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20 11 Inmate has a baby after sneaking sperm to wife Palestinian baby a product of successful smuggling attempt conspiracy theories
The meaning of Ramadan By Badrya Darwish
badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net
F
www.kuwaittimes.net
40 PAGES
150 FILS
Emsak: Fajer: Shoruk: Dohr: Asr: Maghreb: Eshaa:
Indian police arrest protesting yoga guru
RAMADAN 26, 1433 AH
ood, food everywhere. This is all I see in Ramadan. Honestly, it is a shame, we spend the month eating, cooking and talking about recipes. I am one of these people. I even started watching cooking shows which I have never seen before. In Ramadan this is the first thing I look for. As if I have never cooked in my life before - when in actuality I have been cooking for my family for decades. I do not feel guilty because everybody tells me they are doing the same thing - even men. The first thing they ask is what the iftar meal would be. It is not just a woman’s habit. Most people say that they promise themselves to eat just like in any other month - just two moderate meals a day. But that promise is not working. You overindulge in iftar and get high on sweets for suhoor. We keep on eating.
I noticed the habit of eating. We do not stop taking bites in between the two meals, too. This is a total suicide. Most of the people I know plan to lose weight in Ramadan. I am one of them but in all honesty I do the opposite. I do not know about you. Tell me if your system is different and if you have been able to control your cravings. I discovered that the food we throw away is twice as much as the food we eat. That’s why even the street cats in Kuwait are having their own month of fiesta. If I understand their language maybe they hope that the whole year continues like that. I feel so ashamed that I and many of us, have misunderstood Ramadan. That month was meant to discipline us in many ways, even in our eating habits. It is meant to teach us to budget. Many people are doing good things, providing free food, for example. But this is not what Ramadan is meant for. I hope in these last precious 10 days that already started we could do better and behave in the proper Ramadan manner and apply the philosophy behind this holy month. It is not too late. We still have a couple of days and I hope we could spend them in tranquility and make peace between ourselves and God and that will help all of us.
NABLUS: A baby boy was born by Caesarian section yesterday, the product of a successful smuggling attempt by a Palestinian prisoner who managed to sneak out a sperm sample to his wife. Baby Muhannad was born in a Nablus hospital to Dallal Ziben, a 32-yearold mother-of-two from a village in the northern West Bank, whose husband Ammar is currently serving 32 life sentences in an Israeli prison. Palestinians are not permitted to receive conjugal visits, and although Dallal Ziben has not set eyes on her husband for 15 years, she says she fell pregnant after being artificially inseminated by sperm her 37-year-old husband managed to sneak out of Hadarim prison in central Israel. “Praise be to Allah who has blessed us after a long absence with my husband in prison,” Ziben said shortly before going in for an elective Caesarean. “My husband and I, our two girls and the family have been waiting for this for such a long time,” she said. Ziben, who comes from Meithalun village between Nablus and Jenin, already had an 18-month-old daughter called Basha’er when her husband, who belongs to the Islamist Hamas movement, was arrested. At the time, she was also five months pregnant with their second daughter, Bissan. “I am very happy. This is the first genuine happiness in our house for more than 15 years,” smiles Basha’er, now 16. “When my mother told us she was going to get inseminated and give us a baby brother, we couldn’t believe it,” she said. “We have always wanted a brother and now the dream has come true.” After the expectant mother was wheeled into the operating theatre, a group of women from the family Continued on Page 13
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NABLUS: Palestinian mother Dala looks at her new born son as she lays under a photograph of her imprisoned husband Amer Al-Zein, at the Al-Arabi hospital in Nablus yesterday. — AFP
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
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Iraqi group seeks Russian help to end sanctions Speaker reiterates stance on elections By A. Saleh KUWAIT: An Iraqi political group urged its government to seek diplomatic intervention from Russia to help Iraq exit the UN Chapter VII sanctions, instead of relying on Kuwait’s position. “Russia is currently supervising the work of the committee that evaluates Iraq’s situation to stay subjected to the Chapter VII sanctions,” said Aliya Nusayef, spokesperson of the Free Iraqiya Bloc. “Since it is a permanent member in the Security Council, Russia can play a significant role in ending the UN authorization on Iraq.” The Iraqi lawmaker believes that leaving the subject for Kuwait’s evaluation became unreasonable “since all persisting issues between the two countries have been resolved, saved for a number of issues that do not call for retaining sanctions.” “It is important that Russia is convinced to reconsider this issue rationally, especially since Iraq no longer pose a threat to international peace and security,” she added. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki is expected to visit Russia soon after receiving an official invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The Iraqi government is required to take diplomatic efforts in order to end the present situation that has been ongoing for over twenty years,” Nusayef said. Stance on elections Speaker Jassem Al-Kharafi reiterated his stance of not running again for parliament, indicating that the end of his work is tied with the dissolution of the 2009 parliament. Al-Kharafi made these comments in a recent press statement, in which he indicated that he “referred a letter to HH the Amir about the inability of the Parliament to convene due to lack of quorum,” leaving the “final decision” for the state’s ruler to
make. “Distancing from the parliament does not mean that I am giving up my responsibilities towards the nation,” he said, “we must serve Kuwait in all fields because we owe this country a lot.” Al-Sawagh in a tight spot MP Falah Al-Sawagh finds himself in a very tough situation these days as he tries to reach a middle ground between the oppositionists Islamic Constitutional Movement that he belongs to, and his Awazem tribe which objects calls given by the ICM and the Majority Bloc to adopt constitutional monarchy. “Recent statements of the Awazem’s leader Falah bin Jame’a in which he rejected the concept of constitutional monarchy and elected Cabinet is a knockout blow for Al-Sawagh, whose dominant win in the 2012 parliament was contributed majorly by bin Jame’a’s support for him,” said sources close to the Islamist lawmaker. “If Al-Sawagh supports his ICM’s stance and announce support for the constitutional monarchy idea, he would risk losing support of the Awazem tribe who are known for shunning those that oppose their general direction,” added sources. On that regard, sources indicated that Al-Sawagh “received advices to avoid mentioning the constitutional monarchy subject, and instead focus on other demands such as rejecting the government’s step to refer the electoral law to the Constitutional Court.” Meanwhile, Former MP and minister Ali AlBaghli argued that the real reason behind the opposition’s rejection of the government’s step is “their panic upon realizing the true possibility of failing to return to the Parliament if the electoral law is changed.” Al-Baghli, a human rights activist and a regular columnist, announced his support for the government’s plan to verify the constitu-
‘Kout’ restaurants The Kout Food Group announced establishing new companies to operate international food chain branches in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iraq. This was announced in a statement released by the Kuwaiti food company recently, which announces the decision to establish the ‘Kout Food Company for Facilities Management,’ in the UAE, the ‘Special Restaurants Company’ in Qatar, and the ‘Kout Food Company’ in Iraq. The group explained to the Kuwait Stock Exchange that the new companies are specialized in “building and operating restaurants and food equipment, as well as representing international food companies as well as importing and exporting goods related to the company’s purpose of work”. Charity violation A Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor(MSAL) employee sent a letter to Undersecretary Mohammad Al-Kandari, accusing the Director of the Charity Organizations and Foundations Department of “making false claims in order to cover up for serious violations committed by two charity committees.” According to the letter which was made available to the press, the employee said that the senior official “suspiciously denied” violations allegedly committed by the Khalidiya and Yarmouk committee of the Social Reform Society, which were detected during inspection operation at two places run by the committee. The staff member further indicates that the official ignored her request to investigate the issue based on evidence found to confirm the violations.
By Hanan Al Saadoun KUWAIT: A 40- year-old citizen, his 37- year- old wife and two daughters aged two and six years respectively died in a car accident in Saudi Arabia. The family was returning home after performing Umrah when the accident took place. Only a four- year-old boy survived the accident.
Fire incident A fire broke out at a residential apartment located in Fahaheel, opposite Al-Anoud Center. A 36-year-old Pakistani suffered burn injuries and was admitted to Adan hospital. A 60-year-old Bangladeshi was stabbed in his back during a quarrel that broke out at a chalet. He was taken to Sabah hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Teenage boy kidnapped Jahra police rescued a Syrian teenager who was kidnapped. Police chased the abductor and stopped him. It was learnt that he was a soldier. He was referred to Jahra police station.
(Interview with the State Secretary, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia G.Karasin for the Russian Information Agency on the war in August 2008)
tionality of the five-constituencies system.
Family perishes in car crash
Car accidents A car accident took place between Jleeb Al Shuyoukh and Ishbelia along the 7th Ring Road. A 31-year-old Bangladeshi fractured his left hand and a 40-year-old compatriot suffered injuries. Both were admitted to Farwaniya hospital. A car accident took place at Fahaheel, Mecca Street near NBK branch. A street fight ensued following the incident between a 15-year-old citizen a 21-year-old. They suffered various injuries. Both were admitted to Adan hospital. A car accident took place at Al-Salmi border, 10 kilometers across the border. A 21-year-old Saudi man fractured his pelvis and suffered chest pain. A citizen suffered a spinal injury. Both were admitted to Jahra hospital. A car accident took place at the 7th Ring Road near the cemetery. A 45-year-old citizen suffered injuries to the head and was admitted to Adan hospital.
Progressive process keeps Going in South Ossetia
KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait(CBK) sponsored a mass Iftar for inmates of correctional facilities, held recently by the Kuwait Social Work Society. During the successful event, prisoners were given the opportunity to reunite with their families for a day, noted Amani Al-Waraa CBK’s Assistant General Manager Marketing and Public Relations Department in a press statement.
Kuwait to host UNOCHA ‘Humanitarian Work Development’ conference KUWAIT: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) will organize its third annual conference in Kuwait titled “Active Partnership and Information Management for Better Humanitarian Work,” in cooperation with the Islamic International Charity Organization and Direct Aid Society on Sept 12 and 13. The event, which takes place under the patronage of Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, seeks to improve humanitarian work and strengthen initiatives of active cooperation between governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, private companies, media
outlets and humanitarian groups working regionally and internationally. “The conferees aims to support coordination and encourage productive partnership between Arab organizations and the international humanitarian system,” said Khalid Khalifa, Head of the UNOCHA office for the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. “Furthermore, the conference aims to support cooperation between active humanitarian organizations in the Arab World, in addition to providing a platform for dialogue and open channels between international, regional and local organizations for sharing humanitarian information online,” Khalifa added. - Gulf Press Association, Bahrain.
Bedoon held at Abdally border KUWAIT: A bedoon attempted to enter Iraq illegally to worship at a religious school (Hawza) during the last ten days of Ramadan. Abdally border policemen were able to arrest the bedoon and refer him to concerned authorities. Cameras monitored the young man while passing through the border fence in Abdaly where a patrol intercepted and arrested him. Officers learned he was a bedoon and did not have a passport. He told authorities he crossed the border so he might go to Iraq to celebrate an important religious occasion in Najaf and Karbala. Investigations are ongoing. Gas leaking damages home Gas leaking in the kitchen of a Rihab area house caused an explosion and damage to the home. No injuries were reported. Farwaniya fire center responded to the call and brought the fire under control before it spread. Ovecrowding of patients Farwaniya Hospital was the scene of chaotic fights when, due to overcrowding, patients sought medical care before others who had waited according to normal procedures. This caused some patients to begin fighting. Police were called in to put an end to the unruly behavior. Bedoon arrested Farwaniya was the scene of a chase between a bedoon and police that ended in the arrest of the suspect after police learned that the car being driven was
stolen. The incident took place when a routine patrol spotted a car being driven with its headlights off. The driver was ordered to stop but did not obey the order and sped off. The patrol car gave chase until the suspect stopped his car and began running on foot. A policeman ran after the suspect and was able to arrest him. The bedoon confessed he stole the car from a Syrian expat. He was sent to the proper authorities. Young man missing A young man told Taima police that his brother has been missing since Friday and that the missing man called his family, declaring, “I am kidnapped..lost..and thirsty ”. Policemen informed Jahra Security Director Major General Ibrahim AlTarrah who ordered a trace of the phone call which identified it as coming from Salmy Road. Investigations are underway. Citizen arrested General security patrols arrested a citizen in possession of various drugs, who was also wanted for previous drug charges. A security source said that two police officers from Special Missions were on patrol in the Bayan area when they spotted a suspicious car. After checking the driver’s ID the officers discovered he was wanted on drug charges. When his car was searched they found five pieces of hashish, 244 illicit tablets, a bag of heroin, as well as KD 167. The suspect was sent to concerned authorities
Q: Karasin, it has been four years since the war in August 2008. To your mind, can we say that the state South Ossetia has established itself? A: Certainly, yes. The case is that even before 2008, when the republic gained international recognition after it was officially recognized by Russia and a number of other states, the people of South Ossetia repeatedly, and at referenda as well, took a stand for its own independence. To date, the country has all necessary attributes of statehood, including the work of legislative, executive and judicial bodies. The state of South Ossetia controls its territory, develops the national economy and takes care of culture and education. Not unimportant is the fact that there is an active party and political work in the country. We clearly saw it during quite complicated presidential elections at the end of last year. In short, an active and non-indifferent civil society is forming itself. Now it is extremely important that this progressive process keeps going. To our estimations, the current president of the country Leonid Tibilov is implementing a straight course aimed at society cohesion and mobilization of constructive forces. In short, taking into account all natural difficulties and problems of state development, South Ossetia is still obviously independent and consistent. The people of South Ossetia certainly have to do a lot in order to build a modern democratic state, but Russia is going to continue supporting that intention of the republic in all necessary ways. Q: Some experts state that taking into account complete financial dependence of South Ossetia from Russia, it is impossible to consider this country to be a proper state. How would you comment on that? A: These experts seem to indulge in wishful thinking. In fact, the statehood is getting stronger. There are no doubts that we financially support the young republic. During four years after recognition, considerable material and financial resources were allocated from the Russian budget for assistance to South Ossetia. We realize that without the assistance of Russia, it is impossible to solve all the accumulated problems, especially of social and economic revival, to eliminate the consequences of suffocative blockade and military attacks by Tbilisi. We are going to continue acting in this direction, because having protected South Ossetia and Abkhazia and having officially recognized these young states, we took a great responsibility for their peaceful and successful future. I assume that individual citizens of South Ossetia, especially those, who were left homeless after Georgian aggression in 2008, may consider the amounts of our assistance and most importantly the speed of restoration and construction of dwellings to be modest and insufficient. These issues, by the way, were openly discussed, particularly at the meeting of our President with Leonid Tibilov in Sochi on 8 May. They set a task to achieve a quick and visible result in terms of improvement of peopleís life and accommodation of those, who live, charitably speaking, in modest dwellings for a long time. In this respect, the most important condition of success is to ensure the efficient and target use of our allocated resources by the republic. We pay special attention to that. Q: The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze previously stated that there are no countries in the world now, which are going to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Is it true? Has the wave of recognitions stopped? A: The most important recognition has already taken place - it is recognition by the Russian Federation. Grigol Vashadze seem to know better, he knows the souls of all people in the world. I doubt that this process has stopped. As the statehood of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is getting established and as the continuous blockade of their representatives at international forums is being lifted, the states will rec-
ognize new South-Caucasian countries as independent partners. This process is certainly ahead. If we are now talking about Tbilisi, I can share several considerations. First of all, during four years it may have been realized that it is necessary to stop the warlike rhetoric, which leads to nothing. It is impossible to solve difficult political issues by propaganda, this is an absolute axiom. It is necessary to admit the existence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to try to develop normal, respectful and equal relations with them. Only in such way it is possible to determine some prospects of long-term stability of South Caucasus in whole, as well as of Georgia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and their neighboring countries. The diplomats of Abkhazia and South Ossetia state that the countries, which want to recognize them, are greatly pressured by the USA. We also know how inappropriately some of our western partners act, twisting the arms of less powerful and developed states, threatening to apply different kinds repressions to them if they do not recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Q: The head of the MFA of Nauru being in Moscow recently informed that two more countries of the Asia and Pacific Rim may shortly recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Is it so? A: I did not meet with him, but I know that such statement had been made, let us wait. Q: On 14 August it will be 20 years after the day of beginning of war between Georgia and Abkhazia, which took the lives of about 16,000 people. You told that Georgia keeps actively sending saboteurs to the frontier areas of Abkhazia. The President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili recently stated that Georgia needs a strong army, which is impossible to have without an ëactiveí war. To your mind, could the events of August 1992 or August 2008 take place again? A: I do not want these events take place again. Russia is successively doing everything possible to prevent them. What about the warlike statements of Mikhail Saakashvili, the world has already got used to the expansiveness of this politician. Let God be his judge. Speaking to the point, the situation in the border area of Georgia and Abkhazia is really complicated. The special forces of Georgia penetrate to Gali district, which is inhabited by mostly ethnic Georgians, and intentionally terrorize its people. The targets of these actions are the representatives of law-enforcement bodies, local authorities, in other words Georgia tries to destabilize the situation in Gali district. Both the President of Abkhazia A Ankvab and the Minister of Foreign Affairs V Chirikba give a corresponding tough estimation of this situation, it can also be heard at Geneva meetings. It cannot be accepted. It shows that revanchist scenarios, force methods of territorial unity restoration are still present in minds of the most zealous politicians in Tbilisi. It must be taken into account. Moreover, in view of the pre-election situation, the fears of threat on the part of Russia are being heated up there. For almost a year, there is hysterics regarding the scheduled exercise of the Russian army ëCaucasus-2012,í about which it was announced at the end of 2011. There are exclamations about some aggression plans on the part of Russia, about demolition of Georgian statehood and similar propagandistic ravings. The political government representatives of Russia, Russian military officials and diplomats repeatedly explained both the exercise and our intentions. But the propagandistic machine of Tbilisi works at full capacity and I am convinced that during the next two month we will still hear a lot of accusations leveled against Moscow. We must consider it appropriately, dividing the statements by emotionality and provocative nature of intentions of the present Georgian government. We expect that the common sense will eventually prevail, but it needs time, there must be realization that it is necessary to change hysterics for serious policy. (From Russian embassy, Kuwait)
Dive Team upload ‘Coral Watch’ video KUWAIT: The Kuwait Dive Team has uploaded a new video at its website demonstrating the proper method to register coral watching at the Coral Watch website. “The Coral Watch website is a location where divers all over the world register watching procedures for coral reefs in their countries,” said Dhari Al-Huwail, the Kuwait Dive Team’s project supervisor. A diver registers information gathered during the coral watching procedure on a plastic form that is updated afterwards at the Coral Watch website to be used for research. The Coral Watch is a non-profit organization that follows standards of the Queensland University in Australia in watching coral reefs around the world. The website’s member list contains more than 1,300 observers from 740 sites around the world, including 50,000 documented coral watching procedures from 2,700 coral sites.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
LOCAL
Amir’s speech a roadmap for state development Focus on basics of democracy KUWAIT: A number of Kuwaiti academics said yesterday that the speech given by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Ahmad Sunday night on the occasion of the last 10 days of Ramadan was a road map that described what should be done for the advancement and development of the country. In separate interviews with Kuwait News Agency, they said the speech of His Highness the Amir was comprehensive and covered all the domestic issues such as maintaining the cohesion of the social fabric, the role of the media at times of challenge, and the importance of freedom. For his part, political science professor at Kuwait University Dr Ibrahim Al-Hadban said that the speech showed that Kuwait is a country with a plurality, where His Highness stressed that understanding must prevail. He noted the link between such understanding and freedom that is guaranteed for all but is not to be used for the sake of abusing the other, “which would threaten our national unity.” Al-Hadban said the speech stressed that
Kuwait is a state of institutions and has a constitution and has laws which must be upheld, stressing the independence of the judiciary. “One should not doubt or hesitate; these are the state’s points of reference in all cases.” He further remarked how the Amir stressed on a number of occasions that the media must be up to the responsibility, act with accountability, and take into account the higher interest of Kuwait and its external relations. Al-Hadban said the Amir did not fail to mention the situation in Syria and Kuwait’s active support of the Syrian people, on public and official level alike, or the plight of the Muslims of Burma and the need for the international community to take a stand against what is happening in that country. For his part, media professor at Kuwait University Dr. Khalid Al-Qahs said the speech of His Highness chose well to focus on and tackle the issue of national unity and the need to ensure overall social cohesion, pointing out that this issue is sensitive because the comprehensive development cannot be achieved
without the presence of united people that respect each other’s differences. Al-Qahs added that the speech of His Highness was very clear when addressing the media, which should refrain from broadcasting anythingh that could stir sedition and divide, and “we as media people would like to see the media institutions in the country serve national unity and enhance development in Kuwait.” Head of Media department at Kuwait University Dr. Menawer Al-Rajhi said that the speech of His Highness was focused, clear, and accurate and was the road map outlining the approach that should be pursued by everyone for the sake of the country and its people. He added that the speech focused on the basics of democracy and the rights of individuals within the framework of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedoms that are countered by responsibilities, indicating that following these basic guidelines is what guarantees the country’s development and meeting the aspirations of its citizens. — KUNA
KIB concludes Ramadan diwaniya visits with unparalleled success KUWAIT: Kuwait International Bank (KIB) has announced the success of its diwaniya visits during the holy month of Ramadan, which was organized as a gesture from the bank to form a bond and interact with diwaniya owners and visitors in a place that resembles a unique part of the Kuwaiti culture, allowing them to interact and exchange ideas outside the everyday workplace routine. On behalf of KIB, Retail Banking and Marketing Division conducted the diwaniya visits led by R K Nair, Assistant GM of the Retail Banking Department. The visits included a large number of diwaniyas in different areas of Kuwait starting from Umm Al-Hayman to Jahra during the first 20 days of the holy month. The visits aimed at reaching different members of the community at their social gatherings and during special occasions symbolizing fundamental traditions and Islamic Shariah values the bank aims at portraying in the Kuwaiti market. R K Nair, Assistant GM of the Retail Banking Department congratulates the Kuwaiti com-
munity on the last 10 holy days of Ramadan and wishes them a blessed and happy Eid while also thanking all diwaniya owners for their generous hosting of the KIB team which embodies the spirit of kindness and compassion during this religious occasion. Nair added, “We were very delighted by our visits as it gave us a chance to communicate
directly with visitors of diwaniyas briefing them about the banks various Shariah compliant products and services as well as receiving their feedback about expectations from the retail banking divisions in Kuwait. The firm gathered insightful feedback which will serve as a guide for us to introduce services that match the needs of the Kuwaiti community.”
KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and his accompanying delegation left the homeland for Saudi Arabia yesterday. His Highness will visit Madinah and perform Umra (Lesser Pilgrimage). His Highness is later to chair Kuwait’s delegation to the fourth extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Makkah.
Zain Offers 50% discount on SMS, 20% on International calls to Pakistan KUWAIT: In celebration of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan National Day Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, has announced that it will offer a 50% percent discount on all SMS messages to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and 20% discount on International calls to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as they celebrate the National Day today Aug 14. Zain, expressed its congratulations on this occasion to the people of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan, represented in its leadership, the embassy and all Islamic Republic of Pakistan expatriates’ residing in Kuwait. The company stressed that Zain is a global company which is always keen to participate in the celebrations of nations. Zain added that the offer is extended to all SMS & International calls sent to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan only today for both post-paid and prepaid customers.
‘Manhae to help spread Sheikha Suad’s poetry’ INJE, South Korea: Kuwaiti poet Sheikha Suad Al-Sabah is being conferred the 2012 Manhae Prize for literary works is an immense step to promote her literature throughout the world, said a local minister yesterday. South Korea’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Choe Kwang-shik, in an interview with KUNA, congratulated Sheikha Suad on the award, which is a vital literary award in Korea that carries the name of a beloved patriotic poet. “Manhae is one of a few poets respected by South and North Koreans,” he pointed out. He is famous for his ardent support for freedom,
equality, progress and peace. He was a significant source for independence in Korea, he added. Minister Kwang-shik expressed joy at Sheikha Suad’s receiving the national award. The Korean minister recently visited Kuwait and held talks about enhancing cultural and tourism relations. He discussed with Dar al Athar Al-Islamiyyah (House of Islamic Antiquities) setting up a Kuwaiti exhibition in South Korea to support boosting relations. He met with Kuwaiti ambassador in Korea and a number o f G CC a m b a s s a d o r s t o b o o s t tourism in South Korea. —KUNA
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
local
ORIENTAL MARINATED DUCK BREAST By Sheraton Hotel
PREPARATION: Peel the potatoes and using the parisienne cutter form potato balls. Blanche the potatoes briefly in warm water. Dry the potatoes completely and saute them in hot butter and season with salt.
KUWAIT: The Iraqi Embassy in Kuwait hosted an Iftar recently at the Palms Beach Hotel for the Iraqi community in Kuwait. The event was attended by Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait, Mohammad Bahrullulum and embassy staff.—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat
DUCK BREAST INGREDIENTS: • 4 duck breasts (cleaned with a min. of fat) 160gm to 180 gm each • 10 gm cinnamon powder • 10 gm fresh thyme (chopped) • 10 gm fresh rosemary (chopped) • 10 gm fresh coriander (chopped ) • 5 gm crushed peppercorns (black) • 2 gm dried chili flakes • 100 ml orange juice • 50 ml olive oil • 5 ml rose water • Sea salt PREPARATION: Blend all ingredients for several seconds and place the duck breast for at least 1 day in this marination until tender and flavored. Grill them from both sides until browned and finish them in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for around 8 minutes to reach the medium baking point. POMME PARISIENNE INGREDIENTS: • 2 big sized (hard boiled) potatoes • 50 gm butter • Salt
CREAMY WHITE SAVOY CABBAGE INGREDIENTS: • 600 gm cleaned Savoy cabbage cut into • 0.5cm julienne) • 500 ml cream (cooking cream) • 30 gm finely chopped sun dried tomatoes • 20 gm finely chopped fresh mint • Salt, pepper & grated nutmeg PREPARATION: Reduce the cooking cream in a sauce pan until it thickens, add the tomato, mint and the cabbage. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and cook until you reach a creamy consistency. (Cabbage must remain al dente to the bite). CRANBERRY SAUCE INGREDIENTS: •500 ml chicken stock •50 gm shallots diced small •100 gm cranberry in glass •5 ml olive oil •10 gm ginger chopped finely •3 gm fresh red chili chopped finely PREPARATION: Pan fry the shallots, red chili and the ginger in olive oil saute briefly and mix altogether with the cranberries. Add the chicken stock and stir altogether reducing until the sauce is rather thick.
The Night of Power By Hassan Bwambale
T
he Night of Power is a very important occasion in Islam. It is a night of mercy, blessings, peace, guidance, etc. God says what can be translated as: “We have indeed revealed this (Message/Quran) in the Night of Power. And what will explain to you what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit (Archangel Gabriel) by God’s permission, on every errand. Peace is this night until the rise of morning.” Chapter 97 When the night of spiritual darkness is removed by the glory of God, a wonderful peace and a sense of security arise in the soul. Such an occasion is one in which divine Wisdom places before us, through Revelation, the solution of spiritual problems of the highest import to mankind. The night that a message descends from God is indeed a blessed night like a day of rain for a parched land. Why was it named the Night of Power? The following verse of the Qur’an gives us the answer: “......in it (the Night of Power) is made distinct every affair of wisdom, by command from Our (Allah’s) presence. We ever send revelations.” (44:4 -5) Qatadah (Prophet Muhammad’s companion) said: “God passes judgments, and prescribes injunctions for His creatures on that night in terms of what will happen in the following year. In it also God predetermines sustenance of His servants, their life span and moments of each one’s death. It is enough to call it the “Night of Power” due to the fact that the Quran, which has been a great school for mankind was revealed in its entirety to the first heaven during this blessed night.” Muslims celebrate the Night of Power wholeheartedly and enthusiastically. Mosques and communities celebrate the night by staying up all night, listening to lectures, reading and reciting the Quran and supplicating to God Almighty either to give them more favors and blessings, to forgive their sins or to secure for them a lofty place in Paradise. What is recommended, however, is to reflect on the Divine Words and to act upon them. Unless that is done, the real power will not be received from that night. When should Muslims await the Night of Power? Muslims are encouraged to await the Night of Power during the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan, especially the 27th and the 29th. Since over fourteen centuries, Muslims have been and are still striving valiantly to benefit greatly from it. Allah says what can be translated as: “Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Quran, as a guide to mankind, also as clear (signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong).” (2:185)
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RAMADAN 25, 1433 AH What is the name of the youngest daughter of our Holy Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Sallam?
Fatima Aysha Khadija
The Night of Power is Better than 1000 Months Mujahid narrated that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) mentioned to his companions the virtues of a man from the children of Israel who fought sincerely in the cause of God in order to spread freedom and justice for a thousand months. The man used to pray all night long until morning and after it dawned he would pursue his career of fighting against the enemies of God. Mujahid went on to say that Prophet Muhammad’s companions admired the work of that noble Jewish man and belittled their acts of devotion compared to what he did. In addition, they felt their life span was less than his. The following verse was revealed in order to comfort them and encourage them to continue doing good deeds - and in fact to urge them to vie with
each other in doing good deeds. Good deeds are many and unrestricted depending on one’s purity of intention. We read in the Quran translated as: “We (God) have indeed revealed this Message (Quran) in the Night of Power. And what will explain to you what the Night of Power is. The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.” (Chapter 97) Some of the Virtues of the Night of Power: 1. The revelation of the Qur’an started on this night as stated earlier. 2. Abu Huraira narrated that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Whoever prays at night during the Night of Power with pure belief in God Almighty and in anticipation of great rewards from Him, he will be forgiven his previous sins.” (Reported by Imam Al-Bukhari and Muslim) 3. Angels continue descending from the heavens in ranks due to the blessings and mercy of God. Almighty God besets that night with goodness, blessings, and mercy as well as direct acceptance of supplications. He says what can be translated as: “Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by God’s permission, on every errand.” (97:04) The Spirit is usually understood to be Archangel Gabriel, for he is the spirit of inspiration. 4. It is so peaceful a night that Satan and his henchmen are unable to spread insinuations and mischief amongst believers. His temptations are fruitless and futile in that neither he nor his cronies can harm anyone. Abu Huraira reported that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “It (the Night of Power) certainly occurs either on the 27th night or the 29th of Ramadan and indeed angels on that night spread around the earth and heaven like pebbles.” (By AlTayalisi) Why isn’t there a special fixed night? It was narrated by Ubadah bin Samit, that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once set out to inform his companions about the Night of Decree; he passed by two men who were deeply engrossed in an argument. There and then he said: “I had set out to inform you about the special date of the Night of Decree then suddenly I found so and so disputing over trivial matters. Due to that, I was caused to forget it. Perhaps that would be better for you. Therefore, seek that night on the twenty seventh of Ramadan and the twenty ninth.” (Related to Imam Al-Bukhari) The wisdom behind living it ambiguous without one fixed date is that God wanted Muslims to strive hard, especially in the last ten days of Ramadan, in anticipation of the due effects of their tedious efforts of prayer and supplication to God. On that Night, their rewards are tripled or quadrupled and thus they gain forgiveness from God. How to maximize benefits of the Night of Power 1. Recitation of the Holy Quran as much as you can 2. Optional prayers after Taraweeh 3. Continuous and frequent remembrance of God 4. Supplication (dua) for you and your fellow Muslim brothers 5. Reading books of Hadith (Prophet Muhammad’s sayings). Courtesy AWARE Center: The AWARE Center, an acronym of Advocates for Western-Arab Relations provides for Western expatriate in Kuwait a variety of services and facilities to make their stay more interesting and comfortable. For more information, log onto: www.aware.com.kw
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KUWAIT: Sheikh Khalid Al-Sabah hosted a Ghabqa at his diwaniya in Shaab on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. Ministers, MPs, ambassadors and other dignitaries made their presence felt at the event. — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh
NBK distributes Iftar meals KUWAIT: As part of fulfilling its ongoing corporate social responsibilities and on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, NBK Public Relations Team distributed meals to those observing fasts at different mosques in Kuwait, within the framework of its ongoing ‘Do Good Deeds in Ramadan’ campaign launched by the Bank. NBK ‘Do Good Deeds in Ramadan’ campaign extended this year to cover other areas in Kuwait. NBK’s Al Watani Iftar banquet campaign, launched with the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan as part of an extensive social program comprising a multitude of philanthropic activities, is garnering impressive attendance with hundreds of faithful attending NBK’s tent set up in Kuwait City.
Kuwait lauds Saudi King’s summit call JEDDAH: Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah AlKhalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah lauded the call made by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for holding “the summit of Islamic solidarity” in Makkah. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid, in a statement to KUNA and Kuwait Television yesterday, said that the King made this call to hold a meeting for the sake of consolidating Muslims’ unity. He confirmed that preparatory ministerial meetings, held on Sunday, examined the agenda of the slated extraordinary Islamic summit, including diverse issues namely the Palestinian cause, Syria and plight of Muslims in Myanmar. Two ministerial meetings were held yesterday; one grouped GCC foreign ministers and another comprised ministers along with fellow ministers from Arab and Muslim nations. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid indicated that the GCC ministers were assured during their meeting about the health of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud AlFaisal who has recently undergone a medical surgery. Foreign ministers of Islamic countries held a meeting later yesterday to prepare for the Islamic summit scheduled to begin today.—KUNA
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
LOCAL
Prime Minister’s message on Independence Day
President’s message on the occasion of Independence Day
Raja Pervez Ashraf Prime Minister of Pakistan
Asif Ali Zardari President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
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wish to extend heartiest felicitations to all the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Muslim world’s first Pakistanis living within the country and abroad elected woman Prime Minister Shaheed Mohtarma on the auspicious occasion of 66th Independence Benazir Bhutto. Unfortunately, for most part of our independent Day. existence the people were often denied Falling in the holy month of Ramadan, right to rule and the Constitution repeatit is the most important date in our edly abrogated. It is reassuring that the national calendar. On this day in 1947, present Parliament unanimously our long and hard struggle for inderestored to a large extent the democratic pendence against foreign domination Constitution of 1973. The restoration of was crowned with success. A new state the Constitution by all political forces was born wherein we can fashion our and provinces raises our hope that lives and destiny in accordance with our despite setbacks we will revert to our culture, values and aspirations. On this true hearings and restore to Pakistan the day, our heads bow in gratitude before values and ideals for which it was creatAllah and we are beholden to our founded. However, the people and the ing fathers who under the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari Parliament must also be watchful against the Quaid achieved a separate homeland for us. While it is natural to rejoice today in our inde- new forms of assaults on the Constitution and the pendence celebrations, it is also an occasion to Parliament. Let us on this day re-dedicate ourselves pause and ponder over whether we have moved to the democratic ideals and principles of the Quaid. towards or away from the ideals for which Pakistan Adherence to the principle that political choices must be made by ballot, and not imposed through was created. Our founding fathers envisioned Pakistan as a bullet, demands that we banish from our midst all country where democracy, constitutionalism and forms of bigotry, extremism and militancy. On this day, I wish to call upon everyone to work rule of law will reign supreme. It was envisaged to be a country where the power of the ballot, and not together for the strengthening of democracy, bullet, will determine the political choices of the empowerment of the people and for a progressive, people. Countless lives were sacrificed for the tolerant, moderate and modern Pakistan as enviachievement of these ideals including that of the sioned by our great leaders. Pakistan-Paindabad country ’s first directly elected Prime Minister
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On this blessed occasion, we bow our head in etern the auspicious occasion of 66th Day of Independence, I would like to extend my felici- nal gratitude to Allah Almighty for His favours and pray tations to my countrymen including overseas for the security, unity, progress and prosperity of the country. Pakistanis. I am reminded of Quaid-e-Azam’s mesAugust 14, 1947 saw the successful culsage on the inauguration of Pakistan mination of a heroic struggle of the Broadcasting Service on August 15, 1947. Muslims of the sub-continent for their right The Quaid-e-Azam said, “The creation of to have a separate homeland. the new State has placed a tremendous Pakistan appeared on the world map responsibility on the citizen of Pakistan. It through a democratic struggle and its gives them an opportunity to demonstrate progress and prosperity lies in continuato the world how can a nation, containing tion of the democratic system as well. many elements, live in peace and amity The present coalition government has and work for the betterment of all its citiundertaken various historic initiatives durzens, irrespective of caste and creed.” ing the last four and half years, and purDespite difficulties, Pakistan is a vibrant sued a policy of reconciliation. The pasRaja Pervez Ashraf polity where judiciary is independent, parsage of the l8th Constitutional Amendment empowered the federating units with liament is functioning, media is vocal and free, and civil administratively as well as politically. The consensual society is active. We are confronted with various chaladoption of the 7th National Finance Commission lenges such as energy crisis, law and order problem, Award increased the share of provinces in the federal economic difficulties, terrorism, and extremism, which divisible pool. Besides, Benazir Income Support have slowed down the pace of socio-economic develProgram, a flagship program of the government, has opment. We are a resolute and determined nation and focused on women empowerment and welfare of the can overcome these daunting challenges if we demonstrate tolerance, national unity, solidarity and underpoorest segments of society. We have refashioned our country’s foreign policy in standing. Let us pledge to work together and commit accord with parliamentary guidelines and national ourselves to the progress and prosperity of our nation interest. This year, the 14th of August falls in the holy by setting aside our mutual differences so that the month of Ramadan. Thus this holy month carries an country can get its rightful place in the comity of nations. added significance for us.
kuwait digest
kuwait digest
Constitutional headache
Denying rights of others By Abdullatif Al-Duaij
By Dr Yaqoub Al-Sharrah
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he opposition surely has their reasons to reject the government’s plan to refer the electoral law to the constitutional court. Sadly, these reasons are based only on skepticism as to the government’s true intentions. They are aware of the government’s right to
rying to predict the outcome of the current political problems often leaves you with a headache and even more confusion, especially if you try to find a safe way out of the dilemma of constituencies that the government wishes to change through an emergency decree. Many questions pertaining to this topic remain unanswered, especially those dealing with the legal side of the issue, which has become a topic of much discussion among legal experts with different opinions.
If the opposition insists on their ‘sole’ right to amend the electoral system and mold it the way they desire, then why do they deny others the same right? What’s the difference between them amending the law or the government doing so?
If the court finds the electoral law unconstitutional, this would provide further proof (after the annulment of the 2012 parliament results) about the volume of unconstitutional practices and errors in democratic practice that leads Kuwait into serious crises. In my view
In my view It appears that the government’s wish to change the electoral law hinges on the Constitutional Court’s opinion on the legality of the current system. This system states that Kuwait be divided into five constituencies and entitles each voter to four votes. A court ruling that finds the law unconstitutional provides an excuse for the government to change the constituencies’ distribution. But how constitutional is it to change the formation outside the parliament? Even if the change is made through an emergenc y decree, how can the government assure public approval when they don’t consider the general public’s opinion? Parliamentary elections in 2009 and 2012 were carried out through the present electoral system that was enforced in 2006 through approval of both the executive and legislative authorities. Based on that, voters headed to ballot boxes in order to elect their representatives, not being aware that the law approved by both the parliament and Cabinet was surrounded by constitutional suspicions. If the court finds the electoral law unconstitutional, this would provide further proof (after the annulment of the 2012 parliament results) about the volume of unconstitutional practices and errors in democratic practice that leads Kuwait into serious crises: mainly social disintegration and political infighting which derail the relationship between the people and the state. The current electoral system cannot be held solely responsible for political and sectarian problems. Errors are also attributed to corrupt factors from inside and outside, especially when people feel weakness in values such as patriotism, obeying the law and a lack of justice. Any step towards resolving the constituencies’ problem outside the parliament would not only be unwise and unfair, but also unconstitutional. Such a step would also have an unlimited impact in the form of continuous political instability that further widens the gap between the parliament and government. It seems that the current situation is a struggle between the two authorities, as each of them insist that they are right. Hopefully I’m wrong, because the main interest of the state must not be subject to bargaining or disregard. — Al-Rai
Privatization in space
Only dialogue can ascertain truth By Mohammad Al-Sabti
By Labeed Abdal
local@kuwaittimes.net
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pace exploration took the next step toward the modernization of travel, getting closer to a world where spacecrafts take man into space for vacations. Some mega corporations are heading to space to expand their types of services, including discovering new energy sources as well as minerals. Their hope is that through their commercial activities they can help mankind and earth by exploring space and invest in areas that might be privatized by governments. Although in space there is still an ongoing type of cold war, space is now being used by the travel industry as a new destination. By using private rockets, which are an advancement in space transportation technology, private companies look to begin a new era in travel. Also, companies are trying to minimize the cost of escaping gravity by expanding their range of services to include chemical, biological and physical experiments in space labs. Additionally, they have considered returning damaged satellites to earth from space for service in specialized space garages and even provide service to support radio, TV, GPS, solar power transmitters and early environmental monitors to avoid natural disasters. All of these services can be potential investment opportunities in the private or public sector. Space exploration has the potential of discovering undiscovered facts about space. We may find new minerals and new precious materials. These discoveries may take us by surprise and possibly add new possibilities in solving many problems on earth such as hunger, increasing population and the Ozone hole problem.
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ne cannot ascertain the truth without engaging in dialogue. Dialogue is the art of listening to the other side’s argument. For ages, we have been suffering from the problem of the lack of people mastering the art of listening, which is why dialogue is missing. We hear each other’s talk but we do not listen to what we say. That is why our problems are never resolved through discussion done between two people walking across parallel lines that do not intersect. There are so many topics under discussion in Kuwait these days. But are these discussions making any positive results? Of course not! The reason? Because we do not engage in dialogue. Instead, each party attempts to impose their opinion on the other, while at the same time ridicule the different opinion expressed by the other. In order to engage in dialogue, you have to express your opinion respectfully and back it up with proof. A dialogue cannot be held if either of these two conditions are missing. The main problem is not when a civilian fails to fulfill these two conditions, but when this mistake is committed by someone who claims leadership in political or social work. These individuals are not only supposed to practice dialogue, but also adopt it as a way of life so that the truth can be realized through dialogue. When officials who are supposed to guide the society lack the ability to engage in productive dialogue, how can we expect our society to improve when we cannot find the truth? Today, most of us have minds that are like cell phones with no credit: they can receive calls but cannot send any. Everyone speaks but no one listens. That is why we cannot reach a solution no matter how long we keep talking. In the meantime, time is not on our side when we are treading the wrong path towards our goal. The truth is, the educated people of this nation are living a true crisis because they realize the benefits of true dialogue, but have little support in a society where demagogic thinking prevails. That is why they need to fight in support of adopting dialogue through which our society can only improve. —Al-Rai
seek the constitutional court’s help, yet are convinced that the law is flawed and that resorting to the constitutional court is the correct way to rectify it. They have a clear idea about what the ruling is going to be like, which is why they strongly reject efforts of referring the law to the constitutional court. The opposition has used contradictions, shown by the government in the past, as an excuse to back up their stance in rejection of the referral decision. In reality, however, it is the opposition which has a history of contradictory stances. The idea of amending the electoral law was among the top priorities that oppositionists adopted in their political program. A member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement even insisted in a statement that the amendment should be passed as early as the first session of the next parliament. On the other hand, they strangely give themselves the right to deny the Cabinet their right of amending the law or verifying its constitutionality. In the meantime, they count on maintaining a dictatorial majority in the parliament through which they can change the law in line with their personal views and form a new system with a single constituency and election by-list. If the opposition insists on their ‘sole’ right to amend the electoral system and mold it the way they desire, then why do they deny others the same right? What’s the difference between them amending the law or the government doing so? It seems the opposition believes that the slogan ‘people are the source of power’ gives them the right to amend the law however they like. They ignore, however, the fact that the people practice their power in accordance with the constitution, not with whoever wins a majority in elections. The opposition’s coalition has shown us over time that the constitution they continue to claim to be defending is actually the last of their priorities. They ignored it when student segregation was enforced, and when concerts and celebrations were banned. They disregard it with most women’s issues, and most recently shelved it before the 2012 parliament was annulled in order to pass the law for stricter penalties against offenders of God and religious figures. — Al-Qabas
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
Australia moves to send asylum-seekers offshore Page 10
Palestinian inmate has son after sneaking sperm to wife Page 9
Morsi sweeps out army rulers Egyptian president defends Tantawi’s sacking CAIRO: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has driven back the biggest challenge to civilian rule by dismissing top generals and tearing up their legal attempt to curb his power in a bold bid to end 60 years of military leadership. Taking the country by surprise, Morsi pushed Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi into retirement. The 76-year-old figurehead of the old order, he took charge of the biggest Arab nation when Hosni Mubarak fell last year and remained head of its powerful, ad hoc military council after the Islamist was elected in June. “I never intended, through my decisions, to marginalise or be unjust toward anyone, but rather to act so that we advance toward a better future, with a new generation, long-awaited new blood,” Morsi said in a speech at Cairo’s Al-Azhar mosque late on Sunday that was pointedly diplomatic. “I only wish them the best. I want them to devote themselves to a mission, the protection of the nation,” he said.”I did not intend to embarrass institutions,” he added, saying he had “the interest of the country in mind.” Thousands of Islamist supporters celebrated the announcement Sunday night in Cairo’s Tahrir square, which had played home to the protests that ousted Mubarak. “The
CAIRO: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi addresses a religious gathering late Sunday at Al-Azhar in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City. — AFP people support the president’s decision,” the crowd chanted. Others mocked Tantawi’s departure, presented officially as a retirement.”Marshal, tell the truth, did Morsi fire you?” they said. The armed forces, which had supplied Egypt’s presidents for six decades after ousting the monarchy, have shown no sign of challenging the move announced late on Sunday, though a senior judge did speak up yesterday to question Morsi’s right to act. Lower-ranking generals and other officers may, however, support a change that shifts power in the military to a new generation. One analyst said Morsi mounted a “civilian counter-coup” coordinated with an internal putsch in the armed forces. State media cited a military source dismissing talk of any “negative reactions” by the generals to a decision which, given their earlier dissolution of parliament, now hands Morsi what liberal critic Mohamed ElBaradei described as “imperial powers”. Morsi and his long-suppressed Muslim Brotherhood had been expected to roll back the influence of the army, a close ally of Washington and recipient of $1.3 billion in annual US military aid; but many had predicted a process that would take years of delicate diplomacy to avoid sparking a military backlash. Instead, just six weeks after he was sworn into office and seemingly taking advantage of a military debacle on the Sinai border that embarrassed the army, Morsi announced sweeping changes in the high command and reshaped Egypt’s politics. “Morsi settles the struggle for power,” said a headline in the state-owned Al-Akhbar daily, a newspaper that is traditionally a mouthpiece for the army-backed establishment. “Morsi ends the political role for the armed forces,” wrote the independent Al-Masry Al-Youm. Another, Tahrir, called it the “president’s revolution against the military”. Short of an outright coup d’etat, the army may now have few political avenues to reverse Morsi’s decisions - if it wanted to. But its vast economic interests and history of influence suggests its wishes cannot go completely ignored by Morsi. Apart from some demonstrations of support for Morsi late on Sunday, there was little reaction on the streets to the president’s decision. The stock market reaction was muted, with the benchmark index rising 1.5 percent. As well as ordering the retirement of Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and Mubarak’s defence minister for 20 years, and Chief-of-Staff Sami Enan, 64, Morsi also cancelled a decree issued by the military before his election which had curbed the power of the presidency. Morsi appointed General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, 57, from military intelligence, to lead the army and become defence minister. Enan was replaced by General Sidki Sobhi, 56, who led the Third Field Army based in Suez, on the border with Sinai. “What we saw ... in Egypt increasingly seems like a mix of a civilian counter-coup and a coordinated coup within the military itself,” wrote Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Doha Center. The response among the high command was subdued. SCAF member General Mohamed El-Assar, who becomes deputy defence minister, told Reuters Morsi’s decision was based on
“consultation” with Tantawi and the rest of the military council. There was also little immediate public reaction from the United States, a key supporter of Cairo’s military rulers since they signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979: “It’s too soon to say what the potential implications might be,” one senior US official said in Washington. Tantawi and Enan were appointed advisers and honored by the Greatest Nile Collar, Egypt’s most prestigious award, suggesting they will not face the same fate as Mubarak, once air force commander, who was jailed for life aged 84. Morsi’s spokesman called it a “sovereign” decision, “taken by the president to pump new blood into the military establishment in the interests of developing a new, modern state”. Morsi had already shown he was ready to confront the military. Last month, he challenged the army’s decision, based on a court ruling in June, to dissolve the Islamist-led parliament. Morsi’s decree was then itself reversed by a court. There was no immediate sign of any legal challenge to Morsi’s cancellation of the constitutional declaration by the army that had curbed presidential powers before he took
office. By sweeping aside that declaration, Morsi, rather than the army, will hold legislative authority in the absence of parliament. It also means the president can appoint an assembly to draw up the new constitution if the panel now working on it fails. That body’s composition is being challenged in court. ElBaradei, a former U.N. diplomat who has been critical of both the Brotherhood and the army, wrote: “With military stripped of legislative authority and in absence of parliament, president holds imperial powers. Transitional mess continues.” However, a member of the Supreme Constitutional Court signalled the potential for yet another legal challenge as Egypt’s leaders make up a new politic system on the hoof. Noting Morsi had torn up the very constitutional document under which he himself was sworn in, the court’s Tahany ElGebaly told state-owned news portal Ahram Online: “A president has no power to abrogate a constitution, even a temporary one.” Some liberal rivals of the Muslim Brotherhood have voiced alarm at the growing might of the Islamists, whom they fear could turn their backs on Western alliances and
impose religious law on a tolerant society with a big Christian minority. “Forget Tantawi and Enan,” a critic on Twitter, Nervana Mahmoud, wrote. “This is not a soft coup, but a declaration of Islamic state.” But many liberals are equally concerned by the continuing power exercised by the army. The April 6 youth movement, which galvanised the anti-Mubarak uprising, said Morsi’s move was a “first step towards establishing a civilian state”. Against a background of legal wrangling, Morsi has also appointed a judge, Mahmoud Mekky, as his vice president. Morsi’s election victory over a former general prompted renewed concerns in Israel and the West about alliances with Egypt, following the Islamists’ sweep in parliamentary voting. Pledging to uphold democratic accountability and to stand by Cairo’s treaties, Morsi has shown impatience with the military before. After Islamist militants killed 16 border guards near the Sinai frontier with Israel and the Gaza Strip, he sacked the intelligence chief. On Sunday, officials said Egyptian troops had killed five more militants in a crackdown in the region. — Reuters
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Jail for rock throwing: A West Bank rite of passage DHEISHEH REFUGEE CAMP: Umm Abdullah sits beneath a cross-stitched portrait of a keffiyeh-clad Palestinian youth holding a stone high in the air. Her sunny, crumbling apartment in Dheisheh refugee camp in the southern West Bank town of Bethlehem is filled with the laughter of children and grandchildren - but two of her sons are missing. “The Israeli soldiers come in the night,” she says, staring at a faded photograph of a teenage boy. “They take our children.” Three of her seven children spent time in Israeli prisons on stonethrowing charges when they were minors. Two of them, now adults, are still behind bars. Her youngest, 20-year-old Abdullah, has been arrested three times - the first when he was 16. In Dheisheh, Umm Abdullah’s story is often the norm. According to Defence for Children International (DCI), around 700 West Bank children are arrested every year, most accused of stoning Israeli soldiers and military vehicles. Other charges include making petrol bombs and involvement in “terrorist groups”. At the end of June, DCI figures showed that 221 Palestinian children were in detention. Of that number, 35 were aged between 12 and 15. Stone throwing, a symbol of Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation, began among the youth of Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip during the first Palestinian uprising (1987-1993). And 25 years on, with those children now adults, their own children continue do the same. Under Israeli military order 1651, throwing stones is an offence which can see a child as young as 14 sentenced to 10 years behind bars if it is directed at a person with the intent to harm, or up to 20 years if thrown at a vehicle. DCI says children as young as 12 can be tried in Israeli military courts and imprisoned without charge for up to 188 days, although most are detained for between two weeks and 10 months. In a 2012 report on stone throwing, Israeli rights group B’Tselem found that between 2005 and 2010, the military prosecuted 835 minors on stone-throwing charges. “The IDF (Israel Defence Force) does not take lightly such serious incidents which endanger the safety of resi-
dents,” the army said in a written response. Evidence of this could be seen in “the killing of the Palmer family,” it said, referring to the deaths of an Israeli man and his toddler son in September 2011 after their car was hit by a rock, causing them to flip over. The military declined to comment on rock-throwing within refugee camps. Dheisheh resident Mohammed Al-Jareishi was 16 when his classmates at Bethlehem’s Iskander Al-Khoury school were arrested from their homes, many during night raids. When a child is arrested, the families often have to rely on information from neighbours and the Red Cross to find out where their sons have been taken. According to local residents and DCI, interrogations are often conducted without the supervision of a parent or lawyer, and children often go for months without seeing their families. Of the 30 children in his class, Jareishi says that 24 ended up
in Israeli jails on charges of stone throwing and political involvement. And the remaining six who weren’t arrested that year were all later sent to prison, he adds. Many had to repeat the school year, or have yet to complete high school as they are still detained. At 17, he himself was charged with throwing rocks and belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - which Israel and the United States see as a terrorist group. “Throwing stones shows the Israeli soldiers that we are still here, that we exist,” says Jareishi, glancing out the window. “We want toys - not guns or rocks,” he says. “But this will only happen when the occupation ends and we get our rights back.” Jareishi says that during interrogation, he was beaten and spent 51 days in solitary in a room barely bigger than he was. There was no window and only a harsh fluorescent light that was always
JERUSALEM: File picture dated May 15, 2012 shows Israeli riot policemen arresting a Palestinian boy in the east Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Issawiya as Palestinians protested to mark Nakba day. — AFP
on, a tactic he believes is used to keep prisoners awake as a form of psychological torture. When he did fall asleep, soldiers would blast music and drip water from the ceiling on his head for days on end. B’Tselem has also accused the military of using interrogation techniques such as sleep deprivation, playing loud music, forcing detainees to sit on chairs with their bodies arched backwards, putting sacks over their heads, and exposure to extreme heat and cold. According to the father of another 17-year-old detainee, child prisoners are forced to “confess” through threats of sexual violence and withholding medicine. DCI has urged the United Nations to look into reports of sexual threats and assault. Jareishi described how children as young as 12 were made to choose a “political affiliation” - either Fatah, Hamas, or PFLP - by which they were grouped in prison. Although some children are actively involved in political groups and even smuggle weapons into refugee camps, others insist they are falsely accused. Whispers circulated around Dheisheh in late July about Mahmud Al-Badan, a 17-year-old who had just been released from prison with what doctors said was a broken jaw. “They locked my family inside the house and beat me with guns in the street,” says Badan, his face black and blue as he sat in the hospital lobby. “But I am not afraid.” Jamal Fraj was 14 when he was arrested for throwing petrol bombs at soldiers who raided Dheisheh. Now, more than 20 years later, his son Khaled is in Ofer prison near Ramallah on similar charges. A framed photograph of Khaled sits next to him, taken when he was on hunger strike for 28 days in April and May. Children in Dheisheh grow up with Israeli soldiers a constant presence, he says. When he was small, Jamal threw stones at soldiers who entered the camp at night because he thought it was a game of cops and robbers. He says it was an attempt to normalise the abnormal. “After I was in prison, I went from a child wanting to play to a man full of anger, resisting the occupation,” he says. — AFP
Syrian rebels claim downing fighter jet Army advances in Aleppo
JEDDAH: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu smiles as he chats with his counterparts Hina Rabbani Khar of Pakistan (right) and Dipu Moni of Bangladesh before the start of a preparatory meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in this Saudi coastal city yesterday. — AFP
Muslim leaders mull solutions for Syria Ahmadinejad arrives for summit JEDDAH: Leaders of Muslim countries, including Iran’s pro-Syrian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will gather today for an extraordinary summit called by Saudi King Abdullah who is pushing to mobilise support for the Syrian rebellion. “The Syrian issue will be a top priority” in the summit taking place in the Muslim holy city of Makkah, according to Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. War-ravaged Syria will not be represented in the summit, the head of the Jeddah-based 57-member organisation told AFP, adding that a preparatory meeting of OIC foreign ministers yesterday was expected to “announce the suspension of Syria’s membership as recommended by member states”. The two-day summit convenes as fighting rages over Syria’s northern city of Aleppo between rebels and troops loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad, 17 months into a countrywide conflict that has cost more than 21,000 lives, according to monitors. But the Saudi effort to reach agreement over a solution to the deadly crisis is not expected to be smooth sailing, as Iran’s firebrand leader is a staunch ally of Damascus, while Tehran has repeatedly accused Saudi Arabia, as well as Qatar and Turkey, of arming and financing
the rebels. “The world today is in a very sensitive situation,” Ahmadinejad told reporters yesterday just before leaving Tehran for Saudi Arabia, according to the Fars news agency. “Different groups are at work and the enemies are actively pursuing their aims and a great deal of energy is being spent by Islamic governments and groups on arguing with and confronting each other,” he said. “I hope that the summit will focus on increasing unity and lowering antagonism,” he said. Tehran last week held its own 29-nation conference on Syria attended mostly by ambassadors from like-minded countries, notably Russia and China, two other strong allies of Damascus. Saudi Arabia shunned the meeting. US officials and the Syrian opposition claim Iran has sent military aid, including advisors and telecoms surveillance equipment, to Damascus. Tehran denies it has any active forces in Syria. “Saudi Arabia has called for the meeting after exhausting all possible means to solve the Syrian crisis,” said the head of the Gulf Research Centre, Abdulaziz Sager. The Saudi analyst said the summit “should adopt a resolution for a peaceful transfer of power in Syria, including the departure of president Assad and the formation of a national union government.” —AFP
Villagers struggle as settlers turn violent BEITILU, Palestinian Territories: As this West Bank road nears the Jewish settlement of Nachliel, more and more uprooted olive trees belonging to residents of the Palestinian village of Beitilu litter the roadside. It is an increasingly common sight across the West Bank where tensions between Jewish settlers and local villagers often translate into the wanton destruction of Palestinian agricultural land. “Every month we see a rise in the number of attacks,” said Beitilu’s mayor, Abdelwahed Abdallah, blaming settlers for the destruction of hundreds of their trees and the seizure of much land. Locals say they have found threatening notes in Arabic hanging from trees, some including Islamic verses from the Holy Quran that they believe were put there by Nachliel settlers of Yemeni origin. Mayssam Abdullah remembers the first time her trees were attacked, back in 2005. “We were trying to farm when they came to tell us: ‘If you don’t leave immediately, you won’t have any trees in the morning’.” The next day, the family woke
up to find 60 olive trees had been destroyed, she said. “This year, settlers uprooted more than 300 trees. And how many times have they done that?” sighed the 50-year-old, who also says she has been physically harmed by them. For the villagers, the rising instance of settler violence is a clear attempt to push them out and expand their presence. It is an assessment shared by several UN agencies as well as by Israeli and Palestinian rights groups. Last month, a group of NGOs and UN agencies published a statement expressing alarm over the growing number of settler attacks. “Last year, the number of settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties and property damage increased by more than a third. “Since 2009 it increased by nearly 150 percent,” said the statement signed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN children’s fund UNICEF, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, by Israeli NGOs Yesh Din and B’Tselem, and by a Palestinian NGO, Al-Haq. —AFP
DAMASCUS: Syrian rebels claimed they downed a fighter jet yesterday in what would be a major coup for the opposition but the regime seized the upper hand in Aleppo as it advanced into a new rebel-held district. Government forces also bombarded areas around Damascus and launched a wide sweep of the capital, including its once-bustling historic Old City, while shocking videos emerged showing alleged rebel atrocities in the Aleppo area. State media said a military plane had crashed in the east of the country while on training patrol after suffering a technical malfunction and that the pilot had ejected. But the Free Syria Army, which has been calling for the international community to arm it with antiaircraft weapons as it battles escalating regime attacks from the sky, claimed it shot down the plane in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. “Yes, we can confirm that a MiG 21 has been downed,” said FSA spokesman Kassem Saadeddine. “It was hit with 14.5 calibre anti-aircraft machinegun.” A group of rebels calling itself the “Revolutionary Youth of the Land of the Euphrates” distributed a video showing a man identified as pilot Mufid Mohammed Suleiman, surrounded by three armed men. “My mission was to bomb the town of Muhasen,” said the purported pilot. If confirmed, the attack would be the first time the rebels have succeeded in downing a Syrian plane since President Bashar Al-Assad launched an increasingly brutal crackdown on protests 17 months ago. International concern is mounting over how to end a conflict that has triggered a major humanitarian crisis and sent hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing, with at least 100 people being killed daily. The opposition has accused the regime of increasingly resorting to firing from fighter jets on rebels, particularly the second city of Aleppo which has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting in recent weeks. “Eyewitnesses in Muhasen in the countryside of confirmed that a MiG was downed today, after it was hit and went up in flames,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. An amateur video posted on YouTube by activists shows a fighter jet apparently being hit in a ball of fire. Meanwhile, grisly footage of apparent atrocities in the Aleppo area emerged, appearing to show rebels callously throwing bodies off a post office
DEIR EL-ZOUR, Syria: This image made from amateur video shows a Syrian plane downed over this eastern province yesterday. — AP building, while another video showed a man, blindfolded and bound, as his throat was savagely cut. A crowd of people are seeing gathering around several bodies crumpled on the ground outside a building said to be in Al-Bab near Aleppo before another three victims are hurled one-by-one from the rooftop. In another video, a blindfolded man with his hands tied behind his back is forced to lie down on a pavement in Aleppo, calling out “I would rather die by a bullet.” As the group chanted “Allahu Akbar” an assailant forced what appeared to be a small knife repeatedly across his throat as his blood spurted onto the pavement. Both sides in the increasingly vicious conflict have been accused of human rights violations as reports of cold-blooded killings mount, although the authenticity of the latest videos could not be verified. “What is the difference between them and a wild animal in the jungle? At least a wild animal does not kill unless it is hungry,” said Massoud Akko, a Kurdish activist and co-founder of the Association of Syrian Journalists. Syria’s army gained ground yesterday as it
advanced into a new rebel-held area of Aleppo, the northern metropolis seen as pivotal to the outcome of the conflict. “With tanks, Syria’s regime forces have stormed the west of the district of Saif alDawla,” said the Observatory. “They are now clashing with the rebels, and parts of Salaheddin are being shelled.” Rebels in July took over several districts, particularly in the city’s southern belt, but regime forces last week reclaimed most of the Salaheddin that neighbours Saif al-Dawla. With world powers still deadlocked, the opposition umbrella group the Syrian National Council issued a new appeal for the establishment of no-fly zones. SNC head Abdel Basset Sayda told AFP the rebels wanted “two no-fly zones, one in the north near the Turkish border, and another in the south near the border with Jordan,” in addition to “safe places for refugees and humanitarian corridors”. More than 21,000 people have been killed since March last year, with fighting escalating after the failure of former envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan and an increasing number of defections by high-ranking officials. —AFP
Iran govt criticised over quake response DUBAI: Iran’s government faced criticism from lawmakers and the public yesterday over its handling of relief efforts after two large earthquakes killed 306 people and injured thousands in the northwest of the country. Members of parliament representing the affected areas complained about the shortage of tents for survivors, parliamentary news agency ICANA said yesterday, and Iran’s top lawmaker Ali Larijani stepped into the debate. “The crisis management headquarters must take broader steps to alleviate these concerns,” Larijani, a rival to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and possible candidate in the 2013 presidential elections, was quoted as saying yesterday. Although officials announced on Sunday, less than 24 hours after the disaster, that search and rescue operations had finished and all survivors had been freed from the rubble, some residents expressed disbelief that authorities could have reached some of the most remote villages so soon. “I know the area well. There are some regions where there are villages that you can’t even reach by car,” one doctor in the city of Tabriz told Reuters by telephone on Monday, declining to give his name because of the sensitivity of the issue. “It’s not possible for them to have finished so soon.” The doctor said he had worked for 24 hours
VARZAQAN, Iran: Two Iranian boys retrieve their belongings from ruins of their house after Saturday’s earthquake in a village near this city in northwestern Iran on Sunday. —AP
non-stop following the quake, attending to patients from surrounding villages who were rushed to Tabriz for medical care. “In the first hours after the quake, it was ordinary people and volunteers in their own cars going to the affected areas,” the doctor said. “It was more ordinary people helping out than official crisis
staff.” The moderate conservative newspaper Asr-e Iran reported that a full 24 hours after the earthquake, some villages had not yet been visited by relief teams. “(Residents) say that most of the villages have been destroyed and still no tents have been sent, nor has any help been sent for the victims,” the report said. —Reuters
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Russia says US sanctions on Iran could affect ties United States resorting to ‘overt blackmail’ MOSCOW: Russia sharply criticized new US sanctions against Iran yesterday, saying the measures to punish banks, insurance companies and shippers that help Iran sell its oil would harm Moscow’s ties with Washington if Russian firms are affected. Russia, which has long opposed sanctions beyond those approved by the UN Security Council to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program, called the measures “overt blackmail” and a “crude contradiction of international law.” The United States ceased most trade with Iran many years ago and has put increasing pressure other countries to reduce their business with the Islamic Republic. The measures approved by Congress on Aug. 1 build on oil trade sanctions signed into law by Obama in December that have prompted Japan, South Korea, India and others to slash purchases of Iranian oil. “We are talking about restrictive measures not only against Iran but also affecting foreign companies and individuals working with it, including in the hydrocarbon extraction and transport, petrochemicals, finance and insurance industries,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We consider efforts to ... impose internal American legislation on the entire world completely unacceptable,” it said. “We reject methods of overt blackmail that the United States resorts to in relation to the companies and banks of other
countries.” “Those in Washington should take into account that our bilateral relations will suffer seriously if Russian operators ... come under the effects of the American restrictions,” the ministry said. Relations between Moscow and Washington improved after President Barack Obama moved to “reset” ties early in his term, but they have been strained by disputes over Syria and President Vladimir Putin’s accusation of US meddling in Russian politics. In the statement, Russia repeated its argument that unilateral sanctions - as opposed to those approved by the Security Council, where Moscow has veto power - are counterproductive. The “constant increase of pressure on Tehran” undermines unity among the six nations leading diplomatic efforts to rein in Iran’s nuclear program - Russia, the United States, China, Britain, France and Germany - and hurts the chances of success. Russia balances its role in the diplomatic attempts to ensure Tehran does not develop nuclear weapons with aid to the civilian nuclear program in Iran, where it built a nuclear power plant that came on line this year. Talks between Iran and the six powers in Moscow in June failed to end the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear activities including the enrichment of uranium which Western nations fear is part of a bid for weapons capability. — Reuters
JEDDAH: Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (center) briefs the press upon his arrival to attend a preparation meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah yesterday. Leaders of Muslim countries, including Iran’s proSyrian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are due to gather for an extraordinary summit called by Saudi King Abdullah who is pushing to mobilize support for the Syrian rebellion. — AFP
Vatican orders Pope’s butler, ‘accomplice’ must stand trial Scandal has exposed feuds within the Church
OSLO: Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg answers questions yesterday about of the findings of the inquiry published by the commission into the July 22, 2011 attacks. — AP
Oslo attack could have been prevented: Report OSLO: Investigators said yesterday Norwegian authorities could have prevented the first of twin attacks that killed 77 people in July 2011 and arrested Anders Behring Breivik sooner as he carried out the second. “The attack on the government complex on 22 July could have been prevented through effective implementation of already adopted security measures,” an independent commission said in a report submitted to Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. “The authorities’ ability to protect the people on Utoeya island failed. A more rapid police operation was a realistic possibility,” it concluded in reference to the second attack by Breivik. “The perpetrator could have been stopped earlier on 22 July,” it said. On July 22, 2011, Breivik set off a car bomb outside government buildings in Oslo, killing eight people, before going to Utoeya, northwest of the capital, where he spent more than an hour gunning down another 69 people, mostly teenagers, and wounding others. The victims, the youngest of whom had just celebrated her 14th birthday, had been attending a summer camp hosted by the governing Labour Party’s youth organisation. The Norwegian police have been harshly criticised for their slow response to the tragedy: more than three hours passed between the Oslo bombing and
Breivik’s arrest on Utoeya, even though his name had become known to Norway’s security services. The Utoeya shooting lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes, as police struggled to find a means of transport to the small island located on a lake, just 600 m from shore. In its almost 500-page report, the 10-member commission criticised the fact that due to bureaucratic red tape the street outside the government office complex was not closed to traffic in line with recommendations dating back to 2004. This enabled Breivik to park a small rental truck carrying some 950 kg of explosives at the foot of the prime minister’s 17-storey office building. Stoltenberg was working at his official residence at the time and was not injured in the attack. The commission, headed by lawyer Alexandra Bech Gjoerv, also lamented police shortcomings before and during the Utoeya shooting, noting the tardiness with which the description of Breivik and his vehicle were released, communication problems, failure to follow procedures, and inadequate means, among other things. A total of 35 minutes passed between a first police patrol’s arrival on the shore of the lake and the moment when an elite police squad disembarked on Utoeya. — AFP
2 Uganda gunships missing in Kenya NAIROBI: Emergency teams yesterday searched for two Ugandan army helicopters feared to have crashed in thick forest in Kenya while flying to Somalia to support forces fighting insurgents there, officials said. Seven Ugandan servicemen aboard a third helicopter which was part of the same mission were rescued, Kenyan army spokesman Bogita Ongeri said. “One of the missing helicopters has been located. It had seven people on board. Only one of them sustained slight injuries,” Ongeri told AFP. He said the pilot had managed to make an emergency landing in the central Mount Kenya region and radioed for help. However, nothing has been heard from two other helicopters - Russianmade Mi-24 helicopter gunships like the one that was located - which are believed to have either crashed or crashlanded in the same thickly forested region. Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulayigye told reporters they had “yet to confirm the whereabouts of the other two (helicopters) with 10 people on board.” A Mi-17 transport helicopter which had taken off from Uganda on
Sunday as part of the same mission, landed without problems in the eastern Kenyan town of Garissa near the Somali border for a scheduled refuelling stop. “Four choppers left Uganda, one landed in Garissa,” said Ongeri. “A search and rescue team has been dispatched. As of now we do not know that they have crashed... The terrain and weather are unfavourable.” The Russian-made Mi-24 is used as an attack helicopter but can also carry up to eight passengers. The area were the aircraft are feared to have come down is mountainous terrain dominated by snowcapped Mount Kenya, Africa’s second highest peak at 5,199 m. Wild animals including elephants, leopard and rhino prowl the forests, about 110 km north of the capital Nairobi. In 2007, after a helicopter crashed in a similar area, it took rescue teams eight days to track down the pilot, who had survived by eating leaves and drinking his urine. Uganda provides around a third of the nearly 17,000-strong African Union force fighting Islamist Shebab forces in Somalia that have been linked to AlQaeda. — AFP
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI’s former butler and another Vatican employee must stand trial for stealing and leaking confidential papers in a scandal that exposed feuds within the Church, a magistrate said yesterday. Paolo Gabriele, who was arrested in May on suspicion of stealing secret documents from the pope’s office and leaking them to journalists, is accused of “aggravated theft”, a statement said. Judge Piero Bonnet also charged Claudio Sciarpelletti, an analyst and computer programmer in the Vatican state secretariat - whose name had not been disclosed before - with complicity. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told journalists the investigation into a “wide and complex case” was not yet over and would continue to target others believed to be implicated. Gabriele risks up to six years in prison. The Vatican has said the trial will not take place until October at the earliest. Lombardi said that Sciarpelletti had played a “marginal role” and could not really be considered an accomplice. Sciarpelletti was arrested in May but released the next day. He has now been suspended from his post “as a precaution” said Lombardi, but continues to draw his salary. The 46-year-old Gabriele was arrested during an investigation into the leak of private papal documents to the media. He was held for 53 days in a Vatican cell
before being put under house arrest in July to await the judge’s decision. The Vatican said after his arrest it had found documents and copying equipment in Gabriele’s home, revelations which shocked the close-knit Holy See community and saddened the 85-year-old German pontiff. The father-of-three is alleged to have photocopied and leaked top-secret emails and let-
his consicence was “clear”, said the magistrate yesterday. Gabriele’s lawyers have denied media reports that their client was part of a wider whistleblowing operation aimed at shaking up the Vatican hierarchy. There is a suspicion that he acted sincerely but was then manipulated as part of long-standing rivalries within the secretive Vatican administration. “We don’t think
VATICAN CITY: In this file photo taken May 2, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI arrives in St Peter’s square at the Vatican for a general audience as his butler Paolo Gabriele (bottom) and his personal secretary Georg Gaenswein sit in the car with him. — AP ters, taken from the desk of Georg Gaenswein, the pope’s private secretary. When questioned by the secretary, Gabriele said the “scapegoat had been found” and that
we have finished our work .... The inquiry is still open with regard to other people who appear to be implicated,” spokesman Lombardi quoted prosecutor Nicola Picardi as saying yesterday.
Gabriele, known as Paoletto, began working for the pope in 2006 and was one of a select few with access to Benedict’s private chambers. A psychologist’s report on the butler showed he had a normal but “fragile” state of mind but highlighted a “tragic contradiction” between his intentions to help the pope and his later acts. Amongst the pope’s affairs taken by Gabriele was a Ä100,000 cheque made out to the pontiff, a nugget of gold and a rare edition of Virgil’s Aeneid dating from 1581, said the judge. Under Vatican laws, a reprieve from the pope could come at any moment during the investigation or trial, but religious observers say that while Benedict may offer his spiritual pardon, he is unlikely to interfere in the legal process. The Vatican has been shaken by the scandal, which has drawn attention to divisions between senior clergymen in the Vatican and in particular growing criticism of the power ful Secretar y of State Tarcisio Bertone. While the Vatican has officially reassured Bertone of its support and denied media reports of an internal power struggle, the embarrassment to the Church has been widespread and has taken a physical toll on the pontiff. It is just the latest in a string of scandals which have plagued the Vatican in recent years, from allegations of money-laundering to clerical sex abuse. — AFP
US resident ‘rearrested’ in Sudan
Turkish army seeks to free lawmaker
KHARTOUM: A US resident was rearrested in Sudan yesterday shortly after a judge ordered him to be freed after paying a fine for his role in Arab Springstyle protests, one of his lawyers said. Judge Abaas Al-Khalifa sentenced Rudwan Daud to the several weeks he has already spent in custody but dismissed a terrorism-linked conspiracy and other charges. “The court is satisfied with the length of time he has spent in jail,” the judge said, ordering Daud to be released after paying a fine of 500 Sudanese pounds (about $100). But during the release procedure, police handed him to state security agents, one of Daud’s lawyers told AFP. “The security took him away and we don’t where they have taken him,” said the lawyer. Agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service have played a key role in suppressing the demonstrations which began in mid-June with University of Khartoum students protesting high food prices. Daud could have been jailed for between five and 10 years if convicted on the most serious charge of involvement with a terrorist or criminal organisation. Judge Khalifa said there was no evidence to support that or four other charges. He convicted Daud of creating a disturbance. “Because, when police arrested him, they found him putting gasoline on old tyres preparing them to be burned,” the judge said. The student protests led to the longest-running public challenge to the 23-year regime of President Omar Al-Bashir. After Bashir announced austerity measures, including tax hikes and an end to cheap fuel, scattered demonstrations calling for the government’s downfall spread around the capital and to other parts of Sudan. Burning tyres was a tactic of some protesters, but the demonstrations have faded during the holy month of Ramadan. Daud smiled at the verdict, while about 100 of his supporters inside the courtroom applauded and said: “Justice lives.” — AFP
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey: Turkish security cause. Turkey’s Interior Minister Idris Naim forces yesterday launched an operation Sahin said the PKK wanted to create a seeking to free an ethnic Kurdish lawmak- “sensation” in capturing the lawmaker er kidnapped by Kurdish rebels in the east before the anniversary on August 15 of of the country. Huseyin Aygun from the the rebels’ first armed operations 28 years Republican People’s Party ago, the Anatolia news (CHP) in the south-eastern agency reported. “We are folcity of Tunceli was abducted lowing this affair very closely,” Sunday after his car was he added. stopped by the rebels on the Augun, 42, has in the past highway, security sources called on the PKK to abandon told AFP. The captors let their violent campaign. His Aygun’s assistant and a jourkidnapping follows the nalist accompanying them abduction of three soldiers leave as they took Aygun and last week, and the search condisappeared into the woods tinues to find the troops. nearby, Tunceli governor Kurdish rebels frequently kidHuseyin Aygun Mustafa Taskesen told nap workers, soldiers and reporters, citing witnesses. local authorities to bargain for the release Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels of captured rebels. confirmed in a statement they were holdThose who have not been found by ing the lawmaker and warned Turkey to Turkish forces are reportedly held captive abandon its rescue operation. “The law- in hideouts across Turkey’s border with maker Huseyin Aygun has been detained Iraq. Last Sunday, rebels stormed a Turkish by our fighters,” rebels said in a statement army post on the Iraq border, triggering given to the pro-Kurd news agency fighting that killed 22 people in the latest Firatnews. “An operation has been clash since Ankara unleashed a major launched which puts the life of the law- offensive against the insurgents. A series maker in danger,” the PKK said. It marked of similar assaults against troops in the the first time since PKK rebels began their Kurdish-majority southeast prompted the battle for autonomy in Turkey’s Kurdish- army to launch an all-out offensive majority southeast in 1984 that they have against PKK bases in the area last month. abducted a member of the Turkish parlia- At least 115 rebels have been killed since ment. the offensive began on July 23, Turkish According to Aygun’s aides, the PKK authorities said. The conflict with the PKK, have promised to free the lawmaker “in a considered a terrorist organisation by few days” without threatening his life, Turkey and much of the international apparently seeing the abduction as a way community, has claimed some 45,000 lives of attracting public opinion to the Kurdish over nearly three decades. — AFP
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
CCTV: Africa’s true image or China’s strategic vehicle? NAIROBI: The countdown starts and the Kenyan news reader runs through the top headlines for the evening bulletin. In a few minutes he will go on air in Nairobi, broadcasting live for China state television. It’s 8:00 pm in the Kenyan capital and 1:00 am in Beijing, when China Central Television (CCTV) hands over to its Nairobi team for “Africa Live”, an hour-long flagship program billed as a “new voice” for African news and Sino-African relations. On a recent night, the spotlight was on Rwanda’s economic expansion and the Somali athletes taking part in the Olympics in London. “We want to keep a balance,” Pang Xinhua, CCTV’s managing editor who runs a network of correspondents in a dozen African countries, told AFP. “We are not only talking about war, diseases or poverty, we also focus on economic development.” “Africa Live” is put together by a team of 60 or so people in Nairobi about 50 of them Kenyans. It holds a prime time slot in east Africa but is also televised worldwide. “We opened this bureau in order to be able to tell the real Africa story, the real story of China and the real story of Sino-African relations,” CCTV Africa chief Song Jianing said, echoing remarks by China’s ambassador to Kenya when the switchover started in January. Nairobi was CC T V ’s first regional bureau to produce and broadcast its own hour-long news program. Its cousin CCTV America
soon followed suit. For its inauguration, CCT V Africa managed to get Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka to make a speech. He urged the channel to “present a new image of the continent” to break with the trend in which Africa is often shown in the international media as “the continent of endless calamities”. Chris Alden of the London School of Economics said CCTV Africa is “part of a wider strategy to combat what can be seen as a negative relationship” between China and Africa. “Chinese officials start from a diagnosis that too many Africans rely on Western-based news services,” said Alden, who is certain CC T V “will have an impact”. “Where there is deep unhappiness among local African businesses experiencing displacement due to competition from Chinese companies, it won’t eliminate that, but it could lessen a negative effect,” he said. “It’s also ...for Chinese people to get a better understanding of Africa,” he added, saying events like last year’s Libyan conflict in which 30,000 Chinese had to be evacuated by Beijing “have an impact on Chinese investments in Africa.” For David Bandurski of the China Media Project at Hong Kong University, CC T V Africa is part of China’s bid to beef up its “soft power” strategy, a notion that first emerged with President Hu Jintao in 2007 and aims to win influence abroad by
appeal and exchanges rather than threats or force. Other pundits point to the media’s role in this. “China has sent its state media on a global mission to advance its influence in the world,” said Yu-Shan Wu from the South
while the state news agency Xinhua is also expanding worldwide. CCT V Africa, meanwhile, insists that it wants to present the world through an African prism. “The thing I like is that we are telling the story from our per-
NAIROBI: This picture taken on June 12, 2012 shows China Central Television (CCTV) Africa’s news presenter Beatrice Marshall in the studio of the premises of the television. — AFP African Institute of International Affairs, in a recent paper noting that Beijing’s efforts “previously focused on trade, investment and diplomatic activities”. And this mission is not limited to CCTV and its Africa broadcasts. The Chinese TV giant also has programs in French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian,
spective,” said Beatrice Marshall, a star news reader at the Kenyan station KTN who was wooed over to CCTV Africa. “When you go to rural Kenya now, you see that everyone can watch TV, listen to radio, people are more educated and we want to talk about that,” she told AFP. On the delicate issue of whether Beijing censors content,
Douglas Okwatch, editor on the Saturday “Talk Africa” programme presented by Marshall, said staff have a free hand on their stories “as long as they are objective, balanced and not dragging in unnecessary controversies”. “One thing they (CCTV) are doing right,” analyst Wu told AFP, “is to provide a platform for Africans to speak their point of view. “On other channels, I don’t find such platforms to speak on Africa by Africans,” she said, but questioned how CCTV Africa will fare if it emphasises only the upside of SinoAfrican relations. “Credibility is not covering only the positive stories,” said Wu. Hong Kong University’s Bandurski, meanwhile, said CCTV news products “must be subjected to political controls, even if these controls are not necessarily as rigid as those imposed on domestic Chinese media”. But he agreed it will be “very difficult to build a credible international media when you do not have sufficient leeway to produce truly professional coverage”. CCTV Africa chief Song, whom the staff all call “Madame Song”, insists that Beijing has not rejected any content so far, and hopes soon to add a second hour of programming out of Nairobi. And at a time when many Western media houses are struggling to survive, the Chinese TV giant has the means to finance its expansion projects. CCTV aims to rank among “the biggest media groups in the world”, said Song. —AFP
Australia moves to send asylum-seekers offshore PM announces sharp reversal government’s policy SYDNEY: Australia will move to send asylumseekers to the Pacific states of Nauru and Papua New Guinea to deter boatpeople from risking their lives at sea, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said yesterday. The decision came after an expert panel headed by former defence chief Angus Houston said Canberra should introduce greater disincentives to stop wouldbe refugees from paying people-smugglers to bring them by boat to Australia. The move is a political compromise by Gillard, who had resisted reopening the centres on Nauru and PNG in favour of a new arrangement with Malaysia that was at first struck down by the High Court and later rejected by parliament. But she said she needed to act to stop people drowning en route to Australia and she hoped that parliament would pass amended legislation this week. “If the opposition cooperates, the minister would then make the relevant determinations for processing on Nauru and PNG immediately,” she said. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said if the legislation was passed, the plans would have to be approved by the PNG and Nauruan governments. But he warned: “From this point forward, anybody who comes to Australia by boat runs the risk of being transferred to an offshore processing place.” The prime minister said the government had endorsed in principle all recommenda-
tions in the report, including that Australia’s annual humanitarian intake be increased from the current 13,750 to 20,000. The much-awaited independent report also called on Canberra to work closely with Indonesia, a transit country for many boatpeople, and Malaysia to stem the influx of maritime arrivals. Gillard’s speech came as police in Indonesia revealed they had arrested another 150 Afghan and Pakistani nationals who were planning to make the dangerous trip by boat to Australia. More than 100 boats carrying over 7,500 suspected asylum-seekers have arrived in Australia so far this year, after the government failed to pass legislation aimed at deterring them by sending them to Malaysia. The socalled “Malaysia solution” would have seen boatpeople arriving in Australia transferred to the Southeast Asian nation, with Canberra resettling thousands of that country’s registered refugees in return. The proposal was scuttled by the opposition and the Greens, who refused to pass laws allowing off-shore processing, prompting the government to ask Houston to review the policy in hopes of breaking the political deadlock. His panel recommended the government urgently reopen processing centres on the tiny Pacific island state of Nauru and on Papua
New Guinea’s Manus Island as a “circuit breaker” to the current surge in arrivals. Under this arrangement, those arriving by boat will be moved offshore and only moved back to Australia after spending the same amount of time there as they would have had they waited at a refugee resettlement place elsewhere. While Australia remains a minor destination country for asylum-seekers, receiving just 2.5 percent of global claims in 2011, some 964 asylum-seekers and crew have lost their lives at sea while en route since 2001. Of those, some 604 have perished since Oct 2009. “And we were dismayed to learn this morning that another 67 asylum-seekers are believed to be missing,” Houston said in reference to a boat that reportedly left Indonesia in late June and has not been heard from since. “Like all Australians, we are deeply concerned about this tragic loss of life at sea,” he said. “To do nothing is unacceptable.” The conservative opposition said the report backed its policy to reopen Nauru, and highlighted its reser vations about the Malaysia deal which the panel said had potential but could be strengthened to better protect human rights. But Greens leader Christine Milne attacked the findings as “cruel”, saying they would potentially “set up a chain of detention centres right across the Pacific”. — AFP
N Koreans recount terror when flood engulfed hamlet
VALENZUELA, Philippines: A girl holds a boy on her back to help him cross the floodwaters in a street on the outskirt of Manila yesterday. — AFP
New storm threatens flood-hit Philippines MANILA: Philippine authorities warned yesterday an intensifying storm could bring more misery to the flood-battered capital and surrounding areas, where nearly half a million were in evacuation centres. While flooding that covered 80 percent of Manila last week had largely subsided, vast areas of mainly rice-growing provinces to the north were still under water that in some places remained neckdeep. Most of the 411,000 people crammed into gymnasiums, schools and other government evacuation centres were in the flooded farming provinces, with many others struggling by living in partly submerged homes. “These are the people we are most worried about,” civil defence chief Benito Ramos told AFP. “We have not yet fully recovered and here comes another storm.” Two weeks of relentless monsoon rains peaked early last week with about two days of torrential rain across the main island of Luzon,
claiming at least 92 lives and affecting more than 3.4 million people, according to the government. Manila, a megacity of about 15 million people, endured its worst flooding since 2009, while farmers to the north said they had not experienced waters reaching such levels for decades. The farming regions are a natural catch basin, with rivers streaming down from mountains to the north eventually ending in Manila Bay. But many of the dams in the mountains were already close to overflowing before last week’s deluge, while the natural drainage areas near the bay have been getting increasingly clogged with millions of people living around them. With the waters not yet receding, Tropical Storm Kai-tak was approaching from the east yesterday and was expected to start dumping up to 3.5 cm of rain an hour in the evening, the state weather bureau said. — AFP
UNGOK, North Korea: Tears rolled down Ri Hyang Ran’s cheeks yesterday as she recalled her terror the night floods engulfed this farming-and-mining hamlet nor theast of Pyongyang. As the rain pounded down, town officials went door to door hustling residents out of their homes in the middle of the night. Still in her pajamas, Ri said she only had time to grab two things: her portraits of North Korea’s late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Huddling with her neighbors in the mountains high above the village, she could see nothing in the darkness but the sheets of rain that pummeled Songchon County on the night of July 23rd. “But I could hear the sound of walls collapsing, and it was terrifying,” she told AP, wiping her tears away with a towel. When dawn broke, she discovered that her home for the past two decades was gone, swept away by the torrent of water that tore through this part of South Phyongan Province. The threat of floods is nothing new to this part of North Korea, which sits in a valley where four rivers converge. But this year’s rains were the worst in recent memory, villagers said yesterday, many standing on the rocky dirt where their homes once stood. The floods not only killed at least 169 North Koreans nationwide and destroyed tens of thousands of homes, according to official accounts, but also left huge swaths of farmland submerged in water. Across the county, corn, rice and soybean plants already damaged from a protracted drought in May and June lay withered and stunted just a month before harvesting season is set to begin. Mountainous North Korea already struggles to feed its people. A UN report in June said some twothirds of the country’s 24 million people are coping with food shortages, with hunger dire in some areas. Emergency food aid shipments started last week, the World Food Program said. The prospect of flooding strikes fear in North Koreans, who well remember when heavy rains in the mid-1990s triggered deadly landslides. An ensuing famine killed hundreds of thousands of people, a period North Koreans call “the Arduous March.” — AP
ULJIN, South Korea: South Korean students hold a national flag while swimming in the waters off this port city yesterday. — AP
Lee says Japan must settle colonial-era grievances SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said yesterday his unprecedented visit to islands claimed by Japan was intended to press Tokyo to settle grievances left over from its colonial rule. The visit on Friday last week to the Seoulcontrolled islands in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) infuriated Japan, which recalled its ambassador from Seoul. It was the first trip by a South Korean president to the volcanic outcrops known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan. In Tokyo, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda called the visit “extremely deplorable”. Lee accused Japan of ignoring demands to resolve issues arising from its harsh 1910-45 rule over Korea, such as women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II. At last December’s summit with Noda, he said, he talked for more than an hour on the issue. “A powerful nation like Japan can resolve such issues if it decides to do so, but it has shown passive attitudes due to domestic political reasons. So I felt the need to show (Korean grievances) through action,” Lee said. “Japan’s influence in the international community isn’t as it used to be,” he said at a lunch
with parliamentary leaders. A presidential spokeswoman confirmed the comments. Japan and South Korea have close economic ties and shared concerns over North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. But historical disputes still mar their relationship. In another assertion of Seoul’s sovereignty over the tiny islands, a team of South Koreans yesterday began a 230 km relay swim from an eastern port to Dokdo. The team led by singer Kim Jang-Hoon plans to complete the swim on Liberation Day tomorrow, which marks the ending in 1945 of Japan’s colonial rule. Kim jumped in the sea off Uljin in a full-body swimsuit after a ceremony with about 40 university students and dozens of others, Yonhap news agency reported. The students, members of a swimming club at the Korea National Sport University, will take part in the 55-hourlong relay led by Kim, it said. “I will never make such a comment as ‘Dokdo is our territory’ when I arrive there,” Kim told reporters before leaving. “It’s meaningless to do so because they are undeniably our territory.” — AFP
Bo Xilai case tricky matter for leaders BEIJING: Trying disgraced politician Bo charged,” Li said. Time is growing tight for Xilai’s wife for murder was the easy part in an announcement, since the party may cleaning up the political mess the couple want to deal with the matter ahead of a has created for China’s communist party national congress, likely in October that leaders. Now comes the tough part: pun- will usher in a once-in-a-decade transfer of ishing Bo for abuse of power power to a group of new leadwithout further tarnishing the ers. Since being axed as party’s reputation. Disciplining Chongqing’s chief in March, Bo him quietly will save the party has also been suspended from the embarrassment of washing the Politburo, which groups the its dirty linen in public but reinparty’s top 25 members. Still, he force public perception that it continues to enjoy the rights goes soft on one of its own. and protections of party memAnalysts say the leadership is bership. Bo’s removal marked therefore more likely to bite the China’s biggest upheaval in the bullet and try Bo in public in a leadership since the violent nod to rule of law. suppression of the Tiananmen Bo Xilai The first indication of this Square pro-democracy protests came when four Chongqing police officers in 1989 and only the third time since then were tried Friday for allegedly trying to that it had toppled a member of the help Bo’s wife Gu Kailai cover up the mur- Politburo, which sits just below the der of a British business associate, Neil Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top Heywood, said Cheng Li, a China politics ruling body. expert at the Brookings Institution in Bo, 64, was once seen as a candidate for Washington DC. Chinese politics has a his- one of the nine seats on the committee. tory of attacking subordinates to get at His world came crashing down when their superiors, and as part of the chain of Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun, once command, the four can be directly linked an ally, sneaked into the US consulate in to Bo, once the supreme communist party the southwestern city of Chengdu in boss of Chongqing, a mega-city in China’s February and handed over information to east. Li said the trial of the officers was a the Americans about the Heywood’s firm indication Bo would definitely face a killing, which until then had been classijudge, possibly in relation to the killing. fied as accidental death due to excessive “That’s a statement that Bo Xilai will be drinking. — AP
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
international
Indian Sikhs push ‘turban pride’ AMRITSAR: The evening turban-tying class in the Sikh-dominated Indian city of Amritsar is packed with pre-teen boys learning a centuries-old tradition - that religious leaders fear is under threat. Over the next 90 minutes, the instructors unfurl long strips of cloth in vibrant hues from indigo to burgundy, and proceed to knot, pleat and finally tie them carefully around the boys’ heads. The most visible symbol of Sikh pride and identity, the turban is an eight-metre piece of cloth, used by Sikh men to manage the long hair which their religion forbids them from cutting. But in India, young Sikh men are increasingly putting fashion before tradition - cutting their hair short and shunning the turban completely. It has also been abandoned by many members of the sizeable Sikh diaspora in countries like the United States, where Sikhs have been attacked over the mistaken belief that the turban marks them as Muslim extremists. Such a motive has been suggested for the recent killings at a Sikh temple in the US state of Wisconsin where a gunman - with alleged white supremacist links - gunned down six worshippers. Sikh boys are expected to tie and wear the turban by the time they reach adolescence, and 12-year-old Upneet Singh began attending the “turban clinic”, as the classes in Amritsar are popularly known, about two weeks ago. “I go to a religious school where the turban is compulsory at my age, so I come here to learn how to tie it,” he says. It is so important that observant Sikhs in the Indian
military wear them instead of helmets even in frontline combat situations. For religious leaders such as Avtar Singh, president of the trust that runs Sikhdom’s holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, forsaking the turban is tantamount to a rejection of the Sikh way of life. “The turban is the Sikh identity, it is a sign of our self-respect, our pride,” the bearded 71-year-old told AFP at his offices near the temple. “No Sikh is complete without his turban,” insisted Singh, who blames increasing exposure to western influences for undermining religious traditions among India’s 20 million-plus Sikhs. “We live in a very westernised environment. And these days, Sikh parents don’t teach their children enough about our history so they don’t adopt our customs,” he said. Shop worker Manjinder Singh cut his hair for the first time seven years ago, when he was 15. “I cut it because it was more fashionable to keep it short. It’s more modern,” he told AFP, as he sat down for a trim at a local barber’s. “My parents weren’t pleased, but they just gave up trying to change my mind,” he said. If some Sikhs have willingly cast aside the turban for reasons of style, others have unwillingly done so out of a sense of self-preservation. The assassination of Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards triggered an anti-Sikh pogrom that left thousands dead, and saw many Sikhs shave their beards and cut their hair to escape the violence. Jaswinder Singh, who was 15 at the time of the riots, said the experience was a
personal turning point that reinforced his faith. “So many Sikhs died when I was young, it made me realise that I wanted to grow up and do something for my faith, for my community,” he told AFP. In 1997, when he began to notice
youths in Punjab state wear turbans today, and he set up the clinic as part of a multi-pronged effort to bring them back into the religious fold. Singh says his classes, held six days a week, are often full and have been a major success,
AMRITSAR, India: This picture taken on July 3, 2012 shows young Indian Sikh men tying turbans at the office of the “turban pride” movement. —AFP young Sikhs frequenting hair salons, he knew he had found his cause, and in 2003 the Amritsar-based advocate established his “turban pride” movement, including regular tying clinics. According to Singh, fewer than half of all Sikh
paving the way for around 50 similar clinics to be set up by other Sikhs in Punjab. In addition, Singh organises turbantying competitions, turban-themed poetry readings, and a beauty contest
called “Mr Singh International” open only to Sikhs who don the headgear. He also stages mass turban-tying ceremonies known as “dastar bandi”, traditionally held to mark male Sikhs’ coming of age. Although the dastar bandi used to be a key event in every Sikh male’s life, its popularity has waned as families have abandoned the tradition. Under Singh’s scheme, dozens of boys are initiated in monthly ceremonies during which priests and other religious figures tightly wrap turbans around their heads to the sounds of the congregation chanting. In a bid to ensure that the boys do not shed the headgear for more exciting options as they get older, Singh has developed a computer program -Smart Turban 1.0 - which showcases 60 different ways to tie a turban. “If a Sikh youth loses the turban today, then maybe tomorrow he will abandon the religion all together, that is what I am afraid of,” he told AFP. “That’s why we need to save the turban. This is not just about the turban, it is about what it means to be a Sikh.” Singh said he sympathised with Sikhs living overseas who face the challenge of assimilation and feel that wearing the turban leaves them vulnerable to possible hate crimes. “I understand why members of the Sikh diaspora would worry and think about giving up the turban, out of fear that they would be attacked, but I hope they don’t do that. Historically, Sikhs have been attacked many times before and whenever we are attacked we unite and we become stronger, our faith becomes stronger,” he said. —AFP
Indian police arrest ‘protesting yoga guru’ Ramdev urges supporters to throw out govt
OAK CREEK, Wisconsin: People walk around a flag pole outside the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on Sunday. —AP
US Sikh temple holds tearful Sunday service OAK CREEK, Wisconsin: Hundreds of people who gathered at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee spoke of redemption, unity and strength during the first Sunday service there since a white supremacist gunman killed six people before fatally shooting himself. The service capped a weekend of events meant to honor the victims and restore the temple as a place of worship. While there were still tears and red eyes, many participants said healing was under way. Visitors removed their shoes outside and filed past portraits of the victims, shuffling down a flower-lined aisle into the main prayer room. They dropped dollar bills in front of a shrine where their holy book sits and bowed for two to three seconds. Then they sat on the floor -women on the left, men on the right - their heads covered with scarves, and listened as a priest recited religious hymns in the Hindi dialect of Punjabi. Those at Sunday’s service included Sikhs from as far away as California and about 50 from Cleveland, who chartered a bus to make the eight-hour drive to support their community. “It’s an emotional day but it’s getting better,” said Justice Khalsa, 41, of Milwaukee, who visits the temple three or four days a week. “I’m smiling and laughing now, but once this group goes away and we’re back to our regular schedule, it will be haunting, I’m sure.” The proceedings
began in the parking lot with a “nishan sahib,” or a ceremony in which participants clean a Sikh flagpole to symbolize the temple’s rebirth. Women sang hymns as a group lowered the pole. About 50 people, mostly men and boys, unwrapped a faded orange cloth that covered the pole, washed the pole with water and milk and then rewrapped it with a darker orange cloth. The group then filed inside the temple for more prayers and hymns. Wade Michael Page, 40, used a 9 mm pistol to kill six people and wound four others, including a police officer, in an attack that took place shortly before a service was to begin Aug. 5. He shot himself after being wounded by another police officer. Page, an Army veteran with a record of minor alcohol-related crimes and a spotty employment history, had performed with several bands associated with white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups. Still, investigators say they may never know for certain what prompted his attack. When relatives gathered to plan Friday’s memorial for the six who died, several wanted to include a seventh empty coffin to remember Page. “It would have sent a message that we have forgiven this man for his actions,” said Amardeep Singh, the son of one victim. “We forgave him because otherwise it would have been a thorn in our side for the rest of our lives.” —AP
Indian sleuths in Iran to probe Delhi attack NEW DELHI: Two Indian investigators have gone to Tehran to question Iranian suspects who they believe were involved in a bomb attack that wounded an Israeli diplomat’s wife in New Delhi in February, police said yesterday. The investigators left for the Iranian capital last week after authorities there agreed to the Indian request to pursue the case, a police officer familiar with the case said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters. New Delhi police have issued arrest warrants for three Iranians they believe planned or carried out the attack. They say the Iranians performed reconnaissance at the Israeli Embassy in May 2011 before returning to New Delhi early this year to plan the attack. Police say two of the men left India before the attack but were previously in contact with an Indian journalist accused of conspiracy in the plot. The third left India after the attack. One of the men, Housan Afshar, had also been in contact with Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, an Iranian who is accused of involvement in a blast in
Bangkok a day after the New Delhi attack. Sedaghatzadeh was later arrested in Malaysia. Syed Mohammad Kazmi, a 50year-old freelance Indian journalist who reportedly worked for some Iranian news organizations, is the only person arrested in the five-month investigation into the New Delhi blast. He faces charges relating to terrorist activities, attempted murder and other illegal activities. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison. He has denied all charges against him. The Indian investigators are expected to return from Iran this week, the police officer said. Meanwhile, the Indian Express newspaper reported that Indian investigators were also likely to visit the former Soviet republic of Georgia, where a bomb was discovered on an Israeli diplomat’s car the same day as the New Delhi attack. The next day, three Iranians accidentally blew up their house in the Thai capital. Israeli authorities have said the similarity between all of the explosives linked Iran to all three incidents. Iran has denied any involvement. —AP
NEW DELHI: A popular yoga guru and thousands of his supporters were detained by police yesterday as they tried to march to India’s Parliament to intensify an anti-corruption protest and press for a change of government. As he was led away by police, Baba Ramdev shouted slogans urging his supporters to fight to end India’s endemic corruption and seek the repatriation of billions of dollars in illegal money he says Indians have stashed in foreign banks. Waving Indian flags and shouting slogans, the protesters climbed into a row of police buses parked around the sprawling New Delhi fairground that Ramdev and his supporters had occupied for the past four days. Police said the protesters would be taken to a stadium on the outskirts of the city and would likely be released by Monday evening. Before the march, the bearded, saffron-clad yogi urged his supporters to throw out the ruling Congress Party and bring in a “clean” government. “Throw out the Congress; save the country,” he shouted as his followers applauded and cheered wildly. Ramdev, who had not eaten for the past four days, had set a Sunday evening deadline for a response from the government to his protest, but received none. “The government has become completely deaf. We have to make them hear us. Now our protest will move from here to the doorstep of the Parliament,” Ramdev said. Ramdev told his supporters to be prepared to go to jail during their march since police would try to stop them from holding a rally near parliament. He urged his followers to remain peaceful and
not resort to violence as police removed them from Ramlila Ground. Ramdev has been demanding a robust ombudsman law to keep checks on government, a strong and independent Central Bureau of Investigation and efforts to act against tax evasion and illegal money sent to
promising their support in the fight against corruption. Ramdev’s protest comes more than a week after the latest hunger strike by anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare failed to attract the huge crowds that had turned out for his past protests. Hazare and his supporters said
recent days. There were about 10,000 people in attendance yesterday, less than half the number at the start of the protest. Critics have accused Ramdev, whose real name is Ramkishan Yadav, of amassing a fortune in donations and not paying taxes. Ramdev denies all allegations of financial
NEW DELHI: Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev waves out of the window of a bus after he was detained with his supporters by policemen yesterday. —AP banks abroad. Although Ramdev has often said he is not aligned with any political party, yesterday he was joined by leaders from the main opposition parties. Nitin Gadkari, president of the rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party, and Sharad Yadav of the socialist party were among those who addressed the crowd yesterday,
they would give up agitating and join politics instead. Millions of Indians tune in every day to watch Ramdev perform yoga exercises on his popular TV show. In the past few years he has used his popularity to highlight his campaign against corruption. However, support for Ramdev’s protest has been dwindling, with the crowds thinning in
wrongdoing. Before yesterday ’s march, police posted prohibitory orders in central New Delhi banning the assembly of more than five people. Security was tightened all around parliament, with roads to the iconic building barricaded and armed police and paramilitary soldiers deployed at major crossroads. —AP
Wife of US man held in Pak urges return WASHINGTON: The wife of a Maryland man abducted in Pakistan is pleading for his safe return on the one-year anniversary of his kidnapping, saying her husband is in poor health and is missed by grandchildren who ask for him every day. Warren Weinstein, a 71-yearold aid worker from Rockville, Maryland, was kidnapped last August after gunmen tricked his guards and broke into his home in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. Al-Qaida released a video in May in which Weinstein said he would be killed unless President Barack Obama agreed to the group’s demands. It was not clear when the video was recorded. The White House has called for Weinstein’s immediate release but has said it won’t negotiate with al-Qaida. His wife, Elaine, observed the anniversary of his disappearance Monday with a statement urging his release. She said he suffers from a heart condition, severe asthma and high blood pressure and fears that his health “will deteriorate if he is not allowed to see the doctors and specialists that have helped keep him alive in recent years. “Our grandchildren are growing and
changing so fast. They miss their grandfather and ask for him every day. It is so difficult to explain why he can’t be with them,” the statement reads in part. “It is impossible to describe the pain and sadness my daughters and I feel. We are simply heart sick. I always imagined growing old with Warren and enjoying our family together.” Weinstein was the country director in Pakistan for J E Austin Associates, a US-based developWarren Weinstein ment contractor that advises different Pakistani business and government sectors. The company has said Weinstein worked with a wide range of Pakistani government agencies, and that his work helped create hundreds of well-paying jobs and raise the standard of living in communities where the businesses are located. He
had told his staff he expected to wrap up his latest project and move out of Pakistan within days. “Warren loves Pakistan and lived there for eight years so he could dedicate his time and energy to working with the people. I don’t understand why he was taken,” Elaine Weinstein said in her statement. In the video released in May by Al-Qaeda’s media arm and posted on militant websites, Weinstein sits in front of a white background, near books and what appears to be a plate of food, and makes a direct appeal to the president. “My life is in your hands, Mr. President,” Weinstein says. “If you accept the demands, I live; if you don’t accept the demands, then I die.” The video came several months after one release in December by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who said Weinstein would be released if the US stopped airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He also demanded the release of all Al-Qaeda and Taleban suspects around the world. The FBI has been investigating the kidnapping, but Jacqueline Maguire, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Washington field office, said the bureau cannot discuss ongoing investigations. —AP
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opinion
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
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Issues
Pirates have demands - and letterhead, too By Ben Berkowitz elcome to the Pirate Action Group. Pirate commander Jamal wishes to congratulate you on being hijacked. Kindly speak to his negotiator about your ransom, bearing in mind that his demands are similar for every vessel he seizes. This is not an absurd joke-this is how the pirates of the African coast do business, and it’s a serious matter for the companies that have to pay out. In 2011 Somali piracy cost the world economy $7 billion and earned the pirates some $160 million in ransoms, according to a recent report by the International Maritime Bureau. Piracy is receding of late, but it is still a threat. The maritime bureau reported 69 hijacking incidents by Somali pirates between Jan. 1 and July 12, down 32 percent from last year. Rogues though they may be, these pirates in many cases are surprisingly well-organized, down to having their own packets of paperwork-on letterhead-for their victims. Reuters obtained a copy of one such packet, presented to the owner of a hijacked oil tanker and the owner’s insurer after the ship was taken. Due to the commercial sensitivities, the names of the insurer and ship owner were redacted from the document, as was the size of the ransom request. But what remains is colorful enough, and somewhat surprising. The cover sheet, in memo format, is addressed “To Whom It May Concern” with the subject line “Congratulations to the Company/Owner.” “Having seen when my Pirate Action Group (P.A.G) had controlled over your valuable vessel we are saying to you Company/Owner welcome to Jamal’s Pirate Action Group (JPAG) and you have to follow by our law to return back your vessel and crew safely,” the memo begins. The tone of the memo belies the violent reality of the pirate’s actions. As of early August armed Somali pirates hold more than 170 hostages, according to the IMB, and were responsible for 35 deaths in 2011 alone. “Do not imagine that we are making to you intimidation,” the memo says, before signing off with “Best regards” and the signature of Jamal Faahiye Culusow, the General Commander of the Group. Lest there be any doubt about who Jamal is or what he does, his signature is accompanied by his seal-yes, Jamal has a stamped s e al-depicting a skull and crossed swords with the name of the group.
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YOU GET A DISCOUNT Anything can be insured for the right price, and the risk of people or property being held for ransom is no exception. A small coterie of companies, among them Travelers, Chubb and AIG, offer “kidnap and ransom” policies to shipping companies for just these kinds of situations. In the event of a hijacking, they will pay up, just as Jamal and his ilk request. Because the number of attacks have declined, piracy coverage prices have, too, said Amanda Holt, a vice president in the financial and professional liability unit at insurance brokerage Marsh in Norwich, England. “Often if you buy piracy cover you’ll get a discount on your war premium. It makes a lot of sense for ship owners and managers.” A ship owner looking to insure a single transit can now get $5 million in coverage for anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000, assuming the ship has armed guards. In this case, that means negotiating how and when the money is paid, and of course how much. Jamal provided the ship owners a breakdown of the value of their tanker, the oil it contained and also the worth of the crew (at least in his opinion), presenting a final demand figure for them to consider. “We will send to you after when we arrange something for the demanding ransom money and after when we finish the meeting among my group and resolve my problem,” he wrote in the second page of the kidnap packet. One expert in ransom negotiation situations said it was little surprise that Jamal and his colleagues were so well organized, their meager circumstances in one of the world’s most strife-torn countries notwithstanding. “They want to get the money. If they present themselves and behave as someone who will live up to their commitment to give us the package in good condition, we are much more likely to go ahead and pay the ransom easily and efficiently,” said Derek S.T. Baldwin, director of worldwide operations for IBIS International, which operates in 45 countries worldwide. “If they present themselves as a non-structured group of disorganized loons they stand an awful lot better chance of having an extraction team show up on their front porch and shoot them,” said Baldwin, an attorney by training whose firm has been involved in a number of ransom situations over the years.
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.
Iraq’s lawyers risk death to take on sectarian cases By Aseel Kami raqi lawyer Ahmed Al-Abadi put up with years of threatening phone calls for taking on sensitive sectarian cases but, after he narrowly escaped death when three shots were fired at his car last year, he could take no more. Abadi had just finished successfully defending a woman accused of involvement in a sectarian killing and he thinks this was the reason behind the gun attack - but he decided against seeking legal redress. “I did not go to the police station to report it. I knew it would not get me anywhere,” he said, seated in the lawyers’ room of Rusafa appeal court in eastern Baghdad. “It has affected me mentally and sapped my enthusiasm for work. I started to handle only easy cases which do not cause me problems.” After years of vicious sectarian strife between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, individual cases are increasingly coming to court. But justice suffers because lawyers are an easy target in a country where rule of law remains weak, tribal loyalties take precedence and sectarian armed groups still operate. Abadi is one of many lawyers who have suffered constant threats and intimidation from relatives of the accused or the plaintiff. Lawyers come into contact with both sides of a case and they must appear in court, where everyone can see their faces. Lawyers say some judges treat them as if they were involved in the crime simply because they defend the accused. “We are very sensitive about terrorism cases,” the 55-year-old Abadi said, employing the term regularly used to describe sectarian cases in Iraq. “After taking more than one terrorist case, I quit,” he said as he removed his robe after attending the guilty verdict in a corruption case of two clients who worked in a government-spending watchdog.
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RISING LAWYER DEATH TOLL Sectarian warfare plagued Iraq in 2006-7, when death squads, insurgents and militias claimed thousands of victims. Violence is no longer an around-the-clock menace but remains common. At least 116 people were killed and about 300 wounded in bomb and gun attacks on July 23 - by far the bloodiest day since US troops withdrew in December, eight years after the invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. And tensions between Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims still run high as politicians feud over power-sharing in government. Practicing law is often a life-threatening profession. Iraq’s lawyers syndicate says 103 lawyers were killed between 20032008 but the actual number could be double that since not all cases are reported. The syndicate, which has 50,000 members, lacks figures on victims for after 2008. Abadi defended a woman who was accused with her husband of kidnapping and killing her husband’s friend, a Shiite, when he visited them in their home in a Sunni district of Baghdad. The couple said gunmen had broken into their house and kidnapped the guest, but the victim’s relatives accused them of the crime. Abadi, who was the woman’s lawyer, won the case and his client was released from prison. Shortly afterwards three gunmen in a BMW car opened fire at him when he was driving and three bullets whizzed past his head, shattering the window. He stopped his car, and they thought he was dead and drove away. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the judiciary faces enormous pressure in Iraq, particularly lawyers when intimidation, including threats through text messages, is a fact of life. “The lack of security allows lawyers to be threatened particularly if they take on sensitive cases and those who make threats are able to do so with impunity,” Samer Muscati, a researcher at the New York-based watchdog, said. ‘SIR, LEAVE THIS CASE ALONE’ Thair Al-Qassim, a Baghdad-based specialist in sectarian cases, said he has been threatened 32 times. His son was kidnapped and beaten severely in 2006 and only freed when Qassim paid a $40,000 ransom. He was kidnapped briefly himself in 2009 after militiamen targeted his car, interrogated him and told him to stop covering certain cases. He managed to escape unharmed. Qassim has endured hand grenade attacks, threatening phone calls and text messages and a letter thrown into his garden. “All that because I defend Sunnis against Shiites or Shiites against Sunnis,” Qassim said. “When I defend a client who is from the Sunni sect...someone from the other side, the Shiite side, calls me and says ‘Sir, leave this case, otherwise you will face regrettable consequences’ - and vice versa.” But Qassim said he did not abandoned these cases because this is how he earns his living. He was part of the defence team for an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then-US President George W Bush in December 2008. He received a phone call from someone telling him to drop the case or he or his family would be killed. It proved an empty threat - but it sticks in his mind. Apart from the threats, lawyers say they are often prevented from meeting clients, who undergo lengthy interrogations. The Iraqi legal system is especially slow and bureaucratic. According to Iraqi criminal law, arrested people should be presented to a judge in 24 hours, but this rarely happens in practice, lawyer Farhan Al-Bighani said. “They should not stay at
the mercy of a police officer for a month or longer just because he wants to extract a confession.” Abdul-Sattar Al-Birqdar, spokesman for the Supreme Judicial Council, said lawyers could present their complaints and the council would take legal procedures in such cases. Lawyers complain some judges are under political pressure, make decisions based on sectarian or tribal affiliations or are corrupt, charges rejected by the Supreme Judicial Council which says judges are independent, and not politically affiliated. In one of Iraq’s most high-profile and contested cases, VicePresident Tareq Al-Hashemi, a Sunni politician in the Iraqiya bloc, says he is being targeted in a legal investigation partially because of sectarianism. Hashemi fled Baghdad in December when the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sought his arrest on charges that he ran a death squad. Hashemi has said he is ready to face trial, but not in a Baghdad court, which he believes is under the sway of Maliki in a judicial
system tainted by political bias. Maliki’s allies say the Hashemi trial is not political. But many Iraqi Sunnis say they see a sectarian hand behind the case, accusing Maliki of shoring up his position at their expense. Lawyers and Human Rights Watch criticized a government campaign in November to arrest Baathists and former military officers who authorities maintained had plotted to oust Maliki one month before the departure of US troops. Maliki said more than 600 people had been arrested on evidence that they sought to undermine security in Iraq. “We have spoken to lawyers and the families of detainees who said they would not take on these types of cases because it would put the lawyers at risk,” HRW’s Muscati said. For lawyer Abadi who dodged the bullets, the lawyers syndicate is not doing enough to defend his profession. He even laments that lawyers cannot be armed to defend themselves. “The lawyer is in the courtyard, fighting alone,” he said.—Reuters
Once a model, crisis imperils Portugal’s drug program By Andrei Khalip ergio Alves had been off heroin for a year - a tough year to stay clean in Portugal, as the debt-laden country weathered more painful austerity measures after an international bailout and sunk into its worst recession since the 1970s. As tax hikes gnawed into the grocery business he runs with his wife and the stress mounted, Alves relapsed. Now back in rehab, the 30-year-old is glad he can fall back on the free state-run centre for drug addicts, where he says few signs of austerity are visible yet. “The business was bad, my life became just the work-home routine. I took to heroin again to forget,” he says. “But I knew heroin was going to destroy me, and I have a daughter now ... So I rushed to the centre and they gave me another chance.” Portugal’s famously liberal drug policy has been held up as a model for other countries - Norway is considering adopting parts of it and countries as far afield as Argentina have expressed interest. But experts warn that budget cuts and the threat of more cuts to come - combined with an increase in hard drug abuse - risk turning it into a shadow of its former self. “We have a certain responsibility to maintain the essential despite the recession,” said Joao Goulao, the national drugs agency chief. “Other countries do look at us and seek our expertise. If we divest too much, then one day we’ll have to talk about the Portuguese drugs policy in the past tense.” Ageing but spacious and well-kept, Lisbon’s Taipas rehabilitation clinic is one of over 40 such clinics across the country, the result of Portugal’s 11-year-old pioneering drugs policy which decriminalized drug use while offering free treatment and state-funded street-work programs. It is places like this that are likely to bear the brunt of future cuts. “We’ve already suffered some budget cuts, but maintained the essential intervention services. Now the budget for next year is prepared and ... I’m afraid it is inevitable that there will be more cuts,” said Goulao. Meanwhile, the share of injecting drug users who sought help via the agency’s centers doubled last year to 14 percent and looks set to rise further, though it still remains well below the peak of 36 percent registered in 2000. “We see more drug use linked to desperation - mostly heroin, the comfort drug,” Goulao said. “There’s no doubt the economic and social conditions are making the drug phenomenon worse.” Unemployment is at a record high of over 15 percent, and many people are leading precarious existences. Eurostat said one fourth of Portugal’s 10 million population was at risk of poverty and social exclusion in 2010, the last year for which data is available - since then, the situation has got worse. Goulao, who is also the chairman of the Lisbon-based EU drugs agency EMCDDA, said the euro zone’s most crisis-hit member Greece has already shown that excessive budget cuts cause a sharp rise in drug use and AIDS infections. In Portugal’s case, he says the risks are even greater.
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PATIENTS, NOT CRIMINALS In 2001, Portugal decriminalized all drug use as well as possession for personal use in an attempt to try and tackle a serious heroin problem that had caused an outbreak of HIV/Aids among drug users. Huge open-air drug markets were a common sight at the time in some areas. Since then, the rate of injected drug use has halved to about 0.5 percent of the population, below levels in Britain and Italy. The number of new HIV cases has also declined - the share of injecting drug users fell from about half of all new cases in 2002 to 17.5 percent last year. Overall drug use in Portugal is now
below the European average, according to the EMCDDA. Drug busts by police have also gone up. “A very big measure of success of the policy is that it brought political acceptance. The new centre-right government includes people who used to be very opposed to it, but no one is trying to reverse it,” said Brendan Hughes, an EMCDDA analyst. “There is no simple answer if the decriminalization itself is a success or failure. But most of the numbers are going in the right direction,” he said. The law treats users like Alves as voluntary patients not criminals. People caught using drugs, still an administrative offence, are not processed through the justice system but are referred to medical “dissuasion commissions” instead. The legislation is among the world’s most liberal, more liberal than, for example, the Netherlands, where people caught in possession of drugs other than cannabis can go to jail. Goulao says decriminalization - which allows the police to focus more on drug dealers and unclogs the justice system - is “no magic bullet”, but that it works when combined with state-funded treatment and prevention. Heroin use typically takes off during times of economic hardship and replaces “power drugs” such as cocaine because it is relatively cheap and gives users a few hours of emotional comfort. Mostly injected, it can spread blood-borne diseases such as HIV or hepatitis when users share the same syringe or needle - behavior that becomes more common when money is tight. “It’s easy to buy, easier than cannabis,” Alves said. “Pushers dilute it with talc and dust, but it still works.” DRUG AGENCY MERGER CRITICISED Some experts believe the drug treatment program has already been weakened after Goulao’s autonomous IDT agency and its 1,700 staff was merged with the country’s National Health Service as part of the government’s cost-cutting process. “It was the worst possible moment to do it due to the budget cuts that all the healthcare service suffered,” said Joao Semedo, deputy chairman of parliament’s healthcare committee from the opposition Left Bloc. The health service lost almost 10 percent of its budget funds in 2012. “This integration amid the crisis and with healthcare in a shambles can only yield bad results. We already see teams being suspended, programs on the ground discontinued, (and) the end of financing for projects with a high social impact,” said Semedo. APDES, a non-governmental agency for social projects, warned in a report earlier this year that a range of harm reduction service providers were facing bankruptcy, while the “IDT closure endangers the future of the drug treatment system in general”. Risk-reduction mobile units distribute free needles, condoms and carry out medical exams in problematic neighborhoods. Marta Pinto, who authored the report, says most drug-related projects have since survived and that tenders have been opened to guarantee financing of the projects until December, but says the situation remains shaky. “After December, I don’t know what’s going to happen and obviously I’m worried,” she said. In a further blow, the funding of risk reduction projects from the national program for HIV/Aids - projects closely linked to drug-related work has been slashed to 1.5 million euros from 9 million euros a year earlier, with no guarantees that existing projects will continue, she said. Alexander Kentikelenis, a sociologist at Cambridge University, said that even the Greek government is slowly reinstating prevention programs because it had been scared by last year’s 12-fold jump in HIV infections among drug users. — Reuters
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
NEWS
AHMEDABAD: An Indian albino family from the Muslim community waits for devotees for alms during Ramadan outside the 600 year old Shahi Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad yesterday. — AFP
Sanctions: A popular weapon with mixed results BERLIN: Economic sanctions have been called wars without bullets, yet their record in forcing political change has been mixed - by some estimates successful about a third of the time. Nonetheless, sanctions have grown in popularity since the end of the Cold War as an alternative to armed conflict. They enable governments to take a stand without placing their soldiers in harm’s way. In Syria, where opposition activists say a 17month uprising against President Bashar Assad has claimed more than 20,000 lives, Libya-style military intervention is not in the cards. So the United States and its Western allies have turned to economic sanctions as a way to promote political change. As in shooting wars, however, events don’t always go according to plan. Sanctions some times backfire, deepening the suffering of ordinary people, prolonging a conflict by stiffening the resolve of autocratic governments or even triggering war, as when the US, Britain and the Netherlands imposed an oil and steel embargo against Japan in 1941. In the most successful cases - such as sanctions in support of black majority rule in Africa or promoting democracy in communist Poland - it took years to achieve the goal. An ongoing US trade embargo against Cuba, slapped on the island nation after Fidel Castro nationalized American holdings, was imposed six months before President Barack Obama celebrated his first birthday. A half century later, Castro and his brother Raul are still in power. A 2007 study by three scholars at the Peter G Peterson Institute for International Economics found that sanc tions were successful in undermining or changing a regime in only about 34 percent of the cases. Other studies argue even that figure is too high because the Peterson study included “successful” cases where military force was also used. Still, economic sanc tions remain a popular option. They remain the “only coercive measures available to the international community” short of the use of force, as Jeremy Greenstock, a former British ambassador to the United Nations, wrote before the Iraq war. The latest measures a g a i n s t S y r i a c a m e Fr i d a y, w h e n t h e O b a m a administration slapped new sanc tions on the s t a t e - r u n o i l c o m p a ny a n d i t s Le b a n e s e a l l y Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group accused of helping prop up Assad. They were largely symbolic: Americans have been banned from doing business with Hezbollah since the US declared it a foreign terrorist organization in the 1990s, and longstanding US sanctions against Syria have already blocked energy trade between the two countries. Obama blacklisted new imports last year. But more robust US and European Union sanctions have already dealt Sy r i a a s e ve re b l ow, e ve n i f t h e y h ave ye t to achieve their goals of ending the bloodshed. US and EU bans on oil imports which went into effect this year are estimated to be costing Syria about $400 million a month. Syria’s foreign cur-
re n c y re s e r ve s a re s h r i n k i n g. To u r i s m , w h i c h accounted for more than 10 percent of Syria’s gross domestic economy in 2010, has all but disappeared. Still, some experts are skeptical that sanctions alone will force Assad to abandon what he considers a life and death struggle for power especially as long as he can count on suppor t from Russia, China and Iran. “ The Assad regime does not take such steps any more seriously than previous sanctions,” said Aram Nerguizian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “From the regime’s standpoint, winning the battle against the insurgency and hanging on to political surv i v a l a r e p a r a m o u n t .” T h e S y r i a n e x p e r i e n c e points to the limits of the effectiveness of sanctions. Proponents acknowledge that to be most effective, sanctions must be applied by as great a number of countries as possible. The UN Security Council has been unable to impose universally binding sanc tions against Syria because its allies Russia and China can veto any proposal. Even with universal sanctions, success in forcing change is by no means guaranteed. Skillful autocrats - Castro in Cuba, Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe and Manuel Noriega in Panama to name a few - have managed to shift the blame for their country’s suffering on the foreign powers responsible for the sanctions. Louis Kriesberg, a retired professor of social conflict at Syracuse University, wrote that economic sanctions “can widen the conflict, add to its destructiveness and sometimes prolong it.” Those arguments were reinforced by the exper i e n c e o f S y r i a’s n e i g h b o r I r a q . T h e S e c u r i t y Council imposed nearly total financial and trade sanctions on Iraq after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 2000. After US-led forces drove the Iraqis from Kuwait, the council reinforced the sanctions, linking them to Iraqi guarantees that they no longer held banned weapons of mass destruc tion. Yet those sanc tions remained in force for more than a dozen years as the government resisted UN effor ts to verify that the banned weapons programs had been dismantled. In the meantime, Saddam’s cronies made fortunes smuggling oil and other commodities, while ordinary Iraqis suffered the effects of sanctions. For years, visitors to Baghdad were shocked at the vast flea markets that sprang up all over the city. Women sold their jewelry, professors offered their personal libraries and retired soldiers hawked their medals - all in a desperate effort to accumulate enough devalued cash to sur vive. Some estimates placed the number of Iraqis who died during the sanctions era from lack of medicine or proper nutrition as high as 500,000, although the US and Britain contested those figures. “ The lesson is that some countries cannot be influenced because the decision-makers do not attribute decisive weight to the potential damage done to their country,” wrote Peter AG van Bergeijk, professor of international economics at the Dutch Institute of Social Studies. — AP
For some Assad loyalists, a gory death at rebel hands Bloody videos appear on YouTube BEIRUT: Disturbing footage of Syrian rebels slitting the throat of a blindfolded young man and throwing bodies off a rooftop to a cheering crowd below have appeared on YouTube. It was not possible to independently verify the authenticity or the circumstances in which the videos were recorded and some activists argue that one of them was staged by supporters of President Bashar Al-Assad to discredit the rebels. But as an uprising against the Syrian leader grinds through its 17th month, there are signs that the rebels are taking bloody revenge on anyone they suspect of being a member of a pro-Assad militia known as “shabbiha”. The videos also make uncomfortable watching for the rebels’ allies who have criticized government forces for perpetrating similar atrocities and their release comes at a time when the United States and Turkey are planning to increase their support for the opposition. In one of the latest videos, dead bodies can be seen being flung from the roof of a post office amid volleys of gunfire. The corpses land on the ground with a heavy thud. As a crowd of shouting men watch, blood and body parts splatter across the cement and some of the bodies - all men - land on the staircase leading into the post office below. “This is the liberation of the post office,” an activist says, explaining that he is filming in the northern town of al-Bab, just outside the city of Aleppo. Enraged members of the crowd can then be seen
kicking the bodies down the stairs and taking pictures with their mobile phones. Chants of “God is great,” ripple through the crowd. “This one was a shabbiha,” one man yells. The shabbiha - who take their nickname from a Syrian slang word derived from the Arabic word for ghost - have been accused of several massacres in recent months. Some rebels admit to torturing and executing men they accuse of being “shabbiha”, saying they are exacting revenge for often horrific crimes perpetrated against their own loved ones. One of the most chilling videos to emerge yet was posted by government supporters yesterday and appears to show rebels slowly cutting open the throat of a blindfolded man. Some activists argue the killing was not carried out by rebels, insisting that the opposition is being framed. In the video, the young man, stripped of his shirt and shoes, is dragged across a pavement at night by a group of men. They push him down to a rubbish-strewn curb. “Kneel down, kneel down,” the captors can be heard to shout, slapping him. As one man begins to slit his throat with a knife, cries of “God is great” and “Praise God” erupt. Others help hold down the man’s head. No location is given, and no one in the video is identified. “This is the fate of the shabbiha and all of Assad’s regime,” one man shouts. Blood spatters across the pavement as the last rattles of breath escape from the young man.- — Reuters
Inmate has a baby after sneaking sperm... Continued from Page 1 gathered outside to wait, breaking into celebratory ululation at the first sound of a baby crying. Standing outside the operating theatre, the proud grandmother said her son-in-law had named the baby after one of his friends “who was a martyr.” Asked if the family objected to the way her daughter fell pregnant, she responded angrily. “We are honorable people who are known for our good reputation and everyone supports us,” she snapped. For her son-in-law, who no longer has any immediate family living in the Palestinian territories, having a boy gives him a way of prolonging his line, she said, explaining that his mother, father and brother had died, and that a second brother was living overseas. Details of how the sperm was smuggled out of the prison was kept a closely guarded secret, with the family refusing to give the slightest information. A spokeswoman for the Israel Prisons Service said she was not aware of the pregnancy, and that security prisoners were not allowed conjugal visits, with the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club confirming the same information. “Visits by prisoners’ wives are closely supervised by prison guards and there is no way a prisoner could get time alone with his wife,” said a Nablus-based spokesman. Dr Saalem Abu Al-Kheizaran, head of the Razan fertility
clinic in Nablus which carried out the insemination procedure, said the sperm had been subjected to a gender separation process to ensure the couple would have a son. “We received a sample of sperm from the husband in a reliable and clinically secure way,” he said, without going into details. “The couple wanted a baby boy, so we carried out a gender separation procedure. We tried the insemination process three times from the same sample, but the first two attempts failed,” he said. Abu Al-Kheizaran said the right to have a baby was a universal human right. “For us it is a humanitarian issueeveryone has the right to be a parent. Prison must not stand in the way of this right,” he said. Samer Samaro from the Nablus branch of the prisoners’ ministry agrees. “Having the child is a prisoner’s right. We hope to someday reach an agreement with the Israeli side about this issue,” he said. Samaro said that even Israelis were allowed that right, including Yigal Amir, the right-wing extremist who gunned down Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995. Amir, who was caught trying to smuggle sperm out of prison in 2006, was later given permission to artificially inseminate his wife, who gave birth to a son in 2007. Says Samaro: “Even Rabin’s murderer had a baby while he was in prison, so why should Palestinians be deprived of that right?” — AFP
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
sp orts
Terry free to play CL opener
Mineiro extend lead in Brazil
Warne wants Bolt for cricket Big Bash
RIO DE JANEIRO: Atletico Mineiro, given a ticking off by the club president for their late-night partying, responded by beating Vasco da Gama 1-0 in a top-of-the-table Brazilian championship clash on Sunday. Former Manchester City and Everton forward Jo headed in the only goal in the second half from a cross by Ronaldinho to send the Roosters three points clear at the top of the table. Club president Alexander Kalil had spoken to the squad before the game about their nocturnal habits following an incident in which Rever and Danilinho became involved in an argument with supporters during a night out. However, coach Cuca
LONDON: Usain Bolt could repackage himself as a big-hitting cricketer in Australia’s Big Bash League after defending his sprint double at the London Olympics, local media reported yesterday. The Jamaican told Channel Nine he had been contacted by Shane Warne about joining the spin great at the Melbourne Stars club in the Twenty20 league, which begins in December. “He contacted me and asked me about if I am serious and if I really want to do it then he can put in a few words that should get it done,” Bolt told Channel Nine. “We will see if I get the time off. I will try. Twenty20, I love it. Just the fact that it is so exciting, it’s about going hard the whole time, not just about playing shots. “It’s about being aggressive and I like that style of batsman,” added Bolt, who retained 100 and 200 metres titles and helped break the 4x100m world record in London.—Reuters
denied that Ronaldinho had argued with Kalil and walked out of the team camp. “”The rumor that Ronaldinho was not in the team concentration is a lie,” said Cuca. “It’s also a lie that he argued with Kalil.” Former AC Milan and Barcelona forward Ronaldinho refused to talk to reporters. Mineiro have 38 points from 15 games while Fluminense moved ahead of Vasco into second place on 35 after their 1-0 win over Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Palmeiras, who fell back into the relegation zone. Romarinho scored the outstanding goal of the weekend, backheeling the ball into the net from 12 metres, to give South American champions Corinthians a 2-1 win at Coritiba.—Reuters
BERNE: Chelsea captain John Terry will be free to play in their opening Champions League match this season after his three-match European ban was modified on appeal by UEFA yesterday. “Chelsea FC’s John Terry has had his three-match suspension reduced on appeal,” UEFA said in a statement on their website (www.uefa.com). “Although the central defender is still suspended for three UEFA club competition matches, the third game of the ban has now been deferred for a probationary period of three years.” UEFA said the final match of the ban would only take effect if he re-offended. Terry served the first match in last season’s Champions League final in May against Bayern Munich which his team won on penalties and will also sit out the Super Cup match against Europa League winners Atletico Madrid on Aug. 31. He will therefore be free for the Champions League group stage first round in September which will be drawn on Aug. 30. Terry was suspended after he was sent off away to Barcelona for kneeing Alexis Sanchez in an off-the-ball incident during the first half of the semi-final second leg.—Reuters
Dodgers down Marlins MIAMI: Chris Capuano held Miami hitless until the seventh inning and Hanley Ramirez drove in three runs against his former team as the Los Angeles Dodgers downed the Miami Marlins 50 Sunday. Capuano (11-8) shut down the Marlins until Jose Reyes lined a clean single to center field with one out in the seventh. Capuano allowed two hits in eight innings, striking out nine. Ramirez, acquired in a trade with the Marlins on July 25, hit a sacrifice fly in the third. He added a two-run single in eighth, giving him 500 career RBIs.
ARLINGTON: Texas Rangers Josh Hamilton hits a two-run homer during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers.—AP
Hamilton powers Rangers past Tigers ARLINGTON: Josh Hamilton hit his 32nd homer and drove in three runs, and Yu Darvish struck out eight as the Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3 Sunday. Hamilton had a two-run drive in the first inning, taking the major league lead and matching his career high. He added an RBI single in the third to give him 99 RBIs, which is also tops in baseball. Darvish (12-8) allowed six hits and walked five in 6 2-3 innings. He is 3-0 against the Tigers this year. Ian Kinsler drove in two runs for the AL West-leading Rangers. Miguel Cabrera had a two-run double for the Tigers. Rick Porcello (9-7) gave up nine hits and six runs. Mariners 4, Angels 1 At Anaheim, California, Jesus Montero homered twice off major league ERA leader Jered Weaver, and Jason Vargas outpitched his former Long Beach State teammate to lift Seattle over Anaheim. Weaver (15-2) had won nine straight outings. He fell one shy of Chuck Finley’s 1997 franchise record for consecutive starts won. Vargas (13-8) allowed a run and seven hits over 8 1-3 innings. The left-hander gave up a one-out triple in the ninth by Howie Kendrick before Tom Wilhelmsen came in and got the final two outs for his 16th save in 18 chances. Orioles 5, Royals 3 At Baltimore, Manny Machado hit his third homer in four major league games and Nick Markakis also connected as Baltimore got four hitless innings from their bullpen in a victory over Kansas City. Machado hit a two-run homer in the second off former Orioles pitcher Bruce Chen (810). Machado tripled in his debut Thursday night, homered twice in his second game and doubled in a run Saturday night. The 20-yearold Machado joined Frank Robinson, Ray Knight and Lee May as the only players to get an extra-base hit in each of their first four games with the Orioles. Mike Moustakas homered for the Royals, who went 4-3 on a road swing against the White Sox and Orioles. Blue Jays 10, Yankees 7 At Toronto, Rajai Davis doubled twice, matched a career high with five RBIs and made a sparkling catch as Toronto beat New York and snapped a five-game losing streak.
Davis scaled the left-field wall in the seventh to snare a potential long ball off the bat of Casey McGehee. Davis also stole his 33rd base. Edwin Encarnacion hit his 30th homer for the Blue Jays. J.A. Happ (1-1) pitched 5 2-3 innings for his first win since joining Toronto in a July 20 trade with Houston. Casey Janssen got his 15th save in 16 chances. Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter homered for the Yankees, who lost for the first time in five games. Red Sox 14, Indians 1 At Cleveland, Jon Lester struck out 12 over six innings for his first win in six weeks as Boston salvaged a four-game split by routing Cleveland. Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and two-run double. Carl Crawford had three doubles and three RBIs. The Red Sox built a 6-1 lead against Corey Kluber (0-1) and scored their most runs since trouncing Miami 15-5 on June 20. Lester (6-10) was on cruise control with the big lead after struggling to an 0-5 record and 7.49 ERA in seven starts since beating Toronto on June 27. He gave up three hits and one run to move to 5-1 lifetime against Cleveland. Rays 7, Twins 3 At Minneapolis, Jeff Keppinger homered and doubled, then drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as the Tampa Bay beat Minnesota for their sixth straight win. Ryan Roberts had three hits, including a two-run single in the 10th. Pinch hitter Matt Joyce capped the burst with an RBI double as Tampa Bay matched its longest winning streak of the season. Kyle Farnsworth (1-3) worked around a one-out single in the ninth to earn his first win since last Aug. 21. Fernando Rodney retired the only batter he faced for his leagueleading 36th save in 37 attempts. White Sox 7, Athletics 3 At Chicago, Chris Sale struck out 11 in 6 23 innings, A.J. Pierzynski had a two-run home run in a five-run sixth inning as Chicago beat Oakland. Sale (14-3) reached double digits in strikeouts for the third time this season. He fanned 10 in the first five innings, allowed two runs on solo homer and walked none.—AP
MLB results/standings Boston 14, Cleveland 1; Toronto 10, NY Yankees 7; LA Dodgers 5, Miami 0; Philadelphia 8, St. Louis 7 (11 innings); Baltimore 5, Kansas City 3; Pittsburgh 11, San Diego 5; Milwaukee 5, Houston 3; Chicago White Sox 7, Oakland 3; Tampa Bay 7, Minnesota 3 (10 innings); Cincinnati 3, Chicago Cubs 0; Texas 8, Detroit 3; Seattle 4, LA Angels 1; San Francisco 9, Colorado 6; Arizona 7, Washington 4;NY Mets 6, Atlanta 5. American League Eastern Division W L PCT NY Yankees 67 47 .588 Tampa Bay 62 52 .544 Baltimore 62 53 .539 Boston 57 59 .491 Toronto 54 60 .474 Central Division Chicago W Sox 62 51 Detroit 61 54 .530 Cleveland 53 62 .461 Kansas City 49 65 .430 Minnesota 49 65 .430 Western Division Texas 67 46 .593 Oakland 61 53 .535 LA Angels 60 55 .522 Seattle 53 63 .457
GB 5 5.5 11 13 .549 2 10 13.5 13.5 6.5 8 15.5
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National League Eastern Division Washington 71 44 .617 Atlanta 66 48 .579 NY Mets 55 60 .478 Philadelphia 52 62 .456 Miami 52 63 .452 Central Division Cincinnati 69 46 .600 Pittsburgh 64 50 .561 St. Louis 62 53 .539 Milwaukee 52 61 .460 Chicago Cubs 44 69 .389 Houston 38 78 .328 Western Division San Francisco 63 52 .548 LA Dodgers 62 53 .539 Arizona 58 57 .504 San Diego 51 65 .440 Colorado 41 71 .366
4.5 16 18.5 19 4.5 7 16 24 31.5 1 5 12.5 20.5
Reds 3, Cubs 0 At Chicago, Johnny Cueto allowed just three hits over eight innings, and Jay Bruce and Ryan Ludwick homered as Cincinnati beat Chicago. Cueto (15-6) moved into a tie with New York’s R.A. Dickey for the NL lead in victories. He retired the Cubs in order in four of the first five innings. Back in the lineup after sitting for two games because of a recent slump, Bruce hit a two-run shot into the right-field bleachers in the fifth off Brooks Raley (0-2). Ludwick connected with a drive to left in the sixth. Brewers 5, Astros 3 At Houston, Yovani Gallardo handled Houston once again and Corey Hart homered as Milwaukee broke an 11-game road losing streak. Milwaukee won on the road for the first time since July 8 at Houston in its last game before the All-Star break. Gallardo (11-8) won his 10th straight start against Houston. The right-hander allowed three runs and struck out eight in 7 2-3 innings. Jordan Lyles (2-9) allowed eight hits and four runs - two earned - in seven innings for his fifth straight loss. He hasn’t won since June 26. Pirates 11, Padres 5 At Pittsburgh, Clint Barmes’ first career grand slam sparked a nine-run fourth inning and Neil Walker went 5 for 5 as the Pirates rallied past San Diego. Walker homered and doubled as the Pirates overcame an early 5-0 deficit and ended San Diego’s six-game winning streak. The Padres had won 11 in a row at Pittsburgh dating to 2009. Andrew McCutchen and Michael McKenry each drove in two runs during the big inning against Ross Ohlendrorf (4-3) and Cory Burns. The Pirates sent 14 batters to the plate in the fourth inning. McKenry drew a bases-loaded walk from Ohlendorf just before Barmes’ slam and then singled in the final run of the inning.
Phillies 8, Cardinals 7 At Philadelphia, Juan Pierre beat out a runscoring infield single in the 11th inning to lift Philadelphia to a win over St. Louis. Jimmy Rollins reached against Barret Browning (0-2) on a fielder ’s choice. He advanced to second base on a grounder and then stole third. Pierre hit one deep into the hole that shortstop Rafael Furcal made a great stab at and fired to first. But Pierre just beat the throw and Rollins scored. Philadelphia’s Erik Kratz hit a three-run homer off Mitchell Boggs in the eighth that tied the game 7-all. D’backs 7, Nationals 4 At Phoenix, rookie Patrick Corbin allowed four hits through seven innings as Arizona snapped the Nationals’ season-high winning streak at eight games. Corbin (4-4) retired 16 in a row after Bryce Harper’s infield single in the first. The 23-yearold right-hander gave up two runs, struck out seven and walked none. Paul Goldschmidt drove in three runs with a double and single and scored twice for Arizona. Mets 6, Braves 5 At New York, Jonathon Niese allowed six hits
over eight innings, and David Wright sparked the offense with a pair of doubles against Ben Sheets, as New York just hung on to beat Atlanta and salvage the finale of a three-game series. Niese (9-6) matched the second-longest outing of his big league career, allowing one run, striking out six and walking two. With the Mets ahead 6-1, the Braves loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth against rookie Josh Edgin. Frank Francisco relieved and walked pinch-hitter Juan Francisco and Michael Bourn, forcing in a pair of runs, then gave up an opposite-field, two-run double to right to Martin Prado on an 0-2 pitch. Bourn was held at third as right fielder Mike Baxter made a clean pickup. Giants 9, Rockies 6 At San Francisco, Hunter Pence hit a threerun homer during a five -run rally in the eighth inning that lifted San Francisco over Colorado. Buster Posey’s sacrifice fly in the eighth tied it. Melky Cabrera, who had an RBI single in the comeback, drove in three runs. Brandon Belt doubled twice and went 4 for 4 for the Giants. Matt Belisle (3-4) took the loss after allowing the first three hitters he faced to reach bases.—AP
MIAMI: Los Angeles Dodgers starter Chris Capuano pitches to the Miami Marlins during the fourth inning of a baseball game.—AP
McIlroy wins PGA Championship KIAWAH ISLAND: Rory McIlroy underlined his superstar credentials as he repelled an early onslaught by Britain’s Ian Poulter before cruising to his second major title by a record eight shots at the PGA Championship on Sunday. The 23-year-old Northern Irishman, who started the final round with a three-shot lead, needed only 23 putts on the way to a flawless six-under-par 66 that gave him a 13-under total of 275 in the year’s last major. World number three McIlroy sank a 20-foot putt from just off the green to birdie the par-four 18th in glorious late afternoon sunshine at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, then lifted his putter skywards in celebration. “I don’t think I have let it sink in yet but it was a great round of golf,” the mop-haired Northern Irishman said after being presented with the Wanamaker Trophy. “I am speechless. “It’s been an incredible week. I had a good feeling about it at the start and I never imagined to do this.” His victory margin eclipsed the previous best set by golfing great Jack Nicklaus at the 1980 PGA Championship in Oak Hill and enhanced his burgeoning status as heir apparent to former world number one Tiger Woods. McIlroy, who clinched last year’s U.S. Open at Congressional by a staggering eight shots, rattled up six birdies in a bogey-free display on a rain-softened layout and will regain the number one spot when the world rankings are issued on Monday. He also became the youngest player to win two major titles since the -then 23-year-old Seve Ballesteros clinched the 1980 Masters. “To sit up here and see this trophy and call myself a multiple major champion ... not many peo-
ple have done it,” McIlroy smiled as he looked at the trophy to his right. “I’m very privileged to join such an elite list of names,” added the Northern Irishman after ending a run of 16 majors won by different players. Britain’s David Lynn, competing in his first PGA Championship, birdied two of the last three holes for a 68 to finish alone in second on hot and breezy afternoon at Kiawah Island. Fellow Englishman Poulter, who briefly trimmed McIlroy’s lead to one shot after a sizzling five-birdie start, faded after the turn en route to a 69 and a tie for third at four under. “It was a dream start. I put myself in position, which was great,” Poulter said after ending the final round with eight birdies and five bogeys. “I couldn’t ask for a better nine holes. “It was a great day. I hit a lot of good golf shots, and it’s just a shame I couldn’t quite finish it off.”
Level with Poulter were his compatriot Justin Rose (66), Swede Carl Pettersson (72) and defending champion Keegan Bradley of the United States (68). Pettersson, despite being slapped with a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a hazard on the first hole, responded well with three birdies in five holes before coming unstuck like so many others on the more difficult back nine. “It made me more motivated,” Pettersson said of the penalty incurred because his clubhead touched a dry leaf during his backswing inside a hazard line. “I got a little fired up and made some birdies in a row there. I came back. But there was only one winner today, really. Rory played great.” Four-times champion Woods, hunting his 14th major crown but his first in over four years, had to settle for a share of 11th place at two under after signing off with a 72. Woods, who had been tied for
KIAWAH ISLAND: Rory McIlroy with the trophy after winning the 94th PGA Championship.—AFP
the lead heading into the weekend for a second time in the last three majors, said he had ultimately paid the price for a relaxed strategy going into the third round where he bogeyed four of his first eight holes. “I was right there ... but I came out with probably the wrong attitude yesterday,” the American world number two told reporters after offsetting two birdies with two bogeys in the final round. “And I was too relaxed, and tried to enjoy it, and that’s not how I play. I play intense and full systems go. That cost me.” Woods, however, paid tribute to McIlroy who he has long regarded as a player of uncommon talent. “He’s very good,” he said. “He’s got all the talent in the world to do what he’s doing. And this is the way that Rory can play. When he gets it going, it’s pretty impressive to watch.” McIlroy never relinquished his grip on the tournament after moving three shots clear with a fiveunder-par 67 in the weatherdelayed third round which was completed earlier on Sunday. Though Poulter delivered early fireworks on a Kiawah layout receptive to precise approach play, McIlroy kept him at bay with birdies at the second, third and seventh before reaching the turn in threeunder 33. Further birdies followed at the 12th, where he sank a 12footer, and at the 16th, courtesy of a six-footer, for his cushion to be padded to seven strokes. “I set myself a target at the start of the day and said I wanted to get to 12 under par,” McIlroy said. “I got to 12 (under) and stood on the 18th tee and was seven ahead. “I said to my caddie, ‘I’m going to win this one by eight, as well.’ I just birdied the last for good measure,” he grinned.—Reuters
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
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Brazil in no mood for fun after Olympic failure BERNE: Sweden are planning a festive farewell to the Rasunda stadium when they host Brazil tomorrow although the visitors are unlikely to be in the mood for fun only four days after losing the Olympic Games final. The match is one of 50-odd friendlies around the world which will see debuts for several coaches including the charismatic Louis van Gaal with the Netherlands, the dour Fabio Capello of Russia and the perfectionist Didier Deschamps with France. Germany ’s hosting of a muchimproved Argentina and Mexico home game with the United States should provide the highlights on a date loathed by European clubs because the internationals are played before many domestic seasons have even started. World and European champions Spain visit Puerto Rico, a team 137 places below them in the FIFA rankings and whose only four previous matches this year have all been against Nicaragua. The Swedish FA have invited Pele and other members of the Brazil team that beat Sweden 5-2 in the 1958 World Cup final at the Rasunda for the last match to be played at the stadium before it is demolished to make way for a new arena. Brazil coach Mano
Menezes, however, is likely to be more worried about his own future than past glories after failing to end their wait for an Olympic gold medal. Brazilian senior coaches traditionally take charge of the under-23 team for the Olympics as well and failure to win gold cost Vanderlei Luxemburgo his job in 2000 while Dunga narrowly escaped the same fate four years ago. Menezes has been charged with rebuilding the Brazil side for the 2014 World Cup, where winning on home soil is seen as an obligation, but results so far have been mixed and an uncertain fate awaits him when they return to Rio. But the coach said he was making plans for the future. “Defeat in one match should not have much influence, nor should a win,” he said after the 2-1 defeat by Mexico at Wembley on Saturday. “If we had won, we would not have resolved all of our problems. “Anyone who occupies this position has to be prepared. In Brazil, the coach doesn’t get much praise even when he wins the World Cup. So you can imagine what it’s like when he loses an Olympic final.” Brazil will be taking most of the Olympic squad to Stockholm, but have added some older players such as Chelsea midfielder Ramires. Germany have largely stuck
by their Euro 2012 squad, after they lost against Italy in the semi-finals, for the visit of Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Frankfurt. Deschamps begins his reign as France coach with a home match against Copa America champions Uruguay in Le Havre while former England manager Capello kicks off his Russian adventure against Ivory Coast in Moscow. Louis van Gaal, back for a second stint with Netherlands after his previous attempt ended in failure to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, takes his side to Belgium. Italy have named 11 uncapped players in their squad as they face England in the Swiss capital Berne, only two months after their penalty shootout win in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals. World Cup quarter-finalists Paraguay have replaced Francisco Arce with Gerardo Pelusso after a poor start to the South American qualifiers and the Uruguayan will take charge of his first match against Guatemala in Washington. Another team starting afresh are Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland, where Franciszek Smuda’s replacement Waldemar Fornalik makes his debut in their visit to Estonia.—Reuters
GERMANY: Team members of Bayern Munich celebrate with the trophy after the Super Cup match against Borussia Dortmund.—AFP
Bayern win Super Cup BERLIN: Mario Mandzukic scored six minutes into his Bayern Munich debut to set the Bavarians on the way to a 2-1 win over last season’s double winners Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup on Sunday. Thomas Mueller scored Bayern’s second to end Dortmund’s run of five successive wins over Germany’s biggest and brashest club while Robert Lewandowski replied. Bayern, who finished as runners-up behind Dortmund in both the
Bundesliga and Cup last season, needed only 11 minutes to effectively settle the match, played at their own Allianz Arena. Croatia striker Mandzukic, surprisingly offloaded by VfL Wolfsburg in the close season, fired home from 12 metres in the sixth minute after the Dortmund defence failed to cut out Franck Ribery’s low cross from the left. Five minutes later, Mandzukic set Arjen Robben racing clear and although the Dutchman’s shot hit the post, Mueller fired the rebound into the roof
of the net. Bayern, missing injured playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger and striker Mario Gomez, failed to build on their early advantage and Dortmund came back strongly after halftime. Lewandowski fluffed an excellent chance after the hour, miscuing from six metres with the goal at his mercy, but the Pole made amends in the 75th minute, curling a shot part Manuel Neuer to pull one back. Bayern survived several close calls to hang on for the win.—Reuters
16 TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
EQUESTRIAN Individual Dressage GOLD Charlotte Dujardin, Britain. SILVER Adelinde Cornelissen, Netherlands. BRONZE Laura Bechtolsheimer, Britain.
Parallel Bars GOLD Feng Zhe, China. SILVER Marcel Nguyen, Germany. BRONZE Hamilton Sabot, France.
Dressage Event GOLD Britain (Laura Bechtolsheimer, Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester). SILVER Germany (Helen Langehanenberg, Dorothee Schneider, Kristina Sprehe). BRONZE Netherlands (Adelinde Cornelissen, Edward Gal, Anky van Grunsven).
Horizontal Bar GOLD Epke Zonderland, Netherlands. SILVER Fabian Hambuchen, Germany. BRONZE Zou Kai, China.
Individual Jumping GOLD Steve Guerdat, Switzerland. SILVER Gerco Schroder, Netherlands. BRONZE Cian O’Connor, Ireland. Team Jumping GOLD Britain (Scott Brash, Peter Charles, Ben Maher, Nick Skelton). SILVER Netherlands (Marc Houtzager, Gerco Schroder, Maikel van der Vleuten, Jur Vrieling). BRONZE Saudi Arabia (Ramzy Al Duhami, HRH Prince Abdullah Al Saud, Kamal Bahamdan, Abdullah Waleed Sharbatly). Individual Eventing GOLD Michael Jung, Germany. SILVER Sara Algotsson Ostholt, Sweden. BRONZE Sandra Auffarth, Germany. Team Eventing GOLD Germany (Sandra Auffarth, Michael Jung, Ingrid Klimke, Dirk Schrade, Peter Thomsen). SILVER Britain (Kristina Cook, William Fox-Pitt, Mary King, Zara Phillips, Nicola Wilson). BRONZE New Zealand (Andrew Nicholson, Jonathan Paget, Caroline Powell, Jonelle Richards, Mark Todd). FENCING Men Individual Epee GOLD Ruben Limardo Gascon, Venezuela. SILVER Bartosz Piasecki, Norway. BRONZE Jung Jinsun, South Korea.
Vault GOLD Yang Hak Seon, South Korea. SILVER Denis Ablyazin, Russia. BRONZE Igor Radivilov, Ukraine. Rings GOLD Arthur Nabarrete Zanetti, Brazil. SILVER Chen Yibing, China. BRONZE Matteo Morandi, Italy. Pommel Horse GOLD Krisztian Berki, Hungary. SILVER Louis Smith, Britain. BRONZE Max Whitlock, Britain. All-Around GOLD Kohei Uchimura, Japan. SILVER Marcel Nguyen, Germany. BRONZE Danell Leyva, United States. Team GOLD China (Chen Yibing; Feng Zhe; Guo Weiyang; Zhang Chenglong; Zou Kai). SILVER Japan (Ryohei Kato; Kazuhito Tanaka; Yusuke Tanaka; Kohei Uchimura; Koji Yamamuro). BRONZE Britain (Sam Oldham; Daniel Purvis; Louis Smith; Kristian Thomas; Max Whitlock). Women Floor Exercise GOLD Alexandra Raisman, United States. SILVER Catalina Ponor, Romania. BRONZE Aliya Mustafina, Russia.
SILVER Tuvshinbayar Naidan, Mongolia. BRONZE Dimitri Peters, Germany. BRONZE Henk Grol, Netherlands. 100+Kg GOLD Teddy Riner, France. SILVER Alexander Mikhaylin, Russia. BRONZE Andreas Toelzer, Germany. BRONZE Rafael Silva, Brazil. Women 48Kg GOLD Sarah Menezes, Brazil. SILVER Alina Dumitru, Romania. BRONZE Eva Csernoviczki, Hungary. BRONZE Charline van Snick, Belgium. 52Kg GOLD Kum Ae An, North Korea. SILVER Yanet Bermoy Acosta, Cuba. BRONZE Priscilla Gneto, France. BRONZE Rosalba Forciniti, Italy. 57Kg GOLD Kaori Matsumoto, Japan. SILVER Corina Caprioriu, Romania. BRONZE Marti Malloy, United States. BRONZE Automne Pavia, France. 63Kg GOLD Urska Zolnir, Slovenia. SILVER Xu Lili, China. BRONZE Gevrise Emane, France. BRONZE Yoshie Ueno, Japan. 70Kg GOLD Lucie Decosse, France. SILVER Kerstin Thiele, Germany. BRONZE Edith Bosch, Netherlands. BRONZE Yuri Alvear, Colombia. 78Kg GOLD Kayla Harrison, United States.
Individual Sabre GOLD Aron Szilagyi, Hungary. SILVER Diego Occhiuzzi, Italy. BRONZE Nikolay Kovalev, Russia.
GYMNASTICS Men Floor Exercise GOLD Zou Kai, China. SILVER Kohei Uchimura, Japan. BRONZE Denis Ablyazin, Russia.
Double Sculls GOLD Britain (Anna Watkins, Katherine Grainger). SILVER Australia (Kim Crow, Brooke Pratley). BRONZE Poland (Magdalena Fularczyk, Julia Michalska).
Finn GOLD Ben Ainslie, Britain. SILVER Jonas Hogh-Christensen, Denmark. BRONZE Jonathan Lobert, France.
Individual Foil GOLD Elisa Di Francisca, Italy. SILVER Arianna Errigo, Italy. BRONZE Valentina Vezzali, Italy.
Women GOLD Netherlands (Joyce Sombroek, Kitty van Male, Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel, Kelly Jonker, Maartje Goderie, Lidewij Welten, Caia van Maasakker, Maartje Paumen, Naomi van As, Ellen Hoog, Sophie Polkamp, Kim Lammers, Eva de Goede, Marilyn Agliotti, Merel de Blaeij, Margot van Geffen). SILVER Argentina (Laura del Colle, Rosario Luchetti, Macarena Rodriguez Perez, Martina Cavallero, Luciana Aymar, Carla Rebecchi, Delfina Merino, Florencia Habif, Rocio Sanchez Moccia, Daniela Sruoga, Sofia Maccari, Mariela Scarone, Silvina D’Elia, Noel Barrionuevo, Josefina Sruoga, Florencia Mutio). BRONZE Britain (Elizabeth Storry, Emily Maguire, Laura Unsworth, Crista Cullen, Hannah Macleod, Anne Panter, Helen Richardson, Kate Walsh, Chloe Rogers, Laura Bartlett, Alex Danson, Georgie Twigg, Ashleigh Ball, Sally Walton, Nicola White, Sarah Thomas).
Single Sculls GOLD Miroslava Knapkova, Czech Republic. SILVER Fie Udby Erichsen, Denmark. BRONZE Kim Crow, Australia.
SAILING Men 470 GOLD Australia (Mathew Belcher, Malcolm Page). SILVER Britain (Luke Patience, Stuart Bithell). BRONZE Argentina (Lucas Calabrese, Juan de la Fuente).
Women Individual Sabre GOLD Kim Jiyeon, South Korea. SILVER Sofya Velikaya, Russia. BRONZE Olga Kharlan, Ukraine.
FIELD HOCKEY Men GOLD Germany (Maximilian Mueller, Martin Haener, Oskar Deecke, Christopher Wesley, Moritz Fuerste, Tobias Hauke, Jan Philipp Rabente, Benjamin Wess, Timo Wess, Oliver Korn, Christopher Zeller, Max Weinhold, Matthias Witthaus, Florian Fuchs, Philipp Zeller, Thilo Stralkowski). SILVER Netherlands (Jaap Stockmann, Tim Jenniskens, Klaas Vermeulen, Marcel Balkestein, Wouter Jolie, Billy Bakker, Roderick Weusthof, Robbert Kemperman, Sander Baart, Teun de Nooijer, Floris Evers, Bob de Voogd, Sander de Wijn, Rogier Hofman, Robert van der Horst, Valentin Verga, Mink van der Weerden). BRONZE Australia (Jamie Dwyer, Liam De Young, Simon Orchard, Glenn Turner, Christopher Ciriello, Matthew Butturini, Mark Knowles, Russell Ford, Edward Ockenden, Joel Carroll, Matt Gohdes, Timothy Deavin, Matthew Swann, Nathan Burgers, Kieran Govers, Fergus Kavanagh).
Women Pairs GOLD Britain (Helen Glover, Heather Stanning). SILVER Australia (Kate Hornsey, Sarah Tait). BRONZE New Zealand (Juliette Haigh, Rebecca Scown).
Eights GOLD United States (Erin Cafaro, Zsuzsanna Francia, Esther Lofgren, Taylor Ritzel, Meghan Musnicki, Eleanor Logan, Caroline Lind, Caryn Davies, Mary Whipple). SILVER Canada (Janine Hanson, Rachelle Viinberg, Krista Guloien, Lauren Wilkinson, Natalie Mastracci, Ashley Brzozowicz, Darcy Marquardt, Andreanne Morin, Lesley Thompson-Willie). BRONZE Netherlands (Jacobine Veenhoven, Nienke Kingma, Chantal Achterberg, Sytske de Groot, Roline Repelaer van Driel, Claudia Belderbos, Carline Bouw, Annemiek de Haan, Anne Schellekens).
Team Sabre GOLD South Korea (Gu Bongil, Kim Junghwan, Won Woo Young, Oh Eunseok). SILVER Romania (Tiberiu Dolniceanu, Rares Dumitrescu, Florin Zalomir, Alexandru Siriteanu). BRONZE Italy (Aldo Montano, Diego Occhiuzzi, Luigi Tarantino, Luigi Samele).
Team Foil GOLD Italy (Elisa Di Francisca, Arianna Errigo, Valentina Vezzali, Ilaria Salvatori). SILVER Russia (Inna Deriglazova, Kamilla Gafurzianova, Aida Shanaeva, Larisa Korobeynikova). BRONZE South Korea (Jeon Hee Sook, Jung Gil Ok, Nam Hyun Hee, Oh Ha Na).
Eights GOLD Germany (Filip Adamski, Andreas Kuffner, Eric Johannesen, Maximilian Reinelt, Richard Schmidt, Lukas Mueller, Florian Mennigen, Kristof Wilke, Martin Sauer). SILVER Canada (Gabriel Bergen, Douglas Csima, Rob Gibson, Conlin McCabe, Malcolm Howard, Andrew Byrnes, Jeremiah Brown, Will Crothers, Brian Price). BRONZE Britain (Alex Partridge, James Foad, Tom Ransley, Richard Egington, Mohamed Sbihi, Greg Searle, Matthew Langridge, Constantine Louloudis, Phelan Hill).
Quadruple Sculls GOLD Ukraine (Kateryna Tarasenko, Nataliya Dovgodko, Anastasiia Kozhenkova, Yana Dementieva). SILVER Germany (Annekatrin Thiele, Carina BAER, Julia Richter, Britta Oppelt). BRONZE United States (Natalie Dell, Kara Kohler, Megan Kalmoe, Adrienne Martelli).
Team Foil GOLD Italy (Valerio Aspromonte, Andrea Baldini, Andrea Cassara, Giorgio Avola). SILVER Japan (Kenta Chida, Ryo Miyake, Yuki Ota, Suguru Awaji). BRONZE Germany (Sebastian Bachmann, Peter Joppich, Benjamin Kleibrink, Andre Wessels).
Team Epee GOLD China (Li Na, Luo Xiaojuan, Sun Yujie, Xu Anqi). SILVER South Korea (Choi Injeong, Jung Hyojung, Shin A Lam, Choi Eunsook). BRONZE United States (Courtney Hurley, Maya Lawrence, Susie Scanlan, Kelley Hurley).
Lightweight Fours GOLD South Africa (James Thompson, Matthew Brittain, John Smith, Sizwe Ndlovu). SILVER Britain (Peter Chambers, Rob Williams, Richard Chambers, Chris Bartley). BRONZE Denmark (Kasper Winther, Morten Jorgensen, Jacob Barsoe, Eskild Ebbesen).
Lightweight Double Sculls GOLD Britain (Katherine Copeland, Sophie Hosking). SILVER China (Xu Dongxiang, Huang Wenyi). BRONZE Greece (Christina Giazitzidou, Alexandra Tsiavou).
Individual Foil GOLD Lei Sheng, China. SILVER Alaaeldin Abouelkassem, Egypt. BRONZE Choi Byungchul, South Korea.
Individual Epee GOLD Yana Shemyakina, Ukraine. SILVER Britta Heidemann, Germany. BRONZE Sun Yujie, China.
Fours GOLD Britain (Alex Gregory, Pete Reed, Tom James, Andrew Triggs Hodge). SILVER Australia (William Lockwood, James Chapman, Drew Ginn, Joshua Dunkley-Smith). BRONZE United States (Glenn Ochal, Henrik Rummel, Charles Cole, Scott Gault).
LONDON: Fireworks explode over the Olympic stadium during the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games on August 12. — AFP Beam GOLD Deng Linlin, China. SILVER Sui Lu, China. BRONZE Alexandra Raisman, United States.
SILVER Gemma Gibbons, Britain. BRONZE Mayra Aguiar, Brazil. BRONZE Audrey Tcheumeo, France.
Uneven Bars GOLD Aliya Mustafina, Russia. SILVER He Kexin, China. BRONZE Elizabeth Tweddle, Britain.
78+Kg GOLD Idalys Ortiz, Cuba. SILVER Mika Sugimoto, Japan. BRONZE Tong Wen, China. BRONZE Karina Bryant, Britain.
Vault GOLD Sandra Raluca Izbasa, Romania. SILVER McKayla Maroney, Long Beach, Calif. BRONZE Maria Paseka, Russia.
MODERN PENTATHLON Men GOLD David Svoboda, Czech Republic. SILVER Cao Zhongrong, China. BRONZE Adam Marosi, Hungary.
All-Around GOLD Gabrielle Douglas, United States. SILVER Victoria Komova, Russia. BRONZE Aliya Mustafina, Russia.
Women GOLD Laura Asadauskaite, Lithuania. SILVER Samantha Murray, Britain. BRONZE Yane Marques, Brazil.
Team GOLD United States (Gabrielle Douglas; McKayla Maroney; Alexandra Raisman; Kyla Ross; Jordyn Wieber). SILVER Russia (Kseniia Afanaseva; Anastasia Grishina; Victoria Komova; Aliya Mustafina; Maria Paseka). BRONZE Romania (Diana Laura Bulimar; Diana Maria Chelaru; Larisa Andreea Iordache; Sandra Raluca Izbasa; Catalina Ponor).
RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS Women Individual GOLD Evgeniya Kanaeva, Russia. SILVER Daria Dmitrieva, Russia. BRONZE Liubou Charkashyna, Belarus.
JUDO Men 60Kg GOLD Arsen Galstyan, Russia. SILVER Hiroaki Hiraoka, Japan. BRONZE Felipe Kitadai, Brazil. BRONZE Rishod Sobirov, Uzbekistan. 66Kg GOLD Lasha Shavdatuashvili, Georgia. SILVER Miklos Ungvari, Hungary. BRONZE Masashi Ebinuma, Japan. BRONZE Cho Jun-Ho, South Korea. 73Kg GOLD Mansur Isaev, Russia. SILVER Riki Nakaya, Japan. BRONZE Nyam-Ochir Sainjargal, Mongolia. BRONZE Ugo Legrand, France. 81Kg GOLD Kim Jae-Bum, South Korea. SILVER Ole Bischof, Germany. BRONZE Ivan Nifontov, Russia. BRONZE Antoine Valois-Fortier, Canada. 90Kg GOLD Song Dae-Nam, South Korea. SILVER Asley Gonzalez, Cuba. BRONZE Ilias Iliadis, Greece. BRONZE Masashi Nishiyama, Japan. 100Kg GOLD Tagir Khaibulaev, Russia.
Team GOLD Russia (Anastasia Bliznyuk, Uliana Donskova, Ksenia Dudkina, Alina Makarenko, Anastasia Nazarenko, Karolina Sevastyanova). SILVER Belarus (Maryna Hancharova, Anastasiya Ivankova, Nataliya Leshchyk, Aliaksandra Narkevich, Kseniya Sankovich, Alina Tumilovich). BRONZE Italy (Elisa Blanchi, Romina Laurito, Marta Pagnini, Elisa Santoni, Anzhelika Savrayuk, Andreea Stefanescu). ROWING Men Single Sculls GOLD Mahe Drysdale, New Zealand. SILVER Ondrej Synek, Czech Republic. BRONZE Alan Campbell, Britain. Double Sculls GOLD New Zealand (Nathan Cohen, Joseph Sullivan). SILVER Italy (Alessio Sartori, Romano Battisti). BRONZE Slovenia (Luka Spik, Iztok Cop). Lightweight Double Sculls GOLD Denmark (Mads Rasmussen, Rasmus Quist). SILVER Britain (Zac Purchase, Mark Hunter). BRONZE New Zealand (Storm Uru, Peter Taylor). Pairs GOLD New Zealand (Eric Murray, Hamish Bond). SILVER France (Germain Chardin, Dorian Mortelette). BRONZE Britain (George Nash, William Satch). Quadruple Sculls GOLD Germany (Karl Schulze, Phillipp Wende, Lauritz Schoof, Tim Grohmann). SILVER Croatia (David Sain, Martin Sinkovic, Damir Martin, Valent Sinkovic). BRONZE Australia (Christopher Morgan, Karsten Forsterling, James Mcrae, Daniel Noonan).
49er GOLD Australia (Nathan Outteridge, Iain Jensen). SILVER New Zealand (Peter Burling, Blair Tuke). BRONZE Denmark (Allan Norregaard, Peter Lang). Star GOLD Sweden (Fredrik Loof, Max Salminen). SILVER Britain (Iain Percy, Andrew Simpson). BRONZE Brazil (Robert Scheidt, Bruno Prada). Laser GOLD Tom Slingsby, Australia. SILVER Pavlos Kontides, Cyprus. BRONZE Rasmus Myrgren, Sweden. Windsurfer GOLD Dorian van Rijsselberge, Netherlands. SILVER Nick Dempsey, Britain. BRONZE Przemyslaw Miarczynski, Poland. Women 470 GOLD New Zealand (Jo Aleh, Olivia Powrie). SILVER Britain (Hannah Mills, Saskia Clark). BRONZE Netherlands (Lisa Westerhof, Lobke Berkhout). Elliot 6m GOLD Spain (Tamara Echegoyen Dominguez, Sofia Toro Prieto Puga, Angela Pumariega Menendez). SILVER Australia (Olivia Price, Nina Curtis, Lucinda Whitty). BRONZE Finland (Silja Lehtinen, Silja Kanerva, Mikaela Wulff). Laser Radial GOLD Xu Lijia, China. SILVER Marit Bouwmeester, Netherlands. BRONZE Evi Van Acker, Belgium. Windsurfer GOLD Marina Alabau Neira, Spain. SILVER Tuuli Petaja, Finland. BRONZE Zofia Noceti-Klepacka, Poland. SHOOTING Men10m Air Pistol GOLD Jin Jongoh, South Korea. SILVER Luca Tesconi, Italy. BRONZE Andrija Zlatic, Serbia. 10m Air Rifle GOLD Alin George Moldoveanu, Romania. SILVER Niccolo Campriani, Italy. BRONZE Gagan Narang, India. 25m Rapid Fire Pistol GOLD Leuris Pupo, Cuba. SILVER Vijay Kumar, India. BRONZE Ding Feng, China. 50m Pistol GOLD Jin Jongoh, South Korea. SILVER Choi Young Rae, South Korea. BRONZE Wang Zhiwei, China. 50m Rifle Prone GOLD Sergei Martynov, Belarus. SILVER Lionel Cox, Belgium.
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BRONZE Rajmond Debevec, Slovenia.
BRONZE Peter Vanderkaay, United States.
50m Rifle 3-Positions GOLD Niccolo Campriani, Italy. SILVER Kim Jonghyun, South Korea. BRONZE Matthew Emmons, United States.
400 Individual Medley GOLD Ryan Lochte, United States. SILVER Thiago Pereira, Brazil. BRONZE Kosuke Hagino, Japan.
Trap GOLD Giovanni Cernogoraz, Croatia. SILVER Massimo Fabbrizi, Italy. BRONZE Fehaid Aldeehani, Kuwait.
1500 Freestyle GOLD Sun Yang, China. SILVER Ryan Cochrane, Canada. BRONZE Oussama Mellouli, Tunisia.
Double Trap GOLD Peter Robert Russell Wilson, Britain. SILVER Hakan Dahlby, Sweden. BRONZE Vasily Mosin, Russia.
4X100 Freestyle Relay GOLD France (f-Amaury Leveaux, f-Fabien Gilot, f-Clement Lefert, fYannick Agnel, Alain Bernard, Jeremy Stravius). SILVER United States (f-Nathan Adrian, f-Michael Phelps, f-Cullen Jones, f-Ryan Lochte, James Feigen, Matthew Grevers, Ricky Berens, Jason Lezak). BRONZE Russia (f-Andrey Grechin, f-Nikita Lobintsev, f-Vladimir Morozov, f-Danila Izotov, Evgeny Lagunov, Sergei Fesikov).
Skeet GOLD Vincent Hancock, United States. SILVER Anders Golding, Denmark. BRONZE Nasser Al-Attiya, Qatar. Women 10m Air Rifle GOLD Yi Siling, China. SILVER Sylwia Bogacka, Poland. BRONZE Yu Dan, China. 10m Air Pistol GOLD Guo Wenjun, China. SILVER Celine Goberville, France. BRONZE Olena Kostevych, Ukraine. 25m Pistol GOLD Kim Jangmi, South Korea. SILVER Chen Ying, China. BRONZE Olena Kostevych, Ukraine. 50m Rifle 3 Positions GOLD Jamie Lynn Gray, United States. SILVER Ivana Maksimovic, Serbia. BRONZE Adela Sykorova, Czech Republic.
4X200 Freestyle Relay GOLD United States (f-Ryan Lochte, f-Conor Dwyer, f-Ricky Berens, fMichael Phelps, Charlie Houchin, Matthew McLean, Davis Tarwater). SILVER France (f-Amaury Leveaux, f-Gregory Mallet, f-Clement Lefert, f-Yannick Agnel, Jeremy Stravius). BRONZE China (f-Hao Yun, f-Li Yunqi, f-Jiang Haiqi, f-Sun Yang, Lu Zhiwu, Dai Jun). 4X100 Medley Relay GOLD United States (f-Matthew Grevers, f-Brendan Hansen, fMichael Phelps, f-Nathan Adrian, Nick Thoman, Eric Shanteau, Tyler McGill, Cullen Jones). SILVER Japan (Ryosuke Irie, Kosuke Kitajima, Takeshi Matsuda, Takuro Fujii). BRONZE Australia (f-Hayden Stoeckel, f-Christian Sprenger, f-Matt Targett, f-James Magnussen, Brenton Rickard, Tommaso D’Orsogna). 10km Marathon GOLD Oussama Mellouli, Tunisia. SILVER Thomas Lurz, Germany. BRONZE Richard Weinberger, Canada.
SILVER Mireia Belmonte Garcia, Spain. BRONZE Rebecca Adlington, Britain. 4X100 Freestyle Relay GOLD Australia (f-Alicia Coutts, f-Cate Campbell, f-Brittany Elmslie, f Melanie Schlanger, Emily Seebohm, Yolane Kukla, Libby Trickett). SILVER Netherlands (f-Inge Dekker, f-Marleen Veldhuis, f-Femke Heemskerk, f-Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Hinkelien Schreuder). BRONZE United States (f-Missy Franklin, f-Jessica Hardy, f-Lia Neal, fAllison Schmitt, Amanda Weir, Natalie Coughlin). 4X200 Freestyle Relay GOLD United States (f-Missy Franklin, f-Dana Vollmer, f-Shannon Vreeland, f-Allison Schmitt, Lauren Perdue, Alyssa Anderson). SILVER Australia (f-Bronte Barratt, f-Melanie Schlanger, f-Kylie Palmer, f-Alicia Coutts, Brittany Elmslie, Angie Bainbridge, Jade Neilsen, Blair Evans). BRONZE France (f-Camille Muffat, f-Charlotte Bonnet, f-OphelieCyrielle Etienne, f-Coralie Balmy, Margaux Farrell, Mylene Lazare). 4X100 Medley Relay GOLD United States (f-Missy Franklin, f-Rebecca Soni, f-Dana Vollmer, f-Allison Schmitt, Rachel Bootsma, Breeja Larson, Claire Donahue, Jessica Hardy). SILVER Australia (f-Emily Seebohm, f-Leisel Jones, f-Alicia Coutts, fMelanie Schlanger, Brittany Elmslie). BRONZE Japan (Aya Terakawa, Satomi Suzuki, Yuka Kato, Haruka Ueda). 10km Marathon GOLD Eva Risztov, Hungary. SILVER Haley Anderson, United States. BRONZE Martina Grimaldi, Italy. SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING Women Duet GOLD Russia (Natalia Ishchenko, Svetlana Romashina). SILVER Spain (Ona Carbonell Ballestero, Andrea Fuentes Fache). BRONZE China (Huang Xuechen, Liu Ou). Team GOLD Russia (Anastasia Davydova, Maria Gromova, Natalia Ishchenko, Elvira Khasyanova, Daria Korobova, Alexandra Patskevich,
Trap GOLD Jessica Rossi, Italy. SILVER Zuzana Stefecekova, Slovakia. BRONZE Delphine Reau, France. Skeet GOLD Kimberly Rhode, United States. SILVER Wei Ning, China. BRONZE Danka Bartekova, Slovakia.
SWIMMING Men 50 Freestyle GOLD Florent Manaudou, France. SILVER Cullen Jones, United States. BRONZE Cesar Cielo, Brazil. 100 Butterfly GOLD Michael Phelps, United States. SILVER Chad le Clos, South Africa. SILVER Evgeny Korotyshkin, Russia. 100 Freestyle GOLD Nathan Adrian, United States. SILVER James Magnussen, Australia. BRONZE Brent Hayden, Canada. 100 Breaststroke GOLD Cameron van der Burgh, South Africa. SILVER Christian Sprenger, Australia. BRONZE Brendan Hansen, United States. 100 Backstroke GOLD Matthew Grevers, United States. SILVER Nick Thoman, United States. BRONZE Ryosuke Irie, Japan. 200 Backstroke GOLD Tyler Clary, United States. SILVER Ryosuke Irie, Japan. BRONZE Ryan Lochte, United States. 200 Breaststroke GOLD Daniel Gyurta, Hungary. SILVER Michael Jamieson, Britain. BRONZE Ryo Tateishi, Japan. 200 Individual Medley GOLD Michael Phelps, United States. SILVER Ryan Lochte, United States. BRONZE Laszlo Cseh, Hungary. 200 Butterfly GOLD Chad le Clos, South Africa. SILVER Michael Phelps, United States. BRONZE Takeshi Matsuda, Japan. 200 Freestyle GOLD Yannick Agnel, France. SILVER Park Taehwan, South Korea. SILVER Sun Yang, China. 400 Freestyle GOLD Sun Yang, China. SILVER Park Taehwan, South Korea.
67Kg GOLD Hwang Kyung Seon, South Korea. SILVER Nur Tatar, Turkey. BRONZE Paige McPherson, United States. BRONZE Helena Fromm, Germany. +67Kg GOLD Milica Mandic, Serbia. SILVER Anne-Caroline Graffe, France. BRONZE Maria del Rosario Espinoza, Mexico. BRONZE Anastasia Baryshnikova, Russia. TEAM HANDBALL Men GOLD France (Jerome Fernandez, Didier Dinart, Xavier Barachet, Guillaume Gille, Bertrand Gille, Daniel Narcisse, Guillaume Joli, Samuel Honrubia, Daouda Karaboue, Nikola Karabatic, Thierry Omeyer, William Accambray, Luc Abalo, Cedric Sorhaindo, Michael Guigou). SILVER Sweden (Mattias Andersson, Mattias Gustafsson, Kim Andersson, Jonas Kallman, Magnus Jernemyr, Niclas Ekberg, Dalibor Doder, Jonas Larholm, Tobias Karlsson, Johan Jakobsson, Johan Sjostrand, Fredrik Petersen, Kim Ekdahl du Rietz, Mattias Zakrisson, Andreas Nilsson). BRONZE Croatia (Venio Losert, Ivano Balic, Domagoj Duvnjak, Blazenko Lackovic, Marko Kopljar, Igor Vori, Jakov Gojun, Zlatko Horvat, Drago Vukovic, Damir Bicanic, Denis Buntic, Mirko Alilovic, Manuel Strlek, Ivan Cupic, Ivan Nincevic). Women GOLD Norway (Kari Aalvik Grimsbo, Ida Alstad, Heidi Loke, Tonje Nostvold, Karoline Dyhre Breivang, Kristine Lunde-Borgersen, Kari Mette Johansen, Marit Malm Frafjord, Linn Jorum Sulland, Katrine Lunde Haraldsen, Linn-Kristin Koren, Goril Snorroeggen, Amanda Kurtovic, Camilla Herrem). SILVER Montenegro (Marina Vukcevic, Radmila Miljanic, Jovanka Radicevic, Ana Dokic, Marija Jovanovic, Ana Radovic, Andela Bulatovic, Sonja Barjaktarovic, Maja Savic, Bojana Popovic, Suzana Lazovic, Katarina Bulatovic, Majda Mehmedovic, Milena Knezevic). BRONZE Spain (Marta Lopez Herrero, Andrea Barno San Martin, Carmen Martin Berenguer, Nely Alberto Francisca, Beatriz Fernandez Ibanez, Veronica Cuadrado Dehesa, Marta Mangue Gonzalez, Macarena Aguilar Diaz, Silvia Navarro Jimenez, Jessica Alonso Bernardo, Elisabeth Pinedo Saenz, Begona Fernandez Molinos, Vanessa Amoros Quiles, Patricia Elorza Eguiara, Mihaela Ciobanu Ciobanu). TENNIS Men Singles GOLD Andy Murray, Britain. SILVER Roger Federer, Switzerland. BRONZE Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina.
SOCCER Men GOLD Mexico (Jose Corona, Israel Jimenez, Carlos Salcido, Hiram Mier, Darvin Chavez, Hector Herrera, Javier Cortes, Marco Fabian, Oribe Peralta, Giovani dos Santos, Javier Aquino, Raul Jimenez, Diego Reyes, Jorge Enriquez, Nestor Vidrio, Miguel Ponce, Nestor Araujo, Jose Rodriguez). SILVER Brazil (Gabriel Vasconcelos Ferreira, Rafael Pereira Da Silva, Thiago Emiliano Da Silva, Juan Guilherme Nunes Jesus, Sandro Raniere Guimaraes Cordeiro, Marcelo Vieira Da Silva Junior, Lucas Rodrigues Moura Silva, Romulo Borges Monteiro, Leandro Damiao Da Silva Dos Santos, Oscar Dos Santos Emboaba Junior, Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior, Givanildo Vieira De Sousa, Bruno Uvini Bortolanca, Danilo Luiz Da Silva, Alex Sandro Lobo Silva, Paulo Henrique Chagas De Lima, Alexandre Rodrigues Da Silva, Norberto Murara Neto). Women GOLD United States (Hope Solo, Heather Mitts, Christie Rampone, Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara, Amy Le Peilbet, Shannon Boxx, Amy Rodriguez, Heather O’Reilly, Carli Lloyd, Sydney Leroux, Lauren Cheney, Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Rachel Buehler, Tobin Heath, Nicole Barnhart). SILVER Japan (Miho Fukumoto, Yukari Kinga, Azusa Iwashimizu, Saki Kumagai, Aya Sameshima, Mizuho Sakaguchi, Kozue Ando, Aya Miyama, Nahomi Kawasumi, Homare Sawa, Shinobu Ohno, Kyoko Yano, Karina Maruyama, Asuna Tanaka, Megumi Takase, Mana Iwabuchi, Yuki Ogimi, Ayumi Kaihori). BRONZE Canada (Karina Chenelle Leblanc, Emily Jane Zurrer, Chelsea Blaine Stewart, Carmelina Moscato, Robyn Krista Gayle, Kaylyn McKenzie Kyle, Rhian Emilie Wilkinson, Diana Beverly Matheson, Candace Marie Chapman, Lauren Marie Sesselmann, Desiree Rose Marie Scott, Christine Margaret Sinclair, Sophie Diana Schmidt, Melissa Palma Julie Tancredi, Kelly Parker, Jonelle Filigno, Brittany Amanda Timko, Erin Katrina McLeod, Melanie Booth, MarieEve Nault).
BRONZE Marlene Harnois, France.
Doubles GOLD United States (Mike Bryan, Bob Bryan). SILVER France (Michael Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga). BRONZE France 2 (Julien Benneteau, Richard Gasquet). Women Singles GOLD Serena Williams, United States. SILVER Maria Sharapova, Russia. BRONZE Victoria Azarenka, Belarus. Doubles GOLD United States 2 (Serena Williams, Venus Williams). SILVER Czech Republic 2 (Andrea Hlavackova, Lucie Hradecka). BRONZE Russia 2 (Maria Kirilenko, Nadia Petrova). Mixed Doubles GOLD Belarus (Victoria Azarenka, Max Mirnyi). SILVER Britain (Laura Robson, Andy Murray). BRONZE United States (Lisa Raymond, Mike Bryan).
LONDON: France’s centreback Daniel Narcisse (left) jumps to shoot next to Sweden’s rightback Kim Andersson during the men’s gold medal handball match between Sweden and France. —AFP Women 50 Freestyle GOLD Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands. SILVER Aliaksandra Herasimenia, Belarus. BRONZE Marleen Veldhuis, Netherlands. 100 Breaststroke GOLD Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania. SILVER Rebecca Soni, United States. BRONZE Satomi Suzuki, Japan. 100 Backstroke GOLD Missy Franklin, United States. SILVER Emily Seebohm, Australia. BRONZE Aya Terakawa, Japan. 100 Butterfly GOLD Dana Vollmer, Unitwed States. SILVER Lu Ying, China. BRONZE Alicia Coutts, Australia. 100 Freestyle GOLD Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands. SILVER Aliaksandra Herasimenia, Belarus. BRONZE Tang Yi, China. 200 Butterfly GOLD Jiao Liuyang, China. SILVER Mireia Belmonte Garcia, Spain. BRONZE Natsumi Hoshi, Japan. 200 Breaststroke GOLD Rebecca Soni, United States. SILVER Satomi Suzuki, Japan. BRONZE Iuliia Efimova, Russia. 200 Backstroke GOLD Missy Franklin, United States. SILVER Anastasia Zueva, Russia. BRONZE Elizabeth Beisel, United States. 200 Freestyle GOLD Allison Schmitt, United States. SILVER Camille Muffat, France. BRONZE Bronte Barratt, Australia. 200 Individual Medley GOLD Ye Shiwen, China. SILVER Alicia Coutts, Australia. BRONZE Caitlin Leverenz, United States. 400 Freestyle GOLD Camille Muffat, France. SILVER Allison Schmitt, United States. BRONZE Rebecca Adlington, Britain. 400 Individual Medley GOLD Ye Shiwen, China. SILVER Elizabeth Beisel, United States. BRONZE Li Xuanxu, China. 800 Freestyle GOLD Katie Ledecky, United States.
Svetlana Romashina, Alla Shishkina, Anzhelika Timanina). SILVER China (Chang Si, Chen Xiaojun, Huang Xuechen, Jiang Tingting, Jiang Wenwen, Liu Ou, Luo Xi, Sun Wenyan, Wu Yiwen). BRONZE Spain (Clara Basiana Canellas, Alba Cabello Rodilla, Ona Carbonell Ballestero, Margalida Crespi Jaume, Andrea Fuentes Fache, Thais Henriquez Torres, Paula Klamburg Roque, Irene Montrucchio Beaus, Laia Pons Arenas).
TRAMPOLINE Men GOLD Dong Dong, China. SILVER Dmitry Ushakov, Russia. BRONZE Lu Chunlong, China. Women GOLD Rosannagh Maclennan, Canada. SILVER Huang Shanshan, China. BRONZE He Wenna, China. TRIATHLON Men GOLD Alistair Brownlee, Britain. SILVER Javier Gomez, Spain. BRONZE Jonathan Brownlee, Britain.
TABLE TENNIS Men Singles GOLD Zhang Jike, China. SILVER Wang Hao, China. BRONZE Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Germany.
Women GOLD Nicola Spirig, Switzerland. SILVER Lisa Norden, Sweden. BRONZE Erin Densham, Australia.
Doubles GOLD China (Ma Long, Wang Hao, Zhang Jike). SILVER South Korea (Joo Saehyuk, Oh Sangeun, Ryu Seungmin). BRONZE Germany (Timo Boll, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Bastian Steger).
VOLLEYBALL Men GOLD Russia (Nikolay Apalikov, Taras Khtey, Sergey Grankin, Sergey Tetyukhin, Alexander Sokolov, Yury Berezhko, Alexander Butko, Dmitriy Muserskiy, Dmitriy Ilinykh, Maxim Mikhaylov, Alexander Volkov, Alexey Obmochaev). SILVER Brazil (Bruno Rezende, Wallace de Souza, Sidnei dos Santos Junior, Leandro Vissotto Neves, Gilberto Godoy Filho, Murilo Endres, Sergio Santos, Thiago Soares Alves, Rodrigo Santana, Lucas Saatkamp, Ricardo Garcia, Dante Amaral). BRONZE Italy (Luigi Mastrangelo, Simone Parodi, Samuele Papi, Michal Lasko, Ivan Zaytsev, Dante Boninfante, Cristian Savani, Dragan Travica, Alessandro Fei, Emanuele Birarelli, Andrea Bari, Andrea Giovi).
Women Singles GOLD Li Xiaoxia, China. SILVER Ding Ning, China. BRONZE Tianwei Feng, Singapore. Doubles GOLD China (Ding Ning, Guo Yue, Li Xiaoxia). SILVER Japan (Ai Fukuhara, Sayaka Hirano, Kasumi Ishikawa). BRONZE Singapore (Tianwei Feng, Jiawei Li, Yuegu Wang). TAEKWONDO Men 58Kg GOLD Joel Gonzalez Bonilla, Spain. SILVER Lee Daehoon, South Korea. BRONZE Oscar Munoz Oviedo, Colombia. BRONZE Alexey Denisenko, Russia. 68Kg GOLD Servet Tazegul, Turkey. SILVER Mohammad Bagheri Motamed, Iran. BRONZE Rohullah Nikpah, Afghanistan. BRONZE Terrence Jennings, United States. 80Kg GOLD Sebastian Eduardo Crismanich, Argentina. SILVER Nicolas Garcia Hemme, Spain. BRONZE Mauro Sarmiento, Italy. BRONZE Lutalo Muhammad, Britain. +80Kg GOLD Carlo Molfetta, Italy. SILVER Anthony Obame, Gabon. BRONZE Robelis Despaigne, Cuba. BRONZE Liu Xiaobo, China. Women 49Kg GOLD Wu Jingyu, China. SILVER Brigitte Yague Enrique, Spain. BRONZE Lucija Zaninovic, Croatia. BRONZE Chanatip Sonkham, Thailand. 57Kg GOLD Jade Jones, Britain. SILVER Hou Yuzhuo, China. BRONZE Tseng Li-Cheng, Taiwan.
Women GOLD Brazil (Fabiana Claudino, Danielle Lins, Paula Pequeno, Adenizia Silva, Thaisa Menezes, Jaqueline Carvalho, Fernanda Ferreira, Tandara Caixeta, Natalia Pereira, Sheilla Castro, Fabiana Oliveira, Fernanda Rodrigues). SILVER United States (Danielle Scott-Arruda, Tayyiba Haneef-Park, Lindsey Berg, Tamari Miyashiro, Nicole Davis, Jordan Larson, Megan Hodge, Christa Harmotto, Logan Tom, Foluke Akinradewo, Courtney Thompson, Destinee Hooker). BRONZE Japan (Hitomi Nakamichi, Yoshie Takeshita, Mai Yamaguchi, Erika Araki, Kaori Inoue, Maiko Kano, Yuko Sano, Ai Otomo, Risa Shinnabe, Saori Sakoda, Yukiko Ebata, Saori Kimura). WATER POLO Men GOLD Croatia (Josip Pavic, Damir Buric, Miho Boskovic, Niksa Dobud, Maro Jokovic, Ivan Buljubasic, Petar Muslim, Andro Buslje, Sandro Sukno, Samir Barac, Igor Hinic, Paulo Obradovic, Frano Vican). SILVER Italy (Stefano Tempesti, Amaurys Perez, Niccolo’ Gitto, Pietro Figlioli, Alex Giorgetti, Maurizio Felugo, Massimo Giacoppo, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti, Deni Fiorentini, Matteo Aicardi, Danijel Premus, Giacomo Pastorino). BRONZE Serbia (Slobodan Soro, Aleksa Saponjic, Zivko Gocic, Vanja Udovicic, Dusan Mandic, Dusko Pijetlovic, Slobodan Nikic, Milan Aleksic, Nikola Raden, Filip Filipovic, Andrija Prlainovic, Stefan Mitrovic, Gojko Pijetlovic). Women GOLD United States (Betsey Armstrong, Heather Petri, Melissa Seidemann, Brenda Villa, Lauren Wenger, Maggie Steffens, Courtney Mathewson, Jessica Steffens, Elsie Windes, Kelly Rulon, Annika Dries, Kami Craig, Tumua Anae). SILVER Spain (Laura Ester Ramos, Marta Bach Pascual, Anni Espar Llaquet, Roser Tarrago Aymerich, Matilde Ortiz Reyes, Jennifer
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Pareja, Lorena Miranda Dorado, Pilar Pena Carrasco, Andrea Blas Martinez, Ona Meseguer Flaque, Maica Garcia, Laura Lopez Ventosa, Ana Copado Amoros). BRONZE Australia (Victoria Brown, Gemma Beadsworth, Sophie Smith, Holly Lincoln-Smith, Jane Moran, Bronwen Knox, Rowie Webster, Kate Gynther, Glencora Ralph, Ash Southern, Mel Rippon, Nicola Zagame, Alicia McCormack).
GOLD Krisztian Pars, Hungary. SILVER Primoz Kozmus, Slovenia. BRONZE Koji Murofushi, Japan. Javelin GOLD Keshorn Walcott, Trinidad & Tobago. SILVER Oleksandr Pyatnytsya, Ukraine. BRONZE Antti Ruuskanen, Finland.
WEIGHTLIFTING Men 56Kg GOLD Yun Chol Om, North Korea. SILVER Wu Jingbiao, China. BRONZE Valentin Hristov, Azerbaijan. 62Kg GOLD Un Guk Kim, North Korea. SILVER Oscar Albeiro Figueroa Mosquera, Colombia. BRONZE Irawan Eko Yuli, Indonesia. 69Kg GOLD Lin Qingfeng, China. SILVER Triyatno Triyatno, Indonesia. BRONZE Razvan Constantin Martin, Romania. 77Kg GOLD Lu Xiaojun, China. SILVER Lu Haojie, China. BRONZE Ivan Cambar Rodriguez, Cuba. 85Kg GOLD Adrian Edward Zielinski, Poland. SILVER Apti Aukhadov, Russia. BRONZE Kianoush Rostami, Iran. 94Kg GOLD Ilya Ilyin, Kazakhstan. SILVER Alexandr Ivanov, Russia. BRONZE Anatoli Ciricu, Moldova. 105Kg GOLD Oleksiy Torokhtiy, Ukraine. SILVER Navab Nasirshelal, Iran. BRONZE Bartlomiej Wojciech Bonk, Poland. +105Kg GOLD Behdad Salimikordasiabi, Iran. SILVER Sajjad Anoushiravani Hamlabad, Iran. BRONZE Ruslan Albegov, Russia. Women 48Kg GOLD Wang Mingjuan, China. SILVER Hiromi Miyake, Japan. BRONZE Chun Hwa Ryang, North Korea. 53Kg GOLD Zulfiya Chinshanlo, Kazakhstan. SILVER Shu-Ching Hsu, Taiwan. BRONZE Cristina Iovu, Moldova. 58Kg GOLD Li Xueying, China. SILVER Pimsiri Sirikaew, Thailand. BRONZE Yuliya Kalina, Ukraine. 63Kg GOLD Maiya Maneza, Kazakhstan. SILVER Svetlana Tsarukaeva, Russia. BRONZE Christine Girard, Canada. 69Kg GOLD Jong Sim Rim, North Korea. SILVER Roxana Daniela Cocos, Romania. BRONZE Maryna Shkermankova, Belarus. 75Kg GOLD Svetlana Podobedova, Kazakhstan. SILVER Natalya Zabolotnaya, Russia. BRONZE Iryna Kulesha, Belarus.
ShotPut Men GOLD Tomasz Majewski, Poland. SILVER David Storl, Germany. BRONZE Reese Hoffa, United States. LONDON: The United States led the Olympic medal standings after the final day of the London Games on Sunday. Rank* 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 30. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 39. 41. 42. 42. 42. 45.
Country U.S. China Britain Russia South Korea Germany France Italy Hungary Australia Japan Kazakhstan Netherlands Ukraine Cuba New Zealand Iran Jamaica Czech Republic North Korea Spain Brazil Belarus South Africa Ethiopia Croatia Romania Kenya Denmark Azerbaijan Poland Turkey Switzerland Lithuania Norway Canada Sweden Colombia Georgia Mexico Ireland Serbia Argentina Slovenia Tunisia
G 46 38 29 24 13 11 11 8 8 7 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
S 29 27 17 25 8 19 11 9 4 16 14 1 6 5 3 3 5 4 3 0 10 5 5 2 1 1 5 4 4 2 2 2 2 1 1 5 4 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 1
WRESTLING (GRECO-ROMAN) Men 55Kg GOLD Hamid Mohammad Soryan Reihanpour, Iran. SILVER Rovshan Bayramov, Azerbaijan. BRONZE Mingiyan Semenov, Russia. BRONZE Peter Modos, Hungary. 60Kg GOLD Omid Haji Noroozi, Iran. SILVER Revaz Lashkhi, Georgia. BRONZE Ryutaro Matsumoto, Japan. BRONZE Zaur Kuramagomedov, Russia. 66Kg GOLD Kim Hyeonwoo, South Korea. SILVER Tamas Lorincz, Hungary. BRONZE Steeve Guenot, France. BRONZE Manuchar Tskhadaia, Georgia.
WRESTLING (FREESTYLE) Men 55Kg GOLD Dzhamal Otarsultanov, Russia. SILVER Vladimer Khinchegashvili, Georgia. BRONZE Kyong Il Yang, North Korea. BRONZE Shinichi Yumoto, Japan.
74Kg GOLD Roman Vlasov, Russia. SILVER Arsen Julfalakyan, Armenia. BRONZE Emin Ahmadov, Azerbaijan. BRONZE Aleksandr Kazakevic, Lithuania.
60Kg GOLD Toghrul Asgarov, Azerbaijan. SILVER Besik Kudukhov, Russia. BRONZE Yogeshwar Dutt, India. BRONZE Coleman Scott, United States.
84Kg GOLD Alan Khugaev, Russia. SILVER Karam Mohamed Gaber Ebrahim, Egypt. BRONZE Damian Janikowski, Poland. BRONZE Danyal Gajiyev, Kazakhstan.
66Kg GOLD Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu, Japan. SILVER Sushil Kumar, India. BRONZE Livan Lopez Azcuy, Cuba. BRONZE Akzhurek Tanatarov, Kazakhstan.
96Kg GOLD Ghasem Gholamreza Rezaei, Iran. SILVER Rustam Totrov, Russia. BRONZE Artur Aleksanyan, Armenia. BRONZE Jimmy Lidberg, Sweden.
74Kg GOLD Jordan Ernest Burroughs, United States. SILVER Sadegh Saeed Goudarzi, Iran. BRONZE Denis Tsargush, Russia. BRONZE Soslan Tigiev, Uzbekistan.
120Kg GOLD Mijain Lopez Nunez, Cuba. SILVER Heiki Nabi, Estonia. BRONZE Johan Euren, Sweden. BRONZE Riza Kayaalp, Turkey.
84Kg GOLD Sharif Sharifov, Azerbaijan. SILVER Jaime Yusept Espinal, Puerto Rico. BRONZE Ehsan Naser Lashgari, Iran. BRONZE Dato Marsagishvili, Georgia.
ARCHERY Men Individual 70m GOLD Oh Jin Hyek, South Korea. SILVER Takaharu Furukawa, Japan. BRONZE Dai Xiaoxiang, China.
120Kg GOLD Artur Taymazov, Uzbekistan. SILVER Davit Modzmanashvili, Georgia. BRONZE Bilyal Makhov, Russia. BRONZE Komeil Ghasemi, Iran. Women 48Kg GOLD Hitomi Obara, Japan. SILVER Mariya Stadnyk, Azerbaijan. BRONZE Clarissa Kyoko Mei Ling Chun, United States. BRONZE Carol Huynh, Canada. 55Kg GOLD Saori Yoshida, Japan. SILVER Tonya Lynn Verbeek, Canada. BRONZE Yuliya Ratkevich, Azerbaijan. BRONZE Jackeline Renteria Castillo, Colombia. 63Kg GOLD Kaori Icho, Japan. SILVER Jing Ruixue, China. BRONZE Battsetseg Soronzonbold, Mongolia. BRONZE Lubov Volosova, Russia.
Total 104 87 65 82 28 44 34 28 17 35 38 13 20 20 14 13 12 12 10 6 17 17 13 6 7 6 9 11 9 10 10 5 4 5 4 18 8 8 7 7 5 4 4 4 3
72Kg GOLD Natalia Vorobieva, Russia. SILVER Stanka Zlateva Hristova, Bulgaria. BRONZE Maider Unda, Spain. BRONZE Guzel Manyurova, Kazakhstan.
+75Kg GOLD Zhou Lulu, China. SILVER Tatiana Kashirina, Russia. BRONZE Hripsime Khurshudyan, Armenia.
96Kg GOLD Jacob Stephen Varner, United States. SILVER Valerii Andriitsev, Ukraine. BRONZE Khetag Gazyumov, Azerbaijan. BRONZE George Gogshelidze, Georgia.
B 29 22 19 33 7 14 12 11 5 12 17 5 8 9 6 5 3 4 3 2 4 9 5 1 3 2 2 5 3 6 6 1 0 2 1 12 3 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1
Team GOLD Italy (Michele Frangilli, Marco Galiazzo, Mauro Nespoli). SILVER United States (Jacob Wukie, Brady Ellison, Jake Kaminski). BRONZE South Korea (Oh Jin Hyek, Im Dong Hyun, Kim Bubmin). Women Individual 70m GOLD Ki Bo Bae, South Korea. SILVER Aida Roman, Mexico. BRONZE Mariana Avitia, Mexico. Team GOLD South Korea (Ki Bo Bae, Lee Sung Jin, Choi Hyeonju). SILVER China (Cheng Ming, Fang Yuting, Xu Jing). BRONZE Japan (Kaori Kawanaka, Miki Kanie, Ren Hayakawa). ATHLETICS Men 100 GOLD Usain Bolt, Jamaica. SILVER Yohan Blake, Jamaica. BRONZE Justin Gatlin, United States. 200 GOLD Usain Bolt, Jamaica. SILVER Yohan Blake, Jamaica. BRONZE Warren Weir, Jamaica. 400 GOLD Kirani James, Grenada. SILVER Luguelin Santos, Dominican Republic. BRONZE Lalonde Gordon, Trinidad & Tobago.
46. 47. 47. 49. 50. 50. 50. 50. 50. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 60. 60. 63. 63. 63. 63. 63. 63. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 75. 75. 75. 75. 79. 79. 79. 79. 79. 79. 79.
Dominican Republic Trinidad and Tobago Uzbekistan Latvia Algeria Bahamas Grenada Uganda Venezuela India Mongolia Thailand Egypt Slovakia Armenia Belgium Finland Bulgaria Estonia Indonesia Malaysia Puerto Rico Taiwan Botswana Cyprus Gabon Guatemala Montenegro Portugal Greece Moldova Qatar Singapore Afghanistan Bahrain Hong Kong Saudi Arabia Kuwait Morocco Tajikistan Total
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 302
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 304
0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 1 0 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 356
2 4 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 6 5 3 2 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 962
G = Gold S = Silver B = Bronze (*Rank by Gold)
800 GOLD David Lekuta Rudisha, Kenya. SILVER Nijel Amos, Botswana. BRONZE Timothy Kitum, Kenya. 1500 GOLD Taoufik Makhloufi, Algeria. SILVER Leonel Manzano, United States. BRONZE Abdalaati Iguider, Morocco. 5000 GOLD Mohamed Farah, Britain. SILVER Dejen Gebremeskel, Ethiopia. BRONZE Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa, Kenya. 10000 GOLD Mohamed Farah, Britain. SILVER Galen Rupp, United States. BRONZE Tariku Bekele, Ethiopia. 110 Hurdles GOLD Aries Merritt, United States. SILVER Jason Richardson, United States. BRONZE Hansle Parchment, Jamaica. 400 Hurdles GOLD Felix Sanchez, Dominican Republic. SILVER Michael Tinsley, United States. BRONZE Javier Culson, Puerto Rico. 3000 Steeplechase GOLD Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenya. SILVER Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, France. BRONZE Abel Kiprop Mutai, Kenya. 4X100 Relay GOLD Jamaica (f-Nesta Carter, f-Michael Frater, f-Yohan Blake, fUsain Bolt, Kemar Bailey-Cole). SILVER United States (f-Trell Kimmons, f-Justin Gatlin, f-Tyson Gay, fRyan Bailey, Jeffery Demps, Darvis Patton). BRONZE Trinidad & Tobago (Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender, Richard Thompson). 4X400 Relay GOLD Bahamas (Chris Brown, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu, Ramon Miller). SILVER United States (f-Bryshon Nellum, f-Joshua Mance, f-Tony McQuay, f-Angelo Taylor, Manteo Mitchell). BRONZE Trinidad & Tobago (Lalonde Gordon, Jarrin Solomon, Ade Alleyne-Forte, Deon Lendore). Marathon GOLD Stephen Kiprotich, Uganda. SILVER Abel Kirui, Kenya. BRONZE Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, Kenya. High Jump GOLD Ivan Ukhov, Russia. SILVER Erik Kynard, United States. BRONZE Derek Drouin, Canada. BRONZE Mutaz Essa Barshim, Qatar. BRONZE Robert Grabarz, Britain. Long Jump GOLD Greg Rutherford, Britain. SILVER Mitchell Watt, Australia. BRONZE Will Claye, United States. Triple Jump GOLD Christian Taylor, United States. SILVER Will Claye, United States. BRONZE Fabrizio Donato, Italy. Pole Vault GOLD Renaud Lavillenie, France. SILVER Bjorn Otto, Germany. BRONZE Raphael Holzdeppe, Germany. Discus GOLD Robert Harting, Germany. SILVER Ehsan Hadadi, Iran. BRONZE Gerd Kanter, Estonia. Hammer
Decathlon GOLD Ashton Eaton, United States. SILVER Trey Hardee, United States. BRONZE Leonel Suarez, Cuba. 20Km Road Walk GOLD Chen Ding, China. SILVER Erick Barrondo, Guatemala. BRONZE Wang Zhen, China. 50Km Road Walk GOLD Sergey Kirdyapkin, Russia. SILVER Jared Tallent, Australia. BRONZE Si Tianfeng, China. Women 100 GOLD Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica. SILVER Carmelita Jeter, United States. BRONZE Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaica. 200 GOLD Allyson Felix, United States. SILVER Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica. BRONZE Carmelita Jeter, United States. 400 GOLD Sanya Richards-Ross, United States. SILVER Christine Ohuruogu, Britain. BRONZE DeeDee Trotter, United States. 800 GOLD Mariya Savinova, Russia. SILVER Caster Semenya, South Africa. BRONZE Ekaterina Poistogova, Russia. 1500 GOLD Asli Cakir Alptekin, Turkey. SILVER Gamze Bulut, Turkey. BRONZE Maryam Yusuf Jamal, Bahrain. 5000 GOLD Meseret Defar, Ethiopia. SILVER Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot, Kenya. BRONZE Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopia. 10000 GOLD Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopia. SILVER Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego, Kenya. BRONZE Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot, Kenya. 100 Hurdles GOLD Sally Pearson, Australia. SILVER Dawn Harper, United States. BRONZE Kellie Wells, United States. 400 Hurdles GOLD Natalya Antyukh, Russia. SILVER Lashinda Demus, United States. BRONZE Zuzana Hejnova, Czech Republic. 3000 Steeplechase GOLD Yuliya Zaripova, Russia. SILVER Habiba Ghribi, Tunisia. BRONZE Sofia Assefa, Ethiopia. 4X100 Relay GOLD United States (f-Tianna Madison, f-Allyson Felix, f-Bianca Knight, f-Carmelita Jeter, Jeneba Tarmoh, Lauryn Williams). SILVER Jamaica (f-Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, f-Sherone Simpson, fVeronica Campbell-Brown, f-Kerron Stewart, Schillonie Calvert, Samantha Henry-Robinson). BRONZE Ukraine (Olesya Povh, Hrystyna Stuy, Mariya Ryemyen, Elyzaveta Bryzgina). 4X400 Relay GOLD United States (f-DeeDee Trotter, f-Allyson Felix, f-Francena McCorory, f-Sanya Richards-Ross, Keshia Baker, Diamond Dixon). SILVER Russia (f-Yulia Gushchina, f-Antonina Krivoshapka, f-Tatyana Firova, f-Natalya Antyukh, Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, Natalya Nazarova). BRONZE Jamaica (f-Christine Day, f-Rosemarie Whyte, f-Shericka Williams, f-Novlene Williams-Mills, Shereefa Lloyd). Marathon GOLD Tiki Gelana, Ethiopia. SILVER Priscah Jeptoo, Kenya. BRONZE Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova, Russia. Pole Vault GOLD Jennifer Suhr, United States. SILVER Yarisley Silva, Cuba. BRONZE Elena Isinbaeva, Russia. High Jump GOLD Anna Chicherova, Russia. SILVER Brigetta Barrett, United States. BRONZE Svetlana Shkolina, Russia. Long Jump GOLD Brittney Reese, United States. SILVER Elena Sokolova, Russia. BRONZE Janay Deloach, United States. Triple Jump GOLD Olga Rypakova, Kazakhstan. SILVER Caterine Ibarguen, Colombia. BRONZE Olha Saladuha, Ukraine. Discus GOLD Sandra Perkovic, Croatia. SILVER Darya Pishchalnikova, Russia. BRONZE Li Yanfeng, China. Hammer GOLD Tatyana Lysenko, Russia. SILVER Anita Wlodarczyk, Poland. BRONZE Betty Heidler, Germany. Javelin GOLD Barbora Spotakova, Czech Republic. SILVER Christina Obergfoll, Germany. BRONZE Linda Stahl, Germany. ShotPut Women GOLD: Valerie Adams, New Zealand SILVER: Evgeniia Kolodko, Russia BRONZE: Gong Lijiao, China
19 TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
Heptathlon GOLD Jessica Ennis, Britain. SILVER Lilli Schwarzkopf, Germany. BRONZE Tatyana Chernova, Russia. 20Km Road Walk GOLD Elena Lashmanova, Russia. SILVER Olga Kaniskina, Russia. BRONZE Qieyang Shenjie, China. BADMINTON Men Singles GOLD Lin Dan, China. SILVER Chong Wei Lee, Malaysia. BRONZE Chen Long, China. Doubles GOLD China (Cai Yun, Fu Haifeng). SILVER Denmark (Mathias Boe, Carsten Mogensen). BRONZE South Korea (Chung Jae Sung, Lee Yong Dae). Women Singles GOLD Li Xuerui, China. SILVER Wang Yihan, China. BRONZE Saina Nehwal, India. Doubles GOLD China 2 (Zhao Yunlei, Tian Qing). SILVER Japan (Mizuki Fujii, Reika Kakiiwa). BRONZE Russia (Nina Vislova, Valeria Sorokina). Mixed Doubles GOLD China (Zhang Nan, Zhao Yunlei). SILVER China 2 (Ma Jin, Xu Chen). BRONZE Denmark (Joachim Fischer, Christinna Pedersen). BASKETBALL Men GOLD United States (Tyson Chandler, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Andre Iguodala, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Love, James Harden, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony). SILVER Spain (Pau Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, JuanCarlos Navarro, Jose Calderon, Felipe Reyes, Victor Claver, Fernando San Emeterio, Sergio Llull, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Victor Sada). BRONZE Russia (Alexey Shved, Timofey Mozgov, Sergey Karasev, Vitaliy Fridzon, Sasha Kaun, Evgeny Voronov, Victor Khryapa, Semen Antonov, Sergey Monya, Dmitry Khvostov, Anton Ponkrashov, Andrei Kirilenko).
BRONZE Adriana Araujo, Brazil. 75Kg GOLD Claressa Shields, United States. SILVER Nadezda Torlopova, Russia. BRONZE Marina Volnova, Kazakhstan. BRONZE Li Jinzi, China. CANOE SLALOM Men Canoe Singles GOLD Tony Estanguet, France. SILVER Sideris Tasiadis, Germany. BRONZE Michal Martikan, Slovakia. Canoe Slalom Doubles GOLD Britain (Tim Baillie, Etienne Stott). SILVER Britain 2 (David Florence, Richard Hounslow). BRONZE Slovakia (Pavol Hochschorner, Peter Hochschorner). Kayak Slalom Singles GOLD Daniele Molmenti, Italy. SILVER Vavrinec Hradilek, Czech Republic. BRONZE Hannes Aigner, Germany. Women Kayak Slalom Singles GOLD Emilie Fer, France. SILVER Jessica Fox, Australia. BRONZE Maialen Chourraut, Spain. CANOE SPRINT Men Canoe Singles 200 GOLD Yuri Cheban, Ukraine. SILVER Jevgenij Shuklin, Lithuania. BRONZE Ivan Shtyl’, Russia. Canoe Singles 1000 GOLD Sebastian Brendel, Germany. SILVER David Cal Figueroa, Spain. BRONZE Mark Oldershaw, Canada. Canoe Doubles 1000 GOLD Germany (Peter Kretschmer, Kurt Kuschela). SILVER Belarus (Andrei Bahdanovich, Aliaksandr Bahdanovich). BRONZE Russia (Alexey Korovashkov, Ilya Pervukhin). Kayak Singles 200 GOLD Ed Mckeever, Britain. SILVER Saul Craviotto Rivero, Spain.
Women Cross Country GOLD Julie Bresset, France. SILVER Sabine Spitz, Germany. BRONZE Georgia Gould, United States.
10m Platform GOLD Chen Ruolin, China. SILVER Brittany Broben, Australia. BRONZE Pandelela Rinong Pamg, Malaysia.
CYCLING (TRACK) Men Keirin GOLD Chris Hoy, Britain. SILVER Maximilian Levy, Germany. BRONZE Simon van Velthooven, New Zealand. BRONZE Teun Mulder, Netherlands.
Synchronized 3m Springboard GOLD China (He Zi, Wu Minxia). SILVER United States (Kelci Bryant, Abigail Johnston). BRONZE Canada (Jennifer Abel, Emilie Heymans).
Omnium GOLD Lasse Norman Hansen, Denmark. SILVER Bryan Coquard, France. BRONZE Edward Clancy, Britain. Sprint GOLD Jason Kenny, Britain. SILVER Gregory Bauge, France. BRONZE Shane Perkins, Australia. Team Pursuit GOLD Britain (Steven Burke, Edward Clancy, Peter Kennaugh, Geraint Thomas). SILVER Australia (Jack Bobridge, Rohan Dennis, Michael Hepburn, Glenn O’Shea). BRONZE New Zealand (Sam Bewley, Aaron Gate, Marc Ryan, Jesse Sergent). Team Sprint GOLD Britain (Philip Hindes, Chris Hoy, Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny). SILVER France (Gregory Bauge, Michael D’Almeida, Kevin Sireau). BRONZE Germany (Rene Enders; Robert Forstemann; Maximilian Levy). Women Keirin GOLD Victoria Pendleton, Britain. SILVER Guo Shuang, China. BRONZE Wai Sze Lee, Hong Kong. Omnium GOLD Laura Trott, Britain. SILVER Sarah Hammer, United States. BRONZE Annette Edmondson, Australia.
52Kg GOLD Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana, Cuba. SILVER Tugstsogt Nyambayar, Mongolia. BRONZE Misha Aloian, Russia. BRONZE Michael Conlan, Ireland.
LONDON: Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes holds the Olympic flag after a handover at the Olympic stadium during the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games in London on August 12, 2012. Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympic Games. — AFP
56Kg GOLD Luke Campbell, Britain. SILVER John Joe Nevin, Ireland. BRONZE Lazaro Alvarez Estrada, Cuba. BRONZE Satoshi Shimizu, Japan.
Kayak Doubles 200 GOLD Russia (Yury Postrigay, Alexander Dyachenko). SILVER Belarus (Raman Piatrushenka, Vadzim Makhneu). BRONZE Britain (Liam Heath, Jon Schofield).<Kayak Singles 1000 GOLD Eirik Veras Larsen, Norway. SILVER Adam van Koeverden, Canada. BRONZE Max Hoff, Germany.
81Kg GOLD Egor Mekhontcev, Russia. SILVER Adilbek Niyazymbetov, Kazakhstan. BRONZE Yamaguchi Falcao Florentino, Brazil. BRONZE Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Ukraine. 91Kg GOLD Oleksandr Usyk, Ukraine. SILVER Clemente Russo, Italy. BRONZE Tervel Pulev, Bulgaria. BRONZE Teymur Mammadov, Azerbaijan. 91+Kg GOLD Anthony Joshua, Britain. SILVER Roberto Cammarelle, Italy. BRONZE Magomedrasul Medzhidov, Azerbaijan. BRONZE Ivan Dychko, Kazakhstan.
60Kg GOLD Vasyl Lomachenko, Ukraine. SILVER Han Soonchul, South Korea. BRONZE Evaldas Petrauskas, Lithuania. BRONZE Yasnier Toledo Lopez, Cuba.
CYCLING MOUNTAIN BIKE Men Cross Country GOLD Jaroslav Kulhavy, Czech Republic. SILVER Nino Schurter, Switzerland. BRONZE Marco Aurelio Fontana, Italy.
BOXING Men 49Kg GOLD Zou Shiming, China. SILVER Kaeo Pongprayoon, Thailand. BRONZE David Ayrapetyan, Russia. BRONZE Paddy Barnes, Ireland.
75Kg GOLD Ryota Murata, Japan. SILVER Esquiva Falcao Florentino, Brazil. BRONZE Abbos Atoev, Uzbekistan. BRONZE Anthony Ogogo, Britain.
BOXING Men 52Kg GOLD Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana, Cuba. SILVER Tugstsogt Nyambayar, Mongolia. BRONZE Misha Aloian, Russia. BRONZE Michael Conlan, Ireland.
91+Kg GOLD Anthony Joshua, Britain. SILVER Roberto Cammarelle, Italy. BRONZE Magomedrasul Medzhidov, Azerbaijan. BRONZE Ivan Dychko, Kazakhstan.
Women GOLD United States (Kerri Walsh Jennings, Misty May-Treanor). SILVER United States 2 (April Ross, Jennifer Kessy). BRONZE Brazil (Juliana Silva, Larissa Franca).
69Kg GOLD Serik Sapiyev, Kazakhstan. SILVER Freddie Evans, Britain. BRONZE Taras Shelestyuk, Ukraine. BRONZE Andrey Zamkovoy, Russia.
BASKETBALL Men GOLD United States (Tyson Chandler, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Andre Iguodala, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Love, James Harden, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony). SILVER Spain (Pau Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, JuanCarlos Navarro, Jose Calderon, Felipe Reyes, Victor Claver, Fernando San Emeterio, Sergio Llull, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Victor Sada). BRONZE Russia (Alexey Shved, Timofey Mozgov, Sergey Karasev, Vitaliy Fridzon, Sasha Kaun, Evgeny Voronov, Victor Khryapa, Semen Antonov, Sergey Monya, Dmitry Khvostov, Anton Ponkrashov, Andrei Kirilenko).
81Kg GOLD Egor Mekhontcev, Russia. SILVER Adilbek Niyazymbetov, Kazakhstan. BRONZE Yamaguchi Falcao Florentino, Brazil. BRONZE Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Ukraine.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL Men GOLD Germany (Julius Brink, Jonas Reckermann). SILVER Brazil (Alison Cerutti, Emanuel Rego). BRONZE Latvia 2 (Martins Plavins, Janis Smedins).
64Kg GOLD Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo, Cuba. SILVER Denys Berinchyk, Ukraine. BRONZE Munkh-Erdene Uranchimeg, Mongolia. BRONZE Vincenzo Mangiacapre, Italy.
ATHLETICS Men Marathon GOLD Stephen Kiprotich, Uganda. SILVER Abel Kirui, Kenya. BRONZE Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, Kenya.
69Kg GOLD Serik Sapiyev, Kazakhstan. SILVER Freddie Evans, Britain. BRONZE Taras Shelestyuk, Ukraine. BRONZE Andrey Zamkovoy, Russia.
Women GOLD United States (Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Angel McCoughtry, Asjha Jones, Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash, Diana Taurasi, Sylvia Fowles, Tina Charles, Candace Parker). SILVER France (Isabelle Yacoubou, Endene Miyem, Clemence Beikes, Sandrine Gruda, Edwige Lawson-Wade, Celine Dumerc, Florence Lepron, Emilie Gomis, Marion Laborde, Elodie Godin, Emmeline Ndongue, Jennifer Digbeu). BRONZE Australia (Jenna O’Hea, Samantha Richards, Jennifer Screen, Abby Bishop, Suzy Batkovic, Kathleen Macleod, Kristi Harrower, Laura Hodges, Belinda Snell, Rachel Jarry, Elizabeth Cambage, Lauren Jackson).
60Kg GOLD Vasyl Lomachenko, Ukraine. SILVER Han Soonchul, South Korea. BRONZE Evaldas Petrauskas, Lithuania. BRONZE Yasnier Toledo Lopez, Cuba.
Synchronized 10m Platform GOLD China (Chen Ruolin, Wang Hao). SILVER Mexico (Paola Espinosa Sanchez, Alejandra Orozco Loza). BRONZE Canada (Meaghan Benfeito, Roseline Filion).
BRONZE Mark de Jonge, Canada.
Kayak Doubles 1000 GOLD Hungary (Rudolf Dombi, Roland Kokeny). SILVER Portugal (Fernando Pimenta, Emanuel Silva). BRONZE Germany (Martin Hollstein, Andreas Ihle). Kayak 1000 Fours GOLD Australia (Tate Smith, Dave Smith, Murray Stewart, Jacob Clear). SILVER Hungary (Zoltan Kammerer, David Toth, Tamas Kulifai, Daniel Pauman). BRONZE Czech Republic (Daniel Havel, Lukas Trefil, Josef Dostal, Jan Sterba). Women Kayak Singles 200 GOLD Lisa Carrington, New Zealand. SILVER Inna Osypenko-Radomska, Ukraine. BRONZE Natasa Douchev-Janics, Hungary. Kayak Singles 500 GOLD Danuta Kozak, Hungary. SILVER Inna Osypenko-Radomska, Ukraine. BRONZE Bridgitte Hartley, South Africa. Kayak Doubles 500 GOLD Germany (Franziska Weber, Tina Dietze). SILVER Hungary (Katalin Kovacs, Natasa Douchev-Janics). BRONZE Poland (Karolina Naja, Beata Mikolajczyk). Kayak 500 Fours GOLD Hungary (Gabriella Szabo, Danuta Kozak, Katalin Kovacs, Krisztina Fazekas). SILVER Germany (Carolin Leonhardt, Franziska Weber, Katrin Wagner-Augustin, Tina Dietze). BRONZE Belarus (Iryna Pamialova, Nadzeya Papok, Volha Khudzenka, Maryna Pautaran).
Sprint GOLD Anna Meares, Australia. SILVER Victoria Pendleton, Britain. BRONZE Guo Shuang, China. Team Sprint GOLD Germany (Kristina Vogel, Miriam Welte). SILVER China (Gong Jinjie, Guo Shuang). BRONZE Australia (Kaarle McCulloch; Anna Meares). Team Pursuit GOLD Britain (Dani King, Joanna Rowsell, Laura Trott). SILVER United States (Dotsie Bausch, Sarah Hammer, Lauren Tamayo). BRONZE Canada (Gillian Carleton, Jasmin Glaesser, Tara Whitten). CYCLING (ROAD) Men Road Race GOLD Alexandr Vinokurov, Kazakhstan. SILVER Rigoberto Uran Uran, Colombia. BRONZE Alexander Kristoff, Norway. Time Trials GOLD Bradley Wiggins, Britain. SILVER Tony Martin, Germany. BRONZE Christopher Froome, Britain. Women Road Race GOLD Marianne Vos, Netherlands. SILVER Elizabeth Armitstead, Britain. BRONZE Olga Zabelinskaya, Russia. Time Trials GOLD Kristin Armstrong, United States. SILVER Judith Arndt, Germany. BRONZE Olga Zabelinskaya, Russia. DIVING Men 3m Springboard GOLD Ilya Zakharov, Russia. SILVER Qin Kai, China. BRONZE He Chong, China. 10m Platform GOLD David Boudia, United States. SILVER Qiu Bo, China. BRONZE Thomas Daley, Britain.
CYCLING (BMX) Men GOLD Maris Strombergs, Latvia. SILVER Sam Willoughby, Australia. BRONZE Carlos Mario Oquendo Zabala, Colombia.
Synchronized 3m Springboard GOLD China (Luo Yutong, Qin Kai). SILVER Russia (Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Zakharov). BRONZE United States (Troy Dumais, Kristian Ipsen).
Women 51Kg GOLD Nicola Adams, Britain. SILVER Ren Cancan, China. BRONZE Marlen Esparza, United States. BRONZE Chungneijang Mery Kom Hmangte, India.
Women GOLD Mariana Pajon, Colombia. SILVER Sarah Walker, New Zealand. BRONZE Laura Smulders, Netherlands.
Synchronized 10m Platform GOLD China (Cao Yuan, Zhang Yanquan). SILVER Mexico (Ivan Garcia Navarro, German Sanchez Sanchez). BRONZE United States (David Boudia, Nicholas McCrory).
60Kg GOLD Katie Taylor, Ireland. SILVER Sofya Ochigava, Russia. BRONZE Mavzuna Chorieva, Tajikistan.
CYCLING (MOUNTAIN BIKE) Men Cross Country GOLD Jaroslav Kulhavy, Czech Republic. SILVER Nino Schurter, Switzerland. BRONZE Marco Aurelio Fontana, Italy.
Women 3m Springboard GOLD Wu Minxia, China. SILVER He Zi, China. BRONZE Laura Sanchez Soto, Mexico.
GYMNASTICS RHYTHMIC Women Team GOLD Russia (Anastasia Bliznyuk, Uliana Donskova, Ksenia Dudkina, Alina Makarenko, Anastasia Nazarenko, Karolina Sevastyanova). SILVER Belarus (Maryna Hancharova, Anastasiya Ivankova, Nataliya Leshchyk, Aliaksandra Narkevich, Kseniya Sankovich, Alina Tumilovich). BRONZE Italy (Elisa Blanchi, Romina Laurito, Marta Pagnini, Elisa Santoni, Anzhelika Savrayuk, Andreea Stefanescu). MODERN PENTATHLON Women GOLD Laura Asadauskaite, Lithuania. SILVER Samantha Murray, Britain. BRONZE Yane Marques, Brazil. TEAM HANDBALL Men GOLD France (Jerome Fernandez, Didier Dinart, Xavier Barachet, Guillaume Gille, Bertrand Gille, Daniel Narcisse, Guillaume Joli, Samuel Honrubia, Daouda Karaboue, Nikola Karabatic, Thierry Omeyer, William Accambray, Luc Abalo, Cedric Sorhaindo, Michael Guigou). SILVER Sweden (Mattias Andersson, Mattias Gustafsson, Kim Andersson, Jonas Kallman, Magnus Jernemyr, Niclas Ekberg, Dalibor Doder, Jonas Larholm, Tobias Karlsson, Johan Jakobsson, Johan Sjostrand, Fredrik Petersen, Kim Ekdahl du Rietz, Mattias Zakrisson, Andreas Nilsson). BRONZE Croatia (Venio Losert, Ivano Balic, Domagoj Duvnjak, Blazenko Lackovic, Marko Kopljar, Igor Vori, Jakov Gojun, Zlatko Horvat, Drago Vukovic, Damir Bicanic, Denis Buntic, Mirko Alilovic, Manuel Strlek, Ivan Cupic, Ivan Nincevic). VOLLEYBALL Men GOLD Russia (Nikolay Apalikov, Taras Khtey, Sergey Grankin, Sergey Tetyukhin, Alexander Sokolov, Yury Berezhko, Alexander Butko, Dmitriy Muserskiy, Dmitriy Ilinykh, Maxim Mikhaylov, Alexander Volkov, Alexey Obmochaev). SILVER Brazil (Bruno Rezende, Wallace de Souza, Sidnei dos Santos Junior, Leandro Vissotto Neves, Gilberto Godoy Filho, Murilo Endres, Sergio Santos, Thiago Soares Alves, Rodrigo Santana, Lucas Saatkamp, Ricardo Garcia, Dante Amaral). BRONZE Italy (Luigi Mastrangelo, Simone Parodi, Samuele Papi, Michal Lasko, Ivan Zaytsev, Dante Boninfante, Cristian Savani, Dragan Travica, Alessandro Fei, Emanuele Birarelli, Andrea Bari, Andrea Giovi). WATER POLO Men GOLD Croatia (Josip Pavic, Damir Buric, Miho Boskovic, Niksa Dobud, Maro Jokovic, Ivan Buljubasic, Petar Muslim, Andro Buslje, Sandro Sukno, Samir Barac, Igor Hinic, Paulo Obradovic, Frano Vican). SILVER Italy (Stefano Tempesti, Amaurys Perez, Niccolo’ Gitto, Pietro Figlioli, Alex Giorgetti, Maurizio Felugo, Massimo Giacoppo, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti, Deni Fiorentini, Matteo Aicardi, Danijel Premus, Giacomo Pastorino). BRONZE Serbia (Slobodan Soro, Aleksa Saponjic, Zivko Gocic, Vanja Udovicic, Dusan Mandic, Dusko Pijetlovic, Slobodan Nikic, Milan Aleksic, Nikola Raden, Filip Filipovic, Andrija Prlainovic, Stefan Mitrovic, Gojko Pijetlovic). WRESTLING Men 66Kg GOLD Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu, Japan. SILVER Sushil Kumar, India. BRONZE Livan Lopez Azcuy, Cuba. BRONZE Akzhurek Tanatarov, Kazakhstan. 96Kg GOLD Jacob Stephen Varner, United States. SILVER Valerii Andriitsev, Ukraine. BRONZE Khetag Gazyumov, Azerbaijan. BRONZE George Gogshelidze, Georgia
McIlroy wins PGA Championship
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Bayern Clinches Super Cup
15
Brazil in no mood for fun after Olympic failure
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TORONTO: Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return during his 6-3 6-2 victory over Richard Gasquet of France in finals of the Rogers Cup. (Inset) Djokovic holds the winner’s trophy.—AFP
Djokovic captures Toronto Masters TORONTO: Novak Djokovic kicked off his North American hard court season with a clinical 6-3 6-2 win over Frenchman Richard Gasquet to clinch the Toronto Masters on Sunday, marking the second consecutive year he has won the Canadian event. The top-seeded Serbian, who won 12 months ago when the tournament was held in Montreal, made quick work of Gasquet, holding serve throughout a 61minute match, during which he overwhelmed his opponent with an impressive arsenal of shots. The win capped a wild week for Djokovic and a number of other players, who had little time to recover after competing at the London Olympics and then were forced to battle numerous rain delays that wreaked havoc on the playing schedule. “It’s been a long week, a tough week, especially for the players coming from the Olympics but I am very glad that I came here,” said Djokovic, who lost in the bronze medal match at the Olympics
three days before his opening match here. When the 14th-seeded Frenchman sent a return shot long in the final game, Djokovic raised both arms skyward and let out a loud roar in front of a capacity crowd that included Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. World number two Djokovic broke Gasquet three times and won an astonishing 84 percent of his first service points en route to his 12th career ATP Masters title and third in Canada in the past five years. Djokovic, who held serve in 50 of 51 games this week, also sent a warning shot to his rivals ahead of the Aug. 27-Sept. 9 US Open in New York, where he will also be looking to repeat as champion following his win over Roger Federer last year. Playing in a tournament that was without Federer and Rafa Nadal and lost Olympic champion Andy Murray early to a knee injury, Djokovic was the clear favourite and he proved he was up to the
task the whole way. Even after rain washed out an entire day of play, Djokovic showed barely any sign of fatigue when he was forced to play his quarter-final match only four hours after winning his last-16 encounter. But despite showing his dominance on hard courts, Djokovic did not want to discuss when he expects to reclaim the world number one ranking he lost earlier this year. “I was just thinking about winning this tournament for the moment,” said Djokovic, who will now move onto the Cincinnati Masters. “Rankings are going to follow up with the success you, as a player, have so I will try to perform my best next week and prepare as best as I can for the US Open.” Meanwhile, Andy Murray’s gold medal is back home on a cabinet. He hasn’t even had time to pick an appropriate spot for the grandest prize of his career. There’s a more immediate challenge: get back in form for the US Open.
Murray took a few days off to let a sore left knee heal and get some needed rest for the start of the Western & Southern Open in suburban Cincinnati. The tournament opened Sunday with two matches in the men’s bracket. Bernard Tomic of Australia beat American Ryan Harrison 6-4, 7-6 (5). James Blake overcame a sluggish start — five unforced errors in the first two games — and beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 7-5, 6-4, winning both sets on aces. Blake came in ranked No. 106 in the world and knocked off the 32nd-ranked player, his biggest upset of the season. “Everyone in the locker room is making fun of me for being the old guy, saying I should be in the coaching box,” the 32year-old Blake said. “Tonight I had a little bit left.” Murray is the defending champion in Cincinnati, but a worn-down one after the greatest moment of the Scot’s tennis career.—Agencies
Ostapchuk stripped of Olympic gold PARIS: Belarussian Nadezhda Ostapchuk yesterday became the first medallist disqualified from the London Games for doping and was stripped of her women’s Olympic shot put title. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that New Zealand’s Valerie Adams has been awarded the gold medal after Ostapchuk provided two urine samples which were both found to contain the banned anabolic agent metenolone. Ostapchuk said she would appeal against the IOC decision. “Of course we will fight this decision but still it’s not completely clear for what and against whom exactly we will protest,” the 31year-old told the Belarus service of Radio Liberty. “We will make a decision after we get more information,” Ostapchuk added. Ostapchuk, the 2005 world champion, took surprise gold with a throw of 21.36m to end the almost two-year unbeaten run of 27-year-old Adams, who took silver with 20.70m. Russia’s Yevgeniya Kolodko has been upgraded to silver medal position and Lijiao Gong of China bronze. An IOC statement had said earlier: “The athlete was first requested to provide a urine sample for a doping control on 5 August. “She competed the next day in the women’s shot put event, where she
placed first, and was asked to provide a sample straight after her competition. “Both samples indicated the presence of metenolone, which is classified as anabolic agent under the 2012 Prohibited List.” Adams, the 2008 Olympic and threetime world champion, said she was “speechless” after hearing the news. “It is taking me some time to take this in,” Adams told TVNZ from her base in Switzerland. It is huge and I am absolutely thrilled of course. It makes me extraordinarily proud as a New Zealander. “It is also encouraging for those athletes, like myself, who are proud to compete cleanly, that the system works and doping cheats are caught.” Ostapchuk had been competing in her third Olympics in London. She finished fourth in Athens in 2004 and won bronze in Beijing four years ago. While her positive test was the first by a medallist in London two other athletes were kicked out of the Games for failing drugs-Syrian hurdler Ghfran Almouhamad and US judoka Nicholas Delpopolo. Some podium hopefuls had been caught before leaving for London, such as defending 50km walking champion Alex Schwazer of Italy, Moroccan 1500m hope Mariem Alaoui Selsouli and Turkish
LONDON: Belarus’ Nadezhda Ostapchuk competes to win the women’s shot put final at the athletics event of the London 2012 Olympic Games.—AFP weightlifter Fatih Baydar. Belarussian hammer thrower Ivan Tikhon, a threetime world champion in 2003, 2005 and 2007, had also been excluded from competing before the Games as a result of drug tests dating back to the 2004 Olympics and 2005 world championships. All doping tests from the London Olympic Games will be held for eight
years and can be submitted for further testing in the future following scientific advances. Two medallists from the Beijing Games — 1,500m gold medallist Rachid Ramzi, of Bahrain, and Italy’s road racing silver medallist Davide Rebellin were both stripped of their medals a year after the event.—AFP
Kvitova, Li rally to reach final MONTREAL: Petra Kvitova and Li Na won their maiden major titles last season and the pair battled back from oneset deficits on Sunday to stay on course for a first tournament victory of the season at the Montreal Cup. The 2011 Wimbledon champion Kvitova rallied to defeat former world number one Caroline Wozniacki 3-6 6-2 6-3 after Li had recovered from a 5-1 deficit in the deciding set to record a 3-6 6-3 7-5 victory over Lucie Safarova in the first semi-final. While Kvitova has been consistent at grand slam level this season, the powerful Czech has yet to produce the form that claimed the Wimbledon crown and the WTA Championships in a breakthrough 2011 campaign. However, her play in Montreal has been impressive since struggling to overcome Ksenia Pervak in her opening match of the $2 million tournament. She next routed Marion Bartoli and Tamira Paszek and despite looking erratic early against Wozniacki, Kvitova was dominant once she found her groove and is looking forward to Monday’s clash against the Chinese 2011 French Open winner. “We (have) played each other, I think, three times already and I’m losing. So I have to win tomorrow to even it up at 2-2 and gain revenge,” she said. “I know that she’s playing great tennis here and she’s trying to play aggressively.” Wozniacki, who is also without a title since her success in New Haven last August, was unable to draw inspiration from the PGA Championship success of her boyfriend Rory McIlroy. The Dane watched McIlroy claim an eight-shot victory at Kiawah Island on television during a brief rain delay with the scores level at a set apiece but was unable to lift her game to a similar level following the break. “It’s great that Rory won. It’s an unbelievable performance by him,” she said. “I just tried to just relax a little bit and come out strong, but, you know, Petra just came out stronger than me.” Li’s victory looked highly improbable when Safarova, who will be ranked in the top 20 for the first time at the completion of this event, was serving for the match at 5-1. The sudden swing in momentum was as much down to Safarova faltering as Li’s ability to eradicate errors from her own game. Li’s strategy was simple. She told reporters she just tried to keep the ball in the play when she sensed nerves could become a factor. “This is tennis. You have to put ball back to the court and over the net,” the 30-year-old said. Safarova, who had troubled Li with her swinging left-handed serve for much of the match, admitted that nerves had indeed got the better of her. “She used that situation to turn it over, and then she was serving very well, just started to play much better after that moment and it just slipped away,” Safarova said. Li, who thrashed world number three Agnieszka Radwanksa 6-2 6-1 in the quarter-finals, has lost finals in Sydney and Rome this season but is certain to climb back into the top 10 regardless of late yesterday’s outcome.—Reuters
Wall St edges down after Japanese data
Business
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Oil rise above $114 on supply concern Page 23
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
Japan growth rate fails to dent investor hopes
HK court approves ‘Occupy’ eviction Page 25
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LOS ANGELES: In this Dec. 13, 2011 file photo, FedEx employees sort packages at the FedEx hub at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. FedEx Corp., said yesterday, they will soon begin offering buyouts to US employees in an effort to cut costs. — AP
FedEx to offer US staff buyouts NEW YORK: FedEx will soon begin offering buyouts to US employees in an effort to cut costs in the face of a weakening global economy. The world’s second largest package delivery company hinted at cutbacks earlier this summer when it said that slowing economic growth would crimp its earnings well into next year. It has already removed some aircraft from its fleet of more than 600 to account for a loss of demand. While FedEx hasn’t yet decided how many
positions will be eliminated, it will likely focus on slow-growth areas like its Express and Services units. Express is where FedEx got its start in 1971, and it’s still the company’s biggest segment by far. The speedy shipping division, which moves 3.5 million packages on an average day, has been hit hard as people shift to slower delivery methods to conserve cash. The unit is also being dragged down slowing Asian growth and a reduction in demand for Asian goods from the U.S. and Europe. The unit
reported revenue of $26.5 billion in the latest fiscal year and has more than 146,000 employees worldwide - 102,000 of those in the US. Services is FedEx’s behind-the-scenes logistics division, but it also includes FedEx Office, formerly Kinko’s. It was formed in 2000 and with annual revenue of $1.7 billion in 2012, is one of FedEx’s smallest units. It has 13,000 employees, all of whom are US based. FedEx said those that are close to retirement are also eligible for buyouts. When it reported
fourth-quarter earnings in June, FedEx vowed significant cost cuts to offset any drop in shipments. Its forecast for the first-quarter, which ends this month, fell well below Wall Street expectations. And second-quarter results released in late July by larger rival United Parcel Service Inc. suggested that the global economic slowdown may be even worse than FedEx anticipated. UPS lowered its forecast for all of 2012 and said its third-quarter earnings will fall below last year’s results, with many customers
Gulf Bank announces H1 of 2012 operating profit of KD 58.7m KUWAIT: Gulf Bank yesterday announced an operating profit of KD 58.7 million for the first half of 2012. The bank further increased the precautionary reserve by KD 34 million to reach KD 124 million, in line with its strategic plan to create a “fortress balance sheet” and to further its capacity to grow and expand. The bank’s net profit was KD 12.8 million against KD 18.3 million over the same period 2011 due to the increase in precautionary reserve. The bank’s total assets reached KD 4,876 million, deposits KD 4,063 million and total shareholders’ equity stands at KD 440 million. Commenting on these latest results, Mahmoud Al-Nouri, Gulf Bank’s Chairman said: “The first half year results reflect the continued positive impact of our customer-centric strategy of providing the best and fastest banking services in Kuwait, as well as the efforts taken by the Bank’s Board of Directors and various business groups, including Consumer Banking, Corporate, International Banking and Treasury.” “So far, 2012 is turning out to be positive, with improved results, enhanced provisions and major award wins for Gulf Bank since the beginning of the year. We are proud of our accomplishments and glad to see that our overall banking strategy is consistently delivering good results, despite the difficult economic conditions.” Al-Nouri added. “I would stress, with confidence, that Gulf Bank has restored its leading position in the local market in terms of product and service
innovation. We will continue to exert efforts towards boosting such position. We will further continue our conservative plan to maintain a fortress balance sheet to help us expand, and enable us, at the same time, to protect the Bank against any unforeseen market effects,” he continued. “Looking ahead, we will be focusing on the
Mahmoud Al-Nouri
needs of our customers, developing our customer base and delivering returns to our shareholders. We will also address new opportunities to grow and deliver excellence in corporate and consumer banking services to the Kuwait market. “I would like to extend my profound thanks and appreciation to the board members for their continued support. I would also like to extend thanks and appreciation to the members of the executive management for their efforts and commitment to implement the prepared strategy, as well as all bank employees at all levels, for their commitment to provide the best and fastest service to our customers.” He added. “We are proud to see Michel Accad recently awarded ‘Banker of the Year’ from the Banker Middle East in 2012, as well as Surour Alsamerai, GM - HR, win the HR Professional of the Year Award, in addition to a number of important company and individual awards in 2012. These include: ‘Bank of the Year’ award from Arabian Business; ‘Best Employee Development Programme’ award for the second consecutive year, ‘Best Retail Customer Service’, ‘Best SME Startup Package’, J.P. Morgan Quality Recognition Award’ for its operational excellence in MT103 and MT202 commercial payments for 2012 for the third consecutive year, ‘’2011 EUR STP Excellence’ Award from Deutsche Bank, and ‘Best Retail Bank’ from Asian Banker 2012,” AlNouri concluded.
fearing what’s in store for the second half of the year. Their skittishness was also felt in the second quarter, where UPS missed analysts’ expectations for both earnings and revenue. UPS also said it’s making cuts in its business to make up for the shortfall. It predicts global trade will grow even slower than the world’s economies - a trend not seen since the recession. Shares of FedEx Corp. rose 9 cents to $87.89 in early morning trading yesterday. UPS lost 30 cents to hit $76. — AP
BP sells US refinery for $2.5bn to Tesoro Corp LONDON: British energy group BP said yesterday that it had agreed to sell its Carson refinery in California to US peer Tesoro Corporation for $2.5 billion (2.02 billion euros). The sale is part of BP’s previously-announced plans to sell $38 billion of assets by the end of 2013 to help pay the clean-up bill and compensation costs from the devastating 2010 US Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The troubled energy major has agreed to sell $26.5 billion of assets since the start of 2010, including the latest deal. “BP announced today it has reached agreement to sell its Carson, California refinery and related logistics and marketing assets in the region to Tesoro Corporation for $2.5 billion in cash,” the group said in a statement yesterday. BP said that the Carson sale would allow it to focus its investment and operations on the British group’s three refineries in the northern United States. BP had announced in February 2011 that it would sell off two major US refineriesincluding Carson-as part of a restructuring to shift its focus away from the United States and to meet its compensation costs. It also intends to offload the Texas City facility which suffered a deadly 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers and sparked safety concerns across its US
operations. “Today’s announcement is a significant step in the strategic refocusing of our US fuels business,” chief executive of BP’s global refining and marketing business, Iain Conn, said in yesterday’s statement. “Together with the intended sale of Texas City, this will allow us to focus BP’s operations and investments exclusively on our three northern US refineries, which are crude feedstock advantaged, and their large and important marketing businesses.” Tesoro will acquire the Carson refinery near Los Angeles-which produces 266,000 barrels of oil a day-as well as the associated logistics network of pipelines and storage terminals. It will also take ownership of BP’s ARCO-branded retail marketing network in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. BP added that it would also sell the ARCO retail brand rights and exclusively license those rights from Tesoro for Northern California, Oregon and Washington. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to complete before mid-2013. BP meanwhile last week announced the sale of its Sunray and Hemphill gas processing plants in Texas, together with their associated gas gathering system, to Eagle Rock Energy Partners for $227.5 million. — AFP
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BUSINESS
UAE’s Dana Gas Q2 profit rises on lower tax expense DUBAI: Dana Gas Co, which has a $1 billion Islamic bond maturing in October, yesterday said its quarterly profit rose 46 percent helped mainly by lower income tax expenses. Abu Dhabi-listed Dana, which has operations in the UAE, Egypt and Kurdistan, posted second-quarter profit of 181 million dirhams ($49.28 million), up from 124 million dirhams in the yearago period, it said in a bourse statement. Quarterly revenue fell 12 percent to
554 million dirhams from 627 million dirhams last year, hurt by lower hydrocarbon prices and a decline in production in Egypt, Dana said. Two analysts forecast profit of 183 million dirhams and 151 million dirhams for the second quarter, in a Reuters poll. Income tax expense for the quarter fell by nearly half to 51 million dirhams from 97 million dirhams a year ago, boosting profitability at the Sharjahbased energy firm. Dana, which owns a 3-percent stake in Hungarian group
MOL , provided no new update on upcoming Islamic bond maturity. “Investors want to know how the company is going to repay its $1 billion sukuk that matures in a matter of weeks, and in that regard the company has provided no further information,” said Chavan Bhogaita, head of markets strategy department at National Bank of Abu Dhabi. The natural gas producer appointed Blackstone Group and Deutsche Bank as advisers to help it weigh options for
the outstanding $920 million on the convertible sukuk and said it was committed to finding a consensual solution. Depending on the outcome of discussions, the company could become the first in the UAE to restructure a bond. “In the not too distant future, the company is either going to have to face the music and sit at the negotiating table with investors, or come up with the cash with which to pay this debt,” Bhogaita said.
Dana started facing problems last year after anti-government protests in countries such as Egypt led to payment delays from government entities. It has also faced payment issues in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The company had cash balance of 601 million dirhams as of June 30, 2012, it said yesterday. Dana shares fell 2.5 percent on the Abu Dhabi bourse Monday ahead of the results. The stock has dropped 11 percent year-to-date. — Reuters
Egypt mkt gains on Morsi’s army move Saudi falls to close 0.4% lower at 6,966 points
NEW YORK: In this Aug. 8, 2012 file photo, traders Neil Catania, left, and Edward Curran work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. US stocks fell yesterday, as evidence piled up that the global economic slowdown is dragging on Asia. — AP
Wall St edges down after Japanese data NEW YORK: US stocks dipped yesterday after the S&P 500’s six-day run of gains as data showed Japan’s economy growing much less than expected in the second quarter. Japan’s gross domestic product expanded just 0.3 percent in April-June, half the pace expected, raising doubts about the strength of the recovery and highlighting the impact of Europe’s debt crisis on worldwide demand. Stocks’ recent gains have relied on investor hopes for central bank easing amid signs of global economic weakness. “Japan was a little weaker than expected. It might raise hopes that there might be some central bank coordination, but I’m not seeing that in any of the markets today,” said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. “We are a bit extended. We just need a little bit of settling back down after a fairly substantial run-up.” Late on Friday, the president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve said the Fed should launch a fresh round of bond buying to lower the U.S. unemployment rate more quickly, fuelling speculation that the central bank could soon unveil a
new round of quantitative easing. The benchmark S&P index had risen 2.99 percent over the prior six sessions, its longest rally since December 2010, but gains have slowed, with the index hovering at highs not seen since May. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 23.13 points, or 0.18 percent, to 13,184.82. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 1.95 points, or 0.14 percent, to 1,403.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.67 point, or 0.02 percent, to 3,021.53. Swiss private bank Julius Baer is to buy Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch wealth manager outside the United States, paying 860 million Swiss francs ($882 million) for the loss-making business to boost by 40 percent its assets managed. Julius Baer plans to raise 1.19 billion Swiss francs ($1.22 billion) in new capital for the deal. Bank of America shares rose 0.9 percent to $7.81. Motorola Mobility has told employees it plans to slash 20 percent of its workforce and shut down nearly a third of its offices worldwide, the New York Times reported. Shares of parent company Google Inc advanced 1.3 percent to $650.76. — Reuters
CAIRO/DUBAI: Egypt’s benchmark index rose 1.5 percent yesterday after President Mohamed Morsi curbed the army’s powers and retired the country’s two top generals, removing the biggest challenge to his authority six weeks after he took office. Equities rallied after Morsi won a presidential vote in June but the lingering influence of the military has prolonged more than a year of political uncertainty that stymied investment and left the economy floundering. Some analysts said the absence of a strong reaction from the military leadership since Morsi moved on Sunday to wrest key constitutional and legislative powers from the military suggests it has acquiesced. And while the market remained cautious awaiting signs that Morsi’s moves won’t spark another round of political upheaval - and local retail investors are wary of committing cash ahead of the upcoming Eid holiday, share prices responded positively. “There’s a muted response overall but we are seeing a significant move on the upside on certain big-caps that are probably less prone to Egypt risk in general,” said Tariq Hussein, a senior manager at CI Capital. Among the shares to rise included Orascom Telecom, up 3.4 percent, Commercial International Bank, gaining 0.9 percent, and National Societe Generale Bank, advancing 1.5 percent. In Saudi Arabia, the measure flirted with the psychologically-important 7,000point mark for much of the session before dropping in the last hour of trading to close 0.4-percent lower at 6,966 points.
Large-caps dragged, with none of the 18 largest stocks posting a gain, as investors cashed out ahead of the long Eid holiday, scheduled to begin this weekend. Saudi Basic Industries Corp slipped 0.5 percent, Saudi Telecom dropped 1.3 percent. Riyad Bank fell 0.4 percent. Savola Group rose 1 percent to its highest level since May 2008. It has now gained in four straight sessions. Dubai’s benchmark climbed 0.8 percent to its highest close since May 3, supported by property stocks. Bellwether Emaar Properties advanced 1.5 percent, Deyaar Development gained 0.8 percent and Union Properties added 1.3 percent. “We saw a strong continuation of the rally in the UAE’s real estate stocks - optimism is being driven by evidence of a slow recovery in prices and strong sales and delivery figures reported in Q2 earnings,” said Sleiman Aboulhosn, assistant fund manager at Al Masah Capital. In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.3 percent. First Gulf Bank advanced for the sixth successive session to close above 10 dirhams for the first time since March 14. It rose 1.1 percent, taking August gains to 10.7 percent. In Kuwait, the measure ended 0.2 percent higher, up from Sunday’s eight-year low. Gulf Finance House, which accounted for more than a quarter of shares traded, rose 5.6 percent to a five-week high after its latest results showed it swung to a profit in the second quarter. Oman’s benchmark gained 0.4 percent. It was supported by Renaissance Services,
which jumped 5.5 percent after reporting a 56.8-percent rise in quarterly profit. Bahrain’s index, down 0.3 percent, slipped back towards last week’s nine-year low, weighed by Ahli United Bank . The largest stock on the exchange declined 1.8 percent to its lowest level since February 2010. Qatar returned to positive territory, up 0.09 percent, after Sunday’s dip broke an eight-session winning streak. YESTERDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS EGYPT The measure jumped 1.5 percent to 5,046 points. SAUDI ARABIA The index fell 0.4 percent to 6,966 points. DUBAI The index advanced 0.8 percent to 1,581 points. ABU DHABI The index climbed 0.3 percent to 2,547 points. KUWAIT The measure edged up 0.2 percent to 5,689 points. OMAN The index gained 0.4 percent to 5,496 points. BAHRAIN The measure slipped 0.3 percent to 1,076 points. QATAR The benchmark rose 0.09 percent to 8,413 points. — Reuters
Saudi Aramco restart secondary unit at Jubail KHOBAR: State oil giant Saudi Aramco restarted a secondary unit at its 305,000 barrels-perday joint venture refinery with Royal Dutch Shell in Jubail, the joint venture’s top executive said yesterday. “The unit is back to normal,” said the joint venture’s chief executive officer Abdullah alBaiz, in reply to a Reuters e-mail
request. He did not provide further details. Hydrotreaters are used to remove sulphur from high sulphur gasoil to make it a more environmentally friendly fuel. Industry sources told Reuters on August 1 that Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company (SASREF) had shut its hydrotreater unit due to a “glitch” a few days earlier. The
unexpected shutdown caused the refiner to offer a rare high sulphur gasoil cargo, of about 60,000 tonnes of 0.5 percent sulphur gasoil from the Jubail refinery for loading over August 18-20 through private negotiations. [ID: Saudi Arabia is a net importer of lower sulphur diesel during summer when the fuel is used for power generation. The country
has bought at least 750,000 tonnes for the whole of June and July this year. SASREF, which is a joint venture bet ween Saudi Aramco and Shell Saudi Arabia Refining Ltd., last shut a hydrocracker unit at the Jubail refiner y in late June-early July for a couple of days, traders have said earlier.— Reuters
EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds
.2740000 .4390000 .3440000 .2860000 .2820000 .2950000 .0040000 .0020000 .0763930 .7442710 .3860000 .0720000 .7296250 .0430000
CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2814000 GB Pound/KD .4412070 Euro .3458410 Swiss francs .2879950 Canadian dollars .2839270 Danish Kroner .0464680 Swedish Kroner .0422030 Australian dlr .2968630 Hong Kong dlr .0362780 Singapore dlr .2259330 Japanese yen .0035930 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0766170 Bahraini dinars .7464510 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0750330 Omani riyals .7309340 Philippine Peso .0000000
Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES
Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Malaysian Ringgit
3.553 5.072 3.053 2.141 3.173 220.090 36.173 3.425 6.439 8.876 89.338
.2860000 .4454000 .3620000 .2960000 .2920000 .3030000 .0070000 .00350000 .0771600 .7514510 .4060000 .0780000 .7369580 .0510000 .2835000 .4445000 .3484220 .2901440 .2860460 .0468150 .0425180 .2990780 .0365490 .2276190 .0036200 .0051470 .0021540 .0030040 .0034910 .0771890 .7520230 .4008490 .0755930 .7363910 .0068220
Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham
GCC COUNTRIES 74.883 77.158 729.380 745.850 76.464
ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 48.250 Egyptian Pound - r 46.466 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.309 Tunisian Dinar 176.65 Jordanian Dinar 396.190 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.884 Syrian Lier 4.899 Morocco Dirham 32.64 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 280.700 Euro 354.52 Sterling Pound 441.820 Canadian dollar 274.79 Turkish lire 152.400 Swiss Franc 295.01 US Dollar Buying 279.500 GOLD 293.000 148.000 75.250
20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram
Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria
SELL CASH
301.800 751.680 3.720 288.400 555.100 46.000 47.600 167.800 46.870 351.100 37.140 5.320 0.032 0.161 0.237 3.710 400.540 0.191 93.290 44.600 4.340 232.800 1.831
48.900 734.190 3.080 6.980 78.180 75.470 228.450 36.490 2.692 446.500 43.400 292.500 4.400 9.280 198.263 77.060 283.000 1.360
10 Tola
GOLD 1,716.530
Sterling Pound US Dollar
734.010 3.016 6.761 77.750 75.470 228.450 36.490 2.140 444.500 291.000 4.400 9.180 76.960 282.600
COUNTRY
TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 444.500 282.600
SELL DRAFT
300.300 751.680 3.454 286.900
228.500 46.514 349.600 36.990 5.100 0.031
SELL DRAFT
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal
SELL CASH
302.66 289.50 294.62 351.55 282.20 446.41 3.69 3.456 5.092 2.143 3.197 2.989 76.90 751.40 46.44 402.04 734.45 77.93 75.46
310.000 286.000 295.000 350.000 283.500 447.000 3.630 3.580 5.300 2.350 3.650 3.150 77.450 750.000 47.700 399.00 736.000 78.00 75.800
Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 400.510 0.190 93.290 3.210 231.300
Rate for Transfer
US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro
Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit
289.470 747.780 76.880 77.530 75.285 398.155 46.455 2.139 5.107 3.007 3.452 6.730 692.855 4.605 9.075 4.380 3.290 89.840
Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.
UAE Exchange Centre WLL
Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY
Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal
Selling Rate
282.450 288.825 444.105 347.660
Currency
Rate per 1000 (Tran)
US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee
282.600 2.982 5.120 2.145 3.461 6.795 77.045 75.515 751.300 46.459 448.600 2.990 1.550 353.200 291.100 3.200
Al Mulla Exchange Currency
Transfer Rate (Per 1000)
US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change
282.500 349.850 444.700 286.900 3.630 5.113 46.500 2.143 3.465 6.753 2.999 751.675 76.960 75.460
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
BUSINESS
Insurance deal lets India resume shipping Iran oil MUMBAI: India has joined Japan in offering government-backed insurance for ships carrying Iranian crude in order to bypass European sanctions that have nearly halved Iranian oil exports to key markets. The first Indian ship to carry oil from Iran with Indian insurance is scheduled to load up in Iran on Wednesday, a shipping company executive said yesterday. This is a breakthrough for the Indian government, which has scrambled to maintain vital Iranian oil imports after European sanctions blocked third-party insurance in July. The MT Omvati Prem - a tanker contracted to carry 85,000 metric tons of crude oil from Iran for Indian state refiner Mangalore Refiner y and Petrochemicals Ltd. - is scheduled to arrive in India by Aug. 25, said Kowshik Kuchroo, president of shipping for Mercator Ltd., an Indian shipping company. “This being a government of India cargo, it has a different sense of
importance. We’re not doing it just for business,” Kuchroo said. “India is in definite need of the crude,” he added. “At a short notice, we can’t just snap the supply.” Mercator is insuring the ship with $50 million in hull and machinery insurance, which covers physical damage to the ship, from state-owned New India Assurance Co. and another $50 million in protection and indemnity insurance, which covers a broad range of liabilities including environmental pollution and cargo damage, from government-backed United India Insurance. That is a far cry from the $1 billion in coverage Indian companies like Mercator got from European insurers, which used to underwrite most maritime coverage. European Union sanctions that prohibit EU companies from offering insurance on tankers carrying Iranian crude took effect July 1, part of the US-led effort to tighten sanctions on Iran to cut off funds for its nuclear
program. Imports of Iranian oil by major consumers plunged to 1 million barrels a day in July from 1.74 million barrels a day in June, according to an Aug. 10 report from the International Energy Agency. Mercator aside, most Indian shippers don’t like the terms of the insurance coverage and have declined to send tankers to Iran. Sabyasachi Hajara, chairman and managing director of Shipping Corp. of India, said the current package was “inadequate.” “The coverage modalities are yet to be worked out,” he said. Once mutually acceptable terms can be reached, he said his company would be happy to haul Iranian oil. No shipments are now scheduled, he said. China, India, Japan and South Korea are among Iran’s most important oil export markets. The Obama administration exempted all four countries from US sanctions after they significantly reduced their imports of Iranian oil. Japan was the first country
to devise a workaround to the EU sanctions, offering its shippers a robust $7.6 billion per tanker in government-backed insurance for oil cargo from Iran. Japan’s Parliament passed the emergency measure in late June to avoid a disruption to critical oil supplies due to actions against Iran. Iran has offered to deliver crude on its own ships to China, South Korea and India. But Iran’s fleet size is limited and some companies are skeptical about the viability of Iranian insurance cover, analysts say. “The complications in securing alternative arrangements to continue importing Iranian oil in view of tanker insurance problems are prolonging import problems for some countries, who are looking toward alternative suppliers,” said Tom Grieder, Asia Pacific energy analyst for IHS World Markets Energy. “While Japan has provided state-backed insurance cover, Indian insurance cover is not particularly large and refiners still face import risks. More
broadly, there continue to be concerns about the viability and validity of Iranian insurance cover, which has been offered to China and South Korea.” South Korea stopped importing Iranian crude in July, when the insurance sanctions hit. Two refiners told the Associated Press Monday they are in talks with the South Korean and Iranian governments about using Iranian tankers under Iranian insurance cover to import oil. “Iran first made the offer,” said Eom Ik-hoon, spokesman for South Korea’s largest refiner, SK Energy, which imported 10 percent of its crude from Iran before the sanctions hit. “We are discussing details with the South Korean government but we do not know when imports will be resumed.” Hyundai Oil Bank Co.’s spokesman Koh In-soo said the company is also reviewing using Iranian ships and insurance but denied earlier news reports that the crude imports may be resumed as early as September. — AP
HK court approves ‘Occupy’ eviction ‘We welcome the decision of the court’
DATTELN: In this Aug. 3, 2011 file picture workers clean the company’s logo at a building of E.On in Datteln, western Germany. Earnings for German utility E.ON rose sharply in the first half of 2012, boosted by a 23 percent increase in sales despite Germany’s move away from nuclear power, the company reported yesterday, as it reiterated its full-year outlook. —AP
E.ON profits treble in H1 FRANKFURT: E.ON, Germany’s biggest power supplier, yesterday confirmed its full-year forecasts after net profit more than trebled in the first six months owing to a gas price deal with Russia’s Gazprom. Confirming preliminary figures released last week, E.ON said that its underlying net income for the January-June period rose to “roughly 3.3 billion euros” ($4.1 billion) from 0.9 billion euros a year earlier. Operating profit, as measured by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), soared 55.8 percent to 6.7 billion euros on a 23percent rise in sales to 65.4 billion euros. E.ON said last week that first-half net profit would treble owing to the Gazprom deal and the fact that year-ear-
lier earnings had been hit by one-off effects from the German nuclear phaseout. E.ON also said it was sticking to its forecast for 2012, with EBITDA expected at 10.4-11.0 billion euros and net profit at 4.1-4.5 billion euros. “With a strong first half, E.ON is continuing its positive performance and confirms its full-year forecast,” said chief executive Johannes Teyssen. “Our solid first-half results demonstrate that we’re meeting our existing challenges decisively,” he said. E.ON shares were outperforming the overall the Frankfurt stock exchange on Monday, clocking up gains of 0.98 percent to 17.98 euros. — AFP
StanChart weighs settling Iran laundering probe NEW YORK/LONDON: British bank Standard Chartered is hoping to reach a settlement within days over charges it hid transactions tied to Iran and is set to resume talks with US regulators yesterday, sources familiar with the situation said. The London-based bank’s US legal team have got as far as discussing an amount with regulators, indicating progress has been made before a Wednesday deadline, the sources told Reuters. Standard Chartered could be forced to pay a fine of up to $1 billion to settle the charges, analysts said last week, although there has been speculation that this figure could be higher to assuage the New York banking regulator pressing the case New York’s Department of Financial Services alleged last week that Standard Chartered hid transactions tied to Iran and the regulator’s head, Benjamin Lawsky, ordered the bank to explain why it should not lose its licence at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday. “It looks like, rather than fight this in the courts, they’re looking to resolve this, hopefully ahead of Wednesday,” said Investec analyst Vivek Raja. The bank is awaiting information on whether executives will be required to attend and Chief Executive Peter Sands remains in Britain, a source close to the situation said. Shares in Standard Chartered were up 1.5 percent to 1,346.5 pence at 1045 GMT, the top riser in Britain’s FTSE 100 on hopes of an early resolution which would take away the uncertainty of a damaging legal dispute and a higher fine. Britain’s financial regulator said it remained in close contact with the bank and US regulators. Politicians have also been in close contact over the affair as the loss of its New York banking licence would be a devastating blow for Standard Chartered, effectively cutting off direct access to the US bank market. Standard Chartered vehemently disagrees with the agency’s allegation the bank improperly processed $250 billion tied to Iran, which Lawsky cited in his order issued Aug. 6. The heart of his
order, however, alleges the bank violated state laws when it concealed records of transactions from bank examiners. The talks could still collapse, and the hearing also could be postponed to allow more time for negotiations. The bank, meanwhile, was already cooperating in a separate probe dating to 2010 that included the US Justice Department and the Manhattan district attorney. That investigation is aimed at determining whether Standard Chartered violated US sanctions laws and talks on a settlement have been taking place separately from the state discussions. A settlement with New York would end a period of turmoil for the bank and law enforcement officials and likely would result in a multimillion-dollar fine for Standard Chartered. A settlement with federal officials could also result in a multimillion-dollar fine. Officials for the Justice and Treasury departments and the Manhattan district attorney either weren’t available for comment or declined to comment. Lawsky’s order cited communications between Standard Chartered officials about the reputational and legal threats to the bank if it kept doing business with Iranian clients. Lawsky’s department and Standard Chartered declined to comment. Faced with similar accusations, some banks prefer to settle quietly. Barclays Plc, Credit Suisse Group, Lloyds Banking Group, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and ING Bank NV had agreed in prior years to settlements totalling nearly $2 billion into how those banks allegedly processed money or assets tied to sanctioned countries. Standard Chartered, by comparison, said last week that Lawsky’s “interpretation” that the bank had improperly handled Iranian transactions was “incorrect as a matter of law ”. Lawsky ’s office alleged the bank had hidden from regulators some $250 billion in improper transactions tied to Iran. The bank said that total amount that didn’t adhere to US sanction laws was less than $14 million. — Reuters
HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court yesterday approved the eviction of protesters camped outside the HSBC bank headquarters in the city, in a major blow to the last outpost of the “Occupy” movement in Asia. “The defendants can’t provide sufficient reason to continue to live on the property so the court has decided to allow the plaintiff to take back the property,” magistrate Reuden Lai said. The camp sprouted at the landmark HSBC tower in central Hong Kong 10 months ago, weeks after thousands of people pitched tents in New York’s Zuccotti Park demanding an overhaul of the rules of global capitalism. Similar camps sprang up in dozens of countries worldwide, but most have petered out since police forcibly dismantled the New York tent city in November last year. The High Court gave the Hong Kong protesters 14 days to leave the courtyard of the bank’s downtown office tower, after which HSBC would be entitled to reclaim the site. Only a handful sleep at the camp overnight, and during the day there are rarely more than 10, according to witnesses and bank officials. Even so, their tents, personal belongings and banners denouncing capitalism have become a fixture-some say an eyesore-at the HSBC building in one of Hong Kong’s most exclusive shopping and financial districts. “We welcome the decision of the court and look to the occupiers to follow the terms of the court order,” HSBC spokesman Gareth Hewett told AFP. HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, brought its case against the “occupiers of the ground floor” of its Asian headquarters, along with three individuals it identified as the ring-
leaders of the protest. Defiant protester Tam Mei-kam, 89, said: “They can try all they want, I won’t leave.” But fellow occupier Ho Yiu Shing said he would “find another suitable place” to continue his protest. London-based HSBC was spared the worst of the 2008 global financial crisis and did not receive one of the US government bailouts that spurred the original New York Occupy movement. But it has recently been fined and forced to
apologise for failing to apply anti-money laundering rules in transactions that US lawmakers say benefited Iran, terrorists and drug dealers. The banking industry’s reputation has also been damaged by revelations of interest rate fixing at British lender Barclays, as well as US allegations that another British firm, Standard Chartered, acted as a “rogue bank” by violating financial sanctions on Iran. Standard Chartered denies the allegations. — AFP
HONG KONG: A woman stands outside the HSBC bank headquarters, where a protesters’ camp is set up in Hong Kong yesterday. A Hong Kong court yesterday approved the eviction of protesters camped outside the HSBC bank headquarters in the city, in a major blow to the last outpost of the “Occupy” movement in Asia. — AFP
Oil rise above $114 on supply concern LONDON: Oil rose above $114 per barrel yesterday to the highest in more than three months as concern about supplies and hopes that governments will roll out more stimulus measures trumped signs of weakening fuel demand. Supply of the North Sea crudes underpinning the Brent crude contract is set to hit a record low. Iranian output has been curbed by sanctions while an intensification of debate in Israel on whether to go to war with Iran over its nuclear work added to concern about disruption in Middle East supply. Brent crude hit $114.46 a barrel, the highest since May 4, and by 0937 GMT was up $1.30 at $114.25. US oil rose 60 cents to $93.47. “The likelihood of some sort of intervention to stimulate economies is supporting the market,” said Christopher Bellew, an oil broker at Jefferies Bache in London. “Also, the North Sea, Iran and the Middle East are still a factor.” The supply concerns countered forecasts of weakening oil demand which have weighed on prices. The International Energy Agency on Friday cut its 2013 oil demand forecast by 400,000 barrels per day, citing a slowdown in global economic activity. “We are seeing prices rise despite weak growth outlook numbers on Friday,” said Ben Le Brun, a Sydney-based market analyst at OptionsXpress. “The Israeli comments, what you see in Israeli media, is a concern. A major concern.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that most threats to Israel’s security were “dwarfed” by the prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, which local media reports said Tehran had stepped up its efforts to achieve. Brent is being supported in particular by a drop in output , sending the price of immediate supplies to a widening premium to oil for delivery later, a structure known as backwardation. Output of the four North Sea crudes that underpin Brent will sink to a record low in September due to oilfield maintenance and natural decline. Output from 11 North Sea production streams is set to fall by 17 percent. Yesterday, the premium at which the nearby Brent contract, currently September, trades against the second month jumped to $2.02, the highest since October 2011. “The backwardation in Brent is very big. I think that’s because of the North Sea,” Bellew said. — Reuters
Italy raises 8.0bn euros, rates slightly higher ROME: Italy raised 8.0 billion euros ($9.8 billion) at a one-year bond sale yesterday, paying slightly higher rates than at the previous similar auction as eurozone debt tensions persist, though analysts judged the results to be encouraging. The treasury said the yieldóthe rate of return earned by buyers of the bondsórose to 2.767 percent from the 2.697 percent paid at a July 12 sale. Investors submitted bids worth 13.55 billion euros. Italy has been under heavy pressure on the markets, with investors demanding higher rates to lend funds to a country whose total debt is equal to more than 120 percentótwice the EU limitóof its annual economic output. In afternoon trade yesterday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Italian government bond was lower at 5.851 percent but still near the 6.0 percent level which is widely considered too high for the long-
term. At an auction in late July, Rome raised 8.5 billion euros in 6-month bonds at 2.454 percent, with rates falling after European Central Bank head Mario Draghi outlined how the ECB could step into the bond markets to support struggling Italy and Spain. ‘These short term bonds remain very attractive for investors,’ Luca Mezzomo, an economist at Intesa San Paolo bank told AFP, saying the auction ìwent very well.’ ‘The ECB intervention, if it happens, will be on short-term bonds, which is why there is still appetite’ among investors for the one-year notes, said Cyril Regnat, a bond strategist at the French bank Natixis. Italy’s huge public debt has continued its steady rise to hit a new historical record high of EUR 2 trillion, with an increase of EUR 75 billion since beginning of 2012, including EU bailout funds, said a report by the Bank of Italy (Banca DíItalia) on Monday. — Agencies
MUMBAI: Indian labourers do repair work outside a building in the Nariman Point area of Mumbai yesterday. India, Asia’s third largest economy, desperately needs infrastructure development to keep pace with an expanding economy, exploding population and urbanisation. — AFP
24
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
business
Onshore Chinese market is bigger than German bund market Qatar has applied for a $5b quota in QFII scheme LONDON: Sovereign wealth funds are increasingly interested in buying China’s domestic bonds to get a bigger foot in the world’s second largest economy, benefit from good yields and diversify their exposure to more currencies. Despite concerns over China’s slowing growth, the giant industry, which manages countries’ windfall revenues for future generations, is taking advantage of the gradual opening up to foreign investors of its mainland bond market worth over $3 trillion. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund said it had increased its exposure to Chinese government bonds, had already reached the ceiling of its quota for onshore Chinese assets and was seeking to increase it. “The onshore Chinese market is bigger than the (German) bund market, bigger than the (UK) gilt market and these guys have hardly any exposure to onshore renminbi,” said Gary Smith, global head of official institutions at BNP Paribas
Investment Partners. It “is something they are ver y ver y keen to be involved with.” The domestic, so-called “onshore” market is a highly-regulated market for yuan-denominated sovereign and corporate bonds providing limited access for foreigners, with only a restricted number of overseas institutional investors allowed to buy. It offers a much bigger pool of assets than bonds traded freely outside of mainland China in the socalled “offshore” market. Sovereign wealth funds, whose assets are estimated at $3-4 trillion, are increasing their exposure to emerging markets in their hunt for better returns in the midst of the euro zone’s debt crisis and slowing global growth. They can buy into China’s domestic bond and equities market through its Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) system of licenses and quotas, which Beijing loosened on July 27 when it published new rules that allow invest-
ment in the interbank market, where most bonds trade. This follows moves to grant more licences and increase the quota for the overall QFII programme from $30 billion to $80 billion earlier in the year, and comes after China began allowing foreign central banks in 2010 to directly invest in its domestic interbank bond market, outside the QFII system. “Sovereigns in general are underexposed to Chinese assets and given the flat equities in China and decent yields you can get on bonds they are diversifying into that,” said Andrew Economos, head of sovereign and institutional strategy for Asia at JP Morgan Asset Management. Chinese bonds offer yields from 4 percent to double-digits depending on the quality, with sovereigns more interested in the lower-yielding, higher quality ones, he said. “We have seen more and more sovereign fund requesting quotas and increasingly they are receiving licenses,” he said. “It has been occur-
ring, rather selec tively but with increased frequency.” Asian sovereigns understand the Chinese opportunity better and have shown more interest, with European and Middle Eastern ones following now, Economos said. JPMorgan Asset Management is, together with BNP Paribas, among the 172 financial institutions which had a licence to buy Chinese securities through the QFII system as of end June. Some of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, Abu Dhabi’s Investment Authority and Singapore’s GIC have such licences to buy Chinese bonds themselves without going through asset managers. Qatar has applied for a $5 billion quota in the QFII scheme, the official China Securities Journal reported in June. Among central banks, Bank Indonesia has started investing in China’s interbank bond market and on July 1 the official Xinhua news agenc y repor ted that Korea had
begun making purchases. Neither have said how much they were buying. “We do have a lot more interest from other central banks and sovereign wealth funds,” said Becky Liu, Hong-Kong based HSBC Asian fixed income strategist, adding that she could not mention names for confidentiality reasons. “The domestic market has been opening up much faster this year, and has therefore attracted much more interest from foreign investors,” said Liu, adding that on top of direct purchase by central banks, “some countries prefer to buy from the sovereign wealth funds.” China’s main bond clearinghouse publishes a data series widely considered to be a proxy for foreign holdings of Chinese interbank bonds. That figure stood at 96 billion yuan ($15 billion) at the end of June, up from 87 billion yuan at the end of 2011, out of a total of 22 trillion yuan of outstanding bonds in China’s interbank market. — Reuters
Greece sinks, more cuts to save bailout in store ATHENS: Greece’s economy shrank 6.2 percent on an annual basis in the second quarter, a slump that is expected to persist as the government scrambles to nail down billions in additional cuts to keep international bailout funds flowing. Currently in its fifth consecutive year of economic depression, Greece is suffering record unemployment with nearly one in four Greeks without a job, undermining efforts to meet revenue targets and reduce the budge Athens is keen to convince euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund of its will to bring an economic adjustment plan back on track before asking for modifications and more time to spread out the pain of more cutbacks. But the fiscal drag caused by the pursued austerity policies coupled with liquidity constraints and lingering uncertainty is likely to keep recessionary headwinds in full force. “We project GDP to contract by 7.1 percent in 2012 and by 2.4 percent in 2013, on the back of further significant declines in disposable incomes, rising unemployment and plummeting investment activity,” Eurobank economist Theodore Stamatiou said. Greece’s jobless rate has already
climbed to 23.1 percent, with nearly 55 percent of those aged 15-24 out of work, a desperate situation that fed into the popularity of anti-bailout parties in elections earlier this year. The three-party coalition government that emerged after two rounds of polls is working to nail down 11.5 billion euros of savings and plans to revive a labour measure targeting 40,000 public servants for eventual dismissal. Without the additional savings the government’s budget will still show a primary deficit of 1 percent of GDP in 2014, well short of a targeted 4.5 percent surplus to help stabilise debt. The second quarter preliminary gross domestic product (GDP)estimate, released by statistics service ELSTAT on Monday, was based on seasonally unadjusted data and follows a 6.5 percent GDP decline in the previous quarter. Think tank IOBE expects the economy to shrink 6.9 percent this year, a bleaker outlook than estimates by the Bank of Greece and the OECD earlier this year, which project a contraction of 5.0 to 5.3 percent, respectively. ELSTAT did not provide detailed estimates on the GDP components - consumption, capital investment, exports and imports - in the second quarter. “It’s
not a major surprise, we knew the Greek economy was continuing to struggle but hopefully it’s some sign that the rate of decline is starting to bottom out,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at London research firm Markit. Greece is behind targets and structural reform benchmarks agreed with international lenders who are demanding full implementation before official funding resumes. Inspectors from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank troika have back an assessment of Greece’s performance and will report back in September on whether it deserves to get more payments under the 130 billion euro rescue package. Weak spots where Greece has failed to deliver as planned include public sector job cuts, reductions in state-run pension benefits, the settlement of nearly 7 billion in state arrears and proceeds from privatisations. The government changed the leadership team at the privatisation agency aiming speed up the asset sales programme which fell far below a target of more than 3.6 billion euros. Public administration reform, renewed emphasis on curtailing tax evasion are also part of the reforms agenda.— Reuters
RASON CITY: In this Aug. 30, 2011 file photo, North Korean women push bicycles on the streets of Rason city in North Korea. North Korean state media said yesterday, that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle Jang Song Thaek will meet today with senior Chinese officials on joint development of the countries’ special economic zones including Rason. — AP
N Korea official visiting China for economic talks BEIJING: Kim Jong Un’s powerful uncle is visiting China to discuss economic cooperation with North Korea’s most important ally. North Korean state media said yesterday that Jang Song Thaek will meet today with senior Chinese officials on joint development of the countries’ special economic zones. Kim, who has lead North Korea since his father ’s death in December, has promoted younger
economists to key party positions as part of a stated push to resuscitate his country’s economy. North Korea has lagged far behind the rest of Northeast Asia economically, and much of the nation is impoverished outside the capital Pyongyang. Jang is married to late leader Kim Jong Il’s sister, Kim Kyong Hui, and is a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission. He is seen as a leading economic policy
official. China and North Korea are jointly developing a pair of special economic zones: Rason on the Korean Peninsula’s northern tip and Hwanggumphyong, an island in the Yalu River that marks their border to the southwest. Rason has recently begun to develop thanks to Chinese infrastructure projects, but Hwanggumphyong has languished since ground was broken last year. — AP
25
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
business
Global investors peeking out from the bunkers LONDON: Global investors hunkered down in the bunkers of world markets have made their first tentative moves to re-emerge blinking into the sunlight even though the coast is still far from clear. As markets move into the heart of traditionally thin but often volatile August vacation period, investor anxiety has been eased by the prospect of a firebreak in the euro crisis, more monetary stimulus from the world’s big central banks and some stabilization of economic data and earnings forecasts. And the seasonal political holidays across Western capitals over the coming weeks probably reduce what traders call “event risk”. In its place, a data release slate topped by likely news of a contraction of euro zone gross domestic product in the second quarter and more up-to-date signals on U.S. inflation, retail, business sentiment and housing will vie for attention. So too will the atonce inflationary and demand-sapping latest spikes in oil and food prices, where Brent crude oil priced in euros is now back close to record highs. But perhaps the most significant event of the week gone by and looming over the next seven days was a sharp jump-back in historically low yields on “safe haven” U.S. Treasury bonds for the first time in several months after lukewarm auction of 10-year debt Stateside. There was similar backup in yields on the intraeuro haven of German government bonds too. Reasons for the tepid demand ranged from an
ebbing of euro fears after the European Central Bank’s plan to support euro sovereign debt markets, concern about demand for Treasuries from overseas central bank reserve managers whose accumulation of hard currency has eased and inflation anxiety after another jump in oil and food prices. But the weeks ahead will be an important test of the extent to which this presages a long-term shift in the investment herd’s dominant risk-averse behaviour, not least with holdings of top-rated government debt already at extreme and historic highs according to Reuters asset allocation surveys. “We’d certainly be light on core sovereign bonds in the US and Europe and don’t see the valuation case for them at all even given the risk-aversion argument,” said Richard Batty, investment director at Standard Life Investments in Edinburgh, adding that corporate credit remained more attractive. Batty said there was significant “trading risk” of a further rise in yields, even though he saw a troughto-peak jump of about 100 basis points the limit of any move and 2.5 percent 10-year US Treasury yields the maximum acceptable by the US Federal Reserve - who would consider further quantitative easing at that point. “A backup of about a 100bp would be about the limit of what the authorities would tolerate,” he added. “There are just so many global and domestic economic headwinds to a sustained selloff in bonds.” Ten-year Treasury yields slipped back on Friday as
surprisingly weak Chinese July export data illustrated the weakness of the world economy but they set two-month highs during the week at 1.7310 - a jump of 33 basis points in just two weeks. But with yields and coupons on this “safe” debt now well below inflation, sharp moves like that underscore the growing risk for asset managers remaining in these low-yielding bunkers. A sustained jump of 100 basis points in 10-year Treasuries over a year, for example, would lead to a total returns loss of about 7 percent loss-quite a hit for conservative asset managers seeking safety. The impact on near-zero or even negative yielding German government bonds of five-year or less maturities is even sharper. The relief of capital preservation if held to maturity and the lower volatility of these assets compared with equity, for example, is still sufficient draw for long-term managers, but the growing two-way risks are now balancing the view if global financial scares are abating. Many remain cautious about what could go wrong, however. Nick Gartside, JP Morgan Asset Management’s Chief Investment Officer for Fixed Income, said it’s hard to judge the durability of market moves during August and worries that some of the lowest levels on market volatility gauges since the Spring are merely ripe for a turn. “Our concern is that markets, distracted by the Olympics and unusually clement weather, may be complacent. If we follow the pattern of 2011,
September is likely to be hot. For that reason portfolios remain defensive.” While some more upbeat economic news relative to expectations, as seen in the rise in Citi’s G10 economic surprises index, has helped sentiment, the biggest spur to risk appetite has been last week’s ECB pledge to consider euro zone sovereign bond buying in return for agreed budget programs. Since just before ECB chief Mario Draghi first flagged the shift on July 26, two-year Spanish government yields have been crushed by about 300 basis points and even 10-year Spanish yields shed more than 80 basis points. The Italian story is broadly similar. Euro stocks are up a whopping 12 percent over that time, global stocks are up almost 7 percent and Wall St equity record its highest levels since May 1 just a whisker from 2012 highs. Beyond the ECB meeting on Sept 6, the rest of next month contains potential pitfalls such as the German constitutional court ruling on the European Stability Mechanism, Dutch elections and ongoing Greek financing negotiations. Yet many now believe significant ECB intervention and greater euro integration are inevitable. “It is only a question of time before the ECB buys sovereign bonds on a grand scale,” Commerzbank chief economist Joerg Kraemer told clients on Friday. “The emerging (euro zone) liability union is undermining the status of German bonds as a safe haven.” — Reuters
Asian shares steady as growth worries limit gains Nikkei opens down 0.2%
TOKYO: A woman shops around jewels at a jewelry store in Tokyo, yesterday. Japan’s economy grew at a slower-than-expected annualized rate of 1.4 percent in April-June, adding to worries over the global outlook, as consumer spending flagged following a rebound earlier in the year from last year’s earthquake and tsunami disasters. — AP
Japan growth rate fails to dent investor hopes LONDON: A larger-than-anticipated slowdown in Japan’s growth rate failed to dent investor hopes yesterday of more stimulus measures from the world’s central banks. Japan’s economy grew by only 0.3 percent in the second quarter from the previous three-month period, half the rate that was expected. It was also sharply lower from the first quarter’s upwardly revised rate of 1.3 percent and reflected the fallout from Europe’s debt crisis and the sharp rise in the value of the yen, which makes it more difficult for the country’s export sector to compete in the international marketplace. The news comes on top a slew of reports out of Asia that point to the region losing momentum. Most concerns about Asia have centered on China - a raf t of figures last week showed Chinese growth waning. However, the selling pressure was offset as many investors think the world’s central banks will soon enact more stimulus measures in the hope of shoring up economic growth. While the Chinese and US monetary authorities are thought to be considering how to ease monetar y polic y fur ther, the European Central Bank is expected to take a more active role firefighting Europe’s debt crisis in order to reduce the borrowing rates of Spain and Italy. Those hopes have helped stocks, as well as the euro and oil prices, post solid gains over the past few weeks. “Most investors remain convinced that central banks will respond to any economic slowdown by intervening further,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market strategist at GFT Markets. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was
unchanged at 5,847 while the CAC-40 in France was flat at 3,436. Germany’s DAX was 0.1 percent higher at 6,953. Wall Street was poised for a similarly subdued opening with both Dow futures and the S&P 500 futures down 0.1 percent. The highlights of the economic calendar this week are likely to be today’s first estimate of economic growth in the 17-country eurozone as well as July retail sales figures for the US Europe’s debt woes will also garner attention, especially in the wake of some weekend comments from German lawmakers that Greece wasn’t enacting enough economic reforms in return for its bailout cash. “Greece still has the capacity to throw mud at market sentiment,” said Jane Foley, an analyst at Rabobank International. Today, Greece is due to auction a little over ?3 billion to pay off a bond that matures at the end of the month. A failed auction could reignite concerns over the country’s continued membership of the eurozone. For now though, the euro remains relatively well-supported and was trading a further 0.3 percent higher at $1.2324. Earlier in Asia, most stock markets closed lower, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.1 percent at 8,885.15. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3 percent to 20,081.36 and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.7 percent to 1,932.44. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.5 percent to 2,136.08. The Shenzhen Composite Index slid 2.1 percent to 887.65. Shares in agriculture-related companies led the gains while real estate and cement producers weakened. — AP
Property hunters miss far-flung bargains LONDON: European real estate investors are so spooked by the region’s sovereign debt crisis that a blinkered focus on the best neighbourhoods of London, Paris and Berlin means they are missing dramatically better deals in far-flung locations. While the most popular districts of Europe’s financially strongest cities are the safest bet given the markets’ resilience, elsewhere there is much more money to be made on high-yielding assets with stable tenants on long leases. “You can’t assume all property outside the best areas is junk,” said Matthew Richardson, director of European real estate research at Fidelity Worldwide Investments, which has $400 million of European property under management. Fidelity owns an office block in the British coastal town of Bournemouth, 100 miles from London, which is rented by a government tax office and produces a yield of 8.25 percent.
That compares with about 5.5 percent for the best office blocks in London’s main financial district and sub-four percent yields for the luxury shops on highly sought-after Bond Street. Property yields - the annual rent as a percentage of its overall value - are higher on socalled secondary assets because they are deemed riskier due to factors like location, lease length, the tenant’s financial strength and the building’s state of repair. The same government which rents the building would only pay 1.7 percent on a 10year bond. Granted, it could cut staff and offices but the tax office is one of the least likely to be cut and the lease contract ties them in for another eight years. According to Richardson’s calculations, the property could lose 52 percent of its underlying value and he would still make more money over eight years than if he put his money in government bonds. —Reuters
TOKYO: Asian shares steadied yesterday but gains were limited by further evidence of slowing global growth, while the bleaker economic outlook kept hopes alive that authorities around the world will embark on more stimulus measures. After a deluge of weak data from several countries last week, topped by Friday’s dismal Chinese trade figures, investors will be eyeing July US retail sales and consumer prices as well as the euro zone’s second quarter gross domestic product reading today, which is expected to show a contraction. Fears were growing that the German economy could fall into recession in the second half of this year, crippled by the three-year euro zone debt crisis. Data yesterday showed Japan’s economy grew 0.3 percent in April-June from the previous quarter, half as much as expected, and slowing from 1.3 percent growth in JanuaryMarch as a rebound in consumer spending started to lose momentum and as Europe’s debt crisis weighed on export demand. “The latest round of global data releases shows that European activity is the main drag on the global economy at present,” Barclays Capital said in a research note. “Data across a variety of indicators and regions support our economists’ call that the ECB has more easing to do and our call that the euro should continue to weaken against the dollar.” Sentiment has been underpinned this month by expectations the European Central Bank will start buying sovereign bonds to lower borrowing costs for Spain, and the Federal Reserve will expand its monetary easing. Authorities, however, have suggested no such steps were likely before September. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was barely changed after snapping a four-day rally on Friday. But its weekly gain of 2.5 percent was the largest since January, due to hopes of more vigorous policy action from the central banks of Europe and the United States. Despite the weak GDP reading, Japan’s Nikkei stock average was flat as traders focused instead on company earnings reports. “The market is cooling off today but foreigners are still in buying mode, which indicates that momentum is not lost but on temporary hold,” said Park Jungseop, an analyst at Daishin Securities, of Korean shares, which fell 0.4 percent, breaking a fiveday winning streak as investors took profits on recent gains. Australian shares rose 0.5 percent, pulled higher by a jump in its largest steelmaker Bluescope Steel’s on plans to sell a huge chunk of its assets to Nippon Steel. The euro inched up 0.2 percent to $1.2297 but capped after failing to sustain its rally to a
SHENYANG: A woman walks past a screen showing the China Composite Stock Price Index at a brokerage house in Shenyang in northeast China’s Liaoning province yesterday. World stock markets fell yesterday after a slowdown in Japan’s growth gave investors another reason to worry about the health of the global economy. — AP one-month high of $1.2444 on Aug. 6. Oil recovered after falling on Friday on concerns about softening demand from China, with Brent jumping 1.1 percent to $114.20 a barrel on renewed fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East, while U.S. crude also rose 0.9 percent to $93.67. Corn eased from an all-time high of $8.49 per bushel hit early on Friday to trade around $8.03, weighed by profit taking and a US government survey cutting output and demand outlook. Risks of a new world food crisis heightened on Friday after a US government report showed domestic and soybean harvests have been hit harder than expected by the worst drought in half a century and will fail to adequately replenish ultra-low stockpiles. Gold outperformed other metals, with spot gold holding above its 100-day moving average which currently stood at $1,608.50 an ounce. “Compared to other metals, gold has been firm, grinding higher, on mounting expectations for a further quantitative easing (by the Fed),” said Yuichi Ikemizu, branch manager for Standard Bank in Tokyo, noting that markets were keeping their eyes on the annual meeting of economists and central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the end of the month. Spot platinum eased 0.1 percent to $1,394.74
while spot gold inched up 0.2 percent to $1,622.61, bringing the unusual spread between the much-more scarce platinum and gold to an all-time high around $227.9 an ounce. Copper was down 0.1 percent at $7,479.50 a tonne. Uncertainty over the extent and timing of action by policymakers to address the euro zone debt crisis and deteriorating global growth persisted. But without fresh negative news, investors were likely to keep repositioning from the sharp sell-offs seen before the shaky optimism that emerged this month. Still, data from EPFR Global showed on Friday that investors pledged the most money to U.S. bond funds in nearly three months in the latest week. European bond markets remained jittery, with borrowing costs in highly-indebted Spain pinned near critically high levels, putting upward pressure on Italian yields. Finance Minister Vittorio Grilli said Italy’s government would overshoot its 2012 deficit goal because of worse-than-expected growth but planned no extra budget cuts because Italy was on target to meet its EU obligations, a newspaper reported.Asian credit markets weakened, with the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index widening by 3 basis points. — Reuters
Gold up as dollar wilts, stimulus hopes simmer LONDON: Gold prices rose yesterday as expectations that the European Central Bank would step in to support the ailing euro pressured the dollar and on speculation that weak global growth would prompt further stimulus measures from central banks. It stayed within a narrow range, however, as weakness in stock markets pointed to softer risk appetite among investors. The metal extended last week’s more than 1 percent gain, achieved largely on the back of hopes the ECB would take further steps such as bond-buying to support the single currency, which has been battered this year by the euro zone debt crisis. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,621.10 an ounce at 1218 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for August deliver y were up $1.10 an ounce at $1,623.90. Gold remained firmly within the $51 range in which it has traded since late July. “We are still in this range-bound trading area, with the upper limit being $1,630,” LGT Capital Management analyst Bayram Dincer said. “Technically speaking, (a break of ) $1,633 is really the trigger that is needed to push gold higher.”He said talk of growth-boosting moves from China on Friday had triggered the latest move but that buyers were awaiting clearer signals on policy from other central banks including the ECB and Federal Reserve for a more decisive move. The euro was up
0.4 percent against the dollar. The correlation between gold and the euro/dollar held near 0.6 on Monday, having averaged 0.53 so far this year, with 1 representing a perfect positive correlation. Jitters over the global economy weighed on stock markets, with Japan the latest country to post weak second-quarter growth data on Monday, after readings from the United States, China and the UK showed either slowing or stalling expansion. Short-term Spanish government bond yields rose meanwhile, with some investors expecting Madrid’s debt crisis to worsen before policymakers make any move to lower its borrowing costs. Further steps to boost growth, such as quantitative easing - roughly money printing to buy bonds - would probably boost gold by increasing liquidity, keeping interest rates low and in the longer run fuelling fears of inflation. “The gold market could move higher, or at least hold its ground, on the back of current speculation and building market sentiments towards future monetary easing/QE,” Marex Spectron said in a note. Investors remained cautious. Hedge funds and money managers cut their net long position in U.S. gold futures and options in the week to Aug. 7, reducing bullish bets on doubts over more imminent monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. “Money managers ... are exercising restraint
when it comes to gold,” Commerzbank said in a note. “Net long positions were slashed by 14 percent to 69,700 contracts in the week to 7 August and are thus only just above the 3-1/2 year low they hit at the end of July.” “Net long positions in silver, on the other hand, have tripled in just two weeks. At a good 9,000 contracts, they have achieved their highest level for 14 weeks,” it added. Silver was down 0.4 percent at $27.95 an ounce. Spot platinum was up 0.4 percent at $1,397.74 an ounce, while spot palladium was up 0.3 percent at $579.22 an ounce. Platinum widened its discount to gold to more than $230 an ounce early yesterday, a historic level for a metal that has traditionally traded well above gold prices. Platinum has fallen in 16 out of the last 20 weeks and is virtually flat on the year after falling more than 20 percent in 2011. The gold/platinum ratio, which measures the number of platinum ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold, hit its highest since 1985 yesterday at 1.16. In the intervening period, it has stood at an average 0.76. Platinum, an autocatalyst metal most heavily used in diesel engines, has suffered from lower demand from European carmakers, its main consumer group. Even the threat of supply outages in major producer South Africa has failed to reverse its decline. —Reuters
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business International wealth management businesses to be sold to Julius Baer Group NEW YORK: Bank of America Corporation announced yesterday that it has agreed to sell its international wealth management businesses based outside of the US to Julius Baer Group, the leading Swiss private banking group, for an estimated 1.2% of client assets.
Consideration received will be comprised of up to $250 million in new Julius Baer shares, and the remainder in cash. As of 30 June 2012, the businesses to be sold had client assets of $84 billion. The final purchase price will be dependent on assets under man-
agement at completion of the sale. The transaction is expected to close in stages starting in the fourth quarter of 2012 or in early 2013 and is subject to regulatory approvals. Internationally, Bank of America will focus its management and
financial resources on continuing to build its leading Global Banking and Markets business. Related to this, Julius Baer and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have agreed to enter into a cooperation agreement whereby Bank of America Merrill Lynch will provide certain
products and services to Julius Baer including the provision of global equity research, product offerings, and structured and advisory products. In addition we have agreed there will be cross-referral of clients between both organizations. The sale does not include Bank of
America’s Japanese joint venture, Mitsubishi UFJ Merrill Lynch PB Securities or international wealth management offices based in the United States. The transaction will have an immaterial impact on Bank of America’s balance sheet, financial results and capital ratios.
Qatar executive provides convenient private jet options for Umrah Qatar Airways’ Airbus A320 available to charter for private group
Qatar airways sponsors Sheraton Ramadan tent KUWAIT: During the Holy month of Ramadan, Sheraton Kuwait has launched a partnership with Qatar airways-the World’s 5 Star airline to sponsor its tent by offering all diners the chance to win an airline ticket weekly raffle draw to any of Qatar Airways’ destinations around the world. On this occasion, Fahed Abushaar, Area Director General Manager at the Sheraton Kuwait expressed: “We’re so glad to partner once again with Qatar airways on this agreement for this year that will benefit our guests who recognize the heritage of both brands. We at the Sheraton Kuwait are committed to providing experiences that far surpass our guests’ expectations, and
this partnership with Qatar airways enables our discerning guests to explore different destinations in a luxurious style”, he added: “I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone Ramadan Mubarak and invite you all to savour in the divine ensemble of experiences in celebration with family, friends and loved ones”. Qatar Airways Country Manager Mohamad Al Jumairi said: “On the occasion of the Holy Month of Ramadan we would like to take this opportunity to wish our customers Ramadan Mubarak. Qatar Airways is pleased to partner with the Sheraton Kuwait and share in this month of giving, in celebration with family and friends.”
Alaska: The next Libor litigation frontier? LONDON: The Libor scandal, which began in London with bankers accused of manipulating a key global interest rate, has reached the Alaskan wilderness. Or at least that’s the hope of New York plaintiffs’ lawyer Brian Murray. He filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of investors in Alaska - as well as investors in Wyoming, North Dakota and about 20 other states - that accuses banks of violating various state antitrust laws in allegedly rigging the London interbank offered rate. Libor is a key rate for everything from credit cards to trillions of dollars of financial derivatives. So far, Murray says, no Alaskans have signed on to the case, and it’s unclear how many people in the state may have been affected by the alleged rate manipulation. His lawsuit contends that investors in certain preferred securities were shortchanged on dividend payments when banks set Libor artificially low. Murray, a partner at the law firm Murray Frank, says he’s also looking for clients in the other states, though to date he has only signed on investors from New York. His hunt for plaintiffs shows how lawyers are lining up to get a piece of what is shaping up to be massive litigation over the scandal. Lawyers have filed a smorgasbord of claims on behalf of a wide range of investors, and they hope a federal judge will allow their cases to proceed as class actions. Classaction status gives plaintiffs the power to pool resources and sue collectively. Last week, US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan, who is overseeing the cases, put new Libor lawsuits on hold while she sorts through legal issues stemming from earlier ones. The cases are still in the early procedural stages and the judge has made no rulings on their merits. Buchwald said at a court hearing Wednesday that she was concerned about “creative carve outs” of class members as attorneys hunted for smaller groups of plaintiffs and that she would not recognize any new classes or appoint lawyers to lead them for the time being. She also encouraged anyone eyeing a case to get it into court promptly. Litigation over alleged rate fixing has been pending in court for 16 months. A flurry of new cases were filed after a $453 million settlement over Libor practices between Barclays and U.S. and British authorities in June. Other defendants in the civil litigation include Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp
and about a dozen other major banks. The banks have said in court papers seeking dismissal of the earlier lawsuits that even if Libor were altered, the plaintiffs have not shown how banks acted to restrain competition. Seven proposed class actions have been filed, containing dozens of potential subclasses, accusing the banks of common law fraud as well as violations of federal and state antitrust laws, the Commodity Exchange Act and even provisions of an anti-racketeering law that had its origins in prosecuting organized crime. The three most advanced cases were filed last year, covering investors holding Libor-linked securities purchased over-thecounter from the defendant banks, investors in bonds tied to Libor, and those who traded in Eurodollar futures on exchanges. Classes can join investors in groups behind one legal team, which then bankrolls the litigation. The lawyers landing the job of lead counsel typically take their fees out of any eventual recovery, which is spread among the members of the class. Michael Hausfeld, of the Hausfeld law firm, who filed one of the first cases alleging Libor manipulation by banks last year, said other plaintiffs’ attorneys are contacting him to get advice on how they should go about bringing new cases. Hausfeld said he expects a fight among plaintiffs’ attorneys over who will lead any new classes that are proposed. “You’re going to have a gajillion class actions filed, justifiably, because every situation and claim is going to be unique and different from other class actions,” said Jim Cox, a Duke Law School professor. The plaintiffs will eventually have to prove the proposed class structures meet legal standards. That could be a critical battle in the litigation as the defendants try to limit any potential damages, which some analysts have estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars. If a class were whittled down or not certified, those plaintiffs would have to sue on their own if they wanted to pursue their claims, something few could likely afford. So far one plaintiff, Charles Schwab Corp, has opted to file its own lawsuit against the Libor banks rather than trying to join a class action. Richard Rapp, a former president of NERA Economic Consulting, an adviser in antitrust cases, said a successful Libor case could cost up to $10 million to pursue for a plaintiff.— Reuters
DOHA: Qatar Airways’ corporate jet division, Qatar Executive, is facilitating the increase in travel demand for private charter travel options for Umrah flights to Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the Holy month of Ramadan and the upcoming Eidal-Fitr holidays. The Holy month of Ramadan is a popular season for religious travellers to perform Umrah, and Qatar Executive’s modern wholly-owned Bombardier private jets allow those on pilgrimage to easily and conveniently reach Mecca from Doha or other destinations in the Middle East. In the past years there has been a steadily growing demand for Umrah and Hajj flights, and the option to charter private jets has become more popular as a result of the practical value and flexibility of on-demand personalised services. Qatar Executive’s in-flight service can be individually customised to match the travellers’ religious requirements and the experienced cabin crew serve passengers in strict adherence to Islamic principles. Moreover, long queues and time-consuming travel formalities can be avoided as the personalised service includes the convenience of booking an aircraft in as little as four hours prior to depar ture, access to premium lounges and check-in only 10 minutes prior to
take off. The Qatar Executive fleet today comprises of six Bombardier aircraft - the youngest fleet of its kind in the Gulf. The fleet includes three Challenger 605s which have a capacity for 11 passengers, and two Global 5000s for 13 passengers. Qatar Executive also operates a luxurious Global Express XRS featuring a spacious two cabin configuration, accommodating up to 13 passengers. Qatar Airways Chief
Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: “The Umrah season and Eid holidays are the time of the year when families traditionally travel together and we are pleased to offer the private means of flying for our highly discerning customers”. On-demand private jet travel allows families to travel together in privacy and according to their own individual timing, ensuring a comfortable and customised journey. In addition, Qatar Executive also offers individual larger airline char-
ters as for example Airbus A320 aircraft for up to 144 passengers in a two-class configuration to accommodate larger group travel requests, starting from September. Being part of a well-established award-winning full service global network airline Qatar Air ways, Qatar Executive customers can rest assured knowing they will receive the highest standards of service in terms of quality, comfort, confidentiality and security provided by highly trained crew.
BNC Network expands coverage to 11 countries in MENA region DUBAI: BNC Network has expanded its coverage of its Project Intelligence service to include 11 countries in the MENA region. In addition to the GCC member countries, the countries now covered include Iraq, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen. BNC Network offers constantly updated project intelligence on over 55,000 construction projects and a database of 97,000 con-
struction related companies, making it the largest provider of construction intelligence in the region. Projects on the BNC Network are tracked from concept to completion and include detailed status updates that includes project schedules, budgets, construction status, as well as owner, consultant, contractor and supplier information, “The current economic turbulence has made geographic expansion within the MENA
region a key strategic objective of a significant number of our construction-centric clientele. The BNC Network is constantly evolving to serve the information requirements of the construction industry and has introduced this expanded coverage to cater to the market demand for reliable updated business intelligence for the MENA region,” said Ben D’Souza, Chief Operating Officer, Industry Networks FZC.
Dana Gas reports strong profit for H1 of 2012 DUBAI: Dana Gas PJSC the Middle East’s largest regional private sector natural gas company, announces its financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2012 with a net profit after tax of AED 387 million, an increase of 79% as compared to AED 216 million in H1 2011. Revenue from the sale of hydrocarbons increased to AED 1,254 million, with gross profit reaching AED 767 million. These figures represent increases of 1% and 13% respectively, compared to the same period last year. This is due to production growth in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) coupled with higher market prices for oil, condensate and LPG during the first six months of 2012. The above net profit excludes an unrealised loss of AED 19 million on Dana Gas’ 3% shareholding in MOL, the Hungarian-listed oil and gas company and a strategic partner in Dana Gas’ Kurdistan operations. This loss is booked directly to equity in line with the Company’s published accounting policy, resulting in Total Comprehensive Income of AED 368 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exploration (EBITDAX) was AED 822 million compared to AED 814 million in the same period last year. Commenting on the results, Dr Adel Al Sabeeh, Chairman of Dana Gas, said: “We have achieved our revenue estimates for the first half and posted strong net profit figures of AED 387 million. Our revenue collections were in line with expectation and we continue to have constructive discussions with both the Government of Egypt and the Government of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on payment of the Company’s receivables. Overall this has been a reasonable six months financially and we look forward to the rest of the year with renewed
confidence.” Ahmed Al-Arbeed, Chief Executive Officer of Dana Gas, added: “We have maintained strong levels of net production in the first half of the year. Good progress is
duction wells are added, and two new fields are brought on-stream. In the KRI, the Company’s 40% share of production in the Kor Mor Field for the first half of the year continued to increase, achieving an average rate of 28,200 boepd
Dr Adel Al Sabeeh, Chairman of Dana Gas
being made on our drilling programme in Egypt, with one new field discovery (the West Al Baraka Field) in the South of the country. We plan to drill further exploration and development wells in Northern Egypt. I am also pleased to report that the commissioning and start-up of the Natural Gas liquids plant in Ras Shukheir (Egypt) is advancing well and should be operational in H2 of this year.” Production and Development The Group’s net production averaged 60,950 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from its interests in Egypt and the KRI during the six months ended 30 June 2012. Dana Gas Egypt produced gas, LPG, condensate and crude oil at an average rate of 32,750 boepd in the first half. Production is expected to increase later in the year as compression facilities and new pro-
(2011: 19,800 boepd). This 42% increase in production was mainly due to increased gas deliveries achieved by running the two LPG trains within the plant and the early production facility (EPF) in parallel; as well as including the condensate and LPG extracted from the additional gas. Exploration & Appraisal The Company drilled and tested a successful exploration well, West Al Baraka-2, in the Komombo Concession in Southern Egypt. A reservoir hydraulic fracturing test (frac) was performed in June to optimize the production rates and assess the hydrocarbon potential. After performing the hydraulic fracturing, the well productivity was increased from 30 boepd to 173 boepd, a five-fold increase in production. In order to better understand the formation productivity performance, reservoir extension, pressure support regime and
make a decision on the number of wells required for the full development of the field, Dana Gas plans to place the well on long-term testing, utilizing portable testing equipment. Faris-1 well, the 2nd exploratory well to be drilled in the Komombo concession was spudded in late June. The well will be drilled to a total depth of 6,300 ft (SS) to explore the hydrocarbon potential in the Komombo “A” formation. Liquidity and Financial Resources Group cash balances as of 30 June 2012 stood at AED 601 million (31 December 2011: AED 411 million). Dana Gas’s cash flow has been impacted by global macroeconomic and regional events. The revolution in Egypt last year and the subsequent unfolding turmoil resulted in sporadic and progressively delayed payment of revenue by government-owned entities. Similarly, political disputes in Iraq have impacted planned payments by the central government to petroleum companies operating in the KRI. Despite these challenging external macroeconomic circumstances, Dana Gas hopes that these problems will resolve themselves in the short- and medium-term. Sukuk Update The $1 billion sukuk, secured against certain Egyptian assets as well as SajGas and UGTC, are due to mature on 31 October 2012. The Company is committed to finding a consensual solution that is equitable to all stakeholders. For these purposes, the company has appointed Deutsche Bank, Blackstone Group and Latham & Watkins to provide advice on various options for discussions with the sukukholders. The Company will provide further updates as further progress is made.
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TECHNOLOGY
Left-handers and the pitfalls of technology BERLIN: When the iPhone 4 hit shops in 2010, some customers could not use the new Apple device to either call or surf the internet. The reason was that holding the device in the left hand could in some cases cover the phone’s antennae, thereby cutting off reception. Apparently, the designers, technicians and testers at Apple did not think about the needs of left-handers or just ignored them. And that is nothing new, according to Agnes Maria Forsthofer, a member of an association for left-handed people in Germany. “ There are essentially no devices fitted for left-handers.” Even standard devices like a mouse or keyboard have some pitfalls for lefthanded users. The number pad for
changed. There is no standard for the extreme left-hander, said Stefan Gutwinski, neuroscientist of the university psychiatric ward of the Charite at St. Hedwig Hospital in Berlin. “Extreme handedness is rather seldom - right-handers do some things with their left hand and left-handers do some things with their right hand,” he said. And they differ from case to case. Some, for example, have no problem typing a text message on their phone with their right hand - others absolutely need their left hand. But there are some devices with which nearly every left-hander has problems, including for example an ergonomic mouse. Their asymmetric shape supposedly gives them a better fit in the user’s hand - but only in the
example is difficult to use with your left hand. “There are only a few keyboards where the number pad is on the left side,” said Barbara Sattler, who heads an information centre for left-handers in Germany. But such solutions are only practical in places where the left-hander works alone. Sharing a computer that has such special devices with right-handers is difficult. Sattler suggests left-handers should rather get a separate number pad with a USB connection, like those available for laptops. The mouse can cause issues for lefthanders. Most of the time they are located on the right side of the keyboard. A wireless mouse solves most of the problems and the system settings in Windows allows for the keys to be
right hand. “But the symmetric shape has prevailed,” said Sattler. There are other examples of the technology world being unfriendly to left-handers, for example in the case of camcorders. “ They are completely equipped to be controlled with the right hand,” said Sattler. Even photography cameras often have the controls on the right side. Sattler said there are no real solutions in such cases. “The demand for special left-handed products is not high enough,” she said. Separate production for left-handers is not profitable for manufacturers. The only choice often for lefties is to get used to it. Neuroscientist Gutwinski said it’s often not that difficult. “Left-handers
often have a pronounced tendency for ambidexterity because they are already used to doing things with their right hands from childhood.” Nevertheless, it has been shown that the older the user, the more difficulty left-handers have in getting accustomed to new devices which have to be operated with the right hand. In the case of smartphones it would seem initially that it doesn’t matter which hand is used on a touchscreen. But since many devices have the onoff or volume buttons on the right side, operating the device with just your left hand is not easy. Sattler urges left-handers to take the device in their hand before buying it and really give it a good test. —dpa
Wikipedia looking for more volunteers Number of active authors sinking
NEW YORK: In this July 18, 2012 photo, Santy Zambrano, 21, youth organizer with the community organization Make the Road, reviews a phone app for monitoring police action in New York. The app, called “Stop and Frisk Watch,” was developed by the New York Civil Liberties Union for bystanders to monitor police during “stop and frisk” activity, a practice widely denounced by civil rights groups. —AP
SAN FRANCISCO: Wikipedia is an indispensable source of knowledge for many internet users - but very few actually take part in building the interactive lexicon. It has been 11 years since the project was started, but commitment is needed more than ever as the number of active authors is sinking. The Wikimedia Foundation said in its recent annual report that its “most important strategic task is to reverse this trend” and the nonprofit organisation is planning to invest heavily in this goal. Wikipedia is a unique project - an encyclopedia to which everyone can contribute. Set up by internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales, today it is practically the global reference work. The facts about this improbable success are impressive. In May alone, 492 million users called up 18.1 billion pages of the various Wikimedia projects. But a major factor in the project’s success is fading away. Wikipedia is losing volunteers. The number of authors writing at least five times a month dropped to about 85,000 worldwide. And they have a huge task. Some 22.3 million articles in the various Wikipedia
versions must be updated, expanded, have pictures added and be protected from vandals - not to mention new articles having to be written. The goal of having 200,000 volunteers by 2015 seems far off. The Wikipedia Foundation recognizes the problem and has begun numerous projects to help stop the drop in volunteers. But implementation will likely take a while. Problem number 1: The technology. Whoever wants to add or edit an article cannot just click on a button and type away. The texts are written in a syntax that doesn’t need a computer science degree but can scare away many users. That’s why Wikimedia Foundation is working on a so-called Visual Editor that makes text editing easier. The principle is what you see is what you get. But Wikimedia are behind schedule. The foundation recently introduced a prototype, but it could still take months before it can be widely used. Problem number 2: A lack of diversity. Only 10 per cent of volunteers are women and volunteers from the southern hemisphere are also under-represented. The foun-
Renault launches Fluence Sport in Kuwait KUWAIT: In response to the needs of young and dynamic customers looking for a sleek and attractive saloon that extends driving comfort and sporty performance, Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz AlBabtain Co. is launching the New Renault Fluence Sport Limited Edition in the Kuwaiti market. The sedan exudes an emphatic and sporty personality with its unmis-
takable front and rear spoilers, side skirts, fog light trims and exhaust outlets. A pleasure to drive, the Renault Fluence Sport Limited Edition is available with a performing power train, which combines responsiveness with fuel economy of a 2.0 16V 143 hp X-Tronic CVT. Its sixspeed X-Tronic gearbox with Manual Mode was developed by the Renault-Nissan Alliance and provides a smooth ride by eliminat-
ing the need for gear changes and consequent traction interruptions. The Fluence Sport Limited Edition has also been developed to deliver on safety performance standards driven by a comprehensive range of equipment, including ABS with emergency brake assist, ESP, up to six airbags, three-point seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters as well as cruise control
with speed limiter. The Renault Fluence Sport Limited Edition is a three-volume saloon with fluid, elegant and styling lines, it is set to enhance the brand’s footing in the GCC C-segment marketplace. The vehicle is manufactured at the Renault Samsung Motors (RSM) plant in Busan South Korea. Renault Fluence’s Sport Limited Edition’s generous proportions are an eloquent pointer to its welcom-
ing and comfortable cabin designed to suit all occupants. A well-proportioned sedan, it stands at 4,620 mm in length, 1,479 mm height and 1,809 mm width, with a wheelbase of 2,700 mm. Renault Fluence is among the biggest in its class. Introduced in July 2010, Renault Fluence received a strong market response. At the end of the Q1
2012, it is ranked among the top 10 best-selling C segment models, and the top three best-selling European models in GCC. Renault Fluence realized a sales growth of 42 per cent between January and May 2012, compared to same period in 2011. The Renault Fluence Sport Limited Edition was designed as a distinctive and most attractive car in its class, equipped with a multitude of features that sets it apart
from its rivals including robust, sporty exteriors, comfortable cabin and an array of useful technological aids. In a bid to offer the highest thermal comfort, which is essential in GCC markets, it was exposed to fierce heat and humidity. The Sport Limited Edition features automatic dual-zone climate control and rear AC ducts as standard equipment in its upper trim level. Renault Fluence makes for a high-end vehicle that is equipped with the latest technologies such as automatic central locking, start button ignition, a range of audio systems, including the high-end 3D Sound by Arkamys(r) with Bluetooth(r) telephony and Plug & Music connectivity, depending on level of equipment. Renault Fluence creates an impression of quality with a simple yet elegantly styled interior cabin that allows essential driving functions and useful accessories to fall easily to hand. The sense of onboard comfort is reinforced by the attention to detail in the form of reduced noise levels and generous interior space including generous elbow room (1,480 mm at the front, 1,475 mm at the rear). Rearseat passengers also enjoy outstanding legroom, and knee room of 238 mm. The 530 dm3 boot capacity is big for its class. Before its launch in July 2010, Renault Fluence was put through a comprehensive endurance testing programme that included extreme conditions with a view to ensuring exceptional standard of reliability and durability, especially in light of the demanding road and weather conditions of the GCC.
Pakistan blocks websites featuring clips of politicians ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has moved to block more than a dozen websites over YouTube clips featuring two prominent parliamentarians, and allegations of a secret marriage of the boss of the country’s state-run television. The order, from the Pak istan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), affects some 15 sites, which featured recordings of mobile phone conversations between a male and female politician of the breakaway fac tion of the ruling coalition par tner, Pakistan Muslim League.
They also contained clips of a press conference by a television artist, talking about her apparent secret marriage with the managing director of Pakistan Television. Pakistan has history of blocking social websites. In February over 13,000 websites were blocked for showing “obscene” material. When contacted, PTA official Muhammad Ali, who issued the orders, refused to discuss the matter, saying he was not authorized to speak to the media. However, another official of the watchdog told dpa on anonymity that the orders
were issued because the clips involved “influential persons”. Internet ser vice providers expressed reservations, calling it a bid to censor internet traffic in the country. “Blocking of websites containing general or political information is not in the domain of PTA; this is like censoring the internet, which is against the law,” said spokesman Wahajus Siraj. “We will take up the matter with PTA and if our reservations aren’t attended, we’ll challenge it in the court. —dpa
dation is working on decreasing the gender divide by having at least 50 per cent of the training participants be women. And in some developing and emerging countries, Wikimedia are working with mobile phone providers to make possible free access to the lexicon for smartphone users - Wikipedia Zero. Problem number 3: The internet is becoming more mobile while Wikipedia is more designed to be used on a PC. The mobile website has since been reworked and there are also smartphone apps. In the future, it should be easier for users to upload photos with mobile devices and manage tasks on the smaller screen. The foundation is also hiring to reach its goals. The workforce is scheduled to increase this business year from 119 to 174 workers, with expenses increasing from 27.2 million dollars (21.9 million euros) to 42.1 million dollars. At the same time, the donation-based project wants to increase its income by onethird to 46.1 million dollars. The knowledge of the world cannot be collected and maintained for nothing. —dpa
Google plans 4,000 layoffs at Motorola NEW YORK: Internet giant Google yesterday said it plans to lay off about 4,000 employees at Motorola, a cellphone maker it purchased in May, in order to return the company to profitability. “While we expect this strategy to create new opportunities and help return Motorola’s mobile devices unit to profitability, we understand how hard these changes will be for the employees concerned,” a company spokesperson said. According to The New York Times, the reorganization plan calls for laying off about 20 percent of Motorola’s workforce and closing a third of its 94
offices worldwide. About two-thirds of the affected 4,000 jobs will be lost outside of the United States, according to the report. The company plans to leave unprofitable markets, stop making low-end devices and reduce the number of cellphone models it is producing, the paper said. The Google spokesperson said help will be provided to those whose jobs were being cut. “Motorola is committed to helping them through this difficult transition and will be providing generous severance packages, as well as outplacement services to help people find new jobs,” the spokesperson said. —AFP
A mobile, a child and a plan for keeping costs under control BERLIN: A mobile with a keyboard is so yesterday, especially if you’re a teen. To be respectable, a mobile has to have a touchscreen ... and preferably an Apple logo. But parents giving in to these wishes can quickly see costs rack up, especially if the offspring are not responsible with a smartphone’s features. Any parent owes it to him or herself to be careful about this choice. The status of smartphones among young people continues to rise, says Bernd Klusmann, the head of the communications technology department at Bitkom, a German technology industry association. “Before, it was incredibly important for an 18-year-old to get his driver’s license and get a car.” These days, that status boost comes with brand name mobiles. “There are already fifth graders who have an iPhone,” notes Karin ThomasMartin, a telecommunications expert with the Consumer Centre of the German state of Baden Wuerttemberg. Youngsters also view their mobile devices completely differently to how their parents do, says Klusmann. “A smartphone is like a small computer.” Indeed, telephoning is no longer anywhere near the most important function. “This starts with age 12 or 13,” says Kathrin Koerber, of the Consumer Centre of the German state of Lower Saxony. “The question is, does it really have to be a smartphone?” For example, a child who only needs to be reachable during his or her bus ride home can probably make do
with a simple mobile. But there’s more than just the purchase price when it comes to smartphones. Hidden costs loom everywhere, for example with extra charges for music and videos. The best approach might be to block third party services and to read the contract carefully. “You absolutely need to do this,” says Thomas-Martin. “You can do it with an email or a call to the mobile provider.” Also make sure prepaid services are indeed, just that. “There are providers who say things are prepaid when they are not,” she warns. “The terms and conditions will state what is included.” True prepaid cards also allow their balance to be checked with a simple key command. The thing is, says Heinz Thiery of the German Federal Conference for Developmental Advice, that most of the fuss is about simple prestige. “In terms of function, there is little difference (between the phones). The iPhone is like a cult to the young, and if it wasn’t so expensive, Apple would sell a whole lot more of them.” Normal mobile phone shoppers think about the fees and then check which phone matches their needs. “Youthful shoppers do it the other way around.” Prepaid cards, which allow easier controls on spending, might be an option, even if they come with higher internet costs, says Thiery. And a flat rate is key, otherwise internet costs could quickly consume the whole bill. “If the smartphone is supposed to replace a laptop or a PC, then a flat rate is sensible.” —dpa
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
H E A LT H & S C I E NC E
In Europe, defenses rise against Asian mosquito peril They include dengue, which can result in a deadly hemorrhagic fever
FRANCE: A file picture shows tiger mosquitoes displayed at a laboratory of the EID center (Entente departementale pour la demoustification) which conducts research on mosquitoes.
Tourists in Nepal warned over cholera outbreak KATHMANDU: Nepal yesterday urged foreign travelers to take precautions against cholera after 13 people died in an outbreak in the remote west of the country. Visitors were urged by GD Thakur, director of the Himalayan nation’s epidemiology and disease control department, to drink boiled or mineral water and “pay attention to their personal care and hygiene”. “ There have been 13 deaths in two months in Doti district in western Nepal but now the situation is under control,” Thakur said. “For the last 15 years there have always been a few cases of cholera in Nepal in the rainy season. Since mid-April we have detected 15 cholera cases in Kathmandu but there have been no deaths.” Nepal is nearing the height of its monsoon season, when diarrhoea-related illnesses normally spike because of contami-
nated water sources. Cholera is caused by bacteria in water or food, which has usually been contaminated with the faeces of an infected person. If untreated it can kill within a day through dehydration, with the old and the young the most vulnerable. Healthcare facilities in most of Nepal’s western districts, including Doti, are primitive, with farm workers often living in dirty, cramped conditions without electricity or access to clean drinking water. “Foreign visitors who plan to come to Nepal should not worry because the situation is completely under control. We request them to pay attention to their personal care and hygiene,” Thakur said. “We encourage them to drink either boiled water or mineral water and not to eat leftover food. The department is very vigilant and there is nothing to worry about.”—AFP
MONTPELLIER: Behind air-tight doors in a lab in a southern French city, scientists in protective coveralls wage war against a fingernailsized danger. Lurking in net cages is their foe: the Asian tiger mosquito, capable of spreading dengue fever and other tropical diseases in temperate Europe. First spotted in Albania in 1979, the black-and-white striped invader has gained a foothold on Europe’s Mediterranean rim and is advancing north and west, according to captors’ reports. Colonies are established in 20 European countries, in moderate climes as far nor th as Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. “The risk of disease is very low but it is growing,” entomologist JeanBaptiste Ferre told AFP at France’s leading mosquito-control institute. “The more mosquitoes there are, the higher the risk.” The Asian tiger mosquito -Latin name Aedes albopictus-can spread many kinds of viruses. They include dengue, which can result in a deadly hemorrhagic
fever, as well as West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis and a painful disease of the joints called chikungunya. A. albopictus transmits the virus by taking blood from a sick person and handing on the pathogen the next time it takes a meal. The worry is that the insect will spread disease in Europe by biting infected people arriving from tropical countries where the viruses are endemic. In 2007, the tiger mosquito caused a home-grown outbreak in Italy of chikungunya, and in 2010, 10 locally-transmitted cases of dengue occurred in Croatia. That same year, two cases of each disease surfaced in southern France, prompting the alarm bells to ring loudly. From Montpellier, Ferre and his colleagues at the Entente Interdepar tmental pour la Demoustication en Mediterranee (EID) monitor the spread with some 1,500 traps dotted around France, luring mosquitoes to lay their eggs. These provide insights into how A. albopic tus is adapting to European life, with its varied habitats and cooler climate. Ferre points
to maps that begin in 2004, when a tiny red dot represented the first settling of albopictus in France around Menton, near the Italian border. Year by year, the dot grows into red tentacles that probe north and west. The insect has a flight range of only about 200 meters (yards), so it hitch-hikes a ride in cars, trucks and traded goods. With climate change, “further expansion is probable,” the journal VectorBorne and Zoonotic Diseases warned this year. That assessment is supported by scientists at Britain’s University of Liverpool who point to warming trends in the Balkans and northwestern Europe. Asian tiger mosquitoes are aggressive and robust, able to breed prolifically in their short, 10-day lives. Feeding during the day, they can bite several people in quick succession, and their offspring can hatch even after long periods without water. Worse, the insect is a stealthy urban dweller. It does not need large, open bodies of water to reproduce, for it can lay its eggs in
small, water-holding receptacles such as flowerpots, toys and blocked gutters, and this makes it much harder to fight. Since May this year, sur veillance in France has thrown up 267 suspected dengue and chikungunya cases among people who had arrived from abroad, said EID projec t coordinator Gregory Lambert. The institute sometimes launches pre-emptive strikes if this can prevent the mosquitoes from spreading disease locally. It orders out insecticide trucks that spray streets in a 200-metre (650-foot) radius around the area where a case is notified. The operations take place before dawn, while most people are still in bed. “The imperative is to kill the mosquitoes before they transmit the disease,” said Lambert. The war is unrelenting. “It is impossible to kill them all,” said AnnaBella Failloux of France’s Pasteur Institute, one of the world’s top centers for infectious disease. “Even if there is no mosquito around you, you still have eggs somewhere, waiting for the next rain.”—AFP
Elephant impregnated using frozen sperm from wild male VIENNA: An African elephant in Vienna Zoo has been impregnated using frozen sperm from a male living in the wild, in what the Zoo said yesterday was a world first. Pregnancy has been achieved before elsewhere using frozen sperm in two cases, once with an African elephant and once with an Asian one, but both times the males were in captivity and the fetuses died, a zoo spokeswoman told AFP. “If this calf is born it will be the first time worldwide that this works with frozen sperm,” she said. “Already this is the first successful insemination using frozen sperm from a wild male. This is something very special.” Tonga, the 26-year-old elephant, is nine months into her 22-month pregnancy. The sperm came from a wild bull elephant in South Africa.
Using sperm from wild elephants is seen as particularly important in order to widen the narrowing gene pool of elephants living in zoos and animal parks around the world caused by a shortage of suitable bulls living in captivity. More information including ultrasound images is due to be presented at a news conference on Tuesday. Artificial insemination using sperm that is frozen and then thawed has worked in other mammals, including rhinos, but with elephants, an endangered species, it has proven problematic. Tiergarten Schoenbrunn or Vienna Zoo, the world’s oldest, teamed up with the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany, Zooparc de Beauval in France and Pittsburgh Zoo in the United States for the project.—AFP
INDONESIA: Dyed chicks are for sale as pet in a cage at a market in Yogyakarta, Central Java, yesterday.—AP
Bird flu claims 9th victim in Indonesia this year JAKARTA: The Health Ministry says bird flu has killed a 37-year-old man in central Indonesia, marking the country’s ninth fatality this year. The Ministry’s website said yesterday that the man died July 30 in Yogyakarta province after being hospitalized for five days. It confirmed that the man who lived near a chicken slaughterhouse was infected with the H5N1 virus after apparently coming into contact with sick birds.
The virus, which began ravaging poultry across Asia in 2003, remains, entrenched in Indonesia. Experts fear it could mutate into a form that passes easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic. But most human cases have been linked to contact with sick birds. The World Health Organization says 359 people have died from it worldwide. Indonesia remains the hardest-hit country, accounting for 159 deaths.—AP
INDONESIA: In this April 26, 2012, a Balinese government official holds a chicken before administering an injection to cull it as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of bird flu, at a market in Denpasar, Bali, after an eight-year-old boy died from bird flu in a Bali hospital.—AP
FRANCE: (Left)A file picture shows a scientist examining tiger mosquitoes, at a laboratory of the EID center (Entente departementale pour la demoustification) which conducts research on mosquitoes. (Right) A file picture shows tiger mosquitoes displayed at a laboratory of the EID center (Entente departementale pour la demoustification) which conducts research on mosquitoes.—AFP photos
Brazilian women rebel against cesarean births RIO DE JANEIRO: From the day Mariana Migon discovered she was pregnant, she knew she wanted a natural birth. So just weeks before her due date, the first-time mother abandoned her obstetrician, her health plan and her private hospital room for the free public hospital in downtown Rio - where she had a real chance at a vaginal birth. “If I’d stayed with my health care plan and my doctor, I would have had a C-section,” said Migon, as she sat beside the incubator holding her baby girl, who was premature. In Brazil, where natural childbirth fell out of favor years ago, more than half of all babies are born via cesarean section, a figure that rises to 82 percent for women with private health insurance. But that trend may be turning around in a country with one of the highest cesarean rates in the world. More women are pushing for more of a say in childbirth - whether by C-section or naturally, at home or in a hospital, with a midwife or a medical doctor. As patients in doctors’ offices and street protesters reject the pressure to have surgical births, the federal government is investing billions of dollars into a natural childbirth campaign, including the building of hospitals devoted to maternal care. “We need to have a serious discussion in this country to see what can be done to change this culture,” said Olimpio Moraes Filho, one of the head doctors with the Brazilian Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “Women are starting to rebel, and they should.” A tipping point came in July, when a medical regulating agency in Rio de Janeiro forbade doctors from doing home births and labor coaches known as doulas from helping out in hospitals, saying “there are many complications possible during labor that require immediate medical attention.” In response, women organized marches in 13 cities. In Sao Paulo, they bared their breasts and carried posters reading “Our Children, Our Decision” while chanting “Brazil, don’t follow Rio’s example.” They enacted natural births using dolls covered with Portuguese words reading “Born Free.” After the resolution was reversed by court order July 30, about 200 people gathered in Rio to celebrate, with yet more banners and painted bellies defending women’s freedom to choose how their babies are born. Similar marches took place in 28 other Brazilian cities, where women also defended their right to reject episiotomies cutting the vaginal opening to prevent tearing and to have company during the birth. A 2005 law says women should have a companion of their choice during labor, but it’s frequently not respected. The World Health Organization warns against unnecessary surgeries, saying that while there is no ideal C-section rate, the percentage should hover between 10 and 15 percent. In China, which also has a very high cesarean rate, 46 percent of babies were delivered via the surgery in 2008, the latest year for which data is available. In the US, more than a third of births are by C-section. Because a C-section entails major abdominal surgery, risks for the mother include infections, complications from anesthesia, hemorrhage and dangerous clots, and a longer recovery. For the baby, the procedure is linked to
RIO DE JANEIRO: File photo shows Daniele Coelho undergoing a cesarean section to give birth to her daughter, Hadassa, as father Romulo uses a camera record the delivery at the Perinatal Clinic in, Brazil.—AP photo increases in premature births, breathing problems, and generally lower health scores related to depriving babies of the stimulation they normally experience as they travel through the birth canal. The reasons behind Brazil’s high rates are many. Experts say a longstanding interventionist approach to vaginal births made them more painful and stressful than necessary. All this gave C-sections a reputation as being a more predictable, safe, painless and modern way to deliver. Brazil’s statistics worry Maria do Carmo Leal, a researcher at the National Public Health School at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. She is analyzing a survey of 24,000 birthing mothers across the country and said the high C-Section rate reflects an extreme manifestation of a medical culture that treats delivery as a health problem and not as a natural process. “Here, when a woman is going to give birth, even natural birth, the first thing many hospitals do is tie her to the bed by putting an IV in her arm, so she can’t walk, can’t take a bath, can’t hug her husband. The use of drugs to accelerate contractions is very common, as are episiotomies,” she said. “What you get is a lot of pain, and a horror of childbirth. This makes a cesarean a dream for many women.” Private clinics are often happy to make that dream come true by turning delivery into something akin to a weekend retreat in a birththemed five-star hotel. At the Perinatal Clinic in Rio de Janeiro, mothers can get free hairstyling, manicures and makeup sessions, and for a fee, can have their rooms decorated in a safari or teddy bear motif. Once the new mom is ready for visitors, a catering service complete with waiters can also be arranged. “There are patients who absolutely refuse to have natural childbirth, well-informed patients who maintain this position out of fear,” said Paulo Marinho, the medical director at Perinatal. “It’s a cultural situation. I’ve seen it develop over gener-
ations.” From the doctors’ perspective, the issue comes down to familiarity and economics, said Moraes Filho, of the Brazilian Gynecologists and Obstetrics Association. Brazilian women expect the doctor who sees them throughout their pregnancy to be the one who delivers their baby, not whoever happens to be on call. Second, health care plans generally pay practitioners the same for a C-section taking 30-40 minutes as for a natural birth that can last an entire day. “We have to change this culture, and get women comfortable having their child with the doctor or nurse on duty,” Moraes Filho said. In public hospitals doctors are paid R$150 ($74) for a C-section, and R$175 ($86) for a natural birth. Three-quarters of Brazilians rely on free public health care. Private doctors receive between R$ 200 ($100) and R$400 ($200) per birth, depending on the health care plan and the procedure. “It’s not that doctors are mercenaries, but what they earn to be present for a very important moment is little more than what a television repairman gets who shows up on his schedule,” Moraes Filho said. “This doctor-patient connection where the woman wants her doctor present, the poor remuneration for doctors, their need to juggle several jobs - all this makes it impossible for a practitioner to reconcile his work schedule with unpredictable vaginal births.” In an effort to reverse the trend, Brazil’s federal government has invested $1.3 billion over the last year and a half, with another $3.36 billion allocated in a program called “ The Stork Network,” aimed at “humanizing” the birth experience and educating mothers and health care practitioners on the benefits of natural childbirth. “We’re making a big effort now, offering good prenatal care, a place women trust, information that’s pertinent, so women can make their decision,” said National Health Care Secretary Helvecio Magalhaes. “We’re creating incentives for natural birth.”—AP
H E A LT H & S C I E NC E
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
Ramadan fasting not linked to pre-term births NEW YORK: Pregnant women who fasted during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan were no more likely to give birth prematurely than women who didn’t observe the fast, but the babies of women who fasted were smaller on average, a Lebanese study has found. The researchers, whose findings appeared in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, found no significant differences in the rate of births before the 37th week of pregnancy among 201 pregnant Beirut women who fasted during the daytime, compared with 201 women who didn’t. “Although results are reassuring as far as there is no increased risk of preterm delivery, the fact that the mean birth weight was significantly lower in Ramadan-fasted women is alarming,” said study leader Anwar Nassar, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. During Ramadan, the ninth lunar month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims abstain from eating and drinking during the day. While fasting is compulsory, pregnancy may be “a relative exemption if reasons for maternal/fetal hardship are suspected.” Nevertheless, many pregnant women ask whether it’s all right to fast during Ramadan, Nassar told Reuters Health. Other studies have looked at fasting during pregnancy, such as in cases of famine or in experiments with calorie restriction, but this is the first in the English literature to look at the effects of Ramadan fasting on preterm delivery. For the study, Nassar and his colleagues recruited pregnant women from four medical centers around
Beirut in August 2008, matching the characteristics of those who planned on fasting with a comparison group who did not fast. All the women were in their third trimester during the study period. In 2008, Ramadan took place during September. Overall, 21 women in each group gave birth before their 37th week of pregnancy, which is considered “preterm.” Three fasting women gave birth before their 37th week of pregnancy, compared with one in the nonfasting group, but the researchers say that difference could have been due to chance. On average, fasting women’s babies weighed about 3 kg (around 6.8 lb), compared with the babies of non-fasting women, who averaged 3.2 kg (7 lb). One possible explanation for the difference is that fasting mothers tended to gain less weight during the Ramadan period, 1.6 kg versus 2.3 kg among non-fasting women. While the researchers cannot say what a low birth weight could mean for babies later on in life, Nassar noted that it has been linked to heart disease. Other effects of fasting during pregnancy may not be immediate and there could be other consequences as the child grows. More study is needed, Nassar said. The fasting period in Ramadan can vary considerably, from 10 to 19 hours depending on what time of year the fasting month falls, and in what part of the globe a woman is in. Moreover, different cultures have different traditions regarding feasting at night to break the fast, so it’s hard to generalize about the calorie and nutrition intake of all fasting women during Ramadan.—Reuters
A photo shows Ahmed Mohsen Eid Mohammed (centre), 12, from Kuwait, pictured with his two brothers. Ahmed is undergoing bone marrow transplant treatment for cancer. —Photos by Little Bunny Photography
Olympic mural painted by Kuwaiti children being treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Kuwaiti children celebrate Olympics at Great Ormond Street Hospital KUWAIT: Kuwaiti children at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), one of the world’s leading centres for treating sick children in London, celebrated the arrival of the Olympic Games by taking part in their very own ‘GOSH Games’ on Thursday 2 August 2012. Organized particularly for this occasion, the hospital prepared a fun-filled day for children from different wards in its new Morgan Stanley Clinical Building. Children from the International and Private Patients (IPP) ward joined in the GOSH Games, and the Kuwaiti kids also prepared a Kuwaiti-themed mural representing the Olympic Games. The GOSH Games got off to a flying start when torchbearers, fancy dress mascots and patients who made their own flags and craft torches led a procession from the hospital entrance. The ceremony was followed by Olympic-
themed activities and sports for patients and their families to enjoy, including cycling, gymnastics, shot put, beat the goalie, curling and face painting, in addition to a fun game of ‘Guess the Country Flag’. Each child received a medal and certificate, and the children were also photographed with their families taking part in activities or bearing their own handmade torch. Only six days before the GOSH Games, nine GOSH patients and three members of hospital staff were lucky enough to take part in the official Olympics Opening Ceremony. On 27 July 2012, the 12 children and staff took to the stage in a section of the ceremony which celebrated the UK’s healthcare system. Jane Collins, Chief Executive said: “We are so grateful to Danny Boyle and his incredible team for inviting the hospital to be involved in the Opening Ceremony for London 2012. It is
a wonderful honour to be part of such a historic event for London and for the whole of the country.” Information: Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is one of the world’s leading centres for treating sick children, with the widest range of specialists under one roof in the UK. With the UCL Institute of Child Health, we are the largest centre for paediatric research outside the US, and play a key role in training children’s health specialists for the future. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children treated over 1,400 inpatients and over 9,000 outpatients from the Middle East in 2010/11. To learn more about the International and Private Patients (IPP) Service, its latest medical news and updates and to meet the team, please visit www.gosh.com.kw
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WHAT’S ON
SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! This summer, let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net
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Competitions in Patriotic songs ndo-Kuwait Friendship Society, Kuwait (www.indokuwaitfriendshipsociety.com) is planning to conduct competitions in Indian and Kuwaiti Patriotic songs. This is the first time in Kuwait, an Indian Association is organizing contests in “Patriotic Songs” for both Indian and Kuwaiti School students. The first 3 places will be declared separately by Judges who are experts in Indian and Kuwaiti Patriotic songs. Several prizes and awards will be handed over for the winning schools. Pradeep Rajkumar and A K S Abdul Nazar said that IKFS wants let our children learn what they mean as a “Patriotic” to their home country. 4 pages of spot Essay competition related to “Patriotism” also will be held in the same day as a spot registration. 1 Girl and 1 Boy student from each School can participate in the ESSAY contest. Dr. Mohamed Tareq, Chairman of the First Indian Model School in Kuwait “ Salmiya Indian Model School (SIMS) already confirmed as a Co-Sponsor of the Program.
Khaima Mall hosts Girgian
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haima Mall recently organized a traditional Girgian celebration on August 2 and 3 in Jahra. Hundreds of children gathered at the mall to enjoy a variety of Girgian treats along with a complete entertainment program and cultural activities. The children as well as adults had the opportunity to participate in the different games and quizzes to win exciting prizes. Traditional Girgian songs, cartoon characters, face painting and magic balloons added to the fun atmosphere of the event. At the end of the program, the management of Khaima Mall along with store owners, presented the children with gifts and Girgian. Tarek Al Awadhi, Manager of Khaima Mall highlighted that the mall is driving efforts to maximize activities and services geared towards the residents of the Jahra Governorate. He also wished everyone on the occasion of Ramadan and looked forward to seeing more people enjoying family outings at the mall.
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Aware Centre he AWARE Management is glad to inform you that Summer 3 Arabic language courses will begin on August 12, 2012 until September 26, 2012. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed & courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. We cater to teachers, travelers & those working in the private business sector. Arabic classes at the AWARE Center are unique because students are provided with the chance to practice their Arabic through various social activities that aim at bringing Arabs and Westerners together.
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AWARE Arabic courses highlights * Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics * Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic * Combine language learning with cultural insights * Taught in multi-nationality group settings * Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs. For more information log onto: www.aware.com.kw.
Attention Kids! EF VBS 12 starting from Aug 24, 2012. Six Exciting days of singing, games & bible stories for children of all ages. HURRY Limited Seats. Register Online www.cefkuwait.org.
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India’s Flag Hoisting Ceremony n the occasion of the Independence Day of India, a Flag Hoisting Ceremony will take place at the Indian Embassy premises on Arabian Gulf Street at 0700 hours on Wednesday, August 15, 2012. The flag hoisting will be followed by the reading of the message of the Honorable President of India and singing of patriotic songs. All Indian nationals are cordially invited to attend the function. The customary Open House Reception after the ceremony is not being held this year in view of the holy month of Ramadan.
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Safat Home hosts Girgian afat Home, Kuwait’s ultimate destination for furniture hosted a special Girgian evening celebration at Safat Home’s new store in Shuwaikh on August 4th sharing the Ramadan spirit and joy it brings to all. This year, Safat Homes Girgan event was filled with exciting entertainment, music and traditional performances creating a true Ramadan atmosphere engaging all our attendees in exciting games and competitions, where winners were rewarded a variety of different prizes. Each child had the chance to enter the sign up and win
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draw for a chance to win gift vouchers and enjoy a new shopping experience at our showroom in Shuwaikh. By the end of the fun-filled evening each child was presented with Girgian goodies which included delicious sweets and chocolates. We made sure no one went back home empty handed. Natasha Akil, Safat Home -Marketing manager said: “I would like to wish everyone a Ramadan Mubarak, the Holy month of Ramadan is a time where families and children enjoy traditional themed activities, and since the event
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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20
service centre. Safat Home carries the largest collection of furniture and accessories for children and adults under one roof in Kuwait. To stay updated with our latest competitions and promotions connect with us on facebook, twitter @safat_home & instagram. For assistance or enquires please call customers service on 1838883. Ramadan Mubarak everyone!
IKEA offers exciting Iftar menu KEA Kuwait continues to be one of the most desired destinations for Iftar as it offers a diverse and delicious menu in celebration of the Holy month of Ramadan at its restaurant. Shoppers visiting the store can enjoy specially prepared Ramadan delicacies by the in-house chefs. Each day guarantees a special dish on offer for shoppers. Each of the Iftar meals comes with Lentil soup, Laban, Arabic sweets and dates.
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Burgan Bank celebrates Girgian with the special care complex urgan Bank recently celebrated Girgian at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor’s special care complex. The bank’s famous “BuBa” Kids Account character welcomed children, orphans as well as the elderly with a range of Girgi’an boxes, as well as other forms of entertainment that highlighted the importance and true spirit of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Burgan Bank continues to support the different segments across the Kuwaiti society. The bank’s corporate social responsibility portfolio continues to grow with a wide array of initiatives that demonstrate its leadership as a financial institution that is socially dedicated.
this year has taken place at our new Safat Home branch in Shuwaikh ,we urge parents and their children to join this exciting time, and to benefit from our great Ramadan Extravaganza offers along with our scratch & win offers to get a chance to win KD 1000 for every 100 KD spent.” We are pleased to host a Girgian event every year, it has become apart of Safat homes tradition to celebrate Girgian with our children for it brings us joy to see them smiling. Safat home is located in Al-Rai, 4th Ring Road at Safat Al-Ghanim and Shuwaikh, near Alghanim
‘Leniency of Islam’ An unprecedented initiative of KTV2 (English channel) is the new program by the name ‘Leniency of Islam’ presented by Shaikh Musaad Alsane and directed by Hamid Al-Turkait. The program is mainly meant to address the expatriates living in Kuwait. Religious questions are received through the program email qislam@tv.gov.kw and sms can be sent to- 97822021 and answered by the lecturer and Imam in Awqaf Ministry Shaikh Musaad Alsane - a Master Degree holder in Sharia and fiqih from Kuwait University. So don’t forget to watch the program every Friday at 1:00 pm. Registration for Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament begins Once again this year, the stage is set for the fourth annual ‘Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament’ to be held from August 3 to 9 at the Kazma Sporting Club, Adailiya. Abdulrahim Al-Awadi, the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee has announced that doors are now open for registration to all those who are interested in participating, stating that the deadline for registration will be August 1. The participation in this tournament is open to all and will fall under three categories this year. The first category is for amateurs from
The complete Iftar menu comes at even lower prices this year, with just 2.250 KD per person and in addition to the Iftar menu the IKEA restaurant Swedish specialities are also served during the Holy month of Ramadan. For the entire month of Ramadan, IKEA Restaurant and CafÈ is open to customers 30 minutes prior to Iftar. IKEA Kuwait urges everyone to visit its authentic Ramadan tent to enjoy the last few days of Ramadan with their
family and friends. For more information on the daily offers, customers can call 18 40 408 or log onto www.ikea.com.kw or check https://www.facebook.com/ikeakuwait.
ages 17 and above, second category is for professional players from ages 20 and above and the third category is for ladies 17 and above. Following its last three years of grand success, the 4th annual Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament is being organized during Ramadan for squash lovers who will have an opportunity to practice the sport while being encouraged to develop their skills in a healthy, competitive and social environment. All details pertaining to the tournament and means to participate can be found on the tournaments facebook page under ‘Ramadan Stars Squash Tourney’ or follow the official twitter page @RamadanStars for updates. The registration is taking place at GO SPORT store located at The Avenues Mall. Alawadi also pointed out the great interest the ‘Ramadan Stars Squash tournament’ received from the private sector, where companies took the initiative in sponsoring the tournament. Alawadi expressed his gratitude and thanks to Kazma Sporting Clun, Go Sport, Comtel, Vio, Unite Colors and Alawadi Photography guaranteeing unique prizes for all winners.
days a week in the mornings from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm and in the evenings from 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm. On this occasion, Burgan Bank extends its best wishes to everyone during the holy month of Ramadan.
Burgan Bank announces branch timings for Ramadan Burgan Bank announced its new branch timings which will be applicable all throughout the holy month of Ramadan. All Burgan Bank branches will commence work in one shift from 10 am to 1:30 pm. Additionally, the Airport branch will be open seven
KIB announces Ramadan working hours Kuwait International Bank has announced its working hours during the holy month of Ramadan in a press statement released by the bank stating: “We would like to congratulate our valued customers on the start of the holy month of Ramadan, and we are glad to announce that the bank’s working hours will be from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm at the head offices and its 18 branches distributed around Kuwait.” Similar to every year, KIB services and products will be accessible to all customers during the bank’s working hours, and around the clock customers can perform their banking transactions and submit their enquiries through Al-Dawli Weyak which offers a dedicated 24/7 call center and can accessed from anywhere around the world. KIB customers can also use Al-Dawli Online and SMS Banking to further manage their accounts and banking needs around the clock. For more information on KIB’s services and products, please visit the bank’s website on www.kib.com.kw or check the latest updates on www.facebook.com/aldawlibank or follow us on Twitter @alDawliBank.
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WHAT’S ON
Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian ConsulateGeneral in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm ■■■■■■■
EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE
Eid Al-Fitr festivities at Marina Hotel Kuwait n the spirit of togetherness and harmony that marks Eid celebrations, Marina Hotel Kuwait extends its warmest greetings to the guests and their families. The hotel has unveiled a rich choice of culinary flavors, family entertainment and special room packages to make this Eid truly memorable. The festivity commences with bountiful Eid Al-Fitr offerings. Guests are invited to enjoy the flavors from around the world. Experience a memorable journey while sharing this special time with
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friends and family. Start your morning with steaming coffee and delicious breakfast at The Six Palms Restaurant and indulge yourself during dinner while savoring on the International Buffet filled with Oriental specialties and an Oriental band performance. Watch authentic innovations spring to life inside the Atlantis Restaurant with the finest lunch buffet dishes from around the world. Marina Hotel has planned special programs for children of all ages to participate in the Eid cele-
brations. With the Marina Kids Club program they have an opportunity to benefit from the various fun filled activities along with the Kids Club entertainers which include games for adults and kids, movie viewing, football, volleyball, basketball, bouncy castles, face painting, and much more. The hotel also invites you to celebrate Eid Al Fitr with special room packages starting from KD 77 with complimentary buffet breakfast. They can take the opportunity to relax in the luxurious
rooms and benefit from the hotels various facilities and amenities. They will have access to the state of the art Coral Reef Health Club, pool and beach. Head towards Marina Hotel this holiday season as it will feature Eid specials that will appeal to the finer tastes of guests. Enjoy all the enticing offers and make your family’s Eid holiday a memorable event.
The Embassy of Argentina requests all Argentinean citizens in Kuwait to proceed to our official email ekuwa@mrecic.gov.ar in order to register or update contact information. The embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the embassy. The registration process helps the Argentinean Government to contact and assist Argentineans living abroad in case of any emergency. ■■■■■■■
EMBASSY OF BRITAIN Consular section at the British Embassy will be starting an online appointment booking system for our consular customers from Sunday, 01 July 2012. All information including how to make an appointment is now available on the embassy website. In addition, there is also a “Consular Appointment System” option under Quick links on the right hand side on the homepage, which should take you to the “Consular online booking appointment system” main page. Please be aware that from 01 July 2012, we will no longer accept walk-in customers for legalisation, notarial services and certificates (birth, death and marriages). If you have problems accessing the system or need to make an appointment for nonnotarial consular issues or have a consular emergency, please call 2259 4355/7/8 or email us on consularenquirieskuwait@fco.gov.uk. If you require consular assistance out of office hours (working hours: 0730-l430 hrs), please contact the Embassy on 2259 4320. ■■■■■■■
EMBASSY OF FRANCE
Enjoy your Eid at Movenpick Hotel njoy the holiday of Eid El-Fitr at Movenpick Hotel Free Trade Zone, where a diverse range of shows and parades that satisfy all tastes and include discounts on accommodation and restaurants, are available. This Eid enjoy a unique 4 days and 3 nights at unbeatable prices, including breakfast and service charges and with 20% discounts at Bays Restaurant, during their stay. Renowned for its panoramic view overlooking the hotel’s swimming pools, guests can enjoy lavish buffets for the 3 meals at Bays
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International Restaurant, as well as a sumptuous A La Carte menu of continental dishes. Furthermore, Movenpick Hotel Kuwait guests have the freedom to choose from the hotels’ 21 air conditioned tents at the Garden Restaurant, where generous Lebanese dishes are served to family and friends with live oriental band music and flavored Hubble - bubble throughout Eid days. Kids were on Movenpick’s Eid agenda this season. Surprising activities with lots of entertainment and fun await them on the first days of
Eid. From Baroue characters, a Bouncy Castle to face painting, in addition to many valuable prizes and buffets, full of children’s favorite dishes. Movenpick Hotel Kuwait is the perfect spot for spending the Eid Holiday with your family and children in an atmosphere of fun and joy, with a five-star Swiss service.
Eid brings unforgettable color and vibrancy to The Regency s Ramadan comes to a close and the much loved festival of Eid AlFitr approaches, The Regency invites family and friends to celebrate this magical time with a range of exclusive offers and fabulous entertainment! Unforgettable moments await guests at Silk Road where an endless premium buffet offers an extensive array of delicious regional and international cuisines. Watch the culinary action at over a dozen live cooking stations; taste freshly grilled meat and seafood; mouthwatering hot and cold mezze and the all time favorites such as the enormous Ouzi (whole roast lamb on saffron rice) and the traditional homemade Arabic sweets, not forgetting a choice of plenty of international desserts and refreshments. While parents and family members relax, children of all ages can enjoy no end of complimentary activities in the elegant surrounds of the restaurant, including face painting and magic shows. Kids can have fun outside at the bouncy castle or simply enjoy meeting a host of friendly cartoon characters. The Regency’s General Manager, Riaz
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Mahmood commented “Eid is a time for families and friends to gather and enjoy that feeling of community and gratitude; it is a moment to reflect on the
innumerable bounties that we all enjoy and to stop and be thankful”. The General Manager also added that he wished all guests, past and present, a
very happy Eid! After Eid al-Fitr, The Regency will be relaunching a number of its famous gastronomic delights such as its Thursday
where white-gloved ‘Tea Butlers’ serve exclusive Gryphon teas - organic blends of leaf tea, bush tea, fruit or floral tisanes. A variety of hot and cold snacks accompany this delightful High Tea including homemade scones with clotted cream and jam, and irresistible desserts, all are served daily from 5pm8pm. Apart from the culinary fun and festivities those who wish to enjoy The Regency’s superlative facilities can enjoy a number of exclusive offers on rooms and suites (which is subject to availability and change without prior notice)*. Included is free access to the swimming pools, white sand beaches and the exclusive, women-only recreational area known as The Ladies’ Lounge. A perfect way to end the summer! Some of the late summer room and suite offers are strictly limited. Kindly call (+965) 2576 6666 or visit www.theregencykuwait.com for more details of any of the above
Asian buffet or unbeatable Friday Brunch. As the heat of summer fades, those in search of tranquility or teatime treats, can enjoy High Tea at Al Liwan
Celebrate Eid at Sheraton, Four Points n the occasion of Eid Al Fitr Al Mubarak, Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait are offering guests a variety of the finest global cuisines to titillate every palate, to celebrate the Eid holidays with their families and friends whilst listening to live music that captures the happiness of Eid. Enjoy refined Italian dining at Riccardo, relish the taste of exotic India at Bukhara, take pleasure in matchless Lebanese cuisine in the warm hospitality of Le Tarbouche and experience extravagant Iranian dishes at Shahrayar. Al Hambra at
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Sheraton and Asseef at Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait offer spectacular Eid buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition to live cooking stations such as barbeque and Saj baker to name a few at the swimming pool at the Sheraton Hotel. For a light snack, coffee or tea in a sophisticated atmosphere, The English Tea Lounge is the perfect venue to head to, available now in two locations namely at the Sheraton Kuwait and at Kuwait’s biggest shopping mall “The Avenues”.
The French Embassy in Kuwait will be closed to the public on Wednesday August 15, 2012 on the occasion of the Assumption. On the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, the French Embassy in Kuwait will be closed on the first and the second day of Eid. ■■■■■■■
EMBASSY OF INDIA During the holy month of Ramadan, the office timings of the Indian Passport and Visa Service Centres of BLS International Visa Services Co, Kuwait, situated at (i) Emad Commercial Centre, Basement Floor, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Sharq, Kuwait, and (ii) Mujamma Unood, 4th floor, Office No. 25-26 Makka Street, Fahaheel, Kuwait, will be from 8.00 am - 3.00 pm from Saturday to Thursday (i.e. six days a week). Tokens for submission of applications will NOT be issued after 2.00 pm. Delivery of passports and visas will be from 11.00 am onwards. Embassy of India, Kuwait, will maintain its usual working hours. ■■■■■■■
EMBASSY OF KOREA The Embassy of the Republic of Korea and its consular section will be closed on Wednesday, August 15, 2012 to observe Korean National Liberation Day. Work will be resumed at the Embassy on Thursday, August 16, 2012. ■■■■■■■
EMBASSY OF MEXICO The Embassy of Mexico is pleased to inform that it is located in CLIFFS Complex, Villa 6, Salmiya, block 9, Baghdad street, Jadda Lane 7. The working hours for consular issues are from 9:00 to 12:00 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 14:00 to 15:00 hours for lunch break. The Embassy of Mexico kindly requests all Mexicans citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the e-mail: embkuwait@sre.gob.mx in order to register or update contact information. Other consultations or/and appointments could be done by telephone or fax: (+965) 2573 1952 ■■■■■■■
EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, AlSalaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, e-mail:myankuwait11@gmai1.com ■■■■■■■
EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN
On the occasion of Pakistan Independence Day on August 14, 2012, a flag hoisting ceremony will be held at the premises of embassy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Jabriya, at 8:00 am. ■■■■■■■
EMBASSY OF PHILIPPINES
In reference to our announcement last July 14 2012 announcing the transfer and opening of our new Philippine Overseas Labor Office due on August 1 , we regret to inform Filipinos in Kuwait that due to unavoidable circumstances, the August 1 opening will be moved to new date August 5. POLO will be closed to public transactions on July 30, 31 and August 1 & 2. For emergency please contact the POLO hotline at Tel 99558527.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
TV PROGRAMS
00:45 01:40 02:35 03:30 04:25 05:20 05:45 06:10 07:00 07:25 Baker 08:15 08:40 09:10 10:05 11:00 11:25 11:55 12:50 13:45 14:40 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:25 18:20 19:15 19:40 20:10 20:35 21:05 22:00 22:55 23:50
I Was Bitten Untamed & Uncut Dogs 101: Specials Cats 101 Wildest Africa Monkey Life Animal Battlegrounds Vet On The Loose Karina: Wild On Safari Weird Creatures With Nick Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Breed All About It Michaela’s Animal Road Trip Wildest Africa Wildlife SOS Orangutan Island Animal Cops Houston Wild Animal Orphans Animal Precinct Wildest Africa Karina: Wild On Safari Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Growing Up... Cats 101 Dogs 101 Wildlife SOS Orangutan Island Monkey Life Animal Battlegrounds Wildest Africa Rescue Vet Wildlife SOS Animal Cops Houston
00:35 Come Dine With Me 01:30 Gok’s Fashion Fix 02:20 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 03:10 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 04:05 MasterChef 05:00 Living In The Sun 06:35 MasterChef 07:00 MasterChef Australia 08:15 Gok’s Fashion Fix 09:05 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 09:55 Bargain Hunt 10:40 Antiques Roadshow 11:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 12:20 10 Years Younger 13:10 Holmes On Homes 13:55 Holmes On Homes 14:45 Antiques Roadshow 15:40 Bargain Hunt 16:25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:10 Come Dine With Me 18:00 Rachel’s Favourite Food For Living 18:30 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 18:55 Rick Stein’s French Odyssey 19:25 James Martin’s Champagne 19:50 Come Dine With Me 20:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 21:25 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 23:45 Holmes On Homes
00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:00 05:25 05:50 06:00 06:15 06:30 06:55 07:20 07:45 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:05
Puppy In My Pocket Tom & Jerry Kids Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Flintstones Pink Panther And Pals Looney Tunes Popeye Classics Dexter’s Laboratory Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes The Scooby Doo Show Johnny Bravo The Flintstones The Jetsons Wacky Races The Garfield Show Tom & Jerry Kids Bananas In Pyjamas Baby Looney Tunes Gerald McBoing Boing Ha Ha Hairies A Pup Named Scooby-Doo The Garfield Show Johnny Bravo Dexter’s Laboratory Pink Panther And Pals The Scooby Doo Show
10:30Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-Doo 10:55 Dastardly And Muttley 11:15 The Flintstones 11:40 Wacky Races 12:00 Jelly Jamm 12:15 Baby Looney Tunes 12:40 Ha Ha Hairies 12:55 Gerald McBoing Boing 13:20 Bananas In Pyjamas 13:35 Puppy In My Pocket 14:00 Looney Tunes 14:50 Scooby Doo Where Are You! 15:15Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-Doo 15:40 Dastardly And Muttley 16:00 Tom & Jerry 16:40 Pink Panther And Pals 17:30 The Garfield Show 18:10 Johnny Bravo 18:35 Dexter’s Laboratory 19:00 Jelly Jamm 19:15 Baby Looney Tunes 19:40 Ha Ha Hairies 19:55 Gerald McBoing Boing 20:20 Bananas In Pyjamas 20:35 Dexter’s Laboratory 21:00 Johnny Bravo 21:25 Pink Panther And Pals 21:50 Tom & Jerry 22:15 The Garfield Show 22:40 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 23:05 Popeye 23:20 The Jetsons 23:45 Duck Dodgers
00:30 Bakugan: New Vestroia 01:20 Powerpuff Girls 02:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 03:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 03:25 Ben 10 03:50 Adventure Time 04:15 Powerpuff Girls 04:40 Generator Rex 05:05 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:55 Angelo Rules 06:00 The Marvelous Misadventures... 06:25 Casper’s Scare School 07:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 07:15 Adventure Time 07:40 Johnny Test 08:05 Grim Adventures Of... 08:55 Courage The Cowardly Dog 09:45 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 10:10 Redakai: Conquer The Kairu 10:35 Powerpuff Girls 11:25 Chowder 12:15 Ed, Edd n Eddy 13:05 Ben 10 13:30 Sym-Bionic Titan 13:55 Foster’s Home For... 14:45 Angelo Rules 15:35 Powerpuff Girls 16:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 16:40 Johnny Test 17:05 Adventure Time 17:30 Regular Show 17:55 Green Lantern: The Animated Series 18:20 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 18:45 Young Justice 19:10 Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge 19:35 Adventure Time 20:00 Ben 10 21:15 Grim Adventures Of... 22:00 Codename: Kid 23:15 Ben 10 23:40 Chowders Next Door 22:50 Ben 10
00:00 00:30 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00
Amanpour World Sport Piers Morgan Tonight World Report Anderson Cooper 360 Piers Morgan Tonight Quest Means Business The Situation Room World Sport African Voices World Report World Sport Talk Asia World Business Today Amanpour World’s Untold Stories World One Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream
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World Business Today International Desk Global Exchange World Sport World’s Untold Stories International Desk Quest Means Business Amanpour
00:15 I Was Bitten 01:10 I Escaped: Real Prison Breaks 01:35 Hillbilly Handfishin’ 02:30 River Monsters 03:25 Robson Green’s Extreme Fishing Challenge 04:20 I Was Bitten 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 American Loggers 07:00 American Chopper 07:50 Mythbusters 08:45 Ultimate Survival 09:40 Border Security 10:05 Auction Kings 10:30 How Do They Do It? 10:55 How It’s Made 11:25 Rattlesnake Republic 12:20 Finding Bigfoot 13:15 Against The Elements 14:10 Border Security 14:35 Auction Kings 15:05 Ultimate Survival 16:00 American Chopper 16:55 Fifth Gear 17:20 American Loggers 18:15 Mythbusters 19:10 How Do They Do It? 19:40 How It’s Made 20:05 Border Security 20:35 Dirty Money 21:00 The Gadget Show 21:30 Daredevils 22:25 Finding Bigfoot 23:20 Moonshiners
00:35 01:25 02:15 03:05 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:50 07:53 08:20 09:40 10:30 15:35 16:00 16:03 16:30 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40
Mighty Ships How Stuff Works Mighty Ships The Gadget Show Scrapheap Challenge How The Universe Works Mighty Ships How Stuff Works Mighty Ships Head Rush Weird Connections Sci-Fi Science Scrapheap Challenge Catch It Keep It The Gadget Show Head Rush Weird Connections Sci-Fi Science How Stuff Works Sport Science How The Universe Works Junk Men Scrapheap Challenge The Gadget Show Junk Men Scrapheap Challenge Sport Science
00:10 01:00 01:50 02:40 03:30 04:20 05:10 06:00 06:15 06:35 06:40 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:10 09:25 09:35 09:45 10:00 10:25 10:50 11:15 11:40 12:05
Fairly Odd Parents Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Fish Hooks Timon And Pumbaa Cars Toons So Random Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Phineas And Ferb Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Handy Manny The Hive Mouk Jonas Los Angeles So Random Hannah Montana Forever Fish Hooks Jake & Blake Sonny With A Chance
12:30 12:55 13:20 13:45 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:40 17:00 18:40 19:05 19:30 20:20 20:44 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:55 23:45
00:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 00:55 Style Star 01:25 15 Most Infamous Child Star Mugshots 03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 THS 06:00 50 Cutest Child Stars: All Grown Up 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Scouted 10:15 THS 12:05 E! News 13:05 Ice Loves Coco 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 E!es 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 17:55 E! News 18:55 E!es 19:55 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 20:55 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 21:25 Giuliana & Bill 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Fashion Police
00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Unwrapped 00:55 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 01:45 Extra Virgin 02:35 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 03:25 Grill It! With Bobby Flay 03:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:15 Meat & Potatoes 04:40 Unwrapped 05:05 Unique Eats 05:30 Chopped 06:10 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 06:35 Extra Virgin 07:00 Food Network Challenge 07:50 Unique Sweets 08:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 08:40 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:05 Cooking For Real 09:30 Hungry Girl 09:55 Food (Ography) 10:45 Unwrapped 11:10 Unique Eats 11:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 12:00 Chopped 12:50 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 13:15 Cooking For Real 13:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:05 Hungry Girl 14:30 Unique Sweets 14:55 Paula’s Best Dishes 15:20 Unwrapped 15:45 Iron Chef America 16:35 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 17:50 Unique Eats 18:15 Food (Ography) 19:05 Unique Sweets 19:30 Food Network Challenge 20:20 Iron Chef America 21:10 Guy’s Big Bite 22:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 22:50 Outrageous Food 23:40 Meat & Potatoes
00:30 01:20 02:05 02:55 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 Jones 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40
Arlington Road ON OSN ACTION HD
Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas And Ferb Timon And Pumbaa Suite Life On Deck Austin & Ally Shake It Up Phineas And Ferb Jessie A.N.T. Farm High School Musical 2 Jessie A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie So Random Cars Toons Suite Life On Deck Jonas Los Angeles Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Kim Possible
The Haunted Crime Scene Psychics Deadly Sins Scorned: Crimes Of Passion Extreme Forensics The Haunted Crime Scene Psychics Disappeared Forensic Detectives FBI Case Files Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry? True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Street Patrol FBI Case Files Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry? On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Forensic Detectives FBI Case Files Real Emergency Calls Mystery ER Who On Earth Did I Marry? On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Fatal Encounters Killer Kids Dr G: Medical Examiner
00:00 The Green Way Up 01:00 Madventures 02:00 Long Way Down 03:00 Chasing Time 04:00 Treks In A Wild World 05:00 Meet The Natives: USA 06:00 The Green Way Up 07:00 Madventures 008:00Long Way Down 09:00 Chasing Time 10:00 Treks In A Wild World 11:00 Meet The Natives: USA 12:00 The Green Way Up 13:00 Madventures 14:00 Long Way Down 15:00 Chasing Time 116:00The Best Job In The World 17:00 Meet The Natives: USA 18:00 Around The World For Free
19:00 Travel Madness 19:30 Travel Madness 20:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 20:30 One Man & His Campervan 21:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 22:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 23:00 Deadliest Journeys 2 23:30 The Best Job In The World
00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00
The Shining-R Sniper: Reloaded-18 Road To Perdition-18 Friday Night Lights-PG15 Tremors-PG15 Arlington Road-PG15 Inside Out-PG15 Tremors-PG15 Taxi-PG15 Inside Out-PG15 Four Brothers-PG15 Faster-PG15
01:00 Kings Ransom-PG15 02:00 Unmatched-PG15 03:00 The King’s Speech-PG15 05:00 Adventures Of A Teenage Dragonslayer-PG 07:00 Ice Age-FAM 09:00 Kings Ransom-PG15 10:00 Unmatched-PG15 11:00 Like Mike-PG 13:00 Honey 2-PG15 15:00 Last Of The Living-PG15 17:00 The Cry Of The Owl-PG15 19:00 The Company Men-PG15 21:00 Season Of The Witch-PG15 23:00 Bloodworth-18
00:00 Breaking In 00:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 01:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 01:30 Friends 02:30 Seinfeld 03:00 Whitney 03:30 Raising Hope 04:30The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Weird Science 06:00 Friends 06:30 Dharma And Greg 08:30 Whitney 09:00 Weird Science 10:00 The Office 10:30 Dharma And Greg 11:00The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 13:00 Weird Science 13:30 Dharma And Greg 14:00 Raising Hope 14:30 The Office 15:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 16:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 16:30 Friends 18:00 2 Broke Girls 18:30 Perfect Couples 19:00 The Cleveland Show 19:30 The Office 20:00The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Wilfred 22:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 23:00 Seinfeld 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
Criminal Minds Top Gear Specials Grey’s Anatomy Justified Suits Grey’s Anatomy Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street Necessary Roughness The Ellen DeGeneres Show Missing Suits Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Necessary Roughness Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Smallville White Collar Royal Pains House Perception Grey’s Anatomy
01:00 The Craigslist Killer-PG15 03:00 Double Impact-18 05:00 The Librarian: The Curse Of Judas Chalice-PG15 07:00 Time Machine: Rise Of The Morlocks-PG15 09:00 Odysseus: Voyage To The Underworld-PG15 11:00 The Librarian: The Curse Of Judas Chalice-PG15 13:00 True Justice: Dark Vengeance 14:45 Odysseus: Voyage To The Underworld-PG15 16:30 Kingdom Of Heaven-PG15 19:00 Top Gun-PG15 21:00 Faster-PG15 23:00 Sugarhouse-18
00:00 Bob Roberts-PG15 02:00 The Lightkeepers-PG15 04:00 Open Season 3-FAM 06:00 The Prince And Me 4: The Elephant Adventure-PG15 08:00 The Lightkeepers-PG15 10:00 Love And Mary-PG15 12:00 Labor Pains-PG15 14:00 Big Fat Liar-PG 16:00 Love And Mary-PG15 18:00 My Last Five Girlfriends-PG15 20:00 A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song-PG15 22:00 The Lonely Guy-PG15
01:45 Square Grouper-18 03:30 The Horse Whisperer-PG15 06:15 The Headless Woman-PG15 07:45 Sundays At Tiffany’s-PG15 09:15 Strange Culture-PG15 10:45 Eight Below-PG 13:00 Stone Of Destiny-PG15 15:00 Strange Culture-PG15 17:00 Citizen Jane-PG 19:00 Burlesque-PG15 21:00 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind-18 23:00 Tout Ce Qui Brille-PG15
BLOODWORTH ON OSN CINEMA
01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:15
Joe Dirt-PG15 Justice For Natalee Holloway Elevator Girl-PG15 Flash Of Genius-PG15 Kung Fu Panda 2-PG According To Greta-PG15 A Family Thanksgiving-PG15 Get Low-PG15 Kung Fu Panda 2-PG Ceremony-PG15 Real Steel-PG15 Win Win-PG15
00:00 Kung Fu Magoo-FAM 02:00 Emilie Jolie-PG 04:00 Mia And The Migoo-PG 06:00 Good Boy!-PG 08:00 Blue Elephant 2-FAM 10:00 Scooby-Doo! Curse Of The Lake Monster-PG 12:00 Mia And The Migoo-PG 14:00 The Fantastic Adventure Of The Ugly Duckling-FAM 16:00 Young Fisherman-PG 17:30 Scooby-Doo! Curse Of The Lake Monster-PG 19:45 Spy Kids: All The Time In The World-PG 22:00 The Fantastic Adventure Of The Ugly Duckling-FAM
00:00 Olympic Highlights 02:00 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony 05:00 Olympic Highlights 10:00 NRL Premiership 12:00 Super Rugby Highlights 13:00 Olympic Highlights 16:00 Super League 18:00 Trans World Sport 19:00 Olympic Men’s Tennis 21:00 Olympic Highlights
02:30 Super League 04:30 NRL Premiership 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 Trans World Sport 08:00 Super League 10:00 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 11:30 Futbol Mundial 12:00 The PGA Championship 16:30 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 17:00 UFC 150 Prelims 19:00 UFC 150 22:00 WWE SmackDown
00:30 AFL Highlights 01:30 Golfing World 02:30 City Centre Races 05:00 World Match Racing Tour Highlights 06:00 AFL Highlights 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 08:30 AFL Highlights 10:00 Adventure Sports 12:30 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 13:00 Golfing World 14:00 World Match Racing Tour Highlights 15:30 AFL Highlights 16:30 AFL Premiership 19:00 Golfing World 20:00 NRL Full Time 20:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 21:00 Futbol Mundial 21:30 AFL Highlights 22:30 World Match Racing Tour Highlights 23:30 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights
01:00 04:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00
Prizefighter UFC Unleashed WWE NXT WWE Bottom Line NHL Mobil 1 V8 Supercars Extra WWE Bottom Line WWE Vintage Collection V8 Supercars Highlights V8 Supercars Highlights WWE Smackdown WWE NXT WWE Experience UFC 150 Prelims UFC 150
00:00 Pawn Stars 00:30 Storage Wars 01:00 Ax Men 02:00 IRT Deadliest Roads: The Andes 03:00 Pawn Stars 03:30 American Restoration 04:00 Decoded 05:00 Battle 360 06:00 Ax Men 07:00 Pawn Stars 07:30 Storage Wars 08:00 Decoded 09:00 Battle 360 10:00 Pawn Stars 10:30 Storage Wars 11:00 Ax Men 12:00 IRT Deadliest Roads: The Andes 13:00 Pawn Stars 13:30 American Restoration 14:00 Battle 360 15:00 Decoded 16:00 IRT Deadliest Roads: The Andes
00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:20 04:15 06:05 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:55 11:55 12:50 13:20 13:50 14:45 16:35 18:25 19:25 Ever 20:20 22:10 23:05
Jerseylicious Bridalplasty Videofashion Daily Videofashion News How Do I Look? Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? Clean House Videofashion News Videofashion Daily Open House Videofashion News How Do I Look? Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? Clean House Videofashion News Mel B: It’s A Scary World The Amandas How Do I Look? Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane Mel B: It’s A Scary World Lucky’s 10 Biggest Obsessions Big Rich Texas Jerseylicious Chicagolicious
06:00 Kid vs Kat 06:20 Pokemon: Black And White 06:45 Rated A For Awesome 07:10 Kickin It 07:35 Phineas And Ferb 08:25 Pair Of Kings 08:50 Kick Buttowski 09:15 Zeke & Luther 09:40 I’m In The Band 10:05 Phineas And Ferb 10:30 Kid vs Kat 10:55 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 11:20 Aaron Stone 11:45 Rekkit Rabbit 12:10 American Dragon 12:35 Kick Buttowski 13:00 Phineas And Ferb 13:25 I’m In The Band 13:45 Kid vs Kat 14:10 Pair Of Kings 14:35 Zeke & Luther 15:00 Fort Boyard - Ultimate Challenge 15:25 Iron Man Armored Adventures 15:50 Rated A For Awesome 16:15 Kickin It 17:30 Mr. Young 18:00 Pair Of Kings 18:25 Phineas And Ferb 20:05 Zeke & Luther 20:55 Mr. Young 21:20 Aaron Stone 21:45 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 22:10 Phineas And Ferb 22:35 Kid vs Kat 23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am
00:05 00:30 01:45 03:00 04:15 05:30
Buccaneer And Bones Trev Gowdy’s Monster Fish Steve Gruber’s The Wildlife World Class Sports Fishing Trev Gowdy’s Monster Fish Buccaneer And Bones
07:00 Stihl’s Dogs And Logs 08:15 Buccaneer And Bones 09:30 Stihl’s Dogs And Logs 10:45 Jim Shockey’s Hunting Adventures 12:00 Jim Shockey: Hal And Len Edition 13:15 Western Extreme 14:30 Excalibur’s Deer City USA 15:45 Jim Shockey’s Hunting Adventures 17:25 Jim Shockey: Hal And Len Edition 17:50 Jim Shockey: Hal And Len Edition 18:15 Western Extreme
00:15 Little Einsteins 00:40 Jungle Junction 01:10 Little Einsteins 01:30 Special Agent Oso 02:00 Lazytown 02:25 Little Einsteins 02:50 Jungle Junction 03:20 Little Einsteins 03:40 Special Agent Oso 04:10 Lazytown 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Jungle Junction 05:30 Little Einsteins 05:50 Special Agent Oso 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Lazytown 07:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:10 The Hive 08:20 Handy Manny 08:30 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 09:05 The Hive 09:15 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:20 Mouk 09:45 The Hive 09:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10:20 Lazytown 10:45 Art Attack 11:10 Imagination Movers 11:35 Lazytown 12:00 The Hive 12:10 Handy Manny 12:25 Jungle Junction 12:40 Imagination Movers 13:05 The Hive 13:15 Special Agent Oso 13:30 Lazytown 13:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:20 The Hive 14:30 Handy Manny 14:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 15:00 Mouk 15:15 The Hive 15:25 Handy Manny 15:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 15:55 Imagination Movers 16:20 Lazytown 16:45 Art Attack 17:10 Handy Manny 17:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 18:10 Little Einsteins 18:35 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 19:00 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 19:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:25 101 Dalmatians 19:40 Mouk 19:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:20 The Hive 20:30 Engine Nine, Feelin Fine! 20:45 Mouk 21:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 21:25 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 21:40 Special Agent Oso 21:55 Little Einsteins 22:20 Timmy Time 22:30 Jungle Junction 22:45 Handy Manny 22:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 23:20 Special Agent Oso 23:50 Lazytown
00:00 Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid 01:55 The Outfit 03:35 These Wilder Years-PG 05:05 Mogambo-PG 07:00 36 Hours-PG 08:55 Never Let Me Go-FAM 10:25 Welcome To Hard Times-PG 12:05 The Sisters-FAM 13:40 Skyjacked-PG 15:20 Quo Vadis-PG 18:05 They Died With Their Boots On-FAM 20:20 Hooper-PG 22:00 Diner
Classifieds TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION
Airlines QTR JZR RJA GFA UAE ETD OMA FDB MSR RBG QTR KAC DHX JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB IRA ETD GFA UAE MEA MSR MSC JZR KNE JZR MSR KAC KNE QTR SVA RJA KAC QTR ETD JZR UAE UAL SVA GFA JZR JZR ABY KAC SYR KAC KAC KAC MSR MSC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA ALK KLM UAE QTR QTR AIC FDB UAL JZR DLH MSR THY JZR PIA KAC
Arrival Flights on Tuesday 14/8/2012 Flt Route 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 643 MUSCAT 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 3553 ALEXANDRIA 138 DOHA 544 CAIRO 170 BAHRAIN 503 LUXOR 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 416 JAKARTA 206 ISLAMABAD 555 ALEXANDRIA 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 605 ISFAHAN 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 871 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 618 ALEXANDRIA 401 ALEXANDRIA 561 SOHAG 978 JEDDAH 775 JEDDAH 610 CAIRO 514 TEHRAN 472 JEDDAH 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 640 AMMAN 546 ALEXANDRIA 134 DOHA 303 ABU DHABI 324 NAJAF 857 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 510 RIYADH 215 BAHRAIN 177 DUBAI 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 542 CAIRO 341 DAMASCUS 786 JEDDAH 166 PARIS 104 LONDON 624 SOHAG 403 ASSIUT 774 RIYADH 618 DOHA 1702 JEDDAH 674 DUBAI 742 DAMMAM 614 BAHRAIN 572 MUMBAI 389 KOZHIKODE 61 DUBAI 647 MUSCAT 402 BEIRUT 146 DOHA 221 BAHRAIN 229 COLOMBO 415 AMSTERDAM 859 DUBAI 136 DOHA 6130 DOHA 981 CHENNAI 59 DUBAI 981 BAHRAIN 239 AMMAN 636 FRANKFURT 614 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 539 CAIRO 205 LAHORE 1766 JEDDAH
Time 0:20 0:50 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:50 3:10 3:20 3:20 3:25 4:10 5:00 6:05 6:15 6:30 6:35 7:15 7:35 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:15 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:20 9:30 10:00 10:45 10:55 11:25 12:00 12:25 13:00 13:20 13:30 13:40 14:15 14:25 14:30 14:55 15:05 15:15 16:35 16:40 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:15 18:30 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:55 19:00 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:25 19:30 19:30 19:35 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:35 21:50 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:35 23:40 23:40 23:59 23:59
Airlines AIC UAL DLH JZR MSR KLM PIA THY UAE FDB OMA RBG ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR RJA GFA JZR KAC BAW ABY KAC UAE QTR KAC FDB ETD IRA GFA KAC KAC JZR MEA UAE MSR MSC KAC JZR JZR KAC KNE MSR KAC KNE SVA KAC RJA KAC QTR KAC KAC JZR ETD JZR QTR UAE GFA ABY UAL KAC SVA JZR KAC KAC SYR MSR MSC KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC GFA DHX ALK KLM KAC UAE QTR KAC KAC QTR AXB FDB QTR KAC JZR
Depature Flights on Tuesday 14/8/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA 981 WASHINGTON 637 FRANKFURT 554 ALEXANDRIA 615 CAIRO 411 AMSTERDAM 240 SIALKOT 773 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 644 MUSCAT 3554 ALEXANDRIA 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 774 JEDDAH 545 ALEXANDRIA 156 LONDON 126 SHARJAH 513 TEHRAN 856 DUBAI 133 DOHA 101 LONDON 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 604 ISFAHAN 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 776 JEDDAH 405 BEIRUT 872 DUBAI 623 SOHAG 404 ASSIUT 785 JEDDAH 324 AL NAJAF 176 DUBAI 1701 JEDDAH 979 JEDDAH 611 CAIRO 673 DUBAI 473 JEDDAH 501 JEDDAH 617 DOHA 641 AMMAN 773 RIYADH 135 DOHA 613 BAHRAIN 741 DAMMAM 538 CAIRO 304 ABU DHABI 238 AMMAN 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 128 SHARJAH 982 BAHRAIN 1765 JEDDAH 511 RIYADH 266 BEIRUT 1703 JEDDAH 283 DHAKA 342 DAMASCUS 607 LUXOR 402 ALEXANDRIA 361 COLOMBO 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 343 CHENNAI 351 KOCHI 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 543 CAIRO 222 BAHRAIN 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 415 DAMMAM 381 DELHI 860 DUBAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 147 DOHA 390 MANGALORE 60 DUBAI 6131 DOHA 411 BANGKOK 502 LUXOR
Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:30 0:35 0:55 1:00 2:15 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:00 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:00 6:50 7:05 7:55 8:10 8:25 9:05 9:15 9:40 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:20 10:45 11:30 11:45 11:50 11:55 12:20 12:25 13:00 13:10 13:15 13:20 13:40 14:00 14:30 15:05 15:15 15:45 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:15 16:30 16:30 16:50 17:20 17:30 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:30 18:35 18:50 19:15 19:30 19:30 19:55 20:00 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:55 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:20 23:40 23:55
Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)
ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for a bachelor, with an Indian family at Salmiya near Edee store. Contact: 97947562. (C 4104) One room available for sharing separate bath + sharing kitchen available at Abbassiya near Indian Learners School from 1st Sept, preferably ladies with a Keralite family. Mob: 99821508. (C 4105) 14-8-2012
SITUATION VACANT A Kuwaiti family looks to hire a driver with a Kuwaiti license, transferable visa and good knowledge of Kuwait areas. Contact: 99401126. (C 4103) 12-8-2012
FOR SALE Toyota Prado 2006, golden color, 6 clr, full options, KD 4,900. Tel: 50699345. (C 4096) Mitsubishi Galant 2011, excellent condition, km 20000, KD 2,950. Tel: 66729295. (C 4097) 7-8-2012
CHANGE OF NAME I, Rejimol Joseph holder of Indian Passport No: J5394310 hereby change my name REJIMOL JOSEPH PARAMMAVIL. (C 4098) 8-8-2012 I, Rajee Ramanathan Koolathu, daughter of Koolath Velappan Ramanathan holder of Indian Passport No. K1677756 have embraced Islam religion with new name Fathima Raja. (C 4095) 6-8-2012
THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988 Prayer timings Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:
03:50 11:53 15:28 18:30 19:53
GOVERNMENT WEB SITES Kuwait Parliament www.majlesalommah.net Ministry of Interior www.moi.gov.kw Public Authority for Civil Information www.paci.gov.kw Kuwait News Agency www.kuna.net.kw Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affair www.islam.gov.kw Ministry of Energy (Oil) www.moo.gov.kw Ministry of Energy (Electricity and Water) www.energy.govt.kw Public Authority for Housing Welfare www.housing.gov.kw Ministry of Justice www.moj.gov.kw Ministry of Communications www.moc.kw Supreme Council for Planning and Development www.scpd.gov.kw
The Public Institution for Social Security www.pifss.gov.kw Public Authority of Industry www.pai.gov.kw Prisoners of War Committee www.pows.org.kw Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mofa.gov.kw Kuwait Municipality www.municipality.gov.kw Kuwait Electronic Government www.e.gov.kw Ministry of Finance www.mof.gov.kw Ministry of Commerce and Industry www.moci.gov.kw Ministry of Education www.moe.edu.kw Ministry of Information www.moinfo.gov.kw Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation www.awqaf.org
34
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
stars CROSSWORD 767
STAR TRACK
CALVIN & HOBBES
Aries (March 21-April 19) You combine zeal and courage with ambition and self-control. You can accomplish much towards your goals through careful, hard work. Officials and people in authority give you their support and you can deal effectively with business and professional affairs now. You feel an increased self-confidence and courage and may perform feats you never before thought were possible. You can command the support of others and advance your goals through leadership and generosity. You take pleasure through physical activity, such as sports, games and dancing. Tonight you may find a friend or relative to help you practice a new dance step or some other talent you want to perfect. This can be a fun evening.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) This can be a strange, chaotic time when you may be tempted to avoid responsibilities. Get some perspective here—this time will pass, but you could make it worse with apathy. Your return to a more positive outlook will depend on your perseverance and positive determination. As things begin to improve, and they will, you will gain a focus. A business deal this afternoon will require careful attention. Examine all the contracts and make sure that you have followed all the steps that are necessary in your line of business. Get outside and exercise or just enjoy the landscape and the diversity of it all. After the workday is over there will be plenty of opportunities to relax and enjoy the company of friends or family in a noresponsibilities type of evening.
POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. The unit of frequency. 4. Resembling or characteristic of a prophet or prophecy. 10. A number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge. 13. The basic unit of money in Romania. 14. A mountain peak in the Andes in Bolivia (21,391 feet high). 15. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey). 16. A person who is expert in the use of a bow and arrow. 18. Positioned so as to be ready for confrontation or danger. 20. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984). 22. An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members. 25. The syllable naming the fourth (subdominant) note of the diatonic scale in solmization. 27. A small restaurant where drinks and snacks are sold. 28. Exhibiting or restored to vigorous good health. 32. A state in the Rocky Mountains. 33. A group of African language in the Niger-Congo group spoken from the Ivory Coast east to Nigeria. 34. United States songwriter and playwright famous for his patriotic songs (1878-1942). 35. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits. 37. A small ball with a hole through the middle. 40. Gully or streambed in North Africa and the Middle East that remains dry except during rainy season. 41. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology. 43. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens. 45. A piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep. 46. Having undesirable or negative qualities. 47. A pale rose-colored variety of the ruby spinel. 50. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else. 53. A river in southeastern Australia that flows generally northwest to join the Darling River. 57. An independent group of closely related Chadic languages spoken in the area between the Biu-Mandara and East Chadic languages. 58. Fraught with extreme danger. 60. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery. 61. The bureau of the Treasury Department responsible for tax collections. 63. On or toward the lee. 64. A Kwa language spoken by the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria. 65. Make amendments to. 66. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill. DOWN 1. Wearing or provided with clothing. 2. A beautiful and graceful girl. 3. The basic unit of money in Ecuador. 4. One thousandth of a second. 5. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine. 6. A Mid-Atlantic state on the Atlantic. 7. A hard gray lustrous metallic element that is highly corrosion-resistant. 8. Take in, also metaphorically. 9. Long pod containing small beans and sweetish edible pulp. 10. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America. 11. American novelist (1909-1955). 12. An informal term for a father. 17. A diacritical mark (an inverted circumflex) placed above certain letters (such as c) to indicate pronunciation. 19. Used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement. 21. Little known Kamarupan languages. 23. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike. 24. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light. 26. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind. 29. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC). 30. Remove with or as if with a ladle. 31. A town in north central Oklahoma. 36. Tall feather palm of northern Brazil with hard-shelled nuts yielding valuable oil and a kind of vegetable ivory. 38. The tide while water is flowing out. 39. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters. 42. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska. 44. A decree that prohibits something. 48. American professional baseball player who hit more home runs than Babe Ruth (born in 1934). 49. The capital and largest city of Yemen. 50. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light. 51. A number or letter indicating quality (especially of a student's performance). 52. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls. 54. A public area set aside as a pedestrian walk. 55. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum. 56. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy. 59. Either extremity of something that has length. 62. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) The first thing you are greeted with this morning in the working world will probably be the interesting challenges. Although you may complain a bit when no one is around to hear you, you will most likely rub your hands together and become excited about looking for a solution. You like solving problems and superiors see this in you. If you do not want an abundance of difficult cases to solve, you must ask for less of a variety of work. You have an increased selfconfidence to try new things and you are inventive to pursue your goals for greater independence. This is a favorable time for enterprises in the technology and entertainment fields. It is also a good time to consider a job change or a move. Humanitarian enterprises grab your attention.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) You have a confident, optimistic outlook today and others can see that you are determined to tend to the business side of life. With only a few interruptions, you are able to move along relatively well—making a great deal of progress. Sales and legal matters are favored today. This afternoon or during the noon break you may decide to purchase an expensive item. This may be an item that will increase in value within a short time. You may feel pressures to expand into a more affluent lifestyle, but if you stop to think about the upkeep, you could reconsider. Talking with friends this afternoon, you may change your ideas or at least think about changing your thoughts regarding religious, cultural or educational viewpoints. You may want to reschedule travel plans.
NON SEQUITUR
Leo (July 23-August 22) You begin constructive efforts for moral self-improvement today. This could mean you change your response to the way particular people talk to you. You seek the trust and confidence of others and must be prepared to compete in business transactions. Others may find you deep, with a sense of mission and mystery. This is a favorable time for study of life’s mysteries and deeper meanings. During this time, you may desire to change your domestic conditions. You may want to maintain your own living quarters or perhaps you will begin to redecorate or renovate your home. Some family ties may end or a family member may travel. Long-buried feelings from the past can be reexamined and released or purged. New beginnings are positive and encouraged.
ZITS
Virgo (August 23-September 22) You have a greater self-confidence and determination to succeed. As you embark on new beginnings, you will end old conditions. Look at your goals and dreams in order to leave behind unnecessary baggage as you move ahead. You could find yourself engaged in nonconformist causes, ready to promote what is independent and innovative. You like radical approaches and find yourself in support of whatever product is new or some nifty breakthrough advance is next in line. This can be a time of leadership—you have the power to sway others in your group and initiate reforms. As a collector of butterflies, herbs or potions for teas and seasonings you might want to spend a little time with your hobby so that you can build your supply for future use.
Libra (September 23-October 22)
MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM
Scorpio (October 23-November 21) This is a great week for you to do a little overtime work. You feel energetic and strong and can confidently take the initiative to bring most matters to a quick resolution. A regular customer, friend or neighbor complains constantly. It is not the complaints that need fixing, as much as the need for communication and contact with others for which he or she yearns. Find a friend for this complaining person and you will have a happy customer, friend or neighbor. This afternoon you could be feeling that there is still some sort of unfinished business. This day has gone well and your energies stay strong. Take some time to exercise by walking, bicycling or even swimming. Any exercise that makes you move forward will help to balance and smooth out any frustrations.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You enjoy a full and successfully day. You are inclined to lean toward a very busy and productive life style. This is a favorable time to eliminate nonessentials and strengthen your security or work toward some improvement. You have great concern for the future and are the first in line to organize some charity program for the starving or the handicapped or children without parents, etc. Today you may receive some surprise call from people that will help you organize such a special charity. This evening can be a favorable time for writing, serious study, teaching, and catching up on correspondence. Communications and travel related to career are beneficial and tend to go smoothly at this time.
Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
To
Yesterday’s Solution
Interruptions make it hard to concentrate on your usual work but the interruptions are acceptable, although a little unusual. This could mean making room for a new individual—extra work or a technical change. You may want more freedom that is creative with regard to work, but those in control tend to be unsympathetic. Soon you will see an increase in salary or job identification, patience. You may fluctuate between conservative and rebellious urges at this time. This afternoon you will find your friends may be stimulating but they can also aggravate your career aspirations with unrealistic ideals. You may have problems with groups or organizations—perhaps in returning a purchase. Tonight, you could be planning a fun social get-together.
Involvement in travel, law and education can put you in contact with a higher or more professional class of people. You are apt to desire authority in some field of cultural interest, or some set of principles. Professional communications with superiors, government or other officials would be good at this time. News or publicity can affect your status or position. Your job responsibilities may require more efficiency or training. Your imagination is energized. Activities can involve promotional campaigns, music, storytelling or inspirational work. Now is a good time to keep some moments for reflection. Visit museums, libraries, take a vacation or in some way, get in touch with nature. If you are sensitive, do not indulge in addictive products.
Yesterday’s Solution Yester
Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Communication with professional people is stimulating this morning. There could be an employee review that could lead to a raise soon. Talk of work improvement and productivity will dominate the lunch hour. There could be talk about your personal aims and goals for the future. You may want greater freedom of self-expression at this time—unusual and new experiences become available now. You can meet interesting, dynamic people in creative or technological fields and can develop new friendships. Your personal magnetism draws you to others. You may wish to break from your usual routine and improve a skill or talent. With your new self-awareness and resolve, you can assume a leadership role among your colleagues.
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
Word Sleuth Solution
Your optimistic attitude and self-respect open the door for professional growth and social expansion. You seem to be in the right place at the right time—all week long. You find the right answer, the right equipment and the right people to solve, fix or provide the tools you need to achieve. Good luck helps you progress toward your financial and professional goals for now. Thinking things through, accounting for all the details and making careful measurements is a natural for you and keeps you active and involved. This time is favorable for travel, learning, creative activities and romantic opportunities. Also, this time is favorable for cultural, religious and legal matters. Generosity, financial gain, hospitality and favors may be bestowed upon you.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital
24812000
Amiri Hospital
22450005
Maternity Hospital
24843100
Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital
25312700
Chest Hospital
24849400
Farwaniya Hospital
24892010
Adan Hospital
23940620
Ibn Sina Hospital
24840300
Al-Razi Hospital
24846000
Physiotherapy Hospital
24874330/9
Kaizen center
25716707
Roudha
22517733
Adhaliya
22517144
Khaldiya
24848075
Keifan
24849807
Shamiya
24848913
Shuwaikh
24814507
Abdullah Salim
22549134
Al-Nuzha
22526804
Industrial Shuwaikh
24814764
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22515088
Dasmah
22532265
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22531908
Al-Shaab
22518752
Al-Kibla
PHARMACY
ADDRESS
PHONE
Ahmadi
Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan
Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd
23915883 23715414 23726558
Jahra
Modern Jahra Madina Munawara
Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92
24575518 24566622
Capital
Ahlam Khaldiya Coop
Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop
22436184 24833967
Farwaniya
New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan
Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11
24734000 24881201 24726638
Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop
Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop
25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241
Hawally
ST TAT TE OF K KUW WAIT A
el.: 161 Te
DIRECTORA ATE T GENERAL GENE OF CIVIL AV VIA AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP PARTMENT A
2627 - 2630 Ext.: 262
WWW.MET.GOV V.KW .
Hot with moderate to fresh north westerly wind, with speed of 20 - 45 km/h causing raising dust over open areas
BY Y NIGHT:
Relatively hot with light to moderate north westerly wind, with speed of 15 - 35 km/h
No Current Warnings arnin a
WARNING A
22459381
46 °C
36 °C
Ayoun Al-Kibla
22451082
KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT
47 °C
35 °C
Al-Mirqab
22456536
NUW WA AISEEB
44 °C
32 °C
WA AFRA
ST TAT TION
48 °C
31 °C
SALMI
45 °C
28 °C
ABDAL LY
48 °C
30 °C
Sharq
22465401
Salmiya
25746401
Jabriya
25316254
JAL ALIY YAH A
47 °C
31 °C
Maidan Hawally
25623444
FA AILAKA
48 °C
33 °C
Bayan
25388462
AHMADI POR RT
45 °C
37 °C
Mishref
25381200
UMM AL-MARADEM
40 °C
35 °C
W.Hawally
22630786
WA ARBA A - BUBY YAN A
48 °C
28 °C
Sabah
24810221
Jahra
24770319
SFC. CHART
13/08/2012 0000 UTC
4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA AY
DA ATE T
WEA ATHER T
MAX.
MIN.
Wind Direction
Wind Speed
New Jahra
24575755 Tuesday
14/08
hot + raising dust
46 °C
33 °C
NW
20 - 45 km/h
West Jahra
24772608
Weednesday
15/08
hot + raising dust
46 °C
32 °C
NW
20 - 40 km/h
South Jahra
24775066
Thursday
16/08
hot + raising dust
46 °C
33 °C
NW
20 - 40 km/h
North Jahra
24775992
Friday
17/08
hot + raising dust
47 °C
34 °C
NW
20 - 45 km/h
North Jleeb
24311795
24892674
Al-Omariya
24719048
N.Kheitan
24710044
Fintas
RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT
PRA RA AY YER TIMES Fajr
03:50
MAX. Temp.
47 °C
Sunrise
05:15
MIN. Temp.
30 °C
Zuhr
11:53
MAX. RH
18 %
Asr
15:28
MIN. RH
06 %
Sunset
18:31
MAX. Wind i
N 57 km/h
Isha
19:54
TOT TAL AL RAIINF FALL A L IN 24 HR.
00 mm
All times are local time unless otherwise stated.
23900322
PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists
Paediatricians
Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf
22547272
Dr. Khaled Hamadi
Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari
22617700
Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed
Dr. Abdel Quttainah
25625030/60
Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar
23729596/23729581
Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari
22635047
Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan
22613623/0
Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe
23729596/23729581
Dr. Verginia s.Marin
2572-6666 ext 8321
Endocrinologist
25665898 25340300
Dr. Zahra Qabazard
25710444
Dr. Sohail Qamar
22621099
Dr. Snaa Maaroof
25713514
Dr. Pradip Gujare
23713100
Dr. Zacharias Mathew
24334282
(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)
25655535
Dentists
Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan
22655539
Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami
25343406
Dr. Shamah Al-Matar
22641071/2
Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly
25739272
Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed
22562226
22618787
Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer
22561444
Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan
22619557
Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash
22525888
Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan
25653755
Dr. Bader Al-Ansari
25620111
Dr. Salem soso General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer
22610044
Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher
25327148
Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan
22666300 25728004
Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra
25355515
Dr. Mobarak Aldoub
24726446
Dr Nasser Behbehani
25654300/3
info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com
3729596/3729581
Neurologists
22639939
Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman
Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri
25633324
Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan
25345875
Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman
22636464
Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly
25322030
Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali
22633135
Kaizen center 25716707
25339330
Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab
25722291
Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees
22666288
Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi
Dr Anil Thomas
Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688
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
Al-Jahra
25610011
Al-Salmiya
25616368
INTERNATIONAL CALLS
BY Y DA AY:
KUW WA AIT CITY
Firdous
Al-Shohada’a
Expected Weather e for the Next 24 Hours
MIN. REC.
24884079
22418714
Fax: 24348714
MAX. EXP P.
Al-Ardhiya
Al-Madena
25330060
Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah
25722290
Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad
24555050 Ext 210
Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123
2611555-2622555
William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677
Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062
Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
lifestyle
Olympics
London says
goodbye
with glorious musical finale
A general view of the Spice Girls performing.
A
n audience of more than 26 million people in the UK watched the spectacular musical celebration for the Olympics closing ceremony, it was announced yesterday. Rock band The Who closed out the concert after The Spice Girls, Take That, George Michael, Brazilian football legend Pele and a
Darcey Bussel, Britain’s prima ballerina.
cast of more than 4,000 entertained a packed crowd of 80,000 at Olympic Stadium on Sunday night. Overnight figures showed that at its peak the BBC’s audience reached 26.2 million last night. The figure was only slightly down on Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony just over a fortnight earlier, which drew 26.9
million at its height. The event - ending with a breathtaking fireworks display and the flame in the cauldron being extinguished - pulled in 26 million on BBC TV, with a further 200,000 watching on a dedicated Olympics channel at the program’s peak. The average audience for the entire cere-
British artist Russell Brand
mony on BBC was bigger than the opening event. Last night, it was watched by 22.9 million, compared with the opening event, which had an average of 22.4 million. BBC TV controller Danny Cohen said, “It has been an absolute privilege to broadcast the London 2012 Olympics on BBC TV. “It’s been a phe-
nomenal Games and Team GB’s amazing achievements have helped draw huge audiences to BBC and put the channel right at the heart of the action. “We’ve had fantastic feedback about the quality of the BBC’s coverage and all the teams involved deserve huge thanks and praise.” — Agencies
George Michael
Liam Gallagher from the British band ‘Oasis’.
Spice Girls perform during the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in London. — AP/AFP photos
Brazil’s singer Marisa Monte
Indian dancers perform during the Closing Ceremony.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
lifestyle
British model Naomi Campbell, fourth right, walks with other models during the Closing Ceremony.
British guitarist Brian May and Jesse J perform.
British comedian Eric Idle performs.
Roger Daltry from the British rock band The Who performs.
Actors perform at the Olympic stadium.
The Olympic flame is extinguished at the end of the Closing Ceremony.
British group Madness
British singer Taio Cruz
British singer Annie Lennox
Fireworks explode during the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Darcey Bussel, Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prima ballerina, performs.
Performers wearing glowing headwear take part inside the Olympic stadium.
38
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
LIFESTYLE F a s h i o n
A picture shows sneakers with the label Eish Hade. —AFP photos
A picture shows sneakers by South African Sifiso Dlamini.
A picture shows an apprentice from Soweto working on sneakers.
Sneaker start-up shows perils of S African small business ohannesburg hipster Sifiso Dlamini turned his passion for sneakers into a small business, but like many South African entrepreneurs, he’s battling to find financing to expand. For six years, he’s followed his heart’s passion in making trendy sneakers that are a hip-hop staple. “We take our time and make sure that everything is put together,” he said in his workshop filled with spools of thread, pots of glue and scraps of leather, the 24-year-old said. “It’s more resistant, lasts longer,” he said of his shoes. “I would say its magic.” His clients are largely fashionistas from Soweto, the Johannesburg Township that styles itself as the epicentre of South African pop culture. The shoes from his label Eish Hade-a slang for “Oops, sorry”-cost up to 600 rand ($72, 58 euros), a price that lets a man “feel yourself like a king” and gives women a way to walk “sexy, not in a hurry, but just relaxed”, he said. Orders are coming in, but Dlamini can’t keep up. He works hard, but he only has two sewing machines and two assistants who earn 2,000 rands a month. He certainly can’t afford to open even a small shop in downtown Johannesburg, the stomping ground for the city’s creative types. Last year he tried and failed to get a bank loan for 100,000 rand ($12,000). “Obviously I need capital to buy machines. I think people don’t want to believe in this business because it is too small. They just want to see if we are making a profit,” he said. “People like Sifiso, there are hundreds of thousands (of them) in South Africa,” said Lumkile Mondi, chief economist at the Industrial Development Corporation, which helps businesses with loans of the million-rand scale. “They don’t have capital and it’s a problem. So you finance yourself by your family until you make money. So, except if you have an affluent family, it’s difficult,” he said. The irony is that South African corporations are sitting on cash reserves of more than 500 million rand, even though interest rates
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A picture shows an apprentice from Soweto working on sneakers.
A picture shows an apprentice from Soweto working on sneakers.
are at 30-year lows, rather than invest in new businesses. Business leaders blame the uncertain global outlook, and Mondi said South African companies are only willing to take a chance on new ventures in technology or financial services. Government has tried to step in, creating the new Small Enterprise Finance Agency in April, with 1.4 billion rand in funding to loan to small businesses over the next three years. “Government has done its part, but people don’t know about the institutions” created to help them start up businesses, Mondi said. And when entrepreneurs approach banks for loans, they often don’t know how to speak in the terms that the bankers want to hear-explaining things like market size or commercial plans, Mondi added. Small businesses employ an estimated 65 percent of the 13.8 million South Africans who have jobs, and growing small businesses is seen as one way of beating down an unemployment rate mired at around 25 percent. South Africa has set out a goal to create five million new jobs by 2020, a goal that neither government nor big business could possibly meet, said Clem Sunter, head of the AngloAmerican Chairman’s Fund, the mining giant’s charitable arm. “Our goal for 2020 should be to create one million new businesses rather than five million jobs,” he said, warning that South Africa needs to stop sitting on the success of its mining past and start embracing new businesses. “It is the only way to create that number of jobs,” he added. For now, Dlamini is keeping all his receipts to start formally keeping his books. But he’s still selling his shoes by word of mouth or on Facebook. He hasn’t hired an accountant or started paying taxes. —AFP
South African Sifiso Dlamini, 24, founder and owner of Eish Hade Company, speaking to a journalist at his factory in Johannesburg.
A photo shows an apprentice from Soweto working on sneakers.
Fashion store chain Esprit pins hopes on new CEO
Photo taken on August 9, 2012 shows the store of clothing company Esprit in Frankfurt/Main, western Germany. —AFP ashion retailer Esprit, which recently said it had “lost its soul” as it lost customers to rivals such as H&M and Zara, has hired a former Zara manager to turn its fortunes around. Jose Manuel Martinez, a 42-year-old Spaniard and former manager of Inditex, the world’s leading fashion retailer which owns the Zara brand, is to take over as Esprit’s new chief executive replacing Ronald van der Vis who quit in June. The announcement sent Esprit shares, which are listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, soaring by as much as 28 percent. But analysts warned investors against pinning their hopes too high. “The appointment is positive, but it’s still only a first step,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Anne Ling. And her colleagues at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch predicted that Martinez has a “long and bumpy road” ahead of him. Esprit is, indeed, not doing well. Last year, its operating profit shrank to just 70 million euros ($86 million) from close to 400 million euros a year earlier,
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owing to the cost of a 1.7-billion-euro restructuring program which will weigh on profits again this year and next year. At the same time, rivals Zara and H&M are continuing to grow. On its website, Esprit boasts it is “an international youthful lifestyle brand offering smart, affordable luxury and bringing newness and style to life.”It operates more than 800 directly managed retail stores in more than 40 countries worldwide. But outgoing CEO Ronald Van der Vis complained that the group has “gradually lost its soul in recent years.” In its drive to expand internationally, the “brand’s heritage has been neglected and customers were no longer the centre of attention,” he said. Esprit is indeed a long way from its beginnings in 1968 when its founders, hippies Douglas and Susie Tompkins-who also set up the North Face brand-sold their clothes from a VW camper van in California. But the Tompkins left long ago. And Esprit has been listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange since 1993, with its dual head-
Photo taken on August 9, 2012 shows the store of clothing company Esprit in Frankfurt/Main, western Germany. —AFP quarters in Ratingen near Duesseldorf in Germany and in Hong Kong. Sales have been in decline since mid2008, with its fashion collections failing to capture customers’ imagination. The departure of its main designer, the Korean-American Melody HarrisJensbach, in January 2008 has not helped. Ronald Van der Vis tried to pull the group around by launching a worldwide restructuring last year, including
the closure of more than 170 unprofitable stores, notably in North America, Spain, Sweden and Denmark. At the same time, Esprit is focusing its energies on its main European markets where it plans to open 185 new stores in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and the Benelux countries by 2015. It is looking to rejuvenate its image with new concept stores. Another part of its offensive will be China, its second
national market after Germany, where the number of sales outlets will be increased to 1,900 by 2015 from around 1,000 at present. Finally, Martinez is hoping to recapture some of Esprit’s “soul” with the return of designer Melody Harris-Jensbach. —AFP
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
lifestyle
‘Note d’amour,’ a smell of love by Raghib Alama
KUWAIT: The Wahran Trading Company launched Raghib Alama’s first perfume ‘Note d’ Amour’ in the Kuwaiti market, during a ceremony held recently at the Marina Hotel. The event, which was covered by local and Arab press and media, featured Alama himself and Naeem Abu Shanab representing Wahran Company. For the first time ever, the Kuwaiti community is in love with a new perfume named ‘Note d’Amour’ by Raghib Alama, which is marketed locally by the Wahran Trading Company; a pioneer in perfumes and cosmetics. The Super Star, Ragheb Alama, decided to launch his own perfume, a magnetic fragrance, source of escape and discovery of new sensation. A unique fragrance based on all the inspiration, senses and feelings he always communicates through his songs. Ragheb Subhi Alama is a talented Lebanese artist and an iconic Arab musician born on June 7, 1962, at Beirut. He won several awards during his career and is remarkable for innovating the Arab music by being the first singer to release a video clip. Ragheb Alama started singing at school at the age of eight where he also played the ‘Oud’. As a student, he took part in several radio shows .He was passionate, courageous and unlike his schoolmates known for his love of performing at school ceremonies. Like many other artists, his great achievement was his participation in the notorious TV show ‘Studio Al Fan’ in which he won a platinum award. He then started multiplying his appearances in TV shows, especially after the release of his first single ‘Bokra beybrom doulabekk.’ Ragheb Alama holds the record for a bestselling artist several times. He has won several awards such as the platinum disc, the best Arab singer for several years, the Golden Oscar of Cairo’s Music Festival, the Key of Michigan and other nominations. Ragheb Alama is a Goodwill Ambassador appointed by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and was the head of jury for three seasons for the number one TV program in the Middle East Arab Idol.
Picture shows Super star Raghib Alama holding his new perfume ‘Note d’amour’. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat
Picture shows Super star Raghib Alama and the representative of Wahran Trading Company Na’eem Abu Shanab during the launch of the new perfume ‘Note d’amour’ in a press conference at the Marina Hotel on Sunday.
More major stores including uniforms in back-to-school sales R
etail chains have done the math and decided that selling school uniforms is a smart move at this time of year. Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M last week joined the ranks of major stores that include standard uniform items-khaki pants, navy blazers and jumpers and white shirts-in their back-to-school offerings. H&M is joining a trend that Sears, Walmart, Target, JC Penney, Old Navy, Children’s Place, Burlington Coat Factory and others have jumped on in recent years, prompted by the growing number of public school districts adopting dress codes requiring specific items of clothing, such as khaki pants or polo shirts in a specific color. And, according to H&M, the uniform look isn’t just a school rule, it’s also cool. Jennifer Ward, H&M spokeswoman, said the collection ties into a fashion trend she described as “Anglomania”-with the uniforms echoing the look of British students. Even if students aren’t required to wear uniforms, Ward said, the navy, khaki, and white pants, jumpers, and tops can be styled “to create a school uniform look.” According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the percentage of US public school districts requiring uniforms has
grown steadily over the past decade. In the 2009-10 school year, 19 percent of districts required uniforms, up from 12 percent in 1999. The National Retail Federation also has tracked an increase in uniform wearing. In its back-to-school survey of parents this year, 22.5 percent said their children would be wearing uniforms to school, up from 15.8 percent in 2007. Port Washington, NY-based NPD Group estimated in 2000 that uniform sales accounted for 5 percent of the children’s clothing market, or $1.1 billion. If that percentage were the same today, sales would be more than $2 billion. Uniform maker French Toast, a division of LT Apparel Group, which operates its online business and warehouse out of Dayton, NJ, has been one beneficiary of the public school uniform boom. “We were the first company to bring school uniforms to mass merchants at retail,” and to offer parents a less-expensive alternative to traditional uniform companies, said Michael Arking, president of FrenchToast.com and vice president of the school uniform division. The company sells school uniforms under the French Toast and Lee brand names and makes private-label uniforms for retailers. Arking said the compa-
This H&M store in New York City has added to its trendy apparel by stocking school uniforms in the kids department. —MCT ny had double-digit growth in uniform orders this year, although it does not release sales figures. In the 20 years French Toast has been making school uniforms, the company has seen their popularity increase, Arking said. “As school uniforms get into the movies, and tel-
evision shows, and, of course, Harry Potter, it’s been going that way for a while,” he said. Students and parents “are more comfortable with this idea of school uniforms than they’ve ever been, probably in the history of school uniforms,” Arking said. Unlike parochial and private schools,
which usually require parents to special-order uniforms with insignias or designs unique to a specific school, public schools, in order to make the uniforms more affordable, often simply specify the colors the students must wear and the type of shirts that are allowed, such as a polo shirt. “When these public school uniform programs started taking off, that’s when we saw a lot of the bigger retailers come in the marketplace,” said Sean Flynn, an owner of Flynn & O’Hara, a Philadelphia-based company that has 29 uniform stores in the eastern United States, including a store in Emerson. The generic pieces offered at the chain retailers haven’t cut into his business too much, Flynn said, because the private schools usually want all of the uniforms to match, and therefore pick one supplier. “In a school where there’s a true uniform program, they want their navy pants to match, they want the red sweaters to match, the logo to be the same, they want the kilt to be the same,” Flynn said. “There are a lot of schools that will require a navy kilt or a navy skort (combination skirt and short), but a navy kilt or skort are going to be available in 100 different shades of navy or patterns,” at the mass merchants. —MCT
‘Vilebrequin’ soon opening at the Avenues mall phase III V
ilebrequin, a leading name in the world of luxury where it has become the ultimate reference in men’s, kids, & recently women’s swimwear, launched its new unique collection inspired from the art of food preparation, a “Culinary Journey”. The company is expanding with an opening for a new branch at the Avenues mall phase III, seeking to reach lovers of summer, sea, and style.” Deep cove octopus au jus, sea anemone fritters, lobster and pineapple tartar, marinated mackerel, citrus fruit float and passion-pear sorbet, cherry cappuccino and red fruit charlotte. These are just few of the predominant themes of Vilebrequin’s latest collection. The culinary arts, a source of inspiration for unique creations and a complex alchemy of chosen ingredients, lead us on a journey of the senses that awakens all our feelings and faculties of pleasure. It is based on this poetic and creative vision of cuisine, constructed at
the level of art, that Vilebrequin transposed a selection of cooking recipes onto a piece of fabric, to be then made into swimwear. An approach taken to a higher level by a visual interpretation of the world of chefs, unexpectedly rediscovered in the world of Vilebrequin.
Olympics: London says goodbye with glorious musical finale
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012
Kashmiri Muslim women offer prayers during special prayers to observe the Martyr Day of Hazrat Ali, cousin of Prophet Mohammed (PUBH), on the 21st day of Ramadan at the Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar, India. Muslims across the world are observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan, where devout refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk.— AP
Jennifer Aniston to marry screenwriter Justin Theroux
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S actress Jennifer Aniston, seven years after her much-publicized break-up with Brad Pitt, is engaged to be married again to a much lesser known actor-screenwriter, Justin Theroux, his publicist announced. “Justin Theroux had an amazing birthday on Friday, receiving an extraordinary gift when his girlfriend, Jennifer Aniston, accepted his proposal of marriage,” Theroux’s representative told People magazine late Sunday. According to the magazine, the couple, who both starred in the movie “Wanderlust”, started dating in May 2011. It will be the second marriage for her and the first for him. Aniston, 43, married Hollywood star Pitt in 2000, but the marriage ended in divorce in 2005 following reports that Pitt had been unfaithful to Aniston with another Hollywood mega-star, Angelina Jolie. Aniston rose to Hollywood stardom while playing a charming if slightly ditzy New York coffee shop waitress, Rachel Green, in the situation comedy “Friends” that ran on the NBC network for 10 years starting in 1994. In that role, she earned several major awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe Awardalong with hefty compensation. She also gained
This combo made from Feb. 16, 2012 file photos shows Justin Theroux, left, and Jennifer Aniston. — AP fame for her “Rachel” hairdo, copied by scores of women. According to Hollywood media, Aniston-along with her female costars Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow-became in the final season of “Friends” the highest paid TV actresses of all time, netting a cool $1 million per episode. In the wake of her small-screen success, she starred in a series of successful movies like “She’s
the One,” “The Good Girl,” “Bruce Almighty” and “The Break-Up”. Last February, she received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a sign of industry recognition of her talent and achievement. Her post-Brad Pitt relationships included actor Vince Vaughn, with whom she costarred in “The Break-Up.” But it ended in a split in 2006 as did her subsequent confirmed and reported liaisons with British model Paul Sculfor and pop singer John Mayer. Theroux’s career path is much more modest. The 41-year-old is best known for his work in the films “Mulholland Drive” and “Inland Empire.” He played John Hancock in the 2008 HBO TV mini-series “John Adams.” He directed his first film “Dedication” in 2006, which made its debut in 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival, a venue for budding American film-makers. But the native Washingtonian has a stellar pedigree, being related to novelists Paul Theroux, Alexander Theroux and author Peter Theroux. The engagement was largely expected as the couple was reported earlier this year to have purchased a mansion in Los Angeles’s exclusive Bel-Air neighborhood for roughly $22 million. — AFP
Muddy much?
Millions drawn to obstacle courses
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ore than 10,000 people trekked to northeastern Pennsylvania to scale walls, leap fire and crawl commando-style through a mud pit topped with barbed wire. Willingly. For kicks. And they paid money to do it. That’s obstacle course racing for you: grueling, mud-spattered and, to its legions of fans, addictive fun. In only a few years, obstacle courses have become a favorite diversion of thrill-seekers and weekend warriors, with hundreds of events around the country that require participants to go up, over, under and through to the finish line. Three of the top series - Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash and Spartan Race - expect to host nearly 2 million runners in 2012, from fitness buffs bored with straight-line running to pasty 9-to-5ers blowing off steam with friends, from adrenaline junkies pushing the limits of their own physical and mental endurance to couch potatoes for whom working the remote more typically qualifies as exercise. “I felt like a kid again for the first time in I don’t know how long,” says Hobie Call, 35, a former air-conditioning technician from South Jordan, Utah. Call was a world-class marathon runner looking for something new when his wife urged him to enter an obstacle course race. He was doubtful - “I don’t care about getting muddy,” he told her but he took to it immediately, going on to win 21 races in his first 16 months. “The people who dare do it, they do it and they’re hooked for life, and sign up for five more,” says Call, who’s quit
his day job to devote himself full-time to the emerging sport. “That’s why they are exploding in popularity.” That was evident on a recent weekend in northeastern Pennsylvania, where Warrior Dash - the 2-year-old creation of Chicago-based event planning company Red Frog Events - set up a course around the perimeter of Pocono
Jeffrey Boehmer makes his way through the Muddy Mayhem obstacle.
Kaitlin Karalunas of Pittston comes down the home stretch of the Warrior Dash at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. — AP photos Raceway. Each half hour, another wave of racers took off from a starting gate rigged with pyrotechnics, then negotiated obstacles that required them to walk planks, crawl under brush, scale steep walls and scramble over cargo nets on their way to impediments
Koncheng Moua, left, and Christine Moua of Lancaster first time racers, get pumped up to start the Warrior Dash.
named Warrior Roast and Muddy Mayhem, the big fire-and-mud finish. Doesn’t exactly sound like your idea of a good time? Tina Lengle wasn’t so sure either. But the 33-year-old stay-athome mom from Hershey joined a couple college friends and ran the 3.1-mile course in just over an hour. “You gotta do something fun in your life. Life’s too short,” Lengle said triumphantly a few minutes after crossing the finish line, her body caked in drying mud. She said finishing the race made her feel empowered: “You can do anything. You’re strong.” The best of the runners completed the course in just over 20 minutes, barely visible under a layer of mud and grime as they received their medals. But winning was really beside the point. For the vast majority, finishing was its own reward. —AP
Entrepreneur invests in Hong Kong’s fragrant past
In this picture taken on July 10, 2012 entrepreneur Chan Koon-wing poses next to an ‘incense tree’ in Hong Kong’s Shing Ping village. — AFP
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e may not be able to resuscitate Hong Kong’s long-dead incense trade but entrepreneur Chan Koon-wing is at least hoping to save the tree that gave the city its name centuries ago. Chan returned to the southern Chinese city from his adopted home in Northern Ireland four years ago to revive his late grandfather’s incense-tree plantation in the northern village of Shing Ping, near the border with the mainland. “If I don’t start growing incense trees again, I fear we’ll lose the species because of exploitation by illegal loggers,” Chan told AFP, standing on the edge of his vast and faintly aromatic plantation. Southern China’s native incense trees once provided the raw material for joss sticks that were exported from Hong Kong-the city ’s name means “fragrant harbor”-to ports as far afield as the Arabian peninsula. Local experts say Hong Kong’s incense trade thrived for hundreds of years, especially in the Song Dynasty around the turn of the first millennium, and in the later Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). But as the island in the Pearl River Delta transformed itself into a powerhouse of business and finance in the 1980s, the trees that were once a pillar of the local economy were replaced by offices and apartment blocks. Chan’s grandfather’s farm is now the only plantation left in the city. ‘More expensive than gold’ Chan’s farm produces a local species called aquilaria sinensis, the native Chinese member of the family commonly known as agarwood which is found throughout Asia. Its most valuable incense and fragrant oils are produced by wounding the trunk and exposing the wood to fungal infection, which the tree fights by producing a dark resin. Burning wood steeped in this resin produces the aroma. Ancient Asian texts abound in references to the religious and cultural uses of agar wood, including the oldest Sanskrit literature of Hinduism dating
back thousands of years. Known in China as chen xiang, the sap is prized in traditional Chinese medicine as a treatment for illnesses ranging from asthma to cancer. The highest quality resin can fetch more than HK$10,000, or $1,300, a gram (HK$285,000 or $36,500 an ounce), leading to the indiscriminate felling of wild trees by poachers. “Some people said incense trees are more expensive than gold because of their medicinal properties,” Conservancy Association senior campaign manager Peter Li said. The species is listed alongside Great White sharks and American black bears under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), meaning its trade should be restricted. Conservationists say that Hong Kong has a better record of protecting its incense trees than mainland China, where habitat destruction and illegal logging have taken a greater toll. “There has been an increase in the number of reports of damage on mature incense trees,” Hong Kong’s agriculture, fisheries and conservation department said in a statement to AFP. The department has found the species in 86 out of 118 sites surveyed around Hong Kong since 2003, but there are no figures showing at what rate the trees’ numbers are declining. Some of the surviving trees bear signs of wounding, where poachers have slashed the trunks to induce resin production. “Owing to the high price of ‘chen xiang’ in the market, illegal harvesting of incense trees was detected in southern China including Hong Kong,” the depar tment said. Chan said he hoped more farmers would join him in reviving Hong Kong’s legal incense production. “I hope to see more people planting the incense trees so Hong Kong can restore its reputation as a fragrant harbor,” he said. — AFP