16th Sep

CR IP TI ON BS SU 40 PAGES

NO: 15570

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

www.kuwaittimes.net

SHAWWAL 29, 1433 AH

Qaeda hails ‘revenge’ as US deploys forces US scrambles to rush spies, drones • Protests spread to Sydney

Khorafi condemns anti-Islam film Saudi mufti denounces anti-US violence KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi yesterday strongly condemned an anti-Islam movie that has provoked widespread angry protests across the Muslim world. “This is a criminal act meant to offend Islam and its sacred icons,” Al-Khorafi told KUNA, adding that the makers of the notorious film wanted to instigate strife among followers of different faiths. “What is the aim of this criminal act other than jeopardizing the brotherly relations between followers of the different faiths?” he wondered. A gathering was also held in Surra by prominent clerics against the film. The protest was earlier planned to be held in Irada Square opposite the National Assembly but was moved to Surra due to weather conditions.

“Innocence of Muslims”, the low-budget movie which features actors with strong American accents, portrays Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent. The movie also insults Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Khorafi added that democracy and freedom of expression do not mean offending religions and their sacred symbols. He noted that the National Assembly had launched an initiative aiming to pass a UN resolution criminalizing defaming of religions. “This initiative was approved by the Arab InterParliamentary Union, the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union and the International Inter-Parliamentary Union,” he said. The speaker urged the UN to pass “decisive and binding” resolutions forbidding attacks against faiths, religious icons and to emphasize dialogue and respect of religions.

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KUWAIT: The Kuwait Preachers’ Forum holds a gathering at the Islamic Charity Organization headquarters in Surra to condemn the blasphemous film against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) yesterday. Prominent clerics Nabeel Al-Awadhi (inset) and Nathem Al-Misbah addressed the congregation. — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Taleban raid Prince Harry’s Afghan base Two US soldiers killed KANDAHAR: Taleban armed with suicide vests, guns and rockets stormed a heavily fortified airfield in Afghanistan where Prince Harry is deployed, killing two US Marines and attacking aircraft in a major security breach. The militia, which is leading a 10-year insurgency against 117,000 NATO troops, said it carried out the assault to avenge a USmade film deemed insulting to Islam that has sparked deadly riots across the Middle East and North Africa. The attack on Camp Bastion in southern Helmand province, one of the toughest battlegrounds of the war, started at 10:15 pm (1745 GMT) on Friday and the base was cleared yesterday morning, said US Army Major Adam Wojack.

Prince Harry was never in danger, officials confirmed. Although the

Taleban have vowed to kill the third in line to the British throne, one of its spokesmen told AFP that the assault “had nothing to do with the prince”.

General Sayed Malook, head of the Afghan army in the south, said a suicide bomber blew himself up, blasting a hole in the perimeter wall and allowing insurgents to storm inside with guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

“As soon as they entered the base, fighting started. Afghan forces were not involved, they only helped to extinguish the fire,” Malook told AFP. A fuel reservoir and an aircraft hangar were set alight and it took until dawn to extinguish the blaze, he said.

The US-led NATO forces said multiple Continued on Page 13

DUBAI: Al-Qaeda said a deadly attack on US diplomats in Libya was in revenge for the killing of its number two, monitors reported yesterday, as Washington deployed forces to cope with global violence over a film mocking Islam. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) also called for more violence against US diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa, and urged Muslims living in the West to attack American interests, SITE Intelligence Group said.

The terror network’s Yemen offshoot did not claim direct responsibility for Tuesday’s attack on the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi that killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

But it said the killing of Al-Qaeda deputy leader Sheikh Abu Yahya Al-Libi in a drone strike in June “increased the enthusiasm and determination of the sons of (Libyan independence hero) Omar Al-Mukhtar to take revenge upon those who attack our Prophet (PBUH),” according to SITE. “May the expulsion of embassies and consulates lead to the liberation of Arab lands from the American hegemony and arrogance,” it said in another statement, adding it was a “duty” for Muslims on Western soil to attack US interests.

In Afghanistan, Taleban armed with guns and rockets stormed the heavily fortified Camp Bastion where Britain’s Prince Harry is deployed, killing two US Marines in an assault the militia said was to avenge the Americanmade film. The attack in Helmand province, which continued until yesterday morning, came after at least 11 protesters died on Friday as police battled to defend US missions from mobs in Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen. Symbols of US influence in cities across the Muslim world have come under attack - embassies and schools as well as fast food chains - as protesters vented their fury at the low-budget film, “Innocence of Muslims”.

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US police quiz Coptic filmmaker Anti-Islam film made by US Christian group LOS ANGELES: US federal authorities questioned early yesterday the brains behind the film that has inflamed much of the Muslim world by lampooning Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), but quickly released him. Nakoula Besseley Nakoula, 55, was “given a ride” from his southern California home to the interview shortly after midnight, with investigators seeking to establish if he broke the terms of his probation over a bank fraud conspiracy, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Don Walker told AFP. A man later emerged from the police station wearing a coat, hat, scarf and glasses, a local NBC News affiliate reported.

The anti-Islam film - entitled “Innocence of Muslims” on its 14-minute YouTube trailer - was produced by a US religious group called Media for Christ and reportedly directed by a pornographer. Nakoula, a US-based Egyptian Coptic Christian, has previously admitted uploading the trailer on the Internet. In 2010 he was convicted of defrauding US banks by opening false accounts and passing bad cheques, court documents show, and he served one year before being released on probation. As part of his release terms, he was forbidden from using computers or the Internet for five years Continued on Page 13

Buying American in Iran: Apples, razors and Coke TEHRAN: The Great Satan still sells in Iran. Even after decades of diplomatic estrangement and tightening economic sanctions, American products manage to find their way into the Iranian marketplace. The routes are varied: back channel exporters, licensing workarounds and straightforward trade for goods not covered by the US embargoes over Iran’s nuclear program. It offers lessons in the immense difficulties facing Western attempts to isolate Iran’s economy, which has deepening trade links with Asia where distributors serve as middlemen to funnel US and other goods to Iranian merchants. But sanctions are also battering Iran’s currency and driving up costs for all imports, which could increase domestic pressures on Iran’s ruling system.

Although the number of Made-inAmerica items in Iran is dwarfed by the exports from Europe, China and neighboring Turkey, some of the best-known US brands can be tracked down in Tehran and other large cities. It’s possible Continued on Page 13

Max 43º Min 29º High Tide 11:33 Low Tide 05:20 & 17:46

TEHRAN: Iranian shopkeeper Amir Ali Beheshti, an Apple products seller, works on a laptop in his store in an electronics market in this Sept 8, 2012 photo. (Inset) Iranian worker Mahmoud Kouhi carries cans of Coca-Cola in a grocery store. — AP

CERRITOS, California: In this image from video, Nakoula Besseley Nakoula, the man behind an anti-Muslim movie, is escorted by Los Angeles County sheriffís deputies from his home early yesterday. — AP

Brahimi meets Assad DAMASCUS: International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned after meeting President Bashar AlAssad yesterday that the worsening conflict in Syria threatens both the region and the world at large.

Russia, a strong ally of Syria, insisted it was not “clinging” to any particular leader in Syria, but warned it would block any new UN Security Council resolution aimed at pressuring Assad, a long-time Moscow ally. “The crisis is dangerous and getting worse, and it is a threat to the Syrian people, the region and the world,” said the newly appointed Brahimi, who took over as envoy earlier this month from former UN chief Kofi Annan.

Assad, quoted by state television, said dialogue between Syrians held the key to a solution and called on foreign countries to stop supplying arms to his foes.

“The real problem in Syria is that of combining politics with the work being done on the ground,” he

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (left) meets international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi yesterday. — AFP said. “The political work continues, months into Syria’s deadly conflict in particular by calling for dialogue and without an end in sight, Assad between Syrians based on the said his government would “coopaspirations of all Syrians. “The suc- erate with all sincere efforts to cess of political action is depend- solve the crisis, so long as the ent on putting pressure on the efforts are neutral and independcountries that finance and train ent”. Brahimi, a 78-year-old veteran the terrorists, and which bring Algerian troubleshooter, has also weapons into Syria, until they stop met Foreign Minister Walid doing so,” Assad said. Eighteen Continued on Page 13

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

local

New ruling on barbers’ medical test

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior has issued a new ruling, which will be applicable to those employed as barbers or working in the food industry. According to the decree, barbers and persons employed in the food sector will not be allowed to practice their profession and start work after returning from a trip abroad, unless they pass a medical test conducted by the Health Affairs Department, which establishes that they are not suffering from any infectious disease. The directive follows two similar circulars, which were issued in 2002 and 2006.

Most barbers are not aware of the decree yet. “In fact, I haven’t heard about this ruling and even my colleagues are surprised to know it exists. Anyway, we regularly get all our staff working at the salon medically tested every year, including a blood test and others medical exams,” Wael, who works at the Dotchi men’s salon, told the Kuwait Times.

He stated that such a rule will however complicate his work. “If I take vacations abroad twice a year or more, for instance, I’ll have to get tested every time and that too at my expense, because the order does not mention whether this test will be paid for by the employee or the employer. Also it will result in my time being wasted. I think it’s a difficult thing to do, but I am confident that we will definitely pass any medical checks,” Wael stated.

Hafith from the Capalli men salon said he wasn’t against such a decision being implemented. “I heard about this decree from some friends but I am not sure if it is official yet. I personally don’t mind getting tested after returning from every vacation. Why not do it if I trust myself and know that I’m not infected?” he pointed out.

Papilon men’s salon’s Said also admitted to being in the dark about the new ruling but described the decree as good for the safety of customers. But he also

wondered if customers should also be tested just like the staff is? “How can we judge whether our customers are infected or not? If they are sick and spreading infections, how can we avoid that? We don’t have a problem undergoing medical checks after each holiday, but I think it’s not very fair as we already get our annual health cards renewed,” he stated.

Restaurants are the other vocation that will fall under this decree’s ambit.

Abdulqader, the manager of the Al Zaad Restaurant was not pleased by the decree, as he sees it as posing problems for those who leave the country more than once every year. “All workers get medically tested annually, a process, which takes each employee around two days to finish. They are gone from 5:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and it takes them two days to renew the card. And while they are doing this, they are unable to come to work, which causes problems for me as I am already short-staffed. I need at least 30 workers in my restaurant, but the Ministry has issued a license allowing me to employ only 25. So imagine the work pressure, when two or three go missing at the same time or are absent for two whole days,” he complained.

“Even if the stamps and application forms needed for the check up were free, the employee will still need to pay for transportation personally. So going for tests twice and waiting for the results will cost him KD 5 at least, which considering that his total monthly salary is KD 200, is a lot,” he added.

Abdulqader noted that the decree has not been formulated well enough.

“Many previous decrees were also incorrect but we still followed them. For instance, they directed the entire staff working with food to wear gloves, or for whatever other work they did. Thus, if the worker is cooking, the plastic glove he is wearing will melt once it comes into contact with excessive heat. But despite our complaints, the inspectors don’t listen and insist that we follow these rules,” he said.

Ali Mohammed wins one year salary with NBK KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced the fourth winner of the ‘Transfer Your Salary and Win’ campaign. Ali Hassan Mohammed won a year’s salary after transferring his salary to NBK. All new customers who set up a salary account at NBK are eligible to enter a

monthly draw to win a year’s salary. One winner will be selected each month. New NBK account holders who transfer their salary to NBK starting in February will enter the monthly draw which runs till December 2012.

Ali Hassan Mohammed the winner of September’s draw said, “I am completely surprised. I want to truly thank NBK for its great services and offers and for giving me the chance to win such a valuable prize.”

NBK pioneered many firsts in both the local and regional markets by offering innovative products and value added services. Today, NBK has the largest local and overseas banking network encompassing more than 176 branches, representative offices and subsidiaries strategically located within the main international and regional financial centers. For more information please contact Hala Watani 1 801 801 or log onto www.nbk.com.

Radios broadcast traffic awareness KUWAIT: Radio Kuwait and other local stations will start broadcasting short traffic messages to ease traffic congestion as school year begins today. The Ministry of Interior ’s Public Relations and Media Security Department and the Ministry of Information’s Radio Kuwait have met to create a joint team to work on providing the pubic with “quick and effective” security and traffic related short messages.

Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information Yousef Mustafa, who chaired the meeting, said that the team will pro-

duce a batch of security and traffic awareness messages and live interviews with onground police officers. These messages will be broadcast on all of the country’s radio stations. This move will see the light today when school year begins which is normally accompanied by traffic congestion, Mustafa noted; these messages will ease traffic overflow at peak hours, he added. He advised the public to tune into the radio early in the morning to get updates on traffic conditions in order to get to their destinations with ease and comfort. — KUNA

Concern over ‘Qaeda Ideology’ in protests Sleeping cells have awakened KUWAIT: Senior state officials have expressed concern about the emergence of extremist views during the recent protest outside the US embassy against a movie offending Islam and the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Speaking to AlQabas on the condition of anonymity, the sources said that “the appearance of Al-Qaeda’s ideologies, mottos and banners” during the demonstration could be an indication that “sleeping cells that have awakened”.

And while the officials said that the offenses displayed by the movie are “unacceptable”, they indicated that the protest expressed during the gathering “reflected an extremist and violent ideology”, wondering at the same time if “certain people are seeking to make use of this issue to achieve certain gains”. The sources further called authorities to launches immediate efforts to “prosecute individuals behind potential sleeping cells before they can make use of the instability created by the situation of the political scene”.

“The threat is not posed by the gathering of nearly 300 people, but by the emergence of AlQaeda’s ideology”, the sources said.

Meanwhile, three people, identified as two Kuwaiti citizens and one stateless resident, were

sent to the Criminal Investigations General Department after being arrested by Hawally police over an attempt to raid the American embassy. According to a source familiar with the investigations, the three have already indicated that their actions were motivated by their attempts to “express their outrage” against the movie. In the meantime, Islamist MP Mohammad Hayef and a number of religious leaders have urged the public to avoid attending any gathering in protest against the movie “unless after verifying its goals”, and called organizers to bear full responsibility for what takes place during the demonstrations.

“Boycotting the company that produced and promotes the movie can help prevent any attempt to attack Islamic sanctities”, said a member of the annulled 2012 parliament Dr Obaid Al-Wasmi. Meanwhile, fellow member Ammar Al-Ajmi urged the Kuwaiti government to “summon the US ambassador and express the stern rejection of the Kuwaiti people and Muslims worldwide” for the movie. Al-Ajmi also called for “making sure that any person who commits a similar crime is trailed and punished” to send send a clear message to the US government that

their stance allowed fools to offend Muslims’ beliefs”. Meanwhile, 2012 parliament member Badr Al-Dahoum criticized the “ We are all Osama” chants heard during the protest in front of the US embassy, while fellow member Faisal Al-Yahya argued that “spreading Mohammad’s(PBUH) message of justice and ethics” is the best way to defend the Prophet (PBUH). MP Adnan Al-Abdulsamad said in the meantime that “the repeated offenses against Islam and the Prophet (PBUH) justify unifying efforts to address the real dangers threatening them”.

Also, 2012 parliament member Mohammad Al-Dallal called the Kuwait Lawyers Association to “coordinate with lawyers unions in Muslim countries around the world in order to take legal actions against any party that offends the Prophet (PBUH). Al-Dallal also called for establishing a fund supervised by the International Islamic Charitable Organization “to defend and spread the message of Mohammad (PBUH)”.

Meanwhile, another 2012 parliament member Dr Ahmad Al-Azmi demanded “a firm step to demand an apology from the United States and actions against the movie’s producers”.

Iran denies report hinting at proposed invasion of Kuwait

By A. Saleh KUWAIT: An Iranian lawmaker has denied reports quoting a former MP, who indicated that Iran is not ruling out the option of entering Kuwait to protect the country’s Shiite community from potential threats.

“Mohammad Kareem Abedi is a former MP, who also used to be a member of the Iranian Parliament ’s Security Committee,” the President of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi noted in a statement yesterday. Abedi was identified as a member of the same committee when he was quoted in a news article on Friday, where he said that, “the committee has examined reports about the measures adopted for the protection of Ahl Al-Bayt in Kuwait, in case any security problems arise in the area.” He was also quoted as claiming that, “the committee is closely monitoring the situation in Kuwait in light of recent information that suggests that terrorists are calling for violent action against Shiites.”

However, Boroujerdi insisted that this topic was never discussed by the committee.

“Reports published by online news portals attributing this alleged statement to Abedi are false and he never actually made these statements to begin with,” he stated.

In addition to threatening armed action against Kuwait and referring to Iran as, “a military power,” Abedi also allegedly claimed that the Islamic Republic of Iran will, “threaten the security of governments of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries,” if these countries try to counter Iran’s actions. He is also compared the proposed potential intervention of Iran into Kuwait, with the GCC’s decision to accept the Bahraini government’s request for sending Peninsula Shield troops to the Kingdom last year to tackle the unrest there. The original report prompted immediate reactions from lawmakers in Kuwait, who interpreted these alleged statements as a threat for potential invasion, following which they urged the Kuwaiti government to prepare for such an eventuality.

“Abedi’s statements claiming that Shiites in Kuwait are oppressed and that Iran plans to enter the country in order to protect them will be viewed as direct threats to Kuwait,” MP Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaei wrote on Twitter yesterday. He also called upon Kuwaiti Shiites to respond to the allegations made by Abedi.

Former MP Abdullatif Al-Omairi also addressed

Kuwaiti Shiites and said that, “these statements offer further proof about the threat that Iran poses to Kuwait.” Former MP Dr. Mohammad Al-Kabdari also urged, “Shiite figures in Kuwait” to respond to what he described as, “a new threat of military intervention from Iran.”

Meanwhile, MP Mohammad Hayef posted on Twitter that Abedi’s statements are indicative of, “Iran’s intentions and preparations for the invasion of Kuwait,” and demanded to know the groundwork done by the Kuwaiti government to deal with a scenario, “where Iranians might act on their threats.” MP Amar Al-Ajmy in turn argued that Shiites in Kuwait enjoy an existence, which is peaceful, safe and based on equality, “and don’t need Iran’s protection.”

Maasouma criticism MP Maasouma Al-Mubarak has criticized the opposition for its recent demand for launching efforts aimed at criminalizing hate speech, by arguing that this demand is only aimed at garnering popularity for the opposition. “I t appears that certain people act on the belief that the public has a shor t memor y,” AlMubarak said yesterday, questioning the motives behind “the sudden awakening of those persons, who are known for fostering sectarianism and hate across Kuwaiti society?”

Al-Mubarak further stressed that the opposition is simply, “seeking to find a way to enhance its public image after realizing that its popularity is fading,” adding that, “the demand for criminalizing hate speech is their attempt to regain public support.”

Al-Tabtabae slammed Former 3rd electoral constituency candidate Safa Al-Hashim warned MP Waleed AlTabtabae that Iran has been a neighbor of Kuwait for 300 years without posing any danger except those in some wild imaginations.

“On the other hand, we can see with our own eyes the danger posed by the Muslim Brethren, their generals, soldiers and even their sleeping cells in the form of some parliamentarians”, she remarked. She urged him to stop such calls otherwise she would expose his link to the ‘ Wesal’ T V channel and the Rawaf Charity Foundation in Ajman.

On his part, member of the nullified 2012 parliament, journalist Nabil Al-Fadhl criticized Al-Tabtabae’s anti-Shiite statements in which he claimed that secret meeting were being held in a Jabriya house to plan attacking the majority MPs. “You were the one who danced to the war drums of Hassan Nasrallah, you crawled through tunnels to support Hamas that is being financed by Iran.....so you’re in the same boat with Iran and instead of your allegations about a Jabriya house, tell us about training young people in your Diwaniya on how to deal the police”, he said.

Power connected The assistant undersecretary of the Ministry of Electricity and Water for power grids affairs, Jassim Allengawi said that MEW has recently finished supplying 40 new schools with power and that further efforts were in progress to continue supplying other educational facilities with power according to schedule.

7,654 traffic citations issued KUWAIT: The Traffic department’s unexpected campaign aimed at checking traffic violations across all provinces over the weekend has resulted in 7,654 traffic citations being issued, the detention of 458 vehicles, four motorcycles and nine persons. The citations were distributed as follows: 1,796 traffic violation were found in capital provinces, where 51 vehicles were also detained. The Hawally province or governorate had 1,632 traffic violations and 75 vehicles were detained. 1,336 traffic violations were registered and 39 vehicles were detained in Farwaniya.

In Jahra, 622 cases of traffic laws being breached were noted and 27 vehicles were detained. Traffic violations in Mubarak Kabeer were pegged at 288 and 42 vehicles were detained. In the Ahmadi governorate, 1,057 traffic citations were issued and 54 vehicles were detained. The Operations department of traffic administration issued 923 citations over the weekend and detained 170 vehicles, four motorcycles and nine persons. The violations included the 152 noted for the use of mobile phones while driving. The traffic department has urged everyone to abide by traffic rules for their own safety.

Waste water treatment plant KUWAIT: Sources at Ministry of Public Works and Water said that technical bureau for studying growth projects and initiatives will finalize the waste water treatment plant tender for the southern area, Umm Al Heiman, in the month of November.

Sources added that the tenders will be awarded to the company or a joint venture (foreign company and local agent) at the lowest prices submitted and best quality, saying that this plant is for sewage

water treatment.

The total cost of the project exceeds KD200 million and will cover all kind of works required in the plant. The initial productivity of the project is 500,000 cubic meters daily - and 200,000 cubic meters will be added during the second phase, which covers all work in the plant.

The Ministry of Public Works will make a contract of investment for the plant for 25 years, expecting that the project will be completed during the year 2015.

Syrian students may be enrolled in private schools KUWAIT: Education ministry officials will meet soon to decide the fate of Syrian students living in Kuwait without valid residencies, and the possibility of helping them enroll in private schools this year. This was reported by Al-Rai daily yesterday, quoting “an official source in the Private Education Department” of the Ministry of Education.

“The meeting will discuss the possibility of allowing Syrian children with expired residencies and those who arrived in Kuwait with visitor’s visas, to enroll in private schools”, said the source.

O fficials at the meeting, to be held

sometime this week, will discuss the criteria by which the students’ certificates will be dealt with “since some of them are not certified”, according to the sources.

They added that some students could not bring their papers with them when they came over to Kuwait. In the meantime, the sources revealed that the probability of paying the students’ fees through the Kuwait Charity Fund for Education won’t be discussed during the meeting. The fund is currently used to pay for fees of stateless residents who are studying at private schools.

KUWAIT: Minister of Education and Higher Education, Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf yesterday toured a number of public schools to check the preparations for the new school year. Al-Hajraf was escorted by top ministry officials. — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

local

Single constituency ‘ideal solution’ KUWAIT: The only way to achieve complete justice and equality among citizens is by adopting a single constituency system, either through elections by list or individual nomination, MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun said in a recent statement.

Al-Saadoun was responding on the Cabinet’s claim that the current electoral law which divides Kuwait into five constituencies lacks justice. “If the Cabinet seeks complete justices, equality and equal opportunities between citizens, this can only be achieved through a single constituency system, either by elections by list - which was the best procedure - or by individual nomination”, Al-Saadoun said.

In the meantime, Al-Saadoun argued against the government’s intentions with regards to achieving equality and justice, saying that “draft laws proposed by lawmakers to achieve the same goals were all rejected by the Cabinet”. He insisted that changing the electoral law “must be made through the parliament - excluding the 2009 parliament which was toppled by the people - instead of involving the judiciary in a purely legislative matter”.

He also reiterated the opposition’s stance which accuses the Cabinet of seeking to control election results through a law that boosts the chances of pro-government candidates.

The Cabinet had challenged the constitutionality of the electoral law with the Constitutional Court; which is scheduled to make its ruling on Sept 25. If the law is found unconstitutional, the Cabinet can release a modified law via an emergency decree, released after the 2009 parliament is dissolved; which is likely to be taken as the first step after the verdict is made. The Cabinet had opted to verify the constitutionality of the electoral law in order to protect future election results from appeals.

The parliament elected last February was annulled by a Constitutional Court ruling last June, which found the decree to dissolve the 2009 parliament late last year to

be unconstitutional.

The opposition on the other hand strongly reject a “mono-action” by the government, requiring that a new law is released by a parliament elected after the 2009 parliament is dissolved.

Represented by the Majority Bloc; a coalition of 34 oppositionists who dominated majority seats in the 2012 parliament, the opposition staged two demonstrations at the Iradah Square since August 27th as part of their campaign to garner public pressure against any step taken individually by the Cabinet to change the electoral system.

The Majority Bloc was scheduled to meet last night to evaluate developments in the political scene and discuss preparations for future actions. Member Nayef AlMerdas, who was set to host the gathering, told Al-Rai on Friday that they planned to address a potential call for the 2009 parliament to convene in order to discuss lifting the immunity of MPs charged with storming the parliament’s building late 2011.

Meanwhile, Al-Merdas commented on statements for MP Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, who declared during last Monday’s demonstrations that Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlSabah is to be the last prime minister from the Mubarak branch of Al-Sabah ruling family. “Al-Tabtabei’s statements are not to be understood that a member of the ruling family cannot be selected for the prime minister’s post, but a candidates doesn’t have to be from the Mubarak branch”, AlMerdas clarified. Al-Tabtabaei’s statements were heavily criticized by former MP Ahmad Lari, who described them as “a violation to the constitution. “After pushing for the ouster of [former prime minister] Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad, the opposition now declares Jaber Al-Mubarak the last prime minister from the Mubarak Branch, which makes me speculate that their struggles [with the government] are personal”, Lari said during a recent interview with Al-Rai TV. — Al-Qabas, Al-Rai

Asian drug dealer in police custody

By Hanan Al Saadoun KUWAIT: Drug enforcement agents have arrested an Asian expat for possession of 30 grams of drugs, 10 grams of heroin, 200 pills and one large finger of hashish. A team was put in place after information about the accused being involved in the drug trade was received. After getting the information, legal permission was sought and the police raided the residence of the accused. Upon searching his room and recovering drugs from there, the accused confessed to his involvement and has been presented before the concerned department for prosecution.

Traffic accidents A car accident that took place behind the Adan police station killed a 61-year-old Egyptian expat. His body has been sent to the medical examiner.

A car accident on a road located at a distance of around 17 kilometers from Wafra resulted in the death of a 56- year-old Pakistani expat. His body has been sent to the medical examiner.

Three persons were involved in a car accident in Salmiya, near the Al Bidaa roundabout. The victims have been identified as a seven-year-old Kuwaiti girl, who sustained several limb injuries, an 11-yearold Egyptian girl with severe pain in her neck and a 36-year-old Egyptian woman who suffered a panic attack. All three victims have been taken to the Mubarak hospital.

A motorcycle accident opposite the McDonald restaurant injured a 35-year-old Indian expat, who was rushed to the Mubarak hospital.

A 38-year-old Bangladeshi expat broke his left knee after he was hit by a car while he was trying to cross a street in Fahad Al Ahmad areaís block 3. He has been taken to the Adan hospital.

Jleeb fire Two Sri Lankan expats were severely burnt after a fire broke out in a building located in Jleeb Al Shoyukhís block 4. The two men, aged 33 years and 40 years have been taken to the Farwaniya hospital. Five ambulances and 10 technicians were put on standby at the site to attend to medical emergencies.

Al-Oqaila fight A Bangladeshi expat aged 33 years, who was injured after a fight erupted between several people at Al Oqaila opposite the Al Muallem restaurant, has been rushed to the Adan hospital.

KUWAIT: The Asian drug trader pictured after his arrest.

Expat injured An Egyptian expat, 49, broke his spine and pelvic bone and also sustained serious head injuries after tumbling from a height.

He has been rushed to the Mubarak hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit.

Kuwait leaders promote charity, Islamic activities KUWAIT: Support is given for national philanthropic activities upon instructions of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to promote Kuwait’s pioneering and civic role in the charitable field, a ranking official said.

The affirmation of Kuwait’s unwavering commitment to backing charities and Islamic activities was made by Information Ministry Undersecretary Sheikh Salman Al-Homoud Al-Sabah during a meeting, at his bureau, with a delegation of Islam Presentation Committee.

Sheikh Salman, during the meeting, praised the commission activities, locally and abroad, expressing satisfaction of the positive image it earned for preaching Islam with wisdom and advice, particularly to diverse foreign communities residing in the country.

The delegation, including Meneif AlAjmi, the head of the commission

branches, expressed appreciation for Sheikh Salman and the assistant undersecretary for radio affairs, Yousef Mustafa, for helping in promotion of the committee works through various national media outlets.

Sheikh Salman lauded the committee for portraying a moderate message of Islam and re-affirmed the ministry commitment to spare no effort to back up such activities. He recommended, anew, that its programs be broadcast for shedding light on Islam as a religion of mercy, peace and security.

For his part, Mustafa said Minister Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak AlSabah and Sheikh Salman have been keen on granting all forms of media support for philanthropic activities to reflect the genuine identity of the natives and contribute in publicizing Islam as a civilization. He hailed the committee for its tangible success through holding conventions, seminars and Quranic memorization courses.— KUNA

Increase in number of food poisoning cases Fast food, climate main factors

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Numerous people have complained recently that they are facing several health problems caused by food poisoning, which has resulted from the consumption of food at different restaurants.

However, a doctor pointed out that the majority of these cases are an outcome of consuming fast-food or what is also known as junk food.

The hot weather could also be a contributing factor, the doctor said.

Dr Nabil Abdulhamid, an internist, does not consider these cases as being reflective of a trend.

“These are individual cases, and have not been registered as part of an epidemic by the Ministry of Health. On the other hand, it’s true that the reported cases of food poisoning rise during the summer on

account of the hot weather, which encourages the growth of bacteria on food stuffs,” he told the Kuwait Times. “During summer, people easily succumb to food poisoning, not only in Kuwait but in other countries as well, because the danger of food becoming poisoned, especially meat, dairy and protein products, is quite high. Bacteria such as salmonella and other germs, multiply at a faster rate under high temperatures, which makes people sick when they consume food that has been infected by these organisms,” Dr. Abdulhamid added.

In Kuwait, the psychological aspect of such cases should also be taken into account. “We recently heard that some restaurants were shut down by inspectors from the municipality for violating different

health standards, including the food being poisoned, expired, dirty, or spoilt. Such news has a psychological effect on people, who tend to start imagining that they were poisoned by the food they ate at a restaurant,” he explained.

Dr Nabil Abdulhamid

Jahra Hospital Pediatrics section launches website for patients KUWAIT: A website dedicated to promoting doctor-patient relations has collected more than 4,000 hits since it was launched by the Pediatrics division at Jahra Hospital more than a month ago.

Head of the Pediatrics division Dr Fahad Hamid Al-Enizi said yesterday that the website which goes under the URL “www.Jahrakids.com” was designed to bring together patients and doctors together to share information about the wellbeing of children. “ The website is a social platform

where patients are allowed to share information about their illnesses and conditions,” Dr Al-Enizi said. He noted that the website can only be reached on Personal Computers (PCs) at the present moment. However, it will be available as an application for smartphones soon.

Doctors and nurses at Jahra’s Pediatrics wear colorful uniforms to provide a friendly environment for children.

This step is part of many to come to develop the division and enhance its performance. — KUNA

“Anybody is liable to fall ill with diarrhea or experience digestive complications; even through they are consuming homemade food.

This is not limited only to restaurants. But people here tend to exaggerate the facts just to make things sound more interesting,” concluded Dr. Abdulhamid. Maha, a 31-yearold woman is not especially fond of fast-food, but does like to eat it occasionally as she did at a restaurant last week. She ordered a burger and was later sick for two days. “I hadn’t consumed any junk food in months, but when a friend suggested we try out this place, I fell sick merely two hours after eating at that restaurant. I fell ill with diarrhea and consequently had to stay in bed for two days. I assume it was caused by consuming the burger,” she pointed out.

Saudi hurt in scuffle with Kuwaiti citizen KUWAIT: A Saudi national was shot and attacked by a knife during a scuffle with a Kuwaiti citizen, an Interior Ministry official said Friday. He noted that they were searching for the attacker.

Security forces and paramedics rushed to the scene of the incident, which took place in a commercial center in Bneid Al-Gar Area, the ministry official added.

Paramedics took the Saudi national, whose name was not disclosed, to Al-Amiri Hospital as security authorities investigate the incident. The ministry denies what has been reported in social media networks that the Saudi national was killed.— KUNA

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

LOCAL

kuwait digest

In my view

Prisoners of circumstances

Angry Kuwaiti millionaires

By Aziza Al-Mufarej

By Thaar Al Rashidi

ember of Parliament and of the Salafi alliance, Khalid Al-Sultan does not have to wait for the Arab spring to arrive in Kuwait. He himself can go and bring it back, especially since his destination is only a twohour plane ride away. While Syrians have lived under a tyrannical regime, faced pover ty, oppression and insult, which are a given under a dictatorial rule, we have been lucky to have avoided such experiences with the grace of Allah.

The Free Syrian Army is extremely busy these days trying to get rid of the tyranny of their existence and in bringing an Arab spring to their country, and they are welcome to ask for any additional assistance that will help them in achieving their goal.

MP Khalid Al-Sultan, who is known to be very impressed with this movement, should therefore not delay his departure any longer and must hurry to talk to the Syrian revolutionaries as this might be his last chance to do so before actual change comes to Syria. He has even encouraged his colleague Al-Tabatabae to travel and boost the morale of the Free Syrian Army’s fighters at the civil war front. The respected MP should realize that life in Kuwait is already ‘spring like,’ thanks to Allah, and is not as bad as he and his party are trying to project to the world.

The mistakes that the current Kuwaiti regime has committed can easily be corrected without resorting to a war that endangers our secure country, so we will not allow him or anyone else to destroy Kuwait.

Those who do not like this country, can stay in their luxurious villas in Switzerland and enjoy the scenery there at the expense of their sizable personal wealth, and can even make the generous gesture of taking their angry supporters along with them, so that we are rid of their presence and they in turn can try and bring about change in Switzerland and in the process also take a few lessons from the Swiss regarding social etiquette and on how to maintain decorum in a country where different political points of view exist.

The strange thing is that the most angry citizens of Kuwait are actually the people who are billionaires and millionaires as far as their personal fortune is concerned, are members of the National Assembly, but we always find these individuals angry and dissatisfied despite their significant wealth and despite all the help and support that they get from the state, which only makes them richer.

As for ordinary Kuwaitis, who survive on monthly salaries, the levels of gratefulness and satisfaction with their current status are much better and it is actually these people who work hard to maintain Kuwait’s stability.

It is odd that the concerned authorities always try and work towards wooing or gratifying these annoyed and disgruntled citizens, and do so at the expense of ordinary and content Kuwaitis. Is there anyone who can solve this conundrum? — Al-Watan

recent article in the Foreign policy magazine has classified Kuwait at number three on a list of failed Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nation states. The truth is that we are not a failed state, and never were at any time. But we are a nation state that does not know how to succeed.

We have all the financial and human resources at our disposal that can help us achieve solid development. But due to political infighting that has been continuing for the last two decades, we have become prisoners of our circumstances and our progress has been put on hold. Everything has been stalled.

We are not a failed state, because we have never experienced real development during the last 20 years, as we have never tried to develop our country, and now we have stopped work, so it would be unfair to judge us by our past failures and therefore, we are simply a nation state that has not learnt how to succeed.

We have everything going in our favor and we have a lot of advantages compared with the rest of the world. Therefore, we are a resource rich and lucky country, but we have failed to capitalize on these advantages.

Despite all these positives, we are not building factories, medical centers; our plans for a university are still ink on paper, even though an Amiri decree provisioning the establishment of the same was issued eight years ago. We haven’t done anything on the basis of which we can be judged as a failure, because we have not made any progress in the last 20 years.

Everything has been put on hold because of our political squabbles.

In order to ensure that we are not misunderstood, I want to say that wheels of growth have stopped turning not because of the moves made by the opposition alone, but because of the contributions made by everyone - the government, other concerned authorities, the general public, which was divided itself and prone to taking sides based on tribal or sectarian loyalties.

We did not try to do something for our state, instead we supported sheikhs, or a sect, or a tribe, and carried on with our petty fighting, ignited by persons who should not have been accorded so much importance to begin with, and so we became part of a vicious fighting cycle, and did nothing for our state, due to which the growth wheels have stopped turning. Around KD 37 billion has disappeared and we still see no progress or development, and the political infighting also continues.

The strange thing is that no one has emerged victorious from this very long political fight.

Note: Yes, we are not a failed state, but we are a state who did not know how to succeed, or we are a state that does not want to succeed. — Al-Anbaa

M

kuwait digest

Undoubtedly unconstitutional

By Dr. Mohammad Al-Muqatie

A

kuwait digest

A benchmark for poll qualification

By Dr Mubarak Al-Therwa

I

can still recall seeing a man escort his son, who suffers from a minor mental disability, to a ballot box during elections. It was quite clear that the young man’s vote was completely determined by his father, who decided as to which candidate his son should vote for.

It’s common knowledge that high academic qualifications are required for working at managerial positions in the financial, banking, auditing and petroleum sectors as well as for administrative posts in the government.

It is also widely known that all citizens can take part in selecting members of the parliament. But there’s something odd about this process, which I feel needs to be reconsidered thoroughly.

How can highly qualified academics have an equal chance as any other person belonging to the general public to represent the nation? I’m asking this because it is considered a norm in our society that the president for a society of engineers, for instance, will only be elected by engineers and specialists from that field. We also expect that presidents for organizations representing teachers, lawyers, and doctors are elected by experienced people in these respective fields.

If that is the case, how can we accept assigning the responsibility for the state’s financial, military, educational and legislative affairs to candidates who are far less qualified than members of all these societies? Is it ok for just about anyone to have the power to determine our nation’s future? How can we vouch for people’s ability to select a qualified person out of all the candidates running for parliament?

I do support equality among people, and that everyone is entitled to equal rights regardless of their origin, race or gender.

But when it comes to selecting someone who will be tasked with handling the duties of monitoring, legislating and protecting the sovereignty of the state, it is important to differentiate between candidates on the basis of their experience and qualifica-

tions. Does the society view criminals as honorable people and does it view ignorant and knowledge-

The current problems being faced by Arab and Muslim countries are a result of this erroneous equality between people, in which an honorable and a criminal person, as well as an ignorant and a knowledgeable man are treated as equals. Is it justified to allow someone who can barely write his own name to run for parliament? able people equally? Even different religions don’t treat them as equal. The current problems being faced by Arab and Muslim countries are a result of this erroneous equality between people, in which an honorable and a criminal person, as well as an ignorant and a knowledgeable man are treated as equals.

Is it justified to allow someone who can barely write his own name to run for parliament? Is it also right to allow someone with mental or psychological disabilities to take part in the process of electing representatives for the country?

Nomination and election laws in Kuwait need to be reevaluated in my opinion, and restrictions imposed in order to prevent the parliament from becoming ineffective. People are not equal when it comes to qualifications, and unfortunately, many people in Kuwait are unaware about the true significance of legislative authority. — Al-Rai

S

everal political groups and activists have adopted the concept of turning Kuwait into a single constituency, with the belief that this proposal provides an immediate solution to political and constitutional problems found in the current division of constituencies. The truth, however, is that this unfortunately cannot be achieved if a single constituency system is applied.

I recently had debates at dewaniyas with strong supporters of the single constituency system, which revealed to me that the majority of people aren’t fully aware of this concept. And after I explained to them some details about the system that they weren’t aware of, their enthusiasm about it started to tone down, as they became less sure that the proposed system could eliminate political and social problems created by the current system.

Patriotism and national unity, as protected by the constitution in articles 7, 9, 43, and 108, in addition to its explanatory memorandum, must be the goal that any electoral law seeks to achieve. A law that turns Kuwait into a single constituency increases fundamentalism and sectarianism, which is a main reason why I believe that it is undoubtedly unconstitutional and fails to represent the nation properly.

A single constituency system will not help eliminate problems that marred the election process and democratic practices, as a whole.

These problems include primary elections, which will find a suitable environment to thrive in a single constituency system. Other problems include vote buying, as well as the drop in the number of votes necessary to win to as low as 1000 votes.

These negative aspects and others must not be ignored when the single constituency concept is discussed as an option to reform the electoral system.

I do urge anyone who has answers to support the chances of a single constituency system that addresses the problems mentioned above to speak up about their opinions; as long as their argument tackles the constitutional flaws on one side and the political and social issues on the other. Until then, I don’t think the single constituency system is a suitable option. — Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Boycotts didn’t work!

By Bariya Al-Bishr

O

n the morning of Sept 11, 2001 when the twin towers of the World Trade Center were on fire and collapsing, the first thing an American lady living in Chicago did, was run to the Saudi girl living next door to make sure she was okay and invited her to stay with her till things had calmed down. Did this lady approve of what Al-Qaeda did and protected the girl because of that or was she only acting spontaneously as a good human being?

A Saudi studying in the US, who was prosecuted after authorities found a name ending with Bin Laden in his phonebook, was also helped by his American neighbor, who paid a lawyer to defend the student in court.

A number of Christian women took turns protecting a mosque in New York in the aftermath of 9/11.

These incidents are reflective of a culture and its people, who never lost sight of their moral responsibilities and personal ethics in the middle of this tragedy. They simply followed a tenet of the holy Quran, which says, “No laden soul can bear another ’s load.”(AlIsra,14).

Isn’t this part of our own religious doctrine? Why do others tend to believe strongly in it and appear to be fairer than us? Or is

one of them justified in harassing or assaulting a Saudi girl who happened to be in the US, as a way to avenge the death of 3000 people?

Will killing her bring back any of those people? I know that such examples are too obvious, but unfortunately we need them to explain to our audience that keeping our eyes and ears closed, pretending to love the prophet, peace be upon him, and disagreeing with anyone we consider a traitor or having weak faith is not right.

Attacking the US embassies and diplomats in Egypt, Yemen and Libya and killing the US ambassador in Libya as an excuse for taking revenge against the makers of the blasphemous movie, is just a regression to the old ways that have been used repeatedly and foolishly by people who want to profit at the expense of innocent people.

I hope that these recent events do not spell the beginning of an era similar to the post-9/11 scenario, and drag this whole region into an unnecessary holy war.

People do not usually go to war for the love of war itself, but are motivated by their love for an ideology and are misled by false slogans, especially the ones instigating them on a religious basis.

Earlier Muslims were driven to

a rage by the blasphemous cartoons of a Danish national and yielded to calls asking for a boycott of Denmark, without realizing that the cartoonist does not represent the Danish government, people or institutions. He does not even represent the newspaper that published the cartoons. He was simply practicing his right to the freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by western constitutions.

When an American priest threatened to tear the holy Quran, the US government did nothing to stop him but did ask him to not do so in public. And now we have a case of a silly movie that was poorly made. It is evident that we still haven’t learnt any lessons in self-restraint the third time around, and are continuing to threaten legal action and are mobilizing people on the street into an unstoppable mob.

Those who allowed the west to advance way ahead of us by applying Islamic ethics, only helped in projecting us as barbarians climbing the walls of embassies seeking revenge as if we were a group of primitive tribes, who lack all reason and logic. It was our gift to the world press. How on earth can we now convince anyone that this is not who we are? — Al-jarida

kuwait digest

Between challenges and aspirations

By Sherieda Al-Mousharji

I

t is imperative for the Arab community that Egypt resumes its leadership of the Arab World after a considerable period of absence, during which time the Arabs have remained divided and made it very easy for the enemy to breach their unified stance. Each Arab state is isolated from the others and their work has become limited to worthless publicity and propaganda.

The Arab League is as good as dead.

During the absence of Egypt’s leadership, Israel ravaged Lebanon and Palestine and committed unprecedented war crimes against humanity. It blatantly violated human rights and is continuing to besiege an entire nation without any international deterrents.

While Egypt stepped away from the forefront, Iran began extending its power over Arab countries through political, military and religious means, by communicating with these countries’ Shiite minorities, recruiting affiliates and providing them with financial and spiritual support, training and priming them to form armed cells across Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Bahrain. Iran has also set up unarmed cells in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, cells to carry out propaganda in Egypt, Sudan and Western Arab countries as well as put in place espionage cells in Kuwait.

At the same time, Turkey has also started playing a bigger regional role in the Arab world to help replace the largest and most effective Arab nations from leadership positions. Some Arab countries have even started considering Turkey as a savior and have asked it for help resolve their domestic issues.

A lot of joint Arab defence treaties, which were signed earlier have now become defunct, and this has allowed the United States to set up more military bases in Arab countries to help protect them from growing regional conflicts.

Egypt’s absence has also resulted in the killing of hundreds of Syrians on a daily basis in a civil war, where negligible efforts are being made to support the strife-torn country and to put an end to the bloody massacres being carried out by the current Syrian regime.

So, will Egypt retain and reassume its leading role in the Arab world, help revive Arab solidarity and mutual interests as well as resurrect the dream of Arab unity? Will it be hindered by its own domestic challenges and will these prevent it from taking on a bigger role at the world stage, which no one else possibly can? — Al-jarida

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

LOCAL

Smartphones sweep the Kuwait market Apple, Samsung top list KUWAIT: Smartphones - very small sets that present a variety of easy applications and high-speed communication and online services, have taken the lion’s share of the global e-gadgets market. The trend spread to Kuwait, where many citizens, including those with little electronic knowledge, have become very much attached to these “clever tools.”

Fatmah Al-Saad, who works at the Ministry of Education, is an example. AlSaad said that she used to know nothing about modern electronics. But she underwent special courses to learn more about computers and usage of the internet, then she bought a laptop and later, a smartphone which she viewed as most practical considering its very small size and high speed. Jassem Al-Mohammad, an employee at an investment company, said he used to use the laptop heavily, but resorted to

the smartphone for easier usage.

Another citizen, Ahmad Ibrahim, favors the tablet sets for “wider specifications and application in addition to the comfortable larger screen.” He also believes that sales of laptops have drastically dwindled.

Nevertheless, other citizens have different views in this respect.

Amani Al-Saadi said that smartphones cannot, in the long run, take the place of the PCs or laptops. “High sales of these sets are just temporary,” she said. She also argues that smartphones can be easily get lost or stolen, thus the owner may risk losing precious data and information.

Sales of smart phones have gone up as compared to trading in other electronic gadgets and sets such as PCs and laptops, according to the US statistical magazine Canalys. Sales of these small sets, worldwide, reached 158.8 million in the first

quarter of 2010, compared to 487.7 million in 2011. Also by comparison, sales of PCs reached 120.2 million during the same period of time. Laptops are sold in significant numbers; half volume of sales of the sold sets, compared to the sales of tablet computer - 15 percent.

Transactions of smartphones, last year, increased 63 percent in contrast to 2010, reaching 299 million, while sales of PCs climbed 15 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year. The report by the specialized US magazine showed decline of demand for notebooks, however demand for laptops and desk computers dropped but that for tablet sets rose.

Indeed smartphones have developed into devices, lucrative for many people of diverse tastes and desires, according to the report, which forecast some declines of sales of these sets this year.

Divers remove destroyed ships in Sharq KUWAIT: The Kuwait Dive team removed 14 ships weighing 200 tons from the Al-Shamlan dock near the fish market in Sharq, which were damaged by a fire that took place earlier this month.

The fire also left serious pollution problems from black smoke coming from burning fiberglass and the fiber-coated wood from which the ships are made, according to Mahmoud Ashkanani, Environmental Operations Manager at the Environmental Voluntary Foundation.

“The team followed a work plan that focused first on the

Kuwait’s Charity Fund to sponsor 13,533 students KUWAIT: Kuwait Charity Fund for Education will sponsor 13,533 students during the 2012-2013 academic year, said an official yesterday. He indicated that the figure is higher by 731 compared to the past year. Projected budget for these students amounted to KD 3.795 million, said Mona Al-Loughani, the assistant undersecretary for private education, in a statement to KUNA. Number of students registered for elementary studies reached 6,861, said AlLoughani, the head of the commission in charge of the fund.

She added that the figure for the intermediate level amounts to 4,562 and high school classes, 2,110. AlLoughani re-affirmed the commitment to ensure proper education for children of illegal parents and families in Kuwait. Up to KD30 million has been spent for this fund over the past seven years, she elaborated. She also explains that the fund pays expenses for the students registered at one of the licensed private Arab schools. — KUNA

‘End of summer’ as Shuail star surfaces KUWAIT: As summer approaches the end, a star known as “Suhail” was spotted with the naked eye on September 4, announcing the start of the cool weather and the end of the soaring hot temperature. Meteorologist Dr Saleh Al-Ujairi said yesterday, that the month of September will see a notable drop in temperature where the highest will read 44-39 Celsius at noon and the lowest at 23-26 Celsius at night. This month will also see other natural phenomena such as bird migrations and equinox, where the night and day have approximately equal length. September is also considered appropriate for fall farm activities to plant tomatoes, corn and cabbage, Al-Ujairi noted. Sept 23 will be the last day of summer while Nov 26 will be the first day of winter, he pointed out.— KUNA

safety of the volunteers, given the hazards posed by the pollution, as well as the collapsing of the large ships”, Ashkanani added.

The five-day operation was divided into three stages, the first of which saw divers assess the level of damage in order to determine the type of equipment to be used, while the second stage saw the work area isolated. The ships were then dragged, in the third stage, to a fixed location where they were lifted from the waters and transported to a temporary site.

The American Apple company sold, last year, 93.1 million iPhone sets, with an increase of 96 percent as compared to the year before, becoming the number-one producer of smartphones, taking the place of the Finnish competitor, Nokia. Smasung, now the number-one competitor for Apple, sold 35.3 million smartphones in the first quarter of 2011, with a rise of 24.9 million sets recorded in the same period of 2010.

Nokia sold 19.6 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2011, 31 percent less than the same quarter of 2010. Moreover, sales of Android-operated smartphones, throughout 2011, amounted to 48.8 percent of the overall sales of these gadgets 237.8 million, followed by the iPhones with the IOS feature of Apple, with a stake of 19.1 percent of the market. As to Nokia, it came third with a stake of 16.4 percent, followed by Blackberry, 10.5 percent. — KUNA

Relentless fight against tobacco in Gulf countries KUWAIT: Tobacco control policies have been the subject of increased debate over the past few months, and the GCC countries have also been a part of this debate.

From smoking bans to new graphic health warnings on cigarette and shisha packs, the fight against tobacco is relentless. But it does not stop here. The Ministers of Finance in the GCC are currently considering doubling the customs rates on cigarettes. However, such drastic measures adopted in other countries have led to a significant increase in illicit trade in tobacco products, a problem not too foreign to our region.

The tobacco industry and other related organizations have long been vocal about sudden and steep tax increases, claiming these will create a shock increase in consumer prices in the market, consequently fuelling illicit trade. This is actually not far from the truth as doubling the current rate of customs will widen the gap between the currently low prices of neighboring countries such as Yemen, Iraq and Iran and the higher prices in the GCC, thus triggering more inflow of illicit products into the GCC countries, since profit margins of illicit traders who do not pay taxes will more than double.

Countries like Jordan, Egypt, Iran, as well as Hong Kong, Ukraine, and Ireland are perfect examples of how imposing excessive tax burdens or short-term “tax shocks” on tobacco can go wrong and generate unintended consequences. In a recently published report in 2012, the IMF clearly recommends the gradual increase approach in a period of no less than 3 years specifically on excise levied on products such as tobacco. Experiences from neighboring markets such as Jordan clearly show how illicit trade levels can increase drastically over a short period of time when excessive tax policies are implemented.

A Euromonitor International study revealed that 1 in every 10 cigarettes smoked in the world in 2010 were illicit.

In the GCC, it is estimated that more than 10% of all cigarettes smoked are illicitly supplied - both counterfeit and genuine products that were smuggled, costing governments across the GCC millions of dollars in lost revenues as a result. Experts also expressed health concerns as illicit brands flout safety regulations and target underage smokers. A a recent article in the UK’s Daily Mail (9/9/12) reported that undercover detectives found fake cigarettes made from human excrement, asbestos, mold and dead flies.

The correlation between the growth in illicit trade and the growth in price conducted in many countries across the world showed direct proportionality and the World Bank had previously stated that, “the potential for smuggling tobacco can limit increases in tobacco tax rates. When setting tax rates, consider the risk of smuggling, the purchasing power of local consumers, tax rates in neighboring Doubling the specific tax component (set amount levied on all type of products based on quantities) across all tobacco product segments (low, medium and high priced) will impact the lower segments of the market more severely.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

LOCAL

Armed fugitives flee after threatening patrol officers Man reports drunken sons KUWAIT: Investigations are currently on related to the search of two fugitives, who recently managed to evade arrest after threatening two patrol officers with a firearm.

The two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals were pulled over at the King Fahad Highway on Friday night, and police officials grew suspicious on noticing the two’s ner vousness when asked for identification. The driver was only able to provide his SUV’s registration documents, on the basis of which the police verified his identity and found out that he was wanted by law enforcement authorities. A squabble soon ensued between the driver and the two officers, after which the former pointed a gun at the latter and sped away. Back up forces arrived at the scene soon after and launched a massive hunt for the suspects at nearby locations, but were unable to locate them.

A case was filed at the Abdullah Port police station for conducting further investigation.

Wild party The police have arrested twin brothers from their residence after a party, which they were hosting, was cut short by their

father. The two were reportedly found in an inebriated state along with two Egyptian women, who have also been taken into custody. Police reached the house located in Al-Nahdhah after the Kuwaiti man reported that his two teenage sons were hosting a party, while he and his wife had been away spending the weekend at their farm. All four are still in custody and will be released pending investigation into the case. It was also revealed that the man had previously pressed charges against his sons following a similar incident which were later dropped.

Wife beater A Saad Al-Abdullah resident is expected to face multiple charges for physically assaulting his wife while he was under the influence of alcohol. The Kuwaiti man reportedly lost his temper after he arrived home late one night, and found that he had been locked out of his house. His wife eventually opened the door to avoid him creating a ruckus and attracting the neighbors’ attention while trying to beat down the door. But as soon as he entered the house, the man started beating his wife brutally fol-

lowing which she rushed to the Al-Jahra Hospital seeking medical attention. She has also submitted a medical report illustrating her condition at the Taima police station. The police are expected to summon the man for questioning.

and insisted on its veracity.

Thieves arrested The Jahra police have arrested three suspects accused of committing four robberies at a ‘jakhour ’ or livestock farm in Rahiya recently. The ‘bedoon’ or stateless suspects were caught loading sheep into an SUV early on Friday morning while the police were patrolling the area.

The ‘jakhour’ owner has identified one of the suspects as his neighbor. The three remain in custody pending legal action.

Missing prankster A restaurant owner in Abu Hlaifa has approached the local police asking them to file a case against a person who ordered a large feast but provided a false address for delivery. The restaurant’s staff reportedly reached the given address with eight trays filled with rice and meat as well as two whole sheep. The homeowner however denied placing such a huge order, adding that he might know the identity of the person who could have placed the order as a prank. After the case was filed, it was found that the suspect, who was identified with the help of the house resident, has since left the country.

Twitter offender A Kuwaiti man accused of insulting the head of Al-Jahra’s police depar tment Salah AlD a h a s v i a Tw i t te r h a s b e e n arrested. The man was taken into custody after he admitted to posting a ‘tweet,’ which mentioned false rumors against the senior official. Meanwhile, the police are still looking for an attorney who reportedly gave the suspect this information

Suicide case An Asian man committed suicide at his employer’s house in Meseelah recently, sourced said.

Police and paramedics arrived at the scene after being called by the Kuwaiti employer, who reported that he had found his domestic worker dead. The 36year-old’s body was found hanging from the ceiling inside his room. An investigation is underway. — Al-Watan, Al-Rai, Al-Anba

KIB hosts doctorate student, researcher KUWAIT: Kuwait International Bank (KIB) recently hosted Doctorates Student and Researcher at Durham University England, Daniel Suleiman, who is currently conducting a comparison study about the level of customers’ satisfaction with services provided in Islamic and non-Islamic banks in both Qatar and Kuwait. Suleiman’s visit to KIB was considered a major step towards building his research study as well as completing the requirements of his Doctorates degree.

Durham University has selected KIB among other banks in the region to assist the student with his assigned project due to the bank’s rich resources and capacity to provide students and interested researchers with needed information about the Islamic economy, finance and banking, sponsored by the Economics Research Department at KIB which presents valuable research material and data base. Moreover, the bank has continuously contributed to a large number of international conferences and lectures organized about the Finance and Banking industry.

In this occasion, Board Secretary and Head of Economics Research Department at KIB Sadeq Abul said: “KIB is very proud with the services which it provides to researchers and postgraduate students in different universities

across the world. According to the Times Good University Guide 2013, Durham University has been named as the fifth best University in England in 2013 in addition to being on the list of the top 100 university around the world.

Furthermore, The University has the oldest center specialized in conducting research about Islamic Economics and Finance in the world, through which it has concluded that KIB’s decision to shift to an Islamic Bank which operates according to the Islamic principles and law prevailed in attracting the interest of many researchers and students in numerous reputable local and international universities.”

Abul has also emphasized on the importance of bridging the relations with further universities and research centers specialized in studying International Economics and Finance in order to exchange experience with them as well as to benefit from the research studies and lectures which they usually conduct. Abul concluded by pointing out that KIB’s experience in becoming an Islamic bank and its continuous success has prevailed in attracting the interest of many researchers and students as well as many research institutions specialized in the field of international economics and finance.

KAICO inagurates two Mobil quick lube service facilities KUWAIT: Kuwait Automotive Imports Co WLL (Al-Shaya and Al-Sagar) KAICO, the exclusive Mobil distributor in Kuwait for over 60 years, inaugurated recently two new state-of-the-art Lube service facilities - Mobil1 center and Car Wash in Shuwaikh Zina street and Mobil1 center on Banks street. The ceremony was graced by senior ExxonMobil officials: Vincent Cartier Sales Development Manager, EMPC; Biswajit Podder - Distributor Business Consultant, EMMEM; Zarko Pavlovic - Distributor Business Manager, EAME; Emmanuelle Bourgueil - Field Marketing Manager, EAME; Peter Longstaff Industrial Lube Manager, FDS, EMPC; Pierre Doumit - Marketing Advisor, EAME; Ewa Jezewska - FDS Field Marketing Coordinator, EAME; Omar Elgindy - FDS Field Marketing Coordinator, EAME; Handan Karakas - FMC Team Lead, FDS, EAME and KAICO management: Ashish Tandon - General Manager and Sadiq Ali - Divisional Manager - Tires and Lubricants.

The new Mobil1 facility aims at servicing the passenger vehicle segment with oil change, steam wash and detailing. Mobil brand is renowned for its best performance and is suitable for high and low temperatures. “Mobil lubes can extend the drain period of 20,000 km or 6 months”, stated Sadiq Ali during the opening ceremony of Mobil1 Center and Car Wash in Zina street, Shuwaikh. He emphasized the top 5 benefits of MOBIL 1: 1. Saving money and time due to extended oil drain interval 2. Keeps engines running like new

3. Excellent performance at high and low temperatures 4. The world’s leading synthetic motor oil 5. Mobil 1 is factory fill at major car manufacturers like Porsche, Mercedes AMG, Mitsubishi Evolution, Nissan GTR, Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper - just to name a few.

Ashish Tandon, KAICO General Manager elaborated more on KAICO’s business philosophy and the EM relationship. “We, Kuwait Automotive Imports Company, are the proud distributor of Mobil lubricants in Kuwait for over 60 years. Mobil Lubricants have a wide

range of products for passenger and commercial vehicles and the industrial sector.

Customers in Kuwait are enjoying the benefits of premium Mobil products. Mobil products sales have been continuously growing and sales of our flagship product Mobil 1, the world’s leading fully synthetic motor oil, doubled over the last few years.”

KAICO was established in 1936 and is jointly owned by Al-Shaya and Al-Sagar families with over 75 years of collective automotive experience in marketing, sales, parts and service and has integrated all its operations to maximize market penetration.

KAICO are proud of being associated with the Mobil brand and of providing the world’s best quality synthetic Motor oil Mobil 1 and Mobil Delvac Engine oil for commercial along with all industrial products.

KAICO is also the exclusive distributor in Kuwait for numerous other automotive brands including Mazda, Peugeot, Geely, Michelin, BF Goodrich and Apollo Tyres, Sherwin Williams Automotive Paints and VR-12 the Vitamin for Radiator. KAICO’s business activities also cover a leasing and tender division and Used Cars.

At the end of the launch ceremony Ashish Tandon thanked Mobil customers and the visiting senior ExxonMobil team for their excellent support towards Kuwait market over the years and announced the inauguration special offer as Buy 4L Mobil 1 and Get 1L FREE. Customers can avail of this offer in KAICO’s new Mobil1 Center and Car wash in Zina street Shuwaikh and all KAICO Mobil outlets till Nov 12, 2102.

Stage ready for Gulf Women Forum KUWAIT: Three leading companies in development and investment announced joining the sponsors’ team for the Gulf Women Economic Forum, hosted by Kuwait on Sept 25 and 26.

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

Dina Al-Refaie ment. Meanwhile, the Kuwait Financial Center announced taking part as a silver sponsor to the forum “as part of the company’s role as a leading financial institution in Kuwait and the Gulf region in assets and bank-

Muna Al-Ayaf

Fahad Boodai

ing investments management”, said Investment Ser vices Department Manager Dina AlRefa’ie.

Also, the Gatehouse Bank of the United Kingdom issued a statement announcing partici-

pation at the forum as a silver sponsor.

“The participation reflects our commitment to the true economic and investment values that the forum holds”, read a statement released by the bank.

Senthil Kumar

Simon Padgett

Protiviti Member Firm to address increasing cyber threats at ACICS KUWAIT: The member firm of Protiviti, a global consulting firm, has announced its support as a silver sponsor of to the Arabic Information and Communications Security Conference (ACICS) to be held in Kuwait on Sept 24 and 25, at Al Raya Conference Center of Courtyard Marriot Hotel. Organized by the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the event will focus on challenges and issues pertinent to information and communication security, and provide a platform to discuss possible remedial measures to combat threats.

Protiviti Member Firm’s Regional Director, Senthil Kumar will be engaging the event participants on the topic: ‘Cyber Security Attacks - Magnitude and Impact’. Kumar stated that “There has been an increased level of IT Security attacks, popularly called ‘Advanced Persistent Threat’ (APT), witnessed in the Gulf countries in recent months.

Whatever the motives, a large irrecoverable loss of data and reputation is often the end result which many companies have to deal with”. The size of the company under attack doesn’t matter all.

What does matter is how well an organization is equipped to prevent such attacks by identifying the weakest links in its IT security, and addressing them at the earliest possible time. In the 2nd ACICS Security Conference, Protiviti will reiterate the importance of predicting such attacks, and how well to be prepared for such attacks.”

Kumar spearheads the IT consulting practice for Protiviti’s Middle East practice and has more than 24 years of experience in IT consulting and Risk Management Services gained through serving clients in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, South East Asia and Europe.

Shedding light on the increasing level of Cyber Frauds, Simon Padgett Director, Forensic Services at Protiviti Member Firm will be highlighting the importance of taking proactive Fraud

Risk Management initiatives to prevent Cyber Frauds and reduce its impact, if it occurs. Padgett said: “Many a times, many organizations react to the reported Frauds by initiating investigations and correcting those weaknesses that led to the Fraud. The reactive approach to manage such Fraud incidents don’t provide reasonable assurance that all Cyber Fraud Scenarios are identified, assessed and necessary controls are instituted to prevent such Frauds from happening.

However, mature organizations not only take pro-active Fraud Risk Management Programs, they do put in place a well structured Incident Management program to handle such Cyber Fraud incidents. With the increasing number of Cyber Frauds being reported on a daily basis, organization will have to initiate a Cyber Fraud Risk Management program to prevent and manage any Fraud incidents. Padgett heads Forensic Services for Protiviti Middle East and is a seasoned expert in all aspects of Forensic investigations with a particular focus on Fraud Risk Management. His experience extends to introducing and managing Anti-Fraud programs, including Fraud Risk Assessments and Whistle-blowing mechanisms.

Protiviti Member Firm for the Middle East region is the market leader in providing IT Security Services in the GCC region. It has been assisting a number of Banking, Telecom and Oil Sector clients in assessing its IT and Information Security risks and managing them. It is the leading consulting firm and one of the very few in Kuwait that provides Cyber Security Services by assessing all critical infrastructure including Industrial Controls Systems such as SCADA etc.

Protiviti is a global consulting firm and its member firm for the Middle East is involved in providing technology, business & risk consulting, internal audit and transaction services in the region.

For more details, please visit Protiviti website www.protiviti.com.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

Pope calls for Christian, Muslim harmony in ME

Anti-Japan protests erupt in China over islands row Page 11

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MOSCOW: Opposition supporters carry posters reading “Freedom to activists!, We are for democracy for everybody!,” as they march heading for a protest rally in Moscow yesterday. Thousands of protesters marched across downtown Moscow in the first major rally in three months against President Vladimir Putin, while defying the Kremlin’s ongoing efforts to crackdown on opposition. — AP

Russia protestors challenge Putin Tens of thousands rally in Moscow MOSCOW: Tens of thousands of Russian opposition supporters thronged the streets of Moscow yesterday to keep up the momentum of their challenge to Vladimir Putin’s rule four months into his new mandate.

A diverse sea of protestors brandishing the red flags of socialism, nationalist tricolours or liberal slogans filled the avenue in Moscow named after the great Soviet physicist and celebrated dissident Andrei Sakharov.

Some 40,000 people turned out for the “March of Millions”, according to an AFP estimate, in line with organisers’ expectations but down on the massive first protests that first rocked Moscow in December and rallied over 100,000.

Police and organisers gave vastly different estimates, accusing each other of not knowing how to count. Police said that 14,000 people joined the protest, but

organiser and far-left leader Sergei Udaltsov saw at least 150,000.

Waving nationalist flags, brandishing placards calling for early elections or wearing T-shirts in support of jailed punk band Pussy Riot, protestors hoped to build on the anger created by fraud-tainted elections and Putin’s 12-year grip on power.

The protest also tried to put a greater emphasis on social justice than past actions. “Power to the millions not to the millionaires!” read one slogan. Split between liberals, nationalists and the extreme left, the anti-Putin opposition has been struggling with its own divisions and accusations it lacks any coherent message beyond hostility to the Kremlin.

The most charismatic opposition leader, anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny, told the protestors to prepare for a long haul to challenge Putin and turn up to rallies as if they were going to work. “All that

we are asking for is something simply called freedom, nothing more than equality, simply human dignity.

“No one will give us freedom except for ourselves. Hope and perseverance will bring us victory,” he declaimed to cheers from the crowds. Udaltsov, the leader of the radical Left Front, told the crowds: “We must gradually conquer the streets. We are not leaving!”

Sporting dark sunglasses and a black bomber jacket, he urged supporters to wear shades to show their hatred of the authorities. The march was given extra impetus by the expulsion from parliament of anti-Putin deputy Gennady Gudkov over alleged conflicting business interests, in what the lawmaker’s supporters said was crude revenge for opposing Putin.

To some of the biggest cheers of the afternoon, Gudkov warned the authorities that if there was no reform “they will either

end up standing in blood, or they will be overthrown”.

It is also the first mass action since the sentencing of three members of Pussy Riot to two years in prison for an anti-Putin protest in an Orthodox cathedral, which has become a rallying cause for many in the opposition.

Protestor Anna Roskina, 33, a psychologist, held a banner saying “Freedom for Pussy Riot! Freedom for us all!” Police, who had warned of possible “provocations” at the rally, said 7,000 members of the security forces were deployed to ensure order.

There was also a more light-hearted touch, with some protestors mocking Putin’s recent “birdman” stunt, in which he flew a hang-glider to guide rare cranes on their winter migration.

One protestor dressed up in a white suit and a helmet of the kind worn by Putin with the slogan “I teach cranes to fly” writ-

ten on his back. “We have shown that not all the birds fly behind the one who calls himself the alpha-crane,” quipped opposition youth leader Ilya Yashin.

The opposition is also enraged over the charging of 16 people — 12 of whom are detained-in a probe into crowd violence at a mass protest on May 6 just ahead of Putin’s inauguration. Thousands-strong protests also took place in other major regional centres but relatively weak turnouts again underlined that the protest movement is a Moscow-generated phenomenon.

Some 2,500 people turned out for the opposition protest in the second city of Saint Petersburg, an AFP correspondent said, while 800 people rallied in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. But a protest in the Far East city of Vladivostok only mustered around a few dozen people, police and organisers said. — AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

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

Iraqi Christians seek hope from Lebanon papal visit BAABDA: Among the many thousands at Lebanon’s presidential palace yesterday to greet Pope Benedict XVI were more than 220 Chaldean Christians, who travelled from across war-battered Iraq for the historic occasion.

“The pope’s visit to Lebanon is a blessing for the whole Middle East,” said Shammas Selim from Ankawa in the north Iraqi province of Arbil. “It serves as a reminder for us Iraqi Christians that there is still hope.”

Iraq’s Chaldeans belong to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. But along with other Iraqi Christians, they suffered persecution, forced flight and killings in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion.

Before 2003 there were more than a million Christians living in Iraq. Now they number around 450,000.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, many thousands fled after 44 worshippers and two priests were killed in an attack on a Syriac Catholic church in

Baghdad on October 31, 2010, an atrocity claimed by AlQaeda.From 2003 to May 2012, some 900 Christians were killed, while 200 were kidnapped, tortured and ultimately released for exorbitant ransoms, according to the Hammurabi Human Rights Organisation in Iraq.

“The situation is a little better for us now, because we live in (Kurdish) Arbil,” Father Jamal Zako told AFP. Many Christians fled their homes in other parts of the country for the relative safety of Iraqi Kurdistan.

“In general, Iraq’s Christians have suffered deeply, and we need to remain faithful to God and our religion in order to make the country better,” he said. Both Zako and Selim said the key to restoring peace to Iraq was “forgiveness and coexistence. We need to listen to what God is really trying to tell us about peace and honesty, regardless of what religion we belong to.”

Battered by war and occupation for almost 10 years,

and ruthless dictatorship for decades before that, Iraq’s multi-confessional fabric has been badly damaged by violence. But the Iraqis who travelled to Lebanon this weekend believe there is still hope for their nation.

“All humans-even criminals-are made in the image of God,” said Zako. “We need to remain faithful to the message of Christianity, and we will make it through,” said 44year-old Shouan, also from Arbil.

“Despite our people’s suffering and exile, we are still one of Iraq’s most important communities,” he said, noting that a plethora of minorities has long lived side by side with Muslims, but that years of war and terror have driven deep rifts between religious groups.

“Like Christ himself, we need to learn to suffer and remain faithful despite any pain,” said Shouan. “We should not give up on our message, now more than ever.”

Asked how significant Pope Benedict XVI’s visit was to

them, Shouan said: “The pope is the symbol of Christ on earth, he is a man of peace and we need his message.”

Waving an olive branch, 40-year-old Jihan said the pope should also visit Iraq, not just Lebanon. “We need peace in Iraq just as much as the Lebanese do,” she said.

On the roadsides leading up to the hilltop presidential palace in Baabda, many thousands of people stood patiently, only to explode into joy when the pope’s convoy drove past. “Long live the pope! Long live the pope!” the Iraqis cried when they saw Benedict XVI. “Hallelujah!”

White and yellow confetti fluttered in the air as the papal convoy drove past, and one olive branch-bearing Iraqi woman shed tears when she saw the pontiff.

“We want peace, we want to live in safety,” said Shrier Hanna, who is in her mid-forties. “Today I feel we should never lose hope, despite all that has happened, God willing, the Iraqis will live in peace again one day.” — AFP

Pope calls for Christian, Muslim harmony in ME ‘Universal yearning of humanity for peace’

TUNIS: A Tunisian woman collects books and toys from burnt out classrooms in the American school in Tunis yesterday. Four people were killed and almost 50 injured in an attack on the US embassy in the Tunisian capital, by protesters angry over an antiIslam film, the health ministry said. — AFP

Tunisia condemns US Embassy attack TUNIS: Tunisia’s governing moderate Islamist party condemned the attack on the US Embassy in Tunis and the neighboring American school, saying yesterday that such violence threatens the country’s progress toward democracy after decades of dictatorship. The embassy compound and school were surrounded by Tunisian police and army vehicles and personnel on Saturday, a day after several thousand demonstrators angry over a film that insults the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) stormed the compound in Tunis. They tore down the American flag and raised an Islamic one, while looting and burning buildings. Four demonstrators died, including two following operations in the hospital, and 49 people were injured, according to Brahim Labassi, spokesman for the Ministry of Health.

The embassy building itself - a fort-like structure - was untouched, but a gym and parking lot within the compound were ransacked and set alight as was the neighboring American school. The windows of the small building at the complex’s entrance used to screen visitors were smashed.

Several dozen cars in the parking lot were burned, sending up thick, black smoke. A reporter saw looters jimmying open car doors and taking whatever they could find inside before setting them on fire. Yesterday, some smoke was still rising from the smoldering scene.Two burned-out buses used to ferry children sat in front of the school, which is

across the street from the embassy compound. Inside the building, the walls were blackened and glass from blown out windows was scattered on the floor.

The attack was part of a wave of demonstrations across the Muslim world on Friday the Muslim day of prayer - to protest the film, which was made in the United States. But the degree of violence in Tunisia surprised many and raised new questions about the direction of the country, where an uprising last year forced out its longtime president and set off pro-democracy revolts across the Arab world.

Tunisia is now run by the once-banned Islamist party, Ennahda, which has vowed to protect the rights of women and free worship, while building a robust democracy. But the moderate government has since struggled to quell protests by increasingly vocal ultraconservative Muslims known as Salafis.

The youth wing of Ennahda said in a statement emailed early Saturday that both the film that incited the protests and the violence should be condemned.

The party’s statement accused “enemies of the revolution” of turning peaceful demonstrations into destructive mobs and manipulating anger over the film to divide the country and prevent Tunisia from building a robust democracy. “We call on the youth and on all Tunisians to maintain vigilance and unity in order to prevent all attempts at sowing divisions and halting the revolution,” the statement said. — AP

BEIRUT: Pope Benedict XVI urged Middle Eastern Christians and Muslims yesterday to forge a harmonious, pluralistic society in which the dignity of each person is respected and the right to worship in peace is guaranteed.

Speaking to political and religious leaders on the second day of a three-day trip to Lebanon, he stressed that people must repudiate vengeance, acknowledge their own faults and offer forgiveness to each other.

Thousands of people, mostly Christians and including many children, had lined the road leading to the palace in bright but pleasant morning sunshine, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pope as he headed to the presidential palace. Among them were Egyptians, Iraqis, Jordanians and Palestinians who came to witness the first papal visit to Lebanon since the late John Paul II came in 1997. The frail-looking 85-year-old pontiff, walking with the aid of a cane, first met President Michel Sleiman, a Maronite Christian.

Then, before talks with the Muslim leadership, he met Prime Minister Nagib Mikati, a Sunni, and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Shiite. Lebanon has an unwritten but rigorously followed tradition that the three top jobs are always reserved for members of those respective faith communities.

Those who desire to live in peace must have a change of heart, Benedict said, and that involves “rejecting revenge, acknowledging one’s faults, accepting apologies without demanding them and, not least, forgiveness.”

He said the universal yearning of humanity for peace can only come about through community, comprised of individual persons, whose aspirations and rights to a fulfilling life are respected. Lebanon is a multi-faith country in which Muslims make up about 65 percent of the population and Christians the balance.The pope came with a message of peace and reconciliation to it and to the wider Middle East, which have been torn by violence, often sectarian, over the years. “Why did God choose these lands? Why is their life so turbulent,” he asked.

“God chose these lands, I think, to be an example, to bear witness before the world that every man and woman has the possibility of concretely realising his or her longing for peace and reconciliation. This aspiration is par t of God’s eternal plan and he has impressed it deep within the human heart.”

The pope said the conditions for building and consolidating peace must be grounded in the dignity of man. Poverty, unemployment, corruption, addiction, exploitation and terrorism “not only cause unacceptable suffering to their victims but also a great impoverishment of human potential.

We run the risk of being enslaved by an economic and financial mindset, which would subordinate ‘being’ to ‘having’.” Without pointing fingers, he said “some ideologies

BEIRUT: Lebanese faithful wave to the Pope Benedict XVI in the popemobile upon his arrival at the presidential palace, in Baabda east of Beirut, Lebanon, yesterday. Pope Benedict XVI has appealed for religious freedom in the Middle East, calling it fundamental for stability in a region bloodied by sectarian strife. — AP

undermine the foundations of society. We need to be conscious of these attacks on our efforts to build harmonious coexistence.”

Cultural, social and religious differences should lead to a new kind of fraternity “wherein what rightly unites us is a shared sense of the greatness of each person and the gift which others are to themselves, to those around them and to all humanity.”

“Verbal and physical violence must be rejected, for these are always an assault on human dignity, both of the perpetrator and the victim.” Benedict noted that Christians and Muslims have lived side by side in the Middle East for centuries and that there is room for a pluralistic society.

“It is not uncommon to see the two religions within the same family. If this is possible within the same family, why should it not be possible at the level of the whole of society?

“The particular character of the Middle East consists in the centuries-old mix of diverse elements. Admittedly, they have fought one another, sadly that is also true. A pluralistic society can only exist on the basis of mutual respect, the desire to know the other and continuous dialogue.”

Central to that, the freedom “to profess and practise one’s religion without danger to life and liberty must be possible to everyone.

The loss or attenuation of this freedom deprives the person of his or her sacred right

to a spiritually integrated life.”

On Friday, the pontiff had already urged the region’s religious leaders to strive to “root out” fundamentalism, which he said “indiscriminately and fatally touches” believers of all faiths. He also unveiled a series of recommendations to Christians in the region that emerged from a synod of bishops he convened in 2010 to address their future and their relations with other faiths, particularly Islam.

On the street leading to the palace, Zeina Khoury, a Maronite who lives nearby, said “this is a blessing for Lebanon.” The pope’s visit is “important because it can bring us peace and because it reminds us of the importance of living together.”

The pope’s outreach to Muslims is particularly poignant as the region is rocked by the deadly violence over the anti-Islamist film that cost the lives of the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans on Tuesday.

After leaving the presidential palace, will have lunch with Eastern patriarchs and bishops at the Armenian Catholic patriarchate in the mountain village of Bzommar outside the capital.

His final public act for the day will be a meeting with Lebanese youth, both Christians and others, in the nearby village of Bkerke. The pope retuns to Rome today after celebrating an open-air mass at Beirut City Centre Waterfront. — AFP

Ibrahim stands alone in Syria war RAFAH: A Palestinian Hamas policeman stands guard near smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday. Egypt’s closure of scores of cross-border smuggling tunnels has affected the flow of goods into Gaza but has not dealt the knockout blow widely expected by traders and officials. — AFP

Gazans protest tunnels closure RAFAH: About 200 Palestinians marched yesterday in a Hamas-organised protest in the southern Gaza Strip against neighbouring Egypt’s closure of cross-border tunnels.

The demonstrators, half of them children, carried banners with slogans calling on Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to “End the Siege of Gaza!” and saying “Do not close the lifeline between Egypt and Gaza,” an AFP journalist at the rally in the border town of Rafah said.

“We call on our Egyptian brothers to stop their campaign against the tunnels which have been dug to allow Palestinians to overcome the blockade imposed by Israel in the Gaza Strip,” Mansur Barak, a

local leader of the Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the coastal strip, told the crowd.

Following an attack which killed 16 Egyptian border police in the Sinai on August 5, Cairo started to seal or destroy the network of tunnels on suspicion that some of the assailants had used them to sneak in from adjacent Gaza. The closures accompanied a major Egyptian military operation to hunt down militants in the remote and lawless Sinai. The tunnels are a vital lifeline for supplies of food, clothes, building materials and fuel into the impoverished Palestinian territory subjected to an Israeli blockade since 2006. — AFP

ALEPPO: He watches TV, lifts weights and does household chores: Ibrahim Abu Mohammed’s family has taken refuge in Turkey and like other fathers in the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo he has returned to guard their deserted home.

The thuds of shelling and rattle of machine-gun fire can be heard from only two kilometres (a mile) away, and the whirring of helicopter blades rattles the windows. Yet the small dirty concrete buildings of Ansari-a Sunni neighbourhood close to the front lines and near the centre of the northern city but without rebel positions-are largely intact. Like Ibrahim, there are a few men left behind, keeping watch over their property and brave enough to venture out to monitor the streets, on the lookout for the slightest noise, looters or strangers.

“When the shelling first started on July 20, we fled. We didn’t think this could happen here in Aleppo,” says the 52-year-old barber, his moustache finely trimmed and his arms sculpted by years of fitness.

Ibrahim has dug a hole in the wall in the lobby of the building, to hold an iron rod with which he bars the entrance to the building each night. He lives on the third

floor, with two floors above for some protection from shelling. “ The bombardments are especially intense at night, after midnight,” he says.

“Then I watch TV and turn up the volume. In the early morning it’s quiet and I see the first silhouettes in the street. I sleep there on the floor.” He points to a foam mattress, leaning against the couch in front of the flat screen.

He hopes the large armchair will protect him from shrapnel if a bomb lands too close. He keeps the windows and inside door open to avoid the force of any blast.

“I don’t go outside much: Every three days. There are shops open and I do my errands and my grocery shopping-tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese and grapes. I cook, but mostly I clean.”

Barefoot, wearing blue jogging pants and an undershirt, the wavy haired barber laughs: “Like a maniac, I spend hours cleaning. Even above the doors. The apartment has never been so clean!”

As in many other districts of Aleppo, electricity is surprisingly consistent for a war zone. The rare cuts happen for an hour at a time-”luckily,” he says. “Without TV and air conditioning, I couldn’t last.”

The phone even works from time to time, and he can find out news from his family.

Ibrahim’s barber’s shop is in another neighbourhood, which is much more of a target for air raids. “The last time I went there, I saw a MiG plane pass, and just after that an explosion at the end of the street. It’s too dangerous. And anyway there are no more customers. I pulled down the iron curtain and I haven’t gone back,” he says.

“Fortunately, we had money saved up,” he adds. His friend and only remaining neighbour, Abu Salem, passes by from time to time. The two men sit for tea or coffee and watch the Arab news stations or BBC Arabic.

Ibrahim has no passport and is counting on a friend-an official in an army-controlled area-to help him get one in a few weeks. For this reason, he is not willing to give his real family name. “ The war is here and throughout the country, and it’s going to last for at least a year,” he predicts. “When I get the passport ... it depends. If it becomes unbearable here, I’ll give the keys to Abu Salem and head for Kilis” across the border in Turkey where his family along with tens of thousands of refugees have fled. — AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

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

Bomb threats prompt evacuations at 3 campuses AUSTIN: Thousands of people streamed off three college campuses Friday after bomb threats prompted officials to issue evacuation orders for schools in Texas, North Dakota and Ohio. The campuses of the University of Texas at Austin and North Dakota State University in Fargo had been deemed safe by early afternoon, and authorities were working to determine whether those threats were related. A third evacuation order for much-smaller Hiram College in northeast Ohio was issued hours later but lifted Friday night after a sweep found nothing suspicious.

The threats on the campuses in Texas and North Dakota ended as false alarms after tens of thousands of people followed urgently worded evacuation orders, one of which some worried didn’t come fast enough. Both of those campuses emptied at quick but orderly paces Friday morning, though students acknowledged an air of confusion about what was going on. The threats coming as violent protests outside US embassies in the Middle East also stirred nervous tension among some students, and Texas officials acknowledged global events were taken into account.

The first threat came around 8:35 am to the University of Texas from a man claiming to belong to al-Qaeda, officials said. The caller claimed bombs placed throughout campus would go off in 90 minutes, but administrators waited

more than an hour before blaring sirens on the campus of 50,000 students and telling them to immediately “get as far away as possible” in emergency text messages.

Authorities said they started searching buildings for explosives before the alert was issued. UT President Bill Powers defended the decision not to evacuate sooner. “It’s easy to make a phone call ... the first thing we needed to do was evaluate,” Powers said. “If the threat had been for something to go off in five minutes, then you don’t have the time to evaluate, you just have to pull the switch.”

Not everyone agreed. “What took so long?” student Ricardo Nunez said. “It should have been more immediate.”

North Dakota State University President Dean Bresciani said about 20,000 people left the Fargo school’s campuses as part of an evacuation “that largely took place in a matter of minutes.” FBI spokesman Kyle Loven said NDSU received a call about 9:45 am that included a “threat of an explosive device.” Police and school officials said the evacuation was as organized as could be expected, with one campus employee describing people as “being North Dakota nice” while driving away.

“Nobody was panicked and nobody was trying to speed or run over anybody,” said Juleen Berg, who works at the NDSU heating plant. “Everybody was

waiting their turn.” Graduate student Lee Kiedrowski of Dickinson, N.D., said he was walking on the NDSU campus when he got a text message telling him to evacuate within 15 minutes. “The panic button wasn’t triggered quite immediately,” Kiedrowski said. “But there was definitely the thought that we live in a different world now, and with everything that’s going on with the riots at the US embassies in the Middle East, your brain just starts moving. You never really know what’s going on.” The UT president acknowledged officials in Texas also considered the current political climate.

“Certainly the global situation would be part of what we look at when we evaluate any threat,” Powers said. Hiram college received an emailed bomb threat about 4 p.m. and ordered everyone on campus to evacuate. Hiram spokesman Tom Ford said safety teams with bomb-sniffing dogs checked “room by room, building by building” on campus, which is about 35 miles southeast of Cleveland where about 1,300 students are enrolled.

The campus was deemed safe and reopened about six hours later. Ford said the college was fortunate the threat came in late evening, when many students were getting ready for the weekend. “A lot of kids just piled into their friends’ cars and were out of here,” he said. In Texas, Sirens wailed on the

Austin campus and cellphones pinged with text messages when the initial alert when out. Students described more confusion than panic as they exited the sprawling campus, where police blocked off all roads heading in as lines of cars sat in gridlock trying to get out.

The evacuation also created logistical concerns for the 14th-ranked Texas Longhorns football team. Inside a police station across from the football stadium, executive senior associate athletics director Ed Goble asked about getting the athletics complex building cleared because the team had to leave for a Saturday game at the University of Mississippi. The team’s locker room is inside the building.

Goble later said he wasn’t asking that the team be made a priority. Shortly after 11 am, while the rest of campus remained almost deserted, Goble said police had given players permission to go into the athletic complex to pack for the game. “All building managers are notified at the same time and all are expected to move as rapidly as possible,” said Gary Susswein, spokesman for the UT president’s office, noting there was no priorities list for what buildings were to be cleared first.

With rain falling, students stood under awnings and overhangs and inundated nearby off-campus restaurants and coffee shops as they waited for updates. Abby Johnston, a produc-

tion and special editions coordinator for Texas Student Media, said she received the first text message from the university while thinking about what she would publish in the next day’s paper. Then the sirens blared.

“We do the siren test once a month and so at first people thought maybe it was just a test, and then we started to tell everybody, ‘No actually we have to get out of here pretty immediately,’” said Johnston, 22. “There was definitely a little bit of nervous tension.”

Tania Lara, a graduate student at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, said she was at work inside a central campus academic building when she got a text message to get as far away was possible. “It was calm but nobody knew what was going on,” she said, describing a crush of students heading for the exits. “No one was yelling ‘get out of here’ or anything like that.” Also Friday, Valparaiso University in Indiana increased security and posted a warning to students on its website after a vague threat was discovered scrawled in graffiti. The school said the threat claimed “dangerous and criminal activity” would occur during the university’s daily chapel break.

The FBI and local authorities searched the campus but found nothing suspicious and university spokeswoman Nicole Niemi said classes and other regular activities would go on. —AP

US should not be dismayed by images of protests ‘We see that justice is done for those we lost’

BOSTON: US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R) and Ohio Senator Rob Portman (C) sing Happy Birthday to New York Times reporter Ashley Parker (L) and NBC producer Scott Foster (not pictured) as they celebrate his birthday aboard Romney’s campaign plane en route to Boston on Friday. —AFP

Capriles mocks Chavez’s election manifesto CARACAS: Venezuela’s opposition challenger Henrique Capriles sought to deflect attention from a corruption scandal by throwing the accusation back at President Hugo Chavez on Friday in an escalating political brawl ahead of the Oct. 7 vote.

Already in an uphill fight to end Chavez’s 14-year socialist rule of the South American OPEC member, Capriles’ camp suffered a setback on Thursday when government lawmakers released a video of an aide taking cash in dubious circumstances.

Capriles immediately fired the aide, Juan Carlos Caldera, and tried to turn the incident in his favor by saying that he unlike Chavez - would not tolerate any whiff of misconduct within his team.

“If this government and its candidate took on corruption, they’d have no ministers left,” Capriles told a rally.

Transparency International ranks Venezuela as the second-most corrupt nation in the Americas, after Haiti.

Opposition critics revel in tales of Chavez allies who in a matter of years have moved from slums to plush homes and bought yachts and luxury cars.

Government officials constantly try to link Capriles with the pre-Chavez era during which politicians for decades pocketed oil revenues while poverty deepened.

Chavez in a late-night interview said Capriles moved too quickly to “wash his hands” of the matter. “Imagine falling into the hands of these people, who turn knives on each other,” Chavez said in the televised interview.

“The first thing you have to do is investigate, not come out condemning him in 10 minutes or a half hour,” Chavez said.

“Imagine a president like that!”

At a rally in western Lara state, Capriles mocked Chavez for the lofty contents of his election manifesto. Its goals include deepening socialism, striving for a “new international geopolitical” dynamic, and helping to “save” mankind.

“They want to save the human race ... (but) where do they propose the solution to the problems you are living with every day? They don’t mention them because this government is worn out,” Capriles said, holding a copy of Chavez’s manifesto.

“Where’s the solution to the electricity problem? Where’s the solution to the water problem, the public services?” he asked, referring to power cuts and other day-to-

day problems. Capriles, a 40-year-old state governor who says Brazil’s mix of capitalism and strong social welfare programs is his economic model, seeks to project an image of youth, energy and attention to grassroots problems. He wants to end Chavez’s statist economics - especially the nationalization program - and his alliances with anti-US governments like Syria, Iran, Belarus and Cuba. Chavez, 58, who has outwitted the opposition time and time again since taking power in 1999, is promising Venezuela’s 29 million voters to extend his socialist crusade, spread oil wealth and overturn historic injustices.

Most of the best-known pollsters put Chavez ahead by 10 points or more. But opinion polls are notoriously controversial and divergent in Venezuela.

Capriles’ numbers have crept up in recent weeks. One major pollster on Friday put him just ahead of Chavez, 48.1 percent to 46.2 percent - neck-and-neck given the margin of error.

If Chavez wins easily, he would have carte blanche to continue his socialist experiment, perhaps seeking to extend the state’s grip on those areas of the economy such as banking - still left largely in private hands. A close result could result in protests and fraud claims from either side, leading to possible unrest in a polarized nation full of guns.

The government hopes the video of Capriles aide and opposition legislator Caldera, which shows him taking money in return for promising access to Capriles, will tarnish the candidate’s image.

But Caldera has said Capriles had nothing to do with it and that the money about $9,300 from a businessman - was a legitimate contribution to his mayoral campaign. “The government is doing this to try and put the brakes on something that is unstoppable,” he told a television station.

“They are trying to stop this with mud and dirty tactics.” Both sides have leaked documents that are purported to come from each others’ camps in recent days.

The government has displayed a supposed secret “neoliberal” economic package planned by Capriles, while opposition activists have circulated what they say is an internal campaign document from the Chavez camp with instructions on how to sully the opposition and exalt the president. — Reuters

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama urged Americans yesterday not to be disheartened by images of anti-American violence in the Islamic world, expressing confidence that the ideals of freedom America stands for will ultimately prevail.

“I know the images on our televisions are disturbing,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. “But let us never forget that for every angry mob, there are millions who yearn for the freedom, and dignity, and hope that our flag represents.”

The comments came after furious protesters targeted symbols of US influence in cities across the Muslim world, attacking embassies, schools and restaurants in retaliation for a film that mocks Islam.

At least six protesters died in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon and Sudan on Friday as local police battled to defend American missions from mobs of stone-throwers, and Washington deployed US Marines to protect its embassies in Libya and Yemen.

The protests broke out when Muslims emerged from mosques following weekly prayers to voice their anger at a crude film made in the United States by a right-wing Christian group that ridicules the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

Clashes or demonstrations were reported from as far apart as Mauritania and Indonesia. Troops in Nigeria fired live rounds in the flashpoint city of Jos and Egyptian police fought street battles in downtown Cairo.

In the Sudanese capital Khartoum, guards on the roof of the US embassy fired warning shots as the compound was breached by protesters waving Islamic banners, after earlier ransacking parts of the British and German missions.

Tunisian demonstrators, meanwhile, set fire to several vehicles and an American school during a failed attack on the main embassy compound, and in Lebanon, 300 Islamists set fire to a branch of the US fast food chain KFC. US ambassador Chris Stevens

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE: In this Sept. 14, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama, accompanied

by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaks during a Transfer of Remains Ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., marking the return to the United States of the remains of the four Americans killed this week in Benghazi, Libya. Middle East violence is shaking up a US presidential race that otherwise looks stubbornly stable — and tight. — AP and the three other Americans died Tuesday when a mob torched the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Obama assured that his administration was doing everything it could to protect Americans who were serving abroad.

“We are in contact with governments around the globe, to strengthen our cooperation, and underscore that every nation has a responsibility to help us protect our people,” he said. “We have moved forward with an effort to see that justice is done for those we lost, and we will not rest until that work is done.”

Late Friday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the United States was positioning military forces so that it can respond to unrest in as many as 17 or 18 places in the Islamic world.

“We have to be prepared in the event that these demonstrations get out of control,” Panetta told Foreign Policy magazine.

He did not offer any specifics.

But the magazine said that the Pentagon was discussing, but had not yet decided, whether to send a third platoon of 50 specially trained Marines to protect the US Embassy in Sudan that had found itself under assault.

If approved, this deployment will follow the roughly 100 Marines that already have landed in Libya and Yemen.

But at the same time, he urged compatriots not to lose faith in the ideals of freedom and opportunity set forth at the time of the country’s founding. “We are Americans.

We know that our spirit cannot be broken, and the foundation of our

leadership cannot be shaken,” the president pointed out. “That is the legacy of the four Americans we lost - men who will live on in the hearts of those they loved, and the strength of the country they served.”

Obama said his government will carry forward the work of making the United States stronger, its citizens safer, and the world “a better and more hopeful place.”

Meawhile, presenting a weekly Republican address, Representative Allen West of Florida called on the president to avoid making significant defense spending cuts at this time. “It is because of these threats that America must continue to fund its military and support its Armed Forces to the fullest extent,” West said. “ The lives of all Americans depend on it.” —AFP

16 bodies found in northern Mexico MEXICO CITY: A total of 16 dead bodies were found Friday in northern Mexico as a war between drug cartels over lucrative delivery routes to the United States continued to take its toll. Nine of the dead were found hanging from a bridge in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo, a killing spree authorities blamed on drug gang violence. A Mexican drug cartel claimed responsibility for the murders, a state government official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He did not say which cartel.

Some 40 percent of Mexican exports sent by land to the United States cross through Nuevo Laredo, making the town a choice site for drug smugglers.

“The nine bodies were hanging from a bridge on Colosio Boulevard,” over the express lane leading to the highway that links Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey, Mexico’s third largest city, the official said.

He said the victims were likely kidnapped from a bar hours earlier. One of the victims was a “young man, 16 years old,” and all the bodies showed evidence of “bullet wounds to the head,” the Tamaulipas state prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The office later revealed that seven more bodies of men aged between 50 and 65 had been found on a road near the town of San Fernando. All of them had tied hands and gunshot wounds, a sign of execution-style killings.

The gruesome find was made no far from the site where 72 dead immigrants, allegedly executed by the Zetas drug cartel, were found in 2010. The chilling display followed Wednesday’s arrest of Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, a senior leader of the Gulf cartel. In early September, authorities arrested Mario Cardenas Guillen,

another Gulf cartel leader.

The Gulf cartel and its former allies, the paramilitary Zetas, have been fighting to control the Nuevo Laredo smuggling routes for at least two years. A third gang, the Sinaloa Federation, has also sought to control the routes.

Analysts have predicted a rise in violence as rival gangs try to capitalize on the blows to the Gulf cartel.In May, nine bodies, including four women, were found hanging from a Nuevo Laredo bridge. The bodies were discovered hours after 14 decapitated bodies were found near the mayor’s office.

Authorities attributed the killings to drug gang warfare. Some 60,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since 2006, when President Felipe Calderon deployed Mexico’s military to take on the gangs. — AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

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

German opposition leader tells party can unseat Merkel BERLIN: Germany’s former Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier appealed to the emotions of his centreleft opposition party yesterday with an attack on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition and a vow to win back power in next year’s election.

Steinmeier, one of three Social Democrat (SPD) leaders jostling to lead the party into the 2013 election, delivered an uncharacteristically rousing speech to 700 SPD officials at a conference, in what sounded like an audition for the top job.

“We’re going to fight to win, not for second place,” Steinmeier said, dismissing suspicions the SPD would be content as junior partner in another grand coalition with Merkel’s conservatives. “We want to lead in a coalition with the Greens, a coalition that will point Germany towards the future.”

The SPD will pick a candidate in

January to run against Merkel in the election due in September 2013.

Steinmeier leads the pack, ahead of SPD Chairman Sigmar Gabriel and ex-Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck.

Often criticised for a colourless and cerebral style, Steinmeier was full of fight during his hour-long address, drawing enthusiastic applause for bashing Merkel and her squabbling coalition which he said was squandering a solid foundation laid by the last SPD-led government.

“The country is in agony with this coalition,” he told the SPD’s “Zukunftskongress”, or conference on the future. “Wherever you look they’re fighting each other. This coalition has been together for three years but they still haven’t formed a working government. They’re blowing the headstart for Germany we created for them.”

Having ousted Merkel’s CDU in three

of Germany’s 16 state elections in 2011 and 2012, the SPD has said it wants to raise taxes on the rich if it wins back power in 2013. “ They’re talking the country into a coma with the same tired line: ‘We’re in good shape in Germany’,” Steinmeier said. “We’re glad we’re in good shape. But we know we’re living on borrowed time and we know that time is slipping away. This government is squandering the head start the last SPD-led government gave it.”

Steinmeier was chief of staff in the SPDGreens government and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s right-hand man in the SPD-Greens coalition that led Germany until 2005. Its “Agenda 2010” economic reform programme is widely credited with setting a solid basis for Germany’s performance even though the painful measures hurt the SPD at the polls.

Steinmeier was foreign minister under Merkel in the CDU-SPD grand

coalition that helped guide Germany through the 2008/09 financial crisis that hit the export-oriented economy hard.

Recent opinion polls show Merkel’s conservatives would win about 36 percent of the vote but their Free Democrat (FDP) coalition par tners would win only four percent and fail even to clear the 5 percent threshold needed for seats in parliament.

Steinmeier’s SPD would win 30 percent and their preferred Greens partners would win 13 percent. But their combined total of 43 percent would likely fall short of about the 47- to 48percent analysts say is needed to form a parliamentary majority. Many analysts expect a grand coalition as the likely outcome.

Long ambivalent about whether to run against Merkel again, wary of a second drubbing after the SPD got a postwar record low score of 23 percent in

2009, Steinmeier now appears to really want the job.

His main rival, Steinbrueck, who was in Merkel’s cabinet as finance minister from 2005 to 2009, said the party needed to regain its confidence. “Sure, we can talk about the mistakes we made.

But we ought to start showing some political body language and explain to people that a lot of what is going well in Germany right now is because of what the SPD did between 2002 and 2009.”

Steinbrueck, was a front runner a year ago thanks in part to his appeal to middle-of-the-road voters. But scepticism in the SPD’s left wing against him has remained high. The third candidate, Gabriel, recently signalled he might withdraw from the race. Gabriel, 52, said he wanted to spend more time with his family after the birth of a baby daughter earlier this year. — Reuters

S Africa police launch major crackdown on mining unrest Five hundred officers raid hostels

MARSHAL BAGRAMIAN: Kazakh soldiers take part in the joint military exercises of Rapid Deployment Forces of the nations, members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), at the Marshal Bagramian training grounds, close to the Armenian-Turkish border, yesterday. CSTO is the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a regional grouping that Moscow has touted as a counterweight to NATO and includes Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. — AFP

Violent mob prevents oppn protest in Togo LOME: A violent mob with sticks and machetes occupied an area where Togolese opposition groups planned to protest in the capital yesterday as police looked on, with claims that several people were hurt.

The protest was called off and no major incidents occurred while journalists were at the site, but a spokesman for the organisers said a number of people who had arrived earlier for the demonstration were wounded by the mob.

The mob of several dozen people, many carrying long sticks, threatened passers-by and prevented journalists from taking photographs in the neighbourhood considered a ruling party stronghold.

At one point, they pulled a motorcycle rider from his bike for unclear reasons while striking him and pushing him toward the police, who later allowed him to leave when the mob moved further down the street.

Police at the scene declined to comment. About 20 police stood by as the mob moved up and down the street with the weapons and did not appear to arrest anyone. Meanwhile, a separate demonstration of several hundred people in support of the government in another part of the city was held without any incidents reported.

Government officials could not be immediately reached for comment. The cancelled protest had been organised by Let’s Save Togo, a coalition of opposition and civil society groups. “The march was prevented by ruling party militia members armed with clubs and machetes,” Zeus

Ajavon, coordinator for Let’s Save Togo, told AFP. “When our supporters arrived at the demonstration site, they were met by militia members who attacked and beat them while security forced watched and said nothing. Several of our supporters were wounded.”

Several protests in recent months organised by Let’s Save Togo have been dispersed by police firing tear gas. Clashes have also broken out between security forces and protesters.

One of the leaders of the mob on Saturday, who declined to give his name, said they were preventing the protest because the neighbourhood was home to many elderly people who would be harmed by tear gas if it were fired. He said they had not been asked to occupy the area by anyone and their action did not involve politics.

“We don’t want a (Let’s Save Togo) rally here because we don’t want tear gas affecting our old mothers who are here,” he said, a small machete swinging from a rope hung around his neck. Parliamentary elections are due in October in Togo, a small West African country ruled by the same family for more than four decades, but a date has not been announced and they are widely expected to be delayed.

The military installed President Faure Gnassingbe in power after the death of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema in 2005. He has since won elections in 2005 and 2010.

His father ruled with an iron fist for 38 years until his death. — AFP

Ukraine risks failing election test, US warns YALTA: Ukraine’s parliamentary election next month risks falling short of democratic standards and further damaging the former Soviet republic’s ties with the West, a senior US official warned yesterday.

Just a day after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said the Oct. 28 poll would help Ukraine seal a long-sought association agreement with the European Union, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Melia said it could receive a “failed” grade. “Ukraine could find itself increasingly distant in all directions rather than integrated in all directions,” Melia told a conference in the Black Sea resort of Yalta attended by senior Ukrainian officials including Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. “ The election is another important moment for national choices, national decision-making and I think that unless or until some significant steps are taken to improve things like the election environment you are not going to be able to move as closely as many of you want to Europe and the United States.”

Analysts expect Yanukovich’s Party of the Regions and its allies to retain a majority in parliament, even though the government has taken a hit since his election in February 2010 because of unpopular tax and pension reforms and little progress in

improving the business climate.

EU officials on Friday expressed a similar dim view of Uk raine’s democratic progress under Yanukovich, saying the case of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko remained a stumbling block to good relations Yanukovich’s key opponent, Tymoshenko, a former prime minister, was sentenced to seven years in prison last October on abuse-of-office charges and cannot stand in the election, although her party Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) is running. Brussels and Washington have condemned Tymoshenko’s trial as an example of selective justice and urged her release but Yanukovich has refused to intervene. Speaking at the same conference on Friday, Yanukovich ignored the Tymoshenko case and said the October poll would help Ukraine’s integration into the European mainstream, a top priority in his foreign affairs agenda.

But Melia made it clear that Tymoshenko’s jailing would affect the West’s judgment on the election as an exercise in democracy. “I think with the political prosecution, politically directed prosecutions against certain opposition candidates, that has serious consequences on the quality of the election here,” Melia said. —Reuters

MARIKANA: South African police yesterday fired rubber bullets, raided worker hostels and seized traditional weapons at platinum giant Lonmin in a crackdown on rising unrest in the key mining industry.

A military helicopter arrived as backup after security forces used rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of workers in a shantytown near where police shot dead 34 people last month at the London-listed company’s Marikana mine.

“Wherever we see this unruly behaviour and people taking the law into their hands by embarking on unprotected gatherings and illegal gatherings, we are definitely going to act,” police spokesman Thulani Ngubane told AFP. “The police are not going to hesitate to act. We are going to act as we have started acting and we are going to continue doing that.” The raids are the first use of force by police since the bloodshed on August 16, which shocked the world with its echoes of apartheid brutality. Officers had since been monitoring a spike in protests in the country’s platinum belt from afar. Police moved into Marikana less than 24 hours after government announced a security clampdown on the unrest that has forced three leading platinum producers to halt mining operations on the richest deposits in the world.

Five hundred officers raided hostels at world number three producer Lonmin’s mine at 2:00 am (0000 GMT) and seized piles of metal rods, spears, machetes and sticks. Police then fired tear gas to disperse gathering protesters later in the morning, with clashes breaking out as workers regrouped and threw stones at officers amid the shacks opposite the mine. Plumes of black smoke poured into the sky from burning tyres which workers used as barricades along with large rocks dragged across the dirt roads inside the humble settlement. “We used rubber bullets, we used stun grenades,” Ngubane confirmed. Images of people with bloody wounds from the rubber bullets were shown on television news channel eNCA. An AFP photographer on the scene saw a man bleeding after

MARIKANA: South African police arrest a miner in Marikana yesterday at Lonmin’s platinum mine, seizing traditional weapons after hundreds of workers regrouped in a shantytown near where police shot dead 34 people last month.. South African police fired rubber bullets and tear gas Saturday to disperse workers at platinum giant Lonmin’s strike-hit Marikana mine in a crackdown on rising unrest in the key industry. — AFP being shot in the arm and the side of his body. “A police nyala (armoured truck) drove past us, we were a group of women and others ran away. I just stood there watching and they shot me in my leg,” Melita Ramasedi told the Sapa news agency, showing her bleeding leg.

The military helicopter was sent in to provide support to a police chopper, but there were no soldiers on the ground. The government on Friday said the situation was not a state of emergency.

Yet Ngubane did not rule out the military being sent in to assist police if needed. “They are part of the state, all state resources are available to make sure that we maintain the situation of Marikana,” he said. “But at this stage there is no soldier that is anywhere on the field or that is any-

where around the operational area of Marikana.”

A total of 12 people were arrested in the morning, bringing the total to 19 since the crackdown was launched Friday, but the police said more were being processed. The wage disputes have spread to surrounding mines after starting with a wildcat strike that erupted last month at Marikana and turned violent, killing 45 people in all.

On Friday, the world’s leading ferrochrome producer, Xstrata Alloys, and the fourth-largest platinum producer, Aquarius, said growing protests and tensions in the area had forced the temporary halt of operations.

The world’s top platinum producer Anglo American Platinum has also closed five of its mines over safety

fears after intimidation and threats of violence against staff trying to go to work. The government clampdown is targeting the illegal gatherings, weapons, incitement and threats of violence that have characterised the unrest-with thousands of miners mobilising with spears and machetes and fiery threats of intimidation and deepened strike action.

The mining sector, the backbone of South Africa’s economy, directly employs around 500,000 people and accounts for nearly one-fifth of gross domestic product when related activities are included. It also brings in about half of the nation’s export earnings.

The labour strife has also spread to the gold sector, where 15,000 Gold Fields miners have been striking since Sunday. — AFP

British royals accuse paper of ‘greed’ over Kate snaps LONDON: Britain’s royal family yesterday condemned the “greed” of an Irish newspaper and warned an Italian magazine after it decided to publish topless photographs of Prince William’s wife Catherine.

The candid snaps appeared in yesterday’s Irish Daily Star newspaper, but would not appear in its British or Northern Irish editions, editor Mike O’Kane told the BBC. A spokesman for the couple’s St James’ Palace office said “there can be no motivation for this action other than greed.”

The family also warned Italian magazine Chi that “unjustifiable upset” would be heaped upon Catherine if it went ahead with its plans to print the photos. The royals launched legal action on Friday against French magazine Closer which is part of the media empire of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi-after it became the first publication to print paparazzi snaps of Catherine sunbathing with her husband. The royal family hoped to contain the scandal by swiftly suing

SABAB: Prince William, left, and his wife Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge walk through the rainforest in Danum Valley Research Center in Danum Valley, Sabab, Malaysia, yesterday. — AP

Closer-but Chi, an Italian weekly also published by Berlusconi’s Mondadori Group, announced late Friday that it planned to print the same images on Monday. “Any such publication would serve no purpose other than to cause further, entirely unjustifiable upset to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were enjoying time alone together in the privacy of a relative’s home,” said a spokeswoman from the couple’s office at St James’s Palace.

The palace would not comment on potential legal action concerning the planned publication in Italy, but warned that “all proportionate responses will be kept under review”.

Chi editor Alfonso Signorini defended his magazine, telling reporters: “This is a deserving topic because it shows in a completely natural way the daily life of a very famous, young and modern couple in love.” Irish editor O’Kane later accepted he was driven by selling newspapers, but said that was nothing to apologise for. “The duchess would be no different to any other celeb pics we would get in, for example Rihanna or Lady Gaga,” he told the BBC.“She’s not the future queen of Ireland so really the only place this is causing fury seems to be in the UK, and they are very very tasteful pictures.” Closer magazine confirmed to AFP that a hearing would be held on Monday at a court in Nanterre, north

west Paris, on the complaint.

William, second-in-line to the throne, and Catherine yesterday put on a brave face for the cameras during a visit to a Borneo jungle. The couple, both 30, are suing Closer for invasion of privacy over the pictures which show Catherine sunbathing in just a bikini bottom by a pool.

The images evoked memories of the press harassment of William’s mother Diana, who died in a 1997 car crash as she was pursued through Paris by paparazzi. William is believed to blame the paparazzi for his mother’s death. Palace officials said the royals considered the pictures published by Closer to be a “grotesque” breach of privacy. “The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to The Duke and Duchess for being so.”

Pieau has insisted Closer has no regrets about printing the pictures.

“These photos are not in the least shocking. They show a young woman sunbathing topless, like the millions of women you see on beaches,” she told AFP. Closer said the pictures were taken on the terrace of the Autet Chateau in Provence, southern France. The magazine said the chateau is owned by Viscount Linley, the son of Queen Elizabeth II’s late sister Princess Margaret.—AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

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

Myanmar stung by global censure over unrest YANGON: Myanmar grew used to international criticism under a notoriously brutal junta, but reformist leaders tackling the fallout from deadly communal unrest are facing a new reality-having to listen.

Festering animosity between Buddhists and Muslims in western Rakhine state erupted in June leaving, according to official figures, nearly 90 dead. Whole villages lie decimated as a result of the fighting, leaving tens of thousands displaced, many from the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority who have long suffered persecution in the country and elsewhere.

Access to the affected areas is restricted, but a steady stream of foreign diplomats and media have visited, eager to bear witness to the aftermath of unrest that has caught the attention of the Western and Islamic world.

“The Burmese have fully joined the global stage,” said a foreign diplomat, who asked not to be named. “They discovered (the unrest) has an international impact which they did not

imagine and suddenly found that it was not just an isolated problem in a corner of the country.”

The violence, ignited by the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman and the revenge mob killing of 10 Muslims, quickly caught the attention of the outside world.

Human Rights organisations have accused Myanmar forces of opening fire on the Rohingya while the UN human rights chief warned of a stream of reports “alleging discriminatory and arbitrary responses by security forces” against Muslims. Soon after, the 57member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) decided to take the issue to the United Nations. It condemned “the continued recourse to violence by the Myanmar authorities against the members of this minority and their refusal to recognise their right to citizenship”.

While the crisis went far beyond just religion, it also caught the attention of fundamentalists, with Islamic extremists threatening jihad and the Pakistani Taliban warning of repercus-

sions unless Islamabad severed relations with Naypyidaw.

The government scrambled to deny abuses, particularly religious oppression and-after initial reticence-tried to open the area to representatives from international governments and aid agencies. “Most of them understood the situation well, but some might not have got the full picture,” said Zaw Htay, a director at the presidential office, of the numerous foreign visitors coming to the Rakhine state capital Sittwe.

But he said it was clear his government needed to do much more given the barrage of rumours and insults that spread across the Internet, heightening tension within Myanmar and causing international alarm.

“Today is a time of transparency and telecommunications have become very fast. The problem mainly started online,” he told AFP. The approach is a marked change in tack from that taken after cyclone Nargis in 2008 left 138,000 dead or disappeared and saw the junta slam shut its bor-

ders and refuse foreign aid.

“This government is acting in a very different way and it is now much more exposed to international public opinion, this is a good thing,” said Jim Della-Giacoma of the think tank International Crisis Group.

“The government acknowledges the problem and concedes there is a role for some outsiders,” he said.

Among the foreigners invited to help in Rakhine state were the Indonesian Red Cross, which sent a team of aid workers last month with 500 hygiene kits, 3,000 blankets and 10,000 sarongs. “There is also a private role for some quiet diplomacy here,” DellaGiacoma added, saying regional neighbours could be pivotal in discussions. Anxious to show goodwill, President Thein Sein set up a commission representing all sides, including former political prisoners, to investigate the cause of the violence and propose long-term solutions.

But his statements on the Rohingya-viewed as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh by the government

and many ordinary Burmese-have appeared contradictory, swinging from urging communal harmony to suggesting the stateless group be deported or put in camps.

The issue is likely to be high on the agenda in the Myanmar leader ’s upcoming trip to the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly for the first time since taking power.

But both Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also travelling to the US on Sunday, are wary of any statements that could be seen as supporting the Rohingya with public opinion in such a high state of volatility. A Myanmar academic, who asked not to be named, said the best way to deal with the situation was impartiality and action to ameliorate conditions in the devastated area.

“There is a way to go there: don’t take sides and don’t talk too much. If you really want to help them up, help them up. We need to rebuild houses, monasteries, mosques, schools... and we need to educate people.” — AFP

Anti-Japan protests erupt in China over islands row Japan FM cuts short Australia trip

MANILA: Rescuers paddle their boat to bring residents to drier areas after overnight rains spawned by typhoon Sanba (local name “Karen”) flooded parts of San Juan city, east of Manila, Philippines yesterday. — AP

China’s presumed next leader reappears in public BEIJING: Chinese leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping reappeared in public yesterday and made an impromptu speech following a two-week absence that had sparked rumors about his health and raised questions about the stability of the country’s succession process.

State media said Xi toured exhibits at China Agricultural University in Beijing commemorating National Science Popularization Day, but offered no explanation of why he had dropped from sight. Photos posted on the government’s official website showed Xi walking in the sunshine dressed casually in an open-necked shirt and black wind breaker. Another photo showed him smiling as he looked at potted plants, showing no sign of disability or ill health.

A lengthy Chinese-language report from the official Xinhua News Agency did not address why Xi had not been seen publicly since Sept. 1, when he made a speech at the ruling Communist Party’s official training academy. Since then, he has canceled meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries including US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Danish Prime Minister Helle ThorningSchmidt. The Chinese government has yet to explain Xi’s public absence.

Speculation over Xi’s absence highlights the intense scrutiny China’s succession process is under, tempered with uneasiness about the country’s opaque political system, which often seems at odds with its rising global importance.

“The leadership needs to realize how the world perceives this. They may have their own reasons for keeping secret, but it is not beneficial to China’s global status and position as a world power,” said David Zweig, an expert on Chinese politics at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Xinhua said Xi, while visiting the university, spoke about food safety and made an impromptu speech in which he praised the university for sharing science with the public.

Xi is due to take over as head of the Communist Party at a leadership congress later this year, the first step in a generational power transition that will see him assume the presidency next spring, embarking on what is expected to be a decade at the helm of the world’s most populous nation and second-largest economy.

In addition to deciding personnel matters, Xi is heavily involved in drafting a major report to be delivered at the congress, as well as possible amendments to the party’s constitution. While Xi hasn’t indicated what if

any changes he plans to make, expectations are high for gradual economic and political reforms to meet China’s changing circumstances, three decades after its abandonment of orthodox Marxism.

Xi’s absence also came amid the biggest crisis in years in relations with neighbor Japan, sparked by a renewed dispute over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Amid a wave of anti-Japanese demonstrations around the country, Beijing has taken an unusually hardline stance over the long-running dispute, sending maritime surveillance vessels into what Japan says are its territorial waters around the islands on Friday in a show of resolve. While Xi is generally considered a political moderate, he comes from a family of stalwart Communists and is seen by some as likely to be relatively tough on matters of sovereignty and national dignity.

“It’s a critical political time when the whole world is looking at this guy. If they’re worried about uncertainty and instability, well ... this will just feed the instability,” Zweig said. Early rumors about his public absence said the 59year-old Xi had thrown his back out swimming or pulled a muscle playing football. As the days passed and Xi was still not seen, speculation escalated to more serious conditions, including a heart attack, stroke and emergency surgery. While the Communist Party has become more sensitive to public opinion over nationalism and social unrest, it reverts to its roots as a clandestine organization when it comes to the leaders’ private lives, particularly their health.

The uncertainty surrounding Xi has been heightened by the party’s silence on the dates for the party congress, widely expected to be held in late October. The leader-in-waiting’s sudden disappearance on the eve of his ascension also came during a year full of unforeseen and unsettling political developments that had already threatened hopes for a smooth party leadership. Most notably, the case of Bo Xilai, one of China’s most charismatic and ambitious politicians who fell from power in March, remains unsettled.

Bo’s former aide, Wang Lijun, is to go on trial Tuesday in southwest China’s Chengdu city on defection, bribery and other charges.

Wang served as the police chief in the city of Chongqing under Bo but lost his job for still unexplained reasons. In February, Wang fled to the US Consulate in Chengdu, where he told US diplomats about his suspicions linking Bo’s wife to the murder of a British businessman. — AP

BEIJING: Thousands of Chinese besieged the Japanese embassy in Beijing yesterday, hurling rocks, eggs and bottles as protests broke out in other major cities in China amid growing tension between Asia’s two biggest economies over a group of disputed islands.

Paramilitary police with shields and batons barricaded the embassy, holding back and occasionally fighting with slogan-chanting, flag-waving protesters who at times appeared to be trying to storm the building.

“Return our islands! Japanese devils get out!” some shouted. One of them held up a sign reading: “For the respect of the motherland, we must go to war with Japan.”

Protester Liu Gang, a migrant worker from the southern region of Guangxi, said: “We hate Japan. We’ve always hated Japan. Japan invaded China and killed a lot of Chinese. We will never forget.”

Japan said its foreign minister had cut short a visit to Australia and flown back to Tokyo. The long-standing territorial dispute escalated dramatically on Friday when China sent six surveillance ships to a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, raising tension between the two countries to its highest level since 2010.

China, which has similar disputes elsewhere with other neighbours, was responding to Japan’s decision on Tuesday to buy the islands, which Tokyo calls the Senkaku and Beijing calls the Diaoyu, from a private Japanese owner despite Chinese warnings against doing so.

Sino-Japanese ties have long been plagued

by China’s bitter memories of Japan’s military aggression in the 1930s and 1940s and present rivalry over resources - the islands are believed to be surrounded by energy-rich waters - and regional clout.

Relations between the two countries, whose business and trade ties have blossomed in recent years, chilled in 2010, after Japan arrested a Chinese trawler captain whose boat collided with Japanese Coast Guard vessels near the islands.

In Shanghai, streets around the Japanese consulate, in the western part of town, were cordoned off. Hundreds of police let small groups of people in at a time to protest.

China’s official Xinhua news agency said big anti-Japan protests were also held in the Chinese cities of Xian, Changsha, Nanjing and Qingdao. Japanese media reported outbreaks of violence as people attacked Japanese restaurants and businesses.

“Armed police and police officers have

been dispatched to protest sites to maintain order,” Xinhua said in an English-language report, the first mention of the unrest by mainstream Chinese media.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency said that the demonstrations were the biggest in China since the two countries normalised diplomatic relations in 1972. Pictures on China’s popular Twitter-like Sina Weibo showed hundreds of protesters marching down a street in the southwestern city of Kunming with banners

China’s ruling Communist Party, which likes to project an image of stability, rarely permits protests to take place. While Beijing is under strong popular pressure to take a tough line with Japan, it will also be cautious not to let the protests spin out of control.

“I think the government is encouraging this,” said one protester, who gave his name as Uda Chen. “They could have stopped all of us approaching when we were at the subway station. The government has taught us to be anti-

BEIJING: Chinese demonstrators clash with policemen at the barricades during an antiJapan protests outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing yesterday. Angry protesters staged anti-Japanese demonstrations in cities across China yesterday over Japan’s control of disputed islands, with a protest in Beijing turning violent before being brought under control by police. — AP and Chinese flags. Users also reported protests in other, smaller cities, which included looting of shops and destruction of Japanese cars.

There have been sporadic protests around China throughout the week, although those in Beijing had been small and largely peaceful.

The latest dispute flared up last month after Japan detained a group of Chinese activists who had landed on the islands. Diplomats say Tokyo and Beijing want to keep the row from escalating, but managing the situation can be difficult given that China is undergoing a leadership change, an election is looming in Japan and mutual mistrust runs deep.

Japanese at school, so if they want us to stop it would be like slapping their own mouths,” he added.

The influential Chinese tabloid, the Global Times, published by Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily, said backing off was not an option for China.

“China should be confident about strategically overwhelming Japan,” it wrote, saying the Chinese military should “increase their preparation and intensify their deterrence” against Japan. “China will not shy away if Japan chooses to resort to its military,” the widely read paper added. — Reuters

Myanmar activist cancels trip to US YANGON: A prominent Myanmar activist said yesterday that he was canceling an upcoming trip to the United States to receive a democracy award, to show solidarity with more than a dozen fellow activists whose applications for passports have apparently been denied.

Min Ko Naing was to be recognized by the National Endowment for Democracy as one of five Myanmar activists who have made significant contributions to the democracy movement in the former military-ruled country.

The ceremony is taking place Thursday in Washington, with a keynote speech to be given by Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s most famous democracy crusader.

The opposition leader leaves today for her first US trip since she was put under house arrest in 1990. Min Ko Naing was a key leader of pro-democracy protests in 1988 and 2007. He spent most of the past 20 years as a political prisoner in solitary confinement until his release in January. Other activists endured similar sen-

tences for participating in the protests, which were outlawed along with all dissent by the former military junta. Ahead of his trip to Washington, authorities granted passports to Min Ko

Naing and a handful of other prominent activists, including Ko Ko Gyi, also a high-profile leader of the 1988 student-led democracy rallies. But nearly two dozen other pro-democracy activists have

YANGON: This file picture taken on January 14, 2012 shows political activist and leader of the 1988 student uprising Min Ko Naing, addressing supporters in Tharyar Waddy, a town north of Yangon, following his release from detention a day before. Leading Myanmar activist Min Ko Naing, pivotal in massive democracy protests in 1988 and 2007, has refused to visit the US to collect a democracy award after fellow dissidents were denied passports, a member of his group said yesterday. — AFP

been left in limbo, some of whom applied for passports up to six months ago and were told upon inquiring at the Home Ministry to come back in a year, Ko Ko Gyi told The Associated Press.

Passports in Myanmar are generally issued within three weeks. “I really value the award given by the National Endowment for Democracy, but I have decided not to travel to Washington to accept it,” Min Ko Naing told the AP. “On principle, I will not travel alone when my colleagues are denied their citizens’ rights,” he said. “We should be treated as equals and be given passports together.” Over the last year, President Thein Sein’s government has spearheaded unprecedented change in Myanmar, relaxing decades of harsh rule and allowing freedoms previously unheard of in the Southeast Asian nation.

But major challenges remain.

Rights groups say that human rights abuses continue, that rule of law is weak and that corruption remains strong. — AP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

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

Hundreds demonstrate in Indonesia over film SURABAYA: Hundreds of men, women and children from an Islamic group protested yesterday in Indonesia against the United States over a film that mocked the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

About 500 protesters from the Hizb ut-Tahrir organisation gathered in Surabaya and Malang, two cities in East Java province. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation. “We must be united

to safeguard the dignity of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), the Allah messenger,” a demonstrator told 400 protesters in Surabaya city centre, while dozens of policemen stood guard.

“We must not stay quiet when the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is insulted. This is a cruel insult,” he told the crowd via loudspeaker. They responded with shouts of “Allahu Akbar!” (God is greater).

In Malang, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south, more than one hundred protesters from the group gathered in the city centre, carrying banners reading “When Islam is insulted, Jihad must be the solution” and “Crush America”. “The film director must be punished by death,” one of the protesters shouted while others chanted the holy Quranic “There is no God but Allah”. More than 350 protesters from the group

staged a similar rally on Friday outside the US embassy in the capital Jakarta, saying that Americans must be expelled from the country. Demonstrations, some of them violent, have erupted worldwide over the low-budget US-made film. On Tuesday the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans were killed when a mob torched the consulate in Benghazi. — AFP

Thousands mourn ‘messiah’ at elaborate Moon funeral ‘Funeral was webcast live’ GAPYEONG: More than 30,000 tearful mourners attended the elaborate, flower-strewn funeral in South Korea yesterday of their “messiah” and controversial Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon.

Moon died of complications from pneumonia on September 3 aged 92. His church, whose members were mocked as “Moonies” by the media, was renowned for its mass weddings of thousands-sometimes tens of thousands-of couples and for its multi-billion-dollar business interests.

ate family, moved through the stadium and placed the coffin at the foot of the portrait. Over the past 10 days, more than 150,000 mourners had paid their last respects at Moon’s portrait before his burial Saturday on a hillside overlooking the sprawling Gapyeong complex.

Eulogies were led by the youngest of Moon’s seven sons and his spiritual successor, Hyung Jin Moon, who vowed to continue the work of the “true father, saviour and messiah” following his “transition into the spirit world”.

Revered by his followers but denounced by

SEOUL: Unification Church honour guards carry the coffin (L) containing the body of late Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon during his funeral ceremony at the Cheongshim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, about 60 km east of Seoul, yesterday. — AFP In a ceremony that bore the trappings of a state funeral, Moon’s carved, red-lacquer coffin was carried by men in military-style uniforms into a stadium at the church headquarters in Gapyeong, 60 kilometres (35 miles) east of Seoul.

The vast, covered arena, dominated by an altar where a giant portrait of Moon stood on a landscaped bank of floral tributes, was packed to capacity with church members-thousands of whom had flown in from overseas.

Many sobbed quietly as the honour guard, accompanied by members of Moon’s immedi-

critics as a cult-building charlatan who brainwashed church members, Moon was a deeply divisive figure whose shadowy business dealings saw him jailed in the United States.

The teachings of the Unification Church are based on the Bible but with new interpretations, and Moon saw his role as completing the unfulfilled mission of Jesus to restore humanity to a state of “sinless” purity.

While it claims a worldwide following of three million, experts suggest the core membership is far smaller although it still carries a commercial clout that allows the church to punch way above

Afghan parliament votes in new spy chief, ministers KABUL: Afghanistan’s parliament voted in a new intelligence chief and two security ministers yesterday, stepping closer to settling a row with President Hamid Karzai over ministerial appointments.

Political turmoil has delayed decisions on crucial legislation, including a revised mining law being closely watched by Western donors and foreign mining companies.

Any fresh dispute between Karzai and parliament could also complicate the timetable for the planned transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan forces and a withdrawal by most foreign combat troops by 2014.

The nomination of the influential former Kandahar governor Asadullah Khalid as the new head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), has alarmed human rights groups who say the NDS has a long and welldocumented history of torturing its detainees.

Diplomats and rights groups have linked Khalid to abuse of suspected insurgents at a prison in Kandahar during his time as provincial governor.

An MP from northern Kunduz province, Shukria Paikan, dismissed the human rights abuse allegations against Khalid. “Until I see human rights violations by my eye, I never trust any report or claim,” she told Reuters.

“Whenever we find enough and accurate evi-

dence, we will decide whether to keep him as a chief of intelligence service or not.”

Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, previously interior minister, was voted in as defence minister, and former deputy interior minister Mushtaba Patang became minister.

Some parliament members had said they wanted fresh appointments to come from outside Karzai’s increasingly unpopular inner circle. The approval of the majority of Karzai’s appointments averted a deepening row, although one ministerial position remained vacant after the vote.

Haji din Mohammad, former governor of Kabul and close ally of the president, failed to win parliament’s vote of confidence.

“We wish success to our winning ministers and ask President Karzai to appoint a new candidate as a minister of border affairs” said lower house speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi.

Previous defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak was sacked by parliament over deteriorating security in Afghanistan, 11 years after the NATO-led war against the country’s former Taleban rulers began.

New defence minister Mohammadi is an ethnic Tajik with a strong power base in the country’s north, while NDS chief Khalid is an ethnic Pashtun with strong connections in the south, from where the Taleban draw most support. — Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistani Muslims shout anti-US slogans during a protest against an anti-Islam movie in Karachi yesterday. The Pakistani Taleban yesterday issued a call to young Muslims worldwide and within the country to rise up against the anti-Islam movie. — AFP

its doctrinal weight.

“I’m very sad. As I had been praying a lot for him, I thought he would live longer. But he passed away so suddenly,” said Anja Brina, a mourner from Germany. “He was not a god. I think he was like a messiah, through whom you can reach God,” Brina said.

“He was the reason for my existence as he coupled my father and mother,” said Hur Yuna, 18, whose Japanese and Korean parents married after being personally paired off by Moon.

He often matched couples from different nationalities with no common culture or language, in the belief that it promoted the universality of mankind. The sobbing in the stadium rose to a wail at one point as Moon’s close aide, Bo Hi Pak, broke down while speaking of his desire to see Moon’s face “one last time”.

The funeral was webcast live on the church website (http://sunghwa.tongilgyo.org) and shown on giant screens around the Gapyeong compound. After the ceremony, Moon’s coffin was driven in a funeral cortege, headed by a black sedan bearing another giant portrait, to the burial site along a road lined with flag-waving mourners.

It was finally lowered into a marble-lined grave watched by Moon’s widow and children.

Born to a farming family in 1920 in what is now North Korea, Moon said he had a vision aged 15 in which Jesus asked him to complete his work on Earth.

Rejected by Korean Protestant churches, he founded the Unification Church in 1954 — a year after the Korean War. As the church rose to prominence in the 1970s and 80s, spreading to the United States, it spawned a business empire encompassing construction, food, education, the media and even a professional football club.

Media holdings include the Washington Times newspaper and United Press International news agency.

Throughout his life, Moon assiduously courted political leaders in what critics said was a bid to lend legitimacy to his church which has been condemned as heretical by some Christian organisations.

Without Moon’s unifying presence, some experts see potential for conflict between his sons who control the church’s religious and business arms and who do not command the same loyalty as their father from overseas chapters. — AFP

Japan to complete reactors despite no-nuclear policy TOKYO: Japan said yesterday it would go ahead with planned work to complete three new nuclear power reactors, despite saying a day earlier it would phase out atomic power generation by 2040.

The construction of the reactors at three different plants was suspended after a massive earthquake and tsunami sparked the Fukushima nuclear crisis on March 11 last year-the worst such accident in a generation.

“We don’t intend to withdraw the permission that has already been given by the ministry,” Yukio Edano, the minister of economy, trade and industry, said as he met local administrators in Aomori, northern Japan, according to reports. Two of the reactors are located at plants in Aomori while the third is in the western district of Shimane.

Edano added, however, that the start-up of the reactors would be subject to approval by a newly created government commission to regulate nuclear power. On Friday, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s government adopted a new energy policy, including the nuclear phase-out, in what was widely seen as bowing to public pressure after the Fukushima disaster. Nuclear energy has become a hot issue in Japan ahead of a snap general election expected this autumn. Protests have attracted tens of thousands of people calling for atomic power to be ditched.

The new policy calls for reactors more than 40 years old to be shut down, plans to build more nuclear reactors to be shelved and existing reactors only to be restarted if they pass standards issued by the new regulatory agency.

Japan turned off its 50 reactors in the wake of the Fukushima disaster but has restarted two of them due to the possibility of summertime power shortages. Japanese newspapers were divided over the new energy policy.

The influential Asahi Shimbun called the nuclear phase-out “realistic”, stressing that “nuclear power plants face enormous risks and electric power companies have totally lost the nation’s trust”.

But the mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun said the government should first have outlined how it intended to meet the shortfall in energy production.

“It is extremely irresponsible for the government to tout ‘zero nuclear power generation’ without drawing up concrete steps to secure electric power in a stable manner,” it said. — AFP

ISLAMABAD: US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman, second left, talks with Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, right, during a meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan yesterday. Grossman is in Islamabad to holds talks with the Pakistani leadership to discuss the regional situation especially the reconciliation process in Afghanistan. — AP

Pakistan, US hold strategic dialogue ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States yesterday held a strategic dialogue, discussing matters related to bilateral relations and cooperation for peace and stability in the neighbouring wartorn Afghanistan.

The dialogue was held at the Foreign Office. The Pakistani side to the talks was led by Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani and Marc Grossman, the US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, represented the US side.

According to official sources, the two sides discussed restoration of the strategic dialogue and cooperation in the Afghan reconciliatory process and also cooperation in different sectors.

The Foreign Secretary briefed the American envoy about the recent Pakistan-India Foreign Minister level talks. Grossman later also called on President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Taleban yesterday issued a call to young Muslims worldwide and within the country to rise up against an anti-Islam movie which mocks the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

Hundreds of people demonstrated in cities across Pakistan on Friday to denounce the low-budget film, but there was none of the violence that left several dead in other parts of the Muslim world.

The movie, “Innocence of Muslims”, portrays Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent. A mob stormed the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi on

Tuesday, killing the US ambassador and several other staff. “ We invite... especially youth of Pakistan to stand up in defence of their religion and its sanctity,” Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan ( T TP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said in an email. “You are no less than the lads of Benghazi... stop looking toward your tyrant rulers that they will do something, as they have accepted a life of humiliation,” the spokesman said. He added that “atrocities” against Muslims were rising across the world. “Zionist and crusader enemies of Islam are insulting the signs of Islam everywhere,” the Taleban spokesman said.

Pakistan on Thursday blocked access to the video on the Internet and beefed up security around US diplomatic missions, following attacks on American consulates and embassies in Libya, Egypt and Yemen.

In Islamabad, a would-be suicide bomber was killed in an accidental blast yesterday in a northern Pakistani district, said police. The incident took place in a house in the town of Kohat, about 150 kilometres from Islamabad. According to details, a suicide bomber was allegedly fastening a suicide belt around his waist when it exploded accidentally.

Police said that the blast killed the bomber and also caused damage to the house. Police cordoned off the explosion site and began a series of investigations. — Agencies

GUWAHATI: Activists of Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parisad (AJYCP) shout slogans during a rally against Bangladeshi nationals illegally staying in the northeastern Indian states, in Guwahati yesterday. The Assam state has been simmering with tension since riots broke out between ethnic Bodos and Muslim settlers in late July. The ethnic violence has killed at least 90 people so far, and 400,000 have found shelter in relief camps. — AFP

India landslide death toll jumps to 45 DEHRADUN: The death toll from a series of landslides and floods reached 45 in northern India yesterday as rescuers pulled 17 more bodies from the debris, a state government minister told AFP. Most of the deaths occurred in the early hours of Friday after heavy downpours in Rudraprayag and Bageshwar districts of the scenic Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, local disaster management minister Yashpal Arya said.

“Seventeen bodies were found today from the affected areas of Rudraprayag,” Arya said, adding that army personnel were helping local rescuers hunting for more bodies in four affected villages.

“We fear that up to 18 more bodies could be still buried in the debris in Rudraprayag,” he said in the state capital Dehradun, about 300 kilometres (186 miles) from the district.

The latest figure took to 36 the number of people killed in Rudraprayag while nine others were found dead on Friday in Bageshwar, he said. Uttarakhand has experienced heavy and constant rainfall since Wednesday. The landslides also stranded around 100 pilgrims travelling to an ancient Hindu temple atop the Garhwal Himalayan range.

India has suffered from a variable monsoon season this year that has been too intense in some parts of the country and too feeble in others. Excess rainfall in the northeast triggered destructive floods that displaced six million people, while much of the rest of the country sizzled without regular rainfall. Nationwide, the monsoon has been 10 percent below its seasonal average, according to figures released by the India Meteorological Department last week. — AFP

NEWS

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

Buying American in Iran: Apples, razors...

Continued from Page 1 to check your emails on an iPhone, sip a Coke and hit the gym in a pair of Nikes. “I’m always looking for what new Apple products are in the windows,” said Kamyar Niaki, a 19year-old freshman at Tehran’s Azad University, as he played Angry Birds on his iPhone 4S - about $800 in Iran - at a northern Tehran shopping mall popular with young people for its selection of computers, mobile phones, software and apps.

The iPhones and other Apple products typically enter Iran through networks in Dubai or from Asian distributors, which also ship everything from lower-cost MacBook fakes to bogus Levi’s and Tommy Hilfiger. Similar trade routes from the Far East or nearby Dubai also bring in Westinghouse appliances, Microsoft programs. And they were probably also responsible for the Epiphone model guitar by Nashvillebased Gibson that Ali Mahmoudi bought for his oldest son last week for about $1,200 - more than double the price in the United States. “My son learned from his classmates in high school that American guitars are still the best,” said Mahmoudi, an engineer.

Middle-aged Iranians have memories of a time when stores were awash with US products and the Cadillac was the gold standard on the roads, which still have some Detroit behemoths from the 1970s weaving through Tehran’s relentless traffic. The US became vilified as the Great Satan after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and chants of “Death to America” remain a staple at Friday prayers at Tehran University. But even Iran’s leadership could not stamp out the taste for Coke and Pepsi.

Both iconic American drinks have been mainstays for years in one of the Middle East’s largest consumer markets with 75 million people. The US Treasury sanctions on Iran give some leeway for food and beverages, allowing The Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo to work through non-US subsidiaries to ship their syrup to Iranian bottlers and distributors. It’s brought some backlash from hard-liners who cringe at the popularity of Coke and Pepsi at the expense of local rival Zamzam Cola, named after a venerated well in the Islamic holy city of Makkah. Zamzam is owned by a government-backed foundation.

Yet in the cola wars, Iran is struggling. Reza Kazemi, a worker at a government-owned Tehran hospital, carried a family-size Coke - 1.5 liters at the equivalent of 50 cents among his groceries from a shop in downtown Tehran. “My wife and three children like it,” he said. “It’s delicious.” The same shop stocks Gillette razors and Pampers diapers, both made by Procter & Gamble Co, whose healthcare products are not blocked by sanctions. “Since a long time ago, Iranians have learned that American products are among the best,” said Masoud Mohajer, an economic columnist who writes for Iranian newspapers and journals. “If the government bans them, they will infiltrate the Iranian market through smugglers since there is a market for them because of their reputa-

tions.”

Last year, American companies exported $229 million worth of products to Iran not blocked by sanctions, according to US government and independent figures cited by the U.S. Institute of Peace. The list is as eclectic as it gets: Frozen bull semen, artificial teeth, chewing gum, cranberries, toothpicks and antibiotics. The top US export last year: more than $11.2 million worth of butter. The figure has seesawed over the years, from a high of $747 million in US exports to Iran in 1992 to just $28,000 in 1998, the institute said. Iran also buys US commodities such as wheat, corn and soybeans.

Until US sanctions were tightened in recent years, some major American companies such as heavy equipment maker Caterpillar, General Electric Co and Hewlett-Packard Co had a presence in the Iranian market through non-US affiliates or distributors. But all later said they were canceling any ties with Iran - following similar moves by European heavyweights including Germany’s appliance maker Siemens AG, steel and machinery company ThyssenKrupp AG and Italian energy company ENI. Much of the sanctions-covered American products arrive via networks in Asia in which buyers legally purchase US goods and then reship them to Iran. Previously, the primary route was through Dubai, but authorities in the United Arab Emirates have significantly stepped up inspections of Iranbound cargo for possible US sanctions violations. “Dubai is like a hypermarket for Iran,” Ahmed Butti Ahmed, executive chairman and director general at Dubai Customs, said in April.

A Tehran-based technology industry analyst, Jafar Tehrani, said the UAE is still a main jump-off point for iPhones and other Apple products coming to Iran. “Technology does not recognize borders. Apple is very popular in Iran, and customers have no problem except after-sale services,” said Tehrani. This is where hackers such as 23-year-old Amir comes in. He charges between $5 and $10 to “jailbreak” an iPhone to work on Iran’s domestic mobile network. “I have 10 to 15 customers every day,” said Amir, who gave only his first name because reprogramming the phones is illegal. That’s about the same number of daily sales of Apple laptops and iPhones at Mansour Ahadi’s electronics store in the Tehran digital mall. “We import them from neighboring countries simply because there is a high demand,” he said.

But there are clear pressures. A nosedive in the value of the Iranian rial - which hit an all-time low against the dollar this week - has sharply raised the cost of imports. This has almost doubled prices of many imported items from cosmetics to cell phones to spare parts of cars. For Iran’s extensive middle class - many with university degrees and near Western-standard lifestyles - the blows to their buying power could bring more heat on authorities as they try to ride out sanctions. Amir, the iPhone jail-breaker, summed up his slice of Americana in the middle of Tehran: “I earn from Apple, I drink Coke and I dream of buying a Ford Mustang.” — AP

Brahimi meets Assad Continued from Page 1` Muallem and members of the officially tolerated opposition since arriving in Damascus on Thursday. “There is need for all parties to unite their efforts to find a solution for the crisis, given Syria’s strategic importance... and the crisis’s influence over the whole region,” Brahimi said. “The solution can only come from the Syrian people.” He said he currently had “no plan” to tackle the crisis, but a strategy will be “set... after listening to all internal, regional and international parties”.

Brahimi warned on arrival that the conflict is “getting worse”. He is on his first Damascus visit since replacing Annan who quit after a hard-sought peace deal he brokered became a dead letter. Brahimi on Friday met

Syrian opposition figures who said he was bringing “new ideas” to the peace effort. He met opposition groups tolerated by Assad’s regime such as the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, which groups Arab nationalists, Kurds and socialists.

The group said it was sending a delegation yesterday to China, a key Damascus ally, to urge Beijing to “put pressure on the regime to stop the violence, free detainees and allow peaceful protests”.

But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov insisted yesterday Moscow was not “clinging” to any individual leader in Syria. Yet he signalled that Russia would block any new UN Security Council efforts to put pressure on Assad after 18 months of violence that activists say has claimed more than 27,000 lives.

The United Nations puts the toll at 20,000. “It is only through the political process - and not through any decision of the UN Security Council - that the Syrians should determine the future of their state and its make-up,” he said.

Pope Benedict XVI, on a visit to neighbouring Lebanon, had words of praise for young Syrians yesterday. “I want to tell you how much I admire your courage,” the 85-year-old pontiff said, but added that he was “sad because of your suffering and your bereavement”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which gathers information from a network of activists on the ground, said at least 48 people, mostly civilians, were killed nationwide yesterday. It said 132 died on Friday, including 100 civilians, 18 of them in Damascus. — AFP

US police quiz Coptic filmmaker Continued from Page 1 and ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution. His questioning yesterday did not take long, Walker said, though the outpouring of anger about the film persists - as do enquiries into its origin. The film was directed by 65-year-old Alan Roberts, an industry veteran whose prior oeuvre was dominated by schlock soft porn and hammy action with titles like “Young Lady Chatterley II” and “Karate Cop,” according to website Gawker. Gawker interviewed members of the cast of “Innocence of Muslims,” who say they were duped into appearing in what they thought was a fictional epic, only to discover their lines had been dubbed over with anti-Muslim propaganda.

Roberts’s casting call lists the leading roles as George, Condalisa and Hillary. But in the finished version the script was doctored to make them represent the Prophet (PBUH) and key figures from the Holy Quran. The film was promoted by a network of rightwing Coptic and Evangelical Christians with a radical anti-Muslim agenda, such as Egyptian American provocateur Morris Sadek and Terry Jones, a Florida pastor notorious for publicly burning a Quran. And, acting as “consultant,” was Steve Klein, a Vietnam veteran and founder of Courageous Christians United who is notorious for protests outside mosques and Mormon temples and who told AFP he helped the moviemakers.

The film itself does not appear to have broken any US laws, but Nakoula may have breached the rules governing his conditional release from prison. “The matter is under review,” said a spokesman for the Administrative

Office of the US Courts. This week saw Nakoula move from anonymous petty criminal to being a key figure in a global furor that has triggered mass protests in Muslim-majority countries in North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere, and seen several US diplomatic missions attacked. The US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in a well coordinated attack Tuesday in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Reporters and police are camped out outside Nakoula’s house in Cerritos outside Los Angeles. He gave an interview to Radio Sawa, a US-government station that broadcasts in Arabic. “I am the one who leaked the 14 minutes and put it on the Internet and I am thinking about releasing the full film. Nobody manipulated my film,” he said. The clip on YouTube was picked up by Egyptian television.

The film’s depiction of Muhammad (PBUH) offended many Muslims. The deadly anti-American protests have seen mobs burn US missions, schools and businesses.

According to Paul Audley, president of Film LA, which issues filming permits in Los Angeles, a group called Media for Christ was issued a one-day shooting license in Aug 2011 for a film with the working title “Desert Warriors”. “I do know personally for having looked at it, before it was withdrawn, that the producer’s name on it is Sam Bossil,” he said in an interview. Bossil is believed to be one of the pseudonyms used by Nakoula, who uploaded the clip as “Sam Bacile”. A man identifying himself as Sam Bacile gave interviews to US media this week in which he claimed to be an Israeli-American Jew who made the film to help Israel, but a consultant on the movie has since debunked this claim. —AFP

Khorafi condemns anti-Islam film Continued from Page 1 Separately, Saudi Arabia’s mufti or spiritual leader Sheikh Abdelaziz AlSheikh yesterday condemned as unIslamic violent protests against an anti-Muslim Internet film made in the United States. The mufti also denounced the film’s dissemination, which he considered “a criminal act”, but called on demonstrators to “not turn legitimate protests into unauthorised provocative acts,” in a statement quoted by the official news agency SPA. “Such acts damage the Muslim religion, are not permitted by God and

are incompatible with the teachings of the Prophet” Muhammad (PBUH), he said, hoping for “the criminalisation of attacks on sacred figures” in monotheistic religions.

He said those promoting the film wished to “turn Muslims away from their goals, which are building their countries, reinforcing their unity and the pursuit of development”. “The best response for Muslims to such attacks is to get on with developing and building their countries,” he said. The lowbudget film produced in the United States, “Innocence of Muslims,” incited a wave of bloody anti-American vio-

lence in Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen and several other countries.

Protests and attacks on foreign embassies have killed at least 11 demonstrators, as well as the US ambassador and three other American diplomatic staff in Libya.

Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest religious sites, on Thursday condemned the American film but also denounced the deadly attacks in reaction to it, offering its “condolences to the United States on the victims of the violence that targeted the US consulate in (the Libyan city of ) Benghazi”. — Agencies

SYDNEY: Protesters march through Sydney yesterday as a wave of unrest against a film that mocks Islam spread to Australia, bringing hundreds out to demonstrate. — AFP

Taleban raid Prince Harry’s Afghan base Continued from Page 1 aircraft and “structures” were damaged in the assault on the airfield, which is used by both American and British forces. Eighteen insurgents were killed - including the suicide bomber - and another was wounded and captured, said Wojack. They were dressed in camouflage, he said, but declined to say whether it was Afghan army uniform.

A defence official in Washington said two US Marines were killed, while NATO’s US-led International Security Assistance Force said some personnel were wounded, but gave no details, in line with policy. The British defence ministry described the attack, on the eastern side of the runway, as “significant” but a spokesman said the attackers got “nowhere near” the prince as he was in lockdown with other soldiers at the base. The ministry reiterated that Harry’s presence in Afghanistan was constantly being reviewed.

The brazen attack is likely to raise serious questions about how insurgents managed to penetrate such a massive logistics hub in the desert, which in June Britain said was home to 28,000 soldiers. In March, an Afghan man died after trying to ram a truck into US Marines waiting on the tarmac to greet US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta as he flew into Camp Bastion.

There are growing concerns about Afghan personnel

opening fire on their NATO colleagues, and two more were killed in Helmand provincial capital Lashkar Gah yesterday, bringing to 47 the number of Western soldiers killed in such attacks so far this year. The assailant was believed to be a member of the controversial Afghan Local Police force, which US special forces stopped training this month in order to vet about 1,000 recruits.

A Taleban spokesman claimed Friday’s Bastion attack was waged to avenge a low-budget American YouTube film, “Innocence of Muslims”, which has incited a furious wave of deadly anti-American violence in Yemen, Libya and Sudan, and protests in many other countries. “A number of mujahideen fighters have carried out suicide attacks on Camp Bastion in Helmand in revenge for the insulting movie by the Americans,” spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP by telephone. The Taleban last week vowed to kill Prince Harry, who is deployed at the base as an Apache helicopter pilot, and who celebrated his 28th birthday yesterday.

In 2008 Harr y was hastily withdrawn from Afghanistan when a news blackout surrounding his deployment on the ground directing aircraft in attacks on Taleban positions, was broken. This time, however, the government released images of him in Afghanistan from the start, saying that any risk “has been, and will continue to be, assessed”. — AFP

Qaeda hails ‘revenge’ as US deploys forces Continued from Page 1 US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Washington was configuring its forces to be able to cope with widespread violence following its deployment of Marine counter-terrorism units to Libya and Yemen and its stationing of two destroyers off the North African coast. “We have to be prepared in the event that these demonstrations get out of control,” Panetta told Foreign Policy magazine. He did not offer any specifics. But the magazine said the Pentagon was discussing, but had not yet decided, whether to send a third platoon of 50 specially trained Marines to protect the US embassy in Khartoum, a move that was rejected by Sudan yesterday. Guards on the roof of the embassy fired warning shots on Friday as the compound was breached by protesters waving Islamic banners, after earlier ransacking parts of the British and German missions in the Sudanese capital. The US embassy compounds in Egypt and Yemen have also been breached in the past week.

Panetta said on Friday it was still too early to say exactly what happened in Benghazi where there have been suggestions that Al-Qaeda sympathisers rather than angry Muslim protesters may have been responsible. “It’s something that’s under assessment and under investigation, to determine just exactly what happened here,” he said. The head of Libya’s national assembly, Mohammed AlMegaryef, said foreign elements could have been involved in the planned and “meticulously executed” attack, which came on the anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Police in Sydney fired pepper spray to contain protesters trying to enter the building housing the US consulate yesterday, as Australia became another focus of disturbances.

Bottles, shoes and other objects were hurled during the clashes with police which resulted in eight arrests, with six police officers injured as the unexpected protest brought parts of the city to a standstill. “Police stopped the group attempting to enter the MLC centre that houses the American consulate,” police superintendent Mark Walton told reporters of the clash, which left some protesters weeping from the impact of the spray. Shoppers looked on in surprise as protesters shouted “Down, down USA” and waved banners such as “Behead all those who insult the Prophet (PBUH)” and “Obama, Obama, we love Osama”.

“We are sick and tired of everyone mocking our beloved Prophet (PBUH),” protester Houda Dib told AFP, as the crowd of about 500 gathered outside the US consulate.

“They have no right to mock our Prophet (PBUH). We don’t go around mocking anyone’s religion.” Demonstrators were pushed back from the steps outside the consulate by police, who then used capsicum spray, provoking anger among some in the crowd, many of whom had brought their children with them. “They were aggravating the situation by pushing our brothers,” Dib said. “This is supposed to be a peaceful protest.”

Hundreds also demonstrated in Indonesia and the Maldives. In Somalia, the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabab militia, which controls large swathes of the country, called on Muslims to launch revenge attacks on Western targets. “The Shabab mujahedeen are urging people of Somalia to show

their love for Islam and particularly to our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by making attacks against the West,” Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage told AFP by telephone.

Egyptian police yesterday cleared out protesters who have been clashing with security forces for the past four days near the US embassy. Security forces erected a concrete wall blocking the main street leading to the embassy in Cairo after finally dispersing several hundred youths who had been battling with police, trying to get to the building.

They also cleared nearby Tahrir Square where protests were being held.

US President Barack Obama urged Americans not to be disheartened by images of anti-American violence in the Islamic world, expressing confidence that the ideals of freedom America stands for would ultimately prevail. “I know the images on our televisions are disturbing,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. “But let us never forget that for every angry mob, there are millions who yearn for the freedom, and dignity, and hope that our flag represents.” Obama said his administration was doing everything it could to protect Americans serving abroad. “We are in contact with governments around the globe, to strengthen our cooperation, and underscore that every nation has a responsibility to help us protect our people,” he said.

With ongoing counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, as well as the civil war in Syria, the CIA’s clandestine and paramilitary officer corps is simply running out of trained officers to send, US officials say.. The clandestine service is roughly 5,000 officers strong, and the paramilitary corps sent to war zones is only in the hundreds, the officials said. Most of the CIA’s clandestine and paramilitary team that had worked with Libyan rebels to bring about the fall of Muammar Gaddafi is now arrayed at the Syrian border, working with rebels there to try to hasten the fall of Syrian president Bashar AlAssad, the officials said.

The CIA normally hires extra people to make up for such shortfalls, often retired special operators with the requisite security clearance, military training and language ability. But the government mandate to slash contractor use has meant cutting contracts, according to two former officials familiar with the agency’s current hiring practices.

To fill in the gaps in spies on the ground, the US intelligence community has kept up surveillance over Libya with unmanned and largely unarmed Predator and Reaper drones, increasing the area they cover and the frequency of their flights since the attack on the consulate, as well as sending more surveillance equipment to the region, one official said.

But intelligence gathered from the air still needs corroboration from sources on the ground, as well as someone to act on the intelligence to go after the targets. The Libyan government, which US officials say is eager to help, has limited tools at its disposal. The post-revolution government has been slow to rebuild both its intelligence capability and its security services, fearful of empowering the very institutions they had to fight to overthrow Gaddafi. They have made a start, but they lack a sophisticated cadre of trained spies and a large network of informants. — Agencies

14

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

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Issues

‘Federales’ struggle to earn trust

By Laurent Thomet hen President Felipe Calderon promised in March to give Mexico “one of the best police forces in the world,” he could have hardly imagined the embarrassing incidents that would follow. The federal police has faced a series of bad headlines since then, highlighting the challenge of shedding the agency’s reputation for corruption and turning it into the go-to force against the country’s drug cartels. First, allegedly corrupt officers gunned down three colleagues trying to arrest them on drug trafficking charges at Mexico City’s international airport in June. One of the suspects was detained but his two accomplices remain at large. The airport’s 348 officers have since been replaced and the new ones were handed an airport code of conduct. Then last month, a dozen “federales” were detained as prosecutors investigate why they fired at a US embassy car south of the capital, wounding two US government employees and a Mexican navy captain.

Authorities reconstructed the scene of the crime on Monday and are following several lines of investigation, a Mexican official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

One theory being examined is whether the officers were on the payroll of a criminal gang and ambushed the Americans because they believed they were CIA agents, the official said. But another possible lead is that it was a case of mistaken identity after reports that the officers were investigating a kidnapping when they shot at the US embassy car. “No line of investigation is being ruled out,” the official said. The federal police said Wednesday that it would impose sanctions if any officer used excessive force or worked with criminals, adding that it “has never, and will not ever, tolerate” actions that dishonor the agency.

Calderon decided three years ago to consolidate federal law enforcement agencies into a single national police agency, hoping to transform it into an elite crimefighting force. But he has stepped where other presidents failed. “It is going to be very difficult to institute meaningful police reform because there is a long history of corruption,” said Scott Stewart, who monitors Mexico’s security environment for US-based intelligence research firm Stratfor. “This is something that Mexicans have been working on for decades,” he said.

Former president Vicente Fox created the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI) in 2001, hoping it would turn into Mexico’s version of the FBI or Scotland Yard. But the AFI also faced corruption allegations and was finally dissolved by Calderon this year. Mexico’s president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto, who takes office on December 1, said during the campaign that he would create a paramilitary force, or gendarmerie, to help combat crime. “In general, without singling out a particular institution, we do have a serious security problem that must be solved,” Pena Nieto’s spokesman, Eduardo Sanchez, told AFP. Stewart said US Drug Enforcement Administration agents are frustrated that sensitive information they share with Mexican counterparts is often compromised, or no action is taken to arrest a suspect when locations are identified. As part of his reform, Calderon increased salaries and tripled the size of the federal police from 6,000 officers when he took office in 2006 to 36,000 this year. In 2010, the government purged 10 percent of the force, or 3,200 federal police officers, who failed to abide by the rules or were linked to crimes. The aim is to pave the way for the withdrawal of 50,000 military troops who were deployed across the country in 2006 to crack down on drug trafficking.

“In theory, it is a good thing because there is no other option. The police must be strengthened to allow the armed forces to return to their barracks,” said Raul Benitez Manaut, a security expert at Mexico’s National Autonomous University. But despite reforms and US training help, officers still run into trouble. Last year, the local police chief in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez accused federal police officers of shooting at his car as he rushed to a prison riot.

For the police to earn trust, it must accept being held accountable and conduct internal investigations to fix problems, said Ernesto Lopez Portillo, head of the Institute for Security and Democracy, a policy research group. “When police are involved in scandals in the United States or Canada, those moments are used to make changes,” he said. “It is impossible to have a modern, professional and democratic police force if there are no consequences.” — AFP

W

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Mideast gives Obama perfect storm

By Peter Apps and Matt Spetalnick n eruption of violent unrest across the Middle East is confronting President Barack Obama with the most serious challenge yet to his efforts to keep the Arab Spring from morphing into a new wave of anti-Americanism - and he has few good options to prevent it. Less than two months before the US presidential election, a spate of attacks on embassies in Libya, Egypt and Yemen poses a huge dilemma for a US leader who took office promising a “new beginning” with the Muslim world but has struggled to manage the transformation that has swept away many of the region’s long-ruling dictators.

On top of that, even as he tries to fend off foreign policy criticism from Republican rival Mitt Romney, Obama is grappling with an escalating crisis in US-Israeli relations over Iran’s nuclear program and increased bloodshed in Syria, where President Bashar Al-Assad has defied international calls to step aside. Obama’s Middle East woes deepened last week with a series of mob attacks on US diplomatic compounds and the killing of America’s ambassador to Libya. Demonstrators were incensed by a US-made film blasphemous to Islam.

With the White House fearing further violence in the region, Obama and his aides were scrambling to re -calibrate their approach to the problem. Warnings were issued to Muslim governments around the world that they would be expected to help protect US interests. All of this may simply point to a larger challenge that will endure well beyond November ’s US vote - an

A

apparently growing gulf between the United States and increasingly assertive Islamist forces within the Middle East.

The irony is clear. With his vaunted 2009 speech in Cairo, Obama had hoped to “reset” relations with the region and ease some of the ill feeling stoked by the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and “war on terror” rhetoric of Obama’s Republican predecessor, George W Bush. The Obama administration was caught flat-footed by a wave of pro-democracy revolts last year that toppled autocratic leaders - some, like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, a longtime US ally. But Washington gradually gave cautious backing to the goals of the Arab Spring movement.

Now, with much of the US optimism that accompanied the Arab world’s uprisings seemingly gone for good, Washington faces an apparent rise in Islamic activism and declining influence over countries it once counted as allies. “There are a lot of moving parts and it’s important not to make too many generalizations,” said Hayat Alvi, lecturer in Middle Eastern studies at the US Naval War College. “But it does seem that the politics are getting more complicated as we go forward, not just in the region but also here in the United States.”

Within the region, Obama himself remains much more popular than many predecessors. But scenes of US embassy property being trashed first in Cairo and then Yemen in anger at the film insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were potent reminders that potentially violent antiAmericanism remains very much alive. The most serious attack killed US Ambassador

Christopher Stevens and three of his colleagues in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi - a city saved only last year from the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s forces

by Western air power during Libya’s civil war.

While Libya’s government was swift to condemn the attack there and pledged to work with the United States to find those responsible, it was the equivocal initial response from Egypt’s new President Mohamed Morsi - condemning the video but not the Egyptian mob - that infuriated Washington. Obama pointedly told the Spanish-language network Telemundo that Egypt’s Islamist-led government should not be considered a US ally, “but we don’t consider them an enemy,” he added. Obama later spoke to Morsi and delivered a blunt message that Egypt must cooperate in protecting American diplomatic facilities.

The White House will be watching closely to see that Morsi follows through. At stake may be the fate of $2 billion a year in foreign aid, much of it for the military, that the United States gives Egypt, a source close to the US administration said. “The Egyptian authorities can’t play any sort of a double game here,” said Ari Ratner, a former Obama administration appointee, Middle East expert and now fellow at the Truman National Security Project. “If the government of Egypt still expects to get significant American aid and investment, (it needs) to be very clear on the unacceptability of these events and actively work to calm the situation.”

Morsi, however, may feel he has little choice. Like the government of Pakistan,

also often accused of a “double game”, he must walk an awkward path between the superpower whose support he needs, and extremists - or even simply regular voters in his country with strong religious or nationalist views. That those leading the United States have their own political pressures is clear. The speed that the diplomatic mission attacks became politicized highlights the domestic dangers for Obama whatever he does, particularly with Romney accusing him of “apologizing for America”.

Romney faced his own backlash at appearing to play politics with the issue, with pundits across the political spectrum accusing him of opportunism during a national tragedy. But clearly feeling the pressure, Obama kept up his defense of his Middle East policy on Thursday and sought to prevent public opinion from turning against him on the issue. “Now I know that it’s difficult sometimes seeing these disturbing images on television because our world is filled with challenges,” he told a campaign rally in Colorado. “This is a tumultuous time we are in. But we can and we will meet those challenges if we stay true to who we are.”

At the very least, the events of last week will deepen the already-profound caution over getting further involved in Syria, underlining misgivings about allowing rebels there to get more sophisticated and lethal weapons. “The US is not going to jump into the fray in Syria,” said Alvi, of the US Naval War College. “Even before the attacks in Benghazi and Cairo, they were gun-shy.” — Reuters

Film mayhem window into Islamist battles

By Brian Murphy he violence across the heartland of the Arab Spring reaches far beyond the cries of anger against America and deep into one of the region’s most highstakes showdowns: ultraconservative Islamists seeking to challenge the new leadership struggling for stability in places such as Egypt and Libya. Islamic absolutist factions such as Salafis have been largely kept on the political margins as more pragmatic Islamist groups - including the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi and the Ennahda party in Tunisia - rose to power from the wreckage of pro-Western regimes.

But the hardliners have never been counted out. In eastern Libya, attackers armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades fought under the black flag of the ultraconservative faction Ansar AlShariah in Tuesday’s assault on the US consulate in Benghazi that left the US ambassador and three other Americans dead. In Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, Bedouin-style Islamic hit squads, believed inspired by AlQaeda, have forced Morsi to deploy tanks and post extra guards along the strategic Suez Canal.

Last week’s mayhem appears to be an opportunity seized by groups such as the Salafis, which follow an austere brand of Islam that has provided some of the dogmatic underpinnings for Al-Qaeda and other jihadi factions. The rallying cries for the assaults on the US diplomatic sites - which began on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks - were the now-infamous YouTube clips of an obscure movie called “Innocence of Muslims” that denigrated Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

But they are unlike the reactions to other perceived offenses against Islam that touched off protests across the Muslim world, such as the outrage to a Danish car-

T

toon of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in 2005.

The core of the current violence has remained within the Arab Spring countries where hardline Islamists are trying to exert their clout after decades of repression under rulers such as Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, who saw the Salafis and others as direct challenges to the state.

Now, it’s Morsi and other new Arab Spring leaders who must find a way to cope with the pressures. The attacks on US diplomatic sites “should not be seen in isolation, but are part of a broader list of challenges to the state,” said Mustafa Alani, an analyst at the Geneva-based Gulf Research Center.

“The question is one of capability ... to establish their legitimacy as strong governments?” For the West, it becomes a critical narrative for the next chapters of the Arab Spring. A rise in hardline Islamist influence brings an array of major complications for Washington and its allies.

They include the stability of the elected governments in Cairo and Tunis, and whether Libya could follow Yemen as a foothold for al-Qaidainspired militants.

Then there is the question of Syria, where the rebels are strongly backed by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations that favor conservative Islam. Richard Murphy, a former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia and former assistant secretary of state for the Near East and South Asia, said the current show of force by the Salafis and

others could add to the “already extreme caution” by Washington policy makers over how to deal with Syria’s possible collapse into dozens of rival factions if President Bashar Assad falls. “What we’ve seen over the past days shows the currents that have been there all along, but were kept bottled up by the regimes like Mubarak,” said Murphy.

“The Arab Spring let it all out and it’s still unclear where it will all lead.” At the same time, the Gulf states including Saudi Arabia are frightened over a possible expansion of the Muslim Brotherhood - ironically inspired by the Arab Spring - that could challenge the region’s ruling families. At a small rally in Kuwait City, protesters chanted: “Obama we are all Osama.”

Libya remains one of the huge wild cards. Benghazi and the eastern region once the center of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi - is now seen as potential fertile ground for Islamic radical groups such as Ansar Al-Shariah.

The elements are there: weak central authority and many weapons left over from the rebellion.

The leader of Ansar al-Shariah, Youssef Johani, denied any involvement in the Benghazi attack - even though his group’s black flag was carried by the assailants. The firepower and apparent military-style coordination used against the Benghazi consulate

has raised speculation that it was not a spontaneous attack and could have been timed for the Sept 11 anniversary.

Ehsan Ahrari, a Virginia-based political analyst and commentator, sees a bigger quandary for Washington, though. It’s framed as the traditional hearts-and minds puzzle: how to build ties with the new Arab Spring leaders while trying to reach out to people suspicious of the US role in the region. A 26-year-old protester outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo showed how difficult that can be. Gomaa Abdel-Rahman Kajo backed Morsi’s Salafist opponent, Hazem Abou-Ismail, who was bumped from the presidential race because his mother is American, which violated rules about any foreign ties for holders of Egypt’s top office.

Kajo said Morsi “won’t be able to rein in” protesters unless he clearly rebukes America over the film. “American views us as slaves, and they are the masters,” said Kajo. “We are telling them: We are the masters and they are slaves.” Morsi appeared to stumble with the crisis. Only two weeks ago, he emerged as a hero in the West and Arab world after going to Tehran and blasting the Iranians for their support of Assad. After the embassy assault, however, he left the US hanging by not immediately condemning the attack and only issuing a bland statement on Facebook a day later pledging to protect diplomatic sites. In an apparent bid to ease the sting with Washington - and avoid derailing a proposed $1 billion debt relief package - Morsi on Thursday condemned the movie for “provocations” against Islam but said it “cannot be taken as a justification for attacking embassies or consulates”. “If there’s one big lesson from the Arab Spring, it’s that the Islamists feel it’s their turn after facing repression for decades,” said Sami Al-Faraj, director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies. “Now comes the struggles for power and policy between moderates and extremists.” — AP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

sp orts Pacquiao-Marquez fight LAS VEGAS: Filipino southpaw Manny Pacquiao will return to the ring on Dec. 8 for a fourth battle against long-time rival Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico, the fight’s promoters said on Friday.

The two fighters, who last met in November when Pacquiao beat Marquez with a controversial majority decision, will meet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Top Rank said in a statement. Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 knockouts) has fought just once since then, surrendering his WBO welterweight title on a hotly disputed split decision to American Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas in June.

Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs) and Pacquiao are renowned for their aggressive approach in the ring and they fought to a draw when they first met in May 2004. The Mexican then lost his WBC super-featherweight title to the Filipino in a controversial one-point split decision in March 2008.

Ten months ago, Pacquiao was tested to the full in their third encounter before narrowly retaining his WBO welterweight title after his preparations had been hampered by various distractions, including marital difficulties. —Reuters

Deccan Chargers out of IPL NEW DELHI: Indian Premier League (IPL) side Deccan Chargers have been shut down for failing to comply with a deadline to pay overdue player fees, organisers of the Twenty20 league said yesterday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said they made the decision at an emergency meeting late on Friday, pointing to the Hyderabad-based franchise’s various defaults including payments to players and foreign boards.

“The BCCI is completely justified in this action which was taken with careful deliberation and only due to the absolute inability of the franchise to effectively run the team,” the BCCI said in a statement.

The future of the 2009 IPL champions, who were skippered by Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara, looked like being preserved when they were put up for sale last week by cash-strapped Deccan Chronicle Holdings, who had paid $107 million to have the franchise for 10 years in 2008. Interest had been lodged in buying the side but the BCCI said that Deccan Chronicle Holdings had rejected a bid of 4.5 billion Indian rupees ($82.70 million) and an equal sum in convertible debentures.

This coupled with a letter from the franchise owners’ lawyers saying they had done nothing wrong led to the BCCI to shut down the team, which also featured South African quick Dale Steyn, Australian batsman Cameron White and Indian bowler Ishant Sharma. “BCCI received a lawyers notice invoking arbitration from the franchise stating that it had not committed any breaches and even if such breaches were committed, the BCCI should not act to terminate the franchise till Yes Bank Ltd furnishes sufficient finance to cure the breaches,” the BCCI said. —Reuters

‘Jamaicans to rule sprints’ KINGSTON: Americans need to get used to Jamaica’s men dominating the global sprinting scene because it will not change soon, Jamaican double Olympic silver medallist Yohan Blake said on Friday. US men, who once ruled the sprints, have been overwhelmed by Jamaican speedsters at Olympic and world championships since triple world record holder Usain Bolt’s stunning show at the 2008 Beijing Games and the trend will continue, said the 22-year-old world 100 metres champion. “I would say until the day that we all leave the earth,” the world’s second fastest runner at the 100 and 200 distances told a Kingston news conference. “Because with the calibre of athletes we have right now and given everything the athletes are doing and the JAAA (Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association) and the government. “Taking everything into consideration and doing what is necessary for the younger generation coming up with the wonderful talent at the (boys and girls high school) championships and keeping the athletes back in Jamaica, with different training camps and all of that.” He said Jamaica’s dominance has frustrated the Americans. “We don’t really have a relationship,” Blake said. “We say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’, because they hated us, they totally hated us because of our exploits and because we can run and we can have fun and because of our dominance.” The small Caribbean island won the men’s and women’s 100 and 200 metres at the Beijing Games, with Bolt dashing to world records in both sprints, and the 4x100 metres relay. —Reuters

Rays and Athletics roll

MILWAUKEE: Atlanta Braves’ Andrelton Simmons leaps over Milwaukee Brewers’ Carlos Gomez (27) as he tries to turn a double play on a ball hit by Jean Segura during the seventh inning of a baseball game. —AP

Braves sink Nationals in NL ATLANTA: Kris Medlen struck out a career-high 13 and the Atlanta Braves pulled out a 2-1 victory over the Washington Nationals when Andrelton Simmons scored on a throwing error in the ninth inning Friday night. Simmons reached on an infield single against Sean Burnett (1-2) and scurried to third when Michael Bourn lined a single that dropped in right field. Pinch-hitter Tyler Pastornicky hit a one-hop grounder to shortstop Ian Desmond, who had a shot at getting Simmons but threw wildly to the plate, the ball skipping all the way to the backstop while the rookie slid across with the winning run.

Craig Kimbrel (2-1) earned the win by striking out the side in the top of the ninth on 10 pitches, though Medlen did most of the heavy lifting. He went seven innings, allowing only a homer to Bryce Harper as the Braves snapped a three-game losing streak. Medlen eclipsed the previous best for strikeouts set 11 days earlier when he fanned 12 in a complete-game win over Colorado. In his last two starts at Turner Field, he has 25 strikeouts in 16 innings. The Braves also extended his franchise record by winning for the 20th straight time when Medlen is on the mound. That is the longest since the New York Yankees won 20 starts in a row by Roger Clemens in 2001.

Marlins 4, Reds 0t In Miami, Jacob Turner allowed only two hits in a career-high seven innings for his first National League victory, and Miami beat the NL Central-leading Cincinnati. Turner (1-2) outpitched Bronson Arroyo (12-8), who gave up four runs in six innings.

The Reds became the final NL team to make their debut at Marlins Park, and they couldn’t muster much offense in the spacious ballpark.

Steve Cishek pitched the ninth to complete a three-hitter, and Cincinnati was shut out for only the third time, fewest in the NL. Turner’s 10th career start was his best yet.

He walked two, struck out three, lowered his ERA to 3.75 and helped the Marlins break a three-game losing streak. The 21-year-old right-hander’s only other career victory came July 22 for Detroit.

Cubs 7, Pirates 4 In Chicago, Pittsburgh lost its seventh straight game and kept fading in the NL wildcard race, falling to Chicago as Starlin Castro hit a three-run homer.

The Pirates have dropped 11 of 13 overall.

The Cubs have won four straight against the Pirates, including a three-game sweep last weekend in Pittsburgh.

Chris Rusin (1-2) notched his first major league victory, allowing two runs in five-plus innings in his fourth career start. The Cubs led 4-3 in the sixth before Castro connected after Luis Valbuena walked and Alfonso Soriano was hit by a pitch. Andrew McCutchen homered in the Pittsburgh seventh, but Cubs reliever Shawn Camp tossed a perfect eighth and Carlos Marmol earned his 20th save in 22 chances. Pirates starter James McDonald (12-8) lasted 3 2-3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits and four walks. He is 2-5 in his last 10 starts.

Phillies 12, Astros 6 In Houston, Jimmy Rollins hit a leadoff homer, Domonic Brown had a two-run shot and John Mayberry and Ryan Howard each had three RBIs to help Philadelphia beat Houston.

The Phillies rebounded from Thursday night’s 6-4 loss to Houston, which broke a seven-game winning streak and left them four games back for the second NL wild-card spot.

Rollins’ homer keyed a four-run first inning on a night when the Phillies came one run shy of a season high. A two-run homer by Matt Downs got Houston within 5-3 in the fourth.

Mayberry’s two-run single in the fifth stretched the lead to 7-3. Justin Maxwell added a solo shot in the fifth for the last-place Astros. Cole Hamels (15-6) gave up four runs and seven hits over seven innings, and tied a career high for wins set in 2007. Edgar Gonzalez (2-1), starting in place of Bud Norris, needed 32 pitches to get through the first inning and was done after the fourth.

Mets 7, Brewers 3 In Milwaukee, Lucas Duda homered and doubled, Jonathon Niese pitched six strong innings and New York snapped a six-game losing streak, beating surging Milwaukee. The loss dropped Milwaukee back to .500 at 72-72.

Niese (11-9), who had lost three straight starts, settled down after giving up two second-inning runs, allowing six hits, three walks and the two runs. He also had two hits and scored a run, helping the Mets to their biggest offensive output since a 9-5 extra-inning victory over Philadelphia on Aug. 28.

Daniel Murphy also homered for New York.

Mike Fiers (9-8) gave up six hits and four runs in five innings for Milwaukee, which had won 18 of 23 coming in. —AP

Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 5 In Toronto, Mauro Gomez hit a tiebreaking triple in the ninth inning and Boston beat Toronto, snapping a six-game losing streak against the Blue Jays.

Boston had lost six of seven overall coming in, but bounced back after falling behind 3-0 and later blowing a 5-3 lead. Ryan Lavarnway hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBIs for the Red Sox. Daniel Nava had a tworun single and made a fantastic diving catch in left field in the eighth to preserve a 5-all tie.

Chris Carpenter (1-0) got two outs for his first major league victory and Andrew Bailey

NEW YORK: David Price earned his leagueleading 18th win with another superb performance against the New York Yankees, and the Tampa Bay Rays opened a key series against their AL East rival Friday night by taking advantage of a fading CC Sabathia and hanging on for a 6-4 victory.

The Rays began the day four games behind division co-leaders Baltimore and New York.

Out of the rotation since Sept. 2 because of a sore shoulder, Price (18-5) boosted his AL Cy Young Award credentials with seven innings of two-run ball. Striking out six and giving up five hits, the lanky lefty got a big lift from an inadvertent deflection off an umpire and a fine play by second baseman Elliot Johnson.

Price improved to 7-3 against the Yankees.

The Rays have won seven of the eight games he has matched up against Sabathia.

With Price out of the game, Alex Rodriguez hit his 647th homer, a two-run shot off Joel Peralta in the eighth that sent him past Lou Gehrig for ninth place on the runs list with 1,889.

Derek Jeter, serving as the designated hitter for a second straight day because of an injured ankle, singled leading off the inning to wake up the fans silenced by Tampa Bay’s rally against Sabathia (13-6). Jeter had an infield single in the fifth to pass Willie Mays for 10th on the hits list with 3,284.

After a walk to Robinson Cano, closer Fernando Rodney entered. The top reliever by ERA in the majors (0.68) struck out Russell Martin, threw a wild pitch and walked pinchhitter Raul Ibanez. Curtis Granderson meekly grounded to end the threat. Rodney finished with a perfect ninth for his 43rd save in 45 chances.

against Detroit, but that game was postponed until Monday. Dayan Viciedo had two RBIs, Kevin Youkilis homered and Alex Rios doubled, scored and drove in a run for the White Sox, who played without injured slugger Adam Dunn for the seventh straight game.

Esmerling Vasquez (0-2) was the loser.

Athletics 3, Orioles 2 In Oakland, Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run homer while playing with a sore right wrist, and the AL wild card-leading Athletics beat Baltimore to prevent the Orioles from moving into sole possession of first place in the AL East.

Jonny Gomes hit a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth to back A’s rookie Tommy Milone (1310) in the opener of a key series between playoff contenders. Oakland (83-61) received a clubhouse visit before the game from pitcher Brandon McCarthy, more than a week after he was struck in the head with a line drive and underwent surgery. The Orioles (81-63) remained tied atop the division with the New York Yankees, who lost 6-4 at home to Tampa Bay.

NEW YORK: Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher David Price throws against the New York Yankees in the first inning of a baseball game. —AP

White Sox 6, Twins 0 In Minneapolis, Chris Sale threw six scoreless innings for his 17th victory after being rained out the night before, helping Chicago keep its one-game lead over Detroit in the AL Central.

Sale (17-6) scattered three singles and struck out five without a walk, cruising to his third win in three starts against Minnesota this year.

Sale was supposed to pitch Thursday night

Tigers 4, Indians 0 In Cleveland, Justin Verlander pitched seven shutout innings and made sure Detroit stayed in step with first-place Chicago in the AL Central, leading the Tigers past Cleveland.

Coming through the way he almost always

does, Verlander (14-8) allowed six hits. He escaped jams in the fifth and sixth innings with help from Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera, big men best known for their powerful bats, who made stellar defensive plays.

Detroit took a 4-0 lead after two innings against Corey Kluber (1-4). The Indians, who were within 3 1/2 games of first place when they rallied to beat Verlander on July 26, are 16-44 since the All-Star break.

Rangers 9, Mariners 3 In Arlington, Yu Darvish surpassed 200 strikeouts in his rookie season while getting his 15th victory and Josh Hamilton hit his 42nd home run for AL West-leading Texas.

Darvish (15-9) struck out nine in seven innings, often complementing his mid-90s fastball with a breaking pitch about 30 mph slower. Ian Kinsler hit his sixth leadoff homer this year for Texas, a ball initially ruled a double before umpires looked at the replay and correctly reversed that call. There was no question about Hamilton’s long drive in the third off Hisashi Iwakuma (6-5), like Darvish a former Pacific League MVP in Japan and now a rookie in the major leagues.

closed it out for his third save in four chances.

Darren Oliver (3-3) was the loser.

Angels 9, Royals 7 In Kansas City, pinch hitter Kendrys Morales had two-run homer during an eighth-inning rally that sent Los Angeles past Kansas City.

Several hours before the game, a man shot and wounded a female parking lot employee between the stadiums that are home to the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals before killing himself, police said. Morales homered on the first pitch from Tim Collins (5-3) with Mark Trumbo aboard to make it 7-all. Collins threw 11 pitches, faced four batters and retired none, allowing two singles and hitting Albert Pujols on an 0-2 count. Jeremy Jeffress replaced Collins and walked Torii Hunter on five pitches with the bases loaded to force home Mike Trout with the go-ahead run.

Hunter is hitting .431 with 15 RBIs in his past 16 games. Jordan Walden (3-2), the fourth of six Angels pitchers, picked up the victory, although he threw only two pitches. Ernesto Frieri got his 19th save in 21 opportunities.

Billy Butler, Mike Moustakas and Jeff Francoeur homered for Kansas City. —AP

Teams rush to sign players ahead of looming NHL lockout NEW YORK: Several teams rushed to sign players to new contracts on Friday with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on the weekend and the National Hockey League (NHL) threatening a lockout.

Phoenix Coyotes long-standing captain Shane Doan was the biggest name to ink a deal, the free-agent forward signing a four-year $21.2 million extension to remain in the desert with the financially troubled franchise owned by the NHL. “I was drafted by this organisation and it means a great deal to me to be able to play with the same franchise my entire career,” Doan said on the team’s website. “I’m very excited about our team, our coaching staff and our management and am confident about our future in Arizona.

“I chose to stay with the Coyotes because I am committed to winning here, not anywhere else and I love living and playing in the Valley.”

Doan’s deal includes a $2 million signing bonus that will provide the rugged forward with a cushion should the NHL lock out players if a new deal is not in place before the current pact expires at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) today. Teams will not be able to make any signings or personnel moves until a new CBA is

reached. Taken with the seventh overall pick by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1995 NHL Draft, Doan has spent his entire career with the franchise, including its relocation to Phoenix in 1996.

In 16 seasons, Doan has scored 318 goals and 788 points. Last season the rugged winger had 22 goals and 26 assists in leading the Coyotes to their first playoff series win and an appearance in the Western Conference finals where they fell to eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.

Doan had been linked with a move to the Vancouver Canucks as the Coyotes attempted to sort out a messy ownership situation. With Doan off the market, the Canucks announced they had signed left-winger Alex Burrows to a four-year, $18 million contract extension.

Burrows, who has spent his entire sevenyear career in Vancouver, has been a reliable point producer scoring 139 goals and 270 points in 522 games.

The Dallas Stars solidified their netminding by signing Kari Lehtonen to five-year, $29.5 million contract extension making the Finn one of the NHL’s highest paid goalkeepers at nearly $6 million a season. “Kari Lehtonen has worked extremely hard in his time with the

Dallas Stars to establish himself as an elite goaltender in the NHL,” Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk said in a statement.

“We believe that his best days as a goaltender are ahead and that his work ethic and leadership will help guide this team into a perennial Stanley Cup contender.”

Taken second overall by Atlanta in the 2002 NHL draft, Lehtonen spent five seasons with the Thrashers before being traded to Dallas in 2010. In 344 career games, the 28-year-old netminder has a record of 166-133-32 with 21 shutouts and a 2.71 goals against average.

The Washington Capitals re-signed 22-yearold defenseman John Carlson to a six-year $23.8 million deal. Carlson, taken in the first round of the 2008 draft by Washington, recorded 32 points last season and a career-high nine goals.

Trying to fill a hole on their blueline left by the retirement of All-Star defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, the Detroit Red Wings signed free agent Carlo Colaiacovo to a two-year deal.

In nine seasons split between the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues, Colaiacovo has 30 goals and 139 points. Detroit also re-signed forward Justin Abdelkader to a four-year extension. —Reuters

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

sp orts

Begu beats Vekic to win Tashkent Open

ITALY: Spain’s Dani Pedrosa steers his Honda on his way to clock the fastest time during a qualifying practice session for the San Marino MotoGP Grand Prix.—AP

Pedrosa takes San Marino pole MISANO: In-form Spaniard Dani Pedrosa will start from pole position in today’s San Marino MotoGP after qualifying fastest yesterday.

The 26-year-old Honda rider - taking his 41st career pole spot and his 23rd in MotoGP - was 0.018sec quicker than 2010 champion and compatriot Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha.

Briton Cal Crutchlow will start from third spot as he finished 0.0144sec slower.

Pedrosa trails Lorenzo by 13 points in the overall standings after 12 races, having won the last two events.

“We had to try and retry the tyres, correct the suspension, and put into place some other alterations and all that in an hour. That was a very a short time,” said Pedrosa. “It is very important to start in front because the first parts of the circuit are very narrow.”

Lorenzo said that it had been a tough qualifying phase. “The session was really hard as it was our first dry one,” said the 25year-old Spaniard.

“I struggled at the beginning to get the pace as we only had that hour of dry condi-

tions. At the end I was able to get much better every lap and improved the bike a little bit.

“In the end we missed pole by such a little time. We are very close to Dani so I think everybody is waiting for a big battle tomorrow.”

Pedrosa posted the early leading time on the fourth lap but was only able to confirm his fourth pole of the campaign in the dying seconds as first Crutchlow and then Lorenzo timed faster. However, Pedrosa, who has never won the MotoGP title but was the youngest ever 250cc world champion aged just 19 in 2004, deprived Lorenzo of pole with a final surge in the last part of the circuit. Italian nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi equalled his best qualifying performance of the season in taking sixth in what is his final race on home soil for the Ducati team before rejoining Yamaha. Jonathan Rea posted the ninth quickest time in his first race deputising for Honda’s defending world champion Casey Stoner, who is recovering after leg surgery and will retire at the end of the season.—AFP

Lynx down Fever INDIANAPOLIS: Minnesota’s Lindsay Whalen banked in a fade-away jump shot with 1.6 seconds left to give the Lynx a 6664 win over the Indiana Fever on Friday, adding to their WNBA-leading record.

MINNEAPOLIS: Minnesota Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen (13) goes up to the basket in this file photo.—AP

The Lynx bounced back from their fifth loss of the year thanks mainly to Maya Moore, who finished with 15 points and Devereaux Peters, who added 13.

Indiana’s Tamika Catchings posted her eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds, but the Fever came up short as they chased a fourth straight win.

Indiana’s defeat allowed the Connecticut Sun to maintain a 1 1-2 game lead in the Eastern Conference despite a 93-82 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

Candace Parker scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Kristi Toliver added 18 points as the Sparks recorded their eighth straight win at home.

L.A. remained two games ahead of San Antonio for second place in the Western Conference. San Antonio has two games in hand.

Tina Charles returned to the lineup for Connecticut and had 21 points and 13 rebounds for her WNBA-leading 17th double double. San Antonio kept up its chase for second in the West by cruising past Seattle Storm 90-66. Becky Hammon scored 25 points while Sophia Young added 19 points.

Tina Thompson and Ann Wauters each had 12 points for Seattle. Atlanta Dream is playoff bound after coming from 11 points down to win 82-74 over Washington Mystics. Angel McCoughtry scored 26 points and Lindsey Harding added 19 for the Dream. In Friday’s other game, Tulsa Shock beat Phoenix Mercury 92-84.—AP

TASHKENT: Unseeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania beat Croatian teenager Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-4 in the Tashkent Open final yesterday to take home her first WTA title.

Vekic, a 16-year-old qualifier who had won seven straight matches coming into the final, was looking to become the youngest winner on the WTA tour in six years. But she struggled to keep up with Begu and her serve let her down.

Begu, who had beaten third-seeded Alize Cornet of France and eighth-seeded Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan on her way to the final, broke Vekic in the seventh game on her way to winning the first set. She broke again in the first game of the second set and jumped to a 4-2 lead, before Vekic earned her only break of the match to fight back and level at 4-4. However, Begu responded immediately with another break before serving out the match.

“It feels great to win a title. I’ll take back sweet memories from Tashkent,” the 87th-ranked Begu said. “I’m glad I made a decision to play the event at the last moment, and will surely come back to defend my title.” Begu credited her strong serving for the win. She won 74 percent of her first serve points compared to only 48 percent for Vekic.

“My service was what got me through,” she said “I was a little worried when Donna came back from 2-4 to level the scores at 4-4 in the second set, but I managed to break her immediately.”

Vekic said she would take plenty away from her first WTA final despite the loss. With her success in Tashkent, the 183rd-ranked Vekic is projected to move up nearly 50 spots. “It was a disappointing performance,” she said. “I was ready for this final, but Irina played very well, she deserved to win today. I had my chances in the second set but hurried a little on my serve and was broken.”—AP

TASHKENT: Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu (left) and Croatia’s Donna Vekic pose in national costume with prizes during the Tashkent open final.—AP

Hewitt and Guccione hand Australia lead over Germany HAMBURG: Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione’s doubles victory gave Australia a 2-1 lead over Germany yesterday in their Davis Cup World Group play-off to earn a key advantage going into the last day.

Australia are bidding to return to the World Group for the first time since 2007 while Germany must win to stay in the top tier after their opening round home defeat to Argentina in February.

After Bernard Tomic and Florian Mayer won Friday ’s singles to make it 1-1 overnight, Hewitt and Guccione enjoyed a 63, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Benjamin Becker and Philipp Petzschner.

“I always knew it was going to be tough out there, we expected that from the start,” said Hewitt. “When you can look your partner in the eye in the locker room and know you are going to go into battle together, it is something I have really enjoyed with Chris.

“I feel like I can get the best out of him on

the doubles court and it is a good belief to have when we are playing out there together.” In today ’s final two rubbers, Mayer, ranked 25th in the world, plays teenager Tomic, while Hewitt is due to play 21-yearold Cedrik-Marcel Stebe.

The Germans must win both singles matches to be sure of keeping their World Group status and team captain Patrik Kuehnen admitted they are under pressure.

“The cards have been reshuffled, we have to write that defeat off now, but nothing has yet been decided,” he said.

“We still have a chance, but we can’t be happy with this result.” Guccione enjoyed his seventh straight doubles win for Australia in the Davis Cup and admitted he was suprised by his own record. “When I play for my country and pull on the green and gold, it seems to bring out the best in me,” said the lefthander ranked 567 in the world in singles, but 133 in doubles.

“I enjoy playing with Lleyton and there is nothing better than playing for my country.”

Having clinched the first two sets, the Australian duo allowed their German hosts to establish themselves enough to take the third convincingly at Hamburg’s clay-court Rothenbaum stadium.

A tight fourth set was only decided by a tie-breaker, but Hewitt, 31, and the 27-yearold Guccione held on to put their side ahead before Sunday ’s remaining final matches.

“They compliment each other well, but the Germans were coming back at the boys and fighting hard,” said Australia team captain Pat Rafter. “They were showing a good fighting spirit and we are happy it didn’t go to a fifth set.” On Friday, Tomic dug deep after losing the first set to seal a 2-6, 6-3, 64, 7-6 (7/4) over Stebe before Mayer earned a 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 win over ex-world number one Hewitt.—AFP

Andretti wins pole for IndyCar season finale FONTANA: Marco Andretti won pole on Friday for the IndyCar season finale, putting himself in position for a strong close to what’s been the worst year of his career.

Andretti notched just the second pole of his career - his first was in 2008 - by qualifying ahead of Ryan Briscoe at Fontana.

“It means a lot, just what we have been going through this year,” he said. “Me in particular, it’s just been a very trying year for me and my career. It’s good for the confidence.”

“I’ve been on the outside looking in on that hundreth of a mile per hour for the pole, so I was on the good side of that today.” The 25-year-old Andretti is having the worst season of his career in what’s ironically a comeback year for Andretti Autosport. The three-team organization is the most competitive it’s ever been, and Ryan Hunter-Reay will try to win his first IndyCar championship late yesterday. But Andretti is a career-worst 17th in points, is winless, and has just one podium finish all season.

“I am going to be out to win the race and end on a good note to carry some momentum into next season,” said Andretti, who noted his struggles this season have been on the street courses.

“It’s just inspired me to work harder off track and really just try to find what I need at those places in the setup. We’ll be working hard on that in the offseason ... if we do,

we can be the one contending for the championship next year.” Two men will fight out the championship in late yesterday’s return to Fontana, which is back on the IndyCar schedule for the first time since 2005.

Will Power, who is seeking for his first championship after settling for second the last two years, qualified third. Hunter-Reay, who trails the Australian by 17 points in the standings, qualified 17th. But both drivers will be penalized 10 spots on the starting grid for making unapproved engine changes.

“I’ll be starting outside,” joked HunterReay. At least 14 teams have informed IndyCar they’ll be making engine changes, so the starting grid will look considerably different than the qualifying order. But nobody seemed worried about making up ground in a 500-mile race - just the second one on the IndyCar schedule - on a fast, wide oval.

“It’s 500 miles so we’ve got a lot of time to make up ground, but at the same time, you don’t really want to be buried in traffic,” Hunter-Reay said. Power was also OK with falling back in the field for the early portion of the race.

“I’m sometimes glad - when I start on pole, I usually don’t win,” said Power, who had won three consecutive poles coming into Fontana but finished second twice and sixth.—AP

‘Thank you Firemen’ tournament

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Under the patronage of Fahaheel Sports Club and in the presence of the General Director of Fire Department Lt General Yousuf Al Ansari, a football tournament was held in honor of firemen on Friday under the slogan

‘ Thank you Firemen’ in the closed hall of Fahaheel Sports Club.

The tournament included seven teams, one team from each governorate in addition to prevention administration team. Both Ahmadi team and Farwaniya reached the finals where Ahmadi emerged victorious 3-1. Trophies and

medals were distributed to the winning teams which included a prize for best player which went to Eid Al Ajmi from Ahmadi team. The prize of best goalkeeper went to Mohammad Dhahi from Farwaniya team. Memorial shields were distributed to fire general director, his deputies and governorates directors.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

S P ORT S

Australia rally to deny Argentina first victory

DUNEDIN: New Zealandís Aaron Smith (center) try bound against South Africa in the Investec International Championship rugby match at Forsyth Barr Stadium. — AP

Mistakes and errors dominate All Blacks win DUNEDIN: Mistakes and silly errors in handling and decision making by both sides dominated much of New Zealand’s 21-11 victory over South Africa yesterday that left the All Blacks on the verge of winning the inaugural Rugby Championship.

The All Blacks scored two tries, from fullback Israel Dagg and replacement scrumhalf Aaron Smith, while flyhalf Aaron Cruden slotted three penalties and a conversion to keep the world champions unbeaten in the competition.

Springboks winger Bryan Habana scored a brilliant individual try early in the second half to take his South African try-scoring record to 43, while Morne Steyn and his replacement Johan Goosen added a penalty each. The All Blacks have attempted to play the game at extreme pace under coach Steve Hansen, with backs and forwards linking and keeping the ball alive at every opportunity.

While two back door flick passes from players being tackled set up Dagg’s firsthalf try under the roof in Dunedin, more often than not those passes were being spilled.

The All Blacks also did not present the ball accurately at the breakdown for the second successive week, causing problems for first Piri Weepu then Smith, while they were also guilty of hanging on to it too long and incurring the wrath of referee George Clancy.

“When we go back and review (the match), there were a number of what we call avoidable penalties,” Hansen said.

“We made some fairly average mistakes at times. “(But) we did some fairly decent things as well and the opposition weren’t going to go away and they came to play.

“They brought a great attitude and phys-

icality and when you get a Springboks side like that, they’re hard to play.”

The young Springboks side will also have plenty to work on before they host Australia in two weeks’ time, relying again on a one-dimensional kicking game from flyhalf Steyn to put pressure on the All Blacks inside their own territory.

The tactic, dull as it might be and infuriating to the near capacity crowd expecting a running display of rugby, was effective with Clancy awarding the visitors numerous penalties.

However, Steyn and inside centre Frans Steyn combined to miss five shots at goal in the first half while Goosen missed a penalty in the second as the Springboks left a possible 20 points from kicks out on the field.

The Springboks also blew a certain try early in the match when Habana was unmarked 15 metres from the line only for the final pass to go behind him and into touch, leaving the exasperated right winger glowering at his team mates.

“We can probably look at some real opportunities and that is one area we can learn from the All Blacks, they had one or two opportunities and made the most of it,” Habana said.

“We have to learn form that. We can’t continue to use the excuse that we’re a young side. Guys like myself, Jean (de Villiers), Ruan Pienaar, Frans Steyn, have been there for a while.

“We know what we expect from a clash with New Zealand and we let ourselves down. “We fight hard but you can’t keep making the same mistakes. As a team, this loss will hurt us pretty bad.

“We need to take a good look at ourselves. We have to learn from these experiences but we can’t continuing learning, we have to do it (on the field).” — Reuters

Mulroy in tight race for Italian Open title TURIN: South Africa’s Garth Mulroy carded a six-under-par 66 to take a one-shot lead after the third round of the Italian Open yesterday. Mulroy, sitting only one shot behind overnight leader Richard Bland, started with a birdie at the first and made up for a bogey at the fifth by reeling off three successive birdies in his outward nine.

At the turn he birdied the 10th and 13th holes and finished with another birdie at the last. Mulroy, who said the Royal Park I Roveri reminded him of courses back home, would receive a huge boost in the event of victory.

“I haven’t played so well this year. It would be a big thing to win on mainland Europe, especially with the purse here and the two-year exemption,” he said.

But with nine players only four shots off the leading pace, Mulroy faces a big challenge today.

A day after a second successive 66, 39-year-old Bland picked up one bogey and failed to produce the birdie blitz which, for two days running, had put him in surprise contention.

He is now in a six-strong group which sits four shots off the pace of Mulroy, whose three-round total of 199 gave

him a one -shot lead over Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

Had Fernandez-Castano not picked up four bogeys his round of 67 — which included seven birdies and an eagle at the par five eighth-he may have taken the overnight lead. “I played well but I had a few unforced errors which cost me a few shots,” said Fernandez-Castano.

“But two birdies to finish on the last two holes has put me back in contention and I’m in a great position for tomorrow.”

Sitting one shot further behind on 201 are fellow Spaniards Rafa CabreraBello, who shot a 65, and Pablo Larrazabal, who carded a 66.

Alongside Bland at four shots off the leading pace are Italian Matteo Manassero, Welshman Phillip Price, Germany ’s Martin Kaymer and Frenchman Gregory Bourdy. Bourdy’s round of 70 included two bogeys and only four birdies but perhaps the most disappointed was Marc Warren.

The Scot started the third round only one shot behind Bland but made only three birdies and bogeyed the fourth, 10th and 16th holes on his way to a level par 72 which left him six shots off the lead. — AFP

GOLD COAST: Australia needed tries from Pat McCabe and Digby Ioane in the last quarter to overturn a 13-point deficit and edge Argentina 23-19 in a dramatic Rugby Championship encounter at Skilled Park yesterday.

The Pumas looked to be on their way to a first victory in their maiden season in the southern hemisphere’s international championship after tries from Tomas Leonardi and Julio Farias Cabello inside two minutes early in the second half.

The error-prone Wallabies, however, dug deep and battled back with centre McCabe finally breaching the Argentine defence on the hour mark and winger Ioane following suit after a break from scrumhalf Nick Phipps nine minutes later.

“Credit to them, they really put us under a lot of pressure at 19-6 but there is a great deal of courage and commitment to come back ... and finish so strongly,” skipper Nathan Sharpe said in a pitchside interview. “We’re not happy with the close game but there was some good commitment from the guys.”

The victory put the Wallabies second in the championship standings with eight points from four matches behind runaway leaders and world champions New Zealand, who have secured 16 points after winning all four of their matches.

Argentina remained bottom of the standings with three points but, along with the 16-16 draw with the Springboks and an encouraging performance against the All Blacks, the match was further evidence they will be competitive in the championship.

“It was close, we’re very disappointed,” said captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe. “We got a good lead but this has to be another step forward.

We need to try and learn how to close these types of games. These types of teams don’t stop until the last minute. That’s why we are disappointed, but we must keep going forward.

“We thought we had it, but they’re a really good team.” The Wallabies, who also came from behind to beat the Springboks last week after two defeats to the All Blacks to open their campaign, went 3-0 down to a Juan Martin Hernandez penalty in the third minute and will be happy to forget much of the next 20.

Berrick Barnes hit the right upright with his first two penalty attempts, centre McCabe was sinbinned after a try-saving tackle on Puma winger Gonzalo Camacho and number eight Radike Samo dropped the ball forward as he was trying to touch down.

The Australians were almost monopolising possession, however, and Barnes levelled the scores after 26 minutes only for sloppy defence from flyhalf Quade Cooper to allow Hernandez another penalty to put the Argentines back in front three minutes later.

Cooper made some amends after 36 minutes with a superb short pass to send Sharpe charg-

GOLD COAST: Australia’s Digby Ioane (right) gets past Argentina’s Martin Landajo (left) during the Rugby Championship rugby union match. — AP ing for the line and the big lock reached his target only to be prevented from grounding the ball by Camacho.

The visitors went in 6-3 up at halftime and the first nine minutes of the second half followed the same pattern as the first, with the Wallabies enjoying plenty of the ball but making errors at key moments.

Barnes again levelled the scores at 6-6 after 49 minutes but the parity was to last only seconds. Another casual clearance from Cooper was brilliantly charged down and collected by replacement loose forward Leonardi, who touched down for the first try of the match.

Two minutes later and winger Juan Imhoff returned a poor Barnes kick, racing through the midfield and down the sideline before flipping the ball inside for Farias Cabello to flop

over the line.

Hernandez missed both conversions but made no mistake with his fourth penalty attempt and Argentina were 19-6 ahead with 24 minutes remaining.

McCabe, returning to the Wallaby midfield after injury, finally found a way through the Puma’s defence in typically direct style to score Australia’s first try after 60 minutes with Barnes adding the extras. Phipps made the second try by bursting down the blindside before passing to Ioane, who cut inside the final defender to score. The conversion from Barnes put the home side ahead for the first time. There were still 11 minutes to negotiate with a slender 20-19 lead but replacement fullback Kurtley Beale eased the home nerves with a penalty a minute from the hooter. —Reuters

Obama greets US Olympians WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama welcomed U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes to the White House on Friday, congratulating them on their achievements in London while expressing a bit of goodnatured envy toward swimming phenom Michael Phelps, track star Tyson Gay and weightlifter Holley Mangold.

Obama, known for playing basketball, taking to the golf course and working out in his spare time, told the athletes gathered on the White House South Lawn that he enjoyed watching the Olympic games on television last month.

“It was a great way to end the day, watching you guys do things that I did not think were humanly possible. That was unbelievable. And then I’d jog on the treadmill,” Obama said to laughter.

“But I was inspired to watch you guys

even though I couldn’t do what you do. I was inspired to run a little bit faster watching Tyson Gay, and lift a little more after watching Holley Mangold, or do a few more (abdominal) crunches after watching Michael Phelps and the other swimmers.

Somehow, it didn’t work quite on me,” Obama added.

Obama dubbed himself “the fan-in-chief,” and told the athletes that they could not have been better ambassadors or better representatives of the United States. The U.S. Olympic team finished with 104 medals at the London games, more than any other country.

Hundreds of Olympians attended the White House celebration, adorned in varsity jackets, with first lady Michele Obama and Vice President Joe Biden also taking part.

“I’ve mastered the DVR so I was able to catch

a little bit of everything,” Obama told the athletes.

Following remarks from the president and the first lady, Paralympic swimmer Brad Snyder, a Navy veteran, and Olympic fencer Mariel Zagunis - who were U.S. flag bearers at the games - presented the Obamas with flags carried during the opening ceremonies.

Obama did not attend the Olympics, but the first lady led the American delegation to the games in London. Some prominent Olympians were not in attendance. For example, the U.S. women’s “Fab Five” gymnastics team that captured gold in London was on tour and unable to show up.

Swimmer Ryan Lochte was not there.

But Phelps, who became the most decorated Olympian in histor y at the London Games, arrived sporting aviator sunglasses.—Reuters

Miyazato takes early lead at Women’s British Open HOYLAKE: Cristie Kerr slipped to a double bogey five on the par three ninth, her final hole, to spoil a strong morning’s play in the delayed second round of the Women’s British Open at Royal Liverpool yesterday. The American golfer’s 73 left her on 1 over 145 after two rounds, four strokes behind early leader Mika Miyazato of Japan, who added a 70 to her opening 71.

Michelle Wie and Morgan Pressel are alongside Kerr on 145 after Wie added a 70 to her opening 75 and Pressel shot 73 after an opening-round 72.

Starting at the tenth, Kerr began with five pars, dropped a shot at the short 15th but then picked up birdies at the two par five Nos. 16 and 18 to be out in one under 36. She then played the next eight holes in par before letting it slip at the last.

Wie also started at the tenth and picked up three birdies on the way to the turn but dropped two shots to be out in 36 then picked up two more birdies on her back nine while dropping just one shot.

“It’s nice to be in the mix and I’m excited about playing 36 holes tomorrow,” said Wie. “We don’t do that very often and at least I won’t have to be up at 4am like this morning.” Miyazato picked up four birdies and dropped just two shots in her 70.

Her closest challenger among the early finishers was American Angela Stanford on level par after her second 72, while English amateur Holly Clyburn is alongside Kerr, Wie and Pressel on one over after eagling her last, the par five 18th.

Former winner Laura Davies of England was 10 over when she pulled out with an injured ankle after ten holes. England’s Karen Stupples, winner in 2004, failed to make the cut after adding an 81 to her opening 76. The event is sponsored by Ricoh. — AP

HOYLAKE: Korea’s Inbee Park putts during the delayed second round of play on day three of the Women’s British Open at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. — AP

18

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

sp orts

Barca thrash Getafe

Soccer results/standings English Premier League results Arsenal 6 (Hooiveld 11-og, Podolski 31, Gervinho 35, 71, Clyne 37-og, Walcott 88) Southampton 1 (Fox 45); Aston Villa 2 (Lowton 16, Benteke 88) Swansea 0; Fulham 3 (Berbatov 32, 45-pen, Sidwell 89) West Brom 0; Manchester Utd 4 (Scholes 51, Hernandez 63, Buttner 66, Powell 82) Wigan 0; Norwich 0 West Ham 0; QPR 0 Chelsea 0; Stoke 1 (Crouch 15) Manchester City 1 (Garcia 35); Sunderland 1 (Fletcher 29) Liverpool 1 (Suarez 71).

Playing today: Reading v Tottenham Playing tomorrow Everton v Newcastle Championship Barnsley 1 Blackpool 1; Bolton 2 Watford 1; Bristol City 3 Blackburn 5; Burnley 5 Peterborough 2; Cardiff 2 Leeds 1; Huddersfield 1 Derby 0; Hull 4 Millwall 1; Middlesbrough 2 Ipswich 0; Nottingham Forest 2 Birmingham 2.

Played Friday Brighton 3 Sheffield Wednesday 0; Charlton 0 Crystal Palace 1 Playing today Wolves v Leicester Division One Bournemouth 1 Hartlepool 1; Carlisle 2 Swindon 2; Colchester 1 Doncaster 2; Milton Keynes Dons 1 Yeovil 0; Oldham 2 Notts County 2; Portsmouth 1 Walsall 2; Preston 1 Crawley 2; Sheffield Utd 1 Bury 1; Shrewsbury 0 Scunthorpe 1; Stevenage 2 Crewe 2; Tranmere 2 Coventry 0.

Division Two AFC Wimbledon 1 Rochdale 2; Aldershot 0 Morecambe 0; Bradford 3 Barnet 0; Burton 4 Oxford 0; Cheltenham 1 Southend 3; Chesterfield 3 Wycombe 1; Dagenham and Redbridge 1 Accrington 1; Exeter 1 York 1; Fleetwood 1 Northampton 0; Gillingham 4 Bristol Rovers 0; Plymouth 1 Port Vale 3; Rotherham 1 Torquay 0.

Scottish Premier League results Dundee 1 (Nish 20) Motherwell 2 (Higdon 74, 85); Hibernian 2 (Griffiths 14, 45-pen) Kilmarnock 1 (Racchi 32); Inverness CT 1 (Foran 67-pen) Aberdeen 1 (Smith 84); St Johnstone 2 ( Tade 18, Vine 80) Celtic 1 (Commons 4); St Mirren 2 (Goodwin 38, Guy 48) Hearts 0.

Played Friday: Dundee Utd 0 Ross County 0 German Bundesliga results Borussia Dortmund 3 (Hummels 29, Blaszczykowski 39, Lewandowski 78) Bayer Leverkusen 0; Bayern Munich 3 (Mandzukic 2, Schweinsteiger 13 Kroos 90+2) Mainz 05 1 (Szalai 59-pen); Borussia Moengladbach 2 (de Jong 45, Xhaka 53) Nuremberg 3 (Klose 17, Simons 25, Kiyotake 55); VfB Stuttgart 0 Fortuna Dusseldorf 0; Hanover 3 (Huszti 6, 90+2, Andreasen 10) Werder Bremen 2 (Hunt 26, de Bruyne 74); Greuther Fuerth 0 Schalke 04 2 (Draxler 48, Holtby 88).

Playing today SC Freiburg v Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt v Hamburg Played Friday Augsburg 0 Wolfsburg 0

English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Chelsea Man Utd Arsenal Man City Swansea West Brom West Ham Fulham Everton Stoke Aston Villa Newcastle Wigan Sunderland Norwich Tottenham Liverpool QPR Reading Southampton

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 2 4

3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 4 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 2 1 0

0 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 2 1 2 0 1 1 2 2 1 4

8 10 8 9 10 6 4 10 4 4 4 3 4 3 2 3 3 2 3 5

2 5 1 6 4 4 3 6 3 4 5 4 8 3 7 4 8 9 5 14

10 9 8 8 7 7 7 6 6 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 0

English Football League Championship Blackburn 5 3 2 Blackpool 5 3 1 Brighton 5 3 1 Hull 5 3 1 Cardiff 5 3 1 Nottingham 5 2 3 M’brough 5 3 0 Huddersfield 5 2 2 Leeds 5 2 1 Bolton 5 2 1 Sheffield 5 2 1 Barnsley 5 2 1 Bristol City 5 2 0 Leicester 4 2 0 Burnley 5 2 0 Millwall 5 2 0 Watford 5 2 0 Crystal Palace 5 2 0 Derby 5 1 2 Charlton 5 1 2 Birmingham 5 1 2 Ipswich 5 1 2 Wolves 4 1 1 P’borough 5 0 0

0 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 2 2 2 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 5

12 11 11 8 8 8 8 6 8 7 9 5 11 5 10 8 7 7 8 4 6 4 5 4

8 3 3 3 6 6 7 4 8 8 11 9 10 4 10 11 10 10 7 5 8 11 6 12

11 10 10 10 10 9 9 8 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 0

Division One Tranmere Notts County Stevenage Crawley Town Walsall Yeovil Sheffield Keynes Dons Doncaster Brentford Preston Swindon Carlisle Crewe Bournemouth Leyton Orient Portsmouth Hartlepool Shrewsbury Oldham Scunthorpe Bury Coventry Colchester

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 6 5 6 5 6 6 6 6

4 4 3 4 3 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

2 1 3 0 2 1 4 1 0 2 2 2 2 2 4 0 2 2 2 2 1 3 3 3

0 1 0 2 1 2 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 3 2 3 2 4 3 3 3

13 11 8 7 7 10 10 6 8 9 8 7 9 7 8 3 9 4 5 4 3 5 5 4

2 6 5 7 7 5 7 3 5 7 6 7 11 10 9 5 10 5 7 6 12 9 9 10

14 13 12 12 11 10 10 10 9 8 8 8 8 8 7 6 5 5 5 5 4 3 3 3

Division Two Gillingham Fleetwood Port Vale Exeter Accrington Rotherham Bradford Southend York Burton Albion Oxford Utd Northampton Morecambe Rochdale Cheltenham Chesterfield Torquay Aldershot Plymouth Wycombe Wimbledon D’ & Redbridge Bristol Rovers Barnet

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 6 6 5 6

5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 0 0 2 2 2 2 4 4 2 2 1 1 3 2 1

0 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 3 3 3 4 3 3 5

14 10 16 13 8 12 11 10 12 11 9 9 9 7 7 8 7 6 5 5 7 5 3 3

4 2 9 7 5 9 9 8 10 9 12 8 9 7 9 7 6 9 9 7 17 10 12 15

16 13 13 13 11 10 10 10 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 7 7 5 5 4 4 3 2 1

Scottish Premier League Motherwell 6 3 3 Hibernian 6 3 2 St Mirren 6 2 3 Dundee Utd 5 2 2 Celtic 5 2 2 Ross County 6 1 5 Aberdeen 6 1 4

0 1 1 1 1 0 1

10 9 8 7 9 2 3

5 8 5 3 7 1 3

12 11 9 8 8 8 7

Kilmarnock Hearts St Johnstone Inverness CT Dundee

6 6 6 6 6

1 1 1 0 1

3 3 2 4 1

2 2 3 2 4

6 5 4 9 2

6 6 8 14 8

6 6 5 4 4

Scottish Football League First Division Partick 5 5 0 Dunfermline 5 4 0 Raith 5 3 1 Cowdenbeath 5 3 0 Morton 5 2 2 Airdrie Utd 5 2 0 Livingston 5 1 2 Falkirk 5 1 1 Hamilton 5 0 2 Dumbarton 5 0 0

0 1 1 2 1 3 2 3 3 5

13 11 7 10 11 7 5 5 2 1

2 3 3 8 8 8 7 9 9 15

15 12 10 9 8 6 5 4 2 0

Second Division Queen of South 5 Forfar 5 Arbroath 5 Stenhousemuir 5 Alloa 5 Brechin 5 Albion 5 Stranraer 5 East Fife 5 Ayr 5

4 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 0 0

1 0 1 2 1 0 0 2 2 1

0 1 1 1 2 3 3 2 3 4

13 12 10 7 9 5 4 5 3 7

2 4 11 7 7 8 7 8 7 14

13 12 10 8 7 6 6 5 2 1

Third Division Elgin Peterhead Queens Park Rangers Clyde Berwick Montrose Annan Athletic Stirling East Stirling

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

3 3 3 2 3 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 3 0 2 2 2 0 0

1 1 1 0 2 2 2 2 4 4

10 7 7 13 6 7 7 5 8 5

7 4 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 15

10 10 10 9 9 5 5 5 3 3

German League Bayern Munich 3 Hanover 3 Schalke 3 Dortmund 3 Nuremberg 3 Eintracht 2 D¸sseldorf 3 Borussia 3 Wolfsburg 3 Werder Bremen 3 Leverkusen 3 Greuther 3 Freiburg 2 Mainz 3 Augsburg 3 Stuttgart 3 Hamburg 2 Hoffenheim 2

3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2

12 9 7 6 5 6 2 4 1 5 3 1 1 2 1 1 0 1

2 4 3 2 3 1 0 4 4 5 5 5 3 5 5 7 3 6

9 7 7 7 7 6 5 4 4 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 0 0

Matches on TV (Local Timings) English Premier League

Reading v Tottenham Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 Spanish League Espanyol v Bilbao Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport +3

18:00

13:00

Granada v Deportivo Aljazeera Sport +2

17:00

Osasuna v Mallorca Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport +3

19:00

Sociedad v Zaragoza Aljazeera Sport +1

20:50

Atletico v Rayo Aljazeera Sport +2

22:30

Italian League Fiorentina v Catania Aljazeera Sport +6

16:00

Genoa v Juventus Aljazeera Sport +1

16:00

Pescara v Sampdoria Aljazeera Sport +8

16:00

Siena v Udinese Aljazeera Sport +5

16:00

Torino v Inter Aljazeera Sport +3

21:45

MADRID: Barcelona made it four wins in four games with a 4-1 victory at Getafe yesterday to stay two points ahead of Malaga, who had earlier beaten Levante 3-1, at the top of La Liga.

Brazilian full-back Adriano grabbed an early lead before Lionel Messi left the bench to grab a double, to make it six league goals for him, and assure the points for the Catalan side.

Pablo Sarabia got a late consolation for the home side who never looked like repeating their victory over Real Madrid in their last home game, before the recovering David Villa also came off the bench to claim his second of the season.

Although Barca dominated proceedings they struggled to turn their possession into meaningful attempts on goal and they will worry about a second-half injury to Carles Puyol who left the field clutching his left knee.

They will however be content with a win in one of only two stadiums in which they were beaten in the league last season.

Barca coach Tito Vilanova decided to rest Messi, perhaps with one eye on Wednesday’s Champions League game with Spartak Moscow, leaving the Argentinian on the bench for the first time in just over a year. It meant ex-Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas started and his contribution was key all evening, particularly for his side’s opening goal.

Cristian Tello had the best early chance when, on five minutes, he burst into the area from the left only for Getafe keeper Miguel Angel Moya to block with his feet.

Thiago Alcantara was the next Barca player to slice through the home defence before striking the bar on 26 minutes.

Former Real Madrid midfielder Pedro Leon then had two attempts for the home side before Adriano put Barca ahead on 32 minutes.

Fabregas made a probing run from deep that caught the Getafe defence off balance.

He managed to stab the ball into the path of Adriano who needed only one touch to grab his second goal in two games for the

SPAIN: Barcelona’s Pedro Rodriguez (center) vies for the ball with Getafe’s Miguel Torres (second left) during a Spanish La Liga soccer match. —AP opener. Two minutes later, Moya pulled off a great reflex save to deny Thiago and he did the same early in the second period to deny Tello.

Messi appeared from the bench with 30 minutes remaining to slot home a penalty on 74 minutes after Juan Valera had tripped Pedro Rodriguez.

Four minutes later he was on hand to finish a cross from Martin Montoya before Villa rounded-off a straightforward victory for the Catalans.

Malaga beat Levante 3-1 to record their best ever start to a La Liga season with 10 points from four games. New signing, and former Real Madrid forward, Javier Saviola was the instigator with the first goal before providing an assist for Joaquin Sanchez either side of the break.

Michel had pulled Levante level just after the interval but Malaga deserved the victory

and youngster Francisco Portillo rounded of the scoring in the last minute. The result means the Costa del Sol club will also go into their first ever Champions League campaign on a high ahead of their home game with Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday.

French international full-back Aly Cissokho starred as Valencia beat Celta Vigo 2-1 to record their first win of the season.

The summer signing from Lyon, playing only his second game for the club, headed home a Tino Costa free-kick on 50 minutes for Valencia’s winner.

Early first-half goals by Sofiane Feghouli for the home side and Gustavo Cabral for Celta saw the game level at the interval.

The home side could have added to their tally but will be glad for the confidence boost ahead of a visit to Bayern Munich for their Champions League tie on Wednesday. —AFP

Perfect Bayern stay top, Dortmund up to fourth BERLIN: Bayern Munich maintained their perfect start to the Bundesliga season yesterday when a 3-1 home win over Mainz gave them a third win in three league matches.

Bayern stay top having raced into a 2-0 lead at their Allianz Arena as Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic bagged his fifth goal in four games after just two minutes before midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger added a second, 11 minutes later, with a header.

Mainz pulled a goal back when midfielder Adam Szalai converted a 59th-minute penalty, but Germany midfielder Toni Kroos made sure of the three points for Bayern with a goal in the 92nd minute.

Munich won without Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben after they both picked up thigh injuries in the final training session, while new signing Javier Martinez only came off the bench for the final 15 minutes.

“We produced an excellent half hour of football, the goals were outstanding, but we were too passive in the 15 minutes before the break,” said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes.

“The 3-1 was well deserved, especially after Javi Martinez came on, we played well going forward and were very intelligent in our play.”

Schalke 04 later went third with a 2-0 win at Greuther Fuerth, thanks to goals from teenager Julian Draxler, who turns 19 on Thursday, and midfielder Lewis Holtby.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was in the stands to watch Fuerth play, having been born in the north Bavarian town before his Jewish family fled Nazi Germany in 1938.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was at Borussia Dortmund to watch the defending champions enjoy a convincing 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen to move up from sixth place to fourth at a soldout Signal Iduna Park. The hosts went ahead after Germany defender Mats Hummels headed home on 29 minutes from a corner, then Poland captain Jakub Blaszczykowski made it 2-0 with a crisp strike on 39 minutes. Compatriot Robert Lewandowski added the third on 78 minutes with a header.

“We will take everything positive from this game into the next against Ajax,” said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp ahead of Borussia’s opening Champions League home match against the

FUERTH: Schalke’s Julian Draxler and Fuerths Bernd Nehrig (from left) challenge for the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga soccer match. —AP Dutch champions on Tuesday. “For the first time this season, we did everything on the pitch which we had planned to do.” Hanover are second after a dramatic 3-2 win over Werder Bremen at home in the north German derby with midfielder Szabolcs Huszti scoring the winner in the 92nd minute.

It was the Hungarian’s second of the game and his enthusiastic, shirtless celebrations earned him two yellow cards in quick succession and he finished the match being sent off, seconds before the final whistle. Japan midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake is making a name for himself in Nuremberg after scoring a 55nd-minute winner in his team’s 3-2 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach to put his team fifth.

Kiyotake set up both of Nuremberg’s goals for Timm Klose and Timmy Simons as the guests took a 2-0 lead before Gladbach’s Dutch striker Luuk de Jong and Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka scored to level.

Stuttgart were held to a goalless draw at home to Fortuna Duesseldorf. On Friday, Wolfsburg were held to a goalless draw by Augsburg, while today Eintracht Frankfurt host Hamburg and Freiburg are home to Hoffenheim. —AFP

Celtic’s unbeaten run ends GLASGOW: Celtic’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end at McDiarmid Park yesterday as preparations for their mid-week Champions League match were interrupted by a 2-1 defeat at St Johnstone. The home side were forced to cancel training on Thursday after seven members of the squad were hit with a virus but they showed no ill effects as they fought back from a goal down to claim their first victory of the campaign.

Kris Commons had given the Hoops a fourth-minute lead with a fierce strike from 20 yards and nearly had another before Rowan Vine set up Gregory Tade to fire home an 18th-minute equaliser.

Chances were more restricted in the second period but with 10 minutes remaining, Vine curled a stunning shot past Fraser Forster to put St Johnstone in front.

The result leaves Celtic, who open their Champions League campaign against Benefica at Parkhead on Wednesday, with just two wins from their opening five SPL matches.

“We got off to a great start and let the game get away from us,” said Celtic manager Neil Lennon. “We didn’t do the basics well at all and there were far too many of our consistent performers off form. We have to give credit to St Johnstone but I’m very disappoint-

ed with that.” St Johnstone manager Steve Lomas praised the character of his side after they ended their longest winless run in 34 years. “The most pleasing thing was after losing an early goal we showed character and what our team is all about,” Lomas said “It is just rewards for the players for a lot of good performances. The quality of the finish from Rowan Vine for the winner was exceptional and all credit to the boys to keep believing.”

At McDiarmid Park, Celtic captain Scott Brown started his first SPL game of the season and had a hand in Celtic’s early opener.

The Scotland international won the ball in midfield and picked out Hooper, who laid it off for Commons to take a touch before sending an angled low drive past Alan Mannus from outside the area.

St Johnstone were rocked by the goal and could have found themselves further behind three minutes later when Murray Davidson’s attempted clearance only went as far as Commons, who tested Mannus with a fierce strike.

This spurred the home side into action and they came close to an equaliser in the 10th minute when Forster had to scramble to tip Dave Mackay’s curling free-kick over the bar.

St Johnstone grabbed a deserved leveller

eight minutes later. Vine raced down the left before cutting in and feeding Tade, who rifled a shot on the turn past the helpless Forster.

Celtic had a penalty appeal turned down in the 26th minute when Commons appeared to be hauled down by Steve Anderson in the box after seizing on the defender’s weak headed back-pass, but referee Euan Norris waved away his protests.

St Johnstone had a chance to take the lead right on half-time when Tade laid the ball off to Peter Pawlett 10 yards out, but he blasted over.

Teenage striker Tony Watt and new signing Lassad came on for Celtic after the interval as the Hoops tried to find a winner. But it was St Johnstone substitute Nigel Hasselbaink who made a bigger impact in the 80th minute.

He picked out Vine at the edge of the box and the midfielder held off Mikel Lustig to curl a superb shot into the top corner and past the outstretched arm of Forster. Mannus was the hero in stoppage time when he rushed out to block Watt’s shot with his legs.

Elsewhere, Motherwell stayed top of the SPL as they came from behind to win 2-1 away to Dundee, Hibernian moved up to second with a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock, St Mirren claimed third spot with a 2-0 win over Hearts and Inverness and Aberdeen drew 1-1. —AFP

19

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

SPORTS

Ferdinand snubs Terry and Cole in handshake drama QPR 0

Chelsea 0

LONDON: Sunderland’s Irish defender John O’Shea (right) vies with Liverpool’s Italian striker Fabio Borini (left) during the English Premier League football match.—AFP

Sunderland draw leaves Rodgers without Reds win Sunderland 1

Liverpool 1

SUNDERLAND: Brendan Rodgers was left searching for his first win as Liverpool manager after a 1-1 draw away to Sunderland yesterday capped an emotional week for the club. On an afternoon when the Anfield club’s supporters spent much of the game singing songs in support of the 96 fans that lost their lives in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, Liverpool’s poor start to the campaign almost got worse.

After £12m man Steven Fletcher had put Sunderland ahead in the 29th minute with his third goal in two Premier League appearances for the club, the Reds looked incapable of converting one of their many chances. But with 19 minutes remaining, Liverpool’s luck finally changed when striker Luis Suarez was on hand to power the loose ball over the line after his initial shot had been blocked.

It was a result which also left Sunderland searching for their first league win of the season, with Liverpool struggling at the wrong end of the table under the new boss.

After an independent panel report published earlier this week exonerated Liverpool fans of any responsibility for the Hillsborough tragedy, Sunderland flew flags at half mast in support of all those affected. Among the banners on display in the away end was a huge “Justice for the 96” as both sets of players warmed up in what was always going to be an emotional day for the supporters of the

Anfield club. Liverpool dominated the first 25 minutes but, as has become the norm this season, they were unable to turn their greater share of the ball into a goal.

With Raheem Sterling, Suarez and Fabio Borini all looking lively, a few good early chances were created. The best came when Sunderland’s Carlos Cuellar made a mess of a back-header but, fortunately for the Black Cats, alert Belgium goalkeeper Simon Mignolet charged out to deny Borini who had latched on to the loose ball. Jonjo Shelvey fluffed the follow up.

By the time Fletcher had put Sunderland ahead just before the half hour, Liverpool had recorded seven shots on goal to Sunderland’s none. But that soon changed when Craig Gardner’s powerful run down the right flank ended with his low, driven cross being turned in by Fletcher.

After that Sunderland looked the more comfortable side up until half-time. Liverpool still had the ability to move forward and cause problems, even if they lacked the cutting edge in the final third.

Glen Johnson emerged as Liverpool’s most dangerous player. He had already saw a teasing centre go unconverted in the second half before he curled a 20 yard shot off the bar. It wasn’t Steven Gerrard’s day either. He shaved the post from just inside the area when it looked easier to score and Sunderland kept plugging away and defended strongly until the 71st minute.

Suarez, who had infuriated the home supporters earlier by going down cheaply in the penalty area, popped up in the area to finish off Sterling’s cross at the second time of asking from inside six yards to finally level things.

Liverpool could even have won it. Shelvey was denied excellently by Mignolet and in the end both teams had to make do with a point.—AFP

LONDON: QPR defender Anton Ferdinand snubbed Chelsea’s John Terry and Ashley Cole at the pre-match handshake, but there were few highlights to follow in a dour 0-0 draw at Loftus Road yesterday.

Ferdinand came face to face with Terry for the first time since the England star was found not guilty of using a racial slur against the QPR defender in the corresponding fixture last October.

As had been widely predicted, Ferdinand ignored Terry’s outstretched hand during the traditional pre-match greeting and also snubbed Cole to show his feelings about the Blues left-back, who appeared at the trial as a character witness for his Chelsea team-mate.

No other QPR player appeared to ignore Terry or Cole after suggestions the whole team would snub the duo. Once that awkward confrontation was over, it was QPR who took more from a game that saw Chelsea drop their first points of the Premier League season. Composure had been in short supply during the handshake and the frenetic tempo ensured neither side settled into the game during a charged first half that did nothing to dilute the pre-match antagonism.

On another day, referee Andre Marriner might easily have dismissed Ryan Bertrand for a crunching challenge on Shaun Wright-Phillips, while Chelsea considered they had two valid penalty appeals-first when Shaun Wright-Phillips challenged Eden Hazard and then when Ryan Nelsen appeared to manhandle Terry-ignored before the break.

Before then, the visitors had offered an early sign they would assume control of the game when Fernando Torres and Ramires combined to set up an

LONDON: Chelsea’s English striker Daniel Sturridge (left) vies with Queens Park Rangers’ New Zealand defender Ryan Nelson (right) during the English Premier League football match.—AFP opening for Hazard in the fourth minute. Hazard met Ramires’s low cross with a first time shot but Julio Cesar showed why Mark Hughes had grasped the opportunity to sign the Brazil keeper despite the summer arrival of Robert Green by producing a superb reaction save to his left.

Former Inter Milan star Cesar again showed signs of his quality with a diving save to deny Torres midway through the half.

But the best chance of the first period fell to David Luiz, who headed wide 10 minutes before the interval as he moved to connect with Frank Lampard’s header. QPR’s early efforts were more

focused on containment although they did threaten to open up the visitors’ defence, particularly when South Korea midfielder Park Ji-Sung made headway down the left hand flank. But on the only occasion Hughes’s side managed to get a clear sight of goal, Chelsea keeper Petr Cech dealt with Bobby Zamora’s shot comfortably.

Chelsea’s control of the central midfield areas was weakened and with the home side enjoying long spells of possession, it was no surprise when a clear opening fell to substitute Jamie Mackie, who saw his shot well saved by Cech five minutes after the break.

An even better opportunity presented itself to Park six minutes later and the Rangers skipper should have done much better than direct a tame header straight at Cech after being picked out by Esteban Granero.

Chelsea managed to create a chance to rival that spurned by Park when Hazard found Branislav Ivanovic at the far post, only for the Serb to send a close range header wide.

In the closing stages, Zamora was gifted a chance by John Obi Mikel’s miscued back-pass. The striker rounded Cech but was forced too wide to take advantage.—AFP

Norwich held

by West Ham Norwich 0

West Ham 0

Lambert gets first win as Villa sink Swansea Aston Villa 2

Swansea 0

BIRMINGHAM: Paul Lambert got his first Premier League win as Aston Villa manager after goals from newboys Matthew Lowton and Christian Benteke clinched a 2-0 victory over Swansea yesterday.

LONDON: Aston Villa’s Matthew Lowton (right) and Swansea City’s Wayne Routledge battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match. —AP

Villa had lost two and drawn one of their first three matches under Lambert, but that frustrating run was ended in convincing fashion at Villa Park thanks to two of the Scot’s recent signings. Rightback Lowton, signed from Sheffield United, broke the deadlock with his first goal for the club in the first-half before Belgian striker Benteke, a £7 million arrival from Genk, came off the bench to net his maiden Villa goal in the closing minutes.

While Villa are off the mark under Lambert, Swansea’s three-match unbeaten run under their new boss Michael Laudrup came to an end despite an enterprising start from the visitors.

It needed two superb reflex saves in the space of 60 seconds from American goalkeeper Brad Guzan to prevent Swansea from taking the lead.

Guzan turned over a powerful closerange header by Ashley Williams, then tipped a 20-yard drive from Nathan Dyer over the bar. But Villa quickly found their stride and a superb strike from Lowton put them ahead after 16 minutes.

Barry Bannan’s corner was headed out

by Williams but Lowton brought the ball under control and volleyed an unstoppable shot past Michel Vorm from just inside the area.

Villa kept pushing forward in search of a second goal and Vorm reacted sharply to turn aside Andreas Weimann’s snapshot. Danny Graham wasted a chance to equalise on the stroke of half-time when the Swansea striker failed to make contact with a low cross from Dyer with the goal at his mercy.

It was Villa who were back on top after the break however and Leon Britton headed a Weimann shot off the line. Benteke, who had come on for Weimann, saw his strike deflected wide before Ciaran Clark’s header was tipped over by Vorm. But Benteke sealed the win in the 88th minute when he lobbed Vorm after Williams’ backpass fell short of the keeper. —AFP

LONDON: Fulham’s Colombian striker Hugo Rodallega (left) vies with West Bromwich Albion’s English-born Scottish midfielder James Morrison (right) during the English Premier League football match.—AFP

Berbatov at the double as Fulham beat Baggies Fulham 3

West Brom 0

LONDON: Dimitar Berbatov marked his Fulham home debut with two goals in a 3-0 Premier League victory over 10-man West Bromwich Albion at Craven Cottage yesterday.

The former Manchester United striker, making his first start since a deadline-day move from Old Trafford, opened the scoring in the 32nd minute before adding a second from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.

Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell made it 3-0 late on. West Brom forward Peter Odemwingie was sent off in between Berbatov’s strikes for violent conduct as the Baggies lost in the Premier League for the first time this season.

Berbatov’s opener came after good work by

winger Alex Kacaniklic who got the ball to him despite being surrounded by three West Brom defenders.

The 31-year-old then did the rest, beating Ben Foster with a shot he bent inside the goalkeeper’s left post. Soon afterwards, Nigeria winger Odemwingie was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Sascha Riether. Berbatov came close to adding a second in the 40th minute but his diving header flew past the post.

Fulham though were awarded a penalty in first-half injury time, when Billy Jones fouled Kacaniklic, and Berbatov sent former Manchester United team-mate Foster the wrong way from the spot.

Foster then made several superb saves in the second half before Sidwell scored Fulham’s third goal a minute from time.

Former England keeper Foster prevented substitute Pajtim Kasami’s front-post cross from sneaking in and Hugo Rodallega headed the rebound onto the crossbar before the loose ball fell to Sidwell, who lashed home into an empty net.—AFP

NORWICH: Chris Hughton is still waiting for his first Premier League win as Norwich City manager after the Canaries were held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham United yesterday.

After losing 5-0 at Fulham on the opening day of the season, Norwich have now drawn their last three league matches, but they could have ended Hughton’s wait for his maiden victory with better finishing against the Hammers at Carrow Road.

Former Newcastle United and Birmingham City boss Hughton, who succeeded Paul Lambert at Norwich in the close-season, saw Harry Kane and Robert Snodgrass squander two good chances to win it in the closing moments as Sam Allardyce’s visitors secured a first point on their travels this season.

West Ham had made a bright start in the Norfolk sunshine and Ricardo Vaz Te saw his deflected cross headed goalwards by Carlton Cole, only for Russell Martin to clear off the line.

But Norwich hit back and West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and his defenders made a series of blocks to turn away efforts from Snodgrass, Sebastien Bassong, Grant Holt and Andrew Surman during a frantic period following a corner.

Referee Chris Foy incurred the wrath of the Norwich fans four minutes before half-time when he gave a free-kick rather than a penalty after Surman was fouled by James Collins, but television replays showed the challenge had indeed taken place just inches outside the area.

Norwich kept pressing in the second half and Simeon Jackson’s 25-yard effort was tipped over by Jaaskelainen.

England under-21 forward Kane, on loan from Tottenham, replaced Holt for the final 19 minutes and he immediately set up Snodgrass for a close-range shot that was block by Jaaskelainen’s leg. Kane should have stolen the points in stoppage time when he had a clear sight of goal, but his tame low shot was straight at Jaaskelainen.—AFP

Ferdinand snubs Terry and Cole in handshake drama

Pedrosa takes San Marino pole

19

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

Hewitt and Guccione hand Australia lead over Germany Page 16

LONDON: Manchester United’s Dutch defender Alexander Buttner (second left) vies with Wigan Athletic’s Ivorian striker Arouna Kone (right) during the English Premier League football match. —AFP

700-up Scholes scores for United Man United 4

Wigan 0

MANCHESTER: Old and new combined for Manchester United as Paul Scholes marked his 700th appearance for the club with a goal and debutants Alex Buttner and Nick Powell also scored in a 4-0 win over Wigan at Old Trafford yesterday.

But the victory threatened to be overshadowed by United and England forward Danny Welbeck’s blatant dive.

Welbeck’s controversial move won United an early penalty, missed by Javier Hernandez, although that only delayed the inevitable as the home side scored three times in 15 minutes early in the second half.

Scholes opened their account after 51 minutes when Wigan goalkeeper Ali AlHabsi could only parry a dangerous, low cross from Nani into the path of the veteran United midfielder who converted into an open net from four yards.

After 63 minutes, Dutch left-back Buttner continued what had already been a promising debut after the Wigan defender Ivan Ramis was caught in possession in his own area by Welbeck.

The ball was played to Ryan Giggs

who, in turn, fed Buttner whose low shot was turned in by Hernandez from close range. Buttner appeared ready to claim that goal but, in any case, only had to wait two more minutes to claim one that was undoubtedly his.

Gathering the ball outside the area, Buttner surged into the Wigan penalty box, casting aside three challenges before somehow forcing the ball into the goal from an impossible-looking angle via AlHabsi. The final goal, after 82 minutes, came from Powell, a substitute 11 minutes earlier. After James McCarthy gifted the ball to Rafael, the full-back’s lay-off was met by Powell who beat Al-Habsi convincingly from 18 yards.

It was an occasion for anniversaries at

Old Trafford - Giggs became the first player to appear in 600 Premier League games, Scholes made his 700th United appearance in all competitions, while Rio Ferdinand was playing his 400th game for the club.

Perhaps the most significant landmark on Saturday, however, was that manager Alex Ferguson was taking charge of United in an Old Trafford league game for the 500th time.

That win should have been well within Ferguson’s grasp after just four minutes when referee Michael Oliver awarded Welbeck and United a contentious penalty. The England forward chased Nani’s through ball and rounded goalkeeper AlHabsi before going down under the

Arsenal 6

Southampton 1

LONDON: Arsenal taught Southampton a harsh lesson about the realities of life in the Premier League by hammering them 6-1 at the Emirates Stadium yesterday.

Ivory Coast international Gervinho led the rout with two goals while Lukas Podolski’s effort, a late Theo Walcott strike and two own goals continued an unbeaten start to the season for Arsene Wenger’s side.

Southampton had to make do with a consolation from Daniel Fox after a terrible blunder from Wojceich Szczesny but manager Nigel Adkins will know he has plenty to do to lift his players after they were comprehensively outclassed.

Defeat left the newly promoted Saints rooted to the bottom of the table and the only team in the league without a point after four straight defeats.

Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud, ahead of his return to face former club Montpellier in the Champions League next week, had to make do with a place on the bench as

er lacked power or direction from six yards. But although United were on top, they received a warning about Wigan’s potential threat when Arouna Kone got to Figueroa’s far-post cross after a slip by Ferdinand, but failed to make clean contact with an attempted volley.

Kone opened the second period with a stooping header which cleared the crossbar but it was a rare moment of optimism as, following Scholes’ opening goal, Welbeck almost made it two, miscontrolling a Nani cross but still managing to scoop a shot just wide.

There could have been more goals for the home side, even at 3-0, but substitute van Persie failed to convert Hernandez’s 73rd minute cross.—AFP

Debut boy Garcia rescues City

Arsenal hit Saints for six Wenger opted to start with Gervinho as his lone striker.

Southampton had Rickie Lambert leading the line on his own, supported by new England call-up Adam Lallana. Arsenal were quick out of the blocks and Podolski had the first sight of goal by firing an effort straight at Kelvin Davis in the third minute but his superb run in the 11th minute gave the hosts a deserved lead.

Podolski rode two strong challenges before playing in Kieran Gibbs and his shot was fumbled

by Davis into the path of defender Jos Hooiveld, who could only watch as the ball hit his leg and trickled over the line. They didn’t have to wait long to extend their lead as Podolski curled home a superb free kick from 30 yards out that left Davis grasping thin air.

Four minutes later, Mikel Arteta’s lofted through ball found the totally unmarked Gervinho totally, who had plenty of time to pick his spot and make it 3-0.

Southampton looked totally shell-shocked but they were unlucky to find themselves even further behind in the 37th minute when a hopeful cross from Podolski struck Nathaniel Clyne and deflected past the helpless Davis.

It was the cruellest of blows but, to their credit, the visitors picked themselves up and were

Wigan man’s challenge.

Replays showed there had been no contact involved and a degree of justice was done, therefore, when Al-Habsi made a magnificent save from the penalty, diving low to his left to keep out Hernandez’s drive. Nani might have scored from the resulting rebound, also, but Maynor Figueroa showed lightning reflexes to reach the loose ball and clear.

The incident was part of a bright start from the home side, who had rested new signings Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa with an eye on the Champions League group game against Galatasaray in midweek. Inside the opening minute, Nani had worked well down the right with his cross finding Hernandez whose head-

Stoke 1

Man City 1

LONDON: Arsenal’s Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey (right) vies with Southampton’s English defender Nathaniel Clyne (left) during the English Premier League football match.—AFP Arsenal got a fifth goal, with gifted a goal just before half-time.

Jason Puncheon’s hopeful cross Ger vinho eventually tapping should have been dealt with easily home in the 72nd minute after a

by Szczesny but the Polish keeper shot from Gunners substitute inexplicably dropped the ball Aaron Ramsey came back off the under no pressure, with Fox the post.

Despite their supremacy, the grateful recipient.

That goal seemed to give Londoners continued to press for Adkins’s side a much-needed lift more goals and went close several after the break and the introduc- times to grabbing a sixth.

They eventually managed it on tion of Urguayan Gaston Ramirez in place of Steven Davis saw them the stroke of full-time as a great run from captain Thomas start the second half well.

Lambert screwed a shot just Vermaelen drew a good save from wide 10 minutes in, while Alex Davis before substitute Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlaain also went like Oxlade-Chamberlain playing against his old club, swept the ball close at the other end.

And it was no surprise that home with his left foot.—AFP

STOKE ON TRENT: Manchester City midfielder Javi Garcia rescued the Premier League champions as his debut goal earned a 1-1 draw at Stoke yesterday.

Roberto Mancini’s team trailed to a first half goal from Peter Crouch, but Spanish midfielder Garcia, who joined City from Benfica on transfer deadline day, equalised before the interval.

City remain unbeaten but have now drawn successive away games and Mancini will be concerned with the way his side defended at times at the Britannia Stadium.

The underwhelming display from Mancini’s men was hardly the ideal way to prepare for Tuesday’s Champions League opener at Real Madrid and there was more bad news as Argentine striker Sergio Aguero, on his way back from injury, wasn’t fit enough to make the squad. At least Mancini could take some comfort at the performances of his three new signings.

Brazilian veteran Maicon slotted in well at right-back and always looked to get forward, Garcia provided a solid shield in front of the back four and former Swansea winger Scott Sinclair carried a threat down the left.

City’s debutants made a steady start and they went close to taking the lead when a surging run from Carlos Tevez ended with the Argentina striker having an effort deflected just past the post. But the visitors never looked comfortable in dealing with set-plays and Stoke opened the scoring from a corner after 14 minutes. Charlie Adam, making his first start since joining from Liverpool, whipped the ball in and,

after Jonathan Walters headed back across goal, Crouch was allowed to control.

The striker turned Joleon Lescott and after the ball ricocheted around, the England striker found the corner of the net for his third goal in three games, with City appealing for handball.

Scotland midfielder Adam also lifted a shot over from just outside the area as Tony Pulis’ side looked to build on their advantage.

Italy striker Mario Balotelli underwent eye surgery during the international break but showed real sharpness when he controlled Tevez’s pass and drove just over the bar.

Yaya Toure also thumped a free-kick just past the top corner as City began to control the match. Ten minutes before the break they got their reward after Andy Wilkinson fouled Balotelli in midfield.

Tevez hit the free-kick over at pace and Garcia rose highest to glance a header past Asmir Begovic. And Maicon almost added a second after a swift break cut through Stoke and Tevez lifted a pass to the Brazilian, whose volley was pushed wide by Begovic.

After the break, Adam opened City up with a fine cross-field pass but Michael Kightly’s effort was easily blocked wide. Garcia’s eventful debut continued when he caught Kightly with a vicious tackle and was cautioned.

As Stoke pressed forward, Crouch was denied a second when his header was held by Joe Hart from Walters’ cross.

City immediately broke down the other end and after Toure was played into the area, Begovic did well to block the midfielder’s effort.

Balotelli dragged another effort wide after accusing Andy Wilkinson of hitting him with an elbow. Stoke manager Tony Pulis threw on former England striker Michael Owen for the final minute but City almost stole the points when Garcia’s header was pushed on to the post by Begovic. And substitute Edin Dzeko saw his late lob cleared off the line by Ryan Shawcross in a dramatic finish.—AFP

Iran signs private deals to export oil: Official

Business

Page 22 ECB bank supervision plans ‘unacceptable’: Sweden Page 23

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KSE stocks remain flat amid profit-taking

Page 24

In a crummy economy, why stocks are soaring Page 25

MADRID: General view of the Plaza de Colon square in Madrid taken yesterday during a demonstration against government austerity measures aimed at slashing the public deficit and avoiding the need for a financial bailout. — AFP

Mass anti-austerity protests swarm Madrid Schaeuble rams Bundesbank chief over ECB stand MADRID: A sea of chanting protesters from across Spain gathered yesterday in Madrid for a rally against government austerity measures aimed at avoiding the need for a financial bailout. The crowd included policemen in blue T-shirts, firemen wearing their red helmets, teachers decked out in matching green, health care workers in white and parents pushing strollers. Many beat drums and blew whistles as they made their way through the streets of the Spanish capital to the Plaza Colon square for the rally. Over 1,000 buses ferried people to Madrid for the protest, which was organized by Spain’s two leading trade unions, CCOO and UGT, along with roughly 150 smaller organizations.

“We want to say loud and clear to the government that we do not agree, that its policies cause too much damage, that we will not resign ourselves because there are alternatives,” CCOO head Ignacio Toxo told the rally.

In July, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government eliminated public workers’ annual Christmas bonuses, equivalent to a seven-percent reduction in annual pay, as part of austerity measures worth 102 billion euros ($126.5 billion) to be put in place by 2014 to reduce Spain’s public deficit. The measures also include a rise in the sales tax and cuts to jobless benefits in a nation with nearly 25 percent

unemployment. They follow a reduction in public workers’ salaries by an average of five percent in 2010.

“I see the future as very black. My salary is getting smaller and smaller and my hours longer,” said 55-year-old public sector worker Rian de los Rios as she made her way to the rally.

Like thousands of other Spanish youths, her two daughtersaged 26 and 28 have left Spain to work abroad because they could not find jobs at home despite having studied at university, she added.

“We are not even able to keep our families together,” said De Los Rios. “General strike now” and “We are not paying for this crisis” were among the slogans chanted by the demonstrators. “They have cut salaries, raised taxes, we have gone backwards 20 or 30 years,” said 44-year-old fireman Roberto Saldana, who travelled all night by bus with a group of coworkers from the southern city of Huleva for the rally. The last major march against government austerity measures was on July 19, when hundreds of thousands of people marched through Madrid. Protests were held in over 80 Spanish cities that day.

“A protest like this, with people from across the country, has a greater impact than several protests in provincial capitals,” said 52-year-old hotel receptionist Rafael Navas, who

Iran says interest rates to remain steady for now DUBAI: Iran will not raise bank interest rates, the central bank governor said yesterday, judging damping down doubledigit inflation a higher priority than stabilizing the volatile rial currency. “The bank interest rate will not change for now until we see what happens with inflation and to what extent we can bring it down,” said central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA).

“Normally bank interest rates must be determined relative to the inflation rate.”

Iran’s economy suffers both from high inflation and a depreciating currency, which itself has contributed to further increases in consumer prices. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, now in the last year of his administration, hiked Iran’s bank interest rate in January to up to 21 percent, hoping to spur a strengthening in the rial following Western sanctions targeting Tehran’s oil exports and central bank caused a spiralling in the currency’s open market value. The rial strengthened slightly after the move. Iran’s inflation rate stood at 21.5 percent for the Iranian calendar year ending March 19, according to the central bank, though unofficial estimates put it twice that high.

US and European sanctions, aimed at getting Iran to give up its disputed nuclear programme, have bitten deep into the economy, while government attempts to stem the crises have often worsened inflation and depressed the value of the rial further. Last week the rial

reached record lows around 25,000 to the dollar on the unofficial market, half its value a year ago and a drop of about 17 percent in three days. In the last few days it has stabilized around 24,350 to the dollar, according to currency-tracking website Mesghal. The direct cause for the sudden drop was unclear, but it may have been due to a dash for dollars by Iranians fearful that further diplomatic and economic isolation would erode the central bank’s ability to defend the rial’s value.

The rial’s slide is itself a risk to high inflation, as Iran is reliant on imported consumer and intermediate goods whose prices have surged as the rial has depreciated. The centerpiece of Ahmadinejad’s economic platform, an ambitious subsidy-reform plan that aimed to wean the country off generous food and fuel subsidies, has since been criticized for worsening inflation thanks to monthly cash payments to Iran’s poorest citizens. Critics of Ahmadinejad in the legislature have taken aim at his administration’s handling of this month’s currency crisis and accused the central bank of causing the crisis by not providing the market with enough dollars to meet demand.

Bahmani will be invited to a closeddoor session in Parliament to answer questions about the fluctuations in the currency’s value, after the body was dissatisfied with the answers last week of economic minister Shamseddin Hosseini, legislator Abdulreza Mesri told Iran’s Fars news agency yesterday. — Reuters

came to Madrid from the southern city of Cordoba by bus with a group of co-workers. The government hopes the austerity measures will prevent Spain from needing a multi-billion-euro bailout like the ones received by Greece, Ireland and Portugal, which come with detailed conditions and regular inspections.

Madrid has already accepted a euro-zone rescue loan of up to 100 billion euros to save its banks, still reeling from a 2008 property market crash. But organizers of the rally argue the austerity measures are hitting mainly the middle and lower classes and sparing large companies and the wealthy. They want the austerity measures to be put to a referendum.

UGT head Candido Mendez said yesterday’s rally was the start of a “long” fight against the austerity measures. “We have to fight them democratically as we are doing today,” he told the crowd gathered at Plaza Colon. The government is committed to lowering Spain’s deficit to 6.3 percent of output this year from 8.9 percent in 2011.

Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has criticized the head of the German central bank for taking a stand against the European Central Bank’s plan to tackle the euro-zone debt crisis.

Schaeuble told the Frankfurter Allgemeine

Sonntagszeitung newspaper that public critiques by Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann may be damaging to confidence in the ECB. “People are very much confused and the central banks are fundamentally the institutions which should reassure the citizens,” he said in an interview to appear in today’s edition.

ECB President Mario Draghi recently announced an openended plan to buy up the bonds of struggling euro-zone countries, emphasizing that only governments committed to far-reaching reforms would be eligible for help. Germany was the only member of the ECB’s board to vote against the plan amid concerns that the unlimited nature of the program could leave Germany, as Europe’s top economy and effective paymaster, on the hook for potentially huge losses.

Draghi did not announce who was the dissenting vote but Weidmann issued a statement explaining his view. “If this plan leads to states pushing back the necessary reforms, that is going to again sap confidence in the capacity of political leaders to resolve the crisis,” Weidmann warned in the statement.

But Schaeuble took issue with that point of view, saying when facing strong critics, “I always find it interesting to ask them: and you, what would you do differently? And even the most skeptical answer me: in fact, nothing. — AFP

India PM warns against policy logjam; reforms draw protest NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned that a prolonged policy logjam could slow economic growth to 5 percent, a day after India unexpectedly unveiled long-delayed reforms aimed at reviving growth and preventing a credit-rating downgrade.

Political opponents and a key coalition ally took to the streets yesterday to protest Friday’s move to allow foreign players into the supermarket industry and Thursday’s decision to increase heavily subsidized diesel prices. “We demand a rollback of diesel prices and no FDI (foreign direct investment) in retail should be allowed. Do not

attack the livelihood of small traders,” Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal state, told a rally attended by thousands in Kolkata.

Investors and others who hailed the reforms worry that Singh’s government, weakened by a spate of scandals, will be forced to backtrack, as it did in its last attempt last year to allow in the likes of Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Carrefour.

Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress party has been an unreliable ally to Singh’s Congress party in the coalition, said the party would “take a tough decision” if the measures were not reversed, a hint she could withdraw the party’s support. Speaking

SILIGURI: An Indian employee of a cosmetic shop arranges L’oreal products in Siliguri yesterday.

Indian newspapers hailed a ‘rush of reforms’ unveiled by the government which has thrown open the retail and aviation sectors as well as tackled fuel subsidies in highly contentious moves. — AFP

at a meeting of India’s planning commission to finalize investment targets for the five years to March 2017, Singh said the government would aim for 8.2 percent annual growth over that period, down from an earlier target of 9 percent. He also outlined three potential scenarios at yesterday’s meeting.

“Scenario three is called a policy logjam. It reflects a situation where, for one reason or another, most of the policies needed to achieve scenario one are not taken,” Singh said.

“If this continues for any length of time, vicious cycles begin to set in and growth could easily collapse to about 5 percent per annum with poor outcomes on inclusion.” With Singh’s embattled government long unable to push through reforms to promote investment and shore up government finances, growth in Asia’s third-largest economy has slowed to 5.5 percent or below in the past two quarters.

Credit rating agencies have warned of the risk of a downgrade to “junk” status. On Friday, the government said it was opening up its supermarket sector to foreign chains and would allow more foreign investment in airlines and broadcasters. It also approved the sale of stakes in four state-run industries. Singh said government policy initiatives such as the hike in diesel prices were aimed at reining in a widening fiscal deficit and reviving investor sentiment.

The government projects a fiscal deficit of 5.1 percent of gross domestic product in India’s nearly $1.8 trillion economy in the current fiscal year ending in March, while many private economists predict it to reach 6 percent or more. In New Delhi yesterday, roughly 500 supporters of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested against foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and the fuel price increase. — Reuters

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

BUSINESS

Iran signs private deals to export oil: Official

Bayt.com weekly report

Achieve more happiness at work in six easy steps

By Lama Ataya

Attempt to circumvent Western sanctions TEHRAN: Iran has signed agreements to sell four million barrels of oil through private companies, an official was quoted as saying yesterday, in an attempt to avoid Western embargoes.

European Union and US sanctions aimed at stopping Iran’s nuclear program ban all imports of Iranian oil and apply to state-run and private firms, yet Iranian officials say private sellers can sidestep those measures.

The Western measures have dented Iran’s oil exports. European Union sanctions also prevent Europe’s marine insurance sector, which dominates the industry, from insuring tankers carrying Iranian oil. A private consortium has signed two agreements with foreign buyers to sell about four million barrels of Iranian

crude, said Hassan Khosrojerdi, head of Iran’s oil products exporters’ union. “ With the agreement and the defined new mechanism, these two crude oil shipments will be delivered in the ... Gulf to foreign buyers,” Khosrojerdi was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency, without giving further details.

Private companies had succeeded in exporting some of the country’s oil, Khosrojerdi was quoted as saying last week. Until now, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) had been solely responsible for exporting the Islamic Republic’s crude. But Khosrojerdi also complained yesterday that Iran’s central bank, Iran’s main conduit for oil revenues, had not properly approved and communicated a financial mecha-

nism for the sale of oil by the private sector.

“The private sector ... cannot take any serious action to export oil without the approval of this financial mechanism by the Central Bank of Iran,” Khosrojerdi was quoted as saying, giving no further details.

Iran’s central bank is under sanction by the United States, and banks that do business with it can be frozen out of US financial markets. Iran also denied yesterday that Turkey sharply increased its imports last month of Iranian crude in the face of the Western embargo, saying its exports had held constant.

Around 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude were discharged at Turkey’s import terminals

Aliaga and Tutunciflik in August, data from a shipping source and AIS Live ship tracking on Reuters showed earlier this month. That was a four-fold increase from Ankara’s imports of Iranian oil in July of 48,000 bpd, a two and a half year low.

But Iran’s representative to the oil exporter group OPEC denied the jump yesterday and said such reports were politically motivated. “By announcing a multi-fold jump in our exports to one country, they want to create sensitivities,” Mohammad Ali Khatibi was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA). “Our exports have a constant flow, and statistics giving evidence of a sudden quadrupling or quartering of exports are wrong.” — Reuters

News

in brief

Kuwait crude price rises to $114.13pb KUWAIT: Price of Kuwaiti crude oil rose in Friday’s trading by $2.46 settling at $114.13 pb compared to $112.59 pb on Thursday. Rise of the oil prices on the international markets came after launch of a new program in the US to revive the economy, resulting in greater demand for the crude. Another factor was fall of the US dollar rate vis-a-vis the other major currencies. Prices of the forward transactions for the Brent crudes, on Friday, climbed to the highest level in four months. Prices for the November deliveries posted $116.70 pb, while that of the light American crude for the October delivery rose, yesterday, reaching $96 pb.

First Gulf hires banks for $800m loan ABU DHABI: First Gulf Bank has mandated eight banks to arrange an $800 million loan to fund its growth and expansion, the Abu Dhabi-based lender said yesterday. FGB has mandated Bank of TokyoMitsubishi UFJ Ltd, Citibank, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered as lead arrangers, it said in a statement. “FGB is arranging for this loan facility to support its growth and expansion in the local and targeted international markets,” Andre Sayegh, CEO of FGB said in the statement. The facility will help diversify FGB’s sources of funds and improves the funding maturity profile on the bank’s balance sheet, he added. In January the bank, which is majority owned by the emirate’s ruling family, raised $500 million through a five-year sukuk, part of a $3.5 billion Islamic bond program it established last year.

Oman’s oil production drops MUSCAT: Oman’s output of crude and oil condensers for the month of August dropped to 28.6 million barrels compared to 28.8 million barrels that were recorded in July, a monthly report of Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas showed yesterday. Daily production of the crude and the oil condensers reached, in August, 922,7 barrels in contrast to 929,6 barrels in July.

SILIGURI: An Indian roadside vendor sells items at his stall in Siliguri yesterday. Indian newspapers hailed a ‘rush of reforms’ unveiled by the government which has thrown open the retail and aviation sectors as well as tackled fuel subsidies in highly contentious moves. — AFP

Iraq sees crude exports reaching 6m bpd by 2017 BAGHDAD: Iraq laid out more milestones on its path back to oil producing power, targeting 6 million barrels per day exports by 2017, and confirming it was currently pumping more than neighbor and fellow OPEC member Iran.

Iraq’s Oil Minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi said yesterday he expected oil exports will reach 2.9 million bpd next year before hitting 3.5 million bpd in 2014 and 3.75 million bpd in 2015.

Current production is at 3.2 million bpd, the highest level in three decades, and exports are at an average of 2.6 million bpd. “We expect exports for this month to be more than 2.6 million barrels per day. So far they are at 2.6 million barrels per day, and output is at 3.2 million,” the minister told reporters. Iraq with the help of foreign firms has ambitious plans to boost production capacity beyond 12 million bpd by 2017, but this target has

proved unrealistic due to infrastructure bottlenecks and logistical shortcomings.

It is expected to target 8-8.5 million bpd, but some oil analysts and executives see even 6 million bpd by 2017 as a stretch for the war-damaged country. Any rise in Iraqi supplies would replace shortages of Iranian crude from the market and could keep a lid on prices as Western sanctions targeted Iran’s exports. Recovering from decades of war and crippling sanctions, Iraq is seeking to boost its oil flows. The bulk of its crude oil is exported from southern Gulf ports.

With ambitious plans to double its oil production over the next three years, Iraq has passed the 3 million bpd production level for the first time in three decades and has overtaken Iran to become OPEC’s second biggest oil producer after Saudi Arabia.

hether you have just landed your dream job or are still pursuing your job hunt for it, there are many simple ways you can incorporate to make your current professional life even happier. Here are some top tips from the career experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading Job Site.

1. Communicate Often and Better: Lama Open channels of communication are key to forming closer bonds with your boss, co-workers and clients. Communicate constructively, professionally and always listen - at least as much as you speak.

According to Bayt.com’s 2011 poll results, a majority of professionals (35%) revealed what they want most from their managers is open respectful communications. While in a separate ‘Rewards & Employee Engagement’ poll (2011), 18% professionals indicated that for higher engagement at work what they need most is a better relationship with their managers or colleagues.

2. Lend a Helping Hand: Everyone is swamped on a typical day at work, but try to find some time to lend a hand or offer friendly advice to those in need, whether it is the new kid on the block or the group failing in a project. Remember you are all working for the same goals and you will inevitably see the good vibes and intentions you send out returned to you in favors.

3. Customize Your Workspace: Whether you work from a cubicle, a car or the corner office, extra steps you make to customize and organize your workspace will help you relax and feel comfortable. Whether it is a plant, personalized stationary, photos of loved ones, special art/souvenirs, or simply plain a clean white space, make an effort to make your space your special comfort zone.

4. Stay Healthy: According to Bayt.com’s 2012 ‘Healthy Habits in the MENA Workplace’ poll 18% of the regions’ professionals don’t exercise at all and most of those who exercise only do so occasionally. Moreover 32% of professionals consider their eating habits to be unhealthy!

Remember that the key to a healthy happy mind is a healthy body, so pick up a few guidelines on healthy eating at work and start substituting an unhealthy diet for a nutritious one. The change can be as simple as swapping that candy bar in your drawer for a fresh fruit or carrot sticks. You can also incorporate small healthy changes to your lifestyle such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

5. Learn Something New: In a 2011 Bayt.com poll, professionals were asked if they think reading relevant literature regularly is important for their career growth and 97% agreed that it was, with 70% saying it was ‘’extremely important’’. There is nothing like the power of learning to empower and rejuvenate, particularly when it means you can approach your job in a fresh manner armed with valuable new tools and know-how. Whether it is conferences, seminars, exhibitions, online courses or simply a reading routine, aim to stay abreast of developments in your industry through whatever means available.

6. Smile: As you’ve heard before, it takes less effort to smile than to frown and it certainly makes you look that much more approachable and appealing! A positive attitude will go very far in making you a more valued, respected and popular peer, boss and co-worker.

Always remember you are in control of your career destiny and that you can shape your career in different ways with the right attitude and approach.

W

About Bayt.com: Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East with more than 40,000 employers and over 8.700.000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels. Post a job or find jobs on www.bayt.com today and access the leading resource for job seekers and employers in the region.

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds

.2740000 .4450000 .3560000 .2950000 .2860000 .2880000 .0040000 .0020000 .0762980 .7433470 .3870000 .0720000 .7287190 .0430000

.2860000 .4560000 .3620000 .3020000 .2930000 .2980000 .0058500 .0035000 .0770650 .7508180 .4100000 .0780000 .7360430 .0510000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2810500 .2831500 GB Pound/KD .4501300 .4534930 Euro .3599130 .3626020 Swiss francs .2981960 .3004240 Canadian dollars .2883600 .2905150 Danish Kroner .0482970 .0486580 Swedish Kroner .0423810 .0426980 Australian dlr .2908590 .2930320 Hong Kong dlr .0362440 .0365150 Singapore dlr .2281250 .2298300 Japanese yen .0035940 .0036210 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 .0051370 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 .0021470 Pakistan rupee .0000000 .0030020 Bangladesh taka .0000000 .0034740 UAE dirhams .0765490 .0771210 Bahraini dinars .7457870 .7513600 Jordanian dinar .0000000 .4004950 Saudi Riyal/KD .0749670 .0755270 Omani riyals .7302850 .7357410 Philippine Peso .0000000 .0068590

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

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 74.883 77.158 729.380 745.850 76.464

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 48.250 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.466 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.309 Tunisian Dinar 176.65 Jordanian Dinar 396.190 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.884 Syrian Lier 4.899 Morocco Dirham 32.64 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 280.700 Euro 354.52 Sterling Pound 441.820 Canadian dollar 274.79 Turkish lire 152.400 Swiss Franc 295.01 US Dollar Buying 279.500 GOLD 293.000 148.000 75.250

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria

SELL CASH

300.700 749.550 3.690 293.100 553.500 45.900 50.300 167.800 48.100 373.700 36.980 5.350 0.032 0.161 0.235 3.690 398.990 0.190 95.050 45.000 4.330 237.600 1.624

50.600 731.330 3.060 7.010 77.880 75.170 232.020 36.360 2.682 460.500 43.900 307.300 4.300 9.460 198.263 76.760 281.900 1.350

10 Tola

GOLD 1,794.060

Sterling Pound US Dollar

731.150 2.980 6.790 77.450 75.170 232.020 36.360 2.126 458.500 305.800 4.300 9.340 76.660 281.500

COUNTRY

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 458.500 281.500

SELL DRAFT

294.600 749.550 3.439 291.600

232.000 46.218 372.200 36.830 5.163 0.031

SELL DRAFT

Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

296.62 294.13 303.69 364.34 281.85 455.04 3.68 3.454 5.092 2.133 3.188 2.984 76.81 750.47 46.35 401.54 733.54 77.83 75.37

SELL CASH

296.000 291.250 302.000 362.500 282.850 455.000 3.690 3.560 5.325 2.310 3.550 3.150 77.300 748.250 48.300 398.500 735.000 78.000 75.750

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 398.950 0.189 95.050 3.260 236.100

Rate for Transfer

Selling Rate

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro

282.200 289.629 450.538 357.270

Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

296.069 747.117 76.811 77.461 75.218 397.803 46.318 2.130 5.098 2.978 3.449 6.779 692.241 4.597 9.067 4.376 3.263 89.960

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

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

281.800 2.976 5.112 2.139 3.439 6.830 76.830 75.300 749.200 46.249 458.500 2.990 1.550 368.600 296.000 3.200

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

281.200 372.050 458.300 291.700 3.635 5.162 46.175 2.132 3.435 6.785 2.980 748.600 76.620 75.130

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

BUSINESS

Lending activity in China restores confidence KCIC WEEKLY ASIA ECONOMIC REPORT KUWAIT: After a series of disappointing economic data releases in August, the central bank of China released a better than predicted new loans figure that offered some relief from the lackluster picture of China’s growth outlook. China’s economic growth, although quite strong, has been slowing for the past six quarters, now down to7.6% year over year (YoY) in Q2. Many expected this third three-month period of the year to mark a turnaround, but the recent trade and production numbers were weaker than anticipated, possibly leading to a seventh quarter of lower growth. Exports grew 2.7% YoY in August, higher than prior’s 1.0%, but lower than the expected 2.9%; imports contracted by 2.7%, compared to July’s growth of 4.7% and consensus’s 3.5%. Trade continues to slow due to weak demand from Europe, US and Japan. The data results of the past three months have driven many economists to revise their outlook on China, lowering their growth estimates from the 8.0-8.5% level to 7.5%-8.0%, which has been our estimate since the start of the year. Bank lending, however, has improved in August; new loans amounted to RMB 703.9 billion, higher than consensus estimates of 600 billion. Lending picked up due to the cuts in the policy interest rate in June and July and new government stimulus in infrastructure and social welfare projects. Despite the slowdown in the West holding back trade growth, China’s growth in domestic consumption, increased government

of China, bubbles in the property market. The central bank has managed to rein in inflation with tight interest rates, and now that the threat of high inflation is out of the way, the government will focus on the balance of keeping property prices in check and spurring growth in the rest of the economy.

spending, and easing monetary policy will cushion the economy from a sharp downturn. We believe the higher lending of August and months prior will add a positive boost to the fourth quarter production, and will be enough to ensure at least a 7.5% YoY growth in 2012.

What does the indicator tell us?

New yuan loans is a key instrument of monetary policy in China, and also a measure of credit supply,

or lending, and hence demand for loans in the economy. It is an aggregate of the new loans issued each month by Chinese banks. New yuan loans have been an important gauge of economic activity in China; as lending picks up, more liquidity is pumped into the system, fueling production and consumption. If liquidity is too high, it could cause the economy to overheat if demand outpaces production. When demand is higher than supply, prices increase which may lead to inflation and, in the case

What are the economic and financial implications?

The markets are currently fearful of a slower than estimated growth in China. We believe that this doubt is overstated, because there still is the strong role of the government in the economy to consider. Chinese authorities have announced a five year plan early this year that promises massive restructuring in the economy, which means the sectors that are involved with construction, infrastructure, services and other domestic-demand related areas will benefit over the long term. For the medium-term, stimulus spending, such as the recently announced infrastructure projects involving railways and roads, will keep the economy at the strong pace of growth of 7.5% for the year, in line with the government’s target. It is not in China’s best interest to have a massive stimulus package, like the one introduced in 2009 worth RMB 4 trillion; this is because China’s property sector can easily heat up again, which is dangerous for the rest of the economy, and inflation could take off once more.

ECB bank supervision plans ‘unacceptable’: Sweden ‘Long and tough talks needed before decision’

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (right) talks with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia during a Full Planning Commission meeting at Singh’s residence in New Delhi yesterday. — AFP

China’s Africa envoy: S Sudan oil may flow by November BEIJING: South Sudan may resume pumping oil as soon as November, China’s ambassador to Africa said, adding Beijing was optimistic leaders in Juba will soon reach pricing terms with Sudan on piping crude through the country from which it recently split. China’s special envoy to Africa Zhong Jianhua has made several trips to the landlocked African nation that seceded from Sudan in mid2011, holding talks with officials from Khartoum and Juba where Chinese oil companies are heavily invested.

South Sudan halted oil flows in January during its dispute with Khartoum over how much it should pay to export crude through pipelines in Sudanese territory to a Red Sea port.

Fighting along the 1,800-km (1,200mile) border threatened to turn into a full-scale war in April when the South seized the Heglig oil-producing region long held by Sudan.

Tensions have lowered to a point where Beijing envisions “several agreements” being signed in September, Zhong told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

“If the two presidents (of Sudan and South Sudan) meet sometime around the twentieth of September and sign several agreements, I will not be surprised,” said Zhong, who made his third trip to South Sudan several weeks ago.

“We would expect that they will probably still carry out negotiations for other matters such as demilitarization, cushion zones between borders, and the withdrawal of troops, so that by the end of the year-the resumption of oil production by November-that is what we expect,” he said.

Sudan and South Sudan have held border security talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, facing a UN Security Council deadline of Sept. 22 to reach a deal or risk sanctions.

Zhong’s outlook is slightly more optimistic than projections by South Sudan oil officials, who have said resuming output in Upper Nile state, home to South Sudan’s most productive oilfields, was possible by year’s end. Turning on wells in the state of Unity would probably take longer. The South reached a preliminary deal on transit fees with Sudan last month that could open the way to resuming oil exports, but Khartoum still wants a deal to secure the volatile shared border before crude flows resume.

China, heavily invested in the oil sector of both nations, has found itself caught between its long-time ally in Khartoum in the north and its new partner in the South, which inherited three quarters of Sudan’s oil output after the split. The military standoff earlier this year was evidence of how China’s hunger for resources and expansion abroad has at times put it in an uncomfortable position when dealing with other countries’ disputes. Sudan had been one of China’s

top foreign suppliers of crude oil.

Zhong credited the United States with helping to bring the two feuding nations back from the brink. “The tension has already been dramatically reduced since the conflict in the Heglig oil fields because of the tremendous pressure applied by the American government on the South Sudan authorities,” he said.

South Sudanese officials have said the country was producing about 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) before the shutdown. Much of that went to China, the biggest buyer of South Sudan’s oil, which last year imported 260,000 bpd of crude from the two countries, according to the International Energy Agency. China had called for restraint between the two sides when South Sudan President Salva Kiir visited Beijing in April at the height of tensions, claiming that Beijing’s longtime ally had declared war on the South.

“We told President Kiir, we are very willing to help ... but our experience tells us that if there is not a peaceful environment it will be very difficult to do,” Zhong said.

South Sudan had criticized China after that visit for not playing a more active role in a north-south settlement.

The South has welcomed China’s offers of development funds and its investment in the oil industry, but many still view Beijing with a degree of suspicion after years in which it acted as one of Sudanese President Omar Hassan alBashir’s strongest supporters.

Zhong said officials in Juba had not fully understood the damage halting oil production would do to its already struggling economy. South Sudan relied on oil for about 98 percent of state revenues before the shutdown and has struggled to make up for the loss through loans and boosting taxes.

“South Sudanese leaders have felt more directly than we have the problems created from ceasing oil production,” he said. — Reuters

NICOSIA: Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg yesterday dismissed as “completely unacceptable” European Union moves to place banks across the bloc under the supervision of the European Central Bank. Borg emerged from talks in Cyprus among finance ministers and central bank governors from the 27 EU states to warn that legislative proposals unveiled last week by the European Commission, due for adoption by the end of the year, would need “long and tough” negotiations to stand a chance.

“There is a large number of countries that are not members of the euro-zone that find this solution unacceptable,” Borg said of plans seen by the currency union’s leaders as central to creating a stable euro-zone economic and political structure for the long-term.

Sweden is a member of the EU but not the euro-zone.

Borg said that EU treaty guarantees of independence for the Frankfurt-based ECB-which would mean it could not be bound by European Banking Authority mediation in case of disputes-meant there was much work to be done “before we are anywhere close to any compromise”. “We cannot accept that the money of Swedish taxpayers is used to bail out foreign banks,” he said. “The whole idea that we would be under the supervision of an institution where we have no voting rights, where (spending decisions on) our taxpayers’ money could depend on decisions taken by an institution where we have no influence, is completely unacceptable.”

He said these were “red lines” for the Swedish government and therefore that “the time schedule is too short.” The rules governing new EU-wide bank supervision are meant to be fixed by the turn of the year, but already face obstacles including a German-expressed need to establish a related resolution fund for winding down broken banks. Germany wants the ECB to focus on the so-called “too-big-to-fail” banks whose failure could wreck the system. — AFP

NICOSIA: Delegates walking outside the conference hall of the presidency where EU finance ministers met for the second day in Nicosia yesterday. Legislative proposals discussed for the first time by ministers in the east Mediterranean island would see the European Central Bank (ECB) take on many of the responsibilities now jealously guarded by some major states, including the power to withdraw a bank’s license to operate. — AFP

‘Preliminary’ bailout deal in one month: Cyprus NICOSIA: Euro-zone country Cyprus said yesterday that it aims to reach a “preliminary agreement” with international lenders on a banking and sovereign bailout including Russian funds within the next month.

Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly told reporters after chairing talks with European Union counterparts in Nicosia that he would not know the precise amount until further talks on terms and conditions set for tomorrow. “We anticipate preliminary agreement within the next month from now,” he said, arguing that the delay in negotiations going back to the Cypriot government’s request for financial assistance in June was due to the island nation taking over the EU rotating presidency, as well as the holidays and limited resources.

He said that the final figures — 10 billion euros ($13 billion) was suggested at the time-would likely follow a formula whereby half came from Russia, with the other half divided into four parts euro-zone and one part International Monetary Fund. “In the case of Ireland, bilateral loans also went into the overall troika (lenders) pot,” he said, even

if “the discussions with Russia are taking a different approach,” which is more “political.”

He said Russia had only indicated that it would deliver its decision “in due course,” but added that “we don’t have a liquidity problem.” Funding is needed to prop up a Greekexposed banking system and recession-hit economy. The so-called troika of lenders-the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF-has made two visits to Cyprus since the Mediterranean resort island called in help. The troika reportedly wants to slash the state payroll by 15 percent, shave 10 percent off welfare benefits, reform or scrap the inflation-linked cost-ofliving allowance and roll back governmentsubsidized housing finance.

But the island’s communist-led government has been resisting austerity moves that it says undermine an economy already in recession. Authorities have declined to say how much Cyprus’ 17-billion-euro economy actually needs to remain solvent, but credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s estimates the figure could amount to as much as 15 billion euros over three years. — AFP

Deutsche Bank director calls for bonus caps FRANKFURT: Deutsche Bank should introduce a cap for top salaries, and staff do not need to earn double-digit million euro amounts, Werner Wenning, a member of Deutsche Bank’s supervisory board, told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. The demands by Wenning, a member of the German bank’s 20-member board of directors, also known as the supervisory board, will add fuel to a debate raging within Germany’s flagship lender about how to change its remuneration policy and remain competitive during an economic downturn.

“I’m in favor of caps,” said Wenning, who this week also became supervisory board chairman at Germany’s largest drugmaker Bayer. A radical downsizing of the investment banking industry as a whole means the danger of high-level staff defections had abated, making it easier to pay lower salaries, Wenning told the paper. “No manager, and no investment banker, needs double-digit million pay,” Wenning said.

Earlier this week Deutsche Bank’s new co-Chief Executives Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen told shareholders they will find 4.5 billion euros ($5.92 billion) in cost savings and make a fundamental change to the bank’s bonus culture. Deutsche Bank’s top brass will see part of their pay deferred for longer, and will now have to wait five years before being paid out, the lender said on Tuesday. — Reuters

Wal-Mart fails to land 1st NYC store

BERLIN: Visitors crowd to watch airplanes during the International Air Show ILA in Schoenefeld near Berlin yesterday. The 2012 international air fair runs from September 11 until today. — AFP

NEW YORK: Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it had failed to reach a deal with a developer to have a store in Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood, dealing the company a setback in its attempt to open its first location in the largest US city.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, had been in talks with Related Companies to open a store that would have anchored the Gateway Two Plaza development in Brooklyn. A Shop Rite supermarket will instead occupy that space. In a statement, Wal-Mart said it would continue to look for a site, adding

that most New Yorkers want the discount giant to open a store in their city.

“We remain committed to bringing new economic development and shopping options to New York City, especially in the neighborhoods that need them most,” Steven Restivo, Wal-Mart’s senior director of community affairs, said in the statement.

Wal-Mart has faced opposition from some groups in New York that say it does not pay its workers adequately and would drive out small local businesses. — Reuters

business

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

KSE stocks remain flat amid profit-taking BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week in the red zone. The price index ended last week with a decrease amounted to 1.94%, and the weighted index decreased by 1.17% compared to the closings of the week before, whereas KSX-15 Index retreated by 1.43%.

Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover increased by 78.69%, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 28.76 million, whereas trading volume average was 219.29 million shares, recording increase of 2.31%.

Last week’s performance was an extent for its performance in the previous week; as profit taking deals dominated the market, and concentrated on the small stocks. In addition, many of the leading stocks were subject to active selling operations, pushing both of the weighted and KSX-15 indices to join the price index in the red zone.

For the annual performance, the price index ended last week recording 0.37% annual loss compared to its closing in 2011, while the weighted index decreased by

2.70%, and the KSX-15 recorded 6.34% retreat compared to its value when it was launched.

By the end of the week, the price index closed at 5,792.71 points, down by 1.94% from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 1.17% weekly loss after closing at 394.68 points. Moreover, the KSX-15 index recorded 1.43% weekly loss after closing at 936.62 points.

Sectors’ Indices All of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the red zone.

Last week’s biggest loser was the Insurance sector, as its index declined by 7.20% to end the week’s activity at 857.75 points. Whereas, in the second place, the Health Care sector’s index closed at 973.74 points recording 3.68% decrease. The Basic Materials sector came in third, as its index closed at 901.43 points at a loss of 3.08%. The Industrials sector was the least declining as its index closed at 929.35 points with a 0.76% decrease.

Sectors’ Activity The Financial Services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 536.60 million shares changing hands, representing 48.94% of the total market trading volume. The Real Estate sector was second in terms trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 14.77% of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 161.94 million shares. On the other hand, the Banks sector’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD 55.83 million or 38.83% of last week’s total market trading value. The Financial Services sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of KD 36.41 million represented 25.32% of the total market trading value.

Market Capitalization KSE total market capitalization declined by 1.09% during last week to reach KD 26.71 billion, as Seven of KSE’s sectors recorded an decrease in their respective market capitalization, whereas the other Five recorded

increase. The Health Care sector headed the decliners list as its total market capitalization reached KD 180.92 million, decreasing by 4.05%. The Insurance sector was the second in terms of recorded decline with 4.03% decrease after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 307.83 million. The third place was for the Basic Materials sector, which total market capitalization reached KD 559.93 million by the end of the week, recording a decline of 3.14%.

On the other hand, the Real Estate sector headed the growing sectors as its total market capitalization reached KD 1.41 billion, increasing by 1.60%. The Industrials sector was the second in terms of recorded growth with 0.58% increase after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 3.05 billion. The third place was for the Consumer Services sector, which total market capitalization reached KD 710.77 million by the end of the week, recording an increase of 0.50%. — Prepared by the Studies & Research Department Bayan Investment Co.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

BUSINESS GCC taxation

To double or not to double KUWAIT: Tobacco control policies have been the subject of increased debate over the past few months, and the GCC countries have also been a part of this debate.

From smoking bans to new graphic health warnings on cigarette and shisha packs, the fight against tobacco is relentless. But it does not stop here. The Ministers of Finance in the GCC are currently considering doubling the customs rates on cigarettes.

However, such drastic measures adopted in other countries have led to a significant increase in illicit trade in tobacco products, a problem not too foreign to our region.

To double.....

The tobacco industry and other related organizations have long been vocal about sudden and steep tax increases, claiming these will create a shock increase in consumer prices in the market, consequently fuelling illicit trade. This is actually not far from the truth as doubling the current rate of customs will widen the gap between the currently low prices of neighboring countries such as Yemen, Iraq and Iran and the higher prices in the GCC, thus triggering more inflow of illicit products into the GCC countries, since profit margins of illicit traders who do not pay taxes will more than double.

Countries like Jordan, Egypt, Iran, as well as Hong Kong, Ukraine, and Ireland are perfect examples of how imposing excessive tax burdens or short-term “tax shocks” on tobacco can go wrong and generate unintended consequences. ... or not to double In a recently published report in 2012, the IMF clearly recommends the gradual increase approach in a period of no less than 3 years specifically on excise levied on products such as tobacco. Experiences from neighboring markets such as Jordan clearly show how illicit trade levels can increase drastically over a short period of time when excessive tax policies are implemented.

A EUROMONITOR International study revealed that 1 in every 10 cigarettes smoked in the world in 2010 were illicit. In the GCC, it is estimated that more than 10% of all cigarettes smoked are illicitly supplied both counterfeit and genuine products that were smuggled, costing governments across the GCC millions of dollars in lost revenues as a result.

Experts also expressed health concerns as illicit brands flout safety regulations and target underage smokers. A a recent article in the UK’s Daily Mail (9/9/12) reported that undercover detectives found fake cigarettes made from human excrement, asbestos, mold and dead flies.

The correlation between the growth in illicit trade and the growth in price conducted in many countries across the world showed direct proportionality and the World Bank had previously stated that, “the potential for smuggling tobacco can limit increases in tobacco tax rates. When setting tax rates, consider the risk of smuggling, the purchasing power of local consumers, tax rates in neighboring markets, and the ability and effectiveness of the tax authority to enforce compliance.”

How to increase?

Doubling the specific tax component (set amount levied on all type of products based on quantities) across all tobacco product segments (low, medium and high priced) will impact the lower segments of the market more severely. This will create a larger gap between the illicit trade products and lowest priced legal products, which in turn will create a bigger incentive for smugglers leading to an increase in illicit trade products.

On the other hand, an ad-valorem customs increase (based on the value of the products) would achieve an equitable taxation structure across all segments.

In an ad-valorem tax structure, the product is taxed on its value. The higher the value of a product smoked by the higher income consumers - the higher the tax on it and, vice versa, the lower cost products are taxed lower. So taxing the lower cost products lower than the higher cost products ensures that the price gap between lower cost products and illicit trade products is not widened and hence does not create an incentive for illicit traders to benefit from smuggling.

The ad-valorem tax moreover is self-adjusting which means that, since the percentage is based on the value, and since the product cost/value increases with inflation year on year, the tax and revenues will also increase year on year as opposed to the specific tax which needs readjustment on yearly basis.

International obligations and the introduction of tariffs Another limitation in doubling tariffs on tobacco products is related to the ceiling of tariff rates better known as “bind rates” that have been negotiated and agreed between respective GCC countries and other WTO members. Doubling of tariffs means that the tariff rates will go above the agreed bind rates of a number of GCC markets, namely Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman and requires these countries to enter into a lengthy renegotiation process with other WTO member to amend these rates.

Imposing an increase at customs at the border, irrespective of the name, is still considered a customs tariff. However, adopting an internal tax as consumption tax or VAT is currently not feasible due to the lack of internal capabilities in the GCC to collect taxes internally.

Internationally, it is acknowledged that border measure tariffs are a hindrance to trade especially when the enforced tariffs are greater than the agreed bind rates.

The GCC Ministers of Finance are well aware of these limitations and they are expected to discuss the relevant collection mechanisms in their upcoming October 2012 meeting, where it will be important for them to find a sensible taxation policy that addresses the public health agenda and abides by the international obligations of the various GCC member states.

With the exception of the tobacco industry, no one would argue against the merits of raising tobacco taxes after ten years of stagnation. However, if it needs to be done, it has to be done the right way for it to succeed this time and be sustained. It has to be tariffbased and collected at customs. The minimum specific tax needs to be maintained at current rate to block a potential surge in illicit trade, and the WTO bind rates need to be renegotiated to avoid breaching international agreements.

In a crummy economy, why stocks are soaring Fed makes an open-ended promise WASHINGTON: Economic growth is pitiful.

Unemployment has topped 8 percent for an exhausting 43 months. The nation is careering toward a so-called fiscal cliff, and maybe a recession. So why is the Dow Jones industrial average, that trusty gauge of corporate America’s strength, just 4 percent shy of an all-time record? And why are the smaller public companies measured by the Russell 2000 index almost there already? Start with two words: Ben Bernanke.

Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, this week announced unprecedented measures aimed at lifting the sagging economy and boosting the prices of assets like stocks and houses. The market rallied all summer in anticipation of such a move. The Fed made an open-ended promise to purchase $40 billion a month in mortgage bonds and said it will keep interest rates low through 2015, even if the economy starts to improve.

The announcement set off a two-day rally that drove the Dow up 260 points, leaving it less than 600 points shy of its record high 14,164, reached on Oct. 9, 2007, two months before the Great Recession began. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index, a broader measure of the market’s strength, would need to gain less than 7 percent to surpass its own record, reached on the same day.

There’s ample reason to think Bernanke’s prescription will work, at least for stocks. The idea is to pump money into the economy to push interest rates even lower, which encourages spending, and drive up stocks, which makes people feel richer.

The hope is that also will drive people out of investments based on interest rates, such as CDs and bond mutual funds, and into stocks. If stock prices rise, investors will be richer and more likely to spend. It’s called the “wealth effect.”

The measures are the Fed’s third round of so-called quantitative easing. It’s the fourth round if you count a similar, ongoing plan known as Operation Twist under which the Fed drives down long-term interest rates. The earlier actions were rocket boosters for stocks: The first round was announced in its full $1.2 trillion form in March 2009, at the depths of the recession. From there, the Dow gained 45 percent over the following year. The S&P

500 rose even more.

Bernanke hinted at a second round in August 2010. From then until it ended June 30, 2011, the Dow added 24 percent.

Between the launch of Operation Twist last September and Wednesday, the day before the Fed’s announcement, all three indexes rose more than 20 percent.

The Fed’s actions work in part because they help make U.S. stocks one of the least ugly investments out there. Big American companies are a stable bet compared with Europe and many emerging markets.

People might prefer the safety of Treasurys, but the Fed is shooing them away, pushing yields so low that, adjusting for inflation, investors end up paying the government to hold on to their money.

There’s no denying the Fed measures draw investors into stocks, says Tyler Vernon, chief investment officer of Biltmore Capital, an investment adviser in Princeton, NJ. But without some improvement in the economy itself, he says, the effects will be fleeting.

“We’ve had this recovery in the stock mar-

LINCOLNTON: Dean Hoyle wipes down the top of a nightstand before packaging it for delivery at the Lincolnton Furniture Company in Lincolnton, NC. President Barack Obama held the company up as proof of American resilience. During a White House forum on job creation in January 2012, the president singled out Lincolnton Furniture as proof that “you don’t have be a big manufacturer to in-source jobs.” — AP

Argentina’s YPF signs oil deal with Chevron BUENOS AIRES: Recently nationalized Argentine oil firm YPF announced Friday it has signed an agreement with US energy giant Chevron to explore and develop shale oil and gas in the Vaca Muerta reserves of southern Argentina. YPF signed a memorandum of understanding with Chevron “aimed at exploring unconventional hydrocarbon development opportunities in Vaca Muerta,” the Argentine company said in a statement.

“Unconventional” refers to oil and gas deposits like oil shale, where the hydrocarbons are tapped not by conventional wells but instead must be released by methods like fracking, designed to free the reserves by fracturing the source rock.

The 30,000 square kilometer Vaca Muerta (Dead Cow) reserve is located mostly in

Neuquen province, in Argentina’s southern Patagonia region.

YPF already has signed memorandums of understanding with two smaller companies to operate in the reserve. Argentina has the world’s third-largest shale-based, unconventional hydrocarbon resources, after the United States and China, according to YPF chief executive Miguel Galuccio.

Chevron is already exploiting conventional oil fields in Neuquen province. In May, the Argentine government seized YPF from Repsol, accusing the Spanish oil giant of allowing oil and gas production to lapse and forcing Argentina’s oil import bill to rise.

YPF produces 34 percent of the oil and 25 percent of the natural gas in Argentina, according to industry figures. — AFP

RALEIGH: Miles Wright, CEO of Xanofi, in his laboratory in Raleigh, NC. Launched in September 2010, the company is preparing to market a liquid-based nanofiber production process. Wright, a registered independent, chuckles at a new GOP ad calling this period “the worst economic recovery America has ever had.” “The fact is, it’s still a recovery,” he says. “Innovation hasn’t stopped”. — AP

Fed’s QE3 sparks US stocks out of doldrums WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve’s open-ended QE3 pulled US stocks out of their slumber and into a two-day rally, taking indices to new multiyear highs when they closed out the week Friday.

Repeating the surge that followed the late 2010 launch of QE2 — the Fed’s second quantitative easing, bond-buying program-markets seemed poised to continue rallying in the days ahead on the central bank’s promise of an inflation-less, low-interest rate future for possibly another three years.

But with corporate profits slumping and the economy still facing headwinds from elsewhere-the Fed actually cut its growth forecast for this year — analysts were not confident the rally would trace the long QEsparked bull run of 2011. The Fed’s announcement of new stimulus Thursday gave an immediate kick to trade-even if it had been expected-that was sustained through Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week up 2.14 percent at 13,593.37, its

ket but not really in the economy,” Vernon says. Stocks will likely fall within months, he says, “when the same stories are coming out about the economy, when we start hearing the same old song of people dropping out of the work force and unemployment staying high.”

There are other factors that help explain stocks’ recent gains. Investors expect corporate profits to rise strongly in the fourth quarter, after a trough in the quarter that ends later this month, says Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist with S&P Capital IQ, a research firm.

And by one key measure, stocks are relatively cheap. Analysts often assess a stock’s value by looking at the ratio of its price to the company’s earnings per share. Right now, prices are about 14.5 times earnings over the past year, Stovall says. The median over the past quarter-century is 17.9.

Hopes for an economic rebound are rising now that Europe has a better handle on its debt crisis. Investors were relieved this month by news that the European Central Bank will buy bonds from debt-strapped countries and

best finish since December 10, 2007.

The S&P 500 gained 1.94 percent to 1,465.77, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.52 percent, ending at 3,183.95. “While everyone is trying to figure out what QE3 means to the economy, stocks have spoken, and they like it,” said Ryan Detrick of Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

“At the same time, hedge funds have totally dropped the ball and missed most of this rally.

There’s a good chance these Johnny-comelatelies could be the fuel for the next surge higher.” Gains were all around, with energy shares and mining companies linked to gold and silver rising strongly. Freeport McMoran gained 8.1 percent for the period, Barrick Gold added 5.5 percent, and Newmont Mining rose 10.7 percent.

Banks also benefited. Bank of America led the pack with a 8.5 percent gain for the week to $9.55 while JPMorgan Chase ended up 5.8 percent. Despite the launch of its iPhone 5, Apple gained an modest 1.6 percent in the week, to a record close of $691.28.—AFP

Germany will participate in a crucial bailout fund.

Despite the wave of optimism, though, a record for the stock market isn’t a sure thing.

If the next few monthly jobs reports are as weak as the last few, the unemployment rate will likely rise - a discouraging sign that nearly everyone notices.

And corporate profits are expected to be down in the current quarter compared with last year, in many cases because of weak demand in recession-plagued Europe.

Europe’s stability is far from guaranteed. In the three years the debt crisis there has loomed over markets, several apparent solutions have turned out to be false starts.

Economists’ greatest fear is the so-called fiscal cliff, a set of automatic tax increases and government spending cuts that take effect at the end of this year unless Congress acts.

President Barack Obama and many Democrats want to allow certain tax breaks to expire only for wealthier Americans.

Republicans want to keep them for everybody. Without a deal, taxes will rise, reducing people’s ability to spend and invest. A budget standoff could lead to massive cuts in spending on defense and social programs.

If people are paying higher taxes while the government spends less, that could sink the recovery, says Ron Florance, managing director of investment strategy for Wells Fargo Private Bank in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“If Congress doesn’t do something about the fiscal cliff, the math adds up to a recession,” he says. Meanwhile, the Fed-fueled rally could easily push indexes past all records - a remarkable feat considering that unemployment is above 8 percent. During the Dow’s recent cyclical peaks - August 1987, January 2000 and October 2007 - unemployment was between 4 and 6 percent. Jeff Sica, president and chief investment officer of SICA Wealth Management in Morristown, NJ, says investors shouldn’t put too much stock in whatever the Fed is cooking up.

The Fed has created a “false sense of security, that as bad as things get, the Fed is going to step in and make it better,” Sica says. “The Federal Reserve would never expand their mandate had they not felt that the economy was very, very bad.” — Reuters

A comedown may be waiting after Fed high WALL STREET WEEKLY OUTLOOK NEW YORK: Comparing the Federal Reserve to a rehab clinic offering addicted investors a synthetic high has been a favorite of Wall Street wags ever since the first round of Fed stimulus nearly four years ago. The punch line is that you always need more and more to get the same high and each bout of euphoria is followed by a crashing comedown.

After the frenetic reaction brought about by the announcement of the Fed’s latest stimulus program - $40 billion pumped into the US economy each month - the coming week is likely to bring a more sober period for markets as investors digest what it means in the longer run and turn their attention to the remainder of the year.

That will include rancorous US elections in November, wrangling over taxes and spending cuts and a slowdown in corporate earnings.

“Right now we have this short-term euphoria. But then the question is where do we go from here,” said Frank Fantozzi, chief executive of Planned Financial Services, an independent wealth manager in Cleveland. “I think after a week or so, if the underlying economic data doesn’t change, you’re going to see the market drop a bit and we’ll continue to plod along until the election.”

The effect on markets of the European Central Bank’s plan to buy government bonds of struggling euro zone countries, then the Fed’s opened-ended commitment to spur growth have been breathtaking. The Dow and the S&P 500 reached the highest closing level in nearly five years while the Nasdaq marched to new 12-year highs. But in Friday’s stock market action strong gains in the morning steadily eroded throughout the day, perhaps the first signs of fatigue creeping into the market. “We are starting to get into that heady territory where you need to be on the defensive,” said Richard Ross, global technical strategist at Aubach Grayson in New York. “Trying to squeak out the last 5 percent of a move when there is potentially a 15 to 20 percent downside in my opinion is pretty dangerous stuff.”

Ross believes that equities, commodities and currencies are now approaching extreme levels of both price and momentum while geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are rising. Even though all the major stock market rallies since the financial crisis have coincided with new central bank efforts to stimulate the economy, not everyone is buying it.

The latest data shows a moderate increase in short interest bets that stocks will fall - across S&P 500 stocks during the last two weeks of August, a period when

stocks were rallying on expectations of the Fed’s announcement. Typically short interest inversely tracks the market. If investors were getting out of bets that stocks will fall, that would mean buying back those stocks and forcing the market higher.

Data provided by Schaeffer’s Investment Research, a Cincinnati-based research firm, shows that bets against the biggest 500 U.S. companies edged back to about 7.3 billion shares after falling from about 7.6 billion to 7.2 billion from the start of July through the end of August - a period when the market gained more than 3 percent.

That uptick in short interest could be significant. From the middle of September 2011 through the end of May this year, short interest on S&P 500 stocks fell like a stone to about 6 billion shares.

During that period the S&P hit a four-year high, rising more than 20 percent from trough to peak.

One side effect of the Fed’s bond-buying should be to reduce volatility in markets. That means the CBOE VIX volatility index should remain close to the fiveyear lows it hit this summer. In August it fell as low as 13.30.

Yet activity in the options market shows some very bold bets that volatility could sky rocket in the months ahead.

Call option buying on the VIX - bets the index will rise - is close to a record high at 5.182 million contracts, according to Schaeffer’s data. The record is 5.249 million set in August.

The most actively traded VIX calls on the Chicago Board Options Exchange were October calls with a strike price of 60. Those also had the highest open interest. The VIX would need to rocket more than 300 percent by mid-October, hitting its highest level in about four years, for that trade to break even.

On the face of it a bet like that may seem little better than betting your 401(k) on a single number on the roulette table, but it does reveal more bearishness creeping into the market as stock indexes march to new highs.

Open interest, or outstanding contracts, on the October VIX calls with a strike price of 60 was 37,000 while traded volume was around 40,000. Many of those were bought in blocks of 2000 to 5000 for 5 cents each, suggesting a single buyer, according to Todd Salamone, vice president of research at Schaeffer’s.

“Somebody’s really playing a disaster by October,” said Salamone. “If they’re looking for something that big, that is not a portfolio hedge because that would be a lot of downside in the market before that hedge would actually kick in.”—Reuters

26

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

BUSINESS

Canon EOS system celebrates 25th anniversary DUBAI: Canon celebrates 25 years of photography expertise with the anniversary of the iconic EOS System. Since its birth in 1987, the EOS System has grown to become the world’s most comprehensive range of digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, interchangeable lenses and accessories, favored by photographers the world over.

Canon’s EOS system made its debut in March 1987 with the launch of the EOS 650 SLR camera and three interchangeable EF lenses, including the EF3570mm f/3.5-4.5.

Standing for “Electro Optical System” while also carrying the name of the Greek goddess of the dawn, the EOS series was the world’s first fully electronic mount system, representing a new generation of AF SLR cameras. During the film camera era, EOS SLR cameras garnered high acclaim from a wide range of users for their innovative technologies and designs focused on Canon’s key concepts of high-

speed and ease of use. During this period, Canon pioneered new advances in technology launching the top-of-the-line professional-model EOS-1 in 1989. In 1993 the company continued to expand its user base with the introduction of the compact, lightweight EOS 500 (EOS Kiss and EOS Rebel XS in other regions).

Following the introduction of the EOS D30 in 2000, when the popularization of digital SLR cameras was in full swing, Canon developed such advanced technologies as its proprietary CMOS sensors and high-performance DIGIC digital image processors in an effort to offer products that fulfilled the company’s key concepts of high speed, ease-of-use and high image quality.

With the flagship EOS-1D X at the apex and the newly introduced EOS 5D Mark III boasting excellent image quality and video functionality, Canon’s rich digital SLR camera line-up serves the needs of all levels of users,

from professional photographers to entry-level photo enthusiasts.

camera system, has come to lead the industry. With Canon’s optical

Additionally, Canon’s interchangeable EF lens series, introduced together with the EOS SLR

technologies at its core, EF lenses incorporate such innovative technologies as the Ultrasonic

Motor (USM), Image Stabilizer (IS), Subwavelength Structure Coating (SWC), anti-reflection technology, and multi-layered Diffractive Optical (DO) elements.

The current EF-lens line-up comprises over 60 models, making possible a diverse range of imaging-expression possibilities.

Furthermore, with the recent launch of the Cinema EOS System of professional digital cinematography products, Canon’s EOS system now supports motion picture production and other high-end video capture applications.

Canon will continue to refine its diverse imaging technologies based on its core optical technologies, striving to produce exceptional and reliable cameras and lenses that cater to the varying needs of users while contributing to expanding the culture of photographic and video imaging.

Canon Middle East Canon Middle East, a sub-

sidiary of Canon Europe, is the operational headquarters for Canon in the Middle East and North Africa and is based in Dubai, UAE. Founded in 1937 with the specific goal of making the best quality camera available to customers, Canon’s tireless passion for the Power of Image has since extended its technology into many other markets and has established it as a world leader in both consumer and business imaging solutions.

Its solutions comprise products, ranging from digital compact and SLR cameras, through broadcast lenses and portable Xray machines, to multi-function and production printers, all supported by a range of value added services. Canon invests heavily in R&D to deliver the richest and most innovative products and services to satisfy customers’ creative needs. From amateur photographers to professional print companies, Canon enables each customer to realize their own passion for image.

Last chance to win astonishing 2012 McLaren by using NBK cards KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced September 15 as the last day of its summer campaign that offers its Cardholders the chance to win the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C as well as up to KD 180,000 in cash prizes.

NBK cardholders still have two days to earn unlimited chances to enter the last draw to win up to KD 10,000 in cash prizes in addition to the grand prize draw for the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C. 12 winners in the first two draws of the campaign had their spending on their NBK Cards reimbursed up to a value of KD 10,000. Another six winners will be announced in the third and last draw at the end of the campaign.

For every KD 20 spent in Kuwait with NBK Credit or Prepaid Cards, Cardholders will earn one chance to enter the draw.

Cardholders can triple their chances by using their NBK Credit, Prepaid and Debit Card abroad or by shopping on international sites.

NBK Cards are accepted worldwide and are the safest, most convenient and rewarding way to pay. For more information log onto nbk.com, contact Hala Watani on 1801801 or follow NBK on Twitter @NBKPage, and on Instagram @NBKPage.

The new McLaren MP4-12C is one of the world’s most critically acclaimed luxurious supercars with its astonishing design that combines elegance and exquisiteness. Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive is the sole dealer of McLaren Automotive Ltd. and the exclusive importer of BMW Group vehicles in Kuwait.

KIA Motors rolls out luxury sedan Quoris Kuwait launch expected by year’s end

Alghanim opens new ‘KromOzone Express’ Facility in Safat Alghanim KUWAIT: In a new step that reflects its continuous efforts in providing its customers with optimal solutions and services, KromOzone, the ultimate destination for vehicle accessories in Kuwait, has opened its latest facility, KromOzone Express, which stands out with its superiorly fast, efficient and effective services for customers who visit Safat Alghanim in Al-Rai. All customers can now enjoy shopping in Safat Alghanim while KromOzone Express’s team of professionals work on accessorizing the customers’ vehicle during a time period that does not go over 59 minutes.

KromOzone Express’ 59-minute service provides an assortment of services such as window tinting, xenon headlights, sensors, paint protection and other services.

KromOzone Express’ skilled team of professionals will also advise car owners on the type of accessories that suit their vehicle be it an American, Japanese, European or Korean model.

During a short period of time, KromOzone succeeded in becoming the leading vehicle accessories shop in the local market due to the variety of high quality products and

unique services that answers customers’ wants of having one-of-a-kind vehicle accessories that have drawn the attention of car accessory lovers especially the youth.

KromOzone offers a wide range of products including rims, car door accessories, headlights, sound systems, bumpers, customized paint and other innovative and exclusive accessories that include a cars’ interior. KromOzone also provides exterior crystal accessorizing services to provide customers with a personal touch, an element that is present in every job KromOzone takes on with the help of quality materials and General Motors’ products.

KromOzone Express’ grand opening took place at Safat Alghanim’s parking area in Al-Rai to showcase the company’s keenness on maintaining an open channel of communication with its customer base in an innovative and honest manner. As always, KromOzone’s Express’ main mission coincides with the main company’s values of going beyond and exceeding customers’ expectations while providing customers with a comfortable and convenient experience.

KUWAIT: KIA Motors’s new flagship luxury sedan, named Quoris, was revealed to the Middle East & Africa region for the first time onSeptember5-6, 2012 at an exclusive Pre-Launch event held at Shangri La’s Barr Al JissahHotel & Resort in Muscat, Oman.

Top management from KIA Motors Corporation were present at the event including Jae Yong Chung, Director - Middle East and Africa/Asia Pacific Operations, Peter Schreyer, KIA’s renowned Chief Design Officer, Soon-Nam Lee, Director Overseas Marketing Group, and Moon-Yong Chung, President of KIA’s Middle East and Africa Regional Headquarters, along with more than 70 VIP Guests & KIA distributors from over ten countries across the MENA region.

KIA’s new global status was illustrated by a powerful presentation by Soon-Nam Lee, who stressed that the automaker managed to reach 8thplace among all automakers despite the economic crisis.

KIA also ranks 6th place in the JD Powers Appeal study and had a growth rate of 50% in the JD Powers Initial Quality Study. Furthermore, it was revealed that Inter brands brand ranking agency reported that the KIA brand experienced tremendous growth in recent years. With this momentum, KIA plans to launch a total of 51 new products and upgrades between 2012 and 2016.

Mr. Moon-Yong Chung gave a comprehensive overview of the Quoris, going into detail about the engineering, technological and design advancements that the new flagship was able to make for the KIA brand. Quoris will power KIA into an entirely new segment of the global automotive market.

It is the first modern rear-wheel drive from KIA and is a true landmark vehicle for the KIA brand, combining stylish design with luxurious comfort, engaging driving dynamics and advanced hightech features. “For me, the company and for KIA’s customers, Quoris was a dream car, and the dream became true,” explained Peter Schreyer, KIA’s Chief Design Officer.

“Quoris is all about elegant simplicity, balanced proportions and simple surfaces. The class-leading long wheelbase, the prestige distance, large wheels, sharply upright short overhangs and a long sweeping shoulder line all work together in harmony to give Quoris a sporty, athletic proportion and a confident stance quintessential to a premium large rearwheel drive vehicle.” The name ‘Quoris’ conveys solidity, luxury and high technology, all resonating together as a chorus. Derived from the English words ‘core’ and ‘quality’, ‘Quoris’ hints at the core attributes of the new flagship sedan.

“The Quoris is a phenomenal achievement not justfor KIA, but for the entire luxury sedan segment.

This is KIA’s first modern real-wheel drive model and it has been built in a way that promises to shatter expectations with rare and advanced technological features, VIP-grade comfort and a spectacular luxury-focused design,” commented Medhat Khalil, KIA Kuwait Brand Manager. Every Quoris comes with KIA’s all-new eight-speed automatic transmission.

The wide spread of gear ratios guarantees brisk

acceleration and high-speed refinement, while shift-by-wire (SBW) technology with a joystick control delivers fast, smooth gear changes. The ultrastiff bodyshell, Quoris’s electronically controlled air suspension with five-link front and rear suspension geometry gives the new flagship first-class ride and handling characteristics.

Three driving modes (Eco, Normal and Sport) enable the driver to choose a preferred set-up of suspension, steering, engine and transmission that is ideal for various road conditions or driving styles.

Advanced smart cruise control (ASCC): Quoris is fitted with KIA’s first radar-based advanced smart cruise control (ASCC). This system continuously monitors traffic conditions and speed in order to maintain a pre-determined safe distance from the vehicle ahead.

The Quoris is armed with an advanced vehicle safety management (AVSM) system, integrating

Quoris drivers, the new sedan is equipped with PGS (parking guide system). The system features automatic steering control by an on-board computer to safely perform parallel parking.

As well as providing high-tech protection for its occupants, every Quoris enables them to enjoy a sophisticated, refined and luxurious interior.

Both the front seats are powered, heated and ventilated. The driver’s seat features 16-way adjustment and memory settings, while the passenger seat has 10-way adjustment. The regular rear seat has three-stage heating of the cushion and backrest, with manually adjustable lumbar support and a folding center armrest. A special ‘VIP’ option will offer twin heated and ventilated rear seats with a reclining backrest, sliding cushion and lower leg support for the ‘nearside’ seat, together with a front passenger seat that slides forwards when unoccupied. The in-vehicle infotainment system

electronic stability control (ESC) and multiple warning systems to alert the driver of a collision risk. The blind spot detection (BSD) warns the driver when a vehicle comes into the blind spot zone along each side of the Quoris. The lane change assistance (LCA) system alerts the driver to vehicles approaching from the rear at high speeds. Perhaps one of the most stunning features on the Quoris is the around view monitor system which provides a true 360-degree allaround view in eight different viewing modes, displayed on the audio video navigation (AVN) monitor. It provides a virtual ‘top’ view in motion, so the driver can easily have a full grasp of all his or her surroundings, maximizing safety for the car occupants as well as pedestrians.

New standards in comfort and convenience: Every Quoris driver will appreciate the remarkable clarity of the all-new 12.3-inch wide thin film transistor (TFT) LCD cluster. The high-definition cluster features KIA’s ‘two cylinder’ instrument design with precise graphics and delivers a wide range of information with immense clarity. Quoris is also equipped with a HUD (head-up display) which presents a variety of information discretely in the driver’s sight line, enabling it to be assimilated without distracting from the road ahead. To assist

available for Quoris is remarkable. The touchscreen on the dashboard allows the driver to take advantage of state-of-the-art functions and services, while the backseat display supports a variety of video formats to entertain passengers. Highdefinition 9.2-inch monitors are mounted in the back of each front seat. The folding center armrest for the rear seats incorporates a complete set of controls for the multi-media system.

Quoris features a premium audio system from Lexicon by Harman, the renowned creator of truly concert-hall standards of sound reproduction. A 12-channel digital amplifier is mounted in the trunk, two speakers are fitted in each front door, three are fitted in each rear door, four are located in the dashboard center, with two surroundsound speakers and an inverted sub-woofer.

The outstanding breakthrough in design, technology and performance that form the Quoris are destined to place the new flagship KIA head-on with the veteran luxury brands of the automotive market. The Quoris is expected to be available in Kuwait before year’s end the end of this year. The authorized dealer for KIA Motors in Kuwait is National Agencies Group, a subsidiary of Abdulaziz Al-Ali Al-Mutawa Group. NAG has been growing the KIA brand in Kuwait since 1997.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

iPhone 5 not just a phone; an economic stimulus too Sale of 10 million units in 5 days expected

The iPhone 5 and LTE: What it means for you NEW YORK: The iPhone 5 is Apple’s first mobile handset that uses new “LTE” wireless networks. What’s LTE -and why should you care? Here are some answers.

Q: What does LTE stand for?

A: It’s “Long-Term Evolution,” but that doesn’t really tell you anything. It’s actually the latest and fastest way to transmit data from cellular towers to phones and other gadgets. It’s one of two so-called “fourth-generation,” or 4G, wireless technologies that have been deployed by various phone companies. (The other one is WiMax, which is available on Sprint phones. But WiMax coverage is low, isn’t being expanded, and even Sprint is betting on LTE for the future).

Q: How fast is LTE? Will it make a difference to me?

A: LTE networks in the U.S. reach speeds up to 20 megabits per second. That’s faster than most people get at home, with their cable or DSL services. It’s also faster than older wireless networks, but the differences aren’t always that big. Sprint and Verizon iPhone users should see a huge jump in speed with the new iPhone because their 3G networks are relatively slow. Downloads will be more than ten times faster where LTE is available. For AT&T users, downloads speeds should double or triple.

Q: Which phone companies have LTE, and where can I get it?

A: Verizon Wireless launched its LTE network nearly two years ago. It has the widest coverage, by far: 370 cities. AT&T is second, with 62 cities. Sprint is only in the early stages of its buildout, and LTE coverage is spotty, for now. It covers 19 cities, mostly in Texas and Georgia. But Sprint has said that it plans to fire up New York, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles and some other cities in the next few months.

Q: My iPhone 4S already says it connects to “4G.” Doesn’t that mean LTE? A: No, AT&T jumped the gun a bit and called its upgraded, non-LTE network “4G” because the speeds were so much higher than before. Apple went along with this, so the AT&T iPhone 4S displays “4G” in the status bar at the top of the screen even though it’s connecting to a 3G network.

Q: Is the iPhone 5 the first LTE phone?

A: No, Apple hasn’t been a trailblazer here. The first LTE phones showed up a year and a half ago, from other manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC. This year, it’s become a standard feature in high-end smartphones.

Q: Verizon and AT&T have been using different types of networks. Now they’re both on LTE. Does that mean I can move phones between the companies?

A: Unfortunately, no. They use different frequencies for LTE, and the iPhone 5 will come in two different versions. One connects to AT&T’s LTE bands, the other to Sprint’s and Verizon’s. (There will be a third one for overseas LTE networks.)

WASHINGTON: Apple’s iPhone 5 is one of the biggest product launches ever in the sector, and may also deliver a well-timed stimulus to the US economy ahead of the presidential election, analysts say.

Apple is expected to sell as many as 10 million of the devices in just the first days of the launch starting September 21, and upwards of 50 million in the fourth quarter, including a big chunk in the United States. JP Morgan economist Michael Feroli said he sees the iPhone 5 adding between 0.25 and 0.5 percentage points to US economic activity in the fourth quarter, based on projected US sales of eight million.

Feroli said it was a simple math calculation: if the phones are worth $600, including carrier subsidies, minus $200 for import costs, that would be $3.2 billion in net sales, or $12.8 billion at an annual rate, boosting gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.33 points.

Cary Leahey, chief US economist at Decision Economics, said the calculation “makes sense.” “It just shows the power of an extremely popular product which is priced very dear,” Leahey said. He said the boost was “noticeable but not earth-shattering.” But with the US economy having expanded at a tepid 1.7 percent pace in the second quarter, the stimulus will be well-timed.

“The economy absolutely needs it, it could not come at a better time,” said Joel Naroff at Naroff Economic Advisors.

“Household incomes are flat, real disposable income is going nowhere. You don’t have any source of fuel, so it’s got to come from somewhere.”

Naroff said that US consumers will likely pull money out of savings for the iPhone and similar devices, and in some cases, it may be simply a matter of pulling the spending forward.

“The net impact on the economy is not clear,” he said.

Paul Krugman, a Princeton University economist who blogs for The New York Times, said the stimulus effect underlines how the US economy is dependent on consumer spending. “To believe that more spending will provide an economic boost, you have to believe-as you should-that demand, not supply, is what’s holding the economy back,” Krugman wrote.

“We don’t have high unemployment because Americans don’t want to work, and we don’t have high unemployment because workers lack the right skills.

“Instead, willing and able workers can’t find jobs because employers can’t sell enough to justify hiring them. And the solution is to find some way to increase overall spending so that the nation can get back to work.”

Krugman added that “over time, there will be more equipment that needs replacing, more iPhone-like innovations that boost spending, and, in the long run, we will exit this economic trap.”

Even before the iPhone 5, Apple cited a study showing it has created or supported more than 500,000 US jobs,

STRASBOURG: Customers look at tablets during the inauguration of a new Apple store in Strasbourg, eastern France yesterday. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Apple prevailed on Friday at a US trade panel in a patent infringement complaint filed by South Korea’s Samsung over wireless communication technology for the iPhone and other Apple devices.

A judge at the US International Trade Commission, a quasi-judicial agency which investigates trade complaints, found “no violation” by Apple of the patents for wireless communication devices and tablet computers, said a statement on the preliminary ruling. The ruling by administrative judge James Gildea is subject to review by the full commission. It was the latest victory for Silicon Valley-based Apple, which last month won a massive patent lawsuit against Samsung in a California court, which ordered Samsung to

pay more than $1 billion for patent infringement.

Samsung however said it remained “confident” that the full commission would decide in its favor, ruling that “Apple must be held accountable for free-riding on our technological innovations.”

“We are proud of our long history of innovation in the mobile industry and will continue to defend our intellectual property rights,” the company said in a statement. A series of legal battles are pending around the world, including claims by Samsung that Apple illegally used the South Korean electronics firm’s wireless communications technology. The ITC has the authority to ban imports of devices if it finds patent infringement. Florian Mueller, a patent consult-

ant who follows technology issues, said the case was another setback for the South Korean giant. “Samsung was hoping (and despite today’s setback will continue to hope) to gain some leverage over Apple from an ITC import ban,” he wrote in a blog post. “And in light of the recent California trial, Samsung needs leverage sooner rather than later.”

The judge in the California Apple-Samsung case set a December 6 hearing on punitive damages to the US firm for patent infringement and on whether to ban eight Samsung phones in the US market. Apple has asked the court to ban some of the newer 4G phones from Samsung’s Galaxy line in the case. Samsung has said it would appeal and has pledged to fight the proposed ban. — AFP

Aging Mars rover discovers geological mystery

This image obtained from NASA shows spherules on Mars discovered by the long-lived rover Opportunity which are puzzling researchers. The objects concentrated at an outcrop Opportunity reached last week differ in several ways from iron-rich spherules nicknamed “blueberries” the rover found at its landing site in early 2004 and at many other locations to date. — AFP

WASHINGTON: NASA’s Opportunity rover, older brother to the Curiosity rover that landed on Mars last month, has made a new discovery that geologists find both puzzling and exciting, the US space agency said Friday. Opportunity, which has been on the Red Planet since 2004, has come across an outcrop of tiny spheresup to around an eighth of an inch (three millimeters) in diameter-the likes of which scientists have never seen before. “This is one of the most extraordinary pictures from the whole mission,” said Opportunity’s principal investigator, Steve Squyres of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. “We never have seen such a dense accumulation of spherules in a rock outcrop on Mars,” he added, in a statement.

At first glance, the researchers thought the objects resembled iron-rich spheres, nicknamed “blueberries,” discovered near the Opportunity landing site. The so-called Martian blueberries are formed when minerals separate

Facebook friends get out the vote in large numbers WASHINGTON: Here’s something most politicians can “like”: Facebook friends played a big role in getting hundreds of thousands of people to vote in 2010, a new scientific study claims. Facebook researchers and scientists at the University of California, San Diego conducted a massive online experiment in the mid-term congressional election to test and measure the political power of online peer pressure.

They found that people who got Facebook messages that their friends had voted were a bit more likely to go to the polls than those who didn’t get the same reminder. And from there the effect multiplied in the social network, they reported in Thursday’s journal Nature. The friend-prodding likely increased voter turnout by as much as 340,000 in the non-presidential election that voted in a new Republican congress, the scientists calculated. They said that it could potentially change the outcome of close elections.

“Our study is the first large-scale scientific test of the idea that online social networks affect real world political behavior,” said study lead author James Fowler, a professor of medical genetics and political science at the University of California, San Diego. He has studied friend and social media influences on public health and politics over the past decade. While pundits have pointed to social

fourth quarter and “up to 266 million” in 2013.

Contrary to popular belief, the largest portion of the proceeds from iPhone sales flow to the United States, not China, said Jason Dedrick, professor of information studies at Syracuse University.

“Virtually none of the profits go to China,” he added. A 2011 study by Dedrick with researchers Kenneth Kraemer and Greg Linden concluded that 58 percent of the iPhone cost went to Apple profits, with materials representing some 22 percent and labor costs in China just 1.8 percent.

“We estimated about $10 in wages for each iPhone going to workers in China for the iPhone or iPad,” he said.

Even with the stimulus, most economists say the iPhone and other devices probably won’t make a difference in the November election.

Leahey said the introduction is too late to have an impact on jobs before November, and that more important is “the public perception of the labor market,” which is unlikely to change in the next two months. — AFP

Apple fends off Samsung challenge in US trade panel

Q: Is there any downside to LTE? A: Not really, but as you go from 3G to LTE, you might want to keep a closer eye on your data consumption for a while.

Surveys show people have higher data usage on LTE, possibly because it lets you download more stuff, faster. It also makes it easier to enjoy video streaming and videoconferencing. AT&T and Verizon now limit monthly data usage (in practice, even for people who have the old “unlimited” plans), while Sprint still provides unlimited data. Early LTE phones had shorter battery lives, but the chips now draw less power, and Apple promises the same amount of effective use time on LTE as on older networks.

Q: Will the LTE capability mean anything for phone calls?

A: For now, LTE networks carry only data, so the iPhone 5 will use older networks when connecting calls. In the future, LTE will likely be used for calls as well, and it’s possible that could mean improved audio quality. (Apple has its own scheme for improving audio quality, unrelated to LTE. But it’s unclear if US carriers will support it.) — AP

including 47,000 at Apple alone and 200,000 in the socalled “app economy.” Apple’s launch comes amid a spate of new product releases expected to woo US consumers in the pre-holiday season.

The Consumer Electronics Association projects record sales of electronics of $206 billion this year, the first time above the $200 billion mark. Along with phone launches, Microsoft is producing its own Surface tablet computer, Google has introduced a tablet and smartphone and Amazon has upgraded its Kindle Fire tablets.

And Apple is expected to launch a “mini iPad” in the coming weeks to cement its position in the tablet market.

All this has the potential to boost share prices, consumer spending and the so-called supply chain involving component makers. Apple’s record stock price surge has helped push the Nasdaq stock exchange to its highest level since 2000, after the dotcom collapse.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said Apple may ship between 48 million and 53 million iPhones in the

media-inspired revolutions in the Arab world, this is more verifiable scientifically because it is a controlled study comparing groups that had different inputs. It’s the voting equivalent of testing real drugs versus sugar pills.

Outside experts say the new study makes sense and fits with other research about how effective get-out-the-vote drives are, but say Fowler’s numbers may be a bit high. That’s because they factor in a large indirect effect, calculations which some didn’t find as convincing. Nearly every American of voting age who logged into Facebook on Election Day 2010 was part of the experiment, even though they didn’t know it. Most of them - more than 60 million - saw an announcement on top of their Facebook news feed: Today is Election Day. It showed how many Facebook users as well as their friends had clicked an “I voted” button and showed up to six pictures of those friends. It also linked to a list of polling places.

Researchers compared voter turnout with two groups that didn’t receive that same message. One group of 611,000 people simply got a generic announcement encouraging voting, but no pictures or count of friends. Another 613,000 users didn’t receive any message. Those who got the peer pressure message were less than half a percent (0.39 percent) more likely to vote than those

who got no message or the generic one. While that seems like a very small increase, it is statistically significant and it adds up, Fowler said. There was no difference in voting found between the generic and no-message groups. Nor was there any difference seen in friend-prompted turnout between self-identified conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans.

Fowler and colleagues didn’t just take the word of people who clicked the “I voted” button.

They checked public voting records in 13 states for that election, and found about 4 percent of those who said they voted hadn’t really cast ballots. Of those who saw the peer pressure posting, Fowler calculated that 60,000 voted who wouldn’t have. On top of that, he said, another 280,000 people voted who wouldn’t have because their friends saw the online message and spread the get-out-the-vote word. It’s a form of social contagion with people noticing that the original message recipient voted, so the message spread in person, by word of mouth and online, he said. “The network is key,” he said. Columbia University political scientist Donald Greene said the 60,000 direct voter number makes sense and fits with other research done, which shows that the more personalized the appeal the better the result. —AP

from water and become hard masses inside sedimentary blocks-they’re part of the evidence Mars used to be wet.

But closer investigation revealed the new discoveries are “different in concentration. They are different in structure.

They are different in composition. They are different in distribution,” Squyres said.

“It’s going to take a while to work this out, so the thing to do now is keep an open mind and let the rocks do the talking.” Opportunity found the spheres at an outcrop called Kirkwood, in the Cape York segment of Endeavour Crater’s western rim. Although Opportunity’s prime mission was completed more than eight years ago, the rover has continued on “bonus” missions since then. Fellow Mars rover Spirit, also launched in the summer of 2003, continued working until March 2010. The most recent Mars lander, Curiosity, is on a two-year quest to explore Mars geology. The $2.5 billion robot is currently in the Gale crater, trundling towards Mount Sharp. — AFP

NASA: 2 ‘hot Jupiters’ found in star cluster WASHINGTON: US scientists have for the first time found proof that planets can form and survive around sun-like stars within dense star clusters, NASA said Friday. Astronomers have spotted two Jupiter-like orbs in the Beehive Cluster, a collection of around 1,000 stars that appear to be swarming around a common center. “This has been a big puzzle for planet hunters,” said Sam Quinn, a graduate student in astronomy at Georgia State University in Atlanta and the lead author of the paper describing the results. “We know that most stars form in clustered environments like the Orion Nebula, so unless this dense environment inhibits planet formation, at least some sun-like stars in open clusters should have planets.

“Now, we finally know they are indeed there,” he added in a statement. Unlike Jupiter, these gas giants are boiling hot, because they are orbiting close to their parent stars. The finding left astronomers

puzzled as they theorize that gaseous planets can’t form too close to a star because they would evaporate away. The leading explanation so far is that the planets form further out and then migrate inwards toward the star. Given the relatively young age of Beehive stars, the newly discovered planets could help scientists flesh out the theory.

If the stars are young, that means the planets must be as well, which “sets a constraint on how quickly giant planets migrate inward,” said Russel White, the principal investigator on the NASA Origins of Solar Systems grant that funded the study. “Knowing how quickly they migrate is the first step to figuring out how they migrate.” The team discovered the planets, Pr0201b and Pr0211b, by using the 1.5meter (five-foot) Tillinghast telescope at an Arizona observatory to measure the slight gravitational wobble the orbiting planets induce upon their host stars. —AFP

28

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

health & science

Brain implant improves decision-making in monkey LOS ANGELES: A group of scientists created a novel brain implant that improves cognitive performance and decision-making in a monkey. The device, developed in part by researchers at the University of Southern California, manipulates ongoing brain activity to guide the animal away from mistakes and toward a correct decision. The study, published last week in the Journal of Neural Engineering, marks an important step toward implantable devices that could one day help people with brain injuries better perform basic tasks.

The field of “brain prosthetics” has been dominated by efforts to restore physical abilities, like devices that use brain activity to move a robotic arm or a cursor across a screen. But the new

study records an attempt to actually improve the thinking ability of a monkey, a tall task given that even the most simple cognitive tasks requires the coordination of millions of brain cells.

But scientists now have unprecedented capabilities to record and analyze ongoing brain activity on an extremely small spatial scale and with previously unattainable accuracy, allowing researchers to capture, in a small region of the brain, the pattern of brain activity that marks a correct decision.

Here’s how they did it. First, the researchers trained a monkey to perform a relatively simple task: to look at an image, and then pick that image out of a group of several images. When the monkey did this right, it got a reward.

After two long years of training, the

monkeys got quite good at the task. At that point, the researchers turned on their recording device, which was placed in a part of the brain called the pre-frontal cortex, an area believed to be essential to decision-making and thought.

Every time the monkey guessed correctly, the device stored the sequence of neural activity that occurred during the decision-making process, making a record of a correct decision. Once the team had a good handle on what the pattern of brain activity looked like when the monkey made a correct decision, they began feeding that pattern into the monkey’s pre-frontal cortex while the animal was about to make a decision-like installing a temporary software program. The monkey’s per-

formance immediately jumped about 10 percent.

But seeing an increase in performance in healthy monkeys was not enough for the researchers, because they wanted to be sure the device would help those with cognitive deficits - the likely beneficiaries of any such device in humans. So they gave their monkeys cocaine, which is well known to impair their decision-making ability.

They then repeated the experiment, again feeding in the “correct answer” software at just the right moment during decision-making. Even though the monkeys had been performing more poorly after cocaine usage, their performance suddenly jumped back above normal when the stimulator was

turned on. The research team believes the device could represent the prototype for an assistive device for those who have had brain injuries, strokes or suffer from neurodegenerative diseases, and may help such people complete basic tasks.

But much more work needs to be done before it is clear exactly how useful such a device would be. It is unknown, for example, whether the device would need to record a separate template for every possible type of decision, a number that would soon become impossibly large. Still, the study is enough to allow one to imagine a future in which people with cognitive disabilities can more easily reenter the workforce and care for their families. — MCT

Bootleg booze kills 19 Czechs ban spirits sales

CAPE TOWN: Volunteers clean African Penguins contaminated by oil from the wreck of the ship Seli 1, at the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), in Milnerton, Cape Town. An oil slick formed in Table Bay after oil leaked out of the wrecked ship, and 189 oiled adult birds and 29 dependent chicks were brought into SANCCOB for rehabilitation. — AFP

Stickybeak and the penguins of Sydney SYDNEY: From the foaming wake of a Sydney ferry a small, grey figure sails towards the suburban Manly beachfront, landing belly-first on a closely-guarded strip of sand. Stickybeak the penguin stands, shakes himself free of water andafter a furtive glance at the tourists gathered to watch his twilight return to the city’s most famous bird nest-waddles off under the wharf to his brood.

“He’s got a mansion under there,” joked chief penguin warden Angelika Treichler, who stood guard behind a strip of safety cones and padlocked gates guaranteeing the bird free passage to his nest. “He used to live next door, but now he’s taken over the whole area.” Stickybeak, his partner Mrs Silverwing and their two chicks are the last remaining Little Penguins living under the Manly wharf, a bustling area for commuters and tourists.

Also known as fairy penguins or blue penguins the Little Penguin-the smallest species of their kind-grow to just 33 centimeters tall and can live for up to 20 years. There are another 60 or so breeding pairs living in the nearby North Head National Park, a rugged wildlife preserve where Sydney Harbor meets the Pacific Ocean, but Stickybeak is a thoroughly metropolitan bird. He joins hundreds of commuters taking the evening ferry from the city’s bustling centre back to the beach, slipping into its wake to cruise home, and has been known to waddle over drunks passed out on his doorstep.

Treichler, a retired schoolteacher from Germany, has been watching him since volunteer patrols of the beach began when the colony was declared endangered in 2002 and has recorded his many adventures in the wardens’ log book. “He

came up here once, up the steps, walked across the road and waddled into the Flamenco Club. Luckily one of the guests knew him, knew he lived here and put his jacket over him and carried him out,” she said. “He used to sit for hours there on the boardwalk and sing very loudly, and look up whether we were listening, and when I would call him he’d come running out from under the wharf and cluck back at me.”

TERRITORIAL CREATURES Conservationists have worked hard to nurse penguin numbers back to health over the past decade, using sniffer dogs to hunt out foxes in the park and deploying wardens to educate locals about the dangers of dogs and garbage. Ecologist Lisa O’Neill tags every penguin with a microchip once they’re old enough to leave the nest, and says only 10 percent typically survive the transition to the harbor, with predators always lurking and speedboat strikes common.

There have been concerted efforts to move the penguins out of more urban areas-some nest under residential homes around the harbor-but success has been mixed with the deeply territorial creatures. Stickybeak and Mrs Silverwing-his step-mother-were taken across to Store Beach in the national park in an attempt to resettle them after a stint in hospital but Treichler said they “came straight back here” to the wharf. Their unorthodox romance blossomed in the rehabilitation unit of the city zoo, where Mrs Silverwing was mourning the death of her husband and Stickybeak was recovering from a boat strike accident that had killed his own partner. — AFP

Violent games lead to reckless driving LOS ANGELES: Kids who play video games like “Manhunt” and “Grand Theft Auto III” are more likely to drive recklessly, according to a new study published in the academic journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture.

Research has long shown that kids who play violent video games are more likely to have risky thoughts. But the new study went a step further, asking teenagers to admit whether or not they had actually performed the dangerous driving acts. The researchers, of Dartmouth College, conducted a series of phone interviews over a four-year period with thousands of youths, starting when the subjects were not yet old enough to drive. This allowed them to determine whether the kids’ video game play preceded any risky driving.

In later stages of the study, once the participants were driving regularly, the scientists asked kids questions such as whether they had ever been pulled over by the police and whether they had been in an accident in the previous year. The researchers found a significant correlation between violent

video game play and reckless driving: People who played violent video games were more likely to also drive recklessly. The researchers did not, however, report how much more likely such behaviors were when kids played violent video games, only that the two were strongly related. Participants who played such games were also more likely to admit a willingness to drink and drive, researchers said.

The findings were consistent even when the researchers controlled for a number of variables, including parenting style in the kids’ households, and held even when the kids reported playing violent games that had nothing to do with driving, like the game “SpiderMan.” So if the games don’t directly teach kids poor driving habits, what gives? The authors of the study propose that violent video games change a young player’s self-perception, so that they see themselves as someone who does risky things. In other words, the researchers suggest, the players become more like the characters they are controlling on screen. — MCT

PRAGUE: The Czech Republic indefinitely banned all sales of liquor with more than 20 percent alcohol on Friday after 19 people died from drinking bootleg vodka and rum containing poisonous methanol. Authorities have tried for a week to find the source of the central European country’s worst outbreak of alcohol-related deaths in decades.

The Health Ministry had already banned the sale of spirits by street vendors and market stalls on Wednesday to combat the outbreak after the first deaths happened last weekend in the Moravian-Silesian region, 350 km (220 miles) east of Prague.

Health Minister Leos Heger said the ban had been widened to include bars, restaurants, shops and supermarkets after evidence showed some of the tainted alcohol was bought there.

“The initial ban ... was widened to a total ban everywhere, starting today,” Heger said in a broadcast on Czech Television. The ban applies to all brands of spirits - imports as well as the domestic labels that dominate the market - leaving many of the cocktail bars that usually would have been bustling at the start of the weekend with fewer customers and signs announcing the ban hanging over the bottles.

Workers at a supermarket in the city centre cleared the shelves of liquor shortly after the announcement. While also packing up his bottles, convenience store owner Tony Nguyen said 30 percent of his business was from selling such spirits. “If the ban is for a few days, it’s OK. But if it’s long term, that will be a problem,” he said. Heger was quoted by newspaper Mlada Fronta Dnes’s website as saying the ban could be several days. The tainted moonshine has left around two dozen in hospital, many in induced comas or experiencing blindness.

BEER HALLS The Czech Republic, as the home of Pilsner, has the world’s highest beer consumption per capita, at more than 140 litres, The average consumption of hard liquor is 7 litres. But such a large number of alcoholrelated deaths are rare in the country of 10.5 million, whose capital in particular has become a popular destination for hen and stag parties from oversees because of its beer halls and lager culture.

State and industry officials have estimated that illegal alcohol sales are on the rise in the European Union member and account for 10-20 percent of the market. The country’s biggest spirit makers are privately owned Stock Plzen-Bozkov, which makes vodka, Fernet liquor and a Czech rum called Tuzemak; and fruit brandy maker Rudolf Jelinek, whose 2010 revenue reached 367 million crowns ($19.80 million), with a third of that from exports. French Pernod Ricard’s Jan Becher unit makes Becherovka liquor. All three are members of the Czech Union of Spirits Producers and Importers, which rep-

resent 81 percent of the market. The association’s head, Petr Pavlik, told Czech Television that none of the group’s 12 members’ products were harmful.

“We are losing hundreds of millions of crowns, the situation is really devastating,” said Pavlik, who is also managing director for Stock Plzen-Bozkov. The ban does not apply to exports, Health Ministry spokesman

Vlastimil Srsen said, adding the country had nonetheless been in contact with countries such as Poland, just in case, but had not been informed of related cases.

“At the moment it seems it only concerns the Czech distribution network,” he said. “So far we do not have any information from abroad that there would be any problem.” — Reuters

PRAGUE: A shop assistant speaks with a policeman who searches the inside of a stall in Bohumin about 280 kilometers east of Prague. — AP

PRIBRAM: Doctors try to save the life a 65-old-year man poisoned by methyl alcohol (methanol) in the hospital of the Czech town of Pribram, some 60 kilometers southwest of Prague. — AP

Compound in cannabis may help treat epilepsy LOS ANGELES: British researchers have determined that a littlestudied chemical in the cannabis plant could lead to effective treatments for epilepsy, with few to no side effects. The team at Britain’s University of Reading, working with GW Pharmaceuticals and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, tested cannabidivarin, or CBDV, in rats and mice afflicted with six types of epilepsy and found it “strongly suppressed seizures” without causing the uncontrollable shaking and other side effects of existing anti-epilepsy drugs. According to the findings, reported this week in the British Journal of Pharmacology, CBDV also delayed and reduced seizures when used in conjunction with two common anticonvulsant drugs.

“There is a pressing need for better treatments for epilepsy,” said Dr Ben Whalley, the lead researcher. “It’s a chronic condition with no cure and currently, in around one-third of cases, the currently available treatments do not work, cause serious side effects and increase fatalities.” The

study, he added, highlights “the potential for a solution based on cannabinoid science. It has shown that cannabidivarin is the most effective and best tolerated anticonvulsant plant cannabinoid investigated to date.”

The casual use of marijuana or cannabis - to control seizures dates back to ancient times. Its most prominent component, THC, is among those shown in animal studies to have strong anticonvulsant properties, but its mind-altering effects have made it unsuitable for pharmaceutical development. A number of the plant’s more than 100 cannabinoids are non-psychoactive, however. The most studied among them is cannabidiol, or CBD, which has shown promise for multiple sclerosis spacticity, nausea, epilepsy and schizophrenia. Animal studies with CBD have also shown it to be effective as a neuoroprotectant and cancer-fighting agent.

In recent years, California’s medical marijuana proponents have begun to breed plants for higher CBD content and develop

customized tinctures for patients with a range of ailments. Those treatments combine high doses of CBD with smaller amounts of THC. Yet CBD’s widely known structure and well-studied uses mean that the pharmaceutical industry has less of an opportunity to protect patents on its use and profit from any drug development, said Whalley and Raphael Mechoulam, the Israeli researcher who first identified the structure of the compound nearly half a century ago and has conducted many key CBD studies.

CBDV is a closely related chemical compound. While it was discovered in 1969, the research made public this week was the first conducted in animals, said Whalley, and only two small in vitro studies have been published, neither of them related to epilepsy. “The commercial protection can be good even if the compound itself was identified some time ago, as long as the proposed use is novel,” he said. “The better described the ‘new use’ is, the stronger the protection.”

Medical marijuana proponents largely dismiss pharmaceutical industry efforts as too profit-driven, and say that encourages researchers to find a “magic bullet” compound rather than work with the complex benefits that the whole plant provides. Yet Whalley countered that “to make a cannabis-based medicine available and accessible to a global patient community, the only viable route is via conventional drug development, which is dictated by governmental legislation (and) regulation.”

Dr Stephen Wright, research and development director for GW Pharmaceuticals, which already markets a drug outside the US that is half THC and half CBD for multiple sclerosis patients, said the company hoped to advance the CBDV research on epilepsy to human trials by next year. Epilepsy affects about 1 percent of people worldwide, and is caused by excessive electrical activity in the brain, which leads to seizures that can be fatal. — MCT

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

Canada to stop opposing listing asbestos as hazardous OTTAWA: Canada dropped its longtime opposition to the international listing of asbestos as a hazardous material, a designation intended to curb the use abroad of the fire-resistant substance, which can cause cancer and other illnesses. Canada had been the main opponent of such a listing, which would require exporters to warn importing countries of the hazards of asbestos, and would allow countries to ban its import. The listing would not of itself ban its sale.

Industry Minister Christian Paradis said he made the decision as a logical consequence of plans by Quebec’s provincial premier-designate, Pauline Marois, effectively to end the production of the substance. Quebec is the only place in Canada where it’s produced. Canada had long worked against the listing under the United Nations’ Rotterdam Convention, fearful that it would put Quebec asbestos mining out of business.

“It would be illogical for Canada to oppose the inclusion of chrysotile (asbestos) in...the Rotterdam Convention when Quebec, the only province that produces chrysotile, will prohibit its exploitation,” Paradis said. He made the announcement in Thetford Mines, his birthplace in the heart of his

electoral district, and once a huge player in asbestos production. Canada has been the only Western developed country to export asbestos, which is estimated to kill more than 100,000 people around the world every year. It had continued to export it even though it strictly regulated its use domestically.

From 1900 through 2003, it accounted for onethird of all worldwide production of all types of asbestos, according to the US Geological Survey.

Only Kazakhstan and Russia collectively produced more. But asbestos production had been dwindling in Canada. According to the US Geological Survey, it dropped to fifth on the list of asbestos producers in 2011, with production less than a third of what it had been five years previously. Only six countries were producing quantifiable amounts of asbestos last year: Brazil, Canada, China, India, Kazakhstan and Russia. It is still used to strengthen cement products and roof shingles, and the industry says those uses are safe.

Successive Canadian governments had refused to step in and ban asbestos production, arguing that if used appropriately it was not harmful, but they were embarrassed at international meetings

when they defended its use. The outgoing Liberal government in Quebec had announced a C$58 million ($60 million) loan to restart the Jeffrey Mine, which would have been the only active asbestos

mine in the province, but the incoming Parti Quebecois, elected on Sept 4, has pledged to cancel that loan, with the resulting end of asbestos output in Canada.— Reuters

Remains of astronaut legend Neil Armstrong buried at sea WASHINGTON: The cremated remains of legendary American astronaut Neil Armstrong were scattered at sea Friday, in a ceremony aboard a US aircraft carrier paying final tribute to the first man to set foot on the moon, NASA said. US Navy personnel carried Armstrong’s remains to the Atlantic Ocean one day after a somber memorial ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral for the famously reserved Apollo 11 commander, who died August 25 at the age of 82.

Armstrong’s widow Carol was presented an American flag at the ceremony aboard the USS Philippine Sea that included a bugler and rifle salute.

“Neil will always be remembered for taking humankind’s first small step on another world,” NASA

Administrator Charles Bolden said at the National Cathedral service. “But it was the courage, grace and humility he displayed throughout his life that lifted him above the stars.”

Armstrong’s Apollo 11 crew mates Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, Eugene Cernan-the Apollo 17 mission commander and last man to walk on the moon-attended the memorial service. Also present Thursday was John Glenn, the former US senator and first American to orbit the Earth. Armstrong came to be known around the world for the immortal words he uttered on July 20, 1969, as he became the first person ever to step onto another body in space: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”— AFP

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

WHAT’S ON

UPCOMING EVENTS Onam celebration onni Nivasi Sangamam celebrates Onam on Friday, 21st September 2012 from 10 am to 4 pm at Abbassiya United Indian School.

Public meeting honored with presence of prominent dignitaries from social-cultural-political sectors, maveli, athapookalam, chendamelam, ganamela, mimicry and other cultural events will be conducted as part of the program. Ccome and enjoy! Feel the experience of traditional tastes!

Have lots of fun & frenzy! rock with music!

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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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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Calling all Ten-pin Bowlers he Indian Bowling League (IBL) Season 3 will be held at Cozmo Entertainment, Salmiya commencing on Friday the 28th of September at 3 pm. Kindly reserve your team in advance to avoid disappointment, on a first come first serve.

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Greetings

‘Leniency of Islam’ n unprecedented initiative of KTV2 (English channel) is the new program by the name ‘Leniency of Islam’ presented by Shaikh Musaad Alsane and directed by Hamid Al-Turkait.

The program is mainly meant to address the expatriates living in Kuwait. Religious questions are received through the program email qislam@tv.gov.kw and sms can be sent to97822021 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.

A appy birthday to Mohd Shabaz, best wishes from Mohd Hameed, Sabhiya Begum.

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NAFO Onam on Sept 21 ational Forum Kuwait (NAFO Kuwait) will celebrate Onam 2012 with its full spirit and fervor on Friday, September 21, 2012 at the Indian Community School Auditorium from 10.00 am onwards. Indian Ambassador Satish C Mehta will be the chief guest on this happy occasion. A galaxy of eminent personalities in Kuwait is also expected to join the celebration. Starting from the floral carpet called “Athapookkalam,” NAFO family will present various cultural programs bringing back the nostalgic memories of a bygone era of prosperity, equality and righteousness under the golden reign of Mahabali. In addition, a grand sumptuous meal, the traditional ‘Onasadya’ will also be served.

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appy birthday to Mohd Haseeb, best wishes from Mohd Hameed, Sabhiya Begum.

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Expat Mums Autumn Bazaar xpat Mums in Kuwait will hold its autumn bazaar on Saturday, September 29th by 10:00 am - 1:00 pm at Rumaithiya Block 9, Street 96, House 1, Basement. Free entry! This autumn we’re excited to support our members who hand make crafts, who have home business and who provide services to the expat community in Kuwait. Expat Mums in Kuwait is a group of nearly 400 mums from over 42 countries around the world. We meet online and in person and provide friendship, information, advice, reviews, support and networking opportunities to fellow expat mothers.

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Vanitha vedi Onam anita vedi, Kuwait will be celebrating the Onam festival this year as titled Ragothsavam-2012 on Friday 28th September 2012 at Kaithan Indian Community school. This is a full day program. Prof.

Omanakutty the famous classical musician will be the chief guest. A classical music recitation ‘Sangeethakacheri’ by Prof. Omanakutty will be showcased. Shanta R. Nair (Program convener) Dr. Vasanthy S. Nair, Minerva Ramesh (Joint conveners) Sumathi Babu, Sajitha Scaria, Shobha Suresh, Presanna Ramabhadran, Rema Ajith, Valsa Stanley and Valsa Sam are selected for various committees. Sam Pynummoodu is the patron of Ragothsavam-2012.

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Winter 2012 AMIE examination

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he AMIE Winter 2012 examinations will be held between Dec 01-07, 2012 as follows:

Section A (Diploma) - December 1-4, 2012 Section A (Non-Diploma) - December 1-7, 2012 Section B - December 1-7, 2012 The last date for submission of examination application forms are given hereunder: Candidates not appeared at Summer 2012 Exam: Aug 21 - Sept 21, 2012 Candidates appeared at Summer 2012 Exam: Sept 21 - Oct 19, 2012.

Candidates who intend to appear for the Winter 2012 examination must apply directly to Kolkata by filling the prescribed application form along with requisite amount of demand draft in favour of The Institution of Engineers (India), payable at Kolkata.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

ISP in the lead once again he journey of success continues by the excellent performances of ISPIANS in Cambridge and Edexcel examinations of May/June 2012. International School of Pakistan (ISP), Khaitan announces another landmark of brilliant success of its students in UK EDUCATION. Keeping up with the tradition of ISP, 51 students are declared as ‘STARS OF ISP 2012’due to their excellent skills in almost all subjects like Commerce, English language, Mathematics and Science subjects by securing A+, A and B grades.

In A level examinations, Israa Kamal Fawzi graduated with A+ and B grades in Mathematics and Biology, she took 8A+ in IGCSE exams. Ahmad Mujtaba, Khalid Waleed and Hamid Shabbir secured

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A & B grades in A level, similarly Adil Asif, Zain Munir and Muhammad Saleh Ali Passed A level subjects with B grades. In AS Level Examinations, many students have proved their skills with their excellent grades. Mohammed Mahmoud Fathi and Somaia Raafat Eshra are on the top of the list with 3A and 1C grades. Natasha Saadat Ali, Nadeen Nagy and AbdelRehman Ahmed Alsayed are also sharing top positions.

Out of 347 entries of IGCSE, 48 A+, 84 A, 88 B, and 68 C grades are secured. Great competition has also been observed at IGCSE level, top positions are shared by many students. However Omar Gaber Elsayed and Nadin Tarek El - Bakry are sharing first position with 5A+ and 1A in their first attempt. Rubab

Ali Raza got the first position in Commerce group with 5Aand 2B. Similarly 24 students have shown an outstanding result.

Madam Nadia Al-Hufaiti, the school Directress, Principal Anjum Masood and Vice Principal of Senior Section Amjad Latif appreciated the excellent results. They conveyed the heartfelt congratulations to the students and their parents. In a press release, the Coordinator Muhammad Ali said the results reflect the academic excellence of the institution. It was the combination of teamwork, dedication and determination of administration and academic staff which made ISP succeed with flying colors.

Focus Kuwait 6th annual day s a part of the 6th anniversary celebrations, Forum of Cadd Users (FOCUS Kuwait), a non-political, non-religious organization is set to stage a mega cultural event “Focus Fest2012”. This mega event will be a blend of traditional and contemporary dance and musical extravaganza by renowned South Indian playback singers Jyotsna and Sudeesh. Scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, October 12, 2012, at the AlJeel Al-Jadeed School Auditorium, Hawally, the mega musical show, is expected to be a super-hit in Kuwait.

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Audition for ZEE Antakshari or the first time Indian Cultural Society brings you live excitement of ZEE - International Antakshari in Kuwait. Audition & first round will be held in Kuwait, there after followed by semi finals in India & Grand Finale in Dubai. Complete team of Carnival films & Zee TV will be in Kuwait for the final round of selection on Friday 5th October with Jaaved Jaaferi: Celebrity Judge, Akriti Kakkar: Female Bollywood Singer & Host of Antakshari, Manish Paul: Host for Auditions, Sarfaraz Khan: Actor, Director and Producer, Michael Amin: Producer & Director Carnival films world. Musicians, Male Singer & many more for live performances. Final audition at 10 am & music show at 7.30 pm at AIS-Hawally.

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Tulukoota Kuwait ‘Merit Scholarship’ pplications are now being invited for “Tulukoota Kuwait Merit Cum Means Scholarship” to be awarded during Tuluparba 2012 scheduled to be held on October 11 and 12, 2012. The objective of this scholarship is to provide financial assistance and support to deserving meritorious students, to enable them to pursue their higher studies. Applications are accepted from minimum one year valid Tulukoota Kuwait member’s children studying either in the State of Kuwait or in India and scoring high grades in Xth and XIIth standard Board Examination held for Academic year 2011-2012.

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Vadassherikara Onam celebration uwait Vadassherikara Pravasi Association celebrated its 10th anniversary and Onam festival with its all charm and traditions. The Cultural Fest was inaugurated at United Indian School Abassiya by social worker and media person Thomas Mathew Kadavil. It was presided over by president of Vadaserikara Pravasi Association VM John. Onam message was delivered by chief guest Ranny block Panchayat President Benny Puthenparambil. Nirmala Pailee felicitated the meet.

Cultural secretary welcomed the gathering and program convener Raju Valiyatharayil extended vote of thanks. Several cultural programs and Onam feast were part of the celebration.

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

WHAT’S ON

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday.

Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

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he Kuwait Banks Club (KBC) hosted an Open Day at the Aqua Park recently for staff members. The event was organized by the KBC’s social committee which presented an entertaining program in cooperation with the ‘Shaheen Show’ company.

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Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort appoints new director he Al-Jahra Copthorne Hotel and Resort, part of the Millennium & Copthorne Hotel group, has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of a new Director of Sales and Marketing. Nizar Abou El Ezz joins the Al-Jahra Copthorne team and brings with him vast experience in the industry. Nizar worked in UAE & KSA and Kuwait through international chains. Nizar’s responsibilities at the AlJahra Copthorne Hotel and Resort will include maximizing potential revenues; managing sales and marketing department; building up, maintain and enhance the business relations with all clients of the hotel.

Nizar commented: “Joining Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort is a great opportunity where I can exploit my experience and utilize my business relation with Kuwait major corporation and government taking into consideration the region business opportunities with Travel Agents and TMCs, Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel is the Only Kuwait northern resort for guests looking for relaxing time!” Dani Saleh, General Manager at AlJahra Copthorne Hotel and Resort said: “We are pleased to welcome Nizar to the Al-Jahra Copthorne team. His appointment adds another string to our sales and marketing bow, further developing our excellent reputation in the region for quality and service.”

Part of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, one of the world’s largest hotel companies with more than 120 owned and managed hotels across 20 countries, the Al-Jahra Copthorne Hotel and Resort is located in Al Jahra - a growing city within driving distance of the Saudi Arabian border, 25 minutes from the international airport and 20 minutes from Kuwait City Centre. Part of the ‘Slayil Al Jahra Tourist Resort’, the hotel has access to a shopping mall, theme park and numerous restaurants nearby. It offers an attentive, personal service as well as boasting business and convention centre services and an outdoor

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Enjoy an ‘Indian Summer’ with Biryanis at The Regency Hotel he Regency Hotel invites family and friends to enjoy a new take on the delectable Northern Indian rice dish known as ‘Biryani’. This unmissable feast entitled An Indian Summer will be served at The Regency’s Silk Road

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from Saturday 15th September until Wednesday 19th September, 2012. From 7pm until 11pm, a fabulous, four-course set menu awaits our distinguished diners. The menu offers a choice of three enticing Biryani styles to choose

from: Kaachi Yegni - with succulent lamb pieces; Awadi Biryani cooked with sizzling chicken or Malabar Biryani - with moist Kingfish or fresh Tiger prawns.

This unique menu will commence with a mouth watering

appetizer of grilled Achari prawn (prawn marinated in sour and spicy pickles), and followed by a homemade spinach soup with creamy yoghurt which precedes the hearty portion of Biryani - the evening’s ‘piece de resistance’. For dessert, a

Teachers’ Day celebrated in ICSK Khaitan tudents of the Indian Community School, Khaitan Branch, celebrated teachers’ Day on 6th September, 2012 as ‘Self-Governance Day’. The

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President of the School Senate, Antony Joseph took charge as the Principal and the Vice-President of the Senate took up the responsibilities of the Vice-Principal of the school for the day. It was an occa-

sion when students of class X not only dressed up as a representation of their teachers but also took up various classes assigned to them. As the day passed, the students of class

X performed the regular activities performed by their teachers. The students realized what it means to be a teacher.

The School Senate and the students of classes IX and X also organ-

ized entertainment program for the teachers. Through their gracefully rendered songs and brilliantly choreographed dances, the students enthralled their teachers and expressed their love, appreciation and gratitude. The teachers enjoyed the program and participated in the games lined up for them. They appreciated the effort put in by the students. It was truly a memorable day for the teachers.

In India, 5th September is celebrated as Teachers’ Day as a mark of tribute to the contribution made by teachers to the society. 5th September is the birthday of a great teacher Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. Apart from the fun aspect of the day it is also a day when one can look back, admire and get inspired by Dr Radhakrishnan who was a staunch believer of education, scholar, President of India and above all a teacher.

delicate Indian style of bread pudding is presented, served with saffron cream sauce. This is known in Hindi as Shahi Tukda, and will be topped off with the chef’s famous pistachio ice cream!

The Biryani has been the mainstay of Northern Indian rice dishes for centuries, and is usually cooked with long-grain rice, ideally Basmati rice. It is then complemented by over a dozen delicious spices, which may include Indian favourites turmeric, cumin, cardamom, as well as cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, star anise, saunf (fennel seeds), ground black pepper or ginger. Plenty of garlic is traditionally added during cooking and lots of bright yellow saffron - its signature colour! Typically it is presented in a clay pot called a handi.

Anuraj Nair, The Regency’s Executive Sous Chef has been preparing the Biryani feast for over a month. When asked why the Biryani was chosen to showcase Northern Indian home cooking, Chef Anuraj responded cheerfully “it is one of the classic dishes to find in India that has truly global appeal. Here in Kuwait I am confident locals and expats alike will find the flavour sensations extraordinary, plus the choice of fine meats, fish or seafood that we use in The Regency’s Biryanis make these dishes the highlight!” The Indian Summer Biryani four-course supper menu is priced at a reasonable KD15 per person. It launches at The Regency’s Silk Road on Saturday 15th September and will run until Wednesday 19th September, 2012, daily in the evenings. A full buffet including The Regency’s amazing desserts will still be offered for those wishing to try culinary alternatives.

AMEC 6-A-SIDE CRICKET OC Cricket Committee organized the cricket season’s curtain raiser, the AMEC 6-aside cricket tournament at KOC’s Hubara and Unity cricket grounds on Friday in which 20 teams participated in a day long event. The final was played between Titans and Safety Plus in a 5 over exciting contest which was won by Safety Plus by four runs.

Batting first, Safety Plus scored four runs in five overs, thanks to a brilliant knock from Khalid who scored 31 runs. Abid (10), Yasir (16) and Saad (10) chipped in useful runs. Haji Javed claimed 2 for 18 and Habibullah took 1 for 4. In reply, Titans began the chase with their openers Hisham (29) and Farhan (21) giving them a good start.

However, two quick wickets claimed by Yasir that of Farhan and Irfan brought Safety Plus hack in the game. All Shezad and Haji Javed managed to take Titans close to victory but Safety Plus prevailed with 4 runs. Rishi took 1 for 11 and Abid 1 for 9. John Reid, AMEC KOC Project Director was the chief guest. He handed over the winner’s trophy to Rishi of Safety Plus and runners up trophy to Asif of Titans Russel Skoyles and Mathew Sam and Asad Baig and Shub Datta gave away prizes to the Winning and Runners up teams. KOC CC GS, Mohd. Sarwar gave the man of the finals trophy to Yasir Butt for his all round match winning performance.

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EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE The Embassy of Argentina requests all Argentinean citizens in Kuwait to proceed to our official email ekuwa@mrecic.gov.ar in order to register or update contact information. The embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the embassy.

The registration process helps the Argentinean Government to contact and assist Argentineans living abroad in case of any emergency.

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EMBASSY OF BRITAIN Consular section at the British Embassy will be starting an online appointment booking system for our consular customers from Sunday, 01 July 2012. All information including how to make an appointment is now available on the embassy website. In addition, there is also a “Consular Appointment System” option under Quick links on the right hand side on the homepage, which should take you to the “Consular online booking appointment system” main page.

Please be aware that from 01 July 2012, we will no longer accept walk-in customers for legalisation, notarial services and certificates (birth, death and marriages). If you have problems accessing the system or need to make an appointment for non-notarial consular issues or have a consular emergency, please call 2259 4355/7/8 or email us on consularenquirieskuwait@fco.gov.uk. If you require consular assistance out of office hours (working hours: 0730-l430 hrs), please contact the Embassy on 2259 4320.

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EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah.

Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 12:30 to 01:00 pm for lunch break. Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday.

Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

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EMBASSY OF FRANCE The Embassy would like to inform that starting September 2nd, 2012, visa demands for France will be handled by the outsourcing company “Capago - MENA Company”. Capago - MENA’S Call Center will be operational starting Sunday August 26 for setting appointments beginning September 2nd (+965 22270555).

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EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the Kenyan community residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that the Embassy has acquired new office telephone numbers as follows: 25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries 25353987 - Fax Our Email address: info@kenyaembkuwait.com.

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EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, Al-Salaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com.

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EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk.

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EMBASSY OF UKRAINE We’d like to inform you that in response to the increasing number of our citizens who work in the state and the need for 24-hour operational telephone in case of emergency the Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait has opened “hotline telephone number” - (+ 965) 972-79-206.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 Wildest India 01:35 Animal Cops Houston 02:25 Shark Fight 03:15 Sharkbite Summer 04:05 Lion Feeding Frenzy 04:55 Great Ocean Adventures 05:45 Cats 101 06:35 Wildlife SOS International 07:00 Animal Crackers 07:25 Meerkat Manor 07:50 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 08:15 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 09:10 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 09:35 Natural Born Hunters 10:05 Cats 101 11:00 Crocodile Hunter 11:55 Ultimate Air Jaws 12:50 Mutant Planet 13:45 Mutant Planet 14:40 RSPCA: Have You Got What It Takes?

15:05 RSPCA: Have You Got What It Takes?

15:35 Wild Animal Orphans 16:00 Wild Africa Rescue 16:30 My Cat From Hell 17:25 Animal Planet’s Most Outrageous 18:20 Austin Stevens Adventures 19:15 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 20:10 Great Ocean Adventures 21:05 Air Jaws Apocalypse 22:00 Worst Shark Attack Ever: Ocean Of Fear 23:50 Untamed & Uncut 23:50 Animal Cops Houston 00:25 Gok’s Fashion Fix 01:15 Cash In The Attic 02:10 Cash In The Attic 03:00 Bargain Hunt 03:50 Bargain Hunt 04:35 Gok’s Fashion Fix 05:25 MasterChef Australia 06:10 MasterChef Australia 06:35 MasterChef Australia 07:25 MasterChef Australia 08:15 MasterChef Australia 09:05 MasterChef Australia 09:30 MasterChef Australia 10:20 MasterChef Australia 10:50 MasterChef Australia 11:35 MasterChef Australia 12:30 10 Years Younger 13:20 Extreme Makeover: Edition 14:00 Extreme Makeover: Edition 14:45 Cash In The Attic 15:35 Cash In The Attic 16:30 Holmes On Homes 17:20 Baby Borrowers USA 18:05 Baby Borrowers USA 18:50 Extreme Makeover: Edition 19:30 Extreme Makeover: Edition 20:10 Holmes On Homes 21:00 MasterChef 21:50 MasterChef 22:45 Extreme Makeover: Edition Edition 00:40 01:35 02:30 03:00 03:25 03:55 04:20 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:05 06:35 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:45 09:10 09:40 10:30 11:25 12:20 12:45 13:15 13:40 14:10 14:35 15:05 15:30 16:00 16:25 16:55 17:20 17:50 18:15 18:45 19:10 20:05 21:00 21:55 22:50 23:45

Home Home

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Kidnap And Rescue Ultimate Cops How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How It’s Made How Do They Do It? X-Machines Crash Course Fifth Gear One Car Too Far Around The World In 80 Ways River Monsters How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made Auction Hunters Gi Dough Gi Dough Gi Dough Gi Dough Border Security Border Security Border Security Border Security Border Security Mythbusters Mythbusters Superhuman Showdown NASA’s Unexplained Files Mythbusters Mythbusters

23:20 Surviving Disaster 00:05 Things That Move 00:35 Bang Goes The Theory 01:00 Bang Goes The Theory 01:25 Wallace & Gromit’s World Of Invention 01:50 Wallace & Gromit’s World Of Invention 02:15 Things That Move 02:45 Sport Science 03:35 Prototype This 04:25 Prototype This 05:15 Prototype This 06:05 Prototype This 07:00 Prophets Of Science Fiction 07:50 Weird Or What?

08:40 Head Rush 08:43 Stunt Junkies 09:10 Stunt Junkies 09:40 Man Made Marvels Asia 10:30 Wallace & Gromit’s World Of Invention 10:55 Wallace & Gromit’s World Of Invention 11:20 Tech Toys 360 11:45 Tech Toys 360 12:10 Bang Goes The Theory 12:35 Bang Goes The Theory 13:00 Things That Move 13:25 Things That Move 13:50 Race To Mars 14:45 Meteorite Men

15:35 16:00 16:25 16:28 16:55 17:25 18:15 18:40 19:05 19:30 20:20 20:45 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:50 23:15 23:40

Patent Bending Patent Bending Head Rush The Tech Show The Tech Show Meteorite Men Things That Move Bang Goes The Theory Bang Goes The Theory Brave New World Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger Things That Move Things That Move Brave New World Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger Stuck With Hackett

20:20 Bang Goes The Theory 00:15 Little Einsteins 00:40 Jungle Junction 00:55 Jungle Junction 01:10 Little Einsteins 01:30 Special Agent Oso 01:45 Special Agent Oso 02:00 Lazytown 02:25 Little Einsteins 02:50 Jungle Junction 03:05 Jungle Junction 03:20 Little Einsteins 03:40 Special Agent Oso 03:55 Special Agent Oso 04:10 Lazytown 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Jungle Junction 05:15 Jungle Junction 05:30 Little Einsteins 05:50 Special Agent Oso 06:00 Special Agent Oso 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Jungle Junction 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:30 Little Einsteins 07:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:20 Imagination Movers 08:45 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 08:55 Lazytown 09:20 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 09:30 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 09:45 Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

09:55 Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

10:05 The Hive 10:15 Mouk 10:30 Handy Manny 10:45 Art Attack 11:10 101 Dalmatians 11:35 101 Dalmatians 12:05 101 Dalmatians 12:15 101 Dalmatians 12:30 Jungle Junction 12:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 13:00 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 13:15 Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

13:25 Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

13:40 Mouk 13:50 Art Attack 14:15 Imagination Movers 14:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:05 The Hive 15:20 Mouk 15:35 Handy Manny 15:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 16:05 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 16:20 Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

16:35 Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

16:45 Art Attack 17:10 Lazytown 17:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:05 Mouk 18:20 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 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 20:05 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:20 Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

20:30 Engine Nine, Feelin Fine!

20:45 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 20:50 A Poem Is...

20:55 Animated Stories 21:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 21:25 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 21:40 Special Agent Oso 21:55 Little Einsteins 22:20 Timmy Time 22:30 Jungle Junction 22:45 Handy Manny 22:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 23:20 Special Agent Oso 23:35 Special Agent Oso 23:50 Lazytown Lazytown23:50 Lazytn 00:25 01:20 02:15 Ride 02:40 Ride 03:10 03:35 04:05 04:30 05:00 05:55 07:00 07:25 07:55 08:20 08:50 09:15 09:45 10:40 11:35 12:00 12:30 12:55 13:25 13:50 14:20 14:45 15:15 16:10 17:05 18:00 18:25 18:55 19:20 19:50 20:15 20:45 Ride 21:10 Ride 21:40 22:35 23:30

TNA: Greatest Matches M1 Selection 2010 Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Ed’s Up Ed’s Up Ed’s Up Ed’s Up Summer Dew Tour 2011 Summer Dew Tour 2011 Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Summer Dew Tour 2011 Summer Dew Tour 2011 Tread BMX Tread BMX Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets I’ll Do Anything I’ll Do Anything Carpocalypse Ed’s Up Ed’s Up Ed’s Up Ed’s Up Featured Featured Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Harvest Shack Therapy The Ozzie Way

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:55 Outrageous Food 01:20 Outrageous Food 01:45 Chopped 02:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:15 Guy’s Big Bite 04:40 Outrageous Food 05:05 Unique Eats 05:30 Chopped 06:10 Barefoot Contessa 06:35 Barefoot Contessa 07:00 Iron Chef America 07:50 Barefoot Contessa 08:15 Barefoot Contessa 08:40 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:05 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:30 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 09:55 Cooking For Real 10:20 Cooking For Real 10:45 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 11:10 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 11:35 Hungry Girl 12:00 Chopped 12:50 Guy’s Big Bite 13:15 Cooking For Real 13:40 Barefoot Contessa 14:05 Barefoot Contessa 14:30 Kid In A Candy Store 14:55 Kid In A Candy Store 15:20 Unique Sweets 15:45 Staten Island Cakes 16:35 Barefoot Contessa 17:00 Barefoot Contessa 17:25 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:15 Guy’s Big Bite 18:40 Unique Sweets 19:05 Unique Sweets 19:30 Chopped 20:20 Iron Chef America 21:10 Food Network Challenge 22:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 22:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 22:50 Unwrapped 23:15 Unwrapped 23:40 Guy’s Big Bite23:40 Guy’s Big Bite

00:30 01:20 02:05 02:55 03:45 04:30 Jones 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40

A Haunting The Haunted Ghost Lab A Haunting A Haunting True Crime With Aphrodite

00:00 00:30 01:00 Planet 01:30 Planet 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 Planet 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 Planet 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 Planet 19:30 Planet 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:30

The Best Job In The World Market Values Food Lover’s Guide To The

Mystery Diagnosis Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Forensic Detectives Undercover Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Stalked: Someone’s Watching Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Evil, I Evil, I Stalked: Someone’s Watching Stalked: Someone’s Watching Scorned: Crimes Of Passion

Food Lover’s Guide To The Kimchi Chronicles Wheel2Wheel Danger Beach Food Lover’s Guide To The One Man & His Campervan Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 First Ascent The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia Danger Beach Danger Beach Long Way Down On Surfari On Surfari Treks In A Wild World Food School Food School Food Lover’s Guide To The One Man & His Campervan Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 Wheel2Wheel Wheel2Wheel Danger Beach Danger Beach City Chase Marrakech Market Values Market Values Food Lover’s Guide To The Food Lover’s Guide To The Departures Travel Oz Travel Oz Don’t Tell My Mother Don’t Tell My Mother On The Camino De Santiago The Best Job In The World

23:00 Naked Science

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:00 06:30 08:20 09:15

Python Hunters Caught In The Act Hooked Freaks & Creeps Africa’s Deadliest Caught In The Act Wild Chronicles Wild Chronicles Swamp Men Python Hunters Asia’s Deadliest Snakes

10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:00

Animal Mega Moves The Invaders The Living Edens Mother Croc Crocodile King Animal Mega Moves Hunter Hunted Ultimate Predators GPU Warzone Gone Wild Monster Fish Mother Croc Crocodile King Animal Mega Moves Hunter Hunted Hunter Hunted

00:00 Tortured-18 02:00 The Eagle-PG15 04:00 Stone’s War: War Of The DeadPG15 06:00 Legendary-PG15 08:00 Anaconda-PG15 10:00 The Recruit-PG15 12:00 Rocky III-PG15 14:00 Anaconda-PG15 16:00 Dangerous Flowers-PG15 18:00 Rocky III-PG15 20:00 Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans-18 22:00 Carlito’s Way-18 20:00 Fighting-PG15 22:00 Homecoming-18 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 02:30 Hot In Cleveland 03:00 Man Up! 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:30 Man Up! 09:30 The Simpsons 10:00 The Office 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 14:30 The Office 15:00 The Simpsons 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:30 Last Man Standing 19:00 Two And A Half Men 19:30 The Office 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 23:00 Hot In Cleveland

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 23:00

The Glades C.S.I. New York C.S.I. Miami Greek C.S.I. Miami House The Glades Emmerdale Coronation Street Private Practice C.S.I. New York C.S.I. House Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Private Practice The Glades Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Closer House Switched At Birth Burn Notice True Blood Greek Greek

01:00 Street Kings 2: Motor City-18 03:00 Stone’s War: War Of The DeadPG15 05:00 The Last Airbender-PG 07:00 Time Machine: Rise Of The Morlocks-PG15 09:00 The Warlords-PG15 11:00 The Last Airbender-PG 13:00 Twins Mission-PG15 15:00 The Warlords-PG15 19:00 Friday Night Lights-PG15 21:00 The Kingdom-18 23:00 The Godfather-18 23:00 The Speak-18 Luste

00:00 Frenemy-18 02:00 The Dukes-PG15 04:00 Baby Geniuses-PG 06:00 The Prince And Me 4: The Elephant Adventure-PG15 08:00 The Dukes-PG15 10:00 That’s What I Am-PG15 12:00 Fat Albert-PG 14:00 Rat-PG15 16:00 That’s What I Am-PG15 18:00 Knucklehead-PG15 20:00 Death At A Funeral-PG15 22:00 How To Be A Player-18

01:00 On The Edge-18 03:00 Of Gods And Men-18 05:00 The Color Of Money-PG15 07:00 The Third Wave-PG15 09:00 An Invisible Sign Of My Own-PG15 11:00 Oscar And The Lady In PinkPG15 13:00 Love N’ Dancing-PG15 15:00 An Invisible Sign Of My Own-PG15 17:00 Light It Up-PG15 19:00 The Social Network-PG15 21:00 Gardens Of The Night-PG15 23:00 Thelma And Louise-PG15 23:30 Square Grouper-18

00:00 Tamara Drewe-18 02:00 Marley & Me: The Puppy YearsPG 03:30 Glee: The Concert Movie-PG15 05:00 Ways To Live Forever-PG15 07:00 Shanghai-PG15 09:00 Hop-PG 11:00 Green Lantern-PG15 13:00 African Cats: Kingdom Of Courage-PG 15:00 Henry’s Crime-PG15 17:00 Hop-PG 19:00 Hanna-PG15 21:00 Hall Pass-18 23:00 Chloe-PG15

KNCC PROGRAM FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (13/09/2012 TO 19/09/2012) SHARQIA-1 STOLEN (2D-Digital TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 pm 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-3 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

SHARQIA-2 FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

SHARQIA-3 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-4 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO THU (13/09/2012) Special Show“LAWLESS (2D-Digital)”for Ms. Rowan Al Ansari THU (13/09/2012) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

MUHALAB-1 STOLEN (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

MUHALAB-2 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:05 AM

MUHALAB-3 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION 12:30 PM FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) 2:30 PM FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) 4:30 PM RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION 6:30 PM RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION 8:30 PM TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) 10:30 PM RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION 12:45 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED FANAR-1 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:00 PM 7:45 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

FANAR-2 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

FANAR-3 STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-4 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-5 THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE BOURNE LEGACY THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES THE EXPENDABLES 2 THE BOURNE LEGACY NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 1:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

MARINA-1 STOLEN (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-2 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:15 AM

MARINA-3 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA(2D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-1 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-2 TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

AVENUES-5 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO THU (13/09/2012) Special Show“BRAVE (2D-Digital)” for Ms. Rowan Aeryfan THU (13/09/2012) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED 2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM

7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-8 STOLEN (2D-Digital) 1:15 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 3:30 PM GRABBERS (2D-Digital) 6:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 9:00 PM GRABBERS (2D-Digital) 12:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-9 FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-10 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) AVENUES-11 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED 360 º- 1 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

360 º- 8 STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

360 º- 9 (VIP-1) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) STOLEN (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

360 º-10(VIP-2) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

5:15 PM

AVENUES-6 TINKER BELL: SECRET OF THE WINGS 1:30 PM TINKER BELL: SECRET OF THE WINGS 3:45 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 6:00 PM Digital (2D+3D) 8:15 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 10:30 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 12:30 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-7 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 AM

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 11:30 PM 1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

360 º- 2 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 1:30 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 4:45 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 8:00 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 11:15 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 360 º- 3 TINKER BELL: SECRET OF THE WINGS 12:30 PM TINKER BELL: SECRET OF THE WINGS 2:45 PM TINKER BELL: SECRET OF THE WINGS 5:00 PM LAWLESS (2D-Digital) 7:15 PM NO FRI (14/09/2012) Special Show “BRAVE (2D-Digital)” for Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. 7:30 PM FRI (14/09/2012) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) 9:45 PM LAWLESS (2D-Digital) 12:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED

360 º- 11 TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) 360 º- 12 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO FRI (14/09/2012) Special Show“BRAVE (2D-Digital)” for Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. FRI (14/09/2012) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM 12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

360 º- 13 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

360 º- 14 INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN GRABBERS (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN GRABBERS (2D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

360 º- 15 BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) FRI+SAT BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) BARFI! (Hindi)(2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.1 FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.2 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) SUN+TUE+WED THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) LAWLESS (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED AL-KOUT.3 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) GRABBERS (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:30 PM 11:30 PM

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

1:30 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 10:45 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.4 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 12:30 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 3:30 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 5:30 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 7:30 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 9:45 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 11:45 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED

360 º- 4 THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) THE BOURNE LEGACY (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:45 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

360 º- 5 FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) BRAVE (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) TOTAL RECALL (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:45 AM

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

360 º- 6 WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

BAIRAQ-3 SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) WAR OF THE DEAD (2D-Digital) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:15 AM

360 º- 7 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital)

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM

PLAZA STOLEN (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital) TETA RAHIBA (2D-Digital) SEVEN BELOW (2D-Digital)

BAIRAQ-1 FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) FINDING NEMO (3D-Digital) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

BAIRAQ-2 THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 2:15 PM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2D-Digital) 4:45 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 8:00 PM THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2D-Digital) 10:15 PM STOLEN (2D-Digital) 12:30 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED 1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 11:45 PM

4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM

Classifieds SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JZR QTR JZR AEE ETH RJA GFA UAE ETD THY FDB MSR RBG QTR KAC THY JZR CLX KAC DHX JZR JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC IRA FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY GFA QTR FDB IRA ETD GFA IRC UAE MEA JZR MSR VTF MSC JZR JZR KAC MSR SYR KAC GFA KAC FDB KAC KNE JZR KAC QTR SVA RJA JZR AZS QTR ETD UAE UAL GFA GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY KAC KAC QTR KAC KAC FDB MSR MSC JZR KAC KAC JAI KAC KAC AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA ALK KAC JZR KLM UAE JZR KAC ETD ABY QTR LMU JZR AIC FDB GFA UAL JZR DLH MSR THY JAI PIA

Arrival Flights on Sunday 16/9/2012 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 998 ATHENS 620 ADDIS ABABA 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 768 ISTANBUL 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 3553 ALEXANDRIA 138 DOHA 544 CAIRO 770 ISTANBUL 1541 CAIRO 792 LUXEMBOURG 154 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 505 LUXOR 555 ALEXANDRIA 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 615 SHAHRE KORD 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 223 BAHRAIN 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 603 SHIRAZ 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 6801 AHWAZ 871 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 618 ALEXANDRIA 302 AL MAKTOUM INTERNATI 401 ALEXANDRIA 561 SOHAG 201 DAMASCUS 742 DAMMAM 610 CAIRO 341 DAMASCUS 672 DUBAI 219 BAHRAIN 672 DUBAI 57 DUBAI 774 RIYADH 472 JEDDAH 535 CAIRO 538 SOHAG 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 640 AMMAN 257 BEIRUT 8011 BAKU 134 DOHA 303 ABU DHABI 857 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 215 BAHRAIN 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 177 DUBAI 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO 144 DOHA 786 JEDDAH 166 PARIS 63 DUBAI 624 SOHAG 405 SOHAG 787 RIYADH 618 DOHA 674 DUBAI 572 MUMBAI 102 NEW YORK 562 AMMAN 389 KOZHIKODE 61 DUBAI 647 MUSCAT 402 BEIRUT 146 DOHA 221 BAHRAIN 229 COLOMBO 514 TEHRAN 481 SABIHA 417 AMSTERDAM 859 DUBAI 135 BAHRAIN 172 FRANKFURT 307 ABU DHABI 129 SHARJAH 136 DOHA 1109 ALEXANDRIA 539 CAIRO 981 CHENNAI 59 DUBAI 217 BAHRAIN 981 BAHRAIN 239 AMMAN 636 FRANKFURT 614 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 574 MUMBAI 205 LAHORE

Time 00:15 00:20 00:50 01:30 01:45 02:10 02:20 02:25 02:30 02:50 03:10 03:20 03:20 03:25 04:10 04:35 04:55 04:55 04:55 05:00 05:55 06:00 06:15 06:30 07:15 07:30 07:35 07:45 07:50 07:55 08:05 08:15 08:25 08:30 08:40 09:00 09:20 09:25 09:30 10:00 10:15 10:45 10:55 11:05 11:25 12:00 12:00 12:25 12:30 13:25 13:30 13:35 13:40 13:40 13:40 13:45 13:45 14:15 14:20 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:55 15:00 15:00 15:15 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:00 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:55 19:00 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:35 19:35 19:50 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 20:55 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:25 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:10 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:35 23:40 23:50 23:55

Airlines AIC FDB UAL DLH MSR DHX JAI THY AEE ETH THY UAE FDB RBG ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR RJA JZR JZR GFA THY JZR KAC CLX BAW FDB IRA KAC JZR ABY KAC GFA UAE KAC QTR FDB ETD KAC KAC IRA KAC GFA IRC KAC MEA KAC JZR UAE MSR KAC MSC KAC JZR JZR FDB GFA FDB MSR SYR KAC KAC JZR KNE SVA KAC JZR RJA VTF QTR KAC ETD JZR QTR UAE GFA JZR ABY UAL SVA JZR QTR FDB MSR MSC JZR KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC GFA JZR DHX ALK KLM JZR ABY ETD UAE KAC QTR KAC KAC JZR LMU AXB QTR FDB GFA KAC KAC

Depature Flights on Sunday 16/9/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA 52 DUBAI 981 WASHINGTON 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 373 BAHRAIN 573 MUMBAI 773 ISTANBUL 999 ATHENS 621 ADDIS ABABA 769 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 3554 ALEXANDRIA 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 643 AMMAN 164 DUBAI 200 DAMASCUS 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 534 CAIRO 537 SOHAG 792 GIALAM 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 614 SHAHRE-KORD 171 FRANKFURT 256 BEIRUT 126 SHARJAH 671 DUBAI 224 BAHRAIN 856 DUBAI 117 NEW YORK 133 DOHA 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 773 RIYADH 741 DAMMAM 602 SHIRAZ 773 RIYADH 214 BAHRAIN 6802 AHWAZ 541 CAIRO 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 872 DUBAI 623 SOHAG 103 LONDON 406 SOHAG 785 JEDDAH 480 ISTANBUL 176 DUBAI 58 DUBAI 220 BAHRAIN 58 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 342 DAMASCUS 561 AMMAN 673 DUBAI 538 CAIRO 473 JEDDAH 503 MADINAH 617 DOHA 786 RIYADH 641 AMMAN 300 KANDAHAR 135 DOHA 513 TEHRAN 304 ABU DHABI 238 AMMAN 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 134 BAHRAIN 128 SHARJAH 982 BAHRAIN 511 RIYADH 266 BEIRUT 145 DOHA 64 DUBAI 621 ALEXANDRIA 402 ALEXANDRIA 184 DUBAI 361 COLOMBO 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 283 DHAKA 351 KOCHI 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 543 CAIRO 222 BAHRAIN 502 LUXOR 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 417 DAMMAM 1540 CAIRO 120 SHARJAH 308 ABU DHABI 860 DUBAI 343 CHENNAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 554 ALEXANDRIA 1110 ALEXANDRIA 390 MANGALORE 147 DOHA 60 DUBAI 218 BAHRAIN 411 BANGKOK 415 KUALA LUMPUR

Time 00:05 00:10 00:25 00:30 00:35 00:40 00:50 02:15 02:30 02:45 03:40 03:45 03:50 04:00 04:05 04:20 04:50 05:40 06:00 06:50 06:55 07:00 07:05 07:10 07:30 08:05 08:15 08:25 08:25 08:35 08:55 09:00 09:05 09:20 09:25 09:40 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:25 10:25 10:25 10:25 10:45 11:15 11:30 11:55 12:00 12:15 12:20 12:25 12:30 13:00 13:10 13:15 13:20 14:25 14:25 14:25 14:30 14:35 14:40 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:45 15:45 15:50 15:50 16:00 16:15 16:25 17:20 17:30 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:50 19:20 19:25 19:55 20:00 20:05 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:45 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:45 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:30 23:40 23:50

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

ACCOMMODATION Single room available for 2 Keralite bachelors (nonsmoking) in CAC flat in Abbassiya opposite to Jas Cargo near to police station bus stop. Please call 66349475. (C 4136) 15-9-2012 Sharing accommodation available for decent bachelor near German clinic. Call 66941892. (C 4130) 10-9-2012

KD 1,400.

Contact 99386361. (C 4134) 13-9-2012

CHANGE OF NAME I, Joao Salvador Corte have changed my name to Joao Corte, hereafter Piedadc Goa. (C 4135) 15-9-2012

SITUATION VACANT Lady Chartered Accountant seeking suitable placement.

Phone: 97572174. (C 4137) 16-9-2012

FOR SALE Toyota Corolla 1994, good condition, white color, A/C, passing up to 5-8-2013. KD 400. Contact: 97277164.

(C 4135) 15-9-2012 Chevrolet Epica LT 2004 full option, very good condition, lady driven, run only 56,500 km. Passed recently.

Required a native French tutor to teach 2 children aged 6, 8. Please contact 99612121. (C 4133) Wanted full time maid/nanny in Salwa.

Offering KD 120 salar y.

Must speak English and be good with small children.

Call 9768-7172.

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988 Prayer timings Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

04:14 11:43 15:12 17:52 19:09

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw

112

GOVERNMENT WEB SITES Kuwait Parliament www.majlesalommah.net

The Public Institution for Social Security www.pifss.gov.kw

Ministry of Interior www.moi.gov.kw

Public Authority of Industry www.pai.gov.kw

Public Authority for Civil Information www.paci.gov.kw

Prisoners of War Committee www.pows.org.kw

Kuwait News Agency www.kuna.net.kw

Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mofa.gov.kw

Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affair www.islam.gov.kw

Kuwait Municipality www.municipality.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Oil) www.moo.gov.kw

Kuwait Electronic Government www.e.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Electricity and Water) www.energy.govt.kw

Ministry of Finance www.mof.gov.kw

Public Authority for Housing Welfare www.housing.gov.kw

Ministry of Commerce and Industry www.moci.gov.kw

Ministry of Justice www.moj.gov.kw

Ministry of Education www.moe.edu.kw

Ministry of Communications www.moc.kw

Ministry of Information www.moinfo.gov.kw

Supreme Council for Planning and Development www.scpd.gov.kw

Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation www.awqaf.org

34

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

s ta rs CROSSWORD 798

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) Your ability to socialize and work closely with others is important now. You are particularly aware of how your social persona defines you in the eyes of others—allowing you to affirm your own identity. Use this opportunity of insight into how others view you as a tool for selfexamination. The key phrase here is clarity of perception for your reflected personality. Your warmth and affection attract those around you. Even though it is easy for you to make a good impression today—you should avoid overextending your host’s hospitality. As a relaxed individual, you manage to be most helpful. In existing relationships, your natural affection could be useful for easing tension with friends or family members. Hobbies are a fun distraction today!

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Find positive ways to see your schedule through to the end of the day. Be aware of the possibility for interruptions. It would be easy to gain weight today—careful. You tend to form close relationships to dynamic authoritative individuals. You may have more dealings with a romantic or business partner, or you may deal with others closely as a team. You may be more involved in legal affairs as well. You tend to be more outgoing but this is a good time to put that passion of yours to use through public relations, marketing or sales. This time promises to be optimistic. You are particularly sensitive to beauty and you may decide to buy a few art objects or other things of beauty. Purchases today are likely to be a good investment.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. A detailed description of design criteria for a piece of work.

5. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

10. A syndrome that occurs in many women from 2 to 14 days before the onset of menstruation.

13. Make an etching of.

14. Form by carving.

15. The residue that remains when something is burned.

16. (computer science) American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

17. A unit of weight used in east Asia approximately equal to 1.3 ounces.

18. The corporate executive responsible for the operations of the firm.

19. Designer drug designed to have the effects of amphetamines (it floods the brain with serotonin) but to avoid the drug laws.

21. A contorted facial expression.

23. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

26. A beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water.

27. A constitutional monarchy in northern Europe.

30. Little known Kamarupan languages.

34. A dark-skinned member of a race of people living in Australia when Europeans arrived.

35. A chronic skin disease occurring primarily in women between the ages of 20 and 40.

36. Small genus of Eurasian aquatic perennial herbs.

37. Close at hand.

41. A former agency (from 1946 to 1974) that was responsible for research into atomic energy and its peacetime uses in the United States.

42. Essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers.

46. Wild and domestic cattle.

48. Small buffalo of the Celebes having small straight horns.

49. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

52. Make difficult to perceive by sight.

55. A port city in southwestern Iran.

58. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

59. A former monetary unit in Great Britain.

60. Dip a foot or hand briefly into a liquid.

63. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

64. Imperial moths.

65. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products.

DOWN 1. Joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces.

2. An anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and characterized by such symptoms as guilt about surviving or reliving the trauma in dreams or numbness and lack of involvement with reality or recurrent thoughts and images.

3. Electronic warfare undertaken to insure effective friendly use of the electromagnetic spectrum in spite of the enemy's use of electronic warfare.

4. An intersection or crossing of two tracts in the form of the letter X. 5. One thousand periods per second.

6. Take in solid food.

7. (informal) Exceptionally good.

8. Prevent the occurrence of.

9. Be in contradiction with.

10. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

11. One thousandth of a second.

12. Footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material.

20. Having rugged physical strength.

22. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion.

24. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

25. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters.

28. Assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing.

29. The Hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain.

31. South African term for `boss'.

32. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

33. Any competition.

38. Marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea.

39. Thick heavy expensive material with a raised pattern.

40. 100 fen equal 1 yuan.

43. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

44. English materialist and political philosopher who advocated absolute sovereignty as the only kind of government that could resolve problems caused by the selfishness of human beings (1588-1679).

45. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

47. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

50. Very dark black.

51. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

53. A United Nations agency created to assist developing nations by loans guaranteed by member governments.

54. A member of an American Indian people of Yucatan and Belize and Guatemala who once had a culture characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy.

56. Any of various units of capacity.

57. Fermented alcoholic beverage similar to but heavier than beer.

61. Date used in reckoning dates before the supposed year Christ was born.

62. A radioactive transuranic element.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) If you have the idea of starting up a business for yourself, then you will begin to make some visible progress. If you are looking for a bargain home to purchase, be prepared to devote time and work to making improvements after the purchase. This is a go-to-it day! You have the world on a string and that string is secured around your finger! A day like this day doesn’t seem to come around enough; if your heart is right, you can do no wrong.

Changes can emerge from obscurity, offering you more freedom and stability.

Health improves as tensions ease and therapies can have a beneficial effect. Your intuitive powers are stimulated and you can focus on worthwhile goals and productive enterprises. Vacations and artistic pursuits are relaxing.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

Your personal behavior tends to be influenced by otherworldly, intuitive and psychic perceptions. You may be prone to periods of hypersensitivity, woolgathering, psychosomatic illness or unrealistic ideas about marriage. You are apt to develop a favorable interest in artistic, musical, psychological, therapeutic or mystical fields. You tend to express sympathy, compassion and understanding of others; these are your strong points. You make personal sacrifices and devote time to serve a higher purpose, spiritual calling or ideal. The old routines are wearing a bit thin however, and you may find that now is the time to try something new. At first you make this known to your loved one, who of course, may or may not be inclined to go along. Good luck.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Eliminate financially unproductive areas and put more effort into meaningful pursuits this weekend. You seem to be forming closer relationships to dynamic authoritative individuals lately. You may be ready to stretch and grow with new and more sophisticated experiences. You may have more dealings with a romantic or friendly business partner, or you may deal with others closely as a team. You may also be more involved in legal affairs. As you tend to be more outgoing, it is also a good time for public relations, marketing and sales. You have the opportunity to learn something of value about yourself through your relationship with others. Reactions to those around you will highlight your own motives and concerns.

Yesterday’s Solution Virgo (August 23-September 22) Any assumptions not firmly based in fact that you are considering now are suspect. Take a second look. You may have ideas for improving work efficiency and health practices for presentation on Monday morning. You will probably be encouraged to help change or implement law in some way—for a community group. You tend to communicate more with co-workers outside work just now and you may also be thinking of new ideas for a more lucrative employment. You are more outgoing and sociable than most and people love to be near you. You are particularly susceptible to jokes and may end this day with a few jokes of your own. There is a great benefit coming from friends and colleagues associated with universities.

Libra (September 23-October 22) This can be the beginning cycle of improved communication with friends, groups and organizations. You have an interest in scientific and humanitarian thoughts. You may give or receive advice and you may have sudden intuitive ideas. Your personal charm increases. You tend to take more initiative in social situations and teamwork. You are apt to give more attention to improving your personal appearance. You may seek self-expression through music, or other artistic means. It’s a good time to move to a bigger house, make additions and improvements to your living quarters or buy new furniture. Do not be surprised if you have to spend more money than anticipated to make new beginnings happen; balance will come if you stay in control.

Yesterday’s Solution

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Changes can emerge from obscurity, offering you more freedom, stability and leisure. Health improves as tensions ease and therapies can have a beneficial effect. Your intuitive and imaginative powers are stimulated and you can focus on worthwhile goals and productive enterprise.

This insight is excellent for psychological, psychic or spiritual studies. Vacations and artistic pursuits can be inspiring. Friends are supportive and stimulating. You can be more intuitive and resourceful in your self-expression and relationships now. You enjoy sharing unusual thoughts with a trusted individual. This is a great day to socialize. Go out and meet as many new people as possible. Wear a smile and enjoy each and every person that you see.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Your imagination is stimulated and your healing ability is strong. You may decide to start your vacation a day early or plan your next vacation. Sometime today you will be in an environment that brings about an encounter with delightfully strange people: artists, actors, healers and visionaries perhaps. With reflection and detachment, you can apply your meditations to creatively solving whatever problem you might want to tackle. Your family relationships stabilize and become a relatively content environment for all.

Optimism is easy to find, especially when it comes to a loved one. Keep reaching out—you make a positive difference wherever you go. Favors you have done for others return to you in amazingly quick order.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You may find your ideals and compassion for your fellow man stimulated—you are probably concerned with helping those less fortunate than yourself. This could be a volunteer organization that prides itself in guiding young people or something as simple as teaching an exercise class or teaching about the use of a checking account. Religious, spiritual or philosophic ideas will appeal to you. You will probably become involved in a study group or meet someone who has metaphysical interests. You are sensitive to beauty and aesthetic imagination—you may enjoy some quiet meditation this afternoon. Your activities today may involve art, music, hospitals, institutions and places of retreat. You may cherish a secret romance this evening.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) There is an increased association with other people because of your career choices and personal ideals. You may be involved with professional colleagues, groups and organizations. If you have earned some authority in your profession, then you may be preparing to take a leadership role.

Much of your effort may be devoted to serious intellectual, scientific or political activities. Your intentions may be revolutionary as you struggle to think of ways to bring more freedom and independence into the world. Your interests tend to gravitate to universal laws, principles and humanitarian issues. As your commitments to your ideals grow, you may form important friendships with older, mature or established individuals. You are positively motivated.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Today is the beginning of that time of the year when you tend to be more involved with groups of friends. Activities within your social organization tend to be oriented to humanitarian, technological or scientific pursuits. It is a time during which you can enjoy unconventional ideas and friendly advice. You have survived some dramas and sleepless nights.

Congratulate yourself that you are a winner, strong enough now to conquer any adversity. Visiting with your friends you may be tempted to talk about those accomplishments—just be sure to take turns in listening and complimenting each other. Tonight you are happy to be with family in a quiet setting—perhaps you will be the one to cook this evening meal.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Fayhaa

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

ST TAT TE OF KUW K WA AIT

Te el.: 161

DIRECTORA AT TE GENE GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIA V ATION T METEOROLOGICAL DEP PA ARTMENT

Expected Weeather for the Next 24 Hours BY Y DA AY:

Hot and dusty with moderate to fresh north westerly wind, with speed of 25 - 50 km/h

BY Y NIGHT:

Dust will subside gradually with moderate to fresh north westerly wind, with speed of 20 - 45 km/h

Dusty

WA ARNING MIN. REC.

KUW WAIT A CITY

41 °C

31 °C

22451082

KUW WAIT A AIRPOR RT

41 °C

31 °C

Al-Mirqab

22456536

NUW WAISEEB A

40 °C

30 °C

Sharq

22465401

WAFRA A

42 °C

30 °C

SALMI

Salmiya

25746401

41 °C

26 °C

ABDAL LY

42 °C

29 °C

Jabriya

25316254

JAL ALIY YA AH

43 °C

29 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FAILAKA A

42 °C

29 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

41 °C

32 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

38 °C

33 °C

W.Hawally

22630786

WARBA A A - BUBY YAN A

42 °C

27 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

West Jahra

ST TATION T

SFC. CHART

4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA AY

DA AT TE

WEA AT THER

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

Sunday

16/09

hot + raising dust

41 °C

29 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

24772608

Monday

17/09

hot

42 °C

28 °C

NW

12 - 35 km/h

Tuesday

18/09

hot

42 °C

27 °C

NW

10 - 32 km/h

Wednesday e

19/09

hot

41 °C

26 °C

NW

10 - 30 km/h

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

RECORDED YESTERDA AIT AIRPORT AY AT KUW WA

PRA RA AYER Y TIMES

Firdous

15/09/2012 0000 UTC

24575755

South Jahra

Al-Ardhiya

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

WWW.MET.GOV V..KW

MAX. EXP P.

New Jahra

2627 - 2630 Ext.: 262

Fax: 24348714

24884079

Fajr

04:13

MAX. Temp.

43 °C

Sunrise

05:33

MIN. Temp.

30 °C

Zuhr

11:43

MAX. RH

21 %

Asr

15:13

MIN. RH

03 %

Sunset

17:54

MAX. Wind i

N 57 km/h

Isha

19:12

TOT TA AL L RAIINF FALL A L IN 24 HR.

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

.06 mm

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

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25722291

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36

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Tulisa Contostavlos owns an unused £2,500 handbag he ‘X Factor’ judge revealed the most expensive item she ever bought was a handbag costing £2,500 and despite the price, it has been languishing at her home ever since. She admitted to TOTP magazine: “I don’t think I’ve ever used it! I’ve still got it though.” The ‘Young’ singer has expensive tastes as she also likes to splash out on even pricier outfits. Although she doesn’t keep expensive items if she’ll only wear them once, Tulisa has worn dresses worth about £30,000. Tulisa revealed that a £30,000 dress is the most expensive one she’s worn, but says she wouldn’t keep something which cost so much.

She said: “I wouldn’t keep something like that - I would sell it off. “I feel like it’s money just sitting there, and I’m not into that.”

T

Adele’s new album is inspired by her pregnancy hile the 24-year-old singer is known for her songs about lost love and heartbreak, friends say her newfound happiness with Simon Konecki and the impending arrival of their first child have both had a big impact on her work. A source told Us magazine: “It will be lighter than her last ode to breakup. The pregnancy has had a big impact on her songwriting.” Meanwhile, the couple are preparing for the baby and Adele is enjoying her time out of the spotlight.

The insider added: “She is lying low and focusing on becoming a mom. The baby is healthy and she’s so excited.” Writing on her website in June, Adele confirmed her pregnancy, saying she wanted fans to hear the news directly from her. She said: “I’m delighted to announce that Simon and I are expecting our first child together. “I wanted you to hear the news direct from me, obviously we’re over the moon. Yours always, Adele.”

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Pink thinks she sings

David Beckham

better upside down

wants James Bond’s car

he vocalist has recently been performing without a bungee rope for the first time in four years a device that was used on 2009’s ‘Funhouse’ tour, which featured a host of acrobatics. The 33-year-old played London’s iTunes Festival this week.

She told The Daily Star newspaper: “This is my first gig in a long while and I didn’t know how it would go. “I do think I sound better upside down. I’m finding it hard remembering the words singing standing up.” In between the active gigs a few years ago and her new album ‘The Truth About Love’, Pink gave birth to daughter Willow. The star - whose real name is Alecia Moore said: “I miss the bungee. I loved all the acrobatics so we are trying to figure out what to do for the next tour, something rad. “It’s amazing to be back. I’ve been pining for a stage. But having a baby changes the logistics of touring. I don’t hang out with my bandmates at the bar anymore.” However she insists motherhood will not alter her personality. She revealed: “I haven’t lost my edge. Having a baby doesn’t change your attitude. “The new album is about love but aren’t they all? I wrote it seven months after she was born.”

T

he soccer star is apparently ready to part with £100,000 at auction to get the vehicle which character James Bond drives. A source told the Daily Star newspaper: “Becks is a huge Bond fan and has always wanted to own something classy from the films. “So when he heard the auction was taking place, he was desperate to bag the car for himself.” However fellow footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is also after the motor and is bidding too. The insider added: “However, Ronaldo also has his eye on it, which might prove to be competition for Becks if they start a bidding war.” The two-door V12 DBS coupe will be the top attraction at Christie’s charity auction on October 5. Experts predict the car, one of seven used for the motion picture, could rake in more than £100,000 at the invitation-only event. The money raised will go towards the children’s charity Barnardo’s. David already has an extensive collection of cars which include Cadillacs, Porsches, Range Rovers, Bentleys and a Hummer.

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Channing Tatum is the ‘perfect co-star’ enna Dewan met the ‘Magic Mike’ actor when they worked on ‘Step Up’ together and she loved reuniting with him on screen for their latest movie ‘10 Years’. Jenna told People magazine: “Chan is the perfect co-star.

I met him doing ‘Step Up’ so there’s a natural chemistry. He’s patient, supporting and a hard worker. He makes things easy.” While the couple are deeply in love they have no plans to expand their family at the moment because they are so busy with their careers. Jenna explained: “I’ve always wanted to be a mom. When life can slow down a little bit we’ll do it. Now my dogs Meeka and Lulu are my kids.” ‘10 Years’ features a group of friends who reunite at their high school reunion and while Jenna didn’t attend hers, she has admitted to checking up on her former schoolmates. She said: “I didn’t go because I was filming. But I’ve done my share of Facebook stalking. I’ve looked up every guy I dated and every guy I used to think was cute to see what they’re doing.”

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Russell Brand reaches out to help a homeless man

Justin Bieber to star in ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’?

he comedian came to the aid of the unfortunate street dweller in Los Angeles, California. According website Mail Online, the 37-year-old star was on his way out of a yoga class when he spotted the unidentified individual in an alleyway. He then walked over, offered him some water and went on to have a conversation with him. He also gave the shirtless male a white T-shirt to protect him from the hot sun rays. Russell offered him a car ride to destination, which was accepted, and the ‘Rock of Ages’ star was reportedly overheard saying they were going to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Beforehand, the rescued man was apparently seen rolling around in the dirty parking space and appeared to be under the influence of some kind of narcotics. The star - who recently divorced singer Katy Perry - is a recovering alcoholic.

He has been sober since 2002 and credits his recovery to attending regular AA meetings as well as doing calming exercise and meditation. — Bangshowbiz

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he 18-year-old star was appearing on the Jonathan Ross’s chat show in the United Kingdom when he revealed film bosses have asked him to act in the motion picture version of the S&M novel. During the programme, Justin confessed that he could have played Christian Grey.

He admitted: “They actually want me to be in the movie!” The part would be far from the innocent image Justin has portrayed in his pop career so far.

In the book, Christian has a room full of whips, handcuffs and masks for use on submissive women. Justin also revealed to the presenter that he has banned himself from discussing his love life. He is currently dating 20year-old actress Selena Gomez but says he does not want to anger his admirers by talking about their romance. He said: “At the end of the day I’m always going to be their Justin, regardless of who I’m dating. “I like to make sure my fans are comfortable.” The heartthrob wants to be known for his abilities as a musician and not his good looks. He added: “I love being young and being in the spotlight but I want to be taken seriously as an artist, be known for my music and not necessarily known for a flick of my hair.”

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JLo didn’t want to split from

Marc Anthony he singers announced their split in July 2011 and for Jennifer it was a tough decision because of their twins Max and Emme, four. She said: “You never want to break up a family. That wasn’t my dream. My dream was for us to always be together. “But things don’t work out, and you feel like it’s the better choice. If I didn’t feel it was the better choice, I wouldn’t have done it, you know?”

The 43-year-old star said she is proud of how she and her ex, who she married in 2004, are handling their co-parenting duties. She told Katie Couric on the ‘Katie’ show: “We’re doing good with it. We love our kids and we have love for each other and we always will.

We were friends from before and we’re friends now.” Jennifer is currently dating choreographer Casper Smart, has been walked down the aisle three times. She was married to Ojani Noa from 1997-1998 and back-up dancer Cris Judd from 2001-2003. The performer confessed she still hasn’t given up on the idea of finding the man she will be with forever. She continued: “I believe in love. I believe in marriage. I’m just trying to get it right, like everybody else.”

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MANSOORI

37

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

LIFESTYLE M u s i c

Asia’s first

&

Legoland opens in Malaysia

This photograph shows people waiting to enter Malaysia’s Legoland Park in Johor Bahru.

sia’s first Legoland theme park opened to packed crowds yesterday in southern Malaysia, with its cluster of attractions expected to transform the sleepy region into a thriving tourist hub. An eager crowd of 10,000 people visited the 76-acre theme park in Johor state-across a narrow waterway from Singapore-which features a variety of rides and thousands of Lego models made out of the popular toy bricks.

The visitors were greeted by costumed characters as confetti and balloons were launched into the air amid a special performance by a marching brass band from Denmark. Back in 2011 earthmovers had flattened a vast expanse of oil palm-covered hills to make way for the 31-hectare theme park, one of the main attractions of a new city and economic zone called Iskandar Malaysia. Malaysia launched

A

M o v i e s

the economic hub as part of a five-year, 200 billion-ringgit ($65 billion) spending plan to transform the economy in the sleepy Johor state.

European visitor attractions operator Merlin Entertainments, whose stable includes Madame Tussauds, the London Eye and SEA LIFE, is the operator of Legoland Malaysia. With the opening, the theme park will be the sixth of its kind in the world after those in Denmark, Britain, California, Florida and Germany. Legoland Malaysia is divided into seven sections such as “Lego Kingdom”, “Lego City” and “Lego Technic”.

Most rides are for children under the age of 12, but the theme park also has a variety of attractions for the whole family like the “4D Lego Studios” and the “Miniland”-featuring recreated Asian landmarks like Cambodia’s Angkor Wat

This photograph shows a model made of lego bricks of Brunei’s Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin mosque at Malaysia’s Legoland Park. and Petronas Towers, the world’s tallest twin towers. John Jakobsen, managing director of Legoland Parks for Merlin Entertainments, expects the new park to be a “great success” owing to its proximity to Singapore, which attracted 13.2 million tourists last year.

“It’s incredible to see Asia’s first Legoland Park come to life,” he said. It is targeting as many as two million visitors a year from markets across Asia including India China and Hong Kong as it rolls out new attractions. Malaysia hopes to draw 36 million tourists arrivals by 2020. Last year 25 million tourists visited Malaysia, generating 58 million ringgit in earnings. —AFP

This photograph by Legoland Malaysia shows people waiting to enter Asia’s first Legoland Park during the opening in southern state of Johor Bahru. —AFP photos

Reggae reinvention finds Snoop ‘Arbitrage’: Sympathy for the devil Lion contemplative, pacifistic I “T

By Michael Phillips

he American culture is so caught up with what we want - the fancy cars and the shiny jewelry - as opposed to what we have,” the man was holding forth. “And the guns, there are too many guns, and too much violence, and that’s why we have shootings in movie theaters and high schools.” It’s a sunny Friday afternoon on the roof deck of a Toronto arts center, and these words aren’t coming from a Buddhist monk or a Mormon minister. Quite the opposite: They’re coming from Snoop Dogg, the man who has served as one of the high priests of that culture of materialism and guntoting for much of the last two decades.

Ah, but technically this is not Snoop Dogg, rapper of “Gin & Juice” and countless other odes to thug life. It’s Snoop Lion, the result of a name change, and possibly other transformations, that came about after a trip to Jamaica made him see things through a prism of “peace, love and struggle,” as he puts it. Having hit 40 and growing bored with gangsta rap, Snoop decided to take a trip to the land of Marley and record a reggae album. “I started seeing some similarities between me and Bob, not only because of smoking weed but because of the struggles,” he said.

So he gathered a film crew led by Andy Capper, editor of Vice magazine, and lit out for the Caribbean. The result is “Reincarnated,” a movie that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday and mixes travelogue with recording sessions and Snoop’s musings on life. (Also, enough pot smoking to make Cheech and Chong look like a Nancy Reagan PSA.) Capper shoots the movie with a relaxed, justhanging-out vibe. The musician meets with Bunny Wailer, visits Marley’s old stamping grounds and sets out to record an album in a coastal villa. (Some of the locals are surprised to see him; a local woman even walks up to him and tells him he looks like Snoop Dogg, the American “who sings songs.” He deadpans to her that he gets that a lot.)

Snoop draws several questionable parallels between the hardscrabble parts of Jamacia’s Trench Town and his own native Long Beach, suggesting that had he been born in these diffi-

cult conditions he might have turned to love and harmony instead of gun-waving and thuggery. (The ganja would have been the same.)

The movie culminates with a spiritual ceremony in which a Rasta leader rechristens him “Berhane,” a “light unto the world,” and instructs him to make good on the name. Snoop says he plans on it with the release of the new album, also titled “Reincarnated,” and the first single, “La La La,” which came out in July. “I think I’m going to be a great spotlight and attention-getter (for the Rasta life),” he said in the interview. “I’m the people’s champion, I’m the voice, I’m the shoulder people cry on. I need to be the leader.” (The

At the TIFF press conference for the new movie “Reincarnated,” Snoop Lion has his picture taken before talking. —MCT message, he said, was of “peace and love”; he didn’t get more specific.)

Snoop was decked out in full Rasta gear, multicolored plastic sunglasses and a cane, the last the result of a hinky ankle. (He said he hurt it playing flag football, not a very gangsta rap injury.)

He remained emphatic about less violence there’s a song titled “No Guns Allowed” on the new album - and barely stopped short of making a connection between gangsta rap and mass shootings. “I don’t think we can make people do it,” he said. “But I think we can make people not do it.” He said the issue of high school shootings resonated with him now that he has teenage children (sons Cordell and Spanky).

Because the director and his team were commissioned by Snoop, the movie is an up-close, if also fairly authorized, version of the artist and his trip. “He surprised me with everything he’s done. I’ve never seen anyone feel things so deeply,” Capper said in an interview. Though there’s little doubt that Snoop comes by all this sincerely, the reinvention can feel a little premeditated. Most people who have transformative religious experiences don’t announce they want to add to their legacy and then hire a film crew to document it.

But Snoop says there‘s nothing promotional about the enterprise. “If this were for publicity or to sell more records, a business person would tell me not to do this,” he said in the interview.

“Reggae would sell less albums than hip-hop because fans of Snoop Dogg love him for hiphop.”

Whether he will be embraced by fans, let alone the gun-control and clean-lyrics lobby, remains to be seen. As for how his hip-hop brethren have responded, Snoop says the reception “has been mixed.” Asked by the Los Angeles Times about Snoop’s transformation, the rapper Ice-T, who said he’s a good friend of the performer, rolled his eyes.

He added that he believed Snoop would revert to his canine state within the next few months. Snoop, told that it indeed felt strange to hear him of all people preaching pacificism, answered that he had seen a new path and was simply trying to show it to others.

“I’m not telling you how to live,” he said. “I’m just putting a dirty glass next to a clean glass and saying which one do you want to drink from?” Snoop said he’d like to make another reggae album and continue with the transformation that began with Snoop Lion (a reference to the Rastafarians’ iconic lion of Judah). And returning to hip-hop? “It’s my baby and I’ll always come back to see my baby. But it has to be big, really special. Like maybe a motion picture soundtrack.” —MCT

Actor gives us an Urban take on Judge Dredd he British comic book “Judge Dredd” made its debut in the mid-1970s, starring a helmeted lawman who was judge, jury and executioner in a nearly lawless anarchy of the future.

Coming out in the recession-wracked ‘70s, when civil unrest was common in the UK, US and other corners of the West, one might have seen it as a celebration of a kind of “Dirty Harry” justice - simple, bloody solutions to socio-criminal ills.

Or maybe it was “a satirical response to Thatcherism,” says actor Karl Urban, who stars as the judge in a new 3-D movie, “Dredd 3D.” (Margaret Thatcher wasn’t prime minister of Britain until 1979, but she was a well-known figure in mid-70s Britain - already the head of the Conservative Party there.) And what about Dredd today?

“Dredd is perfectly placed in our times,” says

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Urban, best-known for playing Dr McCoy in the new big screen “Star Trek” franchise. “Our film is the perfect representation of the character that (author) John Wagner created back in ‘75. In our movie, I see Dredd as a response to social unrest that’s errupted globally, and to society’s response to that unrest. Dredd is set in a world where the justice system has been given absolute power, the power to summarily execute a perp on the spot.

“Since the creation of Dredd, one can argue that there’s been a continual escalation of Big Brother, watching over all of us, a steady erosion of civil rights. Unfortunately, incidents like 9/11 have given us laws like The Patriot Act, a necessity for this day and age. “Thematically, Dredd was ahead of his time.”

The 40 year-old New Zealander endured months in a gym and weeks in a South African

boot camp to get in shape to play the judge.

After all, he’s following Sylvester Stallone, the character’s previous big screen alter-ego. The bigger challenge, Urban says, was acting behind a helmet and mask.

“It’s a challenge to communicate with the audience without the use of my eyes,” he says. “I had to use every other tool I have available to me. Obviously, the voice takes on heightened significance. As does the physicality, the wear the character carries himself. It was important to me to know what humanized Dredd. He’s just a man. He’s not a robot, not a super hero. He has no special powers. Just gadgets. It was important to me to know where his sense of humor lay, what angers him, what amuses him and what he does when he’s tired, or when he’s pumped up.” —MCT

t’s an unseemly request by a movie, to ask us to root for the lying, scrambling but extremely well-coiffed hedge fund billionaire weasel played by Richard Gere in the new film “Arbitrage.” But there it is.

The movie does ask, and to varying degrees, we comply. The website Investopedia defines “arbitrage” this way: “The simultaneous purchase and sale of an asset in order to profit from a difference in the price. It is a trade that profits by exploiting price differences of identical or similar financial instruments, on different markets or in different forms.”

Did you know that’s what “arbitrage” meant? I did not. And yet I enjoyed it, even as I hustled here and there to keep up with its Wall Street argot. The writing’s juicy and effective, and the actors have fun with it. Writer-director Nicholas Jarecki treats most every character as a smart person with something to say. His

film is full of tense, vicious dialogue spit out by rich and poor alike (the middle class goes missing here, as is its wont in the country itself ) while under extreme financial and legal duress.

Gere is the centerpiece in “Arbitrage,” and his preoccupied, distracted air as an actor (which can lead to pure laziness when he’s not engaged by the material) works extremely well in the role of the Wall Street investor who is having a fraught 60th birthday week. His investment in a Russian copper mine has gone bust. Hundreds of millions, kaput. His cocaine-addled mistress is making demands. His auditors are getting wind of possible large-scale fraud. His own daughter, the company’s chief financial officer played by Brit Marling, doesn’t like what she’s finding in her own internal audit. The wizard’s wife (Susan Sarandon) can’t seem to get a check out of him to pay for a pet charity cause. What is happening here? —MCT

Kuwait, war, hope canvas for Indian expat’s novel

By Sunil Cherian magination is reality in Jleeb AlShuyoukh-based Karunakaran’s new novel weaved through intricate human relationships, will to live, hope, Kuwait invasion and many other desperations. So we have French playwright Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) who seemed to have liked Achyuthan, a mechanical engineer bookworm and an aspiring writer who came to Kuwait in the 1980s.

Titled ‘The Lies in the Time of War and the Crow on the Bough’, the Malayalam novel is a labyrinth of myth and history coupled with art and insanity. Post August 1990, Achuthan loses his job like many others. Among those thousands is Shivan, Achyuthan’s friend and villain in Achuthan’s marital life.

Artaud, the exponent of Cruel Theater is the protagonist in Achyuthan’s unaccomplished book, a reality that remains an imagination.

Achyuthan who shares the disciplined madness of Artaud, enacts, instead of living his life. Bhama, Achyuthan’s wife, a wannabe singer is a devotee of the ancient Sanskrit poet Jayadeva. The trio, individualists in themselves, resists any sort of colonization of the mind.

Mind is matter throughout the book, and the characters travel the distance between the mind and the body back and forth.

In 19 chapters, spanning in 103 pages, Karunakaran focuses on the intimate thoughts of the trio, detailing their thought processes like close-up shots in a movie. He compares the sunset in the desert to a suicide. ‘Into the vast largeness, the sun trickles drop by drop, and the desert becomes a sea of

I

blood’. The war is compared to the ‘wind that goes to the sea bowing the sky after a long stay in the desert’.

Adding to the lyrical narration of the novel is the picaresque description of

Karunakaran expats who live away from themselves - a mind-body duality further intensified by the dichotomies of identity, life cravings, and a search for one’s innermost self.

Memory is a recurrent theme in Karunakaran’s writings. Un-cremated memories of Artaud come to Achyuthan even in the form of a pair of shoes, as if to remind the reader of the miles a person of integrity and insanity must have passed through. In covering that distance, Karunakaran transcends the boundaries our structured novels usually have. And, in this story of kindness that liberates emotional temperaments, the distance is between art and insanity is less. That less is more from a literary peephole.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

lifestyle F A S H I O N

London Fashion Week opens with tribal-inspired designs

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esigners turned to nature for inspiration on the opening day of London Fashion Week on Friday, showcasing a collection of sheer silk dresses, delicate embroidery and elegant show pieces all featuring a floral-inspired theme. Britain’s capital took over the baton from New York, which wrapped up its week with sparkly dresses and bold geometric prints, with a pared-down colour palette of fresh pastels and faded dipdyes. Designers Antoni & Alison opened the day with a series of quirky silk printed dresses, followed by Fyodor Golan, whose show was in the grandiose lounge of the Waldorf Hilton and inspired by Mayan and Aztec cultures.

Models floated down the steps in shift dresses, loose kaftans and bold show pieces varying in electric blue, canary yellow, autumnal amber, and bright pink hues, with intricate beading embroidery and tribal-inspired prints

Models present creations by Kinder Aggugini during his Spring/Summer 2013 show at London Fashion Week in London yesterday. — AP

and cutouts. “We wanted to show lightness and spirituality and at the same time to have that sexuality there. So it’s that contrast but it’s not in your face, it’s still strong and gives you power but it’s very emotional, something that will engage you,” Designer Fyodor Podgorny told Reuters after the show.

Podgorny along with his partner Golan Frydman has consistently impressed critics since their debut collection two years ago. The duo kept their look neutral, with slicked back ponytails and bare faces on models offset by delicate painted tribal tattoos and intricate

facial jewellery covering eyes and noses.

Veteran fashion journalist Hilary Alexander said she was impressed by the attention to detail and vibrant colours. “It’s not for everybody, a woman who’s a minimalist would probably throw up her hands in horror but I happen to love them,” Alexander said.

Designer Corrie Nielsen told Reuters that her collection, entitled Florilegium, was

inspired by the Royal Botanic gardens in London and Japanese artist Makoto Murayama. “Everything has been cut threedimensionally and shaped, inspired from the flower,” Nielsen said. The collection also featured sleek tailored pieces alongside dip-dyed

silk blouses and origami-folded jackets in pale yellows, pinks and creams. Sheer dresses embellished with embroidered appliquÈ details in icy blues, mint greens and lilacs were seen at Bora Aksu. Models were adorned with cut-out felt crowns, sporting braids and backcombed hair, wearing light printed and embroidered gowns inspired by art deco and botanical gardens. “I just wanted to create something that was really light,” Aksu said.

“There’s texture on it but it’s very light, there’s prints and embroideries and stuff but it’s almost like a light layer, so nothing is really heavy. I wanted to make it like air.”

Romantic florals and pastels defined the opening day of London Fashion Week, but Felder Felder added an edgy twist to their spring collection, teaming bold hues and muted leopard prints with floaty fabrics and shortening hemlines of shredded knitwear dresses.

Singer Kate Nash, dressed in a black suede dress and leather jacket, serenaded the crowd as models accessorised with aviator sunglasses and beach hair strutted down the runway in miniscule shorts, dresses with high slits and suits paired with midriff-baring tops.

Models swanned through the intimate presentation room in feminine tailored dresses made from light fabrics with prints and woven textures, in an array of pastel hues, at Emilia Wickstead’s presentation. The designer said her new collection a twist on Truman Capote’s ‘swans’ and inspired high society dames from the late 1950s who were required to look chic and elegant at social events. “I wanted it to be uplifting, fashion forward and really play on my inspirations a lot,” Wickstead told Reuters.

“I loved the matador shorts so I played a lot on that, I thought that was quite fresh, keeping summer fun and flirty but at the end of the day, my style is quite sophisticated and neat, so I wanted to make it more playful.”

Wickstead, who is six months pregnant, was one of the designers to benefit from the “Kate effect” after the Duchess of Cambridge stepped out in some of her designs.

Wickstead told Reuters she wasn’t able to comment on her royal client, but did say it was “inspiring” to dress “anyone who is sophisticated and high profile and of a lovely nature and a great look.”

Middleton isn’t the only high-profile client to favour Wickstead’s chic designs. “Downton Abbey” actress Laura Carmichael, who wore a dress by Wickstead at New York’s prestigious Met Ball Gala earlier this year, praised the designer’s latest collection. “She’s got such a talent for doing completely classic, simple things and managing to be very dramatic and sexy with it in the most classy way,” Carmichael said. — Reuters

Models present creations by Daks during the 2013 Spring/Summer collection catwalk show during London Fashion Week in London yesterday. — AFP photos

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

lifestyle F A S H I O N

Fashion designer Pinto teams with Chicago museum

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esigner Maria Pinto, well-known for dressing first lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, used her eye for fashion to curate antiquities from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago for a new exhibit that includes a century-old shredded bark Brazilian ceremonial costume and a woven monkey fur necklace. The materials are a stretch from the rich, bright purple silk Pinto used to design the sheath Obama wore during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. “Fashion and The Field Museum Collection: Maria Pinto” opened Friday and includes an Inuit raincoat made of seal intestines. It was the first item that caught Pinto’s attention, she said. “I could totally see anyone wearing it,” Pinto said.

“What I loved about these creations was they had limited resources. They needed a raincoat and they realized they could use seal intestines. How creative is that?”

Pinto walked through the vast storage areas under the museum and chose items that appealed to her.

Pinto and co-curator Alaka Wali chose 25 garments and adornments to pair with seven pieces from Pinto’s collections. The museum items are juxtaposed with Pinto’s designs. “Part of the point is you can’t tell if she designed them or someone in the Andes Amazon designed them,” said Janet Hong, an exhibition project manager at the museum. Another highlight is a full outfit designed by Pinto, who closed her Chicago boutique more than two years ago because of the poor economic climate. The outfit includes a structured blue wool coat, red fur collar and skinny pants. It was inspired by a Chinese theatrical headdress. Pinto found herself particularly drawn to weapons, tools and armor in the museum collection.

She matched metal elbow-length samurai gauntlets with a wool green suit for the office, saying the suit is modern-day armor for women. “The whole idea of armor plays into a lot of how I envision what

thing more contemporary,” Pinto said. “Make the music have an influence over the experience to the degree of making it more of an art gallery.” The exhibit runs through June 16. —AP

Models wear designs from the KTZ Spring/Sum mer 2013 collection during London Fashion Week. — AP

we wear every day,” Pinto said. Other Pinto designs in the exhibit include a sequined chiffon shoulder-less cocktail dress from her 2008 fall collection and a knee-length black silk taffeta, biascut cocktail dress from her 2010 spring collection.

The exhibition has a trendier feel than many other exhibits at the museum known for dinosaurs and mummies.

A large video is projected on one wall showing images from the exhibit accompanied by techno music that might be heard on runways in New York. “I wanted it to be some-

Mavala Scientifique for strong nails like diamonds

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Models present designs by Felder Felder.

ails are an essential part in women’s elegant look, yet some women suffer from soft, fragile and even breaking nails. This common problem became an obsession to households as well as working women. It may be due to heredity aspects or the exposure to water and cleaning detergents. Science proved that the tip of the nail is the most fragile and exposed part of the nail. Therefore, it must be strengthened. Mavala laboratories, the Swiss Company specialized in hand and foot care, studied different types of nails and concluded Mavala Scientifique, which is the key solution to nails’ problems that allows the nail to regain a healthy and long-lasting growth.

Mavala Scientifique is considered the only nourishing and nail hardener product which penetrates the nail surface, bonds the three layers of the nail together and reinforces the tip to allow it to regain a natural growth. One or two weekly applications of Mavala Scientifique allow soft, flaking or splitting nails to become healthy and strong. Once reaching the satisfying and guaranteed results, twice or three times a month would be enough to maintain solid and healthy nails. As additional to the regular package, Mavala Scientifique comes in “Applicator Pen” that is easy to use and to

carry around. Al-Jothen Company, the exclusive distributer of Mavala Swiss products, provides Mavala Scientifique as well as full nails solutions at all AlJothen gallery showrooms in-addition to some salons and pharmacies.

As usual, Al-Jothen Company continues to build a great relationship with its customers by securing the best solutions in the world of beauty and by committingto exceed its customers’ expectations with high quality and trusted products.

Models wear creations from the Sass & Bide Spring/Summer 2013 collection.

Asia’s first Legoland opens in Malaysia

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

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