25 Dec

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SAFAR 12, 1434 AH

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Stabbing frenzy shocks motorists at gas station

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

Man in critical condition after Sulaibiya attack

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GCC urges unity, closer economy Kuwait to host Syria meet, airs Bushehr concerns MANAMA: The annual summit of Arab monarchs in the Gulf opened in Manama yesterday with a call for closer economic integration and unity in the face of the turmoil which has swept much of the Middle East.

Kuwait’s Amir HH Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah urged neighbouring Iran to cooperate more with the UN nuclear watchdog to allay Gulf Arab concerns about the safety of an Iranian nuclear power plant that lies just across the waterway from the state.

Kuwait also said it would host an international humanitarian donor Continued on Page 13

SAKHIR, Bahrain: Gulf Cooperation Council leaders attend the Gulf summit yesterday. — AP

Panel approves one-vote decree Court upholds verdicts of Mutairi killers

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Blood is seen in a car where a man was stabbed by four assailants at a petrol pump in Sulaibiya late Sunday.

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: While people are still appalled and shocked after the horrific murder of a Lebanese dentist at the Avenues on Friday, drivers at a petrol pump in Sulaibiya along the Sixth Ring Road witnessed another bloody incident when four assailants attacked a stateless young man fueling his car and took turns stabbing him, security sources said, noting that one of the assailants videotaped the attack with his mobile phone. The victim was rushed to Jahra hospi-

tal and remains in the ICU in critical condition.

According to eyewitnesses who stepped out of their vehicles in an attempt to stop the attack, the four assailants threatened everybody at the gas station that they’d be stabbed as well if they interfered. Eyewitnesses added that they managed to rescue the victim after the assailants left the scene.

They also provided the police with details about the suspects’ vehicle.

The main suspect has been arrested while his accomplices are still at large. A manhunt is on for them.

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KUWAIT: The National Assembly’s interior and defence committee yesterday approved the controversial decree which amended the voting mechanism in the electoral constituency law and caused the opposition to boycott the parliamentary elections, head of the committee MP Askar Al-Enezi said. The decree issued ahead of the Dec 1 election reduced the number of candidates a voter can pick up from a maximum of four to only one.

Under the law, all Amiri decrees issued in the absence of the Assembly must be submitted in the first session when the Assembly meets and it has the right to approve or reject the decrees. The opposition boycotted the election due to the amendment, claiming that it allows the government to manipulate the outcome of the election. Even after the election, the opposition has continued to stage protests calling for scrapping the new Assembly and repealing the amendment decree.

The approved decree now goes to the Assembly which will vote on it to approve or reject it. If the decree is rejected, which is a very remote possibility, it will mean nullifying the results of the election and dissolving the Assembly. Dozens of challenges against the decree were submitted to the constitutional court alleging that the amendment breaches the constitution. The court will start looking into the challenges on Jan 13 but is expected to take several months to rule on the decree.

MP Enezi however said the committee postponed until another meeting a decision on another decree issued before the Continued on Page 2

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

LOCAL

MANAMA: HH the Amir with Bahraini King Hamad Bin Issa Al-Khalifa during a ceremonial reception. —KUNA Photos

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah attends the GCC summit in Manama yesterday.

HH the Amir and other GCC leaders arrive at the venue of the summit in Manama yesterday.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at his residence in Sukheir Palace yesterday Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and the delegation accompanying him. The reception was attended by official delegation accompanying HH the Amir to the 33rd GCC Summit.

Burgan Bank hosts Al-Mass event for special needs KUWAIT: Burgan Bank restated its commitment towards its annual corporate social responsibility initiative by successfully hosting the 11th Annual Al Mass Awards on December 23, 2012 at the Salwa Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah hall. The event, which was patronized under Sheikha Sheikha Al-Abdullah Al-Khalifa Al-Sabah, honored the outstanding achievements of participating special needs patients as well as organizations that have demonstrated exceptional commitment in providing the necessary support for special needs.

Nine outstanding individuals were presented awards in three categories - the Blue diamond award for those with a cognitive or mental disability; the Yellow diamond award for those with physical disabilities; and the White diamond award, for those with a sensory disability.

Furthermore, three organizations were also commended for their work in supporting special needs throughout their daily activities.

The names of the winners were announced through a special documentary feature, where the achievement of each of the winner was highlighted.

Special thanks and gratitude was given to all those who have been working behind the scenes that have helped those with special needs achieve their goals.

Each of the winners received a beneficiary fund from Burgan Bank, deposited in their own special account at the Bank. The winners of the yellow diamond award included Noura Abdullah Al Kandari as well as Amira Ali Alghewy Obaid Al-Shimmary.

The blue diamond award included Shahad Majed Te’ma, Mohammed Suleiman Barrak Al-Shiyaji, Khaled

Abdullah Jassem Al-Najadah and Abdulaziz Al-Shalal. In this year’s event, the organizations that were honored for their outstanding work include Ideal Rehabilitation Association, Abeer 2 special needs volunteering team as well as the Rehabilitation Guidance Association.

The evening echoed Burgan Bank’s commitment to integrate those with special needs into the mainstream community and restore their sense of belonging by recognizing their fortitude to surmount obstacles, the purity of their determination, and the brilliance of their endeavors.

The Al-Mass Awards, which began as a simple idea to reward special needs individuals as well as organizations that support children and people with special needs eleven years ago, has gained increasing popularity and national admiration over the years.

— Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Cabinet expresses grief over murder at Avenues

Panel approves one-vote...

Continued from Page 1

Session lauds meeting between Amir, Speaker KUWAIT: The Cabinet yesterday listened to a briefing by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on the horrific crime that took place at the Avenues Mall recently in which an innocent man was killed. It also noted the speedy apprehension of the culprits by the Interior Ministry. The briefing took place at the weekly cabinet session chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad AlSabah yesterday.

The Cabinet expressed profound regret over such odious crime on the land of Kuwait, and asked Almighty Allah to bestow forgiveness on the deceased and patience to his family. The Cabinet expressed gratitude to the Interior Ministry’s personnel, headed by the Minister, for the fast apprehension of the culprits and urged them to exert more efforts to deter those who tamper with the security and stability of the country and terrorize innocent civilians.

It said that social responsibility must be shouldered by the family, school, mosque and the media bodies in order to deter any threat against the security of the homeland. The Cabinet praised the parental meeting between HH the Amir and House Speaker Ali Al-Rashed and members of the Parliament’s Office, during which the Amir stressed the importance of imposition of the law and to work with a sense of responsibility and cooperation with the government to achieve public interest and to meet aspi-

rations of the people away from negative atmospheres in response to HH ‘s speech during the opening of the 14th legislative term of the parliament, which included noble wisdoms and directives that substantiate pillars of the society. Following the meeting, State Minister for Cabinet Affairs and State Minister for Municipality Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said the meeting reviewed the letter addressed to HH the Amir from Tunisian President Mohammad Moncef Al-Marzouqi, which enclosed an invitation to HH to take part in

KUWAIT: HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah chairs a Cabinet meeting yesterday. — KUNA

the second anniversary of the Tunisian revolution, slated for next January. The letter also tackled means of fostering bilateral relations. The Cabinet also reviewed the letter addressed to HH the Amir from the Belgian King Albert II on means for bolstering bilateral relations. The Cabinet took note of HH the Amir’s participation in the 33rd GCC Summit that kicked off in Manama yesterday. The Cabinet expressed optimism that the GCC leaders would succeed in achieving their objectives for the best interest of their peoples.

With regard to the cancellation of the license of Al-Youm satellite television channel, Information Minister and State Minister for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem Humoud Al-Sabah briefed the Cabinet about justifications of such step, saying that the move was taken due to the channel’s violation of licensing requirements following deadline expiration of its settlement with the law. Acting upon the Press and Publication Law and the Audio-Visual Law on media sources, the ministry of information issued the cancelation order, stressing keenness in implementing the law while, at the same time, taking a balanced stance with all media sources. The Cabinet also discussed National Assembly affairs and topics of the agenda of the next parliamentary session. The Cabinet took note of the sudden indisposition of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and wished him a speedy recovery. — KUNA

election to establish the independent National Election Commission for more study. He said the committee also approved a third decree stipulating that the maximum number of people who can be naturalized in 2013 is 2,000 people. But he said the committee recommended that the Assembly later amend the law to double the number.

Separately, the appeals court yesterday upheld the verdicts issued by the lower court in January against 20 policemen and civilians accused of torturing a Kuwaiti citizen to death at a police station two years ago. The court upheld a life term against two officers accused of conducting the torture at Ahmadi police station in Jan 2010 against Mohammad Al-Maimouni AlMutairi. The court also upheld jail terms of 16 years against three other policemen, a 15 years sentence against a fourth and a twoyear term against a fifth. The court ordered the dismissal of all of them from service.

Two other policemen were fined KD 200 while 11 others were acquitted. The case will now go to the court of cassation. The case caused a political uproar when it was revealed and forced former interior minister Sheikh Jaber AlKhaled Al-Sabah to resign. A large number of the deceased relatives were present in the courtroom when a policeman was entrusted to read the verdict. The relatives were dismayed by the ruling as they were expecting some of the defendants to be sentenced to death. A parliamentary investigation panel at the time found that Mutairi had apparently been subjected to severe torture for six days, including three days in a remote desert location.

Meanwhile, the criminal court yesterday set Jan 7 to issue its ruling on an opposition tweeter on charges of insulting HH the Amir in some of his tweets. It also set the same date to issue its verdict against Osama Al-Munawer, a member of the scrapped 2012 Assembly, on charges of undermining the authority of the Amir in a speech at a public gathering.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

LOCAL Al-Zad Group to sponsor HORECA Kuwait 2013 KUWAIT: Al-Zad Trading Group announced yesterday that the company will participate as a silver sponsor in the HORECA Kuwait, an exhibition of hotel, hospitality industry and catering equipment services hosted in Kuwait between January 28 and 30, 2013. The event is organized by the Leaders Group for Counseling and Abdullah Al-Nafaisi Development in cooperation with Lebanonís Hospitality Services Company. It takes place at the Arraya Ballroom in Courtyard Marriott Hotel. CEO Abdullah Al-Nafaisi, in a press release, explained why his company decided to participate in the event for the first time. “It comes as part of our strategic initiative to expand in the local and Gulf markets. We also realize the significance of such an event,” he said in the statement that was made available to the press.

Established in 1994, Al-Zad Group became one of Kuwait’s largest suppliers to the hotels, restaurants and catering companies. It is also a leading supplier of high quality food products in the Gulf region.

Organizers of HORECA 2013 have announced that the Advanced Technology Company, Mabrouk Catering Company and Boecker Company will be the diamond sponsors of the event while KASCO, Kuwait Hotel Owners Association and President Company will be the golden sponsors.

Paper wants probe into missing camera Teens shoot pedestrians in Soura KUWAIT: A local newspaper lodged an official complaint on Sunday demanding an investigation into a case in which a police officer allegedly snatched its photographer’s camera recently. Al-Rai had reported that the incident happened when the photographer was covering a demonstration in Kaifan last weekend. A security officer confiscated his camera and told him to collect it later from the Shamiya police station. Later that night, the same officer denied having confiscated the camera, prompting the newspaper’s management to file a complaint with Attorney General Dherar Al-Asousy regarding the matter. The paper further explained in a report published yesterday that their decision came after “officers at the Shamiya police station refused to cooperate” when they tried to file a case there.

Two shot in disputes Two people were hospitalized with gun wounds in separate incidents reported Sunday in Kuwait involving family disputes. A man shot at his own son, injuring him in the thigh in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. The victim was rushed to the Farwaniya Hospital while his father was arrested and taken to the area’s police station where investigations were launched to determine the circumstances that led to the incident. In the second incident reported from Kabad, a man fired at his own brother from a hand gun, injuring him in the leg. A cousin of the victim, who witnessed the incident, rushed him to the Farwaniya Hospital. Search is on for the suspect who, preliminary investigations revealed, has a history of criminal conduct and drug abuse. (Watan) Child molester held A man who sexually assaulted an eight-year-old boy was arrested by Sulaibiya detectives within hours of the boy’s father reporting the crime at the area’s police station. Detectives swiftly identified the Kuwaiti suspect and arrested him after locating his address. The man confessed to his crime during interrogation and was taken to the Public Prosecution Department where he will remain in custody pending legal action.

Athletes attacked A group of opera performers face battery charges pressed by four athletes following a fight reported recently inside the Arabi Sports Club. In their statements to Qadsiya police station officers, the four young men - three Kuwaitis and one stateless resident explained that one of the volunteers who took part in an opera show held inside the club provoked them for no reason, triggering a dispute. Other performers then joined him in beating them. The suspects were also charged with damaging the property of the club. The boxing gym in the club suffered damage in the scuffle.

A case was filed for investigations.

Teens shoot pedestrians Three teenagers who fired at pedestrians in Soura with an air rifle and injured six of them were arrested after police responded to several emergency calls made by expatriates in the area. The last such call was made by an Egyptian man who was able to spot his attackers.

The Kuwaiti youngsters were soon caught and the rifle was recovered from them. They admitted using the weapon for reported shootings and were taken to the proper authorities for further action.

Weapon causes hospital scare People at the Psychiatric Hospital experienced some scary moments recently when a mentally unstable man snatched a policeman’s rifle and ran through the wards.

Luckily, the weapon was not loaded at the time. The situation was soon brought under control after the panicked patients, medical staff and other people present in the premises were reassured that the weapon was not loaded. An investigation was opened in the incident. —Al-Rai, Al-Watan

‘We are Creative’ exhibition opens KUWAIT: The Community Development Center in Yarmouk inaugurated here yesterday the first annual exhibition of the Productive Families with Disabilities under the title “We are creative” and will continue until December 27. Head of programs and activities in the center Kholoud Al-Dossari said in a press statement that the exhibition aims to “highlight the capabilities of our sons and daughters to be creative if they are given the opportunity of training and rehabilitation.” She added that more than 25 schools and non-profit associations are taking part in this exhibition, as well as the families of the disabled, noting that the exhibition includes a range of products and handmade craft, as well as workshops that allow people with disability to show their talents. —KUNA

One crime every 30 minutes in Kuwait Killing of dentist spotlights alarming rise in crime rate: Daily KUWAIT: A crime is committed in Kuwait every 30 minutes, according to a report published by a local newspaper yesterday quoting official statistics. Based on available data till September-end, the report was obtained in the wake of a dentist’s murder when he was stabbed to death inside a crowded mall on a weekend after a parking lot argument.

“A statistical report released by the Interior Ministry’s research and studies department shows that 15,501 crimes were committed across Kuwait during the first nine months of the current year,” reads the Al-Qabas report published yesterday. With a daily average of at least 57 crimes, the official report further notes that the average crime rate “increased by ten percent” compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the report also indicates that felony cases including murder, mugging, fights and battery assault have “doubled” this year compared to 2011, further pointing out a rise in other cases including possession of unlicensed weapons and suicides. Further details in the statistical report show that 3906 felony and 11,595 misdemeanor crimes were recorded this year till the end of September. Moreover, 906 crimes were committed by Kuwaitis, more than any other nationality (up by 16% compared to 2011), followed by Egyptians with 247 (up by 18%) and bedouin (stateless) residents with 218 (up by 16.5%).

To shed further light on the subject, Al-Qabas spoke with specialists in the security, educational and medical fields who blamed several aspects for the increase in recorded crimes in recent years. “The recurrence of crimes is a clear indication of a major flaw in security measures which the Interior Ministry shares responsibility for,” said attorney Nawaf Sari, who also believes that security on borders is “weak as far as checking smuggling of weapons into Kuwait was concerned.”

The main suspect in the Avenues Mall murder case, a 22-year-old Bedouin, re-enacted his crime on Sunday in front of senior security officials including Acting Director of the Criminal Investigations General Department, Brigadier General Mahmoud Al-Tabbakh. The suspect,

who faces first degree murder charges, also led officers to the place where he got rid of the weapon used in the crime.

Meanwhile, the second suspect in the case, a Saudi national, turned himself in at the Andalus police station,

according to a security source who spoke to Al-Qabas on the condition of anonymity. The source added that the second suspect gave details about the crime which matched preliminary investigations reports about the murderer attacking his victim with a cleaver he obtained from a shop inside the mall. Investigations are on in the meantime to track down two other suspects involved in the case.

But could the recent crime be an indication that increasing violence among young people has become a serious problem in Kuwait? In this regard, psychology professors at the Kuwait University agreed that “the lack of firm implementation of law” has led to an increase in violence lately, and blamed ‘wasta’ or mediation for criminals’ release for the scenario prevalent today. At the same time, they recognized that the family has to play a key role to help children avoid criminal behavior.

“Unfortunately, we have started seeing extreme cases of verbal, physical and sexual violence”, warned Dr. Othman Al-Khadher, head of the psychology department at the Faculty of Social Sciences.

In the meantime, Education Ministry officials who AlQabas talked to made alarming statements about the spread of violence among students, mainly in high schools around Kuwait.

One Ahmadi school headmaster described fights in the school as a ‘regular scene’ not only in his school, but in others, too, within the governorate. An increase in the number of teenagers arrested over fight, theft and battery assault cases was also noted by supervisor of the Juveniles Care Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, Abdullah Fawaz. “I can say that seeing juveniles walking around with pocketknives in their possession is no longer considered something strange in our society”, he said. — Al-Qabas

PRATAP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

LOCAL kuwait digest

In my view

Kuwaitis’ mental health

Xmas in Kuwait

By Dr Mubarak Al-Therwa

E

xperts agree that mental health is pivotal to human being’s stability and happiness. An individual’s mental strength and ability to adapt to his cultural and social surroundings, combined with being in tune with the political atmosphere, would undoubtedly lead people to contentment, work and achievement.

People might suffer a mental illness as a result of losing a loved one, for example. They could suffer a major loss or be involved in a tragic accident. There is also another form of mental illness found in Scandinavian countries affecting people who failed to find the life they expected when they moved there.

In Kuwait, the lack of confidence in state departments and laws led to a serious and negative impact on Kuwaitis’ average achievement and job satisfaction. Moreover, the growing feeling among people that the government’s monitoring of public funds was weak triggered concern, frustration and fear of the unknown. The frustration hit rock bottom most recently when former minister and MP Shuwaib Al-Muwaizri spoke on TV about government tampering with public funds.

Kuwaitis today look at the legislative authority with skepticism. They feel skeptic about the performance of lawmakers elected as per the singlevote system. Parties which boycotted the elections blame the bad political situation on those who they believe reached the parliament to serve their personal interests. On the other hand, parties which took part in the elections face the challenge to prove themselves worthy of the parliamentary post and people’s trust, which they try to do by providing services with high costs with the hope of making people forget the suffering they endured in the past few years. Meanwhile, their attempt to create a ‘fierce’ opposition is not going to find too many people who would buy it.

Financial surplus, market stability and increasing growth cannot create a strong country unless its people find coherence and stability. In order to reach that goal, Kuwaitis need to live in peace and have full confidence in the state’s laws and departments. People with a limited income need to feel safe about the quality of management and credibility of governmental approach.

Unless the government gives attention to m e n t a l i l l n e s s e s a p p a re n t i n o u r p o l i t i c a l speeches, gatherings and T V programs, and which are a creation of a culture of hate and elimination, the future of many of our children is at risk. Crimes, accidents and bad behavior do not emerge from nothing, neither does success and creativity. — Al-Rai

kuwait digest

Volcanoes waiting to erupt

By Iqbal Al-Ahmad

I

t was one senseless, unprovoked, swift stabbing by a reckless young man in a crowded mall, and a young life was lost even as many watched horrified. Why did it happen? Is it recklessness or lack of fear of any punishment? Why would someone carry a knife into a shopping mall and stab a man in front of a crowd at a time when malls are brimming with people on any weekend?

Regardless of the nationality of the killer, the motive reflects a crisis in the Kuwaiti society. A young man lost his life because someone had a complete disregard for the very basics of law and morality.

Who can compensate the mother who is going to miss her sonís face every morning? Who can put out the fire that would burn in her heart incessantly ever since she heard about what happened to her son?

Who can convince her that the apple of her eye was snatched away from her because of an imprudent fight? Some people believe that the solution lies in putting in place strict security measures at entrances of the malls to prevent anyone from entering with a weapon or sharp object.

Some others call for banning young men from entering such places, and make them restricted to families. Meanwhile, other people blamed the Interior Ministry for what happened, while still others blamed the Education Ministry which is supposed to ìreinforce ethics among young people.î Some people put the blame on the family, or the environment in which children are raised.

In reality, all of them came close to identifying the root causes of the problem, but not close enough.

What we need is swift and serious research regarding all the aspects that make a young man who has his entire life ahead of him turn into a criminal at the drop of a hat. In the blink of an eye, the man stands accused of first degree murder, a crime committed in front of dozens of people. Not for a second did he stop to consider the consequences that would follow.

Indiscretion is a word that carries many connotations, each of which needs to be addressed individually by experts as they search for the root causes of this problem and how to resolve it in society. A moment of indiscretion most recently left twenty children dead in America after a man shot them and their teachers inside their school.

The children died, and their killer later met his fate.

Much like what happened here, when a young man was killed in a shopping mall, while his murderer waits to meet his fate.

A young man who defied his society in every aspect when he committed his crime in public cannot be normal. If we try to look into the reasons which led to his action, I am certain we will find the answers in his upbringing. While authorities are carrying out legal procedures currently in the case, I hope parallel efforts are initiated to find better ways to protect people in public places from such reckless people who could be potential murderers. Such characters walk among us with volcanoes of frustration buried inside waiting to erupt at the slightest of instigations. — Al-Qabas

By Labeed Abdal

local@kuwaittimes.net

C

kuwait digest

Are we lacking quality journalism?

By Mudaffar Abdullah

W

e are experiencing a strange situation in they are reduced to protesting at night. Even jourKuwait where the parliament is the sole nalism, that once played a leading role when it subject for all kinds of media, print or was full of Arab elements two decades ago, has audio-visual. Members of parliament are always now deteriorated.

Now, it enlightens less though numbers have very keen on making media appearances, which is justifiable in the absence of political parties. grown manifold, thanks to the new press law.

Strangely, we have remained silent even when the Frankly speaking, so many journalism-related litinew government has failed, ever since its forma- gations in our courts reflect the inability of newstion, to announce a plan about how it intends to paper owners, writers and reporters to understand run the country. This has led to so much political the concepts of freedom and responsibility, as these are less about any conflict about freedom of instability. expression. I am not being The problem with both, hard on our media, but government and private Kuwaiti media has so far too the fact is that our journalmedia, is that they both ism has deteriorated a great lack imagination and are failed in utilizing social deal since many Arab prorestricted to carrying just news stories. They are media networks to address fessionals left and we startusing MPs’ statements as unable to address major political or social issues in ed headlines. Newspapers and concerns of the people who watch the daily late an interactive way so that T V bring this statements barging into our homes night TV interviews with MPs, activists, lawyers or citizens and officials can dis- against our will. Some of bloggers wherein the same cuss, for instance, the issues these newspapers merely see themselves as commodinane questions are fired by inexperienced green- related to Bedouins, corrup- ity like any other and tend to use promotional offers horn presenters. tion, appointment of and raffle awards like autoWe rarely see a minister being engaged in an open undersecretaries and oth- mobiles and electrical appliances. interactive debate with an er major concerns.

Kuwaiti media is currentaudience or interviewed by ly playing a negative role. a veteran presenter in a program that enlightens us about what was hap- By publishing one or the other sectarian statement without understanding its legality or constipening in the cabinet.

Kuwaiti media has so far failed in utilizing social tutionality, it is creating a negative image of itself. media networks to address political or social Even KTV has given up much of its patriotic agenissues in an interactive way so that citizens and da and is incapable of defending cabinet memofficials can discuss, for instance, the issues related bers and policies. Moreover, we have been celeto Bedouins, corruption, appointment of under- brating the 50th anniversary of the constitution secretaries and other major concerns. None of the since November 11th but even then hardly find media channels could come up with a program any reference to the occasion in either public or that could have become a platform for youth to private media. Surely, that says a lot about the exchange ideas and have their say. No wonder, state of affairs in our media. —Al-Jarida

kuwait digest

No democracy without freedom

By Dr Mohammad Al-Moqatei

I

t is not easy to safeguard the principles governing tion, the essence of democracy, and the reason why a lawful state without protecting the three sides people make sacrifices to protect it. Without freewhich form the triangle of true democracy: the dom, people can become frustrated to a point where constitutional reference, public representation and no constitutional methods would be able to rectify the situation. In such a scenario, frustration can build freedom.

The constitution being the main reference to up to a point where people would not be able to come under attack at a time of dispute is actually the vent it out through peaceful means. On the other umbrella only under which a true state of law can be hand, a country finds stability only when freedoms established. An authority, whether it is executive, leg- are protected. That is why freedom was given a great deal of importance in our islative, or judicial, adds constitution, where it is legitimacy to its activities only when it is in line with Without freedom, people mentioned in several artiincluding article numthe constitution which is can become frustrated to a cles ber 176 that bans limiting above all.

Public participation is point where no constitutional public freedoms.

Therefore, suppressing centered around a consensual relationship allowing methods would be able to rec- freedom by limiting peoability to express their people to take part in decitify the situation. In such a ple’s opinion and hold peaceful sion making and state management through their scenario, frustration can build demonstrations freely as well as prosecution means elected representatives in up to a point where people that we are losing what we the parliament. been proud about the In order for public particiwould not be able to vent it have most. pation to reflect the people’s There was a time when will perfectly, representation out through peaceful means.

Kuwaiti jails had no one needs to be complete.

On the other hand, a country detained for expressing an Inadequate representation may help temporarily over- finds stability only when free- opinion or a political stand.

Moreover, such actions come a certain situation, but doms are protected. force a situation in which it cannot form a basis for the constitution no longer changing the principles of the constitutional system. Incomplete representation remains our main reference, and limits public particimay also be suitable to help the executive authority pation in power. If that continues to happen, the regain people’s trust and showcase their ability to position of Kuwait as a lawful state would be at risk, achieve reform, but certainly must not be utilized to leading the country towards a dead end.

There is no democracy without freedom, and no marginalize and prosecute others.

Freedom is the main substance of the constitu- freedom without true democracy. —Al-Qabas

hristmas is an annual occasion for celebrating the birth of Prophet Jesus which is celebrated on the 25th of December every year.

Exchanging gifts and greeting cards, putting up special lights and playing the season`s music themes makes this spiritual time a real special treat which is shared with others.

Coming together as a family, and meeting the old, the poor and the handicapped instills in us values of caring for each other, and understanding our responsibility towards the society as we all need to coexist during good times as well as hard times.

Many expats are away from home and we wish all of them a merry time. All of us must enjoy the full Christmas regalia, including the costumes and the season, even if it is not snowing here.

We in Kuwait are historically open to living amidst multicultural society and understand that our morals are multi-faith and peace with other believers is the most effective way to maintain harmony in the society.

In many societies around the world, this season is also a time for cooperation and reconciliation. Very often, Muslim employees fill up for their colleagues at the work place to enable them to take part in the festivities, a gesture duly reciprocated by the other side when Muslims are fasting during Ramadan and celebrating Eid al-fitr.

Christmas is truly a sign of tolerance, acceptance and maturity of the society. It is a spirit that needs to prevail every day of every month of every year, away from the atmosphere of hatred, extremism and radicalism.

kuwait digest

Let your words match your deeds

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

I

ntroduction: Government loses its popularity when it refuses to see the reality on the ground and instead starts dealing with the people as if they are merely statistics.

Some ministers consider the citizens as just a bunch of figures that can be changed, amended and even deleted, if necessary.

It is high time the ministers matched their deeds with their declarations.

Pragmatically, if they did half as much as they claim they would do, we would be satisfied.

The Minister of Finance, Mustafa Al-Shamali, while announcing his refusal to cancel the loans or waive off the interest accrued on such loans, justified his stance by saying that Kuwaitis earn one of the highest salaries in the world. But at the same time, he omitted to mention or deliberately ignored the fact that the prices of food items and consumer goods in general are the highest in Kuwait. Even the luxury goods in Kuwait are the most expensive in the world.

Mentioning this fact in the same breath would have knocked down his and his government’s theory about Kuwaitis enjoying a high income.

But then he, like all our other ministers, prefers to see only one side of the story which serves his theory, the citizens be damned. In the eyes of the ministers, they are nothing more than figures derived from birth and death certificates issued daily.

Your Highness Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak, I wish that in the very first meeting with your ministers, you tell them that the citizen is “fed up” of the sundry declarations of theirs. It is high time they matched their deeds with their declarations.

Pragmatically, if they did half as much as they claim they would do, we would be satisfied.

Each minister should realize that he was given the ministerial post to serve the people. Therefore, instead of talking as if it is the minister that gives Kuwaitis high salaries which disappear by the 5th of every month, each minister should try to understand the real needs of people.

Some of them will turn back and say, “You Kuwaitis receive high salaries, but you do not manage your money well.” They could be partially right, but then citizens have no control over zooming food prices which have increased three-folds compared to the rates two years ago. It is not the citizens who have hiked rents by 100 percent during a period of six years. Surely, the citizens did not send the stock exchange market plunging, they did not float paper companies, nor did they sanction payment of one billion to rescue such paper companies, thus benefitting only a “chosen few”.

Tenders worth millions of dollars were not cornered by our children, or relatives or neighbors. We, in fact, are the sufferers at the other end of the stick.

NOTE: One of my Arab friends asked me, “I can’t believe that even while being a Kuwaiti, you do not own a Ferrari car. When are you going to enjoy your wealth?” I did not answer him, but perhaps Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali can please answer on my behalf. — Al-Anbaa

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

local

Kuwait-India bilateral trade jumps to $17bn in 2012 High-level visits bolster relations: Ambassador

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: The year 2012 was a remarkable one for bilateral relations between India and Kuwait.

In fact, the exchange visits of high-ranking government officials from both sides added to the remarkable year-end. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Satish Chand Mehta, India’s Ambassador to Kuwait, said there has been a significant improvement and growth in the bilateral relations between the two counties.

“We have very good political, economic and

“The year 2012 started with the visit of a member of parliament from India, then a visit

by Indian Minister for Overseas Affairs, an official from the Ministry of Finance, investment delegations, followed by a visit of a foreign affairs official for the some consultations and also by officials who attended the Asian Cooperation Dialogue. On the Kuwaiti side, we received visitors from Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce, Kuwaiti delegations from the Ministry of Health for the MOU signing and the visit of undersecretary for social affairs and

KUWAIT: Indian Ambassador Satish C Mehta addresses a press conference at the Indian Embassy on Sunday. — Photo by Joseph Shagra cultural relations and an excellent understanding on various issues between the two governments. We expect this to continue in the coming years,” the envoy told local and some Indian reporters attending the press briefing held at the embassy premises.

“Bilateral trade in 2010-11 stood at $12 billion, and in 2011-12 it was $17 billion. There is a significant growth in bilateral trade. We are happy and contented about it because this is how it should be.”

The Indian ambassador noted that most of the achievements in the year 2012 were actually an outcome of an active engagement between the two countries, especially through a number of high-level visits.

labor,” the ambassador narrated.

The envoy also mentioned the visit of Kuwait Journalists Association’s delegation together with the editor and chiefs of various local newspapers.

“It was a very successful visit and we were very satisfied about the positive feedback we received from the delegation,” he said.

Culturally, Mehta said, Kuwait and India share a common strength in promoting their culture and values. “There is so much that India and Kuwait share when it comes to the cultural domain. A number of cultural delegations from India visited Kuwait in 2012. Some were at the government’s initiative but many were part of the private initiative of the Indian community,”

he added. He also mentioned that many of the cultural presentations were organized in cooperation with the National Council for Culture Arts and Letters in Kuwait, including a cultural affairs group which cooperated in the Asian Summit. On the Kuwaiti side, according to Mehta, the Kuwaiti cultural group performed in India way back in January 2012.

He also mentioned a number of tourism promotion exercises, aimed at increasing the number of Kuwaiti tourists visiting India.

Ambassador Mehta also revealed that the 60day moratorium on visits by any foreigners who visited India has been completely lifted.

“Overall the relationship has been very good and is progressing. We are confident that the new year will see more interaction between our two countries,” he said.

“On the commercial side, we hope that trade will further increase, and so will investments. In the past, India has been the number one trade partner of Kuwait, and we want to regain that position as Indian manufacturers have now started to produce more and more products and an ever increasing range of high quality competitive prices and services,” he pointed out.

Mehta stressed that as countries, both Kuwait and India are working closely to promote good ties and cooperation. “To continue to enhance the bilateral relations, we were supposed to have a high level meeting in December 2012 here in Kuwait, but it was postponed due to elections here. We will finalize the new date now as elections are over. In the hydrocarbon sector, we already have very good cooperation. In fact, we are looking forward to expand our cooperation in this regard and add new dimensions to it,” he stated.

Kuwait has sovereign funds and has millions of surpluses and because of that India wants to attract Kuwaiti investments. According to Ambassador Mehta, India now is the third largest economy and endeavors to secure the second position in the next 10-13 years. “Our growth has been steady in the last 20 years and we have averaged at around seven percent, and hope to do even better. We call upon Kuwait to participate in the growing Indian economy and benefit from it. That is our effort and we are positive about the responsiveness of the Kuwaiti side,” he said.

Indian population in Kuwait stood at 640,000 as of February this year, of which 244,000 are working in the domestic labor sector.

KUWAIT: Minister of Electricity & Water and Minister of Public Works Abdulaziz AlIbrahim was hosted at EQUATE’s booth.

EQUATE sponsors Kuwaiti engineering society’s forum KUWAIT: EQUATE Petrochemical Company sponsored the Kuwait Society of Engineers (KSE) First Engineering Initiatives Forum under the patronage of His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah.

The Crown Prince’s representative Minister of Electricity & Water and Minister of Public Works Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim was hosted at EQUATE’s booth and received a presentation regarding the company’s achievements. EQUATE’s cooperation with KSE has been a true embodiment of the company’s tagline “Partners in Success” in all relevant levels. EQUATE’s support to KSE has included sponsoring and participating in several of the society’s activities throughout the years.

During the forum, KSE recognized and highly commended EQUATE for its sustain-

ability efforts within and outside Kuwait. In recognition of its sustainability achievements, EQUATE has earned several prestigious honors, including HH the Amir Award for the Best Plant in Kuwait; The Gold Award in Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) for Gulf private sector companies; The Award for Best Gulf Company in Recruiting Nationals; Arabian Business Best CSR Company Award; Oil & Gas (O&G) Middle East CSR Award; O&G Best Implemented Environmental Program of the Year; Middle East Chemical Week (MECW) Plant of the Year Award; as well as Kuwait’s CSR Award in the Industrial and Oil Sector. In addition, EQUATE has received the Highly Commended Best Community Program Award during the First Middle East CSR Award Summit.”

Kuwait MOH considers national stem cell bank KUWAIT: The Health Ministry formed a special committee to oversee planning of a national stem cell bank, the cells collected from donors in both the public and private sector, according to Undersecretary Khalid Al-Sahlawi.

The official said yesterday that the national stem cell bank program aims to reduce the cost of acquiring stem cells from abroad. The cells are to be collected to help patients who cannot find blood or bone marrow donors and this would help save lives.

As for sources of stem cells, he said they include umbilical cord blood, bone marrow and blood. With scientific research still inconclusive regarding the feasibility of relying on umbilical cord blood for stem cells without the need for other sources, parents and children are not guaranteed any benefit. While there is no harm in skipping the option of saving the umbilical cord blood, those wishing to go ahead and store some of it may pay a high emotional and financial price for periods that last as long as 20 years, said the undersecretary.—KUNA

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

local

Kuwait pavilion displays cultural history, heritage GCC media exhibition opens

TUNIS: Kuwait’s Information Assistant Undersecretary for Radio Affairs Yousef Mustafa (left) with other officials after he was honored at inauguration ceremony of the 15th Arab festival for radio and television in Tunis on Sunday. — KUNA

Kuwait media celebrity honored at Arab festival TUNIS: Kuwait’s Information Assistant Undersecretary for Radio Affairs Yousef Mustafa was honored at inauguration ceremony of the 15th Arab festival for radio and television held here late on Sunday. Mustafa said he was proud of being honored. He said the honor would be dedicated to Kuwait’s political and media leaderships.

He called for greater cooperation between the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) and regional and international broadcasting and information federations. Mustafa expressed hope that Kuwaiti programs and productions taking part in the festival, would win awards. The festival will conclude on Thursday. — KUNA

MANAMA: Kuwait Ministry of Information’s pavilion at the media exhibition accompanying the 33rd GCC Summit opened here yesterday exhibiting publications and photographs illustrating Kuwait’s development in various fields.

The Kuwaiti participation in the exhibition that was inaugurated last night by the Bahraini Minister of State for Media Affairs, Samira Rajab, displays several cultural, scientific publications, and posters illustrating Kuwait’s history, and achievements under the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah.

The pavilion attracted Gulf, Arab and Foreign delegations and media figures, as it presented cultural aspects of Kuwait’s development, in addition to highlighting historical relations between Kuwait and Bahrain.

Director of the GCC Department in the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information, Mohammad Hassan Al-Baddah told KUNA, that the Kuwaiti pavilion was highly praised by participants and media figures, hoping that it represents Kuwait’s cultural and media development to the highest standards. Al-Baddah expressed hopes that the 33rd GCC Summit would accomplish aims set to the interest of the Gulf people.

The Ministry of Information’s participation in the exhibition in coordination and cooperation

Kuwait signs aviation pacts with 6 countries

with several cultural, scientific publications, including the Al-Arabi Magazine, the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters and the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development, Al-Babtain Foundation for Poetic Creativity,

Public Authority for Industry, Public Authority for Environment, The Center for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies at the University of Kuwait in addition to Publications Department at the Ministry of Information. — KUNA

MANAMA: Director of the GCC Department in the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information, Mohammad Hassan Al-Baddah with other officials at the Kuwaiti pavilion yesterday. — KUNA

How to cope with RA in the long run Dealing with rheumatoid arthritis

KUWAIT: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) signed six cooperation deals and MOUs with six countries during the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) conference held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on December 7-12.

The Directorate’s Board Chairman and head of the Kuwaiti delegation to the conference, Fawaz Al-Farah, said that the six deals and the MOUs were signed with

New Zealand, Burkina Faso, Seychelles, Gambia, Congo, the Ivory Coast, Austria, Mali, and Guinea.

The official affirmed that the deals would enable more aviation activity between Kuwait and the countries which the agreements were signed with, adding that this would hopefully also increase commercial exchanges bet ween Kuwait and other nations. — KUNA

Illegal structures removed in Jahra

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Jahra municipality carried out an inspection campaign in Sabbiya area in cooperation with Public Relations department of the Ministry of Interior to demolish violations on state property. Safety administration director, Mubarak Al-Buais said that the campaign resulted in the removal of several illegal constructions erected without licenses by some companies in order to accom-

modate their laborers and store certain equipments.

The administration served warnings to those companies before demolishing the structures. He added that the campaigns would continue to remove all violations on state property in the governorate. He also called upon citizens and expats to cooperate with the authorities and report all such violations that come to their notice. The hotline 139 will be available aroundthe-clock, he said.

KUWAIT: Professor Adel Al-Awadhi, President of Kuwaiti League of Rheumatism and Autoimmune Disease, and Head of Rheumatology Department in Al-Amiri Hospital said that with a disease like rheumatoid arthritis, it is important to first determine the prognosis of the disease and its likely outcome for the patient.

Educating the public, sufferers and caregivers of the disease by demonstrating different ways to manage the illness effectively is the next step.

Once the patient’s prognosis has been identified, proper treatment methods should take effect with the right Rheumatologist in place to ensure a more comfortable lifestyle.

Determining the Prognosis Initially, the prognosis for rheumatoid arthritis is based on how advanced the disease was when the patient was first diagnosed. Another factor to be considered is the patient’s age when first diagnosed or when the disease first began. Lastly, but most importantly is how active the disease is currently.

Is rheumatoid arthritis in a flare, a remission, or can it be managed well with treatment? About 10 to 20% of rheumatoid arthritis patients have sudden onset of the disease, followed by many years with zero symptoms. This is known as a prolonged remission.

Some rheumatoid arthritis patients have symptoms that come and go. Periods when there are few or no symptoms, which occur between flares, can last for months.

This is referred to as intermittent symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

The majority of rheumatoid arthritis patients have the chronic, progressive type of rheumatoid arthritis that requires long-term medical management.

Factors that Influence the prognosis How does a patient know for sure if he or she are more likely to have a progressive and destructive form of rheumatoid arthritis and a severe disease course? The following factors will showcase the potentially dangerous course of the disease: • Flares that are intense and last a long period of time • Diagnosed very young and have had active disease for years • Markers for inflammation are elevated on laboratory tests (elevated CRP and ESR) • Significant joint damage already evident on x-rays when diagnosed • Presence of rheumatoid nodules • Test positive for rheumatoid factor or anti-CCP Your doctor - your aid!

If the respective Rheumatologist and patient have assessed the factors that influence their prognosis, the next thing to do is periodically reassess those factors. At certain intervals, have x-rays, laboratory tests, and an examination to see if the physical results are changing for the better.

If the disease seems very active,

Prof Adel Al-Awadhi

the patient is in a flare that seems unstoppable, lab results are worse, or x-ray evidence of joint damage is more pronounced, treatment options should be reconsidered. In that case, the patient and Rheumatologist may need a new plan of attack to slow or halt disease progression.

Home remedies to ease daily suffering Simple self - care measures at home along with rheumatoid arthritis medications, can help manage signs and symptoms: Patients are encouraged to exercise regularly where in gentle exercises can help strengthen the muscles around the joints, and help fight fatigue that might arise. Check with the Rheumatologist before starting any exercises and if one is just getting started, begin by taking a walk.

Swimming or gentle water aerobics are also beneficial to RA patients.

And always remember to avoid exercising tender, injured or severely inflamed joints as this could lead to long term tear.

Appling heat or cold helps significantly as well since heat can help ease the pain and relax tense, painful muscles. While cold may dull the sensation of pain and has a numbing effect and decreases muscle spasms.

More importantly, patients should remember to relax! Finding ways to cope with pain by reducing daily stress has surprising results.

Techniques such as guided imagery, deep breathing and muscle relaxation can all be used to control pain.

Find a support system that will keep the patient and the disease grounded. Connecting with others such as family members, friends or other RA patients to talk to can make the patient’s life a more comfortable life.

Dive Team removes shipwreck debris off Souk Sharq KUWAIT: Kuwait Dive Team of the Environmental Voluntary Foundation succeeded in removing shipwreck debris from Niqaat Al-Shamlan waters close to Souq Sharq after two days of work in cooperation with Kuwait Ports Authority, operation manager Faisal Al-Harban said yesterday.

The 25-ton debris was dislodged with use of airbags along with machinery capable of handling 300 tons. AlHarban said this is the last ship that was abandoned after going up in flames in August. It had been causing pollu-

tion to the marine environment and also blocking smooth aviation and entry of other ships. The team also removed two sunken boats from the same area, with the total of removed vessels damaged in the August fire reaching 15 prior to this last operation. The divers urged members of the public to help preserve the environment of the area and noted there is ongoing effort to maintain it in cooperation with Kuwait Municipality, Fishermen Union, Kuwait Ports Authority, Souq Sharq management, and volunteer divers. — KUNA

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

Ben Ali’s ill-gotten gains draw crowds of Tunisians

Egypt reviews ballot on contentious constitution Page 8

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NEW DELHI: Indian students carrying placards shout slogans against last week’s gang-rape as they protest yesterday. —AP

Anger rages in India over rape PM vows to punish rapists for ‘monstrous’ crime NEW DELHI: Indian authorities throttled movement in the heart of the capital yesterday, shutting roads and railway stations in a bid to restore law and order after police fought pitched battles with protesters enraged by the gang rape of a young woman. In an unusual televised address, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for calm following the weekend clashes in New Delhi and vowed to punish the rapists for their “monstrous” crime.

Singh’s government, often accused by critics of being out of touch with the aspirations of many Indians, has been caught off-guard by the depth of the popular outrage as protests have snowballed and spread to other cities. India is seen as one of the most unsafe places in the world to be a woman.

Instead of channelling the outrage, the government has found itself on the defensive over the use of force against the protesters and complaints that it has done little in its eight years in power to create a safer environment for women. The protests have been the biggest in the capital since 2011 demonstrations against corruption that rocked the government. “People are not reacting to just one rape case. They are reacting to the gen-

eral malaise, the frustration with the leadership.

There is a feeling that the leadership is completely disconnected,” said political analyst Neerja Chowdhury.

Police barricaded roads leading to India Gate, an imposing Arc de Triomphe-style war memorial in the centre of the city, that has become a hub of the protests by mostly college students. Many metro rail stations in fog-shrouded Delhi were also closed, crippling movement around the city of 16 million. The protests overshadowed an official visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin and disrupted his schedule.

The 23-year-old victim of the Dec 16 attack, who was beaten, raped for almost an hour and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi, was still in a critical condition on respiratory support, doctors said. In the weekend spasm of violent protests, police use batons, teargas and water cannon against demonstrators around the capital. Protests and candle-light vigils have also taken place in other Indian cities but they have been more peaceful.

“I appeal to all concerned citizens to maintain peace and calm. I assure you we will make all possible efforts to ensure security and safety of women in this country,” Singh said in his televised

Afghanistan policewoman kills US adviser in Kabul KABUL: An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul yesterday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said. The killing of the American, who worked as a contractor with the NATO command, was the first known insider attack by a woman in Afghanistan. The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt. Nargas, had entered a strategic compound in the heart of the capital and shot the civilian adviser with a pistol as he came out of a small shop with articles he had just bought, Kabul Governor Abdul Jabar Taqwa told The Associated Press.

Earlier, she had asked bystanders where the governor’s office was located, the governor said. As many Afghans, the policewoman uses only one name. The policewoman was taken into Afghan custody shortly after the attack but Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said that she refused to answer questions after hours of interrogation aimed at determining her motives for the killing. Sediqi said the assailant shot only once, striking the American in the side of the chest. He died either on the way or just upon arrival at a hospital, the spokesman added, describing her act as a “huge crime.”

A NATO command spokesman, US Air Force Lt Col

Lester T Carroll, said the slain adviser was a contractor whose identity wasn’t immediately released. “We can confirm that a civilian police adviser was shot and killed this morning by a suspected member of the Afghan uniformed police,” Carroll said. The attack occurred outside the police headquarters in a walled, highly secure compound which also houses the governor’s office, courts and a prison. Kabul Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Daoud Amin said an investigation was under way.

Nargas, a mother of four, had worked with a human rights department of the police for two years and had earlier been a refugee in Pakistan and Iran, Amin said. She could enter the compound armed because as a police officer she was licensed to carry a pistol, the police official said. Amin did not know whether the killer and victim were acquainted.

“Her background is very clean. We don’t see that she had any connection with armed insurgent groups,” Sediqi said. He added that she aroused no suspicion because she frequently went back and forth on business between the compound and the Interior Ministry where she worked. Canadian Brig. Gen John C Madower, a command spokesman in Kabul, called the incident “a very sad occasion” and said his “prayers are with the loved ones of the deceased.” —AP

address to the nation. Singh has been under fire for remaining largely silent since the rape. He issued a statement for the first time on Sunday, a week after the crime. Sonia Gandhi, chief of the ruling Congress Party, has met some of the protesters to hear their demands. Comments by political commentators, sociologists and protesters suggest the rape has tapped into a deep well of frustration that many Indians have over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership on social and economic issues. “There is a huge amount of anger. People are deeply upset that despite so many incidents there has not been much response from the state and the government,” said social activist Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research in Delhi.

Social media sites drive protests New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India’s major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. A global poll by Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place in the world to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery.

Since last week’s rape, the authorities have promised better police patrolling to ensure safety for women returning from work and entertainment districts, more buses at night, and fast-track courts for swift verdicts on cases of rape and sexual assaults. But protesters view those measures as inadequate and are looking for the government to take a firmer stand on sexual assaults countrywide, most of which go unreported. Reported rape cases in India have increased by 9.2 percent to 24,206 cases in 2011 from 22,172 the previous year, according to the latest figures from the National Crime Record Bureau, “This is not about that one rape,” said aspiring fashion designer Shruti Sharma, 24, at a protest in Delhi yesterday.

“This is about how crime is rampant in our cities. We are angry at the government for not ensuring the safety of its citizens. The judiciary is slow. Cases take too long.” Opposition political parties, normally quick to exploit the government’s vulnerabilities, have largely been sidelined in the protests, which have mostly been organised through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The protesters come from all walks of life but many are young and middle class. Political commentators see their involvement as evidence of growing frustration with the government’s focus on poor and rural voters and a failure to pass on the benefits of a decade of rapid economic growth. So far, however, the protesters’ focus has been on the rape case rather than on other griev-

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

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

Assad meets envoy as regime suffers blow DAMASCUS: Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi held talks in Syria yesterday with President Bashar Al-Assad, as Islamist rebels seized large parts of a village populated by the embattled leader’s Alawite community. The opposition National Coalition, meanwhile, accused Damascus of committing a “massacre” of dozens of civilians in the bombing of a bakery-an allegation fended off by the Assad regime.

“I had the honour to meet the president and as usual we exchanged views on the many steps to be taken in the future,” Brahimi said a day after arriving in Damascus to launch a new bid to end the conflict.

The UN and Arab League envoy said the crisis was “always worrying” given the scale of the bloodshed. More than 44,000 people are estimated to have been killed since the eruption in March 2011 of a Sunni Muslim-led uprising against Assad’s

regime dominated by his Alawite offshoot of Shiite Islam. Brahimi, who last visited Syria on October 19, expressed hope “all parties are in favour of a solution that draws Syrian people together”.

“Assad expressed his views on the situation and I told him about my meetings with leaders in the region and outside,” said the veteran Algerian diplomat who took over from former UN chief Kofi Annan. Assad said his “government is committed to ensure the success of all efforts aimed at protecting the sovereignty and independence of the country,” state television reported.

Brahimi’s arrival in Syria coincided with reports at least 60 people were killed in a regime air strike on a bakery in the town of Halfaya, in the central province of Hama. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had documented 43 names of people killed in Halfaya, among them

40 men and three women. Activists said the attack amounted to a “massacre”. But the official SANA news agency blamed the killing on an “armed terrorist group”-the regime term for rebels-saying “many women and children” had died.

Video footage posted online by activists showed a bombed one-storey block and a crater in the road. Bloodied bodies lay on the road, while others could be seen in the rubble. Men carried victims out on their backs, among them at least one woman. The video could not immediately be verified.

The opposition National Coalition, which is recognised by dozens of countries and organisations as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, blamed Assad’s regime for the “massacre” in Halfaya, saying it “targeted children, women and men who went out to get their scarce daily bread ration.” — AFP

DAMASCUS: In this photo, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (right) meets with UN Arab League deputy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi yesterday. — AP

Egypt reviews ballot on contentious constitution Some question legitimacy after only one-third turn out

GAMMARTH: Jewellery items that once belonged to the family of ousted Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali are displayed. — AFP

Ben Ali’s ill-gotten gains draw crowds of Tunisians GAMMARTH: Agents of rich Gulf collectors, lovers of luxury and those simply curious to see the ill-gotten gains of the Ben Ali clan were among those drawn to a sale of the deposed Tunisian despot’s assets that began on Sunday. “We’re here out of curiosity, to see the size of the scam this country suffered from,” said Mehdi, 25, visiting the exhibition with his uncle, a car enthusiast. “It feels like voyeurism,” he added, saying that he felt “uneasy in front of all this luxury that is insulting to ordinary Tunisians struggling to get by.”

A bright red Ferrari owned by Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s spoilt nephew Imed, and a brand new Porsche destined for his youngest child, were among the items on show in the pharaonic decor of the Cleopatra exhibition space amid tight security. The former belongings of Ben Ali and 114 of his relatives are going under the hammer in the chic Tunisian resort of Gammarth, in an auction due to last one month and from which the cash-strapped government hopes to raise millions of euros.

Suits belonging to the toppled despot are expected to go for 3,000 euros each, while coats acquired by his wife Leila Trabelsi, who was notorious for her expensive tastes, could rack up as much as 4,000 euros. The collection of 39 luxury cars, only half of which were on display, was of particular interest to an agent acting on behalf of a Saudi prince.

“We have made the (purchase) request three times since February, but we had to wait for this exhibition.

Today we’re ready,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Highlights from the car collection include a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 460, a Bentley Continental sports car, an armoured Cadillac and a Maybach 62. Limited edition Mercedes and BMWs also feature.

“No comment!” was all that one rich young couple had to say to reporters as they eyed up the Maybach, a present

from Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, another north African dictator who amassed wealth before being ousted in last year’s Arab Spring uprisings. “Around 100 people attended the opening, pretty busy for a Sunday. It’s a good crowd,” said Affef Douss, in charge of organising the event for the finance ministry.

Banners proclaiming “Revolution, freedom and dignity” are displayed around the exhibition, a reminder of the strange provenance of the opulent items up for sale. Corruption and nepotism were rife under the regime of Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia with his wife after the first Arab Spring uprising swept the country. Mehdi Ben Garbia, a Tunisian MP, said he had come “to get an idea about the way in which the taxpayers’ money was squandered.”

Like all members of the government, parliamentarians are barred from buying. Most of the works of art, ornaments, furniture, and some of the carpets on offer will be sold to the highest bidder, with no item thought to be worth less than 5,000 euros. Animal statues of solid gold, crystal horses and an 80-centimetre-high (32-inch) silver olive tree feature among the lots.

There is a constant hum of excitement in the last viewing room, where clothing and accessories formerly owned by the disgraced first lady are on display-including luxury shoes and handbags worth many times the minimum monthly wage. Of the 400 jewels and ornaments confiscated by the state, only around 20 are shown, among them a made-to-measure choker that once adorned the neck of Ben Ali’s wife, sparkling with some 1,000 diamonds. A doctor who lives in France discussed the jewellery with a diamond specialist, but his wife stepped away. “My husband wants to buy, but I’m actually disgusted. These are fabulous jewels, but they tell a harrowing story.” — AFP

GAMMARTH: Luxury cars that once belonged to ousted Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family are displayed. — AFP

CAIRO: Egyptian judges were investigating opposition accusations of voting fraud yesterday before declaring the result of a referendum set to show that a contentious new constitution has been approved. President Mohamed Morsi sees the basic law, drawn up mostly by his Islamist allies, as a vital step in Egypt’s transition to democracy almost two years after the fall of military-backed strongman Hosni Mubarak.

Unofficial tallies from the Muslim Brotherhood - which catapulted Morsi into the presidency this year - indicated that 64 percent had approved the charter, although an official result was not expected until at least today.

An opposition tally had a similar result. Morsi’s critics said the vote, conducted in two stages in a process that ended on Saturday, had been marred by a litany of irregularities, and have demanded a full inquiry.

“The committee is currently compiling results from the first and second phase and votes from Egyptians abroad, and is investigating complaints,” Judge Mahmoud Abu Shousha, a member of the committee, told Reuters.

Two sources in the committee said the results were likely to be announced today. “It will not be very different from the unofficial result, at 60-something percent,” one said. The opposition, a loose alliance of socialists, liberalminded Muslims and Christians, say the text is too Islamist, ignores the rights of minorities and represents a recipe for more trouble in the most populous Arab nation. They have noted that less than a third of those eligible turned out to vote.

If the “yes” vote is confirmed, a parliamentary election will follow in about two months, setting the stage for Islamists to renew their battle with more secular-minded opponents.

Opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prize winner, urged Morsi to form an all-inclusive government together with the liberal camp in order to patch up divisions and steer Egypt out of trouble in a democratic way.

“I am ready to join hands with President Morsi on condition that he forms a national (unity) government and speaks as president for all Egyptians,” he told the daily Al-Shorouk.

ElBaradei, the former head of the UN nuclear agency, said a new assembly should rewrite the draft - a call unlikely to be heeded

by Morsi, who is keen to push it through quickly. By forcing the pace on the constitution, Morsi risks squandering the opportunity to build consensus for the austerity measures desperately needed to kick-start an ailing economy, economists say.

Highlighting investor concerns, Standard and Poor’s cut Egypt’s long-term credit rating and said another cut was possible if political turbulence worsened.

Responding to what it said were market rumours, the central bank said it was taking steps to safeguard bank deposits. Some Egyptians say they have withdrawn their funds from banks out of concern that they will be frozen by authorities.

Under the new constitution, legislative powers that have been temporarily held by Morsi move to the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament until a new lower house is elected. The make-up of the Supreme Constitutional

Court, which Islamists say is filled with Mubarak-era appointees bent on throwing up legal challenges to Mursi’s rule, will also change as its membership is cut to 11 from 18.

Those expected to leave include Tahani AlGebali, who has described Morsi as an “illegitimate president”.

The low turnout has prompted some newspapers to question how much support the charter really had, with opponents saying Morsi lost the vote in much of the capital. “The referendum battle has ended, and the war over the constitution’s legitimacy has begun,” AlShorouk wrote in a headline, while a headline in the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper read: “Constitution of the minority”.

The head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, Saad Al-Katatni, wrote on Facebook that the group’s members were “extending our hands to all political parties and all national forces”, adding: “We will all start a new page”.

But the opposition National Salvation Front say the new basic law only deepens a rift between the liberals and Islamists who combined to overthrow Mubarak, and that they will keep challenging it through protests and other democratic means.

“We do not consider this constitution legitimate,” liberal politician Amr Hamzawy said on Sunday, arguing that it violated personal freedoms. The run-up to the referendum was marred by protests triggered by Morsi’s decision to award himself broad powers on Nov 22.

At least eight people were killed in clashes in Cairo and violence also flared in the second city, Alexandria. — Reuters

Thousands flock to Bethlehem for Christmas BETHLEHEM: Thousands of Palestinians and tourists were flocking to the West Bank city of Bethlehem yesterday to mark Christmas at the site where many believe Jesus Christ was born. This year’s celebration carries special significance for many Palestinians, coming after 12 months in which their status on the world stage has been significantly upgraded. Just last month the United Nations granted them the status of non-member observer state, and earlier this year they won their first UNESCO World Heritage Site designation-for Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.

The designation also included part of a pilgrimage route in Bethlehem, along which the traditional Christmas procession headed by the Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal marched later yesterday. Thousands of tourists are expected to join Palestinian residents of the city-Muslim and Christian alike-in lining the route to welcome the procession, which includes dozens of musicians and scout troupes from across the West Bank. The parade will culminate in Manger Square, in front of the Church of the Nativity, which is built over the site where Christians believe Mary gave birth to Jesus in a cattle shed.

Several hours later, Twal, the most senior Roman Catholic bishop in the Middle East, will deliver the traditional midnight mass to the faithful. Scout troupes were already marching in the square to the rhythm of drums and bagpipes mid-morning, while hundreds of tourists looked on. The mass is traditionally attended by top officials from the Palestinian Authority including president Mahmud Abbas and prime minister Salam Fayyad.

Last week, in his pre-Christmas press conference, Twal praised the UN decision to upgrade Palestinian status, calling it a “step towards peace and stability in the region.” “Israel can now negotiate on equal state-to-state terms for the good of all,” he told reporters, saying the Palestinian issue remained “the cause of all conflicts in the region,” and urging US President Barack Obama to take “immediate action” to push the peace process forward.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the Palestinians have seen Israel move forward with settlement activity, including around Bethlehem. Last week alone, Israel moved forward with plans for over 5,000 new settler homes, most of them in annexed east Jerusalem, and more than 2,500 of them in the Givat HaMatos neighbourhood at the entrance to Bethlehem.

The Palestinians say part of the new settlement activity is intended to punish them for the UN upgrade bid, which was fiercely opposed by Israel and Washington. — AFP

DAKAR: In this photo, Christmas lights reading “Welcome to Dakar,” light up a highway alongside a mosque in Dakar, Senegal. — AP

Dakar mosque lit up for Christmas DAKAR: After prayers at the mosque, Ibrahim Lo is off to do some last-minute Christmas shopping. Soon he is eyeing the rows of dolls wrapped in plastic bags on a wooden table as he searches for gifts for his four children. A bouquet of inflatable Santa toys tied to a nearby tree bobs in the air at this outdoor market in the seaside capital as he makes his picks. It looks a lot like Christmas in Senegal, where 95 percent of the 12.8 million residents are Muslim. Even the Grande Mosquee, a mosque that dominates the city’s skyline, is aglow in holiday lights.

“When they go to school, the children learn about Santa,” says Lo, wearing a flowing olive green robe known as a boubou.

“We are born into the Senegalese tradition of cohabitation between Muslims and Christians. What is essential is the respect between people.” Senegal, a moderate country along Africa’s western coast, has long been a place where Christians and Muslims have coexisted peacefully. Most Christians here are Catholic and live in the south of country and in the capital.

Hadim Thiam, 30, normally sells shoes but during December he’s expanded to an elaborate spread of tinsel, cans of spray snow and fireworks. “It’s not linked to God. It’s for the children,” says Jean Mouss, 55, a Christian out shopping for holiday decora-

tions at Thiam’s stand. “We wish Muslims a Merry Christmas and invite them into our homes for the holiday.” Signs of Christmas are prevalent in this tropical seaside capital.

Green and flocked plastic trees of every size are sold on street corners alongside Nescafe carts and vendors splitting open coconuts.

“My First Christmas” baby sleepers are folded neatly on the top of the piles of secondhand clothing for sale on the streets. There are French “buches de Noel” and chocolate snowmen for sale in the upscale patisseries.

At lunchtime, a chorus of schoolchildren singing “Silent Night” echoes across a courtyard. The main cathedral is now a spectacle of lights each night - no easy feat for a city often subjected to power cuts.

Still, not everyone in Senegal thinks embracing Christmas is all in good cheer.

Mouhamed Seck, a Quranic teacher and imam for a mosque in a Dakar suburb, says taking part in the holiday is supporting a non-Muslim’s religion. “Islam forbids Muslims from taking part in these festivities,” he says. Parents who celebrate Christmas, though, say it’s a secular time to celebrate with their families on a national holiday. “To make my two children happy, I buy gifts for them and ask their mother to prepare a very hearty meal but we don’t go to Mass,” says Oumar Fall, 46, who has a 10year-old and a 13-year-old. — AP

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

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

Christmas brings fear of church bombs in Nigeria Boko Haram trying to spark religious conflict

KHARTOUM: South Sudanese people arrive to fly home from the Sudanese capital yesterday. —AFP

Sudan’s displaced wait for Christmas with joy, tears JABORONA: From homes of mud brick or roughly built shelters, Sudan’s displaced will gather on the sandy lot of St Bakhita’s parish church yesterday for Christmas mass.

The metal benches beneath the church’s sagging ceiling will be unable to hold all the worshippers: some are South Sudanese still waiting to go home, and many others are ethnic Nuba from war-torn South Kordofan state. To make room, prayers will be held outside near a giant metal cross.

“It will be a very good celebration,” a community worker said, despite little reason to rejoice in the Jaborona settlement, which grew out of the desert near Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman during Sudan’s 1983-2005 civil war. “We can survive and we can smile... but there is a lot of tears in our hearts,” one church leader said of the South Sudanese remaining in Islamist-run Sudan, without regular jobs or homes of their own as their cash evaporates. “They want to go back,” he said. Most of the Southerners who lived in Jaborona left earlier, but about 1,000 are still encamped there in tent-like shelters awaiting transport south, said the community worker.

Similar “departure points” all over the Khartoum area hold what local leaders estimate are 40,000 South Sudanese. The civil war drove millions to the north. After South Sudan separated in July 2011, southerners there were given a deadline of April to formalise their status in the north or leave.

Juba’s embassy says that, at last count, there were 171,000 South Sudanese still in the Khartoum area. Sudan and South Sudan have not come up with a detailed plan for returning the South Sudanese, and disagreements have stalled implementation of key deals signed in September on security and economic issues.

These included a pact on the right of each country’s nationals to live and move freely in the other country. There have been small-scale organised returns this year, including one last week by the two governments and the Africa Inland Church which

moved more than 900 people by road to South Sudan, said Filiz Demir, of the International Organisation for Migration.

Priority is ‘how to survive’ Yesterday, Christmas Eve, the IOM will resume flights of sick, elderly and other “extremely vulnerable” South Sudanese, Demir said. The airlift from Khartoum to Aweil, South Sudan, will continue until Thursday. In Arabic, “Jaborona” means taken by force. The settlement developed when people displaced by the civil war in the Nuba mountains and south Sudan were moved there by the government. At its peak it held about 30,000 Southerners but now only about 1,000 remain, while others stay with relatives and return to Jaborona when they hear of transport South, the community worker said. “I think the main problem at the moment is the living conditions of the people,” he said, asking for anonymity. “Many young people are just drinking, living a reckless life, don’t go to school.”

South Sudanese have been classed as foreigners in Sudan since April, restricting their access to employment and services.

They lost their jobs and sold their homes in expectation of leaving, the community worker said, adding that some women brew and sell alcohol to scrape out a living.

“I’m sure their priority is not how to celebrate Christmas but how to survive and how to transport themselves home,” said Kau Nak, deputy head of South Sudan’s embassy in Khartoum.

An estimated 100,000 Nuba live slightly better-off in Jaborona’s rough mud-brick houses spread across a vast expanse of sand. One Nuba, who arrived in Jaborona years ago during the civil war, said some Nuba women “work for Arabs,” while the men rely on casual jobs. For the povertystricken Nuba and South Sudanese of Jaborona, there will be no elaborate gifts or Christmas trees. “The people just prepare their hearts,” the community worker said. —AFP

Swaziland bans ‘rape provoking’ miniskirts MBABANE: Police in Africa’s last absolute monarchy Swaziland have banned women from wearing miniskirts and midriff-revealing tops saying they provoke rape, local media reported yesterday. Offenders face a six-month jail term under the ban, which invokes a colonial criminal act dating back to 1889. “The act of the rapist is made easy, because it would be easy to remove the half-cloth worn by the women,” police spokeswoman Wendy Hleta was quoted as saying in the Independent Online news.

The ban also applies to low-rise jeans.

“They will be arrested,” she said. Hleta said women wearing revealing clothing were responsible for assaults or rapes committed against them. “I have read from the social networks that men and even other women have a tendency of ‘undressing

people with their eyes’. That becomes easier when the clothes are hugging or are more revealing,” Hleta said.

However, the ban does not apply to traditional costumes worn by young women during ceremonies like the annual Reed Dance, where the ruling King Mswati III chooses a wife. The flamboyant king already has 13 wives. During the ceremony, beaded traditional skirts worn by young bare-breasted virgins only cover the front, leaving the back exposed. Underwear is not allowed. The law was enforced after a march by women and young girls last month calling for protection against a spate of rapes in the impoverished kingdom, almost entirely surrounded by South Africa. According to the media report, the march was blocked by police. —AFP

MADALLA: Kneeling over a dusty grave on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital, 16-year old Hope Ehiawaguan says a prayer, lays down flowers and tearfully tells her brother she loves him.

He was one of 44 killed on Christmas Day last year when a member of Islamist sect Boko Haram rammed a car packed with explosives into the gates of St Theresa’s Church in Madalla, a satellite town 25 miles from the centre of Abuja. Boko Haram has killed hundreds in its campaign to impose sharia law in northern Nigeria and is the biggest threat to stability in Africa’s top oil exporter.

Two other churches were bombed that day and on Christmas Eve 2010 over 40 people were killed in similar attacks. This Christmas, the police and military are expecting more trouble in the north. They’ve ordered security to be tightened, people’s movement restricted and churches to be guarded. But such is the commitment to religion in a country with Africa’s largest Christian population that millions of people will pack out thousands of churches in the coming days. It is impossible to protect everyone, security experts say.

“I feel safe,” Ehiawaguan says with uncertainty, when asked if she will come to church on Dec. 25 this year. “Not because of security here ... because we have a greater security in heaven,” she says, wiping away her tears. The blast in Madalla killed several people on the street and pulled down the church roof, condemning many of those trapped inside the burning building, including a 7-month old boy.

A plaque listing the names of the members of the church who were killed has been placed above their graves. The twisted metal of the cars destroyed in the blast is still there. “I only pray to God to give them a heart,” Ehiawaguan says, when asked about her brother’s killers.

Security experts believe Boko Haram is targeting worshippers to spark a religious conflict in a country of 160 million people split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.

Sectarian threat The sect has also targeted Mosques in the past and assassinated Imams who have questioned its insurgency. In the group’s stronghold in the northeast, where most of its attacks occur, Muslims are equally at threat as Christians. The fear for many is that more Christmas Day attacks could spark the sort of tit-for-tat sectarian violence between the mostly Muslim north and largely Christian south, which has claimed thousands of lives in the past decade. “We have always insisted that Christians should not retaliate,” said Sam Kraakevik Kujiyat, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State, one of the areas worst hit by inter-religious violence in recent years.

“But there is fear ... we know not everyone who says he is a Christian acts like one.”

Churches were emptier than usual on Sunday in northern cities of Kano and Kaduna, local residents said. Despite bolstered security in cities across the north, dual suicide bombers

attacked the offices of mobile phone operators India’s Airtel and South Africa’s MTN in Nigeria’s second-largest city Kano on Saturday.

The bombers died but no civilians were killed.

No one took responsibility for the attacks but Boko Haram has targeted phone firms before because they say the companies help the security forces catch their members. At least 2,800 people have died in fighting in the largely Muslim north since Boko Haram launched an uprising against the government in 2009, watchdog Human Rights Watch says.

Boko Haram has showed since its insurgency intensified more than two years ago that it can find weaknesses in defences. “One faction of Boko Haram has made several attempts to provoke violence between Christians and Muslims,” said Peter Sharwood Smith, Nigeria head of security firm Drum Cussac. “Unfortunately, I think it is very possible we may see attacks of this type (Church bombings) again.”

Boko Haram is not the only threat in northern Nigeria. Islamist Group called Ansaru, known to have ties with Boko Haram, has risen in prominence in recent weeks. It claimed an attack on a major police barracks in Abuja last month, where it said hundreds of prisoners were released. The group said on Saturday that it was behind the kidnapping of a French national last week and it has been labelled a “terrorist group” by Britain. —Reuters

Queen praises Olympians in 3D Christmas message

MALI: An image grab of a video released yesterday by Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi Biladis Sudan, the radical Islamist group known as Ansaru, reportedly shows unidentified armed members of the group posing in an undisclosed place last month 2012. —AFP

Islamist group claims kidnap of French national in Nigeria KADUNA: Nigerian Islamist group Ansaru said on Sunday it was behind the kidnap of a French national last week, citing France’s ban on full-face veils and its support for military action in Mali. Ansaru sent a message to Nigerian reporters saying it was holding 63year-old Francis Colump, who was taken on Dec 19 when around 30 gunmen attacked his residence in the remote northern town of Rimi, close to the Niger border. The Nigerian police declined to comment on the claim but had already named Colump as the man abducted. He was working for French renewable energy firm Vergnet, which had been building Nigeria’s first wind farm.

“The reason we kidnapped him is... the law the government created which prohibits the wearing of niqab by French Muslim women. This is a denial of their religious rights,” said the statement by the group, written in the local Hausa language. “And again the participation of France in supporting the military attack on Muslims in northern Mali,” the message signed by the group’s purported leader Abu Usamata Ansari said.

In recent months France has led support for an African-led force to help defeat AlQaeda and other Islamist militants in northern Mali. Military deployment has the backing of the UN Security Council. Last year, France banned full face veils. Ansaru’s full name is Jama’atu Ansarul Musilimina Fi Biladis Sudan, which roughly translates as “Vanguards for the Protection of Muslims in

Black Africa”.

The group, thought to be a breakaway from better known Islamist sect Boko Haram, has risen to greater prominence in recent weeks. It claimed responsibility for a dawn raid on a major police station in the Nigerian capital last month, where it said hundreds of prisoners were released. Britain last month put Ansaru on its official “terrorist group” list, saying it was aligned with Al-Qaeda and was behind the kidnap of a British and a Italian killed earlier this year during a failed rescue attempt.

Ansaru is thought to have loose ties to Boko Haram, which has killed hundreds this year in an insurgency focused mostly on Nigerian security forces, religious targets and politicians, rather than foreigners. Western governments are increasingly concerned about Islamists in Nigeria linking up with groups outside the region, including AlQaeda’s north African wing.

Colump’s kidnap takes to nine the number of French citizens currently held hostage in Africa: seven others are in the arid Sahel belt and one in Somalia. France’s Intelligence agency said last week it believed “terrorist” links were behind the latest abduction. “We are informing the government of France that we would continue to attack ... its citizens anywhere in the world as long as the government does not retract on its policies,” Ansaru’s statement said. —Reuters

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II will pay tribute to the London 2012 athletes in her annual Christmas message to the Commonwealth, saying they had inspired the world and drawn people in to the excitement and drama.

The 86-year-old monarch will praise the achievement and courage on show at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in her annual Christmas address, which will be broadcast in 3D for the first time when it airs at 1500 GMT today. “The Queen’s broadcast this year focuses on service, achievement and the spirit of togetherness,” a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said.

The message was recorded in the central London palace’s White Drawing Room on December 7. “As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes,” Queen Elizabeth will say. “In pursuing their own sporting goals, they gave the rest of us the opportunity to share something of the excitement and drama.”

The Queen formally opened the Games in dramatic fashion herself, after taking part in a James Bond Queen Elizabeth scene, which ended with the pair seemingly parachuting down to the Olympic Stadium from a helicopter. It was one of the standout moments from her diamond jubilee year. Exactly 80 years after her grandfather king George V first started broadcasting a speech on December 25, Queen Elizabeth will embrace 3D technology to mark her 60 years as the sovereign.

She has made a broadcast every year since coming to the throne except 1969, because a repeat of the landmark behind-the-scenes documentary “Royal Family” was already scheduled for the holiday period. In footage released ahead of this year’s broadcast, the monarch is shown wearing 3D glasses to watch back part of her recording.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the sovereign thought it was “absolutely lovely”. “We wanted to do something a bit different and special in this jubilee year, so doing it for the first time in 3D seemed a good thing, technology-wise, to do,” she said. “The Queen absolutely agreed straight away there was no need for convincing at all, she was absolutely ready to embrace something new in this year.” —AFP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

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

Confessed serial killer hid in plain sight, then broke rules ANCHORAGE: A confessed serial killer from Alaska who hid in plain sight and whose crimes went undetected for more than a decade, was ultimately caught after he gave in to his compulsions and struck close to home. Israel Keyes, in jail since March for the kidnapping and murder of 18-year-old coffee stand server Samantha Koenig in Anchorage, Alaska, confessed to that and other violent crimes. Then guards found him dead on Dec 2 after he committed suicide by cutting his wrists and choking himself with a bed sheet. He was 34.

Keyes, a US Army veteran, lived a quiet life in one of Anchorage’s best neighborhoods, doing well-regarded handyman work for unsuspecting customers.

He had been due to go on trial in March for Koenig’s death, and investigators believe he killed eight to 11 people, if not more. A picture of Keyes’ double-life emerged from his own words authorities released excerpts from 40 hours of interviews with investigators to reporters-and from interviews and news conferences given by investigators, who said they believed his confessions were sincere.

“Everything that he told them has been borne out,” Lieutenant Dave Parker of the Anchorage Police Department said on Sunday. Keyes admitted that he committed numerous killings, bank robberies and other crimes across the country. He admitted to plans for more killings. He admitted to several unreport-

ed crimes and acts of cruelty committed before he started killing people, including the rape of a teenager in Oregon in the late 1990s and torture of animals when he was a child.

His suicide ended the revelations and made him a rarity-a confessed serial killer who was never convicted of murder. “It gives us no pleasure to dismiss the charges against Mr Keyes, but that’s what the law requires,” said Kevin Feldis, the assistant US attorney leading the prosecution. The criminal investigation will continue indefinitely, even if there is no prosecution, “because there will inevitably be many, many unknowns,” Feldis said.

Keyes was caught in Texas in March with a debit card stolen from Koenig, whom he abducted from her coffee stand in February. Keyes admitted to kidnapping, raping and killing her, then dismembering her body and dumping her remains in an icy lake before traveling out of Alaska. Once in custody, he also confessed to the 2011 killings of Bill and Lorraine Currier of Essex, Vermont, and the disposal of four bodies in Washington state and one in New York state. Only three homicides have been definitively pinned to him- those of Koenig and the Curriers-in large part because Keyes could not identify victims by name. His motivation was enjoyment, said Monique Doll, an Anchorage homicide detective who worked on the inves-

tigation. Throughout his months of jail interviews, Keyes was utterly unapologetic and remorseless, she said. “Israel Keyes didn’t kidnap and kill people because he was crazy. He didn’t kidnap and kill people because his deity told him to or because he had a bad childhood. Israel Keyes did this because he got an immense amount of enjoyment out of it, much like an addict gets an immense amount of enjoyment out of drugs,” Doll told a news conference.

He also enjoyed staying under the radar, officials said. He targeted total strangers, avoiding anyone with any possible connection, traveling hundreds of miles to target random victims at secluded parks, trail heads and other remote locations. He broke some of his own rules when he killed Koenig, abducting her at her workplace on a busy Anchorage street, where security cameras caught some of his actions, and killing her at his own house, officials said.

Keyes admitted he considered merely robbing Koenig-whom he did not knowand instead gave in to his compulsions, Doll said.

“In prior cases, he had enough selfcontrol to walk away from it,” Doll said.

“But with Samantha, he didn’t.” Koenig’s case dominated local news, and supporters raised a reward fund, held candlelight vigils and gave self-defense lessons to coffee stand servers. Keyes got a thrill from following the news coverage, so

long as his name was not linked to the case, investigators said. When he was identified by a Vermont television station in the s u mmer as the suspect in the murder of the Curriers, he became so angry he stopped speaking to investigators for two months.

Keyes grew up in Washington state in a fundamentalist Christian family that, in the past, attended a white-supremacist, anti-Semitic church but later moved out of the region and became affiliated with other congregations, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center civil rights group. Keyes served in the US Army for three years, including a brief stint in Egypt, and was discharged from Fort Lewis Army Base in Washington state in 2001. In his interviews, he said he was anxious for his military service to end so that he could start murdering people, Feldis said.

He moved to Alaska in 2007 and lived with his daughter and a girlfriend in Anchorage’s Turnagain neighborhood, near many of the city’s most prominent citizens, top attorneys and law-enforcement officials, operating a one-man contracting business. “He was well-known in Anchorage as a really good handyman,” said state Senator Hollis French, who lived around the corner from Keyes.

All the while, Keyes said in his interviews, he was “two different people.”

“There’s no one who knows me or who has ever known me, who knows any-

thing about me, really,” Keyes said in one of the interviews. Keyes told authorities he almost killed a young couple and an Anchorage police officer at a beach overlook, about a month before killing the Curriers in Vermont. Keyes said he was hiding in the park with a gun and a silencer and ready to ambush his victims; he wanted to test the silencer that he would later bring to the East Coast on his trip to kill the Curriers. He stopped when a second police officer arrived on the scene.

“It could have got ugly, but fortunately for the cop guy, his backup showed up,” a chuckling Keyes said one interview.

“I almost got myself into a lot of trouble on that one.” The silencer wound up in a stockpile of murder supplies that Keyes stashed in upstate New York, near a home he owned there. Keyes admitted to placing several such caches around the country, investigators said.

Officials have found two so far-the New York stockpile and one in the Anchorage suburb of Eagle River that contained a shovel and bottles of liquid clog remover, material for concealing a body and speeding decomposition. Until he was arrested, Keyes’ plan was to leave Alaska this year and work as an itinerant contractor making repairs in hurricanestruck areas of the United States, Feldis said. “That would allow him to move from place to place and commit murders,” Feldis said. — Reuters

US lobby issues point-blank ‘no’ on ammunition control Pro-gun rights US petition to deport Piers Morgan

PETION VILLE: Women kneel on the floor of a church during a Mass to pray for the health of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez in Petion Ville, Haiti. — AP

Venezuelans debate missed Chavez inauguration CARACAS: With President Hugo Chavez in Cuba recovering from cancer surgery, Venezuelans are debating what can be done if he isn’t back in time for his January 10 swearing in to another six-year term.

Debate in the last days has swirled around key articles of Venezuela’s 1999 constitution, which socialist ex-paratrooper Chavez approved in his first year in office. Chavez supporters claim that their leader can be sworn in late, even though opposition leaders will likely insist on holding a new presidential vote. “Forget January 10,” National Assembly head Diosdado Cabello said Saturday. “That is not the date, unless President Chavez decides so voluntarily... read your constitutions carefully.” Article 231 of Venezuela’s constitution states that the president-elect takes office on January 10 “in a swearing-in ceremony before the National Assembly.” Should circumstances prevent the ceremony from taking place, the president-elect takes the oath of office before the Supreme Court.

And Article 234 says that in cases of the president’s “temporary absence,” the vice president shall fill in for up to 90 days, and the National Assembly can extend that for a further 90 days. According to the constitution, an “absolute absence” includes death, resignation or an incapacitating illness. “January 10 is not the day that determines his absolute absence,” Cabello said at a public event Saturday. “I’m not a lawyer, but I’m very sure of this and that is in accordance with the constitution.

According to this interpretation, Chavez could take his oath of office later than January 10. Article 233 also states that if there is an “absolute absence” of the president-elect, there will be a new presidential election within 30 days-and the head of the National Assembly, in this case Cabello, would serve as interim president. And if there is an “absolute absence” during a president’s first four years of his six-year term, then the vice president takes office

and an election is held within 30 days. The vote winner will serve the remaining time in that presidential term.

Cabello said notes the constitution “does not say when... or how” the president-elect can be sworn in by the Supreme Court. Analysts say Chavez could not take an oath of office abroad, even if it is at a Venezuelan embassy with members of the Supreme Court present. Ricardo Antela, a constitutional lawyer, said only one development could delay the swearing-in ceremony: “if by January 10 we have medical certainty, made public and confirmed by the National Assembly, that the president will recover.” Then a new inauguration date must be set.

Any delay “would create an enormous governing crisis,” he said. Cabello “would become interim president without holding elections-on the expectation that Chavez is returning-and keep power without having been elected, which would amount to a coup d’etat,” Antela said. Furthermore, it is not up to Cabello-who has a conflict of interest-to determine whether the National Assembly should authorize an extension of Chavez’s stay abroad, said constitutional attorney Tulio Alvarez.

The face of the Latin American left for more than a decade and a firebrand critic of US “imperialism,” Chavez, 58, asserted before embarking on his arduous re-election campaign earlier this year that he was cancer-free. But he was later forced to admit he had suffered a recurrence of the disease. He returned to Cuba, a key Venezuelan ally, for surgery and follow-up treatment. Venezuela, which sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has never confirmed the president’s cancer type, nor which organs are affected, but doctors removed a tumor from his pelvic region last year. Before flying to Havana, Chavez designated Vice President Nicolas Maduro-a former bus driver and union activist-as his political heir. — AFP

WASHINGTON: The most powerful gun lobby in the United States stood firm yesterday against any additional restraints on firearms and ammunition sales-despite a national outcry in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre. Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association (NRA), said Sunday that planned legislation to outlaw military-style assault weapons and large-capacity magazines was “phony” and would not work.

He repeated the NRA’s call to place an armed guard in every school and argued that prosecuting criminals and fixing the mental health system, rather than gun control, were the solutions to America’s mass shooting epidemic. On December 14, a disturbed local man, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, killed his mother in their Newtown, Connecticut home before embarking on a horrific shooting spree at a local elementary school.

He blasted his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and shot dead 20 six- and seven-year old children and six adults with a militarystyle assault rifle before taking his own life with a handgun as police closed in. The bloodshed, the latest in a string of mass shootings in the United States, has reopened a national debate on the country’s gun laws, which are far more lax than in most other developed nations.

President Barack Obama said he would support a new bill to ban assault rifles and put Vice President Joe Biden in charge of a panel looking at a wide range of other measures, from school security to mental health. Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein has pledged to table a bill on January 3 that would ban at least 100 military-style semi-automatic assault weapons, and would curb the transfer, importation and the possession of such arms.

“I think that is a phony piece of legislation, and I do not believe it will pass for this reason,” LaPierre told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It is all built on lies that have been found out.” The NRA points to the fact that the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, when 12 kids and a teacher were gunned down by two senior students, occurred despite similar legislation being in force at the time.

“I don’t think it will (work). I keep saying it, and you just won’t accept

WASHINGTON: A security official reaches for a sign a Code Pink protester held up in protest as National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre spoke in this December 21, 2012 Photo. —AFP it: it’s not going to work, it hasn’t worked. (Senator) Dianne Feinstein had her ban and Columbine occurred,” LaPierre said. The 1994 ban, which expired in 2004, prohibited the new manufacture and sale of 19 specific gun models and close copies of those models. It also drew a list of components - such as a detachable magazine or flash suppressor - that could-from a legal standpoint-upgrade a firearm to an assault weapon. Firearms with two or more such components were banned.

However, America has suffered an explosion of gun violence over the last three decades including 62 mass shooting incidents since 1982.

The vast majority of weapons used have been semi-automatic handguns and rifles obtained legally by the killers. There were an estimated 310 million non-military firearms in the United States in 2009, roughly one per citizen, and people in America are 20 times more likely to be killed by a gun than someone in another developed country.

The NRA has been in the crosshairs since the Sandy Hook massacre and took the unusual step on Friday of holding a press conference and speaking out on the tragedy. Rather than come out in

support of limited gun control measures, the lobby which retains a powerful influence over politicians, especially from rural districts where gun owners are the norm-demanded that armed police be deployed to every school in the country.

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” LaPierre told Friday’s media event, which was interrupted by hecklers, one holding a banner that read: “NRA Killing Our Kids.” LaPierre reaffirmed the group’s position on Sunday and launched a fierce defense of gun owners’ rights, which he portrayed as being imperiled by rich folk in cities, elite politicians and a hysterical media.

“The average guy in the country values his freedom, doesn’t believe the fact that he can own a gun is part of the problem and doesn’t like the media and all these high-profile politicians blaming him,” he said. “If it’s crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our schools, then call me crazy,” he added. “If I’m a mom or a dad and I’m dropping my child off at school, I feel a whole lot safer.” Meanwhile, Richard Feldman, president of the Independent Firearms Owners Association, said singling out socalled military-style assault weapons

may not help achieve the desired result. “All guns can do the same thing,” he said. “A 10-gauge shotgun is as devastating as any rifle.”

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for British CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported from the US over his gun control views. Morgan has taken an aggressive stand for tighter US gun laws in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting. Last week, he called a gun advocate appearing on his “Piers Morgan Tonight” show an “unbelievably stupid man.”

Now, gun rights activists are fighting back. A petition created Dec 21 on the White House e-petition website by a user in Texas accuses Morgan of engaging in a “hostile attack against the US Constitution” by targeting the Second Amendment. It demands he be deported immediately for “exploiting his position as a national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of American citizens.”

The petition has already hit the 25,000 signature threshold to get a White House response. By Monday, it had 31,813 signatures. Morgan seemed unfazed - and even amused - by the movement.—Agencies

Anguished notes left at Colombian ‘Wailing Wall’

US couple unlawfully wedded for 48 years REDLANDS: After spending nearly a halfcentury as husband and wife, Bob and Norma Clark are finally married. The couple from Redlands, an inland California city halfway between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, celebrated their 48th anniversary in August, and in November they were getting their end-of-life documents in order and sought a copy of their marriage license for Social Security purposes.

The Clarks, who met in college, took their vows at a church south of San Francisco in August 1964, shortly after Bob had served in the Army during the Cuban Missile Crisis. But when clerks at the Hall of Records in San Mateo County tried to pull the license last month, they came up empty. “They went back to the year 1956, but no

record of our marriage could be found,” Bob Clark told the Redlands Daily Facts. The church where they had married still had a record of the ceremony so they knew they hadn’t imagined it, and several of the couple’s family members and friends who had been wedding guests were about to come to town for the Thanksgiving holiday.

On Nov. 21 they made their marriage legitimate, filing their paperwork and obtaining their license at the San Bernardino County Hall of Records, with the maid of honor and a junior usher from the original wedding serving as witnesses. Bob Clark brought flowers for Norma, and at the urging of family and friends kissed the bride to seal the deal. “I got her a nice bouquet, and it was just a hoot,” he said. — AP

BOGOTA: Hundreds of visitors have tucked handwritten notes into the enormous stone slab at the new center adjacent to Bogota’s main cemeter y, which many think of as Colombia’s “Wailing Wall.” The structure is the centerpiece of Colombia’s new Center for Remembrance, Peace and Reconciliation where visitors can pay their respects to victims of the armed conflict that has torn the country apart for nearly a half-century. The center opened at the beginning of December in the heart of Colombia’s capital city, and adjacent to the main cemetery where thousands of unidentified victims of the violence have been laid to rest.

Hundreds of vials containing earth samples from massacre sites all around Colombia have been inserted into the 18-meter (60-foot) tall structure. “This is a meeting place for all victims of the conflict. The center is here to save them from oblivion,” said Camilo Gonzalez, president of the private Institute for Development and

Peace (Indepaz). One of its most important roles, Gonzalez said, is to help Colombians come to terms with the atrocities they have endured over the decades.

“The role of memory is essential to achieving peace. Without that you cannot overcome the wounds of the past,” he said. Visitors can leave tributes to their loved ones, regardless of whether they died as a result of violence by the communist guerrillas, the right-wing paramilitaries, or criminal drugs gangs which also are involved in the armed conflict. They also have access to videos, documents, testimonials and photographs about the thousands of victims from the conflict.

The center’s website is also is attempting to compile more than 40,000 testimonials each year from those who have lived through, or lost loved ones in the violence. Colombia’s unrest has claimed about 600,000 lives, in addition to 15,000 missing and more than four million displaced people in what is Latin America’s

longest-running insurgency. The inauguration of the memorial center comes at an auspicious time, with Colombia’s FARC rebels and the Bogota government in the midst of peace talks.

The Revolutionar y Armed Forces of Colombia formally started talks with Bogota on October 18 in Norway. The negotiations moved to Havana on November 19. Eliana Quintero, 23, visited the site to honor her late father, who was a member of the Patriotic Union (UP), former FARC’s political organization who was slain by right wing paramilitaries.

“Many children of victims do not know where their parents are buried. They don’t have a place to mourn or even to leave a flower,” she said, adding that the wall provides a place to do this. She said it also is a place to begin to come to terms with the violence that has driven this society for more than two generations.

“There are a lot of people,” Quintero said, who still don’t want to open their eyes to what happened.” — AFP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

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

Russia, India sign arms contracts worth billions NEW DELHI: Russia and India signed weapons deals worth billions of dollars yesterday as President Vladimir Putin sought to further boost ties with an old ally. Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed cooperation between their countries as officials signed a $1.6 billion deal for 42 Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets that will be licensebuilt in India from Russian components and a $1.3 billion contract for the delivery of 71 Mil Mi-17 military helicopters.

“We agreed to further strengthen the traditions of close cooperation in the military and technical areas,” Putin said after the signing.

Singh said the talks included discussions on the security situation in the region, including Afghanistan. “India and Russia share the objective of a stable, united, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan, free from extremism,” Singh told reporters after the talks.

Russia and India have shared close ties since the Cold War, when Moscow was a key ally and the principal arms supplier to New Delhi.

The ties slackened after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but grew stronger again after Putin came to power in 2000, seeking to revive Moscow’s global clout and restore ties with old allies.

While the volume of Russian-Indian

trade has risen six-fold since 2000 and is expected to reach $10 billion this year, the growth has slowed in recent years. And even though India remains the No. 1 customer for Russia’s arms industries, Moscow has recently lost several multibillion-dollar contracts to Western weapons makers.

Russia has maintained its strong positions in the Indian market with $30 billion worth of arms contracts with India signed in 2000-2010 that envisaged supplies of hundreds of fighter jets, missiles, tanks and other weapons, a large part of which were license-produced in India. The countries have cooperated on building an advanced fighter plane and a new transport aircraft, and have jointly developed a supersonic cruise missile for the Indian Navy.

But the military cooperation has hit snags in recent years, as New Delhi shops increasingly for Western weapons. The Indians also haven’t been always happy with the quality of Russian weapons and their rising prices.

In one notable example, in 2004 Russia signed a $1 billion contract to refurbish a Soviet-built aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy. While the deal called for the ship to be commissioned in 2008, it is still in a Russian shipyard and the

contract price has reportedly soared to $2.3 billion. The target date for the carrier’s completion was moved back again this year after it suffered major engine problems in sea trials. Russian officials now promise to hand it over to India in the end of 2013.

India has also demanded that Russia pay fines for failing to meet terms under a 2006 contract for building three frigates for its navy, the third of which is yet to be commissioned.

Russia recently has suffered major defeats in competition with Western rivals in the Indian arms market.

Last year, Russia lost a tender to supply the Indian Air Force with 126 new fighter jets worth nearly $11 billion to France’s Dassault Rafale. And last month, Boeing won India’s order for a batch of heavy-lift helicopters worth $1.4 billion. Russia has sought to downplay recent defeats of its arms traders, saying that other weapons deals with India are under preparation.

As part of its cooperation with India, Russia also has built the first reactor at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant and is building a second unit there. The project has been delayed by protests by anti-nuclear groups and local residents. The head of the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko,

NEW DELHI: Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh interact as they jointly address the media after a meeting yesterday. — AFP told reporters yesterday that the reac- more reactors in India. Putin’s visit was tors in Kudankulam are the safest in the scheduled for late October, but was world, adding that studies have shown delayed as the Russian leader suspendthat they would have withstood a dis- ed foreign travel for about two months.

The Kremlin acknowledged that he aster like an earthquake and tsunami that caused multiple meltdowns and was suffering from a muscle pulled durradiation leaks at the Fukushima ing judo training. Putin resumed active nuclear plant in Japan last year. travel earlier this month, making severKiriyenko said Rosatom plans to build al foreign trips. — AP

Pakistan turning Taleban into political movement?

Talks in France with Taleban a step forward

ISLAMABAD: Minority Pakistani Christian children walk past Christmas decorations in Pakistan yesterday. — AP

Lonely church in Pakistan gets ready for Christmas SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: This Christmas, pastor Nazir Alam will stoke up a fire, lay a fresh cloth on the altar and welcome parishioners as they arrive at his church in Waziristan, a Pakistani tribal area known as an Al-Qaeda haven. “The lights are all up, and the choir boys are ready. The church is looking its best,” said 60-yearold Alam, a former missionary who has celebrated his last ten Christmases there.

“There’s not much left to do but to pray and rejoice.”

Outsiders might see little cause for joy.

Pakistan is the sixth most dangerous country in the world for minorities, says London-based watchdog Minority Rights Group International. Christians, Shiite Muslims and Ahmadis are victims of a rising tide of deadly attacks. But Alam’s church, and the homes of most of his 200 parishioners, are nestled inside a Pakistani army base in South Waziristan, a mountainous region that was a hotbed of militancy until a military offensive in 2009.

“When the US went into Kabul, things became bad for everyone. But we are safe here. The army protects us,” says Shaan Masih, who helps clean the church and likes to play the drums and sing carols.

For two decades, the church was little more than a room and the tiny community worshipped there under light protection. In 2009, the army set up a base in

South Waziristan as part of the offensive against the insurgency and invited the church inside.

“It was a longstanding demand of the community to be given a proper space,” Col Atif Ali, a military officer, told Reuters during a rare trip to the region arranged by the military. Many of the Christians work for the army in clerical or domestic positions. So far, they have been sheltered from the bombings, raids and drone strikes, violence that rocks the region on an almost daily basis.

Less than a 100 miles away (160 km) lies North Waziristan on the border with Afghanistan and one of the last areas controlled by the Pakistani Taliban. The United States has repeatedly urged Pakistan to launch an operation against militants sheltered there including remnants of Al-Qaeda and Pakistani groups targeting the nation’s minorities. Pakistan says it is doing everything it can to fight the militancy and needs to consolidate the campaign in South Waziristan before opening a new front.

The small blue and white church building has been freshly painted and the main hall covered in new ceramic tiles. A small chandelier hangs from the ceiling and a cloth spread over the altar reads: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” — Reuters

Bangladesh war crime suspects demand retrial DHAKA: Bangladeshi Islamist leaders demanded a retrial yesterday for war crimes, including genocide, saying a leaked transcript of phone calls showed the trial judge had come under pressure to deliver a quick verdict. Lawyers representing Motiur Rahman Nizami, who is head of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party, Ghulam Azam and Delawar Hossain Sayedee had filed petitions before a court in Dhaka, defence lawyer Tanvir Ahmed said.

“The court started hearing two petitions today,” he told AFP. Eleven suspects who are either members of Jamaat and or the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are accused of committing crimes such as murder, rape and religious persecution during the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.

Both Jamaat and BNP have called the trial process, which began in December 2010, “politically motivated”.

The push for a retrial comes after a pro-opposition daily published excerpts from a series of phone calls that the presiding judge held via Skype with a Brussels-based legal expert, prompting the judge to resign on December 11. The excerpts showed that Nizamul Huq was

not only under pressure from the government to deliver a quick verdict but that he also took advice from the expert on how to word the charges against the defendants. — AFP

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi woman decorates a tree yesterday. Bangladeshi Christians make up only 0.08 percent of the population of the predominantly Muslim nation. — AFP

KABUL: Pakistan is genuine about backing a nascent Afghan peace process and shares the Kabul government’s goal of transforming the Taleban insurgency into a political movement, a senior Afghan government official told Reuters. Pakistan is seen as critical to US and Afghan efforts to promote peace in Afghanistan, a task that is gaining urgency as NATO troops prepare to withdraw by the end of 2014 and hand over security responsibilities to government forces.

“They have told us that they share the vision contained in our roadmap which is basically to transform the Taleban from a military entity into a political entity to enable them to take part in the Afghan political process and peacefully seek power like any other political entity in Afghanistan,” the official said, referring to Pakistan. “This is the vision that they share.” The official’s remarks signalled unprecedented optimism from Afghanistan that Pakistan - long accused of backing Afghan insurgents - was now willing to put its weight behind reconciliation efforts, which are still in early stages and vulnerable to factionalism.

Mutual suspicions between Afghanistan and its nuclear-armed neighbour, Pakistan, have hampered efforts to tackle militancy in one of the world’s most explosive regions.

Pakistan has long been seen as determined to block the influence of old rival India in Afghanistan and has been believed to be quietly supporting the Taleban in the hope they would exclude from power rival, pro-India Afghan factions.

Afghanistan and Pakistan appear to now agree that it is in their interests to work more closely together, with the NATO deadline looming. Failure to do so could embolden Taleban hardliners determined to re-impose their austere version of Islam. “I think we are also seeing a situation where the extremist threat is developing in a direction that is getting out of everybody’s control,” said the senior Afghan government official. Pakistan is battling its own, home-grown Taleban.

“That is only bad news for everyone who has any interest in stability for their own country.” The official, who is closely involved in reconciliation efforts, said recent face-toface talks between senior Taleban members and Afghan officials in France were an “enormously helpful” step in building a wider environment for peace. The Taleban spokesman was not immediately available to comment

on the discussions in France. The talks included former members of the Northern Alliance faction, which fought the Taleban for years, and Afghan peace negotiators.

The Taleban say they were represented by prominent figures in the movement such as Shahabuddin Delawar, from its political office, which is based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar.

Until now, the Taleban and Afghan officials only made indirect contacts. “We are very optimistic. We believe that they are genuine in this discussion with us,” said the Afghan official. Another track for talks, between the Taleban and the United States held in Qatar, was suspended by the militants. They said inconsistencies in the US negotiating position were discouraging.

ed it would hand him over, the Afghan official said: “Not in concrete terms”.

Warring factions Pakistan’s powerful army chief has made reconciling warring factions in Afghanistan a top priority, Pakistani military officials and Western diplomats told Reuters, the clearest signal yet that Islamabad means business in promoting peace. General Ashfaq Kayani, arguably the most powerful man in Pakistan, is backing dialogue partly due to fears that the end of the US combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014 could energize a resilient insurgency straddling the shared frontier, according to commanders deployed in the region.

LAHORE: A Pakistani homeless family warm themselves by a fire during a foggy day at a slum area yesterday. The ongoing spell of dense fog and freezing weather conditions has continued to disturb the scheduled arrival and departure of flights and trains in Pakistan’s Punjab province. — AFP The Afghan official cautioned that in order to sustain Kabul’s confidence, Pakistan would need to take further concrete steps after releasing some mid-level Afghan Taleban members from detention, who may be useful in promoting peace. Pakistan would gain more trust from Kabul by meeting a request to release from detention the Taleban’s former second in command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Asked whether Pakistan had indicat-

The Afghan government official had a similar assessment. “I think there is a sense that we are also getting, that cooperation from Pakistan now is bound to be meaningful, substantive,” he said. “The reason is frankly, most in Pakistan, in our view, have reached the conclusion that time is running out. That it is no longer just about Afghanistan’s instability and Afghanistan’s insecurity but it’s very much a question of security for themselves.” — Reuters

Surge in Pakistan violence raises fears for elections ISLAMABAD: A surge of violence in northwest Pakistan culminating in the assassination of a senior provincial minister has raised fears of a renewed Taleban campaign that could threaten national elections, analysts say. The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the adjacent Federally-Administered Tribal Areas, which border Afghanistan, are on the frontline of the country’s battle against Islamist militancy and are no strangers to violence. But the past week has seen a noticeable rise in bloodshed, with more than 40 people killed in near-daily attacks.

These culminated in Saturday’s suicide bombing at a meeting of the Awami National Party (ANP) in Peshawar, the province’s main city.

The blast, which killed nine including provincial number two Bashir Bilour, was claimed by the Pakistani Taleban, who said the minister was targeted in revenge for the death of one of the movement’s “elders”. The surge of violence began on December 15 with

a spectacular commando-style Taleban attack on Peshawar airport and also featured a car bomb near a local government office in Khyber tribal district that killed 21 people.

“The spate of attacks in recent days indicates the Taleban are on a major onslaught to destabilise the country and create chaos to shake people’s faith in the state apparatus,” political analyst and author Hasan Askari told AFP. “It’s part of their broader agenda to undermine the credibility of government and prove that the state apparatus is crumbling.”

For the Taleban, killing a highprofile and outspoken critic such as Bilour has a double effect, Askari said: silencing an experienced and fearless adversary and striking fear into those who might think of following in his footsteps. The coalition government led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) — which also includes the ANP-will complete its five-year term in March and insists elections will be

held on time. But no date has yet been announced for polls and there are rumours the ballot could be postponed if the security situation is deemed too precarious.

Retired Lieutenant General Talat Masood, a security and political analyst, said the Taleban were stepping up their assaults on political and military targets precisely to create this kind of anarchy.

“They will try to disrupt elections because they can flourish when the state is weak-there is a political vacuum and then people lose confidence in the government,” he told AFP. If elections go ahead successfully it will be the first time in Pakistan’s turbulent history that an elected civilian government has completed a five-year term. Both Askari and Masood said the government would find it difficult to delay the vote, paving the way for a bloody campaign period.

Thursday is the fifth anniversary of the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, killed in a

gun and suicide attack in the garrison city of Rawalpindi after addressing an election rally.

Brigadier Saad Khan, a former officer with the powerful InterServices Intelligence agency, warned the Taleban may continue their campaign with an attack on events marking the anniversary.

These include a major speech by her son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the PPP chairman. Khan described the security situation as grave, saying the militants were “waging a war for Peshawar”. He compared it to the state of affairs before a major military offensive against militant hideouts and training camps in South Waziristan in 2009. “The militants are moving with a plan (of) how and where to attack. They put pressure at one place and move to another,” he said. “It is a dynamic enemy and we are static. We are reactive they are proactive.” He criticised the current strategy for dealing with the militants as “half-hearted” and urged a more concerted effort to defeat them. — AFP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

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

Indonesian minority Christians brace for Christmas torment Cases of religious intolerance on the rise

CHAD: In this photo, Harmata Mahamat reacts as she sits with her daughter Halime, 3 months, at a local nutrition clinic where Halime was being treated for malnutrition, in Nokou in the Mao region of Chad. — AP

Traditions in Chad harm, kill undernourished kids MOUSSORO: On the day of their son’s surgery, the family woke before dawn. They saddled their horses and set out across the 12-mile-long carpet of sand to the nearest town, where they hoped the reputed doctor would cure their frail, feverish baby.

The neighboring town, almost as poor and isolated as their own, hosts a foreign-run emergency clinic for malnourished children. But that’s not where the family headed. The doctor they chose treats patients behind a mud wall. His operating room is the sand lot that serves as his front yard.

His operating table is a plastic mat lying on the dirt. His surgical tools include a screwdriver. And his remedy for malnourished children is the removal, without antiseptic or anesthesia, of their teeth and epiglottis.

That day, three other children were brought to the same traditional doctor, their parents paying up to $6 for a visit, or more than a week’s earnings. Not even a mile away, the UNICEF-funded clinic by contrast admitted just one child for its free service, delivered by trained medical professionals. The 4:1 ratio that you see in this sandy courtyard on just one day in just one town is a microcosm of what is happening all over Chad, and it helps to explain why, despite an enormous, international intervention, malnutrition continues to soar to scandalous levels throughout the Sahel.

The world poured more than $1 billion into the band of countries just south of Africa’s vast Sahara to address hunger this year alone, according to a United Nations database. A third of that money went to Chad, where 15 percent of children are acutely malnourished, says a report by aid group Save the Children. That’s among the highest rates in Africa. There are now 32 clinics equipped with the latest technology to halt starvation, most within a few hours’ walk of affected families. If a child makes it to one of these centers in time, the chance of survival is remarkably high.

Yet acute malnutrition is only getting worse in the Sahel, where every year, cemeteries fill up with the bodies of children who wasted away within walking distance of help. In 2010, 55,000 children were treated for the most acute form of malnutrition in Chad. In 2011, it was 65,000. The expected caseload for 2012 is 127,300, according to the report published in June. Overall, in the eight countries in the Sahel, the number of admissions has doubled in just three years.

‘This is tradition’ One reason is that families simply do not take advantage of the safety net created for them, and cling instead to traditions that can end up killing rather than healing their children. “We try to tell them the consequences. That these are not good treatments. That if the child has diarrhea, he should go to the hospital,” says Laurent Blague, director of child protection at Chad’s Ministry of Social Welfare.

“Unfortunately, this is tradition.” Eightmonth-old Abdallah Lamine had been sick for a month, but it wasn’t until he started vomiting that his parents made the trip to the medicine man, Haki Hassane. The mother rode a red horse, carrying her baby’s hot body in her lap. She could feel the fever consuming him even through her clothes.

The remedy the healer prescribes for malnourished children is the removal of the epiglottis, the tiny ball of flesh that hangs from the back of the throat, which he says “gets in the way of the food.” For fever, he prescribes the removal of the child’s teeth. In baby Abdallah’s case he prescribed both. He grabbed the baby by one arm, placed him on the mat and pinned him down. As the child began to shriek, he dug the unwashed screwdriver into the baby’s pink gums, until four tiny teeth popped out.

The healer wiped down the holes in the child’s mouth with a corner of a ratty blanket, stained with the blood of the other children he’d treated that day. Then he handed the petrified, whimpering toddler to his stone-faced mother. Tooth extraction and the removal of the epiglottis is common in this part of Chad. Elsewhere, the treatment for diarrhea is burning the child’s anus with a rod heated over a fire.

Other treatments include draining the “bad blood,” a procedure recommended when children’s bodies swell, a sign of

severe malnutrition. Similar practices prevailed in Europe and America as late as the 18th century.

The advances in world medicine since have made their way to Chad in the form of internationally-run clinics, but they continue to be seen as foreign. More than half of Chad’s people still use traditional healers, according to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in 2010, whose remedies can be effective for some ailments. Malnutrition is not one of them.

Already malnourished children who have their epiglottis cut can’t eat for at least a week, says health official Blague. When the child does eat, the open wound often gets infected. This worsens the malnutrition.

Because infection can take several weeks, families believe their baby has simply contracted a different ailment. Chad’s government has never addressed these harmful practices. The issue remains extremely sensitive, in part because the healers claim their gift came from Allah the Almighty and in part because many local officials were submitted to such practices themselves when they were children, aid workers say.

Hassane says in 30 years of practice, he’s never fielded any complaints from parents whose children became sicker. “If a child has fever or diarrhea, once he opens his mouth, I can instantly tell. If I put my finger on his gum and feel it, I can tell if it’s due to his bad teeth. Once we take out this bad tooth, the diarrhea stops,” Hassane says. “And if the child gets sick again, it’s because he had some other illnesses in his system.” Moussa Mahamat Ali, the chief of the healers in the town of Mao, the regional capital, claims that all the children who have come to him have been cured of malnutrition.

2.6m die annually “If the child is sick ... he has yellow hair, he doesn’t eat, he’s skinny, it’s because of the bad teeth,” says the 75-year-old Ali. “This is a treatment for malnutrition. No one has ever told me that this is bad.” By the time children do turn up at the United Nations-funded centers, they have already been through hell. Nearly every week, health workers here admit dangerously emaciated children with a foamy substance coming out of their mouths.

Malnutrition is the underlying cause for the deaths of 2.6 million children every year, according to a study published in the scientific journal, The Lancet. That’s a third of the global total for children’s deaths.

At the feeding center in the town of Mao, run by the French aid group Action Against Hunger, a mother has come in carrying a bundle in her arms. When she pulls back the sheet, the health workers gasp. It looks like she has brought in a skeleton.

The best predictor for the severity of malnutrition is the circumference of a child’s upper arm, the World Health Organization has found over years of responding to famines in Africa. Less than 115 millimeters indicates the child is at risk of imminent death.

This child’s arms measure just 80 millimeters around. She weighs 5.2 kilograms (11.4 pounds), slightly more than a healthy newborn. She is 3 years old. It takes a moment for the health workers to realize that the little girl, Fatime, has been admitted before.

Fatime’s short history is a litany of the well-meant customs that get in the way of a child’s health, and possibly even her life.

She was born underweight. Women in Chad, including her mother, are discouraged from eating during pregnancy, in the hope that a small child will be easier to deliver.

Fatime’s mother stopped breastfeeding her when she became pregnant with her youngest child. She was told that pregnancy tainted her milk and could poison the child still nursing. Zara Seid, the mother, collected the bitter chaff left over when women pound millet into flour, mixed it with water and painted it on her breasts.

The bitter taste repelled the toddler, and she was weaned overnight.

Yet in a place where food is hard to come by, it meant that Fatime began her precipitous fall into anorexia. Malnutrition and disease work in a deadly cycle, and soon Fatime got sick with diarrhea and a fever. The lack of a proper diet weakens the immune system and makes childhood diseases more severe. — AP

BEKASI: A Christian community in Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, is preparing to hold Christmas mass on the street as sectarian attacks keep them locked out of their church. The Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant Church has since 2009 held Sunday services under the blaring sun as Muslim hardliners and community members physically block them from their property.

The weekly intimidation in Bekasi, on the capital’s outskirts, has often erupted in violence-in May a mob of around 300 people hurled bags of urine, rotten eggs and stones at worshippers marking the ascension of Christ. Such cases of religious intolerance are on the rise in Indonesia, according to Jakarta-based civil rights group Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, which recently released a study recording 308 incidents in the first half of 2012 against religious minorities.

Incidents, including attacks and forced closure of places of worship, have risen steadily since 2009, when 491 cases were reported, rising to 502 in 2010 and 543 in 2011, the group said. The year has been particularly rough for Christians, who have seen dozens of churches sealed, particularly in the Islamic stronghold of Aceh province where partial Islamic sharia law is enforced. “Every Sunday I see people in my congregation cry. But we aren’t scared-the ones who should be afraid are the intolerant, including the government and the police,” church leader Reverend Palti Panjaitan told AFP. “Indonesia is supposed to have a secular government. This is not an Islamic country, so just like Muslims have the right to pray in their mosque, we too have the right to pray in our church.” Panjaitan said his congregation would march to their church on Christmas day, even though police had warned them to stay away, worried another protest would end in violence. If they are barred from entering, they will set up as usual on the street, he added.

Religious minorities and rights groups have criticised the Indonesian government for inaction on sectarian attacks, calling for legal protection and a revision of what they say is discriminatory law. Under a 2006 ministerial decree, houses of worship must have the approval of the heads of at least 60 households of other religions, and much of the authority rests with the Interfaith Harmony

Forum, perceived as favouring mainstream Islam. But according to the Filadelfia church leaders, their proposal had garnered enough support from the community, which helped them win a Supreme Court challenge to the legality of their church.

‘Especially at Christmas’ On a recent Sunday, members of the church joined other Christians in prayers outside the presidential palace in Jakarta and delivered to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sacks of 7,000 Christmas cards from supporters. Most cards had come from the Bekasi community, and one sack was full of cards from as far as the Netherlands.

“Sir, do you want to go to heaven? Free all people who believe in God and want to worship in peace,” one of the cards for the president read. “Mr President, let’s show our love and give a gift of freedom on this holy day of Christmas,” another supporter wrote in English. But those against the church say they were angered that they were not consulted before the land was purchased and that they disapproved of Christian activities in their neighbourhood.

“We’re not saying the Christians can’t pray.

They can, but not here,” said Aseng Sobari, who regularly takes part in the protests. The Filadelfia church was established in 2000 by a community of Bataks, a mostly Christian ethnic group hailing from northern Sumatra.

Their prayer sessions in followers’ homes were constantly shut down by the district government, prompting the congregation to buy a building with plans to use it for worship before constructing a complete church in the future.

The congregation has faced opposition since 2007 when they bought land for their place for worship. December 25 has since become not only a day to mark the birth of Christ, but also a day to remember when their troubles began-the first time they were stopped from entering their church was on Christmas day in 2009. Prayers have been held on the street ever since.

“My three children often come to the prayer services, and they too have had stones and urine thrown at them. We are tired of this and hope the president and other leaders take action,” said church member Binarsen Sinaga, 49. “Indonesia is supposed to be a free country, but it doesn’t feel that way, especially at Christmas.” — AP

JAKARTA: Local residents wade through a flood street yesterday. Heavy rains have caused flooding that occurs almost every year in some parts of greater Jakarta. — AP

Road accident kills 11 children in China BEIJING: A minivan carrying 15 children to kindergarten plunged into a roadside pond in a rural area of eastern China yesterday, killing 11 children, state media and an official said. Three children died at the scene of the accident in Guixi city in Jiangxi province and another eight died later in hospital, said an official from the propaganda office of the city’s Communist Party committee. Four children survived, said the official, who like many Chinese bureaucrats gave only his surname, Jiang.

The accident is the latest in a string of deadly crashes in China involving school children. Police detained the driver for questioning and were investigating the

cause of the accident, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Photos on the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post’s website showed a silver minivan partially submerged in a grassy pond, with one of its three windows on the right side broken. The minivan belonged to Chunlei kindergarten, which doesn’t have a government license to operate, according to an article on the website of state broadcaster China Central Television that didn’t cite any sources. The van taking the children to school was travelling too fast and swerved to avoid a vehicle parked on the side of the road, ending up in the pond, CCTV said.

HK activist could face jail over anti-Hu protest HONG KONG: A Hong Kong pro-democracy activist appeared in court yesterday and could face jail after he allegedly threw a t-shirt at Chinese President Hu Jintao’s motorcade earlier this year.

Avery Ng from the radical League of Social Democrats party was charged with causing public nuisance and was bailed pending a hearing in February next year after pleading not guilty. Ng, who is vice-chairman of the party, faces up to two years in jail if found guilty of the offence, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.

“This is an abuse of the judiciary system,” Ng told AFP after the hearing at a magistrate’s court, labelling the case a “political persecution”. He said his case showed that Hong Kong’s fundamental liberties, guaranteed under the ‘one country, two systems’ governing model, were threatened. “This is an erosion of our freedoms and right to protest,” Ng said. The former British colony has maintained a semi-autonomous status since its 1997 handover

by Britain to China, safeguarding freedoms not seen on the mainland.

Ng, 35, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly throwing a t-shirt bearing the picture of late mainland Chinese dissident Li Wangyang at Hu’s motorcade from a footbridge near the city’s airport on June 29. Hu was in Hong Kong to mark the city’s 15th handover anniversary from Britain to China and to swear in the city’s new leader Leung Chunying, at a time when anti-Beijing sentiment surged to a new high.

Police used pepper spray to disperse hundreds of anti-Hu protesters during his three-day visit, while 400,000 people took to the streets to demonstrate against Beijing’s meddling in local affairs in a separate rally on July 1. A Hong Kong Chinese-language newspaper journalist was briefly detained by police after he asked Hu a question about the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown during the visit. — AFP

Photos on its website showed pairs of tiny shoes and brightly colored school bags lined up on the ground near the scene and an injured child being treated. The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights & Democracy said in a statement that cited no sources that the van was made to carry seven people but was overloaded with 17. The human rights group also said it took 70 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. Overcrowding on school buses is common in rural China, where the education system is short of funds and children are forced to travel far to get an education because of school closures. Last year, a nine-seat pri-

vate school van overloaded with 62 kindergarten children and two adults crashed head-on with a truck in rural western China, killing 19 children and the adults.

The accident caused public uproar and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged more support for school bus safety and said central and local governments would bear the cost of bringing oftenshoddy buses up to standard. The kindergarten head, who owned the vehicle, was later convicted of a traffic accident crime and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Accidents happen frequently in China because of poorly maintained vehicles and reckless driving habits. — AP

N Korea slams Christmas lights as ‘provocation’ SEOUL: North Korea yesterday slammed a display of Christmas lights staged by a South Korean church group near the tense border as an “unacceptable provocation”. The giant display-featuring thousands of glittering bulbs on a tree-shaped steel tower-was put up Saturday on a military-controlled hill at Gimpo west of Seoul. The lights, which can be seen several kilometres away in the impoverished North which suffers chronic power shortages, will remain switched on until early January.

The display is “an undisguised challenge to us and an unacceptable provocation”, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said. It warned that staging “psychological warfare” along the border would be a “rash act” that could ignite war on the peninsula. Before the South’s

“Sunshine Policy” of engagement with North Korea was launched in 1998, the seasonal lighting displays were common.

Pyongyang repeatedly condemned them as “psychological warfare” by its capitalist neighbour aimed at spreading Christianity in the isolated communist state. In 2004 the two Koreas agreed to halt official-level cross-border propaganda and the South stopped the Christmas border illuminations. They were resumed in 2010 after North Korea shelled a frontline South Korean island, but were suspended last year in a conciliatory gesture following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. This year’s illuminations have provoked fear among some local residents who staged a protest amid concerns about potential retaliation from the North. — AFP

MANILA: Filipino boys look for items that they can scavenge after a fire broke at a commercial establishment at the busy shopping area of Divisoria yesterday.

Many Filipinos do their holiday shopping in the area because of cheap prices.

Investigators are still determining the cause of the fire. — AP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

NEWS GCC urges unity, closer economy Continued from Page 1 conference for Syria in late January, amid mounting concern for millions of Syrians beset by war and winter cold.

Sheikh Sabah said a recent shutdown at the Bushehr plant indicated Tehran had to work with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy (IAEA) to ensure the safety of the facility near the coastal town of Bushehr. Bushehr, a Russian-built symbol of what Iran calls its peaceful nuclear ambitions, was shut down in October to limit any damage after stray bolts were found beneath its fuel cells, a Russian nuclear industry source said in November. The explanation for the procedure at the 1,000-megawatt plant contradicted assurances by Iran that nothing unexpected had happened and that removing nuclear fuel from the plant was part of a normal procedure.

Sheikh Sabah said: “The news that was reported recently about the technical failure that hit the Bushehr reactor confirms what we mentioned about the importance of Iranian cooperation with the IAEA, and committing to its criteria and rule, to ensure the safety of the region’s states and its people from any effect of radioactivity.” Sheikh Sabah also appealed to Iran to resolve separate longstanding disputes with GCC members, including over three Gulf islands in dispute with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “We renew our calls to our brothers in Iran to respond to our invitations to put an end to pending issues between the GCC countries and Iran ... through direct negotiations or by resorting to international arbitration,” he said.

Sheikh Sabah also announced a donor conference for civilians caught up in the Syrian conflict to be held at the end of January at the request of the United Nations. “The Syrian wound is still bleeding, and the killing machine still continues, killing dozens of our brothers in Syria each day,” he said. “In response to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, there will be an international conference for donors for the

SAKHIR, Bahrain: Gulf Cooperation Council leaders pose for a family photo at the Gulf summit yesterday. — AP Syrian people. Kuwait has agreed to host the conference, which will take place at the end of January.” Ban said last week he was considering holding an international donor conference for Syria early in 2013. Sheikh Sabah said an end to the Syrian crisis looked far off, and the situation “requires the international community to take swift and effective measures for humanitarian support”.

King Hamad of host country Bahrain called for the Gulf Cooperation Council to provide “a security umbrella for its peoples” and urged “economic complementarity” between its six member states. In his address to GCC counterparts, Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, standing in for King Abdullah who stayed away for health reasons, delivered an appeal for unity. “We aspire to a strong union with integrated economies, a joint foreign policy and a common defence system,” he said.

The two-day summit is to focus on strengthening “Gulf unity... especially politically, economically, in defence, security and culturally,” Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh

Khaled bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa said on Sunday. The meeting is also expected to discuss the conflict roiling Syria and the situation in Yemen. However, four of the six heads of state will not attend the annual gathering, which takes place in the wake of last year’s Arab Spring uprisings which swept several Arab states but not the Gulf monarchies.

The overall gross domestic product in 2011 of the GCC states - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia - amounted to $1.37 trillion, a diplomatic source said. In 2003, they launched a symbolic customs union which has been beset with problems, failing to meet its target date of 2005, with the transition period systematically extended to 2015. And a monetary union announced in 2009 with the aim of creating a common currency has also failed to materialise, with just four nations - Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia - signing up to it.

The six will also discuss plans to expand a security treaty they signed in 1994 with the aim of increasing security cooperation in the face of the Arab uprisings, sources

said. “The summit is taking place under extremely sensitive and delicate circumstances, whose impact must (on Gulf states) must be studied,” said the GCC secretary general, Abdellatif Zayani, ahead of the meeting. Rights activists called on the GCC leaders to introduce democratic reforms, in an open letter to the summit yesterday. “It appears the events in the past two years,” especially “aspirations for an effective popular participation... and creating constitutional monarchies,” are not on the summit agenda, said the Gulf Forum of Civil Societies said.

Bahrain is still trying to cope with a Shiite-led uprising it crushed last year with the backing of Gulf troops, while a Kuwaiti political crisis has seen the opposition stage protests against an amendment to the electoral law. The Shiite opposition in Sunni-ruled Bahrain has called on the summit “to exert pressure on Bahraini leaders to find a solution to the crisis,” according to one of its leaders.

Witnesses said police yesterday dispersed Shiite demonstrators near Manama, not far from where the summit is being held in the south of the country.

Saudi Arabia’s Shiite-populated oil-rich Eastern Province, meanwhile, has been the site of sporadic protests, while the United Arab Emirates has arrested some 60 Islamist dissidents it claims were plotting against state security. In the normally sleepy Oman, demonstrators took to the streets last year to demand improved living conditions and reforms, in a move that quickly subsided.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia yesterday told regional rival Iran to stop interfering in internal Gulf Arab affairs and spreading “sedition”, activities Tehran denies. The comments, made by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud AlFaisal, follow similar allegations levelled at Iran by the kingdom in the past. “Interference to stir sedition is unacceptable from a neighbour,” Prince Saud was quoted as saying by the London-based, Saudi-owned daily Al-Hayat.

“This is not comfortable because it is trying to use the circumstances to interfere.” — Agencies

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

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Issues

Sworn enemies may decide fate of Indian govt

By Satarupa Bhattacharya and Sanjeev Choudhary onia Gandhi, the usually reserved and poised leader of India’s ruling Congress party, leapt from her front-bench seat in parliament last week to grab back a document that a lawmaker had snatched from a government minister’s hands.

She caught the lawmaker by the arm, some media reports said, but failed to retrieve the document before it was torn up. A minor scuffle ensued between members of Congress and the offending lawmaker’s Samajwadi Party (SP). The extraordinary drama lasted less than a minute.

But it illustrated the vulnerability of a government that, now reduced to a minority in parliament, depends for its survival on unreliable allies like the SP. Not only will they hamper further economic reform, they could bring the government down and trigger a general election before it is due in 2014. “It is in their hands to force an election,” said M J Akbar, editor-in-chief of the Sunday Guardian. The SP, a powerful regional party from India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, often votes with the Congress party but it was enraged by the government’s support for a bill promoting affirmative action for low castes. The measure had been sought by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), another government ally but a bitter rival of the SP in Uttar Pradesh. After the SP disrupted parliament for days over the measure, which it fears would disadvantage its many Muslim supporters, the SP lawmaker resorted to desperate tactics, grabbing the bill from the minister as he tried to bring it to a vote. It worked. Parliament adjourned until February without passing it.

The government is effectively tethered to two parties that are sworn enemies and whose efforts to outmanoeuvre each other and win votes in the run-up to 2014 have the potential to bring down Singh’s coalition, although analysts agree that right now neither party wants early elections. “The Congress wants to stay in power and the other two want proximity to power so it is opportunist politics for all three,” said Basudeb Acharia, a senior lawmaker from the left-wing Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The battle between the two parties over the bill left Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with no time to drive through further reforms, including measures to open up the insurance and pension industries to more foreign investment, before the session ended. It showed for the first time just how reliant Singh is on the SP and BSP to govern a country of 1.2 billion people after a major ally walked out of his coalition in September, wiping out its parliamentary majority. “India is very dependent on them,” political scientist Sudha Pai said. “The government has a good chance to push reforms but a lot will depend on how they manage the two parties.” Presiding over a slowing economy, high inflation and a government accused of corruption, Singh is under pressure to show results before the general election, so he cannot afford a repeat of the largely unproductive winter parliamentary session.

The SP’s and BSP’s control over nearly one-tenth of the 787 seats in the two houses of parliament combined, and the ease with which they change positions on policy, give them the clout to create political instability and economic uncertainty.

The SP is led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, 72, a former wrestler who harbours prime ministerial ambitions. He opposes many of the government’s economic reforms but supports Singh’s coalition to block the rise of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition in parliament. The BSP is led by Mayawati, 56, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who goes by only one name and is as famous for building sandstone statues of herself and for her love of designer shoes as she is for championing the cause of India’s Dalits, who are on the lowest rung of India’s caste hierarchy. She has also opposed many of the economic reforms. Prime Minister Singh has reason to be wary of both leaders. Yadav has proven repeatedly to be an unpredictable partner, while Mayawati helped topple a BJP-led federal government in 1999 after first promising support in a confidence vote and then siding against it at the last minute. The government’s worry is partly based on the historic antipathy both leaders share for the Congress party, which has ruled for most of India’s 65 years of independence from Britain.

Yadav was a political prisoner during the Emergency declared by former Congress Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the mid-70s.

Mayawati grew up scorning what she viewed as the Congress party’s patronising attitude towards Dalits. Yadav and Mayawati have scripted their political success in Uttar Pradesh by marginalising the Congress party and dividing the state’s “vote bank” between themselves. Their parties have taken turns over the past 20 years to rule a state that, with 200 million people, has a bigger population than Brazil. The Congress government, however, is no passive hostage in this political drama. It exploits the rivalry between the BSP and SP, often playing one against the other on policies where their interests are diametrically opposed. Congress has also long been accused of using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s equivalent of the FBI, as a political weapon to harass its opponents. Both Yadav and Mayawati have CBI corruption cases hanging over them, raising suspicions that these are being used to bring them to heel. —Reuters

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Ethnicity, ICC cases heat up Kenya race

By James Macharia lliances forged by Kenya’s main presidential contenders for elections in March are lining up a repeat of a largely ethnicbased contest for political power which exploded into bloodshed in the 2007 vote. Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya’s founder president, lead the two main opposing camps for the March 4 presidential and parliamentary elections. The head-on rivalry between Kenyatta, from the predominant Kikuyu tribe, and Odinga, a Luo, raises the spectre of the tribal clashes that followed the 2007 election and killed more than 1,200 people, uprooting thousands more from their homes.

“I don’t want to be a pessimist... but, historically, every time the Luo and the Kikuyu have been on different sides there has been violence,” said Mzalendo Kibunjia, who heads a national agency formed to reconcile tribes after the violence. “What do you expect? Our politics are about ethnicity. In Africa, democracy is about ethnic arithmetic not ideology.” Another factor that could lead to post-election instability for East Africa’s economic powerhouse is Kenyatta’s date a month after the March vote with the International Criminal Court (ICC). The former finance minister faces a trial in the Hague over his alleged role in the election violence five years ago.

Should Kenyatta win the presidency and then travel to the court hearings, a power vacuum could

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result soon after his inauguration. The ICC accuses him of directing youth from his Kikuyu ethnic community to fight Odinga’s Luo kinsmen during the 2007/2008 bloodletting. He denies any wrongdoing. To win in the March 4 first round, a candidate needs to gain an outright majority from the 14.3 million registered voters. An immediate victory for either contender is not assured, which could then mean a nail-biting run-off in April. Odinga leads the race according to most opinion polls, but Kenyatta is running close second. The closeness of the political contest is exacerbating the ethnic tensions, and vice-versa. Kenyan polls since independence from Britain in 1963 have often been marred by tribal violence, typically stemming from long-standing disputes over land. But the bloody feuding after the 2007 vote was by far the worst in Kenya’s history. Luos say Odinga was robbed of victory by the incumbent, President Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu in a bitter and close vote. Many Kikuyus argue Odinga’s Luo tribe got off easier than they did in the ICC probe of the 2007 events, and so are determined to have the election go their way this time. There are those who believe the ICC’s pursuit of alleged ringleaders of the 2007 killings could act as a deterrent. “I doubt there will be violence of the scale we witnessed last time.

Kenyans are extremely wary of the ICC and its activities in the country,” said Ken Wafula, a rights campaigner who works in Rift Valley, epicentre of the clashes. “Fear of running foul of the ICC will serve as a restraint.”

The charges from the war crimes court against Kenyatta, a deputy prime minister and scion of independence hero Jomo Kenyatta, is undoubtedly a hindrance to his presidential bid. He has teamed up in the Jubilee alliance with former cabinet minister William Ruto, who was indicted with him by the ICC for inciting youth to fight in 2007. The other men charged are the head of the civil service, Francis Muthaura, and radio presenter Joshua Arap Sang.

Kenyatta’s arch-rival Odinga has formed a competing alliance, the Coalition for Reform and Democracy (Cord) backed by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, to try to break the traditional Kikuyu dominance over the presidency.

Two of Kenya’s three presidents since independence have been Kikuyu, the exception being former president Daniel Arap Moi, a Kalenjin like Ruto. Although Kenyatta and Ruto have insisted they will cooperate with the ICC, most Kenyans do not believe the two will appear at the Hague should they win the election, according to a survey by pollster Ipsos Synovate released in early December. In a country where the political elite has long been considered above the law, many believe Kenyatta would see becoming president of the nation as a way of spurning the ICC. They point to the example of Sudanese President Omar Hassan AlBashir, who has defied a 2009 ICC indictment for alleged war crimes committed by his forces in the western Darfur region. A failure by an

elected president of Kenya to cooperate with the ICC would concern foreign investors and Western governments, which have urged Kenyan leaders to be tough against impunity.

“This election is one issue: ICC, nothing else,” said anti-corruption campaigner and political commentator John Githongo.

Political commentators said Kenyatta, if elected, could end up being afraid to leave his country like Bashir. Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, and its assets are at risk of a discount similar to the ‘Khartoum’ one being given by investors to Sudan, said independent analyst Aly Khan Satchu. In the past three decades, Kenya has had its lowest growth periods in, or just after, election years, the World Bank says. The government has forecast growth of around 5 percent this year, up from 4.3 percent last year, but any flare-up could affect tourism and investment and regional trade and transport.

“The Jubilee alliance where two ICC indictees have teamed up is entirely problematic,” Satchu said.

“Kenya is more deeply embedded and interconnected with the global economy than most African countries and in some respects that alliance is the equivalent of giving the two finger salute to the international community. There will be consequences and particularly economic ones (sanctions).” Rights groups have also filed a suit at the Kenyan High Court challenging Ruto and Kenyatta’s suitability for elective office, given their ICC cases at the Hague. Odinga faces challenges too

after falling out with several of his former allies who helped him in the last vote, including deputy prime minister Musalia Mudavadi. This has somewhat weakened his third attempt to win the presidency. Analysts say much of the campaigning by Odinga and Kenyatta will focus on swing tribes, including Mudavadi’s Luhya ethnic community, Kenya’s secondlargest, to try to tilt the vote. “This game is a game of numbers. It does not require magic, this is the strategy,” says Ruto.

Odinga and Kenyatta’s rivalry mirrors an old feud that goes back to when Odinga’s father was vice president to Kenyatta’s father. They fell out, and Odinga’s father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, became a vocal opposition critic of Jomo Kenyatta. Odinga and Kenyatta have vowed to focus on issues, such as improving the economy, rather than ethnic differences or the ICC issue, to avoid whipping up emotions during the campaigns. But Kenya is already hurting from violence this year in the coastal east where hundreds have been killed in tribal clashes over land and water, the most recent this week. Such battles over resources have occurred for years, but human rights groups blame the latest fighting on politicians seeking to drive away parts of the local population they believe will vote for their rivals in the elections.

This is reinforcing the fears of a repeat of the ethnic mayhem that followed the disputed 2007 vote. “This kind of violence can engulf the entire nation.

It takes incitement by leaders preaching hate,” Kibunjia said. —Reuters

Egypt’s Islamists tighten grip on power

By Hamza Hendawi ith the passage of a divisive constitution, Egypt’s Islamist leadership has secured its tightest grip on power since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster nearly two years ago and laid the foundation for legislation to create a more religious state. The opposition’s response - a vow to keep fighting the charter and the program of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi - ensured that the turmoil of the past two years will not end as many, especially the tens of millions of poor craving stability, had fervently hoped.

“The referendum is not the end game. It is only a battle in this long struggle for the future of Egypt,” the opposition National Salvation Front said in a strongly worded statement on Sunday. “We will not allow a change to the identity of Egypt or the return of the age of tyranny,” added the front, which claims the new constitution seeks to enshrine Islamic rule in Egypt and accuses the Islamists of trying to monopolize power. Critics say the new constitution does not sufficiently protect the rights of women and minority groups and empowers Muslim clerics by giving them a say over legislation. Some articles were also seen as tailored to get rid of Islamists’ enemies and undermine the freedom of labor unions. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s most powerful political organization in the post-Mubarak era, claimed early Sunday that the charter it had backed was approved in the two-stage vote with a 64 percent “yes” vote overall. Though official results were not announced until yesterday, there was little doubt they will confirm the passage.

Once the official result is out, Morsi is expected to call for a new election of parliament’s lawmaking lower house within two months. And if all of the elections since Mubarak’s Feb 2011 ouster are any predictor, Islamists will again emerge dominant. In the last parliamentary vote in late 2011, the Muslim

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Brotherhood and its allies the Salafis - ultraconservative Islamists - won about 70 percent of seats. If Islamists win the overwhelming majority again, there is nothing to stop their lawmakers from legislating in support of their longtime goal of turning Egypt into an Islamic state. The Salafis will likely seek to enlist the support of the less radical Brotherhood for legislation that would nudge Egypt closer to a religious state. Khalil El-Anani, a British-based expert on Islamic groups, said the Salafis are likely to insist that every piece of legislation conforms with Islamic sharia law, especially with regard to questions of morality, culture, personal freedoms and the nation’s identity. “The Salafis will want the Brotherhood to reward them for their campaigning for the ‘yes’ vote,” said Anani. “The Brotherhood, meanwhile, will want to rebuild their image as a credible democratic group after a period in which it seemed in complete alignment with the Salafis.”

The Islamists could also move early to pass laws restricting vibrant and outspoken privately owned media organizations that have flourished since the uprising and reported critically on Morsi and the Brotherhood. Egypt analyst Michael W Hanna said, however, that enduring political tensions will make it difficult for the Islamists to push ahead with any major or sensitive legislation. “There will be a huge domestic backlash to any unpopular legislation, especially when it comes to the economy or the media,” said Hanna of New York’s Century Foundation.

Until the lower house is elected and seated, parliament’s upper chamber, the Shura Council, will temporarily assume legislative powers and may give priority to more pressing issues. After the opposition brought hundreds of thousands of protesters to the streets in the past four weeks, including tens of thousands outside Morsi’s presidential palace in Cairo, the Shura Council is expected to hurriedly debate and vote on a legislation that would place tight restric-

tions on the right to demonstrate.

More serious challenges to Morsi’s leadership may lie ahead. The millions who voted “yes” for the constitution are hoping for stability, jobs and business opportunities that may be slow in coming.

The president will soon have to introduce painful economic reforms to salvage a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a $4.8 billion loan that was delayed at Egypt’s request because of the political turmoil of the past month. A glimpse of what may be in store on that front emerged Sunday after Prime Minister Hesham Kandil met with the Cabinet’s economic team. “The current financial and economic situation is in grave danger,” said Cabinet spokesman Alaa El-Hadidy.

“Leaving things the way they are is not something we can afford to do,” he said, hinting at the necessity of structural reforms. These will include price and tax hikes as well as lifting subsidies on fuel.

Morsi recently rescinded a package of price and tax hikes hours after he decreed them, saying he did not want to burden poor Egyptians with a higher cost of living. But economists say it is only a question of time before the package is re-introduced. With foreign currency reserves around half of what they were two years ago and tourism revenues hard hit by resurgent political turmoil, the economy has been in a free-fall for months.

Deepening the nation’s economic plight is the seemingly endless series of strikes and demands for salary increases and better benefits. Price hikes, warn many analysts, could prove to be the last straw for the nearly half of Egypt’s 85 million people who live around the poverty line of surviving on $2 a day. Many Egyptians want to see Morsi’s government moving aggressively to tackle the nation’s pressing problems such as security and reviving the vital tourism sector. “We want factories to work again so we can find jobs here instead of traveling abroad to find work,” said Mohammed Sweilam, a metal worker who spent seven years

working in oil-rich Saudi Arabia. “When stability prevails, I will consider coming home to stay. Let us give the Brotherhood a chance. We owe them this,” he said as he waited in line on Saturday to cast his vote in the town of El-Saf in Cairo’s neighboring Giza province. Another pressing issue for the new legislators may be the anti-Islamist editorial policy of the independent media, particularly privately owned TV networks whose political talk shows are watched nightly by millions and shape public perceptions. Already, Morsi’s allies have been filing numerous complaints against media celebrities who criticize or mock the president and the Brotherhood, including hosts of satirical shows and newspaper columnists. Several of them are on trial or being investigated on charges of “insulting” the president or undermining national security.

Since Morsi took office nearly six months ago, Brotherhood members or sympathizers have been named editors of most of the roughly 50 stateowned publications. The powerful information minister is a prominent Brotherhood leader. A recent court ruling also shut down a TV network whose owner is a harsh critic of Morsi. Salafis who support Morsi have been staging a sit-in outside a media complex in Cairo for weeks to protest against what they say is the anti-Islamist policies of private TV networks housed there. The constitutional crisis has reenergized and united the once-fractured opposition, turning it into a force to be reckoned with in the fight over Egypt’s future. In a sign of its newly found strength, the National Salvation Front, the main opposition group, on Sunday scornfully rejected a Brotherhood invitation for dialogue. The opposition has dismissed the constitution as the fruition of an illegitimate process. The low turnout for the referendum - 32 percent of the more than 51 million eligible voters, or 20 percent of Egypt’s 85 million people, according to unofficial results - has shown the limitations Islamists face in marketing an Islamic state in a nation still largely loyal to secular traditions. —AP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

sp orts Pakistan-India tour hit by coverage dispute

Lampard hails Luiz’s display LONDON: David Luiz is sparkling like a diamond in his new playmaking role and vice-captain Frank Lampard believes the Chelsea number four can be equally valuable to the team in midfield and in his usual position in defence.

The mop-haired Brazilian bustled and chased around Stamford Bridge like an over-exuberant puppy in Sunday’s 8-0 demolition of Aston Villa but he also showed the full range of his ball skills with some incisive passing and deadly accurate shooting.

“He has the ability to play either position and he’s been a fantastic central defender,” Lampard told the club’s website (www.chelseafc.com) on Monday after the European champions climbed to third in the Premier League. “People say that central midfield is also a role for him and I think they are right. You still have to have discipline and be in the right position, and you can’t take liberties, and against Villa he showed he has the discipline and the ability to do that role.” Chelsea fans have been imploring the club to utilise Luiz’s creative talents in midfield for a long time but new interim manager Rafael Benitez is the first coach to play him in that position.

The Brazilian occupied the role for the first time at the Club World Cup in Japan at the start of the month and he marked his second appearance as a playmaker by scoring with a dipping 20-metre free kick in the first half against Villa. “You don’t see the hours put in on the training pitch to work on that technique,” Lampard said. “David has done it and now you are seeing the rewards because every time we get a free kick in that area you fancy him to get it on target.” —Reuters

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s first cricket tour to India in five years faced a media blackout yesterday after international news agencies, including AFP, suspended coverage over a decision to bar their photo counterparts.

News outlets said they would not be filing any text or pictures after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to accredit the international picture agencies Getty Images and Action Images as well as two Indian agencies. The five-match series is due to start today with a Twenty20 international in Bangalore.

“It is regrettable that the politically-charged Pakistan tour will be affected by the BCCI’s failure to recognise the long-standing importance of photographic news agencies in the flow of sport and news images every day,” said the News Media Coalition, which represents a group of media organisations including AFP. Other international agencies who are members of the coalition, such as Thomson Reuters and the Associated Press, will also halt text and photo coverage. It is the second time in as many months that a series involving India has been hit by a coverage suspension, with a similar dispute embroiling England’s recent tour.

As well as the suspension of coverage by the agencies, English newspapers and leading websites refused to use images supplied by the BCCI and instead used file pictures. “As a direct result of the BCCI stance, great sporting moments from the cricket tours to India are going unrecorded and therefore lost forever. England’s games were the hidden series and the Pakistan tour is heading for the same fate,” said Andrew Moger, executive director of the NMC. The World Association of Newspapers is backing the suspension, saying the BCCI was “denying the ability of editors to select from the best of photography for the benefit of readers”.—Reuters

UK paper suing Armstrong LONDON: Lance Armstrong is being sued for more than $1.5 million by a British newspaper which lost a libel action for publishing doping allegations against the now-disgraced cyclist.

The Sunday Times paid Armstrong 300,000 pounds (now about $485,000) in 2006 to settle a case after it reprinted claims from a book in 2004 that he took performance-enhancing drugs.

But this year, the US Anti-Doping Agency found that Armstrong led a massive doping program on his teams. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life. The Sunday Times announced in an article in its latest edition that it has issued legal papers against Armstrong.

“It is clear that the proceedings were baseless and fraudulent,” the paper said in a letter to Armstrong’s lawyers. “Your representations that you had never taken performance enhancing drugs were deliberately false.”

The paper, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., said its total claim against Armstrong is “likely to exceed” 1 million pounds ($1.6 million). “The Sunday Times is now demanding a return of the settlement payment plus interest, as well as its costs in defending the case,” the paper said. —AP

Clippers win, Knicks triumph PHOENIX: Blake Griffin scored 23 points, Chris Paul had 17 points and 13 assists and the Los Angeles Clippers extended a franchise record with their 13th consecutive victory, 103-77 over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

Reserve Jamal Crawford added 22 points for the Clippers, who won in Phoenix for the first time since April 17, 2007. Los Angeles’ overall win streak is an NBA season best and its six straight road victories are also a franchise best.

Jared Dudley scored 19 points, Luis Scola had 11 and Markieff Morris added 10 for the Suns, who have dropped two straight after winning four in a row. Phoenix kept it close for the first quarter and half of the second.

Shannon Brown sank an 11-foot pull-up jumper on a fast break as the Suns trimmed an eight-point deficit to 43-40 with 5:36 left in the first half. That would be the Suns’ next-to-last field goal of the half.

ORLANDO: Utah Jazz guard Jamaal Tinsley (6) grabs the loose ball away from a diving Orlando Magic guard Arron Afflalo (4) during the second half of an NBA basketball game. —AP

Fresh winds spur bid for Sydney-Hobart record SYDNEY: Favorable winds may produce a record time when the gruelling Sydney to Hobart yacht race sets off on Boxing Day, with supermaxi Wild Oats XI a hot tip to take a sixth line honors win.

The weather forecast suggests the 77strong fleet will face a headwind when they sail out of Sydney Harbour Wednesday on the 628-nautical mile course down southeastern Australia.

But this should fade as tail winds blow in to speed the boats across the Bass Strait and on to Hobart, capital of the island state of Tasmania.

“On the first night, the winds will lighten off a bit and will back around from the southeast to the northeast,” Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Michael Logan told AFP. “It looks like on the second day, those northeasterly winds will freshen up quite a lot making for some faster downwind sailing.” Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards said yesterday that his boat’s 2005 race record was up for grabs.

“For all of us it’s just going to be pedal to the metal,” Richards told a news conference.

“Don’t back off, push off as fast as you can and hopefully sail the shortest course possible and the rest is in the hands of the gods.” His navigator Adrienne Cahalan said the forecast was ideal.

“Every Hobart sailor dreams about a southerly on Christmas Day, so it’s a very exciting forecast for us,” she said. “If you use the computer and run the forecasts, Wild Oats has a chance on record pace,” she said, noting “a few transition zones we are going to have to deal with”.

Logan said the fleet could face a westerly change in the closing stages, but conditions were not expected to be anything like the cat-

astrophic weather of 1998 in which six sailors died.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia race includes a fleet of old and new, big and small boats and is a well-established Boxing Day spectacle as the yachts make their way out of Sydney Harbor.

With a tailwind, the big boats are backed for line honors while smaller vessels could face a buffeting if the westerly impacts late on. “It’s going to be exciting up the front end of the fleet, and also the back end of the fleet are going to have some serious yachting on their hands,” Cruising Yacht Club of Australia commodore Howard Pigott said.

Wild Oats XI holds the record of one day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds set seven years ago. Fellow 100-footer RagamuffinLoyal (which took line honors in 2011 as Investec Loyal) and 98-foot yacht Lahana are also in the betting.

The 2003 line honours winner Wild Thing, now a 100-footer, could be a dark horse having undergone major work since last year, including a completely new back end.

The race awards line honors as a well as handicap honours which take into account each boat’s dimensions, including sail area, whether it has a canting or fixed keel and age.

For some, such as the 80-year-old, 30-foot Maluka of Kermandie, which was the last to cross the line in 2011, just finishing is its own reward. “It’s not looking too flash for the smaller boats because we’ll contend with a lot more upwind conditions,” skipper Sean Langman said.

“Certainly it will be a big boat race. It’s exciting for the big boats. “We’ll be listening and just hoping we’ll get there in time for the New Year’s Eve fireworks.” —AFP

SYDNEY: A yacht arrives at dock as crews prepare for the gruelling Sydney to Hobart yacht race which sets sail on Boxing Day. —AFP

Knicks 94, Timberwolves 91 In New York, Carmelo Anthony scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, rallying the New York Knicks to victory over Minnesota.

New York trailed from the opening minutes until Anthony scored eight straight points down the stretch. He had scored just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting in the first half, but had the final 12 for the Knicks to give them a 42 finish on their six-game homestand.

J.R. Smith added 19 points and Tyson Chandler had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who will fly to Los Angeles later Sunday for their Christmas Day game against the Lakers.

Nikola Pekovic had 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who played without star forward Kevin Love because of an eye injury. Alexey Shved added 18 points for Minnesota.

Love was poked in the eye late in the Wolves’ 99-93 victory over Oklahoma City on Thursday and didn’t travel with the team to New York. They nearly pulled it out without him, leading almost the entire night before falling for the third time in four games.

Spurs 129, Mavericks 91 In San Antonio, Danny Green scored a career-high 25 points and San Antonio spoiled Dirk Nowitzki’s season debut with a rout of Dallas. Tony Parker had 18 points, Kawhi Leonard added 17, Tim Duncan 15 and Stephen Jackson 14 for the Spurs (21-8), who were 20 of 30 from 3-point range and led by as many as 46.

After missing the Mavericks’ first 27 regularseason games, Nowitzki entered with 6:28 left in the first quarter. Nowitzki, who underwent surgery on his right knee Oct. 19, finished with eight points - going 3 for 4 from the field - and six rebounds in 20 minutes. Darren Collison scored 15 points to lead Dallas (12-16), which lost its third straight.

Nets 95, 76ers 92 In New York, Joe Johnson scored 22 points, and Gerald Wallace had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead Brooklyn to a win over Philadelphia. Deron Williams added 16 points to help the Nets end a six-game skid at home against the 76ers.

Jrue Holiday led Philadelphia with 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds, Thadeus Young added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Evan Turner had 15 points and seven rebounds. The 76ers, opening an eight-game trip, have lost six of their last seven games.

Williams was fouled by Holiday and hit two free throws to make it 94-90 before Turner answered with a layup to make it 94-92.

Johnson finished the tight scoring with a free throw.

Jazz 97, Magic 93 In Orlando, Paul Millsap scored 18 points, Gordon Hayward added 17 and Utah survived a fourth-quarter rally to slip past Orlando.

Orlando cut the lead to one in the waning seconds, but came up empty at the foul line.

Utah snapped a two-game losing streak with its fifth consecutive regular-season victory over Orlando. The Jazz played without point guard Mo Williams, out indefinitely with a thumb injury.

PHOENIX: Los Angeles Clippers’ Ryan Hollins (15) towers over Phoenix Suns’ Shannon Brown (26) for a dunk during the second half of an NBA basketball game. —AP Arron Afflalo had 20 points, and Nik Vucevic added 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead Orlando, which has dropped back-to-back games since losing starting forward Glen Davis to a shoulder injury. The loss also ended the Magic’s three-game home winning streak.

Kings 108, Trail Blazers 96 In Sacramento, Marcus Thornton scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half to help slumping Sacramento snap Portland’s fivegame winning streak. The Kings played with-

out starting center DeMarcus Cousins, who was suspended indefinitely Saturday for unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team.

Already ahead by nine, the Kings opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run, including a 3pointer by Thornton, to build their lead to 8771. The Blazers trailed by at least 13 the rest of the way. John Salmons had 13 of his 15 points in the second half for Sacramento. LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers. —AP

NBA results/standings Brooklyn 95, Philadelphia 92; NY Knicks 94, Minnesota 91; Utah 97, Orlando 93; San Antonio 129, Dallas 91; LA Clippers 103, Phoenix 77; Sacramento 108, Portland 96.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT NY Knicks 20 7 .741 Brooklyn 14 12 .538 Boston 13 13 .500 Philadelphia 13 15 .464 Toronto 9 19 .321

Chicago Indiana Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland

Central Division 15 11 .577 16 12 .571 14 12 .538 9 21 .300 6 23 .207

Southeast Division Miami 18 6 .750 Atlanta 16 9 .640 Orlando 12 15 .444 Charlotte 7 20 .259 Washington 3 22 .120

GB 5.5 6.5 7.5 11.5

Western Conference Northwest Division Oklahoma City 21 5 .808 Denver 15 13 .536 Minnesota 13 12 .520 Utah 15 14 .517 Portland 13 13 .500

1 8 10.5

LA Clippers Golden State LA Lakers Phoenix Sacramento

2.5 7.5 12.5 15.5

San Antonio Memphis Houston Dallas New Orleans

Pacific Division 21 6 .778 18 10 .643 13 14 .481 11 17 .393 9 18 .333

Southwest Division 21 8 .724 18 7 .720 14 12 .538 12 16 .429 5 22 .185

7 7.5 7.5 8

3.5 8 10.5 12

1 5.5 8.5 15

16

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

S P ORT S

Australia hobble into Boxing Day test MELBOURNE: A last-gasp victory over Sri Lanka in Hobart gave Australia a sorely needed boost after disappointment against South Africa, but a mounting injury toll has tempered the hosts’ Christmas cheer in the lead-up to the second Test in Melbourne.

Captain Michael Clarke, in white-hot form with the bat, remains a doubt to play the Boxing Day test after suffering a hamstring strain at Hobart, while frontline seamer Ben Hilfenhaus has been ruled out with a side strain.

Top young talents Pat Cummins and James Pattinson have already been lost for the series, and have been joined in the casualty ward by fellow quicks John Hastings and Josh Hazlewood. Six months out from the Ashes, Australia’s hopes of using its home summer to hone a battle-hardened attack lie in tatters.

Australia’s selectors have compounded the angst, however, with a controver-

sial rotation policy that has seen injuryfree bowlers rested for fear they might break down, drawing howls of criticism from former players and pundits.

The in-form Mitchell Starc is the latest casualty of that policy, and despite taking a five-wicket haul to help Australia seal the Hobart win, will cool his heels in the Melbourne Cricket Ground dressing room when the test starts Wednesday.

“We’ve got to be very mindful of the fact that we’ve got such a lot of important cricket coming up,” Australia head coach and selector Mickey Arthur told reporters on Monday.

“And Mitch will be integral to that. It’s tough on Mitch but hopefully he misses one test to make sure we don’t have another injury.” Paceman Starc’s enforced break and Hilfenhaus’s absence mean Australia will bring an overhauled pace attack for a third consecutive test.

The mercurial Mitchell Johnson earns

a recall after being dumped following the third and final test against South Africa in Perth. Although the Proteas’ batsmen bullied Australia in the series-sealing victory at the WACA, the 31-year-old Johnson was the pick of the hosts’ bowlers and will hope for a big haul to remain in favour ahead of tours to India and England.

Johnson, however, may have to wait his turn behind debutant Jackson Bird, who will open the bowling against Sri Lanka’s formidable batting lineup in front of a bumper crowd at the MCG. The 26-year-old Bird has played only 17 first-class matches, but is the leading wicket-taker in the domestic Sheffield Shield, and has enjoyed good form for his adopted Tasmania state in his two matches at the MCG. He is likely to share the new ball with fiery paceman Peter Siddle, who took nine wickets in a man-of-the-match per-

formance at Hobart and is the only pace bowler retained from the first test.

Sri Lanka have their own pace bowling problems, with their raw attack struggling in Hobart, but they will again pin their hopes of a breakthrough first test win in Australia on their batsmen and spinner Rangana Herath.

With the team having lost the coin toss and the benefit of batting first, Sri Lanka’s batsmen frustrated the Australian bowlers for nearly four sessions on a deteriorating wicket at Hobart, only to collapse after tea and surrender the test within the last hour.

They will hope to have better luck with the toss at the MCG, where the drop-in pitch traditionally rewards batting sides who survive a torrid first session on day one, before offering something for the spinners on days four and five.

The Sri Lankans have additional motivation in their first Boxing Day test in 17

years, with master batsman Kumar Sangakkara needing only 40 runs to reach the magical 10,000-run milestone in tests.

The 35-year-old would become only the 11th cricketer to reach the landmark and second Sri Lankan after captain Mahela Jayawardene. “I think Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela have played a huge part with the youngsters,” middle order batsman and captain-in-waiting Angelo Mathews told reporters. “We would like to get (Sangakkara) 100 this time. It’s a very special game for us.”

Australia skipper Clarke had a short session batting in the nets on Monday and would be given until the last minute to prove his fitness, the team’s coach Arthur said.

Should he fail to recover, vice captain Shane Watson will take the reins, with sixtest top order batsman Usman Khawaja replacing Clarke in the order. —Reuters

New Zealand level series

EAST LONDON: New Zealand’s batsman Martin Guptill (right) runs home safe as South Africa’s bowler Rory Kleinveldt (left) attempts a run out during the Twenty20 cricket match. —AP

Scoreboard EAST LONDON: Scoreboard from the second Twenty20 International between South Africa and New Zealand at Buffalo Park Sunday: South Africa R.Levi c N.McCullum b Hira H.Davids c Neesham b McClenaghan F.du Plessis c Anderson b Bracewell D.Miller c Hira b Bracewell F.Berhardien not out R.Petersen c Neesham b Bracewell Q.de Kock not out Extras (lb-2, w-1, nb-1) Total (five wickets, 19 overs)

5 55 63 33 5 0 0 4 165

Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-81, 3-160, 4-160, 5-161 Bowling: McClenaghan 4-0-32-1 (1nb), Hira 4-0-37-1, Bracewell 3-0-33-3 (1w), Anderson 2-0-21-0, N.McCullum 40-23-0, Franklin 1-0-10-0, Nicol 1-0-7-0.

New Zealand (Target 169 D/L) M.Guptill not out 101 R.Nicol c Miller b Peterson 25 B.McCullum c Miller b McLaren 17 C.Munro not out 8 Extras (lb-9, w-8, nb-1) 18 Total (two wickets, 19 overs) 169 Fall of wickets: 1-76, 2-149 Bowling: Peterson 3-0-28-1 (1w), Morkel 4-0-29-0 (1w), Kleinveldt 4-0-35-0, McLaren 4-0-26-1 (1nb, 1w), Phangiso 4-0-42-0 (1w).

New Zealand won by eight wickets to square the threematch series 1-1.

EAST LONDON: A brilliant, unbeaten century from opener Martin Guptill led New Zealand to an eight-wicket victory off the final ball against South Africa in the second T20 international on Sunday.

Chasing 169 for victory in 19 overs at Buffalo Park, Guptill helped erase the memory of Friday’s embarrassing capitulation to 86 all out in Durban with a stunning batting display as the tourists reached their target for the loss of just two wickets to level the series 1-1.

Requiring 39 from the final four overs and 11 off the last, Guptill was on 97 and needing four for victory when Rory Kleinveldt bowled the final delivery — a low full toss which was eased away through extra cover.

Guptill’s unbeaten 101 was just the third T20 international century by a New Zealander, the first two belonging to captain Brendon McCullum who was almost anonymous with 17 from 15 balls during a second-wicket partnership of 73 with Guptill.

The right-handed opener was similarly dominant during an opening stand of 76 with Rob Nicol (25) as he drove the Proteas attack impeccably straight and displayed the skills - and patience - so obviously missing from the New Zealand batsman in Durban.

Captain Faf du Plessis led from the front once again as South Africa posted a competitive 165-5 in 19 overs after losing the toss and being asked to bat first. Du Plessis paced his innings to perfection on a tricky pitch to reach 63 from 43 balls with eight fours and a six in a match reduced to 19 overs per side following a 52-minute floodlight failure. The deciding match takes place in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday. —Reuters

BANGALORE: A Pakistan cricket fan, Mohammad Bashir of Chicago, holds a paper which reads ‘Please I need one ticket India Pakistan match’ as he stands in front of the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the venue of first Twenty20 cricket match between India and Pakistan. —AP

Police bomb squad combs India-Pakistan match venue BANGALORE: Police bomb squad officers and sniffer dogs searched Bangalore stadium yesterday as part of a massive security operation for the start of the first Pakistan cricket tour to India for five years.

Hardline Indian nationalist organisations including Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Shiv Sena have both threatened to hold protests outside all the venues for the five-match series, which begins in Bangalore today evening.

The Indian government has said it will issue a record number of 3,000 visas to Pakistani fans attending the series-the first since the 2008 Mumbai attacks which led to a complete breakdown in relations between the two countries.

“As the governments of both the countries have agreed to hold the bilateral series, no organisation will be allowed to disrupt the match,” Bangalore police commissioner Jyotiprakash Mirji told reporters.

An AFP reporter saw bomb squad officers carrying out a painstaking inspection with their dogs in and around the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore, the capital of the southeastern state of Karnataka.

As many as 5,000 security personnel, including a 100-member bomb squad, have been deployed to cover the match, fearing attempts to disrupt the game or even stage an attack.

Shiv Sena, a Hindu nationalist party based in Mumbai, has branded the tour a “national shame” and accused Indian cricket authorities of “betraying the country for sake of money”.

The same organisation dug up the wicket at the Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground in New Delhi in 1999 ahead of an India-Pakistan Test although

the match did go ahead. Cricket has been used in the past to mend diplomatic ties, with the prime ministers of both nations symbolically shaking hands as they watched their teams in the semifinal of last year’s World Cup in the northern Indian city of Mohali.

But the prospects of a diplomatic dividend this time round appear slim and there has been no announcement of a visit by a Pakistani leader for any match. Ties were further strained on a trip to New Delhi by Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik this month, when he compared the Mumbai attacks to the 1992 razing of a mosque by a Hindu mob which sparked a wave of sectarian violence.

Boria Majumdar, a Kolkata-based academic and sports historian, said there was little reason to expect that the resumption of cricketing ties would herald any wider political thaw between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

“This series is not going to yield any diplomatic dividends,” he told AFP. “Cricket needs IndiaPakistan rivalry, but having said that this contest will not lead to any diplomatic breakthroughs.”

Few Pakistani fans had made it to Bangalore on Monday. But one who had travelled from the United States said it was too much to expect cricket to stimulate diplomacy every time the teams played.

“The Mohali magic cannot be repeated every time the countries face off on a cricket ground,” said 60-year-old Mohammed Bashir, who lives in Chicago. “That the teams are playing each other on Indian soil is in itself a big thing. We should not expect anything more to come out of this encounter,” Bashir told AFP, dressed in the green and gold of the Pakistani team. —AFP

South Africa reach the summit LONDON: South Africa enjoyed a superb 2012 as they went to the top of the world Test rankings. Meanwhile, after years of declining performances, the West Indies won the World Twenty20.

Unbeaten in 10 Tests, a notable nine away from home, South Africa ended England’s year-long reign at the summit with a convincing 2-0 win in a three-match series and then battled for two draws in Australia before a commanding 309-run victory in the third Test at Perth.

Graeme Smith, now the mostcapped Test captain of all-time, scored a hundred in his 100th Test at The Oval and the same match saw Hashim Amla became the first South African to score a Test triple hundred, Dale Steyn led a formidable pace attack featuring Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and the seemingly ageless all-rounder Jacques Kallis. However, there was one sadness for South Africa in the premature retirement of wicketkeeper Mark Boucher following a freak eye injury suffered against Somerset in a tour match. With the Ashes in England set to be the key Test series of 2013, Smith was well-placed to assess both sides.

“The challenge for Australia is going to be winning in England,” said

Smith. “Being a home series for England, they will be favorites.” West Indies gave their long-suffering fans something to celebrate when they beat hosts Sri Lanka in the World Twenty20 final.

Marlon Samuels smashed 78 off 56 balls after a failure by Chris Gayle, who in November became the first player to hit a six from the first ball of a Test, against Bangladesh. Batting records of a different sort fell to Michael Clarke, with the Australia captain becoming the first player to score four Test double centuries in a calendar year.

By contrast, runs dried up for Australia great Ricky Ponting, who could only manage eight in his final innings before retiring following the Perth defeat by South Africa.

However, he left with a tally of 13,378 Test runs-second only to Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar. The 39-yearold Tendulkar continued to play on as fellow India ‘golden generation’ batting stars VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid retired.

But following his 100th international hundred in a one-day match against Bangladesh in March, runs became increasingly hard to come by for Tendulkar. The concern surrounding the ‘Little Master’ appeared to inhibit an India side who suffered a 2-1 series

loss to England in December.

It was India’s first home series defeat in eight years and England’s first in India since 1984/85, with Alastair Cook starring with the bat after succeeding retired former opening partner Andrew Strauss as England captain.

Cook’s influence could also be seen in the “reintegration” of Kevin Pietersen into the side after the South Africa born-batsman was dropped for sending “provocative” texts to Proteas players regarding then-captain Strauss.

Pietersen responded with a superb innings of 186 against India in the second Test at Mumbai. Australia great Shane Warne dropped hints about a 2013 Ashes comeback while Yuvraj Singh returned to India duty following lung cancer.

Fixing continued to plague world cricket, with Pakistan and Essex legspinner Danish Kaneria banned for life by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after being found guilty of corruption.

Kaneria’s Essex colleague Mervyn Westfield was jailed for four months and banned for five years after pleading guilty to an ECB charge of accepting money to under-perform.

And in a worrying development six

umpires from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, were suspended by the International Cricket Council following allegations by an Indian television programme they could be bribed to make decisions.

Pakistan beat England in their adopted home of the United Arab Emirates and the year ended with Bangladesh agreeing to tour Pakistan in early 2013.

That what would see the first full international fixtures played in Pakistan since an armed attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore in March 2009 killed eight people and injured seven players.

Ross Taylor led New Zealand to their first Test win in Sri Lanka for 14 years but was still axed as captain. New Zealand officials apologised for the manner of his sacking but by then Taylor, the team’s best batsman, had made himself unavailable for the tour of South Africa.

In another largely tough year for Bangladesh there was the satisfaction of a one-day series win against the West Indies. Bangladesh’s Abul Hasan became only the second man in 135 years of Test cricket to score a hundred on his debut batting at No 10 when making 113 against the West Indies in Khulna-only for the bowler to ‘give the runs back’ with a first innings return of none for 113.—AFP

Graeme Smith

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

sp orts

NFL’s ‘nice little story’ gets even better NEW YORK: The Colts were a nice little story six weeks ago. That’s when a team that started 1-2 and had “rebuilding” written all over it responded to the loss of rookie coach Chuck Pagano with one of those how-did-they-do-it winning streaks - and that was supposed to be that. Considering the Colts finished 214 a year ago, then said goodbye to Peyton Manning and turned the rest of the roster upside-down, the season was already a success. Fans in Indianapolis knew can’t-miss rookie quarterback Andrew Luck was bound to improve, but explaining the 4-1 run after Pagano left the team to deal with leukemia was tough enough, especially because there was precious little room elsewhere for improvement. The Colts still can’t run the ball, and they still start rookies at nearly every one of the skill positions. The defense? Don’t ask.

Yet the stor y just got better.

Indianapolis was outgained by more than 200 yards Sunday in Kansas City.

The Colts lost the time-of-possession battle but still won 20-13 and locked up an improbable playoff spot.

“Mission accomplished,” Colts interim coach Bruce Arians said, as though he expected as much. “That’s all I can say. It’s a fantastic feeling.” And the story is about to get better still.

Pagano has been cleared to return, perhaps as early as Monday. He might have been the only guy in the entire organization who was expecting great things when he took over, but an entire squad and staff have come over to his side in his absence.

Arians, who stepped in for his close pal and consulted Pagano throughout his ordeal, is a candidate for coach of the year. And Luck, who threw for a modest 205 yards and a touchdown, still made up a lot of ground in his race against similarly impressive first-year quarterback starters Robert Griffin III of Washington and Russell Wilson of Seattle because of something he didn’t

do - throw a costly interception.

Even the much-maligned defense got into the act, with Darius Butler picking off Brady Quinn’s pass and returning it for a touchdown five plays into the game, and whole unit rising up to stuff Quinn on a quarterback sneak late in the game, turning the ball back over to Luck in time for a rookie-record seventh winning drive. “ Whenever teams go for it on fourth down, the defense takes it personal,” Indianapolis end Dwight Freeney said.

If the defensive stand was a surprise, what Luck did with the opportunity wasn’t. The Colts’ running game is still little more than a chance for Luck to catch his breath, and despite the emergence of receivers T.Y. Hilton and Dwayne Allen, just about everybody in Arrowhead Stadium was looking at veteran wideout Reggie Wayne. So was Luck, who saw him cut through a seam in the middle of the defense, then fired a high, hard pass that Wayne latched

onto in the end zone for a 7-yard score.

Luck owns the rookie records for most yards, most 300-yard games, most winning drives, and the strike to Wayne put him closer to the rookie record of 26 touchdown passes set by none other than Manning. And just like Manning, to whom Luck was often compared before the season, the rookie knew exactly what to say about all of them.

“I think it definitely means something. Af ter the season I’ll have a chance to reflect back on it. Obviously, it is nicer to be in the playoffs and know that,” Luck said, “but it is nice to have a couple records that I’m sure will be broken in the next year.” What he said next, though, came as something of a surprise.

“I think we were confident in the locker room from day one. I remember going in, trying to gauge the feel of what it was going to be like. Guys were confident on this team, like Reggie

Wayne who had never missed a playoff until that year. Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, those guys are winners, they k now how to win, so I think they imparted some of that magic, if you will, on some of the younger guys, the newer guys.

“It was a confident bunch, we never prepared to lose a game, we always prepared to win, and I guess that worked out.” It’s still a mystery exactly how, but Luck wasn’t going to spend much more time dwelling on that than he did on accumulating records.

“I guess it will be an extra special Christmas,” he said, referring to Pagano’s return. “There will be a lot of emotions when he comes through the door. It’s funny, there are probably 10 guys who have never met Chuck on the team, but I think they will be emotional too because I’m sure they feel like they know him, too, because his presence is felt so much in the building out here, and wherever we go.”—AP

Zambia, Ahly defy odds to conquer African football

LONDON: In this Aug 2, 2012 file photo Gabrielle Douglas of the United States, performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women’s individual allaround competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Douglas, who became the first African-American gymnast to claim gymnastics’ biggest prize — the allaround Olympic title — is The Associated Press’ 2012 female Athlete of the Year.—AP

Douglas wins AP female Athlete of the Year honors NEW YORK: When Gabby Douglas allowed herself to dream of being the Olympic champion, she imagined having a nice little dinner with family and friends to celebrate.

Maybe she’d make an appearance here and there. “I didn’t think it was going to be crazy,” Douglas said, laughing. “I love it. But I realized my perspective was going to have to change.” Just a bit.

The teenager has become a worldwide star since winning the Olympic all-around title in London, the first African-American gymnast to claim gymnastics’ biggest prize.

And now she has earned another honor.

Douglas was selected The Associated Press’ female athlete of the year, edging out swimmer Missy Franklin in a vote by US editors and news directors.

“I didn’t realize how much of an impact I made,” said Douglas, who turns 17 on Dec 31. “My mom and everyone said, ‘You really won’t know the full impact until you’re 30 or 40 years old.’ But it’s starting to sink in.”

In a year filled with standout performances by female athletes, those of the pintsized gymnast shined brightest. Douglas received 48 of 157 votes, seven more than Franklin, who won four gold medals and a bronze in London. Serena Williams, who won Wimbledon and the US Open two years after her career was nearly derailed by a series of health problems, was third (24).

Britney Griner, who led Baylor to a 40-0 record and the NCAA title, and skier Lindsey Vonn each got 18 votes. Sprinter Allyson Felix, who won three gold medals in London, and Carli Lloyd, who scored both U.S. goals in the Americans’ 2-1 victory over Japan in the gold-medal game, also received votes. “One of the few years the women’s (Athlete of the Year) choices are more compelling than the men’s,” said Julie Jag, sports editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Douglas is the fourth gymnast to win one of the AP’s annual awards, which began in 1931, and first since Mary Lou Retton in 1984. She also finished 15th in voting for the AP sports story of the year.

Douglas wasn’t even in the conversation for the Olympic title at the beginning of the year. That all changed in March when she upstaged reigning world champion and teammate Jordyn Wieber at the American Cup in New York, showing off a new vault, an ungraded uneven bars routine and a dazzling personality that would be a hit on Broadway and Madison Avenue.

She finished a close second to Wieber at the US championships, then beat her two weeks later at the Olympic trials. With each competition, her confidence grew. So did that smile.

By the time the Americans got to London, Douglas had emerged as the most consistent gymnast on what was arguably the best team the U.S. has ever had. She posted the team’s highest score on all but one event in qualifying. She was the only gymnast to compete in all four events during team finals, when the Americans beat the Russians in a rout for their second Olympic title, and first since 1996. Two nights later, Douglas claimed the grandest prize of all, joining Retton, Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin as what Bela Karolyi likes to call the “Queen of Gymnastics.”

But while plenty of other athletes won gold medals in London, none captivated the public quite like Gabby.

Fans ask for hugs in addition to photographs and autographs, and people have left restaurants and cars upon spotting her.

She made Barbara Walters’ list of “10 Most Fascinating People,” and Forbes recently named her one of its “30 Under 30.” She has deals with Nike, Kellogg Co. and AT&T, and agent Sheryl Shade said Douglas has drawn interest from companies that don’t traditionally partner with Olympians or athletes.

“She touched so many people of all generations, all diversities,” Shade said. “It’s her smile, it’s her youth, it’s her excitement for life. ... She transcends sport.”

Douglas’ story is both heartwarming and inspiring, its message applicable those young or old, male or female, active or couch potato. She was just 14 when she convinced her mother to let her leave their Virginia Beach, home and move to West Des Moines, Iowa, to train with Liang Chow, Shawn Johnson’s coach. Though her host parents, Travis and Missy Parton, treated Douglas as if she was their fifth daughter, Douglas was so homesick she considered quitting gymnastics.

She’s also been open about her family’s financial struggles, hoping she can be a role model for lower income children. “I want people to think, ‘Gabby can do it, I can do it,’” Douglas said. “Set that bar. If you’re going through struggles or injuries, don’t let it stop you from what you want to accomplish.” The grace she showed under pressure - both on and off the floor - added to her appeal. When some fans criticized the way she wore her hair during the Olympics, Douglas simply laughed it off.

“They can say whatever they want. We all have a voice,” she said. “I’m not going to focus on it. I’m not really going to focus on the negative.” Besides, she’s having far too much fun.

Her autobiography, “Grace, Gold and Glory,” is No. 4 on the New York Times’ young adult list. She, Wieber and Fierce Five teammates Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney recently wrapped up a 40-city gymnastics tour. She met President Barack Obama last month with the rest of the Fierce Five, and left the White House with a souvenir.

“We got a sugar cookie that they were making for the holidays,” Douglas said. “I took a picture of it.” Though her busy schedule hasn’t left time to train, Douglas insists she still intends to compete through the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

No female Olympic champion has gone on to compete at the next Summer Games since Nadia Comaneci. But Douglas is still a relative newcomer to the elite scene - she’d done all of four international events before the Olympics - and Chow has said she hasn’t come close to reaching her full potential. She keeps up with Chow through email and text messages, and plans to return to Iowa after her schedule clears up in the spring.

Of course, plenty of other athletes have said similar things and never made it back to the gym. But Douglas is determined, and she gets giddy just talking about getting a new floor routine.

“I think there’s even higher bars to set,” she said. Because while being an Olympic champion may have changed her life, it hasn’t changed her. “I may be meeting cool celebrities and I’m getting amazing opportunities,” she said. “But I’m still the same Gabby.”—AP

JOHANNESBURG: Zambia and Egyptian club Al-Ahly defied the odds this year to lift the most prized silverware in the African football trophy cabinet.

Chipolopolo (The Copper Bullets) won the Cup of Nations for the first time in Libreville just a few kilometres from where a military plane plunged into the sea and claimed the lives of almost all the 1993 Zambian national squad.

Ahly extended a record haul of CAF Champions League titles to seven after playing all but one home match behind closed doors and overcoming the huge disadvantage of no competitive domestic football since last February.

It was a dismal year for Cameroon and Egypt, winners of 11 Cup of Nations titles between them, as both failed for the second consecutive time to qualify for the tournament.

Cape Verde Islands, a nation of just 500,000 people, eliminated Cameroon to secure a first Africa Cup appearance, but the Central African Republic failed to make the 16-nation cut despite stunning Egypt.

Africa experienced little success at international level with Egypt, Gabon, Morocco and Senegal failing to collect any football medals from the London Olympics and Ahly coming fourth at the Club World Cup. There was sadness at the death of 58-year-old former Cameroon midfield magician Theophile ‘Doctor’ Abega, a key figure in the first Cup of Nations title won by the central African state 28 years ago.

Coaches were hired and fired with alarming regularity. Belgian Eric Gerets arrived in Morocco with an impressive CV but could not raise the Atlas Lions to a higher level and was dumped after a defeat in Mozambique.

Off the pitch, Cameroonian Issa Hayatou is set to extend his 25-year reign as CAF president next March after Ivorian rival Jacques Anouma

was barred when a statute change limited the race to executive members holding voting rights.

Bungle-prone South African officials created unwanted headlines as the year closed with five, including national association president Kirsten Nematandani, suspended amid claims of match-fixing during pre-2010 World Cup friendlies.

“It was written in the stars,” said emotional French coach Her ve Renard after pre-tournament outsiders Zambia pipped firm favourites Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in the Cup of Nations final following 120 goalless minutes.

Renard admitted his team of dogged figthers captained by striker Christopher Katongo was not the best in Africa, but no opponent could douse the spirit of the supremely motivated and tactically disciplined Zambians.

Defeat left Didier Drogba, who blazed a second-half penalty over the bar, and other Ivorian veterans like Kolo Toure and Didier Zokora wondering what they had to do to succeed after being unbeaten in six games and not conceding a goal.

It was the fourth consecutive Cup of Nations that the Elephants entered as the team to beat and the second time they had featured in a goalless final only to loss the shootout.

Ahly experienced a bitter-sweet year with 74 supporters killed in post-match Port Said rioting last February after the Cairo Red Devils suffered a rare league loss to local club Al-Masry.

Egyptian authorities reacted by suspending domestic championship and cup football, leaving Ahly to play friendlies at home behind closed doors and in Gulf states before CAF fixtures.

After eliminating Saint George of Ethiopia and Stade Malien of Mali in qualifiers, Ahly topped a group including TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Berekum Chelsea of Ghana and Cairo neighbours Zamalek.

Kolo Toure Victory over dogged Sunshine Stars of Nigeria in a multi-goal semi-final preceded a 1-1 first-leg draw at home to bitter, decades-old rivals Esperance from Tunisia in the two-leg decider.

But Mohamed ‘Gedo’ Nagy and Walid Soliman scored before and after half-time to give Ahly control in Tunis and all defending champions Esperance could muster was a late Yannick Ndjeng goal to leave the Red Devils 3-2 overall victors.

After defeating Sanfrecce Hiroshima from Club World Cup hosts Japan, Ahly fell 1-0 to eventual champions Corinthians of Brazil,

but could not recapture the semifinal form when losing 2-0 to Mexicans Monterrey for third place.

The second-tier CAF Confederation Cup delivered a shock winner in AC Leopards from Congo Brazzaville, who drew away and won at home against Djoliba of Mali in a tight climax.

It was the first CAF club title for the central African country since 1974 and the victims of a Leopards squad without big-name players included former winners CS Sfaxien of Tunisia and defending champions Moghreb Fes of Morocco.—AFP

James’ Heat grab title in lockout-shortened season

LeBron James

LOS ANGELES: In a lockout shortened season, the 2012 NBA Finals was less a series than a coronation for the Miami Heat. The Heat used their young legs and improved depth against the Oklahoma City Thunder who couldn’t hold off Miami stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the five-game championship series. This was also James’ coming out party as in a one-year span, he went from being the villain that abandoned Cleveland to the hero of South Beach. “I dreamed about this opportunity and this moment for a long time,” James said as he sat down on a metal folding chair on the podium after the final game and allowed the moment to wash over him. “My dream has become a reality now and it is the best feeling I have ever had.”

James’ accomplishments capped a National Basketball Association season that featured many milestones but also a few lows like the lockout. This has been a maturing process for James, who turns 28 on December 30, ever since he was labelled a child prodigy in high school. He is more humble, more reserved and more focussed on winning. It doesn’t hurt that he has a supporting case that includes Wade and Bosh either.

“I did it the right way,” James said. “I didn’t shortcut anything. I put a lot of hard work and dedication in it and hard work pays off. It is a great moment for myself.”

The Thunder won game one of the finals 10-94 behind 36 points from Kevin Durant.

But they couldn’t contain James, Bosh and Wade in game two as they blitzed the Thunder defence for 72 points in a 100-96 win.

The Heat looked forward to some home cookin’ with the next three games in Miami.

They won game three 91-85 and survived a 43-point performance from Thunder guard Russell Westbrook to take game four 104-98.

They wrapped it up with a 121-106 win in game five as six players reached double figures. Even thought the Thunder fell short of winning the title they earned the respect of

the league. They have been building a winner for the past three years and they used their young corp of stars to storm through the early rounds of the post-season.

It has been a slow steady climb. After winning just 23 games in the 2008-2009 season, the Thunder won 50 games the next year and in 2010-11 they lost in the playoff semi-finals.

Oklahoma City opened the 2011-12 season by going 12-2. They swept Dallas in the first round (4-0) and then embarrassed the mighty Los Angeles Lakers four games to one. They had to rally after dropping the first two games against San Antonio to win the semi-finals in six games.

The lockout gave us plenty to talk about. It reduced the 82-game schedule to just 66 games, costing the league the first two months of the season. But the negotiations were contentious as the players were forced to decertify their union before a deal could get done. The shortened season began on Christmas day as the season stretched to late April and the post-season was pushed back to late June. The owners won a 50-50 split of the NBA’s annual revenue, about $4 billion, after giving players 57 percent of revenues under the old deal.

The players gave us plenty to talk about, especially in Chicago where superstar Derrick Rose was hampered by injuries all season long. When reigning league MVP Rose went down again in the first round of the playoffs, Chicago’s hopes sank with him. The not ready for prime time Bulls won with solid defence, finishing with a league best 88.2 pointsagainst average. But they couldn’t do it without Rose who missed 26 games with a series of injuries. Chicago is off to one of their slowest starts in recent memory this year as they await the return of Rose, who said in early December he is working out six days a week.

But he has yet to begin practising with his teammates as his surgically repaired left knee needs more time to heal.—AFP

18

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

SPORTS Decline and fall—Rangers misery hits Scotland football GLASGOW: The past year has been a turbulent one for Scottish football as it has faced up to possibly its greatest ever challenge-life without Rangers in the top flight.

The game in Scotland has traditionally been dominated by the Ibrox club and their Glasgow rivals Celtic and none more so than in the past 27 years when no team outside the Old Firm has won the top division title.

However, this two-horse race was dealt a serious blow in February when Rangers were plunged into administration over unpaid tax bills following the disastrous reign of Craig Whyte at the club.

The Gers were immediately docked 10 points by the Scottish Premier League and, with Ally McCoist’s side in disarray, Celtic cantered to the title in May, winning by 20 points. Rangers limped on but were finally liquidated in June to cap an amazing fall from grace for Scotland’s most successful club. A consortium headed by former Sheffield United chief executive Charles Green bought the club’s assets and following heated discussions their fellow SPL clubs voted 10 to 1 against allowing Rangers newco’s application to join the league.

The Scottish Football League accepted Rangers into their fold but with the Ibrox club now languishing in the third division it has caused the rest of the top division clubs to tighten their belts in the absence of their fans and the revenue they bring.

Financial meltdown was predicted for some clubs and both Hearts and relegated Dunfermline have run into major problems with the taxman. However, the health of the game across the country is not as bleak as expected.

Celtic, unsurprisingly, still top the table but they are not runaway leaders. Without having to look over their shoulders for

Rangers, the Hoops have had some breathing space while on domestic duties allowing them to concentrate on a remarkable run in Europe.

After negotiating two qualifying rounds, Celtic made it to the group stages of the Champions League where they picked up their first ever away win in the competition while also claiming a famous win over Barcelona as they qualified for the last 16.

However, the European run has come with a domestic hangover and Celtic’s inconsistent league form means there are five teams within seven points of the Glasgow club.

While this season will be the first year since 1890 that there hasn’t been an Old Firm fixture in the top flight, manager Neil Lennon said the Champions League had been a good substitute. “It has been less stressful, put it that way. I am not saying it has been more beneficial,” Lennon admitted. “There is no doubt it has been difficult at times. There has been an economic problem with not having the four Old Firm games this season, a lot of revenue and interest has been taken away.

“Getting through to the Champions League has been a sort of great substitute, certainly for the players and supporters, they have really enjoyed the campaign so far. “There is definitely less of an edge though and you can feel that with the punters as well at times with Rangers not being there. That is natural because the competition has been so intense.

“You do definitely miss that side of it.

But the reality is they are not here and you have to get on with it.” The future could see huge changes in the landscape of Scottish football. The Rangers crisis has seen both the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League propose new visions for the direction of the game.—AFP

‘Devil beast’ Drogba puts China on map SINGAPORE: Didier Drogba has opened up a world of opportunity in China and blazed a trail for other senior stars as the wealthy Asia-Pacific region becomes an increasingly hot football destination.

The ex-Chelsea striker remains the headline act after a year that also saw Nicolas Anelka, Marcello Lippi and Alessandro Del Piero head east, with even David Beckham linked with a move to Australia or China.

Japan’s Shinji Kagawa made a breakthrough at Manchester United, but moves in the other direction are catching attention as economic imperatives help raise the profile of Asian football.

Many questioned whether Drogba could ride out the culture shock of Shanghai Shenhua, but the Ivorian, nicknamed “Devil Beast” by admiring fans, rose above boardroom turmoil at his new club and looks set to stick around next season.

“Wait for me, I’ll be back,” Drogba told the Oriental Sports Daily, as he left Shenhua’s Hongkou Football Stadium after their final match in November. Anelka was the pioneer when he joined Shenhua at the start of the season, but Drogba’s move, shortly after his heroics in the Champions League final, caused shockwaves with big European clubs queuing for his signature.

“I hope to help promote Chinese football around the world and further improve the links between China and Africa,” Drogba said, when announcing the dealfor a reported $300,000 a week-in June.

Free-spending Guangzhou Evergrande snapped up World Cup-winning coach

Lippi and Borussia Dortmund striker Lucas Barrios in their quest for Asian glory, but had to be content with a domestic league and cup double.

And Australia’s A-League pulled off a coup when Sydney FC secured the services of Italian great Del Piero. Ex-England forward Emile Heskey has also been a hit at Sydney’s near-neighbours, the Newcastle Jets. Such purchasing power meant Australia and China were tipped as top of the list when Beckham announced his departure from LA Galaxy, with the intention of playing for one more club before retiring. The Asia effect was in evidence elsewhere with the Thai league luring former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and even Malaysia, notorious for its matchfixing scandals, attracting ex-English Premier League players.

South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai won Asia’s team, coach and player of the year awards after their unbeaten run to the AFC Champions League title, rounded off in swashbuckling style with a 3-0 win over Al Ahli in the final.

Coach Kim Ho-Gon masterminded a competition-record nine straight wins and winger Lee Keun-Ho earned Asia’s top individual honour, as Ulsan earned a spot at the Club World Cup and helped bury the KLeague’s corruption woes in the process.

Kagawa left Borussia Dortmund midyear to become Manchester United’s first Japanese player, and he quickly became a hit before being sidelined by a knee problem.—AFP

KIEV: In this July 1, 2012 file photo, Spain’s soccer players celebrate with the trophy after defeating Italy 4-0 in Euro 2012 soccer championship final in Kiev, Ukraine.—AP

Glory for Spain and Messi SAO PAULO: Spain’s glorious third successive triumph in a major tournament and individual goalscoring brilliance from Argentine Lionel Messi will be remembered as soccer’s golden hallmarks of 2012.

But the year was also marred by tragedy and death in Egypt and the Netherlands and a worrying escalation of racism in Europe. It was a year too when the soccer world shifted on its axis and finally spun away from its 19th century roots when 21st century goalline technology, officially sanctioned by world governing body FIFA, was used for the first time in December’s Club World Cup finals in Japan.

That tournament, saw Corinthians of Brazil crowned as the best club team in the world - an accolade most people would agree rightfully belongs to Barcelona.

But in one of the great upsets of the year, Barcelona failed to win the Champions League which seemed pre-ordained for them when they somehow lost to Chelsea on aggregate in the semi-finals after Messi, proving he was only human after all, missed a penalty in the second leg.

He had however scored 90 goals with two weeks of the year remaining, beating West Germany’s former striker Gerd Mueller’s 40-yearold record for goals scored in a calendar year.

Chelsea, who finished sixth in the Premier League in May, went on to Munich for the Champions League final. Written off by virtually all of Europe’s media before they played Barcelona, they again confounded the critics by beating Bayern Munich on penalties in their own stadium to become the first London club to lift the European Cup in its 57-year history.

Despite also winning the FA Cup, it was not a year without huge problems for the now deposed European champions, who are owned and run by the ruthless billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Six months after leading the club to the greatest night in their 107-year history, coach Roberto Di Matteo was cast aside by the Russian - just before Chelsea became the first defending champions to be eliminated from the group stage of the competition.

Their tilt at the world club title also ended in failure when they lost to Corinthians. Their triumphs were further blemished by racist controversies involving captain John Terry - found guilty and banned by the English FA despite being cleared in an earlier court case - and unfounded allegations made by the club against

Premier League and FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg.

Spain were untroubled by controversies at Euro 2012 and basked in the glory of their record 4-0 final victory over Italy on a memorable night in Kiev in July which put the “cherry on the cake” of a superb tournament, according to former UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh.

Inspired by their brilliant midfielder Andres Iniesta, UEFA’s Player of the Tournament, Spain also strengthened their claim to be regarded among the best international teams ever after becoming the first nation to win back-to-back European Championships - either side of their 2010 World Cup triumph.

On the domestic front, Real Madrid ended Barcelona’s run of three straight La Liga titles but dreams of a first European club decider between Real and Barca ended when Real lost on penalties to Bayern the night after Barca were eliminated by Chelsea.

Barca have continued to wow audiences and are well clear in La Liga this term even after talismanic but exhausted coach Pep Guardiola handed the reins to assistant Tito Vilanova in May. The Catalans have also been hugely inspired

by Messi, who at the relatively young age of 25 is fast securing his place among the greats with much of his career still ahead of him, injuries notwithstanding.

Although Barca missed out on the major prizes, their passing style enthralled millions and while Messi is adored in Catalonia, he also won over his more sceptical Argentine compatriots as he led the national team to seven wins and two draws in nine matches including World Cup qualifiers and friendlies. Among his 90 goals were 12 for his country including hat-tricks against Switzerland and Brazil as he equalled former striker Gabriel Batistuta’s Argentina record tally in a calendar year.

And while the likes of Spain and Messi - and his Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo - can delight and inspire, soccer can also cause untold suffering as events in Egypt and the Netherlands proved. One of soccer’s worst tragedies happened on Feb. 1 in Port Said, when more than 70 Egyptian fans died following a riot at a league match between Al-Masry of Port Said and AlAhly of Cairo with many supporters, police and other officials knifed to death.

The riot was underpinned by extreme political tensions following the recent upheavals in the country and led to the Egyptian League

being suspended. More than 33,000 amateur games were also cancelled in the Netherlands this month following the death of a linesman who was beaten up and killed after giving a decision in a junior match.

Another bleak problem is the rise of overt racism, most notably in eastern Europe, where Serbia’s already tarnished reputation was further besmirched by racial chants in an Under-21 match against England.

UEFA’s subsequent punishment against Serbia - a 80,000 euros($106,400) fine - less than they fined Danish striker Niklas Bendtner for showing a logo on his underpants at Euro 2012 was widely condemned as being too lenient and racism is one problem UEFA still has to resolve.

The year’s other big tournaments ended in a win for Zambia in January’s African Nations Cup and gold medals for Mexico, shock winners over Brazil, and the United States women’s team at the London Olympics.

While Real Madrid recaptured the title in Spain, mega-rich Manchester City ended an even longer wait in England, winning a thrilling Premier League title race with a victory secured in the final seconds of the final match to become champions for the first time in 44 years.

City’s Abu Dhabi owners have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in the club, a model being followed by the Qatari backers of Paris St Germain, with the French side now regarded as the wealthiest in the world.

The impact of UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play rules, which require clubs to balance the books, will be keenly watched across the continent in the coming years to see if the likes of City and PSG can continue their spending.But while money for now can go a long way in buying success, it can also lead to serious trouble if not accounted for properly as Rangers found in Scotland.

No club in the world has won more domestic titles than Rangers, who have been Scottish champions 54 times, but they now find themselves playing in the fourth and bottom tier of the league after effectively losing a battle with the taxman and being liquidated.

A re-birth has led to the new club playing among the minnows of Annan Athletic, East Stirling and Montrose. Still if Rangers need any incentive for their redemption, they need only look to Italy’s Juventus, who went unbeaten throughout the 2011-12 Serie A campaign to lift the title last May - just four seasons after returning from a match-fixing demotion to Serie B.—Reuters

Kitesurfers ride new winds in Libya TRIPOLI: Neon crescents twirl over the sheltered waters of Tripoli’s main port, one of the hangouts of Libya’s growing kitesurfing community, thriving after the ouster of dictator Moammar Gaddafi.

Jalal Elwalid dashes out towards the marina’s stone walls riding a turbulent 12-knot wind. A gust propels his kite higher and he hangs suspended head-over-heels above the horizon for a magic stretch of seven seconds.

The 39-year-old became Libya’s first certified kitesurfing instructor this year and more than 25 students have signed up to learn the sport since he opened the doors of his school in March.

“We come out and play whenever there is wind,” said his brother Merwan, 37, a sports photographer and kitesurfer decked out in a full body wetsuit, bright shorts and sharp sunglasses. The pair first saw kitesurfing on television back in 2008. They gradually learned everything from the basic techniques of how to handle a kite on shore to how to pull off advanced 360

jumps in the water by watching other riders on YouTube. “We would watch the clips and then try it ourselves,” said Jalal.

Two years later they founded Wind Friends, a small core of kitesurfing aficionados who discovered a suitable hideout for training in the isolated island of Farwa, near Tunisia, where the sport is also practised.

Kitesurfing, a hybrid sport mixing the techniques of kiting and wakeboarding, is considered the world’s fastest growing extreme sport and it is quickly gaining ground in Libya where it draws foreigners and locals alike.

It was expected to debut as an Olympic sport in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games, but the decision was overturned last month by the International Sailing Federation which opted to keep windsurfing at the price of kitesurfing which is also known as kiteboarding.

Watersports in Libya, a Mediterranean country boasting a 1,770-kilometre coastline (1,106 miles) and almost 365 days of sunshine, were

TRIPOLI: A Libyan man practices kitesurfing off the coast of Tripoli. Neon crescents twirl over the sheltered waters of Tripoli’s main port, one of the hangouts of Libya’s growing kitesurfing community, thriving after the ouster of dictator Kadhafi.—AFP

woefully underdeveloped during the Gaddafi regime, although there was a sailing federation in place. “The government didn’t give a chance to watersports,” said Khaled Etaleb, a heart surgeon who learned kiteboarding in neighbouring Tunisia because there were no training facilities in his own country. “Extreme, individual, luxury sports were not accepted,” he added, stressing that the few clubs that existed in Libya were monopolised by those with ties to Gaddafi and his clan rather than passionate practitioners.

One of the greatest challenges during the previous regime, recalled the 41-year-old father of two, was importing the equipment and finding a windy spot to ride the waves in peace, without attracting security services.

Kites, which range from 12 to 16 square metres, are easily confused with parachutes and the novel gadget would trigger a barrage of questions from port authorities and other minders. Merwan still chuckles at such memories: “They just had no clue what it was.” His friend Ahmed Husnein tells the story of how one windsurfer in the group was detained overnight at the port because security services believed he was making “an escape” with his small board and flashy sail. “We’d always be chased away by the security guards-wherever we went they would tell us it was a security zone,” said Etaleb.

Husnein snuck his sail into Libya saying it was a floating device for kids. The main barrier of entry into the sport these days is money, with a full kit costing in the vicinity of $2,000 (1,500 euros), although cheaper second-hand equipment is typically recommended for accident prone beginners. Wind Friends is trying to strike commercial deals to help subsidise the sport. With the fall of Gaddafi’s regime last year, the winds have changed and the group is now free to explore the whole Libyan coastline. The port and the suburb of Garabuli near Tripoli are their mid-week go to spots, while Farwa remains the favorite weekend destination. “Now we have the chance to go anywhere,” said a jubilant Etaleb, the heart surgeon.—AFP

TRIPOLI: A Libyan man practices kitesurfing off the coast of Tripoli.—AFP

19

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

sports

Mourinho under pressure for dropping Casillas

PARIS: Marseille’s Ghanaian forward Andre Ayew (right) challenges for the ball with Saint-Etienneís French defender Francois Clerc, during their League One soccer match.—AP

Marseille beat St Etienne to move level with PSG PARIS: Andre Ayew scored with a towering header in first-half stoppage time as Marseille beat Saint-Etienne 1-0 at home on Sunday to head into the winter break level on points with leader Paris SaintGermain and second-place Lyon.

The French title race is the closest among the top five leagues in Europe, with only goal difference giving PSG the edge over Lyon and third-place Marseille after 19 matches. PSG, which won 3-0 at Brest on Friday, is ahead of Lyon on goal difference. Lyon beat Nice 3-0 on Saturday.

Marseille has won its past three league games, while Saint-Etienne has failed to win and score a goal in its past six. “For the last few games we’ve been hanging on after scoring first,” Marseille coach Elie Baup said. “But there’s no doubting the unity we have in this team.

Everyone pulls together.” At the end of a scrappy first half, right back Rod Fanni burst forward and whipped in a superb cross toward the penalty spot, and Ayew climbed above his marker to send a powerful glancing header past goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier.

“I think we have the quality and the players to do something good this season,” Ayew said. “But we shouldn’t get carried away. When we win it’s always either 1-0 or 2-0, and we’re never really safe from the threat of a late goal. We need to start killing teams off.”

Baup agrees that Marseille needs to strengthen in attack during the January transfer window. “That’s the area we are struggling the most in and where we need to improve,” said Baup, adding that he is aiming to sign two players.

In the second half, Saint-Etienne missed chances as midfielder Joshua Guilavogui saw his shot charged down by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, who then did brilliantly to tip Pierre-Emerick Aubamyeang’s header over the crossbar.

Saint-Etienne’s goal slump has coincided with Aubameyang’s, who has not scored

in seven games since being linked to some of Europe’s big clubs.

Meanwhile, Valenciennes goes into the annual break in sixth place after bouncing back from two defeats to beat struggling Evian 2-1. Valenciennes was low on confidence after losing 2-0 away to Rennes and 4-0 at home to Paris SaintGermain, but striker Gregory Pujol settled the nerves with an early goal.

Forward Saber Khlifa equalized for the visitors in the 34th minute before midfielder Jose Saez grabbed the winner in the 75th. “The break comes at the right time for us, because our squad was becoming a bit stretched,” Valenciennes coach Daniel Sanchez said. “We’re in good shape for the second part of the season, although it will be a tough (start) for us as we have three or four away trips.” Toulouse finally remembered how to score when it beat relegation battler Sochaux 2-0 to stay in 12th place, level with on points with defending champion Montpellier.

Toulouse had not found the net in its past four games - three defeats and a draw - and the home fans were frustrated when center half Jonathan Zebina’s header was saved by goalkeeper Simon Pouplin in the 21st.

Five minutes later, Sochaux left back Jerome Roussillon handled the ball just outside the area, and midfielder Adrien Regattin’s expertly curled freekick gave Toulouse the lead. Striker Wissam Ben Yedder went close to adding a second goal on the hour mark, before substitute forward Emmanuel Riviere wrapped up the win in the 85th when he volleyed in Etienne Didot’s pass.

Sochaux’s defeat means it drops into the relegation zone, three points behind Evian, Ajaccio and Reims. “It was becoming quite urgent for us and we needed to get three points,” Toulouse coach Alain Casanova said. “The victory was even more deserved because (Sochaux) never threatened us.”—AP

Table-topping United face testing nine days LONDON: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has presided over enough festive fixtures to know rotation is the key as he prepares for a busy period starting with the visit of Newcastle United in the Premier League tomorrow.

A disappointing 1-1 draw at Swansea City on Sunday saw United’s lead at the top cut to four points over Manchester City and maximum points at home to Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion and away to Wigan Athletic are on Ferguson’s holiday menu. He can take heart from the fact that Newcastle, who languish in 14th place, have not won at Old Trafford since a 2-0 victory in the old first division way back in 1972. Ferguson has been cheered by the return of key defenders from injury including Serbia international Nemanja Vidic, who made his first start since September at Swansea, and Jonny Evans, who also started the match in Wales.

“We now have three games in the next nine days,” said Vidic. “Obviously we have a few players who are coming back from injury and they will be important for that period.”

Ferguson was true to his word about utilising his squad over the seasonal holidays by fielding his 26th different back-five combination this year at the Liberty Stadium. United’s problems in defence are reflected in the 25 goals they have conceded so far - the highest by a team topping the Premier League at Christmas since Norwich City, who had let in 34 goals by the same stage of the 1992-93 season.

That has not deterred Ferguson from making changes. Asked in the build-up to the Swansea match if he would rotate his squad, the Scot told MUTV: “Absolutely. No doubt. It won’t be the same team in any of these games. There will be changes each game.”

All of England’s top flight clubs play on Dec. 26 in the traditional Boxing Day programme except Arsenal and West Ham United, whose match at the Emirates Stadium has been postponed due to a planned London Underground strike.

Manchester United will be mindful that being top at this time of year has been a mixed blessing. In the 20 completed sea-

sons since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, the leaders on Dec. 25 have only won the championship nine times. Norwich City, Aston Villa, Leeds United, Arsenal (twice), Newcastle United (twice), Liverpool (twice) and Manchester United (twice) have all failed to lift the trophy after celebrating Christmas Day at the top of the tree. Manchester City’s title chase continues on Wednesday at Sunderland where they have only won twice in their last five visits. They went down 1-0 at the Stadium of Light last season after Ji Dong-won struck in injury time.

But City have acquired the knack of scoring late winners and Gareth Barry’s strike against Reading on Saturday ensured they entered the Christmas period breathing down United’s neck. They visit Norwich and host Stoke City after the Sunderland game. Third-placed Chelsea are next up at Carrow Road and will be in high spirits after putting eight past Aston Villa, who had never conceded that many goals in a topflight match.

The Blues have finally found their shooting boots under new manager Rafa Benitez, who has even found a way to get fellow Spaniard Fernando Torres scoring again. The London side trail Manchester City by seven points but have a game in hand over the top two.

Captain Frank Lampard, who became Chelsea’s highest scorer in the top flight with 130 goals after scoring in the 8-0 win over Villa, said the team were finding their rhythm. “I think we showed a great appetite. The early goal helped. We are enjoying playing again,” he said.

At the other end of the table, the battle to avoid the drop is heating up, with Queens Park Rangers hosting seventhplaced West Brom and bottom side Reading welcoming mid-table Swansea on Wednesday with the two sides desperate for home wins.

They both missed out on earning a point last Saturday and their respective managers vented their frustrations as the pressure of trying to avoid relegation mounts. QPR and Reading are five and six points away from the safety zone respectively.—Reuters

BARCELONA: Real Madrid President Florentino Perez’s confounded expression upon hearing that veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas had been dropped for Saturday’s game against Malaga showed just how far coach Jose Mourinho has gone in his quest to exert control over the club. And it may be that Mourinho has finally gone too far.

After waves of criticism from fans and players alike as Madrid slumped to a 3-2 loss in the game, the question arises whether Perez has reached the limits of his support for the often successful, yet equally abrasive, Mourinho.

“Mourinho has his particular way of dealing with his squad,” said former Madrid player and coach Jorge Valdano. “But this was him doubling down. It was an exhibition of power. It was him imposing his decision on a club legend.”

Mourinho did not announce his decision to drop Casillas, highly respected both in Spain and abroad for his decade of quality service in Madrid’s net, for the littleused Adan Garrido until minutes before the game.

The move backfired in the second half when Malaga scored on the inexperienced Adan three times to deal Madrid another loss that left it flagging 16 points adrift of Spanish leader Barcelona and its league title defense hopes shattered. Mourinho said that he had picked Adan because he was “in better form” than Casillas. That argument was far from convincing to fans and players past and present. A fan poll published yesterday

by Spanish sports daily Marca indicates that most of Madrid’s fans want Mourinho out. Eighty-two percent of the almost 100,000 participants in the online poll voted yes to the question “Should Real Madrid fire Mourinho?”

“Iker doesn’t need to be punished to play better,” said former Madrid goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez, an old teammate of Casillas. “This only brings to a boil the atmosphere of conflict that Madrid already has.”

Madrid defender Sergio Ramos said after the match that he was “surprised” by the decision. Casillas told La Sexta television on Sunday that he felt fine and that Mourinho hadn’t told him why he had been benched.

“I’m not used to being a backup,” Casillas said. “But the team is

MALAGA: Real Madrid’s goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas reacts during a Spanish league football match in this file photo. —AFP above any player. I have to keep training and try to win back my place in the starting lineup.” Since arriving at Madrid three seasons ago, Mourinho has won a Spanish league title in 2012 and a Copa del Rey a year earlier.

But he has also ruffled the feathers of more than one of Madrid’s purist fans, as well as dispatching several perceived enemies within the club. Casillas, the captain of Madrid and Spain’s world and twotime European championship national team, was always seen as untouchable.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper is the most revered member of Madrid’s current squad. Many fans see him as the last link to the winning days of the “Galaticos” of David Beckham, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane and to the prior golden era of beloved forward Raul Gonzalez and Vicente del Bosque, the club’s ultimate “gentleman” coach. Two weeks ago, Perez called Casillas “a legendary captain of Real Madrid.” “He is one of the great captains in the history of this club,” Perez said. “He shows that above and beyond winning titles, he knows how to interpret this institution.” And therein lies the potential problem for Mourinho. Perez had not been informed of Casillas’ exclusion when a journalist for Canal Plus television showed him the lineup minutes before the game. The 65-year-old club president, who in his 10 years has made Madrid one of the world’s richest

Williams won’t face FA action fter Van Persie row LONDON: Swansea defender Ashley Williams will not face a Football Association charge after Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson slammed the Wales star for kicking the ball into Robin van Persie’s head. Williams earned a stinging rebuke from Ferguson after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium following the second half clash with van Persie.

The United forward was lying prone on the turf following a foul when Williams kicked the ball into the back of the Dutchman’s head.

Ferguson called on the Football Association to ban the Swansea centre-back, who was booked for the incident by referee Michael Oliver.

“He (van Persie) could have been killed.

Williams should be banned for a long time, Ferguson said. “It was absolutely deliberate.

The whistle has gone, the game has stopped and he has done that right in front of the referee. It was a disgraceful act.” But it is believed the FA will not instigate disciplinary procedures against the 18-year-old, who denied malicious intent.

Meanwhile, Williams was backed by Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who was his boss at Swansea until the end of last season. “I think more has been made of it than what it actually was,” Rodgers said. “When you slow it down and look at it 20 times it does not look good for Ashley.

“But I know the player well and it is just that split-second when you can see he is trying to clear the ball and unfortunately hits van Persie right on the back of his head.

“Of course, it looks dangerous but knowing Ashley he won’t have meant it, knowing his character that won’t have been intentional.”

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, who signed Williams for Swansea in 2008, admitted he could understand Ferguson’s reaction but did not believe the player acted out of malicious intent.

“If you see one of your players with a bang on the back of the head it is really dangerous and it can have bad consequences. You can understand that,” Martinez said.

“I signed Ashley Williams for Swansea and I know his character inside out. I can guarantee you without even looking at the incident that he is not a nasty footballer.

“He is a winner and fully committed, a leader and a captain. When you sign a player you find out about a player and I can guarantee you he is not the type of footballer who would do that on purpose.”—AFP

teams, raised his glasses as if to get a better look at the player list and then, apparently stunned, just turned away.

Perez has been Mourinho’s biggest backer. He has defended the Portuguese coach every time he has been questioned by the sector of Madrid’s fans who interpret that his aggressive style goes against the club’s proud tradition of always behaving in a “noble” manner. Perez didn’t flinch even when Mourinho poked Barcelona’s then assistant and now head coach, Tito Vilanova, in the eye during a melee between the archrivals.

Last week, with Mourinho under increasing pressure to turn things around in the league, Perez told a meeting of club members that Mourinho had his “confidence” and “affection.”

Mourinho is known for wanting to control how much information from his dressing room reaches the media, and he has had no problem taking on other personalities within the club. In 2011, Valdano, then the club’s spokesman, left after his conflict with Mourinho went public with the coach openly discrediting him. Mourinho belittled player Pedro Leon before he was shipped back to Getafe. He has even ostracized former Ballon d’Or winner Kaka, for whom Madrid paid ‚Ǩ65 million (then $92 million) in 2009, to an almost permanent role on the substitutes’ bench.

This season, he benched defender Ramos after a supposed

dispute, and he has used various press conferences to criticize the running of Madrid’s B-team by coach Alberto Toril.

And through all of this Perez has been there to grant him his wishes, including a contract extension last summer that ties Mourinho to Madrid until the end of the 2016 season. Mourinho, a former Chelsea, Inter Milan and FC Porto manager, has enjoyed the unquestioning support of Madrid’s most radical fans, which even applauded his eyepoke of Vilanova with a large sign at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium that read: “Your finger points the way forward.”

But that could all change after the Casillas benching. And if Mourinho losses Madrid’s die-hard fans it may be only a question of time before his last defender also abandons him.

Columnist Tomas Roncero, who writes for sports daily AS and represents the most vehement section of Madrid’s fans, wrote on Sunday that “Mou threw down the gauntlet without weighing the consequences.” “(Casillas) is the triumphant symbol of Spain that has dominated the European and World Cups since 2008. Mou can’t understand this sensibility because it’s not his national team, but he should be able to evaluate it,” he said. “For a decade now, 70 percent of the children who are Real Madrid fans wear the Iker shirt. He is an idol, a mirror, a hope, a hero.”—AP

Benitez needs goals to keep flowing at Chelsea LONDON: Chelsea’s free-scoring form is slowly chipping away at the enmity toward new manager Rafa Benitez from the club’s fans. The 8-0 demolition of Aston Villa on Sunday showcased Chelsea’s attacking prowess, and dispelled some of the fears about the dour football Benitez could introduce after replacing Roberto Di Matteo at Stamford Bridge last month.

“There won’t be one of our fans watching who didn’t enjoy the performance and hopefully we can continue,” Chelsea defender Gary Cahill said. “The manager said he is going to keep working hard and doing his best and as players that is what we try to do, and I am sure we will win people over with performances like that.”

The club record-equaling league win on Sunday was secured despite being Chelsea’s fifth match in 15 days, including a grueling Club World Cup trip to Japan that was followed by a 5-1 League Cup win at Leeds. Now the team has another five games to negotiate in 15 days during the Christmas-New Year program, starting Wednesday at Norwich.

Norwich embarked on a 10-match unbeaten run after losing 4-1 at Chelsea in October, including wins over Manchester United and Arsenal, but was beaten by West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

“They have great attacking options - we experienced that at their place a couple of months ago,” Norwich manager Chris Hughton said. “At the moment Chelsea are on a high and (Benitez) will be judged on that.” Sitting third, Chelsea could be back in the title race if the resurgence continues.

While seven points behind Manchester City and 11 adrift of Manchester United, Chelsea has a game in hand after beating Villa to end a stretch of more than two months without a home win in the league.

“We showed what we are capable of and it is just a matter of consistency now,” Cahill said. “We have a lot of young players but on a day like Sunday you can really see the quality in the squad.”

Most importantly for Chelsea, Fernando Torres has been rejuvenated under fellow Spaniard Benitez, who first brought him to England when he was in charge at Liverpool. The striker has netted seven goals in his last six games - all under Benitez - having scored only seven in the opening four months of the season.

“As soon as he started scoring goals, he had confidence - and for a striker it is key,” Benitez said. “The team is doing well so he has more chances.” David Luiz is another player who is thriving under Benitez. The

Chelsea’s Spanish interim manager Rafael Benitez Brazilian defender was among the seven goal scorers on Sunday and produced a vibrant display when he was redeployed from central defense to midfield.

Luiz scored from a free kick as he did in the two Champions League group stage wins over Nordsjaelland though the side failed to advance to the knockout portion of the competition.

“During training I try different things, different movements - it’s a natural technique, I’ve not studied it,” Luiz said. “When I was younger, I would always try to kick the ball like that and, when you become a more experienced player, you get more confidence to do it.”

Chelsea’s mission is to keep the confidence flowing through the team just as it did in the early weeks of the season when they topped the standings. The current leader, United, heads to Newcastle on Wednesday fresh from seeing its fivematch winning run end with a 1-1 draw at Swansea. Newcastle, though, has won just two of its last 12 games and is 14th after finishing an impressive fifth last season and hasn’t won at Old Trafford since 1972. But United defender Jonny Evans remains wary of the power in the Newcastle strike forced provided by Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.

“When the ball is floating around in the box, they beat people in the air,” Evans said. “And their goal record is what got Newcastle to where they were last year.”

United’s lead over Manchester City was trimmed to just four points over the weekend.—AP

New Zealand level series

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

Marseille beat St Etienne to move level with PSG

19

Police bomb squad combs India-Pakistan match venue

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KANSAS CITY: Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne (right) dives for extra yardage in front of Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Neiko Thorpe after making reception during the second half of an NFL football game. The Colts won 20-13. —AP

Redskins shoot down Eagles PHILADELPHIA: Counted out by their own coach six weeks ago, the Washington Redskins and Robert Griffin III are on the brink of their first division title in 13 years.

Griffin threw a pair of touchdown passes in his first game back from a knee injury, Kai Forbath set the NFL record for consecutive field goals to begin a career, and the Redskins held on to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 on Sunday for their sixth straight win.

Nick Foles drove the Eagles to the Washington 5 before his intentional grounding penalty ended the game. The Redskins (9-6) can clinch the NFC East with a victory over Dallas at home next Sunday. They haven’t won it since 1999 and last reached the playoffs in 2007.

Trying to play spoiler, the Eagles (4-11) fell short in what could’ve been Andy Reid’s last game coaching the team at home. Reid is unlikely to return to Philadelphia for his 15th season next year.

Saints 34, Cowboys 31 In Arlington, Garrett Hartley kicked a 20-yard field goal in overtime, and New Orleans damaged Dallas’ playoff hopes. Drew Brees threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns and led a drive to the winning kick. The Saints lucked out before the winning kick when a fumble by Marques Colston rolled forward about 20 yards to the Dallas 2. Jimmy Graham recovered.

The Cowboys lost despite rallying for two touchdowns in the final 3:35 of regulation. Tony Romo, who threw for 416 yards and four scores, hit Miles Austin for the tying touchdown with 15 seconds left in regulation. The playoff hopes for the Saints (7-8) ended with Minnesota’s win against Houston. The Cowboys (8-7) lost control of their playoff fate.

Colts 20, Chiefs 13 In Kansas City, Andrew Luck threw for 205 yards to break the single-season rookie record, and his touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne late in the fourth quarter put Indianapolis in the playoffs.

Luck surpassed Cam Newton’s year-old record of 4,051 yards passing by a rookie in the second quarter, and then came through in the closing minutes. He marched Indy to the Chiefs 7, then found Wayne in the back of the end zone on thirdand-goal for the go-ahead score. It was the seventh time Luck has rallied his team to victory in the fourth

quarter. Darius Butler returned an interception 32 yards for a TD in helping the Colts (10-5) join the 2008 Miami Dolphins as the only NFL teams to win at least 10 games after losing 14 or more the previous season. The Chiefs are 2-13.

Bengals 13, Steelers 10 In Pittsburgh, Josh Brown kicked a 43-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining to put Cincinnati in the playoffs and eliminate Pittsburgh from postseason contention.

Brown missed a 56-yarder earlier in the quarter, but earned a second chance when Reggie Nelson picked off Ben Roethlisberger and returned it to the Pittsburgh 46 with 14 seconds remaining. Andy Dalton hit A.J. Green for 21 yards on the next play, setting up Brown’s game-winner to put the Bengals in the playoffs for consecutive years for the first times since 1981-82. Dalton completed 24 of 41 for 278 yards and two interceptions for the Bengals (9-6), who snapped a five-game losing streak to Pittsburgh (7-8).

Vikings 23, Texans 6 In Houston, Adrian Peterson rushed for 86 yards, falling far short of the 2,000-yard mark, yet helping Minnesota keep its playoff hopes alive. Christian Ponder threw a touchdown pass, Toby Gerhart added a score and Blair Walsh kicked three field goals.

The loss kept the Texans (12-3) from clinching home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Peterson had his lowest rushing total since getting 79 yards on Oct. 14 in a loss at Washington. He has 1,898 this season and needs 208 yards to break the NFL single-season rushing record held by Eric Dickerson. The Texans failed to score a touchdown for the first time since 2006.

Ravens 33, Giants 14 In Baltimore, Joe Flacco threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns as Baltimore won the AFC North. The Ravens (10-5) led 24-7 at halftime and cruised to the finish behind a short-handed defense that harassed quarterback Eli Manning and limited New York (8-7) to 186 yards.

Baltimore scored touchdowns on its first two possessions and amassed a season-high 533 yards including 289 in the first half alone.

The victory ended a three-game skid for the Ravens and assured them of a home playoff game in the first weekend of Januar y. The

defending Super Bowl champion Giants (8-7) can’t win the NFC East, but still have a chance to make the playoffs as a wild card.

Broncos 34, Browns 12 In Denver, Denver won its 10th straight game as Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes for the 72nd time of his career. Denver (12-3) pulled into a tie for first place in the AFC with Houston, which fell 23-6 to the Vikings.

Manning finished with 339 yards on 30-for-43 passing. Von Miller was in on two sacks for the Broncos, the second of which knocked Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden out of the game with a right shoulder injury. If Denver defeats Kansas City at home next week and Houston loses at Indianapolis, the Broncos would be the AFC’s top seed.

Seahawks 42, 49ers 13 In Seattle, Russell Wilson threw four touchdown passes to move into second place for TD passes by a rookie, Marshawn Lynch scored twice, and led by their rocking crowd Seattle clinched a spot in the NFC playoffs with a rout of San Francisco.

Wilson threw TDs to Lynch, Anthony McCoy and two in the second half to Doug Baldwin to give him 25 for the season, one shy of Peyton Manning’s record of 26.

Lynch added 111 yards rushing and

a 24-yard TD run on Seattle’s opening drive that set the tone. Richard Sherman returned a blocked field goal 90 yards for a touchdown and added an interception for the Seahawks (10-5). Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers (10-4-1) struggled with the deafening noise echoing around CenturyLink Field, making for a miserable 49th birthday for 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.

Bears 28, Cardinals 13 In Glendale, Chicago’s defense scored two touchdowns to keep the Bears’ playoff hopes alive. Charles Tillman returned an interception 10 yards for a score, the third pick he’s brought back for a touchdown this season and the eighth overall by Chicago, one shy of the NFL record.

Zack Bowman returned a fumble 1 yard for another Bears score.

Brandon Marshall caught six passes for 68 yards and a TD, breaking the Bears franchise record for yards receiving in a season in the process.

Chicago (9-6) snapped a three game losing streak and won for just the second time in seven tries. The Cardinals (5-10) lost for the 10th time in 11 games.

Packers 55, Titans 7 In Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, Ryan Grant scored twice and Randall Cobb set a single-season franchise record for net

yardage. The victory ensured the Packers (11-4) will at least be the NFC’s No. 3 seed. They still have a shot at the No. 2 - and the firstround bye that goes with it - if Seattle beats San Francisco on Sunday night.

It was the first time the Packers have scored more than 50 points since 2005. Jake Locker was sacked seven times and picked off twice, and Tennessee (5-10) scored with 1:39 left to avoid the shutout.

Patrtiots 23, Jaguars 16 In Jacksonville, Tom Brady overcame a rough start by throwing two touchdown passes for playoffbound New England. Brady threw two interceptions in the first quarter, the second helping the Jaguars (2-13) build a 10-0 lead.

But the Jaguars faded in the third quarter for the fourth consecutive week, lost for the 11th time in the last 12 games and set a franchise record for losses in a season. Brady hooked up with Wes Welker for a 2yard score on the second play of the fourth quarter, putting the Patriots (11-4) ahead 23-13.

Chargers 27, Jets 17 In East Rutherford, San Diego sacked Greg McElroy 11 times, ruining the quarterback’s first NFL start, and Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes for the Chargers.

McElroy, the third-stringer who was

NFL results/standings Green Bay 5, Tennessee; Carolina 7, Oakland; Miami 24, Buffalo 10; Cincinnati 13, Pittsburgh 10; New England 23, Jacksonville 16; Indianapolis 20, Kansas City 13; New Orleans 34, Dallas 31 (OT); Washington 27, Philadelphia 20; St. Louis 28, Tampa Bay 13; Minnesota 23, Houston 6; San Diego 27, NY Jets 17; Denver 34, Cleveland 12; Chicago 28, Arizona 13; Baltimore 33, NY Giants 14; Seattle 42, San Francisco 13.

American Football Conference AFC East W L T OTL PF PA New England 11 4 0 0 529 331 Miami 7 8 0 2 288 289 NY Jets 6 9 0 1 272 347 Buffalo 5 10 0 0 316 426 AFC North Baltimore 10 5 0 1 381 321 Cincinnati 9 6 0 0 368 303 Pittsburgh 7 8 0 1 312 304 Cleveland 5 10 0 1 292 344 AFC South Houston 12 3 0 0 400 303 Indianapolis 10 5 0 0 329 371 Tennessee 5 10 0 1 292 451 Jacksonville 2 13 0 3 235 406 AFC West Denver 12 3 0 0 443 286 San Diego 6 9 0 1 326 329 Oakland 4 11 0 0 269 419 Kansas City 2 13 0 1 208 387

PCT .733 .467 .400 .333 .667 .600 .467 .333 .800 .667 .333 .133 .800 .400 .267 .133

National Football Conference NFC East Washington 9 6 0 0 408 370 Dallas 8 7 0 1 358 372 NY Giants 8 7 0 0 387 337 Philadelphia 4 11 0 1 273 402 NFC North Green Bay 11 4 0 0 399 299 Minnesota 9 6 0 0 342 314 Chicago 9 6 0 1 349 253 Detroit 4 11 0 2 348 411 NFC South Atlanta 13 2 0 0 402 277 New Orleans 7 8 0 1 423 410 Tampa Bay 6 9 0 0 367 377 Carolina 6 9 0 1 313 325 NFC West San Francisco 10 4 1 1 370 260 Seattle 10 5 0 0 392 232 St. Louis 7 7 1 0 286 328 Arizona 5 10 0 1 237 330

.600 .533 .533 .267 .733 .600 .600 .267 .867 .467 .400 .400 .700 .667 .500 .333

starting for the benched Mark Sanchez, moved the offense for the Jets (6-9) early but faced pressure all game. With a chance to get New York back into it with less than 5 minutes remaining, McElroy was sacked by Shaun Phillips and lost the ball. Phillips recovered and San Diego (6-9) sealed the win. Rivers had touchdown tosses of 37 yards to Danario Alexander and 34 yards to Antonio Gates.

Panthers 17, Raiders 6 In Charlotte, Cam Newton threw for 171 yards and a touchdown and ran for 60 yards and another score as Carolina won for the fourth time in its last five games.

The Panthers (6-9) held the Raiders to 189 total yards and 12 first downs in a game featuring several shoving matches, plenty of heated exchanges and six unnecessary roughness penalties - including one that sidelined Oakland quarterback Carson Palmer for the day.

Even Newton drew a flag after bumping an official with his chest for what he perceived as the latest in a series of late hits by Raiders defenders. He was not ejected. The Panthers built a 14-3 lead at halftime. Newton accounted for 231 of the 271 yards.

Rams 28, Buccaneers 13 In Tampa, Sam Bradford tossed a pair of touchdown passes and rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins scored his fourth TD of the season.

Bradford connected with Lance Kendricks on an 80-yard scoring play on the first play of the third quarter. The Rams (7-7-1) intercepted Josh Freeman four times, turning three of the turnovers into TDs, including Jenkins’ pick and 41-yard return early in the second quarter.

Steven Jackson rushed for 81 yards and one TD, moving within 10 yards of reaching 1,000 for the eighth consecutive season for the Rams. Tampa Bay fell to 6-9 after its fifth straight loss.

Dolphins 24, Bills 10 In Miami, Reggie Bush caught two touchdown passes and scored on a short run for Miami. Six minutes after they won, the Dolphins (7-8) were eliminated from playoff contention when Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh.

The Bills (5-10) came into the game assured of missing the playoffs for the 13th consecutive year.

Bush’s first TD catches of the season covered 17 and 12 yards.—AP

Fear, finger-pointing mount over US ‘cliff’ Page 25

Freezing Kyrgyzstan to sell gas company to Gazprom Page 26

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

Gold firms as US fiscal fears drag

Global demand to boost GCC debt market Page 24

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TOKYO: Second Harvest Japan executive director Charles McJilton of Minnesota (dressed as Santa Claus) accompanied by his wife, Sherilyn Siy and their son Ruby, pushes a cart after handing out picture books attached with donation envelops to passersby on the main street of Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district yesterday. Second Harvest is one of the largest non-profit food banks based in the United States for the needy people. — AP

US retailers building up online muscle Saks, Wal-Mart, Kohl’s testing ‘ship-from-store’ MARTINSBURG: The brave new world for US retailers can be found in small cities like Martinsburg, West Virginia. That’s where department store chain Macy’s Inc recently opened a facility the size of 43 football fields - big enough to stock 1 million pairs of shoes - just to fulfill orders made online. The $150 million building, its third one dedicated primarily to supporting macys.com, has already been handling 60,000 orders on a busy day this holiday season. Macy’s expects that figure to triple in two years.

“The customer is increasingly voting that she wants to shop both ways,” said RB Harrison, Macy’s executive vice president in charge of integrating e-commerce and store operations. From Macy’s to Home Depot Inc and Best Buy Co Inc, retail executives are racing to speed up order delivery and improve inventory management, which if done well, can help profit margins. Many chains are also hiring staff, or even buying firms in Silicon Valley, to get the edge in technology.

“Today, tomorrow and going forward, you are comparing the experience in our store to the experience of sitting in your living room, in the comfort of your home, ordering something on your laptop, your smart phone or your iPad,” Home Depot Chief Executive Frank Blake said.

“Your willingness to put up with rude associates, dirty stores and out of stocks is just going to go down and down and down. Our bar on performance in our stores is going to go up and up and

up,” he said. To be sure, online sales to date account for just 7 percent of retail sales, according to Forrester Research. But the firm expects online sales growth to rise 45 percent to $327 billion and account for 9 percent of overall sales by 2016.

Retailers are realizing they must respond to that kind of growth. “When I was meeting with brick-and-mortar retailers 24 months ago they weren’t thinking about online,” said Carlo Bronzini Vender, a senior partner at New York-based investment bank Sonenshine Partners who helped advise Drugstore.com when it was bought by Walgreen Co in 2011. “Now people are being more proactive about it.”

Even if some retailers like Macy’s are less exposed to the threat from e-commerce’s 800pound gorilla Amazon.com Inc than a company like electronics chain Best Buy Inc, they are all under enormous pressure to offer faster delivery times, better service and an array of products.

Already armed with 40 e-commerce fulfillment facilities, Amazon is set to open another 7 centers next year. And by next year, Amazon could offer cost-efficient same-day shipping to every customer in the 10 largest US cities, according to RBC Capital Markets.

This year, Saks Inc, Dillard’s Inc and Kohl’s Corp are among retailers that opened the biggest online fulfillment centers they have ever had. And those without much of an online presence are moving quickly to get one. For example, TJ Maxx

parent TJX Cos Inc, which sells designer clothing and home goods at discounted prices, said on Friday it bought off-price Internet retailer Sierra Trading Post for about $200 million.

NOT-SO-SECRET WEAPON Most national retailers have largely stopped opening new stores as same-store sales growth has slowed compared to online. But the stores can be a major weapon for companies like Macy’s and Home Depot as they fight Amazon. Since this summer, 292 of Macy’s 800 stores have been doing double-duty as mini-fulfillment centers that assemble, pack and ship online orders, up from 23 stores a year ago. It plans to add this function to 200 more stores next year.

Nordstrom Inc has been doing this for years, giving it a big lead over other department stores.

At Macy’s, already 10 percent of orders placed online have been dispatched through stores this holiday season. “It’s a natural extension for us because of our ability to leverage the 800 stores’ inventory,” said Harrison of Macy’s. He noted that the cost for equipping a store for e-commerce is relatively small, requiring a small space in the docking area for tables, scales, and room to pack boxes.

Saks is testing “ship-from-store” and expects to roll it out next fall. Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Kohl’s are also testing it. “Fulfilling online orders from the store is the most important thing that will change

physical retailers over the next five years,” said Matt Nemer, an e-commerce analyst at Wells Fargo. The strategy is aimed squarely at boosting profit margins. Saks CEO Stephen Sadove envisions a scenario in which a pair of shoes sitting unsold at his Saks Fifth Avenue flagship could be used to fill an online order and sold at full price, instead of ending up being sold at a discount, hurting profit.

Macy’s computers have complex algorithms that scour companywide inventory, factor in distance and shipping costs to come up with an optimal way to assemble and ship an order. Despite higher shipping costs, Macy’s shipments are often split between locations if a computer determines that the benefit to margins from selling an item that a store doesn’t need or has too much of outweighs the extra expenses. Stores are also serving as pick-up spots for online orders, and many retailers are finding this a boon. Wal-Mart says customers spend about $60 in a store when they pick up items ordered online. In November, Best Buy decided to assign additional employees to deal with in-store pick-ups since 40 percent of bestbuy.com orders are now picked up.

DANGER OF MISSTEPS Even Amazon sees the benefits of a physical presence. Staples Inc said last month it will install “Amazon Lockers” at its stores, allowing customers to have packages sent to Staples stores to avoid

S&P downgrades Egypt credit rating

Subdued mood on the last holiday shopping weekend ATLANTA: Christmas shoppers thronged malls and pounced on discounts but apparently spent less this year, their spirits dampened by concerns about the economy and the aftermath of shootings and storms. Talk about more than just the usual job worries to cloud the mood: Confidence among US consumers dipped to its lowest point in December since July amid rising economic worries, according to a monthly index released Friday.

Marshal Cohen, chief research analyst at NPD Inc., a market research firm with a network of analysts at shopping centers nationwide, estimates customer traffic over the weekend was in line with the same time a year ago, but that shoppers seem to be spending less. “There was this absence of joy for the holiday,” Cohen said. “There was no Christmas spirit. There have been just too many distractions.” Shoppers are increasingly worried about the “fiscal cliff” deadline the possibility that a stalemate between Congress and the White House over the US budget could trigger a series of tax increases and spending cuts starting Jan 1 The recent Newtown, Conn, school shooting also dampened shoppers’ spirits atop the fall’s retail woes after Superstorm Sandy’s passage up the East Coast. The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, which account for 24 percent of retail sales nationwide, were tripped up by Sandy when the enormous storm clobbered the region in late October, disrupting businesses and households for

weeks. All that spelled glum news for retailers, which can make up to 40 percent of annual sales during November and December. They were counting on the last weekend before Christmas to make up for lost dollars earlier in the season.

The Saturday before Christmas was expected to be the second biggest sales day behind the Friday after Thanksgiving. After a strong Black Friday weekend, the four-day weekend that starts on Thanksgiving, when sales rose 2.7 percent, the lull that usually follows has been even more pronounced. Sales fell 4.3 percent for the week ended Dec. 15, according to the latest figures from ShopperTrak, which counts foot traffic and its own proprietary sales numbers from 40,000 retail outlets across the country.

On Wednesday, ShopperTrak cut its forecast for holiday spending down to 2.5 percent growth to $257.7 billion, from prior expectations of a 3.3 percent rise. Online, sales rose just 8.4 percent to $48 billion from Oct. 28 through Saturday, according to a measure by MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse.

That is below the online sales growth of between 15 to 17 percent seen in the prior 18-month period, according to the data service, which tracks all spending across all forms of payment, including cash.

At the malls, overall promotions were up 2 to 3 percent from last year heading into the pre-Christmas week-

end, after being down 5 percent earlier in the season, according to BMO Capital Markets sales rack index, which tracks the depth and breadth of discounts.

Attempting to drum up enthusiasm, retailers have expanded hours and stepped up discounts. At The Garden State Plaza, teen retailer Aeropostale discounted all clothing and accessories by 60 percent. Charles David, Cachet and AnnTaylor had cut prices by 50 percent of all merchandise. At AnnTaylor, racks of discounted clothes had been marked down by an additional 25 percent. One dress, originally priced at $118, was marked down to $49 but with the additional 25 percent, it cost $21.30.

But the deals at the mall failed to impress Wendy McCloskey, 35, of Lebanon, Ind., who started her holiday shopping Sunday at the Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis. A snow storm that blustered through the Midwest this week delayed her shopping plans, and a busy schedule with her children also got in the way. “I was so surprised. I figured they’d have better deals,” she said. And at The Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ, Linda Fitzgerald said she didn’t feel like shopping this season, facing a sister’s cancer diagnosis atop worries about the economy and the Connecticut shooting. “It’s so hard to put yourself in the mood,” said Linda Fitzgerald, a 51-year-old nurse from Yonkers who went out weekend shopping with her 17-month-old granddaughter in tow.-—AP

delivery hassles. The biggest reason many retailers are only now offering ‘ship-from store’ and in-store pick-up is that the traditionally managed store and e-commerce inventory had been handled separately. That is changing rapidly. Saks is spending about $40 million this year to update its computer systems in part to integrate databases.

Industry experts say Nordstrom’s e-commerce lead over department store rivals stems in large part to technology investments it made years ago.

But there are risks. Computer systems and staff have to be ready or else retailers can face disaster, said Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.

The use of stores is pointless if, for example, an inventory system gives the stockroom person collecting an order incorrect information about where a coat is located, leading to wasted time.

There is also a big risk of an item in store being “shopworn,” or unsuitable to be sold. “It’s smart to fulfill from stores if you can figure out a way to get your operations right,” Mulpuru said, noting the potential for human error is another concern.

Such problems are limited at fulfillment centers because the systems are highly automated.

Executives agree. Harrison said stores are not meant to replace fulfillment centers, with their much greater breadth and quantity of products, but are there to supplement them. “It’s always going to be more efficient to ship from a fulfillment center,” Saks’ Sadove said. “You’re never going to be perfect in ‘ship-from-store’.”— Reuters

WAYNE: Last-minute Christmas shoppers crowd the Willowbrook Mall searching for gifts in Wayne, NJ. —AP

CAIRO: Standard & Poors’ cut Egypt’s long-term credit rating yesterday and said another cut was possible if deepening political turbulence undermines efforts to prop up the economy and public finances. Egypt’s popular uprising two years ago chased away tourists and foreign investors, helping push its budget deficit into double digits as a percentage of national output and worsening its balance of payments.

A divisive battle over a new constitution this month has also prompted the government to delay urgent austerity measures and put a crucial $4.8 billion IMF loan on hold. S&P reduced Egypt’s long-term sovereign rating to ‘B-’ from ‘B’, but left its short-term rating at ‘B’ for both foreign- and local-currency debt. It kept its negative outlook on the rating - suggesting another cut is the most likely next move.

“A further downgrade is possible if a significant worsening of the domestic political situation results in a sharp deterioration of economic indicators such as foreign exchange reserves or the government’s deficit,” S&P said.

Domestic debt was equivalent to 69.7 percent of gross domestic product as of the end of September 2012, while its foreign debt was 13.1 percent of GDP, according to the finance ministry. Egypt reached an initial accord with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month for a financial support package, but later put on hold a series of austerity measures deemed necessar y to secure IMF approval.

The government then asked the IMF to delay until January a meeting to approve the loan, which looks increasingly vital to prop up government finances but requires it to take unpopular measures on taxation and spending. The measures included increases in sales tax on goods and services ranging from alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and mobile phone calls to automobile licences and quarrying permits. President Mohamed Morsi withdrew them within hours of their being announced after criticism from his opponents and the media.— Reuters

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

BUSINESS

Russia completes Asia oil link as Europe frets Putin to officially launch oil link to Pacific tion activist Alexei Navalny has accused Transneft of a $4 billion embezzlement connected to the construction of the pipeline.

Transneft denied the allegations. Analysts say that Europe’s fear of less Russian oil is justified, although exporting companies will decide themselves on eastern or western routes on the basis of profitability.

“Of course, there is a risk of oil flows cuts to Europe. And ESPO blend sells with a premium to Dubai, it speaks in favour of the Eastern route,” Alexander Kornilov, a senior analyst with Alfa bank, said, citing the Asian market benchmark grade. A first-quarter loading schedule has showed that Russia would cut Europe-bound oil supplies with the biggest fall, of 20 percent, expected in its Baltic port of Ust-Luga. Russia launched the first stage of the ESPO link to Skovorodino at the Chinese border in 2009, and in January 2011 started pipeline deliveries at 300,000 barrels per day to China.

MOSCOW: Russia has completed its largest infrastructure project since the Soviet Union by expanding its eastern oil pipeline to the Pacific Ocean as it seeks to carve out a bigger share of the Asian market. It took 6 years and more than $25 billion for oil pipeline monopoly Transneft to build the East Siberia - Pacific Ocean (ESPO) link to the port of Kozmino, which had formally relied on a rail link.

By completing the 4,200 km line, Russia has created a powerful leverage for oil flows switches from East to West and visa versa, sending a warning signal to the European Union, which is heavily dependant on energy supplies from its former Cold War adversary. Transneft has said Japan bought almost a third of ESPO exports this year followed by China with 24 percent and the United States with 22 percent. President Vladimir Putin has urged oil and gas companies to increase their share in lucrative Asian energy markets.

He was expected to formally open the pipeline in the early hours of Tuesday.

“This gives us an opportunity to efficiently work on the fastest-growing market in the world, on the Asia Pacific market,” Putin said last week. The project has been in the Russian limelight since its start, and opposi-

CHALLENGE TO FILL IT Russia is the world’s largest oil producer, at around 10.5 million barrels of oil per day, trumping Saudi Arabia while the kingdom holds back some output to prop up crude prices. But most of Russiaís 50,000-km oil

pipeline network is concentrated in West Siberia and runs toward Europe. Moscow has been steadily diversifying its oil exports by shifting away from the Druzhba pipeline, built in the 1960s to supply the Soviet Unionís Eastern European allies. It built the Ust-Luga oil terminal this year on the Baltic and has drastically reduced flows via Druzhba, forcing some East European refineries to seek other options.

But with the ESPO pipeline in place analysts have questioned Russian ability to stick to its commitment of keeping steady supplies to both east and west. In 2013, Russia will deliver some 18 million tons (360,000 bpd) via the ESPO-2 pipeline to Kozmino and ship up to 4 million tons there by rail.

Long-term, it looks to increase that to 1 million bpd. “It would be quite a challenge for Russia to fill the pipeline. And some of the East Siberian fields have not been performing as expected,” Julius Walker, energy markets strategist with UBS in New York, said.

The Vankor oilfield, controlled by Russia’s top crude producer Rosneft, has been the main contributor of oil to the pipeline.

Vankor’s production is expected to increase to 500,000 barrels per day next year. Russia has also offered tax relief for some East

Siberian fields, including scrapping exports duty - the largest single tax item for oil companies. According to VTB Capital projections,

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin

Gold firms as US fiscal fears drag Prices to test support at $1,631 LONDON: Gold firmed in thin pre-holiday trade yesterday, but prices stayed near a four-month low as the US fiscal stalemate drove investors to the sidelines. Despite the recent losses, gold remains set for a 12th straight year of gains on ultra-loose monetary policy by leading central banks, concerns over the financial stability of the euro zone, and diversification into bullion by central banks. Gold appeals to investors as a hedge against inflationary fears. Gold rose 0.36 percent to $1,662.11 an ounce at 1054 GMT, supported by a weaker dollar against a basket of currencies, after falling to its weakest since August at $1,635.09 on Thursday.

US gold for February rose 0.18 percent an ounce to $1,663.10.

Bullion hit an all-time high around $1,920 in September 2011 when a worsening debt crisis in Europe sparked a buying rush.

Hedge funds and money managers slashed their net long gold positions in the week to Dec. 18 to their lowest level since the end of August, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report on Friday.

“The weaker dollar and steady stock markets are giving support to gold. Gold has key support around last week’s low of $1,635, with resistance around $1,675, near the lows touched in early November,” said Peter Fertig, analyst with Quantitative Commodity Research.

Fertig said gold investors were focused on stalled talks in the US to avert the socalled “fiscal cliff”, tax hikes and spending cuts that risk sending the US economy into recession. “My view is that the fiscal cliff will

be avoided at the last minute. If the fiscal cliff is avoided, that should be positive for risk assets including gold,” he said.

“As the market had been pricing in that

the fiscal cliff might be a reality, there might be a sense of relief.” Some US lawmakers voiced concern on Sunday that the country would go over “the fiscal cliff” in nine days,

triggering harsh spending cuts and tax hikes, and some Republicans charged that was President Barack Obama’s goal.

Some analysts say an impasse in the US budget talks boosts gold’s safe-haven appeal, but others argue the metal is increasingly behaving like a risk asset, which is why a budget deal could offer investors some direction.

Stock, commodity and currency markets were steady yesterday, as the holiday lull set in across markets and offset tensions over the US budget dispute. Spot gold is poised to test a support at $1,631 per ounce, as it may have completed a rebound from the Dec 20 low of $1,635.09, according to Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. POSITIVE VIEW Silver was up 0.80 percent to $30.22 an ounce, platinum rose 0.15 percent to $1,536.50 and sister metal palladium firmed 0.77 percent to $681.72 an ounce.

“We have a positive view of precious metals prices in the first half of 2013 on the basis of further money accommodation and a rebound in economic growth,” said BNP Paribas in a report. “Given its strong fundamentals, we believe that palladium has the most upside potential over the next two years.”

Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and nickel, expects the palladium market to remain in a deficit in the next several years largely due to a near depletion of Russian state supplies. Palladium is mainly used in making vehicle catalytic converters to clean engine exhaust. — Reuters

ATHENS: An Orthodox priest walks outside a store that buys gold, in central Athens. Pawn shops and gold stores have spread rapidly during Greece’s financial crisis, as the country heads into a sixth year of recession. — AP

East Siberia fields will produce 45 million tons (900,000 barrels per day) by 2020, up from 15 million tons this year. — Reuters

IKEA offers winter sale KUWAIT: With a few days remaining, IKEA Kuwait is urging its customers to take advantage of its ongoing winter sale campaign. A vast range of products across different areas of the home and office are at extraordinarily low prices as the countdown of the Sale Campaign approaches its closing dates. The massive winter Sale at IKEA offers a wide variety of welldesigned, functional home furnishing products at reduced and affordable prices to suit all customers.

Over 2,000 products ranging between living room furniture, bedroom and storage solutions, bathroom accessories, children’s furniture, cookware, textiles, decoration, lighting and more are on sale currently. The sale campaign at IKEA store has generated an increased level of momentum amongst shoppers, who have purchased some of their favorite IKEA products at even lower prices.

Xstrata hikes cost estimate ZURICH: Swiss mining giant Xstrata said yesterday it would cost $300 million (227 million euros) more than previously expected to develop the Frieda River copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea.

The Swiss company had, according to a statement, handed over a feasibility study to its local partner on the project, Highlands Pacific showing that it now expects the total investments to tick in at $5.6 billion, compared with a previous estimate two years ago of $5.3 billion.

Xstrata, which owns nearly 82 percent of the project, also said it had delivered ìStudy Program Reportî examining the possibility of providing electricity to the mine through a gas-fired transmission line rather than the previously proposed hydro-electric dam. — AFP

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 .4510000 .3670000 .3040000 .2800000 .2900000 .0040000 .0020000 .0761350 .7417630 .3880000 .0720000 .7271670 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2804500 GB Pound/KD .4534880 Euro .3697170 Swiss francs .3060510 Canadian dollars .2823990 Danish Kroner .0495490 Swedish Kroner .0427600 Australian dlr .2917240 Hong Kong dlr .0361860 Singapore dlr .2296320 Japanese yen .0033240 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0763860 Bahraini dinars .7441950 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0748070 Omani riyals .7287250 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - transfer Irani Riyal - cash

ASIAN COUNTRIES

3.341 5.109 2.887 2.222 3.204 231.210 36.370 3.488 6.855 9.198 0.271 0.273

.2840000 .4620000 .3760000 .3130000 .2910000 .3020000 .0067500 .0035000 .0769000 .7492180 .4060000 .0770000 .7344750 .0510000 .2825500 .4568830 .3724860 .3083430 .2845130 .0499200 .0430800 .2939090 .0364570 .2313520 .0033490 .0051540 .0022410 .0029080 .0035500 .0769580 .7497680 .3996460 .0753670 .7341820 .0069300

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 75.190 77.474 732.360 74.890 76.777

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 47.800 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 45.601 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.315 Tunisian Dinar 182.550 Jordanian Dinar 397.730 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.892 Syrian Lier 3.063 Morocco Dirham 33.876 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 281.850 Euro 372.890 Sterling Pound 457.160 Canadian dollar 284.700 Turkish lire 157.020 Swiss Franc 308.710 Australian dollar 294.110 US Dollar Buying 280.650 GOLD 319.000 161.000 83.000

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

296.500 749.160 3.790 286.900 553.200 45.900 50.700 167.800 48.120 375.700 37.040 5.480 0.032 0.161 0.242 3.440 399.200 0.191 94.850 45.800 4.330 235.200 1.825

51.700 731.720 3.070 7.260 77.920 75.210 232.140 35.190 2.683 459.600 43.900 310.900 3.400 9.560 198.263 76.810 282.100 1.360

731.540 2.898 6.858 77.490 75.210 232.140 35.190 2.223 457.600 309.400 3.400 9.400 76.710 281.700

GOLD 1,763.420

10 Tola Sterling Pound US Dollar

COUNTRY

SELL DRAFT

295.000 749.160 3.495 285.400

232.100 45.617 374.200 36.890 5.107 0.031

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

Currency

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 457.600 261.700

SELL DRAFT

297.31 288.02 313.04 375.28 281.25 459.17 3.41 3.518 5.109 2.224 3.203 2.887 76.64 748.87 45.60 400.69 731.98 77.67 75.21

SELL CASH

296.000 288.000 311.000 373.500 282.500 458.500 3.690 3.660 5.500 2.330 3.600 3.050 77.100 747.650 47.700 398.500 733.000 77.850 75.500

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 399.170 0.190 94.850 3.210 233.700

Rate for Transfer

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro

Selling Rate

281.600 283.940 456.180 371.630

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

307.780 745.530 76.645 77.295 75.055 396.955 45.601 2.219 5.110 2.883 3.493 6.835 690.765 4.335 9.285 4.370 3.285 91.965

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee

281.400 2.880 5.150 2.195 3.494 6.900 76.715 75.195 748.100 45.559 462.900 2.990 1.550 377.500 290.500 3.265

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

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

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

*Rates are subject to change

281.000 374.200 459.200 286.150 3.370 5.105 45.558 2.230 3.480 6.830 2.885 748.200 76.500 75.000

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

BUSINESS

Fragile Egypt economy overshadows Morsi’s vote win Govt needs to act fast to tackle big budget deficit CAIRO: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi will have little time to savor victory in pushing through a new constitution as it may have cost the Islamist leader broader support for urgent austerity measures needed to fix the creaking economy. By fast-tracking the constitution through to a referendum that the opposition said was divisive, he may have squandered any chance of building a consensus on tax rises and spending cuts that are essential to rein in a crushing budget deficit.

Unofficial tallies from Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood showed the charter was approved by a 64 percent majority. But opponents said he lost the vote in much of the capital, while across the nation he alienated liberals, Christians and others worried by the text that was drafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly.

Opponents say such divisions will fuel more unrest in a nation whose economy has been pummeled by turbulence since Hosni Mubarak was overthrown almost two years ago, scaring off investors and tourists that are both vital sources of capital.

Without broad support, Morsi’s government will find it harder to implement reforms needed to secure a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. The Muslim Brotherhood’s party, which propelled Morsi to office, may also face a tougher fight in a parliamentary election expected in about two months. “For austerity measures to be made at a time when the political system is being opened and millions of people are being enfranchised, you need political consensus within the political class,” said Amr Adly, an expert on the economy. Yet, even though there is broad acceptance of the urgency of fixing the battered economy, Adly said Morsi’s approach in pushing through a constitution that angered opponents would encourage his rivals to capitalize

on any public backlash against austerity rather than help sell reforms to the nation. “His political rivals are already dealing with these problems on a very opportunistic basis,” said Adly, head of the social and economic justice unit at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. “There won’t be any prospect of ending ... violence in the streets or very deep political divisions.”

UNITED Egypt’s fractured opposition, defeated at the ballot box by Islamists in each poll since Mubarak was overthrown in February 2011, unified their ranks after Morsi expanded his powers in a decree on Nov. 22 to push through the constitution. “What Morsi did has united us,” said Ahmed Said, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party and a leading member of the National Salvation Front coalition, adding he expected a unified approach to the upcoming parliamentary election. That would give the opposition a much better chance in parliamentary polls against disciplined Islamists, who have built a broad grassroots network across the nation over decades that liberals and other nonIslamists cannot yet match.

Though Said agreed steps were needed to fix Egypt’s economy, he said Morsi had made no effort to discuss it with his rivals although they were a national concern. The IMF has long said a broad political consensus to reforms was needed for a loan. “Who wouldn’t agree with economic reforms?” Said asked, but added: “We have not been consulted at all with regard to supporting such policies or not, we are not sure what is going on in the country.” Morsi now faces the prospect of having an opposition seeking to score political points from any tax rises and measures to reduce spending, particularly steps to rein in fuel subsidies in a nation where

rich and poor have become used to cheap energy.

That could make it more of a challenge for Islamists to win votes in the parliamentary election. Though the opposition have drawn tens of thou-

postpone its meeting in mid-December to approve the loan. Egypt’s government said it might now be approved in January. Farid Ismail, a senior official in the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, said Egypt could not be

FAYOUM: An Egyptian boy rests on a meters south of Cairo. — AP sands of Egyptians to the streets on occasion, Islamists have done so with greater regularity and also have a strong record of getting out the vote in the more local politics of a parliamentary poll. But nation’s political divisions have already taken their toll on the president’s initial economic reforms.

Shortly before the referendum, Morsi introduced increases on the sales tax on goods and services that ranged from alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and mobile phone calls to automobile licences and quarrying permits. He withdrew them within hours under criticism from his opponents and the media. An immediate result of Morsi’s policy U-turn was a delay in approving the IMF loan. The IMF said it would

donkey in Fayoum, about 100 kilodescribed as divided when two-thirds of those who voted backed the constitution but said all sides needed to discuss the economic issues ahead. “We have an economic and social challenge and this is the time for people to present initiatives and engage in a national dialogue,” he said, adding that passing the constitution meant one major hurdle to stabilizing the nation had been overcome.

EXPECTATIONS Yet expectations run high in a nation where demands for social justice and a better standard of living helped drive the 2011 uprising as much as calls for political freedoms. “We had a revolution to make life easier and prices low-

Egypt’s supermarkets ‘target’ for Dubai MAF MAF eyes Metro, Kheir Zaman DUBAI: Dubai’s Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), is in talks with Egypt’s Mansour Group, owned by billionaire Mohammed Mansour, to buy its supermarket business in a deal valued at $200 million to $300 million, three sources aware of the discussions said. Mansour Group, also the largest distributor of General Motors cars in Egypt, is aiming to sell supermarket chain Metro and discount grocery store Kheir Zaman, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public.

The ongoing discussions signal increased appetite by Gulf-based firms to expand their presence in the most populous Arab state at a time when valuations are low due to the political strife in the North African country.

Gulf banks have bought assets from their European counterparts in Egypt but the interest in Mansour Group’s supermarket business shows the focus may now be spreading to other sectors such as retail where growth prospects are seen promising in the longer term.

MAF is the sole franchisee of French hypermarket chain Carrefour in the Middle East. Due diligence on the deal is currently

under way and a decision could be taken as early as January, one of the sources said. MAF Group declined to comment on the report. Mansour Group was not available for immediate comment. Metro is Egypt’s largest supermarket chain with more than 40 outlets in 10 cities.

EGYPT BULLS Unlisted MAF, the franchisee for Carrefour hypermarkets in 19 countries and operator of nearly a dozen malls across the Middle East and North Africa, is keen on expanding in Egypt through acquisitions, according to one Dubai-based

GIZA: An Egyptian man rides a horse past one of the three Giza pyramids, south of Cairo. Workers at Cairo’s pyramids are lamenting that the turmoil has caused tourists to flee. — AFP Kheir Zaman, a discount grocery store, has over 2,000 employees and 30 stores throughout the country.

banking source who is aware of the discussions. Carrefour Egypt, which has 13 outlets across the country, is

a joint venture between MAF and the parent firm.

“As a regional investor, MAF would be more comfortable with the long-term prospects of Egypt than other foreign investors,” the source said. “The country has the largest population in the Arab world and expanding into consumer and retail space is a bet which is more likely to pay off. No matter what the shape of the economy, people still need to buy their groceries.”

Despite the political turmoil in Egypt, cash-rich Gulf investors remain interested in raising their presence after last year’s revolution while European banks looking to repair damaged balance sheets have been selling overseas units.

BNP Paribas agreed to sell its Egyptian arm for $500 million to Dubai lender Emirates NBD last week.

This month Societe Generale also agreed to sell its majority stake in National Societe Generale Bank to Qatar National Bank for $2 billion. Mansour Group is also a stakeholder in French lender Credit Agricole’s Egyptian business and runs McDonald’s Corp’s chain in Egypt among its other businesses. — Reuters

Kenya’s economic growth leaps on strong agriculture NAIROBI: Kenya’s economic growth leapt in the third quarter, boosted by the agriculture sector, while a gradual slowdown in investment shows investors may be focusing on elections in March 2013. Growth Domestic Product rose by 4.7 percent in the third quarter from 4 percent in the same period last year, the statistics office said yesterday. The figure was roughly in line with expectations. The pick up was led by agriculture, which accounts for a quarter of the economy, as well as fishing and manufacturing. Agriculture grew by 6.9 percent during the third quarter, up from 0.2 percent growth in the same period last year.

Economic growth in Kenya was sluggish early in 2012, with the economy expanding by 3.4 percent and 3.3 percent in the first two quarters, as key sectors like construction sagged under the weight of high interest rates. The tepid first half of 2012 was a hangover from last year when inflation soared and the currency slumped, forcing policymakers to raise rates aggressively, which in turn drove up businesses’ borrowing costs. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, east Africa’s biggest economy grew by 2.2 percent in the third quarter, up from 0.5 percent in the second.

“The sequential quarter on quarter increase...shows an improving trend but still speaks of an economy which is soft and feel-

ing the unprecedented squeeze from the high interest rate structure which has been disconnected from the sharp fall in inflation,” said Aly Khan Satchu, an independent analyst.

Policymakers embarked on an easing cycle in July, cutting the benchmark lending rate by a total of 700 basis points over three meetings to 11 percent, in order to help economic growth. Kenya’s year-on-year inflation fell for the 12th straight month in November to 3.25 percent, the lowest it has been since Aug. 2010. The biggest drag on growth was the construction sector, which is highly susceptible to high borrowing costs in an economy, as well as hotels and restaurants.

GENERAL ELECTION RISK But Mark Bohlund, senior economist for IHS Global Insight, said the third consecutive quarterly decline in the construction sector, even as interest rates fell, was indication of investment being held back ahead of the 2013 elections. “It’s fair to assume that’s related to the elections. It’s make or break for Kenya and the wider region because if you have a repeat of the same amount of violence or even worse than we had in 2007/2008, you are not going to get investment,” Bohlund said.

Kenyan polls since independence from Britain in 1963 have often been marred by

tribal violence, typically stemming from longstanding disputes over land. Some analysts fear the March 2013 elections will see another bout of violence similar to 2007, which was the worst in its history.

Kenya’s tourism has already experienced a hit ahead of the elections because of fears of a repeat of the ethnic violence that rocked the country in 2007. Kenya’s current account deficit narrowed 21 percent to 105.4 billion shillings ($1.23 billion)from 133.5 billion during the same period last year. However, the deficit widened compared to 63.3 billion shillings recorded in the second quarter of 2012.

Both the shilling and the main stock index were flat after the GDP figures were released.

The Finance Ministry has said the economy will grow 5.6 percent in 2013, outpacing this year’s forecast of 5.1 percent. But many analysts say growth is likely to slow down in the fourth quarter unless the central bank lowers interest rates further.

“The economy needs more encouragement to get back to trendline GDP otherwise the looming general election is going to stop this barely discernible and nascent rebound dead in its tracks. Some green shoots but the garden needs more watering and urgently in my view,” Satchu added. — Reuters

er, not higher,” said 19-year-old student Sally Ahmed Kotb referring to Morsi’s tax plans as she went to the polls on Saturday to vote “no”. “This will lead to a hunger revolution.” Once a darling of emerging market investors, Egypt’s economy has taken a hammering. The budget deficit surged to a crippling 11 percent of gross domestic product in the financial year that ended in June 2012 and is forecast to exceed 10 percent this year.

Without swift action, it could hit 13 percent, said Adly. Among belt-tightening measures in the pipeline are steps to reduce how much subsidized gasoline drivers can buy, which is bound to be unpopular. In the meantime, Egypt has been bleeding foreign reserves at a rate of about $600 million a month, cutting them to about $15 billion, less than half their level before Mubarak’s fall. Some Egyptians are still ready to give Morsi a chance. Many of those who voted “yes” in the referendum backed the charter as a vote for “stability”, even if they had some reservations.

But, even from supporters, Morsi may have limited leeway. “Just as people rose against Mubarak, they can rise against Morsi,” said Mohamed Mohsen, a civil servant and Islamist backer who voted “yes” in the referendum. “Let’s give him two, three, four or five months to solve our problems then we can see.” The government says it is already engaged in a “national dialogue” with political forces, unions and others to win public support for an economic plan it insists will not hurt the poor. “Passage of the new constitution is unlikely to ease recent discord, but it nevertheless marks a significant step forward in Egypt’s labored political transition,” Simon Williams, HSBC economist in Dubai, wrote in a note after the constitution was approved in the first of the twostage referendum. — Reuters

Brent extends losses Iran struggling with sanctions SINGAPORE: Brent crude fell for a third day, staying below $109 a barrel, as uncertainty over the ability of the United States to resolve a budget crisis before a year-end deadline stoked concerns about demand growth in the world’s top oil user. The doubts over the so-called US “fiscal cliff” that will trigger harsh spending cuts and tax hikes and threatens to tip the country back into recession further dented investor appetite for riskier assets such as oil. Markets have been under pressure after US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner failed to get lawmakers to support a deal with the White House.

Brent crude fell as low as $108.58 a barrel, the lowest since Dec 18, and traded 21 cents down at $108.76 by 0722 GMT. US oil slipped 12 cents to $88.54.

“It’s all about the US fiscal cliff issue,” said Victor Shum, managing director at IHS Purvin & Gertz.

“The chances are that we will get a deal between the White House and the Republicans, but the fact that Boehner failed to get members to support his plan is worrying.” Some US lawmakers are voicing concerns the country would go over the fiscal cliff. President Barack Obama and Boehner, the key negotiators, are out of town for Christmas. Congress is in recess, and will have only a few days to act before the Jan 1 deadline.

Given this scenario, investors are now looking at a stop-gap that puts everything off for a while as the most promising alternative. Such a fix may help delay the spending cuts and tax hikes further into 2013 as well as work to address in a long-term way a budget that has generated deficits exceeding $1 trillion in each of the last four years.

“Equity and commodity markets are likely to remain exposed on the downside to the risks associated with going over the fiscal cliff,” Jason Schenker at Prestige Economics said in a report. “I

continue to believe that a deal will get done and we will not go into recession next year, but we are running out of time.”

The uncertainty and rising oil supplies will put more downward pressure on prices in coming weeks, Shum said. He expects US crude to trade between $85 and $89 a barrel, with Brent around $20 higher than the US benchmark. Iraq’s oil production has exceeded 3.2 million barrels a day (bpd) so far this month and may hit capacity of 4 million bpd in 2014, its Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said.

US oil is expected to drop more to $87.30 a barrel, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao, and Brent may keep declining to $107.58, the Dec 17 low.

STEMMING LOSSES Yet, losses were capped due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Dozens of people were killed in an air strike while queuing for bread in Syria’s central Hama province on Sunday, activists said, with some residents giving an initial count of 90 dead. Such a toll, if confirmed, would make it one of the deadliest air strikes in Syria’s civil war. Oil markets have also been on edge through most of the year as tensions between Iran and the West escalated over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Western sanctions on Iran’s shipping and energy sectors caused serious problems for its oil industry earlier this year but Iran has mostly overcome those challenges, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Oil producer Libya is also struggling to impose authority on a myriad of armed groups that helped oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi last year. “The market is trading sideways,” a Singapore-based trader with a Western firm said. “We are still almost at $109, which is not too bad a level. Iran is still an issue, Libya too has had problems.” — Reuters

ATHENS: A man walks past one of the many pawn shops that have opened in debt-crippled Greece over the past three years, in central Athens. — AP

24

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

business

Global demand to boost GCC debt market Issuers become more flexible, opportunistic DUBAI: Gulf Arab bonds will attract large flows of investment from outside the region next year because of their growing diversity and an increasingly active secondary market, a major participant in the industry says.

Traditionally, bonds from issuers in the sixnation Gulf Cooperation Council were seen as curiosities rather than as mainstream assets by many international investors, partly because of geopolitical risk and poor trading liquidity.

That perception changed substantially during 2012, Salman Ansari, regional head of debt capital markets for the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan at Standard Chartered, told Reuters in an interview. “Q1 will be busier than it has been in past years interest rate levels are attractive, there is abundant secondary liquidity, and the cost of borrowing is at its most attractive in recent memory,” Ansari said.

“The diversity from the GCC this year, in terms of issuance, pricing and tenors, and the number of “firsts” we’ve seen, bodes well for the region to showcase itself to the international investor community.” Total bond and sukuk issuance from the region this year easily exceeded $40 billion after a lacklustre 2011, when volume was below $30 billion. More than a third of this year’s total issuance was in the final quarter. Yields on outstanding bonds plunged in 2012 and a large majority of issues were heavily oversubscribed, especially sukuk deals and those from the top-rated credits. For exam-

ple, Qatar’s $4 billion, two-tranche sukuk issued in July attracted a spectacular order book of over $25 billion.

TRENDS To some extent, the Gulf was simply lucky this year. The global financial crisis and quantitative easing by central banks abroad created pools of money that were desperate for yield; some entered the Gulf because they found nowhere else to go. In the case of sukuk, a particularly wide supply-demand imbalance opened up as issuance failed to keep pace with the size of Islamic funds swollen by the Gulf ’s oil export earnings. But Ansari said several trends in 2012 suggested growth in Gulf issuance could continue even if global conditions became somewhat less ideal.

One shift, he said, was that regional borrowers became more flexible and opportunistic, exploring issuance in a range of foreign currencies and with unusual structures.

In March Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank, became the first GCC borrower to issue a yuan bond, reflecting growing trade ties with China. National Bank of Abu Dhabi also tapped the yuan market this year. “We’ll see the GCC continue to look east for funding,” Ansari said, adding that deals in yuan, Malaysian ringgit and Japanese yen this year reflected the growing importance of the Asian investor base.

He also said that from the point of view of investors, the GCC had achieved an attrac-

tive variety of issuers in 2012. “Issuance in 2013 was very evenly split between sovereign, corporate and GREs (government-related entities), and this is the best demonstration of the maturity of the MENA market. I expect this to continue to be the case in 2013.” Standard Chartered is among the biggest global banks active in Middle East debt markets. At the end of the third quarter, it was ranked second in the Thomson Reuters Middle East Emerging Market Bonds bookrunning league table, involved in 41 percent of deals run by the top ten banks.

MOTIVES TO ISSUE Much bond issuance in 2012 was to refinance existing maturities, particularly for debt-laden Dubai; the emirate successfully repaid its three major bond maturities in 2012. That source of supply is likely to remain important next year; Ansari estimated that about $50 billion of bond and loan redemptions would come due from the GCC in 2013. European banks are cutting back exposure to the Gulf because of their financial problems back home, while companies around the region have repaid maturing bonds on time even as they take a hard line in loan restructuring talks. So for both borrowers and lenders, bonds may often look more attractive as refinancing options than bank loans.

Increasingly, however, GCC companies may issue bonds not to refinance but to expand, as regional economies and real

estate markets continue to recover from the 2009-2010 crash, and as firms seize foreign investment opportunities created by the Arab Spring and the global crisis. Dubai mall developer Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Holding, which issued the region’s first investmentgrade corporate bond this year, is in talks with Egypt’s Mansour Group, owned by billionaire Mohammed Mansour, to buy its supermarket business in a deal valued at $200 million to $300 million, sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters this week.

Qatar National Bank, which issued $2 billion in bonds this year, is buying Societe Generale’s Egyptian unit for $2 billion, and has control of a top Turkish bank in its sights. And Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco), which has agreed to buy Cable & Wireless Communications’ assets in Monaco and some islands in a deal worth up to $1 billion, may issue bonds as part of a funding package for the deal. In addition, the phasein of Basel III global capital adequacy rules is likely to encourage Gulf banks to issue bonds to raise capital.

In November, Standard Chartered was mandated on the first globally issued, perpetual hybrid sukuk to raise Tier 1 capital, a $1 billion deal from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

The deal drew orders of over $15 billion and appealed to private banks, particularly in Asia. Asked if more financial institutions might follow ADIB’s example, Ansari said: “ADIB is a good test case and is likely to

influence other potential borrowers. There is no doubt about available liquidity and appeal of the structure, but it will come down to pricing.”

LIQUIDITY A sign of Gulf issuers’ growing focus on investors from outside the region came when NBAD targeted them with a $750 million, seven-year deal during this year’s Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when regional activity is traditionally slow.

Seventy-five percent of the bond was placed outside the region. In the past, poor secondary market liquidity in Gulf bonds deterred international investors; they felt that during times such as Dubai’s 2009-2010 debt crisis, there would be no way for them to escape.

But secondary market trade, even in sukuk which are traditionally bought and held until maturity, may now have increased enough to reduce the perception of risk.

“International investors take a lot of comfort from the strong liquidity onshore. There is a very strong local bid in the secondary market, which has helped avoid the sell-off which might be seen amid periods of market weakness,” Ansari said.

“The demand we’ve seen this year, the strong performance of spreads, the rally on secondary markets - I don’t believe this is a short-term view on the part of investors.

More investors are becoming stakeholders in the region.” — Reuters

Gulf markets mixed Cairo’s index gained 0.2% DUBAI: Egypt’s bourse resumed rising yesterday after an early-session dip brought back buying interest among foreign investors, while trading in the Gulf was lacklustre and volumes thin because of the year-end lull. Cairo’s index gained 0.2 percent to 5,373 points, and has risen in nine of the last 12 sessions. The market fell on Sunday after voters approved a controversial new constitution for the country. But plenty of investors remain bullish about the medium term, even though the constitution may cause further political turmoil, and although the political instability has led Cairo to delay its request for a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

“Technically, the market surprised by its resilience and immunity to disappointment on milestones that were supposed to be a catalyst - like the IMF loan,” said Mohamed Radwan, director of international sales at Pharos Securities. The market plunged more than 7 percent in late November after President Mohamed Morsi expanded his powers and pushed through the drafting of the constitution, but the index is now back at pre-crisis levels. “The market rebounded from the aggressive selloff and swallowed the bearish news.

The index faces resistance at 5,500 in the short term and at 7,000 points in the medium term,” Radwan said.

The market was open and showed little reaction when Standard & Poors’ cut Egypt’s long-term credit rating to ‘B-’ yesterday and said another cut was possible if deepening political turbulence undermined efforts to

prop up the economy and public finances. Orascom Construction Industries and Telecom Egypt each gained 0.7 percent.

SAUDI SOFT In Saudi Arabia, the index declined 0.1 percent to finish at 6,881 points, down for a second session since Saturday’s six-week high. Volatility was low as undecided investors awaited cues from fourth-quarter earnings and the 2013 state budget, from which investors are hoping for a boost in government spending. “The market action is subdued today mainly due to uncertainty - people are waiting for the fiscal budget which is expected in a few days,” said Mohammad Omran, a Riyadh-based independent financial analyst and a member of the think tank Saudi Economic Association. “If petrochemical companies’ earnings surprise on the upside, it will boost the market and the index could break the 7,000 level.” Large-caps declined yesterday with the petrochemicals index slipping 0.3 percent and banking shares down 0.2 percent.

QATAR Elsewhere, profit-taking dragged down Qatar’s bourse for a second session from Thursday’s four-week high as banks declined. Qatar’s market is among the worst-performing Gulf markets this year; it is attracting little interest despite a steady domestic economic outlook and attractive dividend yields. Many investors have reduced exposure to the country, which has been moving more slowly

than anticipated to develop infrastructure for hosting the 2022 soccer World Cup. Also, some analysts say Qatari companies may see relatively little benefit from mega-projects if they are too small to handle the deals. Doha’s benchmark lost 0.4 percent yesterday to finish at 8,390 points, extending its year-to-date losses to 4.4 percent. Low trading volume exacerbated the situation. “The market is trading in a range looking for a direction,” said a Doha-based trader. “It is hanging between the 8,450 resistance and the first, weak support of 8,370.” Non-Qatari institutional investors are moving out of banks, and although local investors are accumulating some names in the sector, poor performance of banking shares is weighing on the market, the trader added.

Losers outnumbered gainers 13 to five on the 20-stock index. Masraf Al Rayan fell 1.4 percent and Qatar National Bank shed 1.0 percent. In the UAE, Dubai’s index advanced 0.09 percent. Retail investors dominated with institutionals away, waiting for next year to start. Ajman Bank extended gains, up 3.9 percent to 1.35 dirhams.

In the last eight days it has climbed from around 1.10 dirhams on unconfirmed talk that institutions may buy a large stake in it. Abu Dhabi’s benchmark climbed 0.3 percent to 2,638 points. It faces major technical resistance at 2,640 points, where it bottomed in mid-October and late November, and any clean break above this level would be at least short-term bullish. Elsewhere, Kuwait’s bourse ended 0.07 percent lower. — Reuters

US uncertainty hangs over quiet stocks, FX European shares edge lower LONDON: World stock, commodity and currency markets were steady yesterday, with tensions over the US budget dispute subdued by a holiday lull in Europe. With a number of stock markets including in Germany, Italy and Switzerland closed for the Christmas holiday, the FTSEurofirst300 was flat at 1,138.92 points by 1045 GMT and the MSCI index of global stocks was virtually unchanged at 339.97. The British, French, Dutch and Spanish markets were open for shortened sessions only.

Activity in other assets was also subdued, with spot gold edging up from a four-month low and Brent oil easing back under $109 a barrel. Markets were left in limbo on Friday when President Barack Obama and US lawmakers suspended talks until after Christmas on avoiding $600 billion of spending cuts and tax increases that threaten to send the economy back into recession.

Although there is no official date for talks to resume, the two sides still have few days after Christmas to find a compromise before the Jan 1 deadline when the measures start to take effect. Most political experts and economists expect a deal of some form. If one isn’t, the “fiscal cliff” could wipe as much as 4 percent off US GDP next year, choking the global recovery before it gets going.

“The fiscal cliff is the only thing that is important for markets at the moment,” said ABN Amro economist Aline Schuiling. “We were hoping the festive spirit would get everyone together and a deal would be done, but Obama has now gone to Hawaii for Christmas, so it looks like we’ll have to wait.”

YEN WEAKNESS Most European bond markets were already shut for Christmas but one of the few to be open was in Britain where benchmark 10-year yields ticked higher. Currency markets were also largely quiet. Against the backdrop of

MANILA: A woman looks at teddy bears as shoppers pack a market to do their Christmas shopping in Manila. — AFP the fiscal cliff uncertainty, the dollar eased 0.2 percent versus a basket of major currencies while the euro climbed back above $1.32. The major mover was the yen, which neared a 20-month low versus the dollar, after incoming premier Shinzo Abe renewed pressure over the weekend on the Bank of Japan to adopt a 2 percent inflation target.

The dollar was up 0.2 percent on the day at 84.42 yen.

Chartists said the dollar needed to overcome 85.05 yen, its 200-week moving average, for it to make further gains.

“There has been some pretty significant yen selling all through the night and into this morning,” said Peter Kinsella, currency strategist at Commerzbank. “It is very noticeable we have not seen any retracement or dip in dollar/yen at all. The market is really saying they are convinced on yen weakness, and that is what we are going to see for the remainder of this year and in the course of next year.” — Reuters

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

BUSINESS

Fading power of oil autocrats will aid growth NEW YORK/DUBAI: Autocrats and strongmen have long held the whip hand in global energy. Now democracies are starting to outclass countries like Iran, Venezuela and Russia in oil and gas production. That should reduce the economic and political influence of authoritarian states. And the West’s booming output ought to steady fuel prices, a rare boon for the global economy.

Until recently rich nations looked likely to become more reliant on repressive regimes for their energy needs. The democratically deficient Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries whose members include Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - controls about 80 percent of the world’s crude reserves. Add in Russia, which has been veering back toward one-party rule under President Vladimir Putin, and this share rises to 85 percent. With demand for hydrocarbons surging in China, this seemed like a recipe for higher prices and even greater clout for oil potentates.

But the balance of power is shifting in the direction of mature democracies.

They are likely to enjoy the biggest increases in oil and gas output in 2013.

Revolutionary drilling techniques have enabled the United States to boost oil output by a third since 2008. It is now on track to surpass both Saudi Arabia and Russia and become the world’s top producer by 2017, according to the International Energy Agency. Canada is not far behind. Meanwhile Australia looks set to overtake Qatar as the leading global provider of liquefied natural gas by 2020. And within the Middle East the best hope for rising output is Iraq though its status as a representative democracy is far from secure.

This trend should curtail the ability of energy bullies to throw their weight around. Russia, for example, which has often used its vast reserves to influence neighbors, was recently forced to cut prices for gas sold to Poland.

Authoritarian regimes like Iran will also have less potential to cause disruptive spasms in oil trading. Objectionable governments will continue to loom large in energy markets. And even if the United States becomes self-sufficient,

China won’t. Still, climbing hydrocarbon output around the globe is at least providing a welcome check on the power of energy strongmen.

The United States will overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s top oil producer by 2017, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Nov 12. The IEA, the club of the big oil consuming nations, also said that the United States would come very close to achieving energy self-sufficiency by 2035. The United States currently imports about 20 percent of its total energy needs. The IEA said US oil production would reach 10 million barrels a day by 2015 and 11.1 million by 2020. BP, the oil company, estimates that the United States produced around 7.8 million barrels a day in 2011.

Consultancy IHS believes that Australia will also replace Qatar as the largest global source of liquefied natural gas. European and US oil sanctions against Iran have reduced the state’s oil production to a 32-year low. Last year Iran exported 2 million barrels a day on average. This has fallen to around

900,000 a day. In January 2012 the European Union, which accounted for roughly a fifth of Iran’s oil exports, introduced new sanctions prohibiting the

purchase of Iranian crude, to be phased in over the course of the year. Since then the price of Brent crude has been flat at around $110 a barrel.— Reuters

WILLISTON: Austin Mitchell, left, and Ryan Lehto work on an oil derrick outside of Williston, ND. In 2012, domestic crude oil production achieved its biggest one-year gain since 1951, driven by output in North Dakota and Texas. The United States is on pace to pass Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer within two years. — AP

LUKOIL says ‘no’ to Iraq West Qurna-1 ‘Too risky to enter West Qurna-1’

WASHINGTON: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, meets with reporters about the fiscal cliff negotiations at the Capitol. — AP

Fear, finger-pointing mount over US ‘cliff’ WASHINGTON: Some US lawmakers voiced concern on Sunday that the country would go over “the fiscal cliff” in nine days, triggering harsh spending cuts and tax hikes, and some Republicans charged that was President Barack Obama’s goal.

“It’s the first time that I feel it’s more likely that we will go over the cliff than not,” Senator Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “If we allow that to happen it will be the most colossal consequential act of congressional irresponsibility in a long time, maybe ever in American history.”

“It looks like to me that obviously this is going to drag on into next year, which is going to hurt our economy,” Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said on CBS “Capitol Gains.” The Democratic president and Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the two key negotiators, are not talking and are out of town for the Christmas holidays. Congress is in recess, and will have only a few days next week to act before Jan 1. On the Sunday TV talk shows, no one signaled a change of position that could form the basis for a short-term fix, despite a suggestion from Obama on Friday that he would favor one.

The focus was shifting instead to the days following Jan. 1 when the lowered tax rates dating back to President George W. Bush’s administration will have expired, presenting Congress with a redefined and more welcome task that involves only cutting taxes, not raising them. “I believe we are,” going over the cliff, Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming said on Fox News Sunday. “I think the president is eager to go over the cliff for political purposes. I think he sees a political victory at the bottom of the cliff.”

Some Republicans have said Obama would welcome the fiscal cliff’s tax increases and defense cuts, as well as the chance to blame Republicans for rejecting deal. Obama has rejected that assertion.

Democrats have charged that Boehner has his own self-interested reasons for avoiding a deal before Jan 3, when the House elected on Nov 6, is sworn in and casts votes for a new speaker. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Boehner has been reluctant to reach across the political aisle for fear it could cost him the speakership when he runs for re-election. “I know he’s worried,” said Schumer.

Boehner, who so far has no serious challenger for the job of speaker, has said that he has no such concerns. Such finger pointing has been under way since Congress returned after the election, but it has gained intensity in the past few days, with the heightened prospect of plunging off the cliff. Congress started the clock ticking in August of 2011 on the cliff.

The threat of about $600 billion of spending cuts and tax increases was intended to shock the Democratic-led White House

and Senate and the Republican-led House into bridging their many differences to approve a plan to bring tax relief to most Americans and curb runaway federal spending. Economists say the harsh tax increases and budget cuts from the fiscal cliff could thrust the world’s largest economy back into a recession, unless Congress acts quickly to ease the economic blow.

MARKETS COULD TUMBLE The most immediate impact could come in financial markets, which have been relatively calm in recent weeks as Republicans and Democrats bickered, but could tumble without prospects for a deal. Markets will be open for a half-day on Christmas Eve, when Congress will not be in session, and will be closed on Tuesday for Christmas. Wall Street will resume regular stock trading on Wednesday, but volume is expected to be light throughout the week with scores of market participants away on a holiday break. If Congress fails to reach any agreement, income tax rates will go up on just about everyone on Jan 1. Unemployment benefits, which Democrats had hoped to extend as part of a deal, will expire for many as well.

In the first week of January, Congress could scramble and get a quick deal on taxes and the $109 billion in automatic spending cuts for 2013 that most lawmakers want to avoid. Once tax rates go up on Jan 1, it could be easier to keep those higher rates on wealthier taxpayers while reducing them for middle- and lowerincome taxpayers. Lawmakers would not have to cast votes to raise taxes. Some lawmakers expressed guarded hope that a short-term deal on deficit reduction could be reached in the next week or so, with a longer, more permanent deal hammered out next year.

But a short-term deal would need bipartisan support, as Obama has said he would veto a bill that does not raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Democratic Senator Kent Conrad, chairman of the Budget Committee, said Obama and Boehner are not that far apart and that both sides should keep pushing for a long-term big deal. “I would hope we would have one last attempt here to do what everyone knows needs to be done, which is the larger plan that really does stabilize the debt and get us moving in the right direction,” Conrad of North Dakota told Fox News Sunday.

But most Republicans are now looking past Jan. 1 to what they consider their next best chance of leveraging Obama for more cuts in the Federal budget - a fight over the debt ceiling expected in late January or early February. At that time, the administration will need Congress’ authorization to raise the limit on the amount of money the government can borrow. “That’s where the real chance for change occurs, at the debt-ceiling debate,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on “Meet

MOSCOW: Russia’s second-largest crude producer LUKOIL said yesterday it had decided not to join the development of Iraq’s West Qurna-1 oilfield, citing high risks, paving the way for Chinese companies to enter the project. LUKOIL oversees the largest share of oil reserves in Iraq among foreign companies and is already involved in the West Qurna-2 project, while company’s from energy-China are vying for Iraqi oil. “We have analyzed all the risks and decided that, as we have been implementing such a global project as West Qurna-2 without a partner, we would have taken great risks by entering another big project such as West Qurna-1,” Andrei Kuzyayev, head of LUKOIL Overseas, told

Russian state TV channel Rossiya-24.

West Qurna-1 became available for LUKOIL and other majors last month when ExxonMobil has informed the Iraqi government it wants to pull out of the $50 billion project in southern Iraq. Iraqi and Chinese sources said CNPC unit Petrochina is negotiating for Exxon’s 60 percent in West Qurna-1 project and that there are rival bidders. Royal Dutch Shell is a minority partner. For China, a major buyer of Iraqi crude, access to reserves is a strategic imperative, and Beijing is prepared to accept tougher terms and lower profits than Western oil majors and even Russian firms which have to answer to shareholders.

Baghdad expects Exxon to complete the sale of its shares in West Qurna-1 by the end of December and the US company has told Iraq it is already in talks with other oil majors. The US firm has riled the Iraqi central government by signing deals with the autonomous Kurdistan regional government. LUKOIL has been trying to offset production declines at its brownfields in Russia’s West Siberia which accounted for some 56 percent of its total production last year by increasing its portfolio of foreign upstream assets.

LUKOIL owns 75 percent in West Qurna-2 and has been looking for a partner to replace Statoil which decided to leave the project earlier this year, but declined to name any candidates.—

Wall St slips on fiscal cliff talks stalemate NEW YORK: US stocks slipped yesterday, with the S&P 500 extending losses after its worst drop since mid-November in the prior session on continued worry legislators will be unable to reach a deal to avert the “fiscal cliff.” The benchmark S&P index declined 0.9 percent on Friday, its biggest percentage drop since Nov 14, as a Republican plan to avoid the cliff $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts that could tip the US economy into recession failed to gain any traction on Thursday night.

But the index remains up more than 13 percent for the year, having recovered nearly all the losses suffered in the wake of the US elections. Some US lawmakers expressed concern on Sunday the country would go over the cliff, as some Republicans charged that was President Barack Obama’s goal. Talks are stalled with Obama and House of Represenatives Speaker John Boehner out of Washington for the holidays.

“It does seem like we are continuing through the same drift of the same thing we’ve had the past couple of weeks - cliff talk,” said Nick Scheumann, wealth partner at Hefty Wealth Partners in Auburn, Indiana. “They will get together is the bigger thing and in the back of everyone’s mind they believe that, it’s just that you can’t trade on what you don’t know and we truly don’t know what they are going to do.” Congress is expected to return to Washington next Thursday as Obama returns from a trip to Hawaii. As the deadline draws closer, a ‘stop-gap’ deal appears to be the most likely outcome of any talks.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 38.15 points, or 0.29 percent, to 13,152.69. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 3.89 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,426.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 7.96 points, or 0.26 percent, to 3,013.05. Trading volumes are expected to be muted, with US equity markets scheduled to close at 1 pm (1800 GMT) ahead of the Christmas holiday today. In addition, a number of European markets will operate on a shortened session, with other markets closed entirely. US retailers may not see a sales surge this weekend as ho-hum discounts and fears about imminent tax hikes and cuts in government spending give Americans fewer reasons to open their wallets in the last few days before Christmas.

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc said the US Food and Drug Administration approved Juxtapid capsules in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, but will conduct a post-approval study to test long-term safety and efficacy. Shares were fell 3.4 percent to $24.85. Herbalife Ltd dipped 0.7 percent to $27.05 in premarket after the company said it expects to exceed its previously announced repurchase authorization guidance and has retained Moelis & Company as its strategic advisor. The declines put the stock on track for a ninth straight decline. Yum Brands Inc advanced 1.2 percent to $64.66 after Shanghai’s food safety authority said the level of antibiotics and steroids in the company’s KFC chicken was within official limits. —

ATHENS: A homeless man wears a flowerpot with plastic flowers on his head as he sits on a bench, during a Christmas celebration event in Athens’s Syntagma square. — AP

Greece not doing enough against rich ‘tax dodgers’ ATHENS: Greece’s drive to crack down on flagrant tax evaders such as doctors and lawyers is flagging and must be reinvigorated, a report by the European Union and International Monetary Fund said yesterday. Athens has collected just half the tax debts and conducted less than half the audits it was supposed to under the targets set by its lenders, according to a survey by the country’s international lenders which was compiled in November.

“The mission expresses concern that authorities are falling idle and that the drive to fight tax evasion by the very wealthy and the free professions is at risk of weakening,” it said. By the end of September authorities had conducted 440 checks on suspected wealthy tax evaders, compared with a full-year target of 1,300. About 1.1 billion euros in overdue taxes have been collected so far, less than the 2 billion euros targeted.

The lenders urged Greece to improve tax collection and focus on the cases most likely to produce results. “Doctors and lawyers are a good place to start,” they said. Tax evasion is endemic in Greece, making it more difficult for the government to shore up its finances under its 240-billion-euro international bailout. With revenues falling short and the austerity-hit country obliged to meet its fiscal targets when

its economy is shrinking for a fifth year, Athens is hiking taxes on middle-class wage earners who can’t hide their income. After a Christmas recess, parliament is expected to pass a new tax law which aims to raise about 2.5 billion euros over the next two years as part of a 13.5 billion euro austerity package.

A second piece of long-delayed legislation to crack down on tax evasion will follow later in the year, the government said. Perceived tax injustice has dented the popularity of Greece’s pro-bailout ruling coalition. The radical leftist Syriza party, which opposes austerity and advocates a big and immediate debt writedown, has taken the lead in almost all the opinion polls published since a June election.

Improving Greece’s slow tax administration and justice is a key objective of the bailout. According to the report, individuals and companies have racked up 53 billion euros of tax debts to the government, a figure that corresponds to about a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product. But just 15-20 percent of that amount can be collected, the EU/IMF said, given that a large number of these tax cases are old and the debtors have already defaulted.

According to a list of tax sinners published last year, Greece’s biggest tax debtor was state-run railway company OSE.— Reuters

Rosneft lines up financing for $55 bn TNK-BP takeover MOSCOW: Rosneft, seeking to finance Russia’s largest-ever takeover deal, has raised $16.8 billion in bank loans and agreed on long-term trade finance deals with the world’s largest oil traders, Glencore and Vitol. The state-controlled company said yesterday the loans raised from Western banks would be sufficient to cover its acquisition of the 50 percent of Anglo-Russian oil firm TNK-BP which it is buying from BP for $27 billion in cash and stock.

The company also said it has agreed terms with Glencore and Vitol to supply them with up to 67 million tons of crude oil over five years under a trade finance deal, equivalent to around 270,000 barrels a day of oil. Rosneft is due to buy the rest of TNK-BP from the AAR consortium of Russian-born business tycoons for $28 billion, completing the takeover of

Russia’s third-biggest oil producer to make Rosneft the world’s largest listed oil company, with daily output equivalent to 4.6 million barrels per day.

It was not clear whether the oil supply deals would help pay for the purchase of AAR’s stake in TNK-BP but sources close to Rosneft and potential lenders told Reuters recently that Rosneft had been talks about using future oil exports as collateral to help pay for the TNK-BP deal. The details of the agreements with Glencore and Vitol were not disclosed but industry sources said the deals will give Rosneft around $10 billion in advance payments from the traders, who will in turn borrow the money from their banks, in return for securing long-term access to oil from the world’s largest-producing nation. —Reuters

26

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

business

Freezing Kyrgyzstan to sell its gas company to Gazprom Energy crisis fuels turmoil in Kyrgyzstan as frosts bite BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan will sell its state gas company to Russia’s Gazprom early next year, to ease a crippling energy crisis, its president said yesterday. Gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan’s north via its leading supplier Kazakhstan have sputtered due to mounting unpaid bills. Tens of thousands of residents of the capital Bishkek have suffered night temperatures at minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit). Russia, which like the United States runs a military air base in Kyrgyzstan, is keen to strengthen its economic foothold in the mountainous country neighboring China.

Simmering popular discontent and opposition criticism of the fledgling cabinet of Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev pose a threat to the fragile peace in the impoverished nation of 5.5 million

which has seen two presidents deposed in violent revolts since 2005. “If in the first quarter of next year Gazprom becomes the owner of Kyrgyzgas, we will have no stoppages of gas supplies,” President Almazbek Atambayev told his annual news conference, referring to the Kyrgyz state-run gas company.

“As a citizen and president, I do not cling to Kyrgyzgas. I only need affordable, uninterrupted and inexpensive gas supplies to our towns.”

Kyrgyzstan also wants the Russian gas giant to invest no less than $500 million in modernizing its gas transportation network and prospect for natural gas, Atambayev said. “Gazprom accepted all these conditions and said: ‘We want to buy the entire 100percent stake (in Kyrgyzgas)’,” he said. Atambayev

said the state and its social fund, which is in charge of pensions and other welfare, jointly held 87 percent in Kyrgyzgas. “So I told them (Gazprom) that they would have to buy out the remainder from minority stake holders.”

In September, Moscow agreed to write off nearly $500 million in Kyrgyz debts in return for a package of military and energy deals with Bishkek. In October, Atambayev took part in a ground-breaking ceremony in northern Kyrgyzstan, where Russian state-controlled power producer RusHydro will build four power stations by 2016. In a clear reference to his nationalist opponents at home who fear Russia’s growing role, Atambayev said: “We should not behave like a dog in the manger. We only want our

citizens to have gas, electricity and heating in their homes.”

Local media had quoted Kyrgyz government and state officials as saying that Kyrgyzstan was prepared to sell its gas company to Gazprom for a nominal price of just $1 in order to get a strong investor for the decrepit sector. “I don’t know where they took this figure of $1,” Atambayev said. “In fact, Gazprom will have to pay more ... because Kyrgyzgas owes around $40 million to Kazakhstan alone.”

Kazakhstan supplies 50,000 cubic meters of natural gas per hour to Kyrgyzstan at $224 per 1,000 cubic meters. Next-door Uzbekistan supplies 8,700 cubic meters per hour to southern Kyrgyzstan, charging $290 per 1,000 cubic meters. — Reuters

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank opens branch in Sudan ADIB expands its regional footprint

Hani ElKukhun

Zain Kuwait appoints new Chief Operations Officer KUWAIT: Zain the leading Telecommunications Company in Kuwait announced today that it has appointed Hani ElKukhun, an expert in the field of communications, as Chief Operating Officer at Zain Kuwait. The appointment reflects Zain’s strategy to focus on attracting the best expertise in the communications field. El-Kukhun’s 17 years of experience in telecommunications has made him the ideal candidate for such a position.

El Kukhun is an expert in communications and technology who has 17 years of experience in both sectors.

His career path features various positions in the communications industry on different turfs around the world.

Previously El-Kukhun held positions in Xerox, TELUS and Cisco in the Middle East, the United States of America and

Canada. He holds a degree in computer engineering from the University of Notre Dame in the United States.

On the occasion of this new challenge El-Kukhun said, “In order to build a successful and prosperous business growth every organization needs to demonstrate its winning propositions, to work hard and to be fully-dedicated to the business”. Zain welcomes Hani El-Kukhun to its family with the confidence that the combination of his leadership philosophy, experience and innovative ideas will further help in bringing Zain’s strategy forward. Zain’s strategy is based on attracting a pool of expertise in the telecommunications field, who will further help drive organizational success and maintain its leadership position in the telecommunications sector.

KUWAIT: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a top-tier Islamic financial institution, today announced the expansion of its regional footprint by launching its branch in Khartoum in Sudan. It becomes the first UAE-based Islamic financial institution to receive a banking license from the Sudanese Central Bank and to start operations from Sudan.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, President of Sudan, alongside HE Hassan Ahmed Sulayman El Shahi, UAE Ambassador to Sudan and a number of official dignitaries from Sudan, UAE and neighboring Egypt. Through the establishment of a Wealth Management and a Corporate Banking Centre and the provision of its award-winning products and services, ADIB will provide a leading platform for Shariacompliant banking in Sudan, in turn, supporting the socio-economic development of the country.

Commenting on the bank’s Sudan expansion, Abdullah Al Shahi, Head of International Expansion at ADIB, said: “We are delighted to be opening our first branch in Sudan. We believe our operations in Khartoum will rapidly become a key strategic element of our international strategy. ADIB has been a key supporter of trade ties between Sudan and the UAE for a number of years, contributing to the long-term sustainable growth of the Sudanese economy.

We believe that our new physical presence in Sudan will further enhance our contribution through our delivery of world-class Islamic banking products

and services.” Sudan has an abundance of natural resources including petroleum, gold and soft commodities, with many in the region seeing the country as a very natural trading hub and bridge between the

Arab World and Africa. ADIB’s initial strategy will be based around providing corporate banking and wealth management services to all Sudanese economic sectors.

Citadel Capital reports 2.5% rise in principal investments KUWAIT: Citadel Capital (CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Exchange), the leading private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa, announced yesterday its financial results for the third quarter of 2012, reporting a 2.5% rise in principal investments and 0.7% increase in total invested equity quarter-on-quarter as it made continued progress on reduction of execution risk at key greenfield investments, drawing down additional equity and debt into the $3.7 billion Egyptian Refining Company, and deploying fresh capital from the third tranche of a $ 150 million facility backed by the United States Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Notably, the firm’s standalone loss narrowed 86.2% year-on-year (and 69.1% quarter-on-quarter) in 3Q12.

Citadel Capital also reports in the quarter just ended a 13.4% decline in its consolidated loss year-on-year, reflecting improved performance at key platform companies. Total investments under control across the firm’s 15industry footprint stood at more than $ 9.5 billion as of 3Q12, rising 0.4% from the previous quarter.

“The third quarter of 2012 was very much about building for the future,” said Citadel Capital Chairman and

Founder Ahmed Heikal. “While maintaining our focus on the development of all of our platform and portfolio companies, we have laid the groundwork for a three-year transformation into an investment holding company that will control 11 unique platform companies in five core high-potential industries: energy, agriculture and consumer foods, transportation and logistics, mining and cement manufacturing. Our goal is simple: We will capture the compelling upside presented by prevailing macro trends and fundamentals across our core geography in Egypt, East Africa and North Africa.

“Against that backdrop, continued investment in core and non-core platforms alike in the three months ending September 2012 leaves us on a stronger footing as we look to acquire majority control of our core platforms while preparing to divest non-core holdings over the coming three years.” With no exits in the quarter, Citadel Capital registered a standalone net loss of $0.5 million (EGP 2.9 million) for 3Q12 on revenues of $3.3 million (EGP 19.8 million), underscoring the soundness of a costcontrol program that saw OPEX spending down 29.9% year-on-year and stable quarter-on-quarter.

Net standalone losses stood at $7.0 million (EGP 42.6 million) in 9M12, a 41.1% contraction from the same period last year. On a consolidated basis, Citadel Capital reports a net loss of $22.0 million (EGP 134.0 million) in 3Q12, a 13.4% improvement from the same quarter last year. On a nine-months basis, the firm’s net loss contracted 6.5% year-on-year to $68.7 million (EGP 417.5 million).

Notably, the firm’s eight operational core platforms out of a total of 11, with the remaining three being preoperational greenfields - reported substantial year-onyear operational improvements in 9M12 as reflected in 2% revenue growth to US$ 0.5 billion (EGP 2.8 billion) and 6.4% growth in EBITDA, which closed the first nine months at US$ 23.8 million (EGP 144.5 million). This reflects management’s sustained emphasis since the early days of the Egyptian Revolution on the reduction of operational risk, which has seen overhauls at major plants, capacity expansions, the entry of greenfields into operation, and turnarounds proceed both on time and on budget.

Key platform and portfolio companies held as

Associates posted improvements in performance. Citadel Capital recorded US$ 10.8 million (EGP 65.6 million) in losses from its Share of Associates’ Results in 3Q12, a fractional improvement from the previous quarter and a 30.7% narrowing year-on-year. On a nine-months basis, Citadel Capital’s Share of Associates’ Losses narrowed 30.9% year-on-year to US$ 33.0 million (EGP 200.8 million), reflecting better performance of the underlying Associates.

“In light of the return to health of our eight operational core platform investments, our emphasis as we prepare to divest non-core platforms will be on continued reduction of operational risk across our portfolio core and non-core alike - through a judicious mix of fresh investment, OPIC-backed financing, the right business plans, and new management talent at the Citadel Capital level,” concluded Heikal, noting the appointment in recent days of a new Managing Director to oversee the firm’s energy businesses. Management’s discussion of operations and details of Citadel Capital’s 3Q12 standalone and consolidated financials follows; full financials are available for download at citadelcapital.com.

Kuwait International Bank hosts Tunisian delegation KUWAIT: KIB hosted in its headquarters a Tunisian delegation which gathered 12 researchers and specialists in banks and the Islamic economy. The delegation has participated at a seven days training seminar organized

by KIB about Islamic banking and its investment’s products.

Loay Maqamis, KIB CEO has inaugurated the seminar by welcoming the guests while praising their efforts to learn more about the operations, products and services of KIB which has shifted from being a conventional bank specialized in real estate to a fully fledged Islamic bank leading operations in compliance with the Islamic shariah.

From her part, the head of delegation Dr Amal Abdul Wahab, thanked KIB’s initiative in hosting the Tunisian delegation and highly evaluated the bank’s efforts and ongoing initiatives in reinforcing the relations with scientific institutions in particular those interested in Islamic economy. It is worth to

mention that this training seminar is the second organized by KIB as part of its endeavor to shed lights on its experience in Islamic finance industry.

On the same note, Dr Abdul Aziz Khalifa Al Qassar Member and Rapporteur at the bank has praised KIB’s initiative in hosting the academic banking delegation which he linked to the banks’ commitment in exerting all efforts in supporting the Islamic economy and its contemporary exercises. He stressed on the significance of the seminar in demonstrating KIB’s rich and leading Islamic banking experience which has aided the bank in fulfilling the demands of the promising Islamic financial sector. Al Qassar concluded that the seminar gathered in addition to the Tunisian delegation a number of leaders from various KIB departments. He, as well, wished the delegation a joyful stay in their second home Kuwait.

Doha Bank, BPI ink deal KUWAIT: Doha Bank, which has a branch in Kuwait, recently signed an agreement with Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to help support cash remittances to The Philippines. Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is the third largest private bank in Philippines and has more than 750 branches in its network and Doha Bank’s customers will be able to transfer money online from their Doha Bank Account to their accounts with any BPI branch in The Philippines.

Customers can also send funds to beneficiaries

having accounts with any other bank in Philippines or have beneficiaries collect cash from any BPI branch in the country. BPI has arrangements for door-to-door delivery of remittances. Doha Bank Group CEO Dr R Seetharaman said the tie-up with BPI will provide an opportunity to extend services to the Filipino community in Kuwait as well as in Qatar and the UAE where the service has been launched simultaneously.

BPI Senior Vice President Raul D Dimayuga said the association with Doha Bank is a commitment

towards providing cost effective services to Filipino nationals who live in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. The arrangement enables them expand their remittance network in the GCC. The remittance service from Doha Bank is convenient and cost effective. It offers online transfer of money in Filipino Pesos. Doha Bank also offers remittances services to Middle Eastern countries including Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Yemen as well as other Asian countries like Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

50 Cent SMS audio DJ headphones to set the tone across the region Shift LLC unveils new headphones series

Kelbesa Negusse (center) looks at a tablet computer given to the children by the One Laptop Per Child project in the village of Wenchi, Ethiopia. The project gave tablets to the children in the poor, illiterate village to see how much the children could teach themselves and now many kids can recite the English alphabet and spell words in English. — AP

Poor Ethiopian kids learn ABCs Tablet as teacher WENCHI, Ethiopia: The kids in this volcano-rim village wear filthy, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They don’t go to school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can spell words.

The key to their success: 20 tablet computers dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a group called One Laptop Per Child. The goal is to find out whether children using today’s new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they’re already startled.

“What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten,” said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.

The fastest learner is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse, the first to turn on one of the Motorola Xoom tablets last February. Its camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out the tablet’s workings and made the camera work. He proclaimed himself a lion, a marker of accomplishment in Ethiopia.

On a recent sunny weekday, nine months into the project, the kids sat in a dark hut with a hay floor. At 3,380 meters (11,000) feet above sea level, the air at night here is chilly, and the youngsters coughed and wiped runny noses. Many were barefoot. But they all eagerly tapped and swiped away on their tablets. The apps encouraged them to click on colors - green, red, yellow. “Awesome,” one app said aloud. Kelbesa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own, tracing the English letters into his tablet in a thick red line.

“He just spelled the word ‘bird’!” exclaimed Keller. “Seven months ago he didn’t know any English. That’s unbelievable. That’s a quantum leap forward.”

“If we prove that kids can teach themselves how to read, and then read to learn, then the world is going to look at technology as a way to change the world’s poorest and most remote kids,” he said.

“We will have proven you can actually reach these kids and change the way that they think and look at the world. And this is the promise that this technology holds.” Maryanne Wolf, a Tufts University professor, studies the origins of reading and language learning and is a consultant to the One Laptop project. She was an early critic of the experiment in Ethiopia but was amazed by the disabled-camera incident.

“It’s crazy. I can’t do that. I couldn’t hack into anything,” she said. “But they learned.

And the learning that’s gone on, that’s very impressive to me, the critic, because I did not assume they would gravitate toward the more literacy-oriented apps that they have.”

Wenchi’s 60 families grow potatoes and produce honey. None of the adults can read. They broadly support the laptop project and express amazement their children were lucky enough to be chosen.

“I think if you gave them food and water they would never leave the computer room,” said Teka Kumula, who charges the tablets from a solar station built by One Laptop. “They would spend day and night here.” Kumula Misgana, 70, walked into the hut that One Laptop built to watch the kids. Three of them had started a hay fight.

“I’m fascinated by the technology,” Misgana said. “There are pictures of animals I didn’t even know existed.”

He added: “We are a bit jealous.

Everyone would love this opportunity, but we are happy for the kids.”

Kelbesa, the boy lion, said: “I prefer the computer over my friends because I learn things with the computer.” Asked what English words he knows, he rattled off a barnyard: “Dog, donkey, horse, sheep, cow, pig, cat.”

Kelbesa, one of four children, is being raised by his widowed mother, Abelbech Wagari, who dreams the tablet is his gateway to higher education.

While the adults appeared grateful for the One Laptop opportunity, they wished the village had a teacher. Keller said that Nicholas Negroponte, the MIT pioneer in computer science who founded One Laptop, is designing a program for the 100 million children worldwide who don’t get to attend school. Wolf said Negroponte wants to tap into children’s “very extraordinary capacity to teach themselves,” though she said she has no desire to see teachers replaced.

The goal of the project is to get kids to a stage called “deep reading,” where they can read to learn. It won’t be in Amharic, Ethiopia’s first language, but English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.

Keller and Wolf say they are only at the beginning of understanding the significance of how fast the kids of Wenchi have mastered the English ABCs. The experiment will be replicated in other villages in other countries, using more targeted apps. One might wonder whether the children of Wenchi need good nutrition and warm clothes rather than a second language and no teacher - a question Wolf said has given her some sleepless nights.

She thinks she has arrived at an answer.

In remote regions of Africa and elsewhere, she said, “the mother who has one year of literacy has a far better chance to make sure her child can live to five years of age. They are savvier when it comes to medicine, to basic health, to economic development.”

“So at 3 a.m. when I’m thinking, if I can do one thing ... using my particular knowledge, which is in reading and brain development and thinking - this is my shot; this is my contribution to the nutrition and health of a child.” — AP

Abelbech Wagari sits near her son Kelbesa Negusse as he plays with a tablet computer given to him by the One Laptop Per Child project in the village of Wenchi, Ethiopia. — AP

Shift LLC, a leading distributor of consumer electronics in the Middle East and Africa, is unveiling Street By 50 Cent DJ Headphones, the iconic and latest headphone series from SMS Audio - one of the premier brands in headphones and earphones across the globe.

The Street By 50 Cent DJ headphones from SMS Audio comes in attractive Black and City Gray options which appeal to a broad range of end users, from studio engineers, to artists, fanswhether in the studio, at a show or on the go.

The DJ Pro Performance headphones utilize professionally tuned drivers and gold-plated connectors to deliver the highest quality of studio sound on the go with enhanced bass. For added durability and ease of use, the cord is reinforced and features a flat design to eliminate twisting, tangling and knotting. They come with two detachable cords - one for making phone calls, and a coiled DJ cord for extra length and durability. The Street by 50 Cent DJ Headphone is coupled

with easy folding hinges and ultra plush memory foam leather rotating ear cups.

In his comments, Mazen Khanafer, Managing Director of Shift LLC, said: “The Street by 50 Cent DJ headphone is here encompassing the style, emotion and heart for audiences, live or on record.

One can be assured of peak performance for those with passion for music and a unique eye for design and style.”

He added: “50 Cent, CEO of SMS Audio has for ultimate goal to provide listeners with a first-class audio experience. The Street DJ series fulfills that goal.”

The SMS Audio brand has achieved considerable success in the US, as well as Oceania (Australia, New Zealand); Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark, Sweden); Western Europe (France, UK, Ireland, Netherlands) and South Africa - with upcoming expansions to Italy, Spain and Portugal.

This success is anticipated to skyrocket with the new Street by 50 Cent DJ launch in Dubai, given the cosmopolitan population and eclectic mix of musical tastes.

China to crack down on ‘malicious’ trademark registrations BEIJING: China plans to change the law to crackdown on “malicious” trademark registrations, state media said yesterday, after a series of cases in which well-know international brands and individuals have had their names or copyright misused.

Foreign governments, including the United States, have for years urged China to take a stronger stand against intellectual property rights violations on products ranging from medicines to software to DVD movies. Basketball legend Michael Jordan is one of the latest to accuse a company of using his name without permission, and French luxury group Hermes International SCA and Apple Inc have faced trademark problems too.

The proposed amendment will offer protection to major international brands, giving copyright owners the right to ban others from registering their trademarks or from using similar ones, even if such trademarks are not registered, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

“The draft is intended to curb the malicious registration of trademarks,” Xinhua said.

The country’s legislature - which performs a largely rubber stamp role - will discuss the amendment this week, it said, without saying when the new rules could be put in place or providing other details.

The move comes after basketball star Michael Jordan filed a lawsuit in China in February against a Chinese sportswear company, accusing the firm

of unauthorised use of his name.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame recipient and former Chicago Bulls star said that Qiaodan Sports, a company located in the southern Fujian province, had built its business around his Chinese name “Qiaodan” and jersey number without his permission.

The lawsuit has yet to go to trial, Chinese media have reported. France’s Hermes International SCA has also had problems in China with its trademark, and in July Apple Inc agreed to pay $60 million to Proview Technology (Shenzhen) to end a protracted legal dispute over the iPad trademark in China. China has insisted it is serious about tackling intellectual property violations. — Reuters

Google to sell part of Motorola for $2.35bn

Cyber attack: The silent nightmare WASHINGTON: In Michigan’s worst technohorror story, the state’s major utilities get hacked in the wintertime. Power in the state shuts down, and nobody can figure out how to regain control of the systems needed to turn it back on. Millions of people are left in the dark and in the cold.

Cybersecurity, the business of protecting the Web-based systems that now run much of the world, has emerged as an important function of state governments. States have to worry not only about the safety of their own networks and the data that is housed there, but also about the security of privately owned systems that control critical infrastructure within their borders.

It’s the kind of low-profile problem for which it’s often difficult to rally public support until it’s too late. But Michigan has enlisted the help of everyone from the major utility companies to the state police to launch what it sees as a multi-pronged pre-emptive strike. Gov. Rick Snyder used to be the president of Gateway computers; he is leading cyber security efforts for the National Governors Association. That has brought key players to the table from both the public and private sectors.

“You will fail if you’re an island,” says Dan Lohrmann, Michigan’s chief security officer.

“You’ve got to be working with other states, you’ve got to be working with the feds, you’ve got to be working with the private sector, you’ve got to be looking at new tools, because the bad guys, you might stop them today, you might stop them tomorrow, but you might not stop them the next day. They’re always getting better. They’re looking at your castle and they’re always trying to get across your moat.”

In fact, it’s no longer precisely accurate to call Michigan’s anti-hacking efforts pre-emptive. The state is already experiencing 185,000 cyber attacks on its state-owned infrastructure every day, says John Nixon, director of the state’s department of technology, management and budget. The vast majority of those attacks are thwarted, and some are multiple attempts from the same source. “Now what are we housing as a state?” Nixon asks rhetorically.

“We’re housing tax records, health records, pretty much everything there is about people and their lives. Cyber security is the number one issue for us.”

Information technology managers in Michigan can’t help noticing scary events that are taking place around the country almost all

the time. The scariest took place in South Carolina this October, when a hacking at the department of revenue compromised social security numbers, bank account numbers and other data for 3.8 million residents. It is widely believed to be the largest computer breach any state government has faced. Mandiant, the security firm hired by the state to investigate the breach, told South Carolina legislators this month that the techniques used by the hackers were “not that sophisticated.” The incident was likely the result of a state employee clicking on an attachment in a bogus “phishing” email.

Over the course of the next year, all 50,000 Michigan employees will be completing a series of interactive, video game-like training modules aimed at preventing them from making equally costly mistakes. In one session, employees have to find missing laptops in an airport terminal _ an exercise aimed at reminding them not to leave technology behind on airport shuttles and in bathrooms, as many travelers do.

Michigan is the only state to have completely merged cyber security with physical security, though such practices are fairly common in the private sector. The same state unit is responsible for providing the security guards who oversee access to state buildings and the cyber security professionals who monitor state networks for suspicious activity.

“The merger of the physical and cyber world is happening at all levels,” says Lohrmann, who oversees both functions and blogs about cyber security for Government Technology magazine.

“Any kind of crime that you may want to commit in the real world, you can now use cyber to gain information to support that crime, to enhance that crime, to multiply that crime in the cyber world.”

In a similar way, the state has focused on sharing information between cyber security professionals at private companies and government cyber security personnel. The state will soon be physically centralizing these efforts in a Cyber Command Center housed with the state police.

“It’s just like a serial killer in the old days,” says Inspector Dean Kapp, assistant division commander of the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division. “They’ll kill one in California, Michigan and New York, and they were all separate until somebody figured it out. Well, we have systems in place now to link those.”—MCT

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is selling Motorola Mobility’s TV set-top business for $2.35 billion, lightening the load that the Internet search leader took on earlier this year when it completed the biggest acquisition in its history.

The cash-and-stock deal announced late Wednesday will turn over Motorola’s set-top division to Arris Group Inc., a relatively small provider of high-speed Internet equipment that is looking to become a bigger player in the delivery of video. Investors applauded the move, driving up Arris’ stock by nearly 17 percent. Google’s decision to jettison the settop boxes comes seven months after the Mountain View, Calif., company took control of Motorola Mobility Holdings in a $12.4 billion purchase.

The set-top boxes were never a big allure for Google, although the company is interested in finding ways to pipe its service on to TVs so it can sell more advertising.

Google prized Motorola for its portfolio of more than 17,000 mobile patents. Those form an arsenal that it can use in a fierce battle that has broken out over intellectual property as smartphones and tablet computers have emerged as hot commodities in recent years.

Motorola also makes smartphones and tablets, a manufacturing business that Google will retain, despite lingering concerns on Wall Street about the hardware shrinking Google’s profit margins and possibly alienating other device makers that use the company’s Android software.

Besides not being a natural fit for Google, Motorola’s settop box also has become a potentially expensive liability.

Digital video recorder pioneer TiVo Inc. is seeking billions of dollars in damages in a lawsuit alleging that Motorola’s boxes infringed on its patents. Those claims are scheduled to go to trial next year in federal court in Texas.

Although they declined to provide specifics, Arris Group executives told analysts in a Wednesday conference call that Google still must cover most of the bill for any damages or settlement that TiVo might win. TiVo already has negotiated about $1 billion in combined settlements in other patent-infringement cases it has brought against other companies, including Dish Network Corp., AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications. The proposed sale of Motorola’s set-top division calls for Google to receive $2.05 billion in cash and $300 million worth of Arris stock. If the deal wins regulatory approval, Arris Group expects to take over the division before the end of June.

Google will also pare its expenses, something likely to please investors concerned about Motorola being a drag on the company’s earnings. Arris said about 7,000 people work in Motorola’s set-top division. Google ended September with about 53,500 employees, including 17,400 who worked on the Motorola side of its operations. More than 20,000 people worked at Motorola Mobility when Google became the owner in late May, but the payroll was slashed as part of an effort to pare the losses that have been piling up within Motorola as its once popular cellphones lost market share to Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics.

But Motorola’s set-top business had been making money, according to Google, though the company didn’t say how much. In the past year ending in September, Motorola’s set-top operations generated $3.4 billion in revenue. That makes it twice as big as Arris Group, whose revenue totaled $1.3 billion during the same period. Arris Group, which is based Suwanee, Ga., had earned $39 million through the nine months of last year after suffering a loss of nearly $13 million for all of 2011.

“This represents a great leap forward for Arris,” CEO Bob Stanzione said during Wednesday’s conference call. Arris’ stock surged $2.46 to $17 in extended trading Wednesday while Google’s stock dipped $2.61 to $717.50.

The other half of the old Motorola Inc, Motorola Solutions Inc, remains an independent company. Based in Schaumburg, Illinois, it sells communications equipment to government and corporate customers. —AP

28

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

health & science

Violence, fear, suspicion imperil Pak war on polio ISLAMABAD: Pakistani health worker Bushra Bibi spent eight years trekking to remote villages, carefully dripping polio vaccine into toddlers’ pursed mouths to protect them from the crippling disease.

Now the 35-year-old mother is too scared to go to work after masked men on motorbikes gunned down nine of her fellow health workers in a string of attacks this week. “I have seen so much pain in the eyes of mothers whose children have been infected. So I have never seen this as just a job. It is my passion,” she said. “But I also have a family to look after ... Things have never been this bad.”

After the deaths, the United Nations put its workers on lockdown.

Immunisations by the Pakistani government continued in parts of the country.

But the violence raised fresh questions over stability in the South Asian nation.

Pakistan’s Taleban insurgency, convinced that the anti-polio drive is just another Western plot against Muslims, has long threatened action against anyone taking part in it. The militant group’s hostility deepened after it emerged that the CIA - with the help of a Pakistani doctor - had used a vaccination campaign to spy on Osama bin Laden’s compound before he was killed by US special forces in a Pakistan town last year.

Critics say the attacks on the health workers are a prime example of the gov-

ernment’s failure to formulate a decisive policy on tackling militancy, despite pressure from key ally the United States, the source of billions of dollars in aid. For years, authorities were aware that Taleban commanders had broadcast claims that the vaccination drive was actually a plot to sterilise Muslims. That may seem absurd to the West, but in Pakistan such assertions are plausible to some. Years of secrecy during military dictatorships, frequent political upheaval during civilian rule and a poor public education system mean conspiracy theories run wild.

“Ever since they began to give these polio drops, children are reaching maturity a lot earlier, especially girls. Now 12 to 13-year-old girls are becoming women. This causes indecency in society,” said 45-year-old Mir Alam Khan, a carpet seller in the northern town of Dera Ismail Khan. The father of four didn’t allow any of his children to receive vaccinations. “Why doesn’t the United States give free cures for other illnesses? Why only polio? There has to be an agenda,” he said.

While health workers risk attacks by militants, growing suspicions from ordinary Pakistanis are lowering their morale. Fatima, a health worker in the northwestern city of Peshawar, said that reaction to news of the CIA polio campaign was so severe that many of her

colleagues quit. “People’s attitudes have changed. You will not believe how even the most educated and well-to-do people will turn us away, calling us US spies and un-Islamic,” said the 25-year-old who did not give her last name for fear of reprisals. “Boys call us names, they say we are ‘indecent women’.”

Pakistan’s government has tried to shatter the myths that can undermine even the best-intentioned health projects by turning to moderate clerics and urging them to issue religious rulings supporting the anti-polio efforts. Tahir Ashrafi, head of the All Pakistan Ulema Council, said the alliance of clerics had done its part, and it was up to the government to come to the rescue of aid workers. “Clerics can only give fatwas and will continue to come together and condemn such acts,” he said. “What good are fatwas if the government doesn’t provide security?”

That may be a tall order in Pakistan, where critics allege government officials are too busy lining their pockets or locked in power struggles to protect its citizens, even children vulnerable to diseases that can cripple or disfigure them.

Pakistani leaders deny such accusations.

Politicians also have a questionable track record when it comes to dealing with all the other troubles afflicting nucleararmed Pakistan. The villages where health workers once spent time tending

to children often lack basic services, clinics, clean water and jobs. Industries that could strengthen the fragile economy are hobbled by chronic power cuts.

Deepening frustrations with those issues often encourage Pakistanis to give up on the state and join the Taleban. So far it’s unclear who is behind the shootings. The main Taliban spokesman said they were opposed to the vaccination scheme but the group distanced itself from the attacks. But another Taleban spokesman in South Waziristan said their fighters were behind an attack on a polio team in the northwestern town of Lakki Marwat on Monday. “The vaccinations were part of “a secret JewishAmerican agenda to poison Pakistanis”, he said.

What is clear is the stakes are high.

Any gaps in the program endanger hard-won gains against a disease that can cause death or paralysis within hours. A global effort costing billions of dollars eradicated polio from every country except Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Vaccinations cut Pakistan’s polio cases from 20,000 in 1994 to 56 in 2012 and the disease seemed isolated in a pocket in the north. But polio is spread person-to-person, so any outbreak risks re-infecting communities cleared of the disease. Last year, a strain from Pakistan spread northeast and caused the first outbreak in neighbouring China since

1999.

Oliver Rosenbauer, a spokesman for the World Health Organization, said the group had been coming closer to eradicating the disease. “For the first time, the virus had been geographically cornered,” he said. “We don’t want to lose the gains that had been made ... Any suspension of activities gives the virus a new foothold and the potential to come roaring back and paralyze more children.”

Condemnation of the killings has been nearly universal. Clerics called for demonstrations to support health workers, the government has promised compensation for the deaths and police have vowed to provide more protection. For women like Fehmida Shah, it’s already too late. The 44-year-old health worker lived with her family in a two-room house before gunmen shot her on Tuesday. Her husband, Syed Riaz Shah, said she spent her tiny salary - the equivalent of just $2 a day - on presents for their four daughters. Even though the family was struggling, she always found some spare money for any neighbor in need. “She was very kind and big hearted. All the women in our lane knew her,” he said. “The entire neighborhood is in shock. Pray for my daughters. I will get through this. But I don’t know how they will.” —Reuters

Red racing giant Ferrari joins green revolution MARANELLO, Italy: Italy’s red racing giant Ferrari wants to go green, cutting emissions without sacrificing horsepower and working on a new hybrid model set to thrill proenvironment speed junkies. “We’re working on reducing energy consumption without forgetting that the symbol of Ferrari is perform-

models with a price tag of Ä180,000 ($239,000), has been vamped up with the new technology - extra horsepower but weighing 30 kg less than the previous version. “We’re going all out, not just using the lightest materials but making adjustments across the board. We have improved the

to allow more light in and slash electricity consumption. The hybrid car - set to hit salesrooms in the next few months - aims to lure customers not only with its green credentials but also the promise of an off-piste taste of a Formula One experience.

It will have the Kinetic energy

MARANELLO, Italy: An employee works on a Ferrari car in the Ferrari factory on Dec 5, 2012. —AFP ance,” Matteo Lanzavecchia, head of development, told AFP at the luxury car-maker’s historic factory in Maranello, a small town in the Emilia Romagna region. “We’ve also managed to up horsepower to 100 while still reducing CO2 emissions by 30 percent,” he said.

The sleek “California 30”, one of the brand’s most sought-after

brake system to reduce friction and the fan to reduce energy consumption,” Lanzavecchia said.

And the green drive does not stop there: among the towering steel machines on the Maranello factory floor trees have been planted to control the air’s humidity levels. The most recent buildings have also been built with vast glass bays

recovery system (KERS) used in the famous racer - which recovers energy during braking and stores it for future use - “to reduce consumption but also capture the thrill of driving a Ferrari,” Lanzavecchia said. The luxury brand has managed to avoid fallout from the economic crisis which hit the standard automobile indus-

Baby dies of cold in Atlas mountains Boy dies of heat in Outback RABAT/SYDNEY: A 40-day-old baby has died of the cold in Morocco’s Atlas mountains, witnesses said yesterday, after a winter freeze and reports that four other infants had earlier perished in similar circumstances. Habiba Amelou died on Friday morning in the village of Anifgou after suffering from a severe cough, according to two witnesses. “I spoke to her father, who was heartbroken. She was 40 days old and died from a severe cough caused by the cold,” Mounir Kejji, a Berber activist in the region, told AFP. Another young man from the village who helped with the funeral on Friday said the baby had vomitted blood. “Before she died, she had a bad cough and was vomiting blood. Her body couldn’t handle the extreme cold, especially with the lack of medicine in the area, which has experienced heavy snowfall,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The news was also carried by Moroccan Arabic-language daily AlAkhbaron yesterday, and comes after local press reports of at least four babies in the region had already died from the cold weather so far this winter.

The interior ministry earlier denied what it called “rumours” circulated in the media about the babies dying because of the cold. But last week, Moroccan Health Minister Hossein El Ouardi visited the region, and the ministry said yesterday that it was launching a campaign to

provide medical aid to the region, as part of efforts to combat the effects of cold winter weather. It said more than 2,400 people would benefit. Anfgou lies at an altitude of 1,600 m in the Middle Atlas mountains, around 350 km southeast of Rabat. The remote mountainous region around Anfgou suffers from a crippling lack of infrastructure, with many roads unpassable in the winter months and residents complaining of having to transport basic supplies by mule for long distances along icy roads.

Separately, a 14-year-old Scottish boy has died in searing heat in the harsh Australian Outback while hiking with his father, police said. Ewan Williamson, who arrived in Australia in mid-December, collapsed four hours into the walk in the Cape Range National Park on Friday with little water or shade as temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius. In naming the boy who died in hospital, police said late Sunday that his father alerted authorities who located the pair 20 km south of Exmouth in Western Australia. The cause of death is yet to be determined but reports said he was severely dehydrated. It was the second death in six weeks in Australia’s harsh interior after a 25year-old man died of thirst in remote southeast Queensland state last month, prompting police warnings about the risks of the desert.

—AFP

try. Last year 7,200 Ferraris were sold around the world, up 10 percent from 2010, and the company’s turnover this year has shot up over the two billion euro level for the first time in its history.

As well as focussing on emerging markets, the brand has been tempting clients with “personal stylist” services and gadgets to gussy up the inside of gleaming new Ferraris. “There are opportunities all over the world. Of course, we are more prudent about some markets such as Europe, but there are others where the economy is growing - China, Indonesia, Malaysia or the United States,” commercial director Enrico Galliera said.

For a small fee - up to half the cost of the vehicle - customers can personalise the car’s interior with cashmere, peccary or teak and choose their favourite model of seats, seat-belt, HI-FI system and touch-screen. “We have personal designers who help the client choose and give him advice,” Nicola Boari, head of the personal shopper system, said in the factory’s workshop.

Nearby, women in red overalls cut out metres of fabric for the cars’ interiors, tailoring them specially for each new owner.

Anything goes - as long as it stays within the limits of good taste and conforms to Ferrari’s glossy and seductive “Italian style”. “We would never let a Ferrari leave our factory with crocodile-leather seats or our trademark horse symbol done in diamonds,” one of the stylists said.

The extras may cost, but that does not seem to put eager customers off - around 98 percent of them choose to jazz up their brand new racers. —AFP

KATHMANDU: In this photograph received on Dec 19, 2012, Dhrube, a rogue wild elephant suspected of killing several people across the southern plains of Nepal, walks through a field. —AFP

Nepal campaigners plead for killer elephant’s life KATHMANDU: Nepalese animal rights groups pleaded yesterday for the life of a lovelorn elephant which has trampled several people to death and is being hunted down by an army execution squad. The male tusker, named Dhrube by locals, has been targeting humans on a killing spree in southern Nepal after being kept from potential mates, experts say, and is suspected of killing up to 15 people over four years. “Killing the lovestruck elephant is unethical, illegal, inhumane and unnecessary,” Animal Nepal and Animal Welfare Network Nepal (AWNN) said in a joint statement.

Rangers removed the beast’s tusks after it was suspected of killing two people in separate incidents in November but they then attached a tracking device and set it free. It is suspected of killing six people across a wide swathe of Nepal’s southern plains since then, including a couple in their 60s, and the army

launched a shoot-to-kill hunt last week in Chitwan National Park. The elephant first came to the attention of authorities five years ago when it destroyed an army post in an attack on soldiers in Chitwan, 150 km south of Kathmandu.

The tusker, named after the army post, is accused of killing a soldier in Chitwan soon afterwards. Rangers suggest the animal went rogue after being prevented from mating with females in Chitwan.

“Elephants are naturally docile animals that do not attack humans unless provoked,” said Pramada Shah of AWNN. “ The situation has been caused by human failure to manage the elephant correctly. It is therefore our responsibility to find a legal and humane solution.” The groups called for park authorities to “resocialise” Dhrube. Nepal has about 300 elephants, including around 100 domesticated adults which take tourists on jungle rides. —AFP

Fewer sightings of porpoises in China BEIJING: A survey of endangered porpoises in China’s longest river has yielded fewer sightings as intense ship traffic threatens their existence, scientists said yesterday. Chinese researchers spent 44 days tracking the finless porpoise - or “river pig” in Chinese - along a little over half of the 6,000-km Yangtze River. The finless porpoise, which has only a small dorsal ridge rather than a fin, has been hurt by human intrusion and environmental degradation, global conservation group WWF, which supported the survey, said last month as it began. The WWF has said the porpoise could become extinct in 15 years if no action is taken.

The survey, which began on Nov 11, marked the most comprehensive study of the species, found only in China, since 2006.

A similar expedition then discovered just 1,800 of the porpoises.

Based on sonar tracking results, they said a total of 91 finless porpoises were detected while travelling the 3,400 km from the cities of Yichang to Shanghai, down sharply from 177 in 2006.

The scientists said that was an initial estimate and warned it was too early to announce an actual

number. Further data and analysis was needed and they expected to have a result within two months. “ There are fewer and fewer finless porpoises in the mainstream of the Yangtze River, while

the animals were concentrating in the harbour areas in groups of three to five,” said a release issued by the scientists from the Yangtze River city of Wuhan. “Our initial analysis concluded that this may be because there are

EZHOU, China: This handout picture taken on Nov 29, 2012 shows a porpoise swimming with its baby in central China’s Hubei province. —AFP

comparatively more food resources in the harbour areas,” said Dr Wang Kexiong of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“However, in the mainstream of the Yangtze River, especially in the harbour areas, traffic is very intense, which is a huge threat to the survival of finless porpoises,” added Wang, who is deputy director general of the survey.

“Such intense ship traffic is a potentially deadly threat to finless porpoises, who totally depend on their sonar system to survive,” said Dr Zhang Xinqiao, a survey team member and WWF official. The 2006 expedition declared another species, a freshwater dolphin called the “Baiji”, to be extinct.

Finless porpoise deaths have been caused by boat strikes and fishing gear accidents as well as degradation of rivers - and dolphin food sources - due to pollution and severe droughts blamed on climate change. China’s waterways have become heavily contaminated with toxic waste from factories and farms - pollution blamed on more than three decades of rapid economic growth and lax enforcement of environmental protection laws. —AFP

29

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

health & science

2012 another record-setter, fits climate forecasts WASHINGTON: As 2012 began, winter in the US went AWOL. Spring and summer arrived early with wildfires, blistering heat and drought. And fall hit the eastern third of the country with the ferocity of Superstorm Sandy. This past year’s weather was deadly, costly and record-breaking everywhere - but especially in the United States. If that sounds familiar, it should.

The previous year also was one for the record books. “We’ve had two years now of some angry events,” said Deke Arndt, US National Climatic Data Center monitoring chief. “I’m hoping that 2013 is really boring.”

In 2012 many of the warnings scientists have made about global warming went from dry studies in scientific journals to real-life video played before our eyes: Record melting of the ice in the Arctic Ocean. US cities baking at 95 degrees or hotter. Widespread drought.

Flooding. Storm surge inundating swaths of New York City. All of that was predicted years ago by climate scientists and all of that happened in 2012. “What was predicted was there would be more of these things,” said Michel Jarraud, secretary general for the World Meteorological Organization.

Globally, five countries this year set heat records, but none set cold records.

2012 is on track to be the warmest year on record in the United States.

Worldwide, the average through November suggests it will be the eighth warmest since global record-keeping began in 1880. July was the hottest month in record-keeping US history, averaging 77.6 degrees. Over the year, more than 69,000 local heat records were set including 356 locations in 34 states that hit their highest-ever temperature mark.

America’s heartland lurched from one extreme to the other without stopping at “normal”. Historic flooding in 2011 gave way to devastating drought in 2012. “The normal has changed, I guess,” said US National Weather Service acting director Laura Furgione. “The normal is extreme.”

While much of the US struggled with drought that conjured memories of the Dust Bowl, parts of Africa, Russia, Pakistan, Colombia, Australia and China dealt with the other extreme: deadly and expensive flooding.

But the most troubling climate development this year was the melting at the top of the world, Jarraud said. Summer sea ice in the Arctic shrank to 18 percent below the previous record low. The normally ice-packed Arctic passages were open to shipping much of the summer, more than ever before, and a giant Russian tanker carrying liquefied natural gas made a delivery that way to prove how valuable this route has become, said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Also in Greenland, 97 percent of the surface ice sheet had some melting. Changes in the Arctic alter the rest of the world’s weather and “melting of the ice means an amplifying of the warming,” Jarraud said.

There were other weather extremes no one predicted: A European winter cold snap that killed more than 800 people. A bizarre summer windstorm called a derecho in the US mid-Atlantic that left millions without power. Antarctic sea ice that inched to a record high. More than a foot of post-Thanksgiving rain in the western US Super Typhoon Bopha, which killed hundreds of people in the Philippines and was the southernmost storm of its kind. The United States has had “some quiet years while the rest of the world was quite wild”, but that’s not the case this year, Arndt said. Insurance giant Munich Re in a report this fall concluded: “Nowhere in the world is the rising number of annual natural catastrophes more evident than in North America.”

In 2011, the United States set a record with $14 billion weather disasters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a preliminary count of 11 such disasters this year. And NOAA’s official climate extreme index, which tallies disasters and rare events like super-

hot days, is on pace to set its own record.

Arndt points to the geographic heart of America, the Mississippi River, as emblematic. On May 6, 2011, the Mississippi River at New Madrid, Montana, crested at its highest point on record. Less than 16 months later on Aug 30, 2012, the same spot on the river was more than 53 feet lower, hitting an alltime low water mark.

The US went through the same lurching extremes on tornadoes. Those storms killed 553 people last year, Furgione said.

This year began with many tornadoes,

tifically discernible connection. Others, like the East Coast superstorm, will be studied to see if climate change is a cause, although scientists say rising sea levels clearly worsened flooding. They are more convinced that the heat waves of last summer are connected to global warming. These are “clearly not freak events,” but “systemic changes”, said climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute in Germany. “With all the extremes that, really, every year in the last 10 years have struck different parts of the globe, more and more peo-

This July 4, 2012 file photo shows surface melt water rushing along the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet through a supra-glacial stream channel, southwest of Ilulissat, Greenland. —AP then in April they just stopped. April to November, normal tornado season, saw the fewest F1 or stronger tornadoes in the US ever. “Every year is bringing different types of extreme weather and climate events,” NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco said.

“All storms today are happening in a climate-altered world.”

Not everything is connected to manmade global warming, climate scientists say. Some, like tornadoes, have no scien-

ple absolutely realize that climate change is here and already hitting us.”

In 1988, NASA scientist James Hansen, sometimes called the godfather of global warming science, ran computer models that predicted the decade of the 2010s would see many more 95-degree or hotter days and much fewer subfreezing days. This year made Hansen’s predictions seemed like underestimates. For example, he pre-

dicted that in the 2010s Memphis would have on average 26 days of more than 95 degrees. This year there were 47.

Scientists - both those studying global warming and those studying hurricanes - have warned for more than a decade about a hurricane with big storm surge hitting New York City and flooding the subways. That happened with Sandy. Though it was never a major hurricane, it stretched across nearly 1,000 miles in the US, bringing storm surges, power outages to millions and even snow. Sandy killed more than 125 people in the United States and at least 70 in the Caribbean.

For decades, scientists have predicted extensive droughts from global warming. This year, the drought of 2012 was so extensive that nearly 2,300 counties in almost every state - were declared agriculture disasters. At one point this summer more than 65 percent of the Lower 48 was suffering from drought. And with lack of water, came fire, something also mentioned as more likely in scientific reports about global warming. Fire season in the United States came earlier than normal and lasted longer, officials said. Nearly 9.2 million acres - an area bigger than the state of Maryland - have been burned by wildfire, the third most since accurate recordkeeping began in 1960.

“Take any one of these events in isolation, it might be possible to yell ‘fluke!’

Take them collectively, it provides confirmation of precisely what climate scientists predicted would happen decades ago if we proceeded with business-as-usual fossil fuel burning, as we have,” Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said in an email. “And this year especially is a cautionary tale. What we view today as unprecedented extreme weather will become the new normal in a matter of decades if we proceed with business-asusual.” —AP

MANSOORI

30

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

W H AT ’ S O N

Infunity Entertainment Center celebrates with kids at 360 Mall

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! 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

Greetings

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appy 15th birthday to our dear Heba Salsabe Al-Haque. May you have many more candles to blow and here’s wishing you all the best in life. Greetings from daddy Tareq, mommy Jovy, and uncle Nasser, tita Dalia and from your brother Samee, Ahmed Sarah and Shereen.

Announcements

Shirva feast

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hirva Welfare Association Kuwait (SWAK) will be celebrating their Shirva Parish feast-2013 here in Kuwait. On this occasion there will be a mass offered at 9.15 am on February 8, 2013 at the Holy Family Cathedral. Kuwait and the celebration / get-together with a of variety entertainment programme will he held from 4:30 pm - 9 pm on the same day at the Indian Community School, Salmiya. SWAK members or their children who would like to participate in the variety entertainment programme and show their talent are requested to contact any of the SWAK committee members listed below to avail the opportunity before January 10, 2013. Likewise if any of members children have excelled in academics or any other extra curricular activities in the past 1 year will be appreciated and hence are requested to inform any of the SWAK committee members listed below before the 10th of January. Last date for enrollment in the talent show is January 15, 2013.

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he Family Entertainment Center Infunity celebrated the arrival of the New Year with children at the 360 Mall on Thursday December 20, 2012. A large number of children and their families attended these exceptional festivities and enjoyed a pleasant and fun-filled experience in this magical place especially fit for all family members’. They also had the chance to participate in many activities designed to encourage imaginative

play thus allowing children to participate in all social, cultural and entertaining events. Apart from the wide range of activities offered at The Infunity Entertainment Center, many festivities are continuously held throughout the year with the participation of children, all of which helped Infunity to build an enviable reputation for always sharing joyful moments and events with all its fans.

As every year, the festivities were

attended by both families and children who enjoyed an unforgettable experience. Celebrations included various events and shows for both adults and children, such as the “Barney show”, the “Acrobatic Worm show”, the “Spinning Dishes show”, the “Indian Snake show” and the “Clown with Magic Balloon show”.

The kids’ also enjoyed the face painting and tattoos.

The Infunity Entertainment Center

invites all children, to start the New Year with fun by offering them magical entertaining activities that will surely fill their hearts with joy. The Family Entertainment Center Infunity is considered as the largest family entertainment center in Kuwait with its wide range of innovative activities suitable for all age groups and its private party rooms specifically designed to host birthdays and special events.

Arabic courses

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WARE will begin Winter 1 Arabic language courses with new textbooks and curricula on from December 2, 2012 until January 24, 2013. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed & courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. For more information or registration, please log-on to our website.

Charity show

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n the occasion of New Year Hangama 2013, which will be held on December 31, 2012 , from 6:00 pm to 12:00 am at Carmel School, Khaitan. Rak Dance Academy is conducting dance competition in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi. The winners will be rewarded.

Goan Culinary Club

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he Goan Culinary Club - Goa encourages you to log on to their website where you can find a video of Odette and Joe Mascarenhas sharing their thoughts on Goan cuisine. These videos were recorded at the launch of the Goan Culinary Club in Goa on March 3, 2012. Thanks to support from all at the Goan Culinary Club, we have made great progress in six months.

Basketball Academy

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he new Premier Basketball Academy offers coaching and games every Friday and Saturday from 10 am onwards for 6 to 18 year olds, boys and girls. Located in Bayan Block 7, Masjed Al-Aqsa Street by Abdullah Al-Rujaib High School. Free Basketball and Tee Shirts for all participants, with certificates and special awards on completion of each 6 week course. Qualified and experienced British and American Coaches, Everyone Welcome.

Embassy holidays Pakistan Embassy The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan will remain closed today December 25, 2012, on the occasion of birth anniversary of Quaid-E-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Christmas. The Embassy will resume its services on Wednesday December 26, 2012.

French Embassy The French Embassy in Kuwait will be closed on Christmas Day today, December the 25th, 2012 and on the occasion of the New Year Tuesday, January 1st, 2013.

Indian Embassy The Embassy of India will remain closed on 01 January, 2013, Tuesday being New Year Day.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

IMA organizes public program in Urdu

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ndian Muslim Association (IMA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Awqaf & Islamic Affairs organized its monthly public program for the people of Indian subcontinent at Masjid Yousuf Al-Adsani, Kuwait City.The program started with the recitation of the Holy Quran by Farooq Khan. Manager of Islam Presentation Committee, Khaitan Unit, Hamdan An Nabhan was the chief guest of the program, who in his address, spoke on the collaborative work of IPC with the Indian counterparts and expressed his happiness over the accomplishments.

First topic of the evening, Rights of Parents was presented by Nisar Ahmed who spoke elaborately on the subject quoting and correlating from many verses of Holy Quran and hadith on the subject. He emphasized that parents have the rights to be respected and treated kindly. He said, anyone who seeks to please Allah the Almighty, should earn the good pleasure of his parents by treating them well and taking care of all their needs.

Be it financial, companionship or serving them in their old ages and at times of illness and distress. Rasoolullah (SAW) has said “in the good pleasure of the father lies the good pleasure of the Creator and in his displeasure, lies the displeasure of the Creator”.

He continued his speech by stressing that, disobedience to parents is among the major sins and abusing other’s parents is like as though abusing your own parents. He also said, there are also rights that children should fulfill posthumously i.e. even after parents have passed away, to ask forgiveness from Allah the Almighty to pardon the parents, pay debts of parents, to fulfill promises/oaths made by parents, upholding the ties of kinship from the relatives of parents side and also parents friends.

IMA President Mohammed Aslam, spoke on the second topic of the evening i.e. Rights of Relatives in Islam.

He started his speech with the mention that IMA felt a need to address the rights of people as laid out by Islam and hence is taking strides in organizing a series of lectures on the broad topic with meticulous attention to topics ranging from Rights of Children, Rights of Wife/Husband Rights of parent and relatives etc. He said, besides parents’ rights, a great emphasis is also laid on the rights of other relatives. He stressed the Holy Quran enjoins not just to show kindness to parents, you are also required to treat the other relatives with love and sympathy and pay due regard to their rights as well.

On Fulfilling the rights of relatives, he narrated a hadith in which Rasoolullah (SAW) has said, “Whoever wants an increase in his sustenance and wishes to live long, he should be kind and helpful to his relatives.”, by giving them monetary assistance, when needed, and by devoting a part of one’s time and energy to their service. He concluded his talk by stressing on the importance of showing kindness to even those relatives who severe relations. Hequoted another hadith in which Rasoolullah (SAW) has said, “He does not fulfill the claim of ‘’good treatment towards the relatives’ who shows no kindness in return for the kindness showed to him... The person who really fulfills the claim is he who treats his relatives well even when they are mean and unjust to him.”

There was a Question and Answer session, wherein both the speakers answered to questions posed by the audience on their respective topics. IMA Assistant General Secretary Iqbal Lateef Khan was also present on the dais and the program was well convened by Khalid Azmi. Large number of expatriates participated in the public gathering with their families. Dinner kits were distributed to all the participants at the end.

International writing program director visits GUST students

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he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) hosted a visit from Dr Christopher Merrill, Director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. Dr Merrill’s visit was organized by the AM Al-Refai Library at GUST in coordination with the Public

Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Kuwait. Students who had published short stories, art work and poetry in GUST’s annual literary publication, Excelsior, had the opportunity to discuss the creative process with Dr Merrill who has published four collections of poetry,

five books of non-fiction and received awards for his poetry translations. His work has been translated into 25 languages. On the whole, the visit was successful and students appreciated the useful and informative tips Dr Merrill gave them.

MANSOORI

31

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

W H AT ’ S O N

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.

Holiday Inn Salmiya hosts Ron Kaufman

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fter receiving a numerous number of businessmen from around the world, Ron Kaufman the famous motivational speaker stayed as an honoured guest at the Holiday Inn Kuwait, Salmiya to start a training workshop on developing services and customer service to companies which was held in Al-Danah Ballroom at Holiday Inn

Salmiya with over 250 attendees.

At the arrival of Kaufman to the Hotel, the hotel Marketing & Public Relations team headed by Maged Hannah the Director of Sales, Marketing & Operations Greeted Kaufman and took him in a small tour around the hotel to introduce him to all the facilities and services that Holiday Inn

Salmiya provides to its guests. after that he was escorted to his suite which was well equipped with all amenities to ensure a perfect stay for Kaufman.

Holiday Inn Salmiya is well known as the best destination for business travellers and celebrities from around the world. the reason lies behind its prime location at the Heart

of Salmiya and its breathtaking view on the Arabian Gulf shores. The hotel offers a wide range of excellent restaurants that serves both regional and international cuisines, each with a unique style. It also provides a 5-Star services ranging from the accessibility of most of the hotel facilities to an excellent complete hospitality services.

� � � ��� � �

Ron Kaufman

GUST students participate in Kuwaiti Cultural Day

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ulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) Instructor, Elvisa Al-Duaij, took two of her classes to participate in the Korean Embassy’s Kuwait Cultural Night. The outing and event was a great success, where the students got to be involved in the different activities and in teaching people more about the Kuwaiti culture.

Many People from the Korean community living in Kuwait, members of the Korean Cultural Diwaniya and other from all aspects of the Kuwait society came to enjoy the diversified cultural and entertainment activities.

In a statement, the Korean Embassy noted that the event is part of the activities of the Korean Culture Diwainiya launched earlier this year to serve as a forum not only to promote Korean culture, but also to give Korean and Kuwaiti people the opportunity to learn about each other’s culture and see the differences and similarities between the two.

The Ambassador, Kim Kyung-Sik, gave a speech in which he noted: I truly hope that today’s event would contribute greatly to increasing the awareness of Korean people about the Kuwaiti culture and traditions. I also hope the Embassy continue holding such successful and useful activities in the future. I also hope that we can continue holding successful and useful events in the future.”

The activities included a traditional Kuwaiti dance performed by Kuwaiti and Korean participants and visitors were introduced to other aspects of Kuwait culture and heritage including traditional clothes where they got to dress up and take photos, Kuwaiti food and games. One of the GUST students, Mohammed Abdulla Soror, said: “The Korean Embassy surprised everyone with their activities and took everything about the Kuwaiti culture and did it accurately! There was even a representation of a traditional Kuwaiti wedding “yalwa” which they have performed very well.”

Another part of the event was allocated to Kuwait art. Many eminent Kuwaiti artists displayed their traditional paintings illustrating Kuwait’s heritage. In their statement, the Embassy extended their appreciation for their devoted Kuwaiti members of the Korean Cultural Diwaniya for their contribution to the organization of this unique event as well as to the Kuwait National Council for Culture, Letters and Arts, Al-Sadu House, Al-Faresi Kites Team, Kuwaiti artists, Diwan Book Club and all other participants in the evening who contributed towards its success.

ASSE holds 78th technical meet

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merican Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), Kuwait Chapter as part of continuous efforts in its professional journey, organized its 78th technical meet and 5th for the term 2012-13 on December 17, 2012 at Safir Fintas, Kuwait titled“ “Overview of Scaffolding “. The meet kicked off with a welcome address by Vasudevan, President, Golamari Sampath Reddy, Secretary welcomed the participants and briefed the agenda. CH Rama Krushna Chary, introduced the speaker John Palmer, He is the Director of Scaffold Training Institute. STI is a leading worldwide provider of scaffold safety training services for the erection, inspection, and safe use of scaffolding. STI’s clients are worldwide, and Palmer has conducted training worldwide including all 50 states, the Caribbean, China, Africa, and the Middle East. Clients include universities, industrial and commercial contractors, petro-chem, power, paper, and manufacturing facilities, apprenticeship schools, contractors’ associations, and safety associations.

The technical session was very much interactive and it was followed by Question & Answer session. The program was very much beneficial to all the members. More than 70 ASSE Kuwait chapter members participated from various sectors (government, oil &

gas companies, contractors and HSE consultancies). The second presentation was on the “Overview of ASSE International Practice Specialty for ASSE Kuwait Chapter Members “ delivered by Bala Siva Srikanth Adivi CSP, CMIOSH Executive Secretary, International Practise Speciality. He briefed on the importance and the benefits of the international practise specialities.

As a token of appreciation EC, AC Members presented a memento to the Speaker of the Day John Palmer. Later, Dinesh Patel, Head, Publication Committee briefed about the QUIZ program and distributed the certificate to the quiz winners. Golamari Sampath Reddy made announcements on the upcoming chapter activities which included the Upcoming ASSE GCC HSE Excellence Award 2013 ( the recognition program for private sector companies) Training programs and other Events. Mohiuddeen, Head, PDC 2013 briefed about the upcoming 7th International Health Safety Environment Professional Development Conference and Exhibitions planned from November 26-28, 2013 in the state of Kuwait. The meet concluded with a vote of thanks

by Loganathan, Treasurer, ASSE Kuwait Chapter. High Tea was served at the end of the meet.

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Canadian Embassy in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 7:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed for lunch from 12:30 to 13:00. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. � � � ��� � �

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS In its capacity as EU Local Presidency in the State of Kuwait, the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, on behalf of the Member States of the EU and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, would like to announce that as from 2nd October 2012 all Schengen States’ Consulates in Kuwait will use the Visa Information System (VIS). The VIS is a central database for the exchange of data on short-stay (up to three months) visas between Schengen States. The main objectives of the VIS are to facilitate visa application procedures and checks at external border as well as to enhance security. The VIS will contain all the Schengen visa applications lodged by an applicant over five years and the decisions taken by any Schengen State’s consulate. This will allow applicants to establish more easily the lawful use of previous visas and their bona fide status. For the purpose of the VIS, applicants will be required to provide their biometric data (fingerprints and digital photos) when applying for a Schengen visa. It is a simple and discreet procedure that only takes a few minutes. Biometric data, along with the data provided in the Schengen visa application form, will be recorded in the VIS central database. Therefore, as from 2nd October 2012, first-time applicants will have to appear in person when lodging the application, in order to provide their fingerprints. For subsequent applications within 5 years the fingerprints can be copied from the previous application file in the VIS. The Cypriot Presidency would like to assure the people of Kuwait and all its permanent citizens that the Member States and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, have taken all necessary technical measures to facilitate the rapid examination and the efficient processing of visa applications and to ensure a quick and discreet procedure for the implementation of the new VIS. � � � ��� � �

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. � � � ��� � �

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. � � � ��� � �

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. � � � ��� � �

EMBASSY OF PERU The Embassy of Peru is located in Sharq, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Al Arabiya Tower, 6th Floor. Working days / hours: SundayThursday /9 am - 4 pm. Residents in Kuwait interested in getting a visa to travel to Peru and companies attracted to invest in Peru are invited to visit the permanent exposition room located in the Embassy. For more information, please contact: (+965) 22267250/1.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:50 Animal Cops Philadelphia 01:45 After The Attack 02:35 Untamed & Uncut 03:25 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 03:50 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 04:15 My Cat From Hell 05:05 Lions And Giants 05:55 Call Of The Wildman 06:20 Cheetah Kingdom 06:45 Wild Africa Rescue 07:10 Wild Africa Rescue 07:35 Wildlife SOS 08:00 The Really Wild Show 08:25 Deep Into The Wild With Nick Baker 08:50 Deep Into The Wild With Nick Baker 09:15 Dogs 101 10:10 My Cat From Hell 11:05 Lions And Giants 12:00 Wildest Arctic 12:55 Wildest Arctic 13:50 Wildest Latin America 14:45 Wildest Latin America 15:40 Wildwives Of Savannah Lane 16:35 Wildwives Of Savannah Lane 17:30 The Magic Of The Big Blue 18:25 The Magic Of The Big Blue 19:20 The Magic Of The Big Blue 20:15 Monkey Life 20:40 Bondi Vet 21:10 Call Of The Wildman 21:35 Cheetah Kingdom 22:05 Lions Of Crocodile River 23:00 Gator Boys 23:55 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz

01:05 Kirstie & Phil’s Perfect Christmas 01:55 Come Dine With Me 02:45 Antiques Roadshow 03:35 Bargain Hunt 04:20 Masterchef: The Professionals 05:10 Masterchef: The Professionals 06:05 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 06:50 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 07:35 Rick Stein’s French Odyssey 08:00 MasterChef Australia 08:45 MasterChef Australia 09:35 Rick Stein’s French Odyssey 10:00 Come Dine With Me 10:50 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 11:35 Kirstie & Phil’s Perfect Christmas 12:25 Come Dine With Me 13:15 Antiques Roadshow 14:05 Bargain Hunt 14:50 Masterchef: The Professionals 15:45 Masterchef: The Professionals 16:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 18:00 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 18:45 Kirstie & Phil’s Perfect Christmas 19:35 Come Dine With Me 20:25 Antiques Roadshow 21:15 Bargain Hunt 22:00 Masterchef: The Professionals 22:30 Masterchef: The Professionals 23:20 Baking Made Easy 23:50 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

00:00 Business Edition With Tanya Beckett 00:30 Hardtalk 01:00 BBC World News America 01:30 BBC World News America 02:00 Newsday 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 BBC World News 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today

06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Asia Business Report 06:45 Sport Today 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 Hardtalk 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:00 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 BBC World News 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 BBC World News 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 World Business Report 11:45 BBC World News 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 Hardtalk 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 World Business Report 13:45 BBC World News 14:00 BBC World News 14:30 BBC World News 15:00 GMT With George Alagiah 15:30 GMT With George Alagiah 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 16:30 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 19:30 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 BBC Focus On Africa 21:00 BBC World News 21:30 World Business Report 21:45 Sport Today 22:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 23:00 BBC World News 23:30 World Business Report 23:45 Sport Today

00:05 Taz-Mania 00:30 Pink Panther And Pals 00:55 Moomins 01:20 Tom & Jerry Kids 01:45 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 02:10 Puppy In My Pocket 02:35 Wacky Races 03:00 Looney Tunes 03:25 Duck Dodgers 03:50 Dastardly And Muttley 04:00 Dexter’s Laboratory 04:30 Wacky Races 04:55 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 05:20 Tom & Jerry 05:45 The Garfield Show 06:00 Moomins 06:10 Looney Tunes 06:35 Tom & Jerry Tales 07:00 Dexter’s Laboratory 07:30 Baby Looney Tunes 07:55 Jelly Jamm 08:10 Gerald McBoing Boing 08:35 Bananas In Pyjamas 08:50 Ha Ha Hairies 09:05 Tom & Jerry Kids 09:30 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 09:55 Puppy In My Pocket 10:20 Wacky Races 10:45 Looney Tunes 11:10 Popeye 11:30 Bugs Bunny’s 1001 Rabbit Tales 12:50 Dastardly And Muttley 13:00 Ha Ha Hairies 13:15 Gerald McBoing Boing 13:40 Jelly Jamm 13:55 Baby Looney Tunes 14:20 Bananas In Pyjamas 14:35 Moomins 14:50 Dexter’s Laboratory 15:20 Johnny Bravo 15:45 Tom & Jerry 16:10 Pink Panther And Pals 16:35 The Garfield Show 17:00 What’s New Scooby Doo? 17:25 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 17:50 Tom & Jerry Tales 18:00 Johnny Bravo Goes To Bollywood 19:15 Pink Panther And Pals 19:30 Moomins 19:45 The Garfield Show

20:00 20:15 20:40 20:55 21:20 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40

Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Cartoonito Tales Puppy In My Pocket The Garfield Show What’s New Scooby Doo? Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry Tales The Looney Tunes Show

00:40 Chowder 01:30 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 01:55 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 02:20 Foster’s Home For...

02:45 Foster’s Home For...

03:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 04:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 04:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:50 Adventure Time 05:15 The Powerpuff Girls 05:40 Generator Rex 06:05 Ben 10 06:30 Ben 10 06:55 Angelo Rules 07:00 Cow & Chicken 07:30 Casper’s Scare School 08:00 Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Jingle, Jingle...

08:25 Billy & Mandy Save Christmas 09:00 Foster’s Home For Imaginary...

09:25 Chowder 09:55 The Amazing World Of Gumball 10:05 The Powerpuff Girls 10:15 Ed, Edd n Eddy 10:25 Robotboy 10:35 Powerpuff Girls, The: ‘twas The...

11:20 Courage The Cowardly Dog 11:35 Adventure Time 12:00 Regular Show 12:25 Transformers Prime 12:50 Ben 10: Omniverse 13:15 Courage The Cowardly Dog 14:05 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 14:30 Young Justice 14:55 Codename: Kids Next Door 15:45 Ben 10: Alien Force 16:10 Ben 10: Alien Force 16:35 Powerpuff Girls 17:00 Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Jingle, Jingle...

17:25 Billy & Mandy Save Christmas 18:00 Powerpuff Girls, The: ‘twas The...

18:45 Chowder 19:10 The Amazing World Of Gumball 19:20 The Powerpuff Girls 19:35 Robotboy 19:45 Ed, Edd n Eddy 19:55 Foster’s Home For Imaginary...

20:20 Cartoon Network Dance Club 20:30 Ben 10: Omniverse 20:55 Generator Rex 21:20 Level Up 21:45 Grim Adventures Of...

22:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 23:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:50 The Powerpuff Girls

00:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson 01:00 Amanpour 01:30 World Sport 02:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 03:00 World Report 03:30 World Sport 04:00 Anderson Cooper 360 05:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 06:00 Quest Means Business 07:00 The Situation Room 08:00 World Sport 08:30 African Voices 09:00 World Report 10:00 World Report 11:00 World Sport 11:30 Talk Asia 12:00 World Business Today 13:00 Amanpour

THE KINGDOM ON OSN ACTION HD

13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:30

News Special World One Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream World Business Today International Desk Global Exchange World Sport News Special International Desk Quest Means Business Amanpour CNN Newscenter

00:15 01:10 02:05 03:00 03:55 04:20 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:10 14:35 15:05 15:30 16:25 17:20 18:15 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25 23:20

Dynamo: Magician Impossible Dynamo: Magician Impossible Dynamo: Magician Impossible Dynamo: Magician Impossible Border Security Scrappers Auction Hunters How Stuff’s Made How It’s Made Ultimate Survival Street Customs Berlin Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Border Security Scrappers How Stuff’s Made How It’s Made World’s Toughest Drive Deadliest Catch Gold Divers Border Security Scrappers Auction Hunters Superhuman Showdown Superhuman Showdown Superhuman Showdown Superhuman Showdown How Stuff’s Made How It’s Made Border Security Scrappers Auction Hunters Flying Wild Alaska Bear Grylls: A Day In...

Ultimate Survival

00:40 01:05 01:35 02:25 03:15 04:05 04:35 05:25 05:50 06:15 06:40 07:05 08:00 08:50 09:40 09:43 10:10 10:40 11:05 11:30 12:20 13:10 13:35 14:00 14:50 15:45 16:10 16:35 17:00 17:03 17:30 18:00 20:55 21:20 22:10 22:35 23:00 23:25 23:50

The Gadget Show The Tech Show Space Pioneer Mega World Thunder Races Mean Green Machines Ways To Save The Planet How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? The Gadget Show The Tech Show Space Pioneer Mega World Ways To Save The Planet Head Rush Patent Bending How Stuff’s Made How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? Robocar Thunder Races The Gadget Show The Tech Show Mega World Ways To Save The Planet One Step Beyond How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? Head Rush Patent Bending How Stuff’s Made Tech Toys 360 Tech Toys 360 The Future Of...

The Gadget Show The Tech Show Tech Toys 360 Tech Toys 360 When Aliens Attack

00:10 00:20 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:05 03:30 03:55 04:20 04:45 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:15 06:40 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:10 09:35 10:00 11:30 12:05 12:15 12:30 12:55 13:20 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:50 17:00 17:05 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:40 22:55 23:20 23:45 23:55

Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Doc McStuffins Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm Jessie A.N.T. Farm Jessie Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Austin And Ally Toy Story Phineas And Ferb Doc McStuffins Doc McStuffins Art Attack Jessie Jessie A.N.T Farm A.N.T. Farm Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Shake It Up Shake It Up Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Toy Story Toons Lemonade Mouth Phineas And Ferb A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Jessie That’s So Raven Cory In The House Kim Possible Hannah Montana Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Fish Hooks Fish Hooks

00:25 Holly’s World 00:55 Style Star 01:25 THS

02:20 THS 03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 E!es 05:05 THS 06:00 E!es 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 Scouted 09:15 Scouted 10:15 THS 12:05 Married To Jonas 12:35 Married To Jonas 13:05 Ice Loves Coco 13:35 Ice Loves Coco 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 14:30 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 E!es 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 17:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 18:55 E!es 19:55 Khloe And Lamar 20:25 Married To Jonas 20:55 Married To Jonas 21:25 Opening Act 22:25 Fashion Police 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Holly’s World

00:40 Dr G: Medical Examiner 01:30 Ghost Lab 02:20 Crime Scene Psychics 02:45 Crime Scene Psychics 03:05 I Married A Mobster 03:30 I Married A Mobster 03:55 Scorned: Crimes Of Passion 04:45 Dr G: Medical Examiner 05:30 Ghost Lab 06:20 Crime Scene Psychics 06:45 Crime Scene Psychics 07:10 Disappeared 08:00 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 08:50 Street Patrol 09:15 Street Patrol 09:40 Real Emergency Calls 10:05 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

10:30 On The Case With Paula Zahn 11:20 Murder Shift 12:10 Disappeared 13:00 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 13:50 Street Patrol 14:15 Street Patrol 14:40 Forensic Detectives 15:30 On The Case With Paula Zahn 16:20 Real Emergency Calls 16:45 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

17:10 Murder Shift 18:00 Disappeared 18:50 Forensic Detectives 19:40 Street Patrol 20:05 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 20:55 Stalked: Someone’s Watching 21:20 Nightmare Next Door 22:10 Couples Who Kill 23:00 Deadly Affairs 23:50 Deadly Women

00:10 01:35 03:05 04:55 06:55 08:35 10:05 11:40 13:05 14:40 17:10 18:40 20:10 22:00 23:35

Child’s Play Gate II Life Of Sin Rollerball (1975) Theater Of Blood Carry On Columbus Inspector Clouseau Driving Me Crazy The Golden Seal It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad World Still Of The Night Rage (1992) Valkyrie: The Plot To Kill Hitler Cadillac Man Longtime Companion

00:15 Market Values 00:45 Somewhere In China 01:40 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 02:35 One Man & His Campervan 03:00 One Man & His Campervan 03:30 Bondi Rescue: Bali 03:55 Bondi Rescue: Bali 04:25 Bondi Rescue: Bali 04:50 Bondi Rescue: Bali 05:20 Bondi Rescue 05:45 Bondi Rescue 06:15 Bondi Rescue 06:40 Bondi Rescue 07:10 Danger Beach 07:35 Keeping Up With The Joneses 08:05 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 4 09:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 09:25 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 09:55 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 10:20 Market Values 10:50 Market Values 11:15 Market Values 11:45 Somewhere In China 12:40 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 13:05 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 13:35 The Best Job In The World 14:00 The Best Job In The World 14:30 The Best Job In The World 14:55 The Best Job In The World 15:25 Bondi Rescue 15:50 Bondi Rescue 16:20 Bondi Rescue 16:45 Bondi Rescue 17:15 Danger Beach 17:40 Keeping Up With The Joneses 18:10 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 4 19:05 Market Values 19:30 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 20:00 The Best Job In The World 20:30 The Best Job In The World 21:00 The Best Job In The World 21:30 The Best Job In The World 22:00 The Best Job In The World 22:25 Market Values 22:55 One Man & His Campervan 23:20 Exploring The Vine 23:50 Delinquent Gourmet

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00

Megastructures Prehistoric Predators Shark Men Which Way To Engineering Connections Hunter Hunted Which Way To World’s Toughest Fixes Megastructures Prehistoric Predators Shark Men

BRIDESMAIDS ON OSN CINEMA 11:00 Which Way To 12:00 Engineering Connections 13:00 Hunter Hunted 14:00 Which Way To 15:00 World’s Toughest Fixes 16:00 Megastructures 17:00 Prehistoric Predators 18:00 Shark Men 19:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 20:00 Access 360¬∞ World Heritage 21:00 Animal Autopsy (AKA Inside Nature’s Giants) 22:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 23:00 World’s Toughest Fixes

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:10 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 08:45 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

Untamed Americas Moray Eels: Alien Empire Wild Russia Fish Tank Kings Monkey Thieves Monkey Thieves Built For The Kill Wild Mississippi Wild Russia Fish Tank Kings Monkey Thieves Monkey Thieves Shark Men Python Hunters Animal Intervention Ape Genius Nordic Wild Fish Tank Kings Monkey Thieves Monkey Thieves Shark Men Python Hunters Animal Intervention Wild Russia Fish Tank Kings Monkey Thieves Monkey Thieves Shark Men Python Hunters

00:00 RoboCop-PG15 02:00 Sinners & Saints-18 04:00 Monsters-PG15 06:00 Battle: Los Angeles-PG15 08:00 True Justice: Violence Of Action-PG15 10:00 Warbirds-PG15 12:00 The Warrior’s Way-PG15 14:00 True Justice: Violence Of Action-PG15 16:00 Legendary Assassin-PG15 18:00 The Warrior’s Way-PG15 20:00 The Kingdom-18 22:00 Covert One: The Hades Factor-PG15

01:00 Labor Pains-PG15 03:00 Once Brothers-PG15 05:00 Feed The Fish-PG15 07:00 Blackthorn-PG15 09:00 Labor Pains-PG15 11:00 Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back-PG 12:45 Fast Five-PG15 15:00 Judy Moody And The Not Bummer Summer-PG15 17:00 An Invisible Sign Of My OwnPG15 19:00 Footloose-PG15 21:00 The Hangover 2-18 23:00 Bridesmaids-18

00:00 Wilfred 00:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 01:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 01:30 American Dad 02:00 Curb Your Enthusiasm 02:30 How To Make It In America 03:30 Hot In Cleveland 04:00 Hope & Faith 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Hope & Faith 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:30 Hope & Faith 14:00 Hot In Cleveland 15:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 16:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

18:00 New Girl 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 American Dad 22:30 Allen Gregory 23:00 How To Make It In America 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Fairly Legal Justified Sons Of Anarchy Six Feet Under Burn Notice Revenge Fairly Legal Emmerdale Coronation Street Criminal Minds The Ellen DeGeneres Show Revenge Burn Notice Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Criminal Minds Fairly Legal Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Criminal Minds Grey’s Anatomy Private Practice Hawthorne Pillars Of The Earth Six Feet Under

01:00 Bunraku-PG15 03:15 Gridlock’d-18 05:00 Twins Mission-PG15 07:00 True Justice: Vengeance Is Mine-PG15 09:00 Largo Winch 2-PG15 11:00 Twins Mission-PG15 13:00 Enter The Phoenix-PG15 15:00 Largo Winch 2-PG15 17:00 Hackers-PG15 19:00 Carriers-PG15 20:30 Covert One: The Hades Factor-PG15 23:30 Disturbing Behavior-18

00:00 Tommy Boy-PG15 02:00 The Waterboy-PG15 04:00 12 Dates Of Christmas-PG15 06:00 The Bad News Bears (1976)PG15 08:00 Elf-PG 10:00 Austin Powers In Goldmember-PG15 12:00 12 Dates Of Christmas-PG15 14:00 How The Grinch Stole Christmas-PG 16:00 Desperately Seeking SantaPG15 18:00 Mrs. Miracle-PG15 20:00 Elf-PG 22:00 The 40 Year Old Virgin-18

01:00 The Butcher Boy-PG15 03:00 The Man Who Came With The Snow-PG15 05:00 Henry’s Crime-PG15 07:00 Sundays At Tiffany’s-PG15 09:00 Up Close And Personal-PG 11:15 Country Strong-PG15 13:15 Certified Copy-PG15 15:15 Up Close And Personal-PG 17:30 African Cats: Kingdom Of Courage-PG 19:00 Christmas Comes Home To Canaan-PG15 21:00 True Grit-PG15 23:00 Frozen-PG15

01:00 A Little Bit Of Heaven-18 03:00 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2-PG 05:00 Rising Stars-PG15 07:00 Page Eight-PG15 09:00 Kung Fu Panda 2-PG 10:45 Jack And Jill-PG15 12:30 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Pt.1-PG15

15:00 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Pt.2-PG15 17:15 Kung Fu Panda 2-PG 19:00 Real Steel-PG15 21:15 Horrible Bosses-18 23:15 The Whistleblower-PG15

01:00 The Ugly Duckling In The Enchanted Forest-FAM 02:45 The Wild Thornberrys MoviePG 04:30 Barbie: A Perfect Christmas-PG 06:00 A Fairy Tale Christmas-PG15 07:45 Little Einsteins: Rocket’s Firebird Rescue-FAM 09:30 A Very Fairy Christmas-PG15 11:15 Sammy’s Adventure: The Secret Passage-FAM 13:00 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins-FAM 14:30 The Wild Thornberrys MoviePG 16:00 Arrietty-FAM 18:00 A Very Fairy Christmas-PG15 19:30 Treasure Buddies-PG 21:30 Arrietty-FAM 23:30 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins-FAM

00:30 PGA European Tour Weekly 01:30 European Challenge Cup 03:30 Trans World Sport 04:30 ICC Cricket 360 05:00 Futbol Mundial 05:30 Extreme Sailing Series 07:00 The Open Championship Official Film 08:00 The USPGA Championship Official Film 09:00 The Ryder Cup Official Film 10:30 PGA European Tour Weekly 11:30 Twenty20 Big Bash League 17:30 Darts 21:30 Darts

00:30 Futbol Mundial 01:00 Twenty20 Big Bash League 07:00 Darts 11:00 Darts 15:00 The Open Championship Official Film 16:00 The USPGA Championship Official Film 17:00 The Ryder Cup Championship Official Film 18:30 PGA European Tour Weekly 19:30 Futbol Mundial 20:00 Twenty20 Big Bash League

00:30 Spirit of Yachting 01:00 PDC World Darts Championship 05:00 Trans World Sport 06:00 Spirit of Golf 06:30 Spirit of Golf 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 09:00 Spirit of Yachting 09:30 Spirit of a Champion 11:30 HSBC Sevens World Series 14:30 Spirit of Yachting 15:00 Pro 12 17:00 Trans World Sport 18:00 Pro 12 20:00 Golfing World 21:00 Spirit of a Champion 21:30 Spirit of a Champion 22:00 Spirit of a Champion 23:00 HSBC Sevens World Series

00:00 01:00 01:30 03:00 04:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 23:00

WWE Bottom Line European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC 148 WWE NXT WWE Bottom Line V8 Supercars Highlights V8 Supercars Highlights V8 Supercars Extra WWE Bottom Line WWE Vintage PrizeFighter European Le Mans Series UFC 155 Countdown UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC 149 WWE Experience

Classifieds TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

FOR SALE Indoor plants, 7-seater coffee colored velvet sofa, center table and other. items at Hateen Villa. Contact: 25221890 / 99405162.

(C 4257) 20-12-2012

SITUATION VACANT A decent housemaid is urgently needed for a family in Mangaf. Please call 60055305, 23741548 25-12-2012 ACCOMMODATION

Mazda (6) white color 2003, excellent condition, insurance one year, KD 1,100.

Mob: 66729295. (C 4256) 18-12-2012

CHANGE OF NAME I, Suresh Dhanapal, Indian Passport No: E6840843 have converted from Hindu to Islam and changed my name to Barakath Ali Dhanapal (C 4265) 25-12-2012 I, Abdul Rasheed Nelliyot Thodi, holder of Indian Passport No H0113546 hereby change my name as Abdul Rasheed Parambil, Pottayil House, Periymbalam, P O Pulikkal, Malappuram - 673637, Kerala. (C 4259) 24-12-2012 I, Ali Bhai, holder of Indian Passport No: G1349572 hereby change my name to ALI BHAI JIVAJI ALI KAKA. 19-12-2012

Room available, rent KD 65, near the big Jamiya, Bahrain St, Ghadeer Clinic building. Tel: 66792392/ 66282602/ 60421240.

(C 4263) 25-12-2012

children by Hafiz-E-Quran.

Contact: 66725950.

(C 4262) Tuition available for Web Designing & Professional Graphic Designing. Learn to create your own website just in 3 months. Flexible schedule, join us to build your career as Web Designer. Call 60078629, 22403408. (C 4264) 25-12-2012

MATRIMONIAL Proposals invited for a Keralite Christian Orthodox girl, 26 years, M-tech, doing doctorate in Netherlands.

Parents working in Kuwait, seeking alliance from parents of well qualified God fearing boys. Contact email: proposal1987@hotmail.com (C 4261) 24-12-2012

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw

TUITION Learn Holy Quran in perfect way, private tuition available for elders and

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

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is

1889988 Prayer timings No: 15668

SITUATION WANTED Systems Engineer (2-3 years experience in Infosys Ltd) Configuration Controller and Release Management, UNIX, Oracle, B-Tech Electronics & Comm.

Mob: 65015932. (C 4260) 24-12-2012 Accountant (5 years’ experience) B.Com, MBA Finance, Finalization of accounts, B/S, P/L, TB, Bank Transaction, Cash, Debtor, Creditors and Inventory Management, ERP Tally, Oracle. Seeking suitable position.

Contact: 97176224. (C 4255) 18-12-2012

Fajr: Shorook Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

05:15 06:40 11:48 14:38 16:57 18:19

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines KLM JAI THY JZR JZR QTR GFA PIA UAE ETD OMA QTR FDB MSR RJA DHX THY JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE GFA ABY QTR FDB ETD IRA TMA JZR MEA MSR UAE JZR KAC FDB KNE KAC SVA KAC QTR JZR

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 25/12/2012 Flt Route 411 AMSTERDAM 574 MUMBAI 772 ISTANBUL 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 148 DOHA 211 BAHRAIN 239 SIALKOT 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 643 MUSCAT 138 DOHA 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 642 AMMAN 170 BAHRAIN 770 ISTANBUL 503 LUXOR 416 JAKARTA 157 LONDON 412 MANILA 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 332 TRIVANDRUM 855 DUBAI 223 BAHRAIN 121 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 605 ISFAHAN 213 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 610 CAIRO 871 DUBAI 325 NAJAF 514 TEHRAN 57 DUBAI 472 JEDDAH 362 COLOMBO 500 JEDDAH 546 ALEXANDRIA 140 DOHA 561 SOHAG

Time 0:30 0:30 0:35 0:45 0:50 1:00 1:50 1:55 2:35 2:45 2:50 3:01 3:05 3:10 3:15 5:15 5:30 5:55 6:25 6:40 6:45 7:40 7:45 7:55 8:05 8:15 8:40 8:45 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:45 11:00 11:20 11:55 12:45 12:50 13:40 13:45 13:50 14:10 14:20 14:30 14:30 14:45 14:50

KAC KAC QTR UAE ETD RJA GFA SVA QTR ABY UAL SYR KAC JZR RBG KAC BAB FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC OMA FDB JAI AXB MSR KAC IRA ABY QTR ALK MEA QTR GFA ETD UAE QTR FDB DHX AIC JZR GFA PIA JZR UAL BBC

562 284 134 857 303 640 215 510 144 127 982 341 542 177 3553 786 438 63 166 618 742 104 674 774 647 61 572 393 618 678 619 129 146 229 402 136 221 307 859 6130 59 372 981 239 217 205 185 981 43

AMMAN DHAKA DOHA DUBAI ABU DHABI AMMAN BAHRAIN RIYADH DOHA SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES DAMASCUS CAIRO DUBAI ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI PARIS DOHA DAMMAM LONDON DUBAI RIYADH MUSCAT DUBAI MUMBAI KOZHIKODE ALEXANDRIA ABU DHABI LAR SHARJAH DOHA COLOMBO BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN CHENNAI AMMAN BAHRAIN LAHORE DUBAI BAHRAIN DHAKA

14:55 15:10 15:30 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:50 17:55 17:55 18:00 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:45 19:10 19:20 19:30 19:35 19:35 19:50 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:30 20:35 20:35 20:45 20:55 21:20 21:25 21:30 21:35 21:40 21:55 22:00 22:00 22:30 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:05 23:25 23:45

Airlines AIC AXB BBC UAL JAI KLM KAC THY PIA FDB UAE OMA ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR GFA RJA THY KAC JZR FDB BAW KAC KAC GFA KAC ABY UAE FDB ETD JZR QTR IRA KAC KAC TMA MEA KAC MSR JZR UAE FDB KAC KNE SVA

Departure Flights on Tuesday 25/12/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA/CHENNAI 390 MANGALORE 44 DHAKA 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 573 MUMBAI 411 AMSTERDAM 283 DHAKA 773 ISTANBUL 240 SIALKOT 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 644 MUSCAT 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 643 AMMAN 771 ISTANBUL 545 ALEXANDRIA 560 SOHAG 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 101 LONDON 513 IMAM KHOMEINI 224 BAHRAIN 561 AMMAN 122 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 324 AL NAJAF 133 DOHA 604 ISFAHAN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 223 DUBAI 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 611 CAIRO 176 DUBAI 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI 673 DUBAI 473 JEDDAH 501 JEDDAH

Time 0:05 0:15 1:00 1:10 1:30 1:45 2:25 2:55 3:10 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:00 4:10 4:50 6:05 6:55 7:00 7:05 7:35 7:45 8:15 8:25 8:45 9:20 9:25 9:30 9:30 9:45 9:55 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:30 10:45 11:30 11:50 12:30 12:55 13:00 13:45 13:50 14:15 14:30 15:05 15:10 15:45

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

KAC KAC QTR KAC KAC JZR ETD JZR QTR UAE RJA GFA JZR SVA ABY JZR QTR SYR RBG UAL FDB BAB FDB OMA JAI KAC KAC ABY AXB MSR IRA DHX ALK MEA ETD QTR GFA KAC FDB JZR UAE DHX KAC QTR QTR GFA JZR KAC

617 677 141 773 741 238 304 538 135 858 641 216 184 511 128 266 145 342 3554 982 64 439 62 648 571 351 343 120 394 607 618 171 230 403 308 137 222 301 60 554 860 373 205 147 6131 218 528 411

DOHA ABU DHABI DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM AMMAN ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH SHARJAH BEIRUT DOHA DAMASCUS ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN DUBAI MUSCAT MUMBAI KOCHI CHENNAI SHARJAH KOZHIKODE LUXOR LAR BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI ALEXANDRIA DUBAI BAHRAIN ISLAMABAD DOHA DOHA BAHRAIN ASSIUT BANGKOK

15:45 16:00 16:15 16:25 16:30 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:50 17:55 18:15 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:45 18:50 19:00 19:00 19:10 19:25 19:30 20:40 20:55 21:10 21:10 21:15 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:30 21:50 21:55 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:00 23:10 23:25 23:50 23:50 23:55

34

stars CROSSWORD 49

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) Concentrate on closing or completing any personal business today.

Consolidate your profits in order to get the most benefit out of them. It is time to go forward with some new plans. An easy manner will make conversations with difficult people go well. You have a knack for knowing how to put people, ideas and things together profitably. You may find yourself more talkative and clear decisions affecting others could be made now. Your laughter is encouraging to all around you. If needed, you could request some help from your friends when it comes to advice regarding some new game or puzzle this afternoon. Gathering with friends today is easy to do—it is a mutual admiration society! Respect your alcoholic limits.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You may find yourself remembering your own school days this morning— you could be guiding young people on the art of taking tests. Activities today can involve promotional campaigns, music, storytelling or inspirational work. You have great opportunities for leadership without unpleasant duties or responsibilities. You can develop a more independent lifestyle. Self-improvement and the influence of those around you can go along educational, religious, philosophical or cultural lines. This afternoon is a good time to keep some moments for reflection. A relationship this evening may suffer if you are too critical. Seek a good balance of activity in your life and the people around you will become more secure.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. Projectiles to be fired from a gun.

5. A member of a North American Indian people of central Arizona.

12. Tag the base runner to get him out.

15. Be agitated.

16. Not alert or attentive.

17. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

18. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

19. Of or relating to cilia projecting from the surface of a cell.

20. A light touch or stroke.

21. Any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue.

23. Small shrubby African tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant green flowers.

25. Call forth.

27. 100 toea equal 1 kina.

30. Cook and make edible by putting in a hot oven.

31. (ballet) Quick gliding steps with one foot always leading.

36. Conforming to truth.

38. Rigidly formal.

42. Praise, glorify, or honor.

43. The basic unit of electric current adopted under the System International d'Unites.

45. Port city on southeastern Honshu in central Japan.

47. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization.

48. Found along western Atlantic coast.

50. In a faddish manner.

52. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

55. Sweet pulpy tropical fruit with thick scaly rind and shiny black seeds.

56. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

60. Keenly excited (especially sexually) or indicating excitement.

63. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

65. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

66. The process of remembering (especially the process of recovering information by mental effort).

69. (of a fluid) Having been propelled about in flying drops or masses.

74. Of or relating to the ancient Aramaic languages.

76. The branch of computer science that deal with writing computer programs that can solve problems creatively.

77. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

78. Being one more than two.

79. A cut of pork ribs with much of the meat trimmed off.

83. Bulky grayish-brown eagle with a short wedge-shaped white tail.

84. The habitation of wild animals.

85. The character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall.

86. Type genus of the family Myacidae.

DOWN 1. A sharp narrow ridge found in rugged mountains.

2. (statistics) Relating to or constituting the most frequent value in a distribution.

3. The vein in the center of a leaf.

4. Leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in India for writing paper.

5. A member of the Mayan people of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.

6. A blue dye obtained from plants or made

synthetically.

7. A manservant who acts as a personal attendant to his employer.

8. American prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942).

9. The state prevailing during the absence of war.

10. The products of human creativity.

11. A distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list.

12. A quantity of no importance.

13. By bad luck.

14. A small cake leavened with yeast.

22. A Bantu language spoken in western Kenya.

24. The second largest city in Tunisia.

26. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

28. Large elliptical brightly colored deep-sea fish of Atlantic and Pacific and Mediterranean.

29. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

32. (of persons) Highest in rank or authority or office.

33. A town in central Kansas.

34. A downhill race over a winding course defined by upright poles.

35. A colorless flammable gas used chiefly in welding and in organic synthesis.

37. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

39. A secret society of white Southerners to resist Black emancipation.

40. An artificial language for international use that rejects rejects all existing words and is based instead on an abstract analysis of ideas.

41. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

44. Capital and largest city of the Czech Republic.

46. God of death.

49. A small pellet fired from an air rifle or BB gun.

51. The basic unit of money in Gambia.

53. An associate degree in nursing.

54. Either of two large muscles of the chest.

57. A woman's large folded hooped hood.

58. Eurasian perennial bulbous herbs.

59. Angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object).

61. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products.

62. Thigh of a hog (usually smoked).

64. Remote and separate physically or socially.

67. A member of an Iroquoian people formerly living on the south shore of Lake Erie in northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania and western New York.

68. (Old Testament) Cain and Abel were the first children of Adam and Eve born after the Fall of Man. 70. Being three more than fifty.

71. A complex red organic pigment containing iron and other atoms to which oxygen binds.

72. Suggestive of the supernatural.

73. (Irish) Mother of the Tuatha De Danann.

75. A rotating disk shaped to convert circular into linear motion.

80. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.

81. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

82. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

If you are working part-time, you may find yourself in some service industry. You could find yourself juggling time and people all day. You crave practicality and you like helping people that for some reason find themselves in a panic or perhaps are just rushed to get wherever they are going. You could be most persuasive with others and if you are in a sales job or have decided to sell some possession of your own, you may be surprised to find it easy to gain what is called a gentlemen’s agreement.

A friend from afar is captivating this afternoon. Later today a partner or close friend may decide to introduce you to a new type of music or entertainment this evening—go for it!

The emphasis is on fun, relaxation and enjoying a relationship.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) This morning you may find the to-do list gets longer. This can be a period of improved communication. Interest turns toward scientific and humanitarian reports and literature. You may give or receive advice and you may have sudden intuitive ideas. You are open to new ideas. Challenges may keep you so busy—you forget that this is a very special day. Solving problems is easy to handle and by late afternoon you are ready for whatever is planned for the rest of the day. Playful and fun-loving celebrations with friends begin before you can get anything to eat or change your clothes for some special event. This could mean your friends have invited you to go with them on a little celebration time. Get ready for laughter and good communication—enjoy.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Your practical side is showing—you could be recognized for your insights that bring about better control around your place. The satisfaction of a chore completed or some errand successfully handled is a good feeling. This is a day where the energies are in your favor. You have a clear vision into your own inner sense of values. Real estate and home and family planning take on greater importance now and there is much talk among family members about these subjects. This could be a time you think of nostalgia, security and permanence. You may be looking for a new way to get rid of some excessive energy this afternoon. This is the season to show how much you appreciate the people that are in your life and that bring you comfort.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) There may be quite a bit of confusion in the home or workplace just now. This may be a half day for you to work but you still have ideas that might make life move along a little easier for others. You are not one to give up—you are one to try, try and try again. Your determination and positive thinking will get you where you want to go. You can expect a raise in salary during the first part of next year. At home this afternoon, you may be balancing a personal account and deciding on a budget in order to save for a special item. Relief comes when you discover finances are not as tight as you thought! An emphasis on close relationships and a preoccupation with ideas of fairness and harmony are part of the mental cycle you have just begun.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) Your mind is very intelligent. You are also very quick-witted—careful . . . this could also result in arguments and hard words. Taking care of home chores or business is a major theme. If you are a cook or you care for nursing home people, you may be working extra hours so others could go home. You crave organization and practicality and you want to get things accomplished. Others could seek you out for your viewpoint and understanding. You consider your personal goals and you may decide to make a mental note about how you want to handle your life if you need special care.

Ideas and thoughts will have greater meaning and form. Everything conspires to reveal you at your most elegant, particularly in social situations this evening.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You are beginning to find yourself really feeling secure in your job. You may be very happy to have a couple of days away from the workplace to play, visit with family and perhaps, a bit of traveling. You may also find that with young people you tend to set examples. You are a mentor to others, in many situations. You teach others that the mind can achieve whatever it can conceive. Create power and self-accomplishment in your mind and you will be happy to find success. If you find yourself at home this evening, there are plenty of stored up recordings that you have been saving for just such an evening. If you are entertaining, enjoy your hard work in putting all of the things together that create a pleasurable evening.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You are in a fine mood to accomplish much, if there is anything left to accomplish. You seem to be a little beside yourself today. You are up early and hunting for things to do that will fill your day with anything that you forgot or left undone. You must not worry so . . . you have done all the preparations and anything else can be brought in by others. It is time to just sit and enjoy the time of year, a good book, a last-minute bit of cooking or involvement with a hobby. An older person may come to your place early this afternoon to help in preparations for a party. Valuable stories can be shared. Party planning for the last of this year will be successful. You and your loved ones will enjoy a dazzling evening. Allow someone to serve you this evening.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Working on your own idea of what it takes to improve your business may find you at home, writing out a plan or going over your client list. It may be a good time to create some new, smart-looking business cards that will have people thinking about your catchy words or logo. Some of your free time may allow you to run to your nearest Internet and do a bit of research. A conversation with a friend may move you to thinking about what you believe. Beliefs must be backed by evidence and above all, must have practical worth and application. You may find you enjoy study and research. You may have fun belonging to a UFO group in order to find out for yourself what is behind the talk. That is the direction of your day. Challenges are fun to you.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Your professional life is improving steadily and rewards are in the works soon. Your generous nature and your love of fine possessions could have you in trouble if you spend money based on the promise of an increase in salary. Wait till you see the green before you tie up your finances. Concentrate on planning how you can put aside funds, build up the total a little at a time, in order to have a sense of security. Before you know it, you will have a nice little nest egg, so to speak. Begin to organize the year’s deductions. By tax time, you will be delightfully prepared. Working out ways to organize projects and people is liable to become a topic of special interest next year. Take to reading this evening—others will follow.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) The impressions you make will benefit you for a long time to come.

Lining up a schedule for next year, making decisions about projects, end of week business and arranging meetings all seems to leave you with the feeling that you have had a very full day. This is a good day and much can be accomplished, understood and enjoyed. You may decide there are a few items you want to pick up before this evening and the most important are batteries, batteries and more batteries. At home this evening you look for new avenues of exercise. Weather problems may make outdoor exercise a bit difficult. Try exercising inside—it is an integral part of your well-being. You might even get a friend to exercise along with you. Romance is possible tonight.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TATE T OF KUW K WAIT A

Te el.: 161

DIRECTORA ATE T GENE GENERAL OF CIVIL AV VIA ATION T PA ARTMENT METEOROLOGICAL DEP DA AY: Y Monday

Ext.: 2627 262 - 2630

24/12/2012

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Al-Jahra

25610011

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Expected Weeather for the Next 24 Hours BY Y DA AY:

Fair with light variable wind changing to light to moderate easterly wind, with speed of 06 - 26 km/h and some scattered clouds will appear

BY Y NIGHT:

Cold with light variable wind changing to light to moderate southerly wind, with speed of 08 - 30 km/h and some scattered clouds will appear No Current Warnings arnin a

WARNING A

21 °C

15 °C

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

21 °C

12 °C

NUW WA AISEEB

21 °C

14 °C

WAFRA A

21 °C

12 °C

SALMI

19 °C

10 °C

ABDAL LY

21 °C

10 °C

JAL ALIY YA AH

20 °C

11 °C

25623444

FAILAKA A

19 °C

14 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

19 °C

16 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

20 °C

19 °C

W Hawally

22630786

WARBA A A - BUBY YA AN

20 °C

11 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

ST TATION T

SFC. CHART

24/12/2012 0000 UTC

4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA AY

DA AT TE

WEA AT THER

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

Tuesday

25/12

partly cloudy + scattered rain

22 °C

15 °C

VRB-NE

10 - 32 km/h

Weednesday

26/12

Thursday

27/12

partly cloudy + scattered rain

20 °C

14 °C

W-NW

20 - 40 km/h

fair + chance for fog

21 °C

11 °C

NW

20 - 38 km/h

Friday

28/12

sunny

22 °C

10 °C

NW

12 - 35 km/h

PRA RA AYER Y TIMES

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WA AIT AIRPORT

Fajr

05:14

MAX. Temp.

24884079

Sunrise

06:39

MIN. Temp.

11 °C

Firdous

24892674

Zuhr

11:47

MAX. RH

88 %

Asr

14:37

MIN. RH

32 %

Omariya

24719048

Sunset

16:55

MAX. Wind

N 28 km/h

N Khaitan

24710044

Isha

18:18

TOT TA AL L RAIINF FALL A L IN 24 HR.

Fintas

23900322

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

21 °C

00 mm V1.00

24/12/12 03:21 UTC

T1.06

PRIVATE CLINICS Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Dr. Salem soso General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

22545171

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

07:00

Issue Time

KUW WA AIT CITY

Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Al-Shuhada

WWW.MET.GOV V..KW

MIN. REC.

Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

22418714

Fax: 24348714

MAX. EXP P.

Ardhiya

Al-Madeena

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Snoop never saw Santa as a child noop Lion wants to “jack” Santa Claus for not visiting him as a child. The rapper - who has recently rebranded himself as a reggae artist and left his past moniker, Snoop Dogg, behind - grew up in a poor area of California and as a result had to go without Christmas presents for many years, but says his underprivileged upbringing makes him grateful for everything he now receives. He said: “Santa Claus never really came to the ghetto. When I see him I’mma jack him for all those years that I never saw him as a kid. “When I was young we didn’t really have much so I was never used to getting much... nowadays, every present is a blessing so I have nothing to complain about.” Snoop, 41, is hoping to keep things low-key over the holiday period this year, and sit in with his wife Shante, and their children Corde, Cordell and Cori and enjoy the Los Angeles Lakers basketball game. He added: “[I’m looking forward to] All the good times with my family. Especially being able to spend quality time with my wife and kids. “I’m going to be touring overseas for new years so I plan to lay low with the family for Christmas and catch the Lakers game.

Hopefully they can turn it around by then and St. Nick can bless them with a win.”

S

Richie gets seven Mercedes for Christmas

Liam to celebrate Christmas with Miley L

ionel Richie has splashed out on seven Mercedes cars for himself this Christmas. The ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’ singer - whose adopted daughter is fashion designer Nicole Richie - decided to treat himself to several new vehicles to mark the festive holiday, however, the shocked salesman didn’t recognize Lionel when he first walked into the dealership and thought he was joking when he told him how many cars he wanted. Lionel told the New York Post newspaper: “I decided to buy myself a Mercedes - or two! In blue jeans and T-shirt, I walked into a Montgomery, Alabama, dealership and said, ‘I’ll buy seven Mercedes.’

Staring, the guy asked, ‘Son, you got some proof?’ I had him call LA’s Bank of America president. He hung up and segued from ‘Son’ to, ‘Mr Richie, right this way, please.’

“Although Lionel, 63, has spent a lot on himself he has also helped those less fortunate this Christmas - by working with Scottish charity Cash for Kids, which aims to get kids in the country out of poverty. Speaking about the charity at an event in Glasgow earlier this month, he said: “Christmas is all about family, and children being surrounded by love, but it’s important to realise that not every child is fortunate enough to be able to share this happy time.

“Being in Glasgow as we approach Christmas I can appreciate what Radio Clyde Cash for Kids does to bring happiness to vulnerable children in the city, and I’m delighted to support the great work they do.”

L

iam Hemsworth wants to take Miley Cyrus to Australia for Christmas. The hunky Australian actor would love to spend the festive season in his native country with his family and fiance and as recently wrapped filming on ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’, he could get his wish. He said: “I hope to take Miley to Australia for Christmas that would be very nice. I stopped filming in early December so it’s possible.” Miley would be welcomed with open arms by Liam’s family, as they have previously spoken of how much they like her. The actor’s brother, Luke Hemsworth, has said: “She’s great. She loves our kids, and our kids absolutely love her. She won our hearts. I find her really interesting. I find her very articulate, and years in maturity above her age. But at the same time, she’s very much like Liam. I think a lot of people don’t realize that they are really, really in love. They actually are a perfect match in a lot of ways.”

Beckham’s 250 K holiday avid Beckham is taking his family on a £250,000 holiday this Christmas. The soccer star, his wife Victoria and their four children - Brooklyn, 13, Romeo, 10, Cruz, seven, and 17-month-old Harper - will spend the festive season at the luxury One&Only Reethi Rah resort in the Maldives, which boasts 130 private villas, 12 beaches, 40 pools and its own seaplane. David has booked the family into the most expensive suite, which costs £8,600-a-night and has also booked out three more at a cost of £3,700-anight. The family - who will be staying for 11 nights - will also be dining in the luxurious restaurant, which will set them back £150-a-head each evening and the resort boasts “swirling vitality pools, crystal steam rooms, saunas and stimulating ice fountains”. A source told The Sun newspaper: “It’s the best resort in the Maldives and they are staying in the most expensive rooms.” The family flew to the Indian Ocean island from Britain yesterday before taking a private plane to the hotel. While there, they will be able to play tennis, go scuba diving and big game fishing while fashion designer Victoria can enjoy numerous spa treatments.

D

Styles and T swift to spend Christmas apart

Kate Bosworth wants a family Christmas he 29-year-old actress - who is engaged to filmmaker Michael Polish - insists she has no extravagant requests on her gift list this year and the only thing she wants is to spend the festive season with her loved ones. She said: “All I want for Christmas is to be surrounded by friends and family. I’ll celebrate with my fiancÈ and his daughter, my parents and grandparents in Los Angeles. It’s very relaxed-cooking, eating and sipping some whisky.” The ‘Superman Returns’ actress - who performs ‘Winter Wonderland’ in a new advertisement for UK high street retailer Topshop - has made her Los Angeles home look festive thanks to some shopping she did while in London, and her friends and family will also be sharing in the benefits of her trip. She added: “[British designer] Emma Cook’s decorations are so sweet that I took a bunch back to LA and I’ve got a few Topshop hampers to place under the tree ... my stepdaughter did well.”

T

arry Styles and Taylor swift are spending Christmas apart. The One Direction hunk and the blonde singer - who were pictured enjoying a skiing break in Utah over the weekend - won’t be spending the festive period together as Harry will be in his native UK while Taylor will be in Australia. A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Harry and Taylor have spent a lot of time together

H

Fergie is having lasagna for Christmas dinner he Black Eyed Peas star will spend the festive day with her husband, Josh Duhamel, and her mother, who will cook her signature recipe with special festive ingredients. She said: “We’re spending Christmas in Los Angeles. My mom will bake her famous lasagne but she makes it special for me with turkey and low-fat ricotta. Then everyone opens presents and makes a huge mess. We have a loud family so it’s a party.” Maybe the 37-year-old and her hunky husband will take time over the festive period to finally start their family, as they have hinted a number of times in 2012 that they are keen to start a family. Speaking of children, Fergie has said: “It’s definitely something that we’re interested in doing. We made no secret of that. We’ll be very excited when it happens.” Josh has also hinted the couple could even adopt a child, saying: “I would love to [adopt], especially the more you learn about the kids that are out there that need parents. I am a supporter of adoption.”

T

recently as they really enjoy each other’s company, which is why they decided to go on the skiing mini-break together this weekend. “They’re both massive stars and Taylor already had the commitment to go to Australia and Harry’s family were really keen to see him over the holidays. But they’re already planning their next meet up Taylor has suggested to Harry that he flies out to Australia to meet up with

her there.” However, Taylor isn’t too disappointed about spending time away from Harry because it will be hot in Australia and she can work on getting a tan. She said: “It’s gonna be non-stop sun. So it will be weird to have a tan around Christmas but I’m really excited about it.”

Jackman ‘eats and eats’ over Christmas he ‘Les Miserables’ actor loves spending the festive season with wife DeborraLee Furness and their children Oscar, 12, and seven-year-old Ava, and the family go all out with their celebrations. He said: “I’m going to be in New York with my wife and the kids. We really go for it at Christmas, we do everything. “We’ll go to Midnight Mass the night before then have stockings and presents and just eat and eat. “I’ll be working on press for ‘Les Miserables’ right up until Christmas, so I can’t wait to spend time with family and friends.” Though he loves Christmas, the 44-yearold star admits his gift buying isn’t always very successful. He recalled: “I once gave my sister deodorant. It was by accident though, I thought it was perfume!”

T

White wants festive roast anessa White wants a good roast dinner for Christmas. The Saturdays singer - who has spent months in the US with the band - hasn’t spent the festive season with her family for some time and so is looking forward to sitting down at home to a traditional meal. Asked what she wants for Christmas, she said: “A nice Sunday roast. I haven’t been home for the past three years for Christmas, so it’s going to be my first at home for ages.” Her bandmate Mollie King added: “The more turkey the better.” The group - also comprising Frankie Sandford, Rochelle Humes and Una Healy - are looking forward to a nice relaxing break over the festive period before they have to promote their forthcoming reality TV show ‘Chasing The Saturdays’. Frankie said: “I think we’ve got until the beginning of January off, then we’ll be back over in LA for a couple of weeks to promote the show.” Vanessa added: “There are no special plans, just to be with our families.” —Bang Showbiz

V

37

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

LIFESTYLE F e a t u r e s

(From left) Broadway Performance Actors Dan Lauria, James Wilke Broderick, Matthew Broderick, Kelli O’Hara , director Adam Shenkman and actors Erin Dilly and John Bolton and cast members attend ‘A Christmas Story, The Musical’ broadway performance at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on December 23, 2012 in New York City. —AP

‘Life of Pi’ knocked off by

‘Hangover’ knock-off in China ife of Pi” has been knocked out of the top spot at the Chinese box office by “Lost inThailand,” a homegrown comedy that bears a striking resemblance to “The Hangover” films. “Lost in Thailand,” distributed by Enlight Media and produced for under $5 million, has taken in $72 million since its Dec 12 opening and is heading for $100 million, a rare feat for a Chinese film. It set several records in its first days of release, including: best opening, single day and week in December; best opening week for a local film and best first week for any 2D film.

“This is significant for a couple of reasons,” BoxOffice.com vicepresident and chief analyst Phil Contrino told TheWrap. “It shows the growing strength of the Chinese industry, but also that they are willing to adapt films with very American sensibilities. The fact that a comedy is this popular there is unusual, too.”

Ang Lee’s epic “Life of Pi,” the last US film of the year to open in China, on Sunday finished its fiveweek run there with a whopping $90 million. In all, “Pi” added $23 million from 46 overseas markets this weekend, and has now brought in $160 million internationally - more than double its US haul to date of $76 million.

Chinese comedian Xu Zheng directed and stars in “Lost in Thailand,” in which three guys go to Thailand, get lost and hilarity ensues. For those who don’t recall, the plot of Universal’s “Hangover 2” involved three guys jetting to Thailand, where things go awry and hilarity ensues. The “Hangover” films were never released in China. —Reuters

“L

Homeland season two premiers exclusively on OSN ot off its big Emmy win, Homeland returns next month for its second season, bringing us back into the gripping story of a former prisoner of war and the mentally unstable CIA agent who suspects him of being a terrorist. Where will the series go in season 2? Find out exclusively on OSN First HD/OSN First starting from January 8th at 21.00 KWT/22.00 UAE. Season one’s thrilling 90 minute finale titled ‘Marine One’ left fans wondering whether Sergeant Brody will ultimately be a hero or a villain? Season two will move rapidly to position

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Quentin Tarantino unchains America’s tormented past in ‘Django’ wenty years after Quentin Tarantino unveiled his first film “Reservoir Dogs,” the director has turned his eye to America’s slavery history, spinning a blood-filled retribution tale in his trademark style for “Django Unchained.” Tarantino, 49, has become synonymous with violence and dark humor, taking on the Nazis in “Inglourious Basterds” and mobsters in “Pulp Fiction.” In “Django Unchained,” to be released in U.S. theaters on Christmas Day, he fuses a spaghetti Western cowboy action adventure with a racially charged revenge tale set in the 19th century, before the abolition of slavery in the United States.

Jamie Foxx stars as a slave whose freedom is bought by a former dentist, played by Christoph Waltz. The two set off as bounty hunters, rounding up robbers and cattle rustlers before turning their attention to brutal plantation owners in America’s Deep South. Tarantino is well-versed in delivering violence. But the director said he faced “a lot of trepidation” about filming the slavery scenes. He has already come under fire from some critics for the frequent use in the film of the “N-word” - a racial slur directed at blacks.

The director said he was initially hesitant to ask black actors to play slaves who are shackled and whipped, and even considered filming outside of the United States. But a dinner with veteran Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier, whom Tarantino called a “father figure,” changed his mind after Poitier urged him to not “be afraid” of his film. “This movie is a deep, deep, deep American story, and it needed to be made by an American, and it needed to star Americans. ... Lots of the movies dealing with this issue have usually had Brits playing Southerners and it creates this arm’s-distance quality,” Tarantino said.

Much of the film’s more graphic slavery scenes, such as gladiator-style fights to the death and being encased naked in a metal hot box in the heat of the Southern sun, are drawn from real accounts. “We were shooting on hallowed ground. This was the

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ground of our ancestors. ... Their blood was in the grass, there’s still bits of flesh embedded in the bark,” Tarantino said.

The film has received good reviews from critics and is expected to add Oscar nominations in January to its five Golden Globe nods. With the exception of Waltz, who plays eccentric German bounty hunter Dr King Schultz, the majority of the main players are not only American but from the South. “It seemed sacred to us, and we couldn’t help but channel those emotions, everybody on the crew and on the set. ... Those were very moving days,” Tarantino said.

‘Despicable’ characters Tarantino reunited with Waltz, who won an Oscar in 2010 for his role as a menacing Nazi officer in “Inglourious Basterds,” and long-time collaborator Samuel L. Jackson, who plays slave housekeeper Stephen, a character who Tarantino described as “the most despicable black (character)” in movie history.

“Stephen might be frankly the most fascinating character in the whole piece, and it was important to deal with that whole upstairs-downstairs aspect of the Antebellum South,” he said.

The role that has people talking is Leonardo DiCaprio’s first villainous turn as a racist plantation owner - a stark contrast from his Hollywood heartthrob “Titanic” days and roles as eccentric Americans in “The Aviator” and “J Edgar.” Asked how he felt to be the first director to make DiCaprio a villain, Tarantino laughed, saying he felt “pretty darn good about it.” He commended DiCaprio for turning into a “Southern-fried Caligula,” referring to the tyrannical ancient Roman emperor.

“I saw him as a petulant boy emperor. ... He has nothing but hedonistic hobbies and vices to indulge him, and it’s almost as if he’s rotting from the inside,” Tarantino said. The film’s female lead, Django’s wife Broomhilda played by Kerry Washington, moves away from Tarantino’s fierce screen women such as Uma Thurman in “Kill Bill” and Diane Kruger in “Inglourious Basterds.”

Tarantino said Broomhilda was meant to be the “princess in exile.” He said he was “annoyed” when he was asked by a friend why Broomhilda did not exact revenge on her abusers in the same way as Thurman’s “Kill Bill” character. The film, he said, is “Django’s story.”

“It invokes ... that odyssey that Django goes on and gives the black slave narrative the romantic dimensions of great opera or great folklore tales,” Tarantino said. —Reuters

Brody as the ‘American Hero’ as he immerses himself further into shaping the public’s opinion to better plan Abu Nazir’s next move.

How far will Sergeant Brody go to serve his master and will Carrie’s choice to undergo conclusive shock therapy affect her memory in season 2?

All eyes are on the critically acclaimed drama series, Homeland, as it assures to pick up the pace in season 2 from January 8th exclusively on OSN where you see it first.

Hobbit fever beats Tom Cruise at box office

he dwarfs and elves of “The Hobbit” overpowered Tom Cruise to take the box office title for a second time, grabbing $37.6 million in US and Canadian ticket sales as a crowd of new films fought for pre-holiday audiences. Cruise’s crime drama “Jack Reacher,” a film about a fatal sniper attack, landed in second place with $15.6 million. In third place, adult comedy “This is 40” pulled in $12 million, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters on Sunday.

Domestic ticket sales for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” fell by about 57 percent during the film’s second weekend. Movie receipts typically drop 40 percent to 60 percent each week. In international markets, “Hobbit” sales reached $284 million and brought the movie’s global take to $434 million, distributor Warner Bros. said. “The Hobbit” is the first of three movies based on the classic J.R.R. Tolkien novel set in the fantasy world of Middle Earth. The films, produced by MGM and Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema, are prequels to the blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” franchise that brought in box office gold a decade ago.

Producers of “The Hobbit” and other films hope to enjoy a big boost this week around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The current crop will face competition starting on Tuesday, Christmas Day, from Quentin Tarantino’s Western “Django Unchained,” musical “Les Miserables” and comedy “Parental Guidance.”

Sales over the coming days are expected to push 2012 to a domestic box office record. The year is on track to finish with $10.8 billion worth of ticket sales in the North American (US and Canadian) market, according to a projection from box office tracker Hollywood.com. The current record is $10.6 billion, set in 2009.

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Premier postponed Over the weekend, “Jack Reacher” debuted just days after the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting sparked new debate about the impact of movie violence. “Reacher” begins with a sniper killing a handful of seemingly random victims. A red-carpet premiere and a screening to promote the $60-million production were postponed after the Newtown tragedy. “We opened pre-Christmas with our eyes wide open,” said Don Harris, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution, adding that he expected the film’s box office take to grow over the coming weeks.

He said the Newtown shooting had “no effect” on the movie’s opening. Before the weekend, the studio had predicted sales of $12 million to $15 million. Adult comedy “This is 40” stars Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as a middle-aged couple.

The studio billed the $35 million production from “Bridesmaids” producer Judd Apatow as a “sortof sequel” to 2007 comedy “Knocked Up.” The president of domestic distribution for Universal, Nikki Rocco, said the film exceeded the studio’s estimates for opening prior to a mid-week Christmas, and dismissed talk of a Judd Apatow slump since his comedy “Bridesmaids,” which opened to $26.3 million in May 2011. “Adults have choices at this time of year,” Rocco said, citing the broad slate of films already on offer and those opening on Christmas day. Comedy “The Guilt Trip,” starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen as a mother and son on a cross-country drive, pulled in $5.4 million over three days. The movie opened two days before the weekend, on Wednesday, scoring a five-day total of $7.4 million. Also this weekend, Walt Disney Co rereleased 2001 animated Pixar hit “Monsters Inc” in 3D. The movie earned $5 million at domestic theaters.

Next June, Disney is releasing a prequel to the film called “Monsters University.” —Reuters

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

lifestyle F e a t u r e s

outh Korea’s “battle of the singles”a highly-anticipated mass dating event organized on Facebook-fizzled out yesterday, with thousands of lovelorn men at the venue but few women in sight. The event was triggered last month after two young men jokingly floated the idea on the social networking site and eventually prompted more than 36,000 Facebook users to sign up. But only about 3,500 peoplemostly men in their 20s or 30s-turned up.

Many of the women who did show up brought male partners just to watch the event. “Apparently most of the participants were young men... many left fairly quickly as the place was increasingly filled with guys,” a police officer in Seoul told AFP. Romantics who braved temperatures of around minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) mostly milled aimlessly around the venue in a city park during the two-hour event. Women had been asked to dress in red and men in white when they gathered at the park in Seoul’s Yeouido financial district. The two groups were asked to stand facing each other a few meters apart until the event started at 3:00pm-then walk towards a potential date and grab his or her hands.

But the face-to-face fizzled out after it became clear that there were simply not enough women to cater for a horde of men. “Where the hell are the girls? I can’t find any,” said Kim Sung-Sik, a 23year-old college student, describing the event as “utterly disappointing”. “This is awful... I didn’t come all this way to get stuck in a bunch of smelly guys,” said another male participant who declined to be named. “It looks like there are more doves flying around here than there are girls... I feel like I’m in the army again,” he said, referring to the two years of military service mandatory for all South Korean men. Similar maledominated scenes have been reported in other cities where the same “battle of the singles” events were arranged. Out of a population of some 50 million, South Korea-one of the world’s mostwired nations-has 31 million smartphone users and nearly 20 million users of either Facebook or Twitter. — AFP

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A man dressed as Santa Claus poses for a picture as he stands in front of a toy store in Abidjan. — AP

‘Leverage’ Christmas episode will be last for TNT drama able network TNT has confirmed what “Leverage” fans feared: the Season 5 finale episode - which will air on Christmas Day - will be its last. Dean Devlin, executive producer of the TNT drama, earlier this month penned an open letter to the show’s viewers, telling them that he and fellow “Leverage” executive producer John Rogers crafted the show’s Season 5 finale as a series finale, because it just might be.

In the series, Timothy Hutton stars as the leader of a squad of shady characters who use their skills to right corporate and government injustices. Tuesday’s episode, according to Devlin, is “the most powerful episode we’ve ever done.”

“Leverage” has averaged 3.5 million total viewers, down 11 percent from last season’s average, with 1.3 million in the 18-49 demographic most important to advertisers, an 18 percent decline from last season. “As of the writing of this letter, we still do not know if there will be a season six of our show. Just as we didn’t know when we created the last three episodes which are about to air,” Devlin wrote. “Because of this uncertainty, John Rogers and I decided to end this season with the episode we had planned to make to end the series, way back when we shot the pilot.

So, the episode that will air on Christmas is, in fact, the series finale we had always envisioned.”—Reuters

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

lifestyle F a s h i o n

ur, real and faux, is the hot holiday seller this year, with Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn reporting that furry pillows and blankets are selling out in some stores. For those shoppers looking for a lastminute gift that feels luxurious and indulgent and yet useful, we went in search of the softest, plushest, most huggable pillow and convened a blindfolded panel to conduct a touch test. The reviews were surprising.

Though many of the designs in our informal survey were authentic lambskin, the nearly unanimous favorite was an inexpensive Restoration Hardware pillow made of modacrylic and polyester.

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Tibetan sheepskin, black pillow, 16 inches square, from Room and Board, makes for a last minute gift for the holidays.

—MCT photos

Tibetan sheepskin Room & Board 16 inches square $89, polyester insert included The cuddle test: Although our testers love their pets, most panelist did not want to hold a 100 percent wool pillow that felt like one. “It feels like I’m petting a Maltese,” one blindfolded reviewer said, cringing. Many panelists didn’t like the long, curly fur but were taken with the soft suede backing. When the blindfolds came off, most people said they were impressed with the look of the pillow. One person even saw a potential fashion accessory: “I could put it on my head and pretend I have hair,” he said.

White Mongolian lamb fur pillow, 18 inches square, with faux suede back from Crate & Barrel.

elists liked Pottery Barn’s faux fur made of 82 percent modacrylic and 18 percent polyester. Hands declared it a winner for its silky feel, but eyes were less impressed with the fake look.

Faux sheepskin Pottery Barn 18 inches square $19.50 plus $14 for feather-down or synthetic insert The cuddle test: Judges liked the simplicity of this polyester pillow and noted that it felt like a “spa pillow.” Many considered it a bedroom accessory because, as one person said, “it feels comfortable for sleeping.”

Its simple design also was popular once the blindfolds came off. Many said the neutral color would be a nice complement to other pillows in their home. “I like the size and the give,” a judge said. “I like that both sides are the same.”

Sheepskin in steel gray Room & Board 24 by 16 inches $89, polyester insert included The cuddle test: Good reviews all around: “I love the suede texture on the back. I want to sink my head down in to it.” “I would use this watching TV. It’s very plush.” “This is the most pleasing. It’s dense.” “I like that it stretches across my whole self.” The Room & Board pillow was the panel’s favorite in appearance, with reviewers complimenting the short, gray fur.

Luxe faux fur pillow cover from Restoration Hardware, available in four sizes and six different colors.

Pebble colored Mongolian lamb fur pillow from West Elm with cotton backing.

Mongolian lamb in amethyst West Elm 12 by 16 inches Regularly $59, on sale for $37 to $41, plus $7 to $11 for polyester or feather-down insert The cuddle test: Reviewers were generally not impressed with the pillow’s curly fur or cotton backing. “I like that it’s so soft, but I’m not a fan of the long hair,” one person said. Another panelist was more blunt: “This is creepy. I don’t like the textured hair. The back is scratchy.” When we had panelists hold different sizes of the same pillow, smaller versions were deemed more decorative than functional, especially by men.

Faux fur in caramel Pottery Barn 18 inches square $39.50 plus $14 for feather-down or synthetic insert The cuddle test: After hugging a series of long-haired pillows, pan-

hoes are coming out of the closet and landing under the Christmas tree. They’re a top seller this holiday season - a big feat considering they don’t usually make peoples’ gift lists. Laranda Williams, 39, used to buy clothing, tools and electronics as presents for her family. This year, though, she looked at their feet and got inspired. She bought some Vans sneakers for one of her sons, two pairs of stilettos for a girlfriend of another son, and Nike running shoes for her husband.

“Electronics and clothing get redundant,” said Williams, who lives in Clarksville, Tenn. “But shoes are just the wow. I know they’re going to use it, and I know they’re going to love it.” The shoe-gifting fetish is part of a larger trend of shoppers buying loved ones holiday presents that they not only like, but can use. It’s this habit of practicality that Americans have been clinging to throughout the economic downturn.

This holiday season, it’s meant that mom might not buy Molly an extravagant evening gown she’ll maybe wear once.

But she may splurge on $600 Jimmy Choo pumps if her daughter needs work shoes or $150 Nike sneakers if she’s an avid runner. “It’s about practicality and splurging at the same time,” said Marshal Cohen, chief research analyst at NPD Inc., a market research firm. “There’s a sense of, ‘I know what you need but you haven’t gotten it for yourself.’”

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Luxe faux fur

Mongolian lamb fur with faux suede back Crate & Barrel 18 inches square $89.95, feather-down insert included The cuddle test: Reviews of this pillow, called the Pelliccia, varied greatly. Some liked that it felt so soft, but others declared the long hair to be a turn-off. “I like that it’s furry on one side, and the other feels like a bearskin,” one judge said. “It’s a nice, cuddly pillow,” said another. But some judges used the other C-word. “Creepy,” a critic said. “I don’t like the texture at all.” Said another: “It’s not something I want to hug.”

As a result, footwear was the fifth most popular gift on shoppers’ lists on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, below clothing, electronics, toys, and movies, according to NPD. A year ago, shoes didn’t even make it into the top 10 gifts for the season.

Overall, sales of athletic shoes rose 3.4 percent to $3 billion for the three months ending in November, and sales of women’s fashion footwear grew 3.2 percent to $6.12 billion.

Chelsey Gates, manager of Chuckies New York, a designer shoe store on the Manhattan borough of New York City, said she’s seen more men buying shoes for their wives or girlfriends. One of the most popular gifts: a Chelsea Paris gold trim ankle-high boots for $695.

“Men come in with cards with perfect instructions: style numbers, sizes and prices,” she said. The trend comes as stores have been trying to find ways to boost sales of shoes, which can carry profit margins of up to 50 percent.As part of Macy’s overhaul of its New York flagship store, the department store combined three different shoe departments and expanded the size by ten percent. The new shoe department now boasts 250,000 pairs of shoes, including everything from $99 Nine West leopard print platform pumps to $400 multicolored pumps from Donald Pliner.

“Women love shoes. This is a category that they care

Customers shop for Rudsak shoes at Macy’s shoe department in New York.— AP photos

Restoration Hardware 22 inches square Regularly $39, on sale for $29, plus $16 to $20 for feather insert The cuddle test: Blindfolded reviewers unanimously fell for this shortpiled pillow made of 74 percent modacrylic and 26 percent polyester, citing it as the coziest and most luxurious _ an effect enhanced by the fact that faux fur covers both sides. Size also was a plus. “This would feel great under my head or (under) feet on the coffee table,” said one judge, no doubt to the chagrin of his wife. One astute reviewer said the pillow felt so silky, “I’m guessing it’s fake. That’s probably good as that means that I can wash it!” (She was right. It is machine washable.) No one, in fact, wanted to let this one go. — MCT

about,” said Muriel Gonzalez, an executive vice president at Macy’s. This fall, Saks Fifth Avenue also enlarged its shoe departments in about a dozen of its other stores across the country. The move continues the luxury retailer’s efforts in its flagship store in New York City, which it first expanded in 2007 to include more shoes, better service and more stock room capability.

The New York City shoe department, which got a second remake this fall, now takes over the entire 8th floor, which previously also housed a gift area. The shoe department is 40 percent larger and includes the first Louis Vuitton shoe shop within a department store. The company says that its New York flagship shoe floor is the second most productive in terms of sales per square foot, behind the main floor, which sells cosmetics.

In the past few weeks, Elizabeth Kanfer, Saks’ senior fashion and co-brand director for women’s accessories said the retailer has noticed boyfriends or husbands walking in with their significant others and buying a pair of shoes that cost at least $595. She declined to offer sales figures.

“There has been a resurgence of footwear easily in the last six years,” Kanfer said. “You can easily upgrade your wardrobe with a pair of shoes.” Even small retailers are trying to cash on the trend toward more shoe buying. Fleet Feet Sports-

Chicago, a two-store chain of running and fitness apparel, launched its first-ever gift registry this year that allows people to record their preferred brand, style, color, size, width and model of shoe from hundreds of options.

Catherine Moloznik, Fleet Feet’s product manager said so far in December, shoe sales are up about 20 percent compared with a year ago, in part because of the registry. “Shoes have turned the corner in the gift category,” said Robert Burke, a New York-based fashion consultant. “They’ve become the new handbag.” Owen Badillo, 35, never bought shoes as gifts for others in the past, but this season he bought two pairs of $30 Asics running shoes for his 28-year-old sister, the mother of two small children and a runner.

Badillo said he’s more confident in his gift this year than last year when he ran around trying to pick up clothes for his sister, not really knowing “what she wanted.” This year, he said it was clear what she needed. “Her shoes are all torn up.

So I am focusing on what she really needs,” said Badillo, who lives in Oklahoma City and works at an oil and gas company.

— AP

More shoes showing up under Christmas tree

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

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People dressed up as Santa Claus enjoy a traditional Christmas bath on December 23, 2012 in Monaco. — AFP

A man disguised as Santa Claus greets his dog in Mexico City, Sunday. — AP Indian schoolchildren dressed as Santa Claus ride on a cycle-rickshaw through a street in Amritsar yesterday, ahead of Christmas Day. — AFP

eyond the colorful decorations and after the initial rush of sugar, holiday cookies are about memories and tradition. Be they humble or ornate, our baked goods are used to celebrate and give thanks-thanks for our childhoods, the blessings of family and friends and the magic that can be found only this time of year.

This fall, we asked LA Times readers to share their special cookie recipes with us for our third annual Holiday Cookie Bake-Off and then to help us narrow down their favorites to the top 50. We received close to 200 submissions, and more than 2,500 votes were cast. We took the top vote-getters to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena, Calif, where students spent one Saturday morning baking batches of cookies.

Just over a week ago, the LA Times Test Kitchen was jammed with happy bakers and their helpers for this year’s photo shoot.

Amazing cookies, memories and traditions were shared.

Celebrating memories, cookies remind us of home. Or remind those close to us of home. One winner made cookies to share with a friend from Sweden. When he tasted the ginger-spiced cookies, the friend remarked, “This is my taste of Christmas.”

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SANTA’S COAT BUTTONS Santa’s coat buttons are so much fun to make with a group of children.

Joan Kay GeorgeHerzberg, Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Total time: 1 hour, plus chilling time for the dough Servings: Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Note: Adapted from Joan Kay GeorgeHerzberg. Red and white decorating sugars can be found at most well-stocked markets, as well as cooking and baking supply stores.

2 cups (9.5 ounces) flour 2/3 cup powdered sugar teaspoons salt 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1 inch pieces, at room temperature cup red decorating sugar 1 teaspoon white decorating sugar.

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, powdered sugar and salt. Add the butter, pulsing until the dough comes together.

2. Remove the dough and divide in half. Shape each half into a log about 1 inch in diameter, rolling in waxed paper. Chill the dough until firm enough to slice, at least 30 minutes.

3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Pour the red sugar into a small bowl or baking dish to a thickness of about one-half inch.

4. Cut each dough log into one-half-inch rounds. Press each round lightly onto the sugar to coat, then place, sugar side up, onto the parchment-lined baking sheet 1 to 2 inches

apart. Sprinkle a few white crystals on top of each cookie for added sparkle. Use the blunt end of a skewer or similar item to make 2 indentations for “buttonholes.”

5. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, then reverse the sheets and continue to bake until the cookies are golden on the bottom (no coloring on top), 8 to 12 minutes longer. Cool on racks.

Each of 36 servings: 93 calories; 1 gram protein; 9 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 6 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 15 mg cholesterol; 4 grams sugar; 33 mg sodium.

JOULU PIPPARKAKOR Many years ago, a co-worker from Finland shared her family recipe for these best-ever gingery spice cookies because, in the land of sunny Christmas mornings, they reminded her of home.

Sean Early, Los Angeles Total time: 1hour, plus overnight chilling time for the dough Servings: Makes about 10 dozen (3-inch) cookies.

1 cup (8 ounces) unsulfured molasses A cup plus 2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee or espresso 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 tablespoon ground ginger 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger 1 teaspoons ground cloves 2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest 1 teaspoon freshly ground green cardamom (seeds only, no pods) 10 ounces (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature 3 eggs, at room temperature Scant 1cups (10 ounces) sugar 7 cups (29.75 ounces) flour, divided 1 tablespoon baking soda teaspoon kosher salt 2 egg whites, at room temperature 1 tablespoon water Coarse sanding or decorating sugar, for dusting 1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the molasses, coffee, cinnamon, ground and fresh ginger, cloves, orange zest and cardamom. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly thickened with frothy bubbles. Remove the saucepan from heat and add the butter in large pieces, stirring to combine after each addition. Set aside to cool to nearly room temperature.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the whole eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the cooled syrup to the egg mixture, and stir to combine.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 5 cups of flour with the baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the syrup mixture in 1 cup increments, stirring after each addition to com-

bine and form the dough. Continue to add additional flour until the dough is very stiff but pliable and slightly sticky to the touch; you may not need all of the flour.

4. Remove the dough to a well-floured surface and form into a large ball. Divide the dough in half, and knead each half briefly until smooth. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and set aside at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to warm slightly.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees, and line cookie sheets with parchment.

6. On a lightly floured board, divide each disk in half, and roll each portion so it is about one-eighth-inch thick. Cut the dough into desired shapes (stars and snowflakes are traditional) using lightly floured cutters, and place on the sheets, spacing the cookies about 1 inch apart.

7. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites with the water, then brush each cookie with egg wash. Dust the cookies with the coarse sugar.

8. Bake the cookies so they are an even, deep golden brown, 7 to 9 minutes, depending on size.

Each of 120 cookies: 62 calories; 1 gram protein; 10 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 2 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 10 mg cholesterol; 4 grams sugar; 40 mg sodium.

ALMOND SWEETIES My 98-year-old mother was a wonderful baker, and this was one of her specialties.

Laurel Gillis, Burbank, Calif Total time: 45 minutes Servings: 12 to 18 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided 1 egg, separated 1 teaspoon almond extract 2 cups (8.5 ounces) flour 1 cup sliced almonds teaspoon cinnamon 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. Beat in the almond extract and egg yolk. Add the flour and mix thoroughly.

3. Spread the dough evenly into a 9-by-12-inch baking pan.

4. Beat the egg white until frothy, then brush over the dough.

Spread the almonds over the top.

5. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the almonds.

6. Bake until golden brown on the edges, about 25 minutes.

Remove and cool on a rack, then cut into squares.

Each of 18 servings: 219 calories; 3 grams protein; 23 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 13 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 37 mg cholesterol; 12 grams sugar; 6 mg sodium.

MEXICAN WEDDING CAKES Oh, no, not another Mexican wedding cake! But these are outof-this-world, melt-in-your-mouth, can’t-stop-eating favorites!

Deb Love, Santa Monica, Calif Total time: 1 hour Servings: Makes about 3 dozen cookies. cup (1sticks) butter cup powdered sugar, plus extra for rolling 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cold water 2 cups (9.5 ounces) flour teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped pecans 1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add the vanilla and water and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the flour and salt, then the pecans. Shape the dough into 1{inch crescents and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.

4. Roll the cookies in powdered sugar while still warm, then cool on a rack. Each of 36 cookies: 86 calories; 1 gram protein; 7 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 6 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 10 mg cholesterol; 1 gram sugar; 9 mg sodium. — MCT

Winning reader-submitted recipes for the 2012 Holiday Cookie Bake-Off in Los Angeles, California. — MCT photos