available in more languages and more countries.Apple also says it’s working with car manufacturers to let you use a button on the steering wheel to talk to Siri, allowing you to keep your hands on the road. Apple says General Motors Co., BMW AG and Daimler AG’s Mercedes are among the automakers that have promised to offer Siri integration in the next 12 months.

Calls Don’t want to be disturbed?

Apple’s new software will give you more options for preventing messages and text notifications from disturbing you at night, for instance.

You can control how and when you get back

to people. If you can’t call someone back right away, you can set a reminder to call that person back later or have a text message sent directly to the caller.

There’s a “call when you leave” feature that reminds you to call back when you are leaving a building or office. The phone can detect when you are leaving.

Passbook Apple’s new Passbook feature will be a central place to keep your boarding passes, tickets and gift cards.

When you get to a Starbucks, for instance, the device will bring up your gift card if you have one and if you have the location feature turned on. Likewise, when you get to a movie theater or baseball stadium, the ticket will pop up.

Passbook will also alert you to gate changes and flight delays once you have a boarding pass stored.

Passbook could be the foundation for a new digital commerce hub for Apple, especially if the iPhone 5 includes a “near-field communication” chip that enables payment information to be transferred by tapping a device on a terminal at a checkout stand. A few Android phones use this technology to process payments with a feature known as Google Wallet. — AP

SAN FRANCISCO: The Apple logo is seen September 11, 2012 at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco the night before Apple’s special media event to introduce its much anticipated next generation iPhone. — AFP

News

in brief

Kids’ phones STOCKHOLM: The Swedish government said yesterday it was considering introducing a law to prevent children from emptying their parents’ bank accounts in just a few clicks when playing with their smartphones.

“It isn’t okay that children can subject their parents to financial ruin with just a few clicks on their phone,” Consumer Affairs Minister Birgitta Ohlsson said in a statement. Her comments came after her ministry received an independent committee’s report with proposals on ways to improve consumer protection on the mobile phone market. The main author of the report, a former Supreme Court judge, recommended that in disputes where parents contest exorbitant fees which they claim were charged by their children, the law should assume that the parents are dealing in good faith. The report also proposes that controls be strengthened to verify that the person who purchases something with a cell phone or tablet is indeed the owner of the bank account being debited.

Samsung to build $7bn plant SEOUL: South Korea’s Samsung Electronics said yesterday it had started building a new $7 billion chip plant in the Chinese city of Xian-its biggest-ever investment in the country. The plant, scheduled to come on line in 2014, will produce the advanced 10nanometre-class NAND flash memory chips used for devices such as smartphones and computers, the firm said in a statement on ground-breaking day. The world’s largest memory chipmaker said earlier the plant, when completed, would produce 10,000 12inch wafers each month. “Reinforcing the company’s support for its customers worldwide, the China facility will improve Samsung’s global supply chain, making it easier for many of its customers to expand in the region,” it said. The world’s largest technology firm that makes popular gadgets from smartphones to tablet PCs, Samsung also provides chip components to other IT firms including its industry rivals Apple and Nokia.

The firm said it had also started a programme to collaborate with researchers in Xian, home to 37 universities and 3,000 technology research centres.

Japanese robot to sit for university exam TOKYO: Japanese researchers are working on a robot they hope will be smart enough to ace entrance exams at the nation’s top university, which test everything from maths to foreign languages.

The robot’s artificial brain would analyse a mash of words, numbers, and equations before spitting out the-hopefully-correct answer to questions on Tokyo University’s notoriously tough exam. “It has to analyse the exam questions and convert formulations and equations to a form that it can process before solving it through computer algebra,” said Hidenao Iwane from Fujitsu Laboratories, the Japanese IT giant’s research unit.

Fujitsu and Japan’s National Institute of Informatics said the target is to have their robot score high marks on the exam for Tokyo University, one of the world’s topranked schools, by 2021.

Before then, they’re hoping the robot can sail through national entrance exams which all university-bound students must take in Japan.

The ultimate goal is to develop technology that would “enable anyone to easily use sophisticated mathematical analysis tools”, Fujitsu said. “(But) getting a computer to understand text that was intended for humans is not an easy task,” it added. — AFP

Kaspersky Lab launch technical support centers DUBAI: Kaspersky Lab announces the availability of dedicated numbers for Technical Support Centers rendering support to users of Kaspersky Lab home and small office products for the UAE and KSA. Kaspersky Lab customer support agents have received full training on the products, and they are now ready and available to handle all enquiries in both English and Arabic languages.

Technical solution for the toll-free numbers in both the UAE and KSA has been provided by BT, one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170

countries. BT has also been connecting global offices of Kaspersky Lab since 2010.

Tarek Kuzbari, Managing Director, Kaspersky Lab Middle East and Turkey, said, “Through this toll free number, our UAE / Saudi consumer base now has the ability to be in direct contact with trained Kaspersky Lab technical product support experts. This not only ensures that we are meeting a core priority of keeping our customers safe online, but further demonstrates our commitment to our product users across the globe - as we work hard to offer exceptional products, support and of course service.”

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

Asthma patients may not need daily steroids WASHINGTON: Asthma patients may not need daily doses of inhaled steroids according to a study out, a finding that could alter treatment for millions suffering from the respiratory ailment.

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston found that people who use corticosteroids every day to control mild asthma do no better than those who use them only when

they have symptoms.

“The discovery that these two courses of treatment do not differ significantly could eventually change the way doctors and patients manage asthma, providing an option that is easier to follow and possibly less expensive,” said lead author William Calhoun in a statement.

Calhoun and his team drew their conclusions after monitoring more than

340 adults with mild to moderate persistent asthma in an attempt to assess different strategies for long-term asthma care.

Making note of bronchial reactivity, lung function, days missed from school or work and the exacerbation of symptoms and attacks over a period of nine months, they found “no measurable difference” among treatment methods,

according to the statement. “ We hope our findings prompt patients to talk with their doctors and become more active participants in effectively managing their condition,” Calhoun said. Currently, asthma patients are generally prescribed a twice-daily dose of an inhaled corticosteroid, such as beclomethasone or fluticasone, as well as albuterol to open the airways in

the event of serious symptoms. Some 25 million people in the United States have asthma. Taking into account medical expenses, missed days of school and work and premature deaths, the illness costs about $3,300 per individual on an annual basis, according to the statement. The findings are published in the September 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. — AFP

Alzheimer drug may stabilize brain plaque Over 35 million worldwide have dementia

SIHANOUKVILLE: In this July 31, 2012, photo provided by the US Navy, Lt. Thom Miller, left, listens to the heartbeat of a baby girl at Hun Sen Cheungkor Primary School near Sihanoukville, Cambodia during a visit to the country by the hospital ship USNS Mercy. The Navy says the $20 million Pacific Partnership program providing medical care and humanitarian assistance to developing countries promotes US interests even at a time of shrinking budgets. — AP

US Navy medical care boosts ties in Asia PEARL HARBOR: The US Navy is spending more than $20 million each year sending ships to poorer nations in the Asian-Pacific region to provide cataract surgery, dental fillings and other medical care.

The Navy and its sailors are more often recognized for sending aircraft carriers to help troops in Afghanistan, fighting pirates off the Somali coast or intercepting ballistic missiles in missile defense tests off Hawaii. But the US Pacific Fleet and analysts say the humanitarian missions are key to promoting US national security, with relatively low costs even during a time of shrinking budgets. Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said the missions strengthen relationships with other countries. “You’re building trust, bonds, and how to communicate,” Haney said in an interview at his Pearl Harbor headquarters. “We give it a fancy term, interoperability - it’s more than just technology. It’s cultural. It’s this business of building trust with like-minded nations.” Haney spoke shortly after the hospital ship USNS Mercy and its 1,200-member crew stopped in Pearl Harbor on its way back to San Diego following a fivemonth long tour of Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The ship spent two weeks in each country. During its most recent tour, medical personnel from 13 other countries - from Japan to Malaysia, came aboard to help out, along with 28 non-governmental organizations from the United States and other countries.

Capt. William Cogar, the Mercy’s executive officer, said the ship faced particularly high demand for cataract surgery, even from patients in their 30s and 40s. Many people in the countries visited don’t wear sunglasses, he said.

“Now they can see again,” Cogar said.

Animals - including livestock like water buffalo and pigs - also got treated by vet-

erinarians on board. Abe Denmark, senior director of the National Bureau of Asian Research, an independent, non-partisan think tank, said the missions help people develop a better opinion of the United States.

“The image of American power going abroad and bringing benefits to people all around the world who otherwise wouldn’t have access to this kind of care - to this kind technology - it builds the image of American power, of American soft power, in a way that’s almost unquantifiable,” Denmark said.

The US learned the public relations value of such deployments when the US Pacific Command sent ships and planes to deliver food, tents, and medical care for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. U.S. approval ratings in Indonesia, which is predominantly Muslim, climbed to 38 percent in 2005 from 15 percent two years earlier because of the help, according to a poll by the Pew Global Attitudes Project.

The Navy started sending hospital ships and other Navy vessels on annual humanitarian tours shortly afterward. The program - called Pacific Partnership - is now in its eighth year.

Unlike several decades ago, the Navy isn’t focused on defeating the Soviet threat. It can make something like humanitarian aid an important part of its overall strategy. Population growth and other demographic change in the Asia-Pacific have also created more demand for humanitarian assistance, he said. Seth Cropsey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said the aid will likely continue even as budgets tighten. The cost is low, Cropsey said, compared with the $16 billion a year the Navy spends building ships.

“It’s a good deed, and people are grateful for it as well they should be,” Cropsey said.

“No one loses.” — AP

For heart health, fish oil pills not the answer NEW YORK: Omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish such as sardines and salmon and once touted as a way of staving off heart disease and stroke, don’t help after all, according to a Greek study.

Based on a review and analysis of previous clinical trials including more than 68,000 participants, Greek researchers whose report appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association said the fatty acids have no impact on overall death rates, deaths from heart disease, or strokes and heart attacks.

This was true whether they were obtained from supplements such as pills, or from fish in the diet, said the researchers, led by Mosef Elisef at the Universit y Hospital of Ioannina.

“Overall, omega-3...supplementation was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, or stroke based on relative and absolute measures of association,” Elisef and his team wrote.

A decade ago, medical evidence suggested that boosting omega-3s, including the acids known as EPA and DHA, with food or supplements had a strong protective effect even though the mechanism wasn’t understood.

Scientists cited improvements in levels of triglycerides - a type of fat in the blood - as well as blood pressure levels and heart rhythm disturbances.

But since then, the pic ture has grown clouded. Earlier this year, a

group of Korean researchers found that omega-3 supplements had no effect on heart disease or death based on 20,000 participants in previous trials.

The current study pooled results of 18 clinical trials that assigned participants randomly to take either omega-3 supplements, or not. It also includes two trials in which people got dietary counseling to increase their consumption of omega-3 rich foods. Because the trials in the Greek analysis went as far back as 1989, researchers also considered whether growing use of statins and other medications could explain why later studies failed to support the earlier findings.

But Elisef and his team said that wasn’t the case. Because people who eat a lot of fish have been found to have less heart disease, researchers figured that perhaps putting the supposed “active ingredients” in a pill could provide similar benefits, said Alice Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston.

“What we have learned over the years is you can’t think about individual nutrients in isolation,” she added. People who eat fish often may be replacing things like steak, hamburgers or quiche, making for a healthier diet. Instead of supplements, Lichtenstein recommended eating fish at least twice a week, having a diet rich in whole grains and vegetables, getting lots of physical activity, and not smoking. — Reuters

NEW YORK: An experimental drug that failed to stop mental decline in Alzheimer’s patients also signaled potential benefit that suggests it might help if given earlier, fuller results of two major studies show.

Some patients on the drug had stable levels of brain plaque and less evidence of nerve damage compared to others who were given a dummy treatment, researchers reported Tuesday. The drug is called bapineuzumab (bap-ih-NOOZ-uhmab), made by Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. The new results suggest it might work if given sooner, before so much damage and memory loss have occurred that it might not be possible to reverse, experts say.

“We’re very disappointed that we were not able to come up with a treatment to provide to our dementia patients in the near term,” said Dr. Reisa Sperling, director of the Alzheimer’s center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and leader of one of the studies.

But brain imaging and spinal fluid tests are “very encouraging” and suggest the drug was “doing something to the biology of the disease.”

“We’ve got a path forward” now to test it in people with mild mental impairment or those who show plaque on brain imaging but have not yet developed symptoms of dementia, Sperling said. Of people with mild cognitive impairment, about 15 to 20 percent a year will develop Alzheimer’s disease.

About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer’s is the most common type. In the US, about 5 million have Alzheimer’s.

Current medicines such as Aricept and Namenda

just temporarily ease symptoms. There is no known cure.

This year researchers had been hopeful of major progress in treating the disease, but study after study has proved disappointing, including results reported earlier on bapineuzumab. The drug failed to slow mental decline or improve activities of daily living for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s in two studies in the United States and Canada.

Bapineuzumab is designed to attach to and help clear amyloid, the stuff that makes up the sticky plaque that clogs patients’ brains, harming nerve cells and impairing memory and thought. Doctors don’t know whether amyloid is a cause or just a symptom of Alzheimer’s, but many companies are testing drugs to try to remove it.

Sperling’s study involved people with a gene that raises the risk of developing the disease. Dr. Stephen Salloway, a neurologist at Brown Medical School in Providence, R.I., led the other study of people without the gene. Both researchers have consulted for the companies that make the drug and presented results Tuesday at a neurology conference in Stockholm.

Brain imaging on a subset of patients in Sperling’s study found 9 percent less amyloid in those on bapineuzumab compared to those on a dummy treatment. The drug group had stable levels while the others developed more plaque.

Spinal fluid tests on some participants also showed the drug group had less of another substance called p-tau that is released when nerve

cells are damaged.

There were potential safety concerns, including six deaths from various forms of cancer among those on bapineuzumab and none in the placebo group. But a wider review of all studies of the drug found that cancer was not more common among users.

“That’s not raising any red flags,” said an independent expert, Dr. Maria Carrillo, a senior scientist at the Alzheimer’s Association. She said the biological changes suggest the drug is helping, so if it’s used sooner, “we can perhaps affect cognition.”

Salloway’s study produced less evidence of benefit. Too few participants had brain imaging to make definitive conclusions about amyloid, and there was just a trend toward less of the nerve-damage substance in the group receiving the higher of two doses tested.

The hopeful signs on biomarkers are “the silver lining” in studies that failed to show the drug was helping patients, said Dr. Eric Yuen, head of clinical development for J&J’s Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy unit.

Bapineuzumab is given as periodic intravenous infusions, and the companies have said they are stopping development of that form but continuing to test a version that can be given as a shot.

More results on this drug and a similar one Eli Lilly & Co.’s solanezumab - will be presented at a conference in Boston next month. Lilly recently announced that combined results of two large studies of solanezumab suggested some benefit on cognition.— AP

Australia slams ‘sick joke’ cigarette packs SYDNEY: Australia slammed as a “sick joke” yesterday new cigarette packs on sale as part of the national phase-in to plain packaging which play on drab branding and claim it’s “what’s on the inside that counts.”

Tobacco products in Australia will have to be sold in drab, uniform khaki packaging with graphic health warnings from December 1 under a new anti-smoking policy upheld last month by the nation’s highest court.

In order to meet the shelf deadline products must be manufactured in plain packets from October 1 and Imperial Tobacco rolled out one last branded packet Wednesday which attracted the ire of Health Minister Tanya Plibersek.

The new box shows the Peter Stuyvesant brand ripped at one corner to reveal the new drab-look box and comes with information to customers about the coming changes claiming “it’s what’s on the inside that counts.” “ We’re going plain early because we know Peter Stuyvesant will continue to live on inside,” Imperial’s advertising says. Plibersek condemned the interim packets as a “the ultimate sick joke from big tobacco” and said they exposed the falseness of industry complaints that they would not be able to meet the December deadline.

“That packaging at the moment is not illegal but I can tell you it’s unprincipled. The tobacco companies are using their packs to have a last desperate gasp at promoting their brand,” the health minister said.

“And yes, they’re right, it’s what’s in the pack that counts, and what we used to call them when I was a kid was cancer sticks.” A spokeswoman for Imperial said the packaging was “a mechanism to provide factual information about upcoming legislative changes to adult consumers of the Peter Stuyvesant brand of cigarettes.

“It is also important to inform our adult consumers that the product itself will remain unchanged,” the spokeswoman told AFP. Tobacco firms failed in their attempt to have plain packaging struck down by the High Court of Australia, but the policy is still being challenged at the World Trade Organization and in an investment treaty lawsuit filed by Philip Morris Asia in Hong Kong.— AFP

TONGYEONG: This picture taken on Tuesday shows floating toilets and a displayed banner which reads “Ocean Public Toilet”, to be used by crew members of the small fishing vessels who work on the farms off the southern port city of Tongyeong. South Korea will spend over half a million dollars on building floating toilets around shellfish farms to boost sanitary controls, officials said yesterday, after US health authorities warned of contamination. — AFP

S Korea deploys ‘floating toilets’ after US warning SEOUL: South Korea will spend over half a million dollars on building floating toilets around shellfish farms to boost sanitary controls, officials said yesterday, after US health authorities warned of contamination.

The first of 11 facilities, which each cost 60 million won ($53,300), appeared on Tuesday off the southern port city of Tongyeong as part of a 1.1-billion-won project by South Gyeongsang province.

The toilets, to be used by crew of the small fishing vessels who work the farms, sit on a floating pontoon that contains a state-of-theart purification system. The project was launched after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June urged restaurants and food outlets to stop selling all fresh,

frozen and canned oysters, clams and mussels from South Korea.

The FDA said the products may have been exposed to human fecal waste and contaminated with norovirus, which causes nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps. Taiwan and Canada have also banned imports of oysters from South Korea. “The province is building 11 floating toilets in waters, which were designated by the FDA for close watch,” a provincial government official told AFP. “This project underlines our efforts to stop pollution from human fecal waste,” the official said.

The province is also setting up fixed toilets at all 103 fish and seafood farms along its southern coast. FDA officials are scheduled to inspect the area in October. — AFP

Studies: Wind potentially could power the world

SYDNEY: This picture taken yesterday, shows the new packaging design of Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes in Sydney. Australia slammed as a “sick joke” yesterday new cigarette packs on sale as part of the national phase-in to plain packaging which play on drab branding and claim it’s “what’s on the inside that counts.” —AFP

WASHINGTON: Earth has more than enough wind to power the entire world, at least technically, two new studies find. But the research looks only at physics, not finances. Other experts note it would be too costly to put up all the necessary wind turbines and build a system that could transmit energy to all consumers.

The studies are by two different US science teams and were published in separate journals on Sunday and Monday. They calculate that existing wind turbine technology could produce hundreds of trillions of watts of power.

That’s more than 10 times what the world now consumes. Wind power doesn’t emit heat-trapping gases like burning coal, oil and natural gas. But there have been questions, raised in earlier studies, about whether physical limits would prevent the world from being powered by wind. The new studies, done independently, showed potential wind energy limits wouldn’t

be an issue. Money would be.

“It’s really a question about economics and engineering and not a question of fundamental resource availability,” said Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at the Palo Alto, Calif., campus of the Washington-based Carnegie Institution for Science. He is a co-author of one of the studies; that one appeared Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Caldeira’s study finds wind has the potential to produce more than 20 times the amount of energy the world now consumes. Right now, wind accounts for just a tiny fraction of the energy the world consumes. So to get to the levels these studies say is possible, wind production would have to increase dramatically.If there were 100 new wind turbines for every existing one, that could do the trick says, Mark Jacobson, a Stanford University professor of civil and environmental engineering.—AP

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

health & science

Threatened Vietnam cave bugs draw little sympathy HON CHONG: Hundreds of species live in the limestone caves of Hon Chong in southern Vietnam, and many of them are found nowhere else on Earth. Yet their habitat is being blown apart, chunk by chunk, in the name of making cement.

One reason, biologists lament, is that these are creatures no one would want to hug, and many would want to stomp.

Spiders. Mites. Millipedes. People who have been trying to save them from extinction for more than 15 years have found few allies in government, industry or among local residents.

“The problem is that limestone caves do not (have) any charismatic animals or plants that would melt people’s hearts if they died out,” Peter Ng Kee Lin, a biologist at the National University of Singapore, said by email.

The degradation of Asia’s vast but fragile limestone ecosystems is continuing apace as the region’s demand for cement grows along with its economies. Limestone is a key ingredient in cement, the second-most

consumed substance on Earth after water, and is used to build desperately needed houses, roads and bridges.

Holcim Vietnam - a joint venture of the Switzerland-based company Holcim and a state-owned Vietnamese construction company - began quarrying 200 hectares (490 acres) of Hon Chong limestone in 1997. It is licensed to quarry about 91 million tons of limestone at three hills over 50 years.

Hon Chong has among the few limestone outcroppings in southern Vietnam and lies about 250 kilometers (155 miles) west of the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City. Its isolated cave ecosystems are among the world’s most biodiverse, according to Louis Deharveng, a biodiversity specialist at the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris.

Letters from scientists and a biodiversity study obtained by The Associated Press show that Holcim Vietnam and a key donor have received repeated warnings in recent years about the threats the compa-

ny’s quarries pose to Hon Chong’s cavedwelling invertebrates. Three respected European scientists have accused the company of ignoring red flags over two decades and provoking an ongoing “eco-

logical disaster.” “It’s rather like a company going in to mine the Galapagos just before Charles Darwin arrives,” said one of the scientists, Tony Whitten, a former biodiversity specialist at the World Bank who

HONG CHONG: In this photo taken on 1 July 2012, bats hang from the ceiling of the Moso cave in the the Moso mountains in Hong Chong, Vietnam. Hundreds of species live in the limestone caves of Hon Chong in southern Vietnam, and many of them are found nowhere else on Earth. —AP

is now regional director for Asia-Pacific at the UK-based conservation group Fauna & Flora International. “How many species is a company prepared to eliminate from a planet we are supposed to be managing and sustaining?”

Holcim Vietnam says its operations meet the highest international standards for social and environmental responsibility and that it is working to offset the damage it causes to Hon Chong’s limestone.

It partners with the Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature to relocate rare monkeys living near the caves, and has also donated $30,000 toward a wetland-based crane conservation project managed by the U.S.based International Crane Foundation, according to the groups. Holcim and the Swiss conservation group also are working with provincial authorities to create two protected areas of about 2,000 hectares each near the Hon Chong quarries - one for grasslands and the other for limestone.

Holcim is also working with the

International Union for Conservation of Nature to develop a “biodiversity action plan” for Hon Chong that is expected to be finalized in October. Jake Brunner, Mekong program coordinator for the conservation group, said Holcim does not have a perfect environmental record but is an “island of excellence” when compared to Vietnam’s state-owned cement companies.

Holcim’s critics, however, said that while the company is helping to mitigate the damage done to monkeys and cranes, it is slowly killing off the small cave dwellers that play an undervalued but important role in the ecosystem.

Cave invertebrates are pollinators and the base of food chains that support a rich web of life, scientists say. Because limestone hills have rugged terrain and have largely been spared from agricultural development, their interior caves are now “islands” of tropical biodiversity, and most of the organisms living inside those caves are unknown to science. —AP

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

WHAT’S ON

UPCOMING EVENTS Onam celebration onni Nivasi Sangamam celebrates Onam on Friday, 21st September 2012 from 10 am to 4 pm at Abbassiya United Indian School. Public meeting honored with presence of prominent dignitaries from social-cultural-political sectors, maveli, athapookalam, chendamelam, ganamela, mimicry and other cultural events will be conducted as part of the program. Ccome and enjoy! Feel the experience of traditional tastes! Have lots of fun & frenzy! rock with music!

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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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Free Arabic course PC and all its branches is opening free Arabic language course for non Arab ladies accessible in beginners and advance levels. Class will commence in September 14.

Islamic and Quran courses are also presented in different languages. Registration is on!

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Calling all Ten-pin Bowlers he Indian Bowling League (IBL) Season 3 will be held at Cozmo Entertainment, Salmiya commencing on Friday the 28th of September at 3 pm. Kindly reserve your team in advance to avoid disappointment, on a first come first serve.

Study in Canada exhibition rganized by the Embassy of Canada, the seventh annual Middle East Education Initiative (MEEI) will be visiting Kuwait from Oct 2 to 4, 2012. Representatives of 20 leading Canadian universities and colleges will be available to meet students, parents, teachers and guidance counsellors to present the advantages of studying in Canada. On Wednesday, Oct 3, 2012 a Study in Canada exhibition will be held at the Marina Hotel, Salmiya from 6:00 - 9:00 pm for potential students and their parents to attend. The Canadian institutions will also be visiting local schools to speak to interested students about opportunities to study in Canada

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Fantasy World donates toy animals to Al Kharafi Activity Kids Center s part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Fantasy World donated big animals display to Al Kharafi Activity Kids Center; an institution for dis-

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Arabic courses PC and all its branches are opening Free Arabic Language Course for non-Arab ladies accessible in beginners and advance levels. Class will commence tomorrow September 14, 2012. Islamic and Quran courses are also presented in different languages. Registration is on! Call the nearest IPC branch: Salmiyah: 25733263, 97533263; Kheitan: 24730137, 99285459; Mangaf: 23723002 ext. 124/123; Jahra: 24558830, 97533948.

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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.

tunities and also advised other corporate bodies to emulate the kind gesture from Fantasy World.

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Section A (Diploma) - December 1-4, 2012 Section A (Non-Diploma) - December 1-7, 2012 Section B - December 1-7, 2012 The last date for submission of examination application forms are given hereunder: Candidates not appeared at Summer 2012 Exam: Aug 21 - Sept 21, 2012 Candidates appeared at Summer 2012 Exam: Sept 21 - Oct 19, 2012.

Candidates who intend to appear for the Winter 2012 examination must apply directly to Kolkata by filling the prescribed application form along with requisite amount of demand draft in favour of The Institution of Engineers (India), payable at Kolkata.

upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

Audition for ZEE Antakshari or the first time Indian Cultural Society brings you live excitement of ZEE - International antakshari in Kuwait. Audition & first round will be held in Kuwait, there after followed by semi finals in India & Grand Finale in Dubai. Complete team of Carnival films & Zee TV will be in Kuwait for the final round of selection on Friday 5th October with Jaaved Jaaferi: Celebrity Judge, Akriti Kakkar: Female Bollywood Singer & Host of Antakshari, Manish Paul: Host for Auditions, Sarfaraz Khan: Actor, Director and Producer, Michael Amin: Producer & Director Carnival films world. Musicians, Male Singer & many more for live performances. Final audition at 10 am & music show at 7.30 pm at AIS-Hawally.

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Tulukoota Kuwait free medical checkup ulukoota Kuwait, in coordination with Indian Doctors Forum, Kuwait Medical Association, Indian Dentist Alliance in Kuwait and Kuwait Heart Foundation is conducting a Free Medical Check up & Consultation Camp tomorrow, September 14, 2012 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Abbasiya (Indian Educational School, Building No 4, Block No 241, School Street, Jleeb Al-Shyoukh) from 7 am - 1 pm. The Medical Checkup & Consultation Camp is specially taking place for all the people who do not have the opportunity or facility to undergo regular medical checkups at a regular clinic. We urge people to come ahead and fill up and submit applications well before September 9 to avoid disappointments. Kindly do not miss this opportunity and come ahead to take part in our free Medical Camp.

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ndo-Kuwait Friendship Society is planning to entertain both Indian and Kuwaiti public with Mushaera and Sham-e-Ghazal on 27th October, 2012 at Salmiya Indian Model School.

Shahjahan Jaffery, IKFS executive member is also well known Urdu poem writer will be the chief coordinator of Mushaera programs and will enthrall the audience as the compere/master of the event. Mrs Mateen Kadri, another executive member of IKFS and assistant coordinator has already in the process of contacting and inviting many of the “Mushaera lovers” in Kuwait and India. Laxmi Subramanyam, IKFS working committee member has already started sending invitation to all the president and general secretary of the Indian Associations in Kuwait.

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Send to What’s On

Focus Kuwait 6th annual day s a part of the 6th anniversary celebrations, Forum of Cadd Users (FOCUS Kuwait), a non-political, non-religious organization is set to stage a mega cultural event “Focus Fest-2012”. This mega event will be a blend of traditional and contemporary dance and musical extravaganza by renowned South Indian playback singers Jyotsna and Sudeesh. Scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, October 12, 2012, at the Al-Jeel Al-Jadeed School Auditorium, Hawally, the mega musical show, is expected to be a superhit in Kuwait.

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he AMIE Winter 2012 examinations will be held between Dec 01-07, 2012 as follows:

Write to us

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NAFO Onam on Sept 21 ational Forum Kuwait (NAFO Kuwait) will celebrate Onam 2012 with its full spirit and fervor on Friday, September 21, 2012 at the Indian Community School Auditorium from 10.00 am onwards. Indian Ambassador Satish C Mehta will be the chief guest on this happy occasion. A galaxy of eminent personalities in Kuwait is also expected to join the celebration. Starting from the floral carpet called “Athapookkalam,” NAFO family will present various cultural programs bringing back the nostalgic memories of a bygone era of prosperity, equality and righteousness under the golden reign of Mahabali. In addition, a grand sumptuous meal, the traditional ‘Onasadya’ will also be served.

IKFS to hold Mushaera, Sham-e-Ghazal at SIMS

Winter 2012 AMIE examination

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abled and special needs children to place in their mini garden. All children as well as the teachers were excited seeing the toy animals as it began to enter inside the center one by one.

Fantasy World’s mascot Freddy Wonderman brought more charmed and enthralled the children, as he danced and interacted with the children, good times sharing and lots of smiles on the children’s faces.

Fantasy World has always been keen on supporting the community and bring a smile on children’s faces and special needs in particular.

Sabeeka Al-Jasser, chairperson and center founder of Al Kharafi Activity Kids Center, expressed her appreciation and profound gratitude to Fantasy World for granting the children an overwhelming surprise gift and to enjoy more their new mini garden atmosphere. She also asked for more of such oppor-

‘Leniency of Islam’ n unprecedented initiative of KTV2 (English channel) is the new program by the name ‘Leniency of Islam’ presented by Shaikh Musaad Alsane and directed by Hamid Al-Turkait. The program is mainly meant to address the expatriates living in Kuwait. Religious questions are received through the program email qislam@tv.gov.kw and sms can be sent to- 97822021 and answered by the lecturer and Imam in Awqaf Ministry Shaikh Musaad Alsane - a Master Degree holder in Sharia and fiqih from Kuwait University. So don’t forget to watch the program every Friday at 1:00 pm.

Famous Mushaera Mutliple awards winner and Urdu poet Muslim Saleem Saheb from Bhopal, Sami Bubere, Yrdu poet and Chief Editor of Indo-Gulf Times from Mumbai will also join as the guests of IKFS from India.

The function is arranged on the same day and at the same venue, Salmiya Indian Model School auditorium where IKFS’ competitions in patriotic songs and essay competitions will be held from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Various Indian and Kuwaiti food stalls will be installed from the morning hours till 10:30 pm. Entry is free for all.

Mushaera and Sham-e-Ghazal will start at 5:30 pm.

Satish Mehtaji, ambassador of India who himself is a lover of “Mushaera” will be the chief guest.

Tulukoota Kuwait ‘Merit Scholarship’ pplications are now being invited for “Tulukoota Kuwait Merit Cum Means Scholarship” to be awarded during Tuluparba 2012 scheduled to be held on October 11 and 12, 2012. The objective of this scholarship is to provide financial assistance and support to deserving meritorious students, to enable them to pursue their higher studies. Applications are accepted from minimum one year valid Tulukoota Kuwait member’s children studying either in the State of Kuwait or in India and scoring high grades in Xth and XIIth standard Board Examination held for Academic year 2011-2012.

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Marina Hotel Kuwait enhances facilities with LED interactive TV in guest rooms arina Hotel Kuwait has recently upgraded its entertainment facilities in all of its 91 guest rooms and suites with the addition of Sony Bravia LED interactive hospitality TV. Guests will now be able to access the entire hotel’s information right from the restaurants to the health club from their rooms. The new televisions come with Video Decoding Accelerator (VDA) and Internet Protocol (IP) system which allows Internet and gaming access as well as the ability to progamme wake up calls.

Speaking about the new additions, Mr. Nabil Hammoud, General Manager, said “We are glad to maintain the international standards of the hotel and have significantly

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Ernakulam District Association Onam, Eid raffle released rnakulam District Association, Kuwait (EDA) is celebrating Onam-Eid 2012 on Friday, 26th October 2012 at the Indian Community School Auditorium, Khaitan from 9 am onwards.

The highlights of the event are sumptuous Onasadya and cultural programs by members of the Association. The main attraction

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throughout the event is ‘Comedy Show” performed by Asianet Vodafone Comedy stars artists and musical show led by Kairali WE Channel “YUVA” fame singer Fahed together with Seethal.

Members who are interested in participating cultural programs are requested to contact Thajudeen before October 6. The event

Convener Geo Mathai released “Onam-Eid 2012” raffle coupon by handing over to the advertisement Convener Johnson in the presence of president Roy Yoyaki, Vice president Capt Johnson, Treasurer Gigi Mathen, unit conveners Varghese Paul, Sunil Kumar, Balakrishran, Krishna Unni, Maxi, Gopinathan and Baburaj Palluruthi.

invested towards the enhancement of the hotel’s entertainment services. We are always keen to addressing all of our client’s expectations and providing them with the best

services which further improves the overall quality and ambience of the hotel. We are fully committed to providing our guests with the most comfortable experience and the highest standard facilities during

their stay with us.”

Marina Hotel Kuwait is known for its excellent location, finest of amenities, convenient and world class services that give you a ‘home away from home’ feeling and a highly skilled and friendly staff always dedicated to serving guests.

The new entertainment facilities provides benefits in a self contained solution alongside existing data network and include full video on demand functionality and an aerial feed for digital terrestrial TV channels.

“We are happy to be able to provide our guests with a combination of luxury, location, convenience and comfort and will further continue with technical upgradations and enhancements as and when required” further concluded Hammoud.

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WHAT’S ON

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Embassy Information

IIS celebrates ‘Teachers Day’ with fervour he students of Integrated Indian School (IIS), Kuwait in collaboration with Kalka Group of Institutions made an elaborate arrangement to express their love gratitude towards their teachers.

On 5th Sep 2012 the students of class XII organized the whole programme systematically and beautifully. It began with a special assembly by the student chanting a prayer song holding lighted candles in their hands and swinging to the rhythmic music. They appreciated their gurus with self made greeting cards and flowers. The Head Boy gave an impressive speech on the importance of Teachers’ Day. The pupils made the stage come alive with a mesmerizing classical dance followed by a heart rendering skit which made the teachers more conscious of the importance of understanding the psycho-

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logical behaviour of each and every student. They also arranged various games like Antakshri and musical arms for the

teachers. Class XII and X students were the teachers of the day to take over the academic work. They felt proud to run the

school smoothly and realized the important responsibilities of teachers in their lives. At the end Mrs Cathy Thomas, the

tribution of Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan a scholar, philosopher and president who was eloquent in speech, such in thought and steeped in Indian culture and erudication.

The vice principal also mentioned that it is true that teachers are the second parents to put great effort to connect, discipline, guide and inspire their students to build up structure that last. She requested the students to pray to the Almighty to guide their teachers to spend their energy and talents in uplifting the nation as the world, dedication and devotion to govern the teeming millions as in their hands lies the foundation of their character formation and personality building.

Vadassherikara celebrates Onam

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message was delivered by the Chief Guest Ranny Block Panchayat President Benny Puthenparambil. Nirmal Pailee felicitated the meet. Cultural secretary welcomed the gathering and program convener Raju Valiyatharayil extended vote of thanks. Several Cultural programs and Onam feast were part of the cultural fest.

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EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE The Embassy of Argentina requests all Argentinean citizens in Kuwait to proceed to our official email ekuwa@mrecic.gov.ar in order to register or update contact information. The embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the embassy.

The registration process helps the Argentinean Government to contact and assist Argentineans living abroad in case of any emergency.

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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Gulf Insurance supports and sponsors Kuwaiti Jetski team uwait’s Jetski team champions and Gulf Insurance Company representatives “Gulf Insurance”, the leading regional company in the insurance sector, announced its sponsorship and support for the Kuwait (Jetski) team. The team is set to participate in the World Championship 2012 and which will be held during the period from 27 September to 7 October in US. This sponsorship comes as an expression of commitment and dedication to provide moral and financial support for the outstanding and successful Kuwaiti youth in all domains, particularly and in the sportive and cultural domain.

Moreover, Gulf Insurance Company’s support to the Kuwait (Jetski) team portrays its effective and continuing role in promoting Kuwaiti youth with distinctive talent, to leverage Kuwait’s position and name in international forums in various fields, and to represent it in a proud and

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Vice Principal thanked all the students on behalf of the management and Principal Shafiq Ahmad. She also spoke on the con-

uwait Vadassherikara Pravasi Association celebrated its 10th anniversary and Onam Festival with its all charm and traditions. The Cultural Fest was inaugurated at United Indian School, Abassiya by the well known social worker and media person Thomas Mathew Kadavil.

The cultural meet was presided over by the President of Vadaserikara Pravasi Association President VM John. Onam

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday.

Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah.

Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 12:30 to 01:00 pm for lunch break. Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday.

Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

distinct manner.

The representatives from Gulf Insurance Company, namely Khalid Al Sanousi, Corporate Communications and Investors Relations Manager, and Mrs Aisha Al-Asfour, Head of Public Relations Section, paid a visit to the Kuwaiti selection team champions, and presented them with a cheque, expressing their best wishes and support for their continued success.

It is worthy to note that the Kuwait (Jetski) team has represented Kuwait globally for over two consecutive years (2010 and 2011). The team has successfully won the first place “Duplicate” and the Cup of Ideal Team in the world championships that took place in the United States last year, which is an unprecedented Arab achievement.

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EMBASSY OF FRANCE The Embassy would like to inform that starting September 2nd, 2012, visa demands for France will be handled by the outsourcing company “Capago - MENA Company”. Capago - MENA’S Call Center will be operational starting Sunday August 26 for setting appointments beginning September 2nd (+965 22270555).

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Kuwait Marriott organises blood donation drive

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the Kenyan community residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that the Embassy has acquired new office telephone numbers as follows: 25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries 25353987 - Fax Our Email address: info@kenyaembkuwait.com.

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EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, Al-Salaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com.

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eeping in line with its ‘Spirit to Serve’ initiative, Kuwait Marriott Hotels, in collaboration with the Central Blood Bank, recently organized their annual blood donation drive along with a first-aid session to its employees.

The blood donation drive took place at the luxurious five star JW Marriott Kuwait City Hotel and the refreshing business Courtyard by Marriott Kuwait City Hotel on two consecutive days while the first-aid session was held in the Courtyard by Marriott.

Essa Ghadban, Director of Loss

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Prevention for Marriott Kuwait and Director of Government Relations at the JW Marriott Hotel organized the drive with the coordination of the Kuwait Central Blood Bank, represented by Ali Mehaimed, Public Relations Director.

George Aoun, General Manager of Kuwait Marriott Hotels emphasized on the importance of this humanitarian cause and how it is part of the ongoing corporate social responsibility of the Hotel.

An interactive first-aid session was also organized by Ghadban in coordina-

tion with the Medical Emergency Department, under the supervision of Coach Osama Al Mazn who trained Marriott associates on dealing with any emergency situation related to first-aid.

Consequently, George Aoun thanked the Medical Emergency management for their continuous collaboration between the public and private sectors.

He further commented that this training would be invaluable in ensuring that guests at Marriott hotels in Kuwait are in the best of hands during their stay.

Marriott’s renowned “Spirit to Serve”

initiative is captured in uplifting human interest stories and important environmental issues across the world. Through internal drives, Marriott strives to be a responsible member of the local community. It continues to integrate itself in people’s lives, and help them overcome adversity, embody a passion for service and achieve personal excellence.

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk.

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EMBASSY OF UKRAINE We’d like to inform you that in response to the increasing number of our citizens who work in the state and the need for 24-hour operational telephone in case of emergency the Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait has opened “hotline telephone number” - (+ 965) 972-79-206.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 I’m Alive 01:35 Untamed & Uncut 02:25 How Sharks Hunt 03:15 Mutant Planet 04:05 Monster Bug Wars 04:55 Cheetah Kingdom 05:20 Shamwari: A Wild Life 05:45 RSPCA: Have You Got What It Takes?

06:10 RSPCA: Have You Got What It Takes?

06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Baboons With Bill Bailey 07:25 Crocodile Hunter 08:15 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 The Really Wild Show 09:35 The Really Wild Show 10:05 How Sharks Hunt 11:00 Wildlife SOS 11:25 Bondi Vet 11:55 Animal Cops Houston 12:50 Escape To Chimp Eden 13:15 Escape To Chimp Eden 13:45 Animal Precinct 14:40 How Sharks Hunt 15:30 Baboons With Bill Bailey 16:00 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 16:30 Panda Adventures With Nigel Marven 17:25 Britain’s Worst Pet 18:20 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 19:15 Wildlife SOS 19:40 Bondi Vet 20:10 Cheetah Kingdom 20:35 Shamwari: A Wild Life 21:05 Into The Shark Bite 22:00 Austin Stevens Adventures 22:55 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 23:50 Animal Cops Houston 23:50 Animal Cops Houston 00:35 Antiques Roadshow 01:30 Open House 01:55 Open House 02:25 Saturday Kitchen 2007/08 02:55 Saturday Kitchen 2007/08 03:25 Living In The Sun 04:20 MasterChef 04:45 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 05:10 Living In The Sun 06:05 MasterChef 07:00 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 07:45 MasterChef Australia 08:35 MasterChef Australia 09:00 Open House 09:25 Open House 09:55 Bargain Hunt 10:40 Antiques Roadshow 11:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 12:15 10 Years Younger 13:05 MasterChef 13:55 MasterChef 14:45 Bargain Hunt 15:30 Antiques Roadshow 16:25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:10 Come Dine With Me 18:00 Nigel Slater’s Simple Suppers 18:25 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 18:55 Rick Stein’s French Odyssey 19:20 James Martin’s Favourite Feasts 19:45 Come Dine With Me 20:30 Open House 21:00 Open House 21:30 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 23:45 Holmes On Homes Edition 00:15 01:10 01:35 02:30 03:25 04:20 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 Junior 07:50 08:45 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:10 14:35 15:05 16:00 Junior 16:55 17:20 18:15 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25 23:20

Deadliest Catch Shocking Survival Videos Superhuman Showdown Mythbusters Mythbusters Border Security Gi Dough How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Deadliest Catch American Chopper: Senior vs Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Border Security Gi Dough How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Superhuman Showdown Mythbusters Mythbusters Border Security Gi Dough Ultimate Survival American Chopper: Senior vs Wheeler Dealers Deadliest Catch Mythbusters How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Border Security Gi Dough Deconstruction American Guns Kidnap And Rescue Ultimate Cops

23:20 Surviving Disaster 00:35 01:25 02:15 03:05 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:50 07:53 08:20 08:50 09:40 10:30 10:55 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:45 15:35 16:00 16:03 16:30 17:00

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Race To Mars The Gadget Show Smash Lab Cosmic Collisions Mighty Ships The Future Of...

Race To Mars Head Rush Weird Connections Test Case Prototype This Smash Lab The Gadget Show The Gadget Show Mighty Ships Race To Mars Meteorite Men Cosmic Collisions Smash Lab The Gadget Show Head Rush Weird Connections Test Case The Future Of...

17:50 Prototype This 18:40 Cosmic Collisions 19:30 Wallace & Gromit’s World Of Invention 19:55 Wallace & Gromit’s World Of Invention 20:20 Bang Goes The Theory 20:45 Bang Goes The Theory 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Gadget Show 22:00 Prank Science 22:25 Prank Science 22:50 Bang Goes The Theory 23:15 Bang Goes The Theory 23:40 Prototype This 20:20 Bang Goes The Theory 00:15 Little Einsteins 00:40 Jungle Junction 00:55 Jungle Junction 01:10 Little Einsteins 01:30 Special Agent Oso 01:45 Special Agent Oso 02:00 Lazytown 02:25 Little Einsteins 02:50 Jungle Junction 03:05 Jungle Junction 03:20 Little Einsteins 03:40 Special Agent Oso 03:55 Special Agent Oso 04:10 Lazytown 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Jungle Junction 05:15 Jungle Junction 05:30 Little Einsteins 05:50 Special Agent Oso 06:00 Special Agent Oso 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Jungle Junction 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Lazytown 07:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:10 The Hive 08:20 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 08:35 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 08:50 Handy Manny 09:05 The Hive 09:15 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:20 Mouk 09:35 Mouk 09:45 The Hive 09:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10:20 Lazytown 10:45 Art Attack 11:10 Imagination Movers 11:35 Lazytown 12:00 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 12:05 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 12:10 Handy Manny 12:25 Jungle Junction 12:40 Imagination Movers 13:05 The Hive 13:15 Special Agent Oso 13:30 Lazytown 13:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:20 The Hive 14:30 Handy Manny 14:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 15:00 Mouk 15:15 The Hive 15:25 101 Dalmatians 15:40 101 Dalmatians 15:55 Imagination Movers 16:20 Lazytown 16:45 Art Attack 17:10 Handy Manny 17:25 Handy Manny 17:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 17:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 18:10 Little Einsteins 18:35 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 19:00 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 19:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:25 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 19:30 The Lion King 21:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 21:25 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 21:40 Special Agent Oso 21:55 Little Einsteins 22:20 Timmy Time 22:30 Jungle Junction 22:45 Handy Manny 22:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 23:20 Special Agent Oso 23:35 Special Agent Oso 23:50 Lazytown Lazytown23:50 Lazytn 00:25 00:50 01:20 02:15 03:10 04:05 04:30 05:00 05:55 07:00 07:25 07:55 08:50 09:45 10:40 11:05 11:35 12:30 12:55 13:25 14:20 15:15 15:40 16:10 17:05 18:00 18:25 18:55 19:50 20:45 21:40 22:05 22:35 23:30

00:05 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:10 02:35 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:05

Aiya TV Aiya TV Pro Bull Riders 2010 World Combat League TNA: Greatest Matches The Cool Guy Files The Cool Guy Files M1 Challenge Pro Bull Riders 2010 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2009 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2009 Alli Presents AMA Motocross 2011 Blood, Sweat And Gears Fantasy Factory Fantasy Factory Pro Bull Riders 2010 Mantracker Mantracker Carpocalypse World Combat League Fantasy Factory Fantasy Factory Alli Presents AMA Motocross 2011 Mantracker Mantracker Pro Bull Riders 2010 Carpocalypse World Combat League The Cool Guy Files The Cool Guy Files TNA: Greatest Matches M1 Challenge

Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Unique Sweets Unique Sweets Unique Eats Unique Eats Food(Ography) Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Guy’s Big Bite Outrageous Food Unique Eats

05:30 Chopped 06:10 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 06:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 07:00 Iron Chef America 07:50 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 08:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 08:40 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:05 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:30 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 09:55 Cooking For Real 10:20 Cooking For Real 10:45 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 11:10 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 11:35 Hungry Girl 12:00 Chopped 12:50 Guy’s Big Bite 13:15 Cooking For Real 13:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:30 Kid In A Candy Store 14:55 Kid In A Candy Store 15:20 Unique Sweets 15:45 Staten Island Cakes 16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:15 Guy’s Big Bite 18:40 Unique Sweets 19:05 Unique Sweets 19:30 Chopped 20:20 Iron Chef America 21:10 Barefoot Contessa - Specials 22:00 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 22:25 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 22:50 Hungry Girl 23:15 Hungry Girl 23:40 Guy’s Big Bite 23:40 Guy’s Big Bite

00:30 01:20 02:05 02:55 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:40 23:40

Ghost Lab A Haunting Australian Families Of Crime American Greed Extreme Forensics Ghost Lab A Haunting Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Street Patrol Street Patrol Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Stalked: Someone’s Watching Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill I Was Murdered I Was Murdered Nightmare Next Door Dr G: Medical Examiner Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:00 Graham’s World 00:30 Graham’s World 01:00 Danger Beach 01:30 Danger Beach 02:00 Kimchi Chronicles 02:30 Kimchi Chronicles 03:00 One Man & His Campervan 03:30 One Man & His Campervan 04:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 05:00 Bondi Rescue 05:30 Bondi Rescue 06:00 Graham’s World 06:30 Graham’s World 07:00 Danger Beach 07:30 Danger Beach 08:00 Kimchi Chronicles 08:30 Kimchi Chronicles 09:00 One Man & His Campervan 09:30 One Man & His Campervan 10:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 11:00 Bondi Rescue 11:30 Bondi Rescue 12:00 Graham’s World 12:30 Graham’s World 13:00 Bondi Rescue: Bali 13:30 Bondi Rescue: Bali 14:00 Kimchi Chronicles 14:30 Kimchi Chronicles 15:00 Food School 15:30 Food School 16:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 17:00 Bondi Rescue 17:30 Bondi Rescue 18:00 Market Values 18:30 Market Values 19:00 Wheel2Wheel 19:30 Wheel2Wheel 20:00 Delinquent Gourmet 20:30 Delinquent Gourmet 21:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 21:30 Pressure Cook 22:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 23:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 23:00 Naked Science

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00

Hunter Hunted Hooked Hidden Worlds Catching Giants Night Stalkers Expedition Wild Caught In The Act Hidden Worlds Catching Giants Night Stalkers Python Hunters Swamp Men Outback Wrangler Hooked The Living Edens Shark Nicole Night Stalkers Python Hunters

17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:00

Swamp Men Swamp Men Hidden Worlds Catching Giants Night Stalkers Python Hunters Swamp Men Hunter Hunted

00:15 02:00 03:45 06:00 08:30 10:15 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 20:00 22:00

Chain Letter-R Empire-18 13 Assassins-18 Master And Commander-PG15 Men In Black-PG15 Red Faction: Origins-PG15 Four Brothers-PG15 Men In Black-PG15 Inside Out-PG15 Four Brothers-PG15 Carriers-PG15 Monsters-PG15 Fighting-PG15 Homecoming-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The League 02:30 Hot In Cleveland 03:00 30 Rock 03:30 Community 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:30 30 Rock 09:30 Parks And Recreation 10:00 Parks And Recreation 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 14:00 Community 14:30 Parks And Recreation 15:00 Parks And Recreation 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 30 Rock 18:30 Community 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 How I Met Your Mother 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Family Guy 23:00 Hot In Cleveland 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:00 23:00

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 PG15 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00 23:00

The Glades Supernatural Combat Hospital Greek Bunheads Franklin & Bash The Glades Emmerdale Coronation Street Private Practice Supernatural Combat Hospital Bunheads Emmerdale Hot In Cleveland The Ellen DeGeneres Show Private Practice The Glades Emmerdale Hot In Cleveland The Ellen DeGeneres Show Private Practice Parenthood X Factor Us American Horror Story Greek Greek

Alien Resurrection-18 4.3.2.1.-18 I Am Number Four-PG15 Last Breath-PG15 Hurricane Season-PG15 I Am Number Four-PG15 Snake In The Eagle’s ShadowHurricane Season-PG15 Planet Of The Apes-PG15 Assassination Tango-18 Road To Perdition-18 Carrie-18 The Speak-18 Luste

00:00 The Answer Man-PG15 02:00 The Marc Pease ExperiencePG15 04:00 Spud-PG15 06:00 Elevator Girl-PG15 08:00 The Marc Pease ExperiencePG15 10:00 Kung Fu Dunk-PG15 12:00 Labor Pains-PG15 14:00 Kuffs-PG 16:00 Kung Fu Dunk-PG15 18:00 The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy-PG 20:00 Grown Ups-PG15 22:00 I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry-PG15

01:45 03:30 05:30 09:00 11:00 13:15 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:15 23:30 23:30

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 PG 09:00 11:15 13:00 15:00 16:45 18:45 21:00 23:00

Coyote Ugly-PG15 Jane Eyre-PG15 Das Boot-PG15 Heart And Souls-PG The Great Debaters-PG15 Skirt Day-PG15 Heart And Souls-PG Waiting For Superman-PG15 I Am Sam-PG15 Up Close And Personal-PG Munich-18 Square Grouper-18

The Company Men-PG15 Prom-PG15 Backwash-PG15 Justin Bieber: Never Say NeverThe Conspirator-PG15 The 19th Wife-PG15 Lord Of The Dance-PG Mars Needs Moms-PG The Conspirator-PG15 Real Steel-PG15 The Hangover 2-18 Jackass 3-R

KNCC PROGRAM FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (13/09/2012 TO 19/09/2012) SHARQIA-1 STOLEN (2D-Digital TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 pm 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-3 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

SHARQIA-2 FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

SHARQIA-3 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-4 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO THU (13/09/2012) Special Show“LAWLESS (2D-Digital)”for Ms. Rowan Al Ansari THU (13/09/2012) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

MUHALAB-1 STOLEN (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

MUHALAB-2 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:05 AM

MUHALAB-3 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION 12:30 PM FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) 2:30 PM FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) 4:30 PM RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION 6:30 PM RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION 8:30 PM TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) 10:30 PM RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION 12:45 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED FANAR-1 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:00 PM 7:45 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

FANAR-2 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

FANAR-3 STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-4 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-5 THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE BOURNE LEGACY THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE BOURNE LEGACY NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 1:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

MARINA-1 STOLEN (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-2 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:15 AM

MARINA-3 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA(2D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-1 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-2 TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

AVENUES-5 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO THU (13/09/2012) Special Show“BRAVE (2D-Digital)” for Ms. Rowan Aeryfan THU (13/09/2012) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED 2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM

7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-8 STOLEN (2D-Digital) 1:15 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 3:30 PM GRABBERS (2D-Digital) 6:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 9:00 PM GRABBERS (2D-Digital) 12:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-9 FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-10 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) AVENUES-11 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED 360 º- 1 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

360 º- 8 STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

360 º- 9 (VIP-1) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

360 º-10(VIP-2) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

5:15 PM

AVENUES-6 TINKER BELL: SECRET OF THE WINGS 1:30 PM TINKER BELL: SECRET OF THE WINGS 3:45 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 6:00 PM Digital (2D+3D) 8:15 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 10:30 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 12:30 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-7 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 AM

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 11:30 PM 1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

360 º- 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 1:30 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 4:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 8:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 11:15 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 360 º- 3 TINKER BELL: SECRET OF THE WINGS 12:30 PM TINKER BELL: SECRET OF THE WINGS 2:45 PM TINKER BELL: SECRET OF THE WINGS 5:00 PM LAWLESS (2D-Digital) 7:15 PM NO FRI (14/09/2012) Special Show “BRAVE (2D-Digital)” for Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. 7:30 PM FRI (14/09/2012) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) 9:45 PM LAWLESS (2D-Digital) 12:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED

360 º- 11 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) 360 º- 12 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO FRI (14/09/2012) Special Show“BRAVE (2D-Digital)” for Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. FRI (14/09/2012) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM 12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

360 º- 13 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

360 º- 14 INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN GRABBERS (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN GRABBERS (2D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

360 º- 15 BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) FRI+SAT BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.1 FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.2 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) SUN+TUE+WED THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.3 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:30 PM 11:30 PM

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

1:30 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 10:45 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.4 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 12:30 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 3:30 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 5:30 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 7:30 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 9:45 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 11:45 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED

360 º- 4 THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:45 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

360 º- 5 FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:45 AM

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

360 º- 6 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

BAIRAQ-3 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:15 AM

360 º- 7 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital)

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM

PLAZA STOLEN (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital)

BAIRAQ-1 FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

BAIRAQ-2 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 2:15 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 4:45 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 8:00 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 10:15 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 12:30 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED 1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 11:45 PM

4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM

Classifieds THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JZR QTR JZR SAI ETH BBC RJA GFA UAE ETD THY FDB MSR QTR JZR KAC THY KAC JZR DHX JZR KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY IRA GFA QTR IZG IRA FDB ETD BAB GFA UAE MEA JZR MSR KNE MSC SYR JZR MSR GFA KAC FDB OMA JZR KNE JZR QTR SVA RJA JZR KAC QTR KAC JZR ETD UAE UAL GFA SVA JZR TAR JZR KAC ABY KNE KAC KAC QTR BAB KAC KAC FDB MSR MSC RBG JZR KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC KAC AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA ALK FDB UAE JZR ETD ABY QTR JZR JZR AIC GFA UAL JZR DLH MSR THY KLM JAI

Arrival Flights on Thursday 13/9/2012 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 441 LAHORE 620 ADDIS ABABA 43 DHAKA 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 768 ISTANBUL 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 503 LUXOR 544 CAIRO 770 ISTANBUL 154 ISTANBUL 1541 CAIRO 170 BAHRAIN 555 ALEXANDRIA 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 529 ASSIUT 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 605 ISFAHAN 223 BAHRAIN 132 DOHA 4161 MASHAD 617 AHWAZ 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 436 BAHRAIN 213 BAHRAIN 871 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 618 ALEXANDRIA 470 JEDDAH 401 ALEXANDRIA 341 DAMASCUS 561 SOHAG 610 CAIRO 219 BAHRAIN 672 DUBAI 57 DUBAI 645 MUSCAT 241 AMMAN 472 JEDDAH 535 CAIRO 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 640 AMMAN 257 BEIRUT 546 ALEXANDRIA 134 DOHA 118 NEW YORK 357 MASHAD 303 ABU DHABI 857 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 177 DUBAI 328 TUNIS 777 JEDDAH 176 GENEVA 127 SHARJAH 474 JEDDAH 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO 144 DOHA 438 BAHRAIN 786 JEDDAH 104 LONDON 63 DUBAI 624 SOHAG 405 SOHAG 3553 ALEXANDRIA 175 DUBAI 618 DOHA 674 DUBAI 614 BAHRAIN 572 MUMBAI 774 RIYADH 562 AMMAN 389 KOZHIKODE 61 DUBAI 647 MUSCAT 402 BEIRUT 146 DOHA 221 BAHRAIN 229 COLOMBO 59 DUBAI 859 DUBAI 135 BAHRAIN 307 ABU DHABI 129 SHARJAH 136 DOHA 513 SHARM EL SHEIKH 539 CAIRO 981 CHENNAI 217 BAHRAIN 981 BAHRAIN 239 AMMAN 636 FRANKFURT 614 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 411 AMSTERDAM 574 MUMBAI

Time 0:15 0:20 0:50 1:30 1:45 1:50 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:50 3:10 3:20 3:25 3:55 4:10 4:35 4:55 4:55 5:00 6:00 6:15 6:30 6:40 7:15 7:30 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:15 8:20 8:25 8:30 8:35 8:40 9:00 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:30 9:35 10:00 10:45 10:55 11:05 11:25 11:35 12:00 12:05 12:30 13:30 13:40 13:40 13:45 14:00 14:05 14:15 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:15 16:00 16:20 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:45 17:55 18:00 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:45 18:55 19:00 19:05 19:15 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:40 19:50 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 21:10 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:10 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:35 23:40 23:40 23:50

Airlines 976 UAL DLH MSR THY SAI ETH BBC THY UAE FDB ETD MSR QTR JZR RJA JZR GFA THY JZR KAC FDB BAW JZR JZR ABY KAC GFA IRA UAE QTR KAC FDB ETD IRA BAB JZR IZG GFA KAC KAC MEA KAC JZR UAE MSR KNE MSC SYR KAC JZR GFA FDB MSR KAC OMA KAC JZR JZR KNE KAC RJA JZR SVA QTR KAC KAC ETD JZR QTR UAE GFA JZR TAR ABY UAL SVA KNE JZR QTR FDB BAB RBG MSR MSC JZR KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC KAC GFA FDB DHX ALK JZR ABY ETD UAE QTR KAC KAC JZR AXB QTR GFA KAC JZR KAC

Depature Flights on Thursday 13/9/2012 Flt Route 320 GOA 981 WASHINGTON 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 773 ISTANBUL 442 LAHORE 621 ADDIS ABABA 44 DHAKA 769 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 643 AMMAN 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 534 CAIRO 545 ALEXANDRIA 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 240 AMMAN 256 BEIRUT 126 SHARJAH 671 DUBAI 224 BAHRAIN 606 MASHHAD 856 DUBAI 133 DOHA 101 LONDON 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 616 AHWAZ 437 BAHRAIN 356 MASHHAD 4162 MASHHAD 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 872 DUBAI 623 SOHAG 471 JEDDAH 406 SOHAG 342 DAMASCUS 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 220 BAHRAIN 58 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 561 AMMAN 646 MUSCAT 673 DUBAI 174 DUBAI 538 CAIRO 473 JEDDAH 617 DOHA 641 AMMAN 512 SHARM EL SHEIKH 505 JEDDAH 135 DOHA 773 RIYADH 613 BAHRAIN 304 ABU DHABI 238 AMMAN 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 134 BAHRAIN 328 TUNIS 128 SHARJAH 982 BAHRAIN 511 RIYADH 475 JEDDAH 266 BEIRUT 145 DOHA 64 DUBAI 439 BAHRAIN 3554 ALEXANDRIA 607 LUXOR 402 ALEXANDRIA 184 DUBAI 283 DHAKA 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 331 TRIVANDRUM 343 CHENNAI 351 KOCHI 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 153 ISTANBUL 543 CAIRO 222 BAHRAIN 60 DUBAI 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 1540 CAIRO 120 SHARJAH 308 ABU DHABI 860 DUBAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 554 ALEXANDRIA 390 MANGALORE 147 DOHA 218 BAHRAIN 411 BANGKOK 528 ASSIUT 415 KUALA LUMPUR

Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:35 2:15 2:30 2:45 3:20 3:40 3:45 3:50 4:05 4:20 5:40 6:05 6:50 6:55 7:05 7:10 7:30 8:10 8:25 8:25 8:35 9:00 9:05 9:20 9:25 9:35 9:40 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:15 10:25 10:30 10:35 10:45 11:30 11:45 11:55 12:00 12:15 12:20 12:25 12:25 13:00 13:05 13:10 13:20 14:25 14:25 14:30 14:40 15:00 15:05 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00 16:15 16:25 16:30 17:20 17:30 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:45 18:50 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:45 19:55 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:35 20:40 20:50 20:55 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:30 21:35 21:50 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:10 23:10 23:30 23:40 23:50 23:50

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

REQUIRED A company is looking for a half time administrative employee (male or female).

Applicants must be bilingual (Arabic and English) and have excellent computer skills.

Tel: 24824563 Send CV: alhudaida@alhudaida.com

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for decent bachelor near German clinic. Call 66941892. (C 4130) 10-9-2012 Sharing accommodation, one room, is available at Amman street, Salmiya, near Al-Rashid hospital for a decent Indian working lady. For more details contact: 99307471, 99315825.

(C 4128) 9-9-2012

MATRIMONIAL Inviting marriage proposal for qualified Muslim girl 26, staying with family in Kuwait from groom living in Kuwait or family from Mumbai, Maharashtra. Email: maroufs@yahoo.com (C 4129) 9-9-2012

LOST Policy No. 633002598 & 630001537 issued by the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan Gulf Zone on the Life of Mr Muhammad Boota & Mr Muhammad Shahzad is reported to have been lost.

Anyone finding the same or claiming any interest in it should communicate with the Manager State Life, Ph: 22452208-9 within one month from this date.

(C 4131) Policy No. 633002307 & 633003076 issued by the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan Gulf Zone on the Life of Mr Samir Shafiq & Mohammad Kazafi is reported to have been lost. Anyone finding the same or claiming any interest in it should com-

URGENTLY REQUIRED House Drivers

Prayer timings Fajr:

04:12

Duhr:

11:44

Asr:

15:14

Decent salary with experience

Maghrib:

17:56

Please call: 69903299

Isha:

19:13

municate with the Manager State Life, Ph: 22452208-9 within one month from this date.

(C 4132) 11-9-2012

maid/nanny in Salwa.

Offering KD 120 salar y.

Must speak English and be good with small children.

Call 9768-7172.

12-9-2012

FOR SALE

SITUATION VACANT Required a native French tutor to teach 2 children aged 6, 8. Please contact 99612121. (C 4133) Wanted

full

time

Chevrolet Epica LT 2004 full option, very good condition, lady driven, run only 56,500 km. Passed recently.

KD 1,400.

Contact 99386361. (C 4134) 13-9-2012

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw

112

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

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

s ta rs CROSSWORD 795

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) Self-improvement and the influence of those around you can go along educational, religious, philosophical or cultural lines. You find it most comfortable to identify with a most professional and prosperous class of people. Travel is a subject over which you enjoy planning. If you are not traveling for work, you might be thinking of making a profession out of travel. One of your choices might be the transportation business. You may be teaching in some specialized area now for a private group. Meditate for inspiration. Indulgence in rich foods can contribute to unhealthy habits or excessive weight gain. You have private goals to be realized now as your domestic life becomes more important to you. Keep up the learning process.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Your zeal and productivity can be easily depleted today.

Enjoy break time during the day and seek out opportunities to laugh and find fun aspects to an otherwise frustrating day. Your workload can be as heavy as your ambition for power and authority is great. Superiors tend not to give you sympathy as you take on more work than most can handle in any one day. As you find your place in the scheme of things, you will learn to simplify and avoid unnecessary conflict. Express your humility and sincere appreciation for those who have supported you in the past. Your urge for more freedom can result in high nervous tension; easy does it. A little light exercise or walking with a friend in the early evening is a good idea.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. (computer science) The rate at which data is transferred (as by a modem).

4. Of the insects in the chrysalis (cocoon) or post larval stage.

9. Money in the form of bills or coins.

13. Annual grass of Europe and North Africa.

14. Naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporary pseudopods for feeding and locomotion.

15. Type genus of the family Arcidae.

16. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

18. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

19. Any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids.

20. A clique that seeks power usually through intrigue.

22. A soft cotton or worsted fabric with an open mesh.

24. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

27. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

28. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

31. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

32. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

36. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

39. (Hawaiian) A small guitar having four strings.

40. The sixth month of the Hindu calendar.

45. A university in Connecticut.

46. An island republic on the island of Iceland.

48. A town on Long Island in New York.

50. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

53. A former monetary unit in Great Britain.

54. Any of numerous low-growing cushion-forming plants of the genus Draba having rosette-forming leaves and terminal racemes of small flowers with scapose or leafy stems.

58. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium.

61. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.

62. The use of nuclear magnetic resonance of protons to produce proton density images.

63. Type genus of the Alaudidae.

65. The compass point midway between northeast and east.

66. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank.

67. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

68. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

DOWN 1. Greenish-yellow pear.

2. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

3. A thrusting blow with a knife.

4. An informal term for a father.

5. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

6. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

7. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

8. Remove with or as if with a ladle.

9. West Indian tree having racemes of fragrant white flowers and yielding a durable timber and resinous juice.

10. The biblical name for ancient Syria.

11. Interface consisting of a standard port between a computer and its peripherals that is used in some computers.

12. German chemist who was co-discoverer with Lise Meitner of nuclear fission (1879-1968).

17. A small cake leavened with yeast.

21. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily.

23. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh.

25. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

26. A colorless and odorless inert gas.

29. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

30. An official language of the Republic of South Africa.

33. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

34. German naturalist whose speculations that plants and animals are made up of tiny living `infusoria' led to the cell theory (1779-1851).

35. A small ball with a hole through the middle.

37. A heavy odorless colorless gas formed during respiration and by the decomposition of organic substances.

38. A city in east central Texas.

41. A notable achievement.

42. A Bantu language sometimes considered a dialect of Zulu.

43. French poet whose work influenced the surrealists (18541891).

44. (used of opinions and actions) Far beyond the norm.

47. Either extremity of something that has length.

49. Relating to or applicable to or concerned with the administration of a city or town or district rather than a larger area.

51. One of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes.

52. An elaborate song for solo voice.

55. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

56. An unofficial association of people or groups.

57. In bed.

59. A light touch or stroke.

60. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products.

64. Before noon.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Your career can become especially challenging. Old patterns of thinking give way to new possibilities. Put your creative and innovative ambitions to practical use in order to gain greater control and independence. You may feel increased responsibility toward a friend who needs your encouragement. You could meet a new person who is a catalyst for your own efforts. It is a good time to join a professional group or business organization. You feel friendly toward everyone you meet and want to spend your time in pursuit of goodhearted fun. You want to avoid saying or doing anything unpleasant in an effort to share these good vibes. This is an excellent time to mend fences and iron out past conflicts. This afternoon would be good for socializing.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

You can easily express your ideas today. Business partners or co-workers tend to support and encourage your views.

Intellectual endeavors and short trips are favorable. Your social activities today can revolve around your professional affairs. It’s a favorable time for public relation appearances or for obtaining a raise in pay or favors from employers. You will study and work out any problems in existing relationships. You can be businesslike without being cold or lacking sympathy. Work to develop a mature attitude of consideration toward others. Events around you can be confusing and ineffectual. Keep to your moral ideals, give your help and healing care to those who need your inspiration—you will find positive results.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Expect your emotions to be deeply and powerfully felt today. You have no patience for superficiality. You will be digging for truth and seeking root causes, especially if there are problems in customer relations. This can be a muddled time when you might like to avoid responsibilities but of course, do not. You may have to cope with people that you think could be deceptive; there will soon be an opportunity to safely correct any problems.

Reputation, position and status can be at risk—take small steps and pay attention. You look forward to afternoon plans with friends and you may have time to stop by a little shop of some sort to purchase a gift for someone that is celebrating an occasion, such as an engagement or marriage.

Yesterday’s Solution Virgo (August 23-September 22) The process of your work or a work project will have quick completion today . . . perhaps coming to an end a little faster than you thought possible. The ending of some projects leave you plenty of time for a long lunch; careful with those second helpings. Your thinking, talking and communication with co-workers flow smoothly. You may later receive news that excites you into action for the next project. Your attitude is usually to hop onto something as soon as it comes to your attention, which is why you are appreciated. This afternoon is favorable for planning, short trips and letter writing. Others acknowledge your intelligence and informed ideas. This evening there are community obligations but there is always time for family affairs.

Libra (September 23-October 22) This day is favorable for dealing with groups and organizations and with sales or marketing of innovative products and services. You will work hard to achieve specialized knowledge that will help you to advance your professional goals. You may apply yourself to extensive job retraining. It is quite amazing to view the way technology has so quickly evolved and evolved and evolved once again emerging with the ability to help humanity in faster, easier ways. It’s fun and exhilarating to help achieve technology to educate children, help the handicapped and simplify menial tasks. When it is time to stop one thing, you seem to have a good attitude about moving on to something different. Soon there will be opportunities to teach and travel and explore.

Yesterday’s Solution

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) An impressive lucky streak in a business speculation or gambling prospect pleases you. Don’t bet the farm and know when to quit or more will be owed than gained. Opportunities come about to emphasize important professional and social engagements. Initially, there is a transition from private to public responsibilities and you will have less time to spend with family and old friends. This could mean politics but it could also mean a round of obligations that are temporary, like coaching or traveling for business. As you take on more responsibility in your profession, you will tend to choose partners and associates who share some of your goals and objectives. This evening affords you a little time out with loved ones and there is much fun and interaction.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You are ambitious and likely to seek more professional or political power. You may deal more with authority figures and you may be able to enhance your personal recognition and public reputation.

Your creative accomplishments are apt to draw notice and will also improve your social status. You are probably concerned with helping those less fortunate than yourself as you look for ways to express your compassion to your fellow man. An admirable trait is the ability to teach a job skill to the homeless and this is something that you will be supported to do if you can arrange your time right; the planets are aligned. There is a false feeling of luck present now—don’t gamble your money away this evening.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) The mental effort to solve problems intensifies. You may have become distracted and have a curiosity about the unknown— looking for answers, forgetting work issues. Someone you know may have recently shared some metaphysical experience and you keep moving back to those conversations. You may be interested in more information or you may feel that this person needs a wider scope of understanding . . . now however, you really must get your thoughts back to business. There will be plenty of time to get more serious with other subjects. Focus is easier to say than to do, so if you have a lot of trouble focusing, check off the steps that will help you to complete a successful project and you will be pleased with the results.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Before you become too absorbed in your professional life this morning, it would be good to confirm appointments and take care of any possible distractions. Your work goals are beginning to take practical form and application. Old situations are fading away and opportunities present themselves for your choosing. Formulating any professional strategies is favorable. You are lucky with money this afternoon. Your community involvement can make considerable progress. Your vision and psychological insight can be inspiring and therapeutic to yourself and others. A romantic relationship can be frustrating just now and you might find an understanding through having a horoscope chart drawn up for you and perhaps this other person.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Procrastination is not all bad. Sometimes an extra push on the throttle winds up flooding the engine. Let it rest a bit. A good plan of action will emerge tomorrow! For now, organize your correspondence and paperwork. Do not delay any legal contracts, decisions and business initiatives—competition can be tough. After a little break, you combine your interest and courage with ambition and self-control. You can accomplish much now.

Officials and people in authority give you their support and you can deal effectively with professional affairs. Work with tools or machines moves rapidly this afternoon; deliveries are on time. Production and sales are pluses as well. You can make progress in administrative areas now. Enjoy a restful evening.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Fayhaa

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

ST TAT TE OF KUW K WA AIT

Tel.: e 161

DIRECTORA ATE T GEN GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIA V ATION T METEOROLOGICAL DEP PA ARTMENT

Ext.: 26 2627 - 2630

Fax: 24348714

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

WWW.MET.GOV V..KW

Expected Weather e for the Next 24 Hours BY Y NIGHT:

Relatively hot with variable wind changing to light to moderate north westerly wind, with speed of 06 - 28 km/h

BY Y DA AY:

Hot with moderate wind in general north westerly wind, with speed of 20 - 35 km/h

WARNING A

No Current Warnings arnin a

MAX. REC.

MIN. N. EXP P.

KUW WAIT A CITY

44 °C

30 °C

22451082

KUW WAIT A AIRPOR RT

44 °C

29 °C

Al-Mirqab

22456536

NUW WAISEEB A

41 °C

27 °C

Sharq

22465401

WAFRA A

43 °C

27 °C

Salmiya

25746401

SALMI

41 °C

25 °C

Jabriya

25316254

ABDAL LY

44 °C

26 °C

JAL ALIY YA AH

43 °C

26 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FAILAKA A

43 °C

27 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

40 °C

31 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

37 °C

31 °C

W.Hawally

22630786

WARBA A A - BUBY YA AN

43 °C

23 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

Thursday

13/09

hot

43 °C

29 °C

NW

20 - 35 km/h

West Jahra

24772608

Friday

14/09

hot + raising dust

43 °C

30 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

South Jahra

24775066

Saturday

15/09

dusty

42 °C

31 °C

NW

25 - 50 km/h

Sunday

16/09

hot + raising dust

41 °C

28 °C

NW

20 - 40 km/h

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

ST TAT TION

SFC. CHART

12/09/2012 1200 UTC

4 DA AYS Y FORECAST Temperatures DA AY

DA AT TE

WEA AT THER

MAX.

Wind Speed

Wind Direction

MIN.

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

PRA AYER Y TIMES Fajr

04:11

MAX. Temp.

45 °C

Sunrise

05:31

MIN. Temp.

25 °C

Zuhr

11:44

MAX. RH

18 %

Asr

15:15

MIN. RH

Sunset

17:58

MAX. Wind

Isha

19:15

TOT TA AL L RA AINF FALL A L IN 24 HR.

03 % NW 28 km/h 00 mm

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Neurologists Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Lohan ‘freaked out’ over Scary Movie 5 scenes he 26-year-old actress - who has battled drink and drug problems in the past - allegedly tried to avoid a scene ridiculing her troubles, so she missed her flight to the set in Atlanta on Sunday and went to hospital claiming to be suffering from “walking pneumonia”. A Hollywood insider told the New York Post newspaper: “Lindsay missed every meeting she had for the film, including script reads and wardrobe meetings. “Then she missed her flight to Atlanta on Sunday to shoot the movie. The producers had been getting signs Friday that she was a mess, and would not be fit to work. “She is under contract - so to get out of it, she had to prove that she was sick. She tried to prove she has walking pneumonia.”

Lindsay is thought to be particularly concerned about the horror spoof’s script - which features a kiss with co-star Charlie Sheen because of how much it pokes fun at her. A source added: “It went pretty hard at Lindsay. She’d been freaking out about it for weeks.”

Another insider told the publication: “She’s been locked up in her room at the Bowery Hotel. She’s been in a tailspin. Even Charlie Sheen worried she might not be able to do the scene.” But a representative for Lindsay claims she has been “willingly” completing all her obligations for filming. They explained: “These stories are untrue, and she is willingly fulfilling all of her obligations.”

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Paquin, Moyer welcome twins

nna Paquin and Stephen Moyer are the proud parents of newborn twins. Reps for the acting couple confirm Paquin gave birth to the babies a few weeks early but say they’re in good health and their parents “are overjoyed.”

The statement issued Tuesday didn’t specify when or where the babies were born or the sex of the children. News of the births was first reported by People.com. The babies are 30year-old Paquin’s first children. Moyer, 42, has two children from previous relationships. The “True Blood” stars were married in 2010. The show is in its fifth season on HBO.

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Pattinson wants a ‘professional relationship’ with Stewart

Kardashian leaving

Paltrow named best dressed woman

ctress Gwyneth Paltrow was named the “World’s Best Dressed Woman” of 2012 by People magazine yesterday, wowing the celebrity magazine with a simple elegant style that avoids some of fashion’s quirkier trends. The Oscar-winning actress, 39, and wife of Coldplay front man Chris Martin, headed a list of the year’s style mavens that included Prince William’s wife Kate, R&B star Rihanna, and the Kardashian family of TV reality show fame. People said the list was compiled after soliciting input from the celebrity magazine’s 42 million readers, its editors and fashion bloggers. While Oscar-winner Paltrow won the best dressed title, fashion icon Kate Middleton - formally known as the Duchess of Cambridge - was named the woman with the best classic style. Paltrow’s stylist, Elizabeth Saltzman, told People that the actress was not a slave to trends. “She doesn’t do fringe. She has a uniform. It’s simple, not overdone,” Saltzman said. Emma Stone, the 23-year-old star of “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Help,” was chosen as having the best red carpet style, while singer Rihanna was praised for taking the most risks in her fashion choices. Actresses Jessica Alba (best jeans), Jennifer Lawrence (best under 25s), and Reese Witherspoon (best pregnancy) also made the top 10, along with Australian model Miranda Kerr. Among men, honors went to actors Andrew Garfield, Brad Pitt, Colin Firth, Robert Pattinson, Chris and Liam Hemsworth and singer Jay-Z. People also looked back at some of the fashion faux pas of 2012. The magazine recalled an orange lace dress worn with prominent black underwear by pop singer Fergie, and a floral floor-length dress worn by Sarah Jessica Parker that fashion blogger Heather Cocks said made the “Sex and the City” actress look like a cast member of polygamy TV reality show “Sister Wives.”

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LA for three months he reality TV star is heading for a secret location and admits packing her suitcases for the trip was very hard as she didn’t know what to take with her. She wrote on her twitter page: “Packing for 3 months is so hard! But I did it and I’m off!!! I’m gonna miss you LA (sic)” Kim refused to say where she is going and said fans would find out on the last episode of this season’s ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’. She told one follower: “Can’t say yet but it will be revealed during our season finale. But were soooo excited!!! (sic)” Kim - who is dating rapper Kanye West - could be London-bound as she recently said it is her “dream” to move to the UK capital. The 31-year-old socialite and her sisters Kourtney and Khloe have been considering different locations to set up another D-A-S-H clothing boutique and London was one of the favorites. She said: “We would love to set up a D-A-S-H store in London and we were talking about who would take what city and London was one of the options. We don’t spend a lot of time here, so it would be fun. It’s like our dream.” The siblings already have stores in Los Angeles, Miami and New York.

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he 26-year-old actor will appear with his ex-girlfriend - who cheated on him with married ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ director Rupert Sanders - at the international premieres of the final ‘Twilight Saga’ film because he wants to prove he can overlook her actions for the sake of his fans. A source told The Sun newspaper: “It’s a purely business decision. He’s keen to make sure fans and Hollywood see he can be professional when it comes to Kristen.” However, the heartbroken star is still refusing to discuss the 22-year-old brunette beauty in interviews and wants to keep all press relevant to the film. This comes after Kristen announced “we’re going to be fine. We’re totally fine,” when she was quizzed about promoting ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2’ with Robert in November. She added: “We have been waiting for this thing to be unleashed for so long. It was sort of one of those situations where you just have to put yourself in your body and go appreciate the moment.” The couple - who met while playing on-screen lovers Bella Swan and Edward Cullen in the vampire franchise - had been rumored to have rekindled their romance, after it had been “communicated to people” during the Toronto Film Festival that they were back on.

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Depp buys a $4.4 million mansion for Paradis

he pair - who have kids Lily-Rose, 13, and son Jack, nine together -announced their split in June after months of speculation and generous Johnny recently splashed out on the Mediterranean-style, Mulholland Drive home for Vanessa and the kids through a trust according to the New York Daily News. According to real estate site Zillow.com, the five-bedroom 5,800-square-foot home features a woodbeamed ceiling, a pool and hot tub. Speaking about the property, agent Christopher Westley, who was not involved in the sale, said: “You can be on the Strip or at the studios in 10 minutes. The views of the city are beautiful but it’s not in your face.” Vanessa is believed to have embarked on a new romance with millionaire French businessman Guy-David Gharbi after first meeting on a flight from Los Angeles to Paris in May. A source close to Johnny and Vanessa said: “The relationship coming to an end has been tough on both Johnny and Vanessa.

“What they care about more than anything is remaining a close family because their two kids are and always will be their main priority. “But Vanessa and GuyDavid have become close over the last few months and even though they are still taking things slowly, they are dating now. GuyDavid’s made his feelings clear for Vanessa but told her he’s happy to give her all the time she needs.

“They’ve been going for quiet romantic dinners in Paris and just enjoying each other and having fun. It’s been a very healing thing for her.” —Agencies

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Rihanna ‘proud’ of Brown he former couple - who split up in February 2009 after he physically assaulted her - shared a hug when he won the Best Male Video prize at the MTV Video Music Awards, and she appeared to peck Chris on the cheek to congratulate him and friends of the pair say Rihanna is proud of the way he has turned his life around. A source told HollywoodLife.com: “They on a whole new level right now man - you feel me? [Rihanna’s] proud of [Chris] for winning awards and giving back to the community and being a role model. That’s what kind of thing [he’s] on right now. [Chris is] doing his thing and [he’s] being good. That’s what’s up.” This comes after Chris was forced to deny a new tattoo on his neck depicts Rihanna’s battered face after he hit her. The inking appears to show a woman with the same injuries Rihanna sported after the altercation - including a black eye and bruised lip but the tattoo is a MAC cosmetics design of a skull associated with the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead, according to Chris’ representative.

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37

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

LIFESTYLE M u s i c

&

M o v i e s

Michael J Fox participates in 9/11 charity event ichael J Fox did his part to make the anniversary of 9/11 about helping others. The actor spent Tuesday participating in Cantor Fitzgerald’s Charity Day, along with 50 Cent, Edie Falco, Venus Williams, Eli Manning, former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani and a host of other luminaries. Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm that lost 658 employees in the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, has marked the anniversary of that day by raising funds for charities; this year, more than 100 are expected to benefit from the day, which organizers say raised approximately $12 million.

“This is not necessarily a somber event; I think this is more of a celebration, a celebration of humanity, and an acknowledgement of the needs of the people in the community,” Fox said in a phone interview Monday. “On a day when so many were affected by so few in such a negative way, it’s a great way for so few ... to help the wider community in kind of reverse - the energy of that day, the negative energy of that day, with a positive show of support for the community.”

The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research was among the day’s beneficiaries. Fox has been afflicted by the disease for years, is a strong supporter of stem cell research and has lobbied in Washington in his battle to eradicate Parkinson’s. “A lot of the needs were met of the peo-

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Photo shows from left, coaches Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton, host Carson Daly and producer Mark Burnett at a news conference for the singing competition series, “The Voice,” in Malibu, Calif. —AP

Focus shifts to star judges, as contestants falter avier Colon’s family and friends were so excited when he won the first season of “The Voice,” they assured him he was set for life - and famous. The 35-year-old musician knew better. “I never expected that I would be like the next Kelly Clarkson,” Colon said, referring to the superstar who got her start on “American Idol.”

“Expectations and hopes are different things. Fortunately for me, I’ve had a lot of experience in the music business - some good ones and some not so good ones - that led me to auditioning for ‘The Voice.’ I’ve learned to just not expect much.”

More than a year after his win, Colon is without a record contract and still trying to land a breakout hit on the charts. He is just one of the increasing singing contest winners who are struggling to find their way after TV success. Among the more recent “Idol” winners who have faltered after capturing the crown include David Cook and Kris Allen; and while runner-up status or even being a top finalist could lead to fame in the early seasons, like with Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry, prospects for non-winners have dropped so much that this year, “Idol” stopped offering second-place finishers a guaranteed recording contract.

Last season’s “X Factor” winner Melanie Amaro’s debut single, released last month, hasn’t made much of a dent on radio (though her official album debut is in December) and there are concerns that the most recent “Voice” winner, Jermaine Paul, may end up following the same path as Colon. It all points to a troubling trend for those who still believe in their original mission from the early days of reality TV. “That’s what the show, at the end of the day, was designed for,” said Simon Cowell, a judge and creative force “American Idol” who has since moved to “The X Factor,” which debuts yesterday on Fox. “Ratings are important, but if you’re not producing the goods year on year, then it’s sort of pointless making these shows.”

At the same time, there’s been a noticeable shift in the competition shows’ focus. Once content with finding the next Mariah Carey, these days

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it’s more about ... well, Mariah Carey.

Far more ink has been spilled over the new “American Idol” judge’s eight-figure salary and the show’s revolving judging panel than on last year’s winner (Quick: Name him). And the ante is upped repeatedly as new shows pop up all over the television dial - each with its own star-laden list of mentors, coaches and judges.

Over at “The Voice,” which also debuted this week, they’ve made changes for Season 3 they hope will help aspiring artists shine through.

The NBC show has been popular and viewers love the chemistry between coaches Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Yet the show hasn’t produced a breakout star yet, something producers hope will change now that they’ve altered some of the rules that led to quick eliminations.

“It’s not that long of a season, so by the time we get to the end it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t know who I like. I happened so fast,’” Shelton said. “And we do realize that the attention’s focused on us more than it needs to be. And the viewer ... that’s the only thing they’ve had time to figure out because they’ve had 60-something contestants to wade through.”

Shelton and Levine have tried to extend the buzz for their contestants by taking them out on tour. And Green says he tries to stay in contact with each team member he’s had since “The Voice” shot to the top of ratings when it debuted last year. The flamboyant entertainer thinks the lack of post-competition star power might have something to do with the deteriorating music industry itself. “It’s a genuine concern of mine, man, because I’m concerned about the industry at large, that it does not carry and develop more young talent,” Green said. “We’re talking about stars, sensations. I just don’t see those fireworks that once were. It’s not as exciting. It’s not as plentiful.”

Cowell argues you need more than star singers to anoint the next big talent. On “X Factor” Epic Records chairman/CEO L.A. Reid is as crucial as celebrity judges, which this year includes Britney Spears and Demi Lovato. Over at “Idol,” there’s question about the status of Randy Jackson -

the last link to the show’s original panel with Cowell and Paula Abdul. The rumored list of names who might replace outgoing stars Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler has included Nicki Minaj, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban, not executives or producers.

“I wouldn’t trust four singers on one of these shows,” Cowell said.

“You’ve got to have record executives balanced with the artists. The artists give one perspective and the record label gives a completely different perspective.” Of course, the celebrity argument cuts both ways. Some note it may be too much to ask for these shows to produce such a rare commodity. John Rich, who’s actually moving in with a contestant for 72 hours on the CW’s “The Next,” says those who’ve gone on to become stars did so because they had something special: “Sometimes great singers win the talent contest and sometimes great artists win the talent contest. More times than not, probably a great singer wins, not a great artist.”

As Colon predicted, the year since he won has been challenging. He asked out of his record contract with Universal Republic when he felt he wasn’t getting the necessary promotional push and support. But he recently wrapped a swing through South America with Maroon 5 at Levine’s invitation. He played in front of 35,000 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, perhaps the highlight of his career. And more importantly, he’s now able to draw several hundred out to a gig in North Dakota, drawing on his own star power. “The Voice” didn’t give him stardom, but the wave of momentum from the show has given him a career.

“My expectations going into the show were just, you know, I want this to be a good opportunity for me and good exposure and hopefully I’ll be in a better place than I was before the show started,” Colon said. “I’m definitely there and beyond that.” —AP

Paraguay’s lone film thrills Toronto festival wo Paraguay filmmakers proved this week that a hit movie can be made on a small budget, with the international premiere of their crime thriller“7 boxes”(7 Cajas) at the Toronto film festival. Directors Juan Carlos Maneglia and Tana Schembori’s first feature film is the only one from Paraguay being screened at North America’s biggest film festival. Only about 20 films have ever been made in the small Latin American country, according to Maneglia and Schembori, which makes“7 Boxes”-shot and edited for only $500,000 — a must see for festival audiences in Toronto.

The action in the film takes place entirely in the squalid, overcrowded labyrinth of outdoor markets in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion.

Victor, a 17-year-old wheelbarrow carter played by Celso Franco, is offered a crisp $100 bill for a seemingly simple task: transport seven boxes to an undisclosed location on the outskirts of the market. The pay is a small fortune for the boy and more than enough money to buy a camera cell phone that he hopes will help him achieve his dream of launching a movie acting career.

A wisecracking neighbor, Lise (Lalil Gonzalez), joins him on the quest. But as the night wears on, a terrified Victor realizes he may be a pawn in a dangerous game and that the seven boxes’contents may be more than

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he bargained for in this homage to the Hollywood action genre. Beset by thieves, rival gangs and the police, he pushes a rickety wooden wheelbarrow past butchers’blocks, pawnbrokers and vendors to an explosive, nail-biting finale.“Tana and I made television commercials before this. One day, we filmed a spot in the Asuncion market and it made us want to shoot a feature film there,”Maneglia told AFP. “It’s a very Paraguayan film: the locals’sense of humor, their way of talking... In fact Victor and Lise are actual people,”says Tana Schembori.“Victor in real life transports crates in the market and his girlfriend is very bold.”

The longtime friends and collaborators secured funds to start making the movie from Paraguay’s state-owned utility and Asuncion’s cultural center. In 2011 they showed an unpolished version to audiences at the San Sebastian film festival, where it won the Work in Progress Award. The prize consisted of cash to carry out post-production and completion of the film in Spain. The movie was finally released in Paraguay on August 10, 2012, receiving praise from critics and the public, and breaking local box office records. —AFP

ple who were affected that day as much as they could be met beyond the lasting feelings that go on forever ... the fact that it was an impetus to branch out and to help other people in other communities and continue

This image shows actor Michael J. Fox at the Cantor Fitzgerald Charity Day event yesterday in New York. —AP

guys, so maybe they had a special place in their hearts for me and my work,” referring to the capitalist-loving character that made him famous some three decades ago. Fox is returning to sitcoms after a decade-long absence. He’s working with NBC on a show that will touch on his Parkinson’s struggles; it is set to debut next year. “I’m really excited about that. It’s a great idea and it’s a great group of people I’m working with and NBC has been really supportive of the idea ... and obviously shown that they’re willing to take a chance on us,” he said.

Fox took time off from television while he was dealing with Parkinson’s, which degrades the central nervous system and can cause slurred speech and impaired motor skills. But Fox said his condition is good. “I was just feeling better and things are working for me medicationwise, and I just thought, ‘Why don’t I take this opportunity to do it?’ I wake up every day and I feel good and if I don’t go forward with something like this, it’s another day wasted when I should be doing what I’m doing.” —AP

the spirit of generosity, of humanity, I think was really key in moving forward,” Fox said.

Fox added that he was grateful for the support from the financial community: “I like to joke that Alex Keaton was the role model for so many of these

Mike Tyson says he wants to ‘dance and sing’ ormer heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson said yesterday he wants to “dance and sing” in musicals as his next challenge, after leaving the ring and cleaning up his troubled life. “I want to dance and sing. I want to do some dancing and singing musicals,” Tyson told reporters during a visit to Hong Kong when asked what he wanted to do with his life next. The 48year-old Hall of Fame boxer who served time in jail for rape and infamously bit off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a fight in 1997, said he now just wanted to “hang out and entertain”.

“I don’t have the desire to be that guy anymore,” he said of his previous life as the selfstyled “baddest man on the planet” who won 44 of his 58 fights by knockout. “I was always the bad guy that wanted to be a good guy, but I didn’t know how to be a good guy. I was always so concenUS boxer and former heavy- trating on being bad.” Tyson is weight world champion in Hong Kong to address the CLSA Investors’ Forum about Mike Tyson addresses a how he overcame his troubled press conference in Hong upbringing, the end of his brilKong yesterday. —AFP liant but turbulent sporting career and his addiction to drugs and alcohol, to become a better man.

He admitted he didn’t have much to offer the high-powered international business audience on the European debt crisis or the direction of Asian

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markets. The Brooklyn native, who squandered millions of dollars on drink and drugs, said the business of boxing was, for him, not about the money. “I didn’t care about my business. I only cared about my glory,” he said. “You can’t buy that ... (I was) the best fighter in the world. Nobody could beat me with money in my prime, you had to be a better fighter and there wasn’t any.”

But he said he had learned a thing or two about business over the years. “You learn to always trust your decision-making skills, you learn to always have your own fiduciary lawyers with you, and you also learn to always trust your partners, which are my wife,” he said. Tyson, who has a tattoo of Chairman Mao on his right arm, said he was thrilled to visit Bruce Lee’s home town and paid tribute to the late legend of kung fu cinema. “Bruce Lee’s concepts and philosophy is totally off the hook. Bruce Lee’s amazing,” he said.

“Bruce Lee was a street fighter, he’s got to fight to the death... I’m not going to fight Bruce Lee.” Tyson is no stranger to the stage, having appeared in films and television shows. Last year he performed with his wife, Lakiha Spicer, in Argentinian dance show Bailando. Earlier this year he made his Broadway debut with his one-man show “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth”, directed by Spike Lee. “I’m just so happy to become this guy, to be a responsible adult. For a guy like me this is very courageous,” he said. —AFP

Review

‘Arbitrage’ a well-acted guilty pleasure reed is good, until it isn’t anymore, is “Arbitrage,” a guilty-pleasure thriller for these tough economic times. In directing his first feature, writer and documentarian Nicholas Jarecki shows great command of tone - a balance of sex, danger and manipulation with some insiderish business talk and a healthy sprinkling of dark humor to break up the tension. His film is well-cast and strongly acted, and while it couldn’t be more relevant, it also recalls the decadence of 1980s Wall Street, shot in 35mm as it is, with a synth-heavy score from composer Cliff Martinez (who wrote similar music for “Drive”).

“Arbitrage” is a lurid look at a lavish lifestyle that allows us to cluck disapprovingly while still vicariously enjoying its luxurious trappings. Richard Gere stars as Robert Miller, a billionaire hedge-fund magnate who, at the film’s start, is magnanimously sharing his wisdom in an interview with none other than CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo. As he turns 60, Robert would seem to have it all - looks, wealth, a loving family and respect among his peers. And yet he always wants more, and feels emboldened by the different set of rules and morals that seems to apply in his rarefied world. So he “borrows” $417 million from a fellow tycoon to cover a hole in his portfolio and make his company look as stable as possible as it’s about to be acquired by a bank. This is otherwise known as fraud. And despite the loyalty and support of his smart, beautiful wife (Susan Sarandon),

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he has a hot (and hot-headed) French mistress on the side (former Victoria’s Secret model Laetitia Casta) who runs in stylish, hard-partying art circles.

(That’s another ‘80s throwback: the blasÈ coke consumption). Both these schemes explode in his face over the course of a few fateful days. An audit of his firm has raised some red flags, making the potential

buyer turn reluctant and evasive. This prompts the suspicions of his devoted daughter (Brit Marling, every bit Gere’s equal), who’s also the company’s chief financial officer and heir apparent. But more immediately and dramatically, Robert is involved in a deadly accident that puts the police on his tail (Tim Roth plays the lead detective with a wonderfully thick New York accent) and requires him to enlist the help of a kid from Harlem (Nate Parker) who’s the son of his late, longtime chauffeur.

That’s a lot of plates to keep spinning at once;

just the financial storyline alone could have sufficed without the affair messing things up further. What’s surprising about “Arbitrage” is that Jarecki never judges this man for the tricky position he’s gotten himself into, and never tries to steer our feelings toward him, either. Gere is so charming, so irresistible when he’s on top of the world - when he’s got all those plates humming in unison - that he kind of makes you root for his character to get away with it all. His smooth, placid demeanor is perfect here, which make the few times he does snap seem that much more startling.

The film’s strong women don’t quite get enough to do until the third act, when Sarandon and Marling both have powerful showdowns with Gere.

But the entire supporting cast is well-chosen, down to the actors who appear in just a couple of scenes, like Stuart Margolin as Robert’s dryly funny lawyer and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter as the head of the bank that’s acquiring Robert’s company. Robert may not learn anything by the end, and teetering on the brink of serious trouble doesn’t make him a more decent person; actually, he gets nastier and more demanding as the screws tighten. As Parker’s character puts it: “You think money is gonna fix this?” Robert doesn’t miss a beat in responding: “What else is there?” “Arbitrage,” from Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, is rated R for language, brief violent images and drug use. Running time: 100 minutes. Three stars out of four. —AP

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very so often at Fashion Week, there is a moment when the runway is transported from the bustle of New York to a different time or place. Who needs a plane ticket to join the jet set? Might as well let your clothes do the globe-trotting. At Vera Wang on Tuesday, it was an idealized India. Tory Burch’s muse was a preppy American who goes out to see the world. J Crew had in mind a beach vacation. Rodarte? Medieval role playing. “If you see a great

dress, you can build a lot around it,” said Ty Hunter, Beyonce’s stylist, who said the right look might even inspire a real-life trip to shoot a music video. Editors, stylists, retailers and celebrities will continue gathering at Merdedes-Benz Fashion Week through Thursday before heading to London, Milan and Paris.

TORY BURCH Imagine this young woman, all preppy and proper.

She buys a ticket to Africa, to India and then to Mexico. She’s hooked on exotic lands, and she loves bringing home the treasures she finds there. That’s the muse who dominated Tory Burch’s runway. Her first look was for departure day: a prim wheat-print silk faille day dress with a suitcase-style handbag in the matching print. By Look No. 4, she’s loosened up and wearing an eyelet sundress. Halfway through the spring collection, she’s wearing an embellished crocheted jacket, a knit T-shirt and fringed, crocheted raffia skirt. She has a fringed knit poncho with a hood that’s decorated with a floral applique. Probably to the shock of her friends and family back home, this woman even wears tie-dye.

“This was an experiment in layering, an American remix,” explained Burch. “She’s layering on all the things she’s discovering. She wears an evening gown with Moroccan moccasins.”

THEYSKENS THEORY The Theyskens Theory line marries edgy-style darling Olivier Theyskens with accessible Theory, but the new spring collection presented a singular vision. It was an all-day wardrobe for the cool urbanite who might be a little more romantic than she thought. She likes strong shoulders, even when she’s wearing a knit T-shirt dress. She also wears a lot of cropped pleated pants, often leather ones, with high waistbands, and cropped jackets.

When she wears a coat, it’s long like a duster.

While Monday’s preview was for spring, the mostly dark palette suited the hideaway venue in an unused part of a midtown post office.

Theyskens, however, did embrace some strikingly light shades of denim.-AP

VERA WANG Vera Wang’s India-inspired clothes were quiet, delicate and lovely, sometimes requiring a trained eye to notice Wang’s nod to the Nehru collar or choli jacket. They invoked India without ornate trappings or touristy gimmicks. Wang’s Alist crowd (Stacy Keibler caused a frontrow frenzy) could appreciate the soutache embroidery, which looks a bit like braided lace, that decorated a white sleeveless V-neck shift, and the chartreuse brocade peplum top with gold jeweled epaulettes paired with a chantilly handpieced lace sheath. The collarless, sleeveless tailored jackets were a bit more obvious in their reference to India, but not too much so. “The collection is out of India, but India is just the starting point,” Wang said in a backstage interview. “There is no belly dancing, there are no sarongs, there are no saris. It is about the sort of discipline about Indian men’s clothes like Nehru, against the mystery and sensuality of Indian women - but not literally.”

NAEEM KHAN The models must have been grateful - especially their feet. At Naeem Khan’s Spring/Summer 2013 preview on Tuesday, most designs, except the fanciest gowns, were paired not with the usual stiletto heels but with flat sandals, like ones you’d saunter over to the beach in. The Indianborn Khan, who famously designed Michelle Obama’s first state-dinner dress, remained true to his glamorous roots, presenting a number of redcarpet-ready gowns. But he also broadened his collection by adding separates and daywear, as in cotton sateen pants paired with a bustier, or a cashmere off-the-shoulder sweater, or a quilted trench in bright blue. Khan ended his show with a series of beaded chiffon caftans, in marigold, coral, blue and blush.

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RODARTE Punk met the medieval princess on the catwalk at Rodarte, where the design-duo sisters said they were inspired by medieval and role-playing games. Laura and Kate Mulleavy took the edge off grommet-covered leather pants by pairing them with silk blouses, and toughened up a

brocade organza dress a leather embroidered bodice. The peach halter gown with a yellow waistband could entice a hero for a damsel in distress. But don’t mistake this spring collection for anything but modern: The chunky shoe made of mixed materials and a computer-cut heel made sure of that. The cagelike corsets used here fit into this apparent

Designer Betsey Johnson, center, is joined on the runway by singer Cyndi Lauper, right, after the Betsey Johnson Spring 2013 collection show during Fashion Week, yesterday. — AP/AFP photos

ALICE AND OLIVIA

fascination with harnesses this round of fashion previews, but they somehow seemed to make more sense on this runway where the Mulleavys don’t pull any punches.

Designer Betsey Johnson goes into a split after doing a cartwheel on the runway.

Paltrow named best dressed woman

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

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hey are known for their sleek good looks, alluring eyes and sunny disposition, but one group of “Burmese” are virtually unknown in modern Myanmar-the country’s namesake pedigree cats. Once believed to be the favoured pet of royalty and guardians of temples, the Burmese cat had vanished from its Southeast Asian ancestral homeland until enthusiasts decided to return them.

Yin Myo Su, who took on the project with the aim of preserving the country’s heritage as it emerges from military rule, has installed a growing family of the pedigree cats in a house on the shores of Inle Lake, in east-

This picture taken on August 7, 2012 shows pedigree Burmesecats in their enclosure at the ‘Inthar Heritage House’ located on the shores of Inle Lake in eastern Shan State. — AFP photos

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rmed with sharp knives and chopping boards, a new army of US diplomats is to begin navigating rough global waters. But they will more likely have mouths watering, than leave a sour taste behind. In her latest example of

Chef Amanda Freitag holds two dishes in the Benjamin Franklin room. what she calls “smart power,” the top US diplomat Hillary Clinton has recruited some of America’s top chefs to help in her quest to spread US diplomacy and values around the world.

More than 50 of the nation’s finest culinary wizards, many of whom are household names across the United States, have signed up to join The American Chef Corps, newly launched at the State Department. It is a first for the United States, which while it has often been accused by its opponents of seeking world dominance, is rarely charged with trying to butter up other nations with its fine cuisine.

“Unfortunately what most countries know about us is the fast food industry... but there is this most wonderful American culinary story just dying to be told,” Ambassador Capricia Penavic Marshall told AFP. When Clinton, the former first lady, first arrived at the State Department in 2009 as the new secretary of state “food was so second, tertiary” to the serious talks taking place every day, said Marshall. “We started to chew on how can we engage further with our dinners, luncheon,” she said. “Why aren’t we inviting that in as part of the experience? Let’s use that as a diplomatic tool.” As chief of protocol, Marshall’s office oversees the lavish dinners and lunches laid on for visiting dignitaries. While donning their aprons to whip up a delicious meal, the new chefs corps will also help foster cross-cultural exchanges between the United States and other nations.

“The first sign of welcome when you walk into somebody’s house is they give you something to eat, a little snack. Automatically your guard is dropped, you feel welcome,” said pastry chef Duff Goldman, who has taken cake decorating to a whole

ern Shan State. The hotelier hopes to raise the profile of the breed among Myanmar people and even gave one to democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi-what seemed like a sure-fire strategy to give the cats a badly needed public relations boost. But the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s notoriously possessive dog became “jealous” of the feline intruder and Suu Kyi was forced to send the cat back.

“So now we are taking care of her cat at home as well! In case one day she can take it back with her,” Yin Myo Su told AFP. From just seven cats imported in 2008 — some sourced from Britain’s Harrods department store-the project now has 50 moggies living around Inle, including nine kittens, and has become a tourist draw. A further 17 have been given to cat lovers in Shan State and the main city of Yangon. Yin Myo Suwho has pursued the project despite a slight allergy to felines-gives neutered Burmese cats to interested local people free and charges foreigners 500,000 kyats ($580).

“They like to be cuddled all the time,” she said at the cats’ home, the Inthar Heritage House, as a purring chocolate brown feline wound itself around her feet before collapsing onto its back for a tickle. The idea of repatriating Burmese cats came from the China Exploration and Research Society (CERS), whose activities have included tracing a new source of the Yangtze River and promoting a yak cheese cottage industry in the Chinese province of Yunnan.

All this for cats According to the non-profit group, Burmese catswhich share characteristics with other regional breeds such as the Siamese-have existed in mainland Southeast Asia for over a thousand years. The breed

new level. “If people are coming to this country, and they sit down and I come out with a tray of cupcakes, ‘Hey I got cupcakes I made in the color of your flag,’ how cool is that? “I feel welcome, I feel relaxed, progress will be made. If you just walk into a room and bring on clip boards, and turn on laptops it’s so impersonal and cold.”

‘Oldest diplomatic tool’ Goldman-who has become a hit star of the reality TV show “Ace of Cakes” featuring his own Baltimorebased bakery-will undertake his first diplomatic mission to Bogota, icing a huge cake outside in front of some 6,000 people. “You cook a meal and it’s a way to send a message,” agreed top chef Jose Andres, who moved to the US capital from Spain 20 years ago. Most recently, Andres was asked to prepare a dinner for new French President Francois Hollande and his partner, Valerie Trierweiler, during their first visit to the White House in May. Andres, who is the owner of seven restaurants around the Washington area and suburbs, said he created “an American historical menu”, delving into his vast library of cookbooks. From the 1931 “Joy of Cooking”, the first edition of what has become one of America’s most-published cookbooks, he whipped up an appetizer of shrimp with grapefruit with French dressing, served with a milk punch cocktail devised by Benjamin Franklin, a recipe dating back to the 1770s. This was followed by a gazpacho from the first book of American recipes “The Virginia House-wife” published in 1825 by Mary Randolph.

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This picture taken on August 7, 2012 shows an animal keeper feeding pedigree Burmese cats. was diluted out of existence by an influx of other types of cats to the region in the 19th and 20th century, with only a handful of purebreds taken to Britain during colonial rule, which ended in 1948.

Much of the modern breed has descended from a single female cat, Wong Mau, who was taken to the United States in 1930, according to world pedigree organization The International Cat Association. The short-haired cats have golden eyes and come in a range of colors from silvery blue to cream, although rich brown is the primary color. “We are quite happy with the reproduction because we got (mostly) original colors,” said Yin Myo Su, who runs the upmarket Inle Princess hotel.

She has two of the pedigree moggies at home in a menagerie of animals that she calls a “mini zoo”, including ducks, pigs, goats, geese and a monkey they have

to keep hold off because it was “a gift from a monk”.

The hotelier is involved with an array of preservation projects and said she was keen for the house to be more than just a picturesque cattery. “It’s hard for people to have a house in this region and I am building all this for cats? No way,” she said, adding that a restaurant, serving traditional recipes, was added to cover the $800-a-month cost of looking after the cats.

Among her other projects, Yin Myo Su is building a centre for the study and preservation of fish native to Inle Lake, but she said her staff have become sceptical about her motives for the new aquatic Endeavour.

“They laugh at me and say: ‘Is it cat food?’”— AFP

“She traveled around Europe when she was young, and she took many recipes from around Europe, French, Italian, and so she incorporated them into her book,” Andres said. “And one of the recipes was gazpacho, so you could argue that gazpacho is actually genuinely American,” he laughed.

“Food isn’t traditionally thought of as a diplomatic tool, but I think it’s the oldest diplomatic tool,” Clinton said in a taped address to the launch of the new diplomatic initiative.

“Sharing a meal can help people transcend boundaries, and build bridges in a way that nothing else can. Certainly some of the most meaningful conversations I’ve had with my counterparts around the world have taken place at breakfasts, lunches and dinners.” The chefs are freely donating their time to the initiative, while the State Department is partnering with food manufacturers such as Mars, and will also be aided by the New York-based James Beard Foundation, set up in 1986 in honor of Beard, a cookbook author and dean of American cuisine.

“There is so much untapped potential in the power of food,” White House assistant chef and senior policy adviser, Sam Kass, said at the launch. “It’s an incredible honor, but it is also an incredible responsibility,” he said, adding “this is just the very People take photos during the press preview of the “Regarding beginning, and I hope in 10 years, 20 years, this just Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years” exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum becomes diplomacy, this is it ... This is a key compo- of Art in New York. — AFP photos nent of everything.”— AFP

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Chefs make dishes in the Benjamin Franklin room at the Department of State in Washington, DC, during the gathering of the newly-created American Chef Corps, a network of chefs from across the US. —AFP photos

ndy Warhol wasn’t just prolific himself, but inspired the whole field of contemporary art, and now an exhibit opening at New York’s Met traces that influence across half a century. “Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years” opens Wednesday until the end of the year and is being presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the first to examine the king of Pop Art’s wide-ranging legacy. “Warhol’s work has challenged, inspired, amused, enraged and provoked hundreds of other reactions from artists,” Thomas Campbell, the Met’s director, told reporters at a preview.

About 45 works by Warhol, who died in 1987, are being shown alongside 100 works by 60 other artists from different countries in five thematic sections. Together they juxtapose Warhol’s paintings, sculptures and films alongside a myriad of responses or reinterpretations. “There

are many conversations going on in the galleries,” Marla Prather, the curator, said. She described the selection of the works as “enormous and complicated.”

The themes include “Daily News: From banality to disaster,” which explores Warhol’s fascination with advertising and news reporting of tragedies, and sees him paired with the likes of Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. “Queer Studies: Shifting Identities” sees Warhol paired with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, while “Portraiture: Celebrity and Power” pairs him with contemporary artists including Elizabeth Peyton and Cindy Sherman. The exhibition had originally been created for the Detroit Institute of Art, but the museum was unable to host the show and it was moved to the Met.—AFP