13 Nov 2011

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

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17 7Arab League 8 21suspends Syria, mulls sanctions Kuwaiti MPs want Syrian envoy expelled

Bahrain busts cell plotting major attacks DUBAI: Bahrain said yesterday a cell planning to “target” its interior ministry, the Saudi embassy and a causeway linking the island state with neighbouring Saudi Arabia had been broken up and its members captured. Four Bahraini members of the cell were detained by authorities in neighbouring Qatar after they entered the Gulf Arab state from Saudi Arabia, the state news agency BNA quoted an interior ministry spokesman as saying. The four had documents and a computer that included details on vital installations, the news agency added.

“The Qatari security authorities questioned the suspects and enquiries in Qatar revealed that the suspects had illegally left Bahrain after being incited by others to head to Iran, passing through Qatar and Syria, to establish a group that carries out armed terrorist operations in Bahrain against vital establishments and individuals,” BNA reported. “Enquiries to date have confirmed that the suspects were targeting the King Fahd Causeway, the ministry of interior building, the Saudi Arabia embassy and individuals,” it added.

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CAIRO: A Syrian protester kicks a burning picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad during a protest in front of the Arab League headquarters yesterday. — AP

Crowds cheer as Berlusconi quits

ROME: Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi waves as he leaves the Quirinale Presidential Palace after meeting President Giorgio Napolitano yesterday. — AFP

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi quit power yesterday to loud cheering from a crowd of thousands in Rome after a wave of market panic that has shaken the eurozone brought his rule to an end. Berlusconi formally submitted his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano, who announced he will now hold consultations on the formation of a new transition government as Italy rushes to fill the political vacuum. “I am deeply embittered,” 75-year-old Berlusconi, who has been in power for 10 of the past 17 years, told reporters after his waving following his last cabinet meeting was greeted by shouts of “Buffoon!” and “Go Home!”

The billionaire tycoon resigned following parliamentary approval of a package of economic reforms that he had promised the European Union. “We hope today marks the beginning of a new spring in Italy,” Massimo Donadi, a lawmaker from the opposition Italy of Values party. Dario Franceschini of the main opposition Democratic Party said: “Today the curtain falls on a long and painful phase of Italian political history. “The country wants to turn the page and start again,” he added.

In the streets of central Rome, crowds gathered chanting “Resign! Resign!” and holding up placards reading: “Bye Bye Silvio!”. Motorbikes streamed past waving Italian flags and an impromptu choir sang: “Hallelujah!” The prime minister waved to the crowd after his last cabinet meeting despite the jeering.

There were also small groups of supporters who shouted “Silvio! Silvio!” and said they were bereft that their beloved leader was leaving.

Former European Commissioner Mario Monti is expected to be given the task of trying to form an administration to manage an escalating financial crisis. The 68-year-old economist Monti has a formidable reputation as the former top trust-busting bureaucrat in Brussels who took on US corporate giants Continued on Page 13

He told reporters in the capital Astana that the man - named as M K Kariyev and born in 1977 - had started his rampage midmorning by shooting dead two members of the security forces who had been trailing him. The man then hijacked a car and raided a weapons’ store, killing its security guard and a passer-by. After stealing two rifles from the shop, he killed another two police who were trying to apprehend him and also seized their weapons, Isayev said. He took potshots at the building of Kazakhstan’s security service but was then apprehended by a unit of transport police.

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CAIRO: The Arab League suspended Syria yesterday until President Bashar al-Assad implements an Arab deal to end violence against protesters, and called for sanctions and transition talks with the opposition.

Syrian envoy Yussef Ahmad angrily denounced the move as illegal, saying Damascus had already implemented the deal and claiming the United States had ordered the suspension. He also charged the League was trying to “provoke foreign intervention in Syria, as was the case in Libya”.

In Kuwait, riot police and special forces yesterday dispersed youths protesting outside the Syrian embassy in Mishref. Meanwhile MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei called on the Syrian ambassador to leave, saying he was not welcome in Kuwait anymore. MP Mohammed Hayef also urged the Kuwaiti government to expel the Syrian ambassador. “Do it now, or are you waiting to act late as usual?” he asked.

US President Barack Obama praised the move, EU foreign policy chief Catherin Ashton also expressed her full support and the opposition Syrian National Council said it was a “step in the right direction”. A statement, read by Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem AlThani, said the League decided “to suspend Syrian delegations’ activities in Arab League meetings” and to implement “economic and political sanctions” against Damascus. In a move which an EU spokesman said the bloc “fully” backs, Sheikh Hamad said the suspension will last “until the total implementation (by Syria) of the Arab plan for resolving the crisis accepted by Damascus on November 2.”

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Massive blast kills 17 at Iran military base TEHRAN: A massive explosion at a Revolutionary Guards base just west of the Iranian capital yesterday killed 17 members of the elite force, including a top commander, officials said, revising the toll down from 27. “Unfortunately the fax that I received from the site of the incident was not legible, and the figure 27 was announced, whereas the number of martyrs stands at 17,” commander Ramezan Sharif said. According to state television, Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam, a Guards commander in charge of the force’s selfsufficiency unit, was killed in the blast.

An emergency official, Mojtaba Khaledi, quoted by the Mehr news agency, said 23 people were injured in the blast and taken to nearby hospitals.

Sharif said some of those injured were in critical condition, adding that the blast occurred as “ammunition was taken out of the depot and was being moved outside toward the appropriate site”. The explosion shortly after 1 pm (0930 GMT) rocked the ammunition depot of the base in Bid Ganeh, near the town of Malard on the western outskirts of Tehran, some 20 km from the city centre, according to media reports. It shattered the windows of residential neighbourhoods in the western suburbs of Tehran, witnesses told AFP. It was heard in the city centre.

The deputy head of the national security commission, Esmaeel Kosari, said parliament would open a probe into the blast, the ISNA news agency reported. Hossein Garousi, a lawmaker from the area, ruled out the blast being the result of “an act of sabotage or in any way political”. He told parliament’s website the blast had destroyed “a large part of the ammunition depot.” Sharif also

Gunman kills 7 in Kazakhstan ASTANA: Seven people were killed yesterday in the southern Kazakh city of Taraz when a suspected Islamist went on a shooting rampage and then blew himself up, officials said.

Kazakh prosecutors said they had opened a case into “acts of terrorism” after the shootings by a lone gunman, one of the deadliest attacks for years in a country known as being the most stable in the turbulent Central Asia region. “A follower of jihadism carried out a series of especially grave crimes which led to the death of seven people, including five members of the security forces,” Kazakhstan’s deputy prosecutor general Nurmukhanbet Isayev said.

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denied what he said was speculation in the Western media that the military base was linked to Iran’s nuclear program. “This blast is not related to any nuclear tests that some foreign media have reported,” he told Mehr. Tension has risen in recent weeks between Iran and its enemies Israel and the United States, which have not ruled out attacking facilities whose occupants they believe are working towards making nuclear weapons.

Helicopters and ambulances were dispatched to the area, ISNA quoted an official at Tehran’s medical emergency centre, Hassan Abbasi, as saying. Earlier, a Mehr reporter said two hours after the blast, a fire was still raging, and that there were huge traffic jams on roads leading to the base. Some media reported there had been two explosions and the head of Iran’s Red Crescent organisation said there was a risk of further blasts. Mahmoud Mozafar told Mehr that only six paramedics had been allowed into the Amir Al-Momenin military base and that thick smoke was hampering the rescue operation.

In Oct 2010, a blast at a Guards ammunition storage in the western city of Khorramabad killed 18 of its members and left dozens injured.

Set up after the Islamic revolution of 1979 to defend it against internal and external threats, the Guards have emerged as a powerful military and economic force in Iran in recent years. The Guards and some of its industrial wings have been targeted by international sanctions for their role in Iran’s controversial pursuit of nuclear energy and for involvement in the crackdown that followed the disputed presidential election in 2009. — Agencies

In NY, ambivalence over surveillance

NEW YORK: In this Oct 25, 2011 photo, Ali A El Sayed, owner of the Kabab Cafe in the Astoria neighborhood, prepares food as he discusses the NYPD surveillance program that targets Muslims and Arabs. — AP

NEW YORK: Vicki Grouzis shook her head in disbelief.

Police are watching Arabs and Muslims in New York City? Often with no evidence of wrongdoing? She frowned and dismissively waved a hand in the air. “It’s a free country. This is not supposed to happen in America,” said Grouzis, who came here from Greece 35 years ago. And yet...”I say yes, and I say no. It’s good for the United States, but not good for everybody.” There is an ambivalence among many New Yorkers in the wake of an AP investigation showing that after 9/11, police began spying on Muslim and Arab neighborhoods, often based only on ethnicity. The competing impulses of civic welcome and civic safety are evident throughout the boroughs.

Suspicion has long been part of the New York immigrant experience. From Italians accused of pledging allegiance to the pope to Germans feared to be signaling submarines outside the harbor, many newcomers have struggled to prove themselves truly American especially in times of conflict.

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

LOCAL

Opposition prepares for double sessions Move to coordinate stance KUWAIT: The stage is set tomorrow (Monday) for a special parliamentary session to vote on financial privileges for teachers and college students, while the opposition continues its preparations for any scenarios that take place that day, as well as the following day. Tuesday’s regular weekly parliamentary session is scheduled to feature the debate on a grilling motion against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, and the presentation of another motion against him.

Whilst opposition MPs are set to meet today (Sunday) in order to coordinate on their stance for Monday’s and Tuesday’s sessions, one opposition insider indicated that they will be preparing for scenarios that includes attempts to foil the enforcement of the teachers’ allowance bill, or attempts to foil the debate of the premier’s grilling filed by MPs Ahmad Al-Saadoun and Abdurrahman Al-Anjari.

Meanwhile, the head of the parliament’s educational committee, MP Dr. Aseel Al-Awadhi, said in a statement issued on Friday that a majority vote in favor the teachers’ allowance bill would be inevitable regardless of any attempts by education minister Ahmad Al-

Mulaifi to promote a performance-based bonus system when he attends the committee meeting today (Sunday). MPs Saleh Ashour and Dr. Ali Al-Omair also spoke in suppor t of the mandatory allowances in statements issued on Friday.

Yesterday, several dailies published a statement from the Kuwait Teachers Society in which it expressed “confidence” in seeing the allowances bill finally passing on Monday. The KTS statement also condemned Al-Mulaifi for “all the hopeless attempts to foil the allowance in favor of the [performance-based] bonus that he proposes and so far failed to convince MPs of.”

In other news, the case in which former Bahraini MP Hassan Marzouq was allowed to enter Kuwait continues to garner angry reactions from Kuwaiti lawmakers, with a number of them reiterating their criticism of Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlHumoud Al-Sabah over allowing Marzouq access despite an entrance ban issued against him previously by the State Security Service.

“The Interior Minister bears political responsibility for failing to apply the law with regards

to the security restrictions against het Bahraini lawmaker who entered Kuwait after his ban was lifted,” said MP Falah Al-Sawagh, while fellow Kuwaiti MP Dr. Walid Al-Tabtabaie urged Minister Al-Sabah to avoid falling under pressure “and reinstate the ban within 24 hours.” AlTabtabaie further hinted that the ban was lifted in the first place “following intervention from a [Kuwaiti] MP,” although he did not name the lawmaker in question. Meanwhile, MP Mubarak Al-Waalan hinted that this case was highlighted on purpose “to take the spotlight off the case in which a senior Ministry of Interior official is involved in attacking a female citizen.”

Meanwhile, a separate report quoting a security insider familiar with the issue indicated that Marzouq was never actually banned from entering Kuwait, “but there is a notice to coordinate with the State Security Service should he enter Kuwait, as part of a GCC cooperation initiative, given the reservations [the Bahraini government has] concerning Marzouq.” Speaking on condition of anonymity, the insider also noted that Marzouq was included in the most recent amnesty issued by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. — Al-Jarida, Al-Rai

Superstition runs riot for 11-11-11

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The special nature of November 11, 2011 - or 11-11-11 - led thousands of credulous people around the world to choose to hold their special events - weddings, christenings and even births - taking place on such a memorable date.

Kuwait was not immune from the effec t, with 28-year- old Kuwaiti Fatima even moving her wedding forward, despite this leading to hasty preparations, just so she could say she got married on this special day.

Although she wasn’t able to fully prepare for the celebrations as she might otherwise have done, she told the Kuwait Times that it was definitely worth it. “It was my idea to get married on November

11, 2011, as this date won’t be repeated,” she explained. “It’s a special date consisting of the same number repeated, and this will make everyone remember it.

I wasn’t totally prepared, but I got ever ything done fast so I could get married on that date.”

Self-declared psychics and fortune tellers, however, warned people against marrying on 1111-11, insisting that this combination of numbers would simply bring them misfortune. Those who follow numerology, believing that numbers have a mysterious mystical power, were also fearful of the paranormal significance of Saturday ’s date. “My friend got married on October 10, 2010 - 10-10-10 - and got divorced after a month, so when I told her that I was getting mar-

ried on 11-11-11, she told me not to choose that date, said Fatima.

“But I don’t believe that the date will change anything.” The ‘magic’ date was certainly lucky for wedding-related businesses, with multipurpose social halls and hotels in Kuwait all noting a surge in demand for reservations on Friday. “All the hotels’ ballrooms were reserved that day and we had more than one wedding party,” said Fathi Osman, the events director at the Sheraton Hotel. “We had more reservations than usual compared to other Fridays or weekends, while the catering the hotel provides for outside weddings was also far greater than usual.” Beauty salons also got very lucky on 1111-11, with the volume of wedding traffic leading to high num-

bers of customers. “The salon was crowded from the morning onwards,” said Marilyn from AlFay Salon. “ We had more customers than during average days.

We did the make -up for two brides and tens of wedding guests. I certainly think that this special date brought our business more profits.” Some mothers even chose to have their labor induced, despite the risks, simply so that their children could have a special date of birth. One senior doc tor at Al-Mowasat Hospital told the Kuwait Times, “It’s true that the hospital registered more inductions of labor on 11-11 than on usual days. But we didn’t charge additional fees for doing so. It’s the same on other special dates, like 10-10, 9-9 and so on.”

Disgraced MoI official to ‘take early retirement’?

KUWAIT: The Criminal Investigations Department yesterday approved the public release of a photograph of the five teenagers accused of murdering an Iranian youth in a Salmiya mall earlier this week. According to a security service insider, the accused stabbed the Iranian boy to death, as well as seriously injuring an Egyptian youth, before fleeing the scene. The five have been referred to the Public Prosecutor for Juveniles.

—Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlHumoud Al-Sabah is reportedly considering ordering the disgraced Deputy Director of Special Forces, Colonel Shukri Al-Najjar, to take early retirement in order to avoid the scandal surrounding the senior officer tarnishing the ministry’s reputation. Col. AlNajjar is accused of physically assaulting a Kuwaiti woman following a cruise on his yacht, with the case expected to be one of the main topics of discussion during today’s Cabinet session.

According to a Ministry of Interior (MoI) insider, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud, who is also a Deputy Prime Minister, is coming under heavy pressure “from inside and outside parliament” to terminate Al-Najjar’s service with the ministry in order to resolve the case.

The insider’s claims were strengthened by reports yesterday which suggested that the interior minister himself might consider resigning from his post if he is prevented

from taking action against senior ministry officials whose abilities he has reservations over; the minister has frequently reiterated his commitment to fighting corruption within the MoI. The reports of the minister’s considering resignation were strongly rejected on Friday, however, by a cabinet insider who spoke to local daily Al-Qabas on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, the chairman of a local human rights organization has voiced concern at the “spread of corruption in the interior ministry’s departments.” ”The accusations against Col. Al-Najjar are simply the latest of these, said Dr. Adel AlDhamki, the head of the Kuwaiti Society for Basic Principles of Human Rights, citing the abuse of detainees and the case of Kuwaiti man Mohammad Al-Maymouni who died earlier this year in police custody allegedly as the result of extensive torture.

— Al-Qabas & Al-Rai

KUWAIT: The funeral of renowned Kuwaiti actor Mansour Al-Mansour took place yesterday morning after his body arrived back from Algeria the previous night. The funeral was attended by senior Ministry of Information officials including Undersecretary Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, as well as colleagues of the late actor and a crowd of his fans. The mourners paid condolences to Al-Mansour’s brothers and fellow veteran actors Husain Al-Mansour and Mohammad Al-Mansour. Mansour Al-Mansour died of a heart attack on Wednesday in Algiers where he was representing Kuwait at a theater festival. —Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

KFSD delegation leaves for Qatar

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The head of the Kuwait Fire Services Directorate, Lieutenant General Jassem Al-Mansouri, left Kuwait for Qatar yesterday heading a delegation of senior fire service officials which will participate in the third civil defense exhibition, taking part in the Qatari capital from November 14-16. During their participation in the major event, the delegates will present a paper on the latest in firefighting techniques and other issues, including how the KFSD helped to handle the massive gas leak in Ahmadi. During the delegatesí absence, the State Minister for Municipal Affairs Dr. Fadhil Safar has appointed the KFSDís Deputy Director Brigadier Yousef AlAnsari to cover for Lt. Gen. Al-Mansouri until the latterís return.

Jassem Al-Mansouri

KAICO participates in beach clean-up campaign KUWAIT: Kuwait Automotive Impor ts Co. KAICO (Al Shaya & Al Sagar) Kuwait’s leading automotive distributor of international brands like Mazda, Peugeot, Michelin, Mobil and Apollo- in collaboration with Japanese Society in Kuwait had participated in the beach cleanup campaign which was organized by Japanese Society in Kuwait on Oct 29 in Shuwaikh beach near Oil Complex. The activity was witnessed by the Japanese Ambassador Yasuyoshi Komizothe. The Kuwait Environment Public Authority and other companies participated in

it. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Japan and Kuwait the Japanese Society in Kuwait conducted the beach cleaning operation called Operation Turtles.

Ashish Tandon, KAICO’s general manager, said: “We participate in this campaign as part of the KAICO’s commitment towards national duties and in the line with the social goals that the company aspires to achieve” He mentioned that more than 200 volunteers took part in the clean-up initiative includ-

ing 10 KAICO’s employees.

“I am really glad with the recently organized day-long beach cleaning campaign by Japanese Society in Kuwait in its continuous efforts to build awareness on the growing environment challenges being faced by Kuwait,” he added.

The participation in the beach clean-up campaign was one of the company’s many corporate social responsibility projects that reflected the company’s strong and continued commitment to the local community.

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Kuwait prepared for ‘strike on Iran’ scenarios: Report NA may hold emergency secret session KUWAIT: While lawmakers are already raising concern about the need for Kuwait to be prepared for a potential military strike against Iran, the government already has a comprehensive plan put in place in 2007 for cases of emergency as a result of regional developments, according to a news report quoting an insider with knowledge of the subject.

“The Cabinet informed the parliamentary foreign affairs committee in its final meeting before the start of the current term, about a plan to face repercussions of a war against Iran, which were started in 2007 following reports about Iran’s making a nuclear weapon”, said the insider, who preferred to speak anonymously due to the sensitivity of the subject.

The insider also indicated that a committee featuring members from the health, foreign and interior ministries was formed to monitor the plan’s implementation.

Asked about the details of the government’s preparations, the insider explained that it is prepared to face a number of worst case scenarios; the emergency measures include the provision of a supply of medications that covers needs for eight months, while the Ministry of Interior has been assigned to prepare a civil defense plan and the Foreign Ministry will handle the diplomatic aspects. The insider further indicated that another joint committee whose members are drawn from both the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of

Education has allocated eighteen schools in each of the state’s six governorates to be used as shelters in the event of any emergency, with the MCI storing a food supply to cover demand for six months.

In the meantime, the rapporteur of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, MP Dr Maasouma Al-Mubarak, called for holding an emergency secret session of the parliament in order to discuss the government’s preparations for a potential attack on Iran. “We must be assured of Kuwait’s defense and security preparations, including the preparations of the Health Ministry”, AlMubarak said, adding that the “risk to Kuwait and the entire Arabian Gulf region is very high if Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear reactors”.

Fellow Naji Al-Abdulhadi called on the government to remain cautious and take “preparations that take into account all possible scenarios in case of war being waged against Iran.” He also urged the government to create a permanent crisis center so that the country can be ready for any cases of emergency. “We hope that the government’s emergency plan is strong enough to provide safety for all citizens and expatriates in Kuwait”, he added.

Meanwhile, a source close to the parliamentary foreign affairs committee indicated that the committee is set to meet this week in order to discuss the latest development in this situation.

Speaking on condition of

KUWAIT: The drugs confiscated from the Bangladeshi yesterday.

Eight hurt in car accidents

By Hanan Al Saadoun KUWAIT: A 45-year-old Iranian man was rushed to Farwaniya Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit yesterday after suffering severe head injuries and a heart attack in a car crash on the Sixth Ring Road near the Sulaibiya turnoff.

In a separate incident, a 57-year-old Indian man sustained multiple injuries when he was hit by a car whilst crossing the Fahaheel Expressway near the Mesilla turnoff. He was rushed to Mubarak Hospital.

Meanwhile, a 46-year-old Indian man was taken to Adan Hospital after suffering fractures to bones in his left foot in a car crash in Qurain on the road linking Jaber Al-Ali and Mubarak Al-Kabeer.

In a fourth incident, a 26-year-old Bangladeshi man suffered fractures to his right thighbone and hand in a car crash opposite the old police station in the Sulaibiya Farms area. He was taken to Farwaniya Hospital.

In another vehicular collision, this time on the Fourth Ring Road adjacent to Qurtuba, a 23-year-old Lebanese man suffered bleeding from his right ear and cuts to the face, whilst a 24-year-old Kuwaiti man complained of severe back pain.

Both were taken to Mubarak Hospital.

Finally, two Kuwaiti men, aged 19 and 23, were taken to Farwaniya Hospital after suffering minor injuries and complaining of pain following a car crash on the road between Rabiya and Ardiya.

KIA drug busts Customs officers at Kuwait International Airport (KIA) separately arrested two expatriate drug smugglers on Friday evening shortly after their arrival. The first, an Egyptian man arriving from Cairo, was discovered to be carrying hashish and narcotic tablets, whilst the second man, a Bangladeshi arriving from Dhaka, was found to have hidden a quantity of marijuana in a box of sweets in his luggage. Both men were referred to the relevant authorities for further action, with the drugs being confiscated as evidence.

Four injured Three Indian men aged 27, 29 and 41 were taken to Amiri Hospital after sustaining various injuries in a fight with other Indian expatriates opposite Mirqab post office.

In a separate incident, a fight in Amman Street, Salmiya resulted in a 31-year-old Egyptian man being taken to Mubarak Hospital with facial injuries.

anonymity, the source added that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah will be invited to attend the meeting in order to answer questions about the government’s preparations to handle a scenario of war against Iran.

Kuwait is particularly concerned about any attack targeting the Bushehr nuclear plant, which is located directly across the Gulf only 270 kilometers away from the Kuwaiti coast. “Thousands of lives could be lost due to

radiation exposure, while Kuwait would also be subject to the short-term and longterm effects of any radiation leak”, said environmental expert Dr Ali Al-Khuraibet, speaking about the hazards facing Kuwait if the Bushehr plant is destroyed in a military strike.

Dr Al-Khuraibet also called on the Kuwaiti government to “work politically in order to prevent any military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities”, questioning the country’s ability to deal with a crisis should a strike hap-

pen, and warning that the radiation would cause incurable health problems in Kuwait for well over fifty years.

Meanwhile, the head of the Green Line Organization Khalid Al-Hajri called the government in a statement to come up with a comprehensive plan to evacuate inhabitants of Kuwait in case Iran’s nuclear facilities are attacked, insisting that this is the only solution to save lives of citizens and expatriates from the radiation leak.

—Al-Rai, Al-Watan

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LOCAL Local Spotlight

in my view

Middle East dangerous?

Tough time for Kuwaiti women

By Muna Al-Fuzai

By Lisa Conrad

muna@kuwaittimes.net lisa@kuwaittimes.net uwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis have had to suffer while dealing with the laws in Kuwait, sometimes going to the extreme of getting a divorce in order to have a decent life .

This issue has been neglected for a long time, creating confusion and pain for many Kuwaiti women who made no mistakes and broke no laws when they decided to marry men who happened to be nonKuwaiti. The Kuwaiti constitution is absolutely clear when it comes to equality between men and women as citizens with equal rights before the law, but this has been poorly realized in reality.

A Kuwaiti man has no problem when it comes to granting every civil and legal right to his non-Kuwaiti wife and children. For Kuwaiti women who marry non-Kuwaiti men, however, the situation is totally different, with the law for many years apparently punishing her for her choice, a situation which is both unfair and unacceptable.

For example, a Kuwaiti woman can grant her children citizenship only following divorce or if her husband dies. When the couple stay together, however, sometimes their children will be denied jobs because they are non-Kuwaitis, even though their mother is a citizen. Since they can’t or don’t wish to leave the country they were born in and have known all their lives where their family live, they experience suffering in even basic aspects of life, including work and marriage.

In some cases, Kuwaiti women married to nonKuwaitis will end up divorcing their husbands not because they no longer love them but because this is the only way to end their problems and give them a chance to breathe in this country.

I realize that this notion - a woman getting a divorce simply in order to ensure that their children are granted citizenship — doesn’t sound ethical to some people. I think men fail to see that motherhood comes before femininity. It may be hard to leave a husband, but for a mother to watch her own kids suffering and being unable to find a way to support themselves without feeling guilt is also a very hard thing to watch or maintain for any period.

The National Assembly had tried to give the Kuwaiti women, particularly divorcees and widows, some rights, such as housing loans, and also recently ended the payment of fees for Kuwaiti women’s children’s residency visas. Still, however, the voices of Kuwaiti women with non-Kuwaiti husbands have not been widely heard and listened to carefully and with an open heart. These women are still viewed as if they had done something improper and seen as unwelcome, whilst their husbands are treated as though they had broken a social code!

There is much more that needs to be done to help these women, and the current societal views of their marriages are simply an additional and grossly unfair burden on them. They have not done anything wrong, simply practiced their choice and free will about who they wanted to have as their life partner, and making them choose between their marriage and their children’s rights is a horrible and incredibly difficult choice to force them to make.

I really wish to see more of us helping these women; no matter what choice they make, they are part of our society in both the good and bad times.

K

he Middle East has quite the reputation for being dangerous. Unsurprisingly, tales of travels to the region are often met with curiosity and confusion as enquiring minds try and understand why anyone would travel to such a temperamental region. It’s understandable that those who haven’t visited the Middle East before would find it strange that somewhere so highly promoted as being war and violence ridden would ever attract people who have the choice to remain in more politically stable, ‘safe’ countries. But what’s strange is that whilst the region is chained to a reputation of war and strife, even pre-Arab spring, it’s unlikely that those visiting or living here will suffer as much crime or danger as they may in their home country. It’s so often forgotten that expatriates and tourists don’t tend to venture into the most dangerous of areas, the same way that certain parts of London, New York and Paris would be avoided completely.

The irony of this situation is rarely touched upon as it’s much less exciting to discuss the chance of being mugged in Manchester than it is to discuss the possibility of being bombed in Beirut. Whilst I will always adore Manchester for providing me with an unforgettable student experience, the amount of crime and violence I experienced topples anything I’ve ever experienced anywhere in the Middle East. My phone was stolen, twice. My credit and debit cards were stolen. My house was burgled and the only thing between the burglar and my room was a lock I’d installed the week before.

Crime was rampant and many suffered as a result, and it’s not just Manchester, or England, for that matter.

The issue isn’t a matter of where’s better or safer, it’s that there’s such an unfair representation of the Middle East. What’s worse is that these judgments are made by people who live in societies where crime is at a much higher rate than here. On a recent trip to Beirut, I received continuous warnings about young men on mopeds speeding past and snatching women’s purses. I couldn’t believe that so much fear had been stirred up over it: at least they took the purses and left the women alone. A friend of mine in the States recently told me of her roommates mugging, where the girl was stabbed once in each leg after the mugger had taken her belongings just to make sure she couldn’t report the crime too quickly.

It’s easy to sensationalize the Middle East, especially given the current uprisings. What’s so often forgotten is that everyday crime is rarely heard of and when it is, society is genuinely shocked by it. When I told friends and colleagues that my purse had been stolen at the Scientific Center (after having left it in the car) they were all thoroughly shocked and gave me the same line, “I’ve never heard of such things happening here.” There is crime everywhere, of course, but the Middle East has a long way to go before it reaches the levels much of the more developed regions currently struggle with.

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kuwait digest

The KHRS’s misinterpreted report

By Fajr Al-Hmoud everal newspapers in Kuwait published a recent freely, in line with the basic principles of human summary of a report sent by the Kuwait Human rights.

Rights Society (KHRS) to the United Nations One of the most controversial subjects that the about civil and political rights situation in the Gulf report addresses is homosexuality. On that regard, it region. The report highlights several aspects of the should be noted that the report never mentions suphuman rights violations suffered by the people. port for homosexual relationships or same-sex marHowever, mixed reactions were received from people, riages. Although the KHRS has not recommended including individuals who heavily criticized it by mak- building a township for homosexuals, it did make a ing statements to the media showing inaccurate recommendation for canceling the law that bans analysis that mislead the cross-dressing (imitation of public. They ignored several the opposite gender in The KHRS recommends that apparel, behavior, etc). First positive points and recommendations made in the of all, the Holy Quran and Kuwait cancel the law that bans original report. does not include public consumption of food, drinks Sunnah For example, the KHRS specific statements that at day time during Ramadan, based recommends that Kuwait criminalize this action. The cancel the law that bans law found in Kuwait is on respecting freedom of belief and public consumption of food, instead based on the notion religious practice. I personally don’t drinks at day time during of ‘protecting society from know why there is a law which pun- corruptive Ramadan, based on respectpractices.’ ishes people for failing to commit to ing freedom of belief and Ironically, this law became religious practice. I personalthe source of more corrupa certain religious ritual, and I also ly don’t know why there is a believe that fasting is a form of rela- tive practices when it allows law which punishes people people to be arrested in tionship formed between a person for failing to commit to a cerconnection with the way and his Creator that elevates mean- they dress, in addition to tain religious ritual, and I also believe that fasting is a form ing rather than merely being a ritu- many incidents where of relationship formed transvestites were harassed. al practice. between a person and his It’s also worth mentionCreator that elevates meaning that transgender operaing rather than merely being tions have became a reality a ritual practice. Not to mention, that the Sharia Law as the wealthy undergo sex-change surgeries abroad. doesn’t criminalize public consumption in Ramadan, The KHRS has asked for changing the current regulaneither do Holy Quran nor Sunnah include scripts tions to allow a person who had a sex-change operastating this punishment. tion to update their gender status in official docuAnother issue that the KHRS report advocates is ment, instead of living in constant risk of being arrestfreedom of building worship places for followers of ed for ‘imitating the opposite gender.’ The KHRS does different religions. First of all, it’s important to notice not promote transgender operations; it only calls for that religious freedom has always been respected in passing a regulation to protect rights of homosexuals Kuwait. The country is home to churches, as well as and transsexuals - something that remains the subone synagogue in history. In later years however, alien ject of religious debate until this day. behavior appeared and placed restrictions on reliI believe that people who misinterpret the KHRS’s gious freedoms, contradicting religious tolerance report should read the human right agreements and that Kuwaiti people have long been known for. On declarations that the Kuwaiti government has signed, that basis, the KHRS has made a recommendation to before engaging in a debate about the issues that the allow followers of all faiths to build places of worship report addresses. — Al-Qabas

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SATIRE WIRE

Music-induced mood swings

kuwait digest

Sawsan Kazak

Another MoI mess

By Ahmed Essa sawsank@kuwaittimes.net he current scandal over the accused Ministry of Interior official, the Assistant Manager of Special Forces Affairs Colonel Shukri Al-Najjar, must surely reopen the controversy over the conduct of military personnel, whether on or off duty.

Personally, I’m not as interested in the details of Col. Al-Najjar’s case nor in the campaign launched against him and against the interior minister for their involvement in assaulting a number of lawmakers and citizens during a seminar held at MP Jamaan Al-Harbish’s diwaniya last December as I’m keen on focusing on the conduct of military personnel overall, which has changed from occasional individual misdemeanors to daily delinquency.

This includes traffic officers and policemen driving their patrols recklessly breaking all traffic regulations, detectives who obtain confessions through torturing suspects or those abusing their authorities by detaining suspects such as in the case of the murder of citizen Mohammed Al-Maymouni, which is still being heard in court. In addition, there are the daily crimes committed by military personnel, be they from the police or the army, such as scuffles during special parties where drugs are

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abused, liquor is served, people are sexually harassed, and sometimes even murders take place.

Some crimes involve military personnel while others take place because some policemen are not doing their jobs properly, which is evident in the ability of some deported individuals to return to Kuwait with forged passports that are not double-checked by passport officers. This also includes the departure and arrival of some citizens without having their passports stamped, the spread of mobile phones in the Central Prison, manipulating security and citizenship lists and the abuse of expatriates and housemaids which are becoming daily stories in local dailies.

The military should set an example in discipline and compliance with the law, which is why it sounds strange when a member of the military is accused of breaking the law in a way that makes one wonder about the role played by the military control divisions and the psychological evaluation interviews conducted with new recruits.

‘Military’ crimes are dangerously becoming too familiar, which is not a good sign and calls for reviewing the role of their control bodies and other supervisory authorities. — Al-Jarida

recently downloaded a new CD that has some amazing songs, in which the singer-songwriter tells a failed love story. The 13 tracks all have a great beat and exceptionally poetic lyrics but the only problem is that all the songs are depression-inducing. The broken hearted singer recalls her bitter breakup with her significant other in such detail you can actually feel her emotions coming through the songs.

After hearing a few tracks I notice that I am noticeably calmer and a little sadder. Even if I was having a great day, the music pulls me into a mini-depression. On a conscious and subconscious level the songs cause a slight sense of despair along with a minor hatred for men. Upon hearing the CD, my brain chooses to retrieve any sad or painful experience I have had and I proceed to relive the emotions. It’s like people who hear their horoscope and try hard to see how it actually applies to them. I guess it’s human nature to try to relate our lives to the world around us.

I always knew that music affect our mood, but I always thought it was in a positive manner, like when you are exercising and you listen to an upbeat song and exercise faster. Or when you are driving and you hear a fast song and put your foot to the pedal; I like to call that driving under the influence of music. But apparently music doesn’t only affect our speed, but also our emotional mindset. As great as my new CD is, I really have to watch out when I listen to it as it will cause a temporary mini mood swing. Listening to a few tracks before an outing with friends will cause me to be bad company. I wonder what happens to my brain when I listen to rap.

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NBK application hits new records in two months KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait’s (NBK) Mobile Banking application hits new records as more than 20,000 users have subscribed to this most advanced, innovative application in a two-month period.

NBK’s free Mobile Banking application for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Blackberry devices enables customers to easily and securely manage their financials anytime, anywhere. All NBK customers can benefit from a wide range of banking services and products such as checking balances, transferring funds, and making payments in-one quick view.

“NBK is keen on developing services that meet customers’ demands and make banking more convenient”, said Abdulla Al-Najran Al-Tuwaijri, NBK Deputy General Manager, Consumer Banking Group.

“NBK’s Mobile banking application reflects NBK’s commitment to providing its customers with the best and most up-to-date banking services. It is safe and easy to use, offering customers banking services with the

added convenience of their mobile devices”. NBK customers can download NBK Mobile Banking on NBK.com or by logging into Watani Online. For assistance, customers can visit any of NBK’s branches or call Hala Watani at 1801801.

Abdulla Al-Tuwaijri

Camp Virginia processes steady stream of soldiers US units leaving Iraq CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait: The middle of the desert is an odd place for an airport terminal, but that’s essentially what you’ll find here, about 30 miles from the Iraq border. Camp Virginia, once a staging base for soldiers preparing to enter Iraq, is now the last stop for many soldiers and other service members leaving the country. Here, self-redeploying units — those that drive out of Kuwait with all their equipment — turn in vehicles and other theater-provided equipment and prepare to fly home on a chartered plane from Kuwait City International Airport.

Camp Virginia has the capacity to process more than 1,000 soldiers a day for three or four flights, according to 2nd Lt. Jill O’Dell of Fort Bragg’s 18th Human Resources Company.

Since October, the camp has been a one-stop shop for units driving straight from Iraq. Sgt. 1st Class David Parthemore, of the Fort Bragg-based 1st Theater Sustainment Command, said the first such convoy arrived in mid-October.

There has been a steady stream of soldiers leaving since then.

Parthemore said he expects even more soldiers as the Dec 31 deadline for removing troops from Iraq nears. Five convoys, for example, are expected to arrive today.

“It’s really going to start picking up here pretty quick,” he said. “Now through Thanksgiving, we’ll have 6,000 troops coming through.”

On Tuesday, soldiers with the 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team of Fort Hood’s 1st Cavalry Division were at what is known as Freedom Yard - a locked-down area of Camp Virginia designated for those soldiers who have cleared customs and are waiting on a flight home.

In Freedom Yard — which includes five holding tents, a sleeping tent, a morale tent with free Wi-Fi and a coffee shop — the soldiers passed the time eating, playing cards and watching television.

One group of soldiers just days removed from war played a game of Risk, but most simply rested while waiting for their flight. —The Fayetteville Observer

CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait: A group of soldiers spending their time playing games and resting at the camp.

Kuwaiti ambassador meets Mexican finance minister MEXICO CITY: Kuwait’s Ambassador to Mexico Sameeh Johar Hayat discussed with Mexico’s Finance Minister Bruno Ferrari a scheduled visit of the Arab Mexican Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s delegation to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar from Nov 20 to 29.

Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar to Mexico attended the meeting that involved discussions on ways to boost bilateral relations between Mexico and Kuwait in addition to other GCC countries.

Fur thermore, Hayat discussed means to develop ties of cooperation and coordination in all sectors, as well as economic and investment opportunities available in both sides’ countries and the par ticipation of different Mexican companies in the develop-

ment plan of Kuwait for experience, especially in the field of infrastructure and rebuilding.

He stressed the impor tance of mutual visits between the two sides and their role in the consolidation and strengthening of cooperation and mutual understanding, in order to provide a solid ground to push the bilateral relations toward wider horizons in all fields. Deputy Finance Minister of Mexico Francisco de Rosenz weig, Chairman of Arab-Mexican Chamber of Industr y and Commerce (CAMIC) Joaquin Pria and his deputy, Claudia Pineda Holmes, attended the meeting.

The economic delegation, due to visit Kuwait and the regional countries, includes major Mexican companies such as Valvulas Worcester and others. — KUNA

MEXICO CITY: Kuwait’s Ambassador to Mexico Sameeh Johar Hayat pictured with other ambassadors and Mexican officials.

Five teens in police net for murdering Iranian youth Residency violators held in Jahra KUWAIT: Police have arrested five teenagers accused of murdering an Iranian youth and severely injuring his Egyptian friend during a fight at a Salmiya mall last Monday. Police caught the teen thugs on Friday, with two being arrested in Hawally and another in Ahmadi. They were detained after police questioned a number of other known troublemakers and delinquents, who quickly identified the trio as being responsible for the killing, adding that they were known as the ëgangsters,í and often harassed, threatened and beat other youths at the mall. When the five were taken in for questioning, they admitted that they had attacked their victims over a previous dispute after spotting them in the mall. All five have been referred to the relevant authorities and are being held in custody pending trial.

2 cops held Two traffic police officers have been held for questioning after they caused the death of a motorcyclist in an accident on Maghreb Highway. Paramedics arrived at the crash site shortly after the accident was reported, but pronounced the Kuwaiti vic-

tim dead at the scene.

Preliminar y investigations revealed that a patrol vehicle collided with the victim’s motorcycle, ironically whilst the officers were pursuing a reckless driver.

The victim’s body was removed for autopsy while the two officers were referred to the nearby Faiha police station where charges were filed against them.

Fatal heart attack Emergency services personnel rushed to a home in Jleeb AlShuyoukh after a 46-year-old Pakistani man’s roommates reported finding him motionless in the apartment he shared with them. Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene, with initial indications suggesting that he suffered a heart attack. The body was remove autopsy.

Narrow escape A window cleaner was fortunate to survive an 18-meter (59 foot) fall whilst cleaning the windows at a shopping mall on Friday evening. An ambulance was quickly at the scene and the 28-year-old man, an expatriate Arab, was rushed to Amiri Hospital, where he is recuperating from a head injury and heavy

bruising. An investigation is underway to determine what caused him to slip and fall.

Jahra crackdown Jahra police arrested 58 residency violators and 11 fugitives, as well as impounding 33 vehicles during a crackdown that covered the Kabad area and the Salmi Road. The detainees were referred to the proper authorities for further action. Police also issued 77 traffic tickets during the campaign.

Cop impersonator Farwaniya police arrested a 22year-old Somali man after spotting him illegally wearing a Kuwaiti police uniform. The officers pulled the man over after spotting him driving down a street in Ardiya. When he failed to offer a plausible explanation of the reason behind his outfit, he was taken into custody.

Detectives are questioning him over a possible connection with a number of cases in which people have reported being mugged and robbed by individuals posing as police officers.

Dopey ‘diabetic’ driver Police at a checkpoint in

Farwaniya became suspicious of the demeanor of a driver as he approached, pulling the vehicle over and searching it. Their suspicions turned out to be wellfounded when they discovered a roll of hashish and eight amphetamine tablets. The man’s attempts to persuade the officers that the drugs were medication for his diabetes failed to convince the officers and he was taken into custody to face charges.

Adan landslide An investigation is underway to reveal the cause of a landslide which ruptured water pipes in a Kuwaiti family’s home in Adan that was submerged in water as a result.

The family members called police after waking up in the middle of the night when they felt the ground shaking and heard strange muffled explosive sounds, only to find water flooding their Adan house from pipes affected by an apparent landslide underneath one part of it. A team of technical staff from the Ministry of Public Works was soon present at the scene and was eventually able to bring the situation under control. — Al-Rai, AlQabas, Al-Anba, Al-Watan

Kuwait marking Constitution Day KUWAIT: Kuwait is due to witness celebrations marking the 49th anniversary of enacting the National Constitution, a major step on the path toward democracy in the country’ modern history. The celebratory activities will begin with a photo exhibition, to be organized by the Secretariat General of the National

Assembly (Parliament), at 360 Mall as of today, said NA Secretary General Allam Al-Kanderi in a statement yesterday. The fair, to be held in coordination with the Scientific Center, would proceed till Nov 15, he added.

The Secretariat General of the National Assembly is keen on documenting the historic

events related to the drafting of the National Constitution, as well as major events in the process of establishing democracy in the country, for the Kuwaiti people are proud of this historic document that bounds the ruler and the ruled on explicitly-worded laws, AlKanderi elaborated. — KUNA

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Visitors enjoy Eid at Khairan resort KUWAIT: Visitors to the Khairan Resort enjoyed a number of fun activities including several competitions held as part of a special program organized by the Touristic Enterprises Company for the Eid Al-Adha holiday.

“The administration exerted all efforts to ensure that visitors enjoy their holiday at the hotel”, said General Director of the Khairan Adnan Zen Al-Deen Resort, Adnan Zen AlDeen in a press statement. He asserted that the facility’s staff worked tirelessly so that visitors receive the best quality service.

Landmark opens registrations for ‘Beat Diabetes’ walkathon KUWAIT: Landmark Group, the region’s leading retail and hospitality conglomerate, has opened registrations for the third edition of its annual ‘Beat Diabetes’ walkathon in Kuwait.

The walkathon in Kuwait is scheduled on Saturday, Nov 19, and will flag off from the Yacht Club and end at Green Island. Registration for the walkathon can be done across all Landmark Group outlets. The walkathon is being held in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Dasman Diabetes Institute.

The Group will also conduct walkathons across UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and India, Bangalore during November which is the International Diabetes Awareness Month.

This year the Group inked a partnership with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), an umbrella organization of over 200 national diabetes associations in over 160 countries. Landmark Group becomes the organization’s first retail corporate supporter partner. Mario Fetz, IDF Director of External Relations will join the walk in UAE to support the Beat Diabetes initiative.

Open to all age groups, participa-

tion in the walkathon is free of charge and all walkers are given complimentary t-shirts and caps. Blood Glucose test are administered free of cost on the day of the walk and the Group also distributes awareness pamphlets to educate the public about the condition. Across the year the Group conducts various activities, in its ongoing endeavor to educate people about the growing propensity of diabetes. The Walkathon is their champion event, which culminates all their efforts towards the cause.

In 2010, the Landmark Group’s ‘Beat Diabetes’ walkathon attracted over 25,000 people and over 30,000 people were administered free blood glucose test across six countries. In Kuwait alone over 4000 people participated in the walk and the number is expected to grow to over 6,000 this year. Diabetes is a silent killer that has no cure, but it can be managed by making lifestyle changes. Landmark Group’s mission is to create awareness through the walkathon and encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle to “Beat Diabetes”.

All Centrepoint stores will have Diabetes Testing on Nov 14, World Diabetes Day from 6am to 9pm.

Landmark Group has a presence

across all categories within the retail sector and has diversified to areas such as hospitality and leisure.

Landmark Group was established in Bahrain in 1973. The company has successfully grown into an international retail conglomerate that encompasses a retail presence of over 11 million square feet across GCC, Jordan, Egypt and India.

Today, the Group operates over 800 stores in 10 countries, with retail concepts and business interests that focus on delivering exceptional value to a wide customer base, made up of varied nationalities, cultures and economic profiles.

Landmark Group employs more than 22,000 employees and provides a value-driven product range for the family through its core retail concepts: Centrepoint, Babyshop, Shoe Mart, Splash, Lifestyle, Beautybay, Home Centre, Q Home Decor, Max, Shoexpress, E-Max, and Landmark International, which franchises international brands such as New Look, Reiss, Aftershock and Koton.

Expansion being at the core of its business philosophy, the Landmark Group has witnessed a consistent annual growth rate of 32% over the last 3 years.

Drivers issued with 21,558 citations KUWAIT: An unannounced series of operations by the traffic department across Kuwait this weekend resulted in the issuing of 21,558 citations and the confiscation of 1,157 vehicles.

The Capital governorate saw the highest number of citations issued, a total of 6,151, whilst 62 vehicles across the area were towed away.

Far waniya came next, with

motorists receiving 5,469 citations and 76 vehicles being remove.

A total of 4,367 citations were issued in Hawally, meanwhile, whilst 53 vehicles were impounded, and the Operations Department issued a total of 3,400 citations and impounded 838 vehicles.

In Jahra, a total of 1,018 citations were issued and 97 vehicles were towed away, whilst Ahmadi and

Mubarak Al-Kabeer each saw 602 vehicles impounded, with 20 vehicles being removed from areas of Mubarak Al-Kabeer whilst only three vehicles were confiscated in Ahmadi.

The Traffic Department has urged all road users to comply with traffic regulations and street markings in order to avoid penalties and ensure their own and others’ safety.

Envoy lauds Bahraini care for Kuwaitis MANAMA: Kuwaiti Ambassador to Bahrain Sheikh Azzam Mubarak Al-Sabah praised intensive care provided to Kuwaitis by leadership and people of Bahrain.

Sheikh Azzam said that the embodiment of that care comes naturally from the depth of historical and family ties that are deep-rooted between the two countries. Cordial customs such hospitality and generosity are inherent in the Bahrain government and people, the ambassador affirmed.

He also praised facilities and full care received by Kuwaitis during their presence in the kingdom, especially during the past holiday, which had a very posi-

tive impact on them.

Cultural events held in Bahrain are “a tributary to tourism,” Sheikh Azzam said, stressing that Bahrain has succeeded in winning confidence of tourists and students as well as investors from different countries of the world to be the first destination for them, due to lucrative elements, namely “family tourism” and attractive environment for businesses.

Kuwait and Bahrain maintain close and distinctive ties. The two states are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), founded in the 80s amid regional dangers emanating from a major war that had pitted Iraq against Iran.— KUNA

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

Clashes, protests erupt in Yemen for second day

Japan opens Fukushima reactors to outsiders Page 12

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VAN: Turkish rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed hotel yesterday. — AP

Turkish forces shoot dead ferry hijacker Quake toll rises to 37: Turkish PM ANKARA: Turkish commandos in civilian clothes slipped onto a hijacked passenger ferry and posed as hostages before fatally shooting a suspected Kurdish rebel carrying explosives in a 12-hour drama that ended before dawn yesterday. There were no other casualties aboard the Kartepe, that was hijacked on Friday after it left the northwestern port city of Izmit. There were 18 passengers on board, including five women, as well as four crew and two trainees, authorities said.

Despite the success of the raid, the hijacking drew attention to the conflict with Kurdish rebels who have stepped up attacks on government forces in the country’s southeast this year. The Turkish military has responded by staging an air and ground offensive against rebel hideouts in neighboring Iraq. The rebels, who are considered terrorists by Turkey and the West, are seeking autonomy in Turkey’s mostly Kurdish southeast. Coast guard boats and helicopters had shadowed the vessel for much of its journey before it was forced to anchor off the port town of Silivri, west of Istanbul, Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said. The commandos prepared the raid while the police conducted lengthy negotiations with the lone hijacker, including a single communication that lasted over one hour, Sahin said.

Some commandos, who apparently climbed the vessel from rubber boats, mingled with the hostages before killing the suspect, he said.

“They were wearing civilian clothes and waited orders from us to go ahead,” Sahin said. Two passengers

said they heard six gunshots from the captain’s cabin, where the hijacker was located. One of them, Ceyhun Sezer, told NTV television that they had watched the news about the hostage drama all night on TV screens in the passenger hall. “He did not talk to us at all,” said Sezer of the hijacker. “We saw the commandos, then heard three shots and then three more.”

“The whole operation lasted at most 10 minutes,” Sezer said. Another passenger, Kadir Altunoglu, told NTV that he opened the door to other security forces after hearing the gunshots. Sahin identified the hijacker as Mensur Guzel, and said he was armed with 450 grams of plastic explosives. The minister said Guzel, born in 1984, was the head of the youth wing of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, and joined the rebels after escaping from the military in 2009.

The PKK has not claimed responsibility for the hijacking. Sahin said that police launched the operation after the talks had failed. “We tried to convince him to surrender for hours,” Sahin said. “But he refused.” TRT television said police detained three suspected accomplices of the hijacker in Kocaeli. The hijacker had collected some of the passengers’ mobile phones but some others and crew members were able to make calls to authorities and their families. “We were worried but I told them that we were fine,” said Sezer in a telephone call to his family.

Hijacking is not a common tactic of the Kurdish rebels, though in 1998 security forces stormed a plane on the tarmac of Ankara airport, and shot and killed a Kurdish rebel armed with a hand grenade who held 38 people hostage aboard a Turkish Airlines plane. No passenger was injured. In 1996, Chechen militants hijacked a Turkish ferry for four days in the Black Sea to attract world attention to Russia’s military drive in Chechnya.

The incident ended without any violence. Tens of thousands of people have died since the Kurdish rebels took up arms in 1984. This year, rebel attacks have killed dozens of Turkish soldiers and civilians. Turkish police have detained hundreds of Kurdish activists on suspicion of ties to the rebels. A government initiative to seek reconciliation with disaffected members of the ethnic minority has faltered, with each side accusing the other of failing to act in good faith. The United States has been sharing drone surveillance data with Turkey to aid its fight against the Kurdish rebels. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the United States deployed four Predator drones in Turkey ahead of the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq at the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the death toll from a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Turkey rose to 37 yesterday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

“Unfortunately the latest toll is 37”, Anatolia news agency quoted Erdogan as saying in the eastern town of Ercis. The earlier toll stood at 32, including two journalists, who were in the area to report on last month’s much deadlier earthquake, which killed more than 600 people. Erdogan visited a tent city in Ercis, which bore the full brunt of the previous earthquake.

Rescue workers overnight retrieved the bodies of two reporters from the private Dogan news agency — 26-year-old Cem Emir and 58-year-old Sebahattin Yilmaz-from the debris of a hotel which was toppled by the latest earthquake. Wednesday’s quake was focused on Edremit town, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Van province, according to the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory. —Agencies

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Clashes, protests erupt in Yemen for second day Qaeda-linked militants lash 5 Yemenis for drug use

TRIPOLI: European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (left) and Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, chairman of Libya’s National Transitional Council hold a joint news conference yesterday. — AP

EU commits to Libya BRUSSELS: The European Union plants its flag in Libya yesterday when EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton officially opens a new delegation and heads into talks with the interim authorities. Heralding the bloc’s commitment to assist recovery from the conflict and “build a new Libya based on the rule of law, democracy and human rights,” Ashton is to meet the country’s interim leaders after the noon opening. But she will also address the first Libyan Women’s Rights Forum, a significant move on the heels of announcements of the introduction of sharia law in Libya.

Asked for comment on the impact on Libyan women of polygamy and a ban on divorce, Ashton’s spokeswoman last month said that “we expect the new Libya to be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.” In a statement yesterday, Ashton said the 27-nation bloc would continue to support civil society in Libya, “in particular women and young people, who have a major role to play in shaping Libya’s future.”

“Opening a fully fledged EU Delegation in Tripoli underlines the EU’s commitment to our close relationship with the Libyan people, both during the political transition and in the long term,” Ashton stated. In Tripoli, she will meet National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil and Prime Minister Abdel Rahim Al-Kib. The interim pre-

mier, who has until November 23 to form a government, said Friday that Libya’s transitional postGaddafi government will be transparent and will not include anyone from the late strongman’s regime. “We will be frank and transparent”, he said, warning Libyans “not to expect miracles”. Ashton’s visit comes 48 hours ahead of a meeting of the EU’s 27 foreign ministers, who tomorrow will look at means of helping Libya recover from the months-long conflict.

Diplomatic sources said the ministers were likely to call for an inclusive transition process and express concern about reports of human rights violations, such as revenge attacks and summary executions.

They would also confirm the bloc’s readiness to assist Libya in a range of sectors. The EU is taking part in a UN-headed assessment of Libya’s needs, including border management, civil society and women’s rights as well as communications and media. Since the beginning of the crisis, the EU has provided more than 155 million euros ($213 million) in humanitarian support. The European Commission, the EU executive, in addition is making some 30 million euros available to support the immediate stabilization priorities of the NTC, with a further 50 million euros set aside for longer-term programs, which will depend on the assessments. —AFP

Sudan building air bases near S Sudan NAIROBI: A US satellite monitoring group said that Sudan’s military is upgrading air bases near the border with South Sudan and building up air resources in what could be a precursor to a widened aerial bombing campaign. The report came Friday, one day after officials accused Sudan of bombing a refugee camp in South Sudan, which became the world’s newest country only four months ago. The government of Khartoum denied that there was even a camp housing northern Sudanese refugees who fled south for refuge, adding that its air force had not bombed any area of South Sudan. Four bombs fell in and around a camp called Yida in Unity State. No casualties were reported, though one bomb landed on the grounds of a school while 300 students were in class. That bomb did not detonate.

The UN refugee agency on Friday condemned the bombing of the camp, and the US called the attack abhorrent and outrageous. The US demanded that Sudan halt aerial bombardments immediately.

Another bombing in a separate area of South Sudan earlier this week killed seven people, according to South Sudan President Salva Kiir. The UN human rights chief, meanwhile, called for an investigation into Thursday’s bombings. Navi Pillay said if it is established that an international crime or serious human rights violation occurred, then those responsible should face consequences. “This latest attack risks aggravating what is already an extremely tense and dangerous situation,” she said.

Kiir said Thursday he fears the Khartoum-based Sudanese government intends to invade the south soon. Sudan’s UN ambassador denied reports his country bombed areas of South Sudan, and the American ambassador says he’s a liar.

Sudanese Ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali

Osman told journalists after a Security Council meeting on the matter Friday that the reports were “fabrications” and “there was no aerial bombardment.”

The United States’ UN Ambassador Susan Rice told journalists that the reports of bombing by Sudan along its border with South Sudan have been confirmed by UN officials. She said the Sudanese envoy “blatantly lied” to council members. The Satellite Sentinel Project said satellite imagery appears to show the enhancement of two air bases Sudan seized in Kurmuk from rebels in Sudan’s Blue Nile State. The group says the images show three helicopter gunships and an Antonov, the plane witnesses said was used in Thursday’s bombing run of the Yida refugee camp.

The violence near the new border between Sudan and South Sudan is especially troubling given the history between the two. The black African tribes of South Sudan and the mainly Arab north battled two civil wars over more than five decades, and some 2 million died in the latest war, from 1983-2005. A peace deal ended the war and South Sudan became its own country in July after a successful independence referendum. But there have been lingering disputes over border demarcation, oil-sharing revenues and all-out warfare between Sudan’s military or proxies and a military force inside Sudan that aligns itself politically and culturally with the south.

Sudan has accused the south of arming those groups, and taken that accusation to the UN Security Council. Kiir on Thursday denied that charge. John Prendergast a Sudan activist and the co-founder of the Enough Project, said the airfield improvements suggest that Sudan will widen its aerial campaign in border areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile in Sudan, as well as in South Sudan.— AP

UNITED NATIONS: Susan Rice, US Ambassador to United Nations speaks to reporters at UN Headquarters after the Security Council met to discuss the situation in Sudan. —AP

SANAA: Fierce clashes erupted in Yemen’s second city yesterday as protesters in the capital Sanaa condemned international silence in the face of a government crackdown that left more than 15 dead the previous day. “Oh world, the children and women of Taez are being killed...where is your conscience?” chanted tens of thousands of protesters in Sanaa who for 10 months now have been calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. “To the world and the (UN) Security Council, don’t you see Saleh is shelling Taez?” they chanted. On Friday, government forces shelled a protest site in the flashpoint city of Taez, south of the capital, killing 15 civilians, including at least three women and three children, medics said.

Friday’s violence, which also left at least 40 people wounded, erupted when security forces loyal to Saleh began shelling areas around Freedom Square, the epicentre of the protest movement in Taez. Witnesses blamed the violence on the Republican Guard, an elite unit commanded by Saleh’s son Ahmed, accusing it of firing tank and artillery rounds into a crowd of protesting civilians. The violence continued yesterday as armed tribesmen who have thrown their support behind the protest movement clashed with government troops in the Hassab district of Taez, witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Youth activists called for a general strike in the city as thousands took to the streets to condemn Friday ’s bloodshed.

Residents said most businesses were closed.

The escalation of violence came as UN envoy Jamal Benomar returned to Yemen for a new push to end the 10-month crisis.

Benomar arrived in Sanaa on Thursday and began meeting with government and opposition officials to discuss a roadmap for implementing a Gulf peace plan which would see Saleh step down in return for a promise of immunity from prosecution for himself and his family. Saleh, who has been in power in Sanaa for 33 years, has so far failed to sign up to the blueprint despite repeated promises that he would. Yesterday, an opposition spokesman said the assault on Taez is “proof” he has no intention to resign.

“Saleh totally rejects the initiative... and proof of this is what is happening to the peaceful protesters in Taez,” said Mohammed Qahtan, spokesman for the Common Forum

parliamentary opposition bloc. The government’s crackdown left hundreds dead and thousands wounded since January.

In another development, suspected AlQaeda militants in Yemen handed out 80 lashes each to five youths they said had taken narcotic pills in the latest show of summary justice in the restive south, witnesses said yesterday. The punishment was carried out in a large field in front of dozens of witnesses summoned to watch in the militant-controlled town of Jaar in Abyan province on Friday night. The five young men were given 80 lashes each and then set free, the witness-

blood loss.

At least two other men have had their hands severed since the boy’s death and another Yemeni was executed after the militants accused him of murder. The town of Jaar, where all the punishments have taken place, remains under militant control and residents say there is no government presence.

In the provincial capital meanwhile, six suspected Al-Qaeda militants were killed in overnight clashes with government troops, an official said. “The clashes erupted when the militants tried to infiltrate a military unit,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

SANAA: Yemeni protesters shout anti-regime slogans during a demonstration yesterday. — AFP es said. Since May, Al-Qaeda-linked militants have taken control of several towns in Abyan, including the provincial capital Zinjibar, as 10 straight months of protests against veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime have weakened central government control. In recent weeks, the militants of the Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law) group have enforced their own very strict interpretation of Islamic justice. On September 25, the militants severed the hand of a 15-year-old as punishment for stealing electrical cables. He later died from

“Six militants were killed, including one of Asian descent,” he said, adding that at least three others were wounded. South Yemen has witnessed an escalation in violence in recent weeks as government troops, backed by US drones, have battled to retake control of towns lost to the militants. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, has taken advantage of 10 months of sweeping demonstrations against Saleh’s rule to bolster its presence in the restive south and east of Yemen, launching repeated attacks. — Agencies

Kenyan troops bogged down in Somalia NAIROBI: One month into Kenya’s military offensive against Somalia’s extremist Shebab rebels, attacks have multiplied back home, aid agencies have expressed concern and troops are bogged down in mud. Kenya, which has traditionally employed non-military means to try to solve two decades of anarchy in neighboring Somalia, deployed forces across the border on October 14.

A series of kidnappings of foreigners on Kenyan soil and incursions by the Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab, who control much of southern Somalia, triggered Kenya’s unprecedented offensive.

However, after initially pushing some 100 kilometers (60 miles) into Somalia, the forces have made little progress, fought few ground battles and are yet to attack many of the 10 southern Somali towns they singled out as Shebab strongholds and said they would strike. The Kenyan army said on October 17 it was advancing on the town of Afmadow, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the Kenyan border.

Weeks later, they are yet to capture the town as heavy rains have hampered movement. “Right now we are about 15 kilometers (nine miles) away from Afmadow,” army spokesman Major Emmanuel

Chirchir told AFP. “The biggest challenge is that it is raining, it is flooded.”

“It’s been tricky. For effective engagement with Al-Shebab we need the rain to subside,” he said, adding that waters were knee-high.

The slow movement could be an advantage to the Shebab, warned former Kenyan army officer Imaana Laibuta. “It might give the militia enough time to reorganize their defenses and move their finances and other movables to safe havens elsewhere,” said Laibuta, who now runs a security consultancy firm.

“Ensuring a quick and precise surgical incursion into Afmadow and Kismayo will deny the militia the chance to move out most of their facilities,” he added, referring to a key Shebab-held port city. An air raid by Kenyan forces on a southern Somali town last month killed at least five civilians, aid agencies said. Nairobi denied civilians were killed, pledging a probe nonetheless. The Shebab accused Kenya of targeting civilians and renewed its vows of revenge.

Meanwhile at home, grenade attacks attributed by police to Shebab operatives have increased, with two blasts rocking Nairobi soon after the operation began and at least six people killed in ambush-

es in areas along the porous border.

“I think it is clear that the Kenyan invasion of Somalia has raised the risk of attacks within Kenya,” said Laura Hammond of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. “Al-Shebab has been clear that they will retaliate, and I would take them at their word on this.”

Kenyans have also questioned their country’s incursion after grenade attacks in the capital last month, arguing that security forces should first tackle Shebab sympathisers within Kenya. While Nairobi’s other motivation for crossing into Somalia was economic-to protect its key tourism industry after the abduction and killing of tourists the cost of the offensive will soon begin to bite, analysts warned.

“The cost of the operation is likely to keep increasing with advances and protraction of the situation on the ground,” said a recent report by South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies. “Against a backdrop of recent trends of inflation, rising cost of living and a depreciating Kenyan shilling, the government will have to dip further into its coffers in order to sustain the cost of the military operation.”

The offensive has also complicated humanitarian operations in

Israel deports last of flotilla activists JERUSALEM: Israel has deported the last of the international flotilla activists detained nearly a week ago for trying to break the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza, an official told AFP on Friday. According to interior ministr y spokeswoman Sabine Hadad, 21 men and women were put on flights home in groups between Thursday morning and Friday afternoon.

The 21 were among 27 passengers and crew aboard two ships intercepted by the Israeli navy as they tried to run the blockade of the Gaza Strip last week.

Israeli commandos boarded the Irishflagged Saoirse (Freedom) and the Canadian ship Tahrir (Liberation) in international waters off Gaza on November 4 before the navy escorted them to the port of Ashdod.

Six passengers were released yesterday-an Arab-Israeli, two Greek crewmen, and three journalists from Egypt, Spain and the United States.

The activists had been held pending proceedings against their deportation before an Israeli judge. According to

Hadad, the activists could have been deported earlier in the week once they had appeared before the judge, but some tried to be “wise guys.” “Some raised demands as to the flights they would receive, some wanted to travel business class,” she said. Israel bought the deportees their plane tickets.

On Wednesday European parliament president Jerzy Buzek called on Israel to “quickly” release Paul Murphy, an Irish Socialist Par ty member, and other Europeans detained with him near Tel Aviv. The Israeli mission in Brussels said that following his arrest last week, Murphy had been offered the possibility to leave Israel by signing a waiver within 72 hours, but the lawmaker refused.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to prevent weapons from entering the coastal territory, which is run by the Islamist Hamas movement. Two months ago, a UN report on the flotilla raid accused the Jewish state of acting with “excessive force” but found that its naval blockade was legal.—AFP

southern Somalia, where some regions were declared by the United Nations to be facing famine following several months of failed rains. Kenya’s threat to attack 10 Shebab-held towns in the south has also raised fears of civilian casualties which could further devastate a population already wracked by one of the region’s worst droughts in decades. “ There is a definite fear that despite the warnings, any bombing of towns is very likely to bring civilian casualties,” said Oxfam’s Alun McDonald, referring to the Kenyan army’s warning that civilians avoid Shebab camps. McDonald said some aid organizations had scaled down operations, while locals were unable to flee due to floods and broken bridges. “ They (civilians) are worried about fleeing towns that might see conflict into areas that are already facing conflict, or simply can’t move because the floods have cut off roads and left fewer vehicles available,” he said. “The reports from our partners are that even seeds that have been distributed in the past are not all being planted, as farmers are too afraid to spend too much time in their fields because of the increased military threat.”—AFP

Iran hangs 5 for crimes TEHRAN: Iran has hanged five people convicted of charges varying from rape to drug trafficking, media reported yesterday. Three men convicted of rape and a string of other charges, including abduction, were sent to the gallows yesterday in the city of Qazvin, northwest of the capital Tehran, the Fars news agency reported. The three, identified only by their initials, masqueraded as taxi drivers to abduct and rape women, mostly university students, the report added. On Thursday, two drug traffickers were hanged in the shrine city of Qom, south of Tehran, Arman daily reported.

The hangings bring to 240 the number of executions in Iran so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on media and official reports. Human Rights Watch counted 388 executions in Iran in 2010. Amnesty International put the figure at 252, ranking the Islamic republic second only to China in the number of people put to death last year. Tehran says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order, and that it is applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings. Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are among the crimes punishable by death in Iran. — AFP

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L Belgrade caught between Kosovo, EU BELGRADE: The Serbian government is scrambling to win political support at home for restarting negotiations with Kosovo, a crucial step to ensure Belgrade will be given EU candidacy status next month. While Belgrade believed it had cleared the hurdles on the path to EU membership with the arrest of the last remaining war crimes fugitives, Brussels has made it clear it also expects progress on Kosovo, whose 2008 declaration of independence Serbia refuses to recognize.

To drum up support among European Union member countries, Bozidar Djelic, Serbia’s minister for European integration, has started a whirlwind EU tour that will see him in the Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, France and Brussels. Djelic will have a “tough task convincing top EU players that Serbia does deserve a candidacy despite the failure to resume the dialogue with Kosovo,” said political sciences lecturer Maja Popovic.

“Belgrade has overcome one main condition, the arrest of (internationally wanted) war crimes suspects, but its position on Kosovo is now a thorn in the side even among those supporting Serbia’s EU future,” said Popovic, who has been monitoring the country’s bid for membership of the bloc. Earlier this year Serbia arrested and handed over Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, the two remaining suspects wanted by the UN court in The Hague dealing with war crimes committed in the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, fulfilling a key condition from Brussels.

The European Commission recommended in October that Serbia be awarded candidate status on condition that Belgrade resumes dialogue with Pristina and implements already agreed deals. The European Union’s 27 leaders must decide unanimously in December whether or not to declare Serbia a candidate, but some diplomats warned that just restarting talks with Pristina was not enough and further steps towards normalizing relations with Kosovo were needed.

Kosovo’s independence has been recognized by the majority of EU member states. EU-sponsored talks between the two sides started in March but have since broken down amid violence in northern Kosovo, home to a Serb majority loyal to Belgrade, over two disputed border crossings. Borko Stefanovic, Serbia’s chief negotiator for Kosovo, said Belgrade would “seriously work on finding concrete solutions” for the dispute and resume dialogue “as soon as possible,” while repeating the government’s mantra that it would never recognise Kosovo.

Milica Delevic, head of Serbia’s European integration office, said resuming dialogue with Pristina would be the “best way for Serbia to protect its interests.” “The European Commission does not ask for a specific solution but one that solves the problem,” Delevic said. In a bid to overcome the crisis, Serbia’s government has asked parliament to adopt a “declaration” on Kosovo to ensure wide political backing for resuming talks with Pristina. The draft declaration is expected to be sent to parliament in the coming days. — AFP

Putin defends Kremlin comeback Experts call Putin’s political system ‘flawed’ POZDNYAKOVO: Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin praised outgoing fellow political veteran Silvio Berlusconi on Friday and defended his own decision to remain in power for years to come in front of an audience of foreign experts. A group of political scholars known as the Valdai Club presented Putin with a report warning him his way of ruling Russia had almost run its course and could not go on forever. Putin told the group: “Of course our system is not perfect,” adding he was aware of the shortcomings of his dual rule with President Dmitr y Medvedev popularly dubbed a “tandem”.

“But I do not know any system of governance which is perfect,” added Putin, who announced the decision to seek his third term as president in September.

Putin took a dig at Britain’s political system where his “good friend” Prime Minister Tony Blair was replaced as the head of government by Gordon Brown “without any election, as a result of manipulations inside the party”. “We are not acting like this, we are going to election,” Putin told the scholars who were treated to shots of vodka and Italian wine at a luxury restaurant in a horse riding club outside Moscow.

“We are going to the election and offering our people the chance to reach their verdict on what we have done in the past and on our program for the future development,” Putin said, defending his past track record as president and prime minister. Speaking for the Valdai Club, Timothy Colton from Har vard University told Putin: “The current political system in Russia, which formed over

the last 10-12 years, has exhausted its capacity or is close to it.” Putin remains Russia’s most popular politician and is an ultimate decision maker despite step-

idential election and his popularity ratings show that he is set to win. Putin’s decision to return infuriated his critics at home and abroad who said he will lead

MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin talks during a dinner with foreign scholars and journalists at the restaurant Cheval Blanc on the premises of an equestrian complex. — AP ping down as president in 2008 and formally serving as a second in command to his anointed successor Medvedev.

Tandem not dead Putin plans to run in March 2012 pres-

the country into stagnation. The scholars said Putin told them during a part of the meeting that was closed to media that the dual rule would continue after the election with Medvedev holding sway over the economy as prime minister. “He

wanted to say that the tandem is not dead, that Medvedev is not a beaten card,” political scientist Alexander Rahr said after the meeting.

Rahr said that Putin warned the experts that further development of the US missile defense program could lead to a “serious tension” with Russia in the future. Columbia University professor Robert Legvold said Putin saw fighting nuclear weapons proliferation as a foreign policy priority during his presidency. He said Putin dodged several questions on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Putin, who previously evoked long-serving historical figures such as US President Franklin Roosevelt to justify his comeback, praised Italy’s outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, calling his 17year tenure “a stability factor”.

“I have a very warm personal relationship with Berlusconi. I believe that he is one of the greatest European politicians,” Putin said, adding that the Italian exposed his sex life “consciously, in order to attract attention”. Berlusconi was expected to resign yesterday, making way for an emergency government and ending one of the most scandal-plagued eras in Italy’s post-war history. Putin recalled his private conversations with the former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, another European ally, who told him that Berlusconi was a “good man” but “not a real politician”. “Maybe his is not a real politician but look now where he is and where you are,” Putin said he told Schroeder on several occasions after the German lost the election in 2005 and had to step down. — Reuters

Brazil minister trip reveals links to NGOs SAO PAULO: Brazilian Labor Minister Carlos Lupi had several trips paid for by a non-government organization that is under investigation for fraud, according to a magazine that has reported on an alleged bribery scam at the ministry. The Veja magazine article yesterday said Lupi, two aides and former Maranhao State Governor Jackson Lago in 2009 used a jet arranged by the owner of a non-government organization that has been a contractor at the ministry for three years.

One of the aides, who have both since left those jobs, Ezequiel Nascimento, said the three-day tour around several cities in Maranhao state was arranged by the contractor, Adair Meira, Veja reported. Another aide, lawmaker Weverton Rocha, said the jet was rented by Lago, who died recently. Calls to Lupiís spokesman seeking comment were not immediately

answered. Efforts to reach Nascimento, Meira and the organization, Renapsi, were unsuccessful.

The report comes days after Lupi denied another Veja report accussing two former aides at the ministry of running a bribery scheme. The magazine alleged that non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, were forced to pay bribes to officials to retain their contracts with the ministry. The Labor Ministry began its own investigation into the allegations after the first Vega report.

Lupi, a former news stand owner, is the latest minister to come under the media spotlight over alleged wrongdoing, worsening a political headache for President Dilma Rousseff that has distracted the governmentís attention from pushing economic reform bills through Congress. He said last week he had

Rousseffís confidence and that it would take ìa bulletî to get him out of his post.

Relations between NGOsónonprofit groups that perform activities such as worker trainingóhave been at the center of at least two of the corruption scandals that have unseated five ministers this year. A sixth minister quit after making disparaging remarks about his colleagues. Several of the scandals have followed a similar patternó initial denials by ministers followed by fresh allegations in the media and the eventual withdrawal of support by Rousseff. Meira, who runs the Renapsi NGO, denied sharing the jet with Lupi in exchange for the contracts, according to Veja. Since 2008, the organization has earned 10.4 million reais ($6 million) from worker training and other contracts, the magazine reported. — Reuters

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Utah mayor used alias to write upbeat news stories SALT LAKE CITY: Like his counterparts across the country, Mayor Mike Winder unabashedly promotes his community. But the style is unorthodox: He uses an alias and freelances upbeat articles about West Valley City, Utah. Winder, mayor of the state’s second-largest city, said he took the approach because the media spent too much time on crime coverage. He unapologetically revealed himself last week, insisting the balance was needed. “I thought about all the people just reading about crime in our city and nothing better,” Winder said Friday. “I’m trying to stand up for us because we do get the short end of the stick - negative stories.”

Winder had been writing under the name Richard Burwash, an alias he actually swiped from a real man a one-time professional tennis player from California that he found on the Internet. He said getting stories published by the Deseret News, KSL-TV’s website and a

community weekly was as easy as setting up a Gmail account and Facebook page. He communicated with editors by email and phone, never showing his face. As an unpaid writer for several months earlier this year, the so-called Burwash even quoted himself as mayor in some stories. In one published piece, he wrote about the opening of a Buddhist Temple in his Salt Lake City suburb, quoting himself as saying, “We applaud any time a group builds a place to celebrate peace and to encourage people to live better lives.” “I was an easy source,” he quipped Friday.

He even let his sister write one story under his alias.

But he maintains all the stories were “100 percent factually correct” - except for the byline, of course.

Executives at the Deseret News, one of Salt Lake City’s two daily newspapers, were not amused. “While we appreciate that Mayor Winder would, of his own accord, quit writing under the assumed name and

then detail the error to us, we remain highly concerned that someone would purposely misrepresent himself,” Clark Gilbert, president and CEO of the Deseret News and Deseret Digital Media, told the newspaper. “We deeply regret that Mayor Winder would do this.” Gilbert didn’t return messages left Friday by The Associated Press. The Deseret News said it has published about 5,500 articles by 2,000 contributors in the past year. The paper began accepting contributions after cutting its newsroom staff and consolidating operations with affiliated television and radio stations.

That’s when Winder saw an opportunity and hatched the idea of writing his own news stories. He complained crime stories made up 56 percent of the coverage of West Valley City by the Desert News over three months earlier this year. Now eyeing a run for mayor of Salt Lake County, Winder decided it was time

to come clean. “I’d rather disclose it on my own terms than by a political enemy,” he said. Winder walked into the publisher’s office at the Deseret News this week and asked about the paper’s policy on pen names. He was told they aren’t allowed. “I said, ‘Well, we have a situation,’” Winder said.

Reaction from residents in West Valley City was mixed. Some compared their mayor to historic figures who wrote under pen names during the American revolution. Others questioned whether the politician might have other secrets. “He’s the mayor, but I don’t see him doing anything,” said Pat Gonzales, a drycleaning assistant at Century Laundry and 30-year West Valley resident. “Maybe he’s too busy being a news reporter.” Winder, who said he just likes to write, is now giving up his side job. “It was interesting to be a journalist for a few months,” he said. “The only crime was my name.” — AP

Mexico’s top Cabinet secretary dies in crash Second minister to die in aviation accident in 3 years MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s top Cabinet secretary, Francisco Blake Mora, a key figure in the country’s battle with drug cartels, died Friday in a helicopter crash that President Felipe Calderon said was probably an accident. Blake Mora, 45, was the second interior minister, the No 2 post in the government, to die in an air crash during Calderon’s administration.

Despite some tendencies to suspect a hit on the top officials leading Calderon’s offensive against organized crime, the crash that killed Blake Mora and seven others may have had to do with bad weather. A Learjet that slammed into a Mexico City street in 2008, killing former interior secretary Juan Camilo Mourino and 15 others, was blamed on pilot error. One of Blake Mora’s last postings on his Twitter account commemorated the loss of Mourino. “Today we remember Juan Camilo Mourino three years after his death, a person who was working to build a better Mexico,” he tweeted on Nov 4.

Blake Mora’s death, while a blow to the government, was not likely to change policy or day-to-day operations. Calderon, visibly emotional over the loss, said the Super Puma helicopter was flying in fog when it went down in a remote area southeast of Mexico City. Still, he said all possible causes were under investigation. He said the pilot had sufficient expertise.

“Mexico has lost a great patriot ... and I lost a dear friend,” said Calderon, who struggled to maintain composure at one point during an address to the country. “He was not only an exemplary minister, he was an exemplary Mexican.”

President Barack Obama called Calderon to offer his condolences.

Calderon appeared to try to quell any suggestions of sabotage, saying Blake Mora’s helicopter “was always under guard” in the hangar of Mexico’s equivalent of the Secret Service and that it had recently undergone maintenance. The helicopter left from a military base in Mexico City at 8:45 am and 10 minutes later disappeared from radar, Transportation Secretary Dionisio Perez Jacome said at a news

conference late Friday.

Perez Jacome, who read a statement and didn’t take questions, said the government has asked US and French aviation crash experts to help in the investigation. Authorities said the undersecretary for human rights, Felipe Zamora, was among the seven others killed, including the pilot.

Calderon appointed Blake Mora as interior secretary in July 2010. That put him in charge of coordinating domestic policies including security, human rights, migration and the president’s relation with the legislature and opposition parties.

Blake Mora was traveling to a prosecutors’ meeting in the neighboring state of Morelos when the helicopter went down in a mountainous area of Chalco in the state of Mexico on the border with Mexico City. “In the morning, there was a whole lot of fog,” said homemaker Marisol Palacios, who lives on the lower slopes of the hill where the crash occurred. She said she didn’t hear the crash and wasn’t aware anything had happened until helicopters carrying rescue teams arrived. Video of the wreckage suggested the helicopter plowed into the hillside and broke in half, but did not explode or burn.

Blake Mora started his political

career in the mid-1990s as an official in his native Tijuana and served as a federal congressman through the 2000s, as well as interior secretary of Baja California. As Calderon’s point man in the government’s war against organized crime, he frequently traveled to the country’s most dangerous places for meetings with besieged state and local security officials. He was an embodiment of the Mexican government’s get-tough attitude, publicly pledging to bring the fight to the traffickers instead of backing down.

“Organized crime, in its desperation, resorts to committing atrocities that we can’t and shouldn’t tolerate as a government and as a society,” he said. He also oversaw response to disasters, such as flooding and the massive oil pipeline explosion that laid waste to parts of the central city of San Martin Texmelucan last year, killing at least 28 people. He led the creation of a new national identity card for youths under 18, with modern features including digitalized fingerprints and iris images, to prevent criminals from using false IDs. Blake Mora’s funeral was scheduled for Saturday. Calderon canceled many of his appearances, including a trip to the Asia-Pacific Economic

TLAMANALCO: Forensic and technical personnel inspect the debris of the helicopter where the Mexican Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora died on November 11, 2011. — AP

Cooperation meeting of world leaders in Hawaii next week.

“Polls have been showing that insecurity now tops poverty as the No 1 concern among Mexicans, and my sense is an accident like this or an event like this ... is going to increase the senses of uncertainty and insecurity,” said George W Grayson, a Mexico expert at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Suspicions commonly swirl around the deaths of prominent people in Mexico. It was hard for many to believe that two interior secretaries could die in air accidents in the same administration. “This is very unfortunate,” said Sinaloa Congressman Manuel Clouthier, whose own father, a popular politician in Calderon’s National Action Party, died in a stillunexplained highway accident in 1989. “There are many coincidences because now we have two interior ministers (lost) in one presidential term ... who knows if we’ll ever really know what happened.” In the crash that killed Mourino, the jet smashed into rush-hour traffic in a posh Mexico City business district, killing all nine on board and seven on the ground.

Mexican investigators blamed the Learjet 45 crash on the turbulence from a larger plane flying ahead. The investigation found that the pilots were slow to follow the control tower’s instructions to reduce speed and appeared to be nearly one nautical mile too close behind a Boeing 767300 on the same flight path to Mexico City’s international airport.

Also killed in the crash was former anti-drug prosecutor Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, who had been the target of at least one previous assassination plot. The Mexican government provided a detailed account of the crash aimed at quelling widespread rumors that the plane was brought down by powerful and increasingly violent drug cartels. In 2005, a helicopter crash blamed on poor weather conditions killed Mexico’s top police official, public safety secretary Ramon Martin Huerta, who was head of federal police, and seven other people.— AP

Obama embarking on day of diplomacy in Hawaii HONOLULU: President Barack Obama is heading into a day of heavy diplomacy in his native Hawaii with some of the United States’ most important and complicated allies, as he starts a nine-day tour of the crucial and growing AsiaPacific region with domestic concerns front and center. Obama, who arrived late Friday after flying from San Diego, was to meet yesterday on the sidelines of a US-hosted economic summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Trade was also at the top of the agenda as Obama was to meet with leaders from eight Asian nations that are the US partners in an ambitious but not-yet-completed free trade deal the US hopes will one day be the anchoring pact for the region.

That emerging pact and its potential payoff for US jobs and business will allow Obama to cast his far-flung travels as crucial to US voters with an election year approaching and concerns of domestic voters centered on the dragging economy. With Obama pledging to double US exports, the White House hopes to show progress at the summit on the deal, the next trade focus for the administration following long-delayed approval of a free-trade agreement with South Korea. Obama also was to meet with US business leaders yesterday to highlight the importance for interests back home of the Asia-Pacific region.

The 21 nations that make up the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum account for 44 percent of world trade, and American business leaders are working eagerly to boost ties with them.

“The trade that the US does with the Asia Pacific supports millions of

American jobs,” Ben Rhodes, a White House deputy national security adviser, said ahead of Obama’s trip, laying out a theme certain to be heard from Obama’s advisers until the president returns to Washington Nov. 20. “The markets that are growing in the Asia Pacific are ones that we want to be competitive in going forward.” Japan has indicated interest in joining the other eight nations negotiating with the US on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, though hurdles remain, and that is sure to be a topic when Obama has his first meeting with Noda, who took office in September.

In Hu and Medvedev, Obama encounters two leaders with whom he’s sought close relations despite fraught histories between the US and those

countries, with disagreements on human rights, territorial disputes, economics and other issues. For the president, the challenge is to maintain those ties while also pushing US priorities. It’s Obama’s first meeting with those leaders since the release of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency saying for the first time that Iran is suspected of conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose is the development of nuclear arms. For the US, the report offered significant support for some long-held suspicions and lent international credence to claims that Tehran isn’t solely interested in developing atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday in Honolulu that Iran must respond soon to the findings.—AP

HONOLULU: President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are welcomed by Hawaii Gov Neil Abercrombie (center) and Rep Mazie Hirono as they disembark Air Force One as they arrive at Hickam Air Force Base Friday, Nov 11, 2011. — AP

NEW YORK: Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is pursued by reporters as he leaves a fundraiser at the Russian Tea Room. — AP

Cain eyes advantage in media attention NEW YORK: Herman Cain has decried the media firestorm surrounding claims he sexually harassed former employees. But the Republican presidential hopeful has also eagerly milked the limelight, even as he casts himself the victim of a journalistic smear. “A lot of people who have been writing stories from their cubicles don’t get it,” Cain said in a radio interview Friday, maintaining an anti-media theme he’s stuck with since the story first broke. Allegations that the Georgia businessman sexually harassed subordinates as head of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s have been catnip to political reporters, blending issues of power, sex, race and money and pitting Cain’s word against that of at least four accusers. The story has led news broadcasts, made headlines in major papers and driven reporters to track the candidate’s every move.

Cain himself has been a constant media presence since the claims first surfaced, appearing frequently on Fox News, visiting late-night talk shows and calling in to radio hosts. As he takes advantage of its many platforms, he also criticizes the media for its interest in the controversy. The attention has given Cain unrivaled exposure since Oct. 30, when the Politico website first broke the story. But it’s also allowed the former pizza chain executive and his allies to malign the media, currying favor with many conservatives who believe news coverage is biased in favor of Democrats.

“It’s fun for the right to bash the press. It plays to the victimhood strain, the aggrieved aspect of being a conservative in an allegedly liberal, elitist media world,” said Marty Kaplan, a professor of media and politics at the University of Southern California. “Cain has played into that - he gets the benefits of attention, and for his conservative supporters it proves what a grand antagonist toward the media he can be.”

Audience members booed at a nationally televised debate this week when CNBC’s Maria

Bartiromo questioned Cain about the harassment claims. And they cheered when Cain pushed back. “The American people deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion,” Cain said to applause.

At first, Cain and his backers could blame press scrutiny with ease. The early stories from Politico and other news organizations, including The Associated Press, did not include the names of Cain’s accusers or many specific details of what he was alleged to have done.

Fox News personality Sean Hannity referred to the reporting as “journalistic malpractice,” while Donald Trump dismissed it as a witch hunt. Conservative pundit Ann Coulter revived the term “high-tech lynching,” which is how Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas described the media scrutiny he received during his confirmation hearings in 1991 when allegations he sexually harassed a coworker, Anita Hill, surfaced. Thomas and Cain are both African-American.

Cain even got an assist from a GOP primary rival, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who said the press focused on scandal at the expense of the interests of ordinary voters. But it got harder for Cain to target reporters Monday, when one of his accusers went public. Sharon Bialek told her story at a packed news conference in New York. She appeared with celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, and the two women then sat for several TV interviews.

Cain and many other conservatives jumped on Bialek’s association with Allred, who has contributed to many Democratic candidates.

Another Cain accuser, Karen Kraushaar, identified herself Tuesday. Cain held a news conference Tuesday in Arizona, where he took questions only after he and his lawyer, Lin Wood, gave lengthy opening remarks. Wood has warned other women who might come forward with allegations against Cain that they would be aggressively scrutinized and should give the matter careful consideration before going public.—AP

Occupy protests face new issue in deaths OAKLAND: Oakland police handed out eviction notices at an anti-Wall Street encampment and officials elsewhere urged an end to similar gatherings after two men died in shootings and two others were found dead inside their tents this week. One was found dead Friday inside a tent at the Occupy Salt Lake City encampment, from what police said was a combination of drug use and carbon monoxide from a propane heater. On Thursday, a man was shot and killed at the Occupy Oakland camp in California, and a military veteran apparently shot himself to death in a tent at an encampment in Burlington, Vermont.

The deaths come after a 53-year-old man was found dead inside a tent at the Occupy New Orleans encampment on Tuesday. The Times-Picayune newspaper reported that he appeared to have been dead for two days. Some officials have responded with both pleas and orders for protesters to leave.

Citing a strain on crime-fighting resources, police asked and later ordered Occupy Oakland protesters to leave their encampment at the City Hall plaza where the man was shot and killed late Thursday.

Officers acting at the direction of Mayor Jean Quan distributed fliers to protesters late Friday afternoon warning that the camp violates the law and must be disbanded immediately. The notices warned campers they would face arrest if tents and other materials were not removed, although the warnings did not say by when. The city issued similar written warnings before officers raided the encampment before dawn on Oct. 25 with tear gas and bean bags projectiles before arresting 85 people. A day later, Quan allowed protesters to reclaim the disbanded site and the camp has grown substantially since then.

Earlier, the Oakland Police Officer’s Association issued an open letter saying the camp is pulling officers away from crimeplagued neighborhoods. “With last night’s homicide, in broad daylight, in the middle of rush hour, Frank Ogawa Plaza is no longer safe,” the letter said. “Please leave peacefully, with your heads held high, so we can get police officers back to work fighting crime in Oakland neighborhoods.” Since the shooting, anonymous fliers have been posted around the encampment urging protesters to leave. “Occupiers, turn on your brains and see the harm you are causing to our town,” it says. “You have devolved into mob rule. You have lost sight of the goal.”

City Council President Larry Reid said outside City Hall that the shooting was further proof the tents must come down. He was confronted by a protester who said he wouldn’t be in office

much longer. “You didn’t elect me,” Reid snapped back. “You probably ain’t even registered to vote!” Reid said the encampment has been a major setback for the area while attracting sex offenders, mentally ill and homeless people, and anarchists.

“This is no longer about Occupy Wall Street,” he said. “This is about occupying Oakland and extracting whatever you can get out of Oakland by holding our city hostage.” A preliminary investigation into the shooting suggested it resulted from a fight between two groups of men at or near the encampment, police Chief Howard Jordan said. Investigators do not know if the men in the fight were associated with the protesters, he said. Protesters said there was no connection. The Oakland shooting occurred the same day the 35-year-old military veteran apparently fatally shot himself in the head in a tent at the Vermont encampment.—AP

SALT LAKE CITY: Dayna Rivera lights a candle at a memorial in the spot where a man died in his tent overnight during the Occupy Salt Lake City Protest November 11, 2011. — AP

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Roadside bomb kills 8 Afghan civilians Groom dead in attack after wedding party

OKUMA: The Unit 4 reactor building of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station is seen through a bus window yesterday. —AP

Japan opens Fukushima reactors to outsiders OKUMA: Two reactor buildings once painted in a cheery sky blue loom over the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Their roofs are blasted away, their crumbled concrete walls reduced to steel frames. In their shadow, plumbers, electricians and truck drivers, sometimes numbering in the thousands, go dutifully about their work, all clad from head to toe in white hazmat suits. Their job - cleaning up the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl - will take decades to complete.

Reporters, also in radiation suits, visited the ravaged facility yesterday for the first time since Japan’s worst tsunami in centuries swamped the plant March 11, causing reactor explosions and meltdowns and turning hundreds of square miles (kilometers) of countryside into a no man’s land.

Eight months later, the plant remains a shambles. Mangled trucks, flipped over by the power of the wave, still clutter its access roads. Rubble remains strewn where it fell.

Pools of water cover parts of the once immaculate campus. Tens of thousands of the plant’s former neighbors may never be able to go home. And just as Hiroshima and Nagasaki become icons of the horrors of nuclear weapons, Fukushima has become the new rallying cry of the global anti-nuclear energy movement. Yet this picture is one of progress, Japanese officials say. It has taken this long to make the plant stable enough to allow yesterday’s tour, which included representatives of the Japanese and international media including The Associated Press. Officials expect to complete an early but important step toward cleaning up the accident by the end of the year.

“I think it’s remarkable that we’ve come this far,” Environment Minister Goshi Hosono, Japan’s chief nuclear crisis response official, said before leading the tour. “The situation at the beginning was extremely severe. At least we can say we have overcome the worst.” The group was taken through the center of the facility, a once-neat row of reactor buildings that are now shells of shattered walls and steel frames. Journalists were then briefed inside the plant’s emergency operations center, a spacious, bunker-like structure where it is safe to remove the heavy protective gear required outdoors.

Woefully unprepared for the wave that swept over its breakwater, the plant just 140 miles (225 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo was doomed almost from the start. “During the first week of the accident, I thought several times that we were all going to die,” plant chief Masao Yoshida said.

At the height of the crisis, all but a few dozen workers - dubbed the “Fukushima 50” were evacuated. Officials boast that number is now up to as many as 3,000 a day, compared with the pre-crisis work force of 6,400.

Evidence of the tremendous man-hours already invested in the cleanup is piling up in the workers’ staging area, on the edge of the 12-mile (20-kilometer) no-go zone around the plant. More than 480,000 sets of used protective gear - which can be worn only once - lie in crates or plastic bags at the complex, which before the tsunami was a training facility for national-level soccer teams.

Kazuo Okawa, 56, who worked at Fukushima for 20 years, was called back to join an emergency crew for several days in April. His team wore three layers of gloves, full-face masks, double-layer Tyvek protective coveralls, rubber boots with plastic covers and plastic head covers. They carried personal Geiger counters. “Obviously, it was very dangerous at that time,” he recalled during a recent visit to Tokyo.

“Luckily, we got out without experiencing any life-threatening situations.” Workers like Okawa - in Chernobyl they were called “liquidators” - have restored the plant’s supply of electricity, set up elaborate cooling and drainage systems, rebuilt crumbled walls and erected a huge tent to cover one of the worsthit reactors, cutting the amount of radioactivity leaking into the surrounding environment.

Tokyo Electric Power Co which runs the plant, says it will achieve a “cold shutdown” by the end of the year - a first step toward creating a stable enough environment for work to proceed on removing the reactors’ nuclear fuel and closing the plant altogether. But that is by no means the end of the story. A preliminary government report released this month predicted it will take 30 years or more to safely decommission Fukushima Dai-ichi. Like Chernobyl, it will probably be encased in a concrete and steel “sarcophagus.”—AP

ASADABAD: Eight civilians including a newlywed groom were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan yesterday, the latest innocent victims to die despite a Taleban call to limit their deaths. The victims, which also included a woman and a child, were killed in the eastern province of Laghman when their car was blown up as they returned home after the man’s wedding party late Friday. Laghman province is located towards the border with Pakistan. It has long been troubled by insurgents, particularly the Hezb-e-Islami faction led by former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. “The latest reports show that eight people including a woman, a child and a groom were killed in the blast,” said Laghman provincial spokesman Faizanullah Patan. “They had a wedding party last night and were going to their home” when the blast struck in the district of Alingar at around 10am (0530 GMT), he added. The woman killed in the blast was not thought to have been the bride.

Afghan civilians have paid a high price in the decade-long war in their country.

The United Nations has said the number of civilians killed in the first half of this year rose 15 percent to 1,462, with insurgents responsible for 80 percent of the deaths. Last week, Afghan Taleban leader Mullah Omar issued a statement to mark Eid Al-Adha calling on insurgents to reduce civilian casualties.

However, human rights group Amnesty International condemned the call as “hypocritical”, saying it was “more about propaganda and less about actually protecting civilians”.

Control of security in Laghman’s provincial capital, Mehtar Lam, was handed from foreign to Afghan government forces in the first wave of transition in July. The transition of security is

BANGKOK: In this file photo released by the Thai Royal Household, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej delivers his annual birthday speech as part of his 83rd birthday celebration at the Amarindhara throne hall inside the Grand Palace. — AP

were wounded by a roadside bomb which targeted a police vehicle in Herat city, western Afghanistan, local civil order police commander Essa Iftikhari said. Herat city was also part of the first wave of transition in July.

There are around 140,000 international troops, mainly from the United States, in Afghanistan helping government forces combat a Taleban-led insurgency. The Taleban were ousted from power by a US-led invasion in 2001 following the September 11 attacks in the United States. — AFP

LAGHMAN: Afghans stand around wreckage of a civilian car, which was hit by a roadside bomb yesterday. — AP

Militant chief warns Pakistan govt MIRANSHAH: The most powerful militant leader in Pakistan’s North Waziristan border region has threatened to tear up a peace accord and turn his fighters against the Islamabad government. Hafiz Gul Bahadur has an unofficial non-aggression pact with the military, focusing instead on attacking US troops in neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistan can’t afford new militant enemies. The army ’s hands are full with the Tehrik-e-Taleban (TTP), or Taleban Movement of Pakistan, blamed for many of the suicide bombings across the South Asian country.

Bahadur is known to have links with notorious militant groups in tribal North Waziristan, including the Haqqani network, which has emerged as the most high-profile threat to US forces in Afghanistan.

Bahadur criticised Pakistani lead-

Thai King temporarily loses consciousness BANGKOK: Thailand’s ailing king - the world’s longest-reigning monarch - recently suffered a health problem that caused him to temporarily lose consciousness, his daughter revealed, linking the incident to stress over the country’s flood crisis.

News that the health of 83-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej took what Princess Chulabhorn described as a brief turn for the worse comes as Thailand has been devastated by flooding that has inundated rural areas and parts of Bangkok and its suburbs. More than 500 people have died, damage is estimated at several billion dollars and central Bangkok remains threatened. Chulabhorn, the king’s youngest daughter, said Friday during a visit to flood victims in Nonthaburi province

due to take place gradually across the country and should eventually see all foreign combat troops leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, although a sizeable mission will remain to train Afghan forces.

Another district in Laghman, Qarghayi, is expected to be among the second wave of transition locations. President Hamid Karzai had been expected formally to announce these at a regional conference in Istanbul this month, but did not. Elsewhere in Afghanistan yesterday, four policemen and two civilians

north of Bangkok that King Bhumibol had gone into shock and lost consciousness after suffering abdominal bleeding and a sharp drop in his blood pressure. She said that about 800 cc of blood had been found in his bowel movements.

Chulabhorn said the king returned to normal health after being treated at the hospital where he has been staying for more than two years, according to the official royal news broadcast Friday night. The king, who took the throne in 1946, was originally hospitalized on Sept 19, 2009, with a lung inflammation. Official statements said he remained at the hospital for physical therapy and nourishment to recover his strength.

In May this year, he had an operation to relieve a condition that made him walk unsteadily. A statement issued at the time said the spinal tap procedure was to relieve a condition common in the elderly - an excessive level of cerebrospinal fluid resulting in pressure on the brain. Chulabhorn said Friday that after the May operation, the king “seemed to be at ease” until the flood crisis. The king has been shown from time to time on television speaking - sometimes with difficulty - at royal functions held at the hospital.

Chulabhorn said doctors told her the recent bleeding could have been caused by concern over the flooding. “So I asked the nurse what he had been doing in the past few days,” Chulabhorn said.

“It turned out that he had been watching news about the flood. This indicates that His Majesty the King loves his people as his own children. He is very concerned and he usually doesn’t speak much, but (his concern) is seen in his physical condition.”

She did not specify when the health problem took place, but her comments indicated it was more than a week ago. She had previously spoken about it on Nov 7, though not in such detail, and said Friday that it happened the same day she had been visiting flooding victims in Ayutthaya province, also near Bangkok. She visited a Buddhist temple there on Nov 4. The Royal Household Bureau, which is in charge of releasing news about the king, said yesterday that it could provide no further details on the king’s health. Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital, where the king is staying, said it could provide no information without the approval of the Royal Household Bureau, which had not yet been given.

It is potentially unlawful for private citizens to publicly comment on the king’s health. In 2009, four people were arrested on suspicion of using the Internet to spread rumors about the king’s health. Under the Computer Crime Act, spreading false information deemed harmful to national security is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of 100,000 baht ($2,770). Open discussion of the monarchy is also constrained by strict lese majeste laws that make criticism of the monarchy punishable by up to 15 years in prison.—AP

ers for allowing the United States to conduct drone missile strikes in Nor th Waziristan and said the council of militant groups he heads would no longer hold talks with the government. “ We have been showing patience because of problems being faced by common people but now the government has also resorted to repression on our common people at the behest of foreigners,” Bahadur, who heads a Pakistani Taleban faction, said in a statement distributed in North Waziristan.

He accused the government of firing mortar bombs and cannons on civilians and demolishing a hospital and other buildings in North Waziristan. Army officials were not immediately available for comment.

Local military officials said “ter-

rorists” had used public buildings to launch rocket attacks at military checkpoints. “We are disbanding the jirga (council) set up for talks with the government. If the government resorts to any repressive act in the future then it will also be ver y difficult for us to show patience,” said Bahadur. Pakistan has come under intense pressure to tackle militancy since U.S. special forces in May killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town, where he had apparently lived for years.

Admiral Mike Mullen said before retiring as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September that the Haqqani network- blamed for several attacks on US targets in Afghanistan recently-was a “veritable arm” of Pakistani intelligence.

Islamabad denies the allegation.

The United States wants Pakistan to encourage militants to pursue

peace in Afghanistan, and go after groups who don’t cooperate.

But the government must tread cautiously in a country where antiAmerican sentiment over issues such as the CIA-operated drone campaign runs deep.

Pakistani leader criticise the drone attacks, saying they play into the hands of militants. But analysts say strikes which kill high-value al Qaeda and Taleban figures would not be possible without help from Pakistani intelligence agencies.

Bahadur, believed to have thousands of fighters, reached a peace agreement with the Pakistani government in 2007. But it has been strained lately. Two clerics who are leaders of the committee that overseas the pact, Maulana Gul Ramazan and Hafiz Noorullah Shah, suggested the army had violated the deal. — Reuters

Asylum quest: A Chinese dissident’s expedition HANOI: The Chinese dissident stood in front of a map of Vietnam, looking for the best place to sneak across the border on his long quest for freedom. “I want to try,” said the bespectacled former physics student, who is in his late 30s. “I know it’s very difficult but I cannot go back to China.” Without a passport Wang Weimin, whose name AFP has changed to protect him and his family, had already made it over the Chinese frontier and reached the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. But once there, hungry and short of cash, Wang found that neither foreign embassies nor the United Nations refugee agency could accept his request for political asylum.

In June he decided there was no choice but to push on towards Thailand, “a free country”. “See you later,” Wang said, smiling as he gave a slight wave to an AFP reporter. He walked off with determination, carrying a cloth bag containing two handwritten books which he said he penned in prison. Chinese have been reluctant to make a similar journey since 20 Muslim Uighurs who escaped the far western Xinjiang region through Vietnam reached Phnom Penh only to be expelled in December 2009, said a source involved in refugee assistance.

The Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking ethnic minority, sought UN refugee status saying they risked torture in China.

Phnom Penh called them illegal immigrants and sent them home.

“Apparently all of these guys came via Vietnam”, said the refugee worker, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of her work. Wang is not a Uighur but-until his release from prison last year-was one of well over 1,000 Chinese who rights monitors believe are incarcerated for their political and religious views. Activists fear even more dissidents will be detained if Beijing proceeds with a plan to make

it legal to secretly hold suspects in detention.

Wang said he spent more than a decade in prison in total, first in the mid-1990s for allegedly leading a small pro-democracy students’ group. In the early 2000s he was arrested again for distributing leaflets opposing authoritarian regimes and advocating democracy, and was sentenced to nine years for “inciting subversion”, he said. Wang spent time in solitary confinement and

HANOI: This picture shows Chinese dissident Wang Weimin during an interview. — AFP his sentence was unusually long, apparently because he was a repeat offender, rights campaigners say.

In May he fled his home and headed for Guangzhou city in southern China where he ignored police telephone calls demanding that he go back. He continued south towards Guangxi province bordering northeastern Vietnam. “As I was a criminal and am deprived of political rights, I cannot obtain a passport, so I had to secretly cross the border.”‘ Wang said a friend introduced him

to a Vietnamese woman who took him on a small road over the frontier, where Vietnamese border police forced him to hand over 2,000 yuan (314 dollars).

“From there my friend took me to Hanoi,” he said. Bearing a hand-written document entitled “Political Asylum Request,” Wang visited some foreign embassies in Hanoi but said they could not help him.

Neither could the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees office (UNHCR). “We can only accept and process asylum claims if the host government agrees, and the government of Vietnam does not allow us to do so,” explained Kitty McKinsey, UNHCR’s regional spokeswoman.

“I would like to know,” the alwayspolite Wang asked an AFP reporter at the time. “Is there any hope?” It seemed that hope could only come with more risk, more hardship, and more determination. He rode a bus for about two days south to Ho Chi Minh City, getting closer to Cambodia which he had to cross to reach Thailand. After several days trying to find a way over the border, another Chinese told him about a small river crossing. “I got rid of my baggage and got on a boat and crossed the river. After I crossed, there was a Cambodian guard who asked for my passport. I told him I had no passport. I thought I was finished,” Wang said.

A bribe solved the problem. “He shook my hand and told me in Chinese I could go.” After sleeping in a plantation of bitter melon, Wang boarded a minibus to Phnom Penh but did not stay long “because the Cambodian government always sends Chinese political refugees back to China”. That afternoon, another bus dropped him at the Thai border where a motorcycle driver helped him find a local “snakehead”, a people trafficker. “I gave the snakehead 40 dollars and he took me to Thailand,” Wang said.—AFP

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NEWS Bahrain busts cell plotting major attacks Continued from Page 1 The agency said the four carried unspecified sums of foreign currency, including US dollars and Iranian rials, and had flights booked to Syria. BNA said the four suspects gave information about a fifth member of the group in Bahrain, who was also arrested.

Bahrain was rocked earlier this year by unrest led by majority Shiites demanding reforms and an end to sectarian discrimination in the Sunni-led island state, where the US Fifth Fleet is based.

Twenty-four people died during the

month-long crackdown, according to official figures from Manama. Four protesters have since died in custody. The opposition says 40 people were killed.

Bahrain had asked Saudi Arabia to send forces to help it crack down on the protesters. Bahrain has accused Shiite-led Iran of being behind the unrest, but Tehran denied this. Last month, US authorities said they had broken up a plot by two men linked to Iran’s security agencies to assassinate Saudi Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir. One was arrested last month while the other was believed to be in Iran. Iran has

denied the allegations.

In a sign of the unease, Iran yesterday summoned Bahrain’s envoy to Tehran to protest what it called mistreatment of Iranian football players and suppor ters following a 2014 World Cup qualifier in Manama on Friday. Bahrain’s foreign minister, Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa, on Nov 1 accused Iran of eyeing the Gulf monarchy as “the crown jewel” in a campaign to penetrate the region.

King Hamad has ordered a probe into the unrest, the results of which are to be unveiled on Nov 23. — Agencies

In NY, ambivalence over surveillance Continued from Page 1

ABU DHABI: Formula one fans watch the qualifying session of the Emirates Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina racetrack yesterday. The Emirates Formula One Grand Prix will take place today. — AP

Grouzis knows this history. She also knows that today, New York is filled with ethnic groups who overcame obstacles to carve out influential spaces in city life - Italians, Jews, Irish, blacks, Asians, Puerto Ricans and more.

“The people make this city great,” Grouzis said from behind the counter of a dry cleaning and tailor shop in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. Outside the front window was a busy Steinway Street, lined with businesses including numerous Arab shops and cafes; Brazilian markets; a tae kwon do studio; a Mexican hookah cafe; Italian coffee shops; a Domino’s and Dunkin’ Donuts; Chinese and French restaurants; and Sissy McGinty’s Irish bar.

Many New Yorkers, remembering the immigrant story of struggle followed by success, speak of the NYPD surveillance almost like a rite of passage - even as they decry it as unjust. “It takes awhile for any new nationality to assimilate,” said Nancy Cogen, who for 39 years has owned The Melting Pot, a batik clothing store near downtown Brooklyn. “It used to be the Irish, Germans, Puerto Ricans. Now I guess it’s the Arab world’s turn.”

Like most people interviewed for this story, Cogen did not think the current surveillance should be legal: “I don’t want to live in a police state, and I don’t think any religion or nationality should have to.” But she said that since 9/11, she has become more willing to tolerate intrusions for safety’s sake. “We have no privacy anymore,” she said.

One place with less privacy is the section of Steinway Street with a heavy Arab and Muslim presence. It was targeted by NYPD surveillance and many photographs were taken there, according to documents obtained by the AP. Inside the Kabab Cafe on Steinway, Ali A El Sayed pointed to an “Ethnic Map of Manhattan” on the wall of the narrow restaurant he has owned for 25 years. Dated 1919, the map delineated color-coded neighborhoods for groups such as Germans, Russian Jews, AustroHungarians, Negroes, and one called “Syrians, Turks, Armenians and Greeks”. “Everything colored in on that map was bad,” said Sayed, who came here from his native Egypt 35 years ago.

He was not surprised that police were watching his neighborhood - it’s common knowledge among Muslims that they are under surveillance. But he was angered and saddened by what he saw as a failure to respect the American ideal of freedom. “In 2011, all this commotion about a black president, and we still have police stopping a guy because of his race,” Sayed said.

“It’s time to correct our vision,” he said. “In this country, Middle Eastern guys are mostly small guys, small businesses, trying to make a living for their families.”

Many of the surveillance operations were built with help from the CIA, which is prohibited from spying on Americans but helped transform NYPD intelligence after 9/11. The program sent undercover officers into Muslim and Arab neighborhoods. Informants infiltrated mosques and student groups. People who changed their Muslim names to ones that sound more traditionally American - a timeless method of assimilating into this country - were placed on secret lists.

Molly Seitz, who moved to New York 17 years ago, said her Irish great-grandfather couldn’t get hired on the docks of Boston, so he changed his name. “This (suspicion) has been happening since the beginning of time,” Seitz said as she ate lunch near downtown Brooklyn with a friend. The two women did not want police to single out suspects based only on religion or ethnicity. But “we just need a way to strike a balance.

You can’t deny there’s danger,” Seitz said.

Some had no problem with what police are doing, calling it justified to protect against the danger of another terrorist attack. “It’s sad to pick them out. I don’t feel just because they’re Muslim they’re bad,” said Joe Giallo, a New York native and owner of a Brooklyn antique store. “But if the police feel any Muslim has to be pulled out, they should,” he said. “I still think it’s safer that way. It’s better to be sure than not sure.”

Lynn Villafane, a waitress who lives in Manhattan, said innocent people should have nothing to hide. “I see it both ways,” she said. “It’s the protection of the country, but it’s kind of invading their privacy. But in the long run, as long as we’re safe, they’re doing it for good reasons. If (an attack) happens again, they’ll blame the government, the police, and say ‘why weren’t you watching?’” Villafane said.

Other minorities have complaints about New York police; blacks and Hispanics say they are subject to unwarranted police intrusions, including a “stop-andfrisk” policy targeting anyone deemed suspicious. Police defend those strategies as necessary to combat crime, while the surveillance operations, they say, are important to secure a city that was the target of terrorists.

Evan Milligan, an Alabama native now in law school at New York University, visited the city often in the mid-1990s, living for weeks at a time with his brother.

Today, “I can tell 9/11 affected the psyche of the city. I can feel the difference.” Yet he still feels that newcomers are welcome here, from Alabama and beyond.

“The soul of this city to me is its working people that built some of the most fascinating subways, bridges, tunnels, graffiti, culture, types of music, creative works,” Milligan said. “The people that work and build things across all walks of life, there’s that soul, like, we can do it. That soul is always welcoming people to New York.” — AP

Arab League suspends Syria, mulls sanctions Gunman kills 7 in Kazakhstan Continued from Page 1 But Ahmad told a Cairo press conference that Damascus had “implemented all the articles of the agreement”, even though at least 125 people have reportedly been killed in the flashpoint city of Homs alone since the deal was inked. “It was clear (the decision) was decided through a US order,” he said, accusing the League of working for an “American agenda”.

Ahmad also said the moves decided by League foreign ministers in a vote of 18-3, with one abstention, “put an end to joint Arab action and show that the (League’s) administration is subjected to US and Western agendas.”

Obama said he applauded the “important decisions taken by the Arab League today, including the suspension of Syria’s membership”, in a statement issued from Hawaii, where he is hosting an Asia-Pacific summit.

“After the Assad regime flagrantly failed to keep its commitments, the Arab League has demonstrated leadership in its effort to end the crisis and hold the Syrian government accountable,” he said. “These significant steps expose the increasing diplomatic isolation of a regime that has systematically violated human rights and repressed peaceful protests.”

Washington ditched its earlier strategy of engagement after Syrian government forces unleashed a fierce crackdown on demonstrators, which the United Nations says has claimed more than 3,500 lives. Washington says Assad has lost legitimacy and must step down. It wants to see Syria trace a similar political transition to other states caught up in the Arab Spring uprisings that are reshaping the Middle East. A spokesman for the EU’s Ashton, said “we fully support the decisions taken by the Arab League today which show the increasing isolation of the Syrian regime.” Diplomats have said the EU is readying a freeze on European Investment Bank credits and technical assistance to Syria as it mulls further sanctions on Assad’s regime after months of bloodshed.

Apart from the suspension, which had been sought by the Syrian opposition, the League called for the withdrawal of Arab ambassadors from Damascus but left the decision to each member state. Sheikh Hamad said the measures would take effect on Wednesday, and that Arab ministers would meet again to decide on specific sanctions. The statement also called for the protection of civilians and said League chief Nabil Al-Arabi would contact international organisations, including the United Nations, if the bloodshed continued. It called for a meeting in Cairo with Syrian opposition groups in three days to “agree a unified vision for the coming transitional period in Syria”. The opposition would later meet with Arab foreign ministers.

A week of deadly violence in city of Homs overshadowed the meeting, in which ministers had appeared divided on what measures to take. Syria, Lebanon and Yemen voted against the decision, and Iraq abstained.

Under the deal, Assad’s regime agreed to release

detainees, withdraw the army from urban areas, allow free movement for observers and media and negotiated with the opposition. Instead, human rights groups say, the regime has intensified its crackdown, especially in Homs. At least 23 people were killed in violence in Syria on Friday alone, most of them civilians in Homs, which an opposition group declared a “humanitarian disaster area” earlier this week.

Yesterday, at least 13 people died, nine of them members of the security forces, in clashes in the northwestern province of Idlib, after 50-60 soldiers defected to the opposition, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. And in Homs, two civilians were killed as security forces carried out raids and arrests in two districts, while heavy gunfire was heard in another. With NATO ruling out operations and UN Security Council sanctions unlikely because veto-wielding permanent members Russia and China are allies of Assad’s regime, regional actors have come to represent the best avenue for pressure.

Damascus earlier argued it has moved forward on the deal by releasing 500 prisoners, and Ahmad had on Friday expressed his government’s willingness to receive a pan-Arab delegation. The United States, which has called on Assad to step down, insists his regime’s days are numbered and that even Arab leaders are encouraging him to go. “Some Arab leaders already have begun to offer Assad safe haven in an effort to encourage him to leave peaceably and quickly,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman. Amnesty International’s Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa director, said “now that the Arab League has taken decisive action, it is time for the UN Security Council to finally step up to the plate”.

But the international community is limited in what it can do to help solve the Syrian crisis. NATO has ruled out the kind of military intervention that helped topple Muammar Gaddafi. Sanctions from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union are chipping away at the regime, but the economy has not collapsed.

The unrest could balloon into a regional disaster.

Damascus’ web of allegiances extends to Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement and Iran’s Shiite theocracy. And although Syria sees Israel as the enemy, the countries have held up a fragile truce for years.

Assad already has warned the region will burn if there is any foreign intervention in his country. On Friday, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah backed up Assad and his allies in Iran, saying any war in either country would take down the Middle East.

Dozens of protesters outside the Arab League headquarters had rallied for the decision, carrying placards reading “Freedom for the Syrian people” and “Arab leaders are garbage” as they chanted for Assad’s removal.

They were joined by demonstrators from Yemen, protesting violent government crackdowns in their country. Syrian TV later reported a demonstration outside the Qatar embassy in Damascus. — Agencies

Continued from Page 1 “During the attempts to disarm him, Kariyev blew himself up and, as a result, the police captain who arrested him died on the spot,” Isayev said. He said a criminal probe had been opened into murder and “terrorist acts”. The authorities did not include the dead gunman in the final death toll of seven.

A local resident in Taraz told an AFP correspondent in Astana that the usually quiet city of 400,000 was in panic with shops and offices in the city centre shut and people largely staying at home out of fear.

The head of the Zhambyl region where Taraz is located appeared on local television to assure locals that the authorities had the situation under “strict control”. Kanat Bozymbayev said there was “no reason for panic” in Taraz, the InterfaxKazakhstan news agency reported.

Kazakhstan, which this month passed a new law tightening con-

trol over religious organisations, has seen an unprecedented spate of small-scale attacks over the last year blamed on Islamist extremists.

The attack comes after a suspected extremist accidentally blew himself up in the western Kazakh city of Atyrau on the Caspian Sea on Oct 31. An Islamist group called Jund Al-Khilafah (Soldiers of the Caliphate) said it was behind that incident and another blast that took place on the same day in Atyrau. Kazakh prosecutors last week confirmed that the group was to blame for the Atyrau explosions and warned that its members wanted to “unleash jihad on the territory of Kazakhstan”.

Such unrest has until recently been highly unusual in majority Muslim but secular Kazakhstan, which under strongman leader Nursultan Nazarbayev has earned a reputation as by far the most stable country in Central Asia. The Atyrau blasts followed a warning from the

group over the new Kazakh ban on religious ceremonies in state institutions and a requirement that religious groups and missionaries reregister with the government of the ex-Soviet state. The GKNB state security service in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, just to the south of Taraz, said they were ready to tighten border security if the situation in Taraz worsened. “The most recent events in Kazakhstan show that noone is immune to terrorism and extremism,” said GKNB chief Keneshbek Dushebayev.

Around 70 percent of Kazakhstan’s 16.5 million people are Muslims and Kazakh authorities have repeatedly expressed concern about Islamist extremism sweeping in from other Central Asian states and Afghanistan. But critics warn that the new law - signed last month by Nazarbayev - could have the opposite effect by increasing the militancy of banned religious groups.— AFP

Crowds cheer as Berlusconi quits Continued from Page 1 Microsoft and General Electric, but he has no experience in political office. European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, the former governor of the Bank of Italy who took over in Frankfurt just this month, met with Monti in Rome yesterday in what was interpreted as an implicit endorsement.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde also added her voice to calls from US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and others for Italy to form a new government instead of declaring early elections. Berlusconi’s hand was forced after a parliamentary revolt on Tuesday left his centre-right coalition in a minority on a procedural vote. But he refused to step down until lawmakers had approved a set of reforms. The measures include state asset sell-offs, reforms to boost competition in the labour market and moves to ease notoriously heavy bureaucracy for firms.

Monti has received endorsements from across the political spectrum and there were reports yesterday that Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PDL) party would also support him despite the premier previously calling for early elections. Napolitano would be forced to dissolve parliament and call early elections if there is no majority behind a transition government - a prospect that had spooked the financial markets in recent days.

Under the current timetable, the next elections are only

due in 2013.

There was little grief among ordinary Italians at the political demise of Berlusconi, with latest polls giving the media tycoon an approval rating of just 22 percent following a wave of sex scandals and legal troubles.

Many in the international community also want to see the back of him. The latest cover of The Economist news weekly, which has had a long feud with Berlusconi since declaring him “unfit to lead Italy” in 2001, carried a photo of the tycoon preening himself with the headline: “That’s all, folks.”

Following Berlusconi’s resignation announcement on Tuesday, Italy’s long-term borrowing costs rose above 7.0 percent - a dangerous level that could make the country’s debt unsustainable within months. Reports of Monti’s impending nomination helped ease the jitters.

But the toxic mix of a €1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) debt, an extremely low growth rate and high borrowing costs has raised concerns that the eurozone’s third largest economy may be forced to seek a bailout.

The IMF and the European Financial Stability Facility have both reportedly offered financial help. Economists warn that, unlike fellow eurozone members Greece, Ireland and Portugal, Italy may be “too big to bail”.

Berlusconi reluctantly agreed to special EU-IMF monitoring of Italy’s accounts at a G20 summit last week, prompting his opponents to carp that the country is now effectively “under external administration”. — AFP

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

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Washington Watch

Reps debate foreign policy

By Dr James J Zogby his presidential election couldn’t have come at a worse time for America and the Arab World. Since candidates are more focused on politics than on sound policy, critical issues will not receive the thoughtfulness they require. And so instead of addressing and working creatively to resolve a number of crises that are coming to a head across the Arab region, Washington will spend the election season pandering and politicking, making things worse, while rendering America increasingly isolated and powerless to have a positive impact in a rapidly changing Arab World.

This behavior is, of course, not limited to US policy in the Middle East. This same nasty and unproductive bickering has harmed our ability to address and resolve serious domestic challenges, as well: evidence Washington’s near paralysis in attempting to come to a budget/deficit reduction compromise. But as harmful as nasty partisan politics can be in making it more difficult to solve problems at home, it has had an even more damaging impact on our ability to handle complicated matters of foreign policy. And there is nowhere in the world where the challenges are as great, the stakes are as high, and the costs of failure so dear, as they are across the Arab World today.

The realities that confront America in the Arab World at this time, include, but are not limited to: dramatic transformations in leadership in many countries, with still unsettled situations in many more; a newly empowered Arab public opinion, that now limits the ability of the U.S. to project American leadership, especially on matters not supported by Arab opinion; a fast approaching “point of no return” in the Israeli-Palestinian arena, where, owing largely to Israeli intransigence and voracious settlement expansion, has made achieving a peace settlement a near impossibility; an emboldened Iran, which now has a foothold in Iraq and a leadership that is exploiting antiAmerican sentiment to its advantage; and a deepening partisan divide at home, which has effectively tied the Administration’s hands in the conduct of regional diplomacy, all the while infusing a damaging and dangerous anti-Muslim sentiment into the mainstream of U.S. political discourse.

With the date by which American forces are to be withdrawn from Iraq rapidly approaching, it stands as one of the great ironies of this new century, that the war that was designed and executed to project America’s hegemony, instead left the US weaker and less respected, and left the Middle East more volatile and less secure. It is this reality that the Obama Administration must confront as it faces real challenges with limited options. While the White House appears to recognize this state of affairs, it is clear that Republicans do not.

This past weekend, the GOP’s White House aspirants would debate foreign policy, and they would, no doubt, be in an attack mode, challenging the President’s policies at every turn.

From statements already issued by the leading Republican candidates it is clear that they will admit to no common ground with this White House in the conduct of US policy in the Middle East. Instead they routinely taunt the White House for: its “weakness” in not confronting Iran; its lack of support for Israel; its failure to act more vigorously in Libya and Syria; and its decision to honor agreements reached during the last Administration to withdraw from Iraq. Recent developments will only add fuel to this raging partisan fire. The revealing, but still inconclusive, IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s renewed threats to launch a unilateral attack on Iran, has Republican’s demanding that the Administration be more supportive of Israel and more directly confrontational with Iran. The recent leaked conversation between Presidents Sarkozy and Obama, in which both men make clear their disdain for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, has Republicans not only demanding that Obama apologize to the Israeli leader, but that he also demand that his French counterpart apologize, as well.

Despite Arab concern that US performance in the search for Israeli-Palestinian peace has been unbalanced and a massive disappointment (especially after President Obama’s patently pro-Israel political speech before the United Nations General Assembly), Republicans, playing to their “born again” base, have repeatedly chided the President for “betraying our only ally” or “throwing Israel under the bus”.

The growing tragedy in Syria has prompted Republicans to upbraid Obama for failing to demonstrate leadership. Much like their calls for the Administration to be more aggressive in Libya, they are now demanding action against the Assad regime - despite the fact that no responsible player in Syria or the broader region has called for or would welcome such a US role. The GOP criticisms of the President are not reality-based, and if the policies they advocate were to be pursued, the results would have devastating long-term consequences for America and the Arab World.

What is so distressing in all of this is the degree to which the Republicans have failed to learn the lessons of Bush’s failures. Not understanding how deep is the hole dug by the Bush Administration’s recklessness, Republicans keep pushing Obama to pursue policies that would dig that hole deeper still.

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NOTE: Dr James J Zogby is the President of the Arab American Institute.

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

Romney stronger than ever in GOP race

By Charles Babington ith eight weeks left before Republicans start voting for a presidential nominee, things could hardly be going better for Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor entered November with two chief rivals trying to prove he’s not the frontrunner. After 11 days of sex harassment allegations against one and a disastrous debate moment by the other, both challengers appear in trouble. Plenty of things can still go wrong for Romney, and he has yet to prove he can attract more than one-fourth of GOP voters. But his path to the nomination, which would pit him against President Barack Obama next year, has never looked clearer.

Herman Cain, the nonpolitician businessman who galvanized audiences with his “9-99” tax plan, stunned political insiders by topping several Republican polls in October. But four women have now accused him of sexually harassing them in the 1990s, charges he adamantly denies but has yet to shake. The Republican establishment, meanwhile, felt all along that Texas Gov Rick Perry was best positioned to challenge Romney over time, thanks to his money, political experience and stature. Those insiders are busily reassessing after Wednesday night’s Republican debate, dominated by Perry’s cringe-inducing memory lapse while trying to name the third federal agency besides the Commerce and Education departments that he would abolish.

Perry’s repeated and drawn-out stabs at naming the third agency - which turned out to be the Energy Department - triggered an instant torrent of commentators’ derision, pity and dire predictions about the impact on his candidacy. “Perry can end his campaign right now,” said Tony Fratto, a spokesman in George W Bush’s White House, via the social network Twitter.

These lucky events have fallen into Romney’s lap without his having to air any TV

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commercials, take political chances or veer from his comfortable talking points. He continues to husband his considerable campaign funds while mulling a possible all-out push in Iowa, whose caucus is on Jan 3. Romney is widely seen as the frontrunner in New Hampshire, which holds its primary on Jan 10.

Some political activists act as though Romney has already secured the nomination. Shortly after Wednesday’s debate, aired by CNBC f r o m R o c h e s te r, Michigan, Obama’s campaign office issued a few critical reviews, all aimed at Romney. One dinged him for saying he supports the extension of a payroll tax holiday he previously had belittled.

Romney, more so than the seven other debate participants, used almost every question as a chance to criticize not his GOP rivals but Obama’s record on jobs, healthcare and overall leadership.

Some people had expected Wednesday’s debate to be a turning point, with Cain likely to face fire on the sex harassment issue, and Perry seizing the chance to re-establish himself as the top con-

servative alternative to Romney. It turned out quite differently. Cain quickly brushed aside a question about the harassment allegations, repeating his earlier denials and accusing the news media of “character assassination”. None of his rivals jumped in, and the topic was dropped. That hardly means Cain’s problems are over. Even he has suggested more accusers may emerge. And campaign strategists are watching to see how voters react after having more time to ponder the allegations, which involve two cases of cash settlements to women who said Cain harassed them in work-related situations. Cain didn’t help himself Wednesday by referring to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as “Princess Nancy”. He later apologized.

Perry, meanwhile, showed no interest in attacking Romney during the twohour forum. He passed up an early chance to comment on Romney’s switched positions on several issues important to conservatives. The economy-dominated debate was moving along with quickly paced exchanges but little drama until the 75minute mark. That’s when Perry launched what should have been a simple riff on curbing the federal bureaucracy. He vowed to close three agencies: Commerce, Education and one he couldn’t recall despite long pauses, a stare at his notes and a well-

meaning suggestion from Rep Ron Paul (who wrongly guessed the Environmental Protection Agency).

“Oops,” Perry said wanly, as political commentators rated it one of the most astonishing moments in presidential debate history. Perry later told reporters: “I’m glad I had my boots on because I really stepped in it tonight.” Given Perry’s gaffe and Cain’s problems, some GOP insiders think former Speaker Newt Gingrich will be the next rival to pitch himself as the most viable alternative to Romney. Gingrich gave a typically confident and sometimes lecturing debate performance, berating reporters for questions he deemed inadequate and noting the several books he has written. Many Republicans are drawn to Gingrich’s allusions to history and his tendency to paint the nation’s problems and proposed remedies in sweeping philosophical terms.

But a higher profile for him might also invite re-examinations of his two messy divorces and his political feuds with President Bill Clinton and others in the mid1990s. Gingrich’s fellow Republicans eventually forced him from the leadership, and he left the House after GOP setbacks in the 1998 elections. In Wednesday’s debate, Gingrich was asked what advice his company gave Freddie Mac for a $300,000 fee. He said he had advised the mortgage-backing agency as a historian, not a lobbyist. He said he gave officials “advice on precisely what they didn’t do” during the mortgage crisis.

The debate’s other participants - Paul, Rep Michele Bachmann, former Sen Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov Jon Huntsman - seemed to do little to help or hurt themselves. They are running short of time to make a big impression on Republican voters. Every tick of that campaign clock, meantime, is sweet to Romney. No one has made a convincing case for why he should not be the nominee. His rivals seem to be losing ground, not gaining. — AP

Sirleaf faces battle for legitimacy

By Fran Blandy till basking in her Nobel Peace Prize, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been dealt a blow to her glowing image after winning an election Thursday sullied by violence and her alliance with an ex-warlord. Tuesday’s presidential run-off was a gloomy one-woman show after opposition challenger Winston Tubman pulled out of the race and Sirleaf’s win was confirmed with most votes counted, and voter turnout only around 37 percent. Polling stations were largely empty on Tuesday as the boycott and pre-poll violence discouraged voters, and analysts say Sirleaf faces a gargantuan task to establish legitimacy in a nation more divided than ever.

Dan Saryee, director of the Liberian Democratic Institute said that with low voter turnout “I see a serious legitimacy question hanging over the government”. Liberia’s population has remained polarised eight years after the end of a long and savage civil war, pitting a dizzying array of ethnic groups and warring factions against each other and leaving some 250,000 dead. This second post-war election raised considerable criticism of Sirleaf’s handling of reconciliation in the anguished nation.

She ignored it, her detractors say, because of her own shady past and ties to former warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor, which led a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to suggest she be banned from public office.

Sirleaf says the process is just taking time and her new mandate would begin with a palava hut, allowing people to come together to talk, make confessions, and seek forgiveness. “I myself will be one of the first ones to go to the palava hut because I have been named in the report.”

John Campbell, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, told AFP that focus on Sirleaf’s past and on her “rather embarrassing negotiations with Prince Johnson” in this election could sully her image. Johnson, who came third in last month’s first round, is a notorious ex-warlord who captured and presided over the torture and murder of military dictator Samuel Doe at the beginning of the country’s 14-year civil war. Johnson aligned with Sirleaf in the run-off, even accompanying her on the campaign trail after admitting

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he felt confident that with her in office, he would not face charges of war crimes.

Saryee said Sirleaf faces serious questions: “How does she reconcile being the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize while embracing a warlord on the basis of providing a sanctuary for impunity” for him. For Sirleaf this question does not exist as she “never initiated or invited Mr Johnson’s support”. Another blow for Africa’s first female president was her riot police opening fire on an opposition rally on the eve of the election. Journalists saw two bodies with gunshot wounds to their heads but Tubman says up to eight are dead. “ The police brutality has only compounded the legitimacy crisis of the elections. It partly accounts for the low turnout,” Lansana Gberie, a west African analyst with Security Council Report, said.

“I don’t blame Sirleaf for it. The Liberian police is hopelessly ill-trained, and it was very poorly vetted by the UN,” which has an 8,000-strong peacekeeping mission in the country. The civil war shattered Liberian institutions and Sirleaf is the first to admit there is much to be done to rebuild the “broken country”.

But if her first term at the helm of this west African nation was tough, the second is likely to test her “Iron Lady” moniker even further.

Campbell said the key issue was whether poll results are largely accepted or not, and what Tubman decides to do next as he still commands huge support. His rejection of the results would “make the task of rebuilding Liberia more difficult because instead of coming together as a result of the elections, the elections would have driven people further apart”.

Analysts agree that throwing herself into the long neglected reconciliation efforts, while targeting poverty and massive unemployment of up to 80 percent, will be the best way forward for Sirleaf. “Considering her track record I think she will reach out to each and every Liberian. Liberia has

been through so much and there is so much at stake for the people. You can’t afford to do things on your own,” said Joe Pemagbi of the Open Society Initiative West Africa. — AFP

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Years

sp orts Rugby player gets the boot LONDON: Five hundred years ago, he might have lost his head for embarrassing the royal family. Instead, Mike Tindall’s recent antics have likely cost him his chances of playing for England’s national rugby team again. Tindall had been married to Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter for only six weeks when photos and footage of a boozy night out with teammates at the World Cup in New Zealand showed him in a compromising situation with a woman who was clearly not his wife, Zara Phillips.

Swiftly posted on social networking sites, the images and the veteran player’s failure to acknowledge or apologize for them

overshadowed England’s World Cup campaign almost up to the moment the former champions lost in the quarterfinals a month later. Even then, the 33year-old Tindall might have survived with his career - if not his reputation intact. But the one-time World Cup winner and former team captain acknowledged that he misled officials when questioned about the Sept. 11 night out, and England’s Rugby Football Union ended its review of the case Friday by dropping Tindall from its “Elite Player Squad” and fining him $40,000. Tindall has decided to appeal the fine.—AP

Iran protests ‘mistreatment’ of footballers in Bahrain TEHRAN: Iran yesterday summoned Bahrain’s envoy to Tehran to protest what it called mistreatment of Iranian football players and supporters following a 2014 World Cup qualifier in Manama.

The unnamed Bahraini diplomat was summoned to the foreign ministry, where an official expressed “discontent and regret” about reports of mistreatment and “the inaction of Bahraini security forces present at the match,” the official IRNA news agency reported. IRNA said some Bahraini supporters “threw water bottles and other objects at Iranian players and supporters in an insulting manner,” and committed “immoral acts... as

security forces failed to confront them.” Iran scored an injury time equaliser to claim a share of the spoils in a thrilling 1-1 draw with Bahrain in Asian zone qualifers for the 2014 World Cup on Friday.

The result left Iran, who had won the first-leg 6-0 in Tehran exactly a month ago, leading Group E with eight points from four matches while Bahrain remained third on five points.

The match started on a tense note and under tight security due to recent unrest in the region and a growing rift between Tehran and Manama-a situation aggravated by a masked man waving a Bahraini flag who invaded the pitch late in the first half.—AP

Another dud for ‘Thorpedo’ TOKYO: Australian swimming great Ian Thorpe flopped again in his comeback bid, failing to reach the final of the 100 metres freestyle at a World Cup meet in Tokyo yesterday.

Winner of five Olympic gold medals, Thorpe clocked 49.45 seconds at the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Centre to finish 12th in the heats and miss out on the final.

It was Thorpe’s second successive setback in an event he once dominated, having failed to reach the final in Beijing earlier this week.

Australian head coach Leigh Nugent put a positive spin on the result as Thorpe, returning to competitive swimming after a five-year absence, trimmed 0.76 seconds off

Penguins eclipse Stars PITTSBURGH: Pittsburgh’s James Neal scored two power-play goals against the team that traded him nine months ago, leading the Penguins to a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars in Friday’s clash of the two NHL conference leaders.

Neal netted his 10th and 11th goals of the season, and Matt Cooke scored on a penalty shot in the third period.

Eric Nystrom had a goal in his fifth consecutive game for Dallas, which had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Red Wings 3, Oilers 0 In Detroit, Jimmy Howard made 24 saves to help Detroit to victory over Edmonton. Howard has two shutouts in a week and three this season, tying him for the NHL lead with Nashville’s Pekka Rinne and Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings.

Drew Miller, Niklas Kronwall and Valtteri Filppula scored for the Flyers, who have won three straight. The Northwest Division-leading Oilers were shut out for the first time this season.

Blackhawks 4, Flames 1 In Chicago, backup goalie Ray Emery made 24 saves, doing his part to help Chicago down Calgary. Emery, who made his fourth start this season, lost a shutout bid with 9:10 left when Olli Jokinen scored.

Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook the Blackhawks’ two top defenseman both scored their first goals of the season, while Viktor Stalberg and Patrick Kane also netted.

Capitals 3, Devils 1 In Newark, Jason Chimera scored a short-handed goal 2:27 into the third period and Marcus Johansson added an insurance tally eight minutes later, leading Washington over New Jersey.

The Capitals broke a three-game winning run for the Devils. The teams will meet again Saturday in

NHL results/standings

DETROIT: Eric Belanger No. 20 of the Edmonton Oilers is stopped on a short breakaway by Jimmy Howard No. 35 of the Detroit Red Wings during their NHL game at Joe Louis Arena. — AFP

Washington, and the Capitals will be looking for their sixth win in seven games over New Jersey.

Devils rookie defenseman Adam Larsson scored his first NHL goal in the first period to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead.

Alex Ovechkin tied it for the Capitals with just under three minutes left in the second period. It was Ovechkin’s seventh goal of the season.

Brandon Dubinsky scored 9 seconds apart midway through the third period and New York went on to rout Carolina for its sixth straight win.

Sean Avery also scored his first goal of the season for the Rangers, who haven’t lost since this month. Alexei Ponikarovsky scored Carolina’s lone goal at 16:22 of the second, as the Hurricanes suffered their fourth straight defeat.

Sabres 5, Senators 1 In Buffalo, Jhonas Enroth made 36 saves to help Buffalo to a comfortable win over Ottawa. Derek Roy had a goal and two assists while Matt Ellis, Jordan Leopold, Luke Adam, and Ville Leino also scored for the Sabres, who won their fourth straight. It was Buffalo’s eighth win in nine meetings with Ottawa. Sergei Gonchar scored for slumping Ottawa, which dropped to 04-1 since a six-game winning streak.

Ducks 4, Canucks 3 In Anaheim, Anaheim scored four times in the second period and then clung on as Vancouver answered with three of its own in the third.

Saku Koivu opened the scoring before Corey Perry and Andrew Cogliano scored during a five-minute power play in the second period. Peter Holland added his first NHL goal late in the second period.

But Jannik Hansen scored two goals and Kevin Bieksa added another for the Canucks, who outshot the Ducks 22-2 in the third period. — AP

Rangers 5, Hurricanes 1 In New York, Dan Girardi and

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal is aiming for a flying start.

Washington 3, New Jersey 1; NY Rangers 5, Carolina 1; Pittsburgh 3, Dallas 1; Buffalo 5, Ottawa 1; Detroit 3, Edmonton 0.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OT GF GA PTS Pittsburgh 9 3 3 45 34 21 NY Rangers 8 3 3 38 31 19 Philadelphia 8 4 3 57 46 19 New Jersey 7 5 1 33 36 15 NY Islanders 4 6 3 28 39 11 Northeast Division Toronto 10 5 1 49 53 21 Buffalo 9 5 0 42 33 18 Ottawa 7 8 1 47 58 15 Boston 7 7 0 46 33 14 Montreal 6 7 2 38 41 14 Southeast Division Florida 8 4 3 44 39 19 Washington 9 4 0 50 38 18 Tampa Bay 8 5 2 46 47 18 Carolina 5 7 3 37 50 13 Winnipeg 5 8 3 42 56 13 Western Conference Central Division Chicago 9 4 3 52 48 21 Nashville 8 5 2 42 40 18 Detroit 7 5 1 34 31 15 St Louis 7 7 1 37 38 15 Columbus 2 12 1 34 59 5 Northwest Division Edmonton 9 4 2 36 29 20 Minnesota 8 4 3 34 29 19 Colorado 8 7 1 46 50 17 Vancouver 8 7 1 48 46 17 Calgary 6 7 1 30 35 13 Pacific Division Dallas 11 3 0 45 33 22 San Jose 9 4 1 44 36 19 Phoenix 7 4 3 40 39 17 Los Angeles 7 6 3 36 38 17 Anaheim 5 7 3 29 44 13 Note - Overtime losses (OT) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

Oman’s Ahmad Al Harthy plans to make an immediate impact on his debut in the Porsche one-make series.

Stage set for intriguing battle in Porsche GT3 Cup series DUBAI: The stage is set for an intriguing start to the 2011-12 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East at Dubai Autodrome this weekend, with the title race seemingly wide open.

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal, looking to capture the drivers’ crown for the second time in three years, is aiming for a flying start to the season and targeting a double race win in Rounds 1 and 2.

Among those attempting to block his path to victory is Ahmad Al Harthy, Oman’s top racing driver, who makes his debut in the Porsche one-make series and wants to make an immediate impact.

So too does Saudi Bandar Alesayi, who recorded his first GT3 Cup victory last season on his way to fourth place overall, and has now set his sights much higher.

“This is my third season in the GT3 Cup Challenge, I’m feeling good and my target is to win the title,” said Alesayi, who underlined the point by setting the fastest lap time in the final pre-season test session at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, tomorrow.

Also appearing in the GT3 Cup series for the first time is Al Nabooda Racing.

With reigning UAE GT champion Karim Al

Azhari and former Belgian Touring Car champion Stephane Lemere the two official drivers, the Dubai-based team has high expectations.

Austrians Clemens Schmid and Andreas Mayerl, both highly experienced Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup competitors,

share the driving in another of the GT3 Cup cars, and it promises to be a fiercely competitive series from start to finish.

Veteran driver Sadoon Al Kuwari will become the first Qatari to compete in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East in Dubai.

Bandar Alesayi - setting his sights much higher

Al Kuwari, who has had a long rally driving career and was twice Qatar National champion, has turned to circuit racing in recent times and is excited to be in the starting line-up for the first two rounds.

He was in action in a Porsche GT3 Cup car for the first time during official preseason testing at Yas Marina Circuit on Monday and said: “The series is run very professionally and the GT3 Cup car is fantastic, so I’m looking forward to driving in the first two rounds. After that we will see what happens. I’m well behind the other drivers at the moment as I have had little time in the car, but I can catch up as I get used to it.”

Al Kuwari joins two other Dohabased drivers in Dubai. Dutchman Rob Frijns, the reigning Qatar National Road Racing champion, and Austrian Manfred Ender, have entered the series together and will share the driving in one of the GT3 Cup cars.

Following morning practice and qualifying sessions, Round 1 of the 2011-12 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East roars to life at 4.40pm on Friday, and it will be the first competitive appearance worldwide for the brand new 2012 edition GT3 Cup cars.

his time in China.

“He dropped nearly a second in his final 50 from Beijing,” Nugent was quoted as saying by the Australia’s AAP news agency. “The time drop was a significant leap for Ian and that swim shows the sort of improvements that he can make.”

Thorpe, who hopes to qualify for next year’s London Olympics, has withdrawn from the heats for the 100m individual medley.

—Reuters

NBA season could be saved or sunk in coming days NEW YORK: The time for talk in the NBA is over. David Stern made that clear Thursday, saying the league is done negotiating. The next time he hears from the players’ association, he expects an answer: Yes, players will accept the league’s latest proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement, or no they won’t.

If they do, the NBA will commence with a 72-game season on Dec. 15. And if no? Then the next time LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the rest of the NBA’s biggest stars are in uniform, it might be in London during next summer’s Olympics.

So the NBA’s lengthy labor fight could come to an end this week. Or, the next phase might just be beginning.

Should players reject this deal ‚” and they certainly don’t love it ‚” the next one comes with terms they would never accept, likely sending them into the court system to file an antitrust lawsuit against the league after disbanding the union. That’s far from an assured victory, but it practically assures there would be no 2011-12 season.

Stern knows which he prefers ‚” and which he thinks the union should accept. “We both recognize the seriousness of what we’re facing,” he said. “I think both sides would like to begin the season on Dec. 15th, if that’s possible. I think our teams want to start playing. That desire is matched by our players. We’ve done the best we can to cause that to happen.

I think the events of the week and the offer that we presented had the desired impact of causing us both to focus intensely on whether there was a deal here to be done. We very much want to make the deal that’s on the table that would get our players into training camp and to begin the 2011-12 season. “I don’t have a crystal ball. I just have the ability to hope that it will come to that and that our players will accept this revised proposal from the NBA.” That’s far from guaranteed.

The revised proposal makes some improvements over the one players said was unacceptable after a meeting of team representatives earlier in the week. A person directly involved with the talks told The Associated Press on Friday that there are some within the league ‚” including owners ‚” who “can’t believe” players would hesitate to accept it.

“All this deal does is slow the growth of player salaries,” the person said. “No one will be taking any cut. Their response to the movement on Wednesday and Thursday is very disappointing.” But it doesn’t address all the players’ concerns about the salary cap system. They have said before they would agree to the financial concessions owners are demanding if there is more movement toward their issues with the system.

“There are some important issues we feel that we need to close this out in order to get a deal done, in particular when you consider the economic concessions we have made thus far,” union president Derek Fisher said.

The revised proposal will allow teams over the luxury tax to participate in sign-and-trades for the first two years of the 10-year deal, which would have the union’s desired opt-out after six years. The “mini” midlevel exception for taxpayers would be for three years and $3 million annually, up from two years and $2.5 million, and another midlevel would be included for teams that are under the cap.

Annual raises were upped to 6.5 percent for “Bird” players re-signing with their own teams and 3.5 percent for others, but that’s still far below the 10.5 percent and 8 percent in the expired CBA. And players remain concerned that the “repeater” penalties the league wants to charge teams that are over the tax more than three times in a five-year span would be so punitive that it would scare some teams from spending, limiting the options they would have in free agency.

The revised proposal prevents taxpayers from using the full $5 million midlevel exception and bars them acquiring another team’s free agent via sign-and-trade. It would not only raise the escrow from 8 percent to 10 percent of salaries, but also would seek to make up a shortfall during the following season.

Union officials have repeatedly said the system issues are perhaps more important to them than the split of basketball-related income, but owners say they need fundamental changes in both to allow for a chance to profit and to ensure more competitive balance throughout the league. “They’re trying to put a system in place that severely restricts the players when competitive balance can be absolutely taken care of through proper revenue sharing,” agent Mark Bartelstein said.

Displeasure with the proposal from the players’ side was all over the internet Friday. Problem is, players know what comes next if they reject this deal: one that would call for 53-47 split of BRI in the owners’ favor, a flex cap with a hard ceiling, and rollbacks of current contracts.

That’s why Fisher and union executive director Billy Hunter, who said it was “not the greatest proposal in the world,” have little choice but to see if it’s one the players could support.

So Hunter said he’ll have the player reps back to New York tomorrow and “sit them down to say, ‘You sent us out to get something, here is what we’re coming back with. Let’s sit down and decide what our next option is.

What are we going to do? Are we going to go back and attempt to engage the NBA again to see if we can get something or what are our other options?’”

They can forget that one. After a two-month flurry of meetings in hotels throughout New York, Stern is all talked out and wants the deal done.

“We have done everything possible that was possible to do given our joint goals of both having a sound economic model and having the most competitive league,” he said. “The union raised some issues, and we discussed those with the (labor relations) committee. We moved as far as we could move. So now we are at where we’re at.

I’m optimistic that the NBA owners will approve it if the union approves it. We await the response from the union.

We’ve done our best.”—AP

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

sp orts

Senden shoots past slumping Tiger

SINGAPORE: This handout photo provided by, taken and released by the World Sport Group shows Danny Lee of New Zealand during day three of the Singapore Open event. —AFP

Castano takes flight in Singapore SINGAPORE: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano stormed to a three -shot lead at the Singapore Open yesterday after the Spaniard shot a scintillating 10-under par 61 when he returned to complete his delayed second round.

Playing the easier Tanjong Course at the $6 million event split over two layouts at the Sentosa Golf Club, the 31-year-old finished the final nine holes of his round in five-under par to compile a 15-under total after 36 holes.

Fernandez-Castano, one of 69 players forced to return early yesterday after a lengthy weather delay the previous afternoon, tapped in a short birdie putt on the 10th and there was no stopping his charge to the top.

The Spaniard’s 61 would normally be a course record for the tournament but seasonal wet weather before the event led organisers to adopt “lift, clean and place” rules to protect the courses over the four days. “I am thrilled, you don’t shoot 10under very often,” Fernandez-Castano told reporters.

“You don’t really know how the suspensions are going to affect you but I was lucky because yesterday I hadn’t teed off before the thunderstorm.

“I took my time. I took it easy and started well with three birdies. It was great and then I had a good start again this morning.

“To play well you need to hole putts and that is what I did.”

Italy’s Edoardo Molinari also returned early on Saturday and the joint-overnight leader from the first round joined Briton James Morrison in a tie for second place on 12-under par after the Ryder Cup player completed a three-under 68.

Molinari’s round was played on the more difficult Serapong Course, the signature layout that will be used for the final 36 holes, and after he birdied the par-four 12th shortly after his resumption, the Italian parred the final six holes.

Filipino Juvic Pagunsan is alone in fourth place on 10-under for the tournament, one ahead of Dane Anders Hansen, Briton Michael Hoey and New Zealander Danny Lee. Briton Justin Rose and South Korea’s Y.E. Yang are among a group of five players sharing a tie for eighth place on eightunder par.

Tournament drawcard Phil Mickelson had an eventful morning, the American reeling off four birdies in five holes to reach six-under before an ugly double-bogey seven on the par-five 18th left him a stroke above the cut line and 11 off the pace.

“I did not have a bogey all day and tired to get aggressive on 18 and took a risk but hit a driver into the water,” the 41year-old lamented. “But what upset me more was that I took a wedge after I took a drop and it spun back 90 feet into the water ... I do not understand that. That was frustrating.” — Reuters

Inkster, Nordqvist share lead GUADALAJARA: Hall of Famer Juli Inkster shot a 3-under 69 on Friday for a share of the second-round lead with Anna Nordqvist at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

The 51-year-old Inkster is trying to become the oldest winner in LPGA Tour history. Beth Daniel was 46 when she won the 2003 Canadian Women’s Open. Inkster, battling a sore right elbow, said hasn’t crosses her mind about becoming the oldest winner.

“No, it really doesn’t,” Inkster said. “I just have to win. If I’m the oldest, that’s whatever. I know I’m the oldest, and everybody reminds me I’m the oldest, so I’m just the oldest.

“Every year I say, ‘OK, I’ll do it for one more year.’ That’s been going on for 10 years, and I don’t know what else I would do. I get to play 20 weeks a year and get the rest of them off and travel around and get to see parts of the world and talk to you people. It’s a great job.” Inkster won the last of her 31 LPGA Tour titles in 2006.

“I really feel the fans watching out here, they’re rooting hard for me, and I’m trying the best I can,” Inkster said. “If it happens, it’s awesome. I’m sure the players are rooting for me just so I will go home and retire and I don’t have to be out here anymore. I don’t know, it’s a good feeling.”

Nordqvist had a 65 - the best score in the first two rounds in the 36-player event - to match Inkster at 8-under 136 at Guadalajara Country Club.

“I always said I wanted to be like Juli Inkster one day,” Nordqvist said. “She is a mom, she is 51, and she is out here and still competing. It’s a great opportunity anytime you get to play with her. I watched her a lot growing up and just to walk alongside her on the fairways and try to learn and catch a little bit of her brain is just such a good opportunity for me to get better.”

Catriona Matthew (68), Meena Lee (69) and Suzann Pettersen (70) were a stroke back, and defending champion I.K. Kim (67) was 5 under. Michelle Wie, the 2009 winner, was five strokes behind at 3 under after a 71. Se Ri Pak (71) and Paula Creamer (71) also were 3 under. Top-ranked Yani Tseng was 18th at 1 over after a 69.

Tseng is coming off victories in the LPGA Tour’s Taiwan Championship and Ladies European Tour’s Suzhou Taihu Ladies in China. The Taiwanese star has seven LPGA Tour wins this season, including major victories in the LPGA Championship and Women’s British Open, and four other worldwide wins.

She tied for 18th in 2008 in the inaugural event in Guadalajara, tied for eighth in 2009 and was 27th last year. —AP

SYDNEY: Former champion John Senden hit a sizzling nine-under-par 63 to outshine Jason Day and a slumping Tiger Woods and take a one-shot lead after the third round of the Australian Open yesterday.

Overnight leader Woods, looking to revitalise his career after two years blighted by personal problems and injury, opened the day with three successive bogeys on his way to a 75.

Senden, who won his home Open in 2006, carded an eagle and seven birdies-the last with a brilliant 30-foot putt at the 18th-to stand on 12under for the tournament.

Day, Australia’s number one golfer after breaking into the world top 10 this year, celebrated his 24th birthday with a round of 68 to stand a shot further back in second place.

Australian Greg Chalmers was third on 10under after a 67, a shot better than compatriot Nick O’Hern (66) and American Nick Watney (68), who shared fourth.

The putter deserted 14-times major winner Woods as he foraged for birdies to stay in touch with the leaders in the middle of his round and an errant drive at the 11th had him slashing at the ground in frustration.

A bogey at that hole and another at the 12th after a foray into a bunker were mitigated by a birdie at the 14th but he finished the day six shots off the pace in a share of eighth.

Day played steady par golf over the tricky first four holes before superb approach shots at the fifth and eighth resulted in birdies that gave him sole lead at the top of the leaderboard.

Better was to come at the ninth, where, roared on by a partisan gallery basking in the

SYDNEY: John Senden of Australia plays a tee shot during round three of the Australian Open golf tournament. — AFP sunshine, he snaked a birdie putt fully 25 feet him the outright lead.

“It was a good day,” said Senden, whose secacross the green and in to move to 10-under for ond place finish at the BMW Championship in the tournament at the turn.

Senden, meanwhile, had been playing with September was not enough to secure him a easy confidence after hitting a pitching wedge place at next week’s Presidents Cup in Melbourne.

100 metres to secure an eagle two at the sixth.

“The goal was to stay in the moment and I The Queenslander got back on terms with Day after a three-foot birdie putt at the 17th think I did that well right until the end. Shooting before his long putt at the last, as his younger nine-under is something you don’t do very often compatriot found the water at the 14th, gave so when you get it, you take it.” —Reuters

Pacquiao, Marquez ready for Part III in Las Vegas LAS VEGAS: Manny Pacquiao acts as though it’s personal, then claims it’s not. Just another night in the ring, another notch on his belt and another $25 million or so to take back to the Philippines with him.

It’s not that easy for Juan Manuel Marquez.

He remains convinced he won both of his previous two fights with Pacquiao, and he will enter the ring Saturday night as eager for redemption as he is to claim the biggest payday of his long boxing career.

“I hope the judges score what they see, not like the other two fights when they were not impartial,” Marquez says.

The judges may not be necessary this time around. Marquez has bulked up for the 144pound fight so he can bring more power into the ring and Pacquiao - who knocked Marquez down four times in their two fights is a far more potent puncher than the last time they met three years ago.

Add in the fact these two fighters throw punches almost nonstop, and there’s potential for an early ending. “I’m not thinking about the knockout,” Pacquiao said. “If the knockout comes, that’s just the bonus for your sacrifices in training.”

Pacquiao returns to the ring for the first time since he beat Shane Mosley in May, fighting a familiar foe in a bout that will earn him yet another big payday. He and Marquez have already gone 24 rounds with each other, rounds so close that ringside judges had trouble figuring out which fighter won. But the first fight seven years ago was at 125 pounds.

The second four years later was at 130 pounds. This one will be for a piece of the welterweight title, though it will be at a catch weight of 144 pounds. It’s a weight Pacquiao has proven comfortable with over the last few years, but Marquez had no success the only time he got past 140 pounds in a lopsided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. That’s the big reason Pacquiao is a 7-1 favorite in a pay-per-view fight that doesn’t figure to lack for action. “At 144 pounds it’s going to be different,” Pacquiao said. “I’ve improved my boxing and my power.

Everything is going to be different.”

Pacquiao weighed in at 143 pounds Friday, while Marquez was 142 - the same weight he fought at against Mayweather.

Pacquiao - who last lost in 2005 at 130 pounds - risks a 14-fight winning streak against Marquez, a Mexican who has held titles in three different weight classes. Once again he will carr y the weight of the Philippines into the ring, and once again he will be fighting someone other than

Mayweather. That’s hardly Pacquiao’s fault, though, since Mayweather doesn’t seem serious about fighting him. So he has to make do with other contenders, and Marquez has better credentials than any of Pacquiao’s opponents since he made a name for himself by sending Oscar De La Hoya into retirement in 2008. In their first two fights, Marquez used his superb counterpunching skills to keep Pacquiao off balance. Though he went down three times in the first round of the first fight Marquez was more than competitive in two fights that could have gone either way.

That the first fight was scored a draw and the second a split decision for Pacquiao still gnaws at Marquez, who wore a T-shirt proclaiming he was robbed in both fights when the two boxers were in the Philippines promoting the bout.

That touched a nerve in Pacquiao, though he said this week that there is nothing personal between them. “He went to the Philippines wearing a T-shirt saying ‘I beat Manny Pacquiao twice,’” Pacquiao said. “I’m not angry. That’s his freedom to do that.”

Still, trainer Freddie Roach said there was an added urgency to Pacquiao’s training camp for this fight. The jokes and clowning around from previous camps were gone, with Pacquiao training in quiet determination.

Roach says Pacquiao wants to settle the issue once and for all.

“I think it was a slap in the face to Manny,” Roach said. “ They were both good, close fights, but there were no robberies there.”

Pacquiao said he has learned since his last fight with Marquez how to fight a counterpuncher. He’s also improved greatly with his right hand, which at lighter weights he never seemed to be able to land with much power.

And he says he’s taken the lessons learned in his first two fights with Marquez to heart. “ The last two fights helped me a lot,” Pacquiao said. “I learned a lot, especially fighting a counterpuncher, a boxer. I’m more experienced now and I’m a much better fighter, too.” Marquez turned to a new strength and conditioning coach to add weight and power for his move up from 135 pounds, though that hasn’t been without controversy. The coach, Angel Heredia, was a government informant during the BALCO investigation. He and Marquez both say he has taken nothing but legal supplements to prepare for the fight. Still, some in boxing are shocked at the new physique of Marquez, while others are shocked that he tried to gain so much weight rather than using his speed and counterpunching ability to fight Pacquiao this time around. “He’s bigger, bulked-up and slower,” Roach said. “When Manny puts him down this time I don’t think he’s going to be able to get up from the way this Manny Pacquiao punches.” —AP

LAS VEGAS: Manny Pacquiao (left) jokes with members of the media while posing for photos with Juan Manuel Marquez during a news conference. — AP

Blake works harder than me, but won’t take 200 title — Bolt MONACO: Usain Bolt gave a clear message to rival, friend and training partner Yohan Blake heading into Olympics year-his 200 metres title is out of bounds in London.

Blake emerged as a serious threat to his Jamaican compatriot’s sprint dominance when he won the world 100 metres title in Daegu in August, taking gold in a final that produced the most drama before the gun when Bolt was disqualified for a false start.

The 21-year-old Blake followed that up less than three weeks later with an eyebrow-raising run in Brussels-clocking the second fastest 200 metres of all time - his 19.26 seconds just seven hundredths of a second behind Bolt’s world record of 19.19 set in 2009. Olympic 100 and 200 champion Bolt said he had “gotten over the initial shock” of how quick Blake ran. “Initially I was shocked because he’s not really a great corner runner... but he’s a great athlete and with great athletes you can expect anything,” Bolt told a gaggle of reporters at a Monte Carlo hotel yesterday.

Relaxing on a sofa and dressed casually in a white polo shirt and ripped light blue jeans, Bolt admitted, to much laughter, that his younger compatriot worked “a little harder” than he did.

Both sprinters are on a three-man shortlist from which the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will later on Saturday name their Athlete of the Year at a gala dinner in the principality.

“I’ve said this to Yohan, and to a lot of my friends, the 200 is my favourite and I won’t let Yohan beat me over 200 metres,” Bolt said. “The 100 (metres) maybe, but I’ve worked hard to perfect that event (the 200) over the years so I’ve told him already I won’t let it happen.” Their competitive

Usain Bolt

rivalry, Bolt said, shone through in training, day in, day out.

“From the first time he walked into our camp he’s been competing with me. Sometimes he beats me - it doesn’t matter, it’s only training. He’s a really competitive person... I have to explain to him that he’s got to relax sometimes.

“He’s young and excited but fun to be around. We laugh every day, his personality is great and it’s great to have him as a training partner.”

Bolt atoned for his false start in Daegu by comfortably retaining his 200 title before anchoring the Jamaican 4x100m relay team to win gold in a world record time.

The 25-year-old returned to training three weeks ago at a “high intensity” level. “Injury-wise I’m good,” said Bolt, whose 2010 season was curtailed by injury which he said meant this year’s campaign revolved around him “getting back into shape”. “No problems so far,” he said. “Hopefully I can keep it that way. I’m doing my core exercises, my back exercises, hamstring exercises... everything just to make sure the injuries stay away this season.”

With the London 2012 Olympic Games looming, Bolt said he was “fully focused” . “This is a big season and you have to try and get ahead of the game because a lot of athletes have started their season early. “The Olympics is the biggest stage for an athlete, I know the value of a gold medal... when the Olympics come around, athletes show up on the day so I’m focused on everyone.” — Reuters

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

sp orts

Suzuki wins NHK Trophy

KOLKATA: West Indies’ cricketer Marlon Samuels cups his hands to catch a ball during a practice session prior to the second Test cricket match against India. —AP

India’s spin attack capable of ensuring series victory KOLKATA: India goes into the second Test against the West Indies tomorrow safe in the knowledge that its new spin attack is capable of winning games in familiar home conditions.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s debut match haul of 9-128 was the standout performance in a five-wicket victory in the first game in New Delhi and the more experienced Pragyan Ojha took seven wickets with his left-arm spin.

India is playing the three-match series with one of its most inexperienced bowling attacks in recent years, with regular pace spearhead Zaheer Khan out with an injury and seasoned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh shunted out by selectors.

Pace bowler Umesh Yadav was the other debutant for India in the opener, taking two wickets in the game. The young bowlers repaid the faith of selectors, who were hopeful that an experienced batting lineup would make up for any shortcomings, despite having failed to cross the 300run mark in four previous tests.

A series-clinching win at Eden Gardens could give selectors a chance to experiment further in the final test in Mumbai, and they could even be tempted to tinker with the batting lineup which includes top names like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman.

“We’re hoping we can take a 2-0 lead because that will allow us to start preparing for the Australia tour early,” chief selector Krishnamachary Srikkanth said earlier this week. “A win in this test will help us try some different ideas.”

For the West Indies, left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s knack of getting runs against India continued as he hit his seventh century against the team and 24th overall. His odd stance, in which he seems to face the fielder at mid-wicket rather than the bowler, has proved effective in recent years. But other West Indian batsmen will have to put up bigger scores.

“As soon as the spinners settled (in the first test) we went into a shell,” captain Darren Sammy said after the first test loss.

“Maybe we could bat a bit more positively like Shiv showed us.”

The West Indian bowling has looked promising so far with pace bowler Fidel Edwards troubling batsmen with deliveries that slide into them and Sammy bowling a consistent length. “I would like to commend our bowlers, they have been doing a wonderful job,” Sammy said. The final test will be played in Mumbai from Nov. 22-26 and will be followed by one-dayers in Cuttack (Nov. 29), Visakhapatnam (Dec. 2), Ahmedabad (Dec. 5), Indore (Dec. 8) and Chennai (Dec. 11).—AP

They did Paterno wrong STATE COLLEGE: The only thing people love more than watching a star claw his way to the top is watching him fall. So add Joe Paterno’s name to a far-from-complete list of athletes who plummeted from grace in recent years: Tiger Woods, Michael Vick, OJ Simpson, Magic Johnson and Barry Bonds. Their sins were not the same, nor were their fates. But they were all banished to a kind of purgatory from which - for most of us - there is no return.

I won’t defend any of them, or attempt to rank the seriousness of their transgressions.

That’s St. Peter’s job. But I’ve argued in the past that all of the above - except OJ - should be allowed to return to their work after suitable punishment. I also wrote that Paterno had earned the right to coach for the remainder of Penn State’s football season. So I’ll say it again: They did him wrong.

Whether or not he averted his eyes to the child sex abuse that longtime assistant coach Jerry Sandusky is charged with perpetrating.

The reaction was swift and hardly surprising. More than a few people wrote to say they wished Sandusky had sodomized my sons.

What I found even more unsettling was the certainty with which nearly everyone asserted they would have done more had they been in Paterno’s shoes. If that were true, every sexual predator would have been stopped after abusing his first victim and we would have ushered in heaven on Earth long before now.

Paterno should have done more when graduate assistant Mike McQueary arrived at his house on a Saturday morning in March 2002, shaken by what he would later tell a grand jury he had seen the night before in a shower at the team’s football complex: Sandusky raping a young boy.

All Paterno did at the time was only what he was obligated to do - notify his immediate

superior, athletic director Tim Curley. He never followed up. Curley in turn apprised vice president Gary Schultz and then-university president Graham Spanier. All three failed to meet even the minimum standard required by their positions of authority - to notify the police.

That’s why Paterno wasn’t a target of the grand jury’s investigation. It’s why Curley and Schultz are charged with perjury as part of an attempted cover-up. And why prosecutors have not ruled out charges against the expresident, who along with the coach was fired by Penn State’s trustees Wednesday night.

But that’s little comfort and even less consolation as it pertains to Paterno’s real responsibilities. He passed the legal test, but not the ethical one, and no one inside or outside the administration wielded more influence.

Paterno acknowledged as much Wednesday in a statement that was carefully crafted to try to let him keep his job through the end of the season. “With the benefit of hindsight,” he said, “I wish I had done more.” So should we all. Then and now.

Paterno deserved the chance to prove his remorse over the next few months, in what would have been the final chapter of his public life. For the lion’s share of his 84 years, Paterno has piled good deeds atop one another that had nothing to do with his accomplishments on the field.

He practically built the library that sits several blocks from the football stadium, donating some $4 million total to Penn State. Just about every kid who played for the Nittany Lions has talked about how valuable the lessons learned under Paterno proved later in life, although more than one has since called the coach’s silence about Sandusky’s alleged abuse unconscionable. Agreed. —AP

Venezuelan police free Ramos CARACAS: The kidnapping ordeal of Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos ended after two days when Venezuelan police commandos swooped in to rescue him in a flurry of gunfire and arrested five alleged abductors.

Ramos said he was happy and thankful to be alive, and that the final moments had been hair-raising as police and the kidnappers exchanged heavy fire in the remote mountainous area where he was being held.

“The truth is I’m still very nervous, but thanks to God everything turned out well,” Ramos told Venezuelan state television, speaking by telephone after arriving at a police station in his hometown of Valencia early yesterday.

He thanked the police and National Guard commandos who rescued him, saying “the boys did a great job.” Ramos, 24, had not been seen or heard from since he was seized at gunpoint outside his home Wednesday night and whisked away in an SUV. It was the first known kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in Venezuela, and the abduction set off an outpouring of candlelight vigils and public prayers at stadiums as well as outside Ramos’ home.

Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami announced on Friday night that Ramos was “safe and sound” after the rescue. He didn’t say whether anyone had been wounded in

the gunfire.

Five men were arrested in the kidnapping, including a Colombian “linked to paramilitary groups and to kidnapping groups,” El Aissami said.

“I don’t know who those people were. I know they’re Colombians by their accent,” Ramos said. “Three guys grabbed me there in front of my house, they took me to another SUV and from there they took me into the mountains,” in central Carabobo state.

He said his abductors spoke little to him.

“They simply told me to cooperate, that they were going to ask for a ton of cash for me.”

“They put me in a room with a bed. I was lying there,” he said. “It was hard for me to think about, if I was going to get out alive first of all ... about how my family, my mother were.”

Ramos was to first undergo medical checks at the police station and then be reunited with his family, El Aissami said.

Ramos’ mother Maria Campos de Ramos celebrated, exclaiming on television: “Thanks to God!” “Thanks to my country, to my neighbors and to my family, who were supporting us,” she said. Shortly afterward, she spoke with her son by phone and said jubilantly: “He’s fine.” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo hailed the news. —AP

SAPPORO: Japan’s Akiko Suzuki won the NHK Trophy yesterday, holding off compatriot Mao Asada in the free skate to claim her first grand prix title in two seasons.

Suzuki, who held an eight-point lead over Asada after the short program, made several mistakes in the final but scored 119.43 points for a total of 185.98, just 1.79 points ahead of Asada.

“I’m very happy to have won my first NHK Trophy but I’m not at all satisfied with my free skate,” Suzuki said.

“I will reflect on my mistakes and try to improve them.”

Russian skater Alena Leonova was third with 170.68 points. Ashley Wagner of the United States finished fourth with 165.55 points.

As she did in the short program, Asada’s failure to hit a triple axel on her opening element cost her valuable points. She tried the triple again Saturday but only managed a double. “I cleared my own goals, except for the triple axel,” said Asada. “I skated my other elements well. I’m not yet at the level I want to be. I can level up.”

Suzuki, skating to “Die Fledermaus” did a single lutz instead of a planned triple lutz later in her routine and singled a triple loop but her lead from the short program was big enough to secure the win. It was Suzuki’s first victory at the senior grand prix series since the 2009 Cup of China. Her victory here, coupled with a secondplace finish as Skate Canada, qualified her for the Dec. 8-11 Grand Final in Quebec City, Canada. The Nov. 11-13 NHK Trophy is the fourth event of the 2011 International Skating Union’s Grand Prix series.

In the men’s short program, Vancouver bronze medalist Daisuke Takahashi of Japan finished first, hitting all his jumps to score a personalbest 90.43 points. Takahiko Kozuka, also of Japan, was second with 79.77 points. Brandon Mroz of the United States, who placed third with 74.83 points, made skating history by becoming the first skater to land a quadruple lutz in international competition.

The 20-year-old Mroz hit the quadruple lutz on his opening jump.

“I’m excited to get it done in an international competition,” Mroz. “Getting another jump done is awesome for generations of skaters to come.”

Mroz previously made the quadruple lutz on Sept. 16 at the Colorado Spring Invitational, a US Figure Skating sanctioned event.

In the ice dance, Maia and Alex Shibutani of the United States rallied from third place to win their first

JAPAN: The winning pair of Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of Russia is flanked by second-placed Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran of Japan (left) and third-placed Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany as they pose for photographers after their awarding ceremony of the pairs figure skating at the NHK Trophy Figure Skating. —AP grand prix title. The JapaneseAmerican pair received a personal-

best 92.83 points in the free dance to capture their first senior grand prix

JAPAN: Akiko Suzuki of Japan performs during the women’s free skate at the NHK Trophy Figure Skating. —AP

title with a total of 151.85 points.

“After the short dance, we felt pretty confident going into today’s program,” Alex Shibutani said. “It’s great to get our first grand prix title here in Japan where the fans really support us.”

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada were second with 151.76 points while Russians Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov, first after the short dance, took the bronze medal with 149.48 points.

The Shibutanis won the bronze medal at the 2011 world championships. Their previous best result at a grand prix event was second place at last week’s Cup of China in Shanghai.

Lynn Kriengkairut and Logan Giulietti-Schmitt of the United States collided with Cathy Reed and Chris Reed of Japan in the warm-up but both couples were able to perform their routines and finished sixth and seventh, respectively. In the pairs final, Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov of Russia won the gold medal after receiving 122.49 points in the free skate. The Russian pair were fifth after the short program but impressed the judges with nearflawless performance to finish with 177.51 points.

Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran of Japan were second with 172.09 points while world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany finished third with 171.68 points.—AP

After week of turmoil, it’s game day at Penn State STATE COLLEGE: The Nebraska and Penn State players gathered at midfield before the game, kneeling together for a long moment in a quiet stadium. Sometimes, the most powerful statements are the simplest.

Saturday’s game was a combination of pep rally, cleansing, and tribute for Penn State. The university has been rocked to its core by the childsex abuse scandal involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky. It cost coach Joe Paterno his job and prompted a week’s worth of soul-searching. Fans and players wanted to show their love for their school and for Paterno, while also displaying concern for victims of abuse.

Instead of sprinting onto the field, the Penn State team marched out arm-in-arm through a corridor formed by the band and the Football Lettermen Club. Beaver Stadium was awash in blue - the color associated with child-abuse prevention - right down to the flags accompanying the band.

And the normally raucous atmosphere before the game was replaced by a moment of silence for the victims. The somber mood was finally broken by a fan who shouted afteward, “We love you, P-State!”

“It’s therapy,” Dave Young, a lifelong Penn State fan, said before the game. “I love Penn State football, always will love Penn State football. Tough week, cried in my office a couple times when I had moments to myself.

“But now it’s time to release and watch the football game and enjoy it.”

It was the first time in 46 years that Paterno was not leading the Nittany Lions, but his presence was still very much there. Jay Paterno took his father’s usual spot on the team bus, following the starting quarterback off when Penn State arrived at the stadium.

Emotions, so raw throughout the week, were on full display again. The normally low-key Jay Paterno, a quarterbacks coach, pumped his fist and shouted, “Let’s go!”

He high-fived passers-by on the way into the stadium, and several staffers gave him an encouraging embrace before he entered the locker room. Several players appeared to have tears in their eyes, and three wore shirts that read “Joe Knows Football.” But this Saturday is about more than football. It’s about picking up the pieces.

Sandusky, once considered Paterno’s heir apparent, is accused of sexually abusing eight boys over a 15-year span, with several of the alleged assaults occurring on Penn State property. Two university officials are accused of perjury, and Paterno and president Graham Spanier were fired for not doing enough to prevent the alleged abuse.

“We are obviously in a very unprecedented situation,” interim coach Tom Bradley said Thursday.

“I just have to find a way to restore the confidence and to start a healing process with everybody.”

The scandal would be damaging enough to a university that prides itself on its integrity. That it involved Paterno, major college football’s winningest coach and the man who’d come to sym-

NEBRASKA: Penn State running backs Derek Day (24) and Silas Redd (25) embrace during warm ups before an NCAA college football game against Nebraska. —AP

bolize all that was good at Penn State, made it that much worse.

Thousands of angry students paraded through the streets after Paterno was fired Wednesday night, some throwing rocks and bottles and tipping over a TV news van. While the anger has waned, the affection for Paterno has not.

Several students were dressed as Paterno rolled-up khakis, white socks and thick, dark glasses - and an entire family wore shorts that read “We (Heart) JoePa.” Paul Diehm, a Penn State graduate who made the three-hour trip from Delaware, bought a blue T-shirt with the simple message, “Thanks Joe.” “Sixty-one years of service,” he said, referring to Paterno’s years at Penn State as both an assistant and head coach. “You’ve got to say thank you. He deserves it.”

At Joe Paterno’s house nearby, a small clutch of TV cameras and reporters stood outside. A pair of people walked to the door, rang the doorbell and left after no one answered. On the lawn were a pair of homemade signs - one read “We Love You Joe, Thank You” the other “Thanks Joe” - facing his house. Nearby a small American flag had been planted in the yard of the house.

Whether that affection will remain with Penn State after such an ugly week remains to be seen.

So far, however, it appears the love and loyalty for their university is as great as any they have for Paterno.

A larger-than-normal crowd of at least a couple thousand fans was waiting at the tunnel when the team arrived. All fans heeded the request to wear blue - the color associated with child-abuse prevention - making the few red-clad Nebraska fans stand out even more.

Donations for two child-abuse prevention organizations were being accepted at the stadium gates, and a sign on the scoreboard let fans know how they could continue to help.

Someone else had a message that also was supportive of abuse victims, but not school administrators. A plane overhead pulled a sign overhead in red “Cry for the Kids Not the Cowards & Liars.”

Though police promised a heavy presence to prevent a recurrence of the violence that occurred Wednesday night, it wasn’t needed. The parking lots were filled with fans grilling out, tossing footballs and soaking up the beauty of the warm, late fall morning.

The sadness is still there - will be for months, maybe years to come. But for a few hours, at least, there was a semblance of normalcy at Penn State.

“It’s heartbreaking and sad and almost surreal.

You can’t get it out of your head for more than a minute. I’m sure just about everyone here feels the same way,” Emmie Fay said as she glanced at the fellow tailgaters. “But we’re here because we love the school and believe in it.”—AP

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NASCAR drivers to take on new-look PIR in Chase AVONDALE: Phoenix International Raceway had become like a comfortable old chair for NASCAR drivers over the past 20 years: cracked and creaky, yet familiar and fitting. This weekend, it’ll feel more like something fresh out of the box.

Repaved and reconfigured, the mile oval at PIR will look and feel vastly different for NASCAR’s second race at the track this season than it did just nine months earlier.

And with this being the penultimate race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, it’s going to add a whole lot of extra intrigue, not to mention some guesswork by the teams and drivers.

“With two races spread out the way that they have it, I guess they felt that during the offseason wasn’t going to be right for them,” said Jeff Gordon, eighth in the Chase, 81 points behind leader Carl Edwards. “I’m sure it’s something that many of us would disagree with, especially with how much it is going to change things for the championship, but I think it’s their choice and their decision. We don’t know

all the input that went into making that decision, so we live with it.”

PIR was built nearly 50 years ago and has been a regular stop for NASCAR since Alan Kulwicki won the inaugural race there in 1988. The track is quirky, with vastly different turns at both ends, and had become bumpy and cracked since its last repave 20 years ago. Despite its flaws and eccentricities, PIR had become a place the veteran drivers felt comfortable, particularly since it started hosting two races a year in 2005.

The problem was that the track had become too worn down. PIR officials use an aggressive approach to track maintenance between races and on race weekends, but the track was brittle and breaking apart after 20 years of racing.

“It just got to the point where we were just patching patches,” PIR president Bryan Sperber said. “The last weekend we had in February, we had the track break apart in four or five different places and had to go in at night to fix it. To have a track come apart on a race weekend, that’s the last

thing you need.”

The concern, at least for the teams, was the timing of the changes. It’s one thing to have a new track surface at the start of the season, but doing it near the end of the Chase puts added pressure on teams that they didn’t necessarily want with so much on the line. Normally at a track such as Phoenix, teams have a deep data base of what kind of setups have worked and the drivers know which racing lines will work.

With the repaving and the alterations to the banking and dogleg, they’re nearly starting anew. PIR held a tire test in August and a two-day test for teams in October, but that’s still not a lot of time for a sport that relies on so many calculations by teams and the feel from the drivers.

“They did a really nice job with the work they’ve done here, so it’s just a matter of us trying to figure out what we have to be good for the weekend now,” said Tony Stewart, three points behind Edwards in the Chase. “After this weekend, when we come back in the spring, we’ll have a lot

better idea, but it definitely does put a little more emphasis on trying to get it figured out and get caught up.”

Many of the drivers would have liked the changes to have come in the offseason, but there really wasn’t much choice because of the timing between races.

Track officials started tearing up the track immediately after the Feb. 27 race and spent the next six months working to push the dogleg out 95 feet, increase the banking and set the new asphalt.

The Chase race wasn’t until November, but the track had to be nearly complete for a test in August so Goodyear would have time to get tires ready. Workers needed almost every minute of those six months to get the work done, so trying to redo the track between Sunday’s race and the next one in March wouldn’t have worked.

Weather also worked against PIR trying to do it during the offseason.

Asphalt sets better in the heat and there are few places hotter than Phoenix in the summer. Had PIR officials tried to do the

repaving in summer, they would have risked the temperatures dropping too low yes, even in the desert - which would have kept the asphalt from setting right and led to cracking.

“You’ve got to go with the hand that you’re dealt,” Sperber said. “There was just no other alternative because of the time it takes to do it because there’s no way it could have been done during the offseason. Which is the lesser of the two of evils: you have a wild card race or you have it break apart during the race. Those were my options, so it was kind of an easy decision.”

PIR did its best to break in the track.

In addition to the tests in August and October, the track ran a tire dragging machine that spun 80 tires over the track for more than 90 hours. It also had a group of drivers, including Nationwide Series champion Randy Lajoie and ARCA champion Frank Kimmel, turn laps the past few days in an attempt to widen the upper groove. Combined, the cars ran more than 3,000 miles at the track.—AP

Vettel secures 14th pole

POMONA: In this photo provided by NHRA, Matt Hagan wheels his DieHard Advanced Gold Dodge Charger to a 4.088-second run during qualifying at the season-ending Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway. —AP

Del Worsham takes Top Fuel points lead POMONA: Del Worsham took the Top Fuel points lead Friday during qualifying for the season- ending Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals.

Meanwhile, Antron Brown wasn’t in position to qualify as the championship pressure intensifies with only two sessions remaining late yesterday before the final eliminations.

Tony Schumacher led the Top Fuel field, Robert Hight had the Funny Car lead, Mike Edwards topped the Pro Stock field and Andrew Hines led in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

As a result of bonus points earned during the first two qualifying sessions, Worsham moved two points ahead of Spencer Massey in the standings. Worsham was second with a run of 3.830 seconds at 316.67 mph, while Massey was third overall with a 3.837 at 319.14. Seven-time champ Schumacher led

Top Fuel qualifying with a 3.827 at 321.19.

In Funny Car, Hight stayed at the top of the qualifying order, but series leader Matt Hagan increased his points lead over Jack Beckman by posting the quickest run of the day, a 4.087 at 313.44 in a Dodge Charger.

Hagan’s run was good enough for third overall in the 16-car lineup.

Like Brown in Top Fuel, Funny Car championship contender Cruz Pedregon also was out of qualifying position. He was just outside the field at 17th in his Toyota Camry with a best of 4.445 at 195.31.

No one improved in Pro Stock, so Edwards remained at the top with his 6.520 at 210.93 in a Pontiac GXP. Hines led Pro Stock Motorcycle with his 6.820 at 197.54 from Thursday. Series leader Eddie Krawiec, who qualified third, increased his lead by one point over rookie Hector Arana Jr.—AP

ABU DHABI: Double Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel dug deep to seize pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix yesterday and equal Nigel Mansell’s 1992 record of 14 in a single season.

The 24-year-old German, who has already clinched his second title with Red Bull, saved his best for last af ter McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had been fastest in the first two phases of qualifying as well as final practice.

Hamilton will start the season’s penultimate race alongside on the front row, with team mate and fellow Briton Jenson Button third.

Red Bull’s Australian Mark Webber, seemingly no closer to a first win of the season, lines up fourth.

The pole was the 29th of Vettel’s career and 17th in 18 races this year for Red Bull. “I think it’s going to be a long, fun race,” said Vettel, who has won both of the two races held to date at the Yas Marina circuit, where last year he won from pole to become Formula One’s youngest champion.

“They will be very quick in the race...it will be a long fight to the chequered flag,” he added, grinning at the McLaren drivers sitting on either side in the post qualifying news conference. “I’m confident and ready.

“We expected if we got everything right to be closer, much closer than in practice,” added the German, who hit the barriers on Friday.

“I felt there was more in the car and we just had to get to it.

Overnight we tried to find where the problem was and this after-

ABU DHABI: Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany (center, pole position) McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain (left) second fastest time and McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson Button of Britain, third fastest time, wave after the qualifying session at the Yas Marina racetrack. —AP noon it was already much better.”

Hamilton, who lapped just nine thousandths of a second faster than Button, appeared to have done enough for his second pole of a troubled season but Vettel pipped him right at the finish. “I’m happy with today,” said Hamilton.

“And to not have any penalties is a blessing for me.” Ferrari’s double champion Fernando Alonso and Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa shared the third row, with the latter well away from Hamilton after

six collisions between the two this year.

The next rows also followed in pairs, with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher seventh and eighth and ahead of Force India’s Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta in ninth and 10th.

Struggling former champions Williams, with a meagre five points from 17 races representing their worst showing in F1, will fill the back row af ter Brazilian Rubens Barrichello failed to get a

lap in.

“We had a brand new engine this morning and it was looking good. We went out and had difficulties after two laps (in practice).

We tried to review the situation but before qualifying the team told me there was no way we could go out,” said Barrichello.

His Venezuelan team mate Pastor Maldonado qualified 17th but has a 10 place penalty for exceeding his engine quota for the season.—Reuters

Federer rolls into Paris final PARIS: Roger Federer was barely troubled as he beat Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3 yesterday to reach the Paris Masters final for the first time in his career.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion looked impregnable on his serve and did not face a break point. He broke the fifth-seeded Berdych’s serve at the start of each set to take control.

Berdych, the 2005 champion, appeared nervous and failed to find any rhythm as Federer dictated rallies with his unwavering forehand.

Berdych was so impressed that he felt like he was playing against “the old Roger,” who won 42 titles, including 11 Grand Slams, between 2004-07.

“We can count the unforced errors he made on the fingers of one hand,” Berdych said. “He played like I remember him (playing) a few years ago. Today was pretty much no chance at all for me.” Federer clinched victory on his first match point, on Berdych’s serve, when he hit a forehand into the corner that Berdych returned into the net.

The Swiss star, who won his home tournament in Basel last week, will try for his 69th title in his 99th final. He has now reached at least the final of all nine Masters events.

Federer will play either No. 6 JoWilfried Tsonga of France or unseeded American John Isner in the final. They were playing later yesterday.

PARIS: Switzerland’s Roger Federer reacts after winning his semi-final match against Czech Tomas Berdych, in the Paris Tennis Masters tournament. —AP

Federer won in 1 hour, 20 minutes and signaled his intent from the outset, taking Berdych’s first service game and holding comfortably for 2-0.

Berdych struggled in his next service game as Federer set up another break point with a forehand pass down the line, but he saved it with a strong first serve. That was to prove a regular sight throughout the match, with Berdych having to fight hard to win his service games, unable to pressure Federer’s serve, and powerless to stand up to his relentless forehand passes.

“I didn’t get any chance at all for break point or anything like that,” Berdych said. “He played just too good.”

Federer leads 10-4 against Berdych, who had won their last meeting in straight sets at the Cincinnati quarterfinals in August by attacking Federer’s second serve. He got few chances this time, as Federer made 70 percent of first serves.

He won 94 percent of those first serve points in the first set, and 91 percent overall in the match. A rare slip saw Federer double-fault on his first set point, but he clinched it on his next point with a clinical passing shot that wrongfooted Berdych.

The second set started in a similar fashion, with Berdych missing a smash as he was backpedalling to give Federer two break points. Federer took his chance as Berdych hurried his shot from the baseline into the net.

When Berdych missed an easy smash at the net in the fourth game, Federer took the reprieve and hit a crisp passing shot into Berdych’s feet for a 3-1 lead.

The pressure generated by Federer’s ruthless forehand was wearing Berdych down. Trailing 4-2, Berdych doublefaulted to give Federer another break point, but he got out of trouble with a strong second serve.

Federer held his serve in a flurry of shots to lead 5-3 and another superb winner - a crosscourt forehand hit with the casual brilliance that is Federer’s trademark when on form - was his 34th of the match, and set up three match points with Berdych 0-40 down.

The former world No. 1 whipped a forehand into the corner that had Berdych at full stretch, and he patted the return into the net.—AP

WALES: Ireland’s Craig Breen and co driver Britain’s Gareth Roberts splash through the water during a stage of the Rally of Wales. —AP

Latvala ahead in Wales Rally GB BUILTH WELLS: Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala took over the lead from Frenchman Sebastien Loeb following the six special stages on the third and penultimate day of the season-closing Wales Rally GB yesterday. Loeb, who virtually secured his record eighth consecutive world title on Friday when sole rival Mikko Hirvonen abandoned, was second at six seconds after stages 12 to 17.

Norwegian Mads Ostberg, who has been suffering from engine problems, did well to end up third but at nearly three minutes off the pace the fight for the last race of the season has

come down to a duel between Latvala and Loeb.

The Frenchman had started the first three stages on Saturday just 1.1 secs ahead of his Finnish rival and extended his advantage to just over seven seconds by the end of that session.

Latvala, however, launched a determined fightback during which he powered his Ford Fiesta to the fastest times in the closing stages of the afternoon (SS 15-17).

“It’s going really well and tomorrow (Sunday) morning I need to wake up with a ver y clean head,” said

Latvala, who has four rally wins to his name but is yet to win this season.

“I have good confidence and I’m so hungry for the victory.” Loeb said his progress had been slowed by the slippery conditions he encountered by having to run at the head of the field.

“I was pushing very hard but honestly it was so slippery and I had absolutely no grip,” said the Frenchman. “I tried and made no mistake but I could not do any better.”

Today will feature the final six stages of the Wales Rally GB, the 13th and final race in the world rally championship.—AFP

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Time to wire soccer for sound?

PARIS: In the era of eye-in-thesky satellites that spy on the Earth and telescopes that peer ever-deeper into the cosmos, it seems astounding that we can’t hear much of what soccer players say to each other on a field.

Perhaps it is time for some “Big Brother” surveillance in soccer, too.

More well-placed microphones, why not even broadcasting sound from the shirt lapels of referee Chris Foy and his assistants, perhaps might have helped determine whether John Terry racially abused Anton Ferdinand in Chelsea’s ill-tempered 1-0 loss at Queens Park Rangers on Oct. 23. Even if onfield recordings could not capture every exact word, maybe players would think twice before directing tirades at each other and at officials if soccer was

more wired for sound, like rugby and other sports.

The idea of broadcasting match officials’ on-field words to players, as rugby does, is not on soccer’s agenda. The sport’s lawmakers last looked at this in 2004. The minutes of their meeting show they were happy for officials to talk to each other by radio during a match but they decided that “such a system ... must not be used for broadcasting purposes.”

No surprise there. FIFA is hardly a trailblazer on the use of technology. Its progress is excruciatingly slow on picking which system soccer will use to determine when the ball crosses the goal line. And Thierry Henry will likely be an old man before soccer’s ruling body accepts video replays that could have punished his hand ball that broke

Irish hearts in 2009. Still, that shouldn’t stop us from exercising our imagination.

If players wore microphones, we might all have heard the “certain word” Patrice Evra accused Luis Suarez of racially abusing him with when Manchester United played at Liverpool. That was a month ago, which is a long time for such an ugly allegation to hang unresolved over the Premier League. Liverpool’s striker denied it. United stuck by Evra. Which of them is telling the truth must wish there was audio to prove it.

But wiring up all 22 players would be overly intrusive, technically tough and of questionable use, at least for broadcast purposes. A smarter middle route would be to broadcast at least some of what referees hear and say. That was tried with

astounding effect in the 1980s, when David Elleray wore a microphone for Millwall-Arsenal.

It recorded Gunner Tony Adams squealing at Elleray and calling him a cheat when he disallowed an Arsenal goal.

In Australia, officials looked into repeating something along those lines this season. They felt that broadcasting referees’ comments to players might help spectators Down Under, where soccer isn’t the No.1 sport, better understand what’s happening and improve on-field discipline. FIFA said no to the Australian federation’s initial feelers, but “there’s still work being done to possibly bring it in, as a trial, not as a leaguewide standard,” A-League spokesman Mark Jensen said in a telephone interview.

“The possibility with using

microphones for referees and having that audio available is that players might realize they are being recorded and tone it down for their image sake,” Jensen said. “If you see Wayne Rooney, you know, screaming offenses at a referee for a decision, kids watch that and pick up on that and they think it’s OK. So putting things in place to possibly curb that is only good for future generations.”

In the Canadian Football League, coaches and quarterbacks of the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers agreed to wear live microphones for broadcaster TSN for a preseason game in June. TSN built in a 10-second delay so it could interrupt the audio if the language got salty.

“As it turns out, we rarely used that,” Paul Graham, TSN’s

vice president and executive producer of live events, said in a telephone interview. “You could hear the coaches talking to the players on the sidelines and conferencing in with their assistant coaches, and you could hear the quarterbacks talking to their teammates in the huddle and then making their calls.”

“From a viewer perspective, it was certainly entertaining,” he said. “From a league perspective, wor th the experiment, but I would be lying if I said they weren’t ner vous throughout the whole ordeal.”

So, if soccer wanted, something could be done. If they knew more people were listening, perhaps potty-mouthed, ill-tempered and abusive players would be more likely to hold their tongues. —AP

China’s World Cup dream in tatters

PORT ELIZABETH: Max Gradel of Ivory Coast attempts to evade a challenge

by Anele Ngcongca of South Africa during a friendly match in Port Elezabath. —AFP

South Africa hold Ivory Coast PORT ELIZABETH: South Africa and Ivory Coast drew 1-1 in their friendly at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium yesterday, with neither team able to strike a decisive blow despite the presence of plenty of Europe-based big names.

Siboniso Gaxa’s own goal under pressure from attacking midfielder Gervinho put Ivory Coast ahead in the 36th minute in South Africa’s annual Nelson Mandela Challenge.

Striker Katlego Mphela smashed in a 53rd-minute free kick to bring Bafana Bafana level. Steven Pienaar combined with Mphela to set up Reneilwe Letsholonyane on 60 minutes but he shot over for South Africa in one of a host of missed chances at both ends.

Ivorian striker Seydou Doumbia was twice denied by sharp saves from goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs. Yaya and Kolo Toure both started for Ivory Coast alongside Gervinho, while Pienaar returned for South Africa after a lengthy injury layoff.

Salomon Kalou and Didier Ya Konan appeared as second-half substitutes for the visitors. Yaya Toure was prominent for the opening goal when his shot was blocked by Kagisho Dikgacoi and looped into the air, and Gaxa’s attempt at a clear-

ing header ahead of Gervinho went into his own net.

Striker Mphela sent a powerful longrange free kick through the defensive wall and past stationary goalkeeper Boubacar Barry for the equalizer early in the second half, halting Ivory Coast’s winning run in 2011.

Africa’s top-ranked team had won all six of its matches this year - competitive and friendly - before yesterday’s draw.

“A very, very exciting game, very attacking,” Ivory Coast coach Francois Zahoui said, speaking through a translator. “We got opportunities but weren’t able to use them. But overall I’m satisfied.”

Playing as a lone forward, Mphela broke clear in the 15th but pushed a weak shot straight at the Belgium-based Barry. The Ivorian ‘keeper also kept out a flashing header from Morgan Gould midway through the half.

The teams continued to push forward to the end, but Barry and Josephs - who had a fine double save to deny the dangerous Doumbia in the 65th - thwarted the attackers. “Fantastic friendly game and I think 1-1 is a good result,” Yaya Toure said. —AP

PARIS: French national football team’s forward Franck Ribery juggles with a ball during a training session at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. France will face Belgium on Nov 15. —AFP

SINGAPORE: China surveyed the ruins of another dismal World Cup qualifying campaign yesterday as North Korea’s bid hit the wall and Australia’s progress was checked by lowly Oman.

China’s loss against Iraq left Juan Antonio Camacho’s men all but out of the running for Brazil 2014, needing a hatful of goals in their final two matches and for other results to go their way.

Younis Mahmoud’s injury-time strike gave Iraq a 1-0 victory in Doha late on Friday and effectively extended China’s wait for a second appearance on football’s biggest stage after their winless showing in 2002.

“China played bravely, but we won the match and the result has almost guaranteed our place in the last 10,” said Iraq’s coach, Brazilian legend Zico.

“The game went as we predicted. We knew China would attack, so we focused on defending in the first half before sealing victory late on.”

The result raised questions over the future of Camacho, the former

Real Madrid coach who arrived in August with a remit to steer the potential Asian giants through qualifying.

“After its elimination, the national team will have nothing important to do for two years, until the qualifying phase for the 2014 Asian Cup,” said the Oriental Morning Post in a commentary.

“Jose Antonio Camacho won’t have any opportunities to prove himself. For the Chinese federation and Chinese football, what is the point of employing such a wellpaid coach?”

Regional champions Japan romped into the fourth and final qualifying stage with a 4-0 win over Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan also went through in Group C after beating North Korea 1-0.

For the North Koreans, the result destroyed their dream of reaching consecutive World Cups after their showing at South Africa 2010, which ended a 44-year absence from the tournament.

Jordan went through as the only team still on maximum points as they downed Singapore to make

it four wins out of four in Group A. But Australia’s perfect record was tarnished by a shock 1-0 loss against minnows Oman, which came despite the presence of star men Harry Kewell, Mark Schwarzer and Brett Emerton.

Amad Ali’s 18th-minute strike, Oman’s first in their last three qualifiers, slowed Australia’s march to the last round and blew the race for Group D’s second spot wide open.

“I realised what went wrong and we’re going to work on that and the two trainings (sessions) will be sufficient for that,” Australia coach Holger Osieck told journalists.

“I will analyse it together with the team, but we didn’t show the cohesion... that we normally have and that was one of the reasons why we didn’t play our game.”

Saudi Arabia beat Thailand 3-0 to lie second behind Australia but just a point ahead of the Thais and Oman, with all to play for in their last two games.

South Korea have one foot in the next round after a 2-0 away

win over the UAE which left coach Cho Kwang-Rae confident of taking the final step in Beirut on Tuesday.

“We are ready to extend this winning momentum to the next match against Lebanon,” Cho told journalists in Dubai.

But Lebanon will fight tooth and nail to retain second spot in Group B after going two points clear of Kuwait with a 1-0 win in Kuwait City.

Group E leaders Iran were frustrated by a 1-1 draw with Bahrain, against whom they smashed six last time around, and Qatar dumped out Indonesia 4-0.

Singapore, the UAE and Tajikistan are also eliminated as the bottom teams in their respective groups with no chance of reaching the top two spots in their last two games. Ten teams will reach the round-robin fourth stage, where four tickets to Brazil 2014 are up for grabs along with a place in an intercontinental play-off. The third round’s final two sets of games will be played on Tuesday and February 29. —AFP

Sexton saves Leinster PARIS: A penalty in the final seconds from Leinster fly-half Jonathan Sexton helped salvage a 16-16 draw for the champions at European Cup debutants Montpellier yesterday in their opening Pool 3 clash.

The French side were on the verge of a deserved victory until Sexton, who had missed an earlier penalty from roughly the same distance and angle, stepped up and got his side what could prove to be a crucial share of the points.

His kick also prevented Leinster from emulating their team-mates two years ago when they became the first defending champions to lose their opening match of the title defence.

Montpellier took the lead in the third minute as Leinster conceded a penalty, with scrum-half Benoit Paillaugue converting only for Sexton to level the match two minutes later.

Sexton gave Leinster the lead with a penalty but in what was end to end running play it was the hosts who regained the initiative.

Argentinian Lucas Amorosino broke down a Leinster attack in his 22 and then hacked it clear before gathering and offloading to Fulgence Ouedraogo.

The France backrow forward and club captain ran in unopposed to touch down under the posts and his try was converted by Paillaugue to send the home support wild.

Leinster were rattled and captain Leo Cullen was penalised for an infringement in the line-out - Paillaugue slotted over the penalty to make it 13-6 to Montpellier.

There was no let-up for the Irish province at the beginning of the second-half as Mamuka Gorgodze and Remy Martin tore holes in the Irish defence and it was only a terrific tackle by Ireland centre Gordon D’Arcy that prevented another home try.

Georgian star flanker Gorgodze was in imperious form and another of his breaks provoked another Leinster infringement, for which they were punished by France flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc who converted the penalty to make it 16-6 in the 55th minute.

Leinster were making ground into the hosts’ 22 but on each occasion they failed to put their chances away and turned the ball over.

Sexton blew a great opportunity to reduce the deficit with a penalty miss from almost in front of the posts but the visitors shrugged that off minutes later as Cronin touched down after being set up by D’Arcy.

The replacement hooker was brought down by Gorgodze but he got to his feet and barrelled over - Sexton made no mistake with the conversion to leave them trailing by just three points with 15 minutes remaining.

Montpellier produced some sterling defence with Leinster again camped on their line, somehow holding the omni-present Cronin up on the line and then regaining possession to clear it upfield.

In Saturday’s other early matches London Irish and Edinburgh fought out a tight match with the Scottish side pulling off a 20-19 victory outscoring their opponents by two tries to one with Lee Jones and Stuart McInally touching down for them.

Former champions Leicester cruised to a 28-12 victory in their away match with Italian side Aironi, scoring three tries. —AFP

TUNIS: Oussama Darragi (right) vies for the ball with Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca team captain Ahmed Ajeddou (left) during their African Champion League final football match. —AFP

Esperance win African Champions League RADES: Defender Harrison Afful scored the winning goal as Tunisian side Esperance held on to beat 10-man Wydad Casablanca 1-0 yesterday to win the African Champions League for the second time.

Afful scored in the 21st minute of the final, cutting inside before shooting powerfully past Wydad goalkeeper Yassine Bouno who replaced veteran first-choice goalie Nadir Lamyaghri after he got injured at training on Tuesday.

Esperance last won the tournament in 1994, while the Moroccan team’s previous win was in ‘92. The two North Africa teams drew the first leg 0-0 in Casablanca last week.

Wydad’s chances were dealt a blow when Mourad Lemsen was sent off moments before the interval for a crude challenge on striker Yannick N’Djeng.

Esperance was thrashed 6-1 on aggregate by four-time champion TP Mazembe of DR Congo in last year’s final. Esperance also lost the final in 1999 on penalties to Raja Casablanca of Morocco and the following year to Ghanaian team Hearts of Oak.

But this time the 50,000 fans at Stade 7 November in Rades had cause to celebrate.

After his goal, Afful went on another surging run down the right in the 28th and set up Oussama Darragi inside the penalty area but his shot was well wide.

Wydad missed a great chance to equalize in the 32nd when striker Fabrice Ondama was clean through but saw his shot kicked away by Esperance goalie Moez Ben Cherifa.

N’Djeng and Afful were causing problems for Wydad’s defense, but Cherifa was largely untroubled for the rest of the first half.

The 20-year-old Cherifa looked nervous as Wydad started the second half strongly, and he was relieved to see his defense hack the ball clear after he’d spilled a cross, with Ondama lurking.

Esperance finally won a corner midway through the second half, but defender Yaya Banana failed to get enough power on his header. Bouno then made a fine save with his feet to deny N’Djeng in the 77th, but Esperance spent the last 10 minutes holding on. —AP

Suzuki wins NHK Trophy

Pacquiao, Marquez ready for Part III in Las Vegas

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Time to wire soccer for sound?

Page 19

MONTEVIDEO: Uruguay’s Luis Suarez (left) fights for the ball with Chile’s Waldo Ponce during a 2014 World Cup qualifying soccer game. At right is Chile’s Pablo Contreras. —AP

Uruguay crush Chile in WCup qualifier Argentina stumble 1-1 against Bolivia BUENOS AIRES: South American champions Uruguay crushed Chile 4-0 with all four goals coming from Luis Suarez, while Lionel Messi’s Argentina were held to a 11 draw at home by Bolivia in Friday’s World Cup qualifiers.

Copa America winners Uruguay lead the nine-nation South American group with seven points from three matches, followed by Colombia, who have a game in hand, Argentina, Paraguay and Venezuela.

Colombia let three points slip away at home when Venezuela scored a late equaliser for a 1-1 draw, while Paraguay

snatched their first win, 2-1 at home to Ecuador.

Uruguay’s Suarez said it had been hard to contain his emotions after the four-goal performance. “You want to burst into tears, your stomach turns,” he said. The striker came off in the 77th minute to a standing ovation at the Centenario in Montevideo.

Suarez has scored 16 for Uruguay, six short of the record held by fellow forward Diego Forlan, who missed the match through injury. Brazilian Romario was the last South American to score four goals in a qualifier, against Venezuela in 2000.

“I have a great admiration for how he went overcoming challenges in his career,” said Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez.

Chile coach Claudio Borghi, who kicked five players out of his squad for indiscipline in midweek, said the incident was in the past.

“The week was not simple but what happened up to this match is history.

We’re going to talk about how they felt,” he told the post-match news conference.

Chile next host Paraguay on Tuesday, while Uruguay will play Italy in a friendly in Rome.

Messi, who has no problem scoring for

club side Barcelona, must find a way to link up with his Argentina team mates if they are to reach the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

“We can’t let another single point escape us, we’re angry because we had chances to score but we were unlucky,” a visibly irritated Messi told reporters.

Argentina had much more of the ball and by far the greater number of chances but were frustrated by a packed, wellorganised Bolivia defence.

They also had to fight back from a goal down after Marcelo Martins latched onto an error by defender Martin

Demichelis and scored in the 55th minute. Ezequiel Lavezzi grabbed the equaliser in the 59th minute shortly after coming on as a substitute. It was Bolivia’s first World Cup qualifying point in Argentina in nine games.

“The important thing was to take precautions with Messi because he’s a player who, if you don’t control him, he’ll win the match ... so we gave him little room,” Bolivia coach Gustavo Quinteros said.

Argentina next play Colombia, who let two points slip from their grasp in a 1-1 draw in Barranquilla with northern neighbours Venezuela.

Wales maintains good form with 4-1 win over Norway

England down Spain in friendly WEMBLEY: Frank Lampard headed England to a 1-0 victory over Spain despite the world and European champions outplaying the hosts for most of yesterday’s friendly at Wembley Stadium.

Captain on his 90th England appearance, Lampard netted four minutes into the second half, meeting the loose ball after Darren Bent’s header came off the post.

“It was a difficult game, but we played well and maintained our style,” Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said. “Although, maybe we lacked depth at times, we played well I thought.”

It is the latest setback for Spain in a friendly against a leading side, with Del Bosque’s side also losing to Argentina, Portugal and Italy since winning the 2010 World Cup. Technically, the Spanish were superior and in complete control in London, but they squandered a series of chances to equalize after falling behind. David Villa hit the post and Cesc Fabregas came close twice in the closing minutes. Beating the European champions will boost morale in the England camp ahead of Euro 2012 after missing out on the 2008 tournament and then performing dismally at the World Cup. “It’s great to beat them now - they are the best team in the world,” Lampard said. “We won’t get carried away over the fact we beat them. Let’s be realistic, they dominated the game.” Indeed, England struggled to retain the ball, with Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas having a quiet 45 minutes on the pitch as he matched his country’s appearance record.

Like goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta from 1985 to 1998, Casillas has featured 126 times for Spain - and he is still only 30.

The first shot the captain had to face didn’t

come until the 32nd minute when Lampard struck tamely straight at Casillas.

With England packing the defense, it took Spain until the 36th to come close to Joe Hart’s goal, with Sergio Busquets flicking over.

Among Spain’s three changes at halftime, Casillas’ place was taken by Pepe Reina. And the substitute goalkeeper’s first act was picking the ball out of his net after Lampard’s opener.

A flowing start to the half saw England earn a free kick on the left flank, which James Milner whipped into a crowded penalty area.

Bent’s header bounced off the post, with Reina’s dive missing the ball, and the rebound fell to the unmarked Lampard to nod into the net. Lampard was captain after center back John Terry was dropped to the bench, a move coach Fabio Capello insisted was not due to the ongoing police investigation over alleged racism. A chance for Spain to equalize was squandered when David Villa latched onto a defense-splitting pass but rounded Hart too far and hit the sidenetting with an off-balance shot in the 55th. The Spanish kept up the pressure but lacked ruthlessness in front of goal. Scott Parker was also snuffing out many of their attacks, including blocking Fabregas’ attempt to square to Gerard Pique in the 82nd.

Fabregas came close himself, though, on his return to London after leaving Arsenal in August. The Barcelona midfielder, on the turn, had a shot saved by Hart after Phil Jagielka’s intervention took the sting out of the attempt, then swept the ball wide within a minute.

England earned the victory without star striker Wayne Rooney. Capello assessed Danny Welbeck and Bent in preparation for Rooney missing the three Euro 2012 group stage matches after being banned by UEFA.—AP

The home side went ahead with an early goal from winger Fredy Guarin but squandered a string of chances and paid the price when Venezuela substitute Frank Felstcher equalised 12 minutes from time.

Paraguay had to work hard for their first win, 2-1 at home to Ecuador, breaking the deadlock through midfielder Cristian Riveros in the opening minute of the second half and adding a second when defender Dario Veron headed home a free kick. Joao Rojas scored Ecuador’s consolation in added time. —Reuters

LONDON: England’s Danny Welbeck (right) competes for the ball with Spain’s Gerard Pique during the international friendly soccer match between England and Spain at Wembley Stadium. —AP

CARDIFF: Sam Vokes clinched a fourth win in five matches for Wales by grabbing a late double in a 4-1 victory over Norway in an international friendly yesterday.

Vokes was introduced from the substitutes’ bench in the second half with Wales hanging on to a 2-1 lead and made the game safe with goals in the 88th and 89th minutes at Cardiff City Stadium.

Classy strikes by wingers Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy put the Welsh two goals clear by the 16th minute before Erik Huseklepp pounced on a fumble by Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey to halve the deficit in the 61st.

“It was important we got off to a good start but Norway are no slouches and they made it difficult for us,” Bale said. “We are improving with every game.”

It was a disappointing way for left back John Arne Riise to celebrate becoming the third Norwegian to win 100 caps, with the visitors overrun at times in a match between two teams who failed to qualify for the 2012 European Championship.

By finishing its Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with three wins from its last four games, Wales climbed from a worst-ever position of No. 117 in the FIFA rankings to No. 45 to increase the feel-good factor sweeping around the national team.

Coach Gary Speed has demanded his players play a possession-based game and with the team sprinkled with attacking talent in Bale, Bellamy

and Arsenal playmaker Aaron Ramsey, the hosts overwhelmed Norway in a dominant first-half performance.

Bale built on his impressive recent performances for Tottenham by putting Wales ahead in the 11th, running onto Steve Morison’s lofted pass over the Norway defense and slamming a shot from an acute angle in at the near post.

Bellamy doubled the lead five minutes later in stylish fashion, using galloping left back Adam Matthews as the decoy as he cut inside and curled a fierce shot in at the far post.

Norway striker Mohammed Abdellaoui slammed a long-range shot against the foot of the post in the 28th but it was only in the second half that the visitors offered a consistent attacking threat. Norway’s goal was entirely down to the carelessness of Hennessey.

Attempting to collect the ball following a heavy touch by Huseklepp, the goalkeeper ly spilled it against the leg of teammate Andrew Crofts.

Huseklepp reacted quickest and had the simplest of tasks to tap the ball into an empty net.

Morten Gamst Pedersen had the best of Norway’s late chances before Vokes killed off the away team’s hopes with Wales’ third, sliding in at the far post to bundle in a cross from Bale.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers striker then capitalized on a mix-up in the Norway defense to crash home a long-range shot to seal the victory.—AP

Ford Mustang, Ford F-150 rev up for ME awards Page 22

Kuwait money supply up KD 500m in September Page 23 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

Olympus ‘to correct 20 years of loss cover-ups’ Page 26

IMF chief: ‘Significant progress’ in Greece, Italy Page 25

WAIKIKI, HI: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (center) co-chairs the APEC Ministerial Meeting at the 2011 APEC Summit on Friday in Waikiki, Hawaii. The US is hosting this year’s APEC summit, with leaders from the 21 member economies convening on the island of Oahu. — AFP

Push for Pacific trade bloc gains traction Obama boosted by Japan move on summit eve HONOLULU: Leaders working to forge a free trade bloc in the Pacific plan to announce an outline for achieving that goal at an annual AsiaPacific summit this past weekend, one of many initiatives aimed at fending off recession as Europe struggles to resolve its debt crisis.

President Barack Obama arrived on Friday in his native Hawaii to host Asia-Pacific leaders, buoyed by Japan’s decision to enter talks on a deal that could rewrite the rules of US-Asia trade.

Obama will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum at the start of a trip that seeks to leave the economic gloom of America and Europe behind and look towards a region that is vital to future US prosperity.

“We obviously believe that the world’s strategic and economic center of gravity will be the Asia-Pacific for the 21st century,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said after talks with senior APEC officials.

The entrance of Japan, the world’s third largest economy, into the talks was seen as imperative if the TransPacific Partnership is to be transformed into a meaningful pact that will knock down trade barriers across the Pacific.

US Trade Representative Ron Kirk ended a meeting of regional trade ministers with praise for Japan’s decision on Friday to join negotiations on a US-backed free trade arrangement that is viewed by many in the region as a basic building block for an eventual free trade zone encompassing all of Asia and the Pacific Rim. The socalled Trans-Pacific Partnership is

intended to complement other efforts to promote freer trade, and other countries can join if they are willing to meet the very high standards required, Kirk said.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation agenda has gained urgency with warnings from the European Union that its debt crisis could trigger a “deep and prolonged recession” next year. Such a recession would be felt sharply in the US, where growth is already anemic, and in Asia, which relies on Europe as a big market for its cars, clothing, consumer electronics and other exports.

But China, which some economists say is on course to overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy this decade, has been lukewarm about the Pacific trade pact. Kirk said the ministers expect leaders of the countries involved in the so-called TPP to announce the broad outlines of a “high-standards, ambitious 21st-century trade pact.”

“Of course, many of us believe that the Trans-Pacific Partnership can be the basis for a long-term APEC goal of a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific,” he said. At their summit, the leaders of the 21-member APEC forum also will endorse a range of “meaningful steps which will strengthen regional economic integration and expand trade,” he said.

Such strategies include better food security, increased trade and investment in environmental products and services, better access to financing for small and medium-size companies, faster customs clearance and greater harmony in regulatory standards.

The aim is to make it “cheaper,

faster, and easier to do business in the APEC region,” according to a statement released by the ministers. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the ministerial meeting that by agreeing on something as rudimentary as shared safety standards for televisions, countries in the region saw exports of TVs jump by nearly half in three years.

By removing barriers and bottlenecks that slow business, APEC members hope to re-energize growth at a time when the world economy most needs dynamism in the Asia-Pacific region to offset the malaise spreading from crisis-stricken Europe. At the same time they are working toward a broader agreement, countries are continuing to forge separate freetrade deals.

“In the coming 12 months there is quite a strong likelihood that things will go worse,” Hong Kong’s chief executive, Donald Tsang, told a gathering of business leaders on the sidelines of the APEC meetings. “Global performance will be dragged down and then there will be an awakening, I hope,” he said.

Overall, given APEC’s lack of negotiating power - all decisions are by consensus - prospects for major changes are slim. But over the years the group’s incremental efforts have helped build support for closer economic ties and freer trade.

The US recently clinched longsought free trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama agreements that if ratified will bring to 20 the number of countries that have free trade agreements with the US. —Agencies

Boeing sees renewed Gulf interest in revamped 737 DUBAI: Boeing is talking to Oman Air and budget carrier flydubai as potential customers for its revamped 737 MAX jetliner, company executives said yesterday.

Speaking on the eve of the Dubai Air Show, Boeing officials said demand in the Middle East remained robust despite unease over the economy as airlines seek to reduce operating costs by buying fuel-efficient aircraft. “We are talking to flydubai and Oman Air about the 737 MAX. We have had a lot of detailed discussions with flydubai, which is part of the normal process of getting a customer’s input into development,” Marty Bentrott, senior vice-president for international sales, told a news conference.

Boeing is fitting its best-selling 737 medium-haul jet with new engines to reduce fuel consumption and compete with a hot-selling version of the com-

peting Airbus model called the A320neo. It is also showing off its new 787 Dreamliner for the first time at the biennial show after the fuel-saving carbon-fibre passenger jet went into service in Japan earlier this month.

Boeing said Qatar Airways, whose chief executive Akbar Al Baker said a year ago the project had “failed” due to a three-year production delay, would get its first 787 in mid-2012. Oman Air could also clarify an order for 787 Dreamliners at the Nov 13-17 air show.

The sultanate’s flag carrier last year signed a draft deal to acquire six 787s by leasing them through Kuwait’s ALAFCO but has been seeking compensation for the delays. “They may come out with something in the next few days,” Bentrott told Reuters, speaking of Oman’s interest in the 787. Aviation International News reported that Oman Air was set to announce a 787 decision

in Dubai. Demand from the Gulf has helped to power Boeing and Airbus production to record levels even as developed markets weather serious economic problems.

“It’s a critical market for us. Most airlines have 35-40 percent in fuel-related operating costs, and lots of older aircraft need to be replaced when operating costs rise,” said Bentrott.

The air show is seen as likely to produce a slew of orders but will test the resilience of expanding Gulf carriers to Europe’s debt crisis and to slowing global economic growth. “European banks have tended to be sources of funding for commercial aircraft, and we’ll have to see if the euro zone problems change that position. We’re looking at alternatives such as Islamic finance, Japanese financing and Exim bank,” said Bentrott.

He predicted that the airshow would be relatively muted. — Reuters

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BUSINESS GE Aviation appoints Isam Moursy as general manager, MEA

Ford Mustang, Ford F-150 rev up to win at 2011 Mideast Motor Awards KUWAIT: The Ford Mustang and Ford F-150 recently received the ‘Best Sports Car’ and ‘Best Truck’ titles respectively at the 2011 M iddle East M otor Awards (MEMA), one of the region’s largest motor awards.

The M iddle East M otor Awards, an initiative by Expo Centre Sharjah, with suppor t from the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, acknowledges leaders of the automotive industry and celebrates emerging industr y technologies.

Running for the second consecutive year, the awards were judged by an extensive panel comprising distinguished and expert automotive journalists from around the region. “ We are pleased to receive the Middle East Motor Awards for both the Mustang and F-150, and would like to thank the organizers as well as the panel of judges for recognizing two of our most dynamic vehicles,” said Paul Anderson, direc tor of Marketing at Ford Middle East.

Receiving the awards for Ford Mustang and Ford F-150 are: (left) Conrad Williams - Brand manager, Al-Tayer Motors Ford, the UAE importer dealer of Ford and Lincoln and (right) Paul Anderson, director of Marketing at Ford Middle East.

“Both the legendar y Ford Mustang and high-performing Ford F-150 have been appreciated by motoring enthusiasts and

customers across the world and our region for their dynamic looks, class leading technologies, choice of power trains,

affordable prices and great fuel economy.”

For 2011, Ford Mustang saw the introduc tion of two new engines, including the entry level 305HP 3.7L V6 and the super performing 412HP 5.0L V8. The model also saw major improvements in transmission, handling, driving dynamics, and fuel economy, all of which contributed to an awesome sports car that built on its 47-year heritage as the legendary muscle car.

For 2012, Ford Mustang’s American style is combined with powerful engines delivering outstanding fuel economy across the lineup. It also puts the driving experience in the customer’s hands with new selectable steering. Engineers also improved the driving dynamics of the new Mustang with Elec tric Power Assist Steering, large vented disc brakes and suspension enhancements.

The signature class-leading capability and durability of the Ford F-150 were enhanced for

2011 with projected class-leading fuel economy and performance. The Ford F-Series, America’s best-selling truck for 33 years running, offered an allnew power train lineup that would deliver best-in- class horsepower, torque and projected fuel economy leadership. The Ford F-150, the most fuel-efficient and capable full-size pickup in the market, is getting finetuned for 2012, with a new FX appearance package and several driveline updates and new technologies to further improve and refine the driving experience.

The Ford Mustang and F-150 pickup will be at the Ford stand during the Dubai International Motorshow (10-14 November).

Located at the entrance of Sheik h Saeed Hall, the Ford stand will feature an impressive display of the latest products, various technologies and interac tive games, including the Mustang slot car race, the Ford Focus simulator and a series of truck challenges.

Air Arabia announces Q3 2011 net profit of AED 100 million KUWAIT: Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, announced yesterday its financial results for the three months ending September 30, 2011, demonstrating sustainable profitability during the third quarter of this year.

Air Arabia’s net profit for the three months ending September 30, 2011, which was in line with analyst forecasts, stood at AED 100 million, a decline of 26 per cent compared to AED 136 million in the corresponding period in 2010. In the third quarter of this year, Air Arabia posted a turnover of AED 691 million, an increase of 22 per cent compared to AED 568 million in the same period of 2010.

The airline served 1,199,973 passengers in the third quarter of 2011, an increase of five per cent compared to 1,147,066 passengers in the same period last year. In the

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed AlThani, Chairman of Air Arabia three months ending September 30, 2011, Air Arabia’s average seat load factor - or passengers carried as a percentage of available

like to thank all our customers for choosing to fly with Air Arabia. We look forward to serving many more passengers in the months and years to come.”

In the third quarter of 2011, Air Arabia took delivery of two new A320 aircraft from Airbus. The latest Airbus A320 arrived on schedule from the Airbus facility in Toulouse, France, marking the delivery of a total of six out of 44 A320 aircraft ordered in 2007.

Air Arabia also started operation to the city of Gassim, Saudi Arabia, in the third quarter and unveiled plans to introduce service to a series of new destinations before the end of this year.

As further testament to its successful business model, Air Arabia won the top award in the category of “Innovation in Operations - Low-Cost Carrier Airline” at the recent Express Travel World Awards 20102011, held in New Delhi, India.

seats - stood at an impressive 81 per cent.

“Air Arabia is pleased to announce such solid financial performance despite continued challenging market conditions,” said Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al-Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia. “Air Arabia’s sustained quarterly profits, high seat load factor and rising passenger traffic reflect the appeal of our services and demonstrates the strength of Air Arabia’s business model.

“The challenging markets conditions we have seen in the second quarter of this year continued in the third quarter, with a further escalation in the political turmoil in several countries and an upward trend in the average fuel bill. Despite these challenging market conditions, Air Arabia’s solid profits and steady growth reflect the airline’s commercial and operational strength.

“After crossing the 20-million passenger mark in the third quarter of 2011, we would

KUWAIT: GE Aviation has appointed Isam Moursy as General Manager for its Middle East and Africa (MEA) markets. A veteran of GE with over 20 years of experience, Moursy will focus on strengthening the aviation business of the company by building longterm strategic partnerships, training, service and localization.

David Joyce, President & Chief Executive Officer for GE Aviation, said: “The aviation sector in the Middle East and Africa markets is witnessing phenomenal growth with massive investments currently ongoing to expand the aviation infrastructure. The region offers a strong fit to GE Aviation’s proven competencies across the spectrum of the industry - from offering fuel efficient and ecofriendly engines that power the fastgrowing aircraft carriers, to driving localized training and research initiatives. Isam Moursy has in-depth market insights of the region, which will enable him to meet our growth goals in the aviation sector.”

In his new role, Moursy will drive the growth of GE Aviation in the MEA markets by developing and expanding customer relationships and long-term public and private partnerships across the region. GE Aviation already has a strong footprint having established partnerships with all leading airlines. Today, more than 2,000 GE engines are in service or on order in the region.

Moursy said: “The regional aviation industry is witnessing unprecedented growth, highlighted by the new orders for aircraft and investments in aviation infrastructure. In addition to strengthening our relationships with the regional airlines, GE Aviation will focus on localized leadership training to develop a strong resource base of professionals, and on advanced research to meet the modern-day requirements of the region’s aviation sector.”

GE has already invested in aviation training in the region through a dedicated facility at the GE Advanced Technology and Research Center at the Qatar Science & Technology Park, which offers training on GE engine models, and advanced high-tech and jet maintenance training programs that fit the requirements of the regional leaders.

GE Aviation has also joined hands with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company to expand GE’s global network of engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers in the Middle East. GE will designate ADAT, an affiliate MRO company of Mubadala, as a network provider in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for its next generation GEnx1B and -2B engines.

Recently, Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, unveiled a plan for the construction of the most technologically advanced Engine Overhaul Shop to complement the present Test Cell Facility in Dubai.

The state-of-the-art Engine Shop will be one of the largest in Asia and will be built using a land area of 90,000 square meters. The engine shop will have the capability of performing 300 shop visits per annum for GE’s GE90 and Engine Alliance’s GP7000 engines that power the B777 aircraft and A380. Emirates has signed a Letter of Intent with GE to oversee the design and construction of the shop using the most advanced technology, equipment and best practices in the industry.

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 Philippine peso Egyptian pounds

.2720000 .4370000 .3760000 .3080000 .2680000 .2840000 .0040000 .0020000 .0745780 .7265880 .3810000 .0700000 .7122870 .0040000 .0430000

.2780000 .4500000 .3880000 .3190000 .2770000 .2930000 .0072500 .0035000 .0753270 .7338900 .4010000 .0760000 .7194450 .0072000 .0530000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2747000 .27680000 GB Pound/KD .4398910 .4432540 Euro .3784400 .3813340 Swiss francs .3108870 .3132640 Canadian dollars .2707200 .2727900 Danish Kroner .0508600 .0512490 Swedish Kroner .0417030 .0420220 Australian dlr .2861550 .2883430 Hong Kong dlr .0353550 .0356250 Singapore dlr .2164530 .2181070 Japanese yen .0035180 .0035450 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 .0056490 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 .0025200 Pakistan rupee .0000000 .0032340 Bangladesh taka .0000000 .0036520 UAE dirhams .0748200 .0753920 Bahraini dinars .7289370 .7345130 Jordanian dinar .0000000 .3915130 Saudi Riyal/KD .0732730 .0738330 Omani riyals .7137850 .7192410 Philippine Peso .0000000 .0065050

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.641 5.508 3.191 2.506 3.623 216.650 35.595 3.191 6.386 8.978 0.271 0.273

GCC COUNTRIES 73.830 76.072 719.110 735.350 75.388

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

ARAB COUNTRIES 49.000 46.275 1.267 193.730 390.970 185.700 5.977 34.379

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 276.750 Euro 384.680 Sterling Pound 449.170 Canadian dollar 278.140 Turkish lire 156.000 Swiss Franc 312.890 Australian dollar 284.220 US Dollar Buying 275.550

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria

SELL CASH 288.800 732.450 3.720 276.200 541.000 36.600 51.900 167.800 48.020 384.800 36.150 5.930 0.032 0.223 0.240 3.650 390.860 0.186 90.660 46.100 4.240 222.800 1.785

50.200 715.350 3.270 6.580 76.190 73.530 218.430 37.830 2.602 447.300 42.800 311.300 5.500 9.360 198.263 75.090 275.800 1.200

715.170 3.200 6.400 75.760 73.530 218.430 37.810 2.495 445.300 309.800 5.500 9.180 74.990 275.400

10 Tola

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 445.300 275.400

Sterling Pound US Dollar

SELL DRAFT 287.300 732.450 3.610 274.700

218.400 46.174 383.300 36.600 5.550 0.032

Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro 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

284.58 275.37 310.24 379.68 443.63 3.62 3.636 5.499 2.510 3.453 3.205 75.28 735.61 46.32 393.45 718.73 76.26 73.84

286.00 275.00 310.00 380.00 445.00 3.62 3.705 5.890 2.600 4.250 3.360 75.65 735.00 48.25 392.55 719.00 76.55 73.95

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 390.266 0.185 90.660 3.480 221.300

Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar

Selling Rate 273.850 277.615 442.140 389.790 317.635 726.070

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

74.535 75.165 72.990 385.475 45.923 2.482 5.619 3.164 3.606 6.425 671.723 3.710 9.070 5.765 3.560 90.965

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

GOLD 1,847.560

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

GOLD 330.500 165.000 85.000

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

Currency Rate per 1000 (Tran) US Dollar 275.350 Pak Rupees 3.205 Indian Rupees 5.535 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.510 Bangladesh Taka 3.620 Philippines Peso 6.435 UAE Dirhams 75.060 Saudi Riyals 73.570 Bahraini Dinars 731.900 Egyptian Pounds 46.155 Pound Sterling 448.300 Indonesian Rupiah 3.190 Yemeni Riyal 1.550 Jordanian Dinars 391.100 Syrian Pounds 5.750 Euro 386.300 Canadian Dollars 277.900 Nepali rupee 3.690

Al Mulla Exchange Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) US Dollar 275.550 Euro 382.400 Pound Sterling 443.300 Canadian Dollar 273.900 Japanese Yen 3.555 Indian Rupee 5.608 Egyptian Pound 46.225 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.500 Bangladesh Taka 3.620 Philippines Peso 6.430 Pakistan Rupee 3.205 Bahraini Dinar 733.850 UAE Dirham 75.100 Saudi Riyal 73.550 *Rates are subject to change

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

BUSINESS

Kuwait money supply up KD 500m in September NBK ECONOMIC REPORT

LG bags Leed Gold Certification for first multiple building in ME KUWAIT: LG Electronics has been awarded the prestigious LEED Gold Certification from the US Green Building Council and Green Building Certification Institution (GBCI) for the LG building facilities in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, making it the first company in the Middle East to receive such an award for multiple buildings like warehouses and offices. LG’s achievement was also acknowledged with a special appreciation certificate from EHS, the regulatory arm of Trakhees - Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation, Government of Dubai.

The LG Building was constructed to be environmentally friendly indoors as well as outdoors. Benefits include 21.5% energy savings, 31.8% potable water savings, and a 91.7% diversion of construction waste from landfills. The LG Building integrates energy conservation measures through its high performance building envelope insulation, and efficient AC units, fans, and motors, PV Solar panels and LED lighting. It also uses building finishes with low VOC paints, coatings, adhesives, and sealants.

LG Electronics Gulf FZE incorporated several green features in the LG Building.

LG used its own LED lighting system, reducing how much power is consumed daily. Occupancy sensors are installed in all meeting rooms and corridors, and save energy by automating light-switches. LG implemented its flagship product, the Multi-V Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) AC System which was highly commended by the U.S. Green Building Council and Green Building Certification Institution. The high COP figures of 4.3 and Zero ODP refrigerant R-410A made it easy for LG to earn major points in the Energy and Atmosphere category. Their Multi-V VRF enabled improved energy efficiency by allowing occupants to air

condition or heat only the zones in use.

The building also includes a 30 kW ongrid solar photovoltaic system.

Dharmesh Sawant, Sr Manager Commercial AC at LG Electronics comments “LG is listed in Estidama as a compliant Villa product and is helping many stakeholders meet the Estidama credits for their projects with the help of Multi-V. We have already supplied around 25000 TR of Multi-V units in the GCC region.”

“Beyond producing energy efficient products, LG is looking to play a leading role in reducing its carbon footprint and act as a corporate model. We believe responsible companies must contribute to sustainable growth by minimizing the environmental impact caused by their business activities, and the LEED Gold Certification is an acknowledgement of our efforts,” said H S Paik, President of LG Electronics Gulf FZE. The project is a local initiative that fits into LG’s global environment plan to become one of the world leaders in reducing the impact of climate change.

LG aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 14 tons by the end of 2011, an increase from the 12.9 million tons reduced in 2010.

Dr Ju Won Kim, General Manager of the AC Academy said “LG has a corporate social responsibility of Environmental sustainability. Being a strategic partner of the UN’s Champions of the Earth awards since 2009, we have a heartfelt vision of becoming a corporate leader in environmental issues and inspiring the next generation. We want to inspire the green practice locally by implementing the sustainable ideas in our own building.” LG has implemented a green educational program that enhances the educational elements of the LG Building and the LEED process.

Mabrouk Co Diamond sponsor of Horeca Kuwait exhibition KUWAIT: The Mabrouk Hotel Supplies Company announced yesterday that it will be a diamond sponsor of the ‘Horeca Kuwait’ catering and hospitality exhibition to be hosted at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel from Januar y 22-24, 2012.

Talking about the event, which is organized by the Leaders Group for Consulting & Development in cooperation with Hospitality Ser vices of Lebanon, Mabrouk’s CEO Ali Farahat said, “This exhibition meets Kuwait’s growing need for specialist and highly credible events.”

The senior official further indicated that the decision to sponsor the exhibition reflects his company’s confidence in the growth of the hospitality field in Kuwait. “This field continues to grow in Kuwait, even if at smaller rates than other countries in the region”, said Farahat, indicating that the contribution of the tourism and travel sector’s income to the national economy is projected to reach more than KD1.5 billion in the next five years.

The Mabrouk company head noted that more than 10 new hotels are expected to be opened in Kuwait in the same period, increasing the country’s hotel room capacity to over 10,000. He also pointed out the growth in recent

Mabrouk’s CEO Ali Farahat years in the catering field, “as two hundred new restaurants were opened in Kuwait in the past couple of years.”

Farahat revealed that the Mabrouk Company would be showcasing several exciting new items of equipment and technological innovations during the exhibition, as well as participating in a number of activities taking place as part of the event. He concluded by voicing hope that the exhibition would become an annual event in the Kuwaiti calendar.

Iraq demands Exxon choose on Kurdistan oil contract BAGHDAD: Iraq demanded yesterday that oil giant ExxonMobil choose between a new contract it has signed with the Kurdistan regional government and its existing contract for the huge West Qurna-1 field in the south.

“We categorically deny the reports carried by some media that the deputy prime minister for energy affairs (Hussein Al-Shahristani) has agreed that a US firm working in the south of Iraq can sign exploration contracts with Kurdistan,” said a statement released by Shahristani’s office.

“The Iraqi government will deal with any company that breaks the laws in the same way that it has in past and ExxonMobil has been notified of this,” the statement said. In the past, Iraq has banned all oil companies that have signed contracts in Kurdistan from taking

part in tenders or contracts for fields elsewhere in the country. Baghdad insists that oil deals are exclusively a matter for the federal government and regards all agreements signed by the regional authorities in Arbil as invalid.

A source in the Kurdistan region’s ministry of natural resources said the deal with Exxon was signed in London.

ExxonMobil would not comment on the agreement when contacted by AFP. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) also posted a Financial Times article about the deal on its website. “The KRG has for the last few months been in discussions with a number of major oil companies. This resulted in the recent signing by ExxonMobil of contracts to explore in six blocks,” the article quoted Michael Howard, an adviser to the KRG, as saying. —AFP

KUWAIT: Kuwait money supply (M2) rose a distinctive KD 500 million in September (up 9.4% y/y).

The growth showed up in increases in both local and foreign currency deposits. M1 was up a decent KD 39 million. Credit was up a notable KD 135 million in September, its biggest monthly gain in almost two years. Nine months into the year, credit was up a total of KD 201 million (0.8% year to date). Credit growth has been driven primarily by a healthy household/consumer sector. But September saw some good activity outside of the consumer sector as well.

Household/consumer borrowing, personal facilities excluding loans for the purchase of securities, continued to show a steady

monthly increase, up KD 45 million (0.7% m/m). It also had a strong third quarter, rising by KD 141 million since June (almost 10% annualized growth) and KD 323 million since December 2010.

Credit to the productive sectors (trade, industry and construction) grew by KD 52 million in September following a similar gain the previous month. Year to date (ytd) the sector expanded by KD 104 million.

September real estate loans were up another KD 32 million during the month. This sector has been showing some signs of recovery and is up by KD 214 million (3.3%) ytd. It is notable that personal loans for the purchase of securities increased an unusual KD 76 million this month after

several months of weakness.

However, along with loans to non-bank financial institutions, loans for the purchase of securities continue to hold back overall credit growth this year, declining together by KD 396 so far this year. Resident deposits were up

by KD 556 million this month (+2.1% m/m). The increase came from both local and foreign currency deposits and across maturities. Resident deposits were up KD 1.73 billion or 7% ytd, with the KD 1.53 billion increase in local currency deposits making up most of it.

There was no change in banks’ aggregate liquid assets in September. An increase of KD 401 million in time deposits with the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) was

offset by the same amount of withdrawals of cash, deposits, and CBK bonds. In total, bank assets increased KD 404 million primarily in foreign assets, and to a lesser extent in credit facilities.

The average rate offered on 1month KD private deposits was down 6 basis points (bps) this month, while rates across other maturities remained constant.

The 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month rates were 0.83%, 1.07%, 1.33%, and 1.64% respectively. In October, the KD lost some ground against the euro while it continued to track the dollar closely. More recently, the euro’s ups and downs tracked the volatile situation surrounding the European sovereign debt situation (Greece. Italy...).

Oriental Insurance introduces roadside assistance service KUWAIT: The Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OICL), a public sector Government of India undertaking and one of the largest general insurance companies in India with annual premium exceeding KD 2 billion, offers through their Chief Agents in Kuwait, Bader Al-Mulla and Brothers, a wide range of insurance activities, including health, marine, fire, engineering, motor and miscellaneous insurance covers.

OICL, which has been operating in Kuwait since 1959, is today the largest foreign insurance company in the country. The phenomenal success of OICL can be traced back to the strong traditions built over time and the relentless pursuit of its goal of ‘Service to Clients’. The preeminent position of the company is further attested to by high credit ratings from agencies like CRISIL and ICRA, as well as a B++ (Very Good) rating from AM Best, an international rating agency.

With its large motor portfolio, OICL is committed to consistently offering the best customer service. In order to further enhance the value of their services, the company recently announced a formal tie-up with GULF ASSIST MAPFRE Company. The collaboration with GULF ASSIST will further broaden the portfolio of services provided by OICL and allow the company to offer roadside assistance in addition to their standard damage insurance coverage.

The roadside assistance facility, which is also available to current customers covered by motor insurance from OICL, involves in addition to roadside assistance in case of accident or breakdown, a replacement car while the insured vehicle is under repair following an accident. This service is available not only in Kuwait but across the entire GCC countries.

KUWAIT: Amjad Qasem (General Manager), Moez Bergaoui (Client Support Manager), Anil K Parasher (Resident Manager, OICL) and Ebrahim Al-Mezal (Commercial Manager) during the function.

Abu Dhabi annual inflation at 22-month low of 0.9% DUBAI: Abu Dhabi’s annual inflation rate slowed to a 22-month low of 0.9 percent in October as transp o r t p r i ce s i n t h e G u l f e m i ra te e a s e d a n d h o u s i n g co s t s we re unchanged, data showed yesterday.

Inflation in the emirate, which accounts for roughly 60 percent of the United Arab Emirates economy, had been edging higher over the past year, peaking at 4.1 percent in N ove m b e r a n d D e ce m b e r. L a s t month, consumer prices eased to the lowest level on an annual basis since December 2009, data from the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) emailed to Reuters showed, after a 1.0 percent year-on-year rise in September.

The UAE and Dubai, one of the seven emirates in the federation, have yet to release October cons u m e r p r i ce d a t a . M o n t h - o n month, price growth was at 0.3 percent in October, down from 0.4 percent in September, the data also showed.

“Oversupply in the real estate sector in the UAE overall is a key factor. Although housing prices did not move in October, it has been the main drag on the inflation pict u re ove r t h e ye a r,” s a i d S h a d y S h a h e r, s e n i o r e co n o m i s t a t S t a n d a rd C h a r te re d i n D u b a i .

“Imported food price inflation has b e e n m o d e r a te re l a t i ve to l a s t ye a r.” Tra n s p o r t co s t s, w h i c h account for almost 10 percent of

the consumer basket, fell 0.2 percent on a monthly basis in October, a f te r a 0 . 1 p e rce n t d e c re a s e i n September.

Fo o d p r i ce s h owe ve r, w h i c h account for more than 16 percent o f t h e b a s k e t , ro s e 1 . 3 p e rce n t month-on-month in October after a 0.8 percent increase in the previous month. Housing costs were unchanged. On the month, the vegetables category saw the most significant price drop of 0.9 percent, the data also showed.

Analysts polled by Reuters in September expected an average inflation in the UAE federation of 2.0 percent in 2011 and 3.0 percent in 2012, up from 0.9 percent last year. In comparison, Kuwait and the world’s top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, have the highest annual inflation rates in the Gulf, of 4.5 percent and 5.3 percent year-onyear respectively in September, although price growth remains well below record highs seen during an oil-fuelled boom in 2008.

UA E ce n t r a l b a n k g ove r n o r Sultan Nasser Al-Suweidi said in June that inflation was likely to be lower than 3 percent as the real estate sector remained under pressure. The UAE, which has escaped t h e p u b l i c p ro te s t s t h a t h ave rocked nearby Bahrain, Oman and Yemen, said in May it would fix the cost of about 400 foodstuffs and household products until the end of the year. —Reuters

Kuwaiti oil rises $1.60 to $111.93 KUWAIT: Price of Kuwaiti crude rose $1.60 per barrel on Friday reaching $111.93 pb compared to $110.33 pb on Thursday, the state -run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said yesterday.

Prices of the crude oil have been

bullish, buoyed by steps that have been taken by Italy and Greece to tackle their economic and political crises, amid high morale among investors. This trend coincided with calls by oil-producing Iran for slashing the OPEC output of crude. —KUNA

Burgan Bank’s Al-Mass Awards applications submission completed KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday that is has completed the process of applications submitted by organizations to participate in its annual Al Mass Awards. The bank has witnessed an increased demand from both public as well as private organizations that have signed up in an effort to honor the best special needs’ talents. The potential candidates, which will be nominated by their respective organizations, need to demonstrate successful projects or activities that clearly present a tangible return on the society.

Bashir Jaber, Burgan Bank’s Assistant General Manager - Corporate Communications said: “We are pleased the process of submitting applications turned out to be a huge success. A wide range of organizations are keen to present and showcase the special needs talents which were nurtured along the past years. Our aim is to document the legacy we have created across the country, a reason why the Al Mass Awards, over the years, has witnessed major developments and enhancements.”

“Burgan Bank continues to honor and support special needs achievements, along with a wide range of initiatives that support their development” added Jaber. A decade of commitment towards the development of special needs has been Burgan Bank’s pledge to this very day. The Al Mass Awards, which began as a simple idea to reward special needs individuals as well as organizations that support children and people with special needs ten years ago, has gained increasing popularity and national admiration over the past decade.

HONOLULU: China’s Deputy Finance Minister Wang Jun (back left) looks on as US Trade Representative Ron Kirk speaks during the closing ministerial meetings press conference at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Honolulu. The United States is hosting this year’s APEC forum for the first time since 1993, with leaders from the 21 member economies convening on the island of Oahu yesterday and today. — AFP

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BUSINESS

Kuwait bourse ends on positive note KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week in the green zone. The price index ended last week with an increase amounted to 0.14%, while the weighted index rose by 1.08% compared to the closings of the week before.

Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover decreased by 7.60%, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 21.15 million, whereas trading volume average was 138.09 million shares, recording decrease of 13.96%.

KSE continued recording limited gains for the fourth consecutive week, as the same factors which affected the market in the previous weeks are unchanged. The market trades marked with limited change for its indices as a result of speculations, which included various stocks. In addition, the market witnessed selective buying deals, versus swift profit taking operations.

On the other hand, the traders are waiting for the 9 months 2011 results for listed companies, as until mid of Thursday, only 39% of listed companies announced its results. Their total

BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT profits were KD 1.28 billion, with 21.69% retreat compared to the same period last year, where it was KD 1.64 billion.

By the end of the week, the price index closed at 5,910.20 points, up by 0.14% from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index recorded a 1.08% weekly gain after closing at 418.31 points.

Sectors’ indices Four of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the green zone, three recorded declines, whereas the Insurance sector’s index closed with no change from the week before. Last week’s highest gainer was the Food sector, achieving 1.44% growth rate as its index closed at 4,444.9 points.

Whereas, in the second place, the Banks sector’s index closed at 11,545.3 points recording 0.83%

increase. The Real Estate sector came in third as its index achieved 0.56% growth, ending the week at 2,059.7 points. On the other hand, the Non Kuwaiti Companies sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 1.39% to end the week’s activity at 5,354.3 points. The Investment sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 0.20%, closing at 3,700.6 points, followed by the Services sector, as its index closed at 13,274.0 points at a loss of 0.02%.

Sectors’ activity The Investment sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 289.74 million shares changing hands, representing 41.96% of the total market trading volume. The Services sector was second in terms trading volume as

the sector’s traded shares were 21.99% of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 151.85 million shares. On the other hand, the Services sector’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD 26.79 million or 25.34% of last week’s total market trading value. The Investment sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of K.D. 23.47 million represented 22.20% of the total market trading value.

Market capitalization KSE total market capitalization grew by 1.15% during last week to reach KD 29.49 billion, as five of KSE’s sectors recorded an increase in their respective market capitalization, tow recorded declines, whereas the Insurance sector’s market capitalization

remained the same from the week before. The Real Estate sector headed the growing sectors as its total market capitalization reached KD 1.77 billion, increasing by 2.82%. The Food sector was the second in terms of recorded growth with 2.08% increase after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 736.09 million. The third place was for the Banks sector, which total market capitalization reached KD 13.06 billion by the end of the week, recording an increase of 1.91%. The Services sector was the least growing with 0.36% recorded growth after its market capitalization amounted to KD 7.32 billion.

On the other hand, the Non Kuwaiti Companies sector headed the decliners list as its total market capitalization decreased by 0.90% to reach, by the end of the week, KD 1.75 billion. The investment sector was second on this list, which market value of its listed companies declined by 0.20%, reaching KD 2.19 billion.

— Prepared by the Studies & Research Department, Bayan Investment Co.

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business

IMF chief: ‘Significant progress’ in Greece, Italy TOKYO: IMF chief Christine Lagarde yesterday welcomed the “significant progress” made in resolving the political instability in Greece and Italy that has sent shockwaves through world markets.

But in a Tokyo press conference, the International Monetar y Fund managing director warned that if the situation in Europe worsens further, Asia will feel the effect through trade and financial impacts.

Her visit to Japan came as Greece and Italy both forged ahead in efforts to contain political crises that have rekindled concerns the euro-zone’s debt woes could help send the global economy into a double-dip recession.

Her trip had earlier taken in Russia and China, and in Beijing she called for greater political clarity in Athens and Rome after an alarming rise in Italy’s borrowing costs heightened fears it could be the next euro state to suffer a debt blow-up.

“What we wanted at the IMF was political stability and a clear policy in both countries. I believe significant progress has been made,” Lagarde said yesterday.

Greece’s new unity government headed by Lucas Papademos took

office on Friday to save the debtstricken nation from bankruptcy after a historic power-sharing deal struck between warring parties. “I welcome the appointment of Lucas Papademos, who I know well and with whom we will be able to restart work” on the next tranche of bailout aid, Lagarde said. The procedure to confirm the new government in parliament will begin Monday and its first job will be to persuade the EU and IMF to disburse an eight-billion-euro slice of aid from a 2010 bailout deal that is needed by December 15 before state coffers run dry.

Also on Friday, the Italian upper house approved a reform package aimed at staving off bankruptcy, easing market tensions on the eve of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s expected resignation.

“As for Italy, I am also pleased that the Senate has now passed the reform plan that was submitted to Parliament,” Lagarde said ahead of yesterday’s expected lower house vote. She added that Berlusconi “announced his intention to step down and I suppose that an appointment will be made within very few days, which again will be a sign of

MF Global bust erodes trust in brokerages NEW YORK: Almost two weeks after the bankruptcy of commodities firm MF Global, customers at rival firms are all asking the same question: How safe is my money?

MF Global’s collapse is confronting clients across the industry with the harsh truth that while their accounts may be termed “segregated” that does not mean they are off-limits from trouble at a commodity futures firm, much less backstopped by any government insurance fund.

MF Global revealed to regulators during its Oct 31 bankruptcy that it was short perhaps $600 million in customer funds - money which the firm was supposed to keep in “segregated” accounts maintained under a raft of laws and regulations. The concerns among investors have reached such a pitch that futures exchange operator CME Group announced late Friday that it will provide a guarantee for $300 million of the missing money in the MF Global case.

“I’ve lost a good deal of money already over this. Now I’m a big boy who should have known better, with over 25 years experience in the futures industry, but what they were doing with client funds is to me outrageous,” said Stuart McClellan, an independent trader from Nor folk in the United Kingdom, who previously worked for Schroders in London.

McClellan has more than $110,000 tied up in MF Global, which he doesn’t know if he will get back. “Using the excess collateral in clients’ funds to trade is not illegal, but to my mind it’s immoral. There is a huge risk,” he said.

Futures commission merchants, as brokers in the industry are known, have always been allowed, with certain restrictions, to invest customers’ socalled “excess margin,” or the funds in their accounts over and above the collateral required to maintain trades. The brokers then book any profits for themselves.

Segregation simply means that customer deposits can’t be mixed with the firm’s own money or used to cover firm expenses. They must always be available for customers to trade with or withdraw at a moment’s notice. In other words, customer segregated money isn’t some big cookie jar for the firm to dip into when it is short on cash.

“That is what is so shocking about MF Global’s situation,” said Michael Greenberger, a former director of the Division of Trading and Markets at the

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and now a law professor at the University of Maryland.

“If that stability is not present, people will not want to go into what is already a highly volatile trading environment,” he said. Now with each passing day that missing money has not been found, there is growing concern that MF Global may have abused its legal latitude with the segregated customer accounts.

The fear is that MF lost the segregated funds in bad trades or used them illegally to meet other obligations. By this time, traders and investigative sources say, it should have been possible to trace the money, if it still exists, in some account with another financial institution.

Some traders who tried to withdraw funds from MF Global prior to the bankruptcy received checks that bounced. Commodity traders and investors are now saying they will demand their brokerage houses reveal exactly what they plan investing customer funds in.

Don McAfee, a private investor from the San Juan Islands in Washington state, said he had been a “novice” trader of commodities who had become interested in the sector, in part because he saw less risk from the fate of individual banks and brokerages than in equities or bonds.

“It was a way of diversifying out of just playing stocks, and I was very attracted to the fact you did not seem to have any counterparty risk,” McAfee said, who has around $220,000 still frozen at MF Global. “In the future I am going to want an ironclad guarantee that my account is fully segregated.

And if it’s not I need to know that at most it’s being invested in U.S. Treasuries, not commercial paper or foreign bonds.”

Brokers at rival firms, who had perhaps hoped to benefit from the disappearance of one of their fiercest competitors, are fielding endless calls from concerned customers and fearing a run on their own accounts.

“I’m getting calls from people, wanting to know if this could happen again, if I can give them proof that the banks I’m dealing with are okay and that their money is safe,” said one broker on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) on Thursday, who asked not to be identified. “That’s never happened to me before. There’s a lot of fear,’ he said. —Reuters

ROME: Journalists wait in front of the Italian Lower House in the center of Rome yesterday. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was set to resign yesterday after dominating Italian political life for 17 years, as lawmakers prepared to give final approval to a package of key economic reforms. Berlusconi has said he would go once the measures he promised to the European Union were adopted in parliament after market turmoil raised fears Italy could drag Europe into an unprecedented crisis. —AFP

both clarity and political credibility, which is crucial to stabilizing the situation.”

The former French finance minister warned that a deepening of the eurozone crisis would impact Asian economies, echoing earlier comments that the world risked a “downward

spiral” if it did not pull together to tackle the problem.

Lagarde said Asia “clearly continues to propel the global recovery” but warned that Japan, like the rest of the world, will also face challenges given the difficult situation in Europe. “No country is immune to the current cri-

TOKYO: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde (center) leaves a meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi prior to their talks at Azumi’s office in Tokyo yesterday. Lagarde said Japan should make reducing its mammoth public debt a priority, during a visit to Tokyo where she met Japanese officials. — AFP

sis,” she said after meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi, Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and financial services minister Shozaburo Jimi.

She said the channels of trade and the financial sector were “conductors of crisis contagion” and that Japan would be hit if its export destinations faced difficulties. Lagarde added that Japan should make reducing its mammoth public debt a priority.

“We shared the view that the priorities going for ward are the swift implementation of reconstruction spending, and the adoption of a strong medium-term plan to reduce public debt,” she said in an earlier press release. Japan’s public debt is running at more than 200 percent of GDP, after years of pump-priming measures by governments trying in vain to arrest the economy’s long decline.

Lagarde also said she welcomed Japan’s decision to enter talks towards an Asia-Pacific free trade deal, “which can make a vital contribution to this country’s future competitiveness and growth”. Japan is the IMF’s secondbiggest stakeholder after the United States. —AFP

Japan raises stakes on Pacific trade deal China not averse to joining pact HONOLULU: Japan’s decision to join talks on a trade deal spanning the Pacific marks a major boost for the US bid to shape the new order in Asia, but it will likely mean longer, rockier negotiations.

The United States has championed the socalled Trans-Pacific Partnership as it chairs a weekend Asia-Pacific summit in Hawaii, part of a drive to show it is active in Asia despite a troubled domestic economy and a rising China.

The move by Japan, announced by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda just before heading to Honolulu, leaves China as the conspicuous outlier in the emerging trade deal which will now encompass more than one-third of the global economy.

President Barack Obama, who is expected to announce the general outlines of the TransPacific Partnership in Hawaii, hopes that trade will stimulate job growth which he desperately needs as he seeks re-election next year.

But the trade pact also has a political dimension. Chinese media have characterized it as a way to isolate the growing power, although a senior official, Yu Jianhua, said in Hawaii that China would consider the pact if invited. While the United States has not explicitly ruled out China, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the emerging trade deal a way to shape the fast-growing Pacific region by insisting on principles such as openness and basic freedoms.

At an Asia-Pacific summit dominated by talks on the emerging Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a senior Chinese official carefully declined to take issue with the pact and said that it complemented other global efforts on trade. “Until now we have not yet received any invitation from any TPP economy. If one day we receive such an invitation, we will seriously study the invitation,” China’s assistant commerce minister Yu Jianhua told reporters.

“This is not merely a matter of economics.

It goes to the central question of which values we will embrace and defend,” Clinton said in a speech Thursday at the East-West Center.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is deeply con-

troversial in Japan, the world’s third largest economy. The Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives has protested that foreign products will swamp traditionally protected farmers.

But Japan’s political leaders decided that “it is a strategic agreement to ensure that Japan is part of the rule-making process,” said Michael Green, a Japan expert who was a top aide to former president George W Bush.

Green, now a scholar at the Center for

HONOLULU: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda speaks during a reception hosted by US-Japan Council and APEC Host Committee. Noda arrived in Hawaii on Friday to attend this past weekend’s annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. — AP Strategic and International Studies and Georgetown University, said US trade negotiators are likely nervous as they must now contend with a “large and sophisticated and complicated counterpart.”

“It may complicate the negotiations in the short-run by having the third largest economy entering, but it also makes the TPP a much

ECB bond buys will go as far as needed: Official MOSCOW: Italy’s austerity reforms go in the right direction and the European Central Bank is willing to support sovereign borrowers as long as it does not put price stability at risk, a senior European central banker told Reuters yesterday.

Traders said the ECB bought Italian bonds aggressively this week to contain a spike in yields that has pushed financing costs on its sovereign debts of 1.9 trillion euros ($2.6 trillion) above sustainable levels.

Slovenian central bank chief Marko Kranjec, a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council, declined to comment in detail on the bond purchases but said they would go “as far as needed”.

“We are flexible,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of a conference in Moscow. “But we will never forget our primary goal, which is the maintenance of price stability ... This has been achieved impeccably. “We are going to do whatever is needed to assure price stability and to contribute to financial stability ... but we cannot substitute for fiscal policy.”

Kranjec said there was no prospect of the 17nation euro-zone breaking up as a result of the debt strains facing countries like Greece and Italy.

“Reforms are going in the right direction,” Kranjec said, when asked about an austerity package due to be voted through on Saturday by the Italian parliament. Passage of the savings measures will pave the way for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to resign and for the formation of a technocratic government led by former European Commissioner Mario Monti. “It is difficult to say whether it is enough for the time being but I am optimistic,” Kranjec said. He described the ECB’s recent decision to reduce its main policy rate by a quarter point to 1.25 as “consistent with our assessment of the economic situation”. — Reuters

more credible pillar for an Asia-Pacific-wide free trade agreement,” he said.

The United States has said it wants to move quickly to wrap up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but many observers believe that the deal will take years-especially now that Japan is involved.

While the United States has saluted Japan’s decision to join the talks, a number of US lawmakers and industries are haunted by bruising trade negotiations with the Asian ally in the 1980s.

The American Automotive Policy Council, which represents General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, said that a free trade agreement with the land of auto giants such as Toyota would devastate a recovering Detroit.

“Providing preferential trade benefits to Japan, while they continue to embrace closed-market policies, would only serve to undermine the competitive gains made by American automakers,” said Matt Blunt, the council’s president.

US automakers had initially fought against a US free trade agreement with South Korea, which was approved last month by Congress after marathon talks and concessions to Detroit. Some analysts believe that South Korea-along with other regional countries such as Canada, the Philippines and Thailandwill now feel pressure to enter the TransPacific Partnership to ensure they are not left out. “My sense is that there is growing momentum behind the TPP, with the potential for a few other countries to join the nine who already engaged in these discussions,” said John Lechleiter, head of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. The countries already in in the talks are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

Critics say that communist Vietnam’s membership weakens the US message that the deal is about fundamental freedoms.

Opponents of the deal also include US dairy farmers who fear competition from New Zealand and consumer groups who worry that US pharmaceutical companies will push up drug prices. — Agencies

Vietnam, Chile sign trade pact HONOLULU: The leaders of Chile and Vietnam on Friday signed an accord to lift tariffs on thousands of goods, giving a boost to the small but rapidly growing trade between the Pacific Rim nations.

In the fruition of talks that opened in 2006, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang formally inked the agreement as they met in Hawaii on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit. “We are not just interested in the trade in goods, but also in exchange of services and investment in the two countries,” Pinera said next to his Vietnamese counterpart.

The accord will eliminate tariffs on more

than 9,000 products at various timetables.

Within three years, the two countries will offer preferential conditions to each other in the areas of service and investment.

Chile, a major exporter of minerals, and Vietnam, a major seller of seafood and textiles, have avidly pursued trade deals around the world. Both countries are part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a US-led effort to start building a region-wide trade agreement. Chile sold $231 million in goods to Vietnam in 2010, while Vietnam exported $107 million to the South American nation, according to Chilean officials. The two-way trade marked growth of 40 percent from the previous year. — AFP

Fed to hold 4th round of bank stress tests WASHINGTON: The second-ranking member of the Federal Reserve said the central bank will conduct a fourth round of stress tests in the coming weeks to determine if US banks can withstand a recession. Vice Chairman Janet Yellen said on Friday that the tests are necessary because of the increased downside risks that Europe’s debt crisis poses to the US economy and financial markets. She made the comments during a speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

“We are monitoring European developments very closely, and we will continue to do all that we can to mitigate the

consequence of any adverse developments abroad on the US financial system,” she said. The Fed oversees Wall Street’s biggest banks, including Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Wells Fargo. The Fed has performed periodic stress tests on the 19 banks it watches since 2009.

The central banks has said the tests are a key part in its ongoing efforts to make sure that banks - and the entire financial system - are stable. Banks that don’t pass the stress tests are asked to take steps to raise new capital in case of big losses. — AP

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business

For US investors, it’s all Greek deadlock NEW YORK: Wall Street is stuck in a highly volatile range as investors hoping for a rally into the end of the year are browbeaten by Europe’s unfolding crisis. For months, investors have been enthusing about valuations, earnings and, more recently, signs of an improving economy. Those may be good reasons why stocks should rally, but even the most ardent are starting to sound a bit glum.

The political intrigue in southern Europe has flummoxed investors stateside. Papademos has replaced Papandreou. Berlusconi is, well, Berlusconi. The headlines and the subsequent volatility seem relentless. “It literally just changes consistently each and every night,” said Jeremy Zirin, chief US equity strategist at UBS Wealth Management in New York.

“Earlier this week, there were worries about a potential Italian default and now we’ve seen government and regime change in two of the periphery nations.”

Again, events in Europe over the weekend could end up shaping the start of the trading week in US markets. Italy’s Senate approved a new budget law, clearing the way for

WALL STREET WEEKLY OUTLOOK approval of the package in the lower house yesterday and the formation of an emergency government to replace that of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

In Athens, former European Central Bank policy-maker Lucas Papademos was sworn in as Greek prime minister, replacing predecessor George Papandreou after days of political wrangling. He is tasked with meeting the terms of a bailout plan to avert bankruptcy.

The net result was that the S&P 500 ended up almost 1 percent on the week after a drop of nearly 4 percent on Wednesday. That midweek plunge came after Italy’s bond yields blew out to over 7 percent, raising fears that the country, which is also the world’s third-largest bond market, could go bankrupt. But with worries that the crisis could spread to other countries, investors are looking for either the European Central Bank or EU governments to commit more capital in order to backstop sovereign bond markets.

“For the markets to continue to ral-

ly, we would need to see market confidence that Italian, Spanish and French bonds are money good,” Zirin said.

“There is likely to be more volatility around the sovereign debt crisis until we get more capital committed to the solution.”

HEDGING THEIR BETS Many investors picked up put options heading into the weekend to hedge against a potential downdraft in equities next week. Options traders exchanged about 1.48 million contracts on the Financial Select Sector SPDR fund — 3.6 times the average daily volume-as puts outpaced calls by a factor of more than 13 to 1, according to Trade Alert.

Technical factors are taking on greater significance as the S&P 500 hovers at the top end of its trading range and traders watch for a break either up or down. When that happens, it could be swift if recent volatility is anything to go by.

Ari Wald, a technical analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York,

said evidence is building for a move to the downside after the index failed for a second time since late October to push above its 200-day moving average at around 1,272.

“If we keep failing at this, it looks like it’s confirming another lower high from the May peak,” he said. “This still looks like a downtrend to me.” The 200-day moving average, a closely followed level, has emerged as a key battleground for investors this year, with successive tests to the downside over the summer eventually leading to a 13 percent cascade during five fraught trading days in August.

On the downside, Wald sees support at the 50-day moving average at around 1,200. A breach of that could take the index back to around 1,100 in early 2012, he said.

But market technicians also say positive seasonalities could be in stocks’ favor.

‘TIS THE SEASON November marks the start of the “six best months of the year” when the

Dow has booked an average gain of 7.5 percent since 1950, compared with just 0.4 percent in the other half of the year, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. One reason cited for that seasonal lift, at least during the last few months of the year, is holiday spending.

Investors will look for more improvement in retail sales when data for October is released on Tuesday, especially after the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan report on Friday showed consumer sentiment rose to a five-month high in November.

During the last major week of earnings season, some prominent retailers are set to report results and give an outlook through the end of the year.

They include Wal-Mart Stores, often seen as a barometer of US consumer spending, and a niche retailer such as Abercrombie & Fitch.

“My guess is we are going to have a reasonably good consumer in the year-end,” said Philip Dow, director of equity strategy at RBC Wealth Management in Minneapolis. “My target on the S&P is 1,380. I still think it could happen.” — Reuters

Olympus ‘to correct 20 years of loss cover-ups’ Former managers face probe

Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, Inc., center, speaks as Min Zhu, deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, left, and moderator Andy Serwer, Managing Editor of Fortune listen, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Honolulu. —AP

US CEOs meet with China president HONOLULU: A small group of executives from some of the largest US companies met privately with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit to discuss trade, protecting intellectual property rights and challenges facing the world’s two largest economies.

The meeting late Thursday included heads of 14 companies, including Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO William Weldon, Eli Lily and Co. Chairman, President and CEO John Lechleiter, Walmart Asia President and CEO Scott Price and Dow Chemical Co. Asia Pacific President Pat Dawson.

The group raised various issues with Hu, who was in Hawaii to attend the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. “Certainly the economic giants, China and the United States, will be competing with each other for many, many years to come.

We need to find a way to do that within the parameters of the international trad-

ing schemes,” said Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, who participated. “And if we do that, the pie will get bigger and I think and that was one of his key messages.”

Topics raised at the meeting ranged from Europe’s debt problems to the importance of job creation by the two countries and protecting US intellectual property rights, said Thomas Donohue, who moderated the discussion.

“It was a general exchange. I think it went very well,” said Donohue, president and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce. “President Hu made some comments and they were pretty much upbeat. It was the kind of meeting you would hope for.” The meeting comes as Congress has pressed Obama administration reduce China’s $273 billion trade surplus last year, its theft of intellectual proper ty, its subsidies for Chinese industries and its undervalued currency that helps keep Chinese exports cheaper and US exports to China more expensive. — AFP

Change in pipeline plan could present problems BILLINGS, Montana: The White House plan to seek alternate routes for a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline presents a tangle of new problems for the project’s backers, and any of those obstacles could still sink the proposal before the first spade of dirt is turned.

Shifting the path to avoid a major aquifer could increase the number of perilous stream crossings and put the line closer to populated areas. Major changes also risk alienating pipeline supporters, who tout the economic benefits of creating thousands of jobs.

And the most vocal opponents plan to keep up their fight regardless of the route.

The obstacles are tall enough, some observers say, that the company behind the venture could even decide to bypass US markets altogether and sell fuel directly to China using a pipeline through western Canada to the shores of the Pacific.

TransCanada’s $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline would carry up to 700,000 barrels of crude a day from Alberta’s tar sands to Gulf Coast refineries. The original route crossed six states, including Nebraska, where opponents worried about threats to the massive Ogallala aquifer. The line also would pass through Montana, South Dakota, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Largely because of complaints from Nebraska, the State Department agreed Thursday to look for new routes that would steer clear of the state’s Sandhills region and the aquifer, which flows beneath eight states and provides irrigation to huge farming areas.

That effort will delay a final decision until early 2013.

TransCanada’s director of field operations, Jim Krause, declined Friday to go into any detail about possible alternative routes. “We only got the news late yesterday,” Krause said. “We’re mulling a lot of things.” Thirteen alternate routes were reviewed and rejected by the State Department over the past three years. Among those were paths to follow an existing TransCanada pipeline that roughly tracks the Canadian border east from Montana across North Dakota and then turns south to go through eastern South Dakota and Nebraska.

That option, favored by Nebraska’s governor, passes through a much smaller portion of the Ogallala aquifer.

But it was rejected in part because the route is longer and would have raised the project’s price tag by about 25 percent, or an estimated $1.7 billion. Also rejected were two routes that paralleled a stretch of Interstate 90 in South Dakota to avoid the Sandhills. — AP

TOKYO: Japan’s Olympus mired in a loss cover-up scandal plans to correct financial statements going back two decades while authorities are set to question former managers, media reports said yesterday.

Olympus plans to submit soon corrections to 20 years of its financial statements to the government’s financial bureau, the Mainichi newspaper reported quoting anonymous sources as saying. The camera and precision equipment maker admitted on Tuesday that it had covered up investment losses from the 1990s and then tried to conceal them with acquisitions made between 2006 and 2008.

The deals had come under scrutiny due to the size of fees involved. Its stock was placed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s watchlist for possible delisting after the company said it would miss a deadline to report its quarterly results. The Mainichi said the company’s corrections to past reports could prompt the securities watchdog to take administrative action against Olympus such as fines.

But the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission appears to be considering stopping short of seeking a criminal charge against the company itself, the daily said. The move could give Olympus a chance to maintain its TSE listing if the company keeps a new December 14 deadline for earnings results, it said. Separately the commission will likely consider launching a probe with prosecutors and police on former Olympus managers who may have been involved in wrongdoing, the daily said.

Olympus shares have lost more than 80 percent of their value since the loss cover-up scandal broke after the company ousted British CEO Michael Woodford on October 14, who alleged overpayments in the acquisition deals. The Nikkei economic daily yesterday reported the Olympus case has triggered a rare three-way joint investigation among prosecutors, police and the securities watch-

TOKYO: A man takes a closer look at Olympus’ newest digital cameras on display at a consumer electronics retailer in Tokyo. Japanese financial authorities will move quickly to investigate camera and medical equipment maker Olympus, embroiled in a scandal over concealment of huge investment losses, a minister said Friday. —AP

Boeing opens door to South Carolina deliveries NORTH CHARLESTON, South Carolina: Boeing has set the last major cog in place on its new commercial aircraft site in South Carolina, the object of union ire and a hot-button political issue. On Friday, Boeing cut the ribbon on a gleaming delivery center, where airline customers will come to take possession of their long-awaited 787 Dreamliner planes, about three years behind schedule. “Today, we celebrate the opening of the Boeing South Carolina Delivery Center and look forward to delivering our first South Carolina-built 787s in 2012,” said Jack Jones, vice president and general manager at Boeing’s site in North Charleston. “Customers will come from around the world to take delivery of their 787 and will see the great pride and talent of our Boeing South Carolina team-

dog. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigations unit, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the securities watchdog have been discussing the details of coordination, it said.

Jiji Press news agency said the Tokyo prosecutors office had reinforced the squad by loaning officials from regional offices and were set to question Olympus officials. — AFP

mates.” But the decision to expand production of the 787 Dreamliner, the new twin-aisle plane made primarily of composite materials, beyond Boeing’s longtime West Coast home base near Seattle in Washington state has sparked furor from the Machinists union there. South Carolina is a so-called right-to-work state, meaning that employees cannot be forced to join a union or pay union dues as part of the terms of their employment.

A complaint filed by the union with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging Boeing opened the South Carolina plant in retaliation for union strikes in Seattle, looks set for a long, drawn-out resolution.

Meanwhile, the issue of labor rights has become a flashpoint in the 2012 presidential election campaign. — AFP

In this Sunday Nov. 20 2005 file photo, a Boeing 777 Airbus is exhibited at the annual Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. All eyes will be on the Gulf’s booming airlines to once again pull out their wallets when the Middle East’s main airshow gets underway in Dubai next week, though few are expecting a flood of blockbuster deals. That is because the region’s heavyweights Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways already boast long lists of planes on order designed to fatten their young fleets for years to come. —AP

S&P puts Hungary under negative surveillance BUDAPEST: Standard & Poor’s has put Hungary’s credit rating (BBB-) on “negative surveillance”, the ratings agency announced yesterday.

“Because of the rising risks that affect Hungary’s financial credibility and the worsening external financial and economic environment S&P has put the Hungarian BBB- debt on negative surveillance,” said the agency. S&P argued that Hungary’s economic and political scene had become “unpredictable because of the weakening of monitoring agencies and a number of decisions on budget receipts that will negatively affect Hungarian growth and state finances.”

Rating agencies’ “negative surveillance” is a more drastic step than “negative outlook” as it implies that the downgrade of a country’s rating is imminent. S&P said it would take a decision on a prospective downgrade within weeks.

Fitch ratings agency said on Friday it had downgraded its rating outlook on Hungary to ‘Negative’ from ‘Stable’ due to pressures on external demand and financing problems.

Fitch said it reaffirmed its main rating for Hungary at “BBB-”. “The revision ... reflects a sharp deterioration in the external growth and financing environment facing Hungary’s small, open and relatively heavily indebted economy,” Fitch said in a statement.

“Moreover, various fiscal policy measures and the scheme to allow the repayment of household foreign currency mortgages at below market exchange rates have dented foreign investor confidence, on which medium-term growth prospects depend,” it said. The Hungarian forint came under further pressure this week, dropping to its lowest rate in two-and-a-half years against the euro after another bond sale fell flat because of a buyers’ strike as investors judged the risks too high.

Hungary is currently graded one notch above junk status at the world’s three main credit rating agencies.

Investors have been fleeing Hungary due the economic policies pursued by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, foreign analysts say. On Tuesday, the European Central Bank warned that a scheme aimed at helping Hungarian borrowers struggling to repay foreign-currency-denominated loans posed a potential threat to banks in the region. — AFP

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TECHNOLOGY

SAP drives openness for virtualization and cloud computing MADRID: As cloud computing and virtualization rapidly evolve, SAP AG is working in a preferred three-way strategic collaboration with partners EMC and VMware to develop tools and services that make it easier for customers to adopt cloud and run SAP systems in next-generation cloud infrastructures with increasing levels of automation. The company is deepening its partnerships with EMC and VMware to deliver even more business agility and scale efficiencies by taking advantage of two key transformational technologies: cloud computing and inmemory technology. The announcement was made at SAPPHIRE NOW + SAP TechEd, being held as a co-located event in Madrid from November 8-10.

In collaboration with SAP, EMC and VMware accelerate the journey to cloud computing as a next step to extensive and ongoing innovation with partners to unleash the benefits of pervasive virtualization and cloud computing, SAP will work closely with EMC and VMware and is currently evaluating options to deliver an end-to-end stack optimized for running mission-critical SAP applications. Together, the three

companies plan to invest and integrate best-of-breed application, database, virtualization, management and information infrastructure technologies, as well as deliver new services to support and accelerate customers’ journey to the cloud. Additionally, consulting services and global support offerings from SAP are planned to focus on helping customers accurately assess, design, implement and optimize a virtualization and cloud strategy, with minimal impact on the business.

As a part of this broader engagement, SAP and VMware expect to deliver an extended support program by integrating a configuration and health check for SAP systems running on VMware cloud infrastructure into SAP GoingLive Check services and SAP EarlyWatch Alert service. Customers should gain a better ability to monitor and manage their SAP systems running on the VMware platform.

SAP also intends to drive a radical improvement in the manageability of enterprise applications in private clouds by evaluating the delivery of Vmware vSphere-based virtual appliances, orchestrated by declarative

models in the TOSCA language recently submitted to OASIS for standardization.

SAP, VMware and EMC plan to collaborate to develop new automation and management tools that can interpret and execute the TOSCA models provided by SAP. SAP and EMC will explore collaboration opportunities around the SAP HANA(tm) platform to deliver high-end system availability and EMC’s fully automated storage tiering technologies (FAST). This deep collaboration will further strengthen SAP in-memory computing technology to deliver actionable insight into business processes by providing scalability and availability for customers.

“With virtualization now pervasive throughout the enterprise and baseline applications deployed, SAP customers are turning their attention to cloud computing strategies for mission-critical environments, “ said Pat Gelsinger, president and COO, Information Infrastructure Products, EMC. “EMC, SAP and VMware are working together to accelerate SAP customers’ journey to hybrid cloud computing. By integrating technologies and delivering new serv-

ices we hope to both improve business agility and lower IT costs for our mutual customers.”

“Customers are moving rapidly toward full virtualization, a critical step on the journey to the enterprise hybrid cloud,” said Paul Maritz, CEO of VMware.

“Virtualizing mission-critical production databases and associated applications is a key part of this journey. With a full set of new product optimizations, professional services and joint customer support, we will be providing customers the assistance and confidence they need to virtualize their SAP landscapes - delivering faster time-tovalue, lowering TCO and enabling the highest levels of service and availability to end users.”

Taking Management to the Next Level With Virtualization Services Customer projects and transformation efforts are supported by the comprehensive consulting services portfolio from the SAP Services organization.

Services are now available to apply virtualization toward cloud-based models, covering the entire cycle - from conceptual blueprinting to migration,

to the efficient and agile management of virtualized and cloud-based SAP environments. For landscapes virtualized with VMware vSphere, SAP Services currently evaluates options to provide a joint engagement model together with VMware to offer holistic support to customers. Customers may then also be able to benefit from a joint assessment service from SAP and VMware that will identify requirements and options to cost-effectively virtualize to their SAP landscapes.

“We are co-innovating with industry leaders in our vast ecosystem to deliver openness and choice to customers, making it much easier for them to adopt cloud technologies,” said Dr Vishal Sikka, member of the SAP Executive Board, Technology & Innovation. “Market observers agree that SAP’s next-generation architecture is truly bringing the power of these disruptive innovations to our customers without disruption. Our work with EMC and VMware demonstrates this. It is possible to bring these benefits to our customers while working together with partners in a spirit of openness, trust and co-innovation.”

US Senate rejects GOP bid to overturn Internet rules Rules give providers flexibility to manage data

Battery life fix out for new iPhone CUPERTINO: Apple has released a software update to fix a problem that is shortening the battery life of some iPhones, iPads and iPods. Apple has said that a small number of customers have reported lower-than-expected battery life on devices running on the company’s iOS 5 operating system.

That’s the software that comes with the iPhone 4S and was available as a free upgrade for some older devices - both iPads, the iPhone 3GS and 4 and the two most recent models of the iPod

Touch.Apple released version 5.0.1 on Thursday to fix bugs it found with the software. Users can get the update by connecting to iTunes.

O ther changes in the update include better voice recognition for Australians using dictation. Some users who upgraded the software said they still had issues with battery life.

Apple said Friday that while the update addressed many of the problems, “we continue to investigate a few remaining issues.” — AP

WASHINGTON: Senate Democrats turned back a Republican attempt to repeal federal rules designed to prevent Internet service providers from discriminating against those who send content and other services over their networks.

Republicans argued that “net neutrality” rules announced by the Federal Communications Commission last December were another example of federal regulatory overreach that would stifle Internet investment and innovation.

But Democrats, and the White House in a veto threat, said repealing the FCC rules would imperil openness and freedom on the Internet. “It would be ill-advised to threaten the very foundations of innovation in the Internet economy and the democratic spirit that has made the Internet a force for social progress around the world,” the White House said. The vote to against taking up the bill, along party lines, was 52-46. The rules, approved 3-2 with the three FCC Democrats in favor and the two Republicans opposed, tried to find a middle ground between phone and cable companies desiring more control over their networks and the content providers wanting unfettered access to the Internet.

The rules bar service providers from favoring or discriminating against Internet content and services, including online call-

ing services such as Skype and Web video services such as Netflix, that could compete with their core operations. They require broadband providers to let subscribers access all legal online content and prohibit wireless carriers from blocking access to any websites or competing services. The House, where Republicans command a majority, voted last April to repeal the rules, saying the FCC lacked the authority to set Internet policy and that there was no need for the federal government to intervene in an already open Internet. They said the rules would stifle investment in broadband systems. The rules, said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, are “a stunning reversal from a hands-off approach to the Internet that federal policymakers have taken for more than a decade.”

She brought up the resolution under the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to challenge regulations issued by federal agencies. The rules are scheduled to go into effect on Nov. 20.

The FCC, said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., “would rule as a de facto police of the open and free Internet.” But Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the resolution was misguided. “It will add uncertainty to the economy. It will hinder small businesses dependent on fair broadband

access. It will undermine innovation. It will hamper investment in digital commerce.”

Without a free Internet he said, “there would be nothing to prevent Internet service providers from charging users a premium in order to guarantee operation in the ‘fast lane.’”

The rules give providers flexibility to manage data to deal with network congestion as long as they publicly disclose those practices. They do not specifically ban higher charges for faster transmission of data, but do outlaw “unreasonable network discrimination.”

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said those trying to overturn the rules say they want to “liberate the Internet when, in fact, what they want to do is imprison the Internet within the hands of the most powerful communications entities today to act as the gatekeepers.”

Rockefeller and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., another backer of the FCC rules, cited a letter to the FCC chairman written before the rules were finalized saying that “a process that results in commonsense baseline rules is critical to ensuring that the Internet remains a key engine of economic growth, innovation and global competitiveness.”

Among the signees were the CEOs of Google, Inc., Amazon.com, Netflix, Inc., Facebook, YouTube and eBay, Inc. — AP

Consumer’s guide to downloadable gifts Remember when gifts were objects, purchased or crafted and wrapped with a bow, then presented with a flourish?

Over the last few years, gift cards have become a popular alternative, and now as we become increasingly connected to our smartphones, laptops and e-readers, gifts are going digital, too.

Here’s what you need to know to navigate a holiday shopping season without gift wrap or envelopes or even little plastic cards.

day shopping done early: Anything you order is instantly delivered.

E-books You can still buy bestsellers for loved ones who have swapped their paperbacks for an ereader such as Amazon.com’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Sony’s Reader. Of the three, Amazon is the only one that lets you choose a specific Kindle e-book to give as a gift. Barnes & Noble and Sony direct you to purchase a physical gift card or send an electronic one via email, either to yourself to print and present, or directly to the recipient.

To buy a book for a Kindle owner, head to the Kindle e-book store on Amazon’s website.

iPads and iPhones For the uninitiated: Apple’s iPad tablet computer and iPhone smartphones can be loaded up with music, movies, games, books and useful (or frivolous) programs called “apps” through Apple’s iTunes store. You can buy a plastic iTunes gift card where gift cards are sold, but you can also send almost all of those types of media as gifts.

You’ve got to download the iTunes software and create an account if you haven’t already.

Then, in the iTunes store section, browse for the album, TV series or game of your choice. Next to

Kindle e-book Click on any book title, and you’ll see an option to “give as a gift.” Amazon will send an email to the recipient once you finish checking out.

When the recipient gets the notification by email, she can click on a link to accept the gift and send the title to her Kindle device. This works the same way for people who use Amazon’s Kindle software to read books on smartphones and computers, too. If the recipient loses the notification email, you can go into your own Amazon order history and resend it, for no extra charge. And if it’s a book the recipient has already read, she can exchange it for Amazon.com credit.

One downside if you like to get all your holi-

Here are some relevant links: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200555070 http://ebooks.custhelp.com/app/answers/de tail/a_id/60/kw/gift/r_id/166 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/NOOKGifts-NOOK-Gift-Cards/379003182

nies send emails to their members every day advertising a special deal at a local shop, restaurant, spa or other business, usually something along the lines of, “$10 for $20 worth of donuts.”

Once you buy a deal, it’s stored in your account.

When you’re ready to use it, you can either print out the voucher and turn it in, or you can pull it up using a smartphone app once you’re in the store.

The number of Groupon-esque sites is growing by the day; if you’re interested but don’t know where to start, you can sign up with a deal aggregator like Yipit, which collects all the deals in your area in a single email.

If you see a deal that will make a perfect gift, Groupon and LivingSocial make it pretty easy.

Both show “give as a gift” options right on the main deal page. When you click to purchase a Groupon, an email goes to the recipient. If you would rather make it a surprise, you can send it to yourself, then print and hand it over later.

Groupons are almost all transferable, even though the name of the buyer will remain on the voucher. Just be sure to look over the fine

Best mobile apps for business the button prompting you to “buy this album,” there should be a little arrow. Click it and pick the option to give as a gift instead. There is one major exception: Apple doesn’t yet allow you to give e-books as gifts via iTunes. And as with giving Kindle e-books, gifts from iTunes are delivered when you pay for them, making advance holiday shopping a challenge. Details at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2736 Groupon, LivingSocial and other group-discount sites Some of the most-talked-about startups are group-buying sites, and Groupon, which just went public, is king of the heap. These compa-

print to confirm. If one of your recipients is all about Groupons, but you don’t see a deal you know she’ll like, the company also sells gift cards. With LivingSocial, once you buy a deal, you can also go into your account later and opt to give something as a gift. This site lets you set a date for delivery, making it easier to surprise your recipient. There are some quirks in the LivingSocial gifting process. For one thing, if you say you’re going to print out the voucher, but then change your mind, you won’t be able to email it as a gift later.

Good thing there’s a pretty detailed “help” section on the site: http://help.livingsocial.com/help_topics/gifts

Now, using coupons and discounts to buy gifts isn’t new. But when you give the gift of Groupon, the recipient will know you paid less.

Facebook-based gift cards and mobile apps Lord & Taylor is among the retailers experimenting with what they’re calling “social gifting,” which in their case means making it easy to tap friends on Facebook to pitch in for a gift certificate. If you’re not already a Facebook devotee, it probably doesn’t make sense to join up just for this. But if you already have connected with friends on the social networking site, keep reading.

From Lord & Taylor’s Facebook page, you can click a link that says gift cards to install a virtual gift card app. Pick the recipient and the amount you want to spend, and set a date for delivery in the future. Once you pay for the gift card, you can then invite others to contribute additional money to the gift card. You could tweet or email the link, or the app will help by suggesting friends you have in common, so you can send a quick Facebook message. You could post the plea to your own Facebook wall, too, though the recipient might see that. On the delivery date, the recipient will get an email or a Facebook message showing how much each person contributed; they can send the gift to their phone or print out a barcode to redeem the gift certificate.

A growing number of other stores, including Starbucks and Target, allow customers to pay via mobile phone apps, and gift cards can be converted for use in those accounts.

Startups Several Internet startups are taking different approaches to digital gift-giving. One, KangoGift, lets you send a gift certificate for everything from a basic cup of coffee to a sixweek music class by text message to a recipient’s cell phone, or right to their Facebook page.

Then they can just bring their phone along and show it to the merchant to redeem their gift.

Most of the offers are clustered in four cities Boston; New York; Madison, Wis.; and Chapel Hill, N.C. - but there are some national merchants on board, such as Fandango for movie tickets, that sell things that can be redeemed online.

Another, Giftly, lets you bundle up to three different shops, restaurants or services into a single gift package - tickets at three artsy movie theaters, or pints at three different microbreweries, maybe. You decide the amount and the merchants, then send either by email, Facebook

Facebook Credits gift card or snail-mail. This makes it easy to customize a gift, even if the merchants themselves don’t offer gift cards or gift certificates.

But the recipient needs to be fairly techsavvy. To redeem the gift, the recipient actually pays for it herself, then goes online at the shop with her smartphone to get the same amount reimbursed to a credit or debit card she registers with Giftly. (To get around the little matter of not everyone owning a smartphone, the startup is also working on a prepaid debit card that only works at the locations specified on the Giftly.) More information at http://www.giftly.com or http://www.kangogift.com. With many of these options, one of the biggest challenges is timing.

In some cases, the only way to give a gift on the first night of Hanukkah or Christmas morning is to dash to the computer at the right moment to hit send. But even for the most tech-savvy on your gift list, you might be better served making the presentation more traditional, says Tracy Tuten, an associate marketing professor at East Carolina University who has made gift-giving research her specialty.

That’s because all the emotions that make gifts an important part of relationships happen when you hand over the neatly wrapped package and not when the person is actually getting the pedicure you bought for her with a Groupon. And while teenagers may be the earliest adopters, buying them a gift that can be sent straight to their smartphones comes with the same pitfalls as any other type of gift, Tuten says.

It must walk the line between proving you have made an effort to understand who they are and what they like, and giving them enough choice that they don’t feel boxed in. — AP

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health & science

Web advice doesn’t help kids keep weight off THE HAGUE: A series of interactive computer exercises designed to encourage healthy eating and physical activity didn’t help keep middle school students from gaining extra weight, according to a study in the Netherlands.

The study, which involved close to 900 students and was published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, said the program did lead to short-term improvements in the number of sugary drinks and snacks the children consumed, but was probably too brief to change habits over the long run.

“The ... intervention was associated with positive short-term effects on diet

but with no effects or unfavorable effects on physical activity and sedentary behavior,” wrote Nicole Ezendam, who was with the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam when the study was conducted.

The study, conducted at 20 schools in the Netherlands, had half of the roughly 900 12- and 13-year-olds involved act as a comparison group, while the rest completed eight computer sessions over a few months.

Each session was on a different health topic, including sugary drinks, fruits and vegetables and sports participation. They taught the children about the benefits of eating better and exercising more, and included a survey

on their own health habits and whether or not they wanted to improve them.

The program then helped them create a plan on how they would make positive changes and who would support them.

After four months, children who had gone through the program reported drinking fewer sugary drinks and eating fewer snacks, and slightly more vegetables, than children who didn’t.

But in general, there was little difference in how much exercise students got after completing the web exercises.

Two years later, a similar number of children in both groups, between 16

to 18 percent, were overweight or obese. There was also no difference in their average body mass index, a measure of weight in relation to height, or the size of their waists.

Ezendam said that the students didn’t have additional reminders of the information they learned in each session and might not have had a supportive environment in which to make healthy changes, such as more school gym classes or better cafeteria food.

Other experts agreed that while the concept of web-based programs had potential, it alone was not enough-and may need to last longer. “I think to increase the efficacy of these types of interventions it’s important to contin-

ue to be engaged in it beyond eight (sessions), so you learn the skills and techniques and stay motivated,” said Mia Lustria, who studies web interventions at Florida State University in Tallahassee but wasn’t involved in the study. “The results are quite encouraging. Health behaviors to begin with are very hard to change.”

Another approach may be to develop mobile apps that give children upto-the -minute feedback on what they’re eating and how much they’re exercising, said Gary Bennett, who studies obesity prevention at Duke University.

“Engagement is really the name of the game,” he added. — Reuters

US employer health insurance hits new low Companies scaling back further on health benefits

Lack of parental control and ineffective discipline methods may also produce unruly behavior that is similar to ADHD. Gifted children who are not being adequately challenged may exhibit remarkably similar behaviors.

Huge hike in ADHD drugs to Danish adults worrying COPENHAGEN: A massive increase in the number of Danish adults prescribed medication for Attention DeficitHyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is deeply worr ying, the head of the Danish Medical Association said late yesterday.

“I am very worried by these numbers,” Henrik Dibbern told AFP. He was sounding the alarm over statistics published earlier this year showing that the number of Danish adults medicated for ADHD, which is most commonly prescribed to children and teens, has soared almost 20-fold over the past decade, from just 800 to 15,000.

Dibbern explained that the huge hike could be due to the fact that “many people diagnosed when they were children our adolescents continue taking these

medications as adults.” “There are also people who are ill who take these drugs even though they could benefit from alternative treatments” like psychotherapy or less potent drugs, he added.

He stressed though that the explanation for the steep increase was not clear.

“I cannot say that there is abusive consumption,” he said, insisting “it is essential to carry out studies on this.”

Denmark’s National Board of Health also expressed worry about the rise.

“We take this issue very seriously,” Anne Mette Dons, who heads the board’s oversight division, told AFP. “We will gather the various actors and specialised institutions for a meeting on this subject next month,” she said. — AFP

Warm-ups cut sport injuries in teen girls CINCINNATI: Going through a set of warm-up exercises before practices and games cuts the rate of knee and ankle injuries in teenage girls playing soccer and basketball, a US study said. Training coaches in these exercises prevents noncontact injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) sprains that may turn girls off physical activity and require expensive surgery, according to findings published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Exercise in teenage girls has been linked to better grades, less obesity and lower pregnancy rates. “We see that girls that are active in sports are less likely to get involved in some of these other highrisk behaviors, so keeping them active and making sure an injury doesn’t take them out is important,” said Cynthia LaBella at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, who worked on the study.

“Warm-ups are worth the time and the money invested for the long-term health of the girls.” During puberty, both girls and boys shoot up in height, but girls’ muscles don’t develop as much as boys’ do, said Tim Hewett, head of sports medicine research at the Ohio State University and Cincinnati Children’s

Hospital. Because of that imbalance, studies have shown girls get between two and 10 times more injuries such as ACL sprains than boys do. The study focused on about 1,500 girls, mostly lowincome girls playing on high school soccer and basketball teams in Chicago public schools. Half were on teams that did the warm-up program and half were not.

Ninety coaches were randomly assigned to lead a 20-minute warm-up program that involved strengthening, balance and agility exercises before every game and practice, or to stick with their usual warm-up routine. The warmup included exercises focusing on jumping and landing safely.

Over the 2006-2007 season, the group that did the warm-up program had 50 injuries involving a leg, ankle or foot. The group that did not do the program had 96 injuries. Specifically, there was a 35 percent reduction in leg overuse injuries with the warm-up program, and a 44 percent lower rate of acute non-contact injuries.

LaBella noted that some coaches might not want to use the warm-up program because it took time out of already limited practices, but Hewett said the exercises, when done correctly, can also improve jumping height and power. — Reuters

WASHINGTON: The percentage of Americans who have health insurance through their employer slipped to a new low of 44.5 percent in the third quarter, a drop of over 5 percentage points in three years, according to a poll released on Friday.

Pollsters at Gallup and Healthways Inc., who surveyed more than 90,000 US adults, blamed the decline on high unemployment, under-employment and an increased number of employers who do not offer health insurance to their workers.

Employer-sponsored health insurance is one of the main pillars of the $2.6 trillion US healthcare industry. But companies have increasingly scaled back benefits and raised employee charges to cope with healthcare costs that are rising sharply despite anemic economic growth.

The latest figure was 5.3 percentage points

below a high of 49.8 percent in 2008, when the two companies began tracking trends in employer-sponsored health insurance.

“The health insurance system in the United States is experiencing numerous changes.

Governments and businesses have and will continue to cut back and/or reform their health coverage offerings,” the pollsters said in a statement. Retailing giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc announced in October that it would no longer offer health insurance to new parttime employees and slashed its contributions to employee health expense accounts.

As employer-sponsored insurance declined, the number of adults with no health insurance at all rose 2.7 percentage points to 17.3 percent in the third quarter. There was also an increase in the ranks of those covered by government plans from Medicaid, Medicare and military programs, which was

Vatican, biotech firm host adult stem cell meeting VATICAN CITY: The Vatican has entered into an unusual partnership with a small US biotech company to promote using adult stem cells for treating disease, rather than focusing research on embryonic stem cells.

The Vatican’s culture office and NeoStem Inc., last Tuesday provided details for last week’s conference at the Vatican on adult stem cells, which will draw scientists, patients, biotech CEOs and cardinals together. Church teaching holds that life begins at conception. As a result, the Vatican opposes embryonic stem cell research because embryos are destroyed in the process.

The conference and partnership with New Yorkbased NeoStem is part of the Vatican’s recent $1 million, five-year initiative to promote adult stem cell therapies and research, and in the process shift popular attention away from embryonic research.

Transplants of adult stem cells have become a standard lifesaving therapy for people with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood diseases; and they are being studied in people who suffer from multiple sclerosis, heart attacks and diabetes. The more controversial embryonic cells may be used someday to grow replacement tissue for diseases like Parkinson’s or diabetes, but that is a future prospect.

Many scientists believe the more flexible embryonic cells have more promise, but lots of work is under way with both kinds. It was former US President George W. Bush’s decision in 2001 to allow only restricted federal financing for researching embryonic stem cells that sparked much of the controversy over the technology that continues today.

Bush’s health secretary, Tommy Thompson, is a panelist at the conference and told reporters Tuesday that science had moved beyond destroying embryos.

“Why destroy an embryo?” Thompson asked. “We are in a new science of adult stem cells that are pluripotent,” or able to differentiate into other tissues. Another speaker at the conference starting Wednesday is Sharon Porter, who was diagnosed with systemic scleroderma, a chronic connective tissue disorder that leads to a hardening of the skin and internal organs.

There is no cure, but three years ago she underwent a treatment to reboot her immune system: Adult stem cells were removed from her body, her immune system was destroyed and the stem cells were re-injected to build a new immune system.

“It changed my life,” Porter told reporters. “It brought me back to where I was before I was diagnosed.” Vatican officials acknowledged the unusual nature of the partnership between the Roman Catholic Church and a publicly-traded, for-profit biotech company. —AP

Lots of light, exercise keep winter blues at bay BERLIN: As autumn wears on many people feel constantly tired, lack energy and some even get the winter blues. Now that most European countries have switched back an hour to winter time, there’s an even greater chance of feeling glum and disheartened.

The cause is a lack of sunlight, according to professor Juergen Zulley, a sleep researcher in Regensburg, Germany. In winter it gets dark earlier. Yet having a longer night is actually a positive development for our biorhythms.

“Our inner clock is quite happy that the day now has a 25th hour as it corresponds to our natural rhythm,” says Zulley. The problem is the lack of sunlight. “Our bodies

up 2.2 percentage points since 2008 at 25.1 percent but off a 2010 high of 25.7 percent.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there were 41 million uninsured American adults and 24 million adults below retirement age on the national Medicaid program for low-income people and other public insurance plans in 2010. Medicare, the federal healthcare program for the elderly, covers an estimated 48 million beneficiaries.

The survey found higher health insurance coverage among young people aged 18 to 26, which pollsters attributed to a provision of the US healthcare overhaul that allows parents to cover grown children under their insurance plans.

But other segments of the law, including tax credits for small businesses, did not appear to be help older adults, aged 25 to 64, whose uninsured ranks increased. —Reuters

release the hormone melatonin during the hours of darkness. Melatonin is responsible for making us tired,” explains Zulley. During daylight our bodies produce serotonin, which improves our mood.

Zulley recommends spending as much time as possible outside. “It should be at least 30 minutes long,” he says. “You should get some fresh air even if you don’t feel like going out when it ’s overcast. There’s enough light available on a cloudy day to wake us up.

It’s still considerably brighter than the light produced by an electric bulb.”

Switching on a light in the morning is a good way of getting us out of bed on a dark

morning.“You should turn the lights on in your home as soon as you wake up because that can provide the initial brightness that your body needs,” says Zulley.

You can also energize your cardiovascular system by switching between cold and warm water when you shower. He also recommends getting regular exercise even if rain and cold outside would make you rather stay warm on your sofa. “Exercise helps us stay happy and more balanced.”

Zulley says it’s quite normal for people to fall into a kind of winter hibernation.

“During the winter months you should try to listen to your natural rhythm and get more rest.” — dpa

TOKYO: A model displays a smartphone with a special jacket to analyze the level of alcohol on your breath, displayed by Japanese telecommunication company NTT DoCoMo. — AFP

Swedish sperm donors are well-adjusted men STOCHKHOLM: Men who pass a screening process and donate to sperm banks in Sweden score better on personality measures, such as responsibility, confidence and self-acceptance, than other men in their peer group, according to a Swedish study.

Sweden was the first country to pass a so-called non-anonymous law, which entitles children to contact the sperm donor if they choose. Britain, Australia and other nations also require that donors consent to being contacted.

The United States allows donors to remain anonymous and for them to get paid, unlike Sweden, where men can only volunteer.

The non-anonymous laws could be a problem for both sides since nobody can prepare themselves for their reactions if a child decides to contact the biological father, said Gunilla Sydsjo, lead author of the study and a professor at Sweden’s Linkoping University.

“A decision made at the age of 25 might be crystal clear for the individual at that time but might take on other dimensions 20 years later,” she wrote in an email to Reuters Health.

“We have, in this study, shown that the men who are accepted for the program were all in the normal range of character and also demonstrated a mature personality and a stable character.”

The study, published in the British obstetrics and gynecology journal BJOG, looked at 115 men who donated sperm at clinics in Sweden between 2005 and 2008, comparing them with men of similar age who did not attempt to donate sperm.

Donors in Sweden go through a screening process that weeds out men with psychological or health problems.

The study questionnaire asked about behaviors, emotions and social skills.

On two measures, self-directedness and cooperativeness, the donors scored higher than the comparison group, showing that they pursue goals, stick to their values and take responsibility, researchers said.

The donors scored lower on one measure, called harm avoidance. “This indicates that the sperm donors described themselves as being less worried, uncertain, shy and less subject to fatigue,” the researchers wrote.

All other personality traits, including persistence and novelty seeking behaviors, were similar between the two groups.

The results suggested that the donors would not be thrown if a child decided to contact them, said Robert Oates, president of the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, who was not involved in the study.

“They will be able to handle it if in the future somebody comes to them and says, ‘I am your donor child’,” he added.

“I think the majority are just nice people who want to help people out. That may be a different personality from the 21-year-old college student who wants to make a lot of money.” Two recent studies have shown that uniting children with donor fathers is usually a positive experience, but the researchers wrote that they were not aware of any children in Sweden taking advantage of the transparency law to contact their biological fathers. — Reuters

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

he a lt h & s c ie n c e

Behavioral therapy for obesity helps family too BOLOGNA: When obese people lose weight with behavioral therapy, their family members may grow a bit slimmer as well, according to an Italian study.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that family members of the obese patients in a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT ) program also showed some changes for the better.

One option for managing obesity, CBT focuses on changing people’s thoughts and attitudes to eating and other lifestyle habits, and giving them practical ways to make improvements. “CBT for weight loss positively influences the lifestyle habits of family

members of participants, reducing energy intake and promoting a more favorable attitude toward physical activity,” wrote senior researcher Giulio Marchesini.

Marchesini and his colleagues surveyed the family members of 149 obese patients going through the CBT program at the University of Bologna, which consisted of 12 to 15 weekly group meetings. Six months after their relatives started the program, family members, mainly spouses and adult children, were eating better. They cut more than 200 calories from their daily intake, ate a bit less fat and refined carbohydrates, and ate a bit more fruit.

It translated into a weight loss of just under 1 kg

Hormone stimulation of ovaries increases cancer risk: Study AMSTERDAM: Hormone stimulation of a woman’s ovaries in invitro fertilization (IVF) treatments can increase her risk of ovarian tumours, according to a study by the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam.

Researchers said the treatments particularly increased the risk of what are known as borderline tumours. Their study was published in Human Reproduction, a monthly journal of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

Borderline tumours are peculiar to ovarian cancer and not definitely classifiable as benign or malignant. Experts, however, say that they should not be underestimated.

“Borderline tumours are often on both sides and require surgery, which usually involves removing the ovary,” said Michael Ludwig, a Hamburg-based specialist on reproductive medicine.

But the chances of developing a

benign or malignant ovarian tumour were very low, he added.

IVF is often the last hope for couples having difficulty conceiving. Hormone injections stimulate the woman’s ovaries into producing extra eggs for the treatment.

The Dutch study included 25,152 women, 19,146 of whom had ovarian stimulation for IVF between 1983-95. The 6,006 women in the control group were also sub-fertile but had not undergone ovarian stimulation.

After nearly 15 years, 77 women in the study had developed ovarian tumours, of whom 61 were in the IVF treatment group and 16 in the control group.

The researchers said that larger studies were needed to corroborate the results. They also noted that having larger numbers of IVF treatments or receiving higher doses of ovarian-stimulating hormones did not increase the risk of developing a tumour. — dpa

(2.2 lb), on average. But the 35 relatives who were obese themselves lost an average of 2.7 kg (6 lb), with seven losing enough to become officially “overweight” instead of “obese”.

One reason, Marchesini said, could be that family members made positive changes to help the person in therapy, such as ridding the kitchen of sugary, fatty temptations. Even more likely was that the person in behavioral therapy instituted healthy changes at home, since 101 of the 149 patients were womenwhich meant, in Italy, that they were more likely to be in charge of meal planning.

“I do not know how much this possibility might

translate into different cultures, but this is definitely the case among Italian families,” Marchesini added.

Researchers did note that since they tried to survey almost 500 family members but only got responses from 230, many of the responses might be from the more motivated and supportive families to start with.

But other studies have also noted that weight-loss treatments can have a positive impact on family members as well. In October, surgeons at Stanford University found that the obese relatives of patients who underwent obesity surgery also lost weight in the year following the procedure, probably due to lifestyle changes for the whole family. — Reuters

Religious services linked to optimism in US study CHICAGO: Regular attendance at religious services is associated with a more optimistic outlook and a lesser inclination to be depressed, compared to those who do not attend services at all, a study concluded.

The study ’s findings suppor ts previous research that religious participation can promote psychological and physical health-and reduce mortality risks-possibly by calming people in stressful times, creating meaningful social interactions and helping curtail bad habits.

Those who said they attended services more than once a week in the previous month were 56 percent more likely to be above the median score in a measure of optimism than those who did not attend services, according to the study published in the Journal of Religion and Health.

And those who reported attending services week ly were 22 percent less likely to be depressed or have depressive symptoms compared to non-attenders. But a researcher on the study cautioned against people assuming that adopting a religion and heading off to a church, synagogue, temple or mosque would brighten their lives.

“There is a correlation, but that does not mean there is causality,” said Eliezer Schnall, an associate professor of clinical psychology at Yeshiva University in New York. “One could argue people

who are more optimistic may be drawn to religious services.

“The person who says, ‘I guess if I go to services, that will make me more optimistic’-while a possibilit y, that may not be true,” he said.

Another caveat Schnall offered was that the study examined older women, so the benefits of religious activity may not apply to younger people or to males. Older women in particular have been shown in past research to engage in more social interaction at services, and to gain the most from it.

Schnall worked on a 2008 study of the same group of women that found those who attended religious services regularly reduced their risk of death by 20 percent over the follow-up period that averaged nearly eight years.

“We’re trying to connect the dots here,” he said.

“We know they’re less likely to die, and health outcomes can be related to psychological factors.”

The two studies examined answers provided by nearly 93,000 women, aged 50 to 79, who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative study that began in 1991. Funded by the US National Institutes of Health, the survey tracks women’s health, habits, beliefs and outcomes.

In response to questions asked when they enrolled, 34 percent of the women said they had not attended services in the previous month, 21

percent attended less than once a week, 30 percent attended weekly, and 14 percent more than once week.

They also answered a raft of questions to judge their level of optimism and their susceptibility to depression.

Schnall said there was no “dose response” when it comes to frequency of attending religious services and mental health. But religious practice in general can encourage a “positive worldview, include calming rituals, and have other psychological and social benefits,” the report said.

The study found people who attend services regularly were 28 percent more likely to report having positive social support-which often meant they were more likely to have someone to help with chores or take them to the doctor if they needed it.

Religious people may also be more likely to avoid smoking or drinking alcohol in excess, to visit physicians, and to engage in other healthy lifestyle behaviors, it said.

When compared to other social groupings such as sporting events or playing cards, fellow religious congregants can provide closer confidants, Schnall said. There are occasions, however, where religious disagreements with clergy, family members, or fellow parishioners can create psychological strains, the report noted. — Reuters

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W H AT ’ S O N

Greetings Happy birthday to Mariyam Awad Abed Al Matyri. Best wishes from father Awad Abed Rashad Al Matyri, mother and uncle Rayees.

Announcements Art expo Shyma’s Ashkanani will present a figurative abstract and translucent acrylic colors exhibition. The opening reception is on November 14, 2011 at 7 pm and will go on till November 24. Exhibition Hours: 15 - 24 November 2011. The timings are from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Art exhibition Dar Al-Funoon has the pleasure to invite you to an art exhibition of works from Hamad Al-Saab & Ali Sultan titled: Connect To Disconnect To Connect. It will open on November 14 and will continue until November 21 at Dar Al-Funoon (Behbehani Compound, House 28, Kuwait City).

Presentation The Kuwait Textile Arts Association under the auspices of Al-Sadu House cordially invites you to a presentation by Dr Linda Graves Fouke on Maya Weavings and Textiles from Guatemala at 7 pm on Tuesday, November 15. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

St Andrews Ball The Kuwait Calendonians are pleased to invite you to the St Andrews Ball 2011 to be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Thursday, December 1 from 7:30 pm.

Invites will be available after Eid. Talent hunt Wesal Media Team is organizing a new concept competition for little talents in Kuwait. This competition is for children ages 6-12 years who have excellent talents in singing, dancing, drawing, etc. All interested little talents are welcome to participate. To signup, just visit their website and register your child.

The final announcements will be published in a short event at Discovery Mall with famous singers and actors in Kuwait. For more information: 97547705.

Indian Lawyers’ Forum Onam Indian Lawyers’ Forum will celebrate Onam, the unique, secular, harvest festival of Kerala on 18th November, 2011 Friday 10.30 am at Hi-Dine Restaurant Auditorium, Abbassia. Celebrations will include traditional variety entertainments, with the grand ‘ONASADHYA’. All Indian Lawyers & Law graduates working here in Kuwait are invited with their families.

For details contact Panicker 97203939, Pulikkal 97260159. Email: advpanicker@gmail.com

KKMA celebrates Eid-Milan

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he Indian community living in Kuwait celebrated Eid Al Adha as an “Eid Milan Day” to rally support for the noble charitable activities by Kuwait Kerala Muslim Association (KKMA).

The Chief Guest, Satheesh C Mehtha, Ambassador of India to Kuwait inaugurated the event.

Mehtha offered his Eid greetings to all Indian nationals in Kuwait. He applauded the KKMA for holding various charitable activities for the improvement of poor and needy people in society, this kind of activities should be imitated. He added.

Satheesh C Mehtha then released KKMA’s Eid Milan Souvenir 2011 booklet by handing over its first copy to Waleed Al Khasthi CCR Manager of Zain Communications.

Sageer Trikarpur KKMA Chairman in his speech narrated various social development projects such as Kidney Dialysis Center, Public Drinking Water project and Model Expatriates projects etc. running by KKMA and he expressed deep gratitude to the supporters.

Ibrahimkutty Deputy Manager Director of Shifa Al Jazeera Hospital Group, Ajay Goyal CEO of City

Center Group, Jb Mahmood, Managing Director of Apsara Bazar, Naveen Kumar, Vice President Kuwait Qatar Insurance Co., Hussein. C., Managing Director IBlack Germany, Ibrahim Bader Al Khudair, General Manager The Address Kuwait, were presented as special guests. N.A. Muneer, KKMA chairman of Program Committee presided over the function.

At the Occasion KKMA declared its Community Awards goes to Satheesh C Mehtha and Jb Rabeeyulla for their admirable contributions to society. Sageer

Trikaripur and Satheesh C Mehtha delivered the awards respectively.

A Memento of Honor was given to Shameer Chavakad popular mappilapattu singer from Kerala, and Faisal Eletteil singer and researcher

by Sageer Trikaripur and Ibrahim Kunnil. Cash Awards were awarded to Gafoor Pappinisseri, Ansar Kollam and K.S. Shihab who are the winners of Photome Mappilapptu contest jointly conducted by KKMA and Photome.

Abdul Fatah Thayyil, President of KKMA welcomed the fully packed audience, AP Abdul Salam, general

secretary of KKMA proposed vote of gratitude to the attendees.Hamsa Payyanoor delivered welcomed to recreation programs. The program was ably compeered by S. M. Basheer. A large program committee headed by Hamza Payyanur, K. Basheer, organizing secretary, BM Iqbal, Latheef Edayoor, with support of nearly two hundred volunteers made the event a grand success.

Tulukoota talent hunt Tulukoota Kuwait will hold a “Talent Hunt 2011” a chance to prove an inborn trait in you that confirms your individuality, uniqueness. For more information and registration form kindly log on to our Website: www.tulukootakuwait.org or visit our facebook page - Tulukoota Kuwait Talent Hunt 2011. You could also email your form request to: secretary@tulukootakuwait.org or contact our area coordinators mentioned below. Mangaf, Fahaheel, Abuhalifa : Ronald Dsouza- 60035824, Shalini Alva23726164, Suma Bhatt- 97834578 Salmiya & Hawally: Swarna Shetty- 99006934, Kripa Gatty66044194 Kuwait City, Jahra, Sharq: Rekha Sachu65044521,97862115 Farwaniya, Abbassiya, Shuwaikh & Khaitan: Sathyanarayana- 66585077 Sanath Shetty- 67712409.

BEC T10 Cricket tournament The BEC T10 Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament will be organized & played from 7th October to 11th November, 2011. The Tournament being organized

by RED N BLACK CRICKET CLUB and sponsored by BEC EXCHANGE will be played out in Abu Halifa cricket grounds. For registration and other queries please mail at mail@rednblack.org or call 66820148/ 66130940/ 66841653.

KGA Alemao Memorial Football Tournament The 3rd edition of Eslinda Alemao Memorial Football 7-a-side tournament will be held on first day of Eid Al Adha Festival (6th November 2011) to be held at the MOH Grounds, Al-Sabah Hospital Premises, Shuwaikh under the auspices of Kuwait Indian Football Federation (KIFF). All KIFF affiliated teams are requested to contact the organizers, Kuwait Goan Association (KGA). For more info, Email: kgakuwait@gmail.com Tel: (+965) 94963677.

Youth Chorus competition Youth Chorus is organizing the sixth Christian Malayalam Group Song Competition on Friday, 18th November 2011 at 6:00 p.m. at the United Indian School Auditorium, Abbasiya. The team has to present one Christian Malayalam song within seven minutes. The minimum number of members in the team should be 7 and the maximum 20, including the orchestra persons.

The first, second and third prize winners will be awarded with rolling trophies and certificates. The following prestigious trophies will be awarded to the winners.

First Prize - Youth Chorus Ever Rolling Trophy Second Prize- Omana Jose memorial Ever Rolling Trophy Third Prize- Youth Chorus Ever Rolling Trophy All the other participating teams will be awarded a Youth Chorus memento. Please register the name of your team with the conveners on or before 10th November 2011. Tel: 66853100, 6651093 or to our e-mail address youthchorus@gmail.com

Halloween at The Little Gym

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he Little Gym, Kuwait’s and the world’s # 1 children’s gym, held their 4th annual Halloween party on Thursday, October 27 with the attendance of a large gathering of children from different nationalities and their parents. Children along with their parents attended the party dressed in costumes and were entertained to over two hours of non-stop fun and activities.

Before the children even got into the

gym they were amazed at the two huge bounce castles and pony rides, provided

by Batul’s Boutique, that awaited them outside. Once they entered the gym, the activities were plentiful. The children had a wonderful time as they got to play in the fully equipped gym, tumbling, hanging on bars and walking on balance beams with the terrific staff of Little Gym. The pumpkin patch was the next stop-attraction as children picked

their own pumpkin and decorated it.

There were several shows for kids of all ages, from the dance show by some of Kuwait’s premier street dancers, to a puppet show by Puppet Kingdom and then a magic show by Kuwait’s best magician Prasun.

The fun however did not stop there, the company Luscious supplied all the goodies for ‘trick or treat’ while food and fresh juices were served. A private pho-

tographer, Renita, was also on hand to capture all the action and wonderful time that the children were having.

The Halloween Party at The Little Gym was clearly a first-class event organized by a first-rate business that has been the most respected and the best children’s gym in Kuwait for over nine years.

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W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information

From right to left: IEAS Principal Fr. Lionel Braganza SDB, Ryan Thomas, Elrich Miranda and their teacher Mrs. Goldie Thomas.

IEAS with the winning trophy.

IEAS winners of 15th KITCO Inter-School quiz competition

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n the 21st of October, the Bengali Cultural Society organized the 15th KITCO Inter-School Quiz Competition at the American International School, Hawally, Kuwait.

The quiz was hosted by Andrew Scolt, vice-president of Derek O’Brien & Associates. Satish C. Mehta, the Ambassador of India to Kuwait, was the esteemed chief guest of the show. 13 schools participated in this quiz but only

6 schools qualified for the finals. The 1st place went to the Indian English Academy School, Salmiya - Don Bosco.

Elrich Miranda and Ryan Thomas were the 2 IEAS students who represented the winning team. This victory could only be possible because of the marvelous blend of team effort put in by the participants and their parents, the IEAS teachers, the constant encouragement of Fr. Lionel Braganza, the Principal of

IEAS and above all the blessings of God. It was a very tough competition among the last three finalists who had a score of 70 points each during the final round which was truly exciting. IEAS broke this tie as they withstood a strong challenge from their competitors and finally won the Quiz. Delhi Public School was declared as the 1st runners up and Gulf Indian School as the 2nd runners up. The winners were awarded Dell

Laptops, 1st runners up were awarded Apple I Pods and 2nd runners up were awarded Digital Cameras. All other participants who appeared at the preliminary qualificiation round but did not qualify for the finals were awarded gift vouchers.

Congratulations to Indian English Academy School, Salmiya!!!

Fr Pigol visits Egyptian military attache

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ather Pigol Al-Anba Bishoy visited the Egyptian military attache office in order to bid farewell to the outgoing attache Colonel Ashraf Barakat.

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. Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home. The Embassy of Canada encourages all Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

Effective January 15, 2011, the only Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) application form that will be accepted by CIC is the Application for Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada [IMM 5257] form.

All previous Temporary Resident Visa application forms will no longer be accepted by CIC and instead will be returned to applicants. Should old applications be submitted prior to January 15, 2011 they will continue to be processed.

To ensure that the most recent version of the Temporary Resident Visa application form is being utilized, applicants should refer to the CIC website. As of January 15, 2011, forms are to be filled in electronically. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday.

Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday.

The forms are available on the internet at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/form s/IMM5257E.PDF. A guide explaining the process can be found here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/5256E.PDF. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF GERMANY

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kuwait wishes to announce that as of 1 May 2011, the external service provider Al Qabas Assurex is operating a Visa Application Centre in support of the German Embassy. Short-term visa applications for travels to Germany (e.g. for tourism, visits, business) are to be submitted to the service provider Al Qabas who for your convenience will ensure that all relevant documents are included in your application. Your personal appearance at the Application Centre is not required. Address of the Visa Application Centre: Al Qabas Assurex Sanabel Tower (AlBabtain) Mezzanine (M3) opposite Sharq Mall Kuwait 22924444 Fax: 22924442 Further information are available on the following websites: www.kuwait.diplo.de www.qavisa.com nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF KENYA

Employment prospects brighten for MBA graduates

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Teachers’ Day

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l-Jam’an kindergarten held a special program to celebrate the Teachers’ Day, featuring several activities that showcase the role of teachers in society. The event was attended by the KG’s director Sabiha Al-Khalifa and assistant director Jamila Al-Hajri, who personally awarded teachers with memorial gifts.

ecruiters hire increasing numbers of MBA graduates. As many companies struggle to rebuild and expand their activity after the economic crisis, an increasing number have shifted their hiring focus and are now recruiting qualified MBA graduates.

Two-thirds of companies participating in the latest Graduate Management Admission Council’s Corporate Recruiter’s Survey planned to hire MBA graduates for mid-level positions. This is in great contrast to corporate recruitment in 2009, when companies reduced the number of available positions by half. Experts indicate that companies are in need of dynamic MBAeducated executives to help them to build and strengthen their business for the future.

The general consensus is that MBA graduates are more qualified to take on business-building tasks than employees without such experience. In the past, individuals with BAs were frequently on equal footing with MBA graduates. An MBA degree is a major asset and now almost a mandatory condition for a management position.

The Access MBA Tour will take place in Kuwait City with international business schools that wish to recruit local MBA candidates.

The prestigious business education events will take place in Kuwait City, November 16th, offering an opportunity to evaluate the current situation of the MBA degree. An elite selection of international business schools will meet

One-to-One with highly qualified candidates in Kuwait City, Wednesday, November 16th from 4 pm - 9:30 pm.

The event’s One-to-One format is a unique and effective way to match candidates who meet schools’ admissions criteria. When registering online, candidates provide information about their personal and professional profile.

Before the event, Access MBA matches the candidates with the MBA programmes that meet their needs and criteria, and at the event the candidates meet with MBA Admission Directors in 20-minute intervals. Event participants can also benefit from free orientation sessions with Access MBA’s professional consultants and GMAT test preparation advisors.

“The MBA One-to-One format that we created 8 years ago has become the new standard of graduate recruitments amongst top international business schools” says Christophe Coutat, founder and CEO of Advent Group, the media agency that organizes the Access MBA Tour.

Participating international business schools.

The Access MBA Tour features top ranked universities at each event, including HEC Paris, ESADE, Manchester Business School, SDA Bocconi, London Business School, INSEAD, HULT Business School, IE Business School, Vlerick Leuven Gent, University of Chicago Booth and more.

The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to request all Kenyans resident in or training through Kuwait to register with the Embassy.

We are updating our database. This information is necessary in order to facilitate quick assistance and advise in times of emergency. Kindly visit in person or register through our website www.kenyaembkuwait.com. The Embassy is located in: Surra Area Block 6 - Street 9 - Villa 3 Tel: 25353362 - 25353314; Fax: 25353316. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax- 25387719.

Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF PERU The Embassy of Peru is located at Al-Arablya Tower, Sharq, Ahmed Al-Jaber Street, on the 6th Floor. In the same place, as a part of the Chancellery of the Embassy of Peru in Kuwait, also is located the Showing Room of “PeruExpoTour, Trade & Invest.” nnnnnnn

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.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

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Years

TV PROGRAMS

00:50 Untamed & Uncut 01:45 Dogs 101: Specials 02:40 Killer Sharks: The Attacks Of Black...

03:35 Monster Bug Wars 04:30 Lion Feeding Frenzy 05:25 Dogs 101: Specials 06:20 Animal Cops Houston 07:10 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 08:00 Monkey Life 08:25 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 09:15 Breed All About It 09:40 The Really Wild Show 10:10 Baby Planet 11:05 Project Puppy 11:30 Monkey Life 12:00 Crocodile Hunter 12:55 Dogs 101: Specials 13:50 Wildest Africa 15:40 Your Pet Wants This 16:35 Your Pet Wants This, Too! 17:30 World’s Ugliest Dog Competition 18:25 Monkey Life 18:50 Monkey Life 19:20 Ray Mears’ Wild Britain 20:15 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 21:10 Dogs 101 22:05 Lion Feeding Frenzy 23:00 Wildest Africa 23:55 Whale Wars

00:00 Blackadder The Third 00:30 Beautiful People 01:00 Doctor Who 01:45 BBC Electric Proms 2008: Oasis 02:40 Blackadder The Third 03:40 As Time Goes By 04:10 Last of the Summer Wine 04:40 3rd & Bird: set 01 04:50 Bobinogs 05:00 Boogie Beebies: Set 4 05:15 Spot’s Musical Adventures 05:20 Me Too: Set 1 05:40 Fimbles: Set 2 06:00 3rd & Bird: set 01 06:10 Bobinogs 06:20 Boogie Beebies: Set 4 06:35 Spot’s Musical Adventures 06:40 Me Too: Set 1 07:00 Charlie & Lola: Set 2 07:10 Fimbles: Set 2 07:30 3rd & Bird: set 01 07:40 Bobinogs 07:50 Boogie Beebies: Set 4 08:05 Spot’s Musical Adventures 08:10 Me Too: Set 1 08:30 Charlie & Lola: Set 2 08:40 Fimbles: Set 2 09:00 3rd & Bird: set 01 09:10 Bobinogs 09:20 Boogie Beebies: Set 4 09:35 Spot’s Musical Adventures 09:45 Me Too: Set 1 10:05 Charlie & Lola: Set 2 10:20 Fimbles: Set 2 10:40 As Time Goes By 11:10 Last of the Summer Wine 11:45 Doctor Who 12:35 The Weakest Link: S11: Set 02 13:20 Casualty: Set 3 14:10 Incredible Journeys With Steve Leonard 15:00 The Weakest Link: S11: Set 02 16:35 Doctors: Set 2 19:05 Doctor Who 19:50 As Time Goes By 20:20 Last of the Summer Wine 20:50 Coast 21:50 Incredible Journeys With Steve Leonard 22:40 Emma (2009) 23:30 Walter’s War

00:35 03:00 06:20 07:10 08:00

Holmes On Homes Come Dine With Me Gok’s Fashion Fix Holmes On Homes Cash In The Attic USA

08:20 08:50 13:45 16:50 18:30 19:15 20:00 20:50 21:40

Daily Cooks Challenge Come Dine With Me Bargain Hunt Antiques Roadshow Design Star Design Star Gok’s Fashion Fix Gok’s Fashion Fix Holmes On Homes

00:00 BBC World News 00:30 Dateline London 01:00 BBC World News 02:10 World Features 02:30 Middle East Business Report 03:00 BBC World News 03:10 World Features 03:30 Spirit Of Yachting 04:00 BBC World News 04:30 Dateline London 05:00 BBC World News 06:30 Newsnight 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 Click 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 India Business Report 09:00 BBC World News 09:30 Fast Track 10:00 BBC World News 10:10 The Health Show 10:30 Spirit Of Yachting 11:00 BBC World News 11:10 World Features 11:30 Dateline London 12:00 BBC World News 12:10 World Features 12:30 Horizons 13:00 BBC World News 13:10 World Features 13:30 BBC World News 14:10 World Features 14:30 Newsnight 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 The Bottom Line 16:00 BBC World News 16:15 Sport Today 16:30 Click 17:00 BBC World News 17:30 Working Lives 18:00 BBC World News 19:30 India Business Report 20:00 BBC World News 20:30 Our World 21:00 BBC World News 21:10 World Features 21:30 BBC World News 22:00 Sports World Have Your Say 23:00 BBC World News 23:10 This Week With Christiane Amanpour

00:00 00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:05 03:30 03:55 04:00 04:25 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:15 07:40 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:40 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:00 12:30 14:05

Dexters Laboratory The Garfield Show Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop Droopy: Master Detective The Flintstones Johnny Bravo Duck Dodgers King Arthur’s Disasters The Scooby Doo Show Popeye Classics Tom & Jerry Popeye The Jetsons The Flintstones Looney Tunes Pink Panther & Pals Tex Avery Duck Dodgers The Garfield Show The Addams Family Popeye Paddington Bear Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Baby Looney Tunes Jelly Jamm Puppy In My Pocket Help! It’s The Hair Bear Bunch Yogi’s Treasure Hunt The Garfield Show Pink Panther And Pals Looney Tunes Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear New Yogi Bear Show

14:30 14:50 15:15 15:40 16:05 16:30 16:55 17:20 Doo 17:45 18:10 18:35 18:55 19:20 19:30 19:55 20:20 20:40 21:00 21:30 21:50 22:05 22:40 23:05 23:30

Tex Avery The Addams Family Droopy & Dripple The Flintstones The Garfield Show Duck Dodgers Wacky Races Scooby-Doo And ScrappyDastardly And Muttley The Jetsons Wacky Races Scooby Doo Where Are You! Popeye Classics The Scooby Doo Show Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes Pink Panther & Pals Top Cat Dastardly And Muttley Tom & Jerry Wacky Races The Scooby Doo Show Tom & Jerry Johnny Bravo

00:15 Samurai Jack 00:40 Megas XLR 01:05 Robotboy 01:30 Squirrel Boy 01:55 George Of The Jungle 02:20 Cramp Twins 02:45 Chop Socky Chooks 03:10 Best Ed 03:35 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 04:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:25 Generator Rex 04:50 Adventure Time 05:15 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 05:40 Chowder 05:55 Powerpuff Girls 06:30 Ed, Edd n Eddy 06:55 I Am Weasel 07:20 Squirrel Boy 07:45 Cow & Chicken 08:00 The Life & Times Of Juniper Lee 08:04 Cow & Chicken 08:25 Powerpuff Girls 08:50 Cartoon Network Dance Club 09:05 Eliot Kid 09:30 Chowder 09:55 The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 10:20 Adventure Time 10:45 The Amazing World Of Gumball 10:55 Cow & Chicken 11:30 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 11:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 12:20 Generator Rex 12:45 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 13:10 Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders 13:35 Hero 108 14:00 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 14:25 Robotboy 14:50 I Am Weasel 15:15 Best Ed 15:40 Chowder 16:05 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 16:30 Courage The Cowardly Dog 16:55 Cow & Chicken 17:20 Adventure Time 17:45 Codename: Kids Next Door 18:10 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 18:35 Generator Rex 19:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 19:25 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 19:50 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 20:15 Adventure Time 20:40 The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 21:05 Chowder 21:30 Courage The Cowardly Dog 21:55 Cow & Chicken 22:20 Best Ed 22:45 I Am Weasel 23:00 Ben 10 23:25 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 23:50 The Secret Saturdays

ASSASSINATION TANGO ON OSN ACTION HD

00:00 World’s Untold Stories 00:30 African Voices 01:00 The Best Of Backstory 01:30 World Sport 02:00 World Report 02:30 Open Court 03:00 World Report 03:30 Inside Africa 04:00 Your Money 05:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 06:00 The Best Of The Situation Room 07:00 World Sport 07:30 Open Court 08:00 World Report 08:30 The Best Of Backstory 09:00 World Report 09:15 CNN Marketplace Middle East 09:30 Cnngo 10:00 World Report 10:15 CNN Marketplace Africa 10:30 The Gateway 10:45 Future Cities 11:00 World Sport 11:30 Open Court 12:00 African Voices 12:30 Talk Asia 13:00 World’s Untold Stories 13:30 Inside Africa 14:00 World Report 14:30 World Sport 15:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 16:00 Fareed Zakaria Gps 17:00 State Of The Union 18:00 International Desk 18:30 Inside Africa 19:00 The Gateway 19:15 Future Cities 19:30 World Sport 20:00 Prism 20:45 CNN Marketplace Middle East 21:00 International Desk 21:30 Cnngo 22:00 World Report 22:30 Open Court 23:00 Piers Morgan Tonight

00:40 Extreme Fishing 01:35 Nothing Personal 02:30 How Do They Do It? 03:00 How It’s Made 03:25 How Do They Do It? 03:55 How It’s Made 04:20 How Do They Do It? 04:50 How It’s Made 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 How Do They Do It? 06:35 How It’s Made 07:00 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 07:50 Desert Car Kings 08:45 Ultimate Biker Challenge 09:10 South Beach Classics 09:40 Extreme Fishing 10:30 River Monsters 11:25 Ultimate Survival 12:20 How It’s Made 12:45 Cash Cab Us 15:05 Cake Boss 17:20 Mythbusters 18:15 Ultimate Survival 19:10 Deadliest Catch 20:05 Dual Survival 21:00 Mythbusters 21:55 Curiosity: Did God Create The Universe?

22:50 Ross Kemp: Extreme World 23:45 The Next Great Baker

00:40 Bang Goes The Theory 01:05 Green Wheels 01:30 Nasa’s Greatest Missions 02:20 Nextworld 06:40 Green Wheels 07:10 How The Universe Works 08:00 Nasa’s Greatest Missions 08:55 Head Rush 08:58 Sci-Fi Science 09:25 Weird Connections 09:55 Da Vinci’s Machines 10:45 Prototype This 11:35 Nextworld 15:45 Head Rush 15:48 Sci-Fi Science 16:15 Weird Connections 16:45 Bang Goes The Theory 17:10 The Gadget Show 17:35 The Gadget Show 18:00 Build It Bigger: Rebuilding Greensburg 18:50 How The Universe Works 19:40 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 20:30 Moon Machines 21:20 Nasa’s Greatest Missions 22:10 Bang Goes The Theory 23:00 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 23:50 Moon Machines

00:20 Replacements 00:45 Replacements 01:10 Fairly Odd Parents 01:35 Fairly Odd Parents 02:00 A Kind Of Magic 02:20 A Kind Of Magic 02:45 Stitch 03:10 Stitch 03:35 Kim Possible 04:00 Kim Possible 04:25 Emperor’s New School 04:50 Emperor’s New School 05:15 Stitch 05:35 Stitch 06:00 Phineas And Ferb 07:30 So Random 08:00 Suite Life On Deck 08:25 My Babysitter’s A Vampire 08:50 Phineas And Ferb 09:00 Phineas And Ferb 10:30 Good Luck Charlie 10:55 Shake It Up 11:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place 11:40 Suite Life On Deck 12:00 Friends For Change Games 12:25 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 12:50 Good Luck Charlie 13:15 Good Luck Charlie 13:40 Fish Hooks 14:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 14:25 Stitch 14:50 Shake It Up 15:15 Fish Hooks 15:35 So Random 15:55 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody

16:20 Cody 16:45 17:10 17:31 18:00 18:25 18:50 19:10 20:35 20:55 21:25 21:50 22:15 22:40 23:05 Cody 23:30 23:55

The Suite Life Of Zack And My Babysitter’s A Vampire Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie Suite Life On Deck So Random Fish Hooks Phineas And Ferb Friends For Change Games Wizards Of Waverly Place My Babysitter’s A Vampire Good Luck Charlie Suite Life On Deck Sonny With A Chance The Suite Life Of Zack And Hannah Montana Kim Possible

00:25 Fashion Police 00:55 Chelsea Lately 01:25 E!es 01:50 E!es 02:20 E! Investigates 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Reality Hell 05:30 Wildest TV Show Moments 06:00 15 Most Infamous Child Star Mugshots 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Style Star 09:45 Style Star 10:15 Giuliana & Bill 11:10 Ice Loves Coco 11:40 Ice Loves Coco 12:05 Kendra 16:55 Behind The Scenes 17:25 Behind The Scenes 17:55 E! News 18:55 Bridalplasty 19:55 Giuliana & Bill 20:55 Ice Loves Coco 21:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 22:25 E! News 23:25 The Soup 23:55 Chelsea Lately

HOMECOMING ON OSN CINEMA 00:40 A Haunting 01:30 A Haunting 02:15 The Haunted 03:05 Ghost Lab 03:50 A Haunting 04:40 A Haunting 05:25 On The Case With Paula Zahn 06:15 The Will: Family Secrets Revealed 07:10 Mystery Diagnosis 08:00 Forensic Detectives 08:45 Murder Shift 09:35 Mystery Diagnosis 10:20 Real Emergency Calls 10:45 Real Emergency Calls 11:05 The Prosecutors 11:50 FBI Files 12:40 Murder Shift 13:25 On The Case With Paula Zahn 14:15 Disappeared 15:00 Mystery Diagnosis 15:50 Real Emergency Calls 16:15 Real Emergency Calls 16:35 The Prosecutors 17:20 Forensic Detectives 18:10 Murder Shift 19:00 FBI Files 19:45 Real Emergency Calls 20:10 Mystery Diagnosis 20:55 Street Patrol 21:20 On The Case With Paula Zahn 22:10 Disappeared 23:00 Nightmare Next Door 23:50 I Almost Got Away With It

00:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 01:00 Word of Mouth 01:30 Pressure Cook 02:00 Cooking The World 03:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 04:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 05:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 06:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 07:00 Word of Mouth 07:30 Pressure Cook 08:00 Cooking The World 09:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 10:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 11:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 12:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 13:00 Food School 13:30 Food School 14:00 Market Values 14:30 Market Values 15:00 Word of Mouth 15:30 Banged Up Abroad 16:30 Banged Up Abroad 17:30 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 18:00 Travel Madness 18:30 Madventures 19:00 Food School 19:30 Food School 20:00 Market Values 20:30 Market Values 21:00 Word of Mouth 21:30 Banged Up Abroad 22:30 Banged Up Abroad 23:30 Weird & Wonderful Hotels

00:00 Sleep Dealer-PG15 02:00 Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassin’s Ball18 04:00 The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day-18 06:00 The Fast And The FuriousPG15 08:00 The Karate Kid-PG 10:30 The Damned United-PG15 12:15 Altitude-PG15 13:45 The Karate Kid-PG 16:15 The Hunt For Red OctoberPG15 18:30 Altitude-PG15 20:00 Assassination Tango-PG15 22:00 Public Enemies-18

01:15 Last Ride-PG15 03:15 I Am Number Four-PG15 05:15 Freestyle (2010)-PG15 07:00 Three Investigators-PG15 09:00 Winx: Secret Of The Lost Kingdom-PG 10:45 Freestyle (2010)-PG15 12:30 Parlez-Moi De LA Pluie-PG15 14:30 The Front-PG15 16:30 The Karate Kid-PG 19:00 Mammoth-PG15 21:15 Hot Tub Time Machine-18 23:00 Homecoming-PG15

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 South Park 02:00 Saturday Night Live 03:00 Melissa And Joey 03:30 Mr. Sunshine 04:00 According To Jim 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Dharma And Greg 06:00 Weird Science 06:30 Just Shoot Me 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 According To Jim 08:30 Melissa And Joey 09:00 Dharma And Greg 09:30 Hot In Cleveland 10:00 Community 10:30 Just Shoot Me 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Weird Science 12:30 According To Jim 13:00 Melissa And Joey 13:30 Dharma And Greg 14:00 Just Shoot Me 14:30 Hot In Cleveland 15:00 Community 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Weird Science 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Friends 18:30 Friends 19:00 How I Met Your Mother 19:30 State Of Georgia 20:00 Happy Endings 20:30 The Ricky Gervais Show 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Saturday Night Live 23:00 South Park 23:30 Happy Endings

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

The Killing C.S.I. Miami Top Gear (UK) C.S.I. The Invisible Man The View Good Morning America Detroit 1-8-7 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View The Killing C.S.I. Alias C.S.I. Miami Live Good Morning America The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Cold Case Charlie’s Angels Pan Am Top Gear (US) Detroit 1-8-7

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 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

The Closer Top Gear (UK) The Killing C.S.I. Miami C.S.I. The Good Guys The Closer Outsourced Coronation Street White Collar Top Gear (UK) C.S.I. C.S.I. Miami Outsourced Coronation Street White Collar The Closer Outsourced Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Bones Cold Case Charlie’s Angels Pan Am Top Gear (US) The Good Guys

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:15 21:00 23:00

Icarus-18 Child’s Play 2-PG15 Lake Placid 3-18 Courage Under Fire-PG15 Shanghai Knights-PG15 Staten Island-PG15 The Bannen Way-PG15 Shanghai Knights-PG15 What Lies Beneath-PG15 44 Inch Chest-18 Ninja Assassin-18 Dark Moon Rising-PG15

00:00 Revenge Of The Bridesmaids PG15 02:00 I Love You Beth Cooper-PG15 04:00 Cats & Dogs-PG 06:00 Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement-FAM 08:00 Bubble Boy-PG15 10:00 Just Married-PG15 12:00 Yogi’s Great Escape-PG 14:00 The Fighting TemptationsPG15 16:00 Revenge Of The Bridesmaids PG15 18:00 Miami Rhapsody-PG15 20:00 How High-18 22:00 Lower Learning-PG15

01:00 Karma: Crime, Passion, Reincarnation-18 03:00 The Open Road-PG15 05:00 An Education-PG15 07:00 Lost In Yonkers-PG 09:00 The Mirror Has Two FacesPG15 11:00 An Education-PG15 12:45 Simon Birch-PG 14:45 The China Syndrome-PG 16:45 Mary, Queen Of Scots-PG15 19:00 Kings And Queen-PG15 21:30 Wolf-18 23:45 I Like It Like That-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 12:30 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:15

Please Give-18 Coco Before Chanel-PG15 9-PG Like Mike-PG Made In Dagenham-PG15 From Justin To Kelly-PG Robin Hood (2010)-PG15 A Family Thanksgiving-PG15 Made In Dagenham-PG15 The Other Guys-PG15 The Hurt Locker-18 Ways To Live Forever-PG15

00:00 Toy Story 3-FAM 02:15 Legend Of Sleeping BeautyPG 04:00 Barbie: Princess Charm School-PG15 06:00 The Spy Next Door-PG 08:00 Toy Story 3-FAM 10:00 Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel-FAM 12:00 Winner & The Gold Child: Part I-PG15 14:00 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Jr.PG 16:00 Shipwrecked-PG 18:00 Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel-FAM 20:00 Ed-PG 22:00 Shipwrecked-PG

00:00 Tyson-18 02:00 Shanghai-PG15 04:00 Jane Eyre-PG15 06:00 Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale-PG15 08:00 Arthur And The Revenge Of Maltazard-PG 10:00 Tooth Fairy-PG 12:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid-PG 14:00 Get Low-PG15 16:00 Arthur And The Revenge Of Maltazard-PG 18:00 Soulboy-PG15 20:00 Ways To Live Forever-PG15 22:00 The Haunting In ConnecticutPG15

01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 11:00 12:00 14:00 19:45 20:45 23:00

Rugby League 4 Nations Powerboats Powerboats Trans Word Sport Live PGA European Tour WWE Bottom Line Rugby League 4 Nations Le Mans Trans Word Sport Live Rugby League 4 Nations Rugby League 4 Nations

00:00 00:30 01:00 03:00 07:00 09:00 13:00 15:00 18:45 20:45 22:45

European Tour Weekly Total Rugby Rugby League 4 Nations Darts Rugby League 4 Nations Darts European Challenge Cup Premier League Snooker Rugby League 4 Nations Live Rugby League 4 Nations Trans World Sport

03:00 04:00 06:00 11:00 12:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 21:00 22:00 22:30 23:00

Trans World Sports Rugby League 4 Nations LIVE European PGA Tour Trans World Sports Rugby League 4 Nations Futbol Mundial ICC Cricket World FEI Equestrian World Spirit of Yachting Trans World Sports LIVE Darts Grand Slam Trans World Sports Futbol Mundial ICC Cricket World LIVE Darts Grand Slam

00:00 03:00 04:00 07:00 08:30 09:30 10:30 13:00 14:30 16:30 19:00 20:00 23:00

UFC 138 UFC The Ultimate Fighter Live UFC Live V8 Supercars WWE Bottom Line WWE Vintage Collection Live Super League Formula V8 Supercars WWE SmackDown Super League Formula UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC WWE Bottom Line

00:00 Globe Trekker 01:00 Secrets Of Ancient China 02:00 Exotic Lives 03:00 Trabant Trek 04:00 The Blue Continent 05:00 Globe Trekker 09:00 Travel Today 09:30 Glutton For Punishment 10:30 Rudy Maxa’s World 11:00 Swiss Railway Journeys 12:00 Warner Bros Movie WorldAustralia 13:00 Globe Trekker 14:00 Sophie Grigson In The Home Counties 14:30 Sophie Grigson In The Home Counties 15:00 Journey Into Wine- Australia 16:00 Essential 17:00 Megalopolis 18:00 People Of The Sea 19:00 Tokyo Revealed 20:00 Globe Trekker 21:00 Planet Sports 22:00 American Civil War Trail 23:00 Essential 23:30 Life’s A Trip

01:00 02:00 08:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 18:00 20:00 21:00 23:00

Boogie Night VH1 Music Smooth Wake Up VH1 Hits Music For The Masses Top 10 Cover Power Soundtracks Weekend Hosted Top 20 Guess The Year Soundtracks Weekend VH1 Rocks

Classifieds SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available in new Riggae with Indian family in two bedroom flat C-A/C building. Contact: 66545906.

(C 3731) 13-11-2011 Sharing accommodation available for a single family with a family in two bedroom, hall, two toilet in Abbassiya, opp United Indian School.

Call: 99170268. (C 3730) 10-11-2011 Sharing accommodation available for Indian bachelors in old Riggae sector, St 1. Contact: 97525930.

(C 3728) Sharing accommodation available for Indian couple or bachelors with an Indian family in Hawally, fully furnished, central A/C room.

Contact: 97919485. (C3729) 6-11-2011

FOR SALE For sale Mitsubishi Lancer GLX 2002 (red); mileage 225K, alloy wheels, all new original parts, excellent condition. Price: KD 1,050.

Contact: 66857416 13-11-2011

CHANGE OF NAME I, Vanki Reddy Sreelatha, holder of Indian Passport No. G6791519 converted to Islam do hereby change my name to Aasma Bano.

(C 3727) 5-11-2011

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines LMU AFR JZR KAC RBG JZR JZR MLR ETH MEA THY UAE QTR DHX MSR FDB ETD RJA GFA MSR THY KAC JZR DHX JZR FCX JZR BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD IRA GFA FCX RBG IRC JZR IRA MEA SYR MSR JZR

Arrival Flights on Sunday 13/11/2011 Flt Route 1109 ALEXANDRIA 6708 PARIS 185 DUBAI 154 ISTANBUL 3564 ASSIUT 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 1405 COLOMBO/DUBAI 620 ADDIS ABABA 400 BEIRUT 772 ISTANBUL 853 DUBAI 138 DOHA 370 BAHRAIN 612 CAIRO 67 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 2140 CAIRO 5504 ISTANBUL 544 CAIRO 269 BEIRUT 170 BAHRAIN 555 ALEXANDRIA 403 DOHA 529 ASSIUT 157 LONDON 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 382 DELHI 352 COCHIN 302 MUMBAI 676 DUBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 284 DHAKA 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 603 SHIRAZ 213 BAHRAIN 203 DUBAI 3555 ALEXANDRIA 6801 AHWAZ 165 DUBAI 615 SHAHRE KORD 404 BEIRUT 341 DAMASCUS/ALEPPO 610 CAIRO 201 DAMASCUS

Time 0:01 0:10 0:20 0:35 0:40 0:45 0:50 0:55 1:45 2:00 2:15 2:35 2:40 2:55 3:00 3:05 3:10 3:10 3:15 3:20 3:30 4:40 5:10 5:15 6:00 6:15 6:20 6:40 6:45 7:40 7:45 7:50 7:50 7:55 8:00 8:05 8:15 8:30 9:00 9:05 9:20 9:35 9:40 9:55 10:30 11:05 11:10 11:20 11:35 11:55 12:35 12:55 13:00

KAC GFA KAC KAC FDB UAL QTR KNE SVA RJA ABY KAC JZR KAC QTR JZR JZR ETD GFA SVA RBG ABY JZR FDB KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC ALK FDB JAI OMA AFG MLR KAC DHX VOS MEA GFA QTR UAE KAC JZR AIC KAC JZR UAL AXB DLH JZR

672 219 744 774 57 982 140 745 500 640 123 788 257 550 134 561 213 303 215 510 3557 127 777 63 502 542 787 786 618 674 166 102 562 267 61 572 647 405 1407 512 372 81 402 217 136 859 172 135 981 678 239 981 389 636 481

DUBAI BAHRAIN DAMMAM RIYADH DUBAI WASHINGTON DC DULLES DOHA JEDDAH JEDDAH AMMAN SHARJAH JEDDAH BEIRUT SOHAG DOHA SOHAG DEIREZZOR/ALEPPO ABU DHABI BAHRAIN RIYADH SOHAG SHARJAH JEDDAH DUBAI BEIRUT CAIRO RIYADH JEDDAH DOHA DUBAI PARIS/ROME NEW YORK/LONDON AMMAN COLOMBO/DAMMAM DUBAI MUMBAI MUSCAT KABUL/DUBAI COLOMBO/DUBAI TEHRAN BAHRAIN BAGHDAD BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI FRANKFURT BAHRAIN CHENNAI/HYDERABAD/AHMEDABAD MUSCAT/ABU DHABI AMMAN BAHRAIN KOZHIKODE/MANGALORE FRANKFURT SABIHA

13:20 13:25 13:25 13:45 13:50 14:05 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:40 14:45 14:50 15:00 15:15 15:25 16:10 16:45 16:50 17:15 17:20 17:35 17:40 17:45 18:40 18:45 18:50 19:05 19:10 19:15 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:50 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:30 20:50 20:55 21:00 21:15 21:20 21:25 21:35 21:40 21:45 21:55 22:05 22:05 22:45 23:00 23:35 23:50 23:50

Airlines FDB AXB LMU UAL AIC BBC DLH RBG MLR AFR ETH MEA THY VOS FDB UAE DHX MSR ETD MSR THY QTR JZR GFA RJA JZR FDB BAW KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC JZR JZR UAE ABY KAC FDB QTR ETD KAC IRA GFA KAC FCX RBG KAC IRC JZR KAC IRA MEA

Departure Flights on Sunday 13/11/2011 Flt Route 8068 DUBAI 394 COCHIN/KOZHIKODE 1110 ALEXANDRIA 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 976 GOA/CHENNAI 44 CHITTAGONG/DHAKA 637 FRANKFURT 3562 ALEXANDRIA 1405 COLOMBO 6708 DUBAI/VIETNAM 621 ADDIS ABABA 401 BEIRUT 773 ISTANBUL 94 DUBAI/KANDAHAR 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 2141 JEDDAH/CAIRO 5505 ISTANBUL 139 DOHA 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 643 AMMAN 200 DAMASCUS 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 549 SOHAG 671 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 171 FRANKFURT 787 JEDDAH 560 SOHAG 212 ALEPPO/DEIREZZOR 856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 117 NEW YORK 56 DUBAI 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 773 RIYADH 602 SHIRAZ 214 BAHRAIN 743 DAMMAM 204 DUBAI 3558 SOHAG 541 CAIRO 6802 AHWAZ 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 614 SHAHRE KORD 405 BEIRUT

Time 0:20 0:40 0:45 0:45 0:50 1:00 1:20 1:25 1:55 1:55 2:45 3:00 3:15 3:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:00 4:00 4:10 4:30 4:55 6:55 7:00 7:10 7:30 8:25 8:40 8:55 9:00 9:00 9:05 9:25 9:30 9:35 9:40 9:45 10:00 10:05 10:10 10:20 10:25 10:40 10:40 10:45 11:45 11:45 12:00 12:10 12:15 12:30 12:35 12:55

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

KAC SYR KAC MSR GFA KAC FDB KAC KNE UAL KAC ABY RJA SVA JZR KAC JZR KAC QTR JZR ETD JZR QTR GFA RBG ABY SVA JZR JZR FDB JZR KAC KAC FDB DHX ALK KAC JAI OMA MLR KAC DHX MEA GFA FCX QTR KAC UAE KAC JZR KAC JZR KAC KAC AFG

501 342 785 611 220 561 58 673 746 982 677 124 641 503 786 617 480 511 141 238 304 538 135 216 3556 128 511 266 134 64 184 283 361 62 171 267 351 571 648 1407 543 373 403 218 102 137 301 860 205 554 343 502 415 411 406

BEIRUT ALEPPO/DAMASCUS JEDDAH CAIRO BAHRAIN AMMAN DUBAI DUBAI JEDDAH BAHRAIN MUSCAT/ABU DHABI SHARJAH AMMAN MEDINAH/JEDDAH RIYADH DOHA SABIHA TEHRAN DOHA AMMAN ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA SHARJAH RIYADH BEIRUT BAHRAIN DUBAI DUBAI DHAKA COLOMBO DUBAI BAHRAIN COLOMBO COCHIN MUMBAI MUSCAT COLOMBO CAIRO BAHRAIN BEIRUT BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI DUBAI ISLAMABAD ALEXANDRIA CHENNAI LUXOR KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA BANGKOK/MANILA DUBAI/KABUL

13:00 13:35 13:40 13:55 14:20 14:45 14:50 15:05 15:10 15:20 15:25 15:25 15:35 15:45 15:50 15:50 16:00 16:25 16:30 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:45 18:15 18:20 18:25 18:35 18:45 19:05 19:20 19:55 20:15 20:20 20:40 21:00 21:05 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:50 21:55 22:00 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:25 23:30 23:35 23:45 23:55 23:59

34

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

s ta rs CROSSWORD 496

CALVIN & HOBBES

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) A touch of financial genius can result in phenomenally successful investments. One way or another, changes in your financial status are in the offing—taxes, investments, debts or legacies play a part in this. Interaction with other people will be electric, exciting and unpredictable the rest of this year.

Charisma is highlighted now—you develop a deeper understanding of many of life’s mysteries and taboos. You may discover new facts about your family tree. There is talk of traditions and family. There are old diaries and photos for you to enjoy and organize into a family album. You have a clear vision into your own inner sense of values, how you appreciate and love. This is a good time to examine and think about what is most important to your future.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. (computer science) A computer that is running software that allows users to leave messages and access information of general interest.

4. A large Yoruba city in southwestern Nigeria.

10. (computer science) The rate at which data is transferred (as by a modem).

13. Mythical bird of prey having enormous size and strength.

14. Small voraciously carnivorous freshwater fishes of South America that attack and destroy living animals.

15. A former agency (from 1946 to 1974) that was responsible for research into atomic energy and its peacetime uses in the United States.

16. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

17. Remote city of Kazakhstan that (ostensibly for security reasons) was made the capital in 1998.

18. The cry made by sheep.

19. Gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement.

21. A region in northmost Europe inhabited by Lapps.

23. Before noon.

25. Epithet of Siva.

29. A liquid solution that results from elution.

34. A bar of sand.

35. Someone whose business is advertising.

36. Bulky grayish-brown eagle with a short wedge-shaped white tail.

37. (physics and chemistry) The smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element.

39. The universal time coordinated when an event is received on Earth.

41. A heavy odorless colorless gas formed during respiration and by the decomposition of organic substances.

43. Offering fun and gaiety.

48. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

49. Of or relating to or characteristic of the Republic of Chad or its people or language.

53. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

54. An informal term for a father.

56. Wife of Balder.

57. Again but in a new or different way.

59. A form of Japanese poetry.

61. The state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by.

62. A quantity of no importance.

63. Jordan's port.

64. The residue that remains when something is burned.

DOWN 1. (informal) Exceptionally good.

2. A cord fastened around the neck with an ornamental clasp and worn as a necktie.

3. A fraudulent business scheme.

4. The United Nations agency concerned with civil aviation.

5. Rich Middle Eastern cake made of thin layers of flaky pastry filled with nuts and honey.

6. A human limb.

7. Any of a class of alcohols having 2 hydroxyl groups in each molecule.

8. Wear away through erosion or vaporization.

9. A less than average tide occurring at the first and third quarters of the moon.

10. A small cake leavened with yeast.

11. A hymn of praise (especially one sung in ancient Greece to invoke or thank a deity).

12. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

20. Warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings.

22. (Welsh) A warrior god.

24. A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance.

26. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

27. A hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers.

28. A French abbot.

30. A rapid escape (as by criminals).

31. A stock exchange in New York.

32. Waterproofed canvas.

33. (prefix) Within.

38. A region in central Italy.

40. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

42. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

44. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

45. Closed with a lace.

46. A long noosed rope used to catch animals.

47. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

50. Any tree or shrub of the genus Inga having pinnate leaves and showy usually white flowers.

51. Type genus of the Anatidae.

52. United States writer noted for his droll epigrams (19021971).

55. East Indian tree bearing a profusion of intense vermilion velvet-textured blooms and yielding a yellow dye.

58. A state in northwestern United States on the Pacific.

60. A unit of information equal to 1024 bytes.

Yesterday’s Solution

This is a good day to get things done, especially around your living area. You have a sense about balance and how to maintain balance in your life. You are successful in whatever task you choose. There may be some repair or yard work you will want to do before the winter begins. You may be close to finishing a remodeling job this weekend. This afternoon is a good time to enjoy the out-of-doors and perhaps, exercise a bit. Perhaps you and the young people in your family, or among your friends, will enjoy one or two of the following: horse-back riding, fishing, target shooting, darts, etc. Your personal charisma is highlighted this evening and you and a loved one may enjoy relaxing in a local restaurant. You could be anticipating a child soon.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Obtaining and exchanging information takes on more meaning now. Being more involved with a meaningful group of people like close neighbors or family members satisfies a deep emotional need. Communicating feelings becomes more important now. A new cycle begins for you, signaling a strong interest in relationships, social connections and the arts—on a more intellectual level than in the past. A family debate helps to show off your problem-solving abilities. You are able to see both sides of an issue—the situation may call out for understanding and compromise. Marriage and other close relationships give rise to great expectations now, as a new cycle gets underway in your life. This is a time to enjoy and appreciate your ties to others.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

Your imagination may mislead you to the point of motivating you in a wrong direction. Your realistic thinking could be obscured by some supposed spiritual or humanitarian ideal. Given time to think through some particular situation, you may feel you should reverse your path. This will be a time of introspection—you may find yourself eliminating some of the plans and projects yet uncompleted. Writing and making lists of projects and steps to complete a goal will bring about a good focus. List making could also eliminate false starts. This afternoon you may find yourself helping a young person. Whether this is with homework or just listening to them; you express your compassion and willingness to help.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

ZITS

Secrets have a short half-life around you—you have them out in a wink of an eye. You are brilliant when it comes to insights into the mind—psychology and motivation. Your intensity is obvious and some may prefer to keep their distance rather than subject themselves to your laser eye. Nothing is passed over without being examined inside and outside. Someone may challenge your ideas or good taste. You always seem appreciative of others and can create a positive outcome to most any difficulty. This is, however, not the best time to shop, choose colors, etc. Charisma, self-transformation, the development of personal power: these things play a bigger role in your life now, more than ever before. Remember that tiny causes can lead to big effects.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Don’t be surprised if you are not in top mental gear this day. You may feel more like sharing some time with your loved one, or with close friends. Perhaps this would be a good time to visit the zoo or involve yourself in some fall neighborhood activity where you can feel you are a part of a team or group. Close relationships will certainly take on more emotional depth now. It is possible that you are clinging to some recent happening in the past and need time to work through some feelings. Some honest soul-searching as well as being with those you love and who love you are the best actions to take at this time. There is an opportunity to understand and deepen a friendship this evening. General good feelings and a sense of harmony make this a happy time.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Playing sports boosts your confidence and you look for friends or a team to join today. This could also mean you call up a friend and play tennis or golf. The demand for your skills or talents intensifies and you become aware of new options for pastime pleasure. Your home environment and surroundings receive your attention this evening. A mate or close friend may complain that you do not spend enough time together. You are flattered and can find some time to plan or engage in the interactions required to deepen this relationship. You may teach your mate or friend to honor his or her individualism—perhaps both of you talk about goals each of you have for your own personal achievements. A young person will make you laugh this evening.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) This is not perhaps the best time to make important decisions that affect your living situation or life circumstances. Others may challenge your ideas or authority. This is a much better time to relax and plan for the busy days ahead. Divvy up the chores so that no one person has too many things to do before a special day and of course, do your own share. If you are going away for the winter, there will still be some arrangements to be made. You may be sought after for your counsel regarding travel and preparation considerations this afternoon. You will be able to handle most matters, especially if you have arranged your day so that you do not have a lot of stress. Some pleasant surprises this evening will be the reward for your choices during the day.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) What were normally clear ideas before today may become a bit fuzzy at this time—it may be hard to be logical. This may be a good time for list making. Seeing both sides of an issue and figuring out resolutions to opposing views are the things that take on the most importance in your life as well.

You may get insights into your living situation or support system. There are new ideas about your past history and new approaches to established facts. You could receive unexpected help or support from those around you for whatever you want to accomplish. Making a good impression and putting your best foot forward takes on greater importance this evening, particularly if you are trying to impress a loved one. Romance takes center stage tonight.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You decide to clean and work at polishing floors or some other work that takes high energy and you get much accomplished. It is time to really get down to the business of clearing away the things that no longer serve you.

Now there is room for new and better projects. Health, food and physical condition come under scrutiny and you work to give this much attention today. You make a big effort to pick out those fat-free foods that will help you feel better; careful, some of them are full of sugar that turns to fat. You can expect a little boost, some sort of extra support or recognition from those around you for whatever you choose to do today.

This evening there is an opportunity to relax with your loved ones. You may be the winner at a card game this evening.

Yesterday’s Solution Aquarius (January 20- February 18) This is a wonderful time to add to a collection or to sell part of a collection. A city library could be having an annual sale and this may give you the opportunity to purchase some old edition for your own private book collection. You draw a sense of security from your friends and social involvement this afternoon. Sharing some fun activity with your friends may put you at your most imaginative, at least when it comes to ideas and thoughts. You could be traveling a short distance to a craft or art show and this will certainly fill your day with good memories that last a lifetime. This is a day full of fun times and opportunities to build firm relationships. Nosy neighbors may give you some frustrating moments this evening—this is short-term—have patience.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Do not try to prove a point today—others hear what you have to say but may not immediately respond the way you want. Clear communication is important to you. You may find yourself listening carefully to what others have to say. Your timing should be perfect and those around you should find you ready for new adventures. Everything conspires to reveal you at your best, particularly in social situations. Emotional security and a sense of belonging and nurturing are the issues felt instinctively now. You want roots and you crave a sense of intimate connection. There is a chance to understand those around you and to have a special time with someone you love. General good feelings make this a happy time.

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

Years

i n f o r m at i o n FIRE BRIGADE

112

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

24812000

Al-Jahra

25610011

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Al-Salmiya

25616368

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

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

POLICE STATION Al-Madena Police Station Al-Murqab Police Station Al-Daiya Police Station Al-Fayha’a Police Station Al-Qadissiya Police Station Al-Nugra Police Station Al-Salmiya Police Station Al-Dasma Police Station

Clinics Rabiya

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Al-Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W.Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Madonna defied bullies by refusing to shave armpits he 53-year-old singer admits she was often ridiculed for her appearance when she was at school and didn’t think she could act like “popular” girls so decided to act in an opposite way. She said: “The boys in my school would make fun of me. ‘Hairy Monster’. You know, things like that...And then, going to high school, I saw how popular girls had to behave to get the boys.

I knew I couldn’t fit into that.

So I decided to do the opposite. I refused to wear make-up, to have a hairstyle. I refused to shave. I had hairy armpits.” The ‘Gimme All Your Love’ singer - who has daughters Lourdes, 15, and five-year-old Mercy, and sons Rocco, 11, and David, six - also admitted she still feels like a school girl because of the pressures to conform in order to be popular. She told the new issue of Britain’s Harper’s Bazaar magazine: “For some reason, I feel like I never left high school, because I still feel that if you don’t fit in, you’re going to get your ass kicked...That hasn’t really changed for me. I’ve always been acutely aware of differences and the way you are supposed to act if you want to be popular.”

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Timberlake challenged to dance off by his date he ‘What Goes Around... Comes Around’ singer and actor is taking Corporal Kelsey De Santis to ball in Washington, and she has warned him he’d better have his dance moves in order. Kelsey told accesshollywood.com: “My friends keep saying, ‘Dance-off!’ They know about my skills. “I honestly don’t think he’ll be able to keep up with my group of people. I really don’t think he’ll be able to keep up with us.”

Kelsey added her dancing skills include “multiple signature moves,” such as “The Dougie.” Justin has recently reunited with Jessica Biel, and while Kelsey is open to a kiss from the star, she insists she won’t pressure

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him. She added: “I’m single! I don’t know if a kiss will happen. I guess that’s all up to JT and what his plans are. “I would never force anything upon him or anything like that!” Justin accepted an invitation to attend the ball as Kelsey’s date after she sent a video asking him online in July.

Justin’s ‘Friends With Benefits’ co-star Mila Kunis is also attending the ball as the date of Sergeant Scott Moore.

Fergieis

excited

about decorating her ho

he singer’s group Black Eyed Peas are preparing to go on indefinite hiatus and the 35-year-old star - who married actor Josh Duhamel in January 2009 - admits she can’t wait to live a quieter life and sleep in her own bed for long stints. She said: “[I won’t miss] sleeping in different hotel rooms all the time. I want to be home, because I moved into my house but I haven’t really been able to decorate it fully- just going to museums, going to art galleries, picking out art, things like that that I haven’t been able to do lately. I’ll be excited to be in my own bed at night.” Despite looking forward to the break, Fergie admits she “choked up” at a recent New York show when she realised she won’t get to see so much of her bandmates, will.i.am, Taboo and Apl.de.ap, who she has always had a close relationship with. She recalled to Ocean Drive magazine: “We worked really hard. There were days where we weren’t sleeping and were doing numbers of shows per day, and it was just go big or go home. We were just all hungry for it, and doing it together. “If somebody had a bad day, we had the others to hold each other up. We went through so many unique experiences together that it’s really a beautiful thing.... I choked up just the other night at Central Park when we did that show. These are great celebrations of our friendship, and we know it’s going to be a while before this happens again, so we’re just taking it in right now and just really enjoying each moment.”

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Rihanna is careful she never becomes a gimmick he ‘We Found Love’ singer is renowned for having crazy, everchanging hairstyles and colours and making outrageous music videos, but has decided to strip things back for her new album ‘Talk That Talk’ to focus on her singing. In an interview on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS FM radio show she said: “I kind of just wanted to scale back, instead of having a look. “I didn’t want to make it such a big deal, like what hair color. I wanted to go back to something simple, something flexible; something a little more natural. It’s more about the music. “I don’t want to become a gimmick, ever.” Speaking about

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her hair, she jokingly added: “Well, I ran out of colors so I decided to go back to my natural colour.” The 23-year-old star also said she thinks her latest single, ‘You Da One’, is “kind of dirty”. She added: “This is one of those records, it becomes very addictive. To me, it’s very infectious: the more you listen to it, the more you want to listen to it. It had a reggae vibe, but it’s a sweet little love letter. I love the record. It’s kind of dirty, I love it.” ‘Talk That Talk’ is released on November 18.

Pattinson puppy s gets his own seat on the plane

Bieberauctioning his pet snake for charity he ‘Never Say Never’ hitmaker is giving away his baby boa constrictor Johnson, with all the proceeds set to go to the Pencils of Promise, a non-profit organization that builds schools and increases education opportunities in the developing world. The reptile had an estimated value of $1,000, but a bid of $1,750 has already been placed on the Charity Buzz website, where the snake is being auctioned, with bidding set to close on November 29. Justin sponsors Pencils of Promise through his Believe Charity Drive, which he set-up to help non-profit organizations across the world. He said in a statement: “I am launching the Believe Charity Drive because I know firsthand that if you believe in your dreams, everything is possible. “The Believe Charity Drive directly benefits charities that are making a difference in the world. You can ... donate as little as one dollar, or even donate your time, because everything will make a difference.” In August, the 17-yearold pop star took Johnson to the MTV Video Music Awards as his guest after learning his girlfriend Selena Gomez would be busy conducting interviews for MTV on the red carpet.

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he 25-year-old actor - who is dating his ‘Twilight Saga’ co-star Kristen Stewart - adopted Bear from a shelter earlier this year because he felt lonely, so he likes to “smuggle” him into various countries when he’s shooting a movie. Speaking on ‘Live with Regis and Kelly’, he said: “He was in one those shelters where they don’t keep them around for very long. He was on his sixth of seven days.

“Just by coincidence - this doesn’t happen in my life very often - but I ended up being on a private jet like three days later. “It was kind of ridiculous. Literally three days after that, we were going to L.A. and he had his own seat [on the plane]. I’ve smuggled him over borders many times.” But Robert isn’t the only star to have adopted a puppy after Justin Bieber and his girlfriend Selena Gomez - who has five rescue dogs - visited Winnipeg animal rescue centre D’Arcy’s ARC last month and fell in love with a 10-week-old husky, which they named Baylor. D’Arcy Johnston, chief executive officer of the rescue centre, said: “They spent a lot of time with the puppies. I was told that Selena was missing the dogs that she has at home. “I wasn’t expecting her to adopt a dog while she was on tour and has a busy schedule. Baylor probably would have had a bad life or a very short life. But he got rescued and brought to our shelter and is now going to live a very good life.”

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Pitt, Jolie being sued by former secretary ilingual Ana Charlotiaux worked at the couple’s Chateau Miraval estate in the South of France until February 2010 dealing with phone and email enquiries, but she claims she was sacked for taking too much sick leave. Ana, 45, has now filed an unfair dismissal case and is seeking £55,000 in compensation from the couple - who are known for their charity work and raise six children together. At a hearing, her lawyer Emmanuel Ludot said: “She is not asking for much - just fair compensation for wrongful dismissal. “This money is a drop in the ocean for these stars. She has nothing against them personally, and says she was always treated well by them, but they did not step in to pre-

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vent her being dismissed. “Mr Brad Pitt, who is also famous for his charity work and adoption of children, should understand that my client should be compensated as soon as possible.

We hope they will both be faithful to their reputation for humanitarian causes.” He also added that his client had taken around fourand-half months off over two years because of illness. The Prud’Hommes tribunal will deliver its verdict on Charlotiaux’s unfair dismissal case next February.

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LIFESTYLE

A hospital nursery displays through a glass window the 14 babies born yesterday thru natural birth and caesarean operations in Surabaya city in East Java province. —AFP

11-11-11 brings lucky babies, bets and brides n years to come, babies born Friday should have no trouble remembering the date - and in some cases, the exact minute - of their birth. The day marked the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011. From China to New York, people celebrated the convergence of 11s with a splash by placing bets, tying the knot or making a wish. Some babies were born right at 11:11 am, giving their time of birth 1’s across the board. In Mount Holly, NJ, Jacob Anthony Saydeh made Veterans Day even more memorable for parents who are a veteran and current member of the Air Force. To the west, Celine Dianne Dicenzo’s birth in Cleveland had been expected to come next week.

Newborn Alexander David Hockaday Ruiz took things a step further in Los

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Angeles when he was born at the exact time in room 1111 of a hospital’s maternity ward. Providence Holy Cross Medical Center says the birth was natural and the room assignment was a coincidence. But in Colorado, Cayson Childers’ birthday wasn’t left to chance.

His parents ensured his arrival by scheduling a Caesarean section for Friday, and then doctors were able to make the operation work right at 11:11 am.

Across Malaysia, some 1,000 ethnic Chinese couples exchanged vows on a date viewed as auspicious and romantic. In China, a special “1111” train started at 11:11 a.m. on the No. 11 line in Shanghai. “The numbers rhyme with one husband, one wife and one soul in Chinese and signifies a marriage that would last a lifetime,” said nurse Pua

Kim Giok, 25, who tied the knot with engineer Lee Chin Siong, 27. They were among 460 couples who got married at the popular Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur.

Not everyone was smiling, however.

Egypt’s antiquities authority closed the largest of the Great Pyramid of Giza following rumors that groups would try to hold spiritual ceremonies on the site at 11:11. The authority’s head Mustafa Amin said in a statement Friday that the pyramid of Khufu, also known as Cheops, would be closed until yesterday morning for “necessary maintenance.”

The rest of the complex, which includes two other large pyramids, numerous tombs and the Sphinx, and is one of Egypt’s biggest tourist attractions, remained open Friday, though security

EMI record label sale

AFI Fest:

ends 80 years independence

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wonderful dance documentary “Pina.” Mexico’s Gerardo Naranjo brought the bracing, grim action film “Miss Bala.” Yorgos Lanthimos, whose “Dogtooth” was a surprise Oscar nominee last year, came with his equally bizarre new film, “Alps,” and with the deadpan comic absurdity of Athina Rachel Tsangari’s “Attenberg,” this year’s Greek Oscar entry, which he produced and stars in.

“The international selection at this festival is just great,” said “Girlfriend” director Justin Lerner, who came to see “The Turin Horse” the afternoon his film was nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Audience Award. “They aren’t concerned with getting premieres at AFI,” added Lerner. “They just make really strong and tough selections from the films that are out there.” In fact, AFI Fest drew liberally from previous festivals: nine films that showed at Cannes (including five prize winners), others from Venice and Toronto and New York.

“It makes sense to show the film here,” said Naranjo, who showed “Miss Bala” at Cannes and Toronto and New York and other festivals, but who told TheWrap that he looks at the AFI Fest screenings as the official start of his campaign to get his film noticed by the Academy, where it’s Mexico’s official entry in the foreign-language race.

“I feel taken care of at AFI,” said the director, who is himself an alumnus of the AFI’s school. “I know the process after this won’t be as easy, but I feel embraced here.” Naranjo’s is one of seven foreign-language entries that screened at the festival; the others were “Pina,”“The Turin Horse,” “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia,”“A Separation,” “Attenberg” and “Bullhead.”

And while the last of those films may have stirred up some controversy when it was chosen over the Dardennes’“The Kid With a Bike” as Belgium’s official entry, it acquitted itself quite well, winning the audience award in the New Auteurs section. — TheWrap.com

MI, the London-based record label that for 80 years brought the world everyone from the Beatles and Queen to Coldplay and Katy Perry, is no longer independent. The company was chopped up and sold in pieces Friday, with Vivendi’s Universal Music Group winning EMI’s recorded music auction with a $1.9 billion offer. A consortium led by Japan’s Sony is expected to announce later on Friday that it won the auction for EMI’s music publishing operations in a deal valued at $2.2 billion, according to numerous sources involved in the process.

Both companies were victorious, coming from behind in the auction’s final week after nearly five months of negotiations, trumping bids by archrivals Warner Music Group and BMG. For EMI owner Citigroup, which took control of the record label after its previous owner, Guy Hands’ buyout shop Terra Firma, defaulted on loans owed to the investment bank, the better-thanexpected $4.1 billion in total deal value approaches the breakeven level, something few observers thought possible.

Both deals are expected to attract intense regulatory scrutiny, as Universal is already the worldwide market share leader in recorded music and Sony will catapult to the No. 1 position in publishing. The deal, if approved, would increase Universal’s recorded music market share to 36 percent globally. In the U.S., the world’s largest music market, the combined company would control 38 percent of the market. In some European territories Universal’s market share would be in excess of 50 percent.

Though Sony will jump from fourth to first place in music publishing-owning the rights to around 3 million songs including the iconic hit “New York, New York” and Adele’s recent smash “Rolling in the Deep”-its deal is structured in a way that would make it more palatable to regulators. Instead of an outright purchase, Sony is only a minority partner, meaning that it won’t consolidate revenue or debt from EMI on its books. Rather, it will administer the catalog, or find commercially viable ways to license EMI’s songs, in return for a management fee.

Even so, Impala, the trade organization that represents Europe’s independent music companies, issued a statement saying it will lobby for both deals to be blocked outright. Universal has already offered to sell more than $500 million in assets to appease regulators, but Impala said that wasn’t enough. Though Impala has successfully lobbied to block major music deals in the past, most notably Warner Music’s attempt to buy EMI a decade ago, sources dismissed its concerns this time around.

These sources said the music industry in much weaker and more fragmented than it was a decade ago and that stronger companies are needed to help protect and promote artistic talent. They also cited the rise of powerful distributors like iTunes, Google, and Amazon, which together account for about 80 percent of music sales, as the principal price setters in today’s market. Even before Terra Firma bought EMI, the company had been so poorly managed that its initials were derisively said to mean “Ever Mistake Imaginable.” But Guy Hands’ stewardship drove EMI further into the ground. —Reuters

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Auteurs came, saw, conquered he AFI Fest 2011 wrapped up eight days of programming in Hollywood on Thursday night, after a couple hundred screenings, a lot of visits from movie stars and a week’s worth of major showcases for some of the year’s big awards contenders. Clint Eastwood and Leonardo DiCaprio walked the red carpet for “J. Edgar,” ditto Michelle Williams for “My Week With Marilyn,” Michael Fassbender for “Shame,” Kirsten Dunst for “Melancholia,” Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and many more.

But those high-profile events-the campaignstop side of AFI Fest, if you will-only make up a minority of the screenings at the festival (which, to be accurate, is officially called AFI Fest Presented by Audi, as every press release takes pains to point out). The real heart of this year’s festival was the truly remarkable lineup of films from auteurs around the world-and the surprising number who actually came to Los Angeles for the festival. Bela Tarr, the legendary Hungarian director who has been making acclaimed but little-seen (in the US) films for more than 30 years, came with what he says is his final film, “The Turin Horse,” a stark and stunning black-and-white examination of hard scrabble daily life marked by extraordinarily long takes and a glacial pace that ends up mesmerizing rather than confounding.

“A press person yesterday told me that my films require effort from the audience,” Tarr told the audience before one screening of his film. “I would say to you, ‘Don’t make any effort. Just watch the film.”“ And Tarr wasn’t alone in making the trip. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgian directors whose film “The Kid With a Bike” shared this year’s Cannes Grand Prize with Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” (which also screened at the festival), made their first trip ever to Los Angeles for the fest. German director Wim Wenders (“Wings of Desire,”“Paris, Texas”) came to town with his

but we just wanted something memorable,” he said. Plus, he said, it will be easier to remember his anniversary. The Chinese have always had a fascination with number sequences. And in a country where ages of first marriages are creeping upward, the 11/11/11 date represents six “bare sticks,” a term for bachelors in Chinese.

And there are now more of them, with housing prices, focus on jobs and growing independence of young women meaning people are getting married later. “It’s just difficult for men to afford the housing prices nowadays, and traditionally in China that is the responsibility of the man his family. I feel a lot of pressure from this,” said Zheng An, a 26-year-old employee at a solar company in Shanghai. —AP

appeared to be heavier than usual.

In the U.S., the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., was planning drawings every 11 minutes for up to $1,111.

In Las Vegas, Stephanie Joseph of the Clark County Marriage Bureau says roughly 1,700 licenses have been issued so far for 11-11-11 weddings, second only to the 2,600 licenses issued for weddings on July 7, 2007. That date more than two years ago consisted of three lucky sevens.

Bryan Savage of Oklahoma City was among those tying the knot on 11-11.

He said the number 11 is meaningful to him and his fiancÈe, Tara Melton, because his birthday is in November and they met in November.

“It’s just kind of cool and we didn’t really want Valentine’s Day or a holiday,

NEW DELHI: An Indian kite-flying enthusiast flies a hundred kites on a single string during a kite-flying festival on the India Gate lawns in New Delhi yesterday. The event organised by Delhi Tourism is being held in the Indian capital on November 12 and 13. —AFP

Black Sabbath announce new album, 2012 world tour eteran British rock band Black Sabbath announced on Friday they are reuniting in their original four man line-up for their first new album in 33 years and a 2012 world tour. Singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bass player Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward told a news conference at legendary Sunset Strip club Whisky a Go Go they would perform at the Download Festival in England in June 2012, and then embark on a world tour.

The band, which first got together under the Black Sabbath name in 1969, said they were working on new material for the album for release in the fall of 2012. There is no title as yet but it will be produced by Rick Rubin. “It’s now or never. We are getting along great.

Everything’s really good,” Iommi told reporters at the club where Black Sabbath played their first show in Los Angeles exactly 41 years ago.

“It’s like putting on an old glove. It’s fantastic,” Iommi added. The four musicians, now all in their 60s, released their last studio album of all original material

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in 1978 with “Never Say Never.” Rumors of a possible reunion of the English metal band, regarded as one of the pioneers of heavy metal with hits like “Iron Man” and “War Pigs,” had been swirling for months.

“It’s just time,” Osbourne said, noting that the four had tried in the past to work together again. “This time, for some magical reason, we have written about seven or eight songs.”

Nothing has been recorded yet and no dates were announced on Friday for the world tour. The band also announced the launch of its first official website www.blacksabbath.com, and said it would be making its first foray into social media via Facebook and Twitter.

Frontman Osbourne was fired from the band in 1979, leading to a revolving lineup for a number of years. The original foursome reunited for the 1998 release “Reunion” and played again together sporadically for shows in the early 2000s.

Black Sabbath was inducted to the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide. —Reuters

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

lifestyle

A collection of Mattel die-cast vehicles from the Disney-Pixar film ‘Cars’ are displayed at an exhibition in Los Angeles on Friday in southern California, where international auction house Bonhams, together with the world’s number one toy maker Mattel, have teamed up to bring car fans of all ages at an exhibition at the Petersen Automotive Museum on November 11-12.—AFP

Bygone era of fans and gloves spotlighted in Vienna expo O

nce fashion accessories rather than tools for confronting the weather, fans and gloves as old as 700 years are getting their day in the sun with a new exhibit at Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).

“Gripping Diversity” retraces the history of both items, with rarely seen pieces dating back to the late Middle Ages and Japan’s Edo period. The exhibit is part of a series on accessories at the MAK that started last year with handbags and will continue next year with

headdresses and shoes.

While an obvious draw for women, the show has plenty on offer for male visitors, including gloves worn by men, especially priests, and Japanese fans that used to be carried by men, the museum insists. Among the colorful and diverse objects on display are fans made of lace, straw, lacquered wood and even ivory made to look like feathers. The exhibit also includes century-old fan leaves-painted semi-circular sheets of paper that formed a fan

when attached to a support-and ornate beaded and embroidered gloves worn by clergy or royal figures.

“The MAK’s textile collection is incredibly large and rich,” said curator Barbara Karl. “The fans are really just a small part of the collection and were never exhibited until now, so that was one of the reasons to show them as part of this exposition series,” she told AFP on a guided tour.

More than just decorative, fans were used

early on as advertising surfaces a practice that has carried on today-and as dance cards for ladies at a ball. Fan language, an allegedly popular means of silent communication between a woman and a man depending on how the object was held, was just a product of early PR however.

“A fan extends your gesture and if you use it in a certain way, it can show a certain state of mind,” Karl said.”But fan language was first invented in the 19th century and was a mar-

keting ploy by a manufacturer of fans,” she insisted. The oldest pieces on display are socalled cockade (circular) fans dating back to the 14th and 15th century and used for religious purposes. Much like fans, gloves-once an object no lady would leave the house without-have disappeared from daily life, except as means of protection and warmth. The exhibit, which opened this week, hopes to place these “neglected” objects back in the spotlight, according to MAK.— AFP

After conviction, legal woes mount for Jackson doc J

ail time is not the only problem looming for the doctor convicted in Michael Jackson’s death. Lawsuits, medical licensing issues and possible payments to Jackson’s family await. Some of the matters have been on hold since Dr Conrad Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter in February 2010, and the cardiologist’s attorneys have so far fended off attempts to end his ability to practice medicine.

Now, with the jur y ’s guilty verdict announced Monday, the efforts to hold Murray accountable in civil courts will speed up and the loss of his medical privileges are all but guaranteed.

The Houston-based physician is being sued by Jackson’s father, embroiled in a fight with the provider of his medical malpractice insurance and may be ordered to pay restitution to Jackson’s family when he is sentenced for involuntary manslaughter on Nov 29.

But Murray won’t go quietly. His civil attorney said that if the lawsuits proceed, they will delve into territory unexplored during the doctor’s six-week criminal trial, including possible culpability by other doctors. Murray ’s team will also look into options for Murray to relinquish his medical license in Texas - with an eye on trying to return to medicine within a year.

In this file photo taken Tuesday, Nov 1, 2011 Dr. Conrad Murray waits to leave the courtroom during the final stage of his defense in his involuntary manslaughter trial in the death of singer Michael Jackson. —AP

Brian Oxman, who represents father Joe Jackson in a wrongful death lawsuit against Murray, said his civil case “will absolutely focus on what happened before the last few hours of Michael’s life.” Oxman is also working with Murray’s attorney, Charles Peckham, to possibly expand the case to include other physicians who treated Jackson, namely dermatologist Arnold Klein.

“We are looking at ways to expand the scope and view of this lawsuit to all those who are actually responsible for the death of Michael Jackson,” Peckham said Thursday.

Murray’s criminal attorneys frequently mentioned Klein to jurors and presented evidence about Demerol treatments that Klein gave Jackson in the months before the singer ’s June 2009 death, but a judge blocked the dermatologist from testifying.

Peckham said some of Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor’s rulings - which were intended to keep the focus on Murray’s care of Jackson - “severely restrained testimony that would have pointed to Dr. Murray’s innocence.” “There is substantial proof that supports the belief that the insomnia Michael Jackson was experiencing was a result of the overmedication of Michael Jackson with Demerol,” Peckham said. No Demerol was found in Jackson’s system when he died, but a defense expert told jurors in the criminal case that some of the symptoms of withdrawal from the drug are similar to those caused by use of the anesthetic propofol, which is what killed Jackson.

Murray said he was giving the pop superstar propofol treatments so that he could sleep as he prepared for a planned series of comeback concerts.

Klein’s attorney, Garo Ghazarian, said Friday that Murray’s attorneys would be foolish to try to pursue the Demerol defense in civil court. “There is such a thing as a crosscomplaint,” he said. “There is such a thing as a frivolous lawsuit. I hope they are familiar with those notions before they proceed against Dr Klein.”

Ghazarian, a criminal defense lawyer who represented Klein during Murray’s trial, said the dermatologist would vigorously defend himself if named in a civil suit. “I think you don’t have to be a lawyer to put two and two together,” Ghazarian said. “They want to throw dirt in every other direction except look at themselves.”

Murray ’s attorneys are planning an appeal of his criminal conviction and he remains jailed without bail until his sentencing. At that hearing, prosecutors could seek restitution for Jackson’s family, although his mother and children have received millions in support from the singer’s estate since his passing.

In 2009, a judge ordered record producer Phil Spector to pay $26,000 in restitution fees after he was convicted of second-

degree murder for shooting hostess Lana Clarkson. Nearly $10,000 was allocated for a state victims’ restitution fund, while the rest was set aside for Clarkson’s funeral expenses.

The prospects of recouping any money from Murray are uncertain - he was never paid for his work with Jackson and is being pursued by creditors. It is unknown how much money Murray has or will receive as a result of a documentary project that was to air Friday night on MSNBC. “As a convicted felon, he is not permitted to profit from his crime,” Oxman said. “The family has the right to receive those funds.”The documentary has been sold to broadcasters in several countries and has already been shown in Britain. Louis Perry, a security driver who took Murray to-and-from court daily throughout the trial, said Friday that producers spent lavishly on Murray, taking him to expensive booze-filled dinners and paying more than $3,000 for a 12-seat van to ferry the doctor, his family and supporters to lunch during the trial. He said he was also told to bring Murray to an upscale department store, where Murray was fitted for new suits, including the one he wore when he was led from the courtroom in handcuffs on Monday, but he did not know exactly how the wardrobe was paid for.

The doctor has been fighting with his malpractice insurer, Medicus Insurance Co., in a Houston court since August 2010.

Medicus is asking a judge to rule that it is not responsible for paying any of Murray’s legal bills in his fights with various medical boards, Joe Jackson’s lawsuit or his criminal defense. The case was on hiatus until after the criminal trial.

Peckham said he still contends the policy, purchased a month before Jackson’s death, should cover Murray’s legal bills. Murray’s conviction should mean an end to his medical career, although Peckham said efforts are under way to protect a Houston clinic founded in honor of Murray’s father.

“We are working to make sure that Dr. Murray’s patients get the same type of stellar health care they got with Dr Murray,” Peckham said. The attorney acknowledged Murray’s medical license will be suspended an effort a Texas Medical Board spokeswoman confirms is under way. Peckham said he is exploring whether Murray may agree to a revocation of his license to allow him to reapply to become a physician later.

Texas law allows a physician to apply for re-instatement one year after their license is revoked. Murray ’s medical license in California has been suspended since January. In Las Vegas, where Murray operates another clinic and where he first met Jackson, the doctor’s medical privileges will also likely be revoked as a result of his conviction. — AP

New book offers glimpse of Jackson’s personal life A

personal assistant turned personal manager to Michael Jackson said the King of Pop had been taking propofol as early as 1999, and that the singer was drugged up ahead of his 2001 30th anniversary concerts. Frank Cascio, who became a family friend to Jackson at age 5 and eventually one of the singer’s closest friends and employees, writes in a new book that he first noticed Jackson taking the drug Demerol while accompanying the singer on his “Dangerous” tour in 1993.

He writes in his new book, “My Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Man,” that Jackson started the first of two anniversary shows in 2001 an hour late as a result of being drugged up in his dressing room. “...My naÔve belief that Michael wouldn’t let his medicine interfere with the show blew up in my face,” Cascio writes. “I can’t begin to describe my disappointment and panic at this moment.” The Associated Press purchased an advance copy of the book, which is set for release Nov 15 by William Morrow, an imprint of News Corp.’s HarperCollins.

Cascio became a friend of Jackson’s after his father introduced him to the singer; Cascio’s father worked at the Hemsley Palace in Manhattan, managing the hotel’s towers and suites, where Jackson stayed. Following that, a five-year-old Cascio and his younger brother Eddie, spent time with Jackson at his Neverland Ranch.

He says Jackson was first introduced to Demerol in 1984 when he burned his head during a Pepsi commercial shoot, and Cascio writes that he first noticed Jackson using the medicine on his “Dangerous” tour. “Now, on tour, and again in deep physical pain, Michael turned back to those drugs,” he wrote.

Cascio says Jackson also took propofol in 1999 in Munich when the singer was 50 feet in the air and instead of coming down slowly, the platform Jackson was on fell down. Cascio also writes that Jackson had taken Demerol to treat the skin disease vitilogo, and grew worried about his drug use.

“It had become clear to me that Michael’s drug use was escalating,” he wrote. Cascio said sometimes he paid doctors in cash “because all of Michael’s medical issues had to be kept from the public and their cost off the books.”

He also said he had some of the prescriptions written out in his name. “Over the years, I had

In this Nov. 8, 2007 file photo, pop star Michael Jackson poses on the red carpet during the RainbowPUSH Coalition Los Angeles 10th annual awards in Los Angeles. Frank Cascio, a personal assistant turned personal manager to Michael Jackson said the King of Pop had been taking propofol as early as 1999, and that the singer was drugged up ahead of his 2001 30th anniversary concerts. —AP grown accustomed to seeing doctors coming and going, particularly in late tours, when Michael was under great stress and needed help falling asleep.”

Cascio said he wanted to seek out help, but didn’t know who to turn to. Ahead of Jackson’s 2001 anniversary shows, he said he spoke to Janet, Randy and Tito about their brother’s drug use. He writes that Jackson’s siblings approached him, but the singer “simply pushed them away.” Murray was convicted Monday of involuntary manslaughter for supplying the insomnia-plagued Jackson with the powerful operating-room anesthetic propofol to help him sleep as he rehearsed for his big comeback.

“But in the end, physical and mental anguish prevailed, and Michael died in his endless quest to attain some inner peace,” Cascio writes. “My Friend Michael” also takes a look at some of Jackson’s personal and professional moments, providing a somewhat behind-the-scenes look at the King of Pop’s life. —AP

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

lifestyle

A model presents a creation by French designer Philippe Guilet during a fashion event called “100%.RO”.

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heepskin skirts and delicate bead embroidery shone on a Bucharest catwalk on Thursday in a one-of-akind ethnic fashion show blending the skills of a French designer and centuriesold Romanian handicraft. The vibrant display was meant to counter some of the negative labels sticking to this country, often dismissed as a drab postCommunist outback, but in fact a rich melting pot of Latin, Balkan, Hungarian, Slav and Roma influences.

Entitled “Prejudice”, the women’s clothing line created by Philippe Guilet, who previously worked with Karl Lagerfeld, Thierry Mugler and Jean-Paul Gaultier, is to be shown in Paris early next year.

High heels were inspired by Romanian-born sculptor Constantin Brancusi’s iconic work the “Endless Column”, under delicate lace dresses or multicolored woven skirts that recalled the traditional women’s costumes of northern Romania. “Romania is often derided, but actually this country is quite the opposite of what people might think,” said Guilet, who has spent the past four years here.

The former research director for JeanPaul Gaultier has launched a cultural project called “100%.RO” that aims to reinterpret Romanian’s heritage. Far from the grey, downtrodden cliches, he chanced upon the ornate embroidery of artisans like Virginia Linul of the northern region Bistrita Nasaud, who have been handing down their skills from generation to generation, adorning clothes, belts or necklaces.

“The beads we use for our traditional embroideries resemble a field full of flowers in springtime,” Ana Bodescu, one of the women who worked on this collection, told AFP. In place of their traditional costumes, the women of the remote village of Salva this time embroidered a toreador-style vest, a long organdy black dress or a tweed-like suit with strings of beaded lace.

Some of the items took many months and kilograms (pounds) of beads to create. Guilet’s encounters with handcraftsmen and -women in their rural environment, where people still use 16th-century woodworking tools and bone needles for embroidering sheepskin, have inspired 34 creations, each carrying a Romanian woman’s name. Some fifty local artisans contributed to the show, set against the elegant backdrop of the French embassy in Bucharest, decorated for the occasion with barren trees and haystacks as if caught in a snow storm.

Many of the items bore the imprint of Constantin Juravle, an artisan in his 60s

from Straja, a remote village in the northern Bucovina region, whose family has been working sheepskin for generations, following a technique jealously guarded secret. A glittery metal-laced dress created by a family of Roma goldsmiths whose metalworking traditions go back 300 years was a highlight of the collection.

The project “is a combination of modernity and ancestral work,” said Guilet, who made the point that Romania still boasts skills and know-how that designers now struggle to find in France. To illustrate this coming together of two worlds the artisans, most of whom have seldom left their home village, stepped out on the catwalk next to the models and some of Romania’s best known designers at the end of the show.

“Philippe has come from afar and appreciated the value of our skills. It is extraordinary that he has showcased our work,” said Virginia Linul. “Nobody has done this for us before. Now people can see Romania’s real image, one that you don’t generally see and which is quite beautiful.”— AFP

French designer Philippe Guilet (R) walks with a model presenting a wedding dress during a fashion event called “100%.RO” at the French embassy headquarters in Bucharest on Thursday.—AFP photos

A model presents a creation by French designer Philippe Guilet.

Public gets first look at Wal-Mart heiress’ museum

In this photo taken Oct 14, 2011, a portrait of George Washington, left, painted

by Charles Willson Peale between 1780 and 1782 is displayed among other works from the Colonial period at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark. —AP

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rt lovers got their first look Friday at the treasures amassed by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton and displayed at the new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, an enormous facility that took six years to build. Walton helped open the museum that’s situated on 120 acres just a 10-minute walk from Bentonville’s downtown square. The museum expects to draw about 200,000 visitors in its first year of operation.

“This is it,” Walton said during a ceremony to mark the public opening. “I’m prejudiced, but it’s the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen.” Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the museum includes six buildings, two of which are structured as bridges over ponds fed by a clear-running stream.

“Crystal Bridges is now yours, may it flourish,” Safdie said. The museum is named for Crystal Spring, one of three springs that feed the stream, and light reflected by the ponds plays off the copper-roofed structures. The museum offered a day-early preview to the 5,000 or so people who bought memberships, which cost $75 for a family. They saw

galleries that progress in chronological order, starting with the Colonial era and moving on to contemporary paintings and sculpture.

The collection includes masterpieces, such as Asher Durand’s landscape “Kindred Spirits,” and iconic images, such as Norman Rockwell’s “Rosie the Riveter” and an Andy Warhol portrait of Dolly Parton. A gallery that will be used later for traveling exhibits now features pieces from the permanent collection. In all, the museum has about 400 paintings and sculptures on display, with twice as many in the vault.

Walton, daughter of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton, has a fortune estimated at $20.9 billion by Forbes, making her the 10th-richest American. The cost of many of her acquisitions remains unknown, but she was able to afford just about anything she wanted. She bought “Kindred Spirits” for a reported $54 million. The opening ceremony included a video recording featuring former President Bill Clinton and a Veteran’s Day acknowledgment of soldiers, past and present.— AP

Guests attending a preview of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art stand beneath curved wooden beams and skylights in Eleven Restaurant at the museum in Bentonville, Ark. —AFP

Gaultier arrives in fashion-conscious Texas A s the Dallas Museum of Art prepares to open an exhibit of Jean Paul Gaultier’s sometimes outrageous, always head-turning fashion designs, the city’s well-heeled residents are mobilizing.

Dallas is one of just three North American cities - along with Montreal and San Francisco - hosting the exhibit of works by the French designer. And while Dallas is not a fashion industry center like New York, Paris or Milan, designers and retailers know very well that some of their most devoted and fashion-conscious clientele can be found in Texas - both in Dallas and farther south in Houston.

“People take fashion here very seriously.

It’s not exactly the same as it’s going to be in L.A. and New York ... but it’s a much more exuberant style. I don’t think anyone ever comes to Dallas and comes to an event and are ever underwhelmed,” said Brian Bolke, owner of upscale Dallas boutique Forty Five Ten, which currently has a prominent display of Gaultier’s designs for customers to choose from.

Gaultier said he has been impressed with the style of the women he’d seen since his arrival to kick off the Dallas show. “I saw some women that were very elegant, super elegant. And that were even more Parisian than some Parisians,” he said. New York Citybased designer Elie Tahari, who this fall opened a store-in-a store in the Neiman Marcus at Dallas’ NorthPark Center along with his own freestanding boutique at the upscale mall, called the turnout for the openings “amazing.”

“It’s a big market for us and it’s a growing market. It’s a glamorous city and that’s the clothes I make,” said Tahari, who added that the line’s runway collection - its most expensive - is selling well in Dallas, which doesn’t happen in all cities. Retailers say their customers in Dallas and Houston are sophisticated consumers who follow current fashion, have the money to spend on designer wares and are frequent travelers.

“I don’t know any designers that don’t like to come to Texas. It’s because they do so well here,” said Neal Hamil, who worked in New York City as executive vice president

of Ford Models and director of Elite Model Management North America before returning to his hometown of Houston two years ago. Hamil serves as creative director for Fashion Houston, which brings together designers to show their collections in Houston. New York City-based designer Bibhu Mohapatra, who was among those showing collections at the event, said that during his first visit to the state he noticed residents have “a natural flair and passion for fashion.”

The event honored Houston’s Becca Cason Thrash as its style icon and included a show of her designer collection, which included pieces by Alexander McQueen and Christian Dior. Cason Thrash, an international philanthropist who has organized fundraising galas for the Louvre at the Paris museum and who shops across the globe, said that women in Dallas and Houston “are really chic and they really care about how they walk out the door.”

“They really turn themselves out. I have a great, great many fashion designer friends ... and they all come here and say this is the greatest market concentration and research for us to see how these women put themselves together,” she said.

It’s customers like Cason Thrash whom Bolke thinks of when he’s searching for items that can’t just be found everywhere.

“Our customers travel so much. They see everything and they have access to everything, which is actually a nice challenge,” said Bolke, who added, “Women here are not scared of fashion with a capital ‘F.’ Here it’s a kind of sport.”

Ken Downing, the senior vice president and fashion director of Neiman Marcus, said these well-traveled Texans “become really great style ambassadors to this state.”

As the home of Neiman Marcus, Dallas began its flirtation with fashion early. The luxury retailer founded in 1907 has over the decades has brought famous faces including Coco Chanel and Grace Kelly to Dallas to receive fashion awards. “Certainly, Neiman Marcus has had an enormous impact on the style knowledge that Dallas alone has had,” Downing said. —AP

After conviction, legal woes mount for Jackson doc

38 Spears opens F1 concerts in spectacular fashion SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

Femme Fatal Tour a hit with 30,000 Abu Dhabi fans

New Orleans, champions rebuilding efforts

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features never seen images S

everal photographs of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, which have never been seen before, are featured in a new exhibit devoted to the late screen siren. “Picturing Marilyn,” which opened at the Milk Gallery in New York, runs through the weekend. It spans Monroe’s life in front of the camera lens, starting with her teenage years when she was photographed on the beach by Andre De Dienes, according to its organizers. It is timed to coincide with the release later this

month of the film “My Week with Marilyn,” which stars Michelle Williams as Monroe.

“She was innocent, intelligent and sexual-what a combination. She was an alchemist’s dream and that is why the flame is eternal,” said Harvey Weinstein, the producer of the film. The exhibit is made up of more than 60 images by some of the most famous photographers who shot Monroe, including “Discovery Series” by Bernard of Hollywood, who helped Monroe get her first acting role, and her

photo shoot with Philippe Halsman for the Life magazine cover when she was 26 years old. It was launched with a gala evening hosted by co-organizer Bert Stern, actress Celeste Holm, who co-starred with Monroe in “All About Eve,” and Joan Copeland, the sister of playwright Arthur Miller to whom Monroe was married.

Stern’s photograph of Monroe in a black Dior dress shot for Vogue magazine is the centerpiece of the show. He also shot Monroe’s final portraits, a series known as

CNN lays off staffers after employee appreciation week

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Singer Tony Bennett smiles during an event to commemorate the 101st and final home built by “Project Return Home,” a rebuilding effort started after Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans, Friday. Behind him is New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. —AP

Against Me before she rolled out other favourites such as Lace and Leather and If U Seek Amy. Fans, many who had arrived early to form a line that snaked its way around Yas Arena, were warmed up by Australian duo NERVO who entertained the 30,000 of music lovers, who waited patiently to get a glimpse of the ‘Till the World Ends’ performer. Sharjah resident Mohammed Qassim, who comes from Iraq, said: “I drove all the way from Sharjah to attend Britney’s concert. We grew up listening to Britney’s music and I never imagined that I would see her live on stage. The evening was really amazing... it like was a dream coming true.”

The concert series continued yesterday with British rock band The Cult and American rockers Incubus. The Yasalam after-race concerts are exclusively for 2011 F1(tm) Etihad Airways Dhabi Grand Prix ticket holders.

Monroe photo exhibit

Bennett visits

rammy-winning jazz crooner Tony Bennett is championing a rebuilding effort to help New Orleans residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina. At the site of the 101st and final house built by Project Home Again, the 85-yearold singer said Friday that bringing people home is important to protecting the culture and traditions of New Orleans. Says Bennett: “The gospel music, the music that started in churches here that created the art form of jazz, that needs to be preser ved.” He looked on as a gospel choir clapped and swayed while singing “Oh Happy Day” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to commemorate the project founded by his friends, New York couple Leonard and Louise Riggio. After seeing Katrina’s devastation on their TV sets following the 2005 storm, the Riggios pledged to build homes for low- and middle-income families who were forced from their homes with little hope of returning. — AP

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merican pop princess Britney Spears treated her Middle Eastern fans to an unforgettable show in Abu Dhabi on Friday at the Yas Arena, Yas Island, to open up the F1 concerts in spectacular fashion. The Femme Fatal recording artist put on one of the most visually creative shows since Beyonce’s appearance on Yas Island two years ago.

Not only dazzling the crowd with her high-octane choreographed 90-minute show, she also allowed some fans to share the stage experience after inviting some lucky ones up to perform with her in front of a packed arena.

Hits such as Big Fat Bass, How I Roll and Gimme More kept the crowd swinging under the cool breeze during a night that brought plenty of surprises for her fans that had travelled from across the globe to see her. Spears appeared on stage at 9pm, putting on a memorable show that opened up with Hold it

NN laid off about 50 staff-members on Friday, citing technological advances and “work flow” changes, TheWrap has confirmed. Photojournalists, technicians and librarians were laid off, though no reporters got the axe, according to individuals with knowledge of the layoffs. “It was a complete shock. No one had any idea this was going to happen,” said one shaken employee. “This is not the friendly company it used to be. And no one really knows why - the economy, the ratings or what.”

The cuts come to the cable network’s newsrooms in Miami, Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta. Another individual said the cuts were more than 50, and closer to 70.

Staffers at CNN told TheWrap that they were shocked at the sudden layoffs, especially given that it was employee appreciation week at the New York office, with gifts like hand cream handed out and appreciative signage decorating the building. Nearly a dozen photojournal-

ists were given pink slips-four in New York, five in Washington, one in Miami, and one in Los Angeles-according to an individual with knowledge.

Two of the laid-off photographers had just finished covering the Conrad Murray trial. To save money, the network plans to transfer certain departments that can work remotely to Atlanta. CNN’s graphic department was moved to Atlanta months ago, foreshadowing things to come. In a note to staff, Jack Womack, CNN’s SVP of domestic news operations, wrote that the layoffs come after a 3-year review of the cable news network’s Image + Sound operations.

“Now that we have completed this three-year review, we believe that we have the right resources in the right places and the proper staffing at Image + Sound, and that the unit is well-positioned to have an even more positive impact on our networks and platforms,” Womack wrote. (TheWrap.com)

US singer Lady Gaga poses with the Bambi trophy she received during the Bambi 2011 media award ceremony, Thursday in Wiesbaden, Germany. Lady Gaga was awarded the prize for best pop international.—AP

“The Last Sitting,” in 1962. In total Stern shot more than 2,500 images of Monroe, but has only ever released a few for public viewing.

Among other previously unseen images are a De Dienes shot taken when Monroe was 23 in a rare moment when she was photographed without makeup. Another picture from 1954, by Bruno Bernard, shows Monroe casually stretched out across rows of movie theater seats and dressed in head-to-toe white. — Reuters