3 Feb 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Dozens suspended in Harvard cheat scandal

Twitter hit by ‘sophisticated’ cyber attack

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Scientists explain how owl rotates head

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www.kuwaittimes.net

Chelsea crash to late defeat at Newcastle

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Russia in rare talks with Syria opposition leader

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RABI ALAWAL 22, 1434 AH

US ready for nuclear talks with Iran

in the

news

Turkish group claims US embassy attack ANKARA: A radical Turkish Marxist group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attack at the US embassy in Ankara, according to a statement posted on the Internet yesterday. The Revolutionary People’s Liberation Front (DHKP-C), which the Turkish authorities had already blamed for Friday’s bombing, accused the United States of being the “murderers of the world”, according to a statement on the Halkin Sesi (The Voice of the People) website. The site carried two pictures of the bomber identified as Alisan Sanli, one of which shows him brandishing a gun. The group also threatened further attacks on other US diplomatic facilities in Turkey. Sanli blew himself up Friday at the first checkpoint on the perimeter of the embassy compound, detonating a hand grenade and about 6 kg of TNT. He had previously been jailed after a 1997 attack at a military compound in Istanbul and released in 2001. He left Turkey after his release from prison but later returned using false papers, Interior Minister Muammer Guler said.

According to local press reports, Sanli took part in a hunger strike during his time in detention which caused him to suffer from Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a brain disorder caused by thiamine deficiency. He was chosen for the suicide attack because “his days were numbered,” according to the dailies Milliyet and Vatan.

MUNICH: US Vice President Joseph Biden (right) and Sheikh Moaz Al-Khatib, President of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, shake hands ahead of bilateral talks during the 49th Munich Security Conference yesterday as world leaders, ministers and top military gather for talks with the spotlight on Syria, Mali and Iran. — AFP

Max 20º Min 08º High Tide 01:48 & 14:58 Low Tide 08:15 & 20:34

MUNICH: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held his first direct talks with Syria’s opposition leader in Germany yesterday, amid a renewed global push to iron out sharp differences over how to end the conflict in Syria. The meeting did not include US Vice President Joe Biden or UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Russian news agencies said, despite initial suggestions that four-way talks might be held as all four are in Germany for the high-level Munich Security Conference. The reports, quoting a diplomatic source, did not give details about what Lavrov and Moaz Al-Khatib discussed in their brief meeting.

The rare talks came after Biden told the conference that the United States was pushing to help strengthen the opposition, insisting Syria’s embattled President Bashar Al-Assad was a “tyrant” and must go. Biden said it was “no secret” that Moscow and Washington have “serious differences” on issues like Syria, as fears mount that the 23-month conflict will draw in neighbouring states. “We can all agree... on the increasingly desperate plight of the Syrian people and the responsibility of the international community to address that plight,” he added.

Biden also said the US is ready to hold talks with Iran on its disputed nuclear program but not just “for the exercise”.

Continued on Page 13

Iran unveils futuristic new jet

Alisan Sanli

Ahmadinejad to make landmark Egypt visit CAIRO: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Cairo next week, becoming the first Iranian president to travel to Egypt since Iran’s 1979 revolution ruptured diplomatic ties between the two most populous countries in the Middle East. Ahmadinejad will head Iran’s delegation to a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Cairo, said Amani Mojtaba, head of Iran’s interest section in Cairo, which it maintains in the absence of an official embassy. “I hope that Iranian-Egyptian relations return to the full diplomatic level,” he told Reuters. The trip follows a visit by Egypt’s new Islamist President Mohamed Morsi to Iran in August last year, when the two leaders agreed to reopen official embassies. Tehran broke off relations with Cairo in 1980, a year after both Iran’s revolution and Egypt’s peace agreement with Israel. The OIC summit will be the biggest international event Morsi has hosted since taking power seven months ago as the first elected leader in Egypt’s 5,000-year history.

TEHRAN: Iran yesterday unveiled its newest combat jet, a domestically manufactured fighter-bomber that military officials claim can evade radar. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a ceremony broadcast on state TV that building the Qaher F-313, or Dominant F-313, shows Iran’s will to “conquer scientific peaks”. The futuristic-looking Qaher is one of several aircraft designs the Iranian military has rolled out since 2007. Tehran has repeatedly claimed to have developed advanced military technologies in recent years, but its claims cannot be independently verified because the country does not release technical details of its arsenals.

The Islamic republic launched a self-sufficient military program in the 1980s to compensate for a Western weapons embargo that banned export of military technology and equipment to Iran. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles, torpedoes, drones and fighter planes. “Qaher is a fully indigenous aircraft designed and built by our aerospace experts. This is a radar-evading plane that can fly at low altitude, carry weapons, engage enemy aircrafts and land at short airstrips,” Defense Minister Ahmad

Vahidi said. Vahidi said advanced materials were used to manufacture the body of the aircraft, making it Iran’s best stealth plane.

However, some reports suggest that Iran’s program relies on equipment supplied by major international defense contractors and that it incorporates parts made abroad or uses outside engineered technologies in its domestic designs. Still photos of the Qaher released by the official IRNA news agency and pictures on state TV showed a single-seat jet. They described it as a fighter-bomber that can combat other aircraft and ground targets.

Iran’s English-language state Press TV said Qaher was similar to the Americanmade F/A-18, an advanced fighter capable of dogfighting as well as penetrating enemy air defenses to strike ground targets.

But Hasan Parvaneh, an official in charge of the project, said the physical design of the Iranian plane was unique and bore no resemblance to any foreign fighter jet.

“Development depends on our will. If we don’t have a will, no one can take us there,” Ahmadinejad told the inauguration ceremony in Tehran. “Once we imported cars and assembled them here. Now, we are at a point where we can design, build

and get planes in the air.” Ahmadinejad said Qaher was built for deterrence. “It’s not for expansionism. It’s for deterrence,” he said, claiming the aircraft was among the most advanced fighter jets in the world.

In 2007, Iran unveiled what it said was its first domestically manufactured fighter jet,

called Azarakhsh or Lightning. In the same year, it claimed that Azarakhsh had reached industrial production stage. Saeqeh, or Thunder, was a follow-up aircraft derived from Azarakhsh. Iran unveiled its first squadron of Saeqeh fighter bombers in an air show in Sept 2010. — AP

Egypt opposition seeks Morsi trial Police abuse video stokes anger

Saudi gets off light for raping, killing daughter RIYADH: A Saudi preacher who raped his five-year-old daughter and tortured her to death has been sentenced to pay “blood money” to the mother after having served a short jail term, activists said yesterday.

Lamia Al-Ghamdi was admitted to hospital on Dec 25, 2011 with multiple injuries, including a crushed skull, broken ribs and left arm, extensive bruising and burns, the activists said. She died last Oct 22. Fayhan AlGhamdi, an Islamic preacher and regular guest on Muslim television networks, confessed to having used cables and a cane to inflict the injuries, the activists from the group “Women to Drive” said in a statement.

They said the father had doubted Lama’s virginity and had her checked up by a medic. Randa Al-Kaleeb, a social worker from the hospital where Lama was admitted, said the girl’s back was broken and that she had been raped “everywhere”, according to the group.

According to the victim’s mother, hospital staff told her that her “child’s rectum had been torn open and the abuser had attempted to burn it closed”. The activists said that the judge had ruled the prosecution could only seek “blood money and the time the defendant had served in prison since Lama’s death suffices as punishment”.

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (center) and Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi speak with the pilot of the domestically designed and built Qaher F313 fighter jet during a ceremony to unveil it in a warehouse yesterday. — AFP

TIMBUKTU: French President Francois Hollande (right) meets throngs of supporters yesterday. — AFP

Rapturous welcome for Hollande in Mali TIMBUKTU: French President Francois Hollande received a rapturous welcome yesterday as he visited Mali to push for African troops to take over a French-led offensive that drove back Islamist rebels from the country’s desert north. The French leader’s whirlwind tour came as

troops worked to secure Kidal, the last bastion of radicals who seized control last year after a coup, raising fears that an area larger than France could become a safe haven for Al-Qaeda-linked fighters.

Welcoming Hollande, thousands of Continued on Page 13

CAIRO: Egypt’s main opposition group yesterday sided with calls to oust the ruling Islamists after deadly clashes left the presidency scrambling to contain fallout from footage of police brutalising a man.

A statement from the National Salvation Front signalled a harder line from the opposition coalition which has spearheaded protests against President Mohamed Morsi since November.

“The Salvation Front completely sides with the people and its active forces’ calls to topple the authoritarian regime and the Muslim Brotherhood’s control,” it said, urging Egyptians to stage peaceful protests.

It demanded Morsi’s trial for crimes of “killings and torture” after an “impartial investigation” and ruled out dialogue with the presidency until “the bloodletting stops and those responsible for it are held accountable.” Clashes on Friday night between protesters and police outside the Continued on Page 13

CAIRO: An image grab taken from TV shows Egyptian riot policemen dragging and beating an unidentified naked man during clashes with protesters outside the Egyptian Presidential Palace on Friday. — AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

LOCAL

More medical seats for Kuwaitis LONDON: Extra 31 seats will be allocated to Kuwaitis who wish to study medicine in British universities in the upcoming semester, Head of Kuwait’s Cultural Office in London Dr. Mohammad AlHajri said yesterday.

After the Kuwaiti Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf visited the office, the Kuwaiti diplomat said that students who wish to study in medicine colleges in the UK should have Grade Point Average, or GPA, of not less than 90 per-

cent. They are also required to have high grades in mathematics and biology classes.

He also noted that Higher school diplomas from government or American schools in Kuwait are accepted to enroll in medicine colleges in Britain.

However, British High school graduates should attend an extra year of high school in the UK. Students referred from other universities in other countries are not accepted, Al-Hajri noted.

Students should pursue their

studies in British universities right after they graduate from high school and they should pass a 7 or 7.5 point on the ILET exam.

Al-Hajri urged students who wish to study in the UK to contact the Higher Education Ministry immediately since it is challenging for the cultural office to obtain extra seats for Kuwaiti students at the beginning of every academic year, especially since Britain only allocates 5 percent of each university’s seats to foreign students. —KUNA

Dividends of good governance ‘huge’ Transparency Society holds forum

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Drawing direct linkages between transparency in administration, good governance, economic growth and better social indicators, an expert working with the World Bank in the region said the dividends of good governance were too huge and all pervasive.

Speaking at a forum titled ‘Strengthening Governance and Fighting Corruption: Challenges in North Africa and the Middle East,’ organized by the Kuwait Transparency Society in cooperation with the World Bank, on Wednesday at its premises in Yarmouk area, Guenter Heidenhof, Sector Manager, Public Sector and Governance Group, Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank said governance impacted economic growth and provided statistics about its measurable investment share in GDP and per capita income.

The statistics were gleaned by measuring perceptions of 4000 firms in 67 countries about protection of property rights, judicial reliability, predictability of rules, control of corruption etc. “ The dividends of good governance include a decrease in the infant mortality and corruption. On the other hand, it increases literacy, rule of law, regulatory burden, per capita income, and accountability,” Guenter Heidenhof said at the forum.

He enumerated six basic pillars of good governance, namely, “Political accountability, the check and balance system, effective management of private sector, civil community and media, communicating with the private sector, and local participation.”

“Thus, there are many challenges and problems such as the political and administrative corruption, no access to information, weak institutional structure, weak performance, and non-effective public expenses,” explained Heidenhof.

Recounting good governance’s achievements, he said, “It includes transparency which achieved some progress on freedom of information legislation in Tunisia and Morocco. Similar reforms were launched in Egypt and Kuwait while there was little progress on budget transparency and conflict-of-interest issues.”

“It also includes accountability. Some progress in this regard was reached in Tunisia, Morocco and Iraq, for example in expenditure management reforms, strengthening institutions of accountability and initial steps to empower sub national governments. Good governance also includes participation. In this regard, some progress was seen in Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq (e.g. participatory service delivery reforms, modernization of the regulatory framework that governs civil society organizations),” added Heidenhof.

“Compared to South America and Africa (non-Arab), the governance in this region was at its lowest level in 2010. The Arab Spring brought some changes in transparency, accountability and participation,” he noted.

Heidenhof divided the priorities in four criteria. “It includes building credible state institutions, which is prerequisite for a government system with a strong service delivery culture; strengthening of government accountability to improve the results, focus on the public administration and ensure value for money in public spending; supporting open government reforms to increase government transparency and to stimulate interaction between citizens and the government; and finally, improving the rule of law to ensure a level playing field with equal treatment for all citizens and firms,” he stated.

Government accountability is important.

“Government accountability is weaker in MENA than in many other regions, with negative consequences on efficiency and quality of public services. It can be strengthened by improving access to and quality of public services, for example through e-government reforms, introduction of service standards, simplification of procedures, performance monitoring in health, education, energy, water etc,” stressed Heidenhof.

There are more ways such as supporting expenditure management reforms including public procurement.

This can be done, for example, through outcome-based

budgeting, budget transparency and comprehensiveness, support for institutions of accountability, namely Supreme Audit and Anti-corruption institutions and judiciary. Then, addressing excessive centralization of the state can be achieved through support for administrative/fiscal de-concentration and decentralization.

And finally professionalizing public servants was necessary which can be done through systematic support and investment in training and capacity building in virtually all sectors to design and implement reforms and policy changes.

Heidenhof also spoke about the Open Government Partnership, which is a relatively new multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.

According to him, corruption remains a major issue in many MENA countries, together with a large disconnect between the legal framework and its actual enforcement. “Kuwait cooperated with the World Bank through some law projects suggested by the Bank related to transparency and good governance such as ‘Access to information’ and ‘Property and income statement,’ in addition to some other reform projects in process,” concluded Heidenhof.

KUWAIT: Gunter Heidenhof addressing the meeting. — Photo by Joseph Shagra

News

in brief

‘Cold’ weather predicted KUWAIT: Weather would be stable but cold in the first week of February with mercury hovering at 10 C degrees while minimum temperature could dip to less than 6 C degrees, a veteran meteorologist told local newspaper Al-Watan on Thursday. Dr. Saleh Al-Ujairi also noted that there was little probability of rain in the next few days sandstorms are completely ruled out.

He further indicated that the winter season is far from over despite the warm weather experienced yesterday (Friday) afternoon, and advised people to continue wearing winter clothes until the end of March.

KD47m in traffic tickets KUWAIT: The Traffic General Department in the Ministry of Interior collected nearly KD47 million in traffic tickets last year, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting security insiders.

The fines for “direct and indirect violations” have reportedly been collected through “strict measures adopted” in this regard, said the sources who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity. The Traffic General Department had installed 96 speed cameras across Kuwait in 2012 “to provide better monitoring against speeding and reckless driving,” the report further indicated, as per sources who remained anonymous since they were not authorized to reveal the figures before these were announced officially.

Social care allowances KUWAIT: The government has recently allocated an additional KD 201 million in its new budget to cover the hike in social care allowances provided by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL), said a high-ranking ministerial source noting that the bill would be passed soon. The source also said that as per to the increase, a family of 10+ members would now receive a maximum social care allowance of KD 1200. “Payrolls in the 2013-2014 budget are pegged at KD 10.4 billion, that is 40 per cent of the budget,” added the sources, explaining that KD 5,192,800,000 of the budget would be allocated for ministries and governmental establishments’ payroll while the balance would be distributed among nine main categories including KD 201 million meant for the social care allowances.

126,000 applications pending at SCB KUWAIT: Official sources at the Savings and Credit Bank (SCB) said that so far, a total of 126,000 citizens’ applications were submitted to the bank, including those related to real estate, disability and marriage loans. The sources added that the applications would be attended to according to SCB’s regulations and in coordination with other governmental establishments such as the Housing Welfare and the Ministry of Justice. Meanwhile, the sources said that SCB’s general manager had ordered that the bureaucratic time taken to deal with the applications be reduced from 45 days to a fortnight.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

LOCAL kuwait digest

Local Spotlight

Support our small projects

Religion and constitution

By Mizyed Al-Maosharji

K

uwait is a rich country where companies are not required to pay taxes, despite the fact that the government is authorized by the constitution to levy these. In lieu of taxes, I believe the government is required to instruct companies to pay part of their profits to support young citizens’ projects.

Hearing a speech for HH the Amir and promises made by senior state officials fill us with optimism about the government opening the doors to support small projects started by young Kuwaiti men and women. Banking on that, young people work hard and work patiently, hoping to turn their project ideas into reality which would serve the country. You can only imagine how disappointed we feel when we find that the government’s promises were empty, and it has slammed the doors shut in the face of these ambitious youth.

A majority of young people start small businesses but suffer every time they have to seek a license since the bureaucratic procedures make them trudge their way through the municipality, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce and several other state departments. In addition to that, small projects receive little to no support from major private companies which can provide sponsorship that could prove crucial for some.

The law in the United States of America encourages all companies to support charity and non-government organizations, as well as endorse small projects that benefit the society. As per the law, the more a company makes such contributions, the lesser taxes the government levies on it. A company that donates $1 million to charity and to support small projects would in the end be required to pay significantly lower taxes. That is why we see major businessmen like Bill Gates donating millions annually to support private projects, which makes him pay lesstaxes. And I am not trying to take anything away from Gates’ inspiring humanitarian work which is a role model for charitable work in America. Other millionaires have benefited from the law as well, including Warren Buffet and David Koch who are credited for their donations to Jewish organizations.

The tax system applicable to high income earners and companies is not much different than the Islamic system of Zakat - the alimony taken from enterprises and financially competent individuals for the benefit of the public and the needy in specific. This system is beautifully implemented in Saudi Arabia, where the Abdullatif Jameel Company (Toyota’s seller in the Kingdom) for example has a pioneering role in supporting small projects, and is committed to the annual Zakat that benefits poor Muslim communities around the world. In the United Arab Emirates, major companies race to support young people’s projects and activities.

The relationship between the society and companies is based on partnership. While Kuwait’s wealth has made it unnecessary for the government to collect taxes from local companies, the government should instead set a condition by which companies are required to contribute a fixed share of their annual income to support young people’s projects and other social contributions. — Al-Qabas

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

W

kuwait digest

Political fight

By Thaar Al Rashidi

I

t is a mistake to project that February 2012 National Assembly Council is an honorable council that will necessarily turn out to be a savior of the country, just as it is a mistake to believe that the December 2012 Council comprised all bribe takers. Of course, this would not mean that it is fair to compare the two since any mistakes made by the February council, no matter how big, will pale in comparison with the huge gaffes made by the December council.

However, the current council might well turn out to be the worst council in Kuwait’s parliamentary history since its members have been making certain suggestions that no one else would have dared to. But before we rush to pronounce our judgment, we must recognize that at least its members, even when they come up with such inane proposals, are doing politics in a simple and transparent way, and at times, it makes you angry, or even amuses you.

Neither was the previous council an angel of all paragons, nor is the incumbent house a devil incarnate, but if a majority of its members continued to announce their loyalty to the authority so openly, the council will collapse all itself, without any one giving it a shove.

Slapping former MPs or activists with court cases will not stop their political activities, though it may force them to go slow for sometime. It will not stop the idea of opposition or make them give up their political fight or make noise about prevailing financial corruption. The opposition is an idea, and not a person.

We should not look down at the opposition as it is something evil. In any reasonable country in the world, the opposition is also an essential part of the system.

Trying to end the opposition by imprisoning its leaders or painting it as evil will not succeed. It has to be dealt with in a spirit of partnership.

The problem with this government lies with the consultants it relies on. Their inputs are aimed more at pleasing the government instead of rational and political logic.

Note: In the long run, partnering with the opposition and adopting an inclusive program is successful political strategy. You always tell us that it is the Kuwaitis who formed this government, and it is wrong to describe it or them as traitors. As per this principle, we also tell you that the opposition members and its leaders are also Kuwaitis and, hence, by the same logic, it is not right to describe them as traitors. — Al-Anbaa

hen I read this news, I wondered what kind of people think that we desperately need such a change in our constitution just to prove that we are Muslims. Are we not Muslim enough in the eyes of these conservatives? I really fail to analyze how their minds work and where do they stumble across such ideas. But, of course, I should not have expected anything else. Check this out: a number of Islamist lawmakers are planning to collect signatures of MPs to submit a proposal seeking an amendment in the second Article of the Constitution to make the Sharia the main source of legislation.

This piece of news has been reported recently in Kuwait and although no MP has so far denied or confirmed it, I will not be surprised if more such demands are raised shortly but I keep wondering why some people are so eager to seek a change in the Constitution in respect of just this particular article. I see no such urgency on any other matter and wonder if there is a hidden agenda behind this call. I think the latter is true.

Every time someone pushes for such an amendment, it becomes clearer to me that some people want to challenge the Constitution and what better start than a cause that will scare some naive ones among us.

In the Arab world, the conservative groups have come to know that the easiest way to convince the public to sell any product or idea is to do so in the name of Islam and inculcate in them the fear of rotting in hell if they spurn your call.

It worked well in many countries and Kuwait is no different.

The thing that makes me angry is that we are Muslims, whether or not we amend the Constitution, and there should be no reason to kowtow to these calls.

Some people are merely using this ruse to find a route to start effecting changes in the Constitution so that one day they are also able to encroach upon our freedom of expression and personal freedoms, which are guaranteed by the statute but which these conservative groups do not buy.

They claim that Islam automatically assures such freedom and therefore, laws made by men are not wanted. Yes, Islam as a religion has liberated mankind and gives us many rights in life but it is those who misinterpret the Sharia the way they wish who want to create trouble. They want to bring in laws that they claim originate from the Sharia but which actually do not. So, the problem here is with such men, not with the religion. If it were left to the religion, then we would have never gone to wars and civil conflicts.

I hope that such reports turn out to be false. I see no urgency to amend the Constitution. Kuwait has been a Muslim country for centuries and will remain so, come what may, amendment or no amendment.

kuwait digest

Assistance to Jordan

By Abdulaziz Sager

U

nder the impact of the Arab Spring, Jordan today is facing mounting security and political pressures.

Combined with a serious economic crisis, this potentially poses a threat to the stability and future of the state, which in turn could have a considerable impact on the entire region and on the Arabian Gulf states in particular.

From the outset, it should be understood that the political implications of the Arab Spring on Jordan are somewhat limited due to a number of factors specifically related to the nature of Jordanian state and society. First, the majority of Jordanians continue to feel attached to the Royal Hashemite regime. They consider the regime a guarantor of the stability of the state and its long-term survivability. Most of the citizens are fully aware of the vulnerability of the state on account of its small size and diverse population comprising people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Second, the tribes in Jordan represent a significant power structure within Jordanian society and their exists at the moment among them a consensus on the value of maintaining the Jordanian monarchy. A similar position has been adopted by the military and security institutions as they also recognize the vital role of the Hashemite royal family in protecting the stability and security of the state. Third, the Iraqi experience since the downfall of the Saddam regime and the subsequent collapse of the security and economic situation in Iraq has had a negative effect on the perception of the Jordanian people. The lessons from the ongoing Syrian revolution have only added another discouraging factor for anyone considering initiating an uprising in Jordan. More than 600,000 Syrians have fled their homes and many have sought refuge in neighboring states (according to a UN report at least 250,000 are already in Jordan). This, along with the destruction of the Syrian state’s infrastructure, has sent a clear message to the Jordanian people of the negative consequences of a revolt.

The continued security, political, and economic crises in other Arab Spring states has added to the reluctance of the Jordanians. To them, the experience of the transition in neighboring Arab states has had a dark, as well as a bright, side. Nevertheless, major Jordanian cities have witnessed popular demonstrations during the past months, mainly in protest over the economic situation, the rise in basic food and fuel costs, as well as corruption in the state machinery.

None of those protest rallies, however, demanded the downfall of the regime.

In this context, the Jordanian state does not face an existential political legitimacy problem, nor is it affected by sectarian or ethnic conflict as is the case in Syria and Iraq.

Jordan has never been a dictatorship. Its political system is known for a degree of flexibility and a reasonable level of tolerance. It allows for relative freedom of expression and media as well as the right to establish political parties.

Administratively, Jordan has a well-established tradition allowing a considerable degree of dynamism and adaptability, and an elected parliament which is open to all political groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic groups. Instead, it is the formidable challenge presented by the critical economic situation that will remain the main threat to the stability of the Jordanian regime. The fact is that this crisis cannot be overcome without considerable outside assistance, in particular assistance from the Gulf States. Such assistance must be extended under a collective agreement among all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and should be offered under the umbrella of the GCC as part of a specific formula and within a specified time-frame. The GCC states

must view widespread assistance to Jordan as an unavoidable necessity. Strategically, and because of its proximity to the Gulf region, Jordan is included in the Gulf region’s security calculations. On one hand, Jordan is subject to mounting Israeli pressure given that by weakening Jordan the Israeli leadership hopes to implement its plan to force the Palestinian population of the West Bank to immigrate to Jordan. This would be in order to achieve the “transfer” by creating an alternative state of Palestine in Jordan and thus realizing its plan of founding a Jewish state on the historical land of Palestine. Such a plan has been in existence since the establishment of the state of Israel back in 1948. From 1967, it has become part of the Israeli strategic objectives.

Statistics indicate that Jordan is in need of an assistance plan to aid the urgent recovery of its fragile economy.

National debt is remarkably high, and the debt burden had reached more than $20 billion by the end of October 2012; approximately $8 billion of this is external debt reflecting 26 percent of GDP. The budget deficit for 2012 has soared to $1.175 billion while the inflation level touched 4.3 percent and official unemployment has settled at the 13.1 percent mark. Within these numbers, the major challenge facing the Jordanian economy is the cost of meeting the energy needs estimated at over 100,000 b/d (Iraq supplies 10,000-15,000 b/d at a discounted price). Jordan’s energy crisis has deepened as a result of the developments in Egypt after the January 25 revolution which led to demands for a swift increase in the price of natural gas supplied to Jordan by Egypt. Jordan was importing 6.8 million cubic meters daily, at a cost of $3.5 million (when the cost of each million Btu [British thermal unit] stood at $7).

To enable Jordan to manage its economic and energy crisis, the GCC states could offer the country an economic assistance package including deposits to cover the state’s central bank for a period until the end of 2013, and an interest-free amount equal to Jordan’s external debt which could act as a collateral until the country is able to pay back or find some another settlement for the issue of its external debt. In order to reduce the burden of the energy bill, the GCC states should supply Jordan with 50,000 b/d of oil at a discounted price for a minimum period of four years.

At the same time, the GCC states should proceed with offering Jordan the financial assistance that has been already been agreed to, which amounts to $5 billion over a five-year period, and honor the payment timetable to avoid any unnecessary delay. An additional deposit of $5 billion could be made to underpin the Jordanian currency and an active investment program could be launched to help the Jordanian economy generate new employment opportunities and add value to the country’s economic growth. The already existing agreements which exempt Jordanian products from customs duties and local taxes in the GCC also needs to be activated. Opening the GCC employment market to the Jordanian workforce and relaxing the residency regulations for job-seekers would also help in economic recovery efforts. For its part, the Jordanian government should introduce more transparency and clarity in the system, make a serious effort to fight corruption, and undertake political and administrative reforms with the aim to improve the economic and social well-being of the Jordanian citizens.

The above steps are the only possible means by which Jordan could begin the exit from the deep troubles it is faced with. Dealing effectively with Jordan’s economic crisis is the only way to save the country from sliding towards political instability and becoming the next stop for the Arab Spring.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

LOCAL

Key role for border security forces

Imelda Dunlop

KUWAIT: Saleh Al-Falah (right) and other participants during the symposium.— Photo by Joseph Shagra

New company formed for privatization of KSE CMA holds symposium

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The Capital Market Authority (CMA) held a symposium on ‘Corporate Governance Sound Practices: A Case for Financial Markets Stability ’ yesterday at the Sheraton Hotel.

Speakers from different countries participated in this symposium. Saleh Al-Falah, President of the Board of Commissioners, Capital Markets Authority, said progress has been made in efforts to privatize the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) and a new company has already been set up that will own the KSE. “ The investors in charge of the privatization process of KSE have done some studies,” he noted during the opening of the symposium.

“The Financial Consultant HSBC Bank is cooperating with both the KSE and the CMA to finalize the work plan for the new company and to set aside a certain capital amount to ensure its long term success at par with markets that demand higher qualification standards,” added Al-Falah.

The process of further improving KSE was still on. “ We are doing some improvements to increase the performance of the KSE. We will also bring in the necessary technology in departments even as the CMA works to secure the rights of the investors and dealers at the KSE during the privatization,” he further said.

On her part, Imelda Dunlop, Executive

Director, Pearl Initiative-UAE, explained the role of corporate governance in the family firms. “It is very important to be getting the message across from the perspective of both the regulators and the company. It is also important to know how it is done in other countries It is here that the Pearl Initiative comes in,” she told the Kuwait Times.

“We work across the GCC and are a non-profit organization. Our audience is business. It is all about making a case for corporate governance.

The progress on this front in Kuwait is definitely amazing. There are very similar trends across the GCC countries, and while it is difficult to separate one country from another, they are all making progress,” she noted.

“Few days ago, we launched our report which is an analysis about the state of corporate governance in the GCC, what norms are family firms adopting, why is it important for the family firms, what exactly is the situation. There is no information available about what norms they have adopted already in the GCC,” stressed Dunlop. They interviewed over 100 family firms in every GCC country and asked them questions about what corporate governance practices they have in place and how do they plan to ensure better business practices?

“There is a real desire on the part of family firms to make their board of directors more dynamic, more professional, and more effective.

That can be done in two ways: first is to make

sure that the family members who are running the company have the right skills to do that, and complimenting that, skilled and experienced independent (non-family) directors are appointed. In this way, we can separate the company issues from family issues, and have a more mixed dynamic board,” she pointed out.

“The main trend we see amongst the family firms in the region is their desire to professionalize and become more internationally competitive. One of the big drivers for implementing this system in corporate governance is access to finance and capital and it is really well established that firms with better governance standards get better credit rating and access to capital at a smaller cost. It is a very direct business benefit. What we find in family firms is that the main driver is the transition passing on to the next generation and the desire to make sure that what’s being passed on to the next generation of the family is a well governed, well structured and well organized firm that can then survive, prosper and grow, and be internationally competitive across the next generation and generations beyond,” stated Dunlop.

“The whole idea is help family firms to find the benefits of the high standards and to see what other family firms are doing and implementing in the region. They have to do something proactive to ensure that survives across generations,” she concluded.

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Dive Team removed fishing nets that had become entangled in a ship’s propeller at the Sharq Beach, thus forcing the large ship to cease all activity. The four-hour-long operation finally saw the divers succeeding in removing large swathes of net and other waste stuck to the propeller’s post.

Bedoon gathering ends peacefully KUWAIT: Dozens of stateless residents gathered briefly in Taima on Friday afternoon but left shortly afterwards without any confrontation with the police following successful negotiations led by Jahra Security Director, Major General Ibrahim Al-Tarrah.

The demonstration started immediately following the Friday Prayer during which the gatherers chanted demands for citizenship and other basic human rights. They agreed to end their protest a few minutes later after Maj Gen Al-Tarrah allowed them to express their opinion without police’s intervention. Friday’s gathering is the newest episode in Bedoons’ demonstrations in the past few months, some of which ended in violence as police used teargas to disperse the unlicensed gatherings and arrested some protestors. Meanwhile, a senior official in the Central Agency for Stateless Residents said that Bedoons’ demonstrations “have nothing to do with human or civil rights,” arguing that the protestors’ main demand is Kuwaiti citizenship. “Naturalization does not fall within the human and civil rights that the government has already granted stateless residents,” said Abdullah AlWuhaib, who is the director of the division which oversees the process of adjusting the situation of Bedoons who produce their original documents.

Al-Wuhaib spoke during an interview with Al-Rai TV on Thursday in which the director of the Central Agency’s information department, Abdullah AlFarhan, participated. Al-Farhan noted that nearly 108,000 stateless residents are registered in the agency’s database, but reiterated that not all of them will necessarily end up being naturalized.

KUWAIT: The General Director of Border Outlets, Lt Gen Mohammad Idris Al-Dawsari, said the administration was an integral part of the security system at the Ministry of Interior and all its employees were keen to do their level best to ensure the safety and security of the country. They ensure that the borders remain secure and all entry and exit points to the country are guarded as per regulations in force.

He said the supreme leadership of the ministry was represented in the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Ahmad Al Hmoud, and the Undersecretary Gen Ghazi Al Omar, who are both doing their utmost to ensure smooth border administration.

He pointed out that between Jan 1, 2012 and Dec 31, 2012, a total of 5,384,184 passengers arrived while 5,369,234 passengers departed, thus adding up to 10,753,418 passengers.

He explained that the Nowaiseeb outlet witnessed the most movement as it received 3,373,335 arrivals and witnessed 3,382,996 departures.

It was followed by Salmi border which served 1,779,807 arrivals and

1,753,764 departures, and Al Abdaly border with 231,042 incoming passengers and 232,474 departing. He said a total of 240 persons were arrested during the year, 24 were banned from entry, 151 passengers were sent back, 31 people were deported and 24 dead bodies were received while 85 were sent off. Together, these amounted to 555 cases.

Lt Gen Mohammad Idris Al-Dawsari

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

LOCAL

Grilling threats break Kuwait political accord Grant for jobless bedoons?

KUWAIT: When the parliament was elected last December, lawmakers had agreed to give the cabinet a six-month period to allow ministers enough time before their per formance is assessed. But a number of grilling threats made during the past month could mean the end of a harmonious relationship between the cabinet and a supposedly pro-government parliament.

“The grilling motions have been so far rushed without any analysis as ministers were never given enough time to address the issues about which they are to be questioned,” MP Dr. Abdurrahman Al-Jeeran said.

On Friday, MP Adel Al-Khurafi threatened to grill Minister of Electricity and Water Abdul-Aziz Al-Ibrahim should he fail to reply to a set of questions the MP had sent earlier. Al-Ibrahim became the fifth minister in the current cabinet to receive a grilling threat, following the First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah who was warned by MPs Faisal Al-Duwaisan and Ahmad Al-Mulaifi, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali who was warned by MP Nawaf Al-Fuzai, in addition to Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Thekra Al-Rushaidi, Minister of Health Dr. Mohammad Al-Haifi and Minister of Education Nayef Al-Hajraf who were

all warned by MP Safaa Al-Hashem.

MP Abdullah Al-Ma’ayuf, explaining why he believed his colleagues’ rage-filled threats were wrong, told Al-Jarida newspaper on Friday, “Rushing grilling motions is something we have been warning about. The previous parliaments were also accused of creating similar troubles.”

Asked about the Interior Minister’s grilling which pertains to the security situation in the country, Al-Ma’ayuf noted that the parliament had agreed to give the minister until April 4th to carry out recommendations passed during a secret session allocated to discuss this issue.

Al-Fuzai had explained that his grilling of AlShamali would deal with the loans’ issue since the cumulative loan interests had become too large for borrowers to repay. He accuses the finance ministry of failing to address this issue since it did not take “adequate measures against violating banks.” “The issue is yet to be discussed in the parliament and therefore we have not heard the government’s position before the grilling is filed,” Al-Ma’ayuf noted. “What if the government agreed to the parliament’s recommendations (after the issue is discussed)? In that case, Al-Fuzai would technically be questioning the parliament, not the minister.”

In other news, rapporteur of the parliament’s

CBK announces cultural campaign KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait announced launch of its cultural campaign for the second consecutive year. The campaign will shed light on the simple lifestyle during the pre-oil Kuwait and the crafts practiced by Kuwaiti forefathers.

“We are thrilled to announce the campaign after the huge success it had last year and the enthusiastic response of the people to the activities and visits carried out by the CBK’s public relations team,” said Assistant General Manager Public Relations and Media Department, Amani Al-Wara’a, in a statement yesterday.

The campaign will feature several activities to be held in shopping malls and other public places, as well as visits to private schools. It will also dovetail with a two-hour radio show each Sunday to talk about Kuwait’s heritage.

More information about the campaign

can be gleaned from the website www.cbkturath.com.

Amani Al-Wara’a

human rights and bedoons (stateless residents) committee, MP Tahir Al-Failakawi announced that the panel is studying two scenarios for a monthly grant to unemployed bedoons which may range between KD300 and KD350. “The first scenario calls on the government to increase the Zakat House’s annual budget from KD2 million to KD4 million, while the second would oblige private companies to donate one percent of their annual income to the Zakat House in order to use the extra amount to pay the grants,” AlFailakawi told Al-Rai on Friday. The topic is set to be discussed during the committee’s meeting today (Sunday) along with other topics including the issue of two Kuwaitis held at the Guantanamo Bay prison.

Meanwhile, head of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, MP Saleh Ashour, announced the issues to be addressed during their meeting tomorrow (Monday), including anti-terrorism treaties Kuwait had signed “to verify whether they contradict the Kuwaiti constitution.” In the meantime, rapporteur of the health committee, MP Hani Shams, announced that Minister of Health Dr. Mohammad Al-Haifi is invited to attend today’s meeting to discuss improving health services as well as issues pertaining to the state’s treatment overseas program.

Privatization efforts underway KUWAIT: State departments have been asked recently to recommend the case of entities under their jurisdiction that qualify and could be considered for privatization before discussions in this regard with Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah take place, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting government insiders.

After the recommendations are submitted, they will be discussed during a meeting of the Supreme Privatization Council chaired by the premier “in order to list the department to be privatized according to priority,” said the sources who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity. The insiders mentioned the Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), seaports, landline and postal services in addition to power and water desalination plants as the fields likely to be given priority for privatization “followed by traffic tickets and car testing, as well as sports clubs.” Fifty percent of shares of a private company would be made available to Kuwaitis through an initial public offering, the sources added. “Privatization will not allow investors to complete authority over any domain,” they explained. In other news, Al-Rai reported yesterday quoting Ministry of Defense insiders that Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Khalid AlJarrah, formed a committee comprising senior military officers to study a conscription draft law proposed by the MOD. The issue is to be later discussed with the parliament’s interior and defense committees.

KUWAIT: Australian Ambassador Bob Tyson held a reception on Wednesday at the Regency Hotel to celebrate his country’s National Day. Government officials, diplomats and other dignitaries attended the event. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KU students to race in Shell Eco-marathon Challenge KUWAIT: Shell and Kuwait University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to affirm commitment from both parties to compete in building ultra fuelefficient vehicles to take part in the 2014 global Shell Eco-marathon Challenge for the Middle East and Africa region.

The MOU was signed by Prof Husain Al-Khaiat, Dean of The College of Engineering and Petroleum and Ahmad Atallah, Chairman of Shell Companies in Kuwait, witnessed by Prof Abdullatif AlBader, Rector of Kuwait University (KU), in his capacity as the President of Kuwait University.

“The Shell Eco-marathon is a fantastic opportunity for our students to gain hands-on engineering and project management experience; and apply what they have learnt during their studies to develop an innovative and energy efficient vehicle. We would like to thank Shell for providing this opportunity to our students,” said Prof Abdullatif AlBader. In its commitment to help meet the energy needs of the society in ways that are economically, environmentally and socially responsible, Shell recently launched the Shell Eco-marathon challenge in the Middle East and Africa to encourage the development of new technologies toward smarter mobility and fuel efficiency.

“This MOU reflects Kuwait’s commitment to energy efficiency as it provides a platform for young engineers to stand as pioneers in fuel conservation from the region. We are pleased to collaborate with the prestigious Kuwait University who will carry the country’s flag at this high-profile event,” said Ahmad Atallah.

Started in 1939 as a friendly wager between Shell scientists to see who can travel furthest on a single litre of fuel, the Shell Eco-Marathon has quickly grown into a global competition to develop solutions to society’s most pressing dilemma - the energy challenge. The competition encourages students to design, build and race ultra fuel-efficient vehicles in a competition to see which team can achieve the greatest distance. In a record feat, a Shell Ecomarathon team achieved 4,896.1 km on a single liter of fuel - a distance which is the equivalent of driving from Kuwait to Manchester in the UK on a single litre of fuel. The competition is especially relevant in today’s day and age, where according to the International Energy Agency, road transport alone accounts for approximately 17% of global energy use. According to Kuwait’s General Directorate of Traffic the total number of new cars sold in the country increased approximately 25% from 2010 to 2012.

Participants in the Eco-marathon can use any conventionally available energy

source including fuels such as diesel, gasoline and Gas-to-Liquids (GTL), as well as alternative fuels such as hydrogen, ethanol, solar and battery electric.

There are two broad categories of vehicles in the competition, the prototype category which is a futuristic design or similitude of what is yet to come in the

and Production Company to support KOC in managing the ongoing development of the Jurassic Gas fields. In addition, Shell’s operational excellence and diverse LNG portfolio, supported signing an LNG supply contract to cover peak summer periods between April-October for the years 2010 until 2013. Shell has a

field of automobile engineering, and the urban category which is considered to be more road-legal.

Shell recently launched the Ecomarathon challenge in the Middle East region to encourage the development of new technologies toward smarter mobility and fuel efficiency. With this MOU, Kuwait University joins a host of other leading universities from the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Lebanon who have signed up to compete in this global event. Since 1948, Kuwait has been a major customer of Shell, whose technical expertise has helped the country tap into its oil and gas resources and bring those to market.

Shell and Kuwait’s took their longstanding partnership a step further on February 2011, when Shell signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) with the aim of jointly investigating new business opportunities.

Working relations with Kuwait is cemented across the oil and gas value chain. Shell is working with Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) on the development of the Jurassic Gas fields since early 2010.

Shell technical experts are working with Kuwait through Shell Kuwait Exploration

number of international joint ventures with Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) and, in 2005, extended collaboration with Kuwait through an MOU with Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) to develop projects in global markets.

Shell Lubricants’ distributor, Al-Hafez Trading, supplies the local lubricants market and has more than 15% of the market share. In Kuwait’s refineries much has been achieved over the past few years by Shell Global Solutions and CRITERION, in partnership with Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).

Kuwait Shell community initiatives have helped build and cement the trust and confidence of partners and the people of Kuwait.

Shell partners with various organisations like the Ministry of Education, Kuwait University, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) and professional engineering societies to deliver activities that would benefit the youths and students in Kuwait. These collaborations aim to meet the local and global growing energy demand in economically, environmentally and socially responsible ways.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

LOCAL

Youth burnt alive in Kabd desert camp fire Armed motor cyclist in custody KUWAIT: A man was burnt alive in the Kabd desert when the tent he slept in was engulfed by flames on Friday morning. The 26-year-old Kuwaiti was pronounced dead on the scene after firefighters brought the blaze under control. The tent was completely destroyed. The body was taken to the forensic department for an autopsy, and an investigation was opened to determine the cause of the fire which is believed to have started from a stove left lit by the victim before he went to sleep the previous night.

Body found Investigations are on to determine the circumstances behind the death of an unidentified man whose body was found outside the Jahra Hospital on Thursday night.

Detectives believe that the man probably died of a drug overdose since drug pills were found in his vehicle. Sleuths are trying to determine if there were other people with him who left him to die outside the hospital. An early forensic examination report indicates that the young man died two hours before his body was found. Police was yet to identify the deceased and no identification papers were found on the body.

Prank call A Filipino man was taken into custody after he was identified as the person behind a prank call about explosives being allegedly planted inside his country ’s

embassy building. He was arrested after police and staff members at the Philippine’s embassy cooperated to determine the origin of the hoax call. The suspect, who claimed that he only meant it as a joke, was remanded in custody pending legal procedures.

Thieves arrested A duo which used to impersonate police detectives and mugged several people was finally arrested.

Investigations had been on after a man reported he was stopped by two people who snatched KD200 he was carrying before escaping in a car without any license plates.

Police eventually arrested a Bedoon (stateless) man identified as the owner of a car since the descriptions matched the ones provided by the plaintiff. After the victim confirmed that he indeed was the robber, the suspect confessed not only to the latest crime but also to at least twelve other similar reported crimes. He also told the police officers about his other Kuwaiti accomplice who still remains at large.

Swift action In an example of swift action and bravery, a motorcyclist tried to intimidate a man outside a shopping mall in Salmiya but was arrested by a traffic police officer who snatched the weapon from the suspect and tackled him to the ground. A Kuwaiti man approached the officer and told him how a

motorcyclist pointed a gun at him following a traffic dispute. The officer swiftly disarmed the suspect, knocked him down to the floor as back up police took him in custody.

Meanwhile, officers found an amount of hashish in the possession of the suspect during search.

The man was referred to the proper authorities to face charges.

Flirtatious talk A sales lady accused a customer of talking about certain objectionable things of a sexual nature when she called him on the phone to apprise him about her company’s marketing plans. The woman told officers at the Salmiya police station about the man’s flirtatious talk, following which the police found that the phone was in the name of a police officer who said his 19year-old son used it. Investigations are on.

Young stalker A woman in her 30s told the Fahaheel police that a young man stalked her wherever she went, and refused to leave till she was ready to part with her number. Later, he handed over his number scribbled on a piece of paper. The woman said she accepted the slip to get rid of him. Detectives arrested the Saudi man and sent him to the concerned authorities.

Insults over phone An official of a non-government organisation complained against a

well known citizen for hurling insults at him over the phone without any justification. The official gave police the man’s phone number and Rawdha police is in the process of arresting him.

Purse stolen A female citizen told the police that unidentified thief broke into her car and stole her purse in Maidan Hawally. A mobile phone and expensive perfume beside her purse were among the things stolen. Detectives are following the case.

Drug smuggling Detectives at the airport arrested a man in his 40s at Kuwait Airport with hashish. The suspect, who turned out to be the nephew of a high ranking officer, works for Kuwait Airways Corporation. He was looking suspicious, and police found him under the influence of an illicit substance. During his frisking, they recovered three pieces of hashish from his pocket, bag and car. He was sent to the drugs control authorities.

Drugs, liquor found Police arrested two men and a girl on Fahaheel Road with liquor and hashish. The three were stopped at a check point when the smell of liquor led police to search them. A bottle of liquor and hashish joints were recovered from the three who were then taken to the drugs control authorities.

‘Zain Great Idea’ witnesses good youth turnout KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, announced that the last day to accept ideas and applications in the Zain Great Idea competition is today, Feb 3.

Zain mentioned in a press release that the project it had launched in association with Madrid’s IE Business School and Brilliant Lab (BL); a startup accelerator services company, aims at supporting the growth of small businesses in Kuwait, which has witnessed many promising ideas and projects from young entrepreneurs.

The company advises interested entrepreneurs to complete the registration form and submit their ideas on the Zain Great Idea website www.zaingreatidea.com before end of Sunday, at which the site will cease accepting new joining requests.

Zain Great Idea was launched with an aim of

NBK volunteers in a group photo.

providing the suitable environment for the business ideas of Kuwaiti entrepreneurs, which will eventually help them to apply these ideas into the real business world.

It is worth mentioning that the project consists of 6 phases that are carried out for a duration of 6-9 months. The owners with the qualified ideas will attend an introductive orientation session, prior to attending a comprehensive training course at the IE business school in Spain. The participants will be trained by elite business professors on the main components of a successful startup, and will be able to pitch their ideas to investors in Spain during the Venture Day at IE Business School. Finally, a series of consultation sessions will be conducted upon return to Kuwait with Brilliant Lab to revise each of the participant’s business plans. Finally, the

participants will take part in Zain’s Demo Day with a chance to showcase their business plans and product and services to local investors.

On this occasion, Waleed Al-Khashti - Zain’s Corporate Communications and Relations Department Manager, commented: “The first stage of the ‘Zain Great Idea’ has seen a large turnout by the young entrepreneurs, which is a source of delight and pride for us. At Zain, we acknowledge the amount of creative young individuals who need to demonstrate their capabilities in the field of business with guidance and support. It is part of our corporate social responsibility program and long term strategy to provide a suitable environment to nourish these startups and ideas to benefit the economy, all in alignment with the country’s economic nationwide agenda of development”.

NBK staff clean up camps littered with trash and harmful waste.

NBK continues its clean camping campaign KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) continues its environmental awareness campaign to help keep Kuwait clean and safe during the winter camping season. The awareness and cleanup campaign covers more than 200 camps in different areas in Kuwait in Bnaider, Julaia and Mina Abdullah. “ This campaign demonstrates NBK’s lasting commitment to the community,” said Yaqoub Al Baqer, NBK Public Relations Officer. “ The environment is one of our most precious resources and as part of our corporate social responsibility program, NBK aims to help keep the environment safe and clean this camping season.”

“ This initiative has attracted a remarkable number of NBK volunteers interested in protecting the environment. NBK staff started cleaning up camps littered with trash and other harmful waste and will continue their efforts in the coming weeks.

Volunteers also provide awareness initiatives to encourage campers to keep their areas clean.” Al Baqer added.

NBK is an environment-friendly bank and has launched a range of initiatives -including electricity conservation and paper recycling- aimed at promoting environmental awareness.

For more information, visit: NBK Official Page on facebook or NBK Twitter and Instagram account @NBKPage

Yaqoub Al-Baqer

Arab women trade unionists seeking greater role GENEVA: Arab women trade unionists, seeking a greater role in workers’ organizations, will convene a regional workshop in Lebanon from Feb 4 to 6, entitled: “Women and trade unions in Arab countries: Decent work through organizing”.

The meeting aims to promote a greater appreciation of the value of women’s work and their role in workers’ organizations.

Participants will explore ways to increase women’s participation in trade unions and enable them to build synergies with NGOs that advocate for women’s rights, said the International Labor Organisation ILO in a press release.

The workshop will open with remarks from ILO Regional Director for the Arab States, Nada al-Nashif, and Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO project “Strengthening Workers’ Organizations in Arab Countries through Economic, Social and Legal Literacy” Abid Briki.

The event brings together participants

from Lebanon, Jordan, the occupied Palestinian territory, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Libya and Algeria. It is part of a series of activities

undertaken by the project “Strengthening Workers’ Organizations in Arab Countries through Economic, Social and Legal Literacy”. — KUNA

MOH suspends Diane 35 KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health (MOH) recently announced suspending the use of Diane 35 medicine in both public and private health facilities pending a re-evaluation of its safety for human consumption, the MOH announced on its Twitter page.

Further, investigations in this regard showed that the Moroccan health ministry had advised all women using it to check with the nearest medical center for an alternative contraceptive since Diane 35 was not licensed for use

for this purpose in Morocco, Europe and North America.

Informed sources added that Diane 35 was only used for hormone disorders and unnecessary hair growth in women, and even then is only meant for use under medical supervision for a limited time.

Notably, the French Medicine Safety Agency recently ordered an investigation about the medication after death of four women using it was linked to the medicine.

KUWAIT: Operations department at Ministry of Interior caught an Arab expat for being in possession of three kilograms of Ice drugs. Earlier information was received about the man being active in the drugs trade through the Abdally border. After required verification and observing all legal protocols to arrest the man, the officers coordinated the operation with the customs administration. When the suspect landed in the country, he was searched and the contraband was found hidden in a secret cavity in his trailer. — Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

UAE media figures laud success of Kuwait donor conference ABU DHABI: Media celebrities agreed that the International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, hosted by Kuwait two days ago, would have a great impact in alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people.

Chairman of the UAE Journalists Association Mohammad Youssef congratulated the State of Kuwait and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on the impressive event.

The efforts made by HH the Amir and the Kuwaiti government in arranging and organizing the conference helped ensure the success of the international gathering and offer a civilized and humanitarian portrait of Kuwait, said Youssef who doubles as deputy chairman of the Federation of Arab Journalists.

“The large participation by 59 countries and 13 international organizations in the conference led to pledges exceeding USD 1.5 billion for the relief effort for the Syrian displaced by the conflict,” he pointed out.

“It’s a success not only for Kuwait but for the Gulf region at large as it evidences to

the influence of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the international affairs,” Youssef argued. The presence of Lt-Gen. Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was another factor in the success of the conference, he said. Youssef added that the UAE pledged $300 million to the Syrian refugees and the internally-displaced people. In a similar statement, Editor-in Chief of Al-Ittihad daily Rashed Al-Oraimi extolled HH the Amir for his initiative to host the conference and the generous donation to the relief effort. He also extolled Lt-Gen. Sheikh Mohammad for representing the United Arab Emirate in the gathering, noting that the UAE donation of $300 million was a humanitarian sign of the country’s solidarity with the Syrian people.

Ali Al-Rashed, director of the Emarat AlYoum daily, said Kuwait’s success in hosting the conference is a new achievement for the GCC countries on the international arena.—KUNA

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

US needs to keep up drone war against Qaeda: Panetta

Five accused in Delhi gang-rape plead not guilty Page 11

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WASHINGTON: (Left) Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan swears in the new US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday in the Foreign Relations Committee Room in the Capitol. (Right) Outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers her farewell address to the staff in the C Street lobby of the State Department on Friday. — AFP

Kerry sworn in as attack casts pall Clinton tells goodbye to hundreds of cheering staff WASHINGTON: John Kerry was sworn in Friday as America’s secretary of state, less than two hours after Hillary Clinton swept out of office on a day marred by yet another attack on a US diplomatic post. Supreme Court judge Elena Kagan administered the oath of office to Kerry during a private ceremony on Capitol Hill. He was joined by his wife Teresa, daughter Vanessa, brother Cameron and his Senate staff. But a pall was cast over the historic events by an attack on the US embassy in Ankara that killed a local Turkish security guard. It came less than five months after the September attack on the US outpost in Benghazi, Libya, in which ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died, and two weeks after the militant hostage crisis in Algeria.

“I am very proud of the work we have done together,” Clinton, 65, told hundreds of cheering staff just before she left the State Department, having tendered her letter of resignation to President Barack Obama. “Of course, we live in very complex and even dangerous times, as we saw again just today at our embassy in Ankara, where we were attacked and lost one of our foreign service nationals, and others injured. I know that the world we are trying to help bring into being in the 21st century will have many difficult days,” she added.

But the former first lady and New York senator said she was “more optimistic today than I was when I stood here four years ago” because of the agency’s work to help ensure “peace,

progress and prosperity” around the world. US officials said they were probing the Ankara attack, when a bomber wearing a suicide vest blew himself up at the first checkpoint on the perimeter of the embassy compound. Three people were hurt, including one seriously.

The bombing once again exposes the vulnerability of the army of 70,000 US diplomats many of whom operate in the world’s hotspots.

Kerry told The Boston Globe he would begin working on diplomatic protection when he starts at 9:00 am (1400 GMT) Monday, and in a seamless transition, his picture and biography were already gracing the State Department’s website. “There are certain things I intend to issue instructions on, the minute I come in,” Kerry told the leading daily paper in his home

state of Massachusetts, where he served as senator for 28 years. “I won’t go into the details, but Benghazi, embassy security, issues regarding some of the analysis that I want to track with respect to Iran, with respect to Syria. Trouble spots.” Kerry also pointed to a “major meeting on Syria in the next few days”, although it was not immediately clear whether he was just referring to talks being held at the Munich Security Conference.

“I hereby resign as 67th secretary of state,” Clinton told Obama in her letter, adding she was “proud of what we have accomplished together on behalf of the American people and in pursuit of our interests and values”. She steps down with record popularity ratings of around 65 percent, and amid intense speculation that

she could launch a second bid to be the nation’s first woman president in the 2016 elections. But so far, Clinton has said she doesn’t see herself returning to politics, insisting instead that she wants to work on advocacy and philanthropy and continue “the cause of my life”, furthering the rights of women and girls.

Political analysts, however, say she could be the Democratic Party’s best hope in four more years, and she would have good odds of breaking through that last glass ceiling. “She is (a) more admired, less polarizing figure than she was in 2008,” Democratic strategist Geoff Garin told National Public Radio.

“The political prospects are really quite good, and better than they were when she last ran for president.” — AFP

SARI NORANG, Pakistan: Pakistani policemen collect information on children killed during an attack by militants on a military checkpost in this area of Lakki Marwat district yesterday. — AFP

Suicide attack at Pak military post kills 24 PESHAWAR: Suicide bombers attacked a military checkpost in Pakistan’s troubled northwest yesterday, killing 13 soldiers and 11 civilians, officials said, in an assault claimed by the Taleban. It was the latest attack on a target associated with the Pakistani army and took place near the semiautonomous tribal belt where Taleban and Al Qaeda-linked militants have carved out strongholds. “Thirteen security personnel and 11 civilians were killed in the attack,” a security official said of the raid which happened around 240 km south of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Another official said that the civilians were killed when one of the suicide bombers ran into a house as security forces attempted to repel the attackers from the checkpost. “A suicide bomber entered a nearby house in a residential colony of the irrigation department and blew himself up. Four children, three women and four men were killed there,” Nisar Ahmed, a sen-

ior government official, told AFP. He said four houses were also damaged in the attack. “The explosion damaged four houses in the colony. Civilians who were killed in the attack were residents of these houses,” he said. The security official said that eight soldiers were also injured.

The attack was on a joint checkpost of the Pakistan army and a paramilitary force in the Sarai Norang area of Lakki Marwat district. Another security official in Peshawar said security forces killed 12 militants. The Taleban claimed the attack but disputed 12 militants were killed, saying they had sent only four suicide bombers. “We sent only four suicide bombers to attack this checkpost. We attacked it to avenge the killing of two of our friends in a recent drone strike,” Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP), told AFP by phone. “The Pakistan army and security forces provide assistance to the US for drone strikes. So, we are taking revenge for their cooperation with the US.” Later

yesterday evening, one soldier was killed and three others were wounded when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded in a compound, where they were conducting a search operation, in Orakzai tribal district. Taleban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants are accused of plotting attacks from the tribal belt on Pakistani, Afghan and Western targets. Taleban and other militants have in recent months increased their attacks on targets associated with the Pakistan army and country’s air force bases. They attacked Peshawar airport in December last year forcing security personnel to fight for two days to clear the area.

Pakistan came under huge US pressure to do more to destroy militant sanctuaries after US Navy SEALs found and killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani military town of Abbottabad on May 2, 2011. Pakistan says more than 35,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism in the country since the 9/11 attacks on the United States. — AFP

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Syria spotlight far cry from 1982 Hama silence BEIRUT: An explosion in global coverage and media activism in Syria stands in sharp contrast with a news blackout on Hama 31 years ago, when thousands of people were killed in a month-long army assault on the city. “The difference between 1982 and now is that today we have a voice - and the world is listening,” said Abu Tareq, a 43year-old native of the central city who fled Syria for northern Lebanon with his family a year ago. In Feb 1982, Syria’s then president Hafez Al-Assad launched a ruthless military campaign to crush an Islamist-led uprising in Hama.

Rights groups say between 10,000 and 40,000 people perished in the single worst atrocity in Syria’s modern history. But only two international reporters were able to

reach the scene at the time, one of them after the campaign ended. “For many years, residents of Hama feared talking about the killings for fear of imprisonment,” Abu Tareq told AFP. But the outbreak of a 22-month revolt that quickly morphed into an insurgency has led thousands of Syrians to break decades-old walls of silence.

Yesterday, activists in Hama, many of them born after 1982, launched a commemoration campaign in defiance of a security lockdown on the city, using graffiti and social media. Hama-based activists filled their Facebook pages with video interviews with survivors of 1982, while others posted pictures of the city’s emblematic water wheels with slogans

Scandal-hit Spain PM denies graft claims MADRID: Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy yesterday denied allegations that he received undeclared payments from his ruling party, as he sought to douse a major corruption scandal.

Rajoy vowed not to resign despite the publication of documents purportedly showing secret payments to him and other top party officials, branding the damaging reports “harassment”.

He promised to publish full details of his income and assets, speaking at an emergency meeting of his conservative Popular Party as angry demonstrators outside called for him to step down. “I have never received nor distributed undeclared money,” he said, adding that he would publish online “statements of income, patrimony and any information necessary” to refute the allegations. “I commit myself personally and all of my party to maximum transparency.”

Rajoy, 57, was speaking out for the first time since being named in the scandal which struck at a tense time as the government imposes tough spending cuts on Spaniards suffering in a recession. Last year he defied speculation that the country would need a financial bailout only for the political scandal to erupt in the new year. Leading centre-left newspaper El Pais on Thursday published account ledgers purportedly showing that donations were channelled into secret payments to him and other top party officials. The newspaper said the alleged fund was made up of donations, mostly from construction companies, adding that such payments would be legal as long as they were fully declared to the taxman.

Rajoy said the ledgers were false. The allegations fuelled anger among Spaniards suffering in a recession that has thrown millions out of work. “We must not allow Spaniards, of whom we are demanding sacrifice to think that we do not observe the strictest ethical rigour,” Rajoy said. Protesters say ordinary Spaniards are being made to pay for an economic crisis brought on by the collapse of a

that read: “We shall not forget.”

In the current revolt against President Bashar Al-Assad, despite anti-regime sentiment running at fever pitch, Hama has been firmly under army control since a crackdown in summer 2011. “Despite the regime’s attempts to silence us, there are some 300 amateur journalists and photographers working in the city of Hama today,” 24-year-old activist and amateur photographer Abu al-Ezz told AFP via the Internet.

“Together we provide coverage of events every minute of the day,” he added. Hamabased youth also use Facebook and other social media tools to defy restrictions on activism in their city and to build ties with activists elsewhere. “We have coordinated with activists in Egypt and Italy via the

Internet to help organise demonstrations in their cities this weekend, to mark the 1982 Hama massacre,” said Abu al-Ezz. “While our parents were terrified of talking out loud, we young people have broken all our fears despite the difficulties,” he added.

To a medic in Hama who also spoke via the Internet on condition of anonymity, the city’s youth have turned to new technologies to retake possession of the country’s history. “The young media activists have not only broken the silence in Syria on current events, they are also forging new ways to talk about the past,” the dissident doctor said.

“They are leading the way for the Syrian people to move on from the official versions of history. Their role is far bigger than

just keeping the world media informed,” he added.

But citizen journalist Musab said the media spotlight on Syria has not helped end the country’s war, which has cost more than 60,000 lives in nearly two years, according to the United Nations. “The regime is still trying its best to keep its media blackout going, though scores of journalists have slipped into Syria in recent months,” Musab told AFP from Hama. “My concern is that despite the spotlight, the world has yet to take a stand on Syria.

Media has created solidarity between Syrians and the world, whereas in 1982 silence ruled. “But solidarity does not replace real action, which is what is needed to stop the slaughter.” — AFP

Palestinians evicted from protest camp Israeli forces use teargas and violence

MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister and PP (Popular Party) leader Mariano Rajoy looks on prior to an emergency gathering of the Spanish ruling party at the PP headquarters yesterday. — AFP construction boom which many blame on corrupt oliticians and unscrupulous banks. As Rajoy spoke, demonstrators yelling “Thieves!” gathered near the party headquarters, kept at some distance by police barriers. Among them, 54-year-old school teacher Maxi Sanchez Pizarro vented his anger at the politicians he blamed for economic hardship.

“My sister is on the verge of being evicted and I didn’t get my Christmas bonus, while those ladies and gentlemen not only got their Christmas bonuses but have also been robbing our money,” he said. “They are shameless crooks and thieves,” he added. “I hope they have the honour to resign and call an election.”

An online petition at change.org calling for Rajoy to resign, launched on Thursday, had gathered nearly 650,000 signatures by yesterday afternoon. On Thursday El Pais cited ledgers kept by former party treasurer Luis Barcenas, apparently showing payments including 25,200 euros ($34,000) a year to Rajoy between 1997 and 2008. — AFP

BURIN: Palestinians and activists were yesterday forcefully removed from a new camp near a West Bank village, after a third attempt at the novel form of protest against Jewish settlement. An AFP correspondent said the army used teargas and violence to remove hundreds of people who had set up four temporary huts and three tents near Burin, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank. The correspondent said journalists were also forcefully removed from the site. He said security forces made arrests, but he was unaware of any injuries.

A police spokesman confirmed that seven Palestinians and one settler were arrested. She said a settler was injured when a rock hit his head during the mutual stone-throwing, and was taken to hospital near Tel Aviv. “It is all quiet there now,” she added. An army spokesman said that before the eviction, there was “a violent and illegal riot taking place near Burin” involving some 150 Palestinians throwing stones at soldiers, who responded with riot dispersal means.

Earlier yesterday, residents and activists set up what they called “the neighbourhood... AlManatir”, activist Abir Kopty told AFP. According to Kopty, the name means “the traditional stone huts Palestinians built in their agricultural lands, which were used as shelter for the watchmen of the fields”. “Burin lost a lot of its land to the settlements around, Har Bracha and others, and is subject to settlers’ terror and attacks on the people,” she said.

Kopty said settlers had thrown stones at village residents and activists from afar before the army became involved. The correspondent said that after the eviction, one of the structures was taken away by a group of settlers. An Israeli officer told AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiye as he

BURIN: Israeli security forces look at Palestinians sitting flashing the sign of victory at their new camp set up to protest against Jewish settlements near this West Bank village yesterday. —AFP documented yesterday’s events that he would be arrested at his home during the night. A military spokesman said in response to an AFP call that such remarks were inappropriate, and that he would investigate the allegation. Kopty said the encampment was on Burin village land, and noted that there were “small attempts here and there, but this was the third massive” such undertaking.

In January, Palestinians put up a 24-tent protest camp on disputed land on the eastern

outskirts of Jerusalem, dubbed Bab al-Shams or Gate of the Sun in Arabic, in a bid to draw attention to Israeli plans to build in the area, known as E1. Later that month, activists set up an encampment of four tents and a structure under construction to protest against Israel’s intention to confiscate land near Beit Iksa northwest of Jerusalem, naming it Bab al-Karama, or “Gate of Dignity”. Both encampments were later removed by the Israeli military which controls those parts of the West Bank. — AFP

Proud Russia remembers Stalingrad VOLGOGRAD, Russia: The city of Volgograd was renamed Stalingrad for a day yesterday as Russia marked the 70th anniversary of a brutal battle in which the Red Army defeated Nazi forces and changed the course of World War II. Commuter buses emblazoned with pictures of the feared Soviet dictator ran across the southern city as patriotic Russians remembered what many view as the Soviet people’s greatest achievement. “I remember the sadness of the war and the victory of the Soviet soldiers,” said World War II veteran Alexander Kudlyayev as he joined 10,000 others at a wreath-laying ceremony at Volgograd’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. “I came to honour my friends who died here,” added 89-year-old Stalingrad sur vivor Pyotr Chabarov.

The half-year battle in 1943 in the city on the Volga River - much of it fought in hand-to-hand combat across the ruined streets - claimed the lives of two million people on both sides and eventually led to the German troops’ surrender.

The battle marked Hitler’s first big defeat and led to a Nazi retreat from Soviet territory after a lightning June 1941 invasion that had caught Stalin completely unaware.

The pulverised city was renamed Volgograd in 1961 af ter Soviet leaders admitted the ex tent of Stalin’s tyranny during his decades in power. But the old city name has remained synonymous with the battle and Volgograd lawmakers have decided to revive it for the anniversary and five other days of the year. “ We will defend our countr y by commemorating the great Battle of Stalingrad our great victory,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told veterans who gathered to watch a commemorative march in which a few hundred young soldiers paraded in replica 1943 uniforms. “Any enemy and potential aggressor should see this, understand this and feel this,” the close ally of President Vladimir Putin said.

Putin - who attended a fireworks display and concert in Volgograd later yesterday - has never denied Stalin’s murderous purges of innocent citizens and deadly forced collectivisation.

But he and other modern leaders have preferred to overlook the disastrous errors in military strategy Stalin made during the war. And Putin in particular has preached a patriotic message since returning to a third term in the Kremlin last year.

Analysts believe this has helped him

maintain support among many of the older middle class voters in the face of the first street protests of his rule among the young.

State media focused their attention on Volgograd throughout the week as they detailed the lavish preparations and Kremlin’s attention to veterans.

The Volgograd commemorations were broadcast live on the national news channels while state television broadcast a new dramatised documentar y about the “battle that changed world history”.

Afternoon broadcasts also relayed a special message from the Russian crew members of the International Space Station - a tradition usually reserved only for the highest national holidays. “ We extend our wholehearted congratulations,” said ISS member Roman Romanenko. “ We will always be grateful for your feat. Its memory will live on for centuries.”

But not everyone was pleased that this memory now appeared to be once again firmly associated with Stalin’s name. “ This was a mistake,” said a woman who agreed to only give her first name Larisa. “We are overestimating Stalin’s role in the war,” she said. “He was bloodthirsty.” — AFP

VOLGOGRAD, Russia: President Vladimir Putin (second right) lays a wreath at the Eternal Flame as he takes part yesterday in ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad in this southern Russian city once known as Stalingrad. — AP

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Mexico probes blast as toll reaches 33

MEXICO CITY: Firefighters take a rest during works at the premises of the building that houses state-owned Mexican oil giant Pemex following a blast in Mexico City on Friday.—AFP

Mahony defends legacy on church abuse in blog LOS ANGELES: Retired Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony defended his tattered legacy Friday in a sharply worded letter to his successor, one day after Archbishop Jose Gomez stripped him of his administrative duties and bowed to a court order to release thousands of pages of confidential files on sexually abusive priests.

In a letter posted on his personal blog, Mahony challenged Gomez for publicly shaming him and said he developed policies to safeguard children after taking over in 1985, despite being unequipped to deal with the molester priests he inherited. Mahony had apologized two weeks ago after another release of similar files showed he and other top aides worked behind the scenes to protect the church from the growing scandal, keep offending clerics out of state and prevent public disclosure of sex crimes committed by priests.

Gomez was well aware when he took over in 2011 of the steps Mahony had taken to develop better clergy sex abuse policies and never questioned his leadership until Thursday, Mahony wrote.

“Unfortunately, I cannot return now to the 1980s and reverse actions and decisions made then. But when I retired as the active archbishop, I handed over to you an archdiocese that was second to none in protecting children and youth,” Mahony wrote.

The letter was remarkable because it revealed infighting between two highly placed church leaders when members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy rarely break ranks publicly, said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer who worked for the Vatican’s Washington, D.C., embassy and also has served as an expert witness for victims in clerical abuse cases. “It is so rare because they stick together like glue,” he said. “The fact that Gomez said what he said, this had to have been cleared by the Vatican, they had to have discussed this with the Vatican. Mahony took the fall.” Gomez declined an interview request from The Associated Press.

The exchange also indicates the stress Mahony is under following several weeks of damaging disclosures of priest personnel files that reveal he and a top aide, Thomas Curry, who is now a bishop, maneuvered to shield priests from prosecution, kept parishioners in the dark and failed to call police about sex crimes against minors. Gomez’s public rebuke of Mahony, 76, for failing to take swift action against abusive priests adds tarnish to a career already overshadowed by the church sex abuse scandal, but it does little to change his role in the larger church.

The archbishop also accepted a resignation request from Curry, who most recently served as auxiliary bishop in charge of the archdiocese’s Santa Barbara region.

The fallout will get worse as parishioners themselves begin to read the thousands of pages of documents that are now posted on

the archdiocese website.

The files were to be released as part of a record-breaking $660 million settlement with more than 500 victims of sex abuse, but lawyers for the archdiocese and individual priests waged a five-year battle to keep them sealed. On Thursday, a judge ordered them released without significant redactions after attorneys for The Associated Press and Los Angeles Times intervened.

An attorney for the media organizations contacted the archdiocese Friday with concerns that certain documents were improperly redacted. Several of the documents in the newly released files echo recurring themes that emerged over the past decade in dioceses nationwide, where church leaders moved problem priests between parishes and didn’t call police.

Studies commissioned by the US bishops found more than 4,000 US priests have faced sexual abuse allegations since the early 1950s, in cases involving more than 10,000 children - mostly boys.

In one instance, a draft of a plan with Mahony’s name on it calls for sending a molester priest to his native Spain for a minimum of seven years, paying him $400 a month and offering health insurance. In return, the cardinal would agree to write the Vatican and ask them to cancel his excommunication, leaving the door open for him to return as a priest someday. “I am concerned that the archdiocese may later be seen as liable - for having continued to support this man - now that we have been put on notice that one of the young adults under his influence is suicidal,” a top aide wrote in a memo about the priest to Mahony in 1995, urging him to stop paying benefits to the priest.

The cardinal added a handwritten note: “I concur - the faster, the better.” In another case, Mahony resisted turning over a list of altar boys to police who were investigating claims against a visiting Mexican priest who was later determined to have molested 26 boys during a 10-month stint in Los Angeles.

“We cannot give such a list for no cause whatsoever,” he wrote on a January 1988 memo.

While Gomez’s decision to strip Mahony of his administrative duties and reduce his public role was unprecedented in the American Roman Catholic Church, Mahony can still act as a priest, keep his rank as cardinal and remain on a critical Vatican panel that elects the next pope.

Victims were quick to point out the contrast between Mahony’s pared-down local standing and his continued position as a cardinal who travels frequently to Rome and remains in good standing there. The decision “is little more than window dressing. Cardinal Mahony is still a very powerful prelate,” Joelle Casteix, the Western regional director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said at a Friday news conference outside the Los Angeles cathedral. —AP

Dozens suspended in Harvard cheat scandal

CAMBRIDGE: Three people walking under a large umbrella as snow falls, in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Around 60 students at Harvard University have been suspended and others disciplined in a mass cheating scandal at the elite college, the administration said.—AFP

NEW YORK: Around 60 students at Harvard University have been suspended and others disciplined in a mass cheating scandal at the elite college, the administration said.

Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean Michael Smith told staff and students at the university near Boston that “somewhat more than half” of the cases under investigation ended with students being required “to withdraw from the college for a period of time.” “Of the remaining cases, roughly half the students received disciplinary probation, while the balance ended in no disciplinary action,” Smith said in a campus-wide email.

When the scandal first became public in August, Harvard said that as many as 125 students were suspected of helping each other in a final exam. The university said a large number of undergraduates “may have inappropriately collaborated on answers, or plagiarized classmates’ responses, on the final exam for the course.”

Harvard, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the most exclusive universities in the world, with students paying about $63,000 a year to attend after winning a place in a highly competitive admissions process. Smith called the scale of the cheating incident “unprecedented” and said reforms were being drawn up to “promote academic integrity and a deeper understanding of it within our community.” “We all can do better,” he said in the email. —AFP

MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s government vowed to find out whether an explosion that killed 33 people at the headquarters of its state-run oil monopoly Pemex was a deliberate attack or yet another stain on the company’s poor safety record. Rescue workers continued to pull bodies from the debris on Friday and officials said the search would continue until they account for everyone inside the Mexico City building.

Government officials have refused to speculate over what caused the explosion on Thursday but said they had deployed large teams of experts to pore through the wreckage.

“The government is determined to find out the truth, whatever that may be ... whether it was an accident, negligence or an attack, whatever,” Attorney General Jesus Murillo said on Friday evening. “We are not going to rule out anything.”

He said the explosion did not cause a fire but refused to be drawn on what that implied about the cause. Parts of the reinforced concrete ground floor of the building caved in, and the ceiling was a mess of twisted metal pipes and ducts.

The blast at Pemex’s complex in the capital killed at least 33 people and a further 121 were injured. The scenes of chaos have dealt another blow to Pemex’s image, just as Mexico’s new government is seeking to open up the oil industry to more private investment.

Speculation over the cause has ranged from a bomb attack, to a gas leak, to a boiler blowing up.

“A fatal incident like yesterday’s cannot be explained in two hours. We are working with the best teams in Mexico and from overseas. We will not speculate,” Pemex’s chief executive, Emilio Lozoya, said on Friday.

New President Enrique Pena Nieto declared three days of national mourning. Pemex, which was created when Mexico nationalized its oil industry in 1938, is a symbol of selfsufficiency but it has also been blighted by corruption, inefficiency and frequent accidents costing hundreds of lives.

The latest Pemex disaster is one of the first serious tests for Pena Nieto, who must overcome the legacy of his Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled for much of the last century.

After seven decades in power, the party gained a reputation for corruption and cover-ups that have made Mexicans skeptical of whether they are being told the truth.

Investors have been closely following how far he will go in enticing private capital to boost flagging oil output in a country that is the world’s No. 7 producer. “This incident speaks very poorly of the image of Pemex management, and that’s interpreted as additional risk in the market,” said Miriam Grunstein, an energy researcher at Mexico’s CIDE think

tank. A Pemex official said the damaged area of the company’s headquarters was used for human resources in the corporate and refining divisions. It did not have a boiler or gas installations, the official said.

Former Pemex worker Ricardo Marin, 53, said there was nothing in the building that would explode and that the kitchen, where there would be gas, was on the other side.

“The only thing that occurs to me is that it was an attack - but against whom? There’s no one with an important job down there,” he said, waiting outside the Pemex hospital where a friend was in intensive care. “Maybe it could be a message to Pena Nieto, but not even that has any logic.”

Pemex office worker Alfonso Caballero, who was one floor above the blast at the time, said he did not smell any gas and guessed it had been caused by machinery.

Mexican officials have not ruled out sabotage. An official at the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said an “international response team” was on its way to Mexico City at the request of the Mexican government. The team includes explosive specialists and fire experts. Pemex CEO Lozoya said the four floors most affected by the explosion normally had about 200 to 250 people working on them. About 10,000 staff work in the entire complex.

Red Cross official Isaac Oxenhaut

said the ceiling had collapsed in three lower floors of the Pemex building. The blast followed a September fire at a Pemex gas facility near the northern city of Reynosa that killed 30 people. More than 300 were killed when a Pemex natural gas plant on the outskirts of Mexico City blew up in 1984.

Eight years later, about 200 people were killed and 1,500 injured after a series of underground gas explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-biggest city. An official investigation found Pemex was partly to blame.

Whatever caused the explosion, the deaths and destruction will put the spotlight back on safety at Pemex, which only a couple of hours beforehand had issued a statement on Twitter saying it had managed to improve its record on accidents. “I suspect this was a bomb,” said David Shields, an independent Mexico Citybased oil analyst. “There are clandestine armies across Mexico, not just the (drug) cartels.”

Shields pointed to the bombing of several Pemex pipelines in the eastern state of Veracruz in 2007.

A shadowy Marxist rebel movement took credit for some of the blasts. Meanwhile, George Baker, director of Energia.com, a Houstonbased energy research center, said past history suggested the government could seek to exploit the incident. — Reuters

Panetta: US must keep up drone war against Qaeda Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia remain vulnerable WASHINGTON: The United States will have to keep up an open-ended drone war against AlQaeda militants in Pakistan and elsewhere to prevent another terror attack on America, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. The assassination of Al-Qaeda figures in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia with unmanned, robotic aircraft has provoked widespread criticism from human rights groups and some US allies, but Panetta said the US campaign has been effective.

Asked if the CIA “targeted killings” should be curtailed in coming years, Panetta told AFP in an interview Friday that there was still a need to continue the drone strikes more than a decade since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

“I think it depends on the nature of the threat that we’re confronting. We are in a war. We’re in a war on terrorism and we’ve been in that war since 9/11. “The whole purpose of our operations were aimed at those who attacked this country and killed 3,000 innocent people in New York as well as 200 people here at the Pentagon,” said Panetta, who is days away from retiring as Pentagon chief.

Before taking over as defense secretary, Panetta oversaw a dramatic increase in drone raids in Pakistan as head of the CIA from 20092011. “I think we had a responsibility to use whatever technology we could to be able to go after those who not only conducted that attack but were planning to continue to attack this country,” he said.

“It’s been an important part of our operations against Al-Qaeda, not just in Pakistan, but also in Yemen, in Somalia and I think it ought to continue to be a tool we ought to use where necessary,” he said. “And also where we can use it in conjunction with other countries that are pursuing the same goal,” said Panetta, citing Yemen’s strong

support for drone strikes.

The CIA drone bombing raids, by Predator and Reaper aircraft armed with Hellfire missiles, have caused an unknown number of civilian casualties and prompted accusations that Washington is carrying out extrajudicial killings in the shadows with no genuine oversight by courts or lawmakers. Panetta, who as CIA director presided over the successful raid that killed Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, said the campaign still needed

a way that hopefully can be a little more transparent with the American people.” But he said “to protect this country” it was not enough to have operations carried out openly by the military.

Secret action led by the CIA was also needed “when you got those kind of operations where, because of the nature of the country you’re in or the nature of the situation you’re dealing with, it’s got to be covert.” According to the Londonbased Bureau of Investigative Journalism,

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (center) is interviewed by AFP reporters Jerome Cartillier (left) and Dan De Luce (right) inside Panetta’s private office at the Pentagon in Washington on Friday.—AFP to be regularly reviewed but did not say he favored turning over the spy agency’s drone war to the military. Some critics have called for giving the US military authority over the drone air strikes, which would require openly reporting every operation. “Having said that, we always need to continue to look at it, to make sure we develop the right standards, that we’re abiding by the laws of this country, that we’re doing it in

between 2,627 and 3,457 people have been reportedly killed by US drones in Pakistan since 2004, including between 475 and nearly 900 civilians. The covert strikes are publicly criticised by the Pakistani government as a violation of sovereignty but American officials believe they are a vital weapon in the war against Islamist militants. Few of the victims are publicly identified. —AFP

Authorities mum about talks with abductor MIDLAND CITY: As a police standoff with a man accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker in Alabama entered its fifth day, authorities were saying little except that their talks with the 65-year-old loner were continuing through a ventilation pipe.

Negotiators were still trying late Friday to persuade Jimmy Lee Dykes to surrender. Police have said they believe the Vietnam-era veteran fatally shot a school bus driver on Tuesday, and then abducted the boy from the bus and disappeared into the home-made bunker. While police were mostly staying mum about the delicate negotiations, it fell to neighbors to fill in the blanks about Dykes, described by some as a menacing figure who held anti-government views.

One of Dykes’ next-door neighbors said the suspect spent two or three months constructing the bunker, digging into the ground and then

building a structure of lumber and plywood, which he covered with sand and dirt. Neighbor Michael Creel said Dykes put the plastic pipe underground from the bunker to the end of his driveway so he could hear if anyone drove up to his gate. When Dykes finished the shelter a year or so ago, he invited Creel to see it - and he did.

“He was bragging about it. He said, ‘Come check it out,” Creel said. He said he believes Dykes’ goal with the standoff is to publicize his political beliefs.

“I believe he wants to rant and rave about politics and government,” Creel said. “He’s very concerned about his property. He doesn’t want his stuff messed with.” Police have used a ventilation pipe to the bunker to talk to the man and deliver the boy medication for his emotional disorders, but they have not revealed how often they are in touch or what the conversations have been about. Authorities waited until Friday to

MEDELLIN: Colombian soldiers patrol the Comuna 8, one of the shantytowns with the highest rates of urban violence and displacement due to disputes between gangs for the control of territory, in Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia. — AFP

confirm the suspect’s identity.

While much of what is going on inside the bunker remains a mystery, local officials who have spoken to police or the boy’s family have described a small room with food, electricity and a TV. And while the boy has his medication, an official also said he has been crying for his parents. Meanwhile, Midland City residents held out hope that the standoff would end safely and mourned for the slain bus driver and his family.

Candlelight vigils have been held nightly at a gazebo in front of City Hall. Residents prayed, sang songs such as “Amazing Grace” and nailed homemade wooden crosses on the gazebo’s railings alongside signs that read: “We are praying for you.”

“We’re doing any little thing that helps show support for him,” said 15-year-old Taylor Edwards said. State Rep. Steve Clouse, who represents the area, said he visited the boy’s mother and she is “hanging on by a thread.” Clouse said the mother told him that the boy has Asperger’s syndrome as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Neighbors said Dykes was easily angered and once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a firearm.

Authorities said Dykes boarded a stopped school bus filled with 21 children on Tuesday afternoon and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. When the driver tried to block his way, the gunman shot him several times and took the 5-year-old boy.

The bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr, 66, was hailed by local residents as a hero who gave his life to protect the pupils on his bus. Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump. Neighbor Claudia Davis said he yelled and fired shots at her and her family over damage Dykes claimed their pickup truck did to a makeshift speed bump in the dirt road. No one was hurt.—AP

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China poised to control strategic Pakistani port KARACHI: China is poised to take over operational control of a strategic deepwater Pakistani seaport that could serve as a vital economic hub for Beijing and perhaps a key military outpost, according to officials. The construction of the port, in the former fishing village of Gwadar in troubled Baluchistan province, was largely funded by China at a cost of about $200 million. It has been a commercial failure since it opened in 2007, because Pakistan never completed the road network to link the port to the rest of the country.

Chinese control of the port would give it a foothold in one of the world’s most strategic areas and could unsettle officials in Washington, who have been concerned about Beijing’s expanding regional influence. The port on the Arabian Sea occupies a strategic location between South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It lies near the Strait of Hormuz, gateway for about 20 percent of the world’s oil. China’s interest is driven by concerns about energy security as it seeks to fuel its booming economy. It wants a

place to anchor pipelines to secure oil and gas supplies from the Gulf. Beijing also believes that helping develop Pakistan will boost economic activity in its far western province of Xinjiang and dampen a simmering, low-intensity rebellion there.

Some experts view Gwadar as the westernmost link in the “string of pearls,” a line of ports from China to the Gulf that could facilitate expansion of the Chinese Navy in the Indian Ocean. That has sparked concern in both the US and India.

Pakistan’s Cabinet agreed Wednesday to a proposal for a company owned by the Chinese government, China Overseas Port Holdings Limited, to purchase control of the port from Singapore’s PSA International Pte Ltd., which won a bid in 2007 to operate the port for 40 years. The transaction has not yet occurred, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Ministry of Ports and Shipping, Mohammed Raza, said Friday.

Pakistan views China as one of its most important allies and a counterweight to the United States, which has given

tains of northern Pakistan and then into Xinjiang province via a border crossing point at an elevation of 4,693 meters (15,397 feet). The path is often blocked by snow in winter. Even so, the route will cut the overland distance from China’s western provinces to the sea in half, from about 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) to China’s east coast, to just 2,000 (1,250 miles) south to Gwadar.

Longer-term plans also call for road and rail links from Gwadar that would pass through strife-torn Afghanistan to energy-rich Central Asian states. Asked about the port on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said “as long as projects are conducive to China-Pakistan relations, the Chinese side will positively support them.”

The port is operating at only about 15 percent capacity now, and machinery originally installed by China is rusting for lack of use, said a Pakistani port worker, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters. On a purely economic basis, the level of trade through the port should

Islamabad billions of dollars in aid but is often viewed as a fickle taskmaster. China is expected to pay $35 million for control of the port to PSA and two other groups that own an interest, said Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, one of the other shareholders.

The third shareholder is the National Logistics Cell, which is controlled by the Pakistani army. The Chinese are waiting for a Pakistani court case challenging PSA’s control of the port to be dismissed to complete the transaction, Dhedhi said.

A senior Pakistani official said Beijing has agreed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to finish a 900-kilometer (550mile) road that would link the port with Pakistan’s north-south Indus Highway, facilitating overland transport from Gwadar to China.

The Pakistani government was supposed to complete the road in 2012, but it is only 60 percent finished, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters. It will still be a tough drive, passing along the Karakorum Highway that winds through the rugged moun-

be zero because of its drawbacks, but the government is spending millions of dollars in subsidies to ship fertilizer through the facility. It would be cheaper to send the shipments through the coastal city of Karachi, 700 kilometers (430 miles) to the east, the worker said.

Some government officials have claimed that violence in Baluchistan has prevented them from completing the road network. Baluch nationalists have waged a decades-long insurgency against the government, demanding greater autonomy and a larger share of the province’s natural resources. Gunmen shot to death two Pakistani air force personnel and a shopkeeper in a town near Gwadar o n Tuesday, said local police official Izat Ali. Other officials said the ruling Pakistan People’s Party simply shifted priorities away from Baluchistan and spent the money building roads in its main areas of support in Sindh province. “The solution to Gwadar is the Chinese, since they have shown the willingness to work in Pakistan under tough conditions,” said shareholder Dhedhi. —AP

India to introduce death penalty in rape cases 5 accused plead not guilty to rape, murder

NEW DELHI: Indian women travel inside a Women Only metro train compartment in New Delhi yesterday. — AP

Cameron set for talks with Afghan, Pakistan leaders LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron will meet the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan this weekend as part of moves to prevent a Taleban resurgence when foreign troops leave, Downing Street said yesterday.

The premier will dine with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari at his country retreat Chequers in Buckinghamshire, southeast England, today.

Cameron will then hold the first indepth top-level talks with both leaders and their key officials tomorrow. “The Prime Minister will host the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan at Chequers on Sunday and Monday as part of his ongoing efforts to help to strengthen AfghanistanPakistan relations, support an Afghan peace and reconciliation process and promote regional peace and stability,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.

“For the first time, we will bring together the political and security establishments from both Afghanistan and Pakistan, with foreign ministers, chiefs of army staff, chiefs of intelligence and the chair of the Afghan High Peace Council attending the meeting.

“Discussions are expected to focus on the Afghan-led peace process and how the

Pakistanis and international community can support it. We also expect the Afghans and Pakistanis to make further progress on the Strategic Partnership Agreement they committed to in September.” Back in December, Cameron had announced Britain would withdraw 3,800 of the country’s 9,000 troops from Afghanistan in 2013, as NATO prepares for a full security handover to Afghan forces at the end of next year. Monday’s talks will meanwhile be the third trilateral session since summer last year, after meetings in Kabul in July and in New York in September. “This trilateral process sends a very clear message to the Taleban: now is the time for everyone to participate in a peaceful political process in Afghanistan,” the spokesperson added.

“As the Prime Minister has set out previously, a stable Afghanistan is not just in the interests of Afghans, but also in the interests of their neighbors and the UK. “We share the same vision for Afghanistan: a secure, stable and democratic country that never again becomes a haven for international terror. “We are working together to achieve it and Afghanistan’s neighbors have a vital role to play. It is vital not just for the future security of their citizens, but for their prosperity too.” — AFP

NEW DELHI: India’s cabinet has approved harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, after a brutal gang-rape in New Delhi that sparked national outrage.

A government-appointed panel recommended the changes to ministers after the death of a 23year-old woman who was savagely raped and attacked in a bus on December 16 and died nearly two weeks later. The case ignited nationwide demonstrations by protesters demanding better safety for women.

The changes, which must be approved by President Pranab Mukherjee to become law, include doubling the minimum sentence for gangrape and imposing the death penalty when the victim is killed or left in a vegetative state. “We have taken swift action and hope these steps will make women feel safer in the country,” Law Minister Ashwani Kumar told reporters late on Friday.

“This is a progressive piece of legislation and is consistent with the felt sensitivities of the nation in the aftermath of the outrageous gang-rape,” he added. Yesterday, the gang-rape victim’s brother praised the cabinet’s decision to make sentences tougher for attackers, calling it a “positive initiative”, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

The changes to the rape laws were expected to be approved by Mukherjee as early as this weekend but must be ratified by parliament or they will lapse. Under the changes, the minimum sentence for gang-rape, rape of a minor, rape by policemen or a person in authority will be doubled to 20 years from 10 and can be extended to life without parole.

Under the current law, a rapist faces a term of seven to 10 years. The cabinet has also created a new set of offences such as voyeurism and stalking that will be included in the new law.

Five men are being tried in a special fast-track court in New Delhi on charges of murder, kidnapping and rape in connection with the death of the student, who died from her injuries in a Singapore hospital where she had been sent for further treatment. A sixth suspect faces trial in a juvenile court.

The physiotherapy student was assaulted on a bus she had boarded with a male companion as they returned home from watching a film in an upmarket shopping mall.

India says it only imposes the death penalty in the “rarest of rare cases”. Three months ago, it hanged the lone surviving gunman from the 2008

NEW DELHI: Indian students and activists shout slogans as they carry torches at India Gate during a protest following the gang-rape of a student in New Delhi. India’s cabinet has approved harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, after a brutal gang-rape in New Delhi that sparked national outrage yesterday. —AFP Mumbai terror attacks-the country’s first execution in eight years. Verdicts for the five men would be handed down “very soon”, a defense lawyer said earlier in the week, as an application to relocate the trial outside of the capital failed.

A separate court has ruled that a sixth suspect in the case should be tried as a juvenile after it accepted his claim based on his school certificate that he was aged 17. The decision, which means he faces a maximum of three years if convicted instead of the death penalty, has appalled the victim’s family who said they would call for an exception to be made in the case. Indian media reports, citing unnamed police officials, say the 17-year-old was among the most brutal of the assailants, who are accused of attacking the woman with an iron bar, causing horrifying internal injuries.

Five men pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges they gang raped and murdered an Indian trainee physiotherapist, in a case that led to a shake-up of laws against sexual crimes after

protests about a rising number of attacks on women. A Reuters witness saw the men file into the court room with their faces covered, where lawyers in the case said they were read thirteen charges including murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death. They left after 15 minutes.

“After the judge read out the charges, the five pleaded not guilty and walked out” said A.P. Singh, a lawyer defending two of the accused, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur. Singh said the next hearing will be held on Feb. 5, when the prosecution will call three witnesses to the formal start of the trial.

A sixth person police say was part of the gang that attacked the woman and her friend is a juvenile and will be tried separately. Police say the gang lured the 23-year-old physiotherapy student onto a bus, where they repeatedly raped and assaulted her with a metal bar before throwing her bleeding onto a highway. She died of internal injuries two weeks later. — Agencies

Sri Lanka blocks international impeachment probe COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has blocked entry of a London-based group of lawyers who planned to probe the controversial impeachment of the island’s chief justice, the International Bar Association said yesterday.

The group expressed “serious concern” over the withdrawal of visas for the Human Rights Institute lawyers, who were due to visit Colombo for 10 days starting Friday. The institute is a branch of the bar association. The delegation

was going to “consult a wide diversity of stakeholders” about “the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka”, the association said. It did not say how many lawyers who were to travel to Colombo.

The panel was going to study Sri Lanka’s sacking of chief justice Shirani Bandaranayake, the first woman to hold the nation’s highest judicial office.

The government dismissed Bandaranayake

despite two Sri Lankan court rulings that the impeachment was illegal and unconstitutional.

There was no immediate comment from Colombo on the association’s statements. Sri Lanka insists it followed proper legal procedures in firing Bandaranayake, 54, on charges of professional and personal misconduct.

Bandaranayake was dismissed by President Mahinda Rajapakse on January 13 — two days after Sri Lanka’s parliament voted to impeach

her, despite a chorus of international criticism.

The United States has led international calls objecting to the impeachment as an assault on judicial independence and rule of law in the island.

Bandaranayake has been replaced by former attorney general Mohan Peiris who had been serving as the government’s chief legal adviser.

The impeachment process was launched in November after court decisions went against the

regime of Rajapakse, who has tightened his hold on power since crushing Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009 to end a decades-long ethnic war.

Lawmakers found Bandaranayake guilty of tampering with a case involving a firm from which her sister bought an apartment, of failing to declare dormant bank accounts and of staying in office while her husband faced a bribery charge.

She has said the charges were politically motivated and that she was denied a fair trial. — AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

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

S Korea, US in naval drill amid tensions SEOUL: South Korea and the United States will hold a joint naval exercise next week, a report said yesterday, in a move seen as a warning to North Korea ahead of its widely expected nuclear test.

The three-day exercise involving a US nuclear submarine and other warships will begin on Monday in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) off the South Korean port city of Pohang, Yonhap news agency reported.

“It will include anti-submarine and anti-air trainings and maritime manoeuvrings,” a military official was quoted as saying in the report. The exercise comes as tensions run high on the Korean peninsula, with Pyongyang threatening to carry out its third nuclear test in response to UN sanctions imposed for a long-range rocket launch it carried out in December.

The North said the launch was a scientific mission aimed at placing a satellite in orbit, but most of the world saw it as a disguised ballistic missile test. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Jung Seung-Jo said Friday the drill aims to test combat readiness between Seoul and Washington while guarding against possible North Korean provocations involving submarines, according to Yonhap.

A 6,900-tonne US nuclear submarine USS San Francisco and a 9,800-tonne Aegis destroyer USS Shiloh were being mobilized for the exercise.

“The presence of a US nuclear submarine here would itself serve as a message to North Korea,” Jung said. North Korea has reportedly covered the entrance to a tunnel at its nuclear test site in an apparent effort to avoid satellite monitoring of its ongoing preparations for a possibly

imminent detonation. A camouflage net was placed on the tunnel entrance at Punggye-ri in the northeastern North Korea, the site of the two previous nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. But a government source in Seoul said that increased activity had been spotted at the site, which has three tunnel entrances and multiple support buildings. “At a tunnel in the southern part of the test site in Punggye-ri, we’ve found that work presumed to be part of preparations for a nuclear test has entered its final stage,” the unnamed source told Yonhap yesterday. “The North may conduct the test at either the western or southern tunnels.

But the activities spotted near the southern one could be aimed at distracting us from the more likely place of the western tunnel.” North Korea is threatening to retaliate for what it calls US double standards over recent rocket

launches by Pyongyang and US ally Seoul.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman did not elaborate on what that might entail in his comments yesterday to the official Korean Central News Agency. But Pyongyang has recently threatened to conduct its third nuclear test in response to what it calls US hostility.

Washington says Seoul’s rocket launch Wednesday had no military intent while Pyongyang’s in December was a test of banned ballistic missile technology.

The UN Security Council has imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang for its launch. Pyongyang says it should be allowed to launch satellites for peaceful purposes.

Both Koreas say their satellites are working properly. US experts say Pyongyang’s satellite is apparently malfunctioning. — Agencies

Japan arrests China fishing boat captain Abe vows to defend country

HONG KONG: 26-year-old Danny Chan from the “We’re Hong Kongese, not Chinese” poses wrapped in the navy blue colonial-era flag emblazoned with the Union Jack in Hong Kong. Sixteen years after Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, public discontent with Beijing is swelling and protesters have been rallying around an unexpected symbol — the British colonial flag. — AFP

Colonial flags fly as anger grows in HK HONG KONG: Sixteen years after Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, public discontent with Beijing is swelling and protesters have been rallying around an unexpected symbol-the British colonial flag.

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in recent months in marches against Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who took over from Donald Tsang last July after being elected by a 1,200-strong proBeijing committee. On several occasions the old blue flag, which incorporates the Union Flag, has been flown by protesters on the streets of what is becoming an increasingly divided Hong Kong, both embarrassing and infuriating Beijing.

While Leung’s supporters say he is tackling pressing social issues such as affordable housing and the strain on public services, his critics see him as a stooge for Beijing and are angry over a widening poverty gap. In September, he backed down from a plan to introduce Chinese patriotism classes in schools, which had incited mass protests and was viewed as an attempt to brainwash children into accepting doctrines taught on the mainland.

The founder of a group mobilizing Hong Kongers to fly colonial flags said it did so because the city was worse off after 16 years of “encroachment” by Beijing, stressing it was not because of any desire to see Britain rule again. “Our freedom and everything else has gone downhill since (the handover)” said 26-year-old Danny Chan from the “We’re Hong Kongese, not Chinese” Facebook group, which has been “liked” by nearly 30,000 people.

Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous status enshrines civil liberties not seen on the mainland, including the right to protest, until 2047 under the “One country, two systems” handover agreement.

Chan cited housing prices that stubbornly remained among the world’s highest and the widening income gap between the rich and the poor as factors driving the increasingly frequent protests in the city.

Many Hong Kongers blame increased immigration from the mainland for high house prices and overcrowding in local hospitals.

Chan said that the flags symbolized anger and the perceived erosion of the

rule of law in Hong Kong since 1997. “Hong Kong’s core values and the rule of law have been gradually destroyed until there is almost nothing left,” argued the computer engineer, who waved the flag at a mass rally on January 1 to demand Leung step down.

Dixon Sing, political analyst at Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology, said the protesters “believe the Chinese Communist Party has been undermining those core values and reneging on the promise of giving Hong Kong ‘two systems’”.

The increased visibility of the old emblem has sparked tensions, at a time when China is ushering in a new batch of leaders who yearn for order and stability in the Asian financial hub.

The British Council, which promotes cultural and educational ties overseas, unwittingly became embroiled in the controversy recently when advertisements for an education fair bearing the Union Jack became the centre of attention.

Comments such as “Great Britain built Great Hong Kong!” were posted on the British consulate’s Facebook page and linked to the posters. The advertisements were hastily removed due to the possibility of “misinterpretation”, a British Council spokeswoman said.

The waving of the old flag has drawn criticism from Chen Zuoer, the former No 2 mainland Chinese official in Hong Kong, who repor tedly said last year that it “should be sent to history museums”.

Other critics, including those from the city’s pro-democracy political camp, said any “good old days” notion is largely misguided, as corruption and malpractice were once widespread before a major clean-up in the 1970s.

“During colonial times, there was no freedom and our rights were denied but in the late 1980s, the government won people’s trust and it was seen as clean,” said Avery Ng from maverick lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung’s League of Social Democrats party. The party has called for full democracy in Hong Kong to replace the current system. “I understand the current sentiment but this is very sad for Hong Kong that people would rather look back at colonial times.” — AFP

Indonesia to carry out executions this year after hiatus JAKARTA: Indonesia is set to execute some convicts on death row for murder and drugs offences in 2013 after not carrying out an execution for several years, a senior official said yesterday.

There are 17 convicts, among them foreigners, who “can be executed starting from this year as they have exhausted all legal avenues for appeal,” Mahfud Mannan, the deputy attorney general for criminal cases, told AFP. He did not reveal their identities or say when executions might take place. “Not all will be executed this year but what’s certain is there will be executions this year,” he added.

But no one on death row in the prison on the resort island of Bali, where some foreigners are jailed, would be executed this year as they are all pursuing legal challenges, Mannan said. This includes a British grandmother sentenced to death last month for cocaine smuggling, who is pursuing an appeal that could take years, and two Australians convicted of attempted drug smuggling.

The last prominent executions in

Indonesia were in 2008 when three Islamic militants convicted over the 2002 bombings in Bali which killed 202 people, including many foreign tourists, were put to death.

Mannan told AFP that he did not know precisely when Indonesia had last carried out an execution but said it had not been for several years.

Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, two Australians on death row for attempting to smuggle heroin to Australia from Bali lodged appeals for clemency with the president last year, but have yet to receive a response.

British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford, 56, was sentenced to death last month for smuggling nearly 5.0 kilos (11 pounds) of cocaine worth $2.4 million onto Bali. In Indonesia there are 111 people on death row, of whom 60 are Indonesians convicted for premeditated murder, two for terrorism and 49 other people convicted for drugs offences, most of whom are foreigners, Mannan said. Under Indonesian law, execution is conducted by a firing squad. — AFP

TOKYO: Japan’s coastguard arrested the captain of a Chinese boat on suspicion of fishing in the country’s exclusive economic zone yesterday amid a festering territorial row between the two countries. The 100-ton coral fishing boat with a crew of 13 was stopped by a coastguard patrol in waters some 45 kilometres (28 miles) northeast of Miyako island in the Okinawan chain, the local branch of the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) said.

The captain, who identified himself as Xue Changlong, was arrested on suspicion of fishing in the exclusive maritime zone without permission from Japan, the coastguard said, adding that all the crew members called themselves Chinese. The incident occurred amid a simmering dispute over the Tokyoadministered Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyus. Miyako is located about 210 kilometres (130 miles) off the biggest Senkaku isle. The arrest was made on the same day that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe toured the southern region of

A Japan Coast Guard patrol boat approaches a Chinese fishing boat (left) off the northeastern coast of Miyako island, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of the disputed islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China yesterday.— AP

OKINAWA: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrives at Naha air base in Japan’s southern island of Okinawa yesterday for the first visit to Okinawa since becoming premier in December. Abe vowed to defend Japan against “provocations” as he toured the southern region of Okinawa near islands at the centre of a boiling territorial dispute with China. — AFP

Okinawa near the disputed islands in the East China Sea, where he vowed to defend Japan against “provocations”.

“The security environment surrounding our country is increasingly becoming more severe as we face provocation to our territorial rights,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. “I will take the lead to stand up against the present danger and protect the people’s lives and asset, as well as our land, the seas and the air at all costs.”

His comments, made in a speech to Japan’s SelfDefense Forces in the country’s south, apparently referred to China’s growing presence near the disputed islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

The uninhabited islands are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China. Japan’s nationalization of the islands in September triggered violent protests across China, hurting Japanese companies there and the economy.

China has sent surveillance ships regularly to waters near the islands, and aircraft from the two sides have trailed each other, raising the risk of missteps that could trigger a clash.

Japan has recently launched diplomatic efforts to ease tensions, with China-friendly officials visiting Beijing for talks.

Abe’s government last week endorsed a budget bill for this year that included 4.75 trillion yen ($51 billion) in proposed defense spending partly aimed at beefing up Japan’s coastal and marine surveillance around islands also claimed by China and Taiwan. The government also plans to beef up Coast Guard deployment in

the area. Chinese government ships have routinely circled the islands since September, when Tokyo nationalized some of them. Chinese planes have also sporadically breached the airspace over them, stoking the long-running sovereignty row.

The boat “Qiong Yang Pu F8139” was first spotted by a coastguard patrol plane at 7:43 am (2243 GMT Friday) and tried to escape when the Japanese coastguard boat approached it, the JCG branch said in a statement. Coastguard officers boarded the fishing boat and stopped it soon afterwards. The 63-year-old captain was arrested at 8:53 am. “The suspect has admitted to illegal fishing,” the coastguard said. He told the officers that his boat was hunting corals in the area, NHK reported, with the public broadcaster adding that there has been growing demand for coral jewelry in China. Unauthorized fishing in Japan’s 200nautical-mile exclusive economic zone can be punished by a fine of up to 10 million yen ($109,000) under Japanese law, the JCG statement said. The captain was transferred to Miyako by a coastguard boat and the 12 other crew members reached the island aboard the fishing boat, escorted by another patrol boat, a JCG spokeswoman said. It was the first time that the captain of a Chinese fishing boat was detained in waters in the Okinawa region since September 2010 when Japan arrested a Chinese trawler captain after he rammed his vessel against two JCG patrol boats in waters around the disputed islands, Kyodo news agency said. The arrest sparked off a fierce diplomatic protest from Beijing and Tokyo released the captain weeks later without prosecuting him. — Agencies

After North Korea visit, Richardson urges dialogue WASHINGTON: Former US ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson urged the United States yesterday to engage in dialogue with North Korea, but only if Pyongyang refrains from further nuclear tests and missile launches. Richardson, a former New Mexico governor, and Google chairman Eric Schmidt visited North Korea last month in an unsuccessful bid to free Kenneth Bae, an American of Korean descent, who is being held in North Korea.

Upon his return, Richardson has concluded that the lack of direct dialogue between the US and North Korea is not helping Washington achieve its goals. “Dialogue is not an endorsement or legitimization of your counterpart’s positions,” the exUN envoy wrote in The Washington Post. “Rather, it is an exchange of arguments and ideas that help both sides better understand the other and identify opportunities.”

However, in Richardson’s view, this dialogue should not be unconditional. “First and foremost, the North Koreans should refrain from performing any additional nuclear tests or ballistic missile launches,” he stressed. “If North Korea’s leader truly intends to refocus on economic development for his people, he needs to break the cycle of escalation.” Richardson believes the United States cannot rely on China to prevent nuclear proliferation. In his view, issues such as zones of influence and refugees complicate the Chinese-North Korean relationship.

According to Richardson, recent public statements in both South and North Korea hint at a renewed interest in dialogue. While he approved of recently strengthened UN sanctions against Pyongyang in response to its ballistic missile launch, the former diplomat also argued for keeping all diplomatic options open. “While sanctions are merited and are a legitimate tool, so is dialogue,” he said. “The two are not mutually exclusive.”

Richardson noted that much of what he saw recently in Pyongyang was staged, but not everything. While members of the foreign ministry constantly escorted the US visitors, he recalled, they still got a couple of chances to interact with citizens during their daily activities. He said the

Americans had taken a semi-spontaneous ride in the subway system, saw acclaimed acrobats perform an adaptation of a feudal love story in front of thousands of families in a freezing theater, and viewed children playing in the snow in the streets.

“Our societies are very different, no doubt,” he wrote in conclusion.

“But North Koreans desire and deserve a better quality of life than the one they have. And if their young leader is true to the statements he has made to his people about improving their livelihood, the first thing he should do is break the cycle of escalation, refrain from additional tests and, along with the United States, engage in direct dialogue.”

Richardson has visited North Korea several times in the past two decades and has been involved in negotiating the release of US citizens held in the isolated country.

Before his January visit, he went to North Korea in 2010 when he met its chief nuclear negotiator to try and ease tensions after the country shelled a South Korean border island.

The appeal comes as a new foreign policy and national security team is beginning to take shape in Washington as President Barack Obama begins his second term in office.

Former Democratic Senator John Kerry was sworn in Friday as America’s new secretary of state, less than two hours after Hillary Clinton left that office. Another former senator, Chuck Hagel, has been tapped by Obama to lead the Pentagon.

At the same time, John Brennan, the president’s counter-terrorism adviser, was nominated as the Central Intelligence Agency’s next director to replace David Petraeus, who had resigned over an extramarital affair. — AFP

SHANGHAI: New Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong (3rd from right) and his new board members greet the journalists during the presentation of new municipal leadership yesterday in Shanghai. — AP

NEWS

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Egypt opposition seeks Morsi trial Continued from Page 1 presidential palace left one dead, and police were filmed beating and dragging off another man, following clashes last week that killed nearly 60 people. The beating was “an inhumane spectacle ... no less ugly than the killings of martyrs, which is considered a continuation of the security force’s program of excessive force,” it said. A 23-year-old was shot dead and 91 people were injured in Friday’s clashes, a medic said, while the interior ministry reported 15 of its men wounded by birdshot.

Police said they made 20 arrests, and they were filmed on television beating and dragging a naked man to an armoured vehicle, outraging Morsi’s critics who compared the incident to practices under deposed president Hosni Mubarak. Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim has ordered a probe to “hold accountable” the policemen who beat the man, his office said. Prosecutors say the man, a 50-year-old construction painter sent to a police hospital, was found carrying petrol bombs.

The presidency said it was “pained by the shocking footage of some policemen treating a protester in a manner that does not accord with human dignity and human rights.” It would follow the interior ministry’s investigation of what it called an “isolated act”. There was no sign of any protests yesterday, as debris-littered streets around the presidential palace reopened to traffic. The odour of tear gas lingered near the palace, its outer wall scrawled with graffiti including “Topple the regime” and “Freedom”.

In central Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square, protesters threw

stones and bottles at Prime Minister Hisham Qandil’s motorcade yesterday morning, the Egyptian Dream Live television reported. The premier said in a statement that he was “confronted by youths and troublemakers” and had “preferred to avoid a confrontation between them and security personnel”. But the presidency has said security forces would deal with violent protests with “utmost decisiveness” and that it would hold opposition groups found to have incited deadly clashes as “politically accountable”.

Morsi’s Facebook page said the protesters had initiated Friday’s violence by trying to break into the palace. The opposition, which accuses Morsi of betraying the revolution that toppled Mubarak two years ago, has distanced itself from the violence and urged demonstrators to exercise “utmost restraint”. The NSF had joined rival Islamists on Thursday in condemning violence and supporting efforts for a national dialogue, but insisted on a unity government and amendment of the Islamist-drafted constitution that has polarised the nation.

People took to the streets in several cities on Friday in a show of opposition to Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood after deadly unrest swept Egypt last week, the worst violence since Morsi was elected in June. Port Said accounted for most of the almost 60 people killed.

Violence erupted there after 21 local supporters of a football club were sentenced to death a week ago over the killings of 74 people in post-match violence. The crisis has sapped Morsi’s popularity and complicated negotiations for a crucial $4.8-billion IMF loan that could help bail out the teetering economy. — AFP

Rapturous welcome for Hollande in Mali Continued from Page 1 people gathered in the central square of the fabled city of Timbuktu, dancing to the beat of drums - a forbidden activity during the extremists’ 10-month occupation.

Hollande told the crowd France’s mission was not finished yet but that African countries would soon have to take over.

“We’ve already done a lot of work. It’s not over yet, it’s going to take several weeks, but our goal is to pass the baton,” he said. “We have no intention to stay. Our African friends will be able to do the job we’ve been doing until now.” Mali’s interim president Dioncounda Traore, who joined hands with Hollande and raised them in a victory salute, thanked his counterpart for the “efficiency” of the French troops, which he said had allowed the north to be freed from “barbarity and obscurantism”. Hollande and Traore, who met in the central garrison town of Sevare before travelling to Timbuktu, visited the city’s 700-year-old mud mosque of Djingareyber and the Ahmed Baba library for ancient manuscripts, both targeted by destructive Islamist militants.

“There’s a real desire to annihilate. There’s nothing left,” Hollande told the mosque’s imam as they visited two ancient saints’ tombs that the extremists attacked with pickaxes in July, considering them heretical. “We’re going to rebuild them, Mr President,” said Irina Bokova, the head of UNESCO, which is trying to assess the scale of the damage to Mali’s ancient heritage.

Timbuktu, a caravan town at the edge of the Sahara that rose to fame in the 14th century as a gold and salt trading hub, was under tight security, with French troops stationed every 100 metres. Hollande, whose surprise decision to intervene in Mali three weeks ago made him a hero in the former French colony, was greeted with cheers of “Long live France! Long live Hollande!” “The women of Timbuktu will thank Francois Hollande forever,” said 53-year-old Fanta

Diarra Toure. “We must tell him that he has cut down the tree but still has to tear up its roots.”

With the rebels ousted from all major towns but Kidal, France is keen to hand over to nearly 8,000 African troops slowly being deployed and which the United Nations is considering turning into a formal UN peacekeeping force.

But there are warnings that Mali will need long-term help and fears that the Islamists will now wage a guerrilla campaign from the sparsely populated north. The joy of citizens throwing off the yoke of Islamist rule, under which they were denied music and television and threatened with whipping, dismemberment and execution, has been accompanied by a grim backlash against light-skinned citizens seen as supporters of the extremists.

Rights groups have reported summary executions by both the Malian army and the Islamists. Human Rights Watch said Friday that Islamists had killed at least seven Malian soldiers by slitting their throats or shooting them in the mouth, and that Malian troops had shot at least 13 suspected Islamist supporters in Sevare and dumped them into wells. The Malian army has denied any crimes by its forces. Amnesty International also called on the French army to launch an investigation into the deaths of five civilians killed in a helicopter attack on the town of Konna at the start of the campaign. France said it had no helicopters active in the town at the time.

Mali’s military was routed at the hands of rebel groups in the north, whose members are mostly light-skinned Tuaregs and Arabs, before the French army came to its aid.

With fears of reprisal attacks high, many Arabs and Tuaregs have fled. A record number of refugees - some 1,300 a day have been fleeing to neighbouring Mauritania, officials there said. In all, the crisis has caused some 377,000 people to flee their homes, including 150,000 who have sought refuge across Mali’s borders, according to the UN. —AFP

Anatoliy Shabotenko of Ukraine dives from the 26-m platform on the Hawkesbury River during the qualification competition for the 2013 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Cattai, Sydney. — AFP

Russia in rare talks with Syria opposition...

Continued from Page 1 “We would be prepared to meet bilaterally with the Iranian leadership... that offer stands but it must be real and tangible,” he told the Munich Security Conference. “There has to be an agenda that they are prepared to speak to. We’re not just prepared to do it for the exercise,” he added. Kicking off his threenation European tour that will also take in Paris and London, Biden warned Iran in a German newspaper interview Friday that opportunities for diplomacy were not unlimited but offered direct talks between Washington and Tehran. “There is still time, there is still space for diplomacy, backed by pressure, to succeed,” Biden told participants in Munich. “The ball is in the government of Iran’s court and it’s well past time for Tehran to adopt a serious good faith approach to negotiations,” he added.

The United States and its allies have made repeated calls for Assad’s ouster, while key Damascus ally Russia has resisted any international action. Biden held separate meetings with Lavrov, Khatib and Brahimi on the sidelines of the weekend conference. Lavrov, whose country has blocked three UN Security Council resolutions sanctioning Assad for the violence, called for another meeting of the Syrian action group led by Brahimi in a bid to find an accord on a transition, saying he believed progress was possible. Russia’s top diplomat also said Moscow shared Washington’s concern about the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria. “We coordinate this issue with the Americans on a daily basis. We have reliable information that for now, the Syrian government has control of the chemical weapons, that the situation is safe,” Lavrov said in his address to the conference. “I think that this (the use of chemical weapons) is a ‘red line’ for everyone. We are categorically against the use of any arms.”

On Friday, National Coalition chief Khatib said the international community must not be a “bystander” to the “tragedy” of the Syrian people and reiterated his willingness to talk to the regime, subject to the release of detainees. Khatib called for “some kind of electronic interference” to stop regime aircraft shelling the Syrian people. “If that doesn’t work I would demand to destroy the planes and weapons of the Syrian regime,” he said, nearly two years into a conflict the United

Nations says has killed more than 60,000 people. Officials in Washington have said Iran is boosting its support for its key ally Assad, and that Moscow is still arming his regime. In a dramatic development last week, Syria said Israeli air strikes hit a weapons research centre near Damascus and threatened to retaliate. Israel has not commented on the reports, but a US official said an Israeli raid struck surface-to-air missiles and a nearby military complex on the capital’s outskirts. “There were surface-to-air missiles on vehicles” targeted by the Israeli warplanes, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, saying they were believed to be Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles.

The planes also bombed a military complex suspected of housing chemical agents, the official said.

Israel has frequently warned that if Syrian chemical weapons fall into the hands of the Shiite movement Hezbollah, its arch-foe and close Damascus ally, this would be a casus belli. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told AFP that Washington is also concerned the “chaos” in Syria could allow Hezbollah to obtain sophisticated weaponry. On the ground yesterday, rebels were reported to have taken control of the Sheikh Said district of Aleppo, Syria’s second city, in a strategic victory securing a key route to its international airport. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on activists and medics on the ground for its information, said at least 85 people were killed on Friday - 32 soldiers, 31 rebels and 22 civilians. Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official visiting Damascus reiterated that his country stood squarely behind the Syrian regime. “We will give all our support so that Syria remains firm and able to face all the arrogant (Western powers’) conspiracies,” Saeed Jalili, who heads the Supreme National Security Council, was quoted as saying on Syrian state television. “The Israeli aggression and arrogant international forces have tried to take revenge by attacking the resisting Syrian people,” said Jalili, who described Israel and the West’s attempts as “desperate”.

Jalili said “the Arab and Muslim worlds must do all they can to diminish the Syrian people’s suffering, because Syria is at the forefront of the struggle against Zionist aggression.” Jalili, who last visited Damascus in August, met with Syrian Prime Minister Wael Al-Halqi. He was also due to meet President Bashar alAssad and Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem, Iranian officials in Damascus told AFP. — Agencies

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ANALYSIS

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

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Issues

Venezuelan oppn cracks could help Chavez’s allies

By Diego Ore enezuela’s multiple opposition parties took a decade to unite against President Hugo Chavez, but old strains are emerging again just as he could be forced from power by cancer. The increasingly public tensions between moderates and radicals within the five-year-old Democratic Unity coalition play into the government’s hands should Chavez fail to recover from the disease and a new presidential election be held. “They’re beating each other up. They have no respect for agreements, that’s the opposition we have,” gloated Congress head Diosdado Cabello, the third most powerful government figure after Chavez and Vice President Nicolas Maduro.

After years of in-fighting, election defeats and chaotic attempts to remove Chavez through street protests, an oil industry strike and even a brief coup, some 30 ideologically diverse political groups formed the opposition coalition in 2008. It had an auspicious start, winning half the total vote in 2009 parliamentary elections. Then it stayed united - and kept egos in check - during a long primary race to elect state governor Henrique Capriles as its 2012 presidential candidate.

Even though Capriles’ defeat by Chavez was crushing for many in the opposition ranks, he galvanized them like never before and they had their best showing - 44 percent or 6.6 million votes - at a presidential election during the Chavez years. Yet troubles began almost the next day with murmurings from some wings of the opposition that the center-left Capriles had been too soft in his public discourse while too controlling in his exclusion of older parties from his campaign. A thrashing by Chavez’s ruling Socialist Party at regional elections held in December, where the coalition took just three of 23 governorships, accentuated the malaise.

Now with Chavez unseen since his Dec 11 cancer surgery, and a new presidential election soon a real possibility, the differences appear to be widening. On one hand, Capriles and another state governor, Henri Falcon, have been urging opponents to stay cool and avoid street protests despite concern over the legitimacy of Maduro’s now de facto leadership of government. They both shook hands with Maduro at a recent meeting. And though they disagree with the ruling, they have insisted Venezuelans must respect a Supreme Court judgment that Chavez’s failure to be sworn in for a new term on Jan 10 did not mean an end to his 14-year rule.

At the other end of the coalition’s spectrum of politicians, rightwing legislator Maria Corina Machado led a walkout of parliament when Maduro gave an annual speech that is normally given by the president, and she has been on the streets whipping up student demonstrators. Other well-known opposition leaders, such as Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma, are also pushing for a stronger line. Former presidential aspirant Diego Arria - who came second to last in the 2012 opposition primary - accused Capriles’ Justice First party of big-footing the coalition. “The opposition was born fractured because it’s a collection of various parties where each one keeps their individuality. There’s no way to avoid internal tensions and incoherencies,” said political analyst Luis Enrique Alcala. It is all music to the ears of Maduro and Cabello.

Despite rumors of a long rivalry between the pair Maduro is a civilian ideologue who rose from being a bus driver to one of Chavez’s closest allies; Cabello is a military buddy of the president’s with close ties to business - they have been embracing in public and mocking those who predicted squabbling. That, combined with Chavez’s endorsement of Maduro as his preferred successor, has served to keep a lid on jostling within the Socialist Party, or PSUV, during his seven-week absence.

Maduro, who appears to be in a potential election campaign mode, misses no opportunity to bash the opposition during daily speeches, ceremonies and visits around Venezuela that are an imitation of his boss’s energetic, onthe-street style. In almost every speech, he stresses the words “unity,” “loyalty” and “discipline” among Chavez’s supporters. In his latest attack on the opposition, Maduro said PSUV lawmakers would present proof next Tuesday of “immense corruption” involving an unnamed senior figure in Primero Justicia (First Justice), the party which Capriles helped found in 2000. “Maduro is in campaign and Primero Justicia is the stone in his shoe. That’s why they attack us,” party leader Julio Borges said later on Twitter.

Though past polls showed Capriles to be far more popular than Maduro and other senior government officials, the picture has almost certainly changed now given the vice president has Chavez’s blessing and has taken a high profile in his absence.— Reuters

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The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as necessary.

Clinton’s legacy at heart of US diplomacy

By Jo Biddle illary Clinton stepped down as the top US diplomat firm in the belief she has restored America’s global standing during her tenure that may also have traced a path to the White House in 2016. But as she swept out of the imposing buildings of the State Department for the last time on Friday, how will history judge her as secretary of state? How she stacks up against giants of American diplomacy like Henry Kissinger and James Baker and how she’ll fill in the blank pages as she opens a new chapter in her life remain open questions.

Clinton says she never once gave a thought to her legacy in the past four years. Instead, she just got up every day determined to work as hard as she could to promote America’s interests. She now leaves office with the highest popularity rating of any of President Barack Obama’s cabinet members, imbued with the title of “rock star diplomat” and with many saying she’ll be the Democratic Party’s strongest hope in the next elections, despite her constant denials that she is planning to run.

“Her contribution I think was fighting for resources for her own department, America’s credibility in the world through her relentless travel, finding a 21st century agenda, I call it planetary humanism,” said Wilson Center vice president Aaron David Miller. “These are important issues. They don’t get you into the secretary of state hall of fame,” Miller, a distinguished scholar who has served under six secretaries of state, told AFP. Critics say Clinton cannot point to a signature issue achieved under her stewardship. The major challenges of the day - Syria, the new world order emerging from

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the Arab Spring, Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the search for peace in the Middle East - she bequeaths to her successor John Kerry. Yet the Obama administration seized the opportunity to help prise open Myanmar, she showed effective diplomacy in negotiating the freedom of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, helped the United States pivot its focus toward Asia and built a solid alliance in support of biting sanctions against Iran.

And Clinton brought to Obama’s administration her charisma, celebrity status and a willingness to travel, believing that even in this interconnected world, faceto-face meetings remain one of diplomacy’s most important tools. “Secretary Clinton, because of her celebrity and popularity, has been a great secretary of state from that respect. People are thrilled to meet with her. She’s probably second best to meeting with Obama,” said Isobel Coleman, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Even hardened politicians found it hard to resist her charms, British Foreign Secretary William Hague revealed during a dinner in her honor. “There is a wonderful stillness that descends on large halls full of diplomats and ministers the moment Hillary enters the room,” he said. Hague praised Clinton’s “infectious spirit of optimism, opportunity and hope” as well as her faith “in the power of friendship and persuasion.”

In pursuit of diplomacy, Clinton has traveled exactly 956,733 miles, visiting some 112 countries. She was the first US secretary of state ever to visit Togo, and the first in over half a century to fly into Laos. “Remember what we faced in January 2009: Two wars. An economy in freefall. Traditional alliances fraying. Our diplomatic standing damaged,” she told the Council on Foreign

Relations on Thursday. “And around the world, people questioning America’s commitment to core values and our ability to maintain our global leadership. “That was my inbox on day one as secretary of state.”

Four years on, while the world “remains a dangerous and complicated place,” much has changed, Clinton argued, saying “we’ve revitalized American diplomacy and strengthened our alliances.” Those dangers were highlighted by the September attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, in which the ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed. Whether the attack, and the scathing criticism of security failures by the State Department, will taint her career in the long-term is too soon to tell.

Many argue that Clinton’s emphasis on what she calls “soft power” - her unrelenting focus on women’s rights, development issues, economic statecraft and lesbian and gay rights - may well be what she’s remembered for.

“As a long-term enduring legacy, I think I’d feel prouder about that than having invaded another Middle Eastern country,” Coleman said.

Observers also point to Europe’s renewed faith in America, after Clinton made 42 trips to the continent during her time in office. “In 2009, everything needed to be rebuilt... she has succeeded in restoring America’s image in the world. She has marked the return of multilateralism,” a western diplomat said in an interview.

Tyson Barker, director of transatlantic relations at the Bertelsmann Foundation North America, agreed that “Europe loves Hillary Clinton, and she’s spent a lot of time here investing in that relationship. “She has really carried the torch for reconciliation and European integration.” — AFP

France, Africa face tough Sahara phase of war

By David Lewis and Pascal Fletcher he French or African troops who hunt down the Islamist fighters holed up in the mountains and deserts of northeast Mali may find a resilient enemy capable of fighting back with a concealed arsenal of surprising firepower. France’s initial success in its threeweek old intervention in its former colony has gained Paris plaudits at home and abroad as a welcome blow struck against radical jihadists threatening Africa and the West. Timbuktu and Gao, the main Malian towns held by Islamist insurgents since last year, fell to the French at the weekend, and French troops also seized the airport at Kidal, the last urban bastion abandoned by the rebels.

But the next step in stabilising Mali and pursuing the Al-Qaeda-allied fighters in their remote desert and mountain bolt-holes near Algeria’s border looks like a much tougher task. It will take longer than a few weeks and likely require a bigger and more international effort than the limited offensive that has so far involved 3,500 French soldiers on the ground, backed by warplanes, helicopters and armoured vehicles. “Both politically and militarily, now is going to be the hard bit,” Gregory Mann, a Mali expert who is associate professor of history at Columbia University, told Reuters.

The Islamist forces are thought to be sheltering north of Kidal in the Adrar des Ifoghas, a vast, rugged mountain buttress that has given sanctuary before to AlQaeda hostage-takers and Saharan traffickers of drugs, people and cigarettes. They are believed to have weapons, fuel and supplies hidden in caves, tunnels and rock strongholds. These were stashed away before their pell-mell retreat from relentless French air strikes that left a trail of rebel charred vehicles and abandoned arms caches in dusty Niger River and Saharan towns.

“This is where they have the bulk of the stuff hidden,” said Rudy Atallah, a former counterterrorism director for Africa at the US Department for Defense. “They have barrels of fuel and weapons. They have been preparing for a long time.” Their preserved arsenal could include heavy machineguns, hand-held rocket launchers and also possibly one or more Grad multiple rocket launchers mounted on vehicles, according to arms experts who have viewed photos and footage of munitions caches abandoned by the rebels in their hasty withdrawal. “This is pretty heavy ordnance, a level that would achieve parity with or even out gun most West African militaries,” James Bevan, head of Conflict Armament Research, told Reuters after viewing photos of a cache found at Diabaly in central Mali. A Western

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security source, who asked not to be named, said air power would help in the next phase - but only so much.

“Ground troops will have to go into the mountains and that will lead to casualties,” he said.

Guinea’s President Alpha Conde, whose West African country is offering troops to a UN-backed African intervention force being deployed in Mali, predicted a “battle in the Sahara” against what he called “narco-traffickers” and “terrorists”. “The rebels will not disappear into the sky,” he said last week in Davos, Switzerland. “If we don’t want the Sahara to become Afghanistan, then we need the world to get involved, not just France and Africa but also the United States and the European Union,” he added.

But the United States and Europe, where a recessionhit public has little appetite for overseas wars after Iraq and Afghanistan, have ruled out sending combat troops and offer instead training as well as logistical and intelligence support. French President Francois Hollande, anxious to reassure his people France will not get bogged down in a messy war in a faraway former colony, has said he expects African forces to take over the job of hunting down the rebels in the north. It is hard to know exactly what materiel and manpower the Islamist rebels have lost in hundreds of French air strikes that are now homing in on rebel positions north of Kidal. A French military video showed a rebel Grad multiple rocket launcher destroyed near Gao. French estimates speak of several dozen rebels killed in the limited direct clashes so far. The real figure could be higher given the intensity of the air strikes.

Estimates by some security experts had put the combined original strength of the Islamist alliance in northern Mali, which groups al Qaeda’s North African wing AQIM, Malian group Ansar Dine and AQIM splinter MUJWA, at around 3,000 fighters. Mark Schroeder, director of Sub-Saharan Africa analysis at Stratfor consultancy, believes France and its allies will try to prevent rebels from fleeing over Mali’s porous Saharan borders into neighbouring states such as Algeria, Niger and Libya. “If AQIM can be degraded ... forced into a space from where they can offer no threat, that can be a success,” he added.

Nearly 2,000 troops from Chad and Niger, with experience of fighting in the Sahara, are backing up the French and Malians as they consolidate their gains in Gao and Timbuktu and also push reinforcements up towards Kidal in the wild northeast. “The military cycle is far ahead of the political cycle...They are liberating more than they can occupy,” Mann said. He added Malian authorities also needed to be pragmatic in han-

dling fickle pro-autonomy northern Tuareg rebels, many of them experienced desert fighters, who have offered to help the French-led offensive against Al-Qaeda and its allies.

Mali’s interim President Dioncounda Traore, who says he aims to hold national elections on July 31, said on Thursday he was open to dialogue with the Tuaregs provided they dropped any territorial independence claim. It was a revolt by the Tuaregs, swelled by arms and fighters from the 2011 conflict in Libya, that initially seized Mali’s north following a March military coup in the southern capital Bamako, before being hijacked by Islamist radicals. But any attempt to placate the Tuaregs could draw a hostile reaction from the Malian public and military, the latter still smarting from its defeat last year by the desert rebels and the massacre of its troops.

However, the army’s meddling hand in national politics may have been weakened by French intervention.

Mali’s army now guards roadblocks and checkpoints behind the French advance, but pockets of rebels still lurk in the bush. Four Malian soldiers were killed on Wednesday between Gossi and Gao when their vehicle struck a landmine suspected to have been planted by insurgents in a nominally liberated area.

The African follow-up force intended to take over security from the French is far from being in place as it grapples with shortages of kit and supplies and lack of airlift capacity. Besides Chadians and Nigeriens, only around 1,000 other Africans are on the ground in Mali, from Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Senegal and Burkina Faso, out of more than 8,000 soldiers expected to comprise the African force, known as AFISMA. Advocates of the African force to pacify northern Mali point to the example of the AMISOM African peacekeeping force in Somalia, which now numbers more than 17,000.

Deployed in 2007, it has driven Al Shabaab militants out of the capital Mogadishu and, more recently, out of the southern port of Kismayu.

But this has been a tough campaign lasting several years, AMISOM has suffered several hundred casualties and countries with troops in Somalia, such as Kenya and Uganda, have experienced militant bomb and guerrilla attacks on their soil. So even as Malian and French leaders celebrate success on the ground, there is concern Islamist militants inside and outside Mali could strike back, just as they did in the surprise raid on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria earlier this month. “The wild card is something completely asymmetrical, like the Algeria gas plant, or an attack in Bamako itself,” Mann said, cautioning the war in the Sahara could be long and hard. — Reuters

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

S P ORTS Blanco suspend Sanchez over doping allegations THE HAGUE: Blanco-formerly the Rabobank team-said yesterday they have suspended Spanish rider Luis Leon Sanchez provisionally amid accusations he was linked to Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in the Operation Puerto blood doping racket. The Dutch team said it is investigating and would in the meantime not select Sanchez. “The object of this investigation is to verify or refute revelations which appeared in the Dutch press on the subject of the role of our rider in the Fuentes affair,” Blanco said in a statement.

Spanish police believe Sanchez was a client of the doctor in 2006 while riding for the Liberty Seguros team-something the 29-year-old denies. Sanchez has won several major titles, including the San Sebastian Classic in 2010 and 2012, the 2009 Paris-Nice, the Tour Down Under in 2005 and four stages of the Tour de France. Last Wednesday, a Spanish judge refused to demand that Fuentes, the suspected mastermind of one of the sporting world’s biggest blood doping rackets, provide the names of athletes implicated in the scandal. The ruling in the so-called “Operation Puerto” case could avert a huge fall-out from the high-profile trial, with suspects across the drug-tarnished world of cycling and perhaps in other sports potentially at risk. The Canary Islands doctor, 57, was detained when police seized 200 bags of blood and plasma, and other evidence of performance-enhancing transfusions, revealing a huge doping network after a months-long investigation dubbed “Operation Puerto”. —AFP

AS Roma sack manager Zeman

Sauber unveil slimmer sidepods

ROME: Italian Serie A club AS Roma sacked manager Zdenek Zeman yesterday after a 4-2 loss at home to Cagliari on Friday night. “AS Roma announces that it has relieved Mr Zdenek Zeman of his position as coach of the first team,” a club statement said.

“The team has been temporarily entrusted to Mr Aurelio Andreazzoli.”

Friday’s defeat was the latest in a line of embarrassing results for Roma, who have yet to win this year and find themselves in eighth place on 34 points, nine behind local rivals Lazio in the third Champions League spot They are also three points behind AC Milan, who are fifth and occupy the second Europa League slot. Zeman was brought in with much fanfare to replace Luis Enrique in the close season after the Spaniard presided over a disappointing season.

However, the Czech-born coach has failed to challenge for the title or the Champions League places, both season’s objectives. While their attacking play can often be exceptional, his team have conceded 42 goals so far this season, more than any other side apart from 17th-placed Pescara.

The fans finally turned on him after Cagliari’s fourth goal on Friday, with hardcore fans in the Olympic Stadium displaying a banner that read “Boemo (Bohemian, Zeman’s nickname) out”, before turning their backs on the game. —Reuters

HINWIL: Sauber unveiled a new-look car with slimmer sidepods and two new drivers yesterday but declined to say whether they could improve on last year’s sixth place in the constructors’ championship.

The new car, the Sauber C32-Ferrari, is visually very different from its predecessor, boasting a smooth, slightly downward-sloping nose section and much slimmer sidepods, Sauber said. “The C31 was an extremely competitive car with many strengths,” chief designer Matt Morris told an audience at the unveiling on an industrial estate near Zurich. “Our aim was to further improve these strengths and eliminate its few weaknesses.”

The sidepods, which give the car a distinctive look, were the major change. “The airflow in this area has a major influence over everything that happens at the rear of the car,” said Morris, Morris said the tyre management had also been improved and the overall weight had been reduced. “Our car looked after its tyres very well during races last year,” said Morris. “However, we had problems now and again when it came to getting the maximum out of them in qualifying. We’ve looked at this phenomenon closely and made the required adjustments.” The reduced weight had allowed a better distribution of the ballast, while retaining its structural requirements and mechanical setup flexibility.

“My colleagues have done an excellent job here, and we have even exceeded our original targets”, said Morris.—Reuters

Mickelson misses chance for tour 36-hole record SCOTTSDALE: Phil Mickelson had a perfect view of his birdie putt for a 59 that curled 180 degrees and stayed out in the first round of the Phoenix Open. He missed the fateful last bounce of the shot that robbed him of another chance at history Friday in the second round.

“I still thought it was up,” Mickelson said. It wasn’t. His final drive tumbled into the water, and he made a double bogey that left him a stroke off the tour record for the first two rounds of a tournament set by Pat Perez in the 2009 Bob Hope Classic and matched by David Toms at Colonial in 2011.

“You always remember kind of the last hole, the last putt,” Mickelson said. “But I think it’s very possible that’s going to help me because it’s got me refocused, that I cannot ease up on a single shot. I’ve got to be really focused. These guys are going to make a lot of birdies and I’ve got to get after it and cannot make those kinds of mistakes.” Mickelson followed his opening 60 with a 65 to reach 17-under 125, a mark that matched the Phoenix Open 36-hole record set

by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001. “Unfortunately, I made a double on the last hole and didn’t finish the way I wanted to,” Mickelson said. “But I think it’s a good example of what can happen on this course. You can make a lot of birdies and eagles, make up a lot of ground, but there’s a lot of water and trouble there that if you misstep you can easily make bogeys and double.”

His drive on No. 18 bounced into the leftside water hazard and, after a penalty drop, he still had a chance to get up and down for par and the record. But he didn’t get enough on his approach shot, with the ball landing on the green and rolling off the front edge. His chip got away from him a bit, running 7 feet past,

and his bogey putt slid by to the left.

“I hit a good shot, I thought,” Mickelson said.

“I tried to start it right down the middle and hold it into the wind. It just leaked a little bit left. I still thought it was up. ... Then I hit a poor wedge from there. But the tee shot I didn’t think was going to be in the water at any point.”

The double bogey left him four strokes ahead of Bill Haas and five in front of Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker. Haas shot a 64, Bradley 63, and Snedeker 66.

Mickelson will play alongside Haas and Bradley in the third round. “Bill and I have played on a Presidents Cup team, and Keegan and I have been partners in the Ryder Cup and had an incredibly emotional and fun experience together as partners,” Mickelson said.

“We’re going to have a fun day tomorrow.”

Mickelson, the winner at TPC Scottsdale in 1996 and 2005, parred the first six holes and played the next 11 in 8 under before the lapse on 18. The 42-year-old former Arizona State star made a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth the hole where he missed the putt for a 59 on Thursday - and overpowered the par-5 15th for an eagle, hitting to 4 feet after a 358-yard drive.

“I felt really comfortable on the tee box, so I kind of let one go and caught a hold of it and ended up having 191 to the pin,” Mickelson said. “It was only 186 to the front, and I hit a hard 8-iron. There was a little bit of helping wind.”

After a par on the par-3 16th that drew boos from the rowdy fans on the stadium hole when his tee shot trickled into the fringe, he drove the green on the 344-yard 17th and twoputted from 70 feet - leaving his eagle try a foot short - for birdie. —AFP

Stunning eagle finish puts Gallacher 3 ahead in Dubai DUBAI: Stephen Gallacher holed a 40-yard bunker shot for an eagle at the 18th hole to put the seal on a sparkling 10-under 62 and take a three-shot lead after the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic yesterday.

The Briton, seeking to end a nine-year wait for a European Tour win, notched a 21under total of 195 to streak clear of midway leader Richard Sterne (66) of South Africa with young Dane Thorbjorn Olesen (67) two strokes further back.

Gallacher ’s 54-hole aggregate is the lowest in the event’s history, beating by one stroke the record set by former world number one Tiger Woods in 2001. World number eight Lee Westwood, the highestranked player in the field, fired a 66 and is nine shots behind Gallacher, with whom he f i n i s h e d j o i n t r u n n e r - u p i n l a s t ye a r ’s event.

Gallacher, nephew of former Ryder Cup captain Bernard, almost recorded an albatross (double eagle) at the par-five 13th when his second shot hit the flag and finished just four feet away.

There was never any doubt in the Scot’s mind about his spectacular final shot however. “ The moment I hit it I knew it was either stiff or in,” said the world number 111 whose only tour win came at the 2004 Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.

“I struggled last week (at the Qatar

DUBAI: Maximilian Kiffer of Germany lines up a putt during the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament in Dubai yesterday. —AFP Masters) and my driver cracked but with the new one I’m hitting more fairways and I’ve putted really good. I’m excited and looking forward to tomorrow,” Gallacher told reporters.

He said his knowledge of the Emirates Golf Club stood him in good stead. “I’m pretty familiar with his course. I come out

here on holiday with the family,” added Gallacher. In joint four th place on 202 were Chile’s Felipe Aguilar (66), Jeev Milkha Singh (67) of India and Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood (69).

Former world number two Sergio Garcia, battling against shoulder pain, slipped down the field with a 71 for 206. —Reuters

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

S P ORTS

Maze, Vonn rivalry tops world championships bill SCHLADMING: For local fans, Marcel Hirscher will top the bill at the alpine skiing world championships in the next fortnight yet the rivalry between Tina Maze and Lindsey Vonn in the women’s competition looks arguably more exciting.

Slovenian Maze, who will defend her giant slalom crown in Schladming, has already bagged the giant slalom World Cup crystal globe and looks certain to clinch the overall title more than a month before the end of the World Cup series.

The 29-year-old is also on course to break the landmark 2,000 points barrier in the World Cup that Vonn only missed by 20 points last season. With seven wins and 17 podiums in the past four months, Maze is rewriting the record books yet her domination might be her downfall during

the world championship fortnight as her rivals have been saving their season for the big event.

American Vonn has made it clear she wants revenge on the Austrian slopes with the first race, the women’s super-G, taking place on Tuesday.

“I have the feeling like this is the chance for me to take back what I’ve lost this winter, you know, I lost the overall title already,” said the four-times World Cup champion. “Now the world championships are coming and I definitely have the feeling I can turn my season around.”

The American took a timely break around the New Year to solve health and personal problems and certainly looks on the way up while Maze, who could take part in all six events in Schladming,

showed signs of fatigue in Moscow’s parallel slalom last Tuesday.

Asked about her chances of winning medals in each event, the Slovenian remained cautious. “I don’t know about that. But for sure, it would be exciting to come there with such a great season, and show also at the world championships that I’m strong,” she said.

She was also very reluctant to single out rivals. “I really hate that question.

When you are at the start, you are alone with yourself, except in parallel, where you have a skier beside you and it’s oneon-one, and there you can speak about them.

“In other events, it’s always yourself, and the others do their job.” So it left was up to Vonn to review the field and pin

Maze as well as old friend and rival Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany as the women to watch alongside a surprisingly strong American team this season.

“The U.S. team is skiing so well right now. Those girls are all going to be really competitive. Especially in the world champs and Olympic Games, you always see people coming out that are getting on the podium,” she said.

In-form Anna Fenninger will be Austria’s main women’s hope on home snow along with Kathrin Zettel while organisers seem delighted to maintain some suspense until the penultimate day over whether injured slalom world champion Marlies Schild will be able to defend her title. In the men’s competition, all eyes will be on Austrian Hirscher, the

World Cup holder and current leader, who has yet to win a medal at a major event.

His domination in slaloms so far this season has been overwhelming and anything less than gold would be a disappointment for the fans. In the giant slalom, the 23-year-old faces strong opposition from American defending champion Ted Ligety.

While the competition looks more open in speed events, Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal has rarely missed out in medal events and already accounts for nine medals including five gold at either the worlds or the Olympics.

His main rival in both the super-G and the downhill should be Italian Christof Innerhofer, the super-G title holder. —Reuters

Spain stunned, Djokovic shines in Davis Cup Holders Czech Republic level with Switzerland LONDON: Top seeds Spain moved to the brink of a shock Davis Cup exit on Friday when their weakened team slumped to a 2-0 deficit at the hands of Canada in a world group, first round tie played on lightning quick Vancouver hardcourts.

Novak Djokovic was in no mood for upsets, however, and earlier got right back in the groove after his Australian Open triumph with a crushing defeat of Olivier Rochus as

Kohlschreiber was forced to retire with a hamstring injury when serving for the match at 5-4 in the fifth set against Carlos Berlocq.

A later win for Juan Monaco over Florian Mayer meant Argentina ended the day 2-0 ahead as did France and Kazakhstan in their ties against Israel and Austria respectively.

Croatia and Italy were locked at 11 in Turin while the United States took a commanding 2-0 lead over

expected to bludgeon his way past Alberto Ramos and duly delivered when he sealed a 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory over the world number 51 with two thumping aces.

Frank Dancevic, ranked 161, provided the real shock of the day, though, humbling world number 34 Marcel Granollers 6-1 6-2 6-2 to give his country a 2-0 lead going into Saturday’s doubles.

“I think I played the match of my

GENEVA: Czech Tomas Berdych (L) and Tomas Rosol play against Swiss’ Stanislas Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli in the Davis Cup World Group first round game between Switzerland and title owner the Czech Republic yesterday in Geneva. —AFP Serbia surged into a 2-0 lead in Belgium.

Holders Czech Republic were locked at 1-1 after the first day against a Switzerland side minus world number two Roger Federer Tomas Berdych levelling the tie after Lukas Rosol had been outplayed by Stanislas Wawrinka.

Germany’s hopes of beating Argentina in Buenos Aires suffered a cruel blow, however, as Philipp

Brazil in Jacksonville after Sam Querrey dispatched Thomaz Bellucci in straight sets and John Isner thumped Thiago Alves.

Spain, five-times winners of the Davis Cup, were weakened by the absence of top 15 players Rafa Nadal, David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro and the Canadians, who have never won a world group tie, pounced to take advantage.

Big-serving Milos Raonic was

life today,” said the 28-year-old journeyman.

“I just went in with a lot confidence, like just had to go all or nothing today. Anytime I had an opportunity I went for it.

“This isn’t over yet. We’ve (got) to go strong, these guys aren’t finished yet, they’re going to come strong tomorrow.

“They’ve got a great doubles team ... we just have to go hard until

the last ball this weekend.”

Less than a week after claiming a third consecutive Australian Open title by beating Andy Murray in Melbourne, world number one Djokovic quickly adapted to the indoor clay court at the Spiroudome in Charleroi to blow away Rochus 6-3 6-2 6-2.

Serbia’s Viktor Troicki, playing in place of the absent Janko Tipsarevic, battled back from two sets down to beat David Goffin in the opening rubber.

Troicki, who won the deciding rubber when Serbia beat France to win the Davis Cup for the first time in 2010, produced a gutsy display after being outplayed for two sets.

Friday’s match began to spin away from Goffin in the third set as Troicki clawed his way back to win 1-6 3-6 76 6-4 6-4.

On the eve of the match, Serbia had criticised the playing surface, saying the decision to lay a clay court on top of a wooden floor was dangerous.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) issued a statement saying they were happy with the court and it seemed fine for Djokovic who fired down 20 aces in a one hour 39 minute breeze.

“The serve was incredible and I think that helped me to get the match done in straight sets which was important,” Djokovic said. “It wasn’t easy playing on clay after a long time indoors and coming from Australia quite late.

“At the start I had trouble with movement and getting used to the conditions but I played my best tennis when I needed to.”

A strong France lineup had too much for visitors Israel on the opening day in Rouen where Jo-Wilfried Tsonga needed four sets to beat Amir Weintraub before Richard Gasquet made short work of Dudi Sela.

“It is the perfect scenario because we’ve got two wins under our belt,” team captain Arnaud Clement told reporters. “We will need to be very focused so we can wrap this up tomorrow.” —Reuters

PHILADELPHIA: Philadelphia 76ers’ Nick Young (1) drives past Sacramento Kings’ Issiah Thomas (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, in Philadelphia. The 76ers won 89-80. —AP

Pacers beat Miami Heat, stretch winning streak INDIANAPOLIS : The Indiana Pacers stretched their home-court winning streak to 13 games and closed in on the NBA Central Division lead by beating the Miami Heat 102-89 on Friday.

Indiana moved within half a game of Central-leading Chicago after the Bulls lost 9389 at the Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn’s city rival New York stayed 2-1/2 games clear in the Atlantic Division by beating Milwaukee. In other key games, Toronto cruised past an undermanned Los Angeles Clippers team, Utah continued its strong home form by beating Portland and Denver won its sixth straight by downing New Orleans.

Indiana’s David West scored 30 points and Paul George added 15 as the Pacers beat the Heat for the second time this season.Miami was led by LeBron James with 28 points but this time the Heat were beaten at their own game, with Indiana shooting a season-high 55.7 percent from the field. The Pacers took control with a 13-0 first-half run that turned a 23-20 deficit into a 33-23 lead and they never trailed again.

The Brooklyn Nets turned to their bench to eke out a 93-89 win over the Chicago Bulls.

Brook Lopez scored 20 points through three quarters, then the bench took over, with Andray Blatch scoring all his 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Luol Deng scored 18 points for the Bulls, who played without starters Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Kirk Hinrich. The New York Knicks won their third straight, steadying after a wonky run, by downing the Milwaukee Bucks 96-86.

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points while Amare Stoudemire had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Knicks, who trailed until a storming run in the third quarter.

Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with 19 points and seven rebounds. The Toronto Raptors were 98-73 winners over the L.A. Clippers, with Rudy Gay scoring 20 points in his Toronto debut, having just moved from Memphis.

Amir Johnson had 19 points and matched his

career high with 16 rebounds for the Raptors, who have beaten the Clippers four straight times north of the border.

The Utah Jazz made it eight wins from nine home games by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 86-77. Al Jefferson had 21 points, including two one-handed shots in the lane to clinch the victory, while Paul Millsap had 15 points for the Jazz.

LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds, led the Blazers. The Denver Nuggets, who won 12 of 15 games in January, started February in similar fashion with a 11398 win over the New Orleans Hornets.

Ty Lawson had 21 points and 13 assists while Andre Iguodala scored 24 for the Nuggets. Ryan Anderson had 21 points for the Hornets, who have dropped five of six. The Memphis Grizzlies were 85-76 winners over the Washington Wizards, with Mike Conley scoring 18 points and Tayshaun Prince adding 14 in his Memphis debut, including a pair of key fourth-quarter baskets.

The Los Angeles Lakers got strong performances from two of their stars as they won 111-100 at the Minnesota Timberwolves. Pau Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup and Kobe Bryant nearly had 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

The Boston Celtics responded to yet another long-term injury blow by downing the Orlando Magic 97-84. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett each had a double-double for the Celtics, a day after learning promising rookie Jared Sullinger will join Rajon Rondo on the season-long injury list.

Philadelphia’s Thaddeus Young had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 21 to lead the 76ers past the Sacramento Kings 89-80. The Dallas Mavericks had six players in double figures - despite the absence of the injured Dirk Nowitzki - in the 109-99 victory over the Phoenix Suns. O.J. Mayo top scored with 20 points. The Detroit Pistons led throughout in a 117-99 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. —AP

NBA results/standings

DUSSELDORF: In this picture made available yesturday Feb. 2, 2012 Australian boxer Sam Soliman, right, punches former WBA champion Felix Sturm in their IBF middleweight eliminator in Duesseldorf, Germany, Friday night. Soliman won by unanimous decision. —AP

Ex-champion Sturm loses to Soliman BERLIN: Former world middleweight boxing champion Felix Sturm of Germany has lost to another Australian after Sam Soliman claimed a unanimous points victory in their IBF middleweight title eliminator.

Sturm, 34, suffered a second consecutive defeat in Duesseldorf on Friday night having lost his WBA crown to Australia’s Daniel Geale last September.

The former champion suffered the fourth loss of his career after a plucky display by Soliman, to

whom the judges awarded the fight 116-111, 114-113, 114-113, to give the 39-year-old Australian a record of 43 wins, 17 KOs and 11 defeats.

The German had needed to win the bout to become the IBF number-one challenger in order to secure a rematch against Geale, who beat compatriot Anthony Mundine in Sydney last Wednesday, but Soliman is now set for a crack at the IBF title.

“I can’t get inside the judges’ heads, I am just a

boxer,” said a disappointed Sturm after his defeat.

The German had dominated the first three rounds, catching Soliman with several right-hand shots, one of which dropped him to the canvas midway through the second, before the Australian rallied.

Soliman has said he is prepared to fight Geale “anywhere, any place, any time” and his victory was the third straight by an Australian middleweight in Germany after Geale’s victories over Sturm and Sebastian Sylvester in 2011. —AFP

Toronto 98, La Clippers 73; Indiana 102, Miami 89; Boston 97, Orlando 84; Brooklyn 93, Chicago 89; NY Knicks 96, Milwaukee 86; Philadelphia 89, Sacramento 80; Detroit 117, Cleveland 99; Memphis 85, Washington 76; Denver 113, New Orleans 98; Utah 86, Portland 77; Dallas 109, Phoenix 99; LA Lakers 111, Minnesota 100.

Eastern Conference Western Conference Atlantic Division Northwest Division W L PCT GB Oklahoma City 35 11 .761 NY Knicks 29 15 .659 Denver 30 18 .625 6 Brooklyn 28 19 .596 2.5 Utah 26 21 .553 9.5 Boston 23 23 .500 7 Portland 23 23 .500 12 Philadelphia 20 26 .435 10 Minnesota 17 26 .395 16.5 Toronto 17 30 .362 13.5 Central Division Chicago 28 18 .609 Indiana 28 19 .596 Milwaukee 24 21 .533 Detroit 18 29 .383 Cleveland 13 34 .277 Southeast Division Miami 29 14 .674 Atlanta 26 19 .578 Orlando 14 32 .304 Charlotte 11 34 .244 Washington 11 34 .244

0.5 3.5 10.5 15.5

4 16.5 19 19

Pacific Division LA Clippers 34 14 .708 Golden State 29 17 .630 LA Lakers 21 26 .447 Sacramento 17 31 .354 Phoenix 16 31 .340

4 12.5 17 17.5

Southwest Division San Antonio 37 11 .771 Memphis 30 16 .652 Houston 25 23 .521 Dallas 20 27 .426 New Orleans 15 32 .319

6 12 16.5 21.5

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

S P ORTS

England ready for Ashes, Gillespie warns Australia SYDNEY: Former test pace bowler Jason Gillespie has warned his compatriots that England will be ready for back-toback Ashes series this year and for Australia to wrest back the famous urn will be a daunting task.

Gillespie, who took 259 wickets in 71 tests between 1996 and 2005, is wellplaced to comment on the strength of the English game given he is currently coach of the Yorkshire county side.

“They are incredibly confident over here but they deserve to start favourites, England, no doubt about it,” Gillespie told the Australian newspaper yesterday.

“I think potentially they could under-

estimate our bowling. I’ve been speaking about it quite regularly over here and saying, ‘Don’t underestimate the strength of Australia’s pace bowling attack’.

“But England won’t underestimate Australia. They’re too clever for that and I know the England management has already been doing a lot of research.

“They’ve been planning and researching for a long time. I’ve got no doubt they’ll be wary.” Australia have brought on a band of young seamers ready to take on their arch-rivals home and away with the likes of James Pattinson, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Jackson

Bird causing much excitement.

Gillespie was quick to remind his countrymen that the English bowling unit so crucial to the 3-1 victory in the last Ashes series remained intact and ready to confront an Australian batting order without the retired Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey.

“England’s bowling is very good at the moment,” he said. “Coming up against the Australian batting order, they will rightly feel they’re in the game. They feel they can put Australia under pressure and can have Michael Clarke coming in consistently very early, at two or three down for not very many.

“James Anderson is one of the best going around. He’ll lead the attack, (Steve) Finn is a very good bowler, (Tim) Bresnan is a very good bowler, (Stuart) Broad has had a bit of an up-and-down time but he’s also a very good bowler.

“Graeme Swann is one of the best spin bowlers in the world, if not the number one. Their batting is strong and they’ve got the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world (Matt Prior) so they’re in a good place.”

Gillespie expressed sympathy with Cricket Australia’s much-maligned rotation policy, although he conceded they could have sold it to the public better.

The 37-year-old also had a great deal of time for Nathan Lyon, who has come under continual fire since emerging as Australia’s top test spin bowler in the wake of the 2010-11 Ashes debacle. “To me Nathan Lyon is a wonderful bowler, the fastest finger spinner in Australian history to get 50 Test wickets,” he said.

“He’s had some ups and downs but he’s certainly someone I’d like to see Australia persevere with because I think he’s just got a little bit of (something) about him as well.

“He has attitude. I just think he has something about him as an Australian cricketer.” —Reuters

S Africa punish hapless Pakistan Steyn claims six for eight in 8.1 overs

LONDON: England’s Captain Chris Robshaw lifts the Calcutta Cup after beating Scotland during the 6 Nations international rugby union match between England and Scotland at Twickenham Stadium, southwest of London yesterday. England won the game 38-18. —AFP

England too strong for Scots in 6 Nations opener LONDON: England started their Six Nations campaign with a 38-18 Calcutta Cup win yesterday as Scotland’s 30-year wait for a Twickenham triumph was extended yet again. Scotland’s first match under Australian interim coach Scott Johnson, assisted by exEngland forward Dean Ryan, saw them score the first try of the 131st meeting between rugby’s oldest international rivals as New Zealand-born wing Sean Maitland crossed on his Test debut.

But England, fresh from their recordbreaking 38-21 win over world champions New Zealand last time out, hit back through Chris Ashton’s 17th try in 30 Tests.

And with fly-half Owen Farrell landing five out of five goalkicks in the opening period, England led 19-11 at half-time. That became 24-11 when centre Billy Twelvetress marked his Test debut with a try shortly after the break and lock Geoff Parling increased England’s lead with his first international try.

Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg, in a move started in front of his own line, scored a fine try 10 minutes from time but England replacement scrum-half Danny Care rounded off the try-count on the stroke of full-time.

England started brightly, with Twelvetrees, in for the injured Manu Tuilagi, involved in several promising moves after Farrell’s second minute penalty. But it was Scotland, searching for only their fifth Twickenham victory in 46 matches, who scored the first try, in the 10th minute. Hogg burst through a gap in England’s defence between wing Mike Brown and prop Dan Cole before brushing aside a weak tackle from full-back Alex Goode. The ball went inside to scrum-half Greig Laidlaw and after prop Ryan Grant had been held up, Laidlaw passed to Maitland and he went in at the right corner.

Laidlaw missed the conversion and Scotland’s lead was short-lived, with Farrell landing another penalty to make it 6-5 to

England. Farrell and Laidlaw then exchanged penalties, with Scotland, showing six changes from the side beaten 21-15 by Tonga last time out-a defeat that led to Andy Robinson’s resignation as coach-eager to run the ball.

However, England eventually managed to retain possession long enough to score their first try 10 minutes before half-time. Scotland outside-half Ruaridh Jackson’s kick was charged down and Parling surged forward.

Twelvetrees advanced into the 22 and, after Joe Launchbury had gone close, it was wing Ashton who grounded the ball. Farrell added the conversion and England were 16-8 in front. That became 19-8 when, after a high tackle by Scotland No 8 Johnnie Beattie, Farrell landed a penalty from just short of the half-way line. But Laidlaw’s penalty on the stroke of half-time reduced England’s interval lead to eight points. However, that became a 15-point advantage in the 42nd minute when scrum-half Ben Youngs fed Twelvetrees and the Gloucester midfielder, taking the crash ball at pace, went over for a try that Farrell duly converted.

It looked as if England had put the match beyond Scotland’s reach when Launchbury crossed only for his ‘try’ to be disallowed by Irish referee Alain Rolland for a high tackle by hooker Tom Youngs earlier in the move.

But barely a minute later after Ben Youngs’s sniping break, Farrell’s long cut-out pass found Parling, who went over in the corner. Farrell missed his first goal-kick in seven attempts but England were now 20 points in front at 31-11.

Scotland refused to fold, though, and were rewarded with a converted try in the 70th minute. England replacement back Toby Flood was well-tackled by Richie Gray and David Denton forced a turnover.

Maitland kicked on and found Hogg, who then won the race to his own fly-hack before Care had the last word. —AFP

JOHANNESBURG:- Pakistan was dismissed for only 49 after a ferocious display of fast bowling by Dale Steyn who turned in the remarkable figures of 6-8 for South Africa on day two of the first test at the Wanderers yesterday.

Steyn’s efforts gave South Africa a 204-run lead from the first innings but, with the match in just its fifth session, Proteas captain Graeme Smith declined to enforce the follow-on. Smith, on 41, and fellow opener Alviro Petersen, on 27, took South Africa to 73 without loss by tea, giving the Proteas an overall lead of 277.

Steyn’s figures represented the third cheapest six-wicket haul in the history of the five-day game, and only Jermaine Lawson of the West Indies, who took 6-3 against Bangladesh in 2002, has claimed a cheaper six-wicket haul than Steyn in the last 89 years. Having claimed the first three Pakistan wickets in his first two overs of the day, Steyn returned after lunch to claim the last three without conceding a further run. Pakistan had appeared to present a challenge to the world’s best test side on Friday as South Africa was bowled out for 253. However, Pakistan crumbled from 6-0 to 40-7 by lunch.

Steyn had Pak istan opener Mohammad Hafeez (6) caught behind in the second over of the day, then dismissed both Nasir Jamshed (2) and Younis Khan (0) in the fourth.

Misbah-ul-Haq (12) and Azhar Ali (13) dug in for Pakistan and saw out 13 testing overs before Kallis produced a brutal bouncer which caught Ali’s glove on its way through to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers.

That opened the floodgates, and K allis found the edge of Misbah’s bat in his next over, but needed a review after the batsman was initially given not out by umpire Billy Bowden. Vernon Philander took over from there, having Asad Shafiq (1) and Umar Gul (0) caught by the wicketkeeper and first slip respectively.Sarfraz Ahmed (2) and Saeed Ajmal (1)

JOHANNESBURG: South African batsman AB de Villiers (R) lines up a shot from Pakistan bowler Saeed Ajmal on day two of the first test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Johannesburg at Wanderers Stadium yesterday. —AFP were unbeaten at the lunch break but Steyn had them both caught behind by De Villiers in his first

two overs after the interval. The top-ranked bowler in the world then added a sixth wicket in his

next over, as Rahat Ali’s dismissal without scoring ended the innings. —AP

SCOREBOARD JOHANNESBURG: Scoreboard on the second day of the first test between South Africa and Pakistan at the Wanderers yesterday.

South Africa first innings 253 (J.Kallis 50; Mohammad Fall of wickets: 1-9 2-12 3-12 4-36 5-37 6-39 7-39 8-40 941 10-49.

Hafeez 4-16) Bowling: Philander 9-5-16-2, Steyn 8.1-6-8-6, Morkel 6-3Pakistan first innings 11-0 (1w), Kallis 6-2-11-2.

Mohammad Hafeez c de Villiers b Steyn 6 South Africa second innings Nasir Jamshed lbw Steyn 2 G. Smith c Ahmed b Gul 52 Azhar Ali c de Villiers b Kallis 13 A. Petersen c Hafeez b Gul 27 Younus Khan c Smith b Steyn 0 H. Amla not out 50 Misbah-ul-Haq c de Villiers b Kallis 12 J. Kallis c Shafiq b Ajmal 7 Asad Shafiq c de Villiers b Philander 1 A. de Villiers not out 61 Sarfraz Ahmed c de Villiers b Steyn 2 Extras (lb4, w-1, nb-3) 8 Umar Gul c de Villiers b Philander 0 Total (for three wickets; 53 overs) 207 Saeed Ajmal c de Villiers b Steyn 1 Fall of wickets: 1-82 1-87 3-99.

Junaid Khan not out 8 Bowling: Umar Gul 9-2-25-2 (1w), Junaid Khan 11-1-41Rahat Ali c du Plessis b Steyn 0 0 (3nb), Rahat Ali 11-1-44-0, Hafeez 3-0-15-0, Ajmal 16-1Extras (lb-3 w-1) 4 59-1, Younus Khan 1-1-0-0.

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.

Total (all out; 29.1 overs) 49

Vancouver heap more misery on Chicago LOS ANGELES: The Vancouver Canucks handed the Chicago Blackhawks a second successive shootout loss, taking their home NHL clash 2-1 on Friday. Chicago opened the season with a franchise record 6-0 start but after falling to Minnesota on Wednesday via shootout they were sent home packing in similar circum-

stances by the Canucks.

Tied 1-1 after regulation and unable to be separated after overtime, Jordan Schroeder emerged as the home side hero, sliding the puck through Corey Crawford’s legs after each side’s first three shooters were unable to connect.

“We have been working on it. I knew my name would get called,”

Schroeder told reporters. “I wanted to go in with some speed wide. I came back to the middle and changed my pace of speed. I froze him. He opened up the five-hole a little bit and it trickled through.”

Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo stood out with 28 saves despite still expecting to be traded

away from the side should the right deal come along. “Sometimes you get in a rhythm. You are seeing the puck and getting bounces. When you’re in that zone, you want to keep it going as long as possible,” Luongo said.

“You always take pride in the way you play, no matter what the circumstances are. It’s an honor and a privi-

lege to be playing in the NHL so you don’t want to take that stuff for granted. You want to give your best and that’s what I am doing.”

Zack Kassian sent a great pass back to Alexander Edler in the opening third and the Vancouver defenseman made no mistake and slammed the puck home for the early lead.

The teams traded numerous chances to no avail until midway through the final term when Patrick Kane found the net from a tough angle to tie the scores. Chicago remain top of the Western Conference Central Division at 6-0-2 while Vancouver took control of the Northwest Division at 42-2. —Reuters

NHL results/standings Washington 3, Philadelphia 2; Carolina 1, Ottawa 0; Tampa Bay 8, Winnipeg 3; Detroit 5, St. Louis 3; Dallas 4, Phoenix 3 (SO); Vancouver 2, Chicago 1 (SO); Anaheim 3, Minnesota 1.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF New Jersey 3 0 3 16 NY Islanders 4 2 1 27 Pittsburgh 4 3 0 19 NY Rangers 3 4 0 16 Philadelphia 2 6 0 16

VANCOUVER: Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford allows a goal to Vancouver Canucks’ Alexander Edler, not pictured, during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Friday. —AP

GA 14 23 18 20 23

PTS 9 9 8 6 4

Northeast Division Boston 5 1 1 23 Ottawa 5 2 1 24 Montreal 4 2 0 18 Toronto 4 3 0 21 Buffalo 3 3 1 23

19 14 15 22 23

11 11 8 8 7

Southeast Division Tampa Bay 6 1 0 37 Winnipeg 3 4 1 24 Carolina 3 3 0 15 Washington 2 5 1 18 Florida 2 5 0 16

18 32 18 27 27

12 7 6 5 4

Western Conference Central Division Chicago 6 0 2 25 St. Louis 6 2 0 31 Detroit 4 2 1 20 Nashville 2 2 3 12 Columbus 2 5 1 14

18 19 20 19 26

14 12 9 7 5

Northwest Division Vancouver 4 2 2 21 Edmonton 4 2 1 19 Minnesota 4 3 1 20 Colorado 3 4 0 16 Calgary 1 3 1 14

20 18 22 19 21

10 9 9 6 3

Pacific Division San Jose 7 0 0 29 12 14 Anaheim 4 1 1 20 18 9 Dallas 3 4 1 17 21 7 Los Angeles 2 2 2 12 16 6 Phoenix 2 4 2 25 26 6 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

S P ORTS

United outclass nine-man Rangers on McNamara bow GLASGOW: Johnny Russell scored a double as Dundee United outclassed nineman Rangers to knock the fallen Glasgow giants out of the Scottish Cup at the fifthround stage with a 3-0 win at Tannadice.

Jackie McNamara, who replaced Peter Houston on Wednesday, took his place in the United dugout for the first time and he watched his side get off to a dream start as Russell fired home the opener after just 15 seconds.

The striker then hit the bar before Jon Daly doubled United’s advantage with a 36th-minute header, and Russell then grabbed his second of the match 11 minutes from time.

The Ibrox side then lost their discipline as substitute Kal Naismith saw red for a scything challenge on Willo Flood in the 85th minute before he was followed

down the tunnel by midfielder Ian Black two minutes later as he picked up his second yellow card.

The win, United’s first at Tannadice since August, sends them into Sunday’s quarter-final draw and gave Third Division leaders Rangers an indication of how far they have to go as they bid to reclaim their place in the top division of Scottish football.

“It was a terrible start for us and we didn’t defend very well for the second goal either allowing a free header to Dundee United,” said disappointed Rangers manager Ally McCoist. “I felt we came in to it in the second half for maybe a 25-minute period and then again in the middle of defence we gave away a very poor third goal.”

In contrast, McNamara thought his

side were outstanding. “It is a good feeling at the moment. We have had the transition of moving in here in a short space of time but I thought it was a fantastic occasion for us and the fans were tremendous,” he said.

“I hope we can start like that in every game. It gave everyone a lift and I thought in the first half we looked very dangerous and caused them a lot of problems.” The build-up to the tie since the fifth-round draw had been eventful with Rangers deciding not to take up their ticket allocation.

That measure was taken in response to United’s opposition to the Ibrox club’s application to join the Scottish Premier League last summer after they were liquidated and then reformed-a decision that ultimately led to the Glasgow side being

placed in the bottom tier of the Scottish system.

The large home crowd were eager to see how former Celtic defender and Partick Thistle boss McNamara would fare in his first game in charge, and the hosts got off to a perfect start when Russell netted straight from kick-off.

Daly’s header caused confusion between Emilson Cribari and Ross Perry in the centre of defence which allowed the United striker to nip in and fire low under the body of goalkeeper Neil Alexander.

Andy Little came close to equalising for Rangers, before Russell lost his marker to get on the end of Flood’s cross, only for his header to bounce just past the post.

The United striker was causing the ‘Gers defence all sorts of problems and, when Daly knocked on a free-kick, Russell

was on to it in a flash and clipped a shot off the bar. The Rangers defence were again posted missing as United doubled their lead when Flood found United skipper Daly in acres of space in the box and his header evaded Alexander as it flew into the net.

The intensity of the first half was replaced by a more sedate pace after the break as Rangers dominated possession but lacked an end product. However, Daly and Russell combined once again to expose their defensive frailities in the 79th minute.

Irishman Daly flicked the ball on for the in-form striker, and he slid it under the advancing Alexander to grab his second of the game. Rangers then lost the plot as Naismith and Black were sent off within two minutes of each other. —AFP

Disputed Podolski strike sees Arsenal sink Stoke Arsenal 1

Stoke City 0

NEWCASTLE: Chelsea’s Ryan Bertrand, left, vies for the ball with Newcastle United’s Yoan Gouffran during their English Premier League soccer match at St James’ Park, Newcastle, England, yesterday. —AP

Chelsea crash to late defeat at Newcastle Newcastle 3

Chelsea 2

LONDON: Chelsea surrendered another three points in their quest for a top-four Premier League finish as Newcastle United’s new signing Moussa Sissoko struck in the last minute to grab a 3-2 win that left Rafa Benitez’s side reeling.

It was another late horror show for thirdplaced Chelsea, who had led 2-1 with goals from Frank Lampard and Juan Mata before capitulating for the second time in a week, having con-

ceded twice in the dying minutes at Reading on Wednesday.

With fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in action on Sunday, Everton had the chance to move above them but drew 3-3 at home to struggling Aston Villa, who led 3-1 before Marouane Fellaini’s double spared Everton’s blushes.

Lukas Podolski scored in the 78th minute to hand Arsenal a 1-0 victory at home to Stoke City, a result that helped the Gunners close in on the Champions League qualification places.

Leaders Manchester United were aiming to move 10 points clear of Manchester City when they met Fulham in the late kickoff. Any thoughts of the title race are long gone for Chelsea, who have now managed just one win from their last six games in all competitions - a run that will increase the pressure on Benitez.

Worryingly for Chelsea, they are leaking goals, and that was the case again on Saturday as Sissoko turned the match on its head after Chelsea seized control.

Jonas Gutierrez gave Newcastle the lead after 41 minutes with a header but Chelsea replied after the break with Lampard’s fierce shot and a curler from Mata.

Former Toulouse midfielder Sissoko, one of several French signings for Newcastle during January, tapped in an equaliser after 68 minutes after Petr Cech had parried Papiss Cisse’s shot.

Sissoko then crowned a superb home debut when he crashed home a 90th-minute winner after a cut-back from Davide Santon.

Chelsea remain in third place with 46 points from 25 games, with Tottenham in fourth spot on 42 points from a game less. Everton also have 42 with Arsenal in sixth on 41. —Reuters

LONDON: A contentious goal from substitute Lukas Podolski allowed Arsenal to beat Stoke City 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium yesterday.

The Germany international’s 78thminute free-kick was deflected into the Stoke net off defender Geoff Cameron at a time when an Arsenal player was in an offside position.

But the goal was allowed to stand and the win moved the sixth-place Gunners to within a point of Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, the two clubs directly above them. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made five changes to the side that had drawn 2-2 at home to Liverpool in midweek and two of those were enforced by injuries suffered by defenders Thomas Vermaelen and Kieran Gibbs.

That enabled a recall for France centreback Laurent Koscielny and an instant debut for transfer deadline day signing Nacho Monreal, the Spain left-back who reportedly cost £8.3 million ($13.2 million, 9.7 million euros) from Malaga.

Stoke had also shared a 2-2 draw in midweek, at home to Wigan Athletic, and manager Tony Pulis made two changes, restoring Ryan Shotton and Andy Wilkinson to his starting line-up. Arsenal made a lively start but Stoke made sure they always had plenty of men back and limited the home side to a series of long-range efforts that were either off-target or blocked by defenders.

Eventually the pressure was converted into clearer opportunities and Stoke had

goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to thank on three occasions before half-time. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should have scored from the first one, however, as Stoke uncharacteristically made a mess of clearing Jack Wilshere’s corner.

The ball fell to the teenager right in front of goal but his shot was right at the goalkeeper. Bosnia-Herzegovina international Begovic then made a smart stop at his back post to keep out Koscielny’s header, before palming away another shot from Oxlade-Chamberlain after Wilshere had set him up with a fine defence-splitting diagonal ball.

Stoke’s Jon Walters was hurt in an aerial challenge with Monreal but played on following the application of a huge bandage.

The second period mirrored the first as Arsenal dominated possession but could not convert it into clear chances and Wenger made a double change in the 68th minute when Podolski and Santi Cazorla replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby.

The change worked as Podolski finally broke the deadlock from a free-kick 12 minutes from full-time after Andy Wilkinson had been booked for fouling Walcott on the edge of the penalty area.

The former Cologne player saw his shot deflected past Begovic by Cameron but a raised flag halted the home side’s celebrations.

Referee Chris Foy consulted one of his assistants, who had spotted that Walcott was offside when the kick was taken. But Foy ruled that the England forward had not been interfering with play and awarded the goal, to Stoke’s clear annoyance.

Cazorla fired a good chance to make it 2-0 over the bar before Koscielny was hurt by a sliding challenge from Ryan Shawcross in the final minute.

Stoppage time also saw a flare -up between Stoke substitute Michael Owen and Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta. —AFP

Taarabt off-target as Norwich hold QPR QPR 0

Norwich 0

LONDON: Norwich City goalkeeper Mark Bunn saved a second-half penalty from Adel Taarabt as Queens Park Rangers spurned a chance to close to within a point of safety in a 0-0 draw at Loftus Road yesterday.

Bunn thwarted Taarabt in the 56th minute to atone for the foul on Jamie Mackie that produced the spot-kick and leave Harry Redknapp’s QPR three points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table.

It was QPR’s fourth consecutive draw, three of which have finished goalless, while Norwich, who have not won in the league since midDecember, climb one place to 13th. QPR handed a debut to £12.5 million ($19.7 million, 14.6 million euros) record signing Christopher Samba and midfielder Andros Townsend, who has joined on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.

Norwich left new signing Luciano Becchio on the bench and it was the home side who made the running in a first half of few goal-scoring chances. Taarabt came closest to breaking the deadlock before half-time, but his drilled shot from the right side of the penalty area flashed narrowly wide of the left-hand upright.

At the other end, Grant Holt headed straight at Julio Cesar from a Robert Snodgrass cross. The action intensified in the second period and Cesar had to produce a superb save to thwart Wes Hoolahan before Holt headed over the bar.

The hosts were gifted an opportunity to take the lead 11 minutes after the re-start when Bunn upended Mackie in the penalty area and referee

Jon Moss awarded a spot-kick. However, Bunn redeemed himself with a fine save to deny Taarabt, springing to his left to palm away the Moroccan’s placed, low shot. Taarabt appeared eager to atone for his failure from 12 yards and he sent a free-kick inches over the Norwich bar before stinging Bunn’s palms with a shot from distance.

The game became increasingly open, Bradley Johnson testing Cesar with a long-range effort at

one end and Holt producing an athletic volley to clear a Samba header off his own goal-line at the other.

Cesar was extended again in the 79th minute, plunging to his left to tip a Snodgrass dive around the post, while substitute Bobby Zamora headed wide for QPR. Townsend threatened to claim a spectacular late winner on his debut, but his ferocious 25-yard strike drew a magnificent flying save from the unyielding Bunn. —AFP

LONDON: Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski, second right, scores against Stoke City during the English Premier League soccer match at the Emirates Stadium, London, yesterday. Arsenal won the match 1-0. —AP

Carroll steers West Ham past Swansea West Ham 1

Swansea 0

LONDON: Norwich City’s English goalkeeper John Ruddy (C) makes a save during the English Premier League football match between Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City at Loftus Road in London, England yesterday. The match ended in a goal-less draw. —AFP

LONDON: On-loan striker Andy Carroll scored only his second goal of the season as West Ham United won 1-0 at home to Swansea City yesterday to end a run of four Premier League games without victory.

West Ham were largely dominant at Upton Park but could find no way past Swansea’s inspired goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel until Carroll powered home a header from a corner with 13 minutes to play.

Victory lifted West Ham two places to 11th in the table, while League Cup finalists Swansea remain eighth after a first defeat in eight games. Eager to prevent Swansea from settling into their usual passing rhythm, West Ham snapped into their tackles from the off and Ricardo Vaz Te was booked for a lunge at Wayne Routledge in the eighth minute.

Carroll, on loan from Liverpool, was making his first West Ham start since November 28 and the hosts looked for him at every opportunity as they began to impose themselves on the game. Tremmel did brilliantly to

prevent Kevin Nolan putting West Ham ahead from close range in the 21st minute after Joey O’Brien left Routledge for dead with a stepover on the right flank.

A second contest between Nolan and Tremmel in the 37th minute produced the same result, with the German saving superbly after the home skipper took aim from a Carroll knock-down. Tremmel came to his side’s rescue again shortly before half-time when he diverted a 25-yard shot from Vaz Te around the post.

The hosts remained on the front foot in the second period, with Tremmel repelling Vaz Te again and Carroll hoisting the ball wastefully over the Swansea crossbar from a Matt Jarvis cut-back.

Belatedly, Swansea reacted, Pablo Hernandez testing Jussi Jaaskelainen from a free-kick and top scorer Michu nodding a cross from Hernandez over the top.

Tremmel unleashed yet another fine save to thwart Carroll before the visitors’ resistance finally subsided in the 77th minute. Carroll cleverly shook off the attentions of Ashley Williams inside the Swansea box before planting a header past Tremmel from a corner.

In response, Jaaskelainen saved from Ki Sung-Yueng and then sprang to his feet to block Ben Davies’ follow-up effort, while the hosts also survived a desperate scramble inside their own area in the dying stages. —AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

S P ORT S

Mandzukic claims brace as Bayern dismiss Mainz BERLIN: Bayern Munich picked up their 16th win in 20 Bundesliga matches yesterday to maintain their stranglehold on the German league as Croatia striker M ario M andzuk ic scored twice in a 3-0 win at Mainz.

Bayern had lost on two of their last three visits to Mainz, but this time the league leaders made their dominance of possession count at the Coface Arena. “That was a very important win with regards to the title,” said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes.

“We knew it wouldn’t be an easy game and we prepared thoroughly for it.” Midfielder Thomas Mueller gave B aye r n a fi rs t- h a l f l e a d, th e n Mandzukic showed why he is keeping

G e r m a ny s t a r M ar i o G o m e z o n Bayern’s bench with a crisp header and shot to become the league’s top scorer with 14 goals from 18 games.

After drilling home his shot on 50 minutes, following an exchange of passes between left-back David Alaba and France st ar Franc k R i b er y, Mandzukic headed home a cross from captain Philipp Lahm as the Croat claimed his fifth goal in three games. “ We are doing what we also did well in the first half of the season,” said M andz uk i c. “ We are p lay i ng well together, we are fighting for each other, we know the quality we have and we know we’re there for each other. I believe that’s what sets us apart.”

The result puts Heynckes’ side provisionally 14 points clear before second-placed Bayer Leverkusen host d e fe n d i n g c h a m p i o n s B o r u s s i a Dortmund today.

Bottom side Greuther Fuerth broke their 17-match winless streak with a shock 2-1 victory at Schalke 04, which left the Royal Blues with just one win in their last eight league games.

Serbian striker Nikola Djurdjic, making just his second Fuerth appearance, scored with a 92nd-minute header to floor the hosts. Brazil midfielder Michel Bastos, who signed on loan from Lyon last week, had marked his Bundesliga debut with a 47th-minute goal to put Schalke ahead.

But the lead lasted just five minutes before 20-year-old midfielder Felix Klaus got his side back on level terms as Schalke have just one win in their last nine league games.

Australia midfielder Robbie Kruse warmed up for Wednesday’s friendly against Romania in Malaga, Spain, with both g oals in For tu na Duesseldorf’s 3-1 win at home to VfB Stuttgart.

Hoffenheim remain in the bottom three despite picking up their first win since November with a 2-1 victory at home to Freiburg after recovering from the concession of an early goal.

Having signed on loan from Spurs last week , Brazilian goalkeeper

Heurelho Gomes was four minutes into his debut when his parried save was drilled home by Freibrug’s Max Kruse.

The Brazilian’s blushes were spared by a first-half brace from 19-year-old s t r i k e r K e v i n Vo l l a n d to gi ve Hoffenheim three precious points.

Wolfsburg were held to a 1-1 draw by strugglers Augsburg. Yesterday night, fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt need a win at Hamburg to stay in touch with the pack chasing Bayern. On Friday, Bayern’s on-loan striker Nils Petersen scored two late goals to give Werder Bremen a 2-0 win at home to Hanover 96. Nuremberg host Borussia M oencheng la dbach today. —AFP

Ghana into semis as Cape Verde goes out Black Stars end fairy-tale run of Cape Verde PORT ELIZABETH: Ghana halted the fairy-tale run of debutants Cape Verde in the Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-0 quarter-final win yesterday.

Victory set up the Black Stars for a February 6 semi-final clash with the winners of Sunday’s fixture between Burkina Faso and Togo in Nelspruit. Substitute Mubarak Wakaso gave Ghana the lead in the 54th minute when he fired home a penalty after skipper Asamoah Gyan was fouled inside the box by Carlitos.

Wakaso doubled Ghana’s advantage in stoppage time when he ran half the length of the pitch to slot home after Cape Verde committed every player, including goalkeeper Vozinha, upfield for a corner.

“Our first half was okay, but second half was not one of our best games,” admitted Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah. “Cape Verde dominated in the second half, but the important thing is that we won and are through to the semi-finals. Cape Verde proved me right that they would be tough.”

Blue Sharks coach Luis Antunes said: “Today, we all watched a beautiful game but, unfortunately, the best team is going home and the tournament will lose its shine. “This was our fourth game and in our first three games there were no questions-now there are questions. You should draw your own conclusions.

“They would want to see Ghana move into the semi-finals or do you want 200 spectators to watch Cape Verde against Togo in the semi-finals?” Antunes was, presumably, referring to some debatable decisions by the Mauritian referee, although big-screen replays seemed to confirm that the spot-kick call was correct.

Wakaso’s opening goal ignited the clash and in the 59th minute Ghana goalkeeper

PORT ELIZABERTH: Ghana’s midfielder Mubarak Wakaso (foreground) scores a penalty during the African Cup of Nation 2013 quarter final football match Ghana vs Cap Verde, yesterday in Port Elizabeth. — AFP

Fatawu Dauda denied Platini as he parried a goal-bound effort for a corner. Cape Verde, who eliminated mighty Cameroon to reach the Nations Cup for the first time, pressed for an equaliser.

In the 82nd minute, Dauda pulled off the best save of the match when he dived full length to scramble away a goal-bound shot by substitute Djaniny. Wakaso would have made the game safe for Ghana in the 85th minute, when he broke clear, but blasted his shot wide. And in the 90th minute, Emmanuel Agyeman Badu was denied inside the Cape Verde box by desperate defending after Solomon Asante

delivered a low cross from the right. Manof-the-match Dauda pulled off yet another top-class save when he scrambled to safety a last-ditch attempt by the Blue Sharks in additional time. Ghana attacked from the onset, but it was the west African islanders who created the clearcut chances in the first half as the Black Stars found it difficult to get behind their defence. Babanco fired from distance at the Ghana goal after just seven minutes, but missed the target as Cape Verde gradually got going with Ryan Mendes spearheading the attacking forays of the Blue Sharks. In the 14th minute, Heldon could

have given Cape Verde the lead, but blasted his shot from inside the box into the stand. Minutes later, Dauda was forced to punch clear as Cape Verde swung a long, hopeful ball into the Ghana goal area.

Heldon, the match-winner against Angola in the final group match, again took off on a solo run in the 22nd minute, but his end-product missed the mark as the Blue Sharks began to enjoy more of the ball. Dauda came to the rescue of the Black Stars in the 29th minute when he went down to gather a low drive delivered into the area as Cape Verde gained in confidence and surged forward. — AFP

Fellaini’s double frustrates Villa LIVERPOOL: Aston Villa blew a chance to Everton 3 boost their fight to avoid relegation as Everton came from two goals down to Aston Villa 3 draw 3-3 thanks to Marouane Fellaini’s double at Goodison Park yesterday.

Paul Lambert’s Villa were on course for just their fifth Premier League win of the season when they led 3-1 with 68 minutes gone. Christian Benteke had given Villa the early lead and although Victor Anichebe equalised, it was the visitors who regained control through Gabriel Agbonlahor and Benteke.

But Belgium international Fellaini underlined his reputation as one of the division’s most dangerous midfielders with a brace including the equaliser three minutes into stoppage-time. It was a huge blow to second bottom Villa, who since their last league win at Liverpool seven weeks ago have now picked up just three points, and they lie six points from safety.

Villa made the perfect start in the second minute Benteke went past John Heitinga to slide a shot across Tim Howard from Charles N’Zogbia’s pass. Anichebe was again preferred up front to Nikica Jelavic and he repaid manager David Moyes’ faith with a 21st minute equaliser.

Having held up Kevin Mirallas’ pass by using his superior upper body strength, he then turned Ciaran Clark to fire a left-footed shot past Brad Guzan for his fifth goal in eight league starts.

Both sides looked weak defensively and Heitinga, who has not enjoyed the best of seasons, was again involved in Villa’s second three minutes later. A corner was only partially cleared and Ashley Westwood’s rightwing cross saw Agbonlahor lose Heitinga and outjump Fellaini to head in at the far post.

Andreas Weimann exchanged passes with Matthew Lowton, allowing the right-back to curl in an inviting cross to which Benteke beat Heitinga to nod in at the near post in the 61st minute.

Yet Everton wouldn’t surrender and Fellaini cut in from the left and again utilised Anichebe’s strength to hold up the ball before taking the return pass to shoot past Guzan in the 69th minute.

David Moyes’ side kept pressing for an equaliser and Fellaini got it with a header in the third of six added minutes. — AFP

DURBAN: South Africa’s striker Tokelo Rantie (L) vies with Mali’s defender Adama Tamboura during the African Cup of Nation 2013 quarter final football match South Africa vs Mali, yesterday in Durban.— AFP

Mali knock out hosts S Africa on penalties DURBAN: Mali played party poopers in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals for the second time within a year as they defeated South Africa 3-1 on penalties yesterday. A tense match of few scoring chances had ended 1-1 after extra time with Tokelo Rantie putting Bafana Bafana (The Boys) ahead on 31 minutes and Seydou Keita levelling with 58 minutes gone.

Cheick Tidiane Diabate, Adama Tamboura and Mahamane Traore converted shootout kicks for the Malian Eagles while Soumbeyla Diakite saved from Dean Furman and May Mahlangu and Lehlohonolo Majoro blazed wide.

Mali knocked out co-hosts Gabon at the same stage of the 2012 tournament-also after a shootout following a 1-1 draw-and have now reached the semi-finals six times in eight appearances.

South Africa made two changes and Mali one from the teams that clinched qualification for the knockout phase with draws against Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo respec-

tively in final group games. Siboniso Gaxa replaced suspended Anele Ngcongca at right-back for South Africa and coach Gordon Igesund preferrred midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane to injury-prone striker Katlego Mphela in a 4-5-1 formation.

France -born Mali coach Patrice Carteron also had to make an enforced change with goalkeeper Diakite coming in for banned Mamadou Samassa, who picked up two cautions in the three-match pool phase.

This was only the second Cup of Nations meeting between the countries with hosts Mali overcoming South Africa 2-0 in a 2002 quarter-final that featured then-rising star Keita.

South Africa trooped off the field at half-time with a deserved 1-0 lead before a capacity 60,000 crowd at Moses Mabhida Stadium in this Indian Ocean city thanks to a goal on 31 minutes from lone striker Rantie.

Mahlangu pounced on the Malian clearance of a long kick from goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, drove forward and

passed to Thuso Phala, whose cross left unmarked Rantie with the simple task of tapping the ball into the net. It was a mixed opening half for the Swedenbased scorer as an early run into space produced a shot superbly smothered

by Diakite, but he was yellow carded on 40 minutes and had to go off injured before half-time. Mali did not figure much as an attacking force, bar a sizzling edge-of-box shot from former Barcelona midfielder Keita that flew over, but reminded Bafana Bafana (The Boys) of the power in his left boot.

Wide midfielder Samba Diakite, a reluctant participant as he wanted to help the relegation struggle of English Premier League outfit Queens Park Rangers, retired injured midway through the first half with Sigamary Diarra coming on. The cagey nature of the game continued into the second half until 33-year-old Keita stunned the crowd on 58 minutes with a close-range header from a Mahamadou Samassa cross that entered the net off the right elbow of Itumeleng Khune. — AFP

England too strong for Scots in 6 Nations opener

Spain stunned, Djokovic shines in Davis Cup

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Ghana into semis as Cape Verde goes out

Page 19

LONDON: Manchester United’s English striker Wayne Rooney celebrates scoring his goal during an English Premier League football match between Fulham and Manchester United at Craven Cottage Stadium in London, England, yesterday. — AFP

Rooney sinks Fulham Fulham 0

Man Utd 1

LONDON: Wayne Rooney scored his four th goal in three games as Manchester United beat Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage to move 10 points clear at the head of the Premier League table yesterday.

Rooney’s 79th-minute strike, his 10th league goal of the season, came after the game had been held up for 10 minutes before half-time because of a floodlight failure and increased the pressure on second-place Manchester City ahead of their clash with Liverpool today.

For long periods it looked as though Alex Ferguson’s side would have to be content with a point, with Fulham surviving first-half pressure before growing stronger after the break. But after hitting the woodwork three times in the opening half, United finally made the breakthrough when Rooney capitalised on a mistake by Fulham’s Philippe Senderos.

Fulham’s hopes of springing a surprise were dented when Dimitar Berbatov was denied the opportunity to face his former club after picking up a hamstring strain in the mid-week win over West Ham United.

And the early signs were that this would be a testing afternoon for the home side, when they somehow survived a period of intense United pressure just 10 minutes into the game. Mark Schwarzer, the Fulham goalkeeper, produced an outstanding save to deny Nani’s deflected header and then looked on as Patrice Evra latched onto the loose ball and sent a close-range shot against the bar. Rooney met the rebound with an overhead kick that was cleared off the goal-line

by Sascha Riether and the danger was eventually snuffed out moments later when Schwarzer again reacted well to save from a second Evra shot.

To Fulham’s credit, they were not rattled, responding immediately through John Arne Riise, who saw a dipping left-foot halfvolley tipped away by David de Gea. The United keeper has been under pressure in recent weeks following repor ts Ferguson is considering a summer move for Stoke City’s Asmir Begovic, but the youngster’s first-half display provided a timely reminder of his talents.

He was beaten, however, by Bryan Ruiz’s leftfoot shot from the edge

of the box moments later and was relieved to see the effort deflect away to safety off the post.

It was an exhilarating start, with the defences of both sides looking vulnerable. Fulham centre -back Brede Hangeland stood out among his teammates, but the Norway international showed that even he was liable to a mistake when his misdirected header from the resulting corner hit Schwarzer’s bar.

The woodwork again came to Fulham’s aid 10 minutes before the interval when United conjured the best move of the first half. Evra surged down the left before moving the ball on to Nani, who picked out Tom Cleverley, positioned on the edge of the Fulham area.

Cleverley’s first-time lay-off teed up Rooney, allowing the England striker to curl a right-footed shot that came back off the post.

In the second period, the home side began to assert themselves more as the leaders found it harder to find a way through to Schwarzer’s goal. The keeper was forced to save from Robin van Persie’s header four minutes after the restart as United threatened to carry on from where they had left off.

But from then on it was Fulham who looked the side more likely to make the breakthrough before Rooney eventually struck. Ruiz had the best of the chances, first when he shot wide after De Gea had parried Riether ’s shot in the 72nd minute.

Then the Costa Rica forward saw a close-range header cleared off the line

by Rafael. It was Rooney, though, who produced the moment of composure that eventually decided the game when he advanced from halfway after a mistake by Senderos. With Aaron Hughes backing off, the striker moved into the Fulham box before placing a right-foot shot inside the far post. — AFP

Jordan’s Arab Bank net profit rises 15% in 2012

Business

Page 22 Kuwait economic growth expected at 3.2% in 2013 Page 23

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

More foreign workers to find their ways to US

Land Rover MENA sales jump 34%, Jaguar up 27% Page 26 Page 25

ATHENS: A man walks next to docked ferries at the port of Piraeus near Athens yesterday. Greek dock workers extended a 48-hour strike for a further two days on Friday, leaving ferries tied up in port over the weekend.

—AP (See Page 23)

EU budget talks will be ‘very tough’: Merkel Leaders brace for make-or-break negotiations BERLIN: Negotiations to thrash out the European Union’s next seven-year budget will be “very difficult”, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday, warning that it may take time to reach a deal. “We can’t say yet whether the talks will succeed. I only know that the negotiations will be very difficult,” Merkel said in her weekly podcast broadcast on her website. The comments came as EU leaders are preparing to meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for a second attempt at finding a deal on the 27-nation bloc’s 20142020, trillion-euro budget after failing to clinch an agreement at a summit in November.

Merkel, who is seeking a third term in office this year, said she “would do everything to reach an agreement”. But Merkel added that Germany, one of the largest net contributors to the EU budget, had its own interests to defend in the discussions, and she argued for measures that would make the bloc “more competitive and efficient”.

The chancellor, who already met with

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Berlin on Thursday, is also set to meet with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday in preparation for the EU summit.

In November, EU President Herman Van Rompuy proposed a budget of 973 billion euros, or just over one percent of EU gross domestic product. But European leaders were unable to resolve differences about demands for cuts in the budget by some member states and how spending cuts should be split across different European policies. “Germany will try to contribute to a result. We will only be able to see at the end of next week whether it succeeds,” she said. “But it is worth trying,” she said, adding that at a time when many European countries are struggling with economic growth, an EU budget deal would give certainty for financial planning.

She said the budget must be used to make sure the EU increases its competitiveness and that member states’ economies become gradually more aligned.

In preparation for the summit, Merkel is holding a round of talks in the coming days.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy comes to Berlin tomorrow and she is to visit French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday

evening. Merkel had struck a more positive note earlier this week at a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, saying she was very optimistic about a deal.

Monti wants a reform of the EU system of

rebates, arguing that Italy’s contribution to the budget is out of proportion to its real wealth.

Some net contributors, such as Britain, have demanded deep reductions in EU spending plans. — Agencies

Cyprus bank bailout review finalized: CB NICOSIA: The Cypriot central bank said a study into how much the country’s Greekexposed banking system needs as part of an EU bailout package was submitted yesterday.

But the bank said the amount needed by the banks, thought to be 10 billion euros ($13.7 billion), will not be made public until cash-strapped Cyprus has signed bailout deal with international lenders. “ The steering committee has now received the final report on the due diligence review of financial institutions in

Cyprus conducted by Pimco and Deloitte,” a bank statement said.

“The results of the report will be made public when the memorandum of understanding is signed between Cyprus and international creditors.” The degree of bank recapitalisation will determine whether Cyprus needs to adopt even more austerity to make its debt sustainable.

Pimco has reportedly assessed that the banking system will need 10 billion euros to stay afloat-a figure widely circulated for several months-despite the government argu-

ing that it should be no higher than 8 billion.

At 10 billion euros, the government would struggle to repay the loan and would need to introduce privatization of state-own utilities, such as the telecoms service, which it is loath to do. Nicosia applied for EU financial aid in June when its two largest banks, hard hit by the Greek debt crisis, asked for financial assistance, but talks on agreeing a deal have dragged on. Euro-zone finance ministers will be able to discuss the bailout terms now it has a firm figure for bank recapitalization. — AFP

Saudi MMG deepens losses

Obama urges balanced approach to budget cut

KHOBAR: Financially troubled Saudi contractor Mohammed Al-Mojil Group said yesterday its cumulative net loss now stands at 2.01 billion riyals ($536 million) after reporting a fourth-quarter net loss of 526 million riyals. The company is attempting to stabilize its financial position after it replaced its management team last year and held a shareholders meeting in which it voted against liquidation.

Although its fourth-quarter loss was less than half that of the last quarter of 2011, it was considerably more than its third-quarter 2012 loss of 33.8 million riyals. MMG’s net loss over the year was 1.20 billion riyals, compared to 1.11 billion riyals in 2011. The company is now starting legal action against clients on some major projects to claim payment for work. An MMG official said in an email on Saturday it has started proceedings against the Saudi unit of Britain’s Petrofac.

MMG “served a formal notice of arbitration” to Petrofac Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, seeking 177 million riyals for its work on the Karan gas field development, the official said in the email. “This move follows unsuccessful negotiations to achieve an amicable resolution following the earlier issue of a Notice of Dispute,” he added. A Petrofac Saudi official declined to comment. On Jan 20, MMG said it plans to start legal action to collect dues and claims worth more than 400 million riyals ($107 million). It said it was contemplating legal action against two other companies: Saudi Binladin Group and South Korea’s SK Engineering and Construction.

Earlier on Saturday MMG said the drop in its quarterly loss from a year earlier was due to a decline in provisions the company took against an expected increase in the cost of completing projects. Its fourth-quarter 2011 loss was 1.18 billion riyals. However, MMG’s liabilities now exceed its assets by 1.37 billion riyals and shareholders face a total deficit in equity of 840 million riyals, it said in the statement. —Reuters

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama urged members of Congress yesterday to display a “balanced approach” to cutting government spending as he geared up for a new battle with congressional Republicans over budget priorities. “2013 can be a year of solid growth, more jobs, and higher wages,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. “But that will only happen if we put a stop to selfinflicted wounds in Washington.”

The comments came as new economic statistics showed the economic recovery advertised by the president during the election campaign remained uneven and lackluster.

According to the Labor Department, the jobless rate rose in January to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent just a month agopractically the same level seen in the country since September.

The economy has also suffered an unexpected 0.1 percent fourth-quarter contraction, a sharp downturn after a strong 3.1 percent pace of growth in the third quarter, the government acknowledged. Against this backdrop, Obama is preparing for tough negotiations with congressional Republicans over next fiscal year’s budget as well as the debt ceiling, which has been suspended by Congress, but only until May 18.

The United States exceeded its congressionally mandated $16 trillion borrowing limit late last month, and the Treasury has taken extraordinary measures to keep paying the government’s bills through late February. The president said that everybody in Washington agreed about the need to cut unnecessary spending. “But we can’t just cut our way to prosperity,” he insisted. “It hasn’t worked in the past, and it won’t work today. It could slow down our recovery. It could weaken our economy. And it could cost us jobs - now, and in the future.” Instead, he called for new investment in education and infrastructure, research and development that he believes will help the United States compete in the world. “What we need instead is a balanced approach; an approach that says let’s cut what we can’t afford but let’s make the investments we can’t afford to live without,” Obama said. — AFP

Iran rial hits all-time low TEHRAN: Iran’s currency plummeted to an all-time low yesterday, registering a more than 21-percent drop in a span of two weeks against the US dollar, currency tracking websites and money changers said.

The rial was traded at between 39,000 and 40,000 per dollar on the open market yesterday, down from about 33,000 two weeks ago, according to money changers contacted by AFP. It had briefly dropped in late January to 37,000 per dollar amid rumors that central bank head Mahmoud Bahmani could be sacked because of his failure to shore up the rial. The devaluation comes with Iran

facing a growing shortage of foreign cash because of international sanctions against its central bank and vital oil sector over its disputed nuclear program. Uncertainty over stalled negotiations with the UN’s atomic watchdog agency and world powers over the nuclear standoff has added to controversy over the rial, according to local media.

The currency was traded at 12,000 in late 2011, prior to the introduction of tough Western sanctions on Iran’s oil and banking sectors. The official dollar rate in Iran has been fixed for several months at 12,260 rials, but is reserved for official government business. Parallel to the open market,

another rate of 24,550 rials is reserved for a few companies importing food or other goods judged essential.

Iran is suffering from heightened geopolitical tensions over its nuclear ambitions and the effects of draconian Western measures curbing access to its reduced oil exports. The West fears Iran’s atomic program is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists that its activities are peaceful.

In addition to Western sanctions, some analysts and lawmakers blame the government for what they call mismanagement and failure to feed the market with sufficient foreign currency, stoking the currency plunge

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

Jordan’s Arab Bank net profit rise 15% in 2012

Bayt.com weekly report

Six ways to help you deal with downtime at work

Revenues grow despite regional turmoil

By Lama Ataya KUWAIT: There are days when nine hours don’t seem sufficient to finish your work, and then there are days when you find yourself waiting for the clock to strike 6 pm so that you can leave because there isn’t much for you to do. While having busy and other calm days at work is very normal, it is not always easy to maintain a high level of motivation. Below are six simple tips suggested by the HR experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 jobsite, to help you stay motivated and prolific at work especially on the slowest days.

1. Research and read When was the last time you did some research and read the latest literature in your field to stay updated of the latest happenings in your industry? We all know that this should be done on a daily basis but sometimes our busy schedule leaves us with very little or no time to check our RSS feed; and this is exactly what those ‘not-sobusy’ days are for! Take advantage of every free minute to do your research and catch up on the latest updates in your field of work or even to look up training opportunities you might want to take part in. The upside of this is that it will boost your motivation - Bayt.com’s “Employee Motivation in the MENA Survey” - January 2013, showed that training and development opportunities (45%) are considered to be very important motivation drivers.

2. Balance your schedule Organize your tasks and give priority to urgent ones and those on a tight deadline, while postponing less pressing ones to another day. This will guarantee that you always have something at hand especially on slow days.

3. Organize your desk With documents piled up all around and memo notes everywhere, busy days, more often than not, leave your desk in quite a mess. Take advantage of calmer days to bring back some organization to your desk or even your computer folders. This will help you clean your desk and de-clutter your mind.

4. Invest in office relationships Did you get a chance to meet the new hire in your company? When was the last time you checked on your colleague in the sales department? Busy schedules tend to trap us behind our computers for long hours, sometimes for weeks in a row, leaving us no time to catch up with our colleagues. With 46% of MENA professionals stating they have stressful days at work (as per Bayt.com’s “Employee Motivation in the MENA Survey” - January 2013), take the time to invest in your office relationships when you get a chance as they can help you break your work routine and alleviate your work stress/pressure.

5. Create your own challenges If you know your job inside out and find your tasks now too easy to carry out, it’s time you think outside the box. Bayt.com’s “Employee Motivation in the MENA Survey” - January 2013, showed that 25% of MENA professionals always have the freedom to seek out solutions to their work challenges and 42% very often have the same freedom. So remember that the solution is entirely or partly in your hand as there is always space for innovation and creativity and it’s up to you to find a way to grow beyond the limits of your tasks, expanding their scope and developing new ideas.

6. Ask for new additional tasks Bayt.com’s “Employee Motivation in the MENA Survey” - January 2013, revealed that 40% of professionals across the region have managers who always or very often listen to their suggestions and concerns. So if all of the above is not sufficient, take it up to your management and ask for new tasks to be added to your current job role. If a promotion is not possible at the moment, maybe you can delegate some of your tasks and acquire new ones that will increase your motivation levels.

AMMAN: Jordan’s largest lender, Arab Bank Group, posted a 15 percent rise in 2012 net profit to $352 million on higher revenues, with its chairman saying a conservative policy eased the impact of political upheaval across the Arab region.

Its focus on top-tier assets and steering away from significant lending to governmental entities has served it in a climate where banks exposed to former toppled governments in the Middle East had suffered, bankers say. Chairman Sabih AlMasri said in a statement the bank, one of the Middle East’s major financial institutions with a strong presence across the region, saw deposits increase by $1.2 billion to $32.9 billion against $31.7 billion at end of 2011.

“This exceptional performance shows

the bank’s ability to adjust to the changes and the circumstances the Arab region is going through by adopting a conservative credit policy” Masri said.

Investment analysts say the bank has traditionally had a lower risk appetite than peers and it favors capitalization and liquidity versus profitability.

Masri said the results showed that Arab Bank, which has a $45.6 billion balance sheet spread across 30 countries and five continents, was able to maintain the steady growth it has shown in recent years.

The Amman-based Arab Bank’s growth has long been tied to its regional and global expansion and it has built a reputation for low vulnerability to major political upheaval. Masri also said the board proposed paying 30 percent of 2012 profits in

debt ridden Saudi conglomerates Saad and Algosaibi, had now fully set aside provisions for their exposure in the troubled firms. Bankers said Arab Bank set aside nearly $1 billion in provisions in the last two years to cover non-performing loans by businesses reeling from the global downturn, but was cushioned by a healthy capital base.

The firm is one of the Arab world’s largest privately owned banks. Over 20 percent is owned by the family of Lebanon’s former prime minister, Rafik alHariri, who was assassinated in 2005.

Jordan’s social pension fund has a 15.5 stake. The remainder is mainly held by long-term investors. Arab Bank owns 40 percent of Saudi Arabia’s Arab National Bank ANB. — Reuters

a cash dividend, up from 25 percent in 2011. Arab Bank’s chief executive officer Nemeh Al-Sabbagh said the bank would focus on keeping a high level of liquidity, with a capital adequacy of 15.09 percent at the end of 2012.

“It’s important to keep high liquidity which is a main pillar of the bank’s solid financial position,” Sabbagh said. Net operating income of the bank, which has a $45 billion balance sheet, rose 8 percent in 2012 as a result of growth in net interest and cost cutting measures, Sabbagh said.

Non-performing loans as of total of credit facilities were a minimum with nonperforming loans covered by 100 percent of provisions, Sabbagh said. Sabbagh said the bank, one of several major regional and international banks exposed to the

Wall Street may be getting ahead of itself NEW YORK: The stock market may have packed much of its fun for the year into one exhilarating January. The market charged to its best start in decades even though the US economy and corporate profits haven’t broken out of a three-year pattern of slow, steady improvement despite record-low interest rates and billions of dollars of stimulus and tax cuts.

This steady growth will likely make for a good year for stocks, but January may account for much of the year’s rise, analysts think. “We thought this was going to be a good year for equities, we just didn’t think we’d get it all in the first month,” says Barry Knapp, head of U.S. equity strategy at Barclays Capital. “I’d love for the market to keep going up but when I look forward I see a lot of headwinds.”

Corporate earnings growth is expected to slow dramatically early this year. Higher taxes will probably crimp people’s spending. The relief after the fiscal cliff was aver ted will likely turn to anxiety as Congress bickers over a package of spending cuts. Job growth is steady, but unemployment has ticked up to 7.9 percent.

Adding to those worries is the economy’s unexpected retreat in the fourth quarter. The slowdown resulted from onetime factors like lower defense spending, but it shows how vulnerable the economy is to government spending cuts and political fights. “There’s much more downside risk,” says Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management.

“Right now there’s momentum behind the market and it seems to ignore bad news.”

Markets surged as soon as the calendar turned to 2013 and kept rising for much of the month, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average to within a whisper of a record and pushing the S&P 500 past 1,500 for the first time in 5 years. The Dow logged its best start to the year in almost two decades. The Standard & Poor’s 500 finished the month 5 percent higher, its best start to the year since 1997.

February started off on the same foot: The Dow finished up Friday 149 points to 14,010 and the S&P 500 rose 15 points to 1,513. But the market may have gotten ahead of itself. Now that half of companies

in the S&P 500 have reported fourth-quarter earnings, profit growth is expected to be up 5.8 percent, according to S&P Capital IQ. While solid, that’s a smaller gain than a year earlier, and the slowdown could continue.

Earnings growth is expected to slow to 1.7 percent for the first quar ter.

Corporations continue to lower investor expectations.

Of the companies that have issued earnings guidance for the first quarter, 82 percent have reduced estimates, according to FactSet. In response, analysts have sharply cut earnings growth expectations over the last month - by half for the first quarter and by 16 percent for the second quarter.

“Earnings are not a reason to be buying stocks right now,” Knapp says. Talley Leger, investment strategist at Macro Vision Research, notes that the stocks that have helped propel the market higher in January are companies in so-called “defensive” sectors - such as health care providers and consumer staples producers. Those industries continue to perform well when the economy slows down because people still need to buy medicine and basic goods like shampoo and diapers. “The market is slowly starting to realize that an air pocket opened up between where stocks thought the economy was and where the economy actually was,” Leger says. Leger and others predict a dip in the market sometime in the next three months as investors realize economic and corporate growth aren’t quite as strong as predicted.

But that could allow the stock market to grow again in the second half of the year. While the economy might not yet be ready to accelerate quick ly, analysts remain confident that it will keep growing.

And even if the market rises only modestly from here, it could still make for a strong year. As Howard Silverblatt, an analyst at S&P, notes, January performance is a good indicator of annual performance. In 61 of the last 84 years the direction of the market in the first month matched the direction of the market for the year. —AP

YANGON: A Myanmar receptionist works at a restaurant which accepts Visa electronic payment following the US credit card giant Visa’s launch in Myanmar, marking the long-awaited debut of plastic in a country that until now has had a cash economy, in Yangon yesterday.—AFP

Strike at Sabic Dutch plant hits output plants to produce polyethylene and polypropylene. Galeen produces 1.25 million tons per year of ethylene, 725,000 tons per year of propylene, 940,000 tons per year of polyethylene, and 620,000 tons per year of polypropylene. “It is not possible to determine the financial effect or the effect on production capacity, at this time, because the affected plants are not yet known,” SABIC added in the statement. A SABIC spokesman in Europe said the disagreement was over payments to staff who might become redundant. De Unie, one of the unions involved in the strike action, said SABIC wanted to cut back sharply on the support offered to laid-off workers to help them find new jobs. —Reuters

KHOBAR: A strike by workers at the SABIC Europe Chemicals Geleen plant in the Netherlands has cut production, the company’s Saudi Arabian owner said yesterday.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) said in a bourse statement that talks with a union over working conditions had not yet been successful and that it did not know what impact the strike would have on profits or production. “The decrease in production begins 31/1/2013 due to the proactive measure taken by the union workforce as a consequence of no finalised agreement regarding work conditions,” it said in the statement.

In Geleen, SABIC has two naphtha crackers and several polymerisation

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 US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

.2740000 .4410000 .3750000 .3010000 .2770000 .2910000 .0040000 .0020000 .0762440 .7428190 .3900000 .0720000 .7282020 .0430000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2808000 .4423580 .3799500 .3052670 .2802120 .0509340 .0441470 .2931410 .0361940 .2271110 .0030730 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0764810 .7451240 .0000000 .0749000 .7296350 .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.192 5.241 2.885 2.221 3.309 230.340 36.424 3.539

.2840000 .4540000 .3830000 .3130000 .2910000 .3010000 .0067500 .0035000 .0769960 .7501510 .4050000 .0770000 .7353900 .0510000 .2829000 .4456670 .3827920 .3075500 .2823070 .0513150 .0444780 .2953330 .0364650 .2288090 .0030960 .0053270 .0022430 .0029060 .0035790 .0770530 .7506970 .4001410 .0754600 .7350920 .0070110

Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - transfer Irani Riyal - cash

UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

6.948 9.486 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 75.337 77.625 733.790 750.370 76.927

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 282.400 Euro 377.290 Sterling Pound 448.450 Canadian dollar 285.400 Turkish lire 159.590 Swiss Franc 304.970 Australian dollar 298.500 US Dollar Buying 281.200 GOLD 311.000 157.000 81.500

SELL DRAFT 299.06 285.81 310.68 384.01 281.60 447.24 3.16 3.567 5.268 2.228 3.301 2.886

Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

Selling Rate 282.250 285.310 450.050 377.280 301.730 747.250 76.825 77.475 75.230 397.875 42.694 2.227 5.236 2.885 3.540 6.948 692.360 4.125 9.540 3.970 3.320 93.365

SELL CASH 297.000 284.000 308.000 381.500 282.500 448.500 3.750 3.800 5.400 2.600 3.450 2.970

COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar

SELL CASH 298.700 750.090 3.990 285.000 553.900 46.000 52.000 167.800 42.980 384.400 37.070 5.420 0.032 0.161 0.245

Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria 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

3.200 399.700 0.191 94.870 46.300 4.340 239.500 1.827 52.500 732.630 3.000 7.240 78.020 75.310 229.800 33.780 2.686 447.800 45.200 309.300 3.400 9.770 198.263 76.900 282.400 1.360 GOLD

10 Tola 1,765.610

Sterling Pound US Dollar

Bahrain Exchange Company

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee

77.200 748.700 46.750 403.000 733.000 78.500 75.600

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 43.700 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 42.468 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.318 Tunisian Dinar 182.550 Jordanian Dinar 398.870 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.895 Syrian Lier 3.069 Morocco Dirham 34.230

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

76.74 749.81 42.12 401.19 732.89 77.76 75.30

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 445.800 282.000

Al Mulla Exchange

SELLDRAFT 297.200 750.090 3.547 283.500

229.800 42.129 382.900 36.920 5.275 0.031

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 *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 281.550 382.600 445.600 283.350 3.125 5.275 42.110 2.226 3.545 6.930 2.888 749.900 76.650 75.250

399.660 0.190 94.870 3.320 238.000

732.450 2.892 6.948 77.590 75.310 229.800 33.780 2.228 445.800 307.800 3.400 9.660 76.800 282.000

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

India oil firm stake sale ‘lapped up’ NEW DELHI: India’s sale of a stake in state-run refiner Oil India was “lapped up”, an official said, raising nearly $600 million as the government tries to cut its growing deficit.

The Congress-led government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urgently needs to raise capital from privatization with the government’s deficit threatening to exceed a targeted 5.3 percent of gross domestic product in this fiscal year.

The sale of the 10 percent stake in Oil India received investor bids that were more than twice the share offer size and raised 31.14 billion rupees ($585 million), according to stock exchange data. Bidding was good from participants including foreign institutional investors, mutual funds and retail investors, a government official said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

The “issue was lapped up by investors across the board”, the unnamed privatization department official said. The sale was underpinned by a booming domestic share market and partial government deregulation of the energy sector that has allowed higher prices.

The government has raised 69 billion rupees ($1.25 billion) from privatizations-still a long way off its 3000-billion-rupee target in the financial year to March 2013. But it has a string of sell-offs planned for the last two months of the financial year, including disposal of stakes in steelmaker Steel Authority of India, leading power utility NTPC and state trading company MMTC. The government was forced to jettison a few earlier sell-offs due to sluggish share market conditions in a sharply slowing economy. But it has re-energised its privatization drive with the stock market trading at twoyear highs on investor optimism about an economic upturn.

To ensure the success of the Oil India sale, the government set the floor price at a deep discount of nearly six percent to the market price. It is expected to offer similar discounts for other sales.

Cutting the deficit has become even more vital for the government since global ratings agencies reduced India’s sovereign ratings outlook to “negative”, jeopardizing the country’s investment-grade status. —AFP

Kuwait economic growth expected at 3.2% in 2013 Non-oil sector to grow by 5% falling to just 2.1% in October. This KUWAIT: Real GDP in Kuwait is was driven by the food and housexpected to grow at 3.2% and 2.5% NBK economic report ing components, but other ‘core’ in 2013 and 2014 respectively, sup-

Mumbai brokerage blames ‘technical issues’ for share fall MUMBAI: A Mumbai brokerage yesterday blamed technical problems for “unintended” stock market transactions, a day after there was an unexpected dive in the values of the shares of two major companies.

The statement came after India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) said on Friday that it would investigate what had prompted the surprise 10-percent plunge in the shares of Tata Motors and UltraTech Cement. “Due to some technical issues in the software, unintended transactions got executed. There was no broker error and no loss to any clients,” Religare Capital Markets said in a statement. Shares of both Tata Motors and UltraTech Cement slid suddenly about half an hour before the market closed but they clawed back most of their losses within one to two minutes, dealers said.

Religare said the incident was being

“investigated by the software supplier”, adding that it had “discussed the matter with exchange officials”.

The statement did not specify whether the unusual price movements involving Tata Motors and UltraTech Cement were carried out by Religare.

There was no immediate comment available from NSE which said on Friday that it would investigate whether a trading error had caused the fall in the stock prices. India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, in December imposed order limits and tighter risk-management controls at stock exchanges to prevent free-falls or price manipulation by brokers. This was in response to a more than 900-point “flash crash” on the NSE’s benchmark N if ty index two months earlier, caused by erroneous trading orders which forced a brief halt to trading. — AFP

ported by stable oil production. We have revised up our forecast for real non-oil GDP in 2013 to 5% from 4%, reflecting an expected improvement in the broader business climate domestically, which is also likely to be maintained going into 2014.

Meanwhile, inflation is expected to average 3-4% over the next two years.

The upward revision for real nonoil GDP in 2013 is based largely on signs of a greater determination by Kuwaiti authorities to implement large infrastructure projects associated with the government’s 4-year development plan that had previously stalled. These include projects in the transport, power and oil refining sectors.

This should ease the economy’s dependence on growth in the consumer sector, which will nevertheless remain firm thanks to high employment levels and fresh government measures to support income growth.

These trends will add to Kuwait’s traditional strengths of large fiscal and trade surpluses, which will provide a buffer against any fresh turbulence in the global economy. But challenges remain. Large projects carry significant implementation risks - particularly those with more com-

plex structures such as the public-private partnerships (PPPs). Moreover, the economy faces broader longterm challenges, most notably the need to create viable private sector jobs for new entrants to the workforce. The latter requires deep-rooted structural reforms in areas such as competition and privatization, the labor market, and education. Despite the surpluses, fiscal reform is also needed to put the budget on a stable long-term footing.

Real GDP After another year of double-digit growth in 2012, oil production is set

to be flat in 2013.

Production levels have reached close to their maximum of 3.3 million barrels per day and softer global oil market fundamentals are assumed to prompt OPEC to stabilize its output near current levels.

This will push the headline rate of real GDP growth down to 3.2% from 6.1% in 2012. GDP growth is assumed to slow further in 2014 on cuts in oil output, but the broader business climate remains positive.

Despite robust conditions in the consumer sector, inflation continued to decelerate through 2012,

Strike halts ferry services in Greece ATHENS: A strike by maritime workers has suspended most ferry services in island-dotted Greece in the latest action against austerity cuts, officials said yesterday.

“The majority of maritime connections towards the islands will not be carried out,” a merchant marine ministry spokesman told AFP. The maritime workers’ union decided to suspend services after “fruitless” talks on Friday with Merchant Marine Minister Costin Moussouroulis. “The minister showed himself to be intransigent and insisted on a bill” to restructure the sector that calls for a reduction in ferry staff, said a union statement.

The 48-hour strike began at 0400 GMT yesterday, the union said calling for a demonstration at Piree, home to the country’s largest port near Athens, today.

The proposed restructuring “will destroy the sector where at the moment more than 7,000 sailors out of a total 15,000 are unemployed,” union chief Yannis Halas told reporters.

Greece has been roiled by strikes as the government introduced austerity measures in return for international loans to avoid bankruptcy. The latest general strike has been called in the country for February 20, ahead of a visit to Athens by auditors representing the nation’s international creditors.—AFP

IMF censures Argentina over poor economic data WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund censured Argentina on Friday for failing to supply accurate economic data, the first time ever that the Fund has taken such an action against a member. But the board appeared to set aside taking any stronger action for the rest of this year, giving Buenos Aires more time to repair its relations with the global crisis lender.

The IMF Executive Board found that Argentina’s efforts to meet its demands for better GDP and inflation data have “not been sufficient. As a result, the Fund has issued a declaration of censure against Argentina.” The censure decision opened the way to Argentina possibly losing its voting rights at the IMF, or even losing it membership.

But the Executive Board put off that decision and gave Buenos Aires another eight months to resolve the problem before it takes further action.

The Argentine government has until September 29 to meet its requirements, and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde will then have to report on the issue to the board by November 13.

“The Fund stands ready to continue its dialogue with the Argentine authorities to improve the quality” of the official data, the board said in a statement.

The Fund is also ready, “more generally, to strengthen the relationship

between Argentina and the Fund,” it added. In September, the IMF laid out a tough warning to Argentina that it would be punished for failing to meet, since 2011, its obligations to supply the same accurate economic data that all countries provide.

The official Argentine statistics are sharply different from those private sector economists issue.

For instance, last month the government said that inflation in 2012 was 10.8 percent, while a group of private economists who collate their data put the rate at 25.6 percent. Buenos Aires benefits from understating the data, because a large part of its sovereign debt is indexed to inflation. The IMF and Argentina have a long history of troubled relations, with successive governments blaming the Fund for domestic economic failures and the country’s deep troubles in international debt markets.

In January 2006, the government paid off Argentina’s debt with the IMF-some $9.5 billion-and cut links with the Fund.

Since then Argentina has been the only country in the G20 that does not allow annual economic assessments by official IMF teams.

But at the end of 2010, the IMF was invited back to assist with collection and formulation of economic data, opening the way to the current impasse.—AFP

components remain soft, too.

Some of this may reflect the lagged impact of earlier dinar strength against the euro and other currencies in lowering import prices. This is assumed to gradually unwind and as demand conditions steadily strengthen, we expect some limited upward price pressures in 2013. But inflation is still seen averaging a moderate 3-4% over the next two years.

The budget is forecast to remain in huge surplus, though decline to under 20% of GDP over the next two years as oil revenues plateau but spending pushes higher. After falling in FY11/12, on-budget capital spending is assumed to rise steadily over the next two years on faster project implementation, but should remain close to 10% of total government spending. Current spending could rise by 18% in FY12/13 on increases in public sector pay and social spending, but growth slows thereafter.

Meanwhile, strong oil receipts are expected to keep the current account surplus extremely strong over the forecast period at 35-45% of GDP, implying a continued build-up in Kuwait’s foreign assets.

ATHENS: A crew member stands in front of a docked ferry at the port of Piraeus, near Athens yesterday.—AP

Bank of America’s online banking crashes NEW YORK: Bank of America says its online banking website crashed Friday, leaving customers temporarily unable to access their accounts. From late morning Friday, customers trying to log on saw a message that said the site was “temporarily unavailable.”

Bank of America Corp., which is based in Charlotte, NC, and is the second-largest US bank by assets, said it was working on the problem. But it wouldn’t elaborate on what caused the outage.

“We’re aware of the online banking issue and addressing as quickly as possible,” Mark Pipitone, a spokesman for the bank, wrote in an email. “We’re also working closely with our customers to help alleviate any concerns.” Angry Bank of America customers took to Twitter to say that they were left frustrated, trying to do their banking on the first day of the month. The lender noted on its Facebook page that its ATMs were running and that its credit and debit cards were also working.

Customers of another bank, BBVA Compass, also hit social networks on Friday

to complain about problems accessing their accounts online.

The bank responded on Facebook, telling customers that it was working to resolve system issues affecting direct deposits, such as payroll and Social Security checks, online banking and phone-banking access. The lender announced a few hours later that the problems had been resolved.

“Sorry to all of our customers for the inconvenience today,” the bank wrote on its Facebook page late Friday. “Our mobile and online banking platforms are coming back up. We will continue to monitor throughout the night to make sure you get the service you expect from us and that you deserve.”

The bank urged customers who were charged fees as a result of the problem to contact it. Earlier Friday, spokesman Thaddeus Herrick did not elaborate on what might have caused the problems.

BBVA Compass is the US division of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain’s second largest bank. —AP

Chaos threatens Economy: Egypt PM CAIRO: Egypt’s prime minister says the street violence and political unrest that has engulfed the country for more than a week is threatening the nation’s already ailing economy. In a brief statement on TV yesterday, Hisham Kandil also condemned recent attacks by protesters on state property and said no government can effectively govern in the current climate. His comments come a day after protesters hurled firebombs and flares at the presidential palace in Cairo. Egypt’s foreign currency reserves have been cut by more than half since the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Foreign reserves currently are estimate at around $15 billion. The Egyptian pound has also lost around four percent of its value due to the recent turmoil. —AP

AMIENS: A general view of the Goodyear tyre company in Amiens, northern France. The Goodyear factory in Amiens in the north of France will be shuttered, with the loss of 1,173 jobs, the company said.—AP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

Kuwait bourse rises marginally BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Two of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) indices ended last week in the green zone. The price index ended last week with an increase amounted to 0.68%, while the weighted index decreased by 0.11% compared to the closings of the week before, whereas KSX-15 Index improved by 0.06%.

Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover decreased by 11.49%, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 30.98 million, whereas trading volume average was 417.22 million shares, recording decline of 0.99%.

Kuwait Stock Exchange fluctuated last week throughout the trading hours, due to profit collection operations on some stocks of increased value, in addition to speculation operations on small-cap stocks.

On the other hand, some stock collection operations started to appear in light of the news and leakages of the listed companies’ annual results, which will form a main factor in directing the market trading wheel for the coming period, as it is usual for the market to witness a classical cautious state during the financial results announcements period, escalate as it gets closer to the end of the announcing period where announcements get crowded, especially that many companies were subject for hold last year, due to exceeding the legal period for announcing their results.

By the end of the week, the price index closed at 6,245.11 points, up by 0.68% from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 0.11% weekly loss after closing at 432.19 points. Moreover, the KSX-15 index closed at 1,046.55 points, increasing with 0.06%.

week’s total trading volume, with a total of 663.47 million shares. On the other hand, the Financial Services sector’s stocks were the highest traded in terms of value; with a

turnover of KD 43.60 million or 28.15% of last week’s total market trading value.

The Real Estate sector took the second place as the sec-

tor’s last week turnover of KD 32.62 million represented 21.06% of the total market trading value. — Prepared by the Studies & Research Department Bayan Investment Co.

Sectors’ Indices Nine of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the green zone, Last week’s highest gainer was the Consumer Services sector, achieving 3.89% growth rate as its index closed at 976.20 points. Whereas, in the second place, the Technology sector’s index closed at 892.05 points recording 3.36% increase. The Oil & Gas sector came in third as its index achieved 2.51% growth, ending the week at 1,075.13 points. On the other hand, the Banks sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 1.16% to end the week’s activity at 1,031.94 points. The Real Estate sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 0.80%, closing at 1,036.67 points.

Sectors’ Activity The Financial Services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 746.26 million shares changing hands, representing 35.77% of the total market trading volume. The Real Estate sector was second in terms of trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 31.80% of last

Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board Domestic and FDI realization in Q4, 2012 JAKARTA: The Investment Coordinating Board of the Republic of Indonesia (BKPM) announced its investment realization figures for both domestic (PMDN) and foreign direct investment (PMA) for the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2012.

The investment realization on Quarter IV (October - December) of 2012 is Rp 83.3 trillion, increasing 18.7% compared to the same period in 2011 (Rp 70.2 trillion). The cumulative of investment realization from January to December 2012 is Rp 313.2 trillion or 110.5% from target in 2012 (Rp 283.5 trillion).

Compared to same period in 2011 (Rp 251.3 trillion), it increases about 24.6%. A. Investment Realization in Quarter IV of 2012 There is an increase of 10.4% in PMDN realization in the Quarter IV of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011; from Rp 24.0 trillion to Rp 26.5 trillion. There is an increase of 22.9% in PMA realization in the Quarter IV of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011; from Rp 46.2 trillion to Rp 56.8 trillion. “A series of improvement of investment climate in both central and local government’s services such as the integrated investment services, and various incentives for investment as well as an integrated promotion have been responded positively by domestic and foreign investors, marked by a significant increase of PMDN/PMA realization in 2012,” said Chairman of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board, Muhamad Chatib Basri.

Highlights 1. Domestic Direct Investment Realization

Based on sectors (five biggest sectors), the domestic direct investment realizations are Transport, Storage and Communication (Rp 4.9 trillion); Food Industry (Rp 3.4 trillion); Food Crops and Plantation (Rp 3.4 trillion); Paper and Printing Industry (Rp 2.6 trillion); and Construction (Rp 2.4 trillion). Domestic direct investment realizations based on locations (five biggest locations) are East Java (Rp 9.5 trillion); West Java (Rp 2.6 trillion); Special

Territory of Jakarta (Rp 2.1 trillion); Central Kalimantan (Rp 1.3 trillion); and Riau (Rp 1.3 trillion).

2. Foreign Direct Investment Realization Based on sectors (five biggest sectors), the foreign direct investment realizations are Metal, Machinery and Electronic Industry ($1.2 billion); Mining ($1.1 billion); Transport, Storage, and Communication ($0.9 billion); Food Industr y ($0.6 billion); and Motor Vehicles & Other Transport Equipment Industry ($0.5 billion). Foreign Direct Investment realizations based on locations (five biggest locations) are West Java ($1.2 billion); Special Territory of Jakarta ($1.1 billion); Banten ($0.9 billion); East Java ($ 0.9 billion); and Papua ($ 0.5 billion). Based on countries (five biggest countries), the foreign direct investment realizations are Singapore ($1.4 billion); South Korea ($ 0.7 billion); Japan ($ 0.7 billion); USA ($0.5 billion); and Mauritius ($ 0.4 billion).

3. Distribution of Project Location Distribution of project location in the Quarter IV of 2012 outside of Java is Rp 30.6 trillion (36.8%). Compared to the same period in 2011 of Rp 22.1 trillion, the number of investment increases around 38.5%.

4. Realization of Labor Absorption Indonesian labor absorption for investment project in construction phase of Quarter IV 2012 is 307,960 people, consisting of 149,617 people from domestic direct investment and 158,343 people from foreign direct investment. The presence of domestic and foreign direct investment will have multiplier effect for labour absorption indirectly counted four times.

B. Cumulative in January to December 2012 1. The Cumulative investment realization in January to December 2012 is Rp 313.2 trillion

consisting of Rp 92.2 trillion from domestic direct investment (PMDN) and Rp 221.0 trillion ($24.6 billion) from foreign direct investment (PMA).

2. Domestic direct investment realizations based on sectors (five biggest sectors) are Food Industry (Rp 11.2 trillion); Non Metallic Mineral Industry (Rp 10.7 trillion); Mining (Rp 10.5 trillion); Food Crops and Plantation (Rp 9.6 trillion); and Transport, Storage and Telecommunication (Rp 8.6 trillion).

Domestic direct investment realizations based on locations (five biggest locations) are East Java (Rp 21.5 trillion); West Java (Rp 11.4 trillion); Special Territory of Jakarta (Rp 8.5 trillion); East Kalimantan (Rp 5.9 trillion); and Central Java (Rp 5.8 trillion).

3. Foreign direct investment realizations based on sectors (five biggest sectors) are Mining ($ 4.3 billion); Transport, Storage and Telecommunication ($ 2.8 billion); Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry ($2.8 billion); Metal, Machinery and Electronic Industry ($2.5 billion); and Motor Vehicle and Other Transport Equipment Industry ($1.8 billion).

Foreign direct investment realizations based on locations (five biggest locations) are West Java ($4.2 billion); Special Territory of Jakarta ($4.1 billion); Banten ($2.7 billion); East Java ($2.3 billion); and East Kalimantan ($2.0 billion). Foreign direct investment realizations based on countries (five biggest countries) are Singapore ($4.9 billion); Japan ($2.5 billion); South Korea ($1.9 billion); USA ($1.2 billion); and Mauritius ($1.1 billion).

4. The distribution of the project location on January to December 2012 outside of Java is Rp 137.6 trillion (43.9%). Compared to the same period in 2011 of Rp 103.2 trillion, it increases around 33.3%.

5. The investment realizations based on Economic Corridors on January to December 2012 are: a. The investment realization of Sumatera Economic Corridor is Rp 47.8 trillion (15.3%),

consist of Rp 14.3 trillion from PMDN and $3.7 billion from PMA. The dominant sectors for PMDN are Paper and Printing Industry (Rp 3.3 trillion); Food Industr y (Rp 2.1 trillion); Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry (Rp 1.9 trillion); Food Crops and Plantation (Rp 1.9 trillion); Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (Rp 1.8 trillion); and for PMA are Paper and Printing Industry ($ 1.0 billion); Food Crops and Plantation ($ 0.5 billion); Mining ($ 0.5 billion); Food Industry ($ 0.4 billion); and Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry ($ 0.4 billion). b. The investment realization of Java Economic Corridor is Rp 175.6 trillion (56.1%), consist of Rp 52.7 trillion from PMDN and $13.7 billion from PMA. The dominant sectors for PMDN are Non Metallic Mineral Industry (Rp 8.9 trillion); Transport, Storage and Telecommunication (Rp 7.9 trillion); Food Industry (Rp 7.2 trillion); Metal, Machinery and Electronic Industry (Rp 6.0 trillion); Textile (Rp 4.5 trillion) and for PMA are Transport, Storage and 4 Telecommunication ($2.8 billion); Metal, Machinery and Electronic Industry ($2.2 billion); Motor Vehicles & Other Transport Equipment Industry ($1.8 billion); Electricity, Gas and Water Supply ($ 1.2 billion); and Food Industry ($ 1.2 billion). c. The investment realization of Kalimantan Economic Corridor is Rp 45.6 trillion (14.6%); consist of Rp 16.7 trillion from PMDN and US$ 3.2 billion from PMA. The dominant sectors by PMDN are Mining (Rp 7.5 trillion); Food Crops and Plantation (Rp 6.9 trillion); Food Industry (Rp 1.4 trillion); Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry (Rp 0.7 trillion); Metal, Machinery and Electronic Industry (Rp 0.1 trillion); and for PMA are Mining ($1.4 billion); Food Crops and Plantation ($1.0 billion); Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry ($0.5 billion); Metal, Machinery and Electronic Industry ($ 0.2 billion); and Food Industry ($ 0.1 billion). d. The investment realization of Sulawesi Economic Corridor is Rp 18.5 trillion (5.9%) consist of Rp 4.9 trillion from PMDN and $1.5 billion from PMA. The dominant sectors for

PMDN are Non Metallic Mineral Industry (Rp 1.7 trillion); Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (Rp 1.1 trillion); Metal, Machinery and Electronic Industry (Rp 0.8 trillion); Food Industry (Rp 0.4 trillion); Hotel and Restaurant (Rp 0.2 trillion); and for PMA are Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry ($0.9 billion); Mining ($0.5 billion); Food Industry ($0.05 billion); Electricity, Gas and Water Supply ($0.04 billion); and Hotel and Restaurant ($0.02 billion). e. The investment realization of Bali and Nusa Tenggara Economic Corridor is Rp 13.3 trillion (4.2%), consist of Rp 3.2 trillion from PMDN and $1.1 billion from PMA. The dominant sectors for PMDN are Construction (Rp 2.8 trilion); Other Services (Rp 0.2 billion); Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (Rp 0.08 billion); Hotel and Restaurant (Rp 0.07 billion); Mining (Rp 0.03 billion); and for PMA are Mining ($0.6 billion); Hotel and Restaurant ($0.4 billion); Real Estate, Industrial Estate and Business Activities ($0.5 billion); Trade and Repair ($ 0.02 billion); and Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry (Rp 0.01 billion). f. The investment realization of Maluku and Papua Economic Corridor is Rp 12.4 trillion (4.0%), consist of Rp 0.4 trillion from PMDN and $ 1.3 billion from PMA. The dominant sectors

by PMDN are Metal, Machinery and Electronic Industry (Rp 320.5 billion); Wood Industry (Rp 50.6 billion); Food Crops and Plantation (Rp 28.9 billion); Food Industry (Rp 20.1 billion); and for PMA are Mining ($ 1.2 billion); and Food Crops and Plantation ($ 0.098 billion).

Chairman of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board, Muhamad Chatib Basri explained that “BKPM with other ministries and local governments work together to continuously improve the service quality to the investor, simplify and speed up the license service procedure, as well as to make sure the completion of infrastructure development’s plan on schedule. Hopefully we can achieve an investment realization target of 390.3 trillion in 2013, an increase of 37.7% compared to the investment realization in 2012.”

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

US stocks flirt with records, years after crash WALL STREET WEEKLY REPORT NEW YORK: US markets pushed tantalizingly close to new records this week, a stunning rebound after the steep crash of 2008 wiped trillions of dollars of wealth from Americans’ pocketbooks and retirement accounts.

The thrust past 14,000 by the Dow Jones Industrial Average Friday, the first time that level has been seen since October 17, 2007, underscored the spectacular recovery US stocks have made despite the economy ’s slow growth. Helped by interest rates still at all-time lows, and US companies still building earnings steadily, analysts said the Dow and the S&P 500 could easily find their way past their all-time highs in the coming month, if not sooner.

Both set fresh post-2007 records Friday, rising more than

1.0 percent for the day on data that, on one hand showed that the US jobs market remains firm, but on the other hand was not strong enough to push the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy anytime soon.

The Dow closed the day at 14,009.79, still shy of the October 9, 2007 record of 14,164.53.

The S&P 500 reached 1,513.17, its best close since December 10, 2007 and just 3.4 percent shy of the October 9, 2007 all-time closing high of 1,565.15. The Nasdaq Composite, at 3,179.10, was still far below its record, hit in March 2000 before the dot-com crash.

Even so, and despite sagging Apple shares, the tech-weighted index was just a few points shy of its post-2000 high reached last October. All three benchmarks have now more than doubled

since hitting their post-crash bottoms in 2009, rewarding the patient investors who hung on in the middle of the economic crisis.

Analysts said that the reentry to the market of those who sat out, both domestic and foreign investors, is supporting the current surge. “Since the 2007 levels, it has been a tremendous rally,” said Mace Blicksilver of Marblehead Asset Management.

“We have this real re-investment by people who sold all their stocks three, four, five years ago and went into safer instruments and are now wanting to get back in.” “A lot of the money that is flowing into the US stock market actually comes from abroad. The US appears to be a safer place than, for example, Europe or the emerging markets,” said Greg Peterson of Ballentine Partners.

Also driving the gains have been quarterly reports: most companies reporting in the past two weeks have shown firm profit growth, if not as fast as a year earlier. “They have cut their debts, they have high levels of profit, and importantly they have liquidity,” said Evariste Lefeuvre of Natixis. The macro-economic picture also looks encouraging. The government’s estimate this week that the economy shrank at an 0.1 percent pace in the fourth quarter was brushed off as an anomaly, including by the Federal Reserve itself which blamed it on “transitory factors.” The economy would return to modest growth, the Fed said-though not by enough for it to raise interest rates.

The jobs data released Friday both confirmed the economy’s

modest strength 2012 monthly job creation numbers were revised upward by 18 percentand the still slow pace of growthJanuary’s jobs were 13 percent down from last year’s pace.

Economists remain uncertain on whether growth will pick up pace this year from last year’s 2.2 percent.

Some were worried that consumer spending might weaken, and that business investment would slip.

Another factor is the political battle over the deficit. This week Democrats and Republicans appeared still far apart on a compromise that would avoid sharp budget cuts, known as sequestration, programmed for the end of March.

The cuts, $110 billion for 2013 alone, could pull down overall

growth. “The political situation still remains high risk. The government could really destabilize the economy by failing to address sequestration.” Peterson told AFP. John Praveen, chief investment strategist at Prudential International Investment Advisors, said Friday he expects the markets to keep climbing on the same factors: steady earnings growth, low interest rates, and economic growth picking up with little inflationary pressures.

“These positives are expected to lift S&P 500 index to 1600 by 2013 year-end,” he said in a research note. Even so, he added, US stocks will probably grow slower than other global markets.

“The US is likely to underperform with less safe-haven appeal and valuations expensive relative to other equity markets.” — AFP

More foreign workers to find their ways to US Services trade deal piles pressure on Washington

SUNRISE: Job seekers fill a room at the job fair in Sunrise, Florida. US employers added 157,000 jobs in January, and hiring was much stronger at the end of 2012 than previously thought.— AP

Renewed confidence after solid job market report WASHINGTON: The US job market is proving surprisingly strong and raising hopes that the economy will be resilient enough this year to withstand a budget standoff in Washington and potentially deep cuts in federal spending.

Employers added 157,000 jobs last month, and hiring turned out to be healthier than previously thought at the end of 2012 just as the economy faced the threat of the “fiscal cliff.” Still, unemployment remains persistently high. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9 percent last month from 7.8 percent in December. Many economists, though, focused on the steady job growth - especially the healthier-than-expected hiring late last year. The Labor Department revised its estimates of job gains for November from an initial 161,000 to 247,000 and for December from 155,000 to 196,000. The department also revised its figures for all of 2012 upward to an average of 180,000 new jobs a month from a previously estimated 150,000.

“The significantly stronger payroll gains tell us the economy has a lot more momentum than what we had thought,” Joseph LaVorgna, chief US economist at Deutsche Bank, said in a research note.

The government frequently revises the monthly job totals as it collects more information. Sometimes the revisions can be dramatic, as in November and December. The January jobs report helped fuel a powerful rally on Wall Street. Stock averages all jumped more than 1 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 14,000 for the first time since October 2007, two months before the Great Recession officially began.

Beyond the job market, the economy is showing other signs of health. Factories were busier last month than they have been since April 2012. Ford, Chrysler and General Motors all reported double-digit sales gains for last month, their best January in five years. Home prices have been rising steadily. Higher home values tend to make Americans feel wealthier and more likely to spend.

Housing construction is recovering, too.

Construction spending rose last year for the first time in six years and is expected to add 1 percentage point to economic growth this year. The housing rebound appears finally to be producing a long-awaited return of construction-industry jobs, which have typically help drive economic recoveries. Construction companies added 28,000 jobs in January.

Over the past three months, construction has added 82,000 jobs - the best quarterly increase since 2006. Even with the gains, construction employment is about 2 million below its housing-bubble peak of 7.7 million in April 2006. Health care employers added 28,000 jobs in January. Retailers added 33,000, and hotels and restaurants 17,000.

The job growth in retail, hotels and restaurants suggests that employers have grown more confident about consumer spending, which fuels about 70 percent of the economy.

The government uses a survey of mostly large businesses and government agencies to determine how many jobs are added or lost each month. That’s the survey that produced the gain of 157,000 jobs for January. It uses a separate survey of households to calculate the unemployment rate. That survey captures hiring by companies of all sizes, including small businesses, new companies, farm workers and the self-employed. From month to month, the two surveys sometimes contradict each other. Over time, the differences between them usually even out.

The household survey for January found that 117,000 more Americans said they were unemployed than in December. That’s why the unemployment rate inched up from 7.8 percent to 7.9 percent.

Some economists had feared that federal budget standoffs might chill spending, investing and hiring. They worried that companies wouldn’t hire and consumers would scale back spending in November and December because big spending cuts and tax increases were to take effect Jan. 1 if the White House and congressional Republicans couldn’t reach a budget deal.

It turns out, the fears were overblown. In the midst of the budget fight late last year, employers kept hiring. And Friday’s jobs report showed that average hourly wages up 4 cents to $23.78 in January were staying ahead of inflation. They had generally failed to keep up with prices since the recession ended in June 2009.

The steady hiring gains should help cushion the economic pain from higher Social Security taxes, which last month began shrinking most workers’ take-home pay. A person earning $50,000 a year will have about $1,000 less to spend in 2013. A household with two high-paid workers will have up to $4,500 less.

Analysts expect the Social Security tax increase to shave about a half-point off economic growth in 2013, because consumers drive about 70 percent of economic activity.

The hit to consumers is coming at a precarious time. The economy contracted in the fourth quarter of 2012 for the first time in 31/2 years. The drop was due mainly to a steep cut in defense spending and declining exports. Most analysts think those factors will prove temporary and that the economy will grow this quarter and the rest of the year.

Friday’s report did serve as a reminder that unemployment has been stuck at 7.8 percent or more since September. The rate would be even higher if many Americans hadn’t retired or stopped looking for work. The proportion of the adult population that is working or looking for work is near a 32-year low. If labor force participation were still at its prerecession level, unemployment could exceed 11 percent.

And despite the consistent hiring gains, the job market has a long way to go to fully heal from the recession. Between January 2008 and February 2010, the United States lost 8.7 million jobs. Since then, it’s regained 5.5 million - 63 percent of the lost jobs.

“We are still in a crisis-level jobs hole,” says Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the liberal Economic Policy Institute. Long-term unemployment remains a chronic problem. About 4.7 million people have been out of work for six months or more. That’s down 15 percent in the past year. But it’s still much higher than it’s ever been after previous recessions.

Among the long-term unemployed is Will Nielsen, who has struggled to find work for more than a year. He worked as a contractor doing graphic design and video production for a startup company that went bust in December 2011. The job search has been frustrating: Most of the jobs he’s seen advertised are part-time or freelance. Permanent jobs with salaries and benefits seem to him nonexistent.

Contractors aren’t eligible for unemployment benefits, so he’s been relying on his girlfriend’s salary, which has “strained” their relationship. Nielsen, 37, who lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., applied last month for an electrician’s apprenticeship program that would pay a stipend while he learned a new trade. But when he arrived at the training center to submit his application, at least 20 people were there ahead of him.

“It looked like the Great Depression,” he said. Yet the burst of hiring at the end of 2012 has raised hopes that the recovery from the Great Recession is finally strengthening.—AP

WASHINGTON: The United States will face pressure to open its borders to more foreign workers in the service industry in talks slated to start later this year, a difficult issue for US trade negotiators over the past decade, business officials said on Friday.

“It’s inevitable that that’s going to be on the table,” said Jake Colvin, vice president at the National Foreign Trade Council, which represents major US exporters such as Boeing Co , Microsoft Corp and Caterpillar Inc. Peter Allgeier, president of Coalition of Service Industries, whose members include Citigroup Inc, FedEx and Wal-Mart Stores Inc, agreed it would be a major demand on the United States in the talks, which are expected to

start in coming months.

Professionals from around the world would like to work in the United States temporarily, Allgeier said. The proposed talks covering service sectors such as telecommunications, finance and express delivery are expected to include the United States, Japan, the European Union and a mix of 18 other developed and developing countries. The aim is to establish the rules for international services trade in the 21st century, including in new areas such as the Internet where countries are increasingly imposing barriers on cross-border data flows, Allgeier said.

Although big emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil are not currently part of the proposed

talks, participants hope they will eventually join. The United States is already is the world’s largest services exporters and could benefit significantly from the pact. Calls for the United States to provide more visas for skilled workers has been a sensitive issue in the past.

Many US lawmakers objected in 2003 when the administration of former President George W Bush agreed in free trade pacts with Singapore and Chile to provide additional H-1B1 visas for their business professionals to work in the United States. That led to a letter by then-US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick promising the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee not to include such provisions in future trade pacts.

The issue also hung over the unsuccessful Doha round of world trade talks. India became convinced the United States would not provide more visas and resisted demands to open its manufacturing and agriculture markets, Allgeier said.However, the Obama administrations and senior lawmakers are promising action this year on a comprehensive immigration reform bill, which could include more visas for high-skilled workers. That potentially could free the United States’ hands to deal with visa demands in talks on the services pact.

The United States also will likely face pressure in the negotiations to lower barriers in sectors such as shipping, telecommunications and air travel, Allgeier said.— Reuters

Refining margins boost Exxon Mobil Q4 profit Refiners switch from foreign crude to cheaper US oil DALLAS: Exxon Mobil Corp said that fourth-quarter earnings rose 6 percent to $9.95 billion with help from higher refining profit margins.

The oil giant barely missed a record for full-year earnings. It earned $44.88 billion in 2012, about $340 million shy of its 2008 mark of $45.22 billion, an all-time high for a publicly traded company.

Exxon still makes most of its money by producing oil and gas, but that end of the business was less profitable than a year ago because of lower prices and production. The company made up the difference in the refining business. The nation’s biggest oil company said Friday that net income equaled $2.20 per share, compared with $9.4 billion, or $1.97 per share, a year earlier. But revenue fell 5 percent to $115.17 billion, a drop of $6.44 billion. Analysts surveyed

by FactSet expected profit of $1.99 per share on revenue of $115.22 billion. Profit from exploration and production of oil and gas fell 12 percent but still totaled $7.76 billion, more than three-fourths of Exxon’s income for the quarter.

Production fell 5 percent, oil prices dipped, and the company took in less money from asset sales.

Exxon produces most of its oil outside the United States. Profit from overseas production tumbled

by nearly one-fifth, but Exxon partly offset that by boosting its profit from US production by more than one-third. Outside of exploration and production, most of Exxon’s other profit comes from refining and selling petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. That business did very well in the fourth quarter, earning $1.8 billion, an increase of more than $1.3 billion from a year earlier, mainly due to higher refining margins.

Other oil refiners have also reported better margins this earnings season as they switched from foreign crude to cheaper US oil. On Friday, benchmark US crude oil was trading at about $97 per barrel, $19 less than the same amount of Brent crude, the measuring stick for international sources of oil.

At Exxon’s US Gulf Coast refineries, “We have more than tripled the processing of (cheaper) Nor th American crude over the last couple of years,” the company’s vice president of investor relations, David Rosenthal, told analysts on a conference call. He declined to give precise figures or percentages.

Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil said it spent $5 billion during the quarter buying back its own shares and plans to spend another $5 billion on buybacks in the first three months of 2013.

Exxon Mobil Corp said that fourth-quarter earnings rose 6 percent to $9.95 billion with help from higher refining profit margins.—AP Exxon shares rose 7 cents to income rose 41 percent to $7.23 close at $90.04 Friday. They gained billion. That result was helped by 4 percent in Januar y. C h e v ro n a gain of $1.4 billion related to Corp, the No 2 US oil company, a n e xc h a n g e o f a s s e t s i n reported that fourth-quarter net Australia. — AP

Boeing engineers begin vote on strike next week NEW YORK: Just when Boeing really needs its engineers, they’re voting on whether to strike.

It’s bad timing for Boeing. The aircraft maker is working around the clock to solve battery problems that have grounded its 787s around the world, and unionized engineers are a big part of that effort.

The vote begins Tuesday and runs through Feb. 19. The union has recommended that its members reject Boeing’s contract proposal, hoping the company offers something better, or they may strike.

The strike threat is growing just as Boeing is dealing with a host of other problems. It must mollify airlines frustrated about buying a $200 million plane they can’t fly, and it needs to fix the battery problem. US regulators have launched an open-ended review of the 787’s design and construction. And Boeing needs to speed production of the 787 and other planes.

Last month a battery on a parked 787 caught fire in Boston. Then on Jan. 16, another 787 had to

make an emergency landing in Japan after another battery problem. All 50 787s that Boeing had delivered so far are grounded until the issue is solved. Boeing has said that fixing the 787 is taking its full effort. The effort includes hundreds of members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, the union’s executive director, Ray Goforth, said in an interview on Wednesday. The union represents some 23,000 workers at Boeing.

Jim McNerney, Boeing Co.’s chairman and CEO, was asked on Wednesday whether a SPEEA strike would impact the investigation into the battery issues. “I think we’re going to have enough experts available to keep looking at this issue if it goes that far,” McNerney said after the company repor ted financial results. Gofor th said the grounding “”shifted a lot of leverage to us.” But workers wanted to keep things simple and not take advantage of Boeing’s situation, he said, so they dropped the improvements they had been seeking in favor of extending the contract.

Boeing’s counter-offer - the one the union will vote on - mostly does that. However, Boeing wants to drop traditional pensions for future hires, replacing them with 401k plans. Boeing also declined to make two changes that SPEEA wanted that it said would help preserve current retirement benefits. The union sees those as major give-backs that mean the offer should be rejected. Boeing calls the proposed contract its “best and final offer.” The engineers and technical workers in SPEEA work on plans for new planes, as well as solving problems that arise on the factory floor.

When a hole gets drilled a millimeter off, or a part is a little too big or too small, a SPEEA member figures out the fix. The union believes a strike would shut down Boeing production lines in Everett, Wash., where its big planes are made, as well as Renton, Wash., where it cranks out more than one of its widely-used 737s every day. The factory-floor assembly work is done by the members of the International Association of Machinists.— AP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

Land Rover MENA sales jump 34%, Jaguar up 27% MENA sales mirror strong global sales performance in 2012 DUBAI: Jaguar Land Rover MENA, the leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles, has yesterday confirmed sales of its Land Rover brand were up 34% in 2012, with an increase of 27% on its Jaguar brand across the region. The announcement echoes Jaguar Land Rover’s recently announced global retail sales growth of 30% in 2012, the best global sales per-

formance in the company’s history.

The regional results were achieved due to a strong product line-up and update programs across its key nameplates. On Jaguar, the regional performance bucked the global trend to deliver a YOY increase of 27% in 2012 compared to a 6% growth globally.

Jaguar Land Rover MENA also cited its decision to

Gulf Bank announces winners of Al-Danah daily draws KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah daily draws on January 27, 2013, announcing a total number of eight Al-Danah daily draw winners, each awarded with prizes of KD 1,000.

The Al-Danah daily winners are: Sunday - Maha Abdulaziz Mohammed Al-Rasheed, Ghazayel Mohammed Ghuson Al-Ajmi.

Monday-Zainab Jaafar Salman AlMatrouk, Saif Hassan Eqab Saif AlShammeri.

Tuesday — Sheikh Abdullah Fawaz Salman Al-Sabah, Fatemah Hussein Habib Hussein.

Wednesday-Essam Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Omran, Sadiqa Hussein Ali Salim.

Gulf Bank’s new Al-Danah 2013 draw lineup includes daily draws (2 winners per working day each receive KD1000), as well as two additional prizes per quarter. AlDanah’s 1st Quarterly draw will be held on 28 March (KD200,000, KD125,000, and

KD25,000), 2nd Quarter - 27 June (KD250,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000), 3rd Quarter - 26 September (KD500,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000) and the final draw held on 9 January, 2014 announcing winners of KD50,000, KD250,000 and the Al-Danah millionaire.

Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah allows customers to win cash prizes and simultaneously encourages them to save money. Chances increase the more money is deposited and the longer it is kept in the account.

Al-Danah also offers a number of unique services including the Al-Danah Deposit Only ATM card which helps account holders deposit their money at their convenience; as well as the Al-Danah calculator to help customers calculate their chances of becoming an Al-Danah winner.

To be part of the Al-Danah draws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, transfer on line, or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance.

ABK introduces Premium card collection KUWAIT: Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait is proud to introduce the ABK Premium card collection, designed to deliver reward and recognition to its World, Platinum and Titanium cardholders.

The ABK Premium card collection receives the following exclusive features, Bonus Skywards Miles, Premium Skywards Miles on Local and International spending,

Stewart Lockie

Complimentary Airport Lounge Access up to 600 Lounges around the world, Travel Insurance up to $1,000,000, and Concierge Services.

The latest edition to the Premium cards is the ABK Emirates MasterCard Titanium credit card which also comes with the exclusive ABK Skywards Reward Program, where every time ABK Emirates MasterCard Titanium cardholders use their cards locally or abroad, they are rewarded free Skywards Miles, which they can use for free flights and upgrades to travel to more than 120 destinations across six continents. In addition they also benefit from many other features including, bonus Skywards Miles, Complimentary Regional Airport Lounge Access and Travel Insurance of up to $250,000.

Stewart Lockie, GM Retail Banking stated: “ABK has maintained its leadership in the credit card market by consistently exceeding and anticipating the changing needs of our customers, and the ABK Emirates Premium cards is evidence to that, as they give cardholders the opportunity to join the best reward program in Kuwait”.

revitalize brand operations within strategic markets across the region as a key factor in driving the growth, resulting in improved service levels and customer facing processes. In addition, traditionally strong GCC markets such as KSA, Qatar and the UAE continued to maintain their growth position.

Commenting on the achievement, Robin Colgan, Managing Director for Jaguar Land Rover MENA said: “This performance cements Jaguar Land Rover’s position as one of the leading premium automotive manufacturers in the region, and is testament to the success of the company’s global strategy to invest in new products and innovation.

Our focus in 2012 has been to enhance our brand operations and customer service offering across the region, which has also played a significant role in driving double digit growth across both brands. We look forward to continuing this success in 2013, driven by the introduction of new models including the

All-New Range Rover and the stunning new Jaguar FTYPE.” On Land Rover, demand across the entire range of premium SUVs remained strong, with sales highlights including the Land Rover LR2 which was up 31% YOY in the MENA region, driven largely by North Africa markets. In addition, 2012 regional sales of recently introduced products such as the Range Rover Evoque made a significant impact, up 470% in its first full year of sales.

With the completion of a revitalized line-up, Jaguar’s growth was led by its multi award-winning Jaguar XF saloon, delivering a year on year increase of 24%, almost double the global growth of 13% in 2012. The achievement was driven in part by significant technology enhancements and the introduction of new powertrains to offer better economy, reduced emissions and smoother acceleration compared to previous models.

New wing at Movenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa Celebration of restored colonial history SINGAPORE: On Singapore’s famous island resort of Sentosa, Movenpick Hotels & Resorts has rewritten history. Literally. The new all-suite wing of the Movenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa was once a barrack base that housed British artillerymen during World War II. Now it has been meticulously restored to offer discerning guests a sense of history that’s been fully updated with every contemporary comfort. The three-storey Heritage Wing now features 62 sumptuous suites, an all-day restaurant, Tablescape, and a 250-brand whiskey lounge WOW or World of Whiskeys - which is directly affiliated to the famous Waldhaus am See in St Moritz, recognized having one of the largest collection of beverages in the world. During restoration by Singapore’s DP Architects, the wing’s atmospheric original features such as colonial doors, window frames, high-ceilings, wide covered ‘link way’ corridors and other architectural details were fully renovated to their former glory.

The building’s colonial ambience was also enhanced by contemporary flourishes. For example, a 4.8-metre Y-shaped table crafted from a single piece of Indonesian teak has become a design focal point in the WOW whiskey bar in addition to full granite table tops and oversized ‘kerosene lamp’ chandeliers. Taking inspiration from Singapore’s culture and tropical climate, the designers also incorporated atmospheric fans (as well as air-conditioning), floor-to-ceiling windows, slate bathroom floors, patchwork carpets, natural wood finishes and local design motifs.

Exquisitely sculpted gardens underline the rustic beauty of the hotel’s surroundings while, adding an unforgettable sense of place, rooms facing

Imbiah Lookout enjoy a view of Singapore’s famous icon, the 37-metre-high ‘half-lion, half-fish’ Merlion.

The new Heritage Wing is the final stage of the Movenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa to open. In 2011 the hotel unveiled a Contemporary Wing featuring cutting edge interiors by the Japanese company Super Potato. Design features such as a box shelves arranged with paint-adorned vintage books to create a quirky chess board effect, lush vegetation growing from high interior walls or the

Room with a view of the Merlion

famous aquarium pool have cemented the hotel’s reputation for offering an innovative approach to hospitality. Following the completion of the Heritage Wing, the 191-room hotel now enjoys the widest range of accommodation options on Sentosa. In addition to the 62 Heritage Suites, the Contemporary Wing offers 105 Deluxe Rooms, 19 Onsen Suites with outdoor hot tubs, three Executive Suites and two Penthouse Suites with private rooftop pools.

Movenpick Heritage hotel Sentosa

Longshoremen, ports reach tentative deal WASHINGTON: Port operators along the East Coast have reached a tentative deal on a new contract with the union for longshoremen, averting a possible strike that would have crippled operations at 15 ports, according to a federal mediator. The deal was announced late Friday in a statement from George Cohen, head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Cohen, who has been leading the talks since last year, says the agreement remains subject to ratification by both parties and additional local union negotiations. But he says local talks would continue without threat of interrupting any port operation.

Cohen declined to offer any details on the deal. Both sides had been in intense negotiations since the previous contract ended in September.

The parties initially postponed the deadline to reach a deal for 90 days, then postponed it again until Dec. 31.

Just before the end of last year, the parties resolved a thorny issue involving royalty payments made to union members for each container unloaded.

They extended the deadline on the rest of the issues until Feb 6. Major ports that would have been frozen in a

strike included the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; Savannah, Georgia; Houston; and Hampton Roads, Virginia. Other ports that would have been affected include Boston; Delaware River; Baltimore; Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; Port Everglades, Florida; Miami; Tampa, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and New Orleans.—AP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

technology

From hobbies to income: Catching it big with the web NEW DELHI: Social networking sites offer users a platform to promote their abilities and allow for works to be noticed by international forums.

At a time when the bridge between our real and online presence is becoming more solid, there are a few students in the city who are trying to milk the internet for part-time jobs that are both satisfying and remunerative. Meet Pranav Chheda, R. Soundarya and Navin Narasimhan who have tapped the powers of social networking to monetise what started off as common hobbies.

“When I decided to do something more about my aimless doodling on page margins, I joined a beauty parlour in my locality as a part-time mehendi designer,” says Soundarya, a final-year engineering student at Sastra University.

When the parlour shifted a year later, Soundarya was left without a strong contacts base to continue. “ That is when I opened my own page on Facebook from where I hoped to build my own

clientele,” she recalls.

Starting off with the steam provided by her friends, her page Maris Krishna Mehendi, has found her nearly 350 followers, exposed her to an entire community of mehendi designers and most importantly, tripled her earnings.

Pranav Chheda, a final-year engineering student at National Institute of Technology-Tiruchi, discovered that he had an eye for photographs on a trip to Leh and Ladakh last summer.

“It made me realise that the pictures we put up online could be more than the events in our lives and I decided to open a page to upload my photographs,” he says. Social networking sites, which offer users a free platform to promote their abilities have redefined the kind of audience they can hope for: “There are scores of photography pages online, which not only broaden your horizon, but allows you to interact directly with renowned professionals across the globe; you could join photography

groups and upload your work there and expect your work to get noticed by an international community; and if you are lucky to click a shot that goes viral, your reach can expand beyond your wildest expectations.” While event coverage assignments have come his way in the past few months, Pranav is eyeing product photography.

Navin, a student of IIM-Tiruchi, is also the video editor at 7th Heaven Production, which released its first short film, ‘Ippadiyum Lock Aagalam’, in December 2011. “While the film received over 1,000 views on the first day, it has nearly 25,000 views on YouTube today,” says Navin, a little surprised at the count.

The core group of friends, who set up the company, have plans to convert it into an advertising firm and run it as a side business once they complete their education, according to Navin.

“At the moment, we are trying to build an online portfolio of video and multimedia content to offer

potential clients in the future.”

Though their Facebook page and YouTube channel give them a definitive space online, Navin feels only a website would lend the authenticity that clients look for. “Besides, pages on social networking sites do not lend to incorporation of e-commerce and creative components,” says Navin, giving the flipside. As far as the security of creative content online goes, Soundarya recalls the time when her design was plagiarised at an online mehendi design contest.

“While professionals have a signature style, beginners like me can be easily plagiarised,” she rues. Today, she has layered her security settings and is in the process of watermarking her photographs. While assisting at promotional events, freelancing and conducting tuitions at home continue to be the most common part-time jobs for students, online vistas enabling creative start-ups are definitely finding more takers.

Hackers gained access to 250,000 Twitter accounts Attackers ‘extremely sophisticated’

ARLINGTON: In this photo provided by NASA, June Scobee Rodgers, widow of Challenger Space Shuttle Commander Dick Scobee, right, and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden visit the Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial during a wreath laying ceremony that was part of NASA’s Day of Remembrance, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington. — AP

Space shuttle Columbia: What happened 10 years ago FLORIDA: Ten years ago Friday, the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed and its seven astronauts killed during the final minutes of its flight.

NASA will mark the 10th anniversary of the accident at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, and take part in an observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where three of the astronauts are buried.

Other commemorations Friday include events at a 2-year-old Columbia museum in Hemphill, Texas, where shuttle debris fell.

PBS is also airing a new documentary about Ilan Ramon, the Israeli astronaut on Columbia. The wife of the shuttle’s commander, Evelyn Husband Thompson, said she has seen the film and was overjoyed to see footage of the crew that she’d never seen before. But she wept at the liftoff scene. “Just because I know the end of the story, as we all do now,” she said.

What happened on Feb. 1, 2003: THE SHUTTLE: NASA’s oldest shuttle, Columbia was returning from a 16-day science mission when it broke apart over Texas, just minutes before it was due to land in Cape Canaveral, Fla. It was brought down by a hole in its hollow left wing, which allowed hot gases to seep in and tear the shuttle apart as it reentered the atmosphere. The damage occurred during liftoff when a chunk of foam insulation peeled off the shuttle’s fuel tank and struck the wing. Foam had broken off in past, and NASA knew Columbia’s wing had been hit, but didn’t think it was a serious problem.

THE CREW: The accident killed the seven-member crew: Commander Rick Husband, co-pilot William McCool, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, Dr. Laurel Clark, Dr. David Brown and Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first spaceman.

Husband, Chawla and Anderson had flown before; the rest were on their first flight. The crew spent the mission doing dozens of science experiments.

THE FAMILIES: The astronauts’ families were waiting at a landing strip in Florida for Columbia’s return. After Mission Control lost contact with the shuttle, the families were taken to the astronaut crew headquarters where they were told of the accident. Six of the seven crew members were married; in all, they had a dozen children.

Husband had two children; McCool, three sons; Anderson, two young daughters; Clark, a son; Ramon, four children. The youngest is now 15, the oldest 32.

THE AFTERMATH: The three remaining shuttles were grounded while an independent board investigated what went wrong. The panel determined the disaster was caused by the foam strike, but it also faulted poor decision-making at NASA that seemed more worried about future flights than Columbia, saying “little by little NASA was accepting more and more risk in order to stay on schedule.” The shuttles returned to flight 21/2 years later with additional safety measures, including lasers and cameras to check for damage and a repair kit.

The shuttles were retired in 2011 and are now in museums. — AP

Apple now biggest US phone seller NEW YORK: The launch of the iPhone 5 and the declining popularity of nonsmartphones have made Apple the biggest seller of phones in the US for the first time, research firm Strategy Analytics said Friday.

The firm estimates that Apple shipped 17.7 million iPhones of all kinds to US buyers in the October to December period, meaning it accounted for one in three new phones.

Samsung Electronics of Korea was close behind, shipping 16.8 million phones, including non-smart ones.

Samsung has been the largest seller of phones to the US market since 2008, Strategy Analytics said.

NPD Group, another research firm, found that Samsung phones still outsold the iPhone in the quarter, by 31 percent to 29 percent. It tracks retails sales while Strategy Analytics tracks shipments, so the numbers are not directly comparable.

Worldwide, it’s clear that Samsung is still the biggest phone vendor with 23

percent of the market, according to a third research firm, IDC. Apple is number three, with 9.9 percent of the market. In between sits Nokia with 17.9 percent.

Samsung beats Apple globally even when only smartphones are considered.

It shipped 63.7 million units worldwide versus Apple’s 47.8 million.

IPhones are more expensive than most Samsung smartphones. They’re well within reach for US buyers, but not for buyers in the developing world, where cheaper phones running Google Inc.’s Android operating system dominate. In the US, iPhone sales are usually very strong in the first few months after a new model is released. They then taper off. That means Samsung could regain the phone crown as early as this quarter, as measured by Strategy Analytics.

NPD said the iPhone 5 was the single most popular phone in the US in the holiday quarter. The Samsung Galaxy S III was No. 2, followed by the older iPhone models, the 4S and 4. —AP

NEW YORK: Twitter said on Friday that hackers, in the latest online attack, may have gained access to information on a quarter of a million of its more than 200 million active users.The social media giant said in a blog posting that earlier this week it detected attempts to gain access to its user data. It shut down one attack moments after it was detected. But it discovered that the attackers may have gained access to usernames, email addresses and encrypted passwords belonging to 250,000 users. Twitter has reset the pilfered passwords and sent emails advising users that they’ll have to create a new one.

“This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident. The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked,” the blog said. “For that reason we felt that it was important to publicize this attack while we still gather information, and we are helping government and federal law enforcement in their effort to find and prosecute these attackers to make the Internet safer for all users.”

The hack is the latest high-profile cyberattack on U.S. media and technology companies recently. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported this week that their computer systems had been infiltrated by China-based hackers.

One expert said that the Twitter hack probably happened after an employee’s home or work computer was compromised through a vulnerability in Java, a commonly-used computing language whose weaknesses have been well publicized. Ashkan Soltani, an independent privacy and security researcher, said such a move would give attackers “a toehold” in Twitter’s internal network, potentially allow-

SAN FRANCISCO: In this Sept. 14, 2010 file photo, Twitter CEO Evan Williams makes a presentation about changes to the social network at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco.

ing them either to sniff out user information as it travelled across the company’s system or break into specific areas, such as the authentication servers that process users’ passwords.

In a telephone interview on Friday, Mr. Soltani said that the relatively limited number of users affected suggested either that attackers weren’t on the network long or that they were only able to compromise a subset of the company’s servers.

Twitter is generally used to broadcast messages to the public, so the hacking might not immediately have yielded any important

secrets. But the stolen credentials could be used to eavesdrop on private messages or track which Internet address a user is posting from. That might be useful, for example, for an authoritarian regime trying to keep tabs on a journalist’s movements.

“More realistically, someone could use that as an entry point into another service,” Mr. Soltani said, noting that since few people bother using different passwords for different services, a password stolen from Twitter might be just as handy for reading a journalist’s emails. — AP

Wickr app aims to safeguard online privacy SAN FRANCISCO: Wickr co-founder Nico Sell is working toward “geek utopia,” a world where people hold the power when it comes to who sees what they share on the Internet or from their phones.

The startup’s services-giving users of Apple gadgets uncrackable communications that can self-destruct-were beefed up this week, just in time for reports of cyber spies trying to snoop on Western journalists covering China.

The free software, available at Apple’s online App Store, was enhanced to let people send encr ypted file attachments programmed to erase themselves. The original service, released in June, only worked on the data within text, picture, video and voice messages.

“It shows the bigger vision of where we are going,” Sell said Friday. “We plan on overlaying this protocol on every communication channel that exists in the online world,” continued Sell, a key behind-the-scenes figure at the famous Def Con hacker gathering that takes place annually in Las Vegas.

“It’s geek utopia, and we think we can get

to it.” Wickr has a patent pending on technology which Sell said could give people ways to safeguard anything they send or put online, even digital bytes in Internet telephone calls or posts to leading social network Facebook.

“We expect to have it all covered by the end of the year,” Sell said. “The idea is you would use Wickr to interact with all the other networks.”

Wickr will evolve to be able to hide pictures posted at Facebook behind “decoy images,” with permission needed to look behind the masks, according to company cofounder Robert Statica. “There will be a decoy image that the public sees, and you clear your friends or your group to see the real image,” explained Statica, a professor of information technology at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

“We will let people make regular Facebook posts if they don’t care about privacy.”Unlike many other apps, Wickr is designed not to store any information mined from people’s contact lists.“Right now Facebook has all my contact information even though I boycott Facebook, because a bunch of my friends

uploaded it with their contact lists,” Sell said.

“This needs to change as an industry.”The Wickr app has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times in more than 110 countries since the software crafted for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices hit the App Store, according to the co-founders. “Private communication is a universal human right,” Sell said. “Freedom: there’s an app for that.” The San Francisco-based startup behind the software is working on versions of Wickr for smar tphones or tablets powered by Google-backed Android software.

Wickr’s business plan is to have hundreds of millions of people globally use the free versions of the application while a small percentage opt to pay for premium features such as being able to control larger data files. “We are trying to flip messaging on its head and give control to the sender instead of the receiver or the servers in between,” Sell said. “We can’t expect these cloud services to protect our privacy; we need to do it ourselves.”More information about the application was available online at mywickr.com. — AFP

Hackers attack Iraq PM’s website BAGHDAD: Hackers attacked the official website of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday, posting a message critical of the leader who has faced weeks of protests demanding he quit.

The message, posted by a group calling themselves “Team Kuwait Hackers”, described Maliki as a “tyrant” and warned him that he would end up like Syrian President Bashar alAssad, who has been grappling with a 22-month uprising. “You want to be Bashar al-Assad?” read the message, which was accompanied by a picture of a two women wearing the abaya, or fulllength female black robe, who were crying.

“Bashar is over, and victory is near, God willing.”

“God help the people of Iraq against the tyrant’s regime.”

The message also referred to Maliki as “Haliki”, a play on the Arabic word for deceased.

It was the second time that Maliki’s website has been hacked into in as many weeks.

A week ago, officials in his office took down the website and posted a message saying it was undergoing maintenance, and denying any attack at the time.

“We are trying to fix it now,” said Ali alMussawi, the premier’s spokesman. “The problem is not about removing it, but about how to protect the website in the future.”

Maliki is mired in a political crisis that has pit-

ted him against many of his erstwhile government partners less than three months ahead of provincial elections. The discord comes amid weeks of demonstrations in Iraq’s majority-Sunni

north and west originally railing against the targeting of their community by the Shiite-led authorities but have increasingly called for the premier to go. — AFP

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi man looks at the official website of the countryís prime minister after it was hacked in Baghdad yesterday. — AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Healthier schools: Goodbye candy and greasy snacks WASHINGTON: Goodbye candy bars and sugary cookies. Hello baked chips and diet sodas. The government for the first time is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful, a change that would ban the sale of almost all candy, high-calorie sports drinks and greasy foods on campus.

Under new rules the Department of Agriculture proposed Friday, school vending machines would start selling water, lower-calorie sports drinks, diet sodas and baked chips instead.

Lunchrooms that now sell fatty “a la carte” items like mozzarella sticks and nachos would have to switch to healthier pizzas, low-fat hamburgers, fruit cups and yogurt.

The rules, required under a child nutrition law passed by Congress in 2010, are part of the government’s effort to combat childhood obesity. While many schools already have made improvements in their lunch menus and vending machine choices, others still are selling high-fat, high-calorie foods.

Under the proposal, the Agriculture

Department would set fat, calorie, sugar and sodium limits on almost all foods sold in schools. Current standards already regulate the nutritional content of school breakfasts and lunches that are subsidized by the federal government, but most lunch rooms also have “a la carte” lines that sell other foods. And food sold through vending machines and in other ways outside the lunchroom has not been federally regulated.

“Parents and teachers work hard to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when kids walk through the schoolhouse door,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Most snacks sold in school would have to have less than 200 calories.

Elementary and middle schools could sell only water, low-fat milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. High schools could sell some sports drinks, diet sodas and iced teas, but the calories would be limited. Drinks would be limited to 12ounce portions in middle schools, and 8ounce portions in elementary schools.

The standards will cover vending

machines, the “a la carte” lunch lines, snack bars and any other foods regularly sold around school. They would not apply to in-school fundraisers or bake sales, though states have the power to regulate them. The new guidelines also would not apply to after-school concessions at school games or theater events, goodies brought from home for classroom celebrations, or anything students bring for their own personal consumption. The new rules are the latest in a long list of changes designed to make foods served in schools more healthful and accessible. Nutritional guidelines for the subsidized lunches were revised last year and put in place last fall. The 2010 child nutrition law also provided more money for schools to serve free and reducedcost lunches and required more meals to be served to hungry kids.

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat, has been working for two decades to take junk foods out of schools. He calls the availability of unhealthful foods around campus a “loophole” that undermines the taxpayer money that helps pay for the healthier subsidized lunches.

“USDA’s proposed nutrition standards are a critical step in closing that loophole and in ensuring that our schools are places that nurture not just the minds of American children but their bodies as well,” Harkin said. Last year’s rules faced criticism from some conservatives, including some Republicans in Congress, who said the government shouldn’t be telling kids what to eat. Mindful of that backlash, the Agriculture Department exempted in-school fundraisers from federal regulation and proposed different options for some parts of the rule, including the calorie limits for drinks in high schools, which would be limited to either 60 calories or 75 calories in a 12-ounce portion. The department also has shown a willingness to work with schools to resolve complaints that some new requirements are hard to meet. Last year, for example, the government relaxed some limits on meats and grains in subsidized lunches after school nutritionists said they weren’t working.

Schools, the food industry, interest groups and other critics or supporters of the new proposal will have 60 days to

comment and suggest changes. A final rule could be in place as soon as the 2014 school year. Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says surveys done by her organization show that most parents want changes in the lunchroom.

“Parents aren’t going to have to worry that kids are using their lunch money to buy candy bars and a Gatorade instead of a healthy school lunch,” she said.

The food industry has been onboard with many of the changes, and several companies worked with Congress on the child nutrition law two years ago. Major beverage companies have already agreed to take the most caloric sodas out of schools. But those same companies, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, also sell many of the non-soda options, like sports drinks, and have lobbied to keep them in vending machines.

A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association, which represents the soda companies, says they already have greatly reduced the number of calories kids are consuming at school by pulling out the high-calorie sodas. — AP

Obama offers compromise on birth control health coverage Catholic community studying proposal

US scientists explain how owl rotates head WASHINGTON: US medical specialists from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have figured out how owls can almost fully rotate their heads - by as much as 270 degrees in either direction.

The birds do so while hunting without damaging the delicate blood vessels in their necks and heads, and without cutting off blood supply to their brains.

“Until now, brain imaging specialists like me who deal with human injuries caused by trauma to arteries in the head and neck have always been puzzled as to why rapid, twisting head movements did not leave thousands of owls lying dead on the forest floor from stroke,” said interventional neuroradiologist Philippe Gailloud, the lead author of the study. To solve the puzzle, the team studied the bone and blood vessel structure in the heads and necks of several types of owls after their deaths from natural causes. A contrast dye was used to enhance X-ray imaging of the birds’ blood vessels, which were then meticulously dissected, drawn and scanned to allow detailed analysis. The most striking finding

came after researchers injected dye into the owls’ arteries, mimicking blood flow, and manually turned the animals’ heads, the study says. Blood vessels at the base of the head, just under the jaw bone, kept getting larger and larger, turning into reservoirs as more of the dye entered the system. This contrasted starkly with human anatomical ability, where arteries generally tend to get smaller and smaller, and do not balloon as they branch out.

Researchers believe these blood reservoirs allow owls to pool blood to meet the energy needs of their large brains and eyes, while they rotate their heads.

The supporting vascular network, with its many interconnections and adaptations, helps minimize any interruption in blood flow, the study said. “Our new study results show precisely what morphological adaptations are needed to handle such head gyrations and why humans are so vulnerable to osteopathic injury from chiropractic therapy,” said Gailloud. The team’s findings appear in the February 1 issue of the journal Science. — AFP

Researchers decode rock pigeon genome WASHINGTON: A team of international researchers has decoded the genome of the pigeon, 5,000 years after it was first domesticated, according to a study published Thursday.

Known as Columba livia, the rock pigeon is considered among the most common and varied species on the planet, consisting of 350 breeds with a slew of different features, and is among just a few bird genomes sequenced so far.

“Birds are a huge part of life on Earth, and we know surprisingly little about their genetics,” said study co-author Michael Shapiro, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah.

“This will give us new insights into bird evolution.”

Researchers found that a single mutation in the EphB2 gene, or Ephrin receptor B2, causes head and neck feathers to grow upward instead of downward, creating so-called head crests that help attract mates in many bird species.

“This same gene in humans has been implicated as a contributor to Alzheimer’s disease as well as prostate cancer and possibly other cancers,” Shapiro said.

The study, published on the website of the journal Science, also uncovered more conclusive proof that major groups of pigeon breeds originated in the Middle East.

Shapiro said the study “found a lot of shared genetic heritage between breeds from Iran and breeds we suspect are from India, consistent with historical records of trade routes between those regions.”

The finding suggests “people were not only trading goods along those routes, but probably also interbreeding their pigeons,” he added.

According to the researchers, who used specially designed software, the rock pigeon’s 17,300 genes compare to about 21,000 genes in humans.

The study assembled 1.1 billion base pairs of DNA in the rock pigeon genome, compared to 3 billion base pairs in the human genome.

Aside from the University of Utah, other institutions involved the study included China’s BGI-Shenzhen, Denmark’s University of Copenhagen and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. — AFP

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration yesterday sought to settle a dispute with religious leaders over whether employees at faith-affiliated universities, hospitals and other institutions should have access to health insurance coverage for contraceptives. The new set of proposals would instead guarantee that employees at religious nonprofits would get access to birth control coverage without out-of-pocket costs through separate plans with insurers picking up the tab.

The rules follow months of protest and legal action by groups representing Roman Catholics, Protestant evangelicals and private employers.

They have argued that President Barack Obama’s 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act forces them to violate their own religious tenets against contraception.

For more than a year, the Obama administration has grappled with how to balance its desire to guarantee universal contraceptive coverage with religious freedoms provided by the U.S. Constitution.

Faced with the ire of religious leaders and social conservatives in the midst of a heated presidential campaign, Obama said last February that he would create an accommodation for religious employers under the law.

The new rules from the Department of Health and Human Services consolidate many of the ideas administration officials voiced then, but in greater detail.

“Today, the administration is taking the next step in providing women across the nation with coverage of recommended preventive care at no cost, while respecting religious concerns,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

“We will continue to work with faith-based organizations, women’s organizations, insurers and others to achieve these goals.”

Some leading religious figures offered a muted response. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said he would study the proposal. So did the Catholic Health Association of the United States, which represents more than 1,200 hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Other religious and social conservative

groups expressed disappointment, particularly over the administration’s decision not to extend the accommodation to for-profit employers.

“This proposal does nothing to change the scope of religious employer exemption,” said Kyle Duncan, general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is assisting in a number of legal challenges to the policy.

“The proposal has nothing to do with millions of family businesses and owners who are having their rights violated by the mandate and are currently in litigation,” he said.

Women’s rights advocates such as Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union generally backed the regulations. But some rights groups said that separating contraceptives coverage from other health benefits posed an unnecessary onus for women to satisfy

WASHINGTON: In this May 15, 2012 file photo, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks in Bethesda. Facing a wave of lawsuits over what government can tell religious groups to do, the Obama administration proposed a compromise for faith-based nonprofits that object to covering birth control in their employee health plans. Sebelius said in a statement that the compromise would provide “women across the nation with coverage of recommended preventive care at no cost, while respecting religious concerns.” — AP

disapproving employers. The liberal group Catholics for Choice also warned that some employees could be left in the dark about their benefits, because of a new definition for religious employers that exempts houses of worship even if they operate soup kitchens, parochial schools and other social services that are open to non-members.

“Many, if not most, of the parochial schools, social service agencies and other organizations directly affiliated with the diocesan offices and parishes are exempted from coverage completely,” concluded the group’s president, Jon O’Brien.

HHS said in the regulations that the change would not expand “the universe of employer plans that would qualify for the exemption” beyond what administration originally intended.

The mandate contained in Obama’s Affordable Care Act requires most employers to provide coverage for contraceptives and sterilization procedures approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including the so-called morning-after pill.

But while the new rule allowed exemptions for church-run social services, the regulations did not alter the Obama position that employees and students at religiously affiliated nonprofit groups should have access to contraceptive coverage even if their institutions object.

The rule, which requires the institutions to self-certify their status as religious nonprofits, calls on private insurers to cover contraceptives through separate individual plans with the insurer covering the cost. Officials said insurers would be compensated by lower healthcare expenses due to fewer births.

A similar accommodation for religious institutions that provide their own health insurance for workers and students would be insulated by third-party administrators.

The administrators would find an outside insurer to provide the contraceptives coverage.

Those insurers’ higher costs would then be compensated by lower user fees for participating in state-based healthcare exchanges, which are scheduled to begin operating on Jan. 1, 2014.

The proposed regulations are open for public comment through April 8. — Reuters

Hair loss: It’s not just for men MASSACHUSETTS: With most hairloss therapies targeted to men, where can women turn for help?

We’ve grown accustomed to seeing men lose their hair as they get older. These days it’s not only socially acceptable for a man to be bald-it’s physically appealing. Celebrities like Sean Connery, Bruce Willis, and Vin Diesel have made bald sexy.

But what about hair loss in women? We rarely see female celebrities go bald. Women don’t flaunt our bald spots-we hide them.

Up to 40% of hair loss sufferers are women, yet there is a double standard in the way female-pattern baldness is perceived, says Dr. Sandy Tsao, a dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and instructor in dermatology at Harvard Medical School. “Culturally it just hasn’t become as socially accepted in women,” she says.

Hair loss treatments also tend to favor men. “The medications and treatment options that have been available for men tend to not be as available or effective for women,” Dr. Tsao says. “So we deal much more with having to camouflage hair loss.”

Women tend to lose hair throughout their scalp. Men lose it from the front, then the back, forming a signature horseshoe pattern.

When men lose their hair, the first strands typically fall from the front of the head, near the temples. The next hairs to go are on the back of the head. Eventually the two balding areas meet, leaving a horseshoeshaped ring of hair around the perimeter of the scalp.

In contrast, “Women lose hair throughout the scalp,” Dr. Tsao says.

Instead of developing large bald spots, women typically get widespread thinning.

What causes female-pattern baldness?

Genes are often at the root of hair loss. They affect the way the body responds to male hormones (androgens)-which both men and women have. Too much of these hormones in the hair follicles can slow the growth of new hair and make the hair that does grow in shorter than it was before.

Hair loss in women can also result from a number of conditions, including l an underactive thyroid gland l anemia l pregnancy l a significant illness l a stressful event (negative or positive), such as an illness or death in the family, a move, or a divorce l certain medications, such as chemotherapy for cancer.

When your hair falls out, you need to treat it like any other medical symptom and see your doctor. Blood tests can frequently detect an undiagnosed thyroid problem or other health-related cause of hair loss. “If we’re not able to discern what the cause is, taking a biopsy of the scalp can often give a more conclusive diagnosis,” according to Dr. Tsao.

If a thyroid problem or other medical issue is making you lose your hair, treating the condition should stop the hair loss. Eventually, your hair should grow back in.

Treating hair loss that doesn’t have a clear medical cause is trickier in women. “There are so few treatments available that have actually proved effective in women,” Dr. Tsao says. Oral finasteride (Propecia), which is a staple of treatment in men, doesn’t have the same results in women.

The best hair loss medication for

women is topical minoxidil (Rogaine), which comes in 2% and 5% solutions.

When you apply it twice a day, topical minoxidil can help preserve the hair you have and can even regrow hair.

The only catch is that you have to keep using it indefinitely. Also, topical minoxidil can cause itching, dryness, and scalp irritation, which you can combat by conditioning every time you shampoo your hair.

Another option is to try a hair transplant-a technique that moves hair follicles from a thicker part of the scalp to a thinning patch. However, because of the widespread pattern of hair loss in women, hair transplants may not be as effective at permanently restoring hair as they are in men, Dr. Tsao says.

The procedure can also be expensive, costing several thousand dollars, depending on the amount of hair being transplanted. If you’re considering this option, Dr. Tsao advises, “Go to a hair transplant specialist who treats a lot of women. Talk with women who have undergone the treatment.”

Several newer techniques for treating hair loss are in development, including the laser hair comb-a handheld device that emits a low-level laser light, which is supposed to stimulate new hair growth. Dr. Tsao calls it “a compelling and very possible means of regrowing hair.” However, laser combs haven’t yet been studied well enough to determine whether they’re effective. Until the results of more clinical trials are released, Dr. Tsao recommends that you “save your money, but keep it in mind.”

A number of techniques can camouflage hair loss. One is to wear a wig that matches your hair color and style. Another is to have your hairdresser cut and style your hair in a

way that conceals bald patches.

To hide hair loss and preserve the hair you still have, you can also try these tips: Be kind to your hair. Don’t wear tight buns, ponytails, or other styles that pull on your hair and cause it to fall out even faster.

The same goes for overtreating hair. “Try to minimize a lot of the procedures that make your hair more brittle-such as straightening and perming,” Dr. Tsao suggests.

Supplement thinning hair. Ask your doctor about taking biotin, a vitamin that strengthens hair. Just don’t exceed the recommended dose, which is 30 micrograms daily.

Try a spray-on hair product.It might sound silly (especially if you’ve seen the infomercials for one of these products), but spraying a matching shade onto your scalp can quickly hide bald spots.

“It immediately gives the illusion of thicker hair,” Dr. Tsao says. Rarely do we talk openly about hair loss in women or see women represented in commercials for hair transplant companies and hair-loss medications. The gender bias surrounding this condition can make us hesitant to ask for help when our hair starts to thin.

Don’t let preconceived ideas prevent you from getting the treatment that could stop-or even reverse-your hair loss. Even though you may not see other women openly dealing with hair loss, you’re definitely not alone. “Hair loss is a very common concern among a majority of women,” Dr. Tsao says. “Don’t be afraid to address it. Though the options may not be as broad as they are for men, hair loss in women can be treated. And it’s important to make sure there isn’t an underlying medical cause.”

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

New hope for Alzheimer’s patients HARVARD: Alzheimer’s research shifts direction, creating potential new therapeutic avenues for people at risk.

Alzheimer’s disease is a thief. It robs people of their memories, their ability to reason, and their clarity of thought. Anyone who has known someone with Alzheimer’s knows how heartbreaking it can be to watch a spouse, friend, sibling, or parent slip into the fog of dementia.

Because this disease has a genetic component, many people also fear that they themselves might slip into the same fog one day.

As of now there has been no treatment that can halt or even significantly slow the progress of Alzheimer’s. The four drugs currently approved to treat Alzheimer’s-donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), galantamine (Razadyne), and memantine (Namenda)-can improve thinking, memory, and behavior. Yet they can’t get at the underlying disease process that leads to the steep cognitive decline.

The outlook for people at risk for Alzheimer’s may soon become brighter, though, as the direction of research changes. “For the past 20 or even 30 years we’ve been focused on treating the end stage of Alzheimer’s, and we must shift our paradigm to start thinking about prevention,” says Dr. Reisa Sperling, director of the Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In Alzheimer’s, beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles damage nerve cells (neurons), interfering with normal thought and memory.

Alzheimer’s targets Dr. Sperling and other researchers are currently homing in on a few specific targets for Alzheimer’s prevention. l Beta-amyloid plaques. Most of the Alzheimer’s studies in progress focus on reducing beta-amyloid, an abnormal collection of proteins that forms hard accumulations called plaques in the brains of people with this disease. Early efforts to eliminate beta-amyloid included vaccines to stimulate the body’s immune system to attack the abnormal proteins.

However, this approach sometimes also overstimulated the immune system. In 2002, the first large-scale Alzheimer’s vaccine trial had to be shut down when a small percentage of participants developed a dangerous brain inflammation called meningoencephalitis.

A newer approach uses lab-grown antibodies called monoclonal antibodies, which target the amyloid without overstimulating the immune system.

Monoclonal antibodies currently under investigation for Alzheimer’s include bapineuzumab, solanezumab, and crenezumab. It isn’t clear yet whether reducing amyloid will change the course of the disease in humans, although it has in animals.

In September 2012, Dr. Sperling and her team announced results from a study on bapineuzumab. Although the drug didn’t stop mental decline in people with Alzheimer’s, there were indications that it might reduce amyloid levels and limit nerve cell damage, especially if given early in the course of the disease. Evidence so far on solanezumab suggests that it could improve measures of thinking and memory, but only in people with mild Alzheimer’s, Dr. Sperling says.

“Unfortunately, these studies probably aren’t going to result in a drug coming to the market yet. But these results were encouraging enough for that line of research to go forward in clinical trials,” she adds.

Because amyloid deposits appear in the brain a full decade before symptoms appear, the push right now is to treat people as soon as they have evidence of plaques. To that end, Dr. Sperling is launching a three-year study that will use PET scans to examine the brains of about 1,000 people, ages 70 to 85. Those who have signs of amyloid will be treated with a monoclonal antibody-although which specific drug will be used hasn’t yet been decided. l Tau tangles. The other target in Alzheimer’s drug development is the tangles of proteins in the brain composed of a protein called tau. Like plaques of betaamyloid, these tangles can destroy neurons and cause dementia. Researchers

are currently investigating various therapies to prevent tangles from forming. l Inflammation. Inflammatory processes in the body are implicated in a number of conditions, including heart disease.

These same processes might be at work in Alzheimer’s, leading to nerve damage in the brain. There is evidence, for example, that people who regularly take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have a lower incidence of Alzheimer ’s. Studies are looking at whether other therapies aimed at reducing inflammation might interrupt the Alzheimer’s disease process. l Blood vessel health. A network of blood vessels supplies the brain with the oxygen-rich blood it needs to function.

Diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol, and diabetes damage these blood vessels and can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s. Researchers are studying whether treating these conditions might lower dementia risk.

Until researchers identify effective ways to prevent Alzheimer’s, take charge of your memory and cognitive function by staying mentally and physically active.

There is good evidence that exercising regularly-incorporating both aerobic activity and strength training-can help protect nerve cells.

Social activity is important too, but staying engaged can be more challenging as you get older. “We’ve known for a long time that when people retire they become less active and more withdrawn, and that’s counterproductive,” Dr. Sperling says.

Instead of sitting home and watching TV, get out in the fresh air for a brisk walk or visit a museum with friends. The combination of exercise and social interaction could do wonders for your mental capacity. Although a cure for Alzheimer’s won’t happen overnight, Dr. Sperling is cautiously optimistic. “I still am hopeful, because I believe that if we’re right about the amyloid hypothesis and we can find a way to intervene earlier, we really will make a dent,” she says. “I suspect that’s at least five years away, but I don’t think it’s decades anymore.”

PARIS: A French branch of environmental NGO Greenpeace activist poses next to a banner set on the grids of Palais Royal yesterday in Paris. Greenpeace activists protest against the clearance of forests. Tshirt reads ‘Let’s boost the voice of the populations fighting against Herakles farms’. — AFP

WHO guidelines for children’s sodium intake GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) has for the first time recommended limits on children’s daily consumption of sodium which it hoped would help in the global fight against diet-related diseases becoming chronic among all populations.

In advice to its 194 member states on Thursday, the UN agency noted high sodium levels were a factor behind elevated blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, the number one cause of death and disability worldwide.

Heart disease, stroke and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory disease kill more people globally each year than all other causes combined, the agency said.

“Diet-related NCDs are chronic, and take years and decades to manifest; thus, delaying the onset of these diseases could improve lives and result in substantial cost savings,” it said. “Thus, addressing, during childhood, the problem of elevated blood pressure and other risk factors for NCDs that could manifest later in life is crucial to combat NCDs,” it said. The guidelines vary depending on the child’s size, age and energy needs, and apply to children over the age of two. The WHO also somewhat revised its recommendations for

adults, down to less than 2,000 mg of sodium intake per day, from the current 2,000 mg, in addition to a recommendation of at least 3,510 mg of potassium a day. “Currently, most people consume too much sodium and not enough potassium,” the WHO said.

Potassium-rich foods include beans and peas, nuts, vegetables such as spinach and cabbage, and fruits such as bananas, papayas and dates.

Sodium is found naturally in many foods such as milk products and eggs but is present in much higher levels in processed foods, the WHO said. One 100gram serving of bacon, pretzels or popcorn has nearly as much sodium as the daily recommended maximum, for example, at about 1,500 mg.

Sticking to the WHO’s recommendations would mean people would consume roughly equal amounts of potassium and sodium every day, whereas most people consume twice as much sodium as potassium, the WHO said. “The successful implementation of these recommendations would have an important public health impact through reductions in morbidity and mortality, improvement in the quality of life for millions of people, and substantial reductions in health-care costs,” the agency said. —Reuters

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

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

Announcements ECC organizes Omra trip for Egyptians

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ecretary general of the Egyptian Community Council (ECC), Dr Azmi Abdul Fattah congratulated all Egyptians on the second anniversary of the January 25 revolution urging everybody to consolidate and unite for the best of Egypt as a whole. On this occasion, Abdul Fattah announced that the council would organize its annual Omra trip pointing out that it would last eight days in the period of February 21 till 28.

Bumper-to-Bumper launches its “Free Winter Checkup Campaign” KUWAIT: Due to its ongoing commitment of providing a safe driving experience as well as offering the best services and products to each and every customer, Bumper-to-Bumper has recently launched its “Free Winter Checkup Campaign”. Available for all car makes, every driver and car owner can now enjoy a comprehensive vehicle checkup, a free service that is available at all Bumper-to-Bumper’s branches across Kuwait.

This new, wintertime promotion show-

cases Bumper-to-Bumper’s keenness on offering the best promotions, to ensure vehicles safety and thus the drivers “onroad” experience; not only does the limited, exclusive promotion enhance the cars’ safety and driving features to suit the winter season, but it also prepares the vehicles for the upcoming seasons as well. This special promotion is available for everyone, starting from January 20th until March 30th, 2013.

All car makes can visit the closest Bumper-to-Bumper branch and benefit

from this special offer that provides you with tire checkup that includes checking tires’ pressure, brake and disks as well as thread depth and tire quality. As for the electrical system checkup, Bumper-toBumper’s skilled professionals will check the battery, wiper, lights, brake lights, turn signals, headlights and lights. As for the suspension system, professionals will check the suspension checkup, control arms and bushes. In addition, customers will also be given a free KD 5 voucher for every KD 50 spent on products and serv-

ices provided from Bumper-to-Bumper.

Bumper-to-Bumper caters to all car makes through its highly trained team of technicians and professionals who all work with the most advanced equipment to provide every customer with a satisfying experience. Its differentiation strategy through value added services such as the Vehicle Fitness Test provide ultimate ease and convenience to the customers. Pass by our Bumper-to-Bumper branches today and make use of this free offer for a safer driving experience.

Cbse Chairman’s Exclusive Visit To Salmiya Indian Model School

Shirva feast hirva Welfare Association Kuwait (SWAK) will be celebrating their Shirva Parish feast2013 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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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 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.

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APAK Xmas-New Year celebration ngamaly Pravasi Association Kuwait (APAK) will conduct its Christmas and New Year celebrations tomorrow Friday at Abbassiya United Indian School Auditorium from 5:30 pm 10 pm. The meeting will be chaired by the Advisory Board Chairman Jacob Pynadath in the presence of President Bacon Joseph, Secretary Martin Kurian, Treasurer Sajeev Paul and other famous personalities in Kuwait.

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Crowne Plaza inaugurates Al-Baraka Ballroom KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah will attend the inauguration of AlBaraka Ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Hotel - Farwaniya, which takes place under his patronage tonight, today February 3.

During the ceremony, the Bu Khamseen Holding Group company is set to honor a number of Kuwaiti figures for their exceptional contributions to the state of Kuwait. The list includes Ibrahim Tahir Al-Baghli, Ahmad Yousuf Behbehani, Sheikha Amthal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Dr. Anas al-Rushaid, Aneesah Jaafar “Mama Aneesah”, Jassen Mubarak Al-Jassem, Husain Makki Jum’ah, Ambassador Khalid Al-Duwaisan, Sheikh Dr. Khalid AlMathkour, the late Khalid Yousuf Al-Marzouq, Sheikha Dr. Suad Al-Sabah, the late Sheikh Saud Al-Nasser AlSabah, Dr. Saleh Al-Ujairi, veteran actor Abdul-Husain Abdul-Reza, veteran singer Abdul-Aziz Al-Mefrej “Shadi Al-Khalij”, the late Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Mutawa’a, Sheikha Fraiha Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Fahad AlDaihani.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

KUWAIT: With great excitement and anticipation, the entire, family of SIMS awaited the arrival of the Mr. Vineet Joshi, CBSE Chairman’s visit to its campus, for the first time in Kuwait. Mr. Vineet Joshi accompanied by other great luminaries like His Excellency Shri Satish C. Mehta, Indian Ambassador to Kuwait, Sheikha Dr. Mehmouna Khalifa Al Athbi Al Sabah, the school sponsor laid the foundation stone for the new state of the Art Academic Block. Dr. Ashutosh Gupta (An IIM Ahmedabad Alumni) Dr. Mohammed Tariq, Chairman, Paradigm Pioneers & SIMS, Dr. Anis Ahmad, SIMS Director were also present.

A special cultural programme was organized, highlighting ‘Women Empowerment’. The students of SIMS with their spectacular performance drove home the message emphasizing the importance of women in a male dominated society. Various successful women personalities portrayed by the students were a visual delight.

Celebrating womanhood concluded with a melodious song ‘light a candle’ further enhancing the theme of the occasion. On a lighter note, the School Principal, Mr. Sanjay Yadav, requested all the male members in the audience to

give a standing ovation to the women in their lives, as a mark of respect and acknowledgement of their invaluable role in their lives.

A workshop under the aegis of Mr. Vineet Joshi, was organized by SIMS management, which provided on a one to one basis discussion between the CBSE Chairman and the Teachers of 17 other Indian schools. Teachers made full use of the platform to clear all their doubts pertaining to CBSE. The session lasted more than an hour, covering different areas of concern. Each and every question was answered patiently and lucidly by the CBSE Chairman, leaving the teachers with no room for doubt.

The overall impact of the session on the teacher was one of awe.

Shri Vineet Joshi was highly impressed with his visit to SIMS. To quote the CBSE Chairman, ‘It was an excellent opportunity to learn how a good school functions. Everyone Management, Principal, Teachers, Parents, Students and Staff are fully committed towards its goal. I wish their dreams come true.’

The successful culmination of this event owes much to the overwhelming participation of the teaching faculty of

all the Indian schools in Kuwait.

The school is indeed highly indebted to Mr. Vineet Joshi for sparing his valuable time to visit the school and for interacting with the teaching fraternity.

The magnanimous gesture of SIMS Chairman Dr. Mohammed Tariq in initiating this event and extending his benefit to teachers of other Indian Institutions was highly acknowledged and appreciated by them.

Workshop conducted by Dr. Ashutosh Gupta at Salmiya Indian Model School.

Staff training yields very rich dividends and is an ongoing process in developing SIMS as a model school.

SIMS management is committed to investing in staff developing programs, for the professional development of the teachers, on whose shoulders lies the onus of the future leaders. On Thursday, 17 January 2013, a daylong workshop on ‘Creative Leadership’ was conducted by Dr. Ashutosh Gupta (IIM Ahmedabad Alumni) a veteran management specialist for the SIMS staff.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

French School of Kuwait (LFK) achieves outstanding results on French national diploma

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. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassyof Canada 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, U.A.E. 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-imenquiry@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 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00†until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn

KUWAIT: The French School of Kuwait announced that it had achieved 97% success in the French General Certificate Secondary Education, well known for its demand on the academic performance.

74% of candidates received an hon-

orable mention or very honorable.

The Graduation ceremony took place at Kuwait French School on Sunday 27th of January. It was attended by the students, their families and teachers.

The advisor to the ambassador for

cooperation and cultural affairs Mr Julian CLEC’H and Mrs Hessa AL RASHED honored with their presence the ceremony. The principal Mr Gerard LAHOURCADE and deputy head Mrs Pascale CHELALA congratulated the students

and their teachers for their performance.

Mrs Mona AL KHALED and DrFahed AL RASHED congratulate the school team for this achievement towards a high standard of education.

Kuwait National English School Joins the Circus

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. nnnnnnn

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. nnnnnnn

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.

MahaQuizzer Middle East - Kuwait tomorrow

M

KUWAIT: The International Italian Circus recently provided a private show for the Early Years Children of

Kuwait National English School. It was an exciting trip for the young pupils as they joined in on the acts

and got up close and personal with the Circus animals. Kuwait National English School; Early Years children

would like to thank these great artists for sharing their talents and providing such good care for us.

ahaQuizzer Middle East - Kuwait, the solo written quiz competition organized by National Institute of Technology Calicut Alumni Association Kuwait chapter (NITCAA Kuwait) in association with Karnataka Quiz Association (KQA), Bengaluru will be held tomorrow, 2013 from 2:00 pm to 3.30 pm at Indian English Academy School (Don Bosco), Salmiya and Fahaheel Al Watanieh Indian Private School (DPS), Ahmadi simultaneously. The registered participants should report at the test centers chosen by them before 1.30 pm as informed by the organizers. Participants, please note that the Reporting Desks at the test centers will start functioning from 1:00 pm. We have an overwhelming No. of 296 persons of 6 Nationalities registered for the test. This includes 196 children from 13 schools. The participants will be attempting 100 questions in 90 minutes. Participants are advised to visit the website www.nitcaakuwait.org for further details.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

03:25 04:15 05:05 05:55 06:20 06:45 07:35 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 10:10 10:35 11:05 12:00 12:55 13:20 13:50 14:45 15:40 16:35 17:00 17:30 18:25 19:20 20:15 20:40 21:10 21:35 22:05 23:00 23:55

Wildest Africa Austin Stevens Adventures Max’s Big Tracks Call Of The Wildman Animal Battlegrounds Gator Boys Wildlife SOS The Really Wild Show Extraordinary Dogs Extraordinary Dogs Cats 101 Rescue Vet Rescue Vet Wildest Africa Animal Cops Philadelphia Call Of The Wildman Wildlife SOS Michaela’s Animal Road Trip Animal Precinct Wildest Africa Animal Battlegrounds The Really Wild Show Cats 101 Baby Planet Bad Dog Monkey Life Bondi Vet Call Of The Wildman Animal Battlegrounds Wildest Africa Shark Attack Survival Guide Monster Bug Wars

03:20 House Swap 04:05 Come Dine With Me 04:55 Antiques Roadshow 05:50 House Swap 06:35 Eating In The Sun 07:00 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 08:00 Eating In The Sun 08:25 Eating In The Sun 08:55 Trish’s Mediterranean Kitchen 09:45 Vacation Vacation Vacation 10:35 Antiques Roadshow 11:25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 12:45 Come Dine With Me 13:35 Eating In The Sun 14:00 Eating In The Sun 14:25 The Boss Is Coming To Dinner 14:50 The Boss Is Coming To Dinner 15:15 Bargain Hunt 16:00 Antiques Roadshow 16:50 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 18:10 Britain’s Dream Homes 19:00 Come Dine With Me: South Africa 19:55 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 20:15 New Scandinavian Cooking 20:45 Come Dine With Me 21:35 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:15 Bargain Hunt

03:00 03:30 03:45 04:00 04:30 04:45 05:00 05:30 05:45 06:00 06:30 06:45 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 08:45 09:00 09:30 09:45 10:00 10:30 10:45 11:00 11:30 11:45 12:00

Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today BBC World News Asia Business Report Sport Today BBC World News Asia Business Report Sport Today BBC World News The Ideas Exchange BBC World News World Business Report BBC World News BBC World News World Business Report BBC World News BBC World News World Business Report BBC World News BBC World News World Business Report BBC World News BBC World News

12:30 The Ideas Exchange 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 World Business Report 13:45 Sport Today 14:00 BBC World News 15:00 GMT With George Alagiah 16:00 Impact 17:30 The Ideas Exchange 18:00 World Have Your Say 19:00 BBC World News 19:40 Weekend World 20:00 BBC World News 20:30 BBC Focus On Africa 21:00 BBC World News 21:30 Middle East Business Report 22:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:40 Weekend World 23:00 BBC World News 23:10 Weekend World 23:30 The Bottom Line

03:00 03:25 03:50 04:00 04:30 04:55 05:20 05:45 06:00 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:30 07:55 08:10 08:35 08:50 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:00 13:15 13:40 13:55 14:20 14:35 14:50 15:20 15:45 16:10 16:35 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:40 19:05 19:30 19:45 20:00 20:15 20:30 20:55 21:20 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40

Looney Tunes Duck Dodgers Dastardly And Muttley Dexter’s Laboratory Wacky Races Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show Moomins Looney Tunes Tom & Jerry Tales Dexter’s Laboratory Baby Looney Tunes Jelly Jamm Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Ha Ha Hairies Tom & Jerry Kids A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Puppy In My Pocket Wacky Races Looney Tunes Duck Dodgers Popeye Top Cat The Flintstones Dastardly And Muttley Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Cartoonito Tales Moomins Dexter’s Laboratory Johnny Bravo Tom & Jerry Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show What’s New Scooby-Doo? Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry Tales The Looney Tunes Show Taz-Mania Moomins Pink Panther & Pals The Garfield Show Jelly Jamm Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Baby Looney Tunes Bananas In Pyjamas Puppy In My Pocket The Garfield Show What’s New Scooby-Doo? Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry Tales The Looney Tunes Show

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 06:55 Angelo Rules 07:00 Casper’s Scare School 08:00 Mucha Lucha 08:25 Johnny Test 08:45 Regular Show 09:05 Total Drama Action 09:55 Ben 10: Omniverse 10:20 Young Justice

10:45 Thundercats 11:10 Adventure Time 12:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 12:50 Foster’s Home For...

13:15 Foster’s Home For...

13:40 Courage The Cowardly Dog 14:30 Powerpuff Girls 15:20 Angelo Rules 16:10 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 16:35 Young Justice 17:00 Ben 10: Omniverse 17:20 Johnny Test 18:00 Level Up 18:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 18:50 Adventure Time 19:15 Regular Show 19:40 Mucha Lucha 20:05 Total Drama Action 20:30 Total Drama Action 20:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 21:20 Young Justice 21:45 Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge 22:10 Grim Adventures Of...

23:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien

03:00 Mythbusters 03:55 Border Security 04:20 Auction Kings 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 Sons Of Guns 07:00 Mythbusters 07:50 Desert Car Kings 08:45 Finding Bigfoot 09:40 Border Security 10:05 Auction Kings 10:55 How Do They Do It? 11:25 How It’s Made 11:50 Sons Of Guns 12:45 World’s Top 5 13:40 How We Invented The World 14:35 Border Security 15:05 Auction Kings 16:00 The Will: Family Secrets Revealed 16:55 Finding Bigfoot 17:50 Mythbusters 18:45 Sons Of Guns 19:40 How Do They Do It? 20:05 How It’s Made 20:35 Auction Kings 21:00 Auction Kings 21:30 Fast N’ Loud 22:25 One Car Too Far 23:20 American Chopper

03:05 03:30 03:55 04:20 04:45 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:15 06:40 07:05 07:30 07:40 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:00 09:25 09:35 09:45 10:00 10:25 10:50 11:15 11:40 12:05 12:30 12:55 13:20 13:45 14:10 14:40 14:45 15:00 15:25 15:50

Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Phineas And Ferb Suite Life On Deck My Babysitter’s A Vampire A.N.T. Farm Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Jessie Good Luck Charlie Doc McStuffins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Hive Mouk Jonas Los Angeles So Random Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance Kim Possible Shake It Up Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas And Ferb Austin And Ally Art Attack A.N.T. Farm Have A Laugh Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Shake It Up Austin And Ally

16:15 16:40 17:00 18:30 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:55 23:20 23:45

Jessie A.N.T. Farm 16 Wishes Prank Stars 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 Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana

03:00 Lazytown 03:25 Special Agent Oso 03:35 Special Agent Oso 03:50 Imagination Movers 04:15 Handy Manny 04:25 Handy Manny 04:40 Special Agent Oso 04:50 Special Agent Oso 05:00 Timmy Time 05:10 Lazytown 05:35 Little Einsteins 06:00 Jungle Junction 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Little Einsteins 07:05 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:30 Jungle Junction 07:45 Handy Manny 08:00 Special Agent Oso 08:15 Imagination Movers 08:40 Cars Toons 08:45 Handy Manny 09:00 The Hive 09:10 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:35 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 09:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 10:05 Doc McStuffins 10:20 Doc McStuffins 10:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 11:00 Mouk 11:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 11:45 Art Attack 12:10 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 12:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 13:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 13:10 Doc McStuffins 13:25 Handy Manny 13:40 Jungle Junction 13:55 Timmy Time 14:05 The Hive 14:15 Mouk 14:30 Little Einsteins 14:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 15:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 16:00 The Little Mermaid 16:25 Art Attack 16:55 Imagination Movers 17:20 Handy Manny 17:35 The Hive 17:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:10 Doc McStuffins 18:25 Doc McStuffins 18:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 19:10 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 19:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 20:05 Timmy Time 20:15 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 20:25 Doc McStuffins 20:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 21:10 The Hive 21:20 Timmy Time 21:30 Mouk 21:45 Handy Manny 22:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:25 The Hive 22:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 23:00 Timmy Time 23:10 Animated Stories 23:20 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship

07:00 Kickin It 07:25 Phineas And Ferb 07:50 Almost Naked Animals 08:15 Pokemon: BW Rival Destinies 08:40 Slugterra 09:05 Scaredy Squirrel 09:30 Ultimate Spider-Man 09:55 Zeke & Luther 10:20 Kick Buttowski 10:45 I’m In The Band 11:10 Rated A For Awesome 11:35 Iron Man Armored Adventures 12:00 American Dragon 12:25 Kick Buttowski 12:50 Fort Boyard - Ultimate Challenge 13:20 Pair Of Kings 13:45 Zeke & Luther 14:10 Rated A For Awesome 14:35 I’m In The Band 15:00 Phineas And Ferb 15:25 Pokemon: BW Rival Destinies 15:50 Rekkit Rabbit 16:15 Pair Of Kings 16:40 Almost Naked Animals 17:05 Lab Rats 17:30 Slugterra 18:00 Kickin It 18:25 Scaredy Squirrel 18:50 Phineas And Ferb 19:40 Mr. Young 20:05 Slugterra 20:30 Zeke & Luther 20:55 I’m In The Band 21:20 Rated A For Awesome 21:45 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 22:10 Ultimate Spider-Man 22:35 Ultimate Spider-Man 23:05 Kick Buttowski 23:30 Scaredy Squirrel

LITTLE FOCKERS ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY

03:15 03:40 04:10 05:05 06:00 07:50 08:20 09:15 10:15 12:05 13:05 14:05

Behind The Scenes Extreme Close-Up THS THS THS Behind The Scenes E! News Opening Act THS E! News Fashion Police Kourtney & Kim Take New

York 14:30 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 E!es 16:30 Behind The Scenes 17:00 Scouted 18:00 E! News 19:00 E!es 20:00 Married To Jonas 21:00 Ice Loves Coco 21:30 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 22:30 E! News 23:30 Chelsea Lately

03:10 Crave 03:35 Unique Eats 04:00 Unique Eats 04:20 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:50 United Tastes Of America 05:15 Unique Eats 05:40 Chopped 06:30 Iron Chef America 07:10 Unwrapped 07:35 Unwrapped 08:00 Food Network Challenge 08:50 Kid In A Candy Store 09:15 Unwrapped 09:40 United Tastes Of America 10:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 10:30 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 10:55 Cooking For Real 11:20 Hungry Girl 11:45 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 12:10 Mexican Made Easy 13:00 Iron Chef America 13:50 Tyler’s Ultimate 14:15 Unique Sweets 15:05 World Cafe Asia 15:30 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 15:55 Hungry Girl 16:20 United Tastes Of America 16:45 Chopped 17:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:15 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 19:40 Tyler’s Ultimate 20:05 Guy’s Big Bite 20:30 Chopped 21:20 Iron Chef America 22:10 Guy’s Big Bite - Special 23:00 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 23:25 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 23:50 Heat Seekers

03:05 03:55 04:45 05:30 06:20 07:10 08:00 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:05 10:30 Jones 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:15 14:40 15:30 Jones 16:20 16:45 17:10 18:00 18:50 19:40 20:05 Jones 20:55 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:50

Kidnap And Rescue I Faked My Own Death Disappeared Dr G: Medical Examiner The Haunted Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite Murder Shift Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Murder Shift Disappeared Forensic Detectives Street Patrol True Crime With Aphrodite Stalked: Someone’s Watching Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Fatal Encounters Ghost Lab

03:30 Bluelist Australia 03:55 Earth Tripping 04:25 Banged Up Abroad 05:20 A World Apart 06:15 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 06:40 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 07:10 Street Food Around The World 07:35 Street Food Around The World 08:05 Long Way Down 09:00 On The Camino De Santiago 09:25 On The Camino De Santiago 09:55 Cruise Ship Diaries 10:50 Bluelist Australia 11:15 Earth Tripping 11:45 Banged Up Abroad 12:40 A World Apart 13:35 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 14:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:30 Street Food Around The World 14:55 Street Food Around The World 15:25 Long Way Down 16:20 On The Camino De Santiago 16:45 On The Camino De Santiago 17:15 Cruise Ship Diaries 18:10 Bluelist Australia 18:35 Earth Tripping 19:05 Banged Up Abroad 20:00 Street Food Around The World 20:30 Street Food Around The World 21:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 21:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 22:00 Departures 22:55 Treks In A Wild World 23:50 Treks In A Wild World

03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 14:00

Lion Warrior Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy Wild Alaska Great Migrations Bear Nomad Lion Warrior Untamed Americas Kingdom of The Oceans Monster Fish Lizard Kings Secrets Of The Mediterranean Alaskan Killer Shark

ROAD TO PERDITION ON OSN MOVIES ACTION 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Tiger Man Secret Brazil World’s Weirdest Monster Fish Ultimate Animal Countdown Alaskan Killer Shark Lion Warrior Untamed Americas Kingdom of The Oceans

04:00 And Soon The Darkness-PG15 06:00 The Rocketeer-PG15 08:00 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within-PG 10:00 True Justice: Dead Drop-PG15 12:00 Faster-PG15 14:00 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within-PG 16:00 All Star Superman-PG15 18:00 Faster-PG15 20:00 Road To Perdition-18 22:00 Fade To Black-18

03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

B-Girl-PG15 Arrietty-FAM Every Jack Has A Jill-PG15 The Warlords-PG15 Honey 2-PG15 Garfield’s Pet Force-FAM Kings Ransom-PG15 Unmatched-PG15 Blank Slate-PG15 Contagion-PG15 Cedar Rapids-18 Meet Monica Velour-R

03:00 New Girl 03:30 2 Broke Girls 04:00 Less Than Perfect 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Til Death 06:00 Samantha Who? 06:30 Seinfeld 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Less Than Perfect 08:30 New Girl 09:00 Til Death 09:30 Allen Gregory 10:00 Modern Family 10:30 Samantha Who? 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Seinfeld 12:30 Less Than Perfect 13:00 Til Death 13:30 Samantha Who? 14:00 2 Broke Girls 14:30 Modern Family 15:00 Allen Gregory 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Seinfeld 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Last Man Standing 18:30 2 Broke Girls 19:00 30 Rock 19:30 Modern Family 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Angry Boys 22:30 South Park 23:00 Entourage 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

03:50 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Boardwalk Empire Good Morning America The Bachelor Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show House The Bachelor American Idol House Live Good Morning America The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Glee American Idol Bunheads Damages Damages

22:00 Live World Cup of Darts 04:00 And Soon The Darkness-PG15 06:00 The Rocketeer-PG15 08:00 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within-PG 10:00 True Justice: Dead Drop-PG15 12:00 Faster-PG15 14:00 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within-PG 16:00 All Star Superman-PG15 18:00 Faster-PG15 20:00 Road To Perdition-18 22:00 Fade To Black-18

04:00 Despicable Me-FAM 06:00 The Ladykillers-PG15 08:00 Scooby-Doo! Curse Of The Lake Monster-PG 10:00 The American President-PG15 12:00 Despicable Me-FAM 14:00 Little Fockers-PG15 16:00 The American President-PG15 18:00 How The Grinch Stole Christmas-PG 20:00 Bridesmaids-18 22:15 The Legend Of Awesomest Maximus-18

03:30 05:30 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:15 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:15

Arc-PG15 Talhotblond-18 Bob Roberts-PG15 Loosies-PG15 Elizabethtown-PG15 Unanswered Prayers-PG15 Loosies-PG15 Love Finds A Home-PG15 Burlesque-PG15 2001: A Space Odyssey-PG15 The Weather Man-18

03:00 My Best Friend’s WeddingPG15 05:00 Spooky Buddies-PG 07:00 StreetDance 2-PG15 09:00 Rango-FAM 11:00 Mean Girls 2-PG15 13:00 Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas-FAM 15:00 Into The Wind-PG15 16:00 Rango-FAM 18:00 Jack And Jill-PG15 20:00 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax-PG 22:00 Seeking Justice-PG15

04:30 Maroons-FAM 06:00 Twigson-PG 08:00 The Happy Cricket-FAM 10:00 Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas-FAM 11:30 Hey Arnold! The Movie-PG 13:00 Dolphin Tale-PG 15:00 A Very Fairy Christmas-FAM 16:00 Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl-PG 18:00 Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas-FAM 20:00 The Lucky Dragon-PG 21:45 Dolphin Tale-PG 23:45 The Happy Cricket-FAM

06:15 Live Cricket One Day International 14:30 ICC Cricket 360 15:00 Trans World Sport 16:00 Live World Cup Of Darts 20:00 Futbol Mundial 20:30 Trans World Sport 21:30 ICC Cricket 360 22:00 Live Rugby Union

06:00 07:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 16:30 17:00 19:00 20:00

Adventure Challenge PGA Tour Inside The PGA Tour Trans World Sport PGA European Tour Weekly Live PGA European Tour Futbol Mundial UFC The Ultimate Fighter WWE Bottom Line WWE SmackDown

07:00 08:00 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:00 23:00

Golfing World Dubai World Cup Carnival Golfing World World Pool Masters World Cup of Pool ICC Cricket 360 Cricket One Day International Live Super League

07:00 08:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 21:30 22:00

WWE NXT WWE Vintage Collection V8 Supercars Highlights NHL WWE NXT UAE National Race Day Series V8 Supercars Highlights PGA European Tour Mobil 1 The Grid UFC Ultimate 100 Knockouts

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

Mountain Men Ancient Aliens Mud Men Pawn Stars American Restoration Soviet Storm: WWII In The East Pawn Stars Storage Wars Seeking Salvage Pawn Stars American Restoration Pawn Stars Storage Wars Soviet Storm: WWII In The East Mountain Men Ancient Aliens Pawn Stars American Restoration Seeking Salvage Mountain Men Ancient Aliens Pawn Stars American Restoration Seeking Salvage Pawn Stars Storage Wars Soviet Storm: WWII In The East Nazi Titanic

04:35 Agatha-PG 06:10 The Year Of Living Dangerously-PG 08:00 20,000 Years In Sing Sing-PG 09:20 Adam’s Rib-FAM 11:00 Across The Wide MissouriFAM 12:20 The Belle Of New York-FAM 13:40 Brigadoon-FAM 15:30 The Comedians-PG 18:00 Light In The Piazza-PG 19:40 Never So Few-PG 21:40 Little Caesar-PG 23:00 Butterfield 8-PG

03:50 04:20 05:15 06:10 07:05 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:25 11:55 12:55 13:50 14:20 14:50 15:15 15:45 16:40 17:35 18:30 19:25 20:25 21:20 22:15 23:10

Big Boutique In The City Jerseylicious Glam Fairy Chicagolicious Clean House: New York Videofashion News Videofashion News Videofashion Daily Open House Big Boutique In The City Top 10 Top 10 Giuliana & Bill Tia And Tamera Videofashion News Videofashion Collections Dress My Nest Dress My Nest How Do I Look?

How Do I Look?

Designer Marathon Designer Marathon Giuliana & Bill Giuliana & Bill Tia And Tamera Tia And Tamera Fashion Police

Classifieds SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1 WARM BODIES (DIG) GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) QUARTET (DIG) GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

SHARQIA-2 HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (31/02/2013 TO 06/02/2013)

RACE 2 (DIG) (HINDI) THE LAST STAND (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

10:00 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-5 HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-6 HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-4 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-5 LINCOLN LINCOLN LINCOLN LINCOLN NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:45 PM 5:45 PM 8:45 PM 11:45 PM

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

MARINA-1 LINCOLN (DIG) QUARTET (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) LINCOLN (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:15 PM 12:15 AM

MUHALAB-1 GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) LINCOLN (DIG) QUARTET (DIG) LINCOLN (DIG) GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:15 PM 12:15 AM

MARINA-2 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-2 WARM BODIES (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

MARINA-3 SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-1 GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) GANGSTER SQUAD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 4:45 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:15 AM

AVENUES-2 THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:30 PM 4:45 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

AVENUES-3 LINCOLN (DIG) LINCOLN (DIG) LINCOLN (DIG) LINCOLN (DIG) LINCOLN (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

AVENUES-11 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-4 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

360º- 1 WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 1:00 AM

SHARQIA-3 SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) LINCOLN (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) LINCOLN (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

MUHALAB-3 HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED FANAR-1 WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) QUARTET (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) QUARTET (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED FANAR-2 SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS NO SUN+TUE+WED FANAR-3 THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) JAB TAK HAI JAAN (DIG) (HINDI)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM 2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM

AVENUES-7 CHINESE ZODIAC (DIG) DAVID (DIG) (HINDI) NO THU RACE 2 (DIG) (HINDI) THU RACE 2 (DIG) (HINDI) DAVID (DIG) (HINDI) NO THU RACE 2 (DIG) (HINDI) THU CHINESE ZODIAC (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 3:45 PM 3:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:45 PM 9:45 PM

1:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

AVENUES-9 WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

360 º- 2 THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG)

Used Laptop HP Envy, core I7, RAM 6, HD 500, in box, KD 125. Call 66888103.

(C 4294) 3-2-2014

State Life Insurance Policy # 633000165 ñ Name: Ali and Policy # 633000317 Maqsood Ali, 63003044 Framan Ali, has been lost.

Finder may please contact SLIC office No: 2245208-9.

(C 4296) 3-2-2014

12:45 AM

AVENUES-8 DJANGO UNCHAINED (DIG) QUARTET (DIG) GREAT EXPECTATIONS (DIG) QUARTET (DIG) DJANGO UNCHAINED (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

AVENUES-10 SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG) SILENT HILL: REVELATION (DIG)

FOR SALE

LOST

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 11:30 PM

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM

Required used car in good condition.

Contact: 96955168. (C 4290) 28-1-2012

MATRIMONIAL Proposals are invited for a 29-year-old Latin Catholic boy, from Cochin working in Kuwait as Engineer in a very well established firm.

He will be in Cochin for two weeks end of Februar y.

Email: jkuwait1983@gmail.com (C 4295) 3-2-2014

SITUATION WANTED MBA Finance, B.Com & ACCA (Fundamental) with 5 years of Accounts experience in Kuwait, looking for suitable position in well established company or MNC. If anyone has any opportunity or can refer me to any company I would be thankful.

Contact: 55829223 or Email: acconline@ymail.com (C 4285) 3-2-2014

CHANGE OF NAME I, Dahodwala Murtaza Zohar, holder of Passport No: G2210473, hereby change my name to Bhabhrawala Murtuza Zohar. Address: 301 3rd floor Alefiya Apartment Sujai Baug, Godhra Road, Dahod (Gujrat).

(C 4293) 3-2-2014

PhD holder with 12 years R&D experiences seeking academic, research or consultancy positions in the area of IT/ software engineering, image analysis, data mining and applied machine learning and pattern recognition. Available for appointments between 2-15 Feb 2013. Please call 9729-8545 for details.

(C 4292) 29-1-2013

Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is

1889988

TUITION Notes/Study materials/ Tuitions Acc. To your requirements for graduation & post graduation students & all other levels including “0”, as level, IGSE, GMAT etc study materials were prepared by well experienced Indian teacher.

Economics, Finance, Accounts, Income Tax, Management, Marketing, Company law, Histor y, Science etc notes were prepared to make your study easier. Contact: 99315825/ 99838117. (C 4291) 29-1-2013 SITUATION VACANT

112

Wanted part time maid in Salwa, salary KD 80, 8 am to noon, six days per week.

Contact: 96942874.

Prayer timings Fajr:

05:17

Shorook

06:39

Duhr:

12:01

Asr:

15:03

Maghrib:

17:24

Isha:

18:44

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JAI THY JZR JZR QTR RJA ETH GFA UAE ETD FDB MSR QTR KAC CLX DHX THY JZR BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD GFA BAB IRA IRC JZR MEA MSR SYR UAE KAC KAC KAC FDB KNE KAC SVA QTR JZR

Arrival Flights on Sunday 3/2/2013 Flt Route 574 MUMBAI 772 ISTANBUL 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 148 DOHA 642 AMMAN 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 544 CAIRO 792 LUXEMBOURG 170 BAHRAIN 770 ISTANBUL 555 ALEXANDRIA 157 LONDON 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 121 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 436 BAHRAIN 603 SHIRAZ 6666 AHWAZ 165 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 610 CAIRO 341 DAMASCUS 871 DUBAI 382 DELHI 742 DAMMAM 774 RIYADH 57 DUBAI 472 JEDDAH 672 DUBAI 500 JEDDAH 140 DOHA 561 SOHAG

Time 0:05 0:35 0:45 0:50 1:00 1:10 1:45 1:50 2:35 2:45 3:05 3:10 3:45 4:20 4:55 5:15 5:30 6:00 6:40 6:45 7:40 7:45 7:55 8:15 8:25 8:40 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:55 10:05 10:40 11:10 11:20 11:55 12:45 12:50 12:50 12:55 12:55 13:30 13:50 14:10 14:10 14:30 14:35 14:50

KAC QTR JZR UAE ETD RJA GFA SVA JZR QTR ABY UAL KAC JZR RBG KAC BAB FDB AFG KAC KAC KAC KAC OMA KAC FDB JAI AXB MSR ABY ALK QTR MEA QTR GFA ETD UAE KAC JZR JAI DHX FDB KAC KLM AIC JZR GFA KAC JZR UAL DLH

284 134 787 857 303 640 215 510 777 144 127 982 542 177 3553 786 438 63 415 166 618 102 674 647 562 61 572 393 606 129 229 146 402 136 221 307 859 172 135 576 372 59 514 417 981 239 217 502 185 981 636

DHAKA DOHA RIYADH DUBAI ABU DHABI AMMAN BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH DOHA SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES CAIRO DUBAI ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI KABUL PARIS/ROME DOHA NEW YORK/LONDON DUBAI MUSCAT AMMAN DUBAI MUMBAI KOZHIKODE LUXOR SHARJAH COLOMBO DOHA BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI FRANKFURT BAHRAIN COCHIN BAHRAIN DUBAI TEHRAN AMSTERDAM CHENNAI/HYDERABAD/AHMEDABAD AMMAN BAHRAIN BEIRUT DUBAI BAHRAIN FRANKFURT

15:10 15:30 16:10 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:45 17:50 17:55 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:45 19:00 19:10 19:20 19:35 19:35 19:55 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 21:00 21:20 21:25 21:30 21:35 21:40 21:45 21:50 21:55 22:00 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:30 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:05 23:25 23:55

Airlines AIC AXB DHX BBC JAI UAL DLH KAC ETH THY KAC FDB UAE ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR GFA RJA THY CLX JZR FDB BAW KAC KAC ABY KAC UAE FDB KAC KAC ETD QTR GFA BAB KAC IRA IRC JZR KAC JZR MEA KAC MSR SYR JZR UAE FDB

Departure Flights on Sunday 3/2/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA/CHENNAI 390 MANGALORE 371 BAHRAIN 44 CHITTAGONG/DHAKA 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 283 DHAKA 621 ADDIS ABABA 773 ISTANBUL 381 DELHI 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 643 AMMAN 771 ISTANBUL 792 VIETNAM 560 SOHAG 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 171 FRANKFURT 671 DUBAI 122 SHARJAH 741 DAMMAM 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 117 NEW YORK 773 RIYADH 302 ABU DHABI 133 DOHA 214 BAHRAIN 437 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 602 SHIRAZ 6667 AHWAZ 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 786 RIYADH 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 611 CAIRO 342 LATAKIA/DAMASCUS 176 DUBAI 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI

Time 0:05 0:15 0:40 1:00 1:05 1:10 1:20 2:25 2:45 2:55 3:15 3:45 3:50 4:00 4:10 4:50 6:05 6:55 7:00 7:05 7:35 8:15 8:15 8:25 8:45 9:10 9:35 9:45 9:55 9:55 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:05 10:10 10:40 10:50 11:30 11:40 12:10 12:15 12:20 12:55 12:55 13:00 13:45 13:50 13:50 14:15 14:30

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

KAC KAC KNE SVA KAC QTR KAC JZR ETD KAC JZR QTR UAE RJA GFA JZR SVA ABY JZR QTR RBG JZR UAL FDB BAB AFG FDB OMA JAI AXB ABY MSR DHX ALK MEA ETD QTR GFA KAC FDB UAE JAI KAC KAC DHX KLM QTR KAC JZR GFA KAC KAC

561 673 473 503 617 141 501 238 304 513 538 135 858 641 216 184 511 128 266 145 3554 134 982 64 439 415 62 648 571 394 120 619 171 230 403 308 137 222 301 60 860 575 351 205 373 417 147 343 502 218 411 415

AMMAN DUBAI JEDDAH MEDINAH/JEDDAH DOHA DOHA BEIRUT AMMAN ABU DHABI TEHRAN CAIRO DOHA DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH SHARJAH BEIRUT DOHA ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN JEDDAH DUBAI MUSCAT MUMBAI KOZHIKODE SHARJAH ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DUBAI COCHIN COCHIN ISLAMABAD BAHRAIN DAMMAM/AMSTERDAM DOHA CHENNAI LUXOR BAHRAIN BANGKOK/MANILA KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA

14:30 15:05 15:10 15:45 15:45 16:15 17:05 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:40 17:45 17:50 17:55 18:15 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:45 18:50 19:00 19:05 19:10 19:25 19:30 20:00 20:40 20:55 21:10 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:50 21:55 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:50 22:55 22:55 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:15 23:35 23:50 23:55 23:55

34

stars CROSSWORD 89

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19)

Various intellectual or humanitarian subjects you’ve been reading about have changed your value system, perhaps subtly, Aries. You may not notice it until you hear someone mention beliefs like those you used to hold. It might be uncomfortable to realize that such profound changes have occurred in you, but it’s only a natural part of personal growth. Everything changes, so why not you?

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

A temporary separation from a love partner might have you in a very gloomy mood, Taurus. Attempts to reach your friend by phone might prove fruitless. You might grow more and more frustrated and angry. There isn’t much you can do other than leave messages. Don’t let your insecurity get the best of you. Find something else to do until your friend has a chance to call. Better late than never.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

from aba cloth.

ACROSS 1. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

4. Any heathlike evergreen shrub of the genus Epacris grown for their showy and crowded spikes of small bell-shaped or tubular flowers.

11. An annual award for outstanding achievements in television.

15. Canadian hockey player (born 1948).

16. make ready or suitable in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc.

17. A bluish shade of green.

18. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

20. Connected with or belonging to or used in a navy.

21. A shaft on which a wheel rotates.

22. The basic unit of money in Papua New Guinea.

23. A light strong brittle gray toxic bivalent metallic element.

24. Nativeness by virtue or originating or occurring naturally (as in a particular place).

26. A vicious angry growl.

28. Of or related to the amnion or characterized by developing an amnion.

30. Common black-and-gray Eurasian bird noted for thievery.

31. A typical star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system.

32. A constitutional monarchy in a tiny enclave on the French Riviera.

35. Lower in esteem.

37. An enclosed space.

39. The upper side of the thighs of a seated person.

40. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.

41. (Norse mythology) Wife of Loki.

45. A protocol developed for the internet to get data from one network device to another.

47. Genus of North American herbs with basal cordate or orbicular leaves and small panicled flowers.

50. An associate degree in nursing.

51. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

53. (combining form) Indicating radiation or radioactivity.

54. Front consisting of the conical head of a missile or rocket that protects the payload from heat during its passage through the atmosphere.

55. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

56. Liquid containing proteins and electrolytes including the liquid in blood plasma and interstitial fluid.

58. Big-eyed scad.

60. A public promotion of some product or service.

63. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

65. Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves.

71. Conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC).

73. Any of a group of heavenly spirits under the god Anu. 75. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

76. A hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers.

77. Ornamented in a vulgar or showy fashion.

79. A barrier constructed to contain the flow or water or to keep out the sea.

80. An insecticide that is also toxic to animals and humans.

81. A soft fabric made from the wool of the Cashmere goat.

82. A loose sleeveless outer garment made

DOWN 1. Large strong hand (as of a fighter).

2. German hero.

3. A city in southeastern Spain.

4. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

5. A soft yellowish-white trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

6. A mythical Greek warrior who was a leader on the Trojan side of the Trojan War. 7. An accountant certified by the state.

8. A battle between the French and an alliance of Spaniards and Swiss and Venetians in 1512.

9. A native or inhabitant of Iran.

10. Not often.

11. A soft cotton or worsted fabric with an open mesh.

12. A city in northwestern Mexico near the California border.

13. A master's degree in library science.

14. (cosmology) The original matter that (according to the big bang theory) existed before the formation of the chemical elements.

19. Cause to suffer.

25. An organic compound that contains a hydroxyl group bonded to a carbon atom which in turn is doubly bonded to another carbon atom.

27. 100 lwei equal 1 kwanza.

29. A seat with a cushion that is used as a throne by Indian princes.

33. Any of several plants of the genus Manihot having fleshy roots yielding a nutritious starch.

34. Used of mouth or eyes.

36. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

38. Fatty pinkish flesh of small salmon caught in the Pacific and Great Lakes.

42. A releasing factor that accelerates the secretion of growth hormone by the anterior pituitary body.

43. An affirmative.

44. A battle in the Napoleonic campaigns (1809).

46. An informal term for a father.

48. (computer science) A kind of computer architecture that has a large number of instructions hard coded into the cpu chip.

49. Edge of a way or road or path.

52. Remove gas from.

57. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

59. (South African) A camp defended by a circular formation of wagons.

61. An active and efficient cause.

62. One of the two main branches of orthodox Islam.

64. (Irish) Chief god of the Tuatha De Danann.

66. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring on land.

67. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

68. An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect.

69. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

70. God of love and erotic desire.

72. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

74. A preparation (usually made of sweetened chicle) for chewing.

78. An honorary degree in science.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Expect to be frantic if you have to take care of something that’s time critical today, Gemini. People and situations aren’t in your favor. Everything will seem like a challenge.

Prioritize tasks and do them slowly and cautiously one at a time.

If you push too hard, you will make mistakes and wear yourself out. The world won’t end if you don’t finish all your tasks.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Generally you avoid politics in any group you belong to, Cancer, but today you might get caught up in the fray in order to support a friend. This goes against your grain. Be sure and assess the situation carefully before getting too involved.

Friend or not, you aren’t going to want to alienate anyone in the group. Think about it. Is it worth it?

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Changes you’re making at home might necessitate your planning extra time, Leo. Perhaps you’re waiting for a guest whose plane got delayed, or your shopping trip takes much longer because you can’t find what you’re looking for. Whatever it is, don’t panic. Just try to stay rational and think about other options or alternatives.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Are you involved in a search through every store for a particular item, Virgo? You might be looking for a long time. The object you need won’t be found at the local mall.

Secondhand shops, obscure boutiques, antique stores outside town - all of these are more likely to have what you want than any shop you’d normally frequent. Be brave and take a chance.

You might really enjoy it.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22)

If you’ve given up on something you’ve lost, Libra, you might get a real surprise tonight when a dream sheds light on where you might find it. It’s important that you either get up and search for the object immediately or write the dream down in as much detail as you can remember. Otherwise, this could be one of those dreams that disappears as soon as you wake up, and you won’t want that.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

A business or romantic partner might be in a foul mood and not very likely to tell you why, Scorpio. It won’t be all that easy to deal with, but it probably doesn’t relate to any trouble between you. Therefore, it’s best to let your partner work it out alone. Take care to stay cool and keep a safe distance between you, at least for today. The mood should pass by tomorrow.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Have you been exercising beyond your fitness level, Sagittarius? If you have, you’re probably feeling very tired, sore, and out of sorts. Take it easy today, even if you don’t want to. You can still exercise, but concentrate on yoga and tai chi rather than more strenuous programs like aerobics. Push yourself a little, but not too much. The idea of “no pain, no gain” is a fallacy.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

A goal you’ve recently been on the verge of attaining may suddenly hit unexpected setbacks, Capricorn. However major or minor they are, it’s going to be disheartening. The only thing you can do is pick up the pieces and move on. The goal isn’t dead in the water. There are only some extra tasks that need to be done before you achieve it. Do what you have to, and hang in there.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

You could be introduced to a new person today Aquarius. He or she may be someone who will play a very important role in your life at one point. You will feel an instant connection and find out you share a passion for the same kinds of things. This person could turn out to be a very good friend, and romance is also very likely. Take it slowly and see what happens.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Is there a secret you’re obsessed with unveiling, Pisces? Something strange could be going on in your neighborhood, or it might be an intellectual puzzle. Whatever it is, you’re determined to discover the truth. You may do things you wouldn’t normally do. Don’t be too pushy with questions. Confine your research to books, newspapers, and the web. You can find a few clues without alienating anyone.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

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

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

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

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

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24775066

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24775992

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24311795

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24884079

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24892674

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24719048

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24710044

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23900322

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PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

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25665898 25340300

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25710444

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22621099

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25713514

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23713100

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24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

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Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

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25343406

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22641071/2

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25739272

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22562226

22618787

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22561444

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22619557

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22525888

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25653755

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25620111

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22610044

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25327148

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22666300 25728004

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25355515

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24726446

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25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

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22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

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22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

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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

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Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

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36

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Cruz, Bardem expecting second child

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scar-winning couple Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are expecting their second child, according to US media reports on Friday. The New York Post first reported Cruz’s pregnancy, citing unidentified sources.

Celebrity magazine Us Weekly and the website of television network E! said sources close to the couple confirmed the news. A source told E! that the “Volver” actress was “around three months” pregnant. Representatives of Cruz and Bardem did not respond to calls for comment. The Spanish couple, who married in 2010, welcomed their first child, a boy named Leo, in January 2011. Cruz and Bardem will act together in supporting roles in the upcoming Ridley Scott film “The Counselor,” which is set for a November release. Cruz, 38, won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role as an impetuous artist in Woody Allen’s 2008 comedy “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” while Bardem, 43, earned a best supporting actor Oscar in the 2007 drama “No Country for Old Men.”

Romantic Lamar Odom

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Christina Ricci is engaged T

he ‘Bel Ami’ actress has confirmed her engagement and revealed James Heerdegen popped the question “a couple months back”, according to Us Weekly. Christina met James on the set of her short lived TV series ‘Pan Am’, when he was working as a dolly grip and the duo first went public with their relationship in February 2012. Christina called off her engagement to actor Owen Benjamin in 2009, and revealed her ideal man was: “Somebody smart and funny that I love being with.

“I’ve always said to people you should never let anyone change who you are because the only commodity you really have is your individuality.” The 32-year-old actress who landed her first film role in ‘Mermaids’ aged 10 - previously revealed she is happy to have left her twenties behind. She said: “I’m so glad I’m not 20-years-old any more. I was in a hurricane. I’m a lot calmer now. I don’t cause destruction for myself and others everywhere I go.” “I take things as they happen and I’ve learned to be calm about things, troubleshoot problem as they arise and make the best out of things.” But despite the mayhem, Christina - who suffered from an eating disorder in her early teenage years - wouldn’t change a thing about her wild-girl past. She explained: “It all kind of makes up the back story which is my life.”

amar Odom sends Khloe Kardashian flowers when he has an away game. The LA Clippers basketball player often has to travel for work but Khloe, 28, revealed her romantic husband likes to show her that he is thinking of her, even though he’s not there. She told E! News: “”I am very blessed and lucky. Lamar will out of the blue just send me flowers just because he’s like ‘I miss you’ while he’s on the road or whatever.” While Lamar will be working on Valentine’s Day, Khloe doesn’t mind because she and Lamar don’t just celebrate their love on one day of the year. She explained: “Well, I am a big holiday person, but I don’t stress...I think a lot of people put a lot of emphasis on Valentine’s Day and it almost makes their boyfriend or husband or significant other maybe feel a little bit nervous. “Lamar does have a game on Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles, which, I’m used to; he typically has a game every holiday. But I wish people didn’t put so much emphasis on that, there shouldn’t be one day out of the year where you’re like, ‘Oh I love you let’s go to dinner and have candlelight.’ I want that to be like every day. And it should be. “It’s still fun and we’ll get each other a card or flowers or something like that but it’s more mellow for us.”

Chenoweth in bitter row with American Airlines

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ark Wahlberg and Ted will present at the Oscars. The 41-year-old actor will be joined on stage at the Academy Awards later this month by the teddy bear - his ‘Ted’ co-star - and producers have joked Mark only got the job thanks to Ted. Telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron said: “We are happy to make it possible for Mark and Ted to make their debut appearance on the Oscar stage. And we won’t deny that Ted used his pull with our host to get himself the booking.” Ted added he was excited but worried about how to pronounce some of the names, such as Quvenzhane Wallis, the nine-year-old actress who has been nominated in the Best Actress category for her role in ‘Beasts Of The Southern Wild’. He joked: “I’m excited to present an Oscar with Mark Wahlberg. I’m spending the next month learning to pronounce ‘Quvenzhane.” Mark recently revealed ‘Ted’ director and 2013 Oscars host Seth MacFarlane has begun work on a sequel to the hit R-rated comedy caper about a teddy bear that comes alive. He said: “They are working on it now. The great thing about it is Seth’s ideas for the second one are sick. “He comes from a world of television so he knows how to tell stories, the way that most people don’t. He’s a different kind of guy.”

A

K

ristin Chenoweth has blasted American Airlines after they refused to let her dog board a flight. The ‘Glee’ actress took to her Twitter account to complain about her trip “from hell” after she was told she didn’t have the right paperwork to take her Maltese Maddie on the plane and was reduced to tears by a “verbally abusive” supervisor, according to gossip website TMZ. Kristin tweeted: “American Airlines: Dallas flight attend supervisor: Ms Kidwell. Abuse not ok. #tripfromhell (sic).” After the company saw its error, the offered the actress their apologies and refunded the $125 cabin pet charge. A spokesperson said: “We hope she will consider flying American again in the future.” Last year Kristin was rushed to hospital after being injured on the set of ‘The Good Wife’. The 44-year-old actress was hit by a piece of the lighting equipment while shooting a scene on Kent Avenue in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn and taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment.

Kristin’s injuries prevented her from finishing her guest stint on the show.

She said: “It is with deep regret to inform everyone that due to my injuries, I am unable to return to ‘The Good Wife’. [I’m] getting better slowly, and thank you everyone for your concern.”

Wahlberg, Ted to present at Oscars

Tatum says fatherhood will be ‘intense’

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he ‘Side Effects’ actor and his wife Jenna DewanTatum are expecting their first child later this year and while Channing can’t wait to become a dad, he admits it will be challenging. He told Us Weekly: “The rest of this year is going to be pretty nuts. Even during having the baby - the baby-having process - it’s going to be intense.” Channing, 32, previously revealed he is terrified but excited about the impending birth. He said: “I mean, I don’t think there’s one thing that doesn’t terrify you, but in the most unbelievably beautiful way. Someone said it’s really like watching your heart jump out of your body and run around, and I think that can possibly be the coolest thing that I’ve heard of.” Meanwhile, Jenna has been having strange dreams about floating on a magic carpet since getting pregnant, and thinks her elevated hormones are to blame. In a Twitter post, she explained: “OK my fellow preggars ladies about these hormonal dreams ... Is it normal to fly on a magic carpet while presenting at Golden globes?? Lol. (sic)” The 32-year-old screen beauty her ‘Magic Mike’ star spouse on the set of 2006 film ‘Step Up’ and married him in 2009.

Judd’s turbulent marriage

shley Judd and her estranged husband Dario Franchitti had a turbulent marriage. The ‘Dolphin Tale’ actress and the Scottish racing driver recently decided to end their 11-year marriage but according to friends, the split was not a huge shock. A source told People: “They can be having a drink or dinner and all of a sudden sparks will fly, and they will be fighting over something that was said in their group of friends. Then it would stop and everything was fine between them.”

However, some pals were surprised as they believed Ashley, 44, and Dario, 39, who got engaged in December 1999 and married in December 2001, at Skibo Castle, near Dornoch, Scotland, were happy together because she was always so supportive of his career. Another insider added: “When he was introduced, or got a good pole position she yelled and waved her hands in the air and was there to support him in a big way. He is not that outgoing but it seemed cute and like a nice thing for a high-profile actress to be so there for her husband.”

—Bang Showbiz

37

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

LIFESTYLE F e a t u r e s

Kerry Washington accepts the President’s Jamie Foxx accepts the entertainer of the year award from Samuel L Jackson. award.

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Washington wins 3 trophies at NAACP Image Awards

erry Washington was a triple threat at the NAACP Image Awards. The star of ABC’s “Scandal” picked up a trio of trophies at the 44th annual ceremony: outstanding actress in a drama series for “Scandal,” supporting actress in a motion picture for “Django Unchained” and the President’s Award, which is given in recognition of special achievement and exceptional public service. “This award does not belong to me,” said Washington, who plays a slave separated from her husband in “Django Unchained,” as she picked up her first trophy of the evening for her role in the film directed by Quentin Tarantino. “It belongs to our ancestors. We shot this film on a slave plantation, and they were with us along every step of the way.”

Washington, who plays crisis management consultant Olivia Pope on “Scandal,” serves on President Barack Obama’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Don Cheedle was awarded the outstanding actor in a comedy series trophy for his role as a slick management consultant in Showtime’s “House of Lies.”“This doesn’t belong just to me, but I am taking it home tonight,” joked Cheedle. A few winners weren’t present at the Shrine Auditorium to pick up their trophies, including Denzel Washington for outstanding actor in a motion picture for “Flight,” Viola Davis for outstanding actress in a motion picture for “Won’t Back Down” and Omar Epps for supporting actor in a drama series for Fox’s “House.”

“Red Tails,” the drama about the Tuskegee Airmen, was honored as outstanding motion picture. “Look! I beat Quentin Tarantino,” beamed “Red Tails” executive producer George

Loretta Devine accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for “Grey’s Anatomy”.

LL Cool J accepts the award for outstanding actor in a drama series for “NCIS: Los Angeles”.

Cassi Davis accepts the award for outstanding actress in a comedy series for “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”.

Lucas as he accepted the award. LL Cool J, who was honored as outstanding actor in a drama series for CBS’“NCIS: Los Angeles,” dedicated his trophy to fellow nominee Michael Clarke Duncan, “The Green Mile” and “The Finder” actor who died last year. “I wish his family well,” said LL. “Let’s give it up for him.” Gladys Knight

sang during the in memoriam segment, but the beginning of her performance wasn’t heard on the live NBC broadcast because of a technical glitch.

Sidney Poitier presented Harry Belafonte with the Spingarn Award, which honors outstanding achievement by an African American.

His honor was followed by a serenade from Wyclef Jean and Common. Other winners at the ceremony hosted by talk show host Steve Harvey included Loretta Devine as supporting actress in a drama series for “Grey’s Anatomy,” Cassi Davis as outstanding actress in a comedy series and Lance Gross as outstanding support-

Don Cheadle accepts the award for outstanding actor in a comedy series for “House of Lies”.

Quvenzhane Wallis, left, accepts the award for outstanding actress in a motion picture on behalf of Viola Davis for “Won’t Back Down” from Samuel L Jackson.

Panetta calls ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ a ‘good movie’

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Tristan Wilds poses backstage with the award for outstanding motion picture for “Red Tails” at the 44th Annual NAACP Image Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. —AP photos

he man who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, ex-CIA director Leon Panetta, vouched Friday for “Zero Dark Thirty,” calling it a “good movie” even though the tale of the biggest manhunt in history had to be simplified for the big screen. “It’s a movie,” Panetta said, laughing. “And it’s a good movie. But I lived the real story,” he told AFP in an interview. Panetta, who is due to step down as US defense secretary this month, said the film should not be seen as a historical account of a secret operation that he was intimately involved with as the head of the CIA from 2009 to 2011. “And it’s a little tough for me to take everything I saw and all of the work that was done and that was involved in that operation... and all of the people that worked at it and think you could put that all into a two-hour movie. You really can’t.” But Panetta indicated that the Oscar-nominated film did convey some sense of the years of legwork it took the

CIA to track down the Al-Qaeda mastermind to a hideout in Pakistan. “I think people ought to make their own judgments. There are parts of it that give you a good sense of how the intelligence operations do work. But I also think people in the end have to understand that it isn’t a documentary, it’s a movie.”

The film, starring Jessica Chastain as a relentless CIA officer, suggests that torture and abuse of some suspects helped generate information that led to the May 2011 raid that ultimately took out bin Laden. The portrayal has sparked criticism from some senators, rights advocates and even the acting head of the CIA, Michael Morrell. But Panetta said harsh interrogation methods, including water boarding or simulated drowning, did play a role in locating bin Laden, though not a decisive one.

“The whole effort in going after bin Laden involved 10 years of work, in piecing together various pieces of intelligence that were gath-

ered. And there’s no question that some of the intelligence gathered was a result of some of these methods,” he said. “But I think it’s difficult to say that they were the critical element. I think they were part of the vast puzzle that you had to put together in order to ultimately locate where bin Laden was.”

Asked if the Al-Qaeda leader would have been discovered even without the interrogation methods widely condemned as torture, Panetta said: “I think we would have found him, even without that piece of the puzzle.”

The CIA and the Pentagon heavily cooperated with the filmmakers, who were given access to officials and even a Navy SEAL commando familiar with the raid. Panetta declined to offer a critique of how he was portrayed on screen

by Hollywood star James Gandolfini, but joked that he was grateful the actor chosen to play him shared his Italian-American heritage. “You know, I’m glad that it was an Italian.” —AFP

ing actor in a comedy series for TBS’ “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.” The Image Awards are presented annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the group’s members select the winners. —AP

Lance Gross accepts the award for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

lifestyle

Puerto Rico

5 free things in

T R A V E L

Tourists walk near the 16th century Spanish fort called El Morro in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. — AP photos

Tourists walk near the 16th century Spanish fort called El Morro in Old San Juan.

T

here may have been a time when Puerto Rico was a cheap getaway but those days are long gone. Puerto Rico is heavily dependent on imported goods and fuel and that’s reflected in prices from a taxi ride from the airport to the drinks at your hotel.

And it is, after all, the Caribbean, where tourists should expect eye-popping bills in season. A six-star hotel that opened recently in Dorado, east of San Juan, advertised rates starting at $1,500 a night, ranging up to nearly $5,000. There are, of course, cheaper options. There are also things to do that don’t cost anything at all. Here are five of them:

BEACHES It’s an island about the size of Connecticut so there are many beaches, about 300 accord-

Tourists walk near the 16th century Spanish fort called El Morro.

ing to some estimates. In the capital, Isla Verde Beach is good for swimming and lolling on soft sand, groomed daily. Playita del Condado is a protected cove that is ideal for young kids and a surprisingly good place to snorkel for being in the middle of San Juan.

Things get much better outside the capital.

Crash Boat, about an hour west of San Juan, is great for swimming and snorkeling. Farther west in the west coast town of Rincon is Maria’s, which has great surf. Also recommended are the beaches along the entrance to the Guanica Dry Forest Reserve as well as Seven Seas in the east coast town of Fajardo.

A good tip for all Puerto Rican beaches is to go early in the morning when the water is calm and there are no crowds.

Otherwise, go to Vieques, which has spec-

A woman walks in a street of the historic colonial section of Old San Juan.

People enjoy a sunny day at the Isla Verde Beachs, in Carolina.

tacular beaches and that are secluded even in the high season.

EL YUNQUE About a half-hour drive from San Juan, thanks to a relatively new toll road, is an actual tropical rain forest, the only one that is part of the US forest system. El Yunque National Forest is a cool oasis on a hot day. The well-maintained trails are often shrouded in misty clouds and you can cool off in a waterfall or a river pool along the relatively easy Big Tree Trail.

EL MORRO There’s an entrance fee to enter the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, but the best way to enjoy this US National Historic Site requires no money at all. The fort that towers over San Juan Bay,

People walk in a street of the historic colonial section of San Juan named Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. known universally as just “El Morro,” is a great place to stroll, especially at sunset. The massive rolling expanse of grass at the foot of the fort has spectacular views in any direction. It’s a popular place to picnic and fly a kite, sold by nearby street vendors.

OLD SAN JUAN At the foot of El Morro is the old city, the colonial heart of San Juan. In recent years, Old San Juan has been on an upswing; its cobblestone streets are cleaner and livelier. New stores, restaurants and coffee shops have opened and many of the old homes have been restored. It’s a working city, home to the governor’s office and mansion - said to be the oldest in the western hemisphere - as well as other government offices and an increasing number

People walk in a street of the historic colonial section of Old San Juan.

of professional firms. It’s also become an increasingly busy cruise ship port and outlet and luxury goods shops have proliferated in response.

MUSIC AND SALSA A good place to catch free live music several nights a week is the Plaza Mercado, a fruit and vegetable market in Santurce, a neighborhood that is also home to what are considered some of the best restaurants in Puerto Rico. The lobby of the El San Juan in Isla Verde usually has live music and dancing on weekends. The bar of course isn’t free but there’s no charge to get in. The dancers can be intimidatingly good so the less-skilled may be content just to watch the scene. A number of restaurants and hotels also regularly advertise free salsa lessons.

People walk through a cobblestone street in Old San Juan.

People enjoy a sunny day at the Isla Verde Beachs, in Carolina.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

lifestyle T R A V E L

A statue of President Lincoln and his horse outside President Lincoln’s Cottage, a historic site in Washington DC Lincoln summered here with his family and often commuted a half-hour on horseback to the White House each day.

The exterior of Ford’s Theatre in Washington.

Lots to see and do Lincoln for

fans in

Washington W

hether you’re interested in Lincoln the president or “Lincoln” the movie, Washington is a downright thrilling destination. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and one of the country’s most admired, rising from humble roots in a frontier cabin to become a self-educated lawyer and brilliant politician. As president, he ended slavery by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation and preserved the nation despite the Civil War. The story of his assassination is one of the best-known chapters of American history.

Many museums are offering special exhibits for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. Other sites can be visited any time: the Lincoln Memorial, the cottage where he summered, Ford’s Theatre, where he was shot, and the Petersen House, where he died.

Lincoln memorial: This larger-than-life white marble statue of Lincoln, completed in 1922, sits inside a massive columned building.

The design, according to the National Park Service, was inspired by the Parthenon, the ancient Greek temple that is considered the birthplace of democracy. About 6 million people visit the memorial each year. Even on a cold winter day, the steps are crowded with visitors from around the world taking pictures and speaking many languages. Located on the National Mall, http://www.nps.gov/linc/ .

Ford’s theatre and Petersen house: Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre in 1865 while watching a play with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. He was brought to a house across the street, now a museum and historic site called the Petersen House. You can see the room where he died and where his war secretary, Edwin Stanton, was said to have uttered the famous words: “Now he belongs to the ages.”

A visit to Ford’s and the Petersen House reveals fascinating details of the crime: The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, an actor as famous in his day as Justin Bieber or George Clooney, walked right up to the box where Lincoln was sitting and shot him in the head. He then leapt to the stage, ran out and fled by horse. Booth was hunted down and shot in a barn 12 days later. A plaque marks the site of a nearby boardinghouse where conspirators were said to have plotted the assassination; the building at 604 H St (originally 541 H St) is now a restaurant. The boardinghouse owner, Mary Surratt, was hanged.

Within 16 months of the assassination, Ford’s Theatre closed and the federal government bought the building. The interior was ripped out and turned into offices. In 1933, the National Park Service acquired the building as a site of historic significance. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson sanctioned the restoration of a working theater and the interior was recreated to look the way it did when Lincoln was shot.

Every president since 1968 has attended a show here, though they now sit near the stage, not in the box. Exhibits at Ford’s and at Petersen House include Booth’s diary and pistol, Lincoln’s shawl, campaign memorabilia and photos.

Located at 511 10th St, NW, http://www.fordstheatre.org/. Hours vary, depending on show schedules. Tickets do sell out. Tickets for a selfguided walk-through of Ford’s and Petersen House bought through Ticketmaster including fees are $9.75.

President Lincoln’s cottage: This was Lincoln’s summer home, where he and his family escaped Washington’s heat and humidity.

Located on a breezy hill three miles (4.8 kilometers) from the White House, it was the 19th century equivalent of contemporary presidential retreats like Camp David. A statue of Lincoln and his horse evoke his daily half-hour commute to the White House on horseback. He first visited the house three days after his inauguration and last rode to the site the day before he was shot.

Wagonloads of furniture were brought here each summer from the White House. But unlike many historic sites, the house today is not filled with furniture or personal items, and that’s the point. Guided tours of the mostly empty rooms

emphasize Lincoln’s ideas and the people he encountered during his stays here and on his daily rides, from favor-seekers and foreigners to former slaves and soldiers. You’ll stand in the room where he read Shakespeare and the Bible, hear about his meetings with the secretary of war, see the view from the porch that once offered a clear sightline all the way to downtown Washington, and walk up the stairs where his footsteps were heard when he couldn’t sleep. Through April 30, an exhibit here displays one of just 26 existing signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Located on the grounds of one of the country’s first federally funded homes for soldiers, known today as the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Entrance at Rock Creek Church Road NW and Upshur Street NW, near 140 Rock Creek Church Road NW. Free parking. Closest metro station, nearly a mile (1.2 kilometers) away, Georgia Avenue/Petworth stop on green/yellow lines. From the metro, the local H8 bus takes four minutes and stops at the site’s front gate.

Open 9:30 am-4:30 pm, Monday-Saturday (first tour 10 am, last 3 pm) and 10:30 am-4:30 pm Sundays (tours 11 am-3 pm). Guided tour tickets required, $15 ($5 for children ages 6-12), http://lincolncottage.org/ .Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History: Lincoln’s famous top hat, brown and glossy with age, is currently on display here in the “Changing

The interior of the theater in Washington DC where President Lincoln was shot while attending a play in 1865. signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” (Score is an archaic term for 20 years.)

Another treasure is in the museum’s “The First Ladies” exhibit (third floor): Mary Todd Lincoln’s purple velvet gown with white satin piping, mother of pearl buttons and an enormous hoop skirt. The dress was made by her seamstress and confidante, Elizabeth Keckley, an African-American woman who had purchased her own freedom.

“The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden” (third floor east) highlights other Lincoln objects including hand casts made two days after he was nominated for presidency, showing his right hand still swollen from shaking so many hands. Uniforms, weapons and other Civil War relics can be seen in “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War” (third floor east).

Located between 12th and 14th streets on Constitution Avenue NW, free and open daily, http://americanhistory.si.edu/ .

File photo shows a Secret Service agent stands watch while President-elect Barack Obama, not shown, visits the Lincoln Memorial with his family, none visible, in Washington. — AP photos

This undated image provided by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History shows Mary Todd Lincoln’s purple velvet gown from “The First Ladies” exhibit.

America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963” exhibit (second floor east through Sept 15). Lincoln

This undated file photo originally released by the Smithsonian, the top hat President Abraham Lincoln wore the night he was assassinated, is shown. was tall at 6 foot 3 (1.9 meters) and the hat made him even taller. He wore the hat to Ford’s Theatre the night he was murdered.

The “Changing America” exhibit portrays the sweep of history from the abolition of slavery to the civil rights movement. When Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington, he stood at the Lincoln Memorial and echoed Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address, which began, “Four score and seven years ago.” King’s opening line: “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand,

Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery: “The Civil War and American Art” (first floor west), on display through April 28, offers paintings portraying what the museum describes as the “transformative impact of the Civil War and its aftermath.”

An 1865 landscape painting of Yosemite Valley notes that Lincoln set aside the California wilderness as America’s first federally protected park. Other works show scenes of soldiers.

Many of the most thought-provoking images depict African-Americans fleeing slavery or con-

templating their new postwar lives. The exhibit includes paintings by some of the era’s most important artists, Winslow Homer, Eastman Johnson, Frederic Church and Sanford Gifford.

In the National Portrait Gallery, you’ll find a photo made of Lincoln in a local studio in 1865, a painting of the president by George P.A. Healy, and plaster casts of Lincoln’s face - one made early in his tenure, another made later showing the toll the war took on his gaunt features - along with casts of his hands.

Located at Eighth and F streets NW, free and open daily, http://americanart.si.edu/civilwar and http://npg.si.edu .

Newseum: An exhibit here called “Blood and Ink: Front Pages From the Civil War” displays more than 30 front pages from the era, from the founding of the Confederacy through Lincoln’s death. “A Nation Mourns,” reads one headline.

Located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, the former site of the National Hotel, where Booth was staying when he shot Lincoln, http://www.newseum.org/. Daily, 9 am-5 pm. Tickets, $21.95 plus tax ($12.95 for ages 7 to 18).

Dining: Two excellent restaurants near Ford’s Theatre are Jaleo, pricey but fabulous tapas, 480 Seventh St, NW, and Teaism, a local chain offering moderately priced eclectic and Asian-influenced dishes, 400 Eighth St, NW. A restaurant called Lincoln, 1110 Vermont Ave, NW, offers a locavore menu and a floor covered with Lincoln pennies. — AP

This Jan 15, 2008, file photo shows the newly renovated Anderson Cottage at the Old Soldiers’ Home, which came to be known as Lincoln’s Cottage located three miles from the White House, in Washington.

Cruz, Bardem expecting second child

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

An East African origin India-based Sufi artist breaks a coconut on his head during a performance of traditional dance and song at the International Festival of Sufi and Traditional Music in Kolkata on February 1, 2013. Artists from eight countries will participate in the three-day festival from February 1, which is organized to create awareness and popularize traditional forms of music.—AFP

Snake charmers for your

F

Equipment ‘Sloan’ crewneck cashmere sweater, from Nordstrom.

Judith Leiber year of the snake clutch, from NeimanMarcus.com.

mond eyes. Giuseppe Zanotti takes on the classic outdoor slipper with the snake-print smoking slipper in metallic silver, from BergdorfGoodman.com.

Famed handbag designer Judith Leiber created a special year of the snake clutch, from NeimanMarcus.com. The coiled snake is adorned with hand-applied crystals.

Slither around in style behind the Lanvin snakeprint leather accented modified square sunglasses, from Saksfifthavenue.com. Dress up your smart phone in this Stella McCartney snake-print iPhone case, from Farfetch.com. It’s a paralyzed nude snake-print case with gold-tone chain edging and tonal faux suede whipstitch trim.

or those who follow the Chinese zodiac, the year of the snake begins Feb 10. People born under this sign are thought to be more likely to be seductive, gregarious, charming, smart, good with money and, at times, a little jealous. The reptiles themselves are beautiful, sometimes dangerous, creatures that have inspired countless designers over the years. Here are some ways to incorporate the symbol of the year into your wardrobe, with no harm done to any living creature.

It’s hard not to turn heads in Equipment’s Sloane crewneck cashmere sweater, from Nordstrom, with its snakeskin print in neon yellow.

The Sabine print midi dress, from Piperlime.com, makes for a fun twist on the classic floral print, flowy dress for spring.

The Eight Sixty snake print high-low blouse, from RonHerman.com, features a contrast collar that gives the blouse a little more edge. Pair the 7 For All Mankind the skinny laser snake jeans, from Amazon.com, with a plain tee and solid heels for a go-to outfit for any occasion.

Snake-shaped jewelry is a great way to wear the trend in a subtle way. For a snake accent, try the Jennifer Fisher brass snake cuff, from Barneys.com, the Aurelie Bidermann snake hoop earrings, from NeimanMarcus.com, or the Steven Alan 14-karat gold snake ring by Grace Lee, at stevenalan.com, with snakeskin texture and dia-

Jennifer Fisher brass snake cuff, from Barneys.com.

7 For All Mankind the skinny laser snake jeans, from Amazon.com.

Giuseppe Zanotti snake-print smoking slipper, from BergdorfGoodman.com.

Lanvin snake-print leather accented modified square sunglasses, from Saksfifthavenue.com.

A Steven Alan snake ring by Grace Lee, from StevenAlan.com. —MCT photos

Sabine print midi dress, from Piperlime.com.

Aurelie Bidermann snake hoop earrings, from NeimanMarcus.com.

Dubai hosts first sculpture Symposium 2 T he Cultural and Scientific Association in Dubai will host the 1st edition of Sculpture Dubai from February 18 to March 8, 2013, with the participation of a number of celebrated fine artists from 13 Arab countries, namely Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, KSA, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Qatar, Sudan, the Sultanate of Oman, Syria, Tunisia, and the host country the UAE. The announcement was made

by Sculpture Dubai’s Organising Committee in a press conference that was held at the Cultural and Scientific Association’s headquarters and attended by Mr Sultan Saqr Al- Suwaidi, Chairman of the Cultural and Scientific Association, Dr Abdul Khaliq Abdullah, Board Member and Head of the Cultural Committee, and fine artists Najat Mekki, Mattar bin Lahej and Yasser Gargawi, Acting Director of

Projects and Event at Dubai Culture, who briefed the attendees on the objectives, activities, and participants of Sculpture Dubai, clarifying the importance of the event to Dubai and its expected future results. They also discussed a number of art and artists’ issues in the UAE and Arab World.

Speaking on the occasion, Sultan Saqr Al-Suwaidi, said: “Organising such activities aims

to boost the UAE’s position in the fine and creative art field and demonstrate the ability of Emirati art to keep up with the latest world developments. The event also aims to stimulate the art of sculpture, aid in the exchange of culture and artistic expertise and provide a platform to network with elite Arab world’s fine artists. Through Sculpture Dubai we wish to lay the foundation stone of this art in the country, confirming the leading role of Dubai as a pioneering city in the field of fine art, with a particular focus on sculpture.”

Dr Abdul Khaliq Abdullah added: “The Cultural and Scientific Association is keen to diversify its activities and include sculpture and aims to keep up with the latest trends, further adding to the vibrant cultural movement in the country. The symposium aims to decorate the city of Dubai with world-classworks of sculpture, as part of preparation to host Expo 2020.”

The Organising Committee expects the Sculpture Dubai to be a great success and a number of student workshops will be held on the symposium’s side lines, with the aim of enriching aspiring young sculptors experience, enhancing their skills, and further encourage the growth of the country’s art movement. They asserted that such activities that attract high profile participants hold a great value due to host

country.

The Organising Committee is comprised of Mr Mohammed AlSalaki, Board Member and Head of the Cultural Committee Dr Abdul Khaliq Abdullah, and fine artists Dr Najat Mekki, Ibrahim AlHashimi, and Mattar bin Lahej.

A number of activities and programmes are scheduled to take place during the symposium, including daily workshops from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm with the participation of various artists to produce the artworks planned by the Cultural and Scientific Association. A number of parallel student workshops will be organised and students from UAE art colleges may register in coordination with their universities. The daily 2-3 hour workshops aim to introduce stone sculpture art and help students create small artworks under the supervision of one of the attending artists.

The list of participating artists in Dubai Sculpture 2013 includes Abdul Rahim Salim and Mattar bin Lahej from the UAE, Mansour Al-Mansi from Egypt, In twan Basbous and Antoine Basbous from Lebanon, Ayoub AlBaloushi from Oman, Ali AlToukhais from the KSA, Khalid Marghani from Sudan, Mohammed bin Al-Amin from Libya, Ali Al-Mahmeed from Bahrain, Ahmed Al-Subai from Qatar, Ahmed Kanaan from Palestine, Nisreen Al-Saleh and Sohail Badour from Syria, Muhraiz Al-Louz from Tunisia and guest of honour artist Sami Mohammed from Kuwait, who has been selected by the Organising Committee in recognition of his history in the Kuwaiti fine art movement and his experience and achievements in this field.