6 Feb 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Bulgaria links Hezbollah to bombing of Israelis

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RABI ALAWAL 25, 1434 AH

Kim Jong-Un and the mystery smartphone

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US hostage standoff ends with child safe, gunman dead

Scolari says he deserves second chance with Brazil

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Oppn demonstrates after court jails three ex-MPs Qallaf files to grill communications minister

Max 20º Min 08º High Tide 09:07 & 18:59 Low Tide 02:05 & 13:12

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Opposition supporters take part in a protest in Egaila yesterday after the criminal court sentenced three former opposition MPs - Khaled Al-Tahous, Falah AlSawwagh and Bader Al-Dahoum - to three years in jail for insulting HH the Amir.

(Inset) Opposition leader and former MP Musallam Al-Barrak addresses the crowd flanked by Tahous (left), Dahoum (second right) and Sawwagh at Sawwagh’s house yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

54 govts aided CIA renditions WASHINGTON: Fifty-four foreign governments assisted the CIA in a global campaign that included harsh interrogations of suspects, a rights advocacy group said yesterday, as it pressed for greater accountability. The report by Open Society Foundations marks the most comprehensive list of countries that helped the United States in what critics saw as excesses by then president George W Bush’s administration after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks. Bush authorized “extraordinary rendition” the transferring of individuals without legal process - to allow US and foreign intelligence agencies to interrogate alleged extremists outside the protections ensured on US soil.

The Open Society Foundations found evidence that 54 foreign governments supported the system by actions such as hosting CIA prisons, interrogating suspects, allowing airspace for secret flights or providing intelligence. Many of the cases involve countries that have long fought Islamic militants on their home territory such as Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The report also listed close US allies such as Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Thailand.

South Africa was listed in part due to allegations the Pretoria government gave US intelligence the green light in 2003 to abduct Saud Memon, a Pakistani suspected in the slaying of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Memon died shortly after his release in Pakistan in 2007. The study also listed Iran, saying that despite poor relations with the United States, Tehran indirectly handed over at least 10 suspects - mostly Arabs - to US custody via the Kabul government.

The report called for accountability both in the United States and overseas, saying there was “no doubt” that Bush administration officials authorized what it called human rights violations. “By engaging in torture and other abuses associated with secret detention and extraordinary rendition, the US government violated domestic and international law, thereby diminishing its moral standing and eroding Continued on Page 13

Riots as B’desh court jails Islamist for life

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KUWAIT: A large number of opposition supporters gathered yesterday at the house of former MP Falah AlSawwagh to protest “harsh” jail terms against three former opposition MPs - Falah Al-Sawwagh, Khaled AlTahous and Bader Al-Dahoum - on charges of undermining the authorities of HH the Amir and criticizing him in public. Then they marched from Fintas to Egailah, where the house of Tahous is located, chanting anti-government slogans. The opposition had earlier described the sentence as “political” and called for supporters to gather at Sawwagh’s house to express solidarity with him and to denounce the clampdown against opposition figures.

“This is a political ruling,” former MP and opposition leader Mussallam Al-Barrak, who is facing similar charges, said after yesterday’s verdict was issued. “They have breached the constitution and played with the election system ... now they want to terrorise us ... we will not surrender and will not be scared,” Barrak told opposition supporters at the house of Tahous. Barrak called for unifying the opposition under one leadership and said that daily protests will be staged in various areas of Kuwait.

Chief of the Awazem tribe Falah bin Jame, the largest bedouin tribe in Kuwait, strongly criticized the ruling and warned the Kuwaiti judiciary against being politicized by the government and used against the opposition. He said that harsh sentences were being issued against opposition members while others were being spared, adding that the three former MPs did not deserve jail terms for what they said. Former Islamist opposition MP Khaled Al-Sultan warned that “politicising the judiciary” could trigger violent reactions and held the government responsible for the consequences.

The Information Ministry said Kuwait has a “transparent and independent judicial system”. “All citizens, regardless of their position, are equal in the eyes of the law. Anyone accused of a crime in Kuwait will get a fair trial with a comprehensive legal defence and open appeals process,” said the ministry. Kuwait has seen many opposition-led demonstrations in protest against the amendment to the electoral law which they claimed allowed the government to influence election results and elect a rubberstamp Assembly.

Mohammad Al-Humaidi, director of Kuwait Society for Human Rights, confirmed yesterday’s verdict and said what the defendants spoke at the gathering was “more of an advice rather than a criticism”. “There is no clause in the Kuwaiti constitution that bars people from addressing the Amir directly and advising him,” Humaidi said.

Continued on Page 2

Pressure mounting on Assad over oppn offer

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Ahmadinejad kissed, scolded in Egypt Top cleric rebukes Iran at meeting • Cairo reassures Gulf

King Richard III’s face revealed after 500 yrs LONDON: The face of England’s muchmaligned king Richard III was revealed for the first time in 500 years yesterday following a reconstruction of his skeleton which was found buried underneath a car park. The three-dimensional plastic model is based on a CT scan of the skull of the king, who was killed in battle in 1485 after just two years on the throne but lived on as one of history’s worst villains in the eponymous play by William Shakespeare.

Academics hope the discover y of his remains under a car park in the central English city of Leicester, complete with the twisted spine of folklore and major wounds to his skull, will lead to a rehabilitation of his reputation.

And Richard III enthusiasts believe the image of his face, until now only depicted in paintings, will be key to rewriting his legend. ”It’s an interesting face, younger and fuller than we have been used to seeing, less careworn, and with the hint of a smile,” said Phil Stone, chairman of the Richard III Society.

Another member of the society,

Philippa Langley, who led the project to unearth the bones of the last Plantagenet king, said the reconstruction showed for the first time what he might have looked like when he died in battle aged 32. “The portraiture that we have of him that was done in the Tudor era always seems to bring out this guy who looks like he was 50,” she told AFP. “He led armies and he fought many skirmishes and I think you can see that strength of character and that determination.”

The task of reconstructing the face - complete with shoulder-length black hair - was led by Caroline Wilkinson, professor of craniofacial identification at the University of Dundee in Scotland, and paid for by the Richard III Society. Her team created a scientific reconstruction using a CT scan of the remains, without any reference to contemporary portraits of the king, and then “humanised” it by painting the face and adding features such as brows and eyelashes. Another academic has been trying to establish how Continued on Page 13

CAIRO: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was both kissed and scolded yesterday when he began the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Tehran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. The trip was meant to underline a thaw in relations since Egyptians elected an Islamist head of state, President Mohamed Morsi, last June. But it also highlighted deep theological and geopolitical differences.

Morsi, a member of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, kissed Ahmadinejad after

he landed at Cairo airport and gave him a red carpet reception with military honours. Ahmadinejad beamed as he shook hands with waiting dignitaries.

But the Shiite Iranian leader received a stiff rebuke when he met Egypt’s leading Sunni Muslim scholar later at Cairo’s historic Al-Azhar mosque and university.

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, head of the 1,000-year-old seat of religious learning, urged Iran to refrain from interfering in Continued on Page 13

CAIRO: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi (right) greets his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad upon the latter’s arrival yesterday. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

LOCAL

Photo of ‘murder victim’ shocks Filipinos in Kuwait No reports yet, says embassy

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: A gruesome photo of a decapitated woman, alleged to be a Filipina, was circulated on Facebook, a social media network, shocking many in Kuwait, especially Filipinos. The photo depicted the body that appeared to be a Filipina, though no name was mentioned and her identity is yet to be confirmed. The complexion and the dress she wore could make her as someone belonging to a different nationality also.

The body lay in a pool of blood with grass all around, while the accompanying text in the Facebook tag read: “Another brutal murder of a Filipina in Kuwait.”

An embassy official who asked not to be identified noted there has been no report or

information about a Filipina brutally murdered in Kuwait. “We have no information about it but will try to seek verification.”

Messages from netizens expressed anger but also sadness about the fate of the ‘murder victim.’ “The killing is yet another proof of how they are treating Filipinas here. They are murdering us just like rats and dogs,” one message read. Another comment read, “The government should stop sending Filipinas abroad.

Our embassy here should do something about the plight of Filipinos here and we have to be very careful.”

But another comment suggested that the body seemed a fake. “It could be someone alive (since) there is no discoloration. How can you say she was murdered while, in fact, it could be just a Photoshop creation,” went another com-

Oppn demonstrates after court...

Continued from Page 1 Sawwagh said that he is not going to apologize for what he said at the public rally on Oct 10 and repeated it in front of the public, saying that “the country was not going in the right direction”.

The three former MPs were taken to court following remarks they made at the Oct 10 public rally in which they warned the government against amending the electoral law. They were charged of undermining the status of the Amir which is considered a state security offense in the country’s penal code, punishable by up to five years in jail. The sentence is with immediate effect which means that the jail term must be implemented immediately without waiting for the appeals court verdict. The criminal court has in the past few weeks sentenced a number of opposition youth activists to between two and 10 years in jail for writing tweets deemed offensive to the Amir.

I n a surprising move, Shiite MP Hussein Al- Qallaf yesterday filed a request to grill Communications Minister Salem Al-Othaina over alleged administrative irregularities as MPs Saadoun Hammad and Abdullah AlTameemi said they will file a request to grill the oil minister on Sunday. Qallaf’s

grilling, the first in this pro-government Assembly elec ted just t wo months ago, is based on allegations that the minister reappointed senior employees in the ministry after they were found guilty of committing serious administrative violations by probe committees.

The lawmaker also claimed that the minister promoted some of those senior employees while reinstating them.

The other issue in the grilling is that the minister did not answer a large number of questions Qallaf had sent to him. Assembly Speaker Ali Al-Rashed said that he has received the grilling request and it will be placed on the agenda of the Feb 19 session.

Meanwhile, Hammad and Tameemi said they plan to submit a request to grill Oil M inister Hani Hussein on Sunday over a number of issues including an $800 million contract with Shell, violations at refineries, the Dow Chemical contract, an alleged deal with an Israeli company and alleged violations in appointments. I n other Assembly business, MPs approved a draft law for unemployment benefits, amended two articles in the labour law and approved the formation of a public authority for labourers to control the recruitment of expatriates.

ment.

“Don’t believe everything that appears on Facebook. It could be the imagination of a mad man.”

When the Kuwait Times made queries about the origins of the photograph, a certain ‘Rea’ on a Facebook account claimed: “I just posted it from someone and shared it. I was concerned because she looked like a Filipina. But I do pray she’s not.”

It can be recalled that late last year, a Filipina was found dead in a manhole near a private compound in Yarmoukh. Her photo was also circulated through the social media. Another photo last December showed a Filipina brutally battered by her employer, a claim that was found true and she was eventually rescued by the embassy’s Assistance to Nationals unit.

38,000 labor complaints in 2012 KUWAIT: At least 38,000 labor complaints were filed in Kuwait last year, including around 20,000 cases pertaining to delayed salaries and other financial disputes, a senior Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor official announced recently.

The remaining 18,000 complaints pertained to disputes over work permits, mainly with regards to the worker’s right to switch employers or have their visas canceled, said Deputy Director of the Public Relations Department Hadi Al-Enizy.

He added that the department’s labor disputes committee has looked into more than 6,000 grievances last year, a majority of which pertained to transfer of dependency visas (article 22) to a work visa (article 18). The department also looked into 1500 missing reports filed by employers in 2012, AlEnizy added.

Meanwhile, nearly 100 cleaning workers employed at the ministry’s social care homes staged a labor strike at the Social Care Compound in Ghernatah on Monday morning, demanding an increase in their monthly pay from KD60 to KD100.

The workers reportedly accused their company of collecting KD100 illegally for each annual leave request. Undersecretary Assistant for the Labor Department, Jamaal Al-Dousary, said the ministry was following up the issue of workers’ salaries with the company.

KUWAIT: The drug traders pictured after their arrest yesterday.

Drug traders in police net

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Drug enforcement agents arrested a gang comprising a trio of Arab expats and recovered 15 joints of haseesh and 3000 drug pills meant for sale from them. Earlier, information was received about one of the suspects being active in drug traffic. After collecting necessary information and obtaining legal permission, agents raided his house and found him with another suspect.

Police recovered 13 joints of hasheesh and 1000 pills of drug from the spot.

They confessed about their third accomplice as being the man they receive drugs from. Agents immediately raided his residence also and found two joints of hasheesh and 2000 pills of drugs. The three suspects and the drugs were sent to the concerned authorities.

Asians held Drug enforcement agents arrested two Asian expats for being in possession of 250 grams of Heroin and 1000 drug pills. Earlier, information was received about their activities in drug trade and after taking necessary legal approval, their residence was raided where police found the above mentioned drugs. They were sent to the concerned authorities along with the drugs.

Drug enforcement agents arrested an Asian expat for possessing 750 grams of Heroin. Earlier, information was received about his activities, and based on it legal permission was taken. Following this, the man was arrested from his residence. A

search of the house led to the recovery of transparent nylon bags of different sizes containing Heroin which was ready for sale along with a sensitivity measuring scale. He confessed to his involvement in drug trade and was sent to the concerned authorities along with the drugs.

Armed robbery A Kuwaiti employee of the Ministry of Interior was robbed at gunpoint by a man who hitched a ride in his car at Abdaliya Road, security sources said. In a complaint filed with the Sulaibiya police station against unidentified highway robbers, the victim said he gave a lift to the suspect who brandished a pistol and asked him to stop and get out of the car.

Two other cars stopped at this point and two men emerged from them holding knives. They tied him up and robbed him of his belongings, including whatever was in his pockets. A case was filed and police is investigating the incident.

An Egyptian guard working in a company at Jahra told the police that five unknown persons speaking Kuwaiti dialect entered the building in the wee hours of the morning at around 3 am and took away the safe, threatening to kill him. It could not be known as to what the safe contained. A case was registered and police started investigations.

Four people stabbed a Kuwaiti youth and robbed him of money and other stuff. The youth, who was taken to the Adan Hospital, reported the matter to the police.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, at a ceremony held at Bayan Palace early yesterday, received credentials of the new ambassadors of Mauritania, Turkey and the European Union to Kuwait. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of the Amiri Diwan Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Acting Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Amiri Diwan Undersecretary Ibrahim Al-Shatti and a number of senior state officials.

News

in brief

90,000 in travel ban list KUWAIT: A total of 90,000 people living in Kuwait figure in the Interior Ministry’s travel ban list as of this past weekend, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting security sources. The ban orders in case of 48,000 Kuwaitis and 42,000 nationals of 12 other countries are based on court judgments mainly in regard to unpaid dues, said the sources who spoke to Al-Qabas on the condition of anonymity. The sources explained that if anyone owed any amount, even less than KD50, to companies for state services or others can land him or her on the travel ban list. Meanwhile, borrowers who do not have court orders against them can pay the money they owe at the outlet they wish to travel from in order to have the ban immediately lifted.

Abortion doctor’s jail upheld KUWAIT: The Court of Cassation upheld a jail sentence for a doctor found guilty of selling illegal abortion pills, a local newspaper reported yesterday. The female doctor was reportedly arrested red handed after she fell into a trap laid by sleuths when she agreed to sell abortion pills to an undercover informant. The woman was sentenced by the Criminal Court to three years in prison with a KD1000 bond to suspend the sentence, but the Appeals Court scrapped the bond relief and maintained her jail sentence on the basis that the attempted crime was punishable by law as per article 45 of the Penal Code. The woman was arrested following investigations prompted by information that she used her clinic as a place to offer services for women trying to abort a pregnancy. The Court of Cassation, whose verdict is final, upheld the appeals court’s verdict and declined the doctor’s clemency appeal.

KRCS humanitarian efforts KUWAIT: The Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) is wellknown for its humanitarian efforts worldwide, said Tunisian Ambassador to Kuwait, Al-Sagheer El-Fitnasi yesterday. After meeting with Chairman of KRCS Barjas AlBarjas, El-Fitnasi commended the society’s efforts in providing relief aid to countries that suffered from natural disasters and crises. The Tunisian diplomat stressed the importance of exchanging visits between Tunisian Red Crescent (IFRC) and KRCS to enhance cooperation in humanitarian and relief fields. Meanwhile, Chairman of KRCS Al-Barjas briefed the Tunisian Ambassador on KRCS’ activities both locally and internationally.

Municipality workshop on service outlets KUWAIT: The Assistant General Manager for project affairs at Kuwait Municipality, Eng. Yousuf Habeeb Munawar, inaugurated a workshop on developing service outlets at the express roads. The workshop was held at the Movenpick Hotel.

Al-Munawar said that the third phase of the service outlets has been concluded. He also showed a documentary film that juxtaposed the highway services in GCC States and advanced countries. He explained that the state will provide the land and projects for the private sector for investment by advertising these projects through the media, and any interested companies should have the required capital and human resources for the project. A feasibility study will be carried out and a contract will be signed with the company that wins the project for compliance within an appropriate timeframe decided by the government. Once the period is over, a new bidding will be made for managing the project in order to find means of cooperation with the private sector and provide best services for citizens. He said by the end of 2015, the rest stations on all highways will be finalized.

Kuwait, Lebanon sign Cooperation accord BEIRUT: Kuwait Fund For Arab Economic Development (KFAED) and Lebanese Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) signed yesterday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish memorials in five sites to verify cooperation between Kuwait and Lebanon. On the Kuwaiti side, the MoU was signed by Director General of KFAED Abdulwahab Al-Bader and on the Lebanese side by President of CDR, Eng. Nabil El-Jisr.

El-Jisr hailed KFAED’s role in Lebanon in documenting the cooperation between the two countries and peoples in various fields. Kuwait has played a huge role in helping Lebanese civilians and rebuilding the country’s infrastructure as well as supporting its economy, he added. El-Jisr expressed appreciation to Kuwait’s Amir, government and people. For his part, KFAED’s Chief affirmed Kuwait’s persistence in supporting economic development in Lebanon via development projects, funded by KFAED. He praised the CDR in following up KFAED’s projects.

Upon their visit to Lebanon, Al-Bader and his accompanying delegation will open on Thursday the official school complex of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in Bir Hassan and a Kuwaiti school complex in Al-Dahiya Al-Janubiya with the cooperation of its municipality.—- KUNA

NA refers draft amending public sector laws to govt KUWAIT: The National Assembly (Parliament) referred, in its regular session yesterday, a draft document to the government to amend law no. 6/2010 concerning working in the country’s public sector. Article no. 9 of the modified law stipulates the creation of a public body of legal personality and an attached budget and supervised by the Ministry of Social

New public body to be formed

Affairs and Labor. The body shall manage the Ministry ’s activities as well as importing labor at the request of their employers. Moreover, article no.

10 of the adjusted law forbids employers from bringing in labor to the country without the Ministry’s approval. Employers are also not allowed to hire labor from inside or outside the country without assigning any

labor to them; otherwise they would be entitled to furnish expenses of their home return.

Once the employee is reported absent or decided to work with a different employer, the original employer is exempted from any expenses concerning the employee. The parliament also approved two draft laws; one on the public authority for manpower while the other con-

cerns unemployment insurance.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly discussed the call by the Public Prosecution for lift of parliamentary immunity of three MPs on different grounds, and the result of the vote went against the recommendation.

After review and discussion of the reports of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee, the vote was 24 nays for lift of

immunity of MP Safa Al-Hashem on grounds of a press offense, and there were also 26 nays to lift of immunity of MP Nabil AlFadhil on a criminal offense.

Meanwhile, 24 MPs voted against lift of immunity of member Abdelhamid Dashti on a media offense. Parliament Speaker Ali Fahad Al-Rashid called for a 15-minute break following the vote.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

LOCAL Local Spotlight

the column

When morality meets religion

Take note of poverty now

By Fouad Al-Obaid

By Muna Al-Fuzai

fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter:@fouadalobaid muna@kuwaittimes.net

T

T

his is an issue that I think is still seen as a taboo, a matter of shame for anyone to speak about openly.

It is true that the fact that many families fail to say a word about eventually landed them in prison. The more we maintain silence on this issue, the more damage we cause to those who fall victims to poverty.

Poverty is a concept that applies to those who fail to attain a standard of living that is adequate in that community. The outsiders think Kuwaitis are millionaires. This is not true at all. Just as in many societies, some Kuwaiti families are very wealthy. They mostly work within a family structure and have made millions through different governmental and private contracts in Kuwait and overseas.

However, such families are not more than five or six big names and permeate the business sector in Kuwait.

The Kuwaiti business society is small and mostly dominated by certain old and well known names who have won the confidence of their clients over the years. Often, these clients feel lazy and not very interested to change and go in for a new product or company in town. Instead, they prefer to keep doing business with those they know even when they are not very satisfied. They refrain from shifting loyalties to someone new even if it seems more challenging. The bottom line here is that being a Kuwaiti does not mean being rich.

A Kuwaiti would not hesitate to spend all his/her income on a good meal, decent clothes and a latest model of mobile because this is typical of Kuwaitis’ lifestyle.

According to the United Nations standards, the poverty line is linked to the average per capita income in Kuwait.

So, compared to international standards, anyone with less than 60 percent of the average income of KD 1000 would fall below the poverty line if he has a family with five members.

In fact, reports indicated that the per capita Kuwaiti GDP reached KD 8,881 annually, thus averaging KD 740 a month. We need to understand that if you were born in Kuwait then you will have to keep up with the society’s expectations and the high standard of living which is not becoming any cheaper. If you were born in an isolated village in Africa, for example, then maybe the tent is considered an adequate house because that is how many in that society live. In Kuwait, however, no one stays in a tent, whether Kuwaiti or not. I believe it is time to take note of this issue in the light of repeated complaints I listen from Bedoons and Kuwaitis about the expensive life style in Kuwait. Not every Kuwaiti lives in a villa of his own.

kuwait digest

Victims of our own MPs

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

I

am personally convinced that actor Mahmoud Yaseen is no genius, with all due respect for his long history in acting. I was never convinced that he was an actor; he is only someone good at depicting the required face of whichever character he was playing; nothing more and nothing less. However, this is my personal conviction as a member of the audience and not as a critic. Critics might have a different opinion.

And in a case of similar conviction, I think that some of the politicians in my country are only politicians by name. I am particularly referring to certain members of the current National Assembly.

Unfortunately, they reached the Council in exceptional circumstances. Some of them could not have become members of a parents’ board in a kindergarten school but such was the role that destiny played that we have become victims of these MPs. With their strange proposal, these MPs have proved how far removed from politics they are. Even Abdally would seem nearer to Wafra compared to the distance between ground realities and their proposals. They do not understand that they represent the entire nation, and no other party. I really do not blame a minister who shouted during a parliamentary session, when they threatened to grill him, “You actu-

ally believed that you have become an MP?” I do not blame the government if it is dealing with some of the MPs as if they were undersecretaries and not people with powers to legislate and supervise, or people who can actually remove a minister and bring down a government if they so desired.

Imagine a man who owns a six-storey building who gives up his rights to work as a guard in that building and is paid by its residents. They give him orders and put aside a few dinars as a salary every month for him. Such is the case with our MPs who have given up the constitutional remedies and legislative powers available to them in lieu of favours from the government, although they are the one who own the N.A. Council by virtue of the authority vested in them by the public. Dear, you are the ones who own the Parliament, by an authority we have invested in you. Therefore, you cannot give up even a small part of your constitutional tools, neither to the government nor to anyone else.

NOTE1: I know very well that some of the MPs are really clean, so we cannot doubt every one.

NOTE2: I started to feel that the closure of AlGhazali Bridge, and reopening it only to close it once again is all part of some government conspiracy against the public. — Al-Anbaa

kuwait digest

‘Corruption has benefits’

By Dr Shamlan Al-Essa

W

e thank and support Social Affairs and Labor Minister, lawyer Thekra Al-Rashidi, for sending all corrupt and Iqama traders to the public prosecution. This latest step is not only sound but was rather timely and the minister has laid a foundation for reform. So far, we have heard from the media about the appointment of her brothers and relatives in the ministry and are not sure about the authenticity of this news, but it has certainly raised many doubts. The ministers who came to power on the basis of claims that they intend to change and reform a corrupt system are doing things contrary to their stated stance. If such news reports are true, then we need to revisit the discussion we initiated in the media earlier about the origins of corruption and the plunging standards of government management. We think such deterioration is largely due to the politicallymotivated appointments and the culture of wasta. The administrative decisions are often taken with a political motive, and as a result people are appointed on the basis that they are members of a certain tribe, sect or political party. Such decision making by ministers and National Assembly members is the main hurdle in the path of reform and the fight against corruption.

We go back to the issue of corruption which is widespread in all government establishments, particularly at the Social Affairs and Labor Ministry, and the municipality. We say it clearly and frankly that fighting corruption would not be easy till the authorities recognise the reasons that lead to its spread.

The question is why did this phenomenon spread in our society in the first place? Frankly, it happened because of the inept and irrational government procedures. Corruption, bribery and a culture of influence peddling will be a natural corollary of the absence of clear, written and well proclaimed legal system - in a single word, transparency - that spells the authority of any employee or employer. Anyone with undefined powers always tends to try and control others’ destiny. Such an employee or official can decide the number of workers an office, restaurant or hotel requires. He can always increase it by, say five, or ten, or even twenty, without having to state reasons for his decision. With such an arbitrary exercise of powers, a rightful person will stand to lose and his business will suffer. How can he then compete with bigger and stronger rivals? We need to study the experience of the Gulf countries in this respect. The Kingdom of Bahrain, for example, has a clear and declared system in which whoever wants to bring in foreign labourers has the conditions clearly spelt out. These conditions apply to all. Either the government stipulates that for every Bahraini citizen employed, the company will be allowed to bring in five foreign employees, or alternatively, for each work permit for a foreign worker, the employer has to pay BD 100, and this money goes towards a special non-government fund that has its own board of directors. This fund is invested and spent to train citizens for technical jobs needed for Bahrain’s economy. Some friends told me that this system is used in Kuwait too, so why do corruption, influence peddling and bribery spread here? The answer clearly is that the culprit is the lack of transparency.

Officials at the Social Affairs Ministry are the ones who decide the number of employees for each job and it is here that the problem starts. The entrepreneur youth who want to start working wait for months till an inspector from the ministry comes to determine the number of employees. He proceeds to sanction only lesser number of people than the staff required, while anyone with influence and a say in the corridors of power is allowed to bring in all the labor force that he wants without facing any problem. No wonder the young men find themselves compelled to resort to bribing employees to bring in the staff that they need.

Enterprising youth coming up with small projects are suffering due to the corruption in the Social Affairs ministry and the municipality. Who is ready to help them? —- Al-Watan

he Middle East is both the cradle of civilization, and the cradle of three major monotheistic religions that are to a large extent interlinked. It is also a land of much suffering, one that has witnessed countless cultures that have used religion as a tool for political undertaking. Though arguably religion is not the issue, for it is a code that is largely left to human interpretation.

Religious zealots on the other hand, are the real problem that has led to conflict in this part of the world since time immemorial. The most recent turmoil has led me to question whether we as humans enjoy destruction, for we seem to be inclined to do all that is necessary to bring Armageddon. Without digressing too much for this theme that is fit for a doctoral thesis, I am sticking closer to home, and to the recent events that have unraveled post-Arab Spring.

Many clerics, political parties, and individuals have claimed — and to a large extent still do — “Islam is the answer”; answer to what I am sure you would likely start asking yourself? The claim that solution to all of our world’s ill are to be found in the hands of authoritarian theocrats is at best ludicrous, and yet such is the prevalent reality that many in our part of the world subscribe to. Countless ‘Islamist’ societal endeavors have ended in utter failure — not least the rejection by a majority of Malian’s of ‘Shariah’ clad thugs that overtook their country for a while. Countless theocratic rule over time, and across cultures, has always led to more misery than good. Human nature, it seems, does not bud well with people that become delirious in religious zeal making it their personal issue to ‘dictate’ God’s will to the masses, by force if necessary.

The merit that religion will answer all of our human ills is at the very least a vague argument void of substance. At best it is the perfect recipe for a never-ending struggle between neighbors whose sole difference is a fundamental question what happens once we die? The answer to which leads people to follow a particular religious doctrine based on the belief that God has ordained such practice, and such route will lead to the ultimate win. The only problem to this issues, and perhaps naively when younger I used to question that perhaps we should all come together to discuss and debate and settle our theological difference for I believe that only one answer can be possible to this very one issue!

Alas human differences will continue to fuel such a problem I foresee until literally the end of times!

What I think we all can come to agree is that the rise in religious sanctioned crimes found in the numerous ‘Roman Catholic church’ priest pedophilia scandals, or the most recent case of an ‘Islamic’ preacher raping, torturing, violating, and then murdering his very own 5 year old daughter — something that all parents will join me in condemning as the most vile evil one can degrade oneself to. The fact that such cases seem to receive more lenient sentencing is baffling and a proof that theology when dealing with its own inner circle flock tends to be more kind. After all people have been beheaded for much less!

Ultimately, it is the development of society that requires a uplifting of the general morals and mores in order to spiritually elevate our collective societies taking the best practices across cultures and through time to live religion in its most pure form of enlightenment and societal growth. It remains up to every one of us to condemn evil wherever we come to find it, and to stand firm against the travesty of our very minds. We are offered choices in life, and I ask that every one of us take our responsibility towards one another seriously. The day we stop caring about the collective enlightenment of society is that day we not only fail our fellow humans we will fail ourselves.

kuwait digest

A recipe for divisiveness

By Mubarak bin Shafi

A

news report about the arrest of a group of Muslim Brotherhood members who belong to the social reform society talks about these people running a network involving many Syrian women in Kuwait according to Misyar and Mutaah system and other forms of false marriages.

I do not know who was behind this report, nor the objectives involved, but the truth is that whoever promoted or planted this report in Kuwait was nothing but rank stupid. I am neither defending the Muslim Brotherhood here, nor do I belong to the organization. I know a lot about what’s wrong with it, and in fact, am far removed from it, especially when it comes to its members’ activities in the region. But to believe that they actually did what the author of this news report claims is a little too much.

There is simply no way that anyone connected to the social reform society will do that. The charity activities undertaken by the reform society has ensured that Kuwait today figures among prominent countries in philanthropy.

We differ with our brothers who are members of the Brotherhood, but this is no way to underline these differences. We, just like many others, reject their stance on many things, but we do not doubt their integrity or believe that they can take advantage of the weakness of their Syrian brothers.

Yes, we believe that they are playing a certain role in the ongoing youth movement in the region in their bid to attain power or exercise control. That is their political decision and they do use rather peculiar methods. At times they do spread alien ideas and even publish news reports far removed from the truth, but even then it is not realistic to believe that they will do something like what the promoter of this recent report claimed.

I wish that we knew how to express our differences, instead of attributing falsehoods against each other. To differ is something healthy but to put each other in trouble is a sure recipe for divisiveness. — Al-Watan

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China Cui Jianchun visited Kuwait Times and discussed matters of mutual concern with Editor-in-Chief Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan and Deputy Editor-in-Chief Dr Ziyad Al-Alyan. Picture shows (from left to right) Assistant Defense Attache Xia Kelin, Second Secretary Zhang Yulong, Counsellor Zhang Zhisheng, ambassador, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, Attache Li We, Dr Ziyad, Defense Attache Wang Ruizheng and Javaid Ahmad of Kuwait Times.

Exert all efforts to meet aspirations of Syrians Kuwait FM urges world community

Resha Erheim speaking during the panel discussion

FSRI psychologists participate in international conference KUWAIT: Psychologists from Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI) participated in the “2nd International Conference on Learning Difficulties and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” last week.

Dr Karen Stockton, a Chartered Child & Educational Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, held a lecture on Developmental Coordination Delay (DCD), while Dr ReshaErheim, a Canadian Certified Counselor and a member of the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association, participated with Dr Susannah Joy and Dr Omar Mahmood in a panel discussion about Parental Involvement in Children’s Therapy.

The conference, held at the American University of Kuwait on Feb 1 and 2, aimed at fostering awareness about the diagnosis and treatment of learning difficulties and improving the services of all parties working in the field of cognitive disorders, and was attended by delegates and experts from across Kuwait, as well as educators and parents interested in learning about the latest development in the field of learning difficulties and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

To benefit children with learning disabilities and ADHD, the conference provided valuable lectures and sessions and concentrated on important themes such as training, assessment and intervention.

Commenting on the participation during this conference, Dr Karen Stockton said: “The main objective of this conference was to learn how to deal with

individuals with learning disabilities and ADHD who are often considered as vulnerable members within society. Parents, educators and healthcare professionals should have the necessary knowledge to protect them, ensure they remain integrated in the society and assist them to become more productive and contributing members within the community.”

In this occasion, Dr. Elham Al-Hamdan, President and Medical Director at FSRI said: “The Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute believes that this participation will help develop its professionals and psychologists and improve their skills in assessing and treating learning disabilities, ADD, and/or ADHD. As a result, it is hoped that a collaborative sense of community is developed to ensure that the process of screening children is solutionfocused, and is being made with the collaboration and cooperation of local and international experts in this area.” She added: “Such enriching conferences have a positive impact in the long term. The children of Kuwait will significantly benefit from this improvement, as academic problems will be identified earlier, diagnoses will be more accurate, and interventions will be implemented faster and more efficiently.”

Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute is a non-profit organization that provides high quality multidisciplinary rehabilitation services and care to its clients. In addition to psychology, physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and nutritional counseling, the center also has a strong focus on collaborative, education and community service.

Parliament OKs pondering KPC promotions KUWAIT: The National Assembly, at its regular session yesterday, approved a motion tasking the committee of complaints with cross-examining recent personnel promotion at Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiary companies. The motion, that was approved by 25 MPs out of the present 48 members of the parliament, set mandate of the panel at maximum three months.

Minister of Oil Hani Hussein, speaking during the session, said the ministry had formed a special panel to investigate this issue. Its recommendations will be compulsory, he explained, urging the lawmakers to wait outcome of its works to avert intersection of jurisdictions. The National Assembly approved a government request to delay for two weeks examination of two motions

regarding formation of a panel to determine “the party responsible for the problem of debt defaulting among citizens and the case of termination of service for bedoon military personnel who had been laid off due to acquisition of fake passports.”

The MPs rejected a proposal to allocate an hour during yesterday’s session to discuss chaos, witnessed at the Justice Palace during trial of a former MP last week.

Opponents noted that this issue falls within jurisdictions of the executive authority, not the legislative authority. They also called for questioning the concerned minister in this respect. Moreover, the MPs okayed motions calling for discussion of enrollment of citizens in the country’s educational institutions. — KUNA

CAIRO: Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah warned yesterday against the worsening humanitarian situations of the Syrian people. “The international community has to exert every possible effort to meet the aspirations of the Syrian people,” the minister said. “The International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, hosted by Kuwait on Jan 30 drew large-scale praise from around the globe as a momentum leap in the relief effort for the displaced people inside and outside Syria,” he said.

Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid made the remarks on the sidelines of the preparatory ministerial meeting for 12th summit of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), yesterday.

“The OIC member states have to make concerted efforts to help the Syrian people chart their own future without foreign interferences; this has always been the stance of Kuwait,” he affirmed.

Dealing with the Palestine question, Sheikh Sabah said it continues to be a central issue in the Middle East conflict and a common concern for the Arab and Muslim nations including Kuwait.

“The UN General Assembly vote on Nov 29, 2012, for upgrading Palestine status to a non-member observer country constitutes a turning point in the Palestinian struggle for international legal recognition,” he pointed out.

On top of the agenda of the 12th OIC Summit are the issues of Syria, Palestine and Mali as well as the ten-year OIC action plan, adopted in Makkah

Summit in 2005, the minister revealed.

The OIC leaders are also scheduled to discuss the combat against extremism, terrorism and antifaith defamation campaigns, and the human rights situations, as well as social and cultural cooperation, Sheikh Sabah went on.

The summit, themed “the Muslim world - new challenges and growing opportunities,” will focus on how to tap into the potentials of cooperation in various domains such as economic, commercial and investment. The pre-summit meetings of the OIC foreign ministers today and tomorrow will work out the recommendations and final communique of the summit which will express the concerns, challenges and aspirations of the Muslim world, he added. — KUNA

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

LOCAL

Ministry employee held for work permits forgery Kidnap attempt foiled in Jahra KUWAIT: A Ministry of Education employee was taken into custody after she was found involved in peddling forged work permits to expatriate laborers in lieu of KD500 each. A secretary who happened to inquire from a man waiting outside the woman employee’s door was told that she was to sign his employment application. Since the woman had no authority to sign such documents, otherwise organized through a company sanctioned by the ministry to provide labor forces, the secretary informed the police who arrested her.

Worker electrocuted An Egyptian worker at a poultry shop in Salmiya was electrocuted on Monday when he came in touch with a machine used to clean chicken. He was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics and the body was taken to the forensic department. A case was filed for investigations.

Body found A man was found dead in his car recently and preliminary medical reports indicated that he died of natural causes. Police and paramedics rushed to a location under the Mishref Bridge from where the case was reported. The Egyptian man was declared dead on the spot and preliminary examinations revealed he had suffered heart failure. The body was taken for an autopsy and a case was filed for further investigations.

Failed kidnap Investigations are on in search for three male suspects who unsuccessfully tried to kidnap a man in Jahra. The suspects reportedly forced the man inside their car and drove towards the desert where they had planned to physically assault him over old disputes. The man, however, jumped from the moving car, suffering bruises that required medical attention before he reported the case.

Kuwait, Tunisia plan to expand cooperation VIENNA: Kuwait and Tunisia sincerely desire to bolster mutual cooperation in the investment and business spheres, according to a ranking Tunisian official.

The t wo sides truly aspire to strengthen cooperation, and this desire was tangibly sensed during a visit by a number of Kuwaiti businessmen to Tunisia to explore new investment opportunities in the country, following the revolution, as well as examining prospected comeback by Kuwaiti businessmen to the Tunisian market, said Abul-Latif Hamam, Director-General of the Tunisia Export Promotion Center.

Hamam was speaking on sidelines of the Tunisian-Austrian Economic Forum, held here as part of activities by the Tunisian community, celebrating the second anniversary of the revolution.

The Tunisian official noted that he signed a memorandum of understanding with Kuwait’s Public Authority for Industry, aimed at boosting the mutual economic cooperation between the two brotherly countries.

While praising current level of the Tunisian-Kuwaiti ties, the official noted that the economic relations between

the two sides “have not reached the level parallel to that of the distinguished political ties.

Kuwait, which started investments in Tunisia ahead of other Arab states, had established the Kuwaiti-Tunisian Bank, founded the Kuwaiti-Tunisian Investment Group, which invested in tourism establishing Abu Nawas Hotels.

Moreover, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has been playing a tangible role in development of the country since 50 years ago, namely through execution of key ventures in cooperation with the Tunisian Government.

Regarding new spheres where Kuwait could invest in Tunisia, Hamam mentioned tourism, energy, oil and logistics.

Commenting on the Tunisian-Austrian forum, the Tunisian business strategist indicated that it was aimed at exploring prospects of expanding mutual business cooperation and encouraging the Austrians to invest in new fields in his country.

European markets, including that of Austria, receive 80 percent of the Tunisian exports. Currently, there are some 20 Austrian corporations, including oil companies, with businesses in the north African Arab country. —KUNA

Man assaults father A senior citizen filed a complaint with Mubarak Al-Kabeer police accusing his son of physically assaulting him. The son wanted to leave the family ’s house where he has b e e n l i v i n g w i t h h i s w i fe b u t h i s f a t h e r refused to grant him his wish, which led to the assault. A case was filed.

Brotherly hate Two brothers were arrested on Monday after they scuffled with each other to settle a dispute triggered by a confrontation between their wives. When police reached the building in Ahmadi, the two men were still exchanging punches. After receiving medical attention for their injuries, including a broken nose in case of one brother, the two were held inside the same cell in Ahmadi police station pending legal procedures.

Kuwait donors conference on Syria ‘largest in UN history’

NCCAL chief opens Arabic calligraphy forum KUWAIT: Secretary General of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) Ali Al-Yuha opened here on Monday the first Arabic calligraphy forum, with 23 calligraphers from the GCC states taking part.

The forum provides a platform for the

participants to share experience on the latest artistic techniques and achievements in this domain.

The calligraphers will seize the opportunity of the 11-day event to showcase, as a sideline, their paintings using various styles of the Arabic writing. —KUNA

BRUSSELS: The donors conference on Syria held in Kuwait on Jan 30 is “considered the largest humanitarian pledging conference in the history of the United Nations”, according to Kuwait’s ambassador to the EU, Nabeela Al-Mulla. In an article she wrote for the Brussels-based weekly newspaper New Europe, the ambassador explained how the humanitarian crisis started in Syria and the role of Kuwait in providing humanitarian aid to the Syrian people.

Al-Mulla noted that amid mounting concerns of the growing humanitarian crisis and lack of funds to address the issue, the Secretary General of the United Nations requested that Kuwait host an international conference on humanitarian aid for Syria.

His Highness the Amir of Kuwait welcomed the idea. This conference known as the International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, was intended to raise $1.5 billion worth of humanitarian aid. Prior to the conference, the Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA) estimated that only three percent of this funding had already been met and that achieving the rest was imperative if services are to continue for the next six months. Al-Mulla stated that His Highness, who hosted the event, set the mood off to a good start by announcing a Kuwaiti donation of $300 million.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia announced their own $300 million donation, which effectively raised 60% of the targeted amount of aid between the three Gulf Countries. The European Union itself pledged 100 million euro ($135 million) with individual member countries making separate donations as well. The United States offered $155 million. The article stressed that “all of those pledges are over and above what was previously contributed. “This conference was preceded by a meeting in Kuwait City of over 77 local, regional and international charity organizations, including private donors, which announced a $183 million contribution. —KUNA

KUWAIT: A visiting delegation from Yousuf Al Ghanim Co., headed by Director of Fire Fighting and Safety Administration Eng Saleh Bufateen, yesterday met the General Director of Fire Department, Lt Genl Yousuf Al-Ansar in his office. The deputy director, Brig Khalid Al Mikrel, was also present during the morning meeting. The visit came as a gesture from the company to congratulate the general director on assuming his new office. The guests presented him a shield on this occasion and discussed ways to enhance cooperation and coordination in fire fighting and joint training initiatives to ensure that the company meets safety and security expectations. — by Hanan Al-Saadoun

AIPU holds Executive Committee meeting RABAT: The 11th session of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (AIPU) Executive Committee began here yesterday chaired by Kuwait.

Kuwaiti MP Ali Al-Omair is heading his country’s delegation which also consists of fellow MP Abdullah Maayouf and other officials.

Al-Omair told KUNA before the session opening that Kuwait is heading the meeting in its capacity as the chair of the 18th session of the AIPU, noting that the meeting was originally due last October in Lebanon, but had been delayed as a result of “extra-

ordinary circumstances.”

He added that agenda of the meeting would include execution of resolutions of the 18th conference of the union, including transfer of the presidency, results of the meeting of the AIPU committee of financial and economic affairs that had been held in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

Participants in the meeting also tackled outcomes of the union’s regional and international activities, namely the 126th and 127th general assemblies of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the 13th Afro-Arab Parliamentary Conference,

amendments of the union statute, the 2012 Arab parliamentary excellence award and activation of women role.

Al-Omair added that the conferees would also discuss matters related to the Arab Institute for Parliamentary Training, legislative studies, financial issues, a draft labor regulation plan to be presented at regional and international conventions as well as other topics. He affirmed necessity of making progress in the joint GCC “parliamentary march,” bolstering Arab solidarity and supporting causes of the nation. —KUNA

Chairman of AAWA praises Kuwait’s pioneer role in democracy CAIRO: Chairman of the Afro-Asian Writers Association (AAWA) Mohammad Majdi Morjan hailed yesterday the remarkable role of Kuwait in various fields, especially freedom of press and expression. He added that Kuwait ranked first among Gulf and regional countries while coming third among Arab nations for guaranteeing freedom of the press, according to a recentlyreleased report by Reporters without Borders (RWB).

Freedom of press is considered as an important aspect of the Kuwaiti distinguished democracy, practiced since

long time, which contributed in spreading the values of human rights in the society.

Morjan praised the support and encouragement of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to journalists, writers and media figures. He hailed the high ceiling of freedom witnessed in the Kuwaiti National Assembly, which is considered as one of the strongest parliaments in the world. Kuwait became a beacon of freedom and democracy in the region with encouragement and support, offered by governmental and private

institutions, like Ministry of information, National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL), The Foundation of Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain’s Prize for Poetic Creativity and several scientific centers and publishing houses, he said.

Kuwaiti “Diwaneyah” - halls of daily or weekly social and political meetings played a distinguished role in spreading freedom of speech and democracy, he added. He also mentioned the enlightening role of a number of local periodicals like World of Knowledge series, and Al-Arabi magazine, being of high intellectual value. —KUNA

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2013

North Korea warns of ‘stronger’ measures

Iran ex-prosecutor arrested Page 8

Page 12

GAZA CITY: Palestinian protesters hold a pre-Baath Syrian flag, now used by the Free Syrian Army, during a demonstration yesterday. — AFP

Fresh violence erupts in Aleppo Assad pressured over Syria oppn offer

DAMASCUS/MUNICH: A picture combo shows Syrian Vice President Faruq Al-Sharaa (left) attending a national dialogue meeting in Damascus and Ahmed Moaz AlKhatib, leader of Syria’s opposition National Coalition, posing for photographers during the 49th Munich Security Conference. — AFP

DAMASCUS: Pressure mounted yesterday on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to respond to a surprise offer of talks by his main political opponents, but a proregime daily said the initiative came two years too late. Assad himself has yet to comment on the offer from Ahmed Moaz Al-Khatib, leader of the opposition National Coalition who Monday told AlJazeera television “the ball is now in the regime’s court. They will either say yes or no”.

He was following up on his announcement last week that he was ready for talks with Assad’s regime-subject to conditions, including the release of 160,000 detainees-on ending the conflict that has ravaged Syria for nearly 23 months.

Khatib later elaborated, telling Al-Arabiya television he was ready to meet Assad’s deputy, Vice President Faruq Al-Sharaa.

In the past the opposition has demanded Assad step down before talks can begin but analysts say Khatib’s change in stance stems from a belief the population will be bled dry while the West fails to act. Experts have also predicted Damascus would reject outright Khatib’s overture, and hinting at this, the pro-regime Al-Watan newspaper said yesterday that Khatib’s offer came too late.

“Despite their importance, the statements of Sheikh Moaz Al-Khatib are two years late. During that time, our finest young men have died, suffered wounds or been exiled, while we have lost our electricity and fuel infrastructure, alongside several military positions,” it said in an editorial. “So the ball is not in the Syrian state’s hands, as Khatib said,” AlWatan added.

Washington gave strong backing to Khatib’s call for dialogue. US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said if the Syrian regime is interested in peace “it should sit down and talk now with the coalition, and we would strongly support Al-Khatib in that call.” But the US position remained unchanged on bringing to account those, on both sides, who have committed atrocities, she stressed.

Assad last month announced he was

ready for talks with the opposition but ruled out meeting groups such as the National Coalition, which backs rebels seeking to overthrow his regime. Some regime opponents denounced Khatib’s offer, while others welcomed it. “ To negotiate is difficult. They may be doomed and they may fail, but the attempt to stop the bloodbath with a proposal so humane may reap more fruits than merely waiting,” prominent Kurdish activist Massoud Akko said on his Facebook page. Hadi al-Abdallah, an activist in besieged Qusayr in the central province of Homs, told AFP he considered Khatib’s proposal naive.

“We are not against the idea of negotiations per se. But we reject completely the idea of negotiating with this regime, which on previous occasions has taken advantage of opportunities for peace to gain time while it simply continued killing,” he said. Another activist Abu Nadim, speaking from Damascus province, said: “We trust Khatib as a person. But in politics, we here feel that good intentions are not enough.

“Everyone wants Khatib’s wish to come true. But will it happen?” President Shimon Peres of Israel, whose reported air strikes against Syrian targets last week triggered a threat of retaliation from Damascus, said it was time the world acted to end the Syrian “tragedy”. “The UN should task the Arab League with the immediate formation of a transitional government in Syria to save it from selfdestruction. Assad, who has murdered tens of thousands has also murdered his future,” he told parliament.

Fresh violence meanwhile erupted yesterday in the northern city of Aleppo where rebels clashed with troops near an army barracks, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Army tanks also shelled the districts of Qadam and Assali on the outer edges of Damascus, the Britain-based watchdog added. The UN says more than 60,000 people have been killed in violence across Syria since the outbreak of a revolt in March 2011 that morphed into an insurgency after the army launched a brutal crackdown on dissent. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

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

Egypt police unchanged after thrashing video CAIRO: The video outraged Egyptians, showing riot police strip and beat a middle-aged man and drag him across the pavement as they cracked down on protesters. The follow-up was even more startling: In his first comments afterward, the man insisted the police were just trying to help him. Hamada Saber’s initial account, given over the weekend as he lay in a police-run hospital, has raised accusations that police officials intimidated or bribed him in a clumsy attempt to cover up the incident, which was captured by Associated Press footage widely shown on Egyptian TV. “He was terrified. He was scared to speak,” Saber’s son Ahmed told The AP on Monday, explaining his father’s account. Saber himself recanted his story on Sunday after his own family pushed him to tell the truth and acknowledged that the police beat him. The incident has fueled an outcry that security forces, which were notorious for corruption, torture and abuse under Hosni Mubarak, have not changed in the nearly two years since his ouster. Activists now accuse Mubarak’s Islamist successor, Mohammed Morsi, of cultivating the same culture of abuse as police crackdown on his opponents.

The outcry was further heightened Monday by the apparent torture-death of an activist, who colleagues said was taken by police from a Tahrir Square protest on Jan 27 and held at a Cairo security base known as Red Mountain. Mohammed el-Gindy’s body showed marks of electrical shocks on his tongue, wire marks around his neck, smashed ribs, a broken skull and a brain hemorrhage, according to a medical report.

Blatant abuses by security forces under Mubarak were one factor that fueled the 2011 revolt against his rule. The highly public nature of the new cases put new pressure on Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, which was long repressed by security forces, to hold security officials responsible for any abuses. Egypt’s presidency said it is following up on the

death of El-Gindy, adding that there will be “no return to violations of citizens’ rights.”

The Interior Ministry denied on Monday that ElGindy was ever held by police. Morsi met Monday with top police officials, but the state newspaper Al-Ahram said his talks did not touch on the beating of Saber or El-Gindy’s death. The paper said Morsi told officers he understands they operate under “extreme pressures” in the face of protests and that he would work for a political resolution to ease unrest.

Morsi’s administration has said it is determined to stop what it calls violent protests that causing instability. Morsi’s prime minister, Hesham Kandil, indirectly warned the opposition and media not to raise public outcry against security officials.

“This should not be used as a match to set fire to the nation... to demolish the police,” he said. Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim warned that if police “collapse” Egypt will become “a militia state like some neighboring nations.”

Many activists believe Morsi sought a tougher police line when he removed their previous boss, Ahmed Gamal Eddin, and installed Ibrahim as interior minister. According to officials close to Gamal Eddin, he was fired because security forces did not intervene against anti-Morsi protests outside the presidential palace in Cairo in December. Islamists attacked those protesters, prompting clashes that left around 10 people dead. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

In contrast, police struck back heavily when several firebombs were thrown into the palace grounds during protests outside the compound Friday, part of a wave of nationwide anti-Morsi unrest the past 10 days that left more than 70 dead. Hours of clashes ensued, leaving at least one protester dead and dozens injured.

During Friday’s clashes, Saber, a 48-year-old who works as a wall plasterer, was beaten.

Footage shows him writhing naked in the street.

Black-clad riot police yank his pants around his ankles, kick him with their heavy black boots and lean over to hit him with batons. They drag him by the legs across the pavement and bundle him into a police van. But in interviews with Egyptian television from a police hospital the next day, a smiling Saber said it was protesters who had shot him in the leg with birdshot, then stripped and beat him. He said the riot police were only trying to help him afterward.

He even blamed himself for any rough police treatment, saying that in his confusion he was resisting them. “I was afraid ... They were telling me: We swear to God we will not harm you, don’t be afraid,” Saber said, adding, “I was being very tiresome to the police.”

His wife also praised the police, telling state TV, “they are giving him good treatment” at the police hospital. But his children said he was forced to give the story. “There are pressures on my mother to say that he is fine,” his daughter Randa told independent Dream TV. “The government is the one pressing him.” In a statement, the Interior Ministry voiced its “regret” about the assault and vowed to investigate.

But Interior Minister Ibrahim echoed Saber’s account and said initial investigation results showed it was protesters who stripped and beat Saber. He said riot police found Saber and tried to get him into the van - “though the way they did it was excessive.” On Sunday, Saber told investigators that it was indeed police who beat and stripped him. Speaking to AlHayat TV, he said he gave his initial account because was afraid, then broke down in tears as he recounted begging the policemen for mercy.

“But no one gave me mercy,” he wept. “My whole body was smashed.” He has now been moved to a civilian hospital. Rights activists say police intimidation of victims and their families to prevent complaints was rife under Mubarak and continues unabated. In a

report last month, the Egyptian Initiative For Personal Rights documented 16 cases of police violence in which 11 people were killed and 10 tortured in police stations. Three died under torture during the first four months after Morsi took office on June 30, it said.

The rights group said officers increasingly act “like a gang taking revenge.” In one case it documented, police in the Nile Delta town of Meet Ghamr stormed a cafe and beat up patrons in September. When one woman who was beaten went to the police station to complain, the man accompanying her was arrested and tortured to death, the report said.

The sister of the slain man told AP that her brother’s widow was paid the equivalent of around $25,000 to say that he was killed by a rock to his head during a protest. “The main issue is that nothing has changed about the police. No change about accountability.

There is just as much impunity as there was under Mubarak,” said Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch.

The past two years “we’ve seen an increase in the police’s likelihood to use lethal force ... in the context of regular policing activities.”

In the case of El-Gindy, the activist who died Monday, fellow activists say he disappeared during the Jan. 27 Tahrir protest and they later learned from people who left the Red Mountain security camp that he was being held there. Soon after, El-Gindy was brought to a hospital in a coma and on Monday he died.

After his burial Monday in his hometown of Tanta in the Nile Delta, angry mourners marched on police headquarters and clashes erupted, with protesters throwing firebombs and stones and police firing back with tear gas. At a funeral ceremony held earlier at a mosque in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, there was widespread skepticism anyone would be held accountable for ElGindy’s death. “So this blood will be wasted so easily?” one woman in black screamed. “It will be lost,” an elderly man responded. “Like others were before.” — AP

Iran ex-prosecutor arrested Ahmadinejad at odds with parliament, powerful speaker

ASSIUT: A clergyman kisses the hand of Egypt’s Coptic Christian Pope, Tawadros II, during an early morning mass at the historic Al-Muharraq Monastery, a centuries-old site yesterday. — AP

Egypt pope criticizes constitution AL-MUHARRAQ MONASTERY: Egypt’s Coptic Christian pope sharply criticized the country’s Islamist leadership in an interview with The Associated Press yesterday, saying the new constitution is discriminatory and Christians should not be treated as a minority. The comments by Pope Tawadros II reflected the unusually vocal political activist stance he has taken since being enthroned in November as the spiritual leader of the Copts, the main community of Egypt’s Christians. His papacy comes as Christians are increasingly worried over the power of Islamists in the country and the rule of President Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Tawadros dismissed a national dialogue that Morsi has been holding, ostensibly as a way to broaden decision-making amid criticism that his government concentrates power in the Brotherhood. Most opposition parties have refused to join the dialogue, as has the Coptic Church, calling it mere window dressing. “We will actively take part in any national dialogue that would benefit the nation,” Tawadros told The AP. “But when a dialogue ends before it starts and none of its results are implemented then we do not take part.”

The 60-year-old pope took issue with references that Morsi has made to Christians as a minority, underlining that the community - which makes up about 10 percent of the country’s 85 million people - must be seen as having an equal voice with the Muslim majority. “We are a part of the soil of this nation. We are not a minority when it comes to value, history and the love of our nation,” he said, speaking during a visit to the historic Al-Muharraq Monastery, a centuries-old site some 180 miles (300 kilometers) south of Cairo in the province of Assiut.

He also criticized the constitution, which Morsi’s Islamist allies rammed through to approval in December, angering opponents who said the move reflected the

Brotherhood’s determination to impose its way without building consensus. Provisions in the document allow for a far stricter implementation of Sharia than in the past, raising opponents’ fears that it could bring restrictions on many civil liberties and the rights of women and Christians.

“Some clauses bore a religious slant, and that in itself is discrimination because constitutions are supposed to unite people not divide them,” Tawadros said of the charter.

Tawadros’ active public stance on politics reflects a new attitude among Christian activists, who say the community must become more vocal in demanding equal status with Muslims. In the past, activists say, Christians relied too much on the church to represent them behind the scenes with the country’s power-brokers, a strategy they argue consigned Christians to second-class status.

Tawadros’ predecessor, the late Shenouda III, was cautious about public criticism of Egypt’s leadership, working instead in backroom arrangements. He close to former President Hosni Mubarak, who until his ouster in February 2011 was seen by many Christians as the community’s protector against Islamists.

Nevertheless, under Mubarak’s rule, Christians complained of widespread official discrimination and said police failed to move against those accused in attacks on Christians or on churches. Egypt has seen a string of such attacks, before and after Mubarak’s fall - sometimes the result of local feuds that take on a sectarian nature, sometimes outright sectarian attacks.

In the past two years, hardline Islamists have also become more open in antiChristian rhetoric. Tawadros said Morsi’s government must take greater action to prevent attacks on Christians. “Realistically, we want actions not words. We don’t want a show. Egypt has changed, we live in a new Egypt now.” — AP

DUBAI: A former Iranian prosecutor linked to the deaths of anti-government protesters was arrested yesterday as a public showdown between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his big political rival, Ali Larijani, gathers pace.

Tensions burst into the open on Sunday when parliament dismissed Ahmadinejad’s labour minister for hiring the prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, and Ahmadinejad tried to protect the minister by taking the floor to hurl corruption allegations at the family of Larijani, the parliamentary speaker.

Ahmadinejad is fighting to remain relevant as his second and last term in office draws to a close. With parliament and Larijani, a possible candidate in June’s presidential election, becoming more assertive, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for unity to little avail.

“The Tehran prosecutor announced on Monday night that Saeed Mortazavi has been arrested,” read a one-line statement from the prosecutor’s office, giving no reason for the arrest.

Mortazavi has played a central role in stamping out dissent since Ahmadinejad’s disputed reelection in 2009, and has been described by Human Rights Watch as a “serial human rights abuser”. Before leaving Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport for Cairo, Ahmadinejad struck a defiant tone, and said he would investigate the case on his return.

“This is ugly” “The judiciary is not a special family organisation,” he told reporters, according to the state news agency IRNA. The head of Iran’s judiciary is Sadeq Larijani, the speaker’s brother. “I don’t know how it has happened that one person has committed an infraction, and another person is arrested,” Ahmadinejad said. “Instead of going after the violator, they go after the person who has announced the violation, and this is very ugly.” Mortazavi was arrested as he was leaving

“There is data showing the financing and connection between Hezbollah and the two suspects,” Tsvetanov said.

“What can be established as a well-grounded assumption is that the two persons whose real identity has been determined belonged to the military wing of Hezbollah.” Israel blamed the attack in Burgas - which killed five Israeli tourists, their Bulgarian driver and the bomber - on Iran and Hezbollah, a powerful Shiite Islamist militia that is part of the Lebanese government.

Iran has denied responsibility and accused arch-enemy Israel of plotting and carrying out the blast. Hezbollah, designated by the United

Taped meeting In his speech in parliament, Ahmadinejad played a tape that he said showed a meeting between Larijani’s brother Fazel and the former Tehran prosecutor in which Fazel Larijani attempted to use his family’s political status for financial gain. “His meeting (appearance in parliament), along with the taped accusations, was seen as badly overstepping his rights,” the diplomat said. The president’s political star has been on the wane since he fell out with parliament early in his second term and appeared to lose Khamenei’s support. Both Fazel and Ali Larijani denied the accusation of corruption. Ali Larijani, who represents the Shi’ite Muslim clerical centre of Qom in parliament, accused the president of not observing “the basics of proper behaviour”.

Fazel Larijani said he would file a legal complaint against both Ahmadinejad and Mortazavi.

Labour Minister Abdolreza Sheikholeslami, who was dismissed by parliament on Sunday, defied the anger of lawmakers last year to appoint Mortazavi to head his social security office.

Dubbed by critics as “the butcher of the press”,

TEHRAN: A picture taken on August 25, 2007 shows then Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi in the Iranian capital. — AFP Mortazavi had a central role in shutting down reformist newspapers and arresting dozens of journalists.

Mortazavi was also involved in the case of Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi, who died in custody in 2003. Yasmin Alem, a USbased expert on Iran’s electoral system, said Mortazavi’s actions had imposed a “significant cost” on Iran’s ruling system in the last 10 years.

“Over the last decade, his name has been closely linked to most, if not all, of Iran’s human rightsrelated imbroglios,” she said. “He’s at the crux of a political fiasco that has brought all the regime’s dark secrets to the surface.” — Reuters

Yemen on edge of political collapse: Nobel laureate SANAA: Yemeni Nobel peace laureate Tawakkul Karman warned in an interview with AFP that her country’s transition process is on the brink of collapse and demanded ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh be banned from politics. The activist, who was a leading figure during the youth uprising in Yemen in 2011, also claimed that President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi is unable to implement his plans to reshape Yemen’s security forces because he does not control the army.

“The main obstacle facing the political transition and threatening its viability is the fact that Ali Abdullah Saleh remains a president of the General People’s Congress,” the former ruling party, Karman said.

She pointed out that Saleh’s party is supposed to present more than 20 percent of participants in an envisaged national dialogue aimed at drafting a new constitution and preparing for fresh elections in February 2014.

“The ousted president is the one to choose the GPC’s representatives,” she said, adding that

Hezbollah behind fatal bus bombing: Bulgaria SOFIA: Bulgaria accused the Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah yesterday of carrying out a bomb attack on a bus in the Black Sea city of Burgas that killed five Israeli tourists last July. The conclusions of the Bulgarian investigation, citing a clear connection to an attack on European Union soil, may open the way for the EU to join the United States in branding the Iranian-backed Hezbollah a terrorist organisation.

Three people were involved in the attack, two of whom had genuine passports from Australia and Canada, Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov told reporters after Sofia’s national security council discussed the investigation.

his office on Monday, and taken to Evin prison, Fars news agency reported.

He had been suspended from his judicial post over the deaths by torture of three protesters in custody after the 2009 presidential election. The opposition said at the time that the election had been rigged in Ahmadinejad’s favour, and huge protests were put down by force. Fars said Mortazavi’s arrest could be linked to his involvement in the prison deaths. Iran’s judiciary said in January that a court would address the cases in March. Analysts say the detention would not have been possible without Khamenei’s consent.

“Mortazavi’s arrest was part of the payback for the president’s appearance in parliament,” said a Western diplomat based in Tehran.

States as a terrorist organisation in the 1990s, has not publicly responded to charges that it played a role. The Netherlands considers Hezbollah a terrorist group and said in August that the EU should also do so, which would mean Brussels could act to freeze Hezbollah assets in Europe. Britain reserves the designation for Hezbollah’s armed wing but other EU member states, which have blacklisted the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, have resisted US and Israeli pressure to do the same to Hezbollah.

Bulgaria, a member of the EU and NATO, has repeatedly said the bombing was plotted elsewhere and carried out by foreigners. Even so,

Saleh’s party “rejects the dialogue”. Karman insisted that the former head of state “should exit politics completely”. “He has a lot of money that he uses to destroy Yemen, harm the political process and execute vengeance,” she charged.

Saleh was eased out of office after 33 years in powers thanks to a UN-backed and Gulf-brokered deal that ended a year of protests that rocked the impoverished southern Arabian Peninsula nation. The agreement reached in November 2011 with the opposition gave Saleh and his aides immunity from prosecution, but it did not stipulate a political ban on him.

The deal, signed in Riyadh after months of anti-government protests and deadly clashes between pro- and anti-Saleh troops, brought Hadi to power for an interim two-year period in a single-candidate vote. It also called for a national dialogue where all parties, including the opposition, youth and northern rebels are expected to come together and agree on a new constitution and on the next presidential and parliamentary elections.

The dialogue was scheduled for midNovember last year but has not yet begun, with several parties failing to name representatives.

“The political transition process is not going according to the mechanism set in the Gulf initiative, which was imposed on us and we accepted it only on the condition that it will be fully implemented,” said Karman.

“The world should listen to us and assume responsibilities now that we say that the country is on the brink of collapse.” The first Arab woman to win the Nobel peace prize, Karman claimed that the interim president has been powerless to implement decisions he made to restructure the military and remove Saleh’s relatives from influential posts.

“President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi does not control the army. It remains within the control of the former regime,” she said. She claimed that a decision to dismantle the elite Republican Guard, which is led by Saleh’s son Ahmed, and

Tawakkul Karman

allocating its brigades to other divisions has not be implemented.

Another decision, to dismantle the First Armoured Division, led by General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar who defected and backed the uprising against Saleh, has also still to be executed. “This dialogue will fail if this matter is not sorted out; restructuring the military and security forces comes first, then comes the national dialogue,” she said, warning of a possible return to street protests.

“If we find that the country will be heading to collapse, we might find that the solution would be in returning to our base in the street, and demonstrations,” she said, claiming that the youth, women and the civil society are not being given a proper say in the preparations for the dialogue. — AFP

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Somali court sends rape Victim, journalist to jail Human rights groups say case ‘politically motivated’

DAMARA: A file photo shows Chadian soldiers, part of a convoy of the FOMAC multinational force of central African states, manning a position near Damara. — AFP

Foreign troops move on Kidal in northern Mali TIMBUKTU: Troops from France and Chad moved into Kidal in an effort to secure the strategic north Malian city, a French official said yesterday, as the international force put further pressure on the Islamic extremists to push them out of their last major bastion of control in the north. Some 1,800 Chadian troops are holding Kidal city and an unspecified number of French troops were further securing the Kidal airport so that they can bring in more forces, a French military official said yesterday. The official was not authorized to be publicly named according to French military policy. Troops have had control of the airport for several days.

The French-led military intervention against advancing Islamic fighters started more than three weeks ago and has pushed quickly into Mali’s north. France’s government fears the region could become a haven for international terrorists.

The French last week began a campaign of airstrikes on Islamic rebel outposts around Kidal and Tessalit. French Mirage and Rafale fighter jets have flown 135 sorties since Thursday and targeted 25 sites, primarily fuel and logistics depots, the French Defense Ministry said. And France ramped up its presence in Mali to 4,000 troops as of yesterday, the official said.

That’s about the same number as France had at the height of its 11-year military presence in Afghanistan.

While their forces took control of Kidal’s airport some time ago, it’s not clear why they did not take Kidal city with the same swiftness as they took Gao and Timbuktu.

There was speculaton that the pace of their advance was being constrained by the fact that the retreating rebels are holding western hostages, including eight who are French. Fears have mounted about their safety as the French intervention has moved closer to where several of them are thought to be held.

As French forces focus farther north, they are preparing to hand control of the fabled city of Timbuktu to African forces this week.

Some 3,800 forces from other African states are in Mali backing up the weak Malian army, the official said. But it is far

from clear that the African forces are ready to take full responsibility against the Islamic extremists, who may strike the cities from their desert hideouts.

The spokesman for the Malian military in Timbuktu, Capt. Samba Coulibaly, said there is no reason for the population to fear the withdrawal of French troops. “With the size of the force we have here right now, we can maintain security in the town of Timbuktu,” he said. “The departure of the French soldiers does not scare us, especially since their air force will still be present both in Timbuktu and Sevare. They control this entire zone and can intervene within a matter of minutes in order to carry out airstrikes as needed,” he said.

In a sign of normalcy, the mayor’s office of Timbuktu announced that they will open for the first time in 10 months on Wednesday, said the city’s mayor Ousmane Halle. Government officials will tackle “the most important needs first,” he said.

“Including garbage removal and issuing birth certificates for the children born since the Islamists took over.”

“The city is now secure. There are ongoing patrols by French and Malian soldiers, and we no longer have any reason to fear an attack by the Islamists,” he said.

Meanwhile, secular rebels from Mali’s Tuareg group say they have arrested two Islamic extremists, including the man blamed for enforcing stoning deaths and amputations in Timbuktu.A statement from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad on Monday said Mohamed Moussa Ag Mohamed of Ansar Dine and Oumeini Ould Baba Akhmed of the Movement for Unity and Oneness of the Jihad, or MUJAO, were arrested Saturday near Mali’s border with Algeria. The NMLA launched a rebellion last year and seized most of northern Mali.

They initially fought alongside Ansar Dine and MUJAO but they soon hijacked the Tuareg nationalist uprising.

The NMLA said the two men have been interrogated and information shared with French troops who are leading a military intervention in Mali. It said the men are in Kidal, Mali. The claims of these arrests, however, could not be immediately confirmed. — AP

Four detained in France suspected of extremist links PARIS: French authorities detained four people yesterday in a counterterrorism operation targeting those suspected of trying to join Islamist extremists abroad.

The raid in the Paris region comes amid fears that European extremists who once joined jihadi groups in Afghanistan or Iraq are now joining radical fighters in the civil war in Syria and the conflict in Mali.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the four people were detained in yesterday’s operation as part of an investigation into a French-Malian man arrested around the Mali-Niger border last year. Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the operation targeted those seeking to join foreign fighters in the Mali region, and that French authorities are monitoring several cells or networks suspected of sending fighters abroad.

He said a “handful” of French extremists are in the region around Mali, which France fears could become a haven for international terrorists. The French military launched a military intervention in Mali last month targeting Al-Qaedalinked extremists. The extremists had seized power in the north last year and imposed harsh Islamic rule on residents, and then started advancing toward the capital. Other African countries are also taking part in the military intervention.

French authorities fear retaliatory attacks by those linked to the extremists targeted in the Mali operation.

Meanwhile, French authorities say French extremists are also trying to join radical fighters in Syria, where a melange of antigovernment forces is resisting a nearly 2year-old crackdown by President Bashar Assad’s military. France has sided with the Syrian political opposition, saying Assad has lost his legitimacy, but is trying to crack down on any French people who seek to use the war in Syria to push extremist goals.

“Several dozen French people or French residents have already gone to Syria, often in groups controlled by AlQaeda, and there are also some individuals who want to go to the Sahel (around Mali), so we have to prevent them, arrest them and neutralize them,” Valls said.

Yesterday’s arrests were part of the investigation into Ibrahim Ouattara, a 24year-old native of the northern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. Outtara, a dual French-Malian national, was arrested in November. He has a history of trips to regions where Islamist radicals are active, including countries like Yemen and Somalia.

Separately, a 27-year-old Frenchman was arrested in August in Niger and has since been handed over to authorities in France. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, is one of three extremist groups that have taken control of the northern half of Mali. The group is made up mainly of foreign fighters. — AP

MOGADISHU: A Somali judge yesterday jailed a woman who said she had been raped by soldiers and a journalist who interviewed her, finding them guilty of making up the story to besmirch the government. The verdict and one-year jail sentences drew condemnation from Somalia’s union of journalists. Human rights groups have called the trial politically motivated, aimed at covering up rampant sexual abuse of women by the security forces.

“They fabricated a story to hurt the government,” Judge Ahmed Aden said in court. The judge suspended the sentence of Luul Ali Osman, 27, until after she had stopped breastfeeding her baby. Freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur was to begin his term in jail immediately, the court ordered. Both Washington and the United Nations criticised the case ahead of the trial. Osman, her husband and Abdinur faced charges that included insulting a government body, making false accusations, and seeking to profit from the allegations.

During the trial, the judge refused to hear the evidence of three witnesses who intended to testify in defence of Osman and Abdinur. The National Union of Somali Journalists described the trial as an attack on press freedom. It expressed shock that Abdinur was also convicted of entering Osman’s house without her husband’s permission, even though that was not one of the charges against him.

Osman and Abdinur plan to appeal. Osman’s husband was acquitted due to a lack of evidence that he had helped set up the interview. Parisbased Reporters Without Borders ranks Somalia 175th out of 179 countries surveyed for its 2012/2013 World Press Freedom index, one place ahead of Syria.

Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid on Sunday promised to reform Somalia’s armed forces and the judiciary once the trial had concluded, acknowledging “deep-seated problems” with both institutions. For two decades the Horn of Africa state has been plagued by civil war, anarchy and Islamist insurgencies. However, September’s peaceful elections, the first since military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown by warlords in 1991, were welcomed as the dawn of a new era. — Reuters

MOGADISHU: Somali journalist Abdiaziz Abdinuur Ibrahim (left) is pictured in court yesterday. — AFP

Ultranationalists angry over Serbia-Kosovo meet BELGRADE: Serbian ultranationalists held a rally yesterday to accuse their country’s president of treason for agreeing to hold talks with the president of Kosovo.

The talks between Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Kosovo leader Atifete Jahjaga - scheduled to take place in Brussels on Wednesday - are part of an EU-brokered effort to improve ties between the former foes.

The war ended in 1999 when NATO used a bombing campaign to chase Serbian troops out of Kosovo.

Today the mostly ethnic Albanian province is recognized as an independent country by some 90 countries, including the US and most EU members, even though Russia continues to back Serbia’s claim on the territory. Serbian nationalists still consider Kosovo as the medieval cradle of the Serbian state and the Orthodox religion, and they have pledged never to give it up. But Serbia’s government knows it must nor-

malize relations with Kosovo to advance its bid to join the European Union. Yesterday, dozens of followers of the extreme nationalist Serbian Radical Party rallied outside the Serbian presidency building in downtown Belgrade, waving flags and anti-EU banners. “Nikolic’s decision is clear and obvious treason,” said senior party official Nemanja Sarovic.

An elderly man, who identified himself only as Luka, added: “I came here to protest against Kosovo being handed over to the Albanians.” Nikolic is a former ultranationalist who backed the onslaught by Serbian forces on separatists that NATO stopped in Kosovo, but he toned down his rhetoric and proclaimed himself pro European Union before becoming Serbia’s president last year. In another sign of progress, Serbia’s government on Monday night named its first liaison officer to Pristina. — AP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

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Iraq war veteran had been taken to mental hospital FORT WORTH: The Iraq War veteran charged with gunning down two men on a Texas shooting range - including a highly decorated former Navy SEAL sniper - had been taken to a mental hospital twice in recent months and told authorities he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to police records. After the shootings, Eddie Ray Routh, 25, also told his sister and brother-in-law he had “traded his soul for a new truck,” according to an Erath County arrest warrant affidavit obtained by WFAA-TV. Police said Routh was driving the truck of victim and ex-Navy SEAL author Chris Kyle at the time of his arrest.

Routh is charged with one count of capital murder and two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of Kyle, author of the best-selling book “American Sniper,” and his friend Chad Littlefield at a shooting range Saturday in Glen Rose. He is on suicide watch in the Erath County Jail, where he’s being held on $3 million bail, Sheriff Tommy

Bryant said. Routh, a member of the Marines Corps Reserve, was first taken to a mental hospital Sept 2 after he threatened to kill his family and himself, according to police records in Lancaster, where Routh lives. Authorities found Routh walking nearby with no shirt and no shoes, and smelling of alcohol. Routh told authorities he was a Marine veteran who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Eddie stated he was hurting and that his family does not understand what he has been through,” the report says.

Routh’s mother told police her son had been drinking and became upset when his father said he was going to sell his gun. She said Routh began arguing with them and said he was going to “blow his brains out.” Police took Routh to Green Oaks Hospital for psychiatric care. Dallas police records show Routh was taken back to the same mental hospital in midJanuary after a woman called police and said she feared for Routh’s safety.

Green Oaks will not release patient

information, citing privacy laws. Most people brought by police to the hospital are required to stay at least 48 hours. In another brush with authorities, Lancaster police in May responded to a burglary reported by Routh’s mother that included nine pill bottles. Police say Routh was involved but no other details were available.

Authorities say Routh, Kyle and Littlefield arrived at the sprawling Rough Creek Lodge about 3:15 pm Saturday, and a hunting guide called 911 about two hours later after discovering the bodies. Kyle and Littlefield were shot multiple times, and numerous guns were at the scene, according to the affidavit.

Routh drove to his sister’s house, and told her he had killed two people and that he planned to drive to Oklahoma to evade Texas authorities, the affidavit said. Routh’s sister then called police, and he was arrested after a short police pursuit in Lancaster. Jailers used a stun gun on Routh on Sunday night after he

appeared ready to assault them when they entered his cell after he refused to return his food tray, the sheriff said. Then they put Routh in a chair that restrains his arms and legs in his solitary confinement cell, Bryant said. Bryant said Routh has an attorney but hasn’t met with him at the jail in Stephenville, about 75 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Routh’s mother and sister were unsuccessful Monday. Sundae Hughes, an aunt of Routh’s, said she watched him grow up but hasn’t seen him since his high school graduation in 2006. Hughes was in disbelief that her nephew could be involved in such an incident. “He has a kind heart (and was) someone willing to jump in and help, no matter what it was,” she said.

Routh joined the Marines in 2006 and rose to the rank of corporal in 2010. His military specialty was small-arms technician, commonly known as an armorer.

He had been stationed at Camp Lejeune, NC, and served in Iraq from 2007-08 and

in the Haiti disaster relief mission in 2010. He is now in the individual ready reserve. He could be called to duty, but it’s uncommon unless he volunteers, 1st Lt. Dominic Pitrone of the Marine Forces Services public affairs office said.

Travis Cox, director of FITCO Cares the nonprofit that Kyle set up to give inhome fitness equipment to physically and emotionally wounded veterans said he believes that Kyle and Littlefield were helping Routh work through PTSD. Cox didn’t know how Routh and Kyle knew each other. He said the shooting range event was not a FITCO session.

Kyle, 38, left the Navy in 2009 after four tours of duty in Iraq, where he earned a reputation as one of the military’s most lethal snipers. “American Sniper” was the No. 3 seller of paperbacks and hardcovers on Amazon as of Monday, and the hardcover was out of stock.

Littlefield, 35, was Kyle’s friend, neighbor and “workout buddy,” and also volunteered his time to work with veterans, Cox said. — AP

Child freed, kidnapper dead, in Alabama bunker drama Residents described hearing explosion, shots

MINNEAPOLIS: President Barack Obama hugs an unidentified guest after he brought his gun violence proposals on the road to Minneapolis at the Minneapolis Police Department’s Special Operations Center in Minneapolis where he outlined his plan before law enforcement personnel. — AP

More diversity likely in Obama job selections WASHINGTON: As he prepares to announce a new wave of Cabinet and other senior posts, President Barack Obama is aiming to put a more diverse face on his administration - an image that was missing as he filled the first round of vacancies of his second term with a parade of white men. Obama is said to be looking at women, Latinos and openly gay candidates for top slots at the departments of Commerce, Labor and Interior, and for his own White House budget office.

The leading candidate for nomination to be secretary of commerce is Penny Pritzker, a long-time Obama ally and big-money fundraiser from Chicago, according to people familiar with the White House selection process. The top candidate to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget is Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who was a former budget, White House and treasury official in the Clinton administration and is now the president of the Wal-Mart Foundation.

Both women, if nominated, would replace men, bringing business and government experience to the jobs and helping rebalance the male dominance of Obama’s early nominations at the State Department, Treasury and the Pentagon - the three top posts in the Cabinet. In addition to selecting former Sen John Kerry for secretary of state, Jack Lew for treasury secretary and former Sen. Chuck Hagel for defense secretary, Obama last month also nominated John Brennan to be CIA director. Then he appointed Denis McDonough as his new chief of staff. The initial series of personnel decisions stood out not only because the posts are so high-profile, but because Obama has pledged to bring a racial and gender mix to his administrative team. Obama also chose Kerry to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton,

who had been the most high-profile woman in the Cabinet, after weighing whether to nominate UN Ambassador Susan Rice to the post. Moreover, the president won a second term last year thanks to a broad coalition of women, Hispanics and other minorities.

Besides Commerce and the White House budget office, Obama is also looking to fill top vacancies or openings at the departments of Labor, Interior, Energy and Transportation, and at the Environmental Protection Agency. Obama and his aides bristle at the suggestion that the president is reversing his own diversity advances and say any criticism is premature and does not take into account his efforts in other areas of government, particularly in his nominations to the judiciary. Also, about 50 percent of White House employees are women.

In filling the job of labor secretary, Obama is expected to nominate a Hispanic to replace Hilda Solis, a former California congresswoman and a Hispanic. Among those considered for the spot is Tom Perez, the assistant US attorney general for civil rights and a former secretary of Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, according to people familiar with the process. Some in the labor movement have pushed for John Perez, the speaker of the California Assembly and former labor organizer, and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda has proposed the White House consider Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif, a former labor lawyer.

Among the names under consideration for interior secretary is John Berry, the current director of the Office of Personnel Management and a former senior official at the Interior Department. He is the highestranking openly gay official in the government.—AP

Supporters of Chavez march on coup versary CARACAS: Supporters of ailing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez marched in Caracas on Monday marking the day 21 years ago that their leader, then a young paratrooper officer, launched a failed military coup. The crowds, dressed in red t-shirts and beretsthe ruling party’s color chanted pro-Chavez slogans and sang pro-government songs as their leader recovers from a fourth round of cancer surgery in Cuba.

Many waved pendants marked “4-F” - a reference to the February 4, 1992 failed military uprising against then-president Carlos Andres Perez. Chavez surrendered and was sent to prison, but was pardoned two years later and elected president in 1999. Now a prolonged bout with cancer has raised uncertainty about his condition and political future.

“Today we celebrate 4-F, the day that our president came out to fight for us,” said Odalys Gonzalez, 41, a government worker from the working class neighborhood of Caricuao. The Venezuelan president, an anti-US firebrand whose presence on the airways has been ubiquitous, has not been seen since he arrived in Cuba on December 10 for the surgery.

Chavez was too sick to attend his own inauguration to a new six-year term on

January 10, which prompted the government to indefinitely postpone his swearing in while extending him and his current administration in office. Vice President Nicolas Maduro read a letter said to be from Chavez to a crowd gathered near the Miraflores presidential palace in which the president lamented his absence from the commemorations.

“Nevertheless my spirit and my heart are with you on this day of national dignity,” Maduro read from the seven-page letter.

When he finished, he raised the document high to show Chavez’s signature. National Assembly speaker Diosdado Cabello, an exmilitary officer who joined Chavez in the attempted coup, marked the anniversary by assuring that the cancer-stricken president is “improving every day.”

Cabello, who returned Sunday from a visit with Chavez, warned in a speech to a military audience that any attempt to “cross the lines and instructions of commander Chavez will be paid back by the people.”

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles was not impressed by the glorification of an attempted coup. “4 February, nothing to celebrate, a lot to remember and a lot to change in our country,” he wrote in a Twitter message. —AFP

WASHINGTON: A 5-year-old boy held hostage in an underground Alabama bunker for almost a week was rescued Monday in a raid that left the kidnapper dead, authorities said. The boy, who has been identified only as Ethan, was rushed to safety and is “doing fine,” an FBI agent told reporters in Midland City, Alabama. Agents said they feared the boy was in “imminent danger” after they saw the kidnapper, retired trucker Jimmy Lee Dykes, holding a gun.

Negotiations with the gunman deteriorated, according to FBI Special Agent Stephen Richardson.

“Within the past 24 hours, negotiations deteriorated and Mr Dykes was observed holding a gun,” Richardson said. “At this point, FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child.”

Agents were ordered to storm the bunker at 3:12 pm (2112 GMT) central time, he said. “The subject is deceased,” Richardson said of Dykes. The agent declined at a brief news conference to provide more details on the kidnapper’s death.

“We were certainly concerned for the safety of the child,” Richardson explained. The boy was reunited with his mother at a hospital in nearby Dothan, Alabama.

“He’s laughing, joking, playing, eating-the things that you would expect a normal 5- to 6-year-old young man to do. He’s very brave.

He’s very lucky. “The success story is that Ethan is with his mother right now,” Richardson added. Residents described hearing an explosion and shots.

“I heard a big boom and then ... I believe I heard rifle shots,” Bryon Martin, who owns a house near the bunker, told CNN. It was a loud

MIDLAND CITY: Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson and FBI Special Agent in charge Steve Richardson speak to reporters concerning the resolution of the seven day hostage situation yesterday in Alabama. —AFP noise that “made me jump off the ground,” he said. Police have said Dykes, aged 65, boarded a school bus last Tuesday and when driver Charles Albert Poland tried to block him, shot the man dead. He then snatched Ethan and held him in a bunker on his property for six day as police tried to negotiate his release.

“It got really tough to negotiate with him,” Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson told reporters after the rescue. Dykes-a US Navy veteran who worked in aircraft maintenance in the 1960s had been known to stay in his underground bunker for up to eight days, neighbors, who have evacuated the area, told ABC News earlier. They also told US media he had dramatic behavioral swings

and paranoid-sounding anti-government views. The slain bus driver, Charles Poland, 66, was described as a quiet man who enjoyed a simple life with his wife, Jan. People who knew him said it was hard for Poland to discipline children on his bus when they misbehaved, an Alabama newspaper, the Dothan Eagle, reported. “It says in the Bible the meek will inherit the earth,” Poland’s brother-in-law, Melvin Skipper, was quoted as saying. “He was the meekest man I knew.” It was yet another tragedy in the epidemic of gun violence in America, still reeling from the tragedy in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. It has been more than six weeks now since the massacre of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut ele-

mentary school again electrified the debate over guns in the United States. President Barack Obama is urging Congress for action “soon” on curbing gun violence.

The US president has taken 23 executive actions and challenged Congress to pass new laws, including a renewed ban on assault weapons and closing loopholes that permit 40 percent of gun sales to take place without background checks. The president’s plans are vigorously opposed by many Republicans, who believe he is watering down the constitutional right to bear arms, and by the gun lobby headed by the power ful National Rifle Association. The NRA meanwhile has called for armed guards in all US schools. — AFP

Skydiver reached 844 mph in record jump CAPE CANAVERAL: Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner was faster than he or anyone else thought during his record-setting jump last October from 24 miles up. The Austrian parachutist known as “Fearless Felix” reached 843.6 mph, according to official numbers released Monday. That’s equivalent to Mach 1.25, or 1.25 times the speed of sound. His top speed initially was estimated at 10 mph slower at 834 mph, or Mach 1.24. Either way, he became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body.

He wore a pressurized suit and hopped from a capsule hoisted by a giant helium balloon over New Mexico.

Baumgartner was supersonic for a half-minute - “quite remarkable,” according to Brian Utley, the record-keeping official who was present for the Oct 14 feat.

The 43-year-old’s heart rate remained below 185 beats a

minute, and his breathing was fairly steady. The leap was from an altitude of 127,852 feet. That’s 248 feet lower than original estimates, but still stratospheric.

“He jumped from a little bit lower, but he actually went a little bit faster, which was pretty exciting,” said Art Thompson, technical project director for the Red Bullsponsored project. “It’s fun for us to see reaching Mach speeds and proving out a lot of the safety systems,” Thompson said in a phone interview from his aerospace company in Lancaster, Calif.

Thompson said everything pretty much unfolded as anticipated, with no big surprises in the final report. The updated records were provided by Utley, official observer for the National Aeronautic Association’s contest and records board. Utley was in Roswell, NM, for Baumgartner’s grand finale following two test jumps.

Based on all the data collected

A file image provided by Red Bull Stratos shows pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria as he jumps out of the capsule during the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos. —AP

from sensors on Baumgartner’s suit, Utley determined that Baumgartner was 34 seconds into his jump when he reached Mach 1. The speed for breaking the sound barrier depends on the temperature at a given altitude; for Baumgartner, that came together just shy of 110,000 feet.

He reached peak speed by the time he was at 91,300 feet, 50 seconds into the jump, and was back to subsonic by 75,300 feet, give or take, 64 seconds into his free fall.

His entire free fall lasted four minutes, 20 seconds. He used a parachute to cover the final 5,000 feet, landing on his feet in the desert outside Roswell. Not everything went well.

Baumgartner went into a dreaded flat spin while still supersonic.

He spun for 13 seconds at approximately 60 revolutions per minute, making 14 to 16 spins before using his body to regain control, Thompson said. The skydiver was well within safety limits the entire time, he noted.

Baumgartner’s brain remained under 2G, or two times the force of gravity, during the spin.

If the flat spin had lasted longer and been more severe exceeding six continuous seconds at 3.5 G - Baumgartner’s drogue, or stabilizing, parachute would have deployed automatically. Doctors worried about him blacking out and suffering a stroke or, in the case of a suit tear, his blood boiling at such an extreme altitude. The outside temperature registered as low as minus 96 Fahrenheit.

In the foreword of the 71-page report, Baumgartner said he never imagined how many people

would share in his dream to make a supersonic free fall from so high. Some 52 million people watched YouTube’s live stream of the exploit. The scientific and engineering experts who helped bring him back alive “broke boundaries in their own fields just as surely as I broke the sound barrier,” Baumgartner wrote.

Baumgartner shattered the previous record set by Joe Kittinger, an Air Force officer, in 1960.

Kittinger did not quite reach supersonic speed during his jump from 19.5 miles up. Kittinger noted in the Red Bull Stratos report (Stratos for stratosphere) that future work is needed to test a stabilizing parachute for use at extreme altitudes. The private project was aimed, from the start, at helping future space crews whether NASA or commercial survive high-altitude accidents. If a highly trained jumper like Baumgartner with 2,500 jumps couldn’t prevent a flat spin, “an astronaut, pilot or space tourist could not overcome this spinning probability,” Kittinger wrote.

Thompson agreed, noting that given the right safety gear and the right conditions, there’s “a remote possibility” a space crew could survive even under such harsh circumstances as were faced by the space shuttle Columbia astronauts. All seven astronauts perished as Columbia returned to Earth on Feb. 1, 2003.

One of the crew, Laurel Clark, was married to the former NASA flight surgeon who led Baumgartner’s medical team, Dr Jonathan Clark.

“You never know what the possibilities are ... that’s the direction we need to look at,” Thompson said. — AP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

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

Bangladesh court jails Islamist for life Violent riots shut down schools, shops DHAKA: Deadly riots broke out in Bangladeshi cities yesterday after a court sentenced a senior Islamist opposition leader to life in prison for mass murder during the 1971 liberation

war against Pakistan. Abdul Quader Molla, 64, the fourth-highest leader of the Jamaat-eIslami party, was the first politician to be found guilty by the International Crimes Tribunal, a

DHAKA: Activists from Bangladesh’s largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami vandalize a bus during a nationwide strike yesterday. — AP

much-criticised domestic court based in Dhaka. Molla cried “Allahu Akbar!” (God is greater) and said the charges were false after presiding judge Obaidul Hassan delivered the verdict in a crowded and tightly guarded court.

“He deserved the death sentence because of the gravity of the crimes. But the court gave him life imprisonment,” said Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, adding Molla was found guilty of five out of six charges including mass murder.

A man was shot dead in clashes with police in the port city of Chittagong as the ruling sparked immediate protests by Jamaat, the country’s largest Islamic party, which enforced a nationwide strike in anticipation of the conviction. “We fired in self-defence after hundreds of protesters attacked us with firearms and handmade bombs,” deputy police commissioner Habibur Rahman told AFP, adding an unidentified man died of bullet wounds and 10 officers were injured.

Police also clashed with protesters in the capital Dhaka, firing rubber bullets to disperse a group of protesters who were smashing vehicles. And in the northwestern city of Rajshahi police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at about 500 Jamaat supporters who hurled a

India gang-rape trial starts with testimony

NEW DELHI: An elderly activist decked in the colours of the Indian flag participates in a protest against the gang rape and murder of a student yesterday.— AFP

NEW DELHI: The trial of five men charged with gang-raping and murdering a young woman on a bus in New Delhi opened yesterday with closed-door testimony from her friend who appeared at court in a wheelchair, still bearing the scars of injuries from the attack. The 28-year-old software engineer, who may not be identified, is the prosecution’s star witness in a case that has triggered nationwide protests, an intense debate about rampant crime against women in India and tougher antirape laws.

The five accused are Vinay Sharma, a gym assistant, Ram Singh, the bus driver, his brother Mukesh Singh, bus cleaner Akshay Kumar Singh and fruit vendor Pawan Kumar. They have pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and murder. A sixth accused is being tried separately as a juvenile. Police allege the six attacked the 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist and her friend on the bus as the couple returned home from watching a movie on Dec. 16. The woman was repeatedly raped and tortured with a metal bar. The couple were also severely beaten before being thrown onto a road.

The woman died of internal injuries in a Singapore hospital two weeks later. As the trial got under way, the victim’s father made a surprise appearance at a news conference organised by the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to call for his daughter’s attackers to be hanged. At one stage, the friend, defence lawyers and some policemen moved from the courtroom to a courtyard where the bus on which police say the attack took place was parked.

Journalists saw some of them board the vehicle, which was white with tinted windows and orange curtains. Above the windshield was painted “Praise the Goddess” in Hindi. The victim’s friend was not seen boarding the bus. The friend’s father said later it was the second time his son had seen the bus since the attack. In his statement to police after the assault, the friend said their attackers had asked “where are you going with a girl so late at night?” before launching a furious assault in which he was beaten with a metal rod and his clothes ripped off. While he was being beaten, the woman was repeatedly raped, he said, according to a police charge sheet seen by Reuters. — Reuters

US military lifts ban on Afghan airline KABUL: The US military has lifted a ban on contracts with an Afghan airline suspected of drug smuggling after the decision to blacklist the carrier sparked anger throughout the Afghan government. In a statement released late Monday, the military said it had temporarily removed Kam Air from its blacklist pending an investigation into the allegations by the Afghan government. US law prohibits the American government from contracting with companies with ties to enemy forces.

The decision appeared to be aimed at defusing Afghan anger over the ban, which had threatened to become a stumbling block in ongoing negotiations between Washington and Kabul over a long-term agreement for American forces in the country. A spokesman for the US military in Kabul said that Kam Air has no active contracts with the American military, so

the change only affects the company’s ability to bid for future contracts. The spokesman, Col Tom Collins, said he did not know whether Kam Air had any such applications pending.

The US placed Kam Air on the list of banned companies on Jan. 18 after a US military investigation found evidence that opium was being smuggled out of the country on Kam Air flights. The ban was first reported later that month by The Wall Street Journal.

The ban of one of Afghanistan’s largest commercial airlines rankled many inside the Afghan government at a particularly sensitive time in talks for a long-term agreement for US forces in the country. Afghan officials said they had not been informed of the US investigation and threatened legal action. Many said the reputation of one of their premier carriers had been tarnished.

At various points in the talks over the bilateral security agreement, which are expected to continue for months, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that the American government appears to be acting unilaterally within his country, ignoring Afghanistan’s national sovereignty. As the Kam Air uproar continued, it looked ready to become the next such flashpoint. The ban only prevents the U.S. military from signing contracts with Kam Air, and has no direct impact the airline’s ability to bid for contracts with other entities. Still, the US military made pointed use of the word “sovereignty” in its statement lifting the Kam Air ban. The US Central Command “believes it is an appropriate, logical course of action at this time for the sovereign Afghan government to conduct a full investigation of Kam Air,” the statement said. — AP

dozen homemade firebombs. The verdict is the second by the tribunal. On January 21 a top TV preacher who is an ex-Jamaat official was sentenced to death in absentia for murder and genocide.

Ten other opposition figures-including the entire leadership of Jamaat and two from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) — stand accused of war crimes. Both Jamaat and BNP have labelled the cases “show trials” aimed at barring the leaders from upcoming polls. International rights groups have questioned the proceedings. Prosecutors said during the war Molla was a senior figure in the then-student wing of Jamaat, while studying physics at Dhaka University, and was a member of a pro-Pakistan militia accused of killing hundreds of thousands of people.

“He directly participated in the killing of over 350 unarmed Bengali civilians including a poet and a top journalist,” prosecutor Mohammad Ali told AFP, adding he was known as “Butcher of Mirpur”, a Dhaka suburb. “He killed my father and he got away. I am not happy,” said Khandoker Abul Ahsan, son of Khandoker Abu Taleb, a well-known journalist killed during the 1971 war. Security was tight in the capital with more than 10,000 police on

patrol as war veterans and ruling party supporters held rival marches.

Schools were closed and many shops and businesses shuttered. Motorways linking Dhaka with other cities were largely empty.

Police said a young banker was burnt to death and four people injured in Dhaka on Monday night after a bus was torched by suspected Jamaat activists protesting the war crime trials.

The tribunal, which has no international oversight, was created by the country’s secular government in 2010. The opposition has alleged that it is politically motivated and is selective in its targets.

Defence lawyers said Molla, Jamaat’s assistant secretary general, spent the entire time in the nine-month war in his village and alleged that the tribunal severely curtailed their ability to prove his innocence. “We put forward the name of 965 defence witnesses. But the tribunal allowed only six,” said Shazzad Chowdhury, adding that they would appeal the verdict.

Bangladesh, which was called East Pakistan until 1971, has struggled to come to terms with its violent birth. The current government says up to three million people were killed in the war, but independent estimates put the figure far lower. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

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

North Korea warns of ‘stronger’ measures N Korea video shows US city under attack

YANGON: In this photo, author Ma Thida holds a newspaper while talking during an interview at her office in Yangon, Myanmar. — AP

Freedom challenges Myanmar’s writers YANGON: Poet Saw Wai parked himself on the lawn, unfurled a map of Myanmar with a blob of blood-red paint dripping down from a spot up north and invited people to make poetry with him. “He’s calling for more trouble,” said a passerby. What the message lacked in subtlety it made up for in brazenness. Government forces have been pounding ethnic rebels in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state, displacing tens of thousands and testing the country’s fast-growing friendship with the West. It’s the sort of thing you couldn’t really talk about here for 50 years.

Nearly two years into reformist President Thein Sein’s term, the rush of hope and idealism that greeted many new freedoms - most strikingly freedom of speech - is turning into a measured assessment of the nation’s progress. Long accustomed to writing around censorship, Myanmar’s writers are relearning the habits of free thought and testing the boundaries of speech. But change has also brought questions about how licensing requirements and market capitalism will shape public debate and how speech should be regulated in a multiethnic and multireligious nation of Buddhists, Muslims and Christians.

Saw Wai, who served 28 months as a political prisoner, grinned as he handed out photocopies of his latest poems. “I’m not afraid,” he said. “I’m just a guinea pig, testing freedom of expression on behalf of the people.”

Myanmar’s censorship board, which shut in August, was officially rebranded the Copyrights and Registration Division at the end of January, just in time for Yangon’s first international literary festival, where Saw Wai staged his poetry performance. The festival, which ended Sunday, brought together around 80 Myanmar authors - including exiles and former political prisoners like opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi - and international writers, like Jung Chang, whose best-selling “Wild Swans” recently became available in Burmese, though it is still banned in China.

Myanmar is also known as Burma.

For decades Myanmar’s books, like its people, were subjected to varying degrees of physical violence. First, there was the censor’s red pen, which slashed across manuscript pages. Writers, bearing gifts of food, clothing and books pleaded with censors not to cut too deep. Authors also had to submit copies of their printed work before distribution.

Pages that didn’t conform to the government’s edit were torn out, undesirable phrases blacked over.

It was an age of allegory. There were forbidden words: Poverty. Suicide. Kiss. Fiction began to fill in for news. People turned to literary magazines, stuffed with topical short stories, because newspapers and television broadcast only government propaganda.

Writers passed banned manuscripts among friends.

Saw Wai said he never let the censors into his head, writing exactly what he wanted to, even if it meant his work could not be distributed. That’s changing. A new book of his poems, including some that were previously censored, came out in November. No publisher has yet been brave enough to publish the poem that landed him in prison in 2008. That

doesn’t mean you can’t read it. A poster of the poem, which includes an encrypted insult against Myanmar’s former leader, hangs on the wall of his wife’s restaurant in Yangon. It’s also on his Facebook page.

Newly unmuzzled, many writers are eager simply to say what they see. While Saw Wai calls his work “realism poetry,” author Ma Thida describes her novels as “documentary fiction.” In 2011, her book “The Roadmap,” which opens with the 1988 uprising when the military brutally crushed popular protests, was published abroad. Though it was written in English and came out in Thailand, she was afraid to publish under her own name, choosing Suragamika (“Brave Traveler”) instead.

She knew something had changed when her prison memoir was published in Myanmar a year later. “I didn’t expect to get this book published in Burmese,” she said.

While the new liberties have been good for Ma Thida’s writing, the rush of competition has been terrible for the circulation of the four publications she helps oversee. The arrival of nongovernment news journals has also pulled people from her literary magazine, she said.

Today, some of the laws used to incarcerate Ma Thida, who was sentenced to 20 years for passing an opposition political journal to a friend, remain on the books. Under the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Law, publications must be licensed by the state. Critics say the awarding and renewing of licenses is not transparent and could be used to silence dissent. “Cronies can get licenses easily. We cannot,” Ma Thida said, referring to business people with connections to the former military rulers. “It is a kind of a censorship.”

Myanmar’s constitution enshrines freedom of expression if it doesn’t harm “community peace” or “public order and morality.”

While that could be used to block the kind of hate speech that fueled ethnic violence in western Myanmar last year, such sweeping measures can also be used for political prosecutions. Myanmar is working on a new press law, which could address issues such as defamation and the right to access information.

“We’re in a phase where maybe the dream era is coming to an end, and it’s a hard struggle,” said Oxford historian Timothy Garton Ash, who has studied freedom of expression in former totalitarian states. “Once you have free speech, you have to work out how to use it.” The years of censorship have given author Tin Tin Win, who writes under the name Ju, an enduring sense of the power of writing. Ideas were, after all, dangerous enough that the government tried to control them.

“Literature can change our heart,” she said.

“The reader cannot forget what they read in their heart.” As for whether the new freedoms might dilute that power? “Maybe I will know about that later,” she said. It was 22 years before Ju got permission to publish the first book she wrote. Published in 2011 minus a few key chapters cut by censors - “Ahmat Taya” (“Remembrance”) is a love story about two unmarried medical students living together. The censors, Ju said, had rejected the plot as “poisonous” to the dignity of Myanmar’s women. —AP

Ashes of Cambodia’s revered ex-king lowered into river PHNOM PENH: Cambodians lined the banks of the Mekong River yesterday as the ashes of their revered former King Norodom Sihanouk were lowered into the murky water a day after his cremation in Phnom Penh. Several white sacks containing the ashes, including the pyre, were ferried on an ornate barge to the confluence of the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Tonle Bassac rivers in Phnom Penh, where members of the royal family lowered them into the water.

In a sombre televised ceremony earlier, mourners led by Sihanouk’s widow Monique and his son-current King Norodom Sihamoni, picked out some of the ex-king’s blackened bones from the crematorium to be kept in an urn at the royal palace. The bones, which were washed in coconut juice and water from a sacred mountain, will be taken to the palace on Thursday when the weeklong funeral ends, a palace official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

“The royal urn containing the KingFather’s remains will be kept in the Kantha Bopha stupa,” the official said, referring to Sihanouk’s favourite daughter who died aged three and whose remains are also at the palace. After chanting by monks and mourners passed around candles, Sihamoni and his mother led royal family members

and government officials-including Prime Minister Hun Sen-to pick out the bones for use as relics. Sihanouk died of a heart attack in Beijing in October, aged 89. His embalmed body had been lying in state since then at the royal palace. His cremation was part of a days-long funeral, which started with a lavish procession through the streets of Phnom Penh on Friday. On Monday smoke rose from the crematory marking the cremation in an elaborate pagodalike structure built specially for the occasion. A 101-gun salute also echoed in the night and fireworks burst over the city.

A father of 14 children over six marriages, Sihanouk abdicated in 2004 after steering Cambodia through six decades marked by independence from France, civil war, the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, his own exile and finally peace.

But even though the ever-changeable monarch had allied himself with the Maoist movement, Sihanouk-a self-confessed “naughty boy ” who loved to direct films, write poetry and compose songs-remained hugely popular. Many elderly Cambodians credit him with overseeing a rare period of political stability in the 1950s and 1960s, following independence, until the Khmer Rouge emerged in the 1970s. —AFP

SEOUL: North Korea stepped up its bellicose rhetoric yesterday threatening to go beyond carrying out a promised third nuclear test in response to what it believes are “hostile” sanctions imposed after a December rocket launch. The North frequently employs fiery rhetoric aimed at South Korea and the United States and in 2010 was blamed for sinking a South Korean naval vessel.

It also shelled a South Korean island in the same year, killing civilians.

It did not spell out the actions it would take. The North is not capable of staging a military strike on the United States, although South Korea is in range of its artillery and missiles and it can hit Japan with its missiles. “ The DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea) has drawn a final conclusion that it will have to take a measure stronger than a nuclear test to cope with the hostile forces nuclear war moves that have become ever more undisguised,” the North’s KCNA state news agency said.

The United States and South Korea are staging military drills that North Korea says are a rehearsal for an invasion, something both Washington and Seoul deny. The North successfully launched a longrange rocket in December in violation of UN resolutions that banned it from developing missile or nuclear technology after nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

The North says that it has the sovereign right to launch rockets for peaceful purposes. Its widely trailed third nuclear test was announced in response to the sanctions agreed in January, although satellite imagery indicates that the isolated and impoverished state has been readying its nuclear test site for more than a year. While most experts believe the North will stage a test, the timing is not known. It could come around Feb 16, the anniversary of former leader Kim Jong-il’s birth.

Another unknown is what the North will use as fissile material. In the past it has used its diminishing supply of plutonium stocks, but is

believed to have enriched weapons grade uranium that would give it a second path to a nuclear bomb. US nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker, who visited a North Korean nuclear facility in 2010 believes the North could stage two explosions, one using plutonium to as to perfect its capacity to design a warhead small enough to be mounted on a missile, and a second using highly enriched uranium.

“Such (dual) tests have some technical limitations and are more challenging to conduct, but they have the huge advantage of not incurring additional political cost - in other words, they can get two for the price of one,” Hecker wrote in the Feb 4 issue of Foreign Policy magazine.

Pyongyang’s two tests so far have been puny. The yield of the 2006 test is estimated at somewhat less than 1 kiloton (1,000 tons of TNT equivalent)

and the second some 2-7 kilotons, compared with say 20 kilotons for a Nagasaki type bomb, Hecker wrote.

North Korea has in the past used the leverage gained from its nuclear and rocket tests to try to restart sixparty talks aimed at securing international recognition and aid for the country whose only major diplomatic backer is China. There are few signs that the United States is willing to talk after the North rebuffed a food aid deal in March 2012 when it launched a long-range rocket after promising not to. The planned third nuclear test and “stronger” measures come as South Korea prepares to swear in new President Park Geunhye on Feb 25. Park had pledged talks and aid if the North gives up its nuclear ambitions.

North Korea, poised to conduct a nuclear test any day now, has posted

a video on YouTube depicting a US city resembling New York engulfed in flames after an apparent missile attack. The footage was uploaded Saturday by the North’s official website, Uriminzokkiri, which distributes news and propaganda from the state media. The video is shot as a dream sequence, with a young man seeing himself on board a North Korean space shuttle launched into orbit by the same type of rocket Pyongyang successfully tested in December. As the shuttle circles the globe-to the tune of “We Are the World”-the video zooms in on countries below, including a joyfully re-unified Korea. In contrast, the focus then switches to a city-shrouded in the US flag under apparent missile attack with its skyscrapers, including what appears to be the Empire State Building, either on fire or in ruins. — Agencies

SEOUL: Protesters shout slogans during a rally denouncing the joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States in front of the transition team office for President-elect Park Geun-hye yesterday. —AP

Kerry warns of punishment for N Korea nuclear test SEOUL: New US Secretary of State John Kerry and his South Korean counterpart have agreed to make sure North Korea is punished if it carries out its threat to conduct a nuclear test. Amid signs that such a test is coming, South Korea’s president also speculated that Pyongyang may detonate multiple atomic devices simultaneously.

Under a UN Security Council resolution last month condemning a North Korean longrange rocket launch that the UN and others call a disguised test of banned missile technology, Pyongyang is subject to new sanctions if it detonates its third nuclear device since 2006.

North Korea announced last month that it will conduct a nuclear test to protest the toughened sanctions over its December launch, which delivered a satellite into orbit. During a phone conversation between Kerry and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, “there was agreement that ... if the DPRK continues its provocative behavior and takes further steps, that there must be further consequences,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday. DPRK is the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

North Korea may simultaneously conduct multiple nuclear tests as it tries to create a warhead small enough to fit atop a long-range missile, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told the South Korean newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, in an interview published yesterday. Lee did not say whether his comments were based on intelligence findings.

A North Korean nuclear test “seems to be imminent,” South Korea’s UN Ambassador Kim Sook said Monday at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York. He said there are “very busy activities” taking place at North Korea’s nuclear test site “and everybody’s watching.” The ambassador said he expects the Security Council to respond with “firm and strong measures” in the event of a nuclear test.

North Korea has denounced sanctions over its rocket launches, saying it has the sovereign right to use rockets to send satellites into orbit under a space development program. Pyongyang’s two previous nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009, both occurred after it received international criticism for similar rocket launches. As it issued its most recent punishment, the Security Council ordered North Korea to refrain from a nuclear test or face “significant action.”

North Korea’s state media said Sunday that at a high-level Workers’ Party meeting, leader Kim Jong Un issued “important” guidelines meant to bolster the army and protect national sovereignty. North Korea didn’t elaborate, but Kim’s guidelines likely refer to a nuclear test and suggest that Pyongyang appears to have completed formal procedural steps and is preparing to conduct a nuclear test soon, according to South Korean analyst Hong Hyun-ik.

Recent satellite photos show North Korea may have been sealing the tunnel into a mountainside where a nuclear device could be exploded. The Washington-based Institute of Science and International Security has released satellite imagery by Digital Globe from Jan. 28 that shows activity at tunnels at North Korea’s nuclear testing site. “Although the images do not reveal whether a test is imminent, the ongoing activity at the site justifies concern that a test will soon occur,” the private nonproliferation group said.

On Monday, the South Korean and US militaries kicked off three days of exercises off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast that

WASHINGTON: In this file photo, Sen John Kerry, D-Mass is seen. — AP involve live-fire exercises, naval maneuvers and submarine detection drills. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the maneuvers are part of regular joint military training that the allies had scheduled before the latest nuclear tensions began. But the training, which involves a nuclear-powered American submarine, could still send a warning against possible North Korean provocation, a South Korean military official said, requesting anonymity because of department rules.

Pyongyang’s state media said the drills showed that the US and South Korea have been plotting to attack North Korea and increased the danger of a war on the divided peninsula. “The dark cloud of war is approaching to the Korean Peninsula,” North Korea’s official Uriminzokkiri website said in a commentary. North Korea has said similar things about previous drills; the allies have repeatedly said they have no intention of attacking the North. North Korea says US hostility and the threat of American troops in South Korea are important reasons behind its nuclear drive. The US stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. - AP

China sentences 10 for detaining petitioners BEIJING: A Beijing court sentenced 10 people to prison yesterday for illegally detaining citizens trying to take their local grievances to the central government, state media reported, in a possible sign the government is trying to rein in abuses. Illegal detention of petitioners is believed to be common, but is, like all legal and public order issues in China, a matter of great sensitivity. Such petitioners are frequently intercepted by local government agents and detained illegally in shabby hostels known as “black jails.”

The government has recently begun acknowledging the existence of such places as part of modest attempts to stamp out the most glaring abuses of power. It has also said it will stop handing down labor camp sentences this year under a system that allows police to lock up petitioners, government critics and others for up to four years without a trial, although details are still unclear. In the case Tuesday, 11 petitioners from central Henan province had traveled to the capital hoping to air their grievances under a system that harkens back to ancient times when Chinese emperors were obligated to hear complaints brought from commoners in the provinces.

Four of the petitioners came to Beijing on April 28, 2012, were intercepted by the defendants and forcefully driven to a rented house where they spent one night before being sent back to Henan, the official Xinhua News Agency said. They then returned to the capital and reported the incident to the police. When officers arrested the defendants on May 2, they also released the other petitioners who had been holed up in a house for up to six days. A photo on Xinhua’s website showed a singlestory brick house with a window covered up from the inside and bikes, a sofa and a clothes line sitting in the yard outside.

Xinhua said the seven adult and three juvenile defendants received sentences ranging from two years to six months. It said the defendants - farmers from Henan rounded up the petitioners and illegally detained them in violation of citizens’ personal rights. The case is “certainly significant, but it’s also probably the tip of the iceberg,” said Hong Kong-based human rights researcher Joshua Rosenzweig. The test will be whether this is just a one-off, or “one of a series of cases that will effectively punish the routine detention of petitioners, particularly in Beijing, but in other parts of China as well, and serve as a deterrent to those who might want to do the same in the future,” he said.

The defendants were hired by a person called Fu Zhaoxin who is the subject of a separate case, according to Xinhua, but it was unclear who he was. Beijing’s Chaoyang District Court referred calls to the Beijing High Court’s foreign affairs office, where calls rang unanswered.

Calls to Wen Yu He court, a sub-branch of Chaoyang court where the verdict was reportedly announced, also were not answered.

Stopping people from traveling to Beijing to complain has become a priority for local officials, who are graded for promotion in part on their ability to keep the peace. While Beijing is home to some of the most notorious black jails, such illegal holding pens are found throughout China.

Petitioners report being held in run-down hotels, disused government offices, schools and, at least in one instance, a Red Cross office.

They are a part of a policing system that goes under the euphemism “stability maintenance” and that has expanded massively over the past decade. Designed to weed out any threats to Communist Party rule, funding for “stability maintenance” has exceeded the national defense budget for the past two years, reaching 702 billion yuan, or $110 billion, last year. —AP

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Kim Jong-Un and the mystery smartphone

NORTH KOREA: This undated picture released on Jan 27, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un attending a consultative meeting of officials in the fields of state security and foreign affairs. — AFP

SEOUL: A picture of Nor th Korea’s Kim Jong-Un with a smartphone has triggered fevered speculation about which brand is favoured by the leader of one of the world’s most repressive nations. The photo released by the North’s state media showed Kim presiding over a meeting with top national security advisers last week - a meeting believed to have been focused on Pyongyang’s threat to conduct an imminent nuclear test. It also showed a black smartphone on the table next to Kim’s arm - as well as a lit cigarette in his hand.

“I t ’s believed that the smar tphone belonged to Kim given that the device was placed right next to the documents he was looking at,” a Seoul government official told AFP. The South Korean media gave the picture prominent coverage, opening a debate over the manufacturer, with speculation ranging bet ween S outh Korea’s own Samsung, Taiwan’s HTC and iPhone maker Apple. Samsung, the world’s top smartphone maker, was adamant that one of its flagship Galaxy models had not turned up across the border. “I t ’s not a Samsung phone,” a company spokesman told AFP. The Seoul government official said the picture had been analysed by the South’s intelligence agency, which concluded that HTC was the likely manufac turer. The

Taiwanese firm declined to identify the device but said in a statement that the company appreciated the “support of all users”. South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper suggested politics was behind the brand choice. “It must have been politically uncomfor table for Kim Jong-Un to use products made by the US... and he can’t publicly endorse the fact that the South is more technologically advanced,” the daily said.

While North Koreans live in probably the most isolated and censored society on the planet, the country is not a complete IT desert. Mobile phones were introduced in 2008 through a joint venture with the Egyptian telecom firm Orascom, and a domestic Intranet was launched in 2002.

But the one million normal cellphone subscribers can only phone each other, not outside the country, and the Intranet is similarly cut off from the rest of the worldwide web. “Kim and his family members as well as the North’s political elite appear to use smartphones or other mobile phones capable of accessing the Internet,” said the Seoul official. Kim, believed to be in his late 20s, took over the country after the death of his father Kim Jong-Il in Dec 2011, completing a second dynastic succession of the Kim family. — AFP

54 govts aided CIA renditions

King Richard III’s face... Ahmadinejad kissed, scolded...

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Richard may have sounded when he spoke. Philip Shaw of the University of Leicester examined the king’s handwriting, and given that the spelling in those days often reflected local dialect, concluded that he may well have spoken with a Birmingham accent. The skeleton was found during an archaeological dig at a municipal car park in Leicester last August. A team at the University of Leicester announced on Monday that DNA tests, carbon dating and examination of bones had proved beyond reasonable doubt that it belonged to Richard, ending a 500-year-old mystery.

After his death at the Battle of Bosworth, near Leicester, Richard’s body was buried by Franciscan friars, known as Greyfriars, in an unmarked grave. When their monastery was destroyed in the 1530s, all traces of him disappeared. Richard’s remains will now be reinterred at Leicester Cathedral in a ceremony next year that befits his royal status. In “Richard III”, Shakespeare described a villain who murdered his two young nephews to win the throne, whose hunchback and withered arm were a physical manifestation of his evil. The skeleton confirms the king did have a twisted spin, but no withered arm. Enthusiasts also say there is no evidence he killed the young boys, and hope the focus will now shift to the social reforms Richard introduced. — AFP

Gulf Arab states, to recognise Bahrain as a “sisterly Arab nation” and rejected the extension of Shiite influence in Sunni countries, a statement from Al-Azhar said.

Visiting Cairo to attend an Islamic summit that begins today, Ahmadinejad told a news conference he hoped his trip would be “a new starting point in relations between us”.

However, a senior cleric from the Egyptian seminary, Hassan Al-Shafai, who appeared alongside him, said the meeting had degenerated into an exchange of theological differences. “There ensued some misunderstandings on certain issues that could have an effect on the cultural, political and social climate of both countries,” Shafai said. “The issues were such that the grand sheikh saw that the meeting ... did not serve the desired purpose.”

The visit would have been unthinkable during the rule of Hosni Mubarak, the militarybacked autocrat who preserved Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel during his 30 years in power and deepened ties between Cairo and the West. “The political geography of the region will change if Iran and Egypt take a unified position on the Palestinian question,” Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Al

support for its counterterrorism efforts worldwide,” the report said.

But it said that other nations also bore responsibility. Only Canada has apologized for its role, while three other countries Australia, Britain and Sweden - have also offered compensation to individuals.

President Barack Obama ordered an end to harsh interrogations when he took office in 2009. But the Open Society Foundations criticized Obama for still allowing renditions if other countries promise to treat prisoners humanely. The group named 136 individuals subjected to extraordinary detention and rendition. As the report focused on secret CIA operations, it did not cover the Pentagon’s controversial detention of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Central Intelligence Agency kept some prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and also secretly held detainees in Afghanistan, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Romania and Thailand, the report said. In detention, some prisoners were thrown against fake walls, forced into stressful physical functions, involuntarily stripped naked and

slapped, the report said. Former CIA chief Michael Hayden has previously confirmed that the US interrogators subjected three men to waterboarding, a drowning simulation that rights advocates consider to be torture.

The US Senate committee on intelligence in December approved a 6,000page report on the CIA tactics. While the contents are classified, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee’s chairwoman, said that secret detention sites and harsh interrogation were “terrible mistakes”. The CIA declined comment on the report.

Some lawmakers and intelligence professionals have vigorously defended “enhanced interrogation techniques” as necessary against a ruthless enemy.

Hayden, speaking at a think tank last month, recalled telling European ambassadors in 2007 when he was CIA director: “We’re at war with Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, this war is global in scope, and my moral and legal responsibility is to take that fight to this enemy wherever they may be.” The Open Society Foundations were founded by George Soros, the billionaire liberal philanthropist. — AFP

Mayadeen, a Beirut-based TV station, on the eve of his trip. He said he wanted to visit the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory which neighbours Egypt to the east and is run by the Islamist movement Hamas. “If they allow it, I would go to Gaza to visit the people,” Ahmadinejad said.

At the airport the two leaders discussed ways of improving relations and resolving the Syrian crisis “without resorting to military intervention”, Egyptian state media reported.

Egypt is concerned by Iran’s support for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, who is trying to crush an uprising inspired by the revolt that swept Mubarak from power two years ago.

Egypt’s overwhelmingly Sunni population is broadly supportive of the uprising against Assad’s Alawite-led administration.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr sought to reassure Gulf Arab allies - that are supporting Cairo’s battered state finances and are deeply suspicious of Iran that Egypt would not jeopardise their security.

“The security of the Gulf states is the security of Egypt,” he said in remarks reported by the official MENA news agency. “We consider the security of Gulf states in particular a red line.

Egypt’s relations with any country will not be made at the expense of other countries’ security,” Amr told reporters. — Agencies

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ANALYSIS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

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Issues

No ‘reset’ amid US-Russia chill

By Anna Malpas here are few hopes in Russia for another “reset” in relations as US President Barack Obama enters his second term, with bilateral disputes growing every month and mutual distrust increasing, analysts say. Russia has welcomed the appointment of old hand John Kerry as US secretary of state while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held an apparently cordial meeting with Vice President Joe Biden on the sidelines of a security conference at the weekend. But analysts caution that mistrust runs too deep and disputes are too numerous for Washington and Moscow to make any headway in bringing about the transformation in relations that Obama hoped for when he first came to power in 2009.

“The Kremlin is now turning Russia towards a strategic confrontation with the US,” said Lilia Shevtsova, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Centre. In its latest salvo in late January, Russia announced plans for bans on all US meat imports and the termination of a longstanding bilateral drug control agreement. The US in turn pulled out of a joint working group on civil society.

It also said it was “deeply concerned” by Russian draft legislation that would place a national ban on “homosexual propaganda among minors”.

The trigger for the standoff was the passing by the United States of a rights bill targeting Russian officials with sanctions over the prison death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Russia responded with a ban on US adoptions, widely regarded as the toughest piece of anti-US legislation during President Vladimir Putin’s 13 years in power.

The buzz of the “reset” that Obama launched in 2009 with Putin’s predecessor, Dmitry Medvedev after nearly a decade of distant ties now seems far off. “This isn’t a reset but a full-on systems failure,” Vlast weekly cited a highly placed official in the Russian government as saying. At the first high-level contact on Saturday between the countries since Obama’s second-term inauguration, Biden was conciliatory as he met Lavrov at the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Biden told Lavrov he would like to take the countries’ relations “back on track”, a source in the Russian delegation told Kommersant business daily.

Alexei Pushkov, international relations committee chief at the parliament’s lower house, told Vedomosti business daily that a US representative suggested “Let’s separate the topic of developing democracy from the broader agenda.” But Obama’s own travel schedule is indicative of the state of Russia-US relations - he appears to have dropped plans for a bilateral visit and will only come when Russia hosts the G20 summit in September. “It looks like Obama won’t come to Russia until the G20 in September since there are a lot of arguments and no topic for a breakthrough is in sight,” Pushkov wrote on Twitter on Friday. The former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton recently raised hackles in Moscow by accusing Russia of trying to “re-Sovietise” the region, a claim that Putin dismissed as “rubbish”.

“The US is very disappointed - Obama is personally disappointed,” Russia in Global Affairs editor Fyodor Lukyanov told AFP. “Obama won’t come to Moscow because a visit has to give a concrete result and there won’t be one. Now there is nothing that could justify this visit.” Russian officials have resorted to rousing antiAmerican rhetoric against anti-Putin protesters allegedly funded by the US Department of State. It banned USAID from Russia and ordered non-governmental organisations with international funding to call themselves “foreign agents”. “For Putin now, foreign policy is an instrument for internal politics,” Shevtsova told AFP. Yet while playing the anti-American card at home, Russia has in fact cooperated with the US in international crises such as Iran and North Korea. But the key sticking point in diplomacy is the conflict in Syria, which has turned into another thorn in the side of bilateral ties. Washington has denounced Russia’s opposition to UN Security Council efforts to reach a global consensus on the need for Syrian President Bashar AlAssad to quit. Russia still holds strong cards in dealing with the United States but on a dwindling number of international issues, experts say. “Relations are limited to specific diplomatic cases: on Syria, on Afghanistan and Iran. As a whole, the field of relations is narrowing,” said Lukyanov.— AFP

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

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

Diplomatic window closing on Iran

By George Jahn and Brian Murphy udging by its expanding nuclear program, harsh sanctions against Iran have done little but impose hardship on its people, while diplomacy has also failed to slow the Islamic Republic’s atomic progress. And while more talks are planned for later this month, there is a growing sense that the nuclear standoff between Iran and the international community is reaching a tipping point. Iran can theoretically back down. But because it insists that all of its nuclear work is peaceful and protected by international law it is unlikely to go further than repeating its top leader’s religious edicts against nuclear weapons in pushing for an end to sanctions. That in turn will lead to another negotiating failure - and mounting pressure for military intervention to prevent Tehran from becoming a threshold nuclear weapons power.

Each side wants what the other is bringing to the table at the planned Feb 25 talks in Kazakhstan. The problem is that both want the other to blink first. For the P5 +1 - the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany - the onus is on Iran. They want Tehran to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent - a grade that is only a technical step away from the level used to arm nuclear warheads. Then, they want it to transfer its 20-percent stockpile out of the country. They also demand that Iran shut down Fordo - the bomb-resistant underground bunker where Iran is enriching uranium to 20 percent.

Only then are they ready to discuss sanctions relief on Iranian oil and financial transactions.

But Iran insists it is enriching only to make reactor fuel and for scientific and medical programs - a right that all nations have. It denies any interest in nuclear weapons, considers Security Council demands that it stop enrichment invalid, and UN and other sanctions illegal. Tehran wants a promise that non-UN sanctions at least will be lift-

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ed if it makes even the smallest commitments on uranium enrichment.

Demands and counter-demands have shifted since the talks began in 2003 between Iran and Britain, France and Germany, later expanded to include the United States, Russia and China. But one constant remains: failure not only to reach a breakthrough but even to make substantive progress. Neither side is known to be bringing new proposals beyond what was in play the last time they met, in June in Moscow. Success seems even more elusive thanks to Iran’s recent announcement that it would speed up the pace of its uranium enrichment, and with planned new US sanctions to take effect today.

“The situation has changed for the worse for both sides since last summer,” says Mark Fitzpatrick, a non-proliferation expert and former senior official at the US State Department. With further enriching, Iran already has enough material for several nuclear weapons, and Fitzpatrick says that since the Moscow talks, Iran has produced enough additional low-enriched uranium to produce an additional weapon with further enrichment. As for Tehran, “the sanctions bite has gotten worse” since the two sides last met.

Even ahead of the new US penalties, Iran’s revenues from oil and gas exports are now down by 45 percent from normal levels. That, and severe restrictions on its ability to access international banking networks led the rial, Iran’s currency, to lose 45 percent of its value last year. But Iran shows no sign of budging, and Israel’s threat to hit Tehran’s nuclear targets if negotiations fail stands, as does the possibility that such a move would draw the United States into the conflict. Iran could enrich uranium to arm one weapon within half a year even though analysts say it would take years longer for it to actually create a full working nuclear weapon.

That is a longer time line than Israel accepts. But inde-

pendently of Israel, President Barack Obama may not have more than a year or two to decide whether Iran has embarked on making nuclear weapons or whether it has only reached the ability to do so. If it’s the latter, he has to judge whether Iran is content to stay on the nuclear threshold and if America can tolerate that status. For diplomacy to succeed, “both sides need to move with greater urgency and flexibility toward a lasting solution,” says Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association. “Iran apparently does not yet have the necessary ingredients for an effective nuclear arsenal, but its capabilities are improving.”

An Iran with the capability to make the bomb might choose not to do so. Iran could be shaping its nuclear ambitions after Japan, which has the full scope of nuclear technology - including the presumed ability to produce warhead-grade material - but has stopped short of actually producing a weapon. It creates, in effect, a de facto nuclear power with all the parts but just not pieced together. In that light, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s recent repetition of his fatwa, a proclamation that nuclear weapons are banned by Islam, could be another way of stating Iran’s nuclear goals - ready to assemble weapons but doing so only if threatened.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that he would not allow the Islamic Republic to reach that level of weapons capability. But he is unlikely to attack without US military backing - and he and Obama may have different interpretations of when such action may be needed. “Our policy toward Iran’s nuclear program has been defined by Obama’s red lines, not Netanyahu’s, meaning that the US isn’t likely to use military force unless and until it’s clear that Iran is taking active steps to weaponize its program,” says Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.— AP

In Spain, slow justice favours Rajoy

By Fiona Ortiz he tortuous procedures of the Spanish court system and a weak political opposition mean corruption allegations are unlikely to force Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy from office. Uproar in the media and some street protests have helped raise doubts among investors on the government’s future, pushing its borrowing costs back up at a time when its priority has been to save money and pay off debts to stave off insolvency. But while renewed economic difficulties may add to Rajoy’s problems, a reluctance in opponents to probe funding practices common to all parties, doubt that payments however dubious were formally illegal, and the chronic backlog in Spain’s courts, all mean the prime minister has little to fear from the prosecutors. Rajoy, 57, has flatly denied doing anything wrong.

And a member of parliament for his Popular Party summed up a sanguine mood in the PP, voicing confidence delays would stifle the problem: “Beyond all the political noise, I don’t think this will cause instability for the government or the party,” he said. “It’s an issue that won’t have any quick conclusion.” Investment analyst Alastair Newton at Nomura in London also saw little urgent threat to government stability. “Furthermore,” he wrote in a research note on Tuesday, “If Spanish prosecutors were to decide that there is a case to answer, it is likely to take some years to prove, or otherwise, any wrongdoing.”

Fernando Jimenez a political scientist and corruption expert at the University of Murcia, noted dozens of corruption cases involving all major parties had been dragging through the courts for years: “Everyone knows there are very few convictions in corruption cases, so you get this sense of impunity,” he said. Last month, a 14-year investigation into whether a Catalan party siphoned off EU funds ended in a plea bargain and a fine. Though official statistics are not available on how many corruption cases are open or the conviction rates, severe delays are a source of frustration for Jesus Lizcano of global anti-graft campaign group Transparency International: “The courts ... are overwhelmed with cases and don’t have the resources they need,” he said. “Slow justice is less justice.”

Rajoy, who has seen austerity policies drive his approval rating down to just 19 percent after 13 months in office, gave an initial response to last week’s media allegations by flatly denying any wrongdoing. He also welcomed an investigation of the finances of his conservative People’s Party and promised to post his own tax returns on a government website. Spanish media accuse the party of

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running a slush fund to channel millions of euros in cash from construction firms to its leaders during the building boom that preceded the crash which plunged Spain into a debt crisis and recession five years ago.

Among key issues is whether alleged payments, supposedly recorded in handwritten accounts whose authenticity the party disputes, were illegal, if party officials paid tax on them. And while critics wonder whether businesses won favours in return, a public perception that all parties did the same - and notably the Socialists who were in government during much of the building boom - may limit the specific damage to the PP. Experts on corruption say dozens of cases are under way against figures from major parties - the PP, Socialists and the Convergence and Union (CiU) political alliance in Catalonia.

Some are interlinked. All have taken time. The celebrated Gurtel case, involving alleged kickbacks from companies to PP mayors, has bounced for four years from court to court without a trial. Among its key figures is Luis Barcenas, a former PP treasurer whose purported secret ledgers were last week the basis of new allegations of payments to Rajoy. Barcenas called the documents published by El Pais newspaper fakes.

Complexity of procedure is blamed by some for delay; a probe into alleged graft involving Carlos Fabra, a senior PP figure in Valencia, has passed through nine judges in eight years.

Like many European countries, Spain’s law is based on the French civil code developed under Napoleon in which examining magistrates conduct inquiries into whether to bring charges. But these officials often move on. Successors need time to digest a mass of written case notes. And that process can repeat itself. A further twist is that different courts handle cases against serving state officials and politicians

who are not in office, meaning elections can force a change of magistrate.

Unsurprisingly, a poll last week by Metroscopia found that 96 percent of Spaniards believe corruption goes unpunished. In a survey by Transparency International, Spaniards rated political parties as their nation’s most corrupt institutions, grading them 4.4 on a scale where 5.0 was utterly rotten. The same survey showed three in four thought anti-graft efforts ineffective and a similar number felt corruption was increasing. Payments by building firms to officials in return for state contracts and construction permits were seen as widespread in the boom years, and certainly not confined to one party.

“All the other parties did the same thing,” said Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, head of the Madrid office of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). “No one can cast the first stone, because they all financed themselves like this.”

Although the Socialist opposition has called for Rajoy to step down, they have not gone so far as to call for an early election. A vote right now would be damaging for both main parties, with polls crediting neither with more than 25 percent.

Small groups of protesters have demonstrated at the PP’s offices, calling for Rajoy to resign. And the premium Spain pays on government bonds over German benchmarks in the euro zone rose to its highest level this year on Monday. But with nearly three years until an election must be held, Rajoy still commands an absolute PP majority in parliament, blocking any threat of a confidence motion. And there are no signs of internal party revolt against the prime minister.

Although the state prosecutor has begun an investigation of PP accounts, party officials appear to believe the evidence so far, in the shape of purported handwritten ledgers, is weak. Torreblanca at ECFR said party leaders took the view that, even if there were a trial within the time limit, the evidence would not stand up.

“The PP has looked at the documents,” he said, “And come to a legal analysis that they are safe - the notes won’t survive a trial and the statute of limitations.” — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

S P ORTS Emirates announces five-year deal with F1

Man Utd add Japan date to Asian tour

DUBAI: Emirates airlines announced a five-year sponsorship deal with Formula One yesterday in the latest sign of the growing influence of the oil-rich, Gulf nations on the sport. Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone says the Dubai-based airline’s sponsorship deal includes 15 races this season starting in Malaysia. It will not sponsor the Australian, Monaco, Bahrain or Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ecclestone did not disclose the value of the sponsorship deal.

“I’m obviously very proud to be associated with Emirates, the sort of brand that should be with us and us with them,” Ecclestone said at a news conference in Dubai. “We like to feel we are associated with the top corporate (brands), which we are obviously are with Emirates. The teams will benefit. It lifts everyone in Formula One.” The deal is part of Emirates efforts to spread its reach globally and is just the latest sponsorship deal involving a major sport. It already is an official partner with FIFA and recently signed a five-year deal with the ATP which begins this year. It also comes days after new five-year shirt sponsorship deal with Paris Saint-Germain, the big-spending French soccer team that signed David Beckham.

“This is an exciting global opportunity to align two world-leading brands,” said Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates chairman and chief executive. “The ambition, cutting-edge technological standards and worldwide reach of Formula One go hand in hand with Emirates’ vision and ambition.” —AP

TOKYO: Manchester United announced yesterday they will visit Japan as part of their pre-season tour of Asia, giving a chance for Japanese attacking midfielder Shinji Kagawa to dazzle his home fans.

The Premier League giants will face J-League outfit Yokohama F. Marinos on July 23 in their first game on Japanese turf for five years.

“Manchester United has great memories of playing in Japan and our game against the Yokohama F. Marinos will play an important part of our pre-season preparations,” said United chief executive David Gill in a statement.

“The Nissan Stadium (in Yokohama) is one of the best in the world and Manchester United has a connection with it, having become the first English team to win the FIFA Club World Cup there (in 2008) .”

The president of the Marinos, Akira Kaetsu, said the team was honoured to play against United, currently top of the Premier League.

“We will show our best performance during the 2013 season so that on July 23, as a team that represents Japan, we can make a great impact on the soccer fans of the world,” he said.

Kagawa, one of the star names in the Japanese national side, signed for United last year in a big-money move from Borussia Dortmund and is keenly followed by Japan’s media. —AFP

Vonn hospitalized after crash in super-G SCHLADMING: Lindsey Vonn crashed during the super-G yesterday and was taken to a hospital by helicopter after apparently hurting her right knee at the world championships.

The four-time overall World Cup champion lost balance on her right leg while landing after a jump. Her ski came off immediately, and Vonn slid off course and hit a gate before coming to a halt.

She received treatment on the slope for 12 minutes before going to the hospital. Her U.S. team had no immediate information on her condition.

The crash came almost exactly one year before the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Vonn returned to the circuit last month after an almost monthlong break from racing to fully recover from an intestinal illness that put her in a hospital for two days in November.

Vonn trailed race winner Tina Maze of Slovenia by 0.12 seconds shortly before the crash. The race, which was postponed for 31/2 hours because of fog, resumed after another 15-minute delay. —AP

Officials with male judges.

ISSF Rifle and Pistol judges’ courses conclude

By Abdellatif Sharaa KUWAIT: The ISSF Rifle and Pistol Judges B course concluded on Monday evening. The course that was organized

by Kuwait Shooting Sport Club witnessed the participation of judges from Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, UAE in addition to the organizing country Kuwait.

Security General of Arab and Kuwait Shooting Federations Obaid Al-Osaimi congratulated the judges for successfully passing the course on behalf of President of Asian and Kuwait Shooting Federations, Vice President of ISSF Sheikh Salman Humoud Al-Sabah.

Al-Osaimi urged judges to consider this as a first step and they should apply what they learnt in practice. He asked what they learnt in practice. He asked

them to keep on working for the development of the sport of shooting in this part of the world. He also asked participants to convey what they learnt in this course to their colleagues so that all can benefit from it.

Obaid Al-Osaimi and international lecturer Aado Maranik distributed diplomas to the successful judges.

Saudi Judge Colonel (R) Mohammad Aseeri said what he saw and learned during the course was something new to him, though he has been refereeing for 15 years. He said there are systems and equipments here in Kuwait that are not available at the Saudi Arabia, because the facilities are there for hard working young men, “so our shooting should not be any less than anywhere in the Arab world.

Bahrain’s Abdallah Zaman said the

Maranik hands a judge her diploma. course was beneficial, and thanked Kuwait for it. He said this the first time he participated in such a course and it

was timely as the new ISSF rules are in effect. Zaman thanked Kuwait’s government and people as well as the organiz-

ers and hoped such courses are increased for the benefit of administrators and shooters. Meanwhile Nepal’s Anju Dawadi said the course was informative because “we did not know anything about the new ISSF rules, and the course was effective in making us understand the laws” she said that “we hope several courses are held the way they are held here in Kuwait and at this level”.

Hamad Al-Mazroui from UAE said the course was timely as the new amendments on the ISSF rules became in effect at the start of the year. He said such courses should be held several times a year to keep us updated. He said the organization of such courses must be done as it is in Kuwait, and hoped that they are at the same level.

Al-Mazroui thanked the Kuwait Shooting Community for its efforts.

Officials with female judges.

Maze wins super-G gold at ski worlds SCHLADMING: Tina Maze became the first Slovenian skier to win a world championship gold medal in a speed event yesterday, taking the opening women’s super-G in a race that was overshadowed by a crash involving Lindsey Vonn.

Vonn lost balance while landing after a jump and was taken to a hospital by helicopter with an apparent right knee injury. There was no immediate update on her condition.

Maze won the race in all-attacking style in 1 minute, 35.39 seconds, beating Lara Gut of Switzerland by 0.38. Julia Mancuso of the United States came 0.52 behind in third.

“The gold medal means a lot to me,” said Maze, who is having a standout season in the World Cup. “I had a great run. Slovenia is a small country and has so many great athletes. That makes me really happy.”

The race had been delayed by 31/2 hours because of thick fog hanging over the course, and was called off after 36 racers because new clouds of fog were moving in.

The results stand as the top-30 racers had started their run.

“I was prepared for a long day,” said Maze, who now has four world championship medals. “World championships are special, you have

to stay focused. I knew we would race today despite all the delays.”

Gut had two mistakes in the turning middle part that slowed her down but attacked the bottom part for a strong finish to earn her third world championship medal - all in silver. She took second in downhill and super-combined at the 2009 event in Val d’Isere, France, when she became the youngest Swiss skier to medal at 18.

“It’s fantastic to come second,” Gut said. “My run was poor, I was too late at many turns and was surprised with my time.” Mancuso also wasn’t fully satisfied with her run.

“It’s always really nice to win a medal but of course I know I could have a better run,” the American said, adding it was “really hard” to race after Vonn, who started three racers earlier, had crashed.

Vonn fell after a long jump, her

SCHLADMING: Slovenia’s Tina Maze celebrates after winning the women’s Super-G event of the 2013 Ski World Championships in Schladming, Austria yesterday. Maze won the event ahead of Gut and Mancuso. —AFP

ski came off immediately, and she slid off course and hit a gate before coming to a halt.

The four-time overall World Cup champion from the United States received medical treatment on the slope for 12 minutes before being taken to the hospital. Vonn trailed Maze by 0.12 seconds shortly before the crash. The race continued after another 15-minute delay.

Days of snow and rain had affected the course and softened the surface especially in the lower part. The evening before the race, FIS women’s race director Atle Skaardal called it an “extreme situation.”

Several racers struggled with the conditions, with favorites like Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany and Anna Fenninger of Austria failing to finish.

“It’s not a very difficult course but in some parts you couldn’t see anything,” Fabienne Suter of Switzerland said. After eight starters, the race was interrupted for 15 minutes following a crash by a course worker, who needed to be taken off the course by helicopter.

There was no immediate information available on his condition.

The men’s super-G is scheduled for today. —AP

Austrians eye new medal sweep at worlds SCHLADMING: Austria are hoping to replicate their strong 2011 form at this year’s world championships run over the next two weeks, with a hoped-for tally of up to eight medals across all disciplines.

“The expectations are great of course,” Austrian alpine ski chief Hans Pum said Tuesday. “We want to win six to eight medals for Austria.” Austrian ski federation president Peter Schroecksnadel already announced a general medal sweep by the ski-mad nation ahead of the two weeks of competition.

“We can medal in every discipline, of that I’m convinced,” he told the daily Die Presse in a recent interview. The Austrians will benefit from racing on home snow in Schladming, backed by many of the 400,000 fans expected over the two-week ski fest.

The small nation also has a strong team with 27 athletes competing in every event, including World Cup podium regulars like Marcel Hirscher, Anna Fenninger and Hannes Reichelt.

But defending super-G and downhill champion Elisabeth Goergl has been out of form lately and injured slalom queen Marlies Schild was still unsure whether she could race.

The ladies also face stiff competition from Slovenia’s current World Cup leader

Tina Maze and US darling Lindsey Vonn, while the men are up against the likes of Aksel Lund Svindal, Ted Ligety and Dominik Paris of Italy.

In Garmisch in 2011, the Austrian ladies conquered the podiums, taking five medals-including four gold-in every discipline but the giant slalom.

The men brought home two silvers for a total of seven medals in 11 events. —AFP

SCHLADMING: An Austrian supporter waits for the start of the women’s Super-G event of the 2013 Ski World Championships in Schladming, Austria yesterday. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

S P ORTS

Japan minister calls beatings worst sports crisis TOKYO: Allegations that the national women’s judo coach used a bamboo sword to beat his athletes, including some Olympians, are the “gravest crisis” to hit Japanese sport, the education minister said yesterday.

Former world champion Ryuji Sonoda resigned in humiliation last week after admitting that claims he had physically and emotionally abused 15 of the country’s top sportswomen were “more or less true”.

The explosive claims have rocked a nation accustomed to greatness in judo, and come as Tokyo seeks to persuade

Olympic bosses it should be allowed to host the 2020 Games.

“The incident is the gravest crisis in Japan’s sporting history.” Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura told reporters.

“We should not shy away from the facts and should review not only judo but all sorts of sports to see whether they have overlooked violence in the name of achieving sporting excellence.

“This is the time that Japan can show both to those inside and outside the country that it has abandoned all violence in sports,” Shimomura said. He said

Japan’s many sporting associations each needed to set up a hotline for athletes who had concerns and should review the ways coaches are educated.

The scandal claimed another scalp Tuesday when Kazuo Yoshimura, the head of training at the All Japan Judo Federation, announced he was stepping down. “I would like to make a heartfelt apology for my poor supervision,” he told a press conference Acting women’s national head coach Masaru Tanabe on Tuesday vowed he would go all out to provide an opportunity for athletes “to be able to give their

best performances”, as the team flew to Europe for an international competition.

In a sports policy conference held by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday, some participants expressed concerns about the scandal’s negative impact on Tokyo’s bid for the Olympics, public broadcaster NHK reported.

In an interview with AFP Friday, Japanese Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda, who is also the Tokyo bid chief, rejected speculation the scandal could give a bad impression of sport in Japan.

He insisted the necessary changes

were being made. “In response to the problem, the head coach is being changed and I believe the judo federation will quickly move forward with its internal reform,” he said. The 100-plus members of the International Olympic Committee will gather in Buenos Aires on September 7 to vote on which cityMadrid, Istanbul or Tokyo-should host the 2020 Games.

The bullying scandal added fuel to a debate over corporal punishment in Japan following the suicide of a schoolboy who had been repeatedly hit by his basketball coach. —AFP

Pacers tie up Bulls in Central with 111-101 win have to make sure you’re prepared,” West said. “ We’ll get our rest tomorrow. We’ll figure out, in terms of execution, how we need to approach a team in Atlanta that we struggled against. We just have to be ready to play this game.”

There was no doubt they were ready for the Bulls. Despite the defense, which is second-best in the league in points allowed and No. 1 in defensive field goal percentage, Indiana found another way to beat the Bulls-with offense.

The Pacers made their first six field goals, shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half, finished at 52.7 percent and produced their highest-point total in a non-overtime

INDIANAPOLIS: The Indiana Pacers aren’t going to let a little scheduling quirk slow them down.

So they started the NBA’s only three game-in-three day stretch in resounding fashion.

David West scored 29 points, Paul George finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and George Hill added 22 points, leading the Pacers past Chicago 111-101 and into a share of the Central Division lead Monday. They have now won three straight and 14 in a row at home with Atlanta coming to town tonight and a trip to Philadelphia set for tomorrow night.

“It’s just something where you

game all season. If they keep scoring this way, after topping the 100point mark for the fourth time in five games, and continue to confound opponents, they will be tough to beat.

Actually, they already are. Over the past month, the Pacers (29-19) have gone 4-0 against the Eastern Conference’s other three top teams-beating Miami twice, New York once and now taking down Chicago, the league’s best road team.If the Pacers beat the Hawks, they will have their longest home winning streak since taking 25 in a row in 1999-2000.

Indiana’s recent surge has it tied for the division lead with Chicago

NEW YORK: Detroit Pistons guard Will Bynum (12) stabilizes himself atop New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) as he goes up for a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday. —AP

NBA results/standings Indiana 111, Chicago 101; Philadelphia 78, Orlando 61; Washington 98, LA Clippers 90; NY Knicks 99, Detroit 85; Miami 99, Charlotte 94; Oklahoma City 112, Dallas 91; Portland 100, Minnesota 98; Utah 98, Sacramento 91 (OT).

NY Knicks Brooklyn Boston Philadelphia Toronto

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L 31 15 28 19 24 23 21 26 17 31

PCT .674 .596 .511 .447 .354

Indiana Chicago Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland

Central Division 29 19 29 19 25 21 18 31 14 34

.604 .604 .543 .367 .292

Miami Atlanta Orlando Washington Charlotte

Southeast Division 31 14 26 20 14 34 12 35 11 36

.689 .565 .292 .255 .234

GB 3.5 7.5 10.5 15

Western Conference Northwest Division Oklahoma City 36 12 Denver 30 18 Utah 27 22 Portland 25 23 Minnesota 18 27

.750 .625 .551 .521 .400

6 9.5 11 16.5

3 11.5 15

LA Clippers Golden State LA Lakers Sacramento Phoenix

Pacific Division 34 16 30 17 22 26 17 33 16 32

.680 .638 .458 .340 .333

2.5 11 17 17

5.5 18.5 20 21

San Antonio Memphis Houston Dallas New Orleans

Southwest Division 38 11 30 16 26 23 20 28 15 33

.776 .652 .531 .417 .313

6.5 12 17.5 22.5

(29-19) and behind only Miami (3014) and New York (31-15) in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.

“This is a big win for us, definitely playing against a division team,” George Hill said. “We played a great game and really battled.”

The Bulls didn’t look like themselves, though. Starting guards Derrick Rose (left knee) and Kirk Hinrich (right elbow) and starting center Joakim Noah (right foot) all sat out again with injuries, and they had another scare late in the first quarter when Marco Belinelli crashed to the floor clutching his right ankle. He returned later and finished with a season-high 24 points. Nate Robinson finished with 19 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and Carlos Boozer had 10 points and five rebounds as he returned from a right hamstring injury.

All of those players, other than Belinelli and Robinson, missed Saturday’s 93-76 victory at Atlanta.

“I feel like we’re short-handed right now, but we’re competing hard and that’s all you can ask for and I feel like our best basketball is yet to come,” Noah said. “We’ve just got to keep fighting and I think we’ll be all right.”

Those expecting a defensive slugfest were in for a surprise.

Indiana started the game fast, making its first six shots to take a 13-2 lead, and finished the first half nearly as fast, using a 12-6 run to break a 48-48 tie to make it 60-54 at the half. The Pacers shot 66.7 percent from the field in the half.

Chicago had seven players reach double figures and continually challenged Indiana, but never had control and couldn’t even forge a tie over the final 271/2 minutes.Robinson opened the second half with a 3-pointer and a 20-foot jumper to close the deficit to 6059, but a few minutes later, Indiana seized control with two quick scoring flurries.

The first came when George hit a 3-foot jumper, Lance Stephenson then completed a three-point play and Hill added a four-point play to make it 73-63 with 7:35 left in the third. Chicago answered with four straight points, and Indiana came right back with six straight to take a 79-67 lead.

“We started the game in a big hole and we had to get out of that hole,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Now you’re scrambling and trying to give yourself a chance. I thought we were in position with five minutes to go.”

Chicago rallied again in the fourth, using an 8-0 run to close to 90-84, and it got as close as four three times. Indiana finally sealed it with a 3 from George and two free throws from West with 1:05 to play.

“I’m proud of the way we’re growing on the offensive end,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.

“Still a few too many turnovers, but we’ve made a commitment to the extra pass. When the ball is moving, we’re too many weapons to be as poorly efficient as we have been.”

NOTES: It was Indiana’s first regular-season home win over Chicago since March 18, 2011. The Bulls are 620 all-time at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. ... Bulls guard Marquis Teague finished with two points in his first pro appearance in his hometown. ... The Bulls lost for only the third time in nine games. —AP

DOHA: Omega Pharma-Quick Step team’s leader Mark Cavendish (2nd L, front) sprints for the finish line on his way to win the 3rd stage of the 2013 Tour of Qatar from Al-Wakra to Mesaieed south of the Qatari capital, yesterday. —AFP

Cavendish takes Qatar third stage MESAIEED: British sprint king Mark Cavendish won the third stage of the Tour of Qatar yesterday, claiming the contested finish on the 143-kilometre stage between Al Wakra and Mesaieed. The 2011 world road race champion fended off competition from Dutchman Markus Barry and Lithuania’s Addis Kruopis for his second victory since joining Omega Pharma-Quick Step from Team Sky in the close-season.

American Brent Bookwalter, winner of the

race’s opening stage, preserved his overall six-second lead ahead of compatriot Taylor Phinney.

Cavendish, boosted by a 13-second time bonus after also taking the day’s first intermediate sprint, climbed to fourth in the general classification, eight seconds behind Bookwalter, and just one behind fellow Briton Adam Blythe. Today’s 160km fourth stage will take the cyclists from the Camel Race Track to Al Khor Corniche. —AFP

BEIJING: A picture dated August 16, 2008 shows Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain posing after the women’s 800m freestyle final medal ceremony at the National Aquatics Center during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing.

The 23-year-old Briton who won two gold medals at the Beijing Games in 2008 but could only muster two bronze medals at London 2012, said yesterday that now was the right time to quit as she could no longer keep pace with a younger generation of swimmers. —AFP

America’s Cup champ Oracle sailing again SAN DIEGO: America’s Cup champion Team Oracle USA has returned to the water 3 1/2 months after its 72-foot (22-meter) catamaran was heavily damaged in a spectacular capsize on San Francisco Bay. Skipper Jimmy Spithill says it was a “fantastic” day in about 10-12 knots of wind Monday.

“I tell you what, mate, I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time,” the Australian said by phone from Oracle’s base in San Francisco. “For the boat to perform like it did lifts a weight off the shoulders, to be honest. It’s good to be back on the horse again.”

Oracle sailed for about three hours with a full crew of sailors plus some engineers.

Spithill said sea trials will continue for a few days. “It really was one of the best days we’ve had in a long time,” said Spithill, an Australian who skippered Oracle to a two-race sweep of Alinghi of Switzerland three years ago off Valencia, Spain, to bring the oldest trophy in international sports to San Francisco.

“Essentially we launched a new boat. We made a lot of modifications, so we were all a bit anxious because you don’t know how long it takes to get a boat like this up to speed. You can tell it’s an improvement, no doubt about it.

“I’m confident we’ve got a much better boat, a much better product,” he said. The

boat capsized on Oct. 16, tumbling stern over bow. It was caught in a strong ebb tide and swept more than four miles past the Golden Gate Bridge. The high-tech, 131-foot (40meter) wing sail was destroyed.

No sailors were injured. Oracle had to wait for a new wing sail to arrive by ship from New Zealand before it could sail again. Spithill said there was some apprehension about taking the big, powerful boat back onto the water, “but at the end of the day there were a lot of smiles at the base.”

Spithill and syndicate CEO Russell Coutts, a four-time America’s Cup winner, don’t think the capsize will be a big setback. “We have to

be careful to not do too much,” Spithill said.

“It’s not who sails the most, it’s who gets it right, with quality and efficiency. People remember who holds the trophy, not who sailed the most days.”

The Louis Vuitton Cup for challengers starts July 4 on San Francisco Bay, with the winner facing Oracle in the 34th America’s Cup beginning Sept. 7.

“Provided we don’t get another setback like that, we’ll be in good shape,” Coutts said.

Oracle is building another boat at its San Francisco base and is having another wing sail built in New Zealand. The syndicate hopes to rebuild the wing that was destroyed in the

capsize. Coutts and Spithill said there’s still the possibility for mayhem in the big boats, but that the syndicate learned from the capsize. “We responded to the capsize about as poorly as we could,” Coutts said. “There were a number of mistakes that caused much more significant damage. We should never have ended up outside the bridge, for example, in the big waves. There were a series of mistakes that led to that. I think it’s unlikely we’d have that much damage again. We’ll be better prepared if something happens. By the same token, we could get a rigging failure and the wing could catastrophically break as well.” —AP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

S P ORTS

Time for Italy to come off Six Nations high MILAN: Italy’s time surfing a wave of euphoria since their stunning Six Nations victory over France is about to come to an end as Murrayfield, the home of Scottish rugby, looms on the horizon.

Italy’s 23-18 victory over Grand Slam hopefuls France at Rome’s Olympic Stadium was one earned with a combination of grit, conviction - and a few French handling errors that proved costly in the end.

If starting the tournament with a win is good for any Six Nations team, it was doubly so for Italy, who beat Scotland in their final match last year to take fifth place and condemn their opponents to the unwanted wooden spoon.

For Italian rugby federation (FIR) president Alfredo Gavazzi, Sunday’s win

was historic.

“We’ve made a lot of progress this past year. Now, we’re playing at the same level (as the other teams) and with our heads held high,” Gavazzi said Monday.

“This was a huge result and one that we have to look to replicate in future games. I would say it was the perfect game.” A largely unimpressive France took a 15-13 half-time lead, but earlier errors, including Frederic Michalak’s missed conversion and a fluffed Wesley FofanaFulgence Ouedraogo attack, came back to haunt them in the second half.

France also lost out when Maxime Machenaud’s promising run to the tryline was kept in check 10 metres out, and moments later an Italy charge led to the hosts’s second try when prop Martin

“This is a family sport, and we need to do everything we can to exploit our Six Nations success to help guarantee the future of rugby in Italy. We already have plans to work more with the schools,” he said.

There is no guessing the effect a third consecutive Six Nations win would have in Italy. But although Scotland may be there for the taking, following a 38-18 defeat to England which could lead to several key absences through injury, Italy coach Jacques Brunel has called for calm. “Everyone says Scotland are not a great team at the moment but they are a hard team to play against, especially at Murrayfield, and last year they gave a lot of teams problems,” he warned.

Giovanbattista Venditti, who plays at right wing, says Italy will miss their “16th

Castrogiovanni took Luis Orquera’s pass.

The conversion gave Italy a 20-18 lead and minutes later the stadium erupted when Australian-born Kris Burton hit a decisive drop goal through the posts from 25 metres.

While Philippe Saint-Andre hit out at the “missed opportunities”, the France coach gave credit where it was due. “You have to say hats off to Italy,” said SaintAndre. “They’re 10th in the (world) rankings, they’re improving all the time and today they simply deserved to win.”

FIR chief Gavazzi is hoping to use the spin-off from Italy’s second win over France in the past three editions-they beat France 22-21 at Flaminio Stadium in March 2011 — for further promotion of the game in a country where ‘calcio’ (football) is king.

man”. And while he claims the Azzurri’s win against France was no fluke, he knows Scotland is a challenge not to take lightly.

“The home public for us is like a 16th man, it gives us that little bit more motivation,” Venditti said. “Winning (against France) was a huge satisfaction, but we put the work in and now it’s bearing fruit. Brunel is always telling us we should play more offensively and take to the field with a winner’s mindset. “ Those aren’t just words. We feel we’re on the right road, but haven’t reached our destination yet.”

Looking ahead to next week, Venditti added: “ Today (Monday) we already started working towards the Scotland game, but we know it will be just as hard as the game against France.” —AFP

Staal brothers power Hurricanes past Leafs Carolina’s Ward makes season-high 41 saves in win

TORONTO: Mikhail Grabovski No 84 of the Toronto Maple Leafs tries to split between Jiri Tlusty No 19 and Jordan Staal No 11 of the Carolina Hurricanes in a game on Monday at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. The Hurricanes defeated the Leafs 4-1 —AFP

Rosberg remains upbeat despite Mercedes problems JEREZ: Mercedes called a halt to their first day of 2013 Formula One testing yesterday after Nico Rosberg stopped on track with an electrical problem and flames flaring briefly around the back of his car.

The team said the gremlins would be fixed before Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, makes his test debut with them today.

“After identifying the cause of the problem, we will not be running again today whilst parts are modified ready for tomorrow,” Mercedes said on their Twitter feed.

“The part which requires modification is the wiring loom where the electrical fault originated this morning.”

Mercedes were fifth overall last season and have struggled to impose themselves since taking over the world championshipwinning Brawn GP team in 2009.

Rosberg completed 14 laps at the Jerez circuit in the F1 W04 car that he and Briton Hamilton, who has moved from McLaren, unveiled to the world at the Spanish circuit on Monday. Despite the lack of running, the German said his first impressions were “very good, very positive”.

“I can guarantee you it will be a big step forward, but of course everybody else is also moving forward and we’re hoping that we’ve closed the gap,” he told reporters outside the Mercedes hospitality.

“Last year it was nearly more than a second...and we have to get closer for sure and we will, we will get closer,” added the son of 1982 champion Keke.

“I think they’ve given us a good base

now and it’s up to us make the most of it here, find all the problems as we’ve done today and also improve it and feed back to the factory what are the main things that are still holding us back, what are the main things they need to keep working on.”

Rosberg, starting his fourth season with the British-based team, said it was too early to say whether the car was quick enough but it was enjoyable to drive and the balance was good.

Rosberg, who won in China last year, said he was sure the team could be competitive and dismissed a suggestion that the focus might quickly turn to 2014, when the regulations undergo a major change.

“We are fully concentrated on 2013 because we as Mercedes need to make it happen also this year. So it’s full speed ahead for 2013,” he said.

“Improvement can also be in being more consistent through the year. Not like last year where we started OK and then completely fell off.

“Improvement would also be a very OK car through the whole season with a win or two maybe. What we need is progress, we need to move forward and go through the season thinking now we are on the right track to become the best.”

The 2013 season starts with the Australia Grand Prix on March 17.

Hamilton, who replaces Germany’s seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, could have a hard road ahead of him before the regulations change. —Reuters

TORONTO: The Carolina Hurricanes had a pair of goals from the Staal brothers and a stellar performance from goalie Cam Ward to thank for a 4-1 win over the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Carolina erased an early one-goal deficit by dominating the second period, in which they outshot the host Maple Leafs 20-5 and got goals from Eric Staal and younger brother Jordan.

“Eric had a big goal to get us up and going again and he’s been the star for us this year and it was nice for me to chip in as well,” Jordan, 24, who was traded to Carolina from Pittsburgh last June, told reporters. “Hopefully there will be many more of those nights for us.”

The Hurricanes (4-4) tied the game 81 seconds into the middle frame when Jordan, who was left alone in front of the Toronto net, received a pass from Patrick Dwyer and coolly deked goalie James Reimer for his first goal of the season.

Carolina captain Eric Staal, 28, scored what proved to be the game-winning goal when his pass from the side of the net deflected off a Toronto defender and into the Maple Leafs net midway through the second period.

It marked the first time in 27 years that brothers scored in the same game for the Hurricanes franchise, which was based in Hartford, Connecticut, when Dave and Wayne Babych accomplished the feat in 1986.

Third period tallies from Justin Faulk, who scored on a two-man advantage 43 seconds into the final frame, and Dwyer put the game out of reach for Toronto, who dropped to 1-4 at home.

The loss extended Toronto’s worst start on home ice since dropping the first six home games in the 2009-10 season. It also proved dispiriting for the Maple Leafs fans as chants of “Let’s go Blue Jays” rang through the packed arena in a show of support for the city’s revamped Major League Baseball club.

Ward allowed the opening goal less than six minutes into the game when Matt Frattin shoved a rebound by him, but

ANAHEIM: Corey Perry No 10 of the Anaheim Ducks shoots the puck past Douglas Murray No 3 of the San Jose Sharks in the third period at Honda Center on Monday in Anaheim, California.

The Ducks defeated the Sharks 2-1. —AFP

NHL results/standings Carolina 4, Toronto 1; Dallas 3, Colorado 2; Phoenix 2, Minnesota 1; Vancouver 3, Edmonton 2 (OT); Anaheim 2, San Jose 1.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF Pittsburgh 6 3 0 30 New Jersey 4 1 3 20 NY Islanders 4 3 1 27 NY Rangers 4 4 0 19 Philadelphia 3 6 0 21

GA 22 19 26 22 26

PTS 12 11 9 8 6

Boston Montreal Ottawa Toronto Buffalo

Northeast Division 6 1 1 24 6 2 0 26 5 3 1 25 4 5 0 22 3 5 1 27

19 17 16 27 33

13 12 11 8 7

Tampa Bay Carolina Winnipeg Florida Washington

6 4 3 3 2

Southeast Division 2 0 39 4 0 22 4 1 24 5 0 20 6 1 21

21 24 32 30 33

12 8 7 6 5

the former Stanley Cup-winning goalie was brilliant the rest of the way and turned aside 41 of 42 Toronto shots in total, including several chances from in close.

The Leafs (4-5) thought they

Chicago St. Louis Detroit Nashville Columbus

Western Conference Central Division 7 0 2 28 6 2 0 31 4 3 1 22 3 2 3 14 3 5 1 18

20 19 24 20 28

16 12 9 9 7

Vancouver Edmonton Minnesota Colorado Calgary

5 4 4 4 1

Northwest Division 2 2 24 3 2 22 4 1 21 5 0 21 3 2 16

22 24 24 23 24

12 10 9 8 4

Pacific Division San Jose 7 1 1 31 16 15 Anaheim 6 1 1 29 23 13 Phoenix 4 4 2 29 27 10 Dallas 4 5 1 20 25 9 Los Angeles 2 3 2 16 23 6 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

had tied the game late in the second period but after a lengthy review, the referee ruled that Tyler Bozak had kicked the puck in the net.

“It took a little bit to get our legs,” Ward, whose 41-save per-

formance was his highest total of the season, told reporters.

“But we really took over in the second period, got our feet moving, capitalized one some opportunities and got the momentum.” -—Reuters

Marussia catch up with KERS

JEREZ: Nico Rosberg of Germany stands near his Mercedes GP as smoke still rises from the rear of the car during Formula One winter testing at Circuito de Jerez yesterday, in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. —AP

JEREZ: Formula One tail-enders Marussia put themselves on a more level playing field with rivals Caterham yesterday while staying silent on their final driver line-up.

The Russian-licensed team, who for cost reasons have competed since their debut in 2010 without the KERS energy recovery systems that every other team had last year, finally took the technological plunge with their new MR02 car.

Principal John Booth said, after the Cosworth-powered challenger’s unveiling in the Jerez pit lane ahead of the first test of the year, that it was a big moment and a ‘massive step forward” for a team that has yet to score a point.

“I think it is our first real baby,” the Briton told reporters.

“It was said many times during 2012 that...KERS - or the lack of it - was the defining factor in determining our position relative to our immediate competitors,” he declared in a statement.

“KERS was however a ‘strategic omission’ from our package until now; we opted to place the emphasis on aerodynamics, so

that when we were in a position to bring the system to the car, we already had the strongest possible basis and its integration would be relatively straightforward.”

The car has also been designed with the use of a wind tunnel after the team’s previous reliance on computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

British rookie Max Chilton will be one of the team’s drivers but there was no confirmation of the second, despite reports in Brazil that Luiz Razia had secured the seat.

Experienced German Timo Glock would have been the other but he left the team last month by mutual agreement to allow the team to bring in more funds.

Malaysian-owned Caterham, who pipped Marussia to the lucrative 10th place in the championship last season, also revealed their new CT03 car in the Jerez pitlane with French driver Charles Pic and Dutchman Giedo van der Garde.

The car, an evolution of last year’s, is the first they have built since the move to a new factory in central England and first under the leadership of team principal Cyril

Abiteboul.

Technical director Mark Smith said the most obvious changes could be seen around the lower chassis where the sidepods have been undercut to improve airflow to the rear of the car.

“The team has produced a car that is an evolution of the 2012 car, building on that platform to give us a chance of continuing to make progress towards the teams ahead, whilst also dedicating enough resource to start work as early as possible on the 2014 car,” said co-chairman and founder Tony Fernandes.

“For me this is going to be the story of the 2013 season...resources and budgets dictate that there will have to be a cut-off point in the development of the current season cars so focus can be switched to 2014.”

Formula One is introducing significant rule changes next year with a new V6 hybrid turbo engine that represents a major challenge. Teams will have to develop their 2013 car while simultaneously working on next year’s. —Reuters

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

S P ORTS

Niners have better chance than Ravens to be back NEW ORLEANS: The Baltimore Ravens carried off the Lombardi Trophy. Their beaten opponent has a better chance of doing it next season.

San Francisco running back Frank Gore insisted the 49ers were the more talented team even after losing 34-31 to the Ravens in Sunday’s Super Bowl. The scoreboard said otherwise, but when the conference champions meet at the Meadowlands next February - yes, outdoors in the dead of winter for the NFL crown - the Niners easily could represent the NFC. “I’d say we’ve got a great group of guys in the locker room, great warriors,” Gore said, “and I’m not going to promise anything next year, but we’re going to fight to get back here.” The toughest fight might be in their own division with Seattle and rapidly improving St. Louis.

The Seahawks were the only team to allow fewer points than the 49ers, and

their rivalry - including the semi-feud between coaches Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll - adds spice to the NFC West.

But the 49ers have to be the NFC favorite after losing in overtime to the Giants for the conference title last year, then barely falling to the Ravens on Sunday night. “This is kind of tough, to get this far and let everything slip away through your hands,” said Ahmad Brooks, part of the best linebacking corps in the league, along with All-Pros Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith and NaVorro Bowman. “The funny thing about it is, within the next few months, we’re going to start trying to get back to the same place that we’re at right now.”

As will the Ravens, but their challenge is more imposing. Unlike the 49ers, who figure to lose virtually no important parts - receiver Randy Moss, perhaps, but he was a marginal player in 2012 - the Ravens have bid adieu to their greatest

player, linebacker Ray Lewis. Not only will they miss his performances on the field and his presence in the locker room, but he was the emotional engine in Baltimore.

The leadership burden will fall on two players whose contracts have expired but likely will be back with the Ravens: Super Bowl MVP quarterback Joe Flacco and veteran safety Ed Reed.

Flacco almost certainly will get the franchise tag at more than $14 million if he can’t agree to a long-term deal. But in the current NFL, winning without a toplevel QB is impossible, and there can be no arguing now about Flacco belonging in that class.

Reed wants to return and the Ravens recognize how unwise it would be to let both Lewis and Reed leave at the same time - even after winning their second Super Bowl in 12 seasons. “I always said when I came into the league and got

drafted that I didn’t want to be one of those guys jumping from team to team,” Reed said during Super Bowl week.

Regardless, the Ravens will be a force odds makers have placed them behind New England and Denver in the AFC next season - and one of the NFL’s most prolific offensive teams.

Flacco throwing to the superb trio of wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith and tight end Dennis Pitta, plus the versatility of running back Ray Rice and a stud backup in Bernard Pierce says so.

Flacco’s protection from the line and All-Pro fullback Vonta Leach was impeccable in the postseason, helping Flacco throw for a record-tying 11 TDs with no interceptions.

The defense, oddly enough considering Baltimore’s reputation, needs some work. But linebacker Terrell Suggs will be even healthier - he came back quickly from a torn Achilles tendon - and top cornerback Lardarius Webb returns from a

knee injury.

Just like the 49ers, the Ravens have a tough task in their division. Cincinnati is young, but has made the playoffs the last two years. Pittsburgh never remains dormant for long.

Should these two clubs make it to the first outdoor Super Bowl at a cold-weather site, would Baltimore have the edge because it’s used to such conditions? And because it’s a three-hour drive from MetLife Stadium, will Ravens fans be out in force even more than they were in the Big Easy?

Or would the 49ers’ immense talent base be overwhelming? Food for thought over the next 11 months. “We’ve got to look at this as a blessing because we didn’t have to be here, but we made it,” tight end Vernon Davis said. “We’ve always got next year; we’ve got next season. We might as well look forward to next season, keep our hopes high and continue to climb.” —AP

S Africa comfortable at number one spot Hashim Amla tops batting list

WHANGAREI: England’s Chris Woakes (C) bowls during the warm up Twenty20 cricket match between the New Zealand XI and England at Cobham Oval in Whangarei yesterday. —AFP

Broad takes hat-trick in England’s warm-up win WHANGAREI: England’s Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad dispelled all doubts over his fitness with a hat-trick in a warm-up match against a New Zealand XI yesterday.

The lanky all-rounder, who returned from the tour of India in December with a bruised heel, took three wickets in the last over of his spell to lead the tourists to a comprehensive 46-run win at the Cobham Oval at Whangarei.

Put in to bat first, England reached 186 for three wickets in their 20 overs riding on some lusty hitting from Jos Buttler (57 not out off 24 balls) and useful contributions

from Eoin Morgan (48 not out) and Luke Wright (44).

The New Zealand XI were bowled out for 140 in the last over with Broad, Chris Woakes and Jade Dernbach picking up three wickets apiece.

Broad removed Andrew Ellis, Ian Buttler and Matt Henry to complete his hat-trick before Dernbach claimed the final wicket of Michael Bates.

England will play three Twenty20 internationals and as many one-dayers and tests during their two-month tour of New Zealand. —Reuters

SCOREBOARD WHANGAREI: Scores in a Twenty20 warm-up match between New Zealand XI and England here yesterday: N. Broom b Dernbach England 23 C. Munro b Dernback M. Lumb c Devcich b Butler 55 25 L. Ronchi c Dernback b Woakes A. Hales c Beard b Henry 12 2 A. Ellis c Bairstow b Broad L. Wright st Ronchi b Beard 44 8 I. Butler c Hales b Broad E. Morgan not out 48 0 M. Henry c Buttler b Broad J. Buttler not out 57 3 M. Bates c Buttler b Dernbach Extras (6lb, 3w, 1nb) 10 1 N. Beard not out Total (3 wickets, 20 overs) 186 0 Extras (1lb, 1w) Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Hales), 2-48 (Lumb), 32 109 (Wright) Total (10 wickets, 19.5 overs) 140 Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Devcich), 2-17 Bowling: Henry 4-0-28-1, Bates 4-0-39-0, (Rutherford), 3-45 (Latham) 4-73 (Broom), 5Ellis 4-0-37-0, Beard 4-0-33-1, 109 (Ronci), 6-136 (Munro) 7-136 (Ellis), 8Butler 4-0-43-1 136 (Butler) 9-136 Henry) 10-140 (Bates) Bowling: Broad 4-1-22-3, Woakes 4-0-27-3, New Zealand XI Dernbach 3.5-0-24-3, Wright 3-0-30-0, Patel H. Rutherford c Lumb b Woakes 9 1-0-4-0, Tredwell 4-0-32-0.

A. Devcich c Morgan b Woakes 5 Result: England win by 46 runs T. Latham run out (Lumb) 22

Chile marks new start for Nadal PARIS: Rafael Nadal’s return to action after a seven-month injury layoff will be the focus of attention in tennis in Chile this week. The 11-time Grand Slam champion has been on the sidelines since he was beaten in the second round at Wimbledon

by Czech journeyman Lukas Rosol in late June.

During that time, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have won Grand Slam titles and, as the other member of the sport’s Big Four, the question is whether the Spaniard will ever be able to compete again at the highest level.

Nadal, who will be 27 in June, has been careful to play down expectations. Yes, he still has some pain from his troublesome knees and no, he does not expect to immediately rediscover his old winning ways in his first tournament back at Vina del Mar in Chile, the starter for the claycourt season that climaxes with the French Open in Paris in May/June.

“Of course I still feel pain in the knee that sometimes stops me from playing, but you have to start sometime and I am here to try and give my best and hope that my knee comes through it,” he added.

“Undoubtedly the clay surface is a little less aggressive on my knee,” he said. “My aim is to compete courageously and hopefully the knee will stand up to it.

“There is always the possibility that I will lose in the first round after so many months

without competing.” The consensus is that Nadal, who had been due to return to action at the notoriously physical Australian Open in January, but who pulled out due to a viral condition, has been wise to bet on clay once again.

Seven of his 11 Grand Slam titles have come on the claycourts of Roland Garros and he has amassed an unprecedented career win record of 254 out of 273 on the surface since he first exploded onto the international scene in 2005.

Vina del Mar is an essentially low-key tournament, but Nadal is looking to progressively rebuild his confidence in claycourt tournaments in Brazil and Mexico before heading up to the United States for the Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Miami on the less unforgiving (for his knees) hardcourt classics.

After that beckon Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and on to Paris - the red clay route that Nadal has dominated like no-one else over the last eight years. What happens after that on the grass of Wimbledon and the hardcourts of New York depends to a great extent on how his physique and mental fortitude cope with the new challenges.

Few of his peers seem to doubt his ability to get back to the top level and everyone agrees that his return will be good for the sport of tennis given the Spaniard’s huge fan base. —AFP

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s cricketers are increasingly comfortable as they look down on the rest of the cricketing world from their number one spot in the Test rankings.

A 211-run win in the first Test against Pakistan at the Wanderers Stadium was their fourth win in a row-all achieved within four daysand it extended their unbeaten run to 13 matches, going back more than a year.

Not only are South Africa on top of the Test team rankings, they dominate the individual categories too. Hashim Amla tops the batting list, with AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis also in the top ten, while Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander are the two top-ranked bowlers, with Morne Morkel at number nine.

In addition, Kallis is the leading all-rounder. “It’s been a great year for our squad, and to be honest I still don’t think that I am the best batsman in our team,” said Amla.

“What has been most pleasing for us has been the all-round contribution from everyone in the squad.”

“Everybody wants to do well for this team,” said Steyn, who destroyed Pakistan by taking six for eight in the first innings and had match figures of 11 for 60. “ We’re really pushing on for something at the moment. We’ve managed to bowl teams out for under 50 and with the bat we have managed to have some big sessions where we have piled on the runs.

“When this team puts its mind together it’s a pretty tough team to play against.”

Despite being in his 17th season of international cricket, Kallis says that at the age of 37 he is enjoying the game more than ever.

“You wake up in the morning, keen to practice and play, not only

because the team is winning but because of the environment that has been created and the players we’ve got.”

Much of the credit for the team culture is due to captain Graeme Smith, the first man to have 100 Test captaincies under his belt, and

Smith said it was important to keep setting a high standard. “It’s about being clinical and understanding what you need to do.

Those are the leaps we have taken as a team.

“We don’t spend too much time stressing. We feel that we are good

with a convincing win in the final Test in Perth.

With a 10-day gap before the second Test starts in Cape Town on February 14, the players will be expected to take responsibility for ensuring they stay tuned before the team reassembles there on Monday.

JOHANESBURG: South Africa bowler Morne Morkel celebrates the wicket of Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal with teammate Francois ‘Faf’ du Plessis during the first Test match at Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg. South Africa’s cricketers are increasingly comfortable as they look down on the rest of the cricketing world from their number one spot in the Test rankings. —AFP coach Gary Kirsten, whose understated methods, based on humility and giving players responsibility, are proving as successful with his native country as they were when he was in charge of India.

“It’s an environment where guys are given the freedom to do what they want,” said Kallis. “But there is a mark and no-one oversteps that mark, which is an incredible culture to have because everyone has respect for each other.”

enough to handle what comes our way and that over the five days we can be resilient enough and have the skill to match up.”

That resilience was severely tested when South Africa seemed on the brink of defeat in the second Test against Australia in Adelaide in November.

They batted out the last day thanks largely to a patient unbeaten century on debut by Faf du Plessis, then went on to clinch the series

De Villiers growing into keeper’s role JOHANNESBURG: The question of whether AB de Villiers should keep wicket for South Africa in tests may have been answered by his record-breaking performance in his team’s 211-run win over Pakistan at the Wanderers.

De Villiers became the first player in test history to score a hundred and take 10 dismissals behind the stumps in the same match, with his final tally of 11 equalling Jack Russell’s all-time test record for a stumper.

It was an eye-catching performance by the 28-year-old, whose role with the gloves since the retirement through injury last year of Mark Boucher has been the subject of much debate.

While his selection allows South Africa to pick specialist batsman Dean Elgar at number seven, questions were raised as to whether he had the ability to perform the role on a longterm basis.

“The keeping is something I want to do well. I am getting better, though I am not yet where I want to be,” de Villiers told reporters.

He has been receiving inputs on and off from Boucher, which he believes have been a major contributor to his growing into the role.

“The work I have done with Bouch has helped me a lot. He doesn’t try to change too much technically, but if he picks something up on TV he will let me know.

“I am moving my feet a lot better than when I started and I am much more confident now about standing up to the stumps to the spinners.” South Africa captain Graeme Smith says he has seen the improvement in de Villiers with the gloves and that has given everybody in the team more confidence.

“AB’s keeping has been outstanding, it’s getting better and better,” Smith said. “The area in which he is catching balls is growing and that allows us as slips to space out a bit more which improves our chances of taking catches.”

Dale Steyn joked on Saturday he believed

de Villiers could keep without gloves he was that adept, but there was also a warning to South Africa of the perils their key middle order batsman faces.

A blow on the finger from a Steyn delivery during the test lifted a nail and there were initial concerns of a fracture, but these were quickly dispelled.

This, coupled with de Villiers’ back problems that have plagued him on and off for the last few seasons must be a concern for management, though the player insists he feels “100 percent fine”.

“AB keeping gives us so many options,” Smith concludes. “He will probably always be judged on runs so it was exciting to see him get a hundred as well. We are very happy with his role.” —Reuters

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s opening batsman AB de Villiers removes the ball from the stumps during the first Test match. —AFP

“All the guys have been given specific schedules for the week,” said conditioning coach Rob Walter.

The Pakistanis, meanwhile, have arranged an unofficial two-day practice match against a Western Province Invitation team in Cape Town on Sunday and Monday. Their chief challenge, according to captain Misbah-ul-Haq, is to counter the threat of the South African fast bowlers when they operate with the new ball. —AFP

Women’s World Cup results NEW DELHI: Results from the Women’s World Cup matches on Tuesday: In Mumbai Group A England beat West Indies by six wickets West Indies 101 all out in 36.4 overs (Kyshona Knight 33, Shanel Daley 30 not out; Anya Shrubsole 4-21, Arran Brindle 3-0, Katherine Brunt 2-10) England 103-4 in 35 overs (Danielle Wyatt 40; Deandra Dottin 3-20) Sri Lanka beat India by 138 runs Sri Lanka 282-5 in 50 overs (Yasoda Mendis 55, Deepika Rasangika 84, Shashikala Siriwardene 59, Eshani Kaushalya 56 not out; Jhulan Goswami 3-63, Amita Sharma 1-41) India 144 all out in 44.2 overs (Reema Malhotra 38; Chamini Seneviratna 2-10, Eshani Kaushalya 1-25).

In Cuttack Group B Australia beat New Zealand by seven wickets New Zealand 227-6 in 50 overs (Suzie Bates 102, Katie Perkins 41, Nicola Browne 39 not out; Megan Schutt 3-40) Australia 228-3 in 38.2 overs (Meg Lanning 112, Jess Cameron 82) South Africa beat Pakistan by 126 runs South Africa 207-5 in 50 overs (Marizanne Kapp 102 not out, Dane van Niekerk 55 not out, Yolandi Potgieter 20; Qanita Jalil 2-30, Asmavia Iqbal 2-31) Pakistan 81 all out in 29.4 overs (Marizanne Kapp 3-18, Marcia Letsoalo 2-17, Shabnim Ismail 2-18, Susan Benade 2-27) Qualifiers for Super Sixes round starting on Friday: From group A: England, Sri Lanka, West Indies.

From group B: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

S P ORT S

Singapore under pressure over global match-fixing ring SINGAPORE: Singapore’s squeaky-clean image as one of the world’s least corrupt nations took a hit yesterday after revelations that criminals based in the citystate rigged hundreds of football matches in Europe and elsewhere.

While police gave no immediate comment and the country’s pro-government media downplayed the news, some Singaporeans expressed shock, and analysts warned the scandal could harm the wealthy island’s image.

Singapore’s drive against corruption helped transform it into a trusted centre for business and banking, earning accolades from Transparency International and the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy.

But in just the latest indication that Singapore is at the heart of a global match-fixing empire, European police said they had smashed a network rig-

ging hundreds of games, including in the Champions League and World Cup qualifiers. Europol said a five-country probe had identified 380 suspicious matches targeted by a Singapore-based betting cartel, whose illegal activities stretched to players, referees and officials across the world. A further 300 suspicious matches have been identified outside Europe in Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, in the course of the investigation, Europol said.

Singapore’s role in international match-rigging has long been clear, with Wilson Raj Perumal jailed in Finland in 2011 and another Singaporean, Tan Seet Eng or Dan Tan, wanted in Italy over the “calcioscommesse” scandal.

However, the latest announcement uncovered the huge scale of the activities, and raised potential problems for Singapore’s reputation, as well as ques-

tions about how authorities are dealing with the match-fixing syndicates. “ This stor y has the potential to severely damage the global reputation of Singapore as a safe and ethical financial hub in Asia,” said Jonathan Galaviz, managing director of US-based consultancy Galaviz & Co, who has closely watched Asia’s gaming industry.

“Singapore’s public policy makers need to reassess whether they have enough resources dedicated to monitoring and enforcing laws relating to illegal gambling and sports corruption in the country,” he told AFP. “Major questions will arise as to what the government authorities in Singapore knew, when did they know it, and why this illegal network running out of Singapore was not caught sooner.”

Galaviz said it was “extremely disturbing” that in the match-fixing case,

“Singapore’s status as a financial hub was potentially being used for nefarious purposes”.

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said it takes “a serious view of allegations pertaining to match-fixing and football corruption” and vowed to “spare no effort” to crack down on any such activities. “The problem of match-fixing is not just confined to Asia,” FAS said in a statement. “It is a global problem and FAS will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities, both at the domestic and international levels, to combat match fixing and football corruption aggressively.”

Zaihan Mohamed Yusof, an investigative reporter with Singapore’s New Paper who is considered a leading authority on match-fixing, admitted he was taken aback by the numbers revealed by Europol. “This number to me it’s huge,

680,” he told AFP. “ Whether Singaporeans were involved in the whole 680, I’m not sure but at least there’s a figure and you can see the scale there.” And Neil Humphreys, a popular sports columnist and author, asked why “so little is being done to question Singaporean individuals allegedly involved in such a global match-fixing operation”.

“More pertinently, the issue has not received quite the same front-page media attention that it has in other football-popular countries, despite the obvious fact that Singapore is allegedly home to the ringleaders of the world’s biggest match-fixing syndicate,” he told AFP. The country’s leading daily, the Straits Times, put the story on page three. Singapore police said they were formulating a response to the European announcement. — AFP

Favourites Ghana enter the Stallions’ sandy den

QATAR: Spain’s national football team players train at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha, Qatar, yesterday. Spain and Uruguay will play a friendly match today in Qatar. — AP

Beckham could bring US-like boost to PSG WASHINGTON: David Beckham gave Major League Soccer a huge boost from his arrival in 2007 to his departure two months ago, raising the US profile of the league and football far above his $32.5 million contract.

Now at Paris Saint-Germain, the 37-yearold former England captain who played for Real Madrid, AC Milan and Manchester United is in position to raise the profile of France’s Ligue 1 and notably the team from the City of Light.

Beckham joined the French club last week after leading the Los Angeles Galaxy to the past two MLS titles, the buzz around him having boosted the value of every team in the US league and strengthened the sport’s American foothold.

“Seldom does an athlete redefine a sport. David not only took our franchise to another level but he took our sport to another level,” said Tim Leiweke, president of Anschutz Entertainment Group, owners of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

And because Beckham’s contract included a deal to become an MLS owner at less than the market value he helped create, Beckham might yet return to America as owner of a new or existing club.

“My commitment to the league stays the same,” Beckham said. “I still want to be part of this league... My ambition is to be part of the ownership structure in the future.”

In his injury-hit first US campaign, “Beckhamania” saw 300,000 jerseys bearing his name sold, higher attendance and television ratings whenever he took the field and new investors who boosted the league from 12 to 19 clubs.

“There’s no doubt that MLS is far more popular and important here and abroad than it was when he arrived,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. “David has achieved great things on and off the field during his time with the Galaxy.”

MLS attendance reached a league record 18,807-a-game average last season.

That’s 3,300 fans a game better than when Beckham arrived. In addition to helping create new teams in such hotbed markets as Seattle and Portland, Beckham helped spark the construction of football-only stadiums for many MLS teams, helping ensure their long-term financial health.

“The foundations are now there for this sport to continue to grow,” Beckham said.

“I’ve seen it grow in the last six years and we all want it to continue. My commitment as an ambassador for this sport and this country won’t change.”

Beckham says European football supporters are more interested in US clubs than before and US clubs are definitely interested in European talent, bringing over veterans such as Frenchman Thierry Henry and Ireland’s Robbie Keane in Beckham’s wake.

“What have I seen from myself firsthand?” Beckham said. “I’ve seen the new franchises. I’ve seen the attendances grow in this league to where they are competing with baseball and basketball. I’ve seen the quality of players that have come into this league. And we’ve seen huge TV deals.

“We’ve also seen the interest and the fact that this league is taken very seriously in Europe and in different parts of the world now. I’m very proud to have been part of that.”

While France has no need of awakening football interest, Beckham can boost profits. Souvenir sales, especially to his huge Asian fan base, have helped offset the cost of every Beckham signing.

Forbes magazine indicated Beckham was a major factor in Real Madrid’s huge

increase in merchandise sales, which topped $600 million in his four years with the Spanish side-a 60 percent rise within two seasons of his arrival.

And in America, Beckham took a second-tier sport dimmed since Pele’s 1970s stint with the New York Cosmos and gave it a new lustre that has boosted US interest in European leagues as well.

“What we were looking for was a longterm partner in building this league, someone committed to working with us in creating more value for everyone,” Garber said.

“David has delivered for us on all aspects beyond our expectations. MLS wouldn’t be what it is today if David didn’t decide in 2007 to come play.” —AFP

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

African Nations Cup Mali v Nigeria Aljazeera Sport +9 Burkina v Ghana Aljazeera Sport +10

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14:00 14:00 15:00 15:00 16:15 16:30 18:00 18:15 18:30 20:15

N American World Cup Qualifiers Honduras v United States Aljazeera Sport +8 Panama v Costa Rica Aljazeera Sport +5 Mexico v Jamaica Aljazeera Sport + 8 Friendlies - National Chile v Egypt Aljazeera Sport +6 Slovenia v Bosina Aljazeera Sport +4 Spain v Uruguay Aljazeera Sport +2 Turkey v Czech Republic Aljazeera Sport +9 Netherlands v Italy Aljazeera Sport +1 England v Brazil Aljazeera Sport +5 Sweden v Argentina Aljazeera Sport +7 Ireland v Poland Aljazeera Sport +6 France v Germany Aljazeera Sport +4 Portugal v Ecuador Aljazeera Sport +2 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7 Bolivia v Haiti Aljazeera Sport +6 Paraguay v Salvador Aljazeera Sport +6

NELSPRUIT: Ghana’s players during their training at the team hotel in Nelspruit, South Africa, yesterday.

Ghana will play their African Cup of Nations semifinal soccer match against Burkina Faso today. — AP respecter of the traditional African football hierarchy. So despite Ghana coming in a massive 66 rungs above Burkina Faso in FIFA’s world rankings, only a fool would rule out the Stallions’ chances. “What I know is that we will play with confidence,” Put ventured. “Nelspruit is our ground. Ghana are a great team, but we’ve already come up against Nigeria and Zambia (both matches ending in stalemate). You never know.” Ghana are slowly coming to the boil after a laboured opening draw with DR Congo, a 1-0 win over Mali, before turning in one of their best performances for some time in the 3-0 win over Niger.

A double from substitute Mubarak Wakaso ended Cape

Verde’s dream run to the last eight to edge coach Kwesi Appiah’s men closer to a first title in 31 years. The two sides have only crossed swords twice before in this competition, Ghana prevailing 2-1 in 2002 and 10 in 2010 in group games. A tight game is in prospect, then, if history is anything to go by, especially with the Stallions’ missing three-goal Traore.But Rennes midfielder Jonathan Pitroipa manfully stepped in to Traore’s shoes, heading in the winner against Togo in the 105th minute. Pitroipa’s winner was just reward for Burkina Faso’s more offensive approach in a drab quarter-final.

Burkina arrived in South Africa with the modest ambition of ending

a winless Nations Cup run stretching back 17 games.They broke that sorry sequence in style with their eyecatching 4-0 rout of Ethiopia in their second run-out.

Now the only thing standing between them and the final in Soweto’s Soccer City stadium on Sunday is a Ghana side whose top performer over the past two weeks has arguably been their goalkeeper, Fatawu Dauda. He pulled off firstclass saves against Cape Verde to earn him the man of the match award, but hard-to-please Appiah believes he can improve.

“He has been doing well, but he still needs to do a lot more to remain as Ghana’s number one. He must keep fighting.” — AFP

18:00

Asian Cup Qualifiers Vietnam v UAE Aljazeera Sport +5 Uzbekistan v Hong Kong Aljazeera Sport +4 Thailand v Kuwait Aljazeera Sport +1 Iran v Lebanon Aljazeera Sport +1 Oman v Syria Aljazeera Sport +2 Iraq v Indonesia Aljazeera Sport +4 Jordan v Singapore Aljazeera Sport +5 Yemen v Bahrain Aljazeera Sport +1 Qatar v Malaysia Aljazeera Sport +1 Saudi Arabia v China Aljazeera Sport +2

NELSPRUIT: Today’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final may be a gimme for Ghana on paper, but this lastfour encounter is being played not on paper but on Nelspruit’s heavilycriticised sandy pitch and that, Burkina Faso reckon, puts them in the driving seat. Four-time champions Ghana, odds-on with the bookmakers, secured their 12th semifinal ticket with a robust if not spectacular 2-0 defeat of debutants Cape Verde.

The Burkinabe, shorn of their injured scoring machine Alain Traore, eked out a 1-0 extra-time win over Togo for only their second appearance at this advanced stage of the continental showcase.

Perhaps crucially, Paul Put’s band of over-achievers have played all their four matches at the Mbombela Stadium.

The threadbare playing surface more resembles a children’s play-pit than the venue for a match of this stature after a fungal infection triggered by heavy rainfall destroyed swathes of grass.

And Put feels his team will have a crucial advantage over Ghana, who have played all their games up to now on the pristine grass of Port Elizabeth’s Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

“It’s very difficult because you need one or two controls before you can play the ball, while on the training ground it’s only one touch. “So I told the players to be patient and stay well organised because with this pitch you never know.” he told the BBC. As Ivory Coast discovered to their cost against Nigeria in Rustenburg on Sunday, this competition is no

0:00 5:00 5:30

20:00 20:00 21:00 21:15 22:30 22:30 22:30 22:45 23:00 23:45

3:30 3:30

China’s Camacho under pressure for Asia 2015 SINGAPORE: Jose Antonio Camacho leads misfiring China into 2015 Asian Cup qualifying today under pressure to end a run of poor results and avoid becoming Asia’s latest coaching casualty.

Camacho’s lofty CV includes stints with Real Madrid and Spain, but the Spaniard has work to do, starting against Saudi Arabia in Dammam, if he wants to avoid joining Zico and Frank Rijkaard on Asia’s list of discarded coaches. The Spaniard signed a lucrative deal in August 2011 but China crashed out of World Cup qualifying just three months later. Since June last year they have lost four friendlies, including an 8-0 drubbing by Brazil, winning just once.

Last week there were howls from Chinese media after the national team lost 1-0 to an under-strength Oman.

Now, 18 months into Camacho’s reign, China take to the field at Dammam’s Prince Mohammed Bin Fahad Stadium with the coach’s future very much in the balance.

“Camacho is being paid very well but the team’s results under him have not been as good as they were under his predecessor Gao Hongbo,” said journalist Zhao Zhen, who covers the national team for China’s weekly Soccer News.

“The CFA’s (China Football Association) minimum target is to qualify for Australia so it will be very important to see something positive in the first two games of the qualifiers.”

China have been placed in a tough Group C alongside the Saudis and 2007 champions Iraq, but failing to qualify for the competition in Australia would be a disaster after they reached the final rounds of the past 10 editions. With the top three from the 2011 tournament-Japan, Australia and South Korea-given automatic spots, the two best teams from each of five qualifying groups, along with the best third-placed side, gain entry.

Also playing in Australia will be 2012 AFC Challenge Cup champions North Korea and the winners of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. Recent months have seen some big names depart Asian sides after Iraq dropped Brazilian legend Zico in November, and the Saudis dumped Rijkaard in January after he failed to steer them past the group phase of the Gulf Cup of Nations.

And with Wei Di, who championed the

appointment of Camacho, replaced last month as the CFA’s chief, the Spaniard quickly needs results.

His cause has also not been helped by the withdrawal of central defender Feng Xiaoting with a pulled thigh muscle. But CFA vice-president Yu Hongchen has insisted he still has faith in Camacho and his team. “ We are a team and I believe coach Camacho and the coaching team can handle this. The Asian Cup qualifying is a six-match run so we will do our best against the Saudis,” said Yu. Camacho will find himself face-to-face with a fellow Spaniard on Wednesday after Juan Ramon Lopez Caro was appointed to replace Rijkaard as head coach of Saudi Arabia, threetime Asian champions, last month. Lopez Caro has been tasked with reviving a team that

reached the Asian final in six of the seven tournaments from 1984 to 2007, but lost all three matches at Qatar 2011.

Iraq will host Indonesia in the other Group C match in Dubai led by new coach Hakeem Shaker, who replaced Zico and has already taken them to the West Asian Championship and Gulf Cup finals.

In Group A, Jordan kick off their campaign against Southeast Asian champions Singapore, and Oman play West Asian title-holders Syria.

Three -time Asian champions Iran face Lebanon in Group B, while Thailand will host Kuwait in Bangkok.

Qatar play Malaysia and Yemen face Bahrain in Sharjah in Group D, while Group E features matches between Uzbekistan and Hong Kong, and Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates. — AFP

GUIMARAES: Portugal’s Miguel Veloso, right, challenges for the ball with Joao Moutinho during their soccer training in Guimaraes, Portugal, yesterday. Portugal will play Ecuador in a friendly soccer match today. — AP

Staal brothers power Hurricanes past Leafs

Cavendish takes Qatar third stage

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Favourites Ghana enter the Stallions’ sandy den

Page 19

LONDON: Brazilian footballer Frederico Chaves Guedes (AKA Fred) (L) helps a teammate to perform stretching exercises during a training session at The Hive, Barnet FC’s training ground in Edgware, London yesterday. Brazil are set to play England in an international friendly at London’s Wembley Stadium today. — AFP

Scolari deserves second chance with Brazil LONDON: Luiz Felipe Scolari is refusing to accept that he has lost his magic touch and believes he merits a second stint as Brazil coach, despite criticism of his recent coaching record.

The man known as “Big Phil” led Brazil to their fifth world title in 2002 before guiding Portugal to the Euro 2004 final and World Cup semi-finals in 2006. However, things have not gone so well for him since then.

Scolari, who was reappointed Brazil coach in November and faces England in his first friendly on Wednesday, lasted less than one sea-

son as Chelsea manager as he joined the long list of victims fired by owner Roman Abramovich.

He then went off the beaten track to coach Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan, winning a league title, and finally returned to Brazil in 2010 to coach Palmeiras. Although he won the Copa Brasil title with them last year, Scolari quit shortly afterwards with the team languishing near the foot of the Brazilian championship table. They were later relegated.

Scolari, however, sees his recent record from a different perspective.

“When I left, Chelsea were in a qualifying position for the Champions League, third in the league, and still in the FA Cup,” he told a news conference at Wembley stadium. “ The (results) were reasonably good, my problems were elsewhere.”

A hoarse Scolari, battling a sore throat, also defended his voyage to Uzbekistan. “Bundyodor won the (Uzbek) championship unbeaten with 28 wins and two draws,” he added.

“Uzbekistan are top of their World Cup qualifying group and they have never qualified before, so we must

have done something right there, not just me but all the Brazilians who are there. “Palmeiras hadn’t won anything for 10 years until last year. So I don’t know why I don’t deserve another chance with Brazil.”

Scolari, brought back for a second stint shortly after Mano Menezes was sacked after two years in charge, has been handed the challenge of leading Brazil to a sixth world title on home soil in 2014. It is a huge job for Scolari, with Brazil languishing in 18th in the FIFA world rankings and Brazilians still remembering their failure to win the

1950 World Cup when they hosted that contest. “Germany have hosted two World Cups and won one, Italy have hosted two World Cups and won one, Brazil have hosted won World Cup and haven’t won...” he said.

Portugal were also hosts in the Euro 2004 and Scolari said he would call on his experience from that tournament to try to rally the Brazilian public. “There are a lot of similarities in making the fans, the public, believe in the team and that we can be world champions in 2014,” he said.

“In Portugal, we had to work with

France ready to test weakened Germans PARIS: A French side that has started life in promising fashion under Didier Deschamps will pose a serious test to Germany today, with the visitors arriving in the French capital deprived of a host of leading players.

This encounter has been shoehorned into a busy period of the club season, with the Champions League and Europa League knockout stages set to begin next week.

It was no great surprise, then, to see leading German players such as Bayern Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger and Borussia Dortmund trio Marcel Schmelzer, Marco Reus and Mario Goetze pull out of the game before the squad left Frankfurt for Paris.

Germany coach Joachim Loew has also lost veteran Lazio striker M iroslav K lose, who has a k nee injury, leaving Bayern’s Mario Gomez as the only fit centre-forward available for a match that precedes a World Cup qualifying double-header against Kazakhstan next month.

Despite that, Loew opted to replace Klose with Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender rather than turn to Bayer Leverkusen’s Stefan Kiessling, the top-scoring German in the Bundesliga.

The visiting team that takes to the field at the Stade de France will have something of an experimental air to it, then, particularly in goal, where Hamburg’s Rene Adler is set to play

with regular first choice Manuel Neuer rested.

“This is just my reward for all my hard work, not a chance for me to become the number one again,” says Adler, who faded from the international scene due to injury more than two years ago. “ To be back in the group of Germany’s top players is a sensational experience, because I know how quickly things can change.” France know how quickly things can change in football, too, given the ups and downs experienced by Les Bleus in the last 12 months.

I n Februar y last year, Laurent Blanc’s side beat Germany 2-1 in Bremen, a result that created a mood of optimism going into Euro 2012. A disappointing showing at last summer ’s finals led to Blanc being replaced by Deschamps, who has added fresh blood to the squad and has overseen a promising start to their World Cup qualifying campaign. Two wins and then a draw in Spain in October has set them up nicely for next month’s clash with Georgia and the rematch with the reigning European and world champions.

Deschamps is also looking for his team to build on the 2-1 victory in I taly in their last outing in November. “ This is a prestigious game against a very good Germany

the public in the friendly matches to give them a taste for the national team. This is an identical path.”

Scolari said there would not be any radical differences from predecessor Mano Menezes, who was surprisingly sacked just as he seemed to have found his ideal team.

“It’s a continuation of the earlier work, but with my way of looking at things,” he said. “Seventy or eighty percent of this squad were being picked before, so I can’t look for excuses by saying that I only had one training session with them.” — Reuters

Balotelli tops AP rankings

SAINT-DENIS: France’s players warm up during a training session yesterday at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, on the eve of a friendly international football match between France and Germany. — AFP

team,” he said. “It is just a friendly, but we want to build on what we have done well so far and keep moving in the right direction. “Germany are an experienced team, with players who have featured in the last two major tournaments and who represent major German clubs in the Champions League.”

There could be a France debut for Rennes attacking midfielder Romain Alessandrini, but promising Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane has pulled out with a hamstring injury, with M apou Yanga-Mbiwa of Newcastle United taking his place.

The hosts are defending a proud

record against Germany, who have not beaten their neighbours since reunification. France are unbeaten in six confrontations since a Rudi Voeller brace gave West Germany a 2-1 victory back in 1987.

“Such statistics are there to be broken,” said Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff.

The visitors’ desire to do so adds spice to a match that marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Elysee Treaty, which paved the way for friendly relations between two countries that had previously endured a long and bitter rivalry. —AFP

LONDON: Back in Italy after a turbulent period in England, Mario Balotelli has been voted player of the week in the Associated Press global football rankings for scoring twice in his first game for AC Milan. Balotelli was the clear winner with 181 points from AP’s panel of 22 global football journalists, 64 points ahead of another player who moved in the January transfer window, Frenchman Moussa Sissoko, who scored twice on his debut for Newcastle against Chelsea. Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich topped the team rankings as it continued to show total domination of the German league, with English Premier League leader Manchester United in second place. Usual AP rankings leaders Barcelona and Lionel Messi were punished for average performances in Spain.

Will Tidey of the San Francisco-based Bleacher Report said no one should be surprised at Balotelli’s performance. “How predictable that the enigmatic Mario Balotelli should twice on his Milan debut put in a man-ofthe-match performance and highlight just how brilliant he is, just a matter of days after

Manchester City decided he wasn’t worth putting up with anymore,” Tidey said.

Balotelli scored a stoppagetime penalty to give Milan victory over Udinese on Sunday, days after leaving Manchester City and a seemingly endless series of scandals and misbehavior.

Bayern Munich’s Croatia international Mario Mandzukic jumped from eighth place last week to third after scoring twice in a 3-0 away victory against Mainz. The result opened a 14-point gap at the top of the league.

With 113 points, Mandzukic was just four points behind Sissoko. Panelists award 10 points for their top player and top team, falling to one point for the 10th-placed team. Two new voters, Soeren-Mikael Hansen of Denmark’s Politiken newspaper and Bundesliga.com writer James Thorogood, joined the AP panel of global football writers this week. “Keeping Mario Gomez, one of Europe’s most prolific strikers, out of the Bayern first team is not an easy feat to do,” Thorogood said, “but Mario Mandzukic is making it look easy with five goals to his name since the winter break. —AP

Business

UAE banks to repay crisis capital as value erodes Page 22 Kuwait trade surplus edges up in 3Q12 Page 23

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

BOJ chief to step down before term expires

Ali Alghanim & Sons Automobiles 2013 3 Series promotion Page 26

Page 25

MANILA: Prices are seen for different kinds of rice at a market in Manila yesterday. Inflation rates in the Philippines rose to 3.0 percent in January, slightly higher than the 2.9 percent the previous month following a rise in prices of goods and services. — AFP

Barclays takes $1.6bn mis-selling hit Officials duck Qatar funding questions LONDON: Barclays bosses ducked questions yesterday over funding for its rescue

by Qatar four years ago, as another big charge for mis-selling showed how past problems continue to dog the British bank.

UK authorities have been investigating the bank’s fundraising from Qatar at the height of the 2008 financial crisis since July.

The Financial Times reported last week that they were looking into whether Barclays had lent Qatar money to buy shares in the bank itself.

Asked if there was anything linked to the Qatar fundraising that could cause embarrassment in the future, Barclays Chairman David Walker told lawmakers that he could not comment due to the continuing investigation. Walker and his chief executive Antony Jenkins faced a grilling during a sometimes tetchy 2-1/2 hour session before a parliamentary inquiry into banking standards. Lawmakers accused the bank of aiding “industrial scale tax avoidance” and said it needed to shake up its board, including getting a new head of its remuneration committee.

“It doesn’t seem to matter what the scandal is, Barclays seems to have a finger in each pie, quite a big one,” said Andrew Tyrie, the inquiry’s chairman.

Barclays earlier set aside a further 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion), including an extra 600 million to compensate customers for payment protection insurance. PPI misselling alone has now cost UK banks over 12 billion and could end up more than double that, industry sources estimate.

Unlike Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, which had to take government bailouts during the crisis, Barclays avoided a rescue funded by British taxpayers after Qatar bought its stake.

David Walker However, the wider banking industry has come under fire for a series of scandals including the mis-selling of financial products to clients who did not need or could not use them, and over the rigging of a major interest rate. This, along with public

anger at big bonus payments, has put the spotlight on the culture of bankers before, during and since the crisis.

Walker and Jenkins said they were confident they can improve the Barclays culture by reforming pay structures and putting greater focus on ethics.

“We should shred some of those behaviors of the past, we should shred situations where we were too short-term focused or too aggressive. To the extent that those things were prevalent in our culture, we are shredding that legacy,” Jenkins said.

He said bonus awards for last year would be cut due to the past problems, with the payment pools for business areas “substantially” adjusted to reflect events.

Jenkins announced last week he would not take a bonus for 2012, saying he should “bear an appropriate degree of accountability” for the difficult year the bank endured.

The UK banking inquiry was launched after Barclays was fined $450 million last June for rigging Libor interest rates, and it has also been hit by mis-selling in retail banking, the area that Jenkins used to run.

Jenk ins, who took over as CEO in August after his predecessor Bob Diamond was ousted over the Libor fine, has warned that his turnaround plan, to be unveiled on Feb. 12, could take 5-10 years to fulfill. Nigel Lawson, a former finance minister and member of the inquiry, said the lawmakers had been told privately that the bank’s structured capital markets unit had been one of its most

US sues S&P over pre-crisis ratings WASHINGTON: The US government is accusing the debt rating agency Standard & Poor’s of fraud for giving high ratings to risky mortgage bonds that helped bring about the financial crisis. The government filed a civil complaint late Monday against S&P, the first enforcement action the government has taken against a major rating agency related to the financial crisis.

S&P, a unit of New York-based McGraw-Hill Cos, has denied wrongdoing. It says the government also failed to predict the subprime mortgage crisis. But the government’s lawsuit paints a picture of a company that misled investors knowingly, more concerned about making money than about accurate ratings. It

says S&P delayed updating its ratings models, rushed through the ratings process and was fully aware that the subprime market was flailing even as it gave high marks to investments made of subprime mortgages. In 2007, one analyst forwarded a video of himself singing and dancing to a tune about the deterioration of the subprime market, with colleagues laughing.

Ratings agencies like S&P are a key part of the financial crisis narrative. When banks and other financial firms wanted to package mortgages into securities and sell them to investors, they would come to a ratings agency to get a rating for the security. Many securities made of risky subprime mortgages got high

ratings, giving even the more conservative investors, like pension funds, the confidence to buy them. Those investors suffered huge losses when housing prices plunged and many borrowers defaulted on their mortgage payments.

This arrangement has a major conflict of interest, the government’s lawsuit says. The firms that issued the securities could shop around for whichever ratings agency would give them the best rating. So the agencies could give high ratings just to get business. The government’s lawsuit says that “S&P’s desire for increased revenue and market share ... led S&P to downplay and disregard the true extent of the credit risks” posed by the investments it was rating.—AP

profitable areas - posting annual profits in the “high hundreds of millions” of pounds.

This unit, which sets up complex tax arrangements for wealthy individuals and companies, has attracted criticism from lawmakers. “This was industrial-scale tax avoidance,” Lawson said, noting that its business was not illegal but was inconsistent with promises by the bank to be more ethical.

“We will be materially changing the way we run that business,” Jenkins said.

Walker said the scale of the business “is much smaller than suggested”.

PPI has developed into the biggest misselling scandal for British banks, and Jenkins said he supported setting a time limit for customers to claim so that a line can be drawn under the payouts.

Barclays’ latest provision, its fourth since UK banks lost a court case in May 2011, means it has set aside 2.6 billion pounds to settle claims on the product, which was loan insurance to protect borrowers who miss repayments due to illness or redundancy, but which was often sold to people who were not eligible to claim.

Barclays said it had paid out 1.6 billion in compensation by the end of December, or 62 percent of its provision.

Last month, the head of Britain’s Financial Ombudsman Service said banks only had themselves to blame for the spiraling costs of the scandal, which she said could have been contained if they had addressed the issue earlier. — Reuters

Dell to go private in $24.4bn deal SAN FRANCISCO: Computer maker Dell Inc will go private in a $24.4 billion deal that also involves Microsoft Corp and private equity firm Silver Lake, the parties said yesterday.

Company founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake are paying $13.65 per share in cash for the world’s No 3 computer maker. The deal is being financed by cash and equity from Michael Dell, cash from Silver Lake, cash from Michael Dell’s investment firm MSD Capital, a $2 billion loan from Microsoft and debt financing from four banks.The transaction is expected to close before the end of the second quarter of Dell’s fiscal 2014. News of the buyout talks first emerged on Jan. 14, although they were reported to have started in the latter part of 2012. Michael Dell had previously acknowledged thinking about going private as far back as 2010. The $13.65-per-share price is a premium of about 24 percent to the average of $11 price at which Dell stock traded before news of the deal talks broke and is far below the $17.61 that the shares were trading for a year ago. —Reuters

Euro-zone drags Saudi to new low MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Renewed worries about the euro zone’s debt crisis dragged Saudi Arabia’s bourse to a two-week low, while other Middle East markets rallied yesterday to extend early-year gains.

The Kingdom’s large-caps declined, including Al Rajhi Bank and telecom operator Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) , which fell 1.1 and 1.3 percent respectively.

Saudi’s main benchmark fell 0.5 percent to 6,993 points, its lowest close since Jan. 21. It failed to hold above 7,000, a key psychological level.

“The market is taking cues from global events and it was looking heavy around 7,000,” said Muhammad Faisal Potrik, a research analyst at Riyad Capital.

“Investors were being cautious on a neutral local backdrop.” Saudi investors often look to global markets for their cues when there is little local news to trade on.

European shares and the euro steadied yesterday, a day after a sharp selloff caused by rising political risks in southern Europe. Elsewhere, Cairo’s market made a fifth straight gain, rising 0.8 percent to its highest close since Jan. 9 as foreign investors - unswayed by Egypt’s volatile political backdrop - increased positions.

Trading volumes hit a three-month peak.

Orascom Construction Industries advanced 0.8 percent and Commercial International Bank climbed 0.4 percent. In the United Arab Emirates, Dubai’s benchmark rose 0.2 percent, extending 2013 gains to 15.2 percent, and Abu Dhabi’s index hit a fresh 34-month high, with banks the main supports on both markets.

Many of the country’s lenders posted strong quarterly earnings as provisions decreased and their stocks are expected to provide high dividend yields.

“We think shifting to high dividend stocks in the upcoming volatile environment is a safe option as they are expected to perform better than the rest of the market,” Al Masah Capital said in a note. In Kuwait, the measure climbed 0.5 percent to an 8-month high as investors bet government spending plans will be put into action. “We suspected a bit of government activity yesterday on a few stocks but today the trading is mainly retail,” said a Kuwait-based trader who asked not to be identified. “The government doesn’t seem to be holding back anything but we’re looking for a proper spending plan to tackle the macro situation.”

Under a four-year plan expected to end in 2014, the government is supposed to spend 30 billion dinars ($107 billion) on industrial and infrastructure projects.

Despite extended delays, investors are hopeful that relative political stability will help kick-start these projects. Ahli United Bank jumped 4.6 percent to a near 11-month high after the bank said it made a profit of $212.9 million on a stake sale in Qatar’s Ahli Bank. —Reuters

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

BUSINESS

UAE banks to repay crisis capital as value erodes Govt placed $19.1bn with UAE banks after Lehman

HANOI: Two street vendors resting in front of a shop in downtown Hanoi. With the upcoming lunar new year celebrations, vendors and sales staff are attempting to make the last transactions before the holidays begin. — AFP

Bharti Airtel to buy Alcatel-Lucent stake MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel, India’s biggest mobile phone firm, said yesterday it will buyout Alcatel-Lucent’s stake in a joint venture which manages Bharti’s fixed-line and broadband networks in the country.

Bharti Airtel and the local unit of telecoms equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent had formed the 26:74 joint venture, AlcatelLucent Managed Network Service India, in 2009.

The five-year network contract, which was worth about $500 million, ends in April 2014.

After the buyout “the company will operate independent of Bharti and in the future invite other operators to bring in equity”, Bharti Airtel said in a statement, which did not provide any financial details.

“The operations of the entity will be strengthened by the transition of processes and all staff from the existing joint venture,” said the New Delhi-based firm. Bharti Airtel provides broadband, data and telephone services to 3.3 million subscribers in 87 cities, of whom 1.4 million subscribe to Internet services. — AFP

Egypt budget gap rises, piling heat for reforms CAIRO: Egypt’s budget deficit in the last six months of 2012 rose to 5.1 percent of economic output, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, up sharply from the previous year as the country battles to keep costs in check to secure an IMF loan.

The deficit in the first half of the countr y ’s fiscal year reached 91.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($13.65 billion), up from 73.8 billion pounds.

Planning Minister Ashraf Al-Araby said in December the year to June 2013 deficit risked rising to 200 billion Egyptian pounds unless strict fiscal policies were put in place. Egypt, which has undergone over two years of political instability since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, agreed

with the International Monetary Fund to cut back its deficit in order to secure a $4.8 billion loan to support its economy. To cut the deficit, the government is considering steps to curb spending on fuel subsidies and introducing changes to the tax system that would target the wealthy.

The finance minister said last week the government would complete a revised economic reform plan and invite the IMF to visit Egypt soon. In apparent moves under a new governor to slow the decline of the pound, Egypt’s central bank on Monday tightened the local currency’s trading band in the interbank foreign exchange market and reduced the frequency of dollar auctions. — Reuters

DUBAI: Banks in the United Arab Emirates will this year aim to repay capital placed with them at the height of the global financial crisis, with some turning to the bond market to avoid servicing expensive debt and risking a sudden ‘capital cliff’ later on.

The country’s Ministry of Finance placed 70 billion dirhams ($19.1 billion) with banks to shore up their balance sheets after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 triggered a seizure of the world’s financial system.

But this support, which was converted into seven-year capital-boosting bonds in late 2009, was priced at a higher interest rate than the banks would pay if they borrowed money in today’s market.

For example, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s largest lender by market value, has a $750 million bond maturing in March 2017 that was trading yesterday at a yield of 2.36 percent - less than half the price it will pay this year on the 3 billion dirhams of government bonds it still has outstanding.

“If you look at how much banks are paying on the bonds compared to where their senior debt is trading, it is a significant difference,” said Timucin Engin, associate director for financial services ratings at Standard & Poor’s.

And the price for banks will continue to rise; they are due to pay 5 percent on the bonds this year and 5.25 percent in the final three years to maturity, having paid 4.5 percent in 2012 and 4.0 percent for the first two years of the bonds.

This price differential between the government bonds, which contribute to a bank’s Tier 2 or supplementary capital, and market prices for new debt is leading many in the market to conclude that banks will aim to use the current low interest rate environment to replace the more expensive obligations. “Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank may kick off the bond sale round, but most banks in Abu Dhabi that converted the government deposits will follow,” a senior UAE banker said.

ADCB, the UAE’s fourth-largest lender by market value, which received 6.6 billion dirhams in government cash, is expected to launch a bond offering shortly, having picked banks to arrange the deal, two sources told Reuters last week. An ADCB official declined to comment.

Banks going to the bond market could either raise ordinary debt and use the cash to repay the government instruments, or sell a new subordi-

Banker accused of huge China real-estate fraud BEIJING: As a bank officer from a poor region in rural China, Gong Ai’ai is an unlikely property baron. In a country where middle class workers can struggle to afford a single apartment in major cities, Gong is accused of amassing a real estate empire worth at least $160 million. Her alleged secret: corruption, kick-backs and multiple fake identities.

The stunning wealth she is accused of amassing - 45 properties in three cities - and the audacity with which she is accused of doing it has touched a nerve with a Chinese

public long numb to tales of rampant corruption among the nation’s official bureaucracy.

Gong - who was arrested Monday on suspicion of forging official documents - is accused of misusing her power while working for the county-backed Shenmu Rural Commercial Bank to give loans to mine operators in the area in return for cash or shares in the mines. Gong is accused of using that money and at least three fake national identity cards obtained with help of corrupt police to fund her real estate purchases. —AP

nated offering. The latter option would help retain the boost to a bank’s capital ratio, but the cost would be more expensive; three traders estimated NBAD would have to pay between 0.5 and 0.7 percent extra to issue five-year subordinated debt.

Also, UAE banks already have strong capital ratios, especially compared to their Western counterparts, so the need to replace the capital isn’t as great.

Regardless of how banks replace the bonds, the desire among UAE bankers to do it now is heightened by the fact that the capital worth of the instruments has already begun to diminish.

Under the terms of the government bonds, the weight attached to the capital decreases over time. This year, instead of receiving 100 percent of the benefit as before, banks can only count an 80 percent boost to their capital.

This will fall further, by 20 percentage points each year, until the bonds reach maturity at the end of 2016, when they will be worth just 20 percent.

“We will have to do something about it at some point, because no bank wants to fall off a capital cliff down the line,” Surya Subramanian, chief financial officer at Emirates NBD, which has 12.6 billion dirhams outstanding, told a Jan. 31

conference call for the media.

Some banks have already begun addressing the bonds using their own cash resources. NBAD originally converted 5.6 billion dirhams of support into bonds but repaid 2.6 billion dirhams last year, while National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah, the UAE’s ninth-largest bank by market value, repaid all its 684.5 million dirhams of support during 2012.

And with loan growth in the UAE economy modest, banks can use their liquidity to retire the expensive bonds instead of parking it in short-term investments or with the central bank, Engin said.

According to central bank data, loan growth across the UAE banking sector was 3.4 percent in the first 11 months of 2012, while certificates of deposit increased 12.8 percent.

Using such liquidity to repay the bonds, or just replacing them with new debt raised at current market rates, should have a marginally positive impact on profitability in 2013, said Sebastien Henin, portfolio manager at The National Investor.

“It will be positive as they will be able to raise cash at cheaper levels but, in terms of net profit, I don’t think it will be huge - a few percentage points maybe,” Henin said. — Reuters

UAE Jan business activity eases from 19-mth high DUBAI: Growth in the United Arab Emirates’ non-oil private sector eased in January from a 19-month high seen in the previous month as expansion of output and new orders slowed, a survey showed yesterday.

The HSBC UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index, which measures the performance of the manufacturing and services sectors, fell to a seasonally adjusted 55.0 points last month from 55.6 in December. A reading above 50 points in the survey of 400 private sector firms means the sector is expanding.

Robust oil prices, a tourism boom and signs of a recovery in Dubai’s property market, which crashed in 2008-2010, helped the UAE economy last year but bank lending remains sluggish.

“The January number is another strong reading which adds to our sense of a recovery which lagged much of the region in 2012, but is taking shape now,” said Liz Martins, senior economist for the Middle East at HSBC in Dubai.

“The strength in new export orders in particular is encouraging, and probably speaks to robust demand elsewhere in the Gulf region, particularly for Dubai’s non-oil goods and services.”

The survey showed output growth dropped to 54.6 points in January from December’s 19-month high of 56.3. New orders slowed to 62.4 from 63.2 in December, but the growth rate was still the third-fastest since the survey was launched

in August 2009.

The pace of job creation remained broadly unchanged while both input and output prices rose slightly in January, the survey also showed.

Economy minister Sultan bin Saeed AlMansouri estimated in January that the UAE’s gross domestic product grew by around 4 percent in 2012, little changed from the previous year, and he predicted a similar clip in 2013. A Reuters poll of analysts last month was slightly more pessimistic, forecasting real GDP growth of 3.0 percent this year.

Detailed PMI data is only available under license from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a license. — Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds 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 .4380000 .3800000 .3060000 .2790000 .2910000 .0040000 .0020000 .0761490 .7418950 .3900000 .0720000 .7272960 .0420000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2805000 .4403710 .3821110 .3086150 .2811750 .0512170 .0443540 .2925470 .0361690 .2264650 .0030280 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0763990 .7443280 .0000000 .0748200 .7288550 .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.057 5.297 2.884 2.227 3.315 228.770 36.406 3.547 6.954

.2840000 .4540000 .3880000 .3160000 .2910000 .3000000 .0067500 .0035000 .0769140 .7493510 .4050000 .0770000 .7346050 .0470000 .2826000 .4403710 .3849720 .3109250 .2832800 .0516000 .0446860 .2947380 .0364400 .2281610 .0030500 .0053590 .0022450 .0029010 .0035840 .0769710 .7499000 .3997170 .0753800 .7343120 .0070140

Thai Baht Irani Riyal - transfer Irani Riyal - cash

UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

9.489 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 75.310 77.598 733.530 750.100 76.900

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

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

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 282.300 Euro 383.080 Sterling Pound 445.750 Canadian dollar 283.580 Turkish lire 159.590 Swiss Franc 311.420 Australian dollar 298.500 US Dollar Buying 281.100 GOLD 311.000 157.000 81.500

SELL DRAFT 297.48 287.10 315.18 387.61 281.30 445.67 3.11

Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee

3.563 5.286 2.226 3.315 2.882

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 296.000 286.000 313.000 381.800 282.000 445.000 3.750 3.800 5.350 2.520 3.450 2.933

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 297.200 750.360 3.970 285.900 554.100 46.000 52.400 167.800 42.570 384.900 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

3.150 399.840 0.191 94.090 47.200 4.340 241.200 1.828 52.600 732.890 3.000 7.250 78.040 75.330 229.420 33.790 2.687 448.000 45.600 313.500 3.400 9.780 198.263 76.930 282.500 1.360 GOLD

10 Tola 1,771.510

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

77.000 747.000 46.750 398.000 733.000 78.500 75.400

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 42.450 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 42.032 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.317 Tunisian Dinar 183.670 Jordanian Dinar 398.730 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.895 Syrian Lier 3.068 Morocco Dirham 34.766

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

76.66 749.01 41.89 400.76 732.11 77.68 75.22

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 446.000 282.100

Al Mulla Exchange

SELLDRAFT 295.700 750.350 3.540 284.400

229.400 42.113 383.400 36.920 5.312 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) 281.700 383.100 445.800 284.250 3.075 5.297 42.010 2.225 3.550 6.935 2.880 750.150 76.700 75.250

399.800 0.190 94.090 3.330 239.700

732.710 2.885 6.940 77.610 75.330 229.420 33.790 2.229 446.000 312.000 3.400 9.680 76.830 282.100

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

BUSINESS

ECB to hold rates, Draghi faces Monte Paschi grilling FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank is unlikely to contemplate an interest rate cut at Thursday’s policy meeting despite the euro’s sharp rise, but its chief almost certainly faces a grilling afterwards over an Italian banking scandal.

The euro’s strength will need to show significant harm to the economy before the Governing Council reverses course, and there is next-to-no chance of that happening at its monthly meeting.

Far more likely is that the appreciation will delay discussion of an exit from the ECB’s crisis policy.

And a given is that President Mario Draghi will face questioning from reporters over the scandal at Monte dei Paschi. At Thursday’s news conference Draghi can expect to be asked how much he knew about the derivatives scandal at Monte Paschi, and what he did about it when he headed Italy’s central bank from 2006 to 2011.

ING economist Carsten Brzeski expected Draghi to remain tight lipped. However, he said the scandal would shine a light on the difficulties the ECB faces in building up a euro zone-wide banking supervisory body that is credible but separate from its main business of setting interest rates. “It only stresses that the supervisory role is a hell of a job,” said

Brzeski. Italy’s third largest bank has been at the centre of a financial and political storm since it revealed it faced losses of about 720 million euros ($986 million) from a series of derivatives and structured finance trades.

Draghi should have an easier ride on monetary policy, None of the 75 economists surveyed in a Reuters poll last week forecast a cut in rates from their record low of 0.75 percent on Thursday. The poll suggested the ECB would not change its rates until at least July 2014.

Deutsche Bank economist Gilles Moec, who has just completed a report on the foreign exchange ‘pain threshold’ for euro zone economies, found that France and Italy are already suffering from the euro’s appreciation but that Germany is comfortable. The currency has risen about 3 percent against the dollar since the ECB’s last monetary policy meeting on Jan. 10, when Draghi unwound expectations the ECB would cut rates soon.

“In terms of the pain threshold for the euro zone as a whole, we’re right on it,” Moec said. “So at the euro zone aggregate level, there is no massive pressure that would force the ECB into paying immediate attention to this.”

“You would have to see a clear impact on some data” from the euro’s rise before changing course on rates, said Moec, pointing to export orders and purchasing managers’ indices. “You need a smoking gun, and the smoking gun is not there.”

A batch of indicators cited by Draghi at his Jan. 10 news conference show the economic distortions of the euro zone debt crisis are starting to correct themselves, with the data flow positive over the last month.

Some officials have nonetheless begun to complain about the euro’s rise this year to a 14-month peak against the dollar and a 30-month high versus the yen. French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday the euro zone must develop an exchange rate policy to protect the currency from “irrational movements”. Last week, French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said “the euro is too high”.

The appreciation reflects the Federal Reserve’s promise to keep buying bonds until US unemployment falls much farther and the Bank of Japan’s plan for a much looser monetary policy. By contrast, the market-driven unwinding of some of the ECB’s crisis funding measures has fed investors’ perceptions that it is in a state of de facto tightening, sup-

porting the euro. “For the ECB, at this stage, at least it’s a good reason to tell people like (Bundesbank chief Jens) Weidmann ‘you see it’s not the right time for us to start talking about an exit strategy because the currency appreciation is already doing this to a large extent’,” Moec said.

Banks have repaid early a chunk of 3-year crisis loans they took from the ECB, reducing the amount of excess cash in the financial system and pushing up bank-to-bank lending rates.

The Eonia overnight lending rate has risen to 0.079 percent from 0.071 since the ECB’s Jan. 25 announcement on the first early repayment. Banks repaid 137 billion euros at the first opportunity to do so, and will hand back another 3.5 billion today.

The ECB’s balance sheet is likely to have shrunk to around 2.8 trillion euros as a result, the lowest level since February 2012. This is in stark contrast to the expansionary policies being pursued in the United States and Japan. But with the ECB mandated to deliver price stability, the Governing Council is bound to focus on keeping inflation in check. Euro-zone inflation eased to 2 percent in January, near the ECB target of close to, but below 2 percent. — Reuters

Hollande set for EU budget compromise French president warns on growth

JAKARTA: This general photo shows a shopping mall in Jakarta yesterday. Indonesia said yesterday that Southeast Asia’s biggest economy grew 6.23 percent in 2012, supported by strong private consumption and investment. — AFP

Indonesia economy slowed to 6.23% in 2012: Report JAKARTA: Indonesia said yesterday that growth in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy slowed to 6.23 percent in 2012 owing to global headwinds, but was supported by strong domestic consumption and investment. The slip, from 6.5 percent expansion seen in 2011 year and below Jakarta’s 6.3 percent forecast, came as the country also recorded its first trade deficit owing to a fall in demand for exports from key markets such as China and India.

Central Statistics Agency chief Suryamin, who goes by one name, said the weaker-thanexpected data was “due to the ongoing global crisis and because of (Indonesia’s) trade deficit”.

However, the growth rate is “still the third strongest in Asia after China and the Philippines”, Robert Prior-Wandesforde, director of Asian economics for CrÈdit Suisse in Singapore, told AFP. And OCBC Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi said: “Overall, it is still a decent figure.” The country’s resilience has been attributed to its driving domestic consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of gross domestic product. Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa of Jakartabased Danareksa Research Institute, said: “I think we will still see investment flowing in this year because, compared to the countries in the region, Indonesia is still promising for investors.” Sadewa predicted growth of 6.5 percent this year. The agency also said growth in the final three months of the year came in at just 6.11 percent year on year from 6.16 percent in the third quarter. It had contracted 1.45

percent quarter on quarter, after growth of 3.18 percent in the previous three months.

Despite the weakness seen at the end of the year analysts said they were still hopeful for the next 12 months. “The figures, despite lower than we thought, are not worrying because it is still tolerable,” Bank Internasional Indonesia chief economist Juniman said.

Juniman, who goes by one name, also expects the economy to grow 6.5 percent this year. The central bank forecasts that growth this year will reach between 6.3 and 6.7 percent. Yesterday’s figures come on the back of a string of results from around the region that have showed a slowdown from the previous year. Even China’s huge economy expanded at its slowest pace in 13 years, while India’s central bank has tipped 5.5 percent growth this year, from 6.2 percent in the year to March 2012, and 9.3 percent previously. The weakness in China and India-big buyers of Indonesian coal and oil-also had a knock-on effect for Jakarta, which saw exports slide 6.61 percent, leading to the country’s first ever trade deficit.

Economists said the world’s 16th-biggest economy could grow even faster in the coming years if it improves its infrastructure and regulatory climate to encourage more investment into the country.

“Up to now, the government has still not been able to acquire land for infrastructure, and they should fix this because infrastructure will accelerate economic growth,” said Juniman. — AFP

STRASBOURG: French President Francois Hollande said yesterday that he was ready to compromise on the EU’s trillion-euro 2014-20 budget but warned that the spending cuts some members want must not undercut fragile growth. “Yes, make cuts but weaken the economy, no,” Hollande told the European parliament just days before EU leaders take up the hotly contested budget again after a bad-tempered November summit failed to get an accord.

“A compromise is possible but it needs to be reasonable and so it will be necessary to argue (the case) with those who want to cut the EU budget beyond what can be accepted,” he said.

Questioned by MEPs, the French president insisted it was his “duty to look for a compromise” when EU leaders meet Thursday and Friday in Brussels, with Paris ready for sacrifices even on farm spending, a key concern for it. “I will not have it said that France is prepared to sacrifice growth policies simply to defend” the Common Agricultural Policy, of which it is a major beneficiary, Hollande said.

Asked whether a deal was possible in light of Britain’s hardline stand, he said France would not stand in the way given the wider importance of the budget to economic recovery, adding: “We were the first to say that the priority has to be growth.” Hollande had warned on Sunday that “the negotiations are very difficult ... the conditions are, at this moment, not yet in place” for an accord. The November summit failed when several member states, led by Britain, called for sharp budget cuts at a time when all governments were having to reduce spending so as to balance the public finances.

Hollande told MEPs that France was committed to the European project, an economic and social model “envied on all other continents,” but the debt crisis meant that many people were losing faith, putting national interests first.

“The euro-zone crisis is to a great extent behind us but the challenge today ... is the mistrust of our people,” he said. Against this backdrop, EU could not simply adopt tough austerity policies. “France will not accept that”-and so had to ensure that core spending remained in place to promote vitally needed growth. The French president said Cohesion Funds and the CAP-the EU’s main spending commitments and key targets for those seeking cuts-were essential. “All of us benefit from that in terms of growth ... we can-

STRASBOURG: French President Francois Hollande (right) is welcomed by the president of the socialist group at the European Parliament Hannes Swoboda at the European Parliament yesterday. —AFP not set the one (policy) against the other,” he France.The European Parliament plays a key role said. The budget must also “support the most because it has to approve any budget accord.

Hollande also said that it was “legitimate to vulnerable, those most exposed to the crisis, the poorest,” Hollande stressed, highlighting the dan- work on a new architecture for the European gers of soaring unemployment, especially Union” but cautioned against member states among the young. EU leaders, including German picking and choosing what parts of the EU they Chancellor Angela Merkel, have warned that this wanted.

Without referring directly to British Premier week’s summit is unlikely to produce an agreeDavid Cameron, who has promised a referendum ment.

EU President Herman Van Rompuy proposed after renegotiating London’s EU membership in November a reduced budget of 973 billion terms, the French President said “Europe is above euros ($1.33 billion) but failed to bridge the dif- all an expression of political will.

“That is to say ... (members) accepts both ferences, with London seeking an even sharper their rights and their obligations ... rules are reduction to 886 billion euros.

The main dispute concerns how spending respected, confidence creates solidarity and it is cuts should be divided up between Cohesion a project where you cannot discuss ad infinitum Funds, which help newer members catch up with its basis, calling everything into question at their peers, and the CAP, jealously defended by each stage.” — AFP

Gulf Bank announces 2013 quarterly draws for KOC Employees KUWAIT: Gulf Bank has announced its continuation of the four quarterly draws for 2013 offer, exclusively to KOC employees who have a Gulf Bank salary account. The eligible employees will automatically enter the draw to win a new GMC Yukon.

Yaser Sulaiman, Executive Manager-Consumer Banking Group said: “The Quarterly KOC draws are an added benefit for KOC employees allowing them the chance to win a new GMC Yukon, along with many other benefits designed to meet the needs of its employees. In addition, Gulf Bank will be welcoming new KOC salary customers with gift vouchers ranging between KD 50 to KD 100 to spend at any X-cite by Alghanim store in Kuwait, upon opening a Gulf Bank KOC salary account.”

The KOC Quarterly Draw launched exclusively for KOC employees serves as an auxiliary benefit to the KOC salary tailored banking package. The package provides a non-interest bearing current

account and several other benefits such as; vouchers from X-cite by Alghanim Electronics, free issuance charges for Visa and MasterCard Credit Card, and a special discounts when using Gulf Bank cards at over 120 outlets in Kuwait. Upon entering the draw, KOC employees are further qualified to win a new GMC Yukon as an added bonus.

Four quarterly draws will be conducted in 2013, the first draw taking place on 26 March, second draw on 25 June, third draw on 24 September and the fourth draw will take place on 26 December. All draws will take place in the Banks’ branch located at the KOC Head Office.

Gulf Bank is the only bank available at the KOC Head Office and all KOC employees that transfer their salary and hold a valid Gulf Bank credit card are eligible to enter the quarterly draws making the Bank the premium establishment for KOC employees to receive great prizes and enjoy high quality financial services that Gulf Bank provides.

NBK ECONOMIC REPORT

Yaser Sulaiman, Executive Manager-Consumer Banking Group

Malone eyes Virgin Media in challenge to Murdoch LONDON: John Malone’s Liberty Global is in latestage takeover talks with Britain’s Virgin Media over a $20 billion cable deal that would put the billionaire up against his old rival Rupert Murdoch.

Virgin Media, the second-biggest pay-T V provider in Britain behind Murdoch’s satellite group BSkyB, released a short statement yesterday saying it had received an approach.

Two sources familiar with the situation said the negotiations were at a late stage and one of them said confirmation and details of a deal may come as soon as Tuesday.

A deal could reach as much as $24 billion and would give Liberty entry to one of Europe’s biggest and most competitive telecom markets, allowing it to apply lessons learned as a pay-TV and broadband provider in 11 other European countries. It would also put Malone’s Liberty in a strong place to challenge Murdoch as cable groups across the region

start to assert their authority over traditional telecoms firms with the offer of super-fast broadband and pay-television.

Malone, whose group has 19.6 million customers, came up against Murdoch a decade ago when Murdoch’s News Corp and Liberty Media vied for control of DirecTV Group, the largest US satellite TV broadcaster. The stand-off ended when both sides backed down. News Corp. sold its one-third stake in DirecTV to Malone’s group and Malone sold 16 percent of News Corp. that Liberty had acquired, giving the Murdochs fuller control over their company.

Dubbed everything from the Cable Guy to Cable Cowboy and even Darth Vader by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore due to his perceived ruthless style, Malone made his fortune through a series of deals that transformed, and ultimately consolidated, the US cable industry into one dominated by a

Kuwait trade surplus edges up in 3Q12

handful of huge players. Murdoch’s BSkyB leads the British pay-TV market with 10.7 million customers compared with Virgin’s 4.9 million.

Virgin emerged two years ago from years of heavy losses from a costly network expansion. But its cables still only cover half of the UK and analysts see potential for more growth.

For Liberty, those benefits must be weighed against the heavy debts a takeover may entail.

Virgin Media’s bonds widened and the cost of insuring its debt rose on expectations that more debt would have to be raised to finance a deal. It is also rated higher than Liberty Global, which could impact its credit profile.

Virgin Media’s shares were up 16 percent in New York and 19 percent in London. Liberty Global fell 3.6 percent. Shares in BSkyB, 39 percent owned by News Corp, were down 1 percent against a higher FTSE 100 index. —Reuters

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s trade surplus edged marginally higher to KD 6.6 billion in 3Q12, but remained below the KD 7.2 billion recordhigh registered in the first quarter. The 3Q surplus, estimated at 13% of annual 2012 GDP, was helped by a combination of stillstrong oil exports and weak imports. Going forward, we expect any increases in the surplus to be limited by lower oil prices and a pick-up in imports driven by non-oil sector growth.

Oil export revenues edged up slightly to KD 7.8 billion in 3Q12, from KD 7.7 billion in the previous quarter. Year-on-year, oil exports were up by some 13%. This is stronger than expected given a 9% increase in crude production and a 0.3% decline in Kuwait Export Crude prices over the same period. This year, oil export receipts are seen declining as oil markets and prices are

expected to weaken. Non-oil exports fell slightly by KD 0.1 billion to KD 0.5 billion in 3Q12. This was driven by lower receipts from re-exports, which more than offset improved exports of ethylene products, manufactured fertilizers and other non-oil exports.

Year-on-year, however, non-oil exports were up by 13% on the back of higher export receipts from ethylene products.

Meanwhile, imports continued to slip, dipping below KD 1.8 billion in 3Q12, down from an all-time high of KD 2.0 billion in 4Q11.

Yearly growth in imports also slowed to 2% in the third quarter - the lowest rate seen in almost three years.

Weakness in imports may be reflective of domestic economic activity. Nevertheless, imports could pick-up this year as the government pushes forward with implementation of its development plan.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

BUSINESS

Oil bounces back to $116 over euro-zone LONDON: Oil rose to $116 a barrel yesterday, resuming its three-week rally, as investor concern faded about political risks in the euro-zone that had prompted a sell-off of riskier assets in the previous session. European shares moved up and the euro rose after better-thanexpected euro-zone PMI figures. Shares of British oil giant BP were up 1.6 percent after its fourth-quarter results beat expectations.

Brent was up 53 cents at $116.13 at 1037 GMT after falling as low as $115.01

earlier. It has gained over 4 percent so far in 2013 and reached a more than four-month high above $117 on Friday.

US crude added 39 cents to $96.56.

“We do not envisage prices receding for any great length of time,” said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerz bank. “The supply-side risks still prevailing, shrinking OPEC supplies and the brightening global economic outlook all suggest that such a retreat is unlikely.”

Lower output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has

reduced an expected global supply surplus in 2013, while fighting in Syria and Iran’s dispute with the West over its nuclear work continue to pose the risk of wider disruption to Middle East supply.

Oil fell on Monday alongside the euro and equities as a rise in political uncertainty in the euro zone weighed on sentiment. Analysts said Iran’s offer of fresh talks with the West also dampened oil prices.

In Spain, the prime minister is facing calls to resign, while in Italy, which is

having elections this month, former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is seeing a resurgence in popularity.

Some dealers say crude may struggle to rally much further, seeing little in the supply and demand balance to justify higher prices. “The market has perked up a bit, but I suspect the quite sustained rally we saw last week is running out of steam now and fundamentals will be reasserting themselves,” said Christopher Bellew, a broker at Jefferies Bache.

“There seems to be plenty of crude

around. The market is fairly well balanced, so it should not be in an upward spiral because of any lack of supply.”

Oil traders awaited a report on US oil supplies later the day. US crude stocks are expected to rise by 2.8 million barrels, a preliminary Reuters poll found on Monday.

Industry group the American Petroleum Institute releases its report yesterday, while figures from the government’s Energy Information Administration follow today. — Reuters

Photo provided by the Japan Transport Safety Board shows the distorted main lithium-ion battery (left) and an undamaged auxiliary battery of the All Nippon Airways’ Boeing 787 which made an emergency landing on Jan 16, 2013 at Takamatsu airport in Takamatsu. — AP

Boeing battery maker sees lower profits KYOTO, Japan: GS Yuasa Corp, the firm whose products are the focus of US and Japanese investigations into what caused batter y problems on Boeing Co’s 787 Dreamliner, said it did not expect the issue to hurt either its earnings or its reputation.

Kyoto-based GS Yuasa, valued at around $1.5 billion, said it did not expect the airplane battery problems to impact orders from automakers for its lithium-ion batteries, and it kept its forecast for full-year operating profit of 10 billion yen ($108 million) - which would be more than a third below last year.

At a news conference on Tuesday, GS Yuasa director Toshiyuki Nakagawa skirted around questions on the status of the company’s supplies to Boeing - a business that accounts for less than 1 percent of its revenue. “We cannot comment on the details of the investigation, but we have confidence in the quality of our manufacturing,” he said.

“As any manufacturer, we would never supply anything that is dangerous,” he said in response to a question on the potential danger of lithium-ion battery technology. “But these incidents have occurred, and we must properly find the cause.”

The company, which has stated it sees lithium-ion batteries as a central part of its business, and a future profit driver, said it did not plan to list possible damages claims as a potential risk in its quarterly filings.

All Boeing’s 787s have been grounded since Jan. 17 as investigators hunt the cause of two incidents with the plane’s lithium-ion batteries - a battery fire on a Japan Airlines 787 at a US airport and the emergency landing of a domestic All Nippon Airways flight after battery problems triggered a smoke alarm.

Japan’s transport safety agency said it is still unclear whether battery chemistry or an electrical issue caused the main battery on the ANA flight to overheat, forcing it to make the emergency landing.

Boeing has not changed its production plans for the lightweight, carbon-composite Dreamliner, but it has stopped delivering new planes while the investigations continue. GS Yuasa said operating profit in AprilDecember - before the recent 787 problems

- dropped 28 percent to 6.46 billion yen ($69.7 million) on revenue that fell 4.6 percent to 196 billion yen, as automakers placed fewer orders for lithium-ion batteries and sales were sluggish in Southeast Asia and Europe. The company, created in 2004 from the merger of Japan Storage Battery and Yuasa, employs around 12,400 people making batteries for cars, motorcycles - with 27 percent market share, it is a global leader - and a range of industrial customers. In November, the company, led by president Makoto Yoda, won an order to supply lithium-ion batteries for the International Space Station.

Ahead of the results, GS Yuasa shares ended 0.3 percent higher, but are still down more than 5 percent since the Boston fire on Jan 7.

In a sign that the investigation may be becoming more complex, Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) chairman Norihiro Goto told a news conference investigators may widen their probe to other equipment on the Dreamliner. The JTSB said it would send its investigators to Thales , the French company that makes control systems for the 787 battery, if needed.

CT scans showed six of the main battery’s eight cells on the ANA Dreamliner were badly damaged, charred and deformed, Goto said, adding a small hole was found in one cell, which was one of the least damaged.

On Monday, Boeing asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for permission to conduct Dreamliner test flights, suggesting it is making progress in finding a solution to the battery problems. Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau said it was told about the Boeing request by the FAA. Launch customer ANA is the world’s biggest Dreamliner operator with 17 of the jets. With local rival JAL owning seven, Japan accounts for almost half the 50 787s in service. ANA said last week it lost around $15 million in revenue as a result of the Dreamliner grounding, while JAL said the halting of 787 flights would shave $7.6 million from its operating profit in the year to end-March. Both companies have said they will discuss compensation for the losses with Boeing. — Reuters

GSK spends $900m to lift stake in India arm LONDON: GlaxoSmithKline Plc has lifted its stake in its publicly-listed Indian consumer healthcare subsidiary to 72.5 percent from 43.2 percent, deepening its footprint in emerging markets and non-prescription products. David Redfern, GSK’s chief strategy officer, said yesterday the transaction valued at 48 billion Indian rupees ($901 million) or 568 million pounds - would further increase exposure to a key emerging market. “It is a significant vote of confidence in the long-term growth prospects of our consumer healthcare business in India,” he added.

Britain’s biggest drugmaker announced plans to acquire larger holdings in both its Indian and Nigerian consumer product businesses in November.

GSK offered 3,900 rupees per share for stock in Indian-based GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd during a tender

period that ran from Jan. 17 to Jan. 30, with final payment due on or before Feb. 13. The open offer was managed by HSBC. Shares in the Indian company were 2 percent lower at 3,750 rupees following news of the open offer result, while GSK was 0.5 percent higher, ahead of the group’s full-year results today.

The drugmaker’s Indian arm sells popular brands such as health drink Horlicks, malt-based drink Boost and a multi-vitamin drink VitaHealth, which is marketed to women.

It also markets OTC (over-the-counter) drugs such as paracetamol tablet Crocin, painkiller gel Iodex and acidity reliever Eno. In Nigeria, GSK’s plans to raise its holding in GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc to 80 percent in a 15.4 billion naira ($98 million) deal are still progressing. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

BUSINESS

One of the winners

One of the winners

Warba Bank gives away 12 Mini Coopers Winners in La T7aty Campaign KUWAIT: Warba Bank, the most recently opened Islamic bank in Kuwait, gave away 12 Mini Coopers for winners through La T7aty salary transfer campaign, a first-ofits-kind campaign on the level of local banks in Kuwait Since the launch of the campaign last September, the bank has spared no effort to honor its customers and give them special gifts till the day of draw that was held on 17th Jan. 2013. During a grand ceremony at 360 Mall, the bank announced the names of the 12 brand-new Mini Coopers winners.

Adnan Al-Salem, Chief Retail Banking Officer of Warba Bank, gave the keys of luxury cars to the winners, expressing his happiness with the success of this cam-

paign. This campaign comes in line with Warba Bank’s goal to reward its customers with the best exclusive offers and prizes.

Adnan Al-Salem congratulated the 12 winners and said: “Warba Bank’s grand draw witnessed an unparalleled success and we promise our customers continuous unique offers and more valuable gifts during the coming months as the bank is keen to build its own quality and prestige.”

“By giving the cars to the winners, we conclude this campaign which is an extension of our promise to provide quality products and services to all customers, while giving a distinct character to salary transfer to Warba Bank,” added Al Salem.

The winners expressed their gratitude to Warba Bank and its dedication to create

various campaigns and to provide finest products and services. Warba Bank is keen on innovating state-of-the-art banking services and products accompanied by rewarding offers and various features.

The distinctive “La t7aty” campaign has received a very positive response from customers. It gave customers who transferred their salaries during the campaign period an opportunity to qualify for the draw to win one of 12 Mini Coopers.

Warba Bank is positioning itself in the market as a leading Islamic institution that offers an array of Sharia-compliant quality products and services to its customers.

Customers can learn more about the bank’s multiple services by visiting Warba Bank or calling 182-5555.

12 Mini Coopers

BOJ chief to step down before term expires Kuroda, Muto possible successors

ZURICH: UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti speaks at a press conference announcing the bank’s 2012 full year result in Zurich yesterday.—AP

UBS overhaul bearing fruit despite hefty quarterly loss ZURICH: Swiss bank UBS reported faster than expected progress in overhauling its investment bank but its flagship wealth management unit performed disappointingly, weighed down in Europe where Switzerland is under fire for helping tax cheats. UBS announced a 1.89 billion Swiss franc ($2.08 billion) net loss for the fourth quarter on Tuesday following a big fine for rigging benchmark interest rates, although this was less than the 2.078 billion analysts had expected on average.

Switzerland’s biggest bank also said it was cutting overall bonus payments to its staff, with the maximum individual payout halved to one million francs. UBS announced plans in October to fire 10,000 staff as it returns to its private banking roots and ditches much of the trading business that lost $50 billion in the financial crisis and prompted the rate rigging fine. “We are on track with the transformation of the Investment Bank,” said UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti.

UBS shares were volatile, trading down 0.8 percent at 1054 GMT, compared with a 1.1 percent firmer European banking sector index. “Investors who buy UBS shares do so for the medium term transformation of UBS from a universal bank into a wealth manager, and the subsequent re-rating/capital return it should deliver,” said Sarasin analyst Rainer Skierka. “UBS is on track to achieve its goals.

This has also been underlined with a 50 percent increase in its dividend.” The dividend rose to 0.15 francs from 0.10 for 2011. UBS had already flagged it was on track for a hefty loss in the quarter due to the $1.5 billion fine it agreed in December for rigging Libor and other benchmark interest rates, as well as charges from its restructuring plan to shed staff.

UBS will buy back 5 billion francs in senior debt in coming weeks, after the scaling back at its investment bank sharply reduced liquidity and funding needs, although it said that could result in “significant” first-quarter own credit charges.

Despite the upheaval, the investment bank’s revenues for advisory services rose 8 percent and those from capital markets were up 14 percent, even as it slashed risky assets by 19 percent to meet tough capital rules.

Regulators tightened the rules in response to the banking crisis of 2008-09, when the Swiss state had to bail out UBS. UBS said it had cut risky assets to 258 billion francs in the quarter from 301 billion the previous quarter, already in sight of the target of 200 billion francs it set for 2017.

“It is reassuring that there are, thus far,

apparently very low losses on exiting the non-core assets,” said Andrew Lim of Espirito Santo. Results from the flagship private bank, which caters for wealthy individual clients, were mixed. Investors moved in funds in fastgrowing markets such as Asia and the business in the Americas achieved its strongest performance since the last quarter of 2007, just before the crisis.

However, withdrawals by clients in western Europe sped up towards the end of the quarter, UBS said. Overall, a net 2.4 billion francs flowed in, missing forecasts of 6.8 billion.

UBS has warned it could lose 12-30 billion francs from total European assets of over 300 billion as a result of steps to stop foreigners using secret Swiss accounts to evade taxes.

Chief financial officer Tom Naratil said Germany’s rejection mid-December of a tax deal with Switzerland had contributed to the outflows. Dirk Becker, analyst at Kepler Capital Markets, noted the gross margin of the wealth management business fell to 85 basis points, a level last seen when clients stopped trading in the depths of the financial crisis in late 2008.

“The stock trades at 1.3 times (book value), a substantial premium to the sector which is not justified through superior returns or positive business trends,” he said.

Vontobel analyst Teresa Nielsen said private banking appeared to be picking up overall. “We believe the impact from tax matters is getting solved. We understand that wealth management has seen a good start of the year and expect the gross margin to have reached its floor,” she said.

UBS said it will cap cash paid as a bonus to 1 million francs from 2 million formerly.

Overall, its bonus pool for 2012 was falling by 7 percent to 2.5 billion francs and introducing a scheme to pay bankers with loss-absorbing capital which are revoked if capital targets are not met.

Deutsche Bank is capping bonus payouts for 2012 at 300,000 euros for employees, not including deferred pay, sources told Reuters on Friday. UBS’s hometown rival Credit Suisse, where investment banking makes a larger share of profits, reports quarterly results on Thursday. Unlike UBS, Credit Suisse is holding fast to its securities unit, even as it adapts to tough capital rules that make it harder to turn a profit from trading.

So far, investors have shown a preference for Credit Suisse’s stance, sending its stock 23 percent higher since November, when UBS unveiled its strategy. UBS’s shares, meantime, have gained 15 percent.— Reuters

TOKYO: Bank of Japan chief Masaaki Shirakawa said yesterday he would step down about three weeks before his term ends, after the central bank and Japan’s new government butted heads on policy matters. Shirakawa said he hoped his successor would be sworn in at the same time as the bank’s new deputy governors, without making a direct reference to friction with Tokyo.

“The two deputy governors’ terms will expire on March 19,” he told reporters. “I told the prime minister that I will resign on March 19 so that a (new) governor can start with two deputy governors.”

Shirakawa had been expected to leave when his term expires on April 8, after new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe openly said he wanted a more like-minded candidate.

The 58-year-old premier had also threatened to change a law mandating the bank’s independence unless it fell into line with his government’s demands for aggressive monetary easing measures.

It was not immediately clear if the hawkish premier had accepted Shirakawa’s early departure.

Among the candidates seen as possible successors are Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank, and Toshiro Muto, a former deputy governor at the BOJ. Last month the under-pressure bank said it would adopt a two percent inflation goal demanded by the new government in a bid to beat the deflation that has haunted the world’s third-largest economy for years. It also unveiled an unlimited asset-purchase scheme-similar to the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing-to start next year.

But days later, Shirakawa cast doubt on the inflation target and said pressure on central banks has “risen globally more than ever”. The head of Germany’s Bundesbank Jens Weidmann warned last month over what he described as government meddling in monetary policy.

“We are witnessing disturbing abuses... where the new government is interfering massively in

the affairs of the central bank, calling forcefully for a more aggressive monetary policy,” he said, citing Japan as an example.

Tokyo’s policies have fuelled criticism from abroad that the government is orchestrating a devaluation of the yen, and risking a global currency war. Japanese officials have repeatedly denied those claims. —AFP

TOKYO: Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor Masaaki Shirakawa speaks to the press at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo yesterday. The head of the Bank of Japan has offered to step down about three weeks before his term ends, reports said yesterday.—AFP

BP profit drops 79% in Q4 due to settlement LONDON: Oil and gas giant BP’s profit fell nearly 80 percent in the fourth quarter in results released yesterday, dragged down by payouts related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

BP said that net profit fell to $1.62 billion in the quarter ending on Dec. 31, down from $7.69 billion in the same period the year before. BP took a loss of $3.85 billion for its settlement of all federal criminal charges with the US government. Underlying replacement cost profit for the period, which strips out the changes in the value of inventories, was down 20 percent on the same period last year at $3.98 billion. The company’s settlement with the US Justice Department shut the book on the criminal probe of BP’s role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and Gulf oil spill, but civil claims remain. The London-based oil giant could pay billions more in damages for the 2010 spill.

Nevertheless, the results surpassed analysts’ predictions, and BP said that its downstream activities - refining and sale of petroleum products - earned a record amount for the year. Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in a statement that the result “lays a solid foundation for growth into the long term.”

“We will continue to see the impact of this reshaping work in our reported results in 2013,” Dudley said.

“By 2014, I expect the underlying financial momentum to be strongly evident.”

The company has racked up more than $24 billion in spill-related expenses and has estimated it will pay a total of $42 billion to fully resolve its liability for the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. At a court hearing last month, US District Judge Sarah Vance described the criminal settlement is “just punishment” for BP though it could have paid far more and remained in business.— AP

Deutsche Boerse net profits down in 2012 FRANKFURT: German stock market operator Deutsche Boerse said yesterday it booked net profit of 660 million euros ($895 million) in 2012, down from 849 million euros a year earlier. Underlying profit, as measured by earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), amounted to “around 1.0 billion euros”, the group said in preliminary figures.

A year earlier, Deutsche Boerse had booked EBIT of 1.152 billion euros. Revenues were also down at 1.93 billion euros, compared with the year-earlier figure of 2.233 billion euros. And the group said it would cut its dividend to 2.10 euros per share for 2012 from 2.30 euros for 2011. Deutsche Boerse, which is scheduled to publish details of its

fourth-quarter and full 2012 earnings on February 19, said it would was seeking costsavings of 70 million euros a year by 2016.

The statement did not specifically say whether the measures would entail job cuts, but Deutsche Boerse management “will immediately enter into discussions with the staff representatives. “As in the past, the company intends to implement the measures without forced redundancies and as socially responsible as possible,” it said. Deutsche Boerse shares were performing slightly better than the overall market in afternoon trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange, adding 0.54 percent, while the blue-chip DAX 30 index was up 0.23 percent. — AFP

Munich Re profits quadrupled in 2012 FRANKFURT: Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, said yesterday its bottom-line profit increased by more than fourfold in 2012 on lower losses from natural catastrophes.

Munich Re said in a statement it booked net profit of 3.2 billion euros ($4.3 billion) last year, compared with 0.71 billion euros a year earlier.

Operating profit also more than quadrupled, soaring to 5.4 billion euros in 2012 from 1.2 billion euros in 2011 and gross premium income was up 5.1 percent at 52.0 billion euros, the statement said. “This very pleasing profit is founded on our rigorous risk management, disciplined underwriting policy and the realization

of profitable business opportunities,” said chief financial officer Joerg Schneider. “Our core business in insurance and reinsurance is healthy, while the claims burden from major losses was slightly below average. We also achieved a good investment result,” Schneider said. Munich Re said its natural catastrophe losses amounted to 1.3 billion euros last year, with Hurricane Sandy being the year’s biggest loss event costing the group around 800 million euros before tax. The year before, natural catastrophe losses had been as much as 4.5 billion euros in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, earthquakes in New Zealand and floods in Thailand. — AP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

BUSINESS

Ali Alghanim & Sons Automobiles celebrates 2013 with exclusive 3 Series promotion Cost of BMW car to a minimum KUWAIT: Valid from start of the year and until stock lasts, Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, the official BMW Group importer in Kuwait, has launched a special offer on the full 2013 BMW 3 Series model lineup, including the entry level model BMW 316i, which recently arrived in the BMW Group importer’s showrooms..

Customers who purchase a new 2013 BMW 3 Series vehicle throughout this promotion will receive free warranty up to five years or 150,000 km (whichever comes first) and a four-year free servicing package, valid up to 84,000km. In addition, all registration costs will be paid by Ali Alghanim &

Sons Automotive, giving customers a convenient and hassle-free start to their BMW ownership.

Commenting on the promotion, Yousef Al-Qatami, General Manager of Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, said: “The 3 Series offer is part of our continuous efforts to provide premium services to our customers that helps makes owning a BMW that much easier for them.” The sixth generation BMW 3 Series arrived in Kuwait in February last year, and has proved a strong driving force behind the company’s 2012 sales achievements. The car is bigger, sportier and more dynamic than its predecessor and the first BMW model to be

●

Aftersales package goes beyond standard warranty

available with three different lines options: Modern, Sport and Luxury three distinctive design personalities for the exterior and interior of all vehicles included in its model lineup: 335, 328, 320, and 316.

The BMW 3 Series continues to be BMW Group’s best-selling model series consistently accounting for more than a quarter of the company’s global sales. In 2012, the BMW 3 Series was among the top performing models in Kuwait, with 7% sales growth over 2011. Also in 2010, every third BMW sold globally was a 3 Series, and the success story of the 3 Series over the past 37 years has made it the

world’s best-selling premium car.

“Aftersales is one of our main focus areas to ensure customer satisfaction, and by introducing this limited offer with warranty and servicing packages, we are able to demonstrate our commitment to customers, who are the cornerstone of our continued success,” he added.

With the addition of the BMW 316, Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive is expanding its 3 Series product offering and making the world’s best-selling premium car even more accessible to a wider customer audience across the region. The new BMW 316 is priced at KD 9,900.

GE highlights cleaner and efficient technologies ‘Powering Middle East Responsibly’ at Power-Gen

Al-Hashimy lists UAE advantages at WEF DUBAI: Reem Al-Hashimy, UAE Minister of State and Managing Director of the UAE’s Higher Committee for Hosting World Expo 2020 in Dubai, spoke with CNN Emerging Markets Editor John Defterios during the 2013 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

During the interview, which aired on CNN International’s “Marketplace Middle East” program, she discussed the UAE’s strengths in relation to the country’s bid to host the 2020 World Expo in Dubai.

“With the merits of our country from its strong infrastructure, the geographical positioning between east and west, the seamless operations between our ports and airports, and our global connectivity, we feel we really can bring people together and do justice to our theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’,” she said. “2020 will offer a diverse, exciting and international profile for the World Expo visitors and participants alike.”

French refining site Petroplus awaits fate ROUEN, France: A bankrupt oil refinery northwest of Paris called Petroplus employing 470 people is the latest focus of French national anxiety over factory closures and the role of investors and the state, with bidders facing a deadline yesterday to propose new investment to keep the plant alive.

There has been vague talk of the French state taking a minority stake, and of possible bidders from Dubai, Libya or Iran. Investors have until Tuesday to make bids for the busi-

ness, and the Minister for Industrial Regeneration Arnaud Montebourg said on RTL radio early in the day that the government expected several offers.

But late on Monday, officials at the office of Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had played down the chances of finding a buyer following talks between the prime minister’s advisers and representatives of the workers, saying the possibility was “limited”. —AFP

DOHA: Under the theme ‘Powering the Middle East Responsibly,’ GE (NYSE: GE) is highlighting its advanced portfolio of highly efficient and cleaner technologies that has the potential to significantly strengthen the region’s energy sector efficiencies at PowerGen Middle East, the premier industry event being held until February 6, 2013 at the Qatar National Convention Center in Doha.

GE is featuring its FlexEfficiency Portfolio that promotes energy efficiency as well as its new Heavy Fuel Oil combined cycle plant that is a more efficient and cost-effective solution compared to traditional steam boiler technology, at the event.

GE is also bringing focus to power plant upgrades and enhancements that enable energy producers to generate more reliable power when it’s needed and, at the same time, strengthens their position as environmental stewards in the communities that they serve.

Mohammed Mohaisen, General Manager of Thermal Products & Power Generation Services for GE Power & Water in the Middle East, said: “Along with the rising demand for power in the Middle East, the regional governments are placing emphasis on strengthening energy sector efficiencies and promoting sustainable development by the judicious utilisation of its oil & gas reserves. With our theme ‘Powering the Middle East Responsibly’ we are underlining how the newest technologies by GE can contribute to increased efficiencies, cost-effectively while also promoting sustainability objectives.”

The newest development in power plant technologies, GE’s FlexEfficiency Portfolio redefines the standards of operational flexibility. Its portfolio comprises gas turbines, steam turbines, generators, and enhanced plant controls, allowing operators to take full advantage of renewable energy resources coming on and off the grid.

FlexEfficiency 60 also boosts energy efficiency by harnessing natural gas and enabling greater use of renewable energy - key areas for Qatar.

Mohammed added: “GE has a

strong history of partnerships in Qatar’s energy sector, and with the new FlexEfficiency 60 Portfolio and the Heavy Fuel Oil combined cycle power plant technology showcased at Power-Gen Middle East, we are highlighting our commitment to work towards technology solutions that meet the requirements of our partners in the country.”

At the heart of the new portfolio is the ecomagination-qualified FlexEfficiency

materials for improved availability in harsh environments.

At GE’s booth 5A01 at Power-Gen Middle East, the company is presenting a FlexEfficiency model, and an HFO interactive screen. Also on display is an interactive screen featuring different solutions that empower customers to manage and extend the power plant life cycle and advanced gas path. In addition, GE is showcasing the services, manufac-

filter life and delivering better performance for gas turbines operating in harsh environment,’ at 8.30am; Aileen Barton, Senior Product Manager, will address on ‘Increasing power plant potential with technology solutions in a changing fuel landscape’ at 10am and Jeffrey Goldmeer, 9F Marketing Manager, will speak on ‘Gas turbine fuel flexibility with opportunity fuels and syngas from gasification’ at 3.30pm on Feb. 5.

Combined-Cycle Power Plant, the most flexible and most efficient power plant of its kind with the capability to reach greater than 61 percent thermal efficiency. It is an ideal fit for the region’s energy sector, as it combines record-breaking efficiency while reducing emissions and providing unprecedented flexibility.

GE’s HFO combined cycle technology has been specifically developed for the Middle East region, and is envisaged to considerably enhance efficiencies in the use of heavy fuel oil and conversion for power generation.

It delivers a more efficient and costeffective solution compared to traditional steam boiler technology, through short commissioning times, rugged components, and innovative

turing and training capabilities at its GE Manufacturing Technology Center in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, at the exhibition.

The newly expanded Center has a modern manufacturing facility of high-end equipment for the power, water and oil & gas industries; a service and repair center for advanced turbine components; a training center that offers the latest technology and managerial courses; a Repair Development Center; and a state-ofthe-art high-speed balance facility.

Several GE business leaders are also sharing their expertise on various topics at the Power-Gen Middle East seminars. Paul Senett, Product line Leader, GE, will speak on ‘Extending

Marcus Scholz, Product Line Leader of GE, will speak on ‘FlexEfficiency 50 combined cycle power plant designed for high efficiency and reliability,’ at 11am on Feb. 6.

With a presence spanning back over 80 years, and over 1,000 turbines with installed capacity of over 70 gigawatts (approximately half of the total installed power of the region), GE is a leader in supporting the Middle East region’s needs for sustainable energy, water resources, and infrastructure growth. GE has been supporting Qatar’s development for nearly 40 years today with advanced energy technology solutions and services as well as expanding investments and knowledge sharing initiatives.

AXA Gulf wins ‘Insurer of Year’ award for 4th year in a row Reinforcing its market leadership and consumer acceptance of its world-class products portfolio, AXA Gulf - one of the largest nonlife international insurers in the region - yesterday announced that it has won prestigious recognitions at the 4th Annual MENA Insurance Awards 2013 earlier this week.

In a honour which underlines the market dominance of AXA Gulf in the MENA region, the company was conferred the Insurer of the Year award for the fourth consecutive year - a record achievement for AXA Gulf in the highly-competitive regional insurance sector. The company also won the Personal Lines Insurer of the Year award.

The MENA Insurance Awards 2013 were handed over on January 21, 2013 at The Address, Emaar Boulevard in Dubai. Top officials from leading Arab and international insurance and reinsurance companies, bro-

kers, representatives from regulatory agencies as well as banks attended the gala ceremony. A total of 22 awards, which included 4 new categories, were given away at the ceremony.

The selection of AXA Gulf as the Insurer of the Year recognized its commitment to customers, innovation and consistent delivery of high quality coverage, product diversity, technical expertise, leadership and a strong, persistent financial performance. Commenting on this record performance, JÈrÙme Droesch, CEO of AXA Gulf, said: “Winning such awards is always a great moment for AXA Gulf, and we are extremely honored to have been named the Insurer of the Year at MENA Insurance Awards for the fourth year in a row.

Securing this award every year shows our consistency in delivering a high class standard in both our product offer and service

quality. I think this is a good reflection of what has been achieved in 2012 and a great way to reward the work of AXA Gulf’s team across the region. Finally, I am thankful to our partners, our shareholders, our customers, our distributors and the AXA team for their continued trust and making this possible.”

He added: “The top industry honor, as also winning the Personal Lines Insurer of the year award reinforces our committed goal to become the preferred insurer for our customers and distributors across all our product categories.”

The winning of the Personal Lines Insurer of the Year provided a further boost to its market leadership and reputation in the region, recognizing the company’s knowledge, expertise, strategy and high quality product offerings in the category.

Alexis de Beauregard, Chief Officer -

Marketing and Retail Product Offering at AXA Gulf, said: “We are privileged to be named the best in the Personal Lines Insurance in the MENA region. The awards bear testimony to not only our service standards and product offerings but also our successful business model and world-class team. These awards motivate us to strive for further excellence and continue our success story in the Region.”

The latest awards come close on the heels of top industry recognitions to AXA Gulf. The company was recently awarded the Superbrands UAE status by Superbrands for the 3rd year in a row - an independent authority and arbiter of branding - underlines the strength of the AXA Gulf brand in the UAE and beyond. The company was selected from over 1,300 regional brands and judged on a stringent criteria applied by an independent Superbrands Council.

In another top industry honor, AXA was named as the number one insurance brand in the Top Management category in Sultanate of Oman, as per a survey conducted on top brands. AXA was also ranked 5th in the Popular Choice category in the survey conducted by leading business publication Business Today on Best Brands 2012 in the Insurance Sector.

In the past few years, AXA Gulf has demonstrated its commitment to being available, reliable and attentive. AXA Gulf massively invested in state-of-the-art call centres and also in its Internet solutions and extended its presence across the Gulf countries with over 22 branches in 5 countries. Thanks to these investments, AXA Gulf now provides a unique range of contact points for its customers: brokers, Internet, walk-in branches, mall shops and the telephone.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

technology

Live action: Twitter grabs Super Bowl spotlight NEW YORK: Beyonce’s splashy show, a freak power outage, and oh, yeah- a captivating game of football combined to generate a record 24.1 million posts on Twitter during Sunday night’s Super Bowl. That’s up from 13.7 million last year - and that doesn’t even include chatter surrounding the ads. Twitter said in a late Sunday blog post that about half of the more than 50 national TV spots that aired during the game included a “hashtag”. a word or phrase preceded by a number sign that’s used to organize subjects on the short messaging site.

During last year’s game, only one in five ads included one. Brands ranging from Oreo to Tide and Budweiser, meanwhile, captured online buzz by linking the blackout to their brands in humorous tweets.

Super Bowl XLVII, like the London Summer Olympics and the US presidential election, was yet another moment in which Twitter became the platform for millions of people to share quick reactions and participate in a massive, public conversation. Though it’s not as popular as Facebook or its buttoned-up cousin LinkedIn Corp, Twitter’s surging popularity during big events is a testament to its reach and utility. The question is

whether these moments can translate into revenue for the seven-year-old company.

The company makes money by charging advertisers to promote individual tweets, accounts or trends designed to spark a conversation. Research firm eMarketer estimates that Twitter will book advertising revenue of $545.2 million this year, up 89 percent from 2012. Next year, worldwide ad revenue is expected to hit $807.5 million, a 48 percent increase from 2013.

Tweetable events such as the 34-minute Super Bowl power outage are ripe with marketing potential, provided that brands act quickly. “It’s really clear right now that Twitter has a lock on real-time conversation on the Internet,” says eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson. To capitalize on this, Twitter has to show advertisers that it pays to promote their tweets - even though fans are likely to spread the catchiest slogans on their own, free of charge.

That’s what happened with a certain cream-filled cookie on Sunday. It took Oreo’s marketers roughly 10 minutes after the power went out to tweet a picture of an Oreo cookie in the half-dark with the words: “You can still dunk in the dark.” As of Monday after-

This image provided by Oreo shows the image the company’s marketers tweeted some 10 minutes after the power went out during the Super Bowl XLVII game on Feb 3, 2013. —AP noon, the image had been shared on Twitter more than 15,000 times. Tide followed suit with the slogan “we can’t get your blackout.

But we can get your stains out” with more limited success. The message was re-tweeted about 1,300 times. Calvin Klein, mean-

while, tweeted a video of a shirtless, chiseled male model doing crunches “since the lights are still out...”

Such “real-time marketing” is still in its infancy, but Williamson expects this to change, as more companies develop the ability to

respond to events immediately.”

“To do what Oreo did actually takes a lot of pre-planning,” she said. Laurie Guzzinati, spokeswoman for Oreo owner Mondelez said the power outage was a natural moment to engage consumers. The cookie’s TV ad had a planned social media component asking people to follow Oreo on Twitter and post photos on Instagram. The company had set up a “social media command center” that included people from Oreo’s brand team, the ad agency 360i and other partners whose job was to follow the Super Bowl and interact with fans on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere.

Mondelez likely spent the going rate of as much as $4 million on its Super Bowl television spot. But Guzzinati said the company didn’t pay Twitter anything for the “dunk in the dark” picture.

Still, Twitter says advertisers moved quickly following the outage. Matt McGee, editor-in-chief of the blog Marketing Land, counted 26 Twitter mentions in the 52 national spots that aired during the game. Facebook, meanwhile, got only four shoutouts, while Google Plus walked away with zero (though Google Inc.’s YouTube scored one men-

tion from Hyundai).

“When it comes to secondscreen advertising, it’s Twitter’s world now and there’s no close second place,” McGee wrote in a blog post late Sunday night. “Last year, brands split their focus on Twitter and Facebook with eight mentions each. This year, brands recognize that Twitter is where they need to try to attract the online conversation around one of the world’s biggest events.”

David Berkowitz, vice president of emerging media at 360i, which worked on the Oreo campaign, said Twitter has done a good job tying itself into major television events. “If you look at (Twitter’s) trending topics any day especially during prime time or major events, they’re heavily fueled by television,” he said. “So TV is responsible for Twitter’s growth in general.” He said Twitter has done a better job than other social media sites like Tumblr and Pinterest in proving it’s the place to be when it comes to talking about big events online. “A large part of it right now is just showing this is where the conversation is happening and building their brand around that,” he said. “Even with other very successful social media sites, no one is better at conversation than Twitter.” —AP

New BlackBerry to be released in US in March

EMC, Cisco team up at Cisco Connect RIYADH: EMC announced that it will participate at the Cisco Connect 2013 Saudi Arabia as a Platinum sponsor. The event which is held on 4th and 5th Feb 2013 at the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre, will once again see EMC partner with Cisco to bring the companies collaborative technology vision to Business Leaders and Technology Experts in the Kingdom. Considered to be Cisco’s premier flagship technology event, the Cisco Connect 2013 Saudi Arabia will see a range of experts from Cisco and EMC in addition to other leading technology providers’ discuss emerging trends and technologies that are transforming business and government operations throughout the nation.

Zaher Haydar, Regional Systems Engineering Manager, Turkey, Emerging Africa and Middle East, EMC will discuss the advent of the Software -Defined Data Center (SDDC) and highlight the many benefits and challenges in the transition from traditional data centers to a SoftwareDefined data center. Considered by many to be a truly revolutionary technology packed with the capabilities enterprises need in the cloud, a Software-Defined data center essentially frees the application lay-

er from the physical infrastructure layer allowing for greater application scalability and flexibility in a cloud environment.

Experts from EMC will also be on hand running EMC vLabs at the EMC stand to offer visitors the opportunity to leverage live demonstrations of latest EMC technologies such as the Storage Resource Management (SRM) Suite, EMC RecoverPoint, Data Protection Advisor (DPA) and Avamar for VMware, among many others.

The event comes as EMC and Cisco celebrate the success of the VCE joint venture that continues to lead the converged infrastructure market. VCE, formed by Cisco and EMC with investments from VMware and Intel, emerged as a leader in Gartner’s first report on the market for integrated infrastructure, reporting over 50 percent market share in Q2, 2012. VCE through Vblock Systems, provide an optimized information technology system that accelerates the adoption of converged infrastructure and cloud-based computing. The immense benefits of rapid deployment, higher performance and availability helped the demand for Vblock systems cross the one billion dollar mark in Q4, 2012.

TORONTO: The chief executive of Research In Motion said he’s disappointed the new BlackBerry won’t be released in the United States until midMarch, but he said early data suggests sales in the UK are above expectations. Thorsten Heins said in an interview Monday with AP that he was disappointed in the mid-March US release date. But he said the US and its phone carriers have a rigid testing system. “We need to respect that. Am I a bit disappointed? Yeah, I would be lying saying no. But it is what it is and we’re working with all our carrier partners to speed it up as much as we can,” Heins said in an interview at the Ritz Carlton in Toronto.

RIM unveiled new BlackBerrys last week after excruciating delays allowed Apple, Samsung and others to build commanding leads in the industry. The stock fell 12 percent after Wednesday’s kickoff, despite positive reviews about the new BlackBerry 10 operating system. There’s concern the phone isn’t coming out sooner after RIM announced a March US release date last week.

Heins told the AP that it will be mid-March.

The first device in the new crop of the muchdelayed revamped BlackBerrys will be the touchscreen Z10. Black and white versions were released in the UK last Thursday and were released in Canada yesterday. Heins said a substantial number of UK users are moving from other platforms to BlackBerry and said that’s an encouraging sign because they first targeted longtime BlackBerry users. “It’s beyond expectations,” Heins said. “White is sold out already. The black is hard to stock up again. It’s very encouraging. I won’t share the number because I need to verify it, but we are getting a substantial number of users moving from other platforms to BlackBerry. That is an interesting data point.”

Shares of RIM closed up 15 percent Monday on initial reports of strong UK sales and after an analyst upgraded the stock. Heins said they have to retake market share in the US for BlackBerry to be successful. The US has been one market in which RIM has been particularly hurting, even as the company is doing well in many places overseas. According to research firm IDC, shipments of BlackBerry phones plummeted from 46 percent of the US market in 2008 to 2 percent in 2012. The iPhone and Android now dominate.

Heins, who one year ago replaced longtime executives who had presided over BlackBerry’s fall, said he’s confident BlackBerry can become the third ecosystem behind Apple and phones running Google’s Android operating system. “We need to win back market share to be relevant,” Heins said. “We have to be aggressive in the US market.” The new BlackBerrys are a make-or-break product lineup after the pioneering brand lost its cachet not long after Apple’s 2007 release of the iPhone, which reset expectations for what a smartphone should do.

RIM promised a new system to catch up, using

technology it got through its 2010 purchase of QNX Software Systems. But it has taken more than two years to unveil new phones that are redesigned for the new multimedia, Internet browsing and apps experience that customers are now demanding. RIM initially said the new BlackBerry with the revamped software would come by early 2012, but then the company changed that to late 2012. A few months later, that date was pushed back further, to early 2013, missing the lucrative holiday season. The holdup helped wipe out more than $70 billion in shareholder wealth and 5,000 jobs.

As RIM previously disclosed, the first phone

NEW YORK: In this file photo dated Jan 30, 2013, Thorsten Heins, CEO of Research in Motion, introduces the BlackBerry Z10. —AP will have only a touch-screen keyboard, like Apple Inc’s trend-setting iPhone and most phones running Android, including Samsung Electronic Co’s popular Galaxy line. The Q10 will follow and will have a physical keyboard, a feature that has kept BlackBerry users loyal over the years because it makes typing easier. RIM said last week the Q10 will start going on sale on some global carriers in April, but didn’t say when US carriers will have it.

Heins told the AP it depends on the carriers, but said keyboard versions will likely be released eight to 10 weeks after a carrier releases the touch version. That could mean the Q10 keyboard version might not be released in the US until much later than mid-March or April. Some analysts have questioned RIM for releasing a touch version first considering its most loyal users love the physical keyboard for typing. Heins said the full touch screen was more complicated and they

Microsoft and Huawei team up for Africa push NEW YORK CITY: Microsoft announced yesterday it had teamed up with Chinese manufacturer Huawei to launch an affordable smartphone across Africa. “Microsoft and Huawei today introduced the Huawei 4Afrika phone, a full-functionality Windows Phone 8 preloaded with select applications designed for Africa, by Africans,” said Microsoft’s top executive for the Middle East and Africa, Ali Faramawy, on a corportate blog. While Africans have been enthusiastic adopters of mobile phones, the high cost of smartphones, which can run over $700, has kept penetration of the devices low.

Microsoft estimates that smartphone penetration in Africa is about 10 percent, while sales of the devices accounted for 45.5 percent of total mobile phone sales globally last year according to the IDC research firm.

Faramawy said the phones, which the New

York Times reported would be sold for around $150, would ensure Africans “affordable access to best-in-class technology, so they can access the information and tools they need to be active global citizens.

Huawei is known for building innovate and affordable phones, and the first in the series of 4Afrika phones will initially be available in Angola, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa. A separate blog posted on Microsoft’s website showed a picture of the device that resembles many current models with forward and rear-facing cameras. The internal memory and screen resolution are below high end models but the phone sports a fast processor and dual cameras.

Microsoft’s Faramawy said the 4Afrika Initiative initiative aimed to tens of millions of smartphones into the hands of Africans and

needed to focus on releasing that first. He has also acknowledged that RIM failed to quickly adapt to the emerging “bring your own device” trend, in which employees bring their personal touch-screen iPhones or Android devices to work instead of relying on BlackBerrys issued by their employers. Heins said they want to participate in that trend by releasing a touch version first.

Heins also addressed possible interest other companies might have in RIM should BlackBerry 10 prove successful and whether the Canadian government might block a foreign takeover. “The recognition for BlackBerry 10 and what we built is pretty high. We got good reviews,” he said.

bring a million small and medium-sized businesses online by 2016. The initiative could also prove a boost to WindowsPhone8 as the mobile operating system has had difficulty gaining traction in the market. Strategy Analytics said last month that 70 percent of smartphones shipped in the final quarter of 2012 used Google’s Android operating system, while 22 percent was accounted for by Apple iPhones running its iOS. Microsoft added it was partnering with Kenya’s communications ministry and Internet service provider Indigo Telecom to deliver low-cost, high-speed wireless broadband access across Kenya using solar-powered base stations. The New York Times cited another Microsoft executive, Fernando de Sousa, as saying its partner Nokia also plans to launch phones designed for the African market under the 4Afrika Initiative as well. —AFP

“That moves you into the middle of the radar screen so I expect some activity around it but we’ll look at it one by one. We’ll assess it and we’ll make decisions with the board on what make sense.”

Heins recently chatted with top Canadian government ministers, including the industry minister, at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“These guys are reasonable, rational people. At the end of the day it’s about employment, it’s about economic health, it’s about Canada playing a major role,” Heins said. “If the right logic and rational applies I don’t think they will just block it for their own sake. They could have done it with Nortel and the patents.” Several months ago RIM’s decline evoked memories of Nortel, a former Canadian tech giant, which declared bankruptcy in 2009 and was picked over for its patents. —AP

Online search ads expose racial bias SAN FRANCISCO: Ads pegged to Google search results can be racially biased because of how certain names are associated with blacks or whites, according to a new study.

Harvard University professor Latanya Sweeney found “statistically significant discrimination” when comparing ads served with results from online searches made using names associated with blacks and those with whites. The study contrasted online searches using names such as “Ebony” and “DeShawn”, with those such as “Jill” and “Geoffrey”.

Ads posted alongside search results for names likely to belong to blacks tended to suggest criminal activity with offers along the lines of background checks for arrests,

according to the study. Searches using white-sounding names prompted results with neutral ads, the Sweeney’s research indicated.

The findings raise “questions as to whether Google’s advertising technology exposes racial bias in society and how ad and search technology can develop to assure racial fairness,” Sweeney said in a blog post.

Advertisers bid on terms, or key words, with high bidders getting their ads posted alongside corresponding search results. Google defends the process as race-neutral, saying outcomes are driven by decisions by advertisers. The study dated last week was funded in part by the National Science Foundation and a grant from Google. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Meditation could solve PTSD: War veterans NEW YORK: US war veterans on Monday suggested meditation to help heal the post-war mental disturbances that afflict a growing number of American soldiers, including possibly the ex-Marine who gunned down the country ’s most famous sniper over the weekend.

Meditation might sound an unlikely activity for men trained in killing people and blowing things up in Afghanistan and Iraq. But Luke Jensen, a former undercover police officer who fell apart mentally on arrival in Afghanistan, said that after trying to commit suicide in front of his family, he agreed to try transcendental meditation-and was saved.

“There’s a lot of coping methods out there that are offered to our veterans.

This needs to be one of them,” the heftily built man said in a shaking voice at a meeting of the David Lynch Foundation, which promotes meditation for treating

post-traumatic stress disorder. Jensen said he has since taken a job in the government’s Department of Veterans Affairs, helping other stressed out vets.

Just two weeks ago, one of those he worked with committed suicide.

Transcendental meditation “needs to be implemented. It needs to be an option,” Jensen told the panel in New York. After years of being a little-talked about subject, PTSD is increasingly acknowledged as a mental health epidemic in the United States and one of the less easily quantifiable costs of America’s wars on the other side of the world.

The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that PTSD occurs in between 11 and 20 percent of veterans from the Afghan and Iraq wars, and in 31 percent of Vietnam war veterans.

Although combat is commonly

assumed to be the main cause of PTSD, simply witnessing the effects of bombings, for example, or the stress of being in a hostile country, are also blamed.

Another major source of PTSD, though less often discussed, is what the government calls military sexual trauma.

Veterans Affairs figures show that 23 percent of women report sexual assault in the ranks, while more than half have experienced sexual harassment. The most frightening result associated with PTSD is the rising number of suicides, which now run at 22 a day among military veterans, according to a government study released last week. And the problem is no less alarming among active duty soldiers, with a record 349 killing themselves in 2012 — more than were killed by the Taliban or other enemy in the field.

In the latest incident to highlight the

violence engulfing former soldiers, an ex-Marine in Texas was accused Saturday of shooting dead another veteran who had devoted himself to helping comrades adjust to peaceful life. Adding to the shock value, the victim, Chris Kyle, was an author of a best-selling book about his former exploits as a sniper with 150 confirmed kills.

In the effort to address the problem of PTSD, meditation is an outlier.

However, early studies show remarkable success, and demand is growing, advocates at filmmaker Lynch’s foundation said. Transcendental meditation involves entering “a state of rest in many cases deeper than sleep,” said Bob Roth, executive director of the David Lynch Foundation. “This allows deeply rooted stresses to be dissolved.” Retired rear admiral Richard Schneider, president of the private military institute Norwich

University, said tests showed that cadets using the techniques increased focus in class and were better “emotionally prepared.” The meditation instructor, a chisel-faced air force veteran called David Zobeck, said a stigma long attached to meditation was evaporating among students, who are preparing for careers as officers.

“They’re not getting the weird stares anymore,” he said. Jerry Yellin, a fighter pilot in World War II who spoke of losing comrades and making dangerous missions in the bloody Pacific theater, said he began suffering nightmares, then behavioral problems on return home at a time when PTSD was rarely discussed.

“The hard stuff began in my life, because I didn’t sleep,” he said. “I had an addiction that ruled my life.”

Meditating, he said, “got my life back 100 percent.” — AFP

Third world is awash in fake TB drugs: Study Sub-standard drugs lead to treatment-resistant TB strains

Couch potatoes have lower sperm counts PARIS: Men who watch television for 20 hours per week have almost half the sperm count of those who watch very little television or none at all, according to a study published on Tuesday.

US researchers recruited 189 young men aged between 18 to 22, questioned them about their exercise, diet and TV habits and asked them to provide a sperm sample.

Men in the top quarter of TV-watchersthose who watched for 20 hours or morehad a 44-percent lower sperm count than those who watched least, meaning they said they watched “none or almost none.”

Another big factor was exercise, according to the study, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Men who exercised for 15 or more hours weekly at a “moderate to vigorous” rate had a 73percent higher sperm count than those who exercised less than five hours per week.

None of the sperm levels was so low that the man would have been unable to

father a child.

Semen quality appears to have declined over several decades, according to studies conducted in several countries. It is unclear why this has happened but scientists suspect that sedentary lifestyles may warm the scrotum and affect semen concentrations. Physical inactivity has also been linked to increased levels of oxidative stress, in which rogue oxygen compounds degrade cells. Previous studies into physical activity and semen quality have focussed on elite athletes, such as professional marathon runners and cyclists. “We were able to examine a range of physical activity that is more relevant to men in the general population,” said Jorge Charravo, assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, Massachusetts. The study was limited by the relatively small number of volunteers and the fact that only a single sperm sample was provided, the authors acknowledged. — AFP

Jawbone adds muscle for fitness push SAN FRANCISCO: UP fitness wristband maker Jawbone announced the acquisition of a pair of young mobile app firms that add muscle to its push make smartphone lifestyles healthier.

The San Francisco firm behind popular wireless ear pieces and Jambox bluetooth speakers said that it bought Visere and Massive Health, but did not disclose financial terms of the deals. Visere’s products include “Unstuck” apps for Apple gadgets designed to help overcome inertia when it comes to making beneficial changes in their lives or tackling challenges.

Massive Health makes a free iPhone app intended to get people to improve diets by taking smartphone pictures of what they eat and getting crowd-sourced feedback about meal choices. “Both companies have shown a deep understanding of the intricacies of designing engaging products and experiences,” Jawbone chief executive Hosain Rahman said in a release. “Bringing in great minds from both Massive Health and Visere will help us to develop software that’s both simple and beautiful and build the very best integrated hardware, software, and data platforms in the world.”

Jawbone in November released

redesigned UP wristbands that combine fashion with smartphone lifestyles to help people along paths to improved fitness. UP applications for iPhones, iPad, and iPod touch devices were redesigned to let people more easily get pictures of activity, sleep, eating, and even their moods on any given day or over time. Jawbone crafted the power-efficient wristbands to look like jewelry to be style statements as well as a fitness tools. New UP wristbands debuted in the United States with a $129 price tag nearly a year after original models were pulled from the market due to problems caused by moisture fouling up electronics in the “wearable computers.” Portlandbased Visere collaborated with Jawbone on the UP application. Engineers from Visere and Massive Health, which is headquartered in San Francisco, will join Jawbone’s team. “Our union with Jawbone marks a major step toward revolutionizing the way the world thinks about health,” said Massive Health founder Aza Raskin. “Jawbone is leading the industry in product experience around mainstream consumer health, and we’re looking forward to working with the team to develop the next generation of beautiful experiences.” — AFP

PARIS: Africa, India and other developing countries are awash in fake or sub-standard drugs for tuberculosis, fuelling the rise of treatment-resistant strains of TB, according to a survey published yesterday. Investigators in the United States asked local people in 19 cities in 17 countries to purchase isoniazid and rifampicin, the frontline antibiotics for TB, from a private-sector pharmacy.

The samples were then examined by chromatography, a technique that detects chemical signature, for their active ingredient. They were also tested for disintegration, to see if they properly broke up in water at body temperature within 30 minutes.

Out of 713 samples, 9.1 percent failed these basic quality control tests, according to the probe, published in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.

Around half of the failed samples had zero active ingredients, “making them likely to contribute to drug resistance,” it said. Resistance to TB drugs develops when treatment fails to kill the bacteria that causes it-either because the patient fails to follow their prescribed dosages or, as in this case, the drug doesn’t work.

It can also be contracted through rare forms of the disease that are directly transmissible from person to person. Dud drugs were manufactured by legitimate companies and criminal fraudsters, said the report. The pharmacies where the drugs were purchased were in Luanda, Angola; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Beijing, China;

Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo; Cairo, Egypt; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Accra, Ghana; Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata, India; Nairobi, Kenya; Lagos, Nigeria; Moscow, Russia; Kigali, Rwanda; Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania; Bangkok, Thailand; Istanbul, Turkey; Kampala, Uganda; and Lusaka, Zambia.

The failure rate was 16.6 percent in Africa, 10.1 percent in India and 3.9 percent in Brazil, China, Thailand, Turkey and Russia. Nearly nine

Scientists ‘print’ 3D object with stem cells PARIS: Scientists said that for the first time they had printed 3D objects using human embryonic stem cells, furthering the quest to fabricate transplantable organs.

Once fine-tuned, the technology should allow scientists to make three-dimensional human tissue in the lab, eliminating the need for organ donation or testing on animals, they reported. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can replicate indefinitely and become almost any type of cell in the human body. They are touted as a source of replacement tissue, fixing nearly anything from malfunctioning hearts and lungs, to damaged spines, Parkinson’s disease or even baldness.

Scientists have previously tested 3D printing, which uses inkjet technology, with other types of cells, including adult stem cells. But until now hESCs, which are more versatile than mature ones, have proven too fragile. “This is a scientific development which we hope and believe will have immense valuable long-term implications for reliable, animal-free drug testing and in the longer term, to provide organs for transplant on demand,” said Jason King from British stem cell company Roslin Cellab, which took part in the work.

The team used a specially-designed “valve-based” printer that deposited a “bio ink” of liquid containing laboratory-cultivated hESCs. The cells are forced out with a tiny blast of air, and the flow is controlled by the opening and closing of a microvalve. “We are able to print millions of cells within minutes,” co-author Will Shu of the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, told AFP. “The printer is similar to the size of a standard desktop-size laser printer.” The living cells are printed onto a culture dish and left to aggregate together to form “what we call a spheroid, like... a little ball,” said Shu. Each spheroid was smaller than a millimetre. The study appears in Biofabrication, a journal published by Britain’s Institute of Physics (IOP).

The experiment was not designed to create anything but to demonstrate a method that did not damage the delicate cells. “Most importantly, the printed hESCs maintained their pluripotency-the ability to be differentiated into any other cell type,” the IOP said in a statement. Theoretically, the team can print any shape, but is not yet able to recreate a human organ, which needs a mesh of blood vessels. “The challenge for printing a whole organ is to have this vascular structure inside it to feed it, allowing the tissue to survive in the long term,” explained Shu. “We have our first step towards that.”

Another big hurdle is fine-tuning the science of instructing embryonic stem cells to become specific types of tissue. In the short term, said Shu, his team is seeking to print 3D liver tissue, which has one of the simplest of biological structures.

This could then be used for laboratory drug testing, “which would hopefully eliminate the use of animals,” he said. “I expect this technology can be realised in one or two years’ time.” One idea behind the search for replacement organs is to grow the cells using a patient’s own DNA to avert transplant rejection. But the sector has been dogged by objections over the use of early-stage embryos, where the most adaptable, or pluripotent, cells are found. — AFP

million people around the world have TB, including more than 400,000 with a multidrug-resistant form of the disease, according to estimates for 2011 compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO).

TB is one of the world’s deadliest diseases. It is spread from person to person through the air and usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body such as the brain and kidneys. — AFP

A tuberculosis patient being treated in a hospital in Cape Town.

Army seeks better mental health coordination JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington: Army leadership is looking to improve coordination among its mental health programs and other soldierresilience efforts, acknowledging Monday that a patchwork system of tools is often confusing for both commanders and soldiers.

Army Secretary John McHugh said he has asked Army officials to finish a plan for an overhaul in the next couple weeks. He hopes to improve processing times in the disability evaluation system, integrate “resilience” programs into the day-to-day training of soldiers and has the goal of lowering the incidence of suicide, sexual assault and substance abuse among soldiers.

He said there are already a variety of programs available to help soldiers. But he said there is widespread confusion about the available tools, so commanders are unaware of the benefits and programs.

That means soldiers aren’t getting matched up with the appropriate opportunities.

“Interventions are not coming as early as we would like to see them,” McHugh said. He also said the Army needs to work on eliminating the stigma associated with seeking help and wants soldiers to be able to encourage each other to seek aid during times of trouble.

McHugh’s effort, which is the product of a yearlong review of the Army’s mental

health system, was announced during his visit to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the home base of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who faces 16 counts of premeditated murder after prosecutors say he slipped away from his base in southern Afghanistan to kill civilians in two nearby villages.

While McHugh talked about his goals for remedying troubles in the mental health system, he declined to disclose the results of the yearlong investigation. He said the assessment came up with a variety of findings and recommendations but said he wasn’t ready to discuss the details publicly.

The system-wide review had sought to determine whether psychiatrists overturned diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder to save money.

Washington Sen. Patty Murray, who had pressed for the broad review of mental health matters, said she would like to see the Army study expanded to all branches of the military to ensure that personnel aren’t slipping through the cracks. “ We cannot allow those who have served or their loved ones to be dragged through a system that leaves them with more questions than answers,” Murray said in a statement. “We must provide a uniform approach to dealing with the lasting mental wounds of war if we are going to help stem the tide of military suicide and ensure that we are easing the transition home for those who serve.” —AP

A diver beside a three-metre Acropora hyacinthus (plate coral) infected with white syndrome as furry crabs off Lizard Island in Queensland. Furry crabs once thought to be damaging the Great Barrier Reef may in fact be helping save the world famous coral by stopping the spread of disease, a researcher said yesterday. Scientists at Australia’s James Cook University studied the impact of furry coral crabs on fragments suffering from white syndrome, a deadly disease which appears throughout the Indo-Pacific and causes coral tissue to disintegrate. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E Dar Al-Shifa Hospital appoints Dr Al-Saffar KUWAIT: Dar Al-Shifa Hospital recently appointed Dr Huda Al-Saffar as specialist Dermatologist to the Hospital medical team. Al-Saffar, which received her Bachelor degree of Medicine and Surgery from Kuwait University and her Masters of Science in Clinical Dermatology from the University of London, is the first Arab dermatologist to receive a fellowship in Psoriasis and Ethnic Skin.

Al-Saffar is an expert in procedural dermatology, psoriasis- a common skin condition that causes skin redness and irritation, ethnic skin, and safe cosmetic procedures.

Committing many years to education, Al-Saffar received her Master’s Degree in Hyperhidrosis, a condition

characterized by abnormally increased perspiration, in excess of that required for regulation of the

Specialist Dermatologist Dr Huda Al-Saffar

body temperature, from London. She also set a protocol for it. Completed her training in Internal Medicine at the University of British Columbia.

She is also a board member in the Canadian Board and American Board of Dermatology and received a mentorship award from Toronto Women’s College Hospital.

On this occasion, Dr Al-Saffar said: “It is a pleasure to become part of Dar Al-Shifa Hospital professional medical team. I look forward to bring my personal experiences and exposure to psoriasis and dermatology in general to the Hospital, where top healthcare providers and latest medical technologies meet patient requirements.

Vitamin C supplements tied to men’s kidney stones: Study

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en who take vitamin C supplements are at higher-than-average risk of developing kidney stones, according to a Swedish study of more than 22,000 men. “It has long been suspected that high doses of vitamin C may increase the risk of kidney stones as some of the vitamin C absorbed by the body is excreted in urine as oxalate, one of the key components of kidney stones,”

said lead researcher Laura Thomas at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.

Thomas and her team, whose findings appeared in JAMA Internal medicine, used data from a large study of middle-aged and elderly Swedish men who answered a series of questions on their diet and lifestyle, then were tracked for an average of 11 years.

The current analysis included 907 men who said they took regular vitamin C tablets and more than 22,000 who didn’t use any nutritional supplements. Of the vitamin C users, 3.4 percent developed kidney stones for the first time during the study, compared to 1.8 percent of non-supplement users. Men who took vitamin C supplements at least once a day had the highest risk of kidney stones. Stones are made up of tiny crystals, which can be formed by calcium combining with oxalate. They usually pass on their own, but can cause severe pain in the process, though larger stones occasionally require surgery.

The findings don’t prove that the vitamin itself triggers stones to form. But researchers said that because there are no clear benefits tied to taking highdose vitamin C, people who have had

stones in the past might want to think before taking extra supplements.

Men are more likely to develop stones than women. The findings don’t mean people shouldn’t get plenty of vitamin C through fruits and vegetables, since the antioxidant is important for bone and muscle health - and severe deficiency can cause scurvy. “Vitamin C is an important part of a healthy diet,” Thomas said.

“Any effect of vitamin C on kidney stone risk is likely to depend both on the dose and on the combination of nutrients with which it is ingested. Swedish supplements, like those the study participants would have taken, typically contain about 1,000 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C per tablet.

Most vitamin C supplements sold in the US contain either 500 or 1,000 mg.

Brian Matlaga, a urologist who studies kidney stones at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, said that more research is needed to determine for certain whether reasonable doses of vitamin C may increase the kidney stone risk. For now, people who haven’t had kidney stones before shouldn’t worry about related risks tied to the vitamin.— Reuters

After more than 55 days flying over Antarctica, NASA’s huge Super-TIGER scientific balloon has broken the record for the longest flight of its kind.

NASA balloon breaks longest flight record WASHINGTON: After more than 55 days flying over Antarctica, NASA’s huge Super-TIGER scientific balloon has broken the record for the longest flight of its kind, bringing back a wealth of data, the US space agency said.

The Super-TIGER balloon spent 55 days, one hour and 34 minutes aloft at an altitude of 127,000 feet (38,710 meters), beating the old record set in 2009 by just over a day.

It was gathering data on the high energy cosmic rays that hit the Earth from elsewhere in the galaxy.

That process included the use of a new tool to measure rare elements heavier than iron among the influx of rays. Scientists are looking to better understand where these high energy atoms come from and how they get so super-charged.

“This has been a very successful flight because of the long duration, which allowed us to detect large numbers of cosmic rays,” said principal investigator Bob Binns.NASA said the data will take up to two years to fully analyze.

The balloon’s long flight was aid-

ed by the South Pole’s wind patterns, which circulate counterclockwise, from east to west, in the stratosphere thousands of feet above the Earth’s surface.

That-plus the sparse population in the southernmost, frigid continent-make these long-duration, high-altitude flights possible, NASA said. “Scientific balloons give scientists the ability to gather critical science data for a long duration at a very low relative cost,” said Vernon Jones, NASA’s Balloon Program Scientist.— AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Tariq Al-Qallaf

Najla forum honors wheelchair fencing champion

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

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Najla Al-Naqqi

he Najla Al-Naqqi Forum hosted an event yesterday to honor Kuwaiti wheelchair fencing champion Tariq AlQallaf for winning three gold medals in recent competitions held in the United States of America where he practiced in the sport professionally, as well as maintaining his position as number 1 in the world’s wheelchair fencing ranking. The event took place at the forum’s building in Salwa, block 2, the Masjid Al-Aqsa street, house 388.

Enjoy Hala February at Lu&Lu 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.

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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u&Lu Hypermarket, the regional retail major and lifestyle shopping destination, is participating in Kuwait’s annual Hala February Festival, with a spate of special promotions, exclusive offers, discount coupons and specific week-long festivals, during the month of February, 2013.

The festivals, which will be held at the Hypermarket’s Al-Rai and Al-Qurain outlets, will include both common promotions that will extend throughout the month-long celebrations and separate weekly festivals. According to the hypermarket’s management, during every day of the festival there will be a ‘product of the day’ offer, when one or more products will be offered at unbelievable prices.

In addition to a ‘Buy 2, Get 1 Free’ offer on garments, sarees, churidars and footwear, every week one specific brand will also hold extraordinary offers on their products along with in-store brand promotion activities. Furthermore, special activities promoting the Hala February spirit, exclusive one-time offers and discount coupons will be available throughout the festival period.

Customers can cut-out and present the discount coupons, printed on advertisement leaflets, to avail of special pricereductions on selected products.

Specific week-long festivals have also been arranged to highlight the four weeks of Hala February celebrations. The first festival, which was held on week-

one, was a ‘Fruit Festival’ when fruits from around the world were offered at astonishingly competitive prices. The second week will be dedicated to Dairy products, while week three will be themed ‘Lucky Week’. Along with the carpet festival that will be held during ‘Lucky Week’, the seven days of delight will also include many amazing offers. The climax fourth week of the festival will feature incredible special prices on digital products and toys for kids, as well as a unique ‘Spin & Win’ promotion.

This initiative, held under the label of ‘Enjoy Hala February with Lu&Lu’ is yet another indication of the Hypermarket’s commitment to always be an integral part of the community in Kuwait, and to join in celebrating the country’s special occasions and events. Lu&Lu Hypermarkets, which was voted as Number One among Middle-East retailers by the influential UK based retail magazine, The Grocer, has become the shopping destination of choice for discerning customers in the country that offers an ultra-modern shopping ambience integrating every conceivable need of consumers under one roof.

McDonald’s Kuwait awards winners of My McDonald’s Photography Competition

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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Kitchen Rock Band music itchen Rock’s Valentine program on February 15 at Asia Asia Royal Hall, AlWatiya Complex, Kuwait City, 7pm onwards. Enjoy the New Version band, Selda band and Freefall band.

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Kuwait Tamil Sangam to hold musical nite uwait Tamil Sangam is organising a ‘Mega Musical Nite’ on February 1, 2013 at the American International School, Maidan Hawally from 5 pm onwards. In this program KTS is hosting renowned singers Anuradha Sriram and Velmurugan accompanied by Robo Shankar and Priyadarshini. The Sri Raaj Melodies will provide orchestra.

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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

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cDonald’s Kuwait held an award ceremony on Sunday evening at the Corniche restaurant to award the winners of the My McDonald’s photography competition. The one-month competition that concluded on January 26 was a platform for the members of the community to display creativity and imagination by capturing what the McDonald’s brand means to them in a form of a picture. “We are really pleased with the number of amazing pictures that we had received. The participants showcased a great amount of creativity and demonstrated their passion for McDonald’s through the lens of their camera.”

Commentated George Khawam,

Marketing Director of McDonald’s Kuwait.

First to receive the prizes were the winners of the weekly smart phone competition, participants of the weekly competition were encouraged to take snapshots using their smart phones of their favorite part of their McDonald’s experience; be it the interior or exterior of McDonald’s 68 branches, their family time experience at McDonald’s, or the vast range of products.

Every week three winners were chosen by the public based on the cumulative votes that they received on the McDonald’s Arabia Instagram and Facebook pages. All winners received the brand new D5200 Nikon DSLR cameras. Winners of weekly smart phone competition were Zahraa

Hussain Abdal, Yaaqub Yousef Alouli, Abdul Samad Abdul Majid Butt Riyaz, Archimedes H Ricafort, Haya Marjan Abdullah Faraj, Kawthar Hussain Abdal, Abdul Qadeer Sarwar, Lovelily David and Noura Khalifa Al-Asfour.

The next category was the digital cameras judged by the prominent Kuwaiti photographers, Abdul Aziz Al-Asousi, Majed Al-Zaabi and Faisal Al-Bisher. The pictures were judged on creativity and originality, perspective and angle of the picture and basic photography compositions and techniques. The grand prize of KD 2,000, the largest monetary value that has ever been awarded in a photography competition in Kuwait was won by

Mohammed Al-Sultan. Yousef Al-Qallaf came second and was awarded KD 1,000 and Abdulla Ebrahim Malallah and Fahad Al-Robah were tied for third place and awarded with the prize of KD 500 each.

Khawam further stated “At McDonald’s we abide by the Blue Ribbon Protocol, which is a legal and control process to ensure promotion fairness. For that reason we turned to the expertise of some of Kuwait’s well known photographers and sourced them as third party judges. We want to thank the judges for their hard work and dedication and also the participants who took part in the competition and allowed us to get a glimpse of what McDonald’s means to them”.

Bhavans bags ASSE rolling trophy

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ducating people on the need for sustainable development and the need for better safety measures, sensitizing tomorrow’s generation about their duties and responsibilities towards Mother Earth have evidently become the need of the hour. Indian Educational School, Bhavans, hosted the Home Safety Environment Week, the outreach activity of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), in their initiative to respect the society and took as always active participation in a series of competitions. Seven Indian Schools in Kuwait took part in the two day program organized by the ASSE for inculcating awareness among the young minds on the importance of safety and healthy livingThe Indian English Academy, The Indian Central School, The Indian Community School, Khaitan, Indian Learner’s Own Academy, Gulf Indian School and the host school.

The Home Safety Environment Week organized by the American Society of Safety Engineers, ASSE included activities like poster making on home and road safety, protecting mother earth, elocution, quiz, essay writing and expo on sustainable development, best out of waste and so on and so forth. The key note address was delivered by Vasudevan, the president of ASSE and then the program for the day began. Students marveled in expressing their thoughts in the series of competitions and it undoubtedly left the audience speculating on the need for safety. It was a rare

moment for the educators of various schools to feel contented, having done something for the world by molding good individuals, most befitting to be the leaders of tomorrow.

In the felicitation ceremony, the ASSE team accorded mementos and certificates to the winners and the participants. The auditorium reverberated with roaring plaudits when the coveted ever rolling trophy was presented to IES, Bhavans who scored maximum points in the 4 events that were held. The student volunteers of Bhavans were also accorded special certificates for holding the reins of the two day program at Bhavans, from the registration to the prize distribution ceremony. Principal T Premkumar expressed his happiness in being a part of the community outreach activities of the ASSE and pledged consistent support to the team in the years to come.

The ASSE -Kuwait chapter secretary Sampath Reddy expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the Bhavans management and eulogized Principal, T Premkumar for his hospitality and support in organizing an event of such magnitude and for ensuring smooth conduct of the competitions.

Reddy also expressed his appreciation to the student volunteers of grades 9 and 10 who anchored the program and managed the on stage and off stage activities exhibiting their leadership qualities. “We have not inherited the earth from our forefathers we have borrowed it from our chil-

dren” ASSE with its outreach activities especially involving schools and students has indubitably taken the right step in making

the younger generation aware of what they can reciprocate while living on this beautiful earth.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Engineering Residential Sales Team recognized for record sales in 2012

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he Engineering Group’s Residential Sales Team is proud to announce that December was their highest grossing month in 2012. In order to recognize and celebrate this amazing achievement, Engineering Group held an appreciation luncheon event for the Residential Sales Team on Thursday, January 10, 2013 at Burj Al-Hamam restaurant.

The Residential sales team was joined by Ahmad Hammoud, VP Engineered Products and Samer Berekdar, GGM - Engineering Group. During the event, Tariq Tolba, Senior Manager Residential Sales, distributed prizes to the highest performing sales representatives. The event concluded with a pleasant vote of thanks from Samer Berekdar to each and every employee. He appreciated the effort made by the entire Residential Sales Team and wished them better and brighter results for 2013.

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department.

All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

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Caesars Travel Group opens exclusive Cox & Kings office

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aesars Travel Group recently announced the expansion of its operations with the opening of its exclusive office for Cox & Kings in Kuwait City. “Over the last few years, Kuwait has been experiencing an economic and development boom, in spite of the fluctuating global economic conditions. In view of this growth, Caesars Travel is continuously making infrastructural investments across the country in a bid to meet our passenger’s needs. By opening a dedicated set-up for Cox & Kings, our valued passengers can have easy accessto book their holidays in a comfortable ambience,” said PNJ Kumar, CEO of Caesars Travel Group.

“By opening an exclusive office for Cox & Kings in Kuwait City, we want to ensure that we can concentrate more on providing high-quality services to our customers, and spendingextra time with them, by using our state-of-art facilities to experience the C&K packages offered by us. Moreover, Cox & Kings offers best deals on tour packages, specialized in luxury tours and tailor-made holiday packages around the globe. Tours designed by Cox & Kings provide value for money to travelers without compromising on sightseeing and basic holiday needs. Their professional and experienced Tour Managers take care of all your needs while on tour,” Kumar added.

“Cox & Kings since its inception in

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.

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EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, Al-Salaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com.

Bibin Suresh Kuwaithas gained the reputation of being one of the most reliable tour operators in the country. Kuwait is fast becoming a new platform for passengers looking for holidays and Cox & Kings, with their attractive and cost conscious itineraries to the entire tourist destinations in the world has made them a reliable tour operator. With Cox & Kings Tours, all you have to do is to decide where you want to go for a vacation and we will take care of every other tedious detail. We have a number of

unique services to put you completely at ease. Our international network will ensure that no matter where you are in the world, you will always get the best of services” said Bibin Suresh, Marketing Manager of Cox & Kings under Caesars Travel Group in Kuwait.

Best Deals on European Holidays from Cox & Kings Cox & Kings Ltd the longest established travel company in the world since 1758 presents European Tours starting from $999 per person.

The offer, valid till February 22 included free stay for a child and free goodies worth up to $400 and loads of discount on varied products.

The new office of Cox & Kings is located at Abdulla Al-Mubarak Street (opposite Science Museum at Mirqab), AlNafisi Building (Ground Floor), headed

by MBibin Suresh, one of the seniormost employees of the Caesars Travel Group dealing with holiday packages and his team.

KDNA medical seminar

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ozhikode District NRI Association (KDNA) is organizing a medical seminar titled ‘Pain in Human bodies’ on February 8, 2013 at Indian Community School, Khaitan Branch at 5.30 pm. Well-known Functional Neurosurgeon Dr Ramnarayan, M.Ch (neurosurgeon), FRCS, Functional Fellowship (UK) will be presenting the topic. Private consultation with the Doctor will be available on prior registration.

The Odd Couple at AUK

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he Drama Program at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) presented its production of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, performed at The Black Box Theatre on AUK’s Salmiya campus. Simon’s comedy was directed by AUK’s new Assistant Professor of Drama, Dr Kathleen R Downs, under the auspice of the newly formed Music and Drama Department. It included such veteran AUK actors as Nader Abdullah and Yousef Nayef. Newcomers to the

University’s theatre community include Eamon Issa, Amran Aldallal, Yacoub Aljaffrey, Ken Downs, Nouf Al-Mazidi, and Tori Danner. The production crew included stage manager Nouf Al-Mazidi and assistant stage manager and acting understudy Mohammed Al-Saeed, with Mariam Al-Refai on costumes and Mohammad Saleh manning the light and sound boards.

The company met nightly for close to two months as they diligently learned lines,

rehearsed movement and improvised comedic situations to delight audiences of all ages. The play was performed before a sold out house on three of the four nights of the show. Despite limited space, the troupe ably performed comedic gags and slapstick routines as they struggled with the question of whether two completely opposite roommates could live amicably together.

The story of the two roommates, Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar, has been per-

formed all over the world since the original 1965 production. It also has been made into two television series, a cartoon series and a movie. AUK is proud to have continued the saga of the two mismatched roommates, who not only survive each other but learn to grow and develop as a result of their friendship. The AUK community looks forward to the next theatrical event, planned for the Spring semester of 2013. The Department of Music and Drama offers a

wide range of opportunities for both beginning and advanced students within the context of a liberal arts education. The Music and Drama faculty of talented professionals work closely with students to prepare them for campus concerts and plays, and to academically challenge them in courses on performing arts. The department fosters artistic proficiency, cultural appreciation, a sense of community, and a lifelong commitment to the arts.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

00:50 Animal Cops Phoenix 01:45 Running With Wolves 02:35 I’m Alive 03:25 Wildest Africa 04:15 Wildlife SOS 05:05 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 05:55 Call Of The Wildman 06:20 Animal Battlegrounds 06:45 Shamwari: A Wild Life 07:35 Wildlife SOS 08:00 The Really Wild Show 08:25 My Cat From Hell 09:15 Cats 101 10:10 Animal Airport 11:05 Wildest Africa 12:00 Animal Cops Phoenix 12:55 Call Of The Wildman 13:20 Wildlife SOS 14:45 Animal Precinct 15:40 Wildest Africa 16:30 Animal Battlegrounds 17:00 The Really Wild Show 17:30 Dogs 101: Specials 18:25 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 19:20 Breed All About It 20:15 Bondi Vet 20:40 Safari Vet School 21:10 Call Of The Wildman 21:35 Animal Battlegrounds 22:05 Wildest Africa

00:00 Homes Under The Hammer 00:50 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 02:10 Come Dine With Me 02:55 Holmes On Homes 03:45 MasterChef 04:35 Bargain Hunt 05:20 Living In The Sun 06:10 House Swap 06:55 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 07:20 Indian Food Made Easy 08:15 Homes Under The Hammer 09:05 Bargain Hunt 09:50 Antiques Roadshow 10:45 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 12:05 MasterChef 13:00 Come Dine With Me 13:45 Baking Made Easy 14:15 10 Years Younger 15:05 Bargain Hunt 15:50 Antiques Roadshow 16:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 18:00 Homes Under The Hammer 18:50 Home Cooking Made Easy 19:45 Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes 20:35 Come Dine With Me 21:30 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 22:15 Antiques Roadshow 23:10 Bargain Hunt

00:00 00:30 00:45 01:00 01:30 01:45 02:00 02:30 02:45 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 04:45 05:30 05:45 06:30 06:45 07:30 07:45 08:30 09:00 09:30 09:45 10:00 11:00 12:00

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 Hardtalk BBC World News World Business Report BBC World News World Business Report BBC World News World Business Report BBC World News World Business Report BBC World News Hardtalk BBC World News World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News GMT With George Alagiah Impact With Mishal Husain

12:30 Impact With Mishal Husain 13:30 Hardtalk 14:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 BBC World News 16:30 BBC Focus On Africa 17:00 BBC World News 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 19:30 World Business Report 19:45 Sport Today 20:00 Business Edition With Tanya Beckett 20:30 Hardtalk 21:00 BBC World News America 22:00 Newsday 22:30 Asia Business Report 22:45 Sport Today

00:05 Taz-Mania 00:30 Pink Panther And Pals 00:55 Moomins 01:20 Tom & Jerry Kids 01:45 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 02:10 Puppy In My Pocket 02:35 Wacky Races 03:00 Looney Tunes 03:25 Duck Dodgers 03:50 Dastardly And Muttley 04:00 Dexter’s Laboratory 04:30 Wacky Races 04:55 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 05:20 Tom & Jerry 05:45 The Garfield Show 06:00 Bananas In Pyjamas 06:25 Gerald McBoing Boing 06:45 Jelly Jamm 07:00 Ha Ha Hairies 07:25 Baby Looney Tunes 07:50 Lazy Town 08:15 Krypto The Superdog 08:40 Jelly Jamm 09:05 Gerald McBoing Boing 09:30 Cartoonito Tales 09:55 Bananas In Pyjamas 10:20 Ha Ha Hairies 10:45 Lazy Town 11:10 Krypto The Superdog 11:35 Baby Looney Tunes 12:00 Jelly Jamm 12:25 Gerald McBoing Boing 12:50 Cartoonito Tales 13:15 Krypto The Superdog 13:40 Lazy Town 14:00 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 14:25 Tom And Jerry Tales 14:50 Sylvester And Tweety Mysteries 15:20 Johnny Bravo 15:45 Tom & Jerry 16:10 Pink Panther And Pals 16:35 The Garfield Show 17:00 What’s New Scooby-Doo? 17:25 Sylvester And Tweety Mysteries 17:50 Tom And Jerry Tales 18:15 The Looney Tunes Show 18:40 Taz-Mania 19:05 Moomins 19:30 Pink Panther & Pals 19:45 The Garfield Show 20:00 Sylvester And Tweety Mysteries 20:20 Tom And Jerry Tales 20:45 Moomins 21:10 Dexters Laboratory

00:40 Chowder 01:30 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 02:20 Foster’s Home For...

03:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 04:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 04:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:50 Adventure Time 05:15 The Powerpuff Girls 05:40 Generator Rex 06:05 Ben 10 06:55 Angelo Rules 07:00 Casper’s Scare School 08:00 Mucha Lucha 08:25 Johnny Test 08:45 Adventure Time

09:05 Total Drama Action 09:55 Ben 10: Omniverse 10:20 Young Justice 10:45 Thundercats 11:10 Regular Show 12:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 12:50 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 Transformers Prime 17:40 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 20:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 21:20 Hero 108 21:45 Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge 22:10 Grim Adventures Of...

23:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:50 The Powerpuff Girls

00:15 01:10 02:05 03:00 03:55 04:20 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 11:50 12:45 13:40 14:35 15:05 16:00 16:55 17:50 18:45 19:40 20:05

00:10 00:35 01:25 02:15 03:05 03:55 04:45 05:35 06:00 06:15 06:40 07:05 07:30 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 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:45 15:50

Flying Wild Alaska Man, Woman, Wild Ultimate Survival Mythbusters Border Security Auction Kings How Do They Do It? How It’s Made American Guns Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Finding Bigfoot Border Security Auction Kings Auction Kings How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Flying Wild Alaska Man, Woman, Wild Ultimate Survival Border Security Auction Kings Unchained Reaction Finding Bigfoot Mythbusters American Guns How Do They Do It? How It’s Made

Hannah Montana Forever Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements 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 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 Suite Life On Deck My Babysitter’s A Vampire Shake It Up Minnie And You Austin And Ally

16:15 16:40 17:00 17:25 17:30 17:55 18:20 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05

Jessie A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Minnie And You Gravity Falls Suite Life On Deck Austin And Ally Phineas And Ferb A.N.T Farm Good Luck Charlie Jessie That’s So Raven Cory In The House Phil Of The Future Hannah Montana Good Luck Charlie

00:20 Little Einsteins 00:50 Special Agent Oso 01:15 Lazytown 01:40 Jungle Junction 02:10 Handy Manny 02:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 03:00 Lazytown 03:25 Special Agent Oso 03:50 Imagination Movers 04:20 Handy Manny 04:40 Special Agent Oso 05:00 Timmy Time 05:10 Lazytown 05:35 Little Einsteins 06:00 Jungle Junction 06:30 Little Einsteins 06:50 Special Agent Oso 07:15 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 10:05 Zou 10:35 Doc McStuffins 11:00 Lilo And Stitch 11:30 Cars Toons 11:35 Timmy Time 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 Zou 14:40 Timmy Time 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 Lilo And Stitch 16:55 Zou 17:10 Zou 17:20 Handy Manny 17:35 The Hive 17:45 Lilo And Stitch 18:10 Doc McStuffins 18:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 19:10 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 19:35 Zou 19:50 Zou 20:05 Timmy Time 20:15 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 20:25 Doc McStuffins 20:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 21:10 Zou 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 23:30 Jungle Junction 23:45 Handy Manny

00:00 Programmes Start At 7:00am KSA 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 Rekkit Rabbit 11:35 Rated A For Awesome 12:00 Iron Man Armored Adventures 12:25 American Dragon 12:50 Kick Buttowski 13:20 Pair Of Kings 13:45 Zeke & Luther 14:10 Kick Buttowski 14:35 I’m In The Band 15:00 Phineas And Ferb 15:25 Kickin It 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 Rekkit Rabbit 22:10 Phineas And Ferb 22:35 Ultimate Spider-Man 23:05 Kick Buttowski 23:30 Scaredy Squirrel

KULL THE CONQUEROR ON OSN ACTION HD

00:00 00:55 01:25 03:15 03:40 04:10 05:05 07:50 08:20 10:15 12:05 12:35

Scouted Style Star Too Young To Kill Behind The Scenes Extreme Close-Up E!es THS Behind The Scenes Opening Act THS Khloe And Lamar Khloe And Lamar

13:05 Married To Jonas 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 THS 16:30 Behind The Scenes 17:00 Giuliana & Bill 18:00 E! News 19:00 Fashion Police 20:00 E!es 21:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 22:00 Ice Loves Coco 22:30 E! News 23:30 Chelsea Lately

00:15 Guy’s Big Bite 00:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:30 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 02:20 Unwrapped 02:45 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:35 Guy’s Big Bite 04:00 Guy’s Big Bite 04:20 Kid In A Candy Store 04:50 Unique Sweets 05:15 Charly’s Cake Angels 05:40 Chopped 06:30 Iron Chef America 07:10 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 Easy Chinese: San Francisco 11:45 Easy Chinese 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 Easy Chinese: San Francisco 15:55 Easy Chinese 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 18:50 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 Chopped 22:10 Iron Chef America 23:00 Charly’s Cake Angels 23:25 Charly’s Cake Angels

00:40 01:30 02:20 03:05 03:55 04:45 05:30 06:20 07:10 08:00 08:50 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 Jones 20:30 21:20 22:10 23:00

I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghost Lab Deadly Affairs Deadly Women I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghost Lab Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis 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?

Disappeared Murder Shift Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill American Greed

00:15 Kimchi Chronicles 00:45 Around The World For Free 01:40 A World Apart 02:35 Long Way Down 03:30 Banged Up Abroad 04:25 City Chase: Argentina 05:20 A World Apart 06:15 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 06:40 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 07:10 Exploring The Vine 07:35 Kimchi Chronicles 08:05 Around The World For Free 09:00 A World Apart 09:55 Long Way Down 10:50 Banged Up Abroad 11:45 City Chase: Argentina 12:40 A World Apart 13:35 David Rocco‚Äôs Dolce Vita 3 14:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:30 Exploring The Vine 14:55 Kimchi Chronicles 15:25 Around The World For Free 16:20 A World Apart 17:15 Long Way Down 18:10 Banged Up Abroad 19:05 City Chase: Argentina 20:00 Exploring The Vine 20:30 Kimchi Chronicles 21:00 David Rocco‚Äôs Dolce Vita 3 21:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 22:00 A World Apart 22:55 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 23:20 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet

NAT GEO WILD HD 00:00 Animal Underworld 01:00 Search For The Giant Octopus 01:55 Wild Mississippi 02:50 Dangerous Encounters 03:45 World’s Deadliest Animals 04:40 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 05:35 The Real Serengeti 06:30 Wild Mississippi 07:25 Dangerous Encounters 08:20 World’s Deadliest Animals 09:15 I, Predator

RISING STARS ON OSN MOVIES HD 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00

That Shouldn’t Fly Hunter Hunted Monster Fish Triumph of Life Dangerous Encounters World’s Deadliest Animals I, Predator

01:45 13 Assassins-18 04:00 Warriors Of Heaven And Earth-PG15 06:00 Kull The Conqueror-PG15 08:00 Goal!-PG15 10:00 Boiler Room-PG15 12:00 Tomorrow, When The War Began-PG15 14:00 Goal!-PG15 16:00 Transporter 2-PG15 18:00 Tomorrow, When The War Began-PG15 20:00 Alien-18 22:00 Hustle And Flow-18

01:00 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2-PG 03:00 Sammy’s Adventure: The Secret Passage-FAM 05:00 Kung Fu Dunk-PG15 07:00 Little Big Soldier-PG15 09:00 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2-PG 11:00 Footloose-PG15 13:00 Ghost Machine-PG15 15:00 Golden Christmas 3-PG15 17:00 The Decoy Bride-PG15 19:00 Win Win-PG15 21:00 The Devil Inside-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The League 02:00 American Dad 02:30 Entourage 03:00 New Girl 03:30 Raising Hope 04:00 Less Than Perfect 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Til Death 06:00 Seinfeld 06:30 Hope & Faith 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Less Than Perfect 08:30 New Girl 09:00 Til Death 09:30 How I Met Your Mother 10:00 Hot In Cleveland 10:30 Hope & Faith 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Seinfeld 12:30 Less Than Perfect 13:00 Til Death 13:30 Hope & Faith 14:00 Raising Hope 14:30 Hot In Cleveland 15:00 How I Met Your Mother 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 New Girl 18:30 Raising Hope 19:00 Allen Gregory 19:30 The Mindy Project 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00

Homeland World Without End In Plain Sight Six Feet Under Good Morning America The Bachelor Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show House The Bachelor In Plain Sight Jane By Design Live Good Morning America The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street The Finder Franklin & Bash

01:45 13 Assassins-18 04:00 Warriors Of Heaven And Earth-PG15 06:00 Kull The Conqueror-PG15 08:00 Goal!-PG15 10:00 Boiler Room-PG15 12:00 Tomorrow, When The War Began-PG15 14:00 Goal!-PG15 16:00 Transporter 2-PG15 18:00 Tomorrow, When The War Began-PG15 20:00 Alien-18 22:00 Hustle And Flow-18

02:00 04:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00

Tamara Drewe-18 It Could Happen To You-PG Cheaper By The Dozen 2-PG Good Boy!-PG It Could Happen To You-PG Little Shop Of Horrors-PG15 Good Boy!-PG Beware The Gonzo-PG15 Take Me Home Tonight-18

01:00 Bloodworth-18 03:00 An Officer And A Gentleman 05:00 Ducoboo-PG15 07:00 Backwash-PG15 09:00 Le Divorce-PG15 11:00 The Conspirator-PG15 13:00 Life In A Day-PG15 15:00 Le Divorce-PG15 17:00 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter-PG15 19:00 Witness-PG15 21:00 Terms Of Endearment-PG15 23:15 Ripley’s Game-PG15

00:45 Another Earth-PG15 02:30 Hop-PG 04:15 Michael Jackson: The Life Of An Icon-PG15 07:00 The Conspirator-PG15 09:00 Rising Stars-PG15 11:00 A Dog Named Duke-PG15 13:00 Call Of The Wild-PG15 15:00 Happy Feet Two-PG 17:00 Rising Stars-PG15 19:00 Something Borrowed-PG15 21:00 The Devil Inside-18 23:00 The American-18

01:00 Emilie Jolie-PG 02:45 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins-FAM 04:15 Ploddy Police Car-FAM 06:00 The Proud Family Movie-FAM 08:00 Turtle Hero: Part I-FAM 10:00 Treasure Buddies-PG 11:45 Return To Halloweentown-PG 13:30 The Ugly Duckling Goes On Holiday-FAM 14:45 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins-FAM 16:00 The Wild Thornberrys MoviePG 18:00 Treasure Buddies-PG 20:00 Rio-FAM 22:00 The Ugly Duckling Goes On Holiday-FAM 23:30 Turtle Hero: Part I-FAM

00:00 Super League 01:45 European PGA Tour 06:15 Live Cricket One Day International 14:15 Futbol Mundial 14:45 Super League 16:45 Rugby Union 18:30 European PGA Tour Highlights 19:30 PGA Tour Highlights 20:30 European Tour Weekly 21:00 Inside The PGA Tour 21:30 Trans World Sport 22:30 Anglo Welsh Cup

00:00 01:00 01:30 03:30 05:30

UFC The Ultimate Fighter City Centre Races Rugby Union Rugby Union Futbol Mundial

06:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 07:00 Trans World Sport 08:00 Dubai World Cup Carnival 12:30 City Centre Races 14:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 15:00 PGA Tour Highlights 16:00 ODI Cricket 23:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 23:30 Trans World Sport

00:00 World Cup of Pool 01:00 Dubai World Cup Carnival 05:30 Top 14 Highlight 06:00 Golfing World 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 European PGA Tour Highlights 09:00 World Pool Masters 10:00 World Cup of Pool 11:00 Rugby Union 13:00 Top 14 Highlight 13:30 Golfing World 14:30 World Pool Masters 15:30 World Cup of Pool 16:30 Anglo Welsh Cup 18:30 Rugby Union 21:30 European PGA Tour Highlights 22:30 Spirit of a Champion 23:00 World Pool Masters

00:00 WWE Bottom Line 01:00 NHL 03:00 Ping Pong World Championships 04:00 US Bass Fishing 05:00 NHL 07:00 WWE Vintage Collection 08:00 WWE NXT 09:00 Ping Pong World Championships 10:00 US Bass Fishing 11:00 NHL 13:00 WWE SmackDown 15:00 WWE Vintage Collection 16:00 UAE National Race Day Series 17:00 V8 Supercars Highlights 19:00 UFC TUF 20:00 UFC 156 Prelims 22:00 UFC 156

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 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

American Pickers Pawn Stars Storage Wars Soviet Storm: WWII In The East Storage Wars Unlocked American Pickers Seeking Salvage 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 Storage Wars Unlocked American Pickers Pawn Stars American Restoration Seeking Salvage Storage Wars Unlocked American Pickers Pawn Stars American Restoration Seeking Salvage Pawn Stars Storage Wars Soviet Storm: WWII In The East Ancient Aliens

01:20 Old Acquaintance-FAM 03:10 The Formula 05:05 The Man Who Came To Dinner-FAM 06:55 TCM Presents Under...-U 08:00 At The Circus-FAM 09:30 Show Boat-U 11:20 Ben-Hur-PG 14:45 Old Acquaintance-FAM 16:35 The Man Who Came To Dinner-FAM 18:25 Ice Station Zebra-FAM

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Kuwait

FOR SALE

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (31/02/2013 TO 06/02/2013) 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

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

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

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 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

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

360º- 1 WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) WARM BODIES (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM 1:15 AM

360 º- 2 THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) THE LAST STAND (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.1 HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS

1:45 PM

3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS NO SUN+TUE+WED

3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

BAIRAQ-1 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 7:15 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM

PLAZA 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) ONGOLE GITHA (DIG) (TELUGU) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO FRI ONGOLE GITHA (DIG) (TELUGU) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO FRI

3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:45 PM 9:30 PM 11:00 PM

LAILA HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS LINCOLN (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS

3:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM

AJIAL.1 DAVID (DIG) (TAMIL) NO THU RACE 2 (DIG) (HINDI) THU DAVID (DIG) (TAMIL) NO THU RACE 2 (DIG) (HINDI) THU DAVID (DIG) (TAMIL) NO THU RACE 2 (DIG) (HINDI) THU

4:00 PM 4:00 PM

2009 Hyundai Sonata, single use, white color, excellent condition, agency maintained, 37,000 km only, still under warranty, expecting price KD 3,000, negotiable. Contact: 97182559.

6-2-2013 Toyota Camry V6, model 2004, km 217,000, KD 2,100.

Tel: 99084420, 55037878.

(C 4299) Mitsubishi Pajero 2003, golden color, 6 cylinder, excellent condition, 187,000 km, price KD 1,850/-.

Contact: 50994848.

(C 4301) 5-2-2013

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

7:00 PM 7:00 PM

LOST

10:00 PM

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

10:00 PM

AJIAL.2 KADAL (DIG) (TAMIL) DAVID (DIG) (HINDI) NO THU KADAL (DIG) (TAMIL) THU KADAL (DIG) (TAMIL)

3:30 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM

AJIAL.3 ONGOLE GITHA (TELUGU) ONGOLE GITHA (TELUGU) ONGOLE GITHA (TELUGU)

3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM

AJIAL.4 KAMMATH & KAMMATH (DIG) (MALAYALAM) 3:45 PM KAMMATH & KAMMATH (DIG) (MALAYALAM) 6:45 PM KAMMATH & KAMMATH (DIG) (MALAYALAM) 9:45 PM METRO-1 KAMMATH & KAMMATH (DIG) (MALAYALAM) KAMMATH & KAMMATH (DIG) (MALAYALAM) KAMMATH & KAMMATH (DIG) (MALAYALAM) THU DAVID (DIG) (TAMIL) NO THU METRO-2 ONGOLE GITHA (DIG) (TELUGU) NO THU RACE 2 (DIG) (HINDI) THU ONGOLE GITHA (DIG) (TELUGU)

3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 9:30 PM

4:00 PM 4:00 PM 7:00 PM

SITUATION WANTED PhD holder (Malaysian citizen) with 12 years R&D experience seeking academic, research or consultancy positions in the area of IT/ Computer Engineering, Data Mining etc. Available for appointments between 2-15 Feb 2013. Call 97298545 for details. (C 4298) 4-2-2013 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, Mrs Angela Tito D/o Francisco Xavier Tito holder

of Indian Passport No: G9944134, has changed my name from Angela Tito to Angela Pinto. (C 4300) I, Mr Anthony Tito S/o Xavier Tito holder of Indian Passport No: Z2182382, has changed my name from Anthony Tito to Anthony Pinto. (C 4300) 5-2-2013

Prayer timings Fajr:

05:14

Shorook

06:35

Duhr:

12:02

Asr:

15:08

Maghrib:

17:30

Isha:

18:49

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JAI THY JZR JZR QTR ETH GFA UAE ETD OMA FDB MSR QTR DHX THY JZR JZR BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC ETD UAE KAC ABY QTR FDB ETD GFA BAB IRA JZR MEA KNE MSR IRM UAE KAC CLX IZG FDB IRC KAC SVA QTR JZR KAC

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 6/2/2013 Flt Route 574 MUMBAI 772 ISTANBUL 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 148 DOHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 643 MUSCAT 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 170 BAHRAIN 770 ISTANBUL 555 ALEXANDRIA 529 ASSIUT 157 LONDON 412 MANILA 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 933 ABU DHABI 855 DUBAI 344 CHENNAI 121 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 436 BAHRAIN 603 SHIRAZ 165 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 470 JEDDAH 610 CAIRO 1190 MASHAD 871 DUBAI 382 DELHI 792 LUXEMBOURG 4167 MASHAD 57 DUBAI 6692 MASHAD 672 DUBAI 500 JEDDAH 140 DOHA 561 SOHAG 788 JEDDAH

Time 0:05 0:35 0:45 0:50 1:00 1:45 1:50 2:35 2:45 2:50 3:05 3:10 3:45 5:15 5:30 6:00 6:35 6:40 6:45 7:40 7:45 7:55 8:05 8:30 8:40 8:40 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:55 10:05 10:40 11:20 11:55 12:15 12:45 12:50 12:50 12:55 13:15 13:30 13:50 14:10 14:10 14:30 14:35 14:50 14:55

KAC QTR KAC JZR IYE UAE JZR ETD RJA GFA SVA KNE JZR QTR ABY UAL KAC JZR KAC BAB FDB KAC MSC KAC KAC KAC KAC OMA FDB KAC JAI AXB MSR ABY ALK QTR MEA QTR GFA ETD UAE JZR FDB DHX KLM AIC JZR GFA JZR QTR UAL DLH

284 134 538 535 824 857 357 303 640 215 510 462 777 144 127 982 542 177 786 438 63 166 2405 618 102 674 774 647 61 614 572 389 606 129 229 146 402 136 221 307 859 135 59 372 417 975 239 217 185 6130 981 636

DHAKA DOHA SHARM EL SHEIKH CAIRO SANAA DUBAI MASHAD ABU DHABI AMMAN BAHRAIN RIYADH MEDINAH JEDDAH DOHA SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES CAIRO DUBAI JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI PARIS SOHAG DOHA NEW YORK DUBAI RIYADH MUSCAT DUBAI BAHRAIN MUMBAI MANGALORE LUXOR SHARJAH COLOMBO DOHA BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM CHENNAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI DOHA BAHRAIN FRANKFURT

15:10 15:30 16:05 16:25 16:30 16:40 16:45 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:45 17:45 17:50 17:55 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:30 18:40 18:45 19:10 19:15 19:20 19:35 19:35 19:50 19:55 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:20 20:25 20:35 20:55 21:00 21:20 21:25 21:30 21:35 21:40 21:50 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:30 22:45 22:50 23:05 23:25 23:25 23:55

Airlines AIC JAI UAL DLH KAC ETH THY KAC FDB UAE OMA ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR GFA THY KAC JZR FDB BAW JZR KAC KAC ABY UAE FDB KAC ETD QTR ETD GFA KAC JZR BAB KAC IRA JZR KAC MEA KAC KNE MSR JZR IRM UAE FDB CLX IZG

Departure Flights on Wednesday 6/2/2013 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON 637 FRANKFURT 283 DHAKA 621 ADDIS ABABA 773 ISTANBUL 381 DELHI 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 644 MUSCAT 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 537 SHARM EL SHEIKH 560 SOHAG 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 534 CAIRO 787 JEDDAH 671 DUBAI 122 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 117 NEW YORK 302 ABU DHABI 133 DOHA 934 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 175 FRANKFURT 356 MASHHAD 437 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 602 SHIRAZ 776 EDDAH 103 LONDON 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 461 MADINAH 611 CAIRO 176 DUBAI 1191 MASHHAD 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI 792 GIALAM 4168 MASHHAD

Time 0:05 1:05 1:10 1:20 2:25 2:45 2:55 3:15 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:00 4:10 4:50 6:05 6:55 7:00 7:35 8:10 8:15 8:25 8:45 9:15 9:25 9:35 9:45 9:55 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:10 10:30 10:40 10:45 10:45 10:50 11:30 11:40 12:15 12:20 12:55 13:00 13:10 13:45 13:50 14:15 14:15 14:30 14:45 14:45

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

KAC IRC SVA KAC QTR KAC KAC JZR IYE ETD JZR QTR UAE RJA GFA JZR SVA KNE ABY JZR QTR JZR UAL FDB BAB MSC FDB KAC OMA KAC JAI ABY MSR DHX ALK MEA ETD QTR GFA KAC FDB JZR UAE DHX KAC KLM QTR JZR JZR GFA KAC

673 6693 503 617 141 773 613 238 824 304 538 135 858 641 216 184 511 471 128 266 145 134 982 64 439 2404 62 353 648 331 571 120 619 171 230 403 308 137 222 301 60 554 860 373 205 417 147 502 528 218 415

DUBAI MASHHAD MADINAH DOHA DOHA RIYADH BAHRAIN AMMAN SANAA ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH JEDDAH SHARJAH BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN ASSIUT DUBAI KOCHI MUSCAT TRIVANDRUM MUMBAI SHARJAH ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI ALEXANDRIA DUBAI BAHRAIN ISLAMABAD DAMMAM DOHA LUXOR ASSIUT BAHRAIN KUALA LUMPUR

15:05 15:10 15:45 15:45 16:15 16:25 17:05 17:15 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:50 17:55 18:15 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:50 19:05 19:10 19:25 19:30 20:15 20:40 20:45 20:55 20:55 21:10 21:15 21:25 21:50 21:55 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:35 23:50 23:50 23:55

34

stars CROSSWORD 92

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19)

Emotions, impressions, and memories could come up from your subconscious today, Aries. This may preoccupy you and keep you from other matters. This is a positive development. Pleasant memories bring joy. Disturbing ones offer a release from past trauma. Write down your thoughts and then distract yourself by doing something you love. The significance of this process should come later.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Social events or group activities could prove more stimulating than usual, Taurus. Discussions of every subject imaginable could take place around you, and you might have trouble deciding which ones you want to join. Your mind may be going the speed of light by the time the gathering ends. Walk home if time and weather permit. That should clear your head enough to let you sleep well.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. (botany) Of or relating to the axil.

5. Type genus of the Alaudidae.

11. In bed.

15. An amino acid that is found in the central nervous system.

16. Weedy annual grass often occurs in grainfields and other cultivated land.

17. Offering fun and gaiety.

18. Employed in accomplishing something.

19. Very great.

21. American prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942).

22. (ophthalmology) Impaired eyesight resulting usually from irregular conformation of the cornea.

24. The principal evil jinni in Islamic mythology.

26. A ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element.

27. Used of a single unit or thing.

30. Containing or made of or resembling or characteristic of a metal.

33. The residue that remains when something is burned.

35. Piece of solid food for dipping in a liquid.

39.

White Southerner supporting Reconstruction policies after the Civil War usually for self-interest.

42. (astronomy) The angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing.

43. Move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment.

44. A white linen liturgical vestment with sleeves.

45. A Gaelic-speaking Celt in Ireland or Scotland or the Isle of Man. 46. A government order imposing a trade barrier.

47. The general activity of selling.

49. The elapsed time it takes for light (or radio signals) to travel between the Earth and a celestial object.

51. To an excessive degree.

52. Spider monkeys.

54. Evil or harmful in nature or influence.

57. The district occupied entirely by the city of Washington.

58. A translucent mineral consisting of hydrated silica of variable color.

60. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

61. A Hindu prince or king in India.

62. Someone who quits school before graduation.

65. The cardinal number that is the sum of seven and one.

67. Any of a class of solid or semisolid viscous substances obtained either as exudations from certain plants or prepared by polymerization of simple molecules.

68. Informal terms for a mother.

70. (Sumerian) Consort of Dumuzi (Tammuz).

74. Surveying instrument consisting of the upper movable part of a theodolite including the telescope and its attachments.

76. A republic in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea.

79. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

80. Any wingless blood-sucking parasitic insect noted for ability to leap.

81. Having the skin scraped off.

83. The compass point that is one point east of due south.

84. Commonly the lowest molding at the base

of a column.

85. A festival featuring African-American culture.

86. Czechoslovakian religious reformer who anticipated the Reformation.

DOWN 1. Largest known toad species.

2. A girl or young woman who is unmarried.

3. Assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing.

4. (used of opinions and actions) Far beyond the norm.

5. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.

6. The mints.

7. Of or relating to the former Indo-European people.

8. A transuranic element that has not been found in nature.

9. A visual presentation showing how something works.

10. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

11. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal.

12. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

13. (Norse mythology) Goddess of old age who defeated Thor in a wrestling match.

14. A platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it.

20. Towards the side away from the wind.

23. A Russian prison camp for political prisoners.

25. An oil port in southern Iraq.

28. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

29. A branch of the Tai languages.

31. Enthusiastic approval.

32. A set of data arranged in rows and columns.

34. Lac purified by heating and filtering.

36. Dutch astronomer who proved that the galaxy is rotating and proposed the existence of the Oort cloud (1900-1992).

37. An Asian temple.

38. An enthusiastic kiss.

40. A town in north central Wisconsin.

41. Take by theft.

48. Tarpons and ladyfishes.

50. A city in east central Texas.

53. (possibly Roman) Goddess of horses and mules and asses.

55. A city in southeastern Spain.

56. A quantity of no importance.

59. Your general store of remembered information.

63. Norse chieftan who became the first duke of Normandy (860-931).

64. Flexible twig of a willow tree.

66. Infections of the skin or nails caused by fungi and appearing as itching circular patches.

69. A city in northern India.

71. United States writer noted for his droll epigrams (1902-1971).

72. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of scribes and schools.

73. (Greek mythology) Greek god of war.

75. East Indian tree bearing a profusion of intense vermilion velvet-textured blooms and yielding a yellow dye.

77. Imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy.

78. An edge tool used to cut and shape wood.

82. The use of bacteria or viruses of toxins to destroy men and animals or food.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Your writing, speaking, and communicating skills are enhanced today, Gemini. Therefore, you can expect to impress a lot of people around you who will change their opinion about you. People will express their sympathy openly, and you will feel integrated and accepted throughout the day.

Tonight, find a bookstore that’s sponsoring a lecture and go.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Correspondence with someone who lives far away could appear to lead to something more than friendship, Cancer. This person seems to be in total accord with you about nearly everything, and warm feelings could flow between you. However, if you haven’t met in person, you should, at least before you get your hopes up for a relationship. It may be just what you’ve wanted - or it may not. Be careful.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

A quick survey of the financial news might reveal that your investments, particularly those involving property, might be worth far more than you thought, Leo. This might make you wonder if you should sit back and let it all mount up or actively put it to work for you. Consult a professional before taking any immediate action. You will want to be sure you’re doing the right thing.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

A message could come today from a business or romantic partner that brings some welcome news, Virgo. Action on an enterprise of some kind, perhaps involving writing or speaking, could put one or both of you in the limelight. Make the most of the opportunity. It could lead to future advancement and exposure, perhaps even more promising than this.

You’ve worked hard and now you’re reaping the rewards.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Today you can expect to have a highly interesting conversation with someone, Libra. The person you will be talking to is going to provide you with a ton of information that will open a whole new world of knowledge. Excitement and happiness will be with you all day. This conversation will have an impact on your future.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Your physical and mental energy are exceptionally strong right now, Scorpio. If you’re creative, you will want to put that energy into a project that means a lot to you. If you’re athletic, you will probably want to get outside and play a game or go for a jog or cardio class. Bear in mind that much of this energy is nervous energy that burns out quickly. Pace yourself.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

A delivery could come to your house that you find very emotionally moving, Sagittarius. Perhaps you’ve received a gift that represents a big sacrifice to the giver, and was all the more sincere for that. This could be on your mind for most of the day even though you have a lot to do. When thanking the giver, be warm and sincere but not too effusive. You don’t want to embarrass your friend.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

A friend might drop by and want you to keep them company while they runs errands, Capricorn. This might be a good idea, not only for the diversion from routine but also because something might happen in the course of these short journeys that points you in a new and very positive direction. Your mind could suddenly be flooded with ideas. Make the most of it.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

Paperwork regarding money might take up a lot of your time today, Aquarius. This can be tedious, but it’s something that can make a very positive difference to you, and therefore needs to be handled as soon as possible. Try to stay focused, and don’t forget to ask for clarification when you need it. In the evening, celebrate by going out on the town with a group of friends.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

A subject that fascinates you could occupy much of your time today, Pisces. Questions may arise about this subject that you want answered now. Therefore, you could get into some in-depth research. This might have you trapped in the library or glued to the Internet until you either find what you want or pick up a few leads to places where you might find it.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 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

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab Sharq

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TAT TE OF KUW K WA AIT

Tel.: e 161

DIRECTORA AT TE GENE GENERAL OF CIVIL AV VIA AT TION PA ARTMENT METEOROLOGICAL DEP DA AY: Y Tuesday

Ext.: 2627 262 - 2630

Fax: 24348714

Issue Time

Cold with light variable wind, with speed of 06 - 20 km/h

No Current Warnings arnin a

ST TATION T

MAX. EXP P.

MIN. REC.

KUW WAIT A CITY

22 °C

13 °C

KUW WAIT A AIRPOR RT

21 °C

08 °C

NUW WAISEEB A

23 °C

10 °C

22456536

WAFRA A

22 °C

10 °C

22465401

SALMI

20 °C

07 °C

Salmiya

25746401

ABDAL LY

21 °C

08 °C

Jabriya

25316254

JAL ALIY YAH A

21 °C

08 °C

FA AILAKA

21 °C

11 °C

AHMADI POR RT

21 °C

12 °C

QARUH ISLAND

19 °C

15 °C

UMM AL-MARADEM

19 °C

15 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

DA AY

DA AT TE

New Jahra

24575755

Wednesday e

06/02

24772608

Thursday

07/02

Friday

08/02

Saturday

09/02

SFC. CHART

05/02/2013 0000 UTC

4 DA AYS Y FORECAST Temperatures WEA AT THER

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

partly cloudy

22 °C

10 °C

S-SE

10 - 32 km/h

clouds to decrease + scattered rain

23 °C

13 °C

SE

20 - 45 km/h

fog

22 °C

11 °C

VRB

06 - 20 km/h

fair + scattered clouds

23 °C

12 °C

VRB

06 - 20 km/h

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Fajr

05:14

MAX. Temp.

20 °C

Ardhiya

24884079

Sunrise

06:36

MIN. Temp.

10 °C

Zuhr

69 %

24892674

12:02

MAX. RH

Firdous

Asr

15:07

MIN. RH

29 %

Omariya

24719048

Sunset

17:29

MAX. Wind

N 57 km/h

Isha

18:48

TOT TA AL L RAIINF FALL A L IN 24 HR.

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

PRA RA AY YER TIMES

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WA AIT AIRPORT

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

00 mm

05/02/13 02:49 UTC

V1.00

T1.06

PRIVATE CLINICS

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 23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

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

Al-Jahra

25610011

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Sunny with light to moderate north westerly wind, with speed of 08 - 28 km/h

WARNING A

Dr Divya Damodar

Al-Shuhada

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

07:00

Expected Weeather for the Next 24 Hours

BY Y NIGHT:

Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

22418714

WWW.MET.GOV V..KW

05/02/2013

BY Y DA AY:

West Jahra

Al-Madeena

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

LIFESTYLE M o v i e s

E

&

M u s i c

The Lumineers ride folk rock wave to Grammys

ven the members of The Lumineers are puzzled by the success of their song “Ho Hey” and their sudden rise to fame after years on the road. The song has long legs and is not only getting played alongside Nicki Minaj and Maroon 5 on the radio, it’s been ruling Spotify and working its way into popular culture. A few years ago, singer Wesley Schultz said, hearing The Lumineers’ brand of allacoustic folk rock on a Top 40 countdown would have been pretty unthinkable.

Now his band’s caught up in a wave that could crest at the Grammy Awards, and he says he’s still trying to sort out why.

“I can tell you that when we play live and when we sometimes go out in the audience, the reaction to just playing your instruments without any help, without any amplification or tricks, that surprises people in kind of a funny way because you’d think that most people would assume you could play your instruments and how it would sound,” Schultz said. “But they’re caught off guard, I think. People are used to things that are overproduced or slick or glossy, and this isn’t any of that.”

It’s been two years since producer Ken Ehrlich and the Grammy Awards reintroduced the world to folk rock, pairing the dazzlingly handsome young bands Mumford & Sons and The Avett Brothers with Bob Dylan for a rocking rendition of “Maggie’s Farm.” The acoustic movement was always part of the general fabric of music, but it’s moved out of the neighborhood park and small club and into the arena since that segment aired. “There was a lot of music I loved that year, but I particularly loved the Avetts and I loved Mumford and I wanted a way to get them

on,” Ehrlich said. “And to be honest with you, not many people knew about either of those things until we put them on. But the way I wanted to put them on was to frame them. Again, it goes back to where did they come from? They came from Bob Dylan, you know?”

It was a big bang moment, mixing the authenticity of Dylan with the scruffy, intense earnestness of the young acts.

The show immediately made the music accessible for millions of fans. Flash forward and the London-based Mumford & Sons are platinum-selling artists who draw 10,000 at a pop and are among the six top nominees at the Feb. 10 awards show in Los Angeles with six nominations, including album of the year for “Babel.” The like-minded Lumineers, whose self-titled album shot to No. 2 last week on the Billboard 200 - 10 months after its release - have two nominations, including a coveted spot on the best new artist list alongside spiritual cousins Alabama Shakes. The Avetts are back in the Americana category. The Civil Wars, Old Crow Medicine Show, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are aboard, too, among others.

Call it folk. Call it roots rock or Americana. Almost anywhere you go these days you can hear the lonesome sound of the banjo - even in Brooklyn, now overcrowded with former hipsters turned would-be pickers trying to catch a ride on the wave. “The last time I was in Brooklyn, somebody said, ‘Hey, you can’t go to any club here without hearing the banjo,’” Old Crow Medicine Show manager Norm Parenteau said. “So I had to apologize to the whole borough of Brooklyn: ‘Sorry if we had anything to do with

bringing banjos to Brooklyn.’”

No apologies necessary, especially when it comes to The Lumineers. Schultz and longtime friend and bandmate Jeremiah Fraites fled Brooklyn a few years ago. “Every good character in a movie or

it couldn’t have worked out better. The scene there was thriving and diverse, full of contacts who helped them find gigs and hit the road where they honed their songs and their sound.

They did not aim for pop music star-

Photo shows members of the American folk rock band The Lumineers, from left, Wesley Schultz, Neyla Pekarek and Jeremiah Fraites at the Dream Downtown Hotel in New York. —AP play is either running toward something or running from something,” Schultz said.

“I think it was pretty apparent I was running from New York. I was pretty upset with my experience.” Unable to focus on music because of the number of odd jobs it took to survive in the city, they fled to Denver where they found cellist Neyla Pekarek on Craigslist. Yes, Craigslist. And

dom in their songwriting, preferring a raw sound they never figured would lead them down a red carpet and into the Staples Center. It’s more of a lifestyle choice for many of the acoustic-leaning acts on this year’s list. “I see it more on a social level,” Old Crow fiddler Ketch Secor said. “I see it as a reaction to Walmart parking lots and Applebee’s, O’Charley’s

and country music. It’s very much a reactionary kind of sound. That’s something we arm ourselves with in this line of work. When you strap a banjo on you’re making a choice.”

“Country” Winston Marshall of Mumford & Sons joked in an interview last year that he turned to the banjo for more practical reasons: “Not many play it in London so it’s much easier to get a gig. And once you’ve got the gig there’s not much competition, so you stick around.” Folk music was a novel sound the band turned to after hearing the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack produced by T Bone Burnett. The soundtrack “really sort of pierced through our teenage films, and especially for Winston and I, I think that became kind of an obsessive record for us and also opened avenues for us to explore artists like Emmylou Harris and also like Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss, and then through those guys really the OCMS guys ... so they were like our gateway into sort of Americana really.”

They’ve echoed those sounds back at a new generation, one that seems open to sad songs that resonate deeply - like “Ho Hey.” The song has surpassed 70 million global listens on Spotify and incongruously, Schultz said, it’s been showing up as a first-dance song in weddings. “And that’s not where it came from,” he said. “The feelings that made it come out were not necessarily about finding love, but losing love or missing love. I think that’s what’s interesting about songs. You can come from a dark place, but people see light in there and they can identify different parts of it.” —AP

Karen Mok looks West with jazz album

A

fter years of stardom in Asia, Hong Kong actress and singer Karen Mok hopes her first English album and an action film directed by Keanu Reeves translate into success in the West. Mok has released 15 Chinese language albums and starred in more than 40 films over the last 20 years.

She plays a Hong Kong police officer in Reeves’ directorial debut, “Man of Tai Chi,” scheduled for release this summer. It’s about an underground fight club in China. Mok says most of her dialogue was in Cantonese, but Reeves always knew which takes were the best. Her first English album, “Somewhere I Belong,” was released last month.

She’s known as a pop artist but this is a jazz album, something she says had long been a dream of hers. —AP

From left, actor Billy Crystal, actor Robert De Niro, Grace Hightower, and director David O Russell pose together at De Niro’s hand and footprint ceremony.

File photo shows Reg Presley, frontman of British rock group The Troggs, performs in a TV studio in Huerth, near Cologne, Germany during the recording of the 50th “Chart Show - The Best Rock Classics”. —AP photos

Robert De Niro cements place in Hollywood movies

‘Wild Thing’ singer Reg Presley dies in UK

D

ouble Oscar winner Robert De Niro cemented his place in acting history on Monday by placing his hands and feet in concrete in front of Hollywood’s historic Chinese Theatre. De Niro, 69, gave a short thank you speech with a few punch lines of his own. “(Actor) Joe Pesci always said I’d end up with my feet in cement. I don’t think this is what he had in mind,” said De Niro, referring to the many gangster movies he has filmed over his 40-year career.

“They say everyone in the film industry has three homes - the home where they live, the home where their first wife lives, and Hollywood. I love New York, and I’m proud to be a citizen of Hollywood. Thank you for this honor and thank you for making me feel at home here,” he said. De Niro, who founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002 in a bid to revive lower Manhattan after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, is in the running for a third Oscar this month for his supporting role in comedy “Silver Linings Playbook.”

Billy Crystal, who played therapist to De Niro’s insecure mob boss in the 1999 film “Analyze This,” praised the New York actor for

his ability to bridge comedies like “Meet the Parents” and dramas such as “GoodFellas” and “Taxi Driver.” “Even in his darkest performances, even in ‘Raging Bull’ ... he could make you laugh, and that he did in spades in ‘Analyze This.’ ... I’m not used to playing straight for anybody, but it was a thrill of a lifetime to be on the opposite side of that genius,” Crystal said.

“Silver Linings Playbook” director David O. Russell praised De Niro’s sensitivity in taking on the role of the father of a bipolar son in the movie. “When we first read the script together he cried because he has known people who struggled with PTSD or bipolar disorder. ... Many families are no stranger to these challenges and they have to find the magic and the love that Bob brought in his soul, and he did bring his soul to this movie,” Russell said. De Niro won Oscars for his lead role in “Raging Bull” and his supporting turn in “The Godfather: Part II.” His handprints and footprints in the courtyard of the Chinese Theatre are near those of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Brad Pitt and George Clooney. —Reuters

R

Hong Kong singer Karen Mok sings a song during her global launch for her new jazz album, “Somewhere I Belong” in Shanghai, China. —AP

Keith Altham posted on Facebook on Monday that Presley had suffered several strokes recently. “He was one very real person in a sometimes very unreal world,” Altham said. “Our thoughts are with his wife Brenda and the family and those legion of fans who loved his music and his band. I will miss him hugely.”

The Troggs catapulted onto the rock’n’roll scene with “Wild Thing” in 1966, making them one of Britain’s most successful garage rock acts of the era. “Wild Thing,” which was written by American songwriter Chip Taylor, topped the charts in the United States and reached No. 2 in Britain. Presley penned hits “With a Girl Like You” in 1966 and the band’s final big hit, “Love Is All Around,” in 1967.

“Love Is All Around” was later covered by the Scottish band Wet Wet Wet in 1994 and lodged itself at the top of the British charts for some 15 weeks. —Reuters

How ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Wrecked All the Rules of Animation

W

Actor Robert De Niro poses at his hand and footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday. —AP

eg Presley, the lead singer of 1960s British rock band The Troggs, who scored a hit with the love anthem “Wild Thing,” was reported to have died at his home in England on Monday after a battle with cancer. He was 71. “He passed away peacefully at home and myself, my brother and our mother were with him. We’re absolutely heartbroken,” Presley’s daughter Karen was quoted as telling the Londonbased World Entertainment News Network (WENN).

Presley announced in January 2012 that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer after falling ill during a performance in Germany. He began chemotherapy and announced his retirement from the band at the time. Presley’s publicist did not immediately return calls seeking confirmation of his death on Monday.

The singer’s friend and music publicist

hen Rich Moore joined Disney in 2008 after stints on “The Simpsons,”“Futurama” and MADtv, the historic animation studio had just shelved an idea for a movie about videogame characters. Studio exec John Lasseter encouraged Moore to pursue his own ideas along those lines, and game-fanatic Moore was happy to do so. On the way to the movie that became “Wreck-It Ralph,” Moore told TheWrap he took a sledgehammer to some of the usual axioms of animation.

The result was not just a box-office smash and Golden Globe and Oscar noms but top awards for the movie, Moore’s direction and screenplay, music and voice acting Saturday night from the International Animated Film Socity, ASIFA-Hollywood. Moore told TheWrap what the basic animation rules are - and how he wrecked them for “Ralph.”

Rule: Start with the story.

How they wrecked it: It would be easy to start with plot and action and adventure, but I think that was where some of the previous videogame-centric movies have started, to their detriment. I really wanted to start with a character, and the character’s struggle. I fell in love with the idea of taking a simple char-

acter from an ‘80s arcade game and saddling him with this very profound struggle: What’s the meaning of life? Why am I here? Why do I do this job? I thought, “That’s pretty juicy.”

Rule: Don’t write for copyrighted characters if you don’t own the rights.

How they wrecked it: When the story was in its infancy, it was way too early to go to videogame companies and ask about the rights to use their characters. So we just moved forward as if we had them and took it on faith that when the day came, we somehow would be able to work it out. I didn’t want to limit our creative group and say, “I know we really want Pac-Man, but we might not be able to get him, so let’s make up our own version of PacMan.” It just seemed like if we started down that road, that’s probably the direction it would have gone. And to me it was way too important to have the actual game characters in the movie. We moved forward hoping that it would all come together, and it did.”

Rule: Record voices separately.

How they wrecked it: [Lead actor] John C. Reilly’s one reservation was the process. He had

heard that it was just standing in a booth for several hours alone and acting against nothing. And he said, “That does not appeal to me. I don’t think you’re gonna get my best if we do it that way.” And when he said that, I was like, “Why do we have to do it that way?” It is traditionally done that way, but why not have two or three actors in there at the same time and record it like you would any other scene in a movie?

Rule: Establish a consistent style for the entire film.

How they wrecked it: In making animated films, the artists and technicians are always looking for a ground zero. They want a style they can point to and say, “This is the movie. This is how the characters should move, this is what it should look like, this is how the camera moves ... “And I was saying, “No, the old 8-bit charcters move this way. The newer, more modern characters are more hyperrealism. The Sugar Rush characters are more cartoony with a bit of old classic Disney and an anime influence.” I was really going against the grain of what wants to happen normally on a movie like this, and it really speaks to the trust and faith of our crew that they were able to hang in there. —Reuters

37

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

LIFESTYLE M o v i e s

&

M u s i c

Why Willis Will Blow Up the Box Office When Stallone and Schwarzenegger Could Not

M

Beyonce performs during the halftime show of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, in New Orleans. —AP

Beyonce not the cause of Super Bowl blackout

D

on’t blame Beyonce for blowing the lights out at the Super Bowl. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday that the halftime show was not the cause of the power outage that darkened the Superdome for half an hour during Sunday’s broadcast. “There’s no indication at all that this was caused by the halftime show.

Absolutely not. I know that’s been out there that this halftime show had something to do with it. That is not the case,” Goodell said. Beyonce was the halftime performer at Sunday night’s game and used plenty of power to light up the stage. Some had joked that her electrifying performance was to blame for the outage.

But the halftime show was running on its own generator, said Goodell and Doug Thornton, a vice president of SMG, the company that manages the Superdome. “It was

not on our power grid at all,” Thornton said, adding that the metered power consumption went down during halftime because the house lights were down. Beyonce’s 13minute set included hits “Crazy in Love,” “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and a Destiny’s Child reunion.

The energetic performance was sung live days after she admitted she sang to a pre-recorded track at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. And it won applause from critics who called it a major improvement over Madonna, who sang to a backing track last year, and the Black Eyed Peas’ much-criticized halftime show in 2011. Alicia Keys performed the national anthem on piano before the game, and Jennifer Hudson sang “America the Beautiful” with the 26-member Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus.

Beyonce posted on her blog that she was proud to be among those female talents, which included her Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

“What a proud day for AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN!” she wrote. “You are all beautiful, talented and showed so much class! It was an honor to perform at the Superbowl with you phenomenal ladies.” Beyonce announced Monday that her “The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour” will kick off April 15 in Belgrade, Serbia. The European leg of the tour will wrap up May 29 in Stockholm, Sweden.

The tour’s North American stint starts June 28 in Los Angeles and ends Aug 3 in Brooklyn, New York, at the Barclays Center. It was also announced Monday that a second wave of the tour is planned for Latin America, Australia and Asia later this year. —AP

oviegoers are not going where the action is, at least so far this year. Sylvester Stallone’s “Bullet to the Head” is the latest slam-bang misfire, taking in just $4.5 million over the weekend for Warner Bros. That was even worse than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “The Last Stand,” which managed just $7.2 million in its debut earlier this month, and Jason Statham’s “Parker,” which opened to $7 million two weeks ago. It’s only three movies, but that’s a nasty trend for three action films with well-established stars, though Schwarzenegger, 65, and Stallone, 66, may be creaking a little. With their two films opening three weeks apart - and “Parker” in between them - there may have been just too much material in the marketplace that skewed to older males. All three were rated R as well, and while none was expected to do gangbusters business, all were expected to do better than they did.

“The mistake that Arnold and Sly made was in thinking they had their fans back after ‘Expendables’ and that they’d follow them anywhere,” BoxOffice.com vice-president and senior analyst Phil Contrino told TheWrap Monday. “That’s not the case and fans sent that message loud and clear.” It’s possible the success of the “Expendables” movies - the first made $274 million worldwide in 2010, the second just crossed $300 million - may have unrealistically raised expectations for the solo projects.

Contrino thinks both of them should have waited for more established projects. “If Arnold had waited for a ‘Terminator,” or a “Conan’ or even a ‘Kindergarten Cop’ we’d be having a whole different conversation now,” Contrino said. “Those are the kind of films that would tap into what audiences are looking for from these guys now, which is a rush of nostalgia, and to be reminded of characters they loved.” The two will be paired in “The Tomb,” the Lionsgate prison thriller set for September. “That film has a great concept, and the sum of Arnold and Sly has us bullish,” Lionsgate’s executive vice-president and general sales manager David Spitz told TheWrap. It has been bad projects, rather than action fatigue that’s resulted in the box-office dip, said Contrino. He’s convinced that the genre malaise is nothing that “Good Day to Die Hard,” the Bruce Willis film from Fox that opens on Feb. 14, won’t cure.

“It’s tracking very strongly and we have it opening to around $45 million over the four days,’ he said.. “It’s also looking very strong overseas, and we see it doing $300 million globally.” And it’s a healthy franchise. Starting with the original film in 1988, which made $148 million worldwide, each successive movie has made more money at the global box office. The last one, “Live Free Or Die Hard,” made $383 million in 2007. In all, the “Die Hard” franchise has taken in $1.13 billion. Willis is 57, but his age isn’t the only thing that’s putting him in a different realm than his “Expendables 2” pals Stallone and Schwarzenegger. “He’s seen as more versatile,” Contrino said, “and cooler. ‘Looper’ was a really interesting project and exposed him to younger audiences.”

“Looper,” a $30 million sci-fi thriller co-starring Joseph GordonLevitt that was shot in Shanghai, made $160 million worldwide for Sony since its release last year. It made more than $20 million in China, and “Good Day to Die Hard” is expected to pack a punch there, too.

It’s not set in stone, but the latest “Die Hard” film has a March 16 opening date in the works in China. Film officials there, anxious to protect their domestic films at the box office, are considering putting it up against Disney’s “Oz: The Great and Powerful,” which opens March 8 domestically. It might not be the boxoffice throw down that the Chinese orchestrated in August, when they paired “Dark Knight” and “The Amazing Spider-Man,” but Bruce Willis vs. the Wizard of Oz should be a pretty good match-up, too. —Reuters

Kashmir girl band quits after fatwa

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n all-girl teenage rock band from Indian-administered Kashmir has decided to quit after the region’s top Muslim cleric declared their music to be “unIslamic”, their manager said yesterday. Pragaash, a three-piece group whose members are still in high school, had been the target of an online hate campaign ever since winning a “Battle of the Bands” contest in December. But after initially insisting they would continue making music, they have now called it a day after the Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Bashiruddin Ahmad, branded them as “indecent” and issued a fatwa calling for them to quit.

“After the fatwa the girls decided to quit and disband,” Adnan Mattoo, the band’s manager, said in brief comments to AFP. The mother of one of the girls confirmed her daughter had decided to leave the band, saying she was staying with relatives outside Kashmir until the fuss died down. Pragaash consisted of base guitarist Aneeqa Khalid, singer Noma Nazir and drummer Farah Deeba. “My daughter had been depressed and irritable so we decided to send her away to another city for some time,” said the mother, who did not want to give her name.

The comments by the grand mufti have been widely criticised with the state’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah among those calling on the band not to be intimidated into giv-

ing up on music. The attacks against Pragaash have heightened concerns about artistic freedom in India following a series of campaigns waged by cultural conservatives. The author Salman Rushdie had to cancel a promotional event in Kolkata for the film version of his book “Midnight’s Children” last week while Bollywood actor Kamal Haasan threatened to go into exile after Muslim groups protested his work.

On Monday members of Durga Vahini, the women’s wing of a Hindu nationalist group, protested against the display of nude paintings in the Delhi Art Gallery. In a front-page edi-

torial yesterday, The Times of India urged authorities to stand up for tolerance. “The government must send out this message loud and clear to those who indulge in moral policing,” the paper said. “The law must act swiftly and sternly against such people because they are guilty of criminal intimidation. Each time the government fails to do so, it encourages others to take the same path.”

While pledging to track down those behind the online hate campaign against Pragaash, Abdullah ruled out criminal action against the mufti. “We can take action against those who act on his fatwas but I

In this photo taken on December 23, 2012 Kashmir’s first girl rock band Pragaash, or First Light, perform at the annual ‘Battle of the Bands’ in Srinagar. —AFP photos

Kashmir’s first girl rock band Pragaash, or First Light, perform at the annual ‘Battle of the Bands’ in Srinagar.

don’t think we can (take) action against him,” he told the NDTV news channel. “He has not issued any threats that I see that are actionable.

“We have every intention of tracking down all these people who have made online threats against these girls whether on Facebook or Twitter.” Several messages posted on Facebook threatened violence against the teenagers, even evoking the fate of a young medical student who died after being gang-raped in New Delhi in December.

Kashmir, India’s only Muslim majority state, has a long tradition of women singers. One of the most famous is Shamima Azad, wife of India’s federal health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Cultural observers say the growth of social media has given an outlet to extremists to vent their opinions but say it is not necessarily reflective of a growth of intolerance in the region. The number of posts in support of the band have far surpassed the number of critical comments. Waseem Bhat, a Srinagar-based sociologist, said the “portrayal of a Kashmir crammed with zealots and fanatics” was wide of the mark. Siddiq Wahid, a former vice chancellor at the Islamic University of Science and Technology in Indian Kashmir, said the anonymity offered by social media had allowed a minority of extremists to dominate the debate. “Anyone who has an extremist opinion now has a platform,” Wahid said. —AFP

Kashmir’s first girl rock band Pragaash, or First Light, pose for a photo at the annual ‘Battle of the Bands’ in Srinagar.

Gulalai Norestani and Huma Rahimy, members of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music Sitar and Sarod Ensemble, perform in the Dean Aceson Auditorium in Washington, DC. —AFP

Young musicians seek to show new Afghan face

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ome of them call an orphanage home. One used to spend her days selling plastic bags.

And this month, the Afghan teenagers are taking the stage of the most prestigious US concert halls. In a vivid sign of Afghanistan’s transformation, 48 students from the country’s first music institute are touring the United States to showcase a unique blend of restored traditional music and Western classics. When Milad Yousufi was a child, the Taliban ruled most of Afghanistan and imposed an austere interpretation of Islam that banned music as sinful. He took up piano five years ago and recently placed third at an international competition in Germany.

“Music is the only thing we can bring peace by,” said the 18-year-old, who wears his hair fashionably long and counts Claudio Arrau and Vladimir Horowitz among his piano heroes. “If the media just broadcast war that is the image of Afghanistan. If we make music, the idea of people will change,” he said in fluent English. The Afghanistan National Institute of Music, which was founded in 2010, instructs 144 students, each of whom earned their spots through auditions.

They study not only music but also English and other courses from the Koran to computers. The students will perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Thursday, and, on February 12, they will be at New York’s Carnegie Hall. One musical selection will be a version of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” adapted by instructor William Harvey with Afghan instrumentation. “Your expectations are the traditional Vivaldi. But, here, you hear in

‘The Four Seasons’ Afghan pieces and Afghan melodies,” said Ahmad Sarmast, the founder and director of the school. “That’s the way we say to the international community that we are part of you, we want to be part of you. We can speak the same language, the language of music,” he said.

The students, with boys and girls intermingled, started their tour with a recital at the State Department, where they sat on the floor performing with Afghan instruments such as the rubab: a lute with up to 19 strings. In a surprise, Secretary of State John Kerry took a seat to listen on his first working day. During Kerry’s tenure, the United States is expected to withdraw the last of its combat troops from Afghanistan in 2014. Calling music “the international language of peace and of possibilities and dreams,” the former senator said that he had “very, very high hopes for your country that you can find peace and stability.”

The 69-year-old mentioned that when he was the students’ age, he played in a rock band called the Electras whose performances can be found on YouTube. “And I still play guitar. When I go home, I love to play guitar,” Kerry said, which prompted several Afghan teenagers, who had been listening expressionless, to roar with approval and wave him the heavy metal-style sign of the horns.

Sarmast, who earned a doctorate in music at Monash University in Australia, said that the attitudes of young Afghans made him confident about the future, even though he relies largely on funding from the United States and other governments to run the school. —AFP

lifestyle

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

F E A T U R E S

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alaysians smeared with fake blood roamed a jungle range on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur in the Southeast Asian’s country’s first “zombie run”. One woman had an arrow in her hair made to look as if had pierced her skull while many others were wearing blood-smeared and torn t-shirts.

Organisers for the Zombie Run Malaysia 2013 said on their Facebook page that 150 “zombies”-volunteers with ghoulish make-up and costumes-were expected to chase 1,000 runners past broken walls and abandoned huts in the jungle patch. The zombies’ goal is to take away runners’ tags before they reach the finishing line in the one-day event.

Zombie runs are already popular in the United States and other countries. Horror films have become increasingly popular in Malaysia in recent years after effectively being banned in the Muslim-majority country for three decades for being seen as in violation of Islamic teachings. Changes in the past decade have seen rules relaxed and in 2011 the genre made up more than a third of domestic films. — AFP Malaysian youngsters dressed as zombie chases participants of a zombie run inside a jungle on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. — AFP photos

British accountant is big cheese in France H

alfway up a mountain in the south of France with the sun beating down and only a herd of goats for company, Briton Matt Feroze’s real life as a government accountant in London felt light years away. A Francophile who had already spent time in the south learning French, little did he know that his month-long working holiday would set him on the path to a whole new potential career and the honour of being the first foreigner to be crowned France’s top cheesemonger.

“I was just wandering around the mountain with the goats in the sun, completely lost in the wilderness,” Feroze, 30, told AFP in the wake of his unexpected triumph in France’s National Cheesemonger Trials in Lyons. “I realized just how interesting it was, how much went into not just the making of cheese but also how you got from a goat or a cow to your finished cheese being sold in the shop,” he said.

After a month working for board and lodging with a farmer and small-scale rural cheese producer, Feroze returned to London in April 2010 and threw himself into studying for his accountancy exams. But he nurtured a determination to return and somehow work in the cheese industry. “I felt I

was in my late 20s without kids and without a mortgage and this was the time to go and get some experience, some stories to tell the children and grandchildren,” he said. While in London, Feroze made contact with the British branch of French cheesemongers Fromagerie Mons and set about persuading the company to give him a coveted opportunity to work in their shop in Lyons.

‘I just hoped I hadn’t come last’ “There was quite a lot of silence with occasional half rejections. I’ve heard since that it boiled down to a point where Herve (Mons) who runs the company said, ‘There’s this guy who won’t leave me alone, let’s find a way of getting him into the shop and he’ll probably see enough of it not to come back’.” His future boss, however, had not reckoned on the strength of the young accountant’s new found passion for everything to do with cheese. In September 2011, Feroze took the plunge and took a two-year unpaid sabbatical to do work experience in the company’s cheese cellars with the promise of a shot at the shop if he could become knowledgeable and fluent enough.

Determined to succeed, he burned the mid-

night oil studying and immersed himself in every stage of the cheese-refining process. Once in the shop, he was taken aback when his boss suggested he might be ready to enter the prestigious biannual competition. The Concours National des Fromagers requires participants to demonstrate their skills by completing five tasks including blind tasting, cutting exact quantities by sight and the presentation of a platter of 25 cheeses. With little over a year in the industry, Feroze was even more astonished when he scooped first prize on January 27 out of a shortlist of 15. “I kind of zoned out. I thought there was an outside chance I might have come third and when I didn’t I thought ‘right, okay I just hope I haven’t come last’.

‘Cheese is magical’ “I’d been up since five in the morning, I’d hardly slept the night before and been working long hours in the shop, so my French was wearing out and when they said ‘Matthew’ I thought ‘God it’s me’.” With seven months left of his sabbatical, Feroze is happy to bask in the warm glow of his unexpected victory before making any big decisions. “After that it’s a question of working out

where I want to sit in the industry and whether that’s a fulltime thing or an in-my-free-time thing,” he said.

“Winning a competition like this, there’s an expectation that you might stay in the industry.

What interests me is the small farmers struggling to do something with a great tradition and to keep the history alive, but unfortunately there isn’t a huge amount of money in that.” Many cheese producers find it difficult to make ends meet and often have no one to pass the business on to.

“People grow older and their kids-growing up with Internet and social media-maybe don’t want to do stuff out in the middle of nowhere on a farm working a huge number of hours for quite a small amount of money and to have no holidays,” he said. Shops like Mons help support small cheese producers but Feroze says it is a tragedy when cheeses disappear.

“Some of these amazing cheeses are very hard to make, they are heavy and you have to move them quickly, you need strength and it’s tiring work. “It’s a hard life but the cheese has character and you can taste the effort and that makes it magical for me,” he said. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

lifestyle T R A V E L

Jumeirah Vittaveli:

The dream destination that offers a 7-star experience flydubai brings the Maldives closer to the Gulf, the Middle East

MALE: (from left) Patrick Prefontaine, President of DTI Solutions, Ghaith Al-Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Maldives, Kent Craver, Regional Director for Passenger Satisfaction and Revenue, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Adrian Bradley, CFO of Jumeirah Group, addressed local and international media at a press conference to mark the start of flydubai’s operations to Male held at the Jumeirah Vittaveli Resort, Maldives.

By Velina Nacheva MALE: Eight years since I first stepped on one of the world’s most pristine and tranquil archipelagoes only days after the devastating tsunami in Asia in 2004-end, returning to the Maldives made me realize that I can never have enough of this heavenly place. Escaping Kuwait’s windy winter days and even colder nights, after a short flight to Dubai followed by another five-hour flight to Male, the capital of the Maldives, I was ready to explore the islands’ unique hospitality and have another unforgettable stay.

Unmatched hospitality is one of the main features of Jumeirah Vittaveli ñ an island that welcomed a group of journalists from across the Middle East and the CIS who were on board fly-

dubai’s inaugural flight to Male this January-end.

This perfect-picture paradise has etched a lasting memory on my mind with its sea water in multiple shades of blue and turquoise, cottonlike beaches, vivid marine life, coral reefs like the rainbow and most of all superb guest care. In addition, the respect for privacy, the service-oriented attitude of every single staff member on the island, spa providing the utmost relaxation, a children’s play area allowing the parents to have some time for themselves as well as a variety of boat trips to other islands for fishing or dolphin watching. My personal favourite were the secluded beaches that offer the ultimate privacy to vacationers. These are just few of the features that make tourists from Kuwait and the Middle East choose the idyllic Jumeirah Vittaveli for their vacation.

The Maldives are now closer for Middle East holidaymakers Graham Kiy, General Manager of Jumeirah Vittaveli, says that the property, which opened over a year ago on one of Maldives’ 1192 coral islands, has already registered an upward growth

of tourists from the Middle East. “It is good growth but it is just the beginning. We expect more tourists from the Middle East market,” Kiy told The Kuwait Times in an interview held on the island.

Among other things, his forecast rests on flydubai’s Dubai-Male route. Flydubai, Dubai’s lowcost carrier has brought the Maldivian destination closer to the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East. The all-economy carrier started operating five weekly flights between its hub Dubai and Male.

During a press conference held at Jumeirah Vittaveli on the occasion of flydubai’s launch flight to the Maldives, the Maldivian Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor, said, “The start of Flydubai’s flights open our wonderful nation to a wider number of tourists, while also offering affordable fares to Dubai for our residents. Through this regular service, we look forward to welcoming travellers from a wider range of destinations and continuing to develop our tourism appeal.”

More than a destination for honeymooners The Maldives is a pearl-like string of island atolls with breathtaking lagoons that make up the smallest Asian nation. Blessed all year round with pleasant weather and average temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius, this alluring destination is a family favourite for restful vacations and exciting adventures. The Maldives are more than a honeymooner’s favourite destination. Currently Male is trying to promote more than just its allyear sun- drenched beaches. It targets a traveler who wants to explore pristine reefs and nature, to go snorkeling and enjoy the marine life as well as the local culture, folklore dances and cuisine.

The Maldives is a unique destination. It is an archipelago of coral islands with one-island high-end resort concept. The Maldives feature 2,000 years of history and vibrant local population that spotted the potential of tourism as the major contributor to the economy.

According to Gafoor, tourism is the largest industry in the Maldives. Although Europe is the Maldives’ biggest market, the number of Gulf tourists has almost doubled in the past year alone. There are projections for exponential growth of Gulf tourists that are attributed to flydubai’s recent network expansion. The Maldives is becoming quite popular among Gulf tourists who choose Jumeirah Vittaveli for its typical Arabian hospitality and unique guest-care — a feature that all Jumeirah’s properties share with all the Maldivians.

What makes Jumeirah Vittaveli property a standout in a sea of islands? The blend of local colleagues who are warm and friendly and who know that tourism is important for the country, explains Kiy. In addition, Jumeirah Vittaveli always preserves a local flavor. The Maldivian hospitality is known for always tending to a guest’s request. “We will never say no,” Kiy says.

Upscale and personalized services are the highlight on the resort. Even the most whimsical

requests are met with a welcoming “Of course.”

The friendly staff provides for all kinds of requests: Special beach dinner arrangements, romantic massages for couples or a nanny for the children in the evening while guests are entertained on one of the island’s restaurants.

You can even be ëchauffeured’ around the island on a buggy in case you want to avoid the midday sunrays on your way back from the giant swimming pool in the heart of the resort to your Lagoon villa stilted inside the water.

In the words of Ramesha Samarasinghe, Marketing Communications Manager Jumeirah Vittaveli, what makes the place attractive is its setting. A walk around the resort proves her words right. The island is home to over 200 people who help guests enjoy their stay. “We are like one big family,” explains Samarasinghe. After spending a few days on the property, guests depart with a feeling of saying goodbye to a large family.

Ambience and activities Jumeirah Vittaveli has breathtaking views.

Located on the South Male atoll, this is a luxury getaway within easy reach. Twenty-minute speedboat trip away from the resort is Male. On the island, a guest’s comfort and tranquility are of utmost importance. Holidaymakers choose it for its family fun options, romantic seclusion, extreme underwater adventures or blissful relaxation.

Staying on one of the spacious Lagoon Villas embracing the shoreline of the dazzling lagoon allowed me to relax beyond belief. What was unforgettable was waking up by the sun when it rises above the horizon right in the middle of the tranquil sea. On the first day there, I felt like enjoying a private swim and jumped from the Lagoon villa’s porch into the sea water. While I sunbathed in the L-shaped swimming pool right outside the villa stilted in the water, I was connected to everyone back in Kuwait using the island’s complementary wi-fi .

The island’s Talise Spa with its 100 percent organic treatments is known as a favored place for those who want to feel rejuvenated. Indeed, a Balinese masseuse did a miracle in the treatment room overlooking the ocean with background music that soothed every single fibre of my body.

One of the most memorable activities I did on the island, however, was the Manta Ray feeding of the fish when stingrays came to the shore like the main characters in a musical. We could not stop snapping pictures of them being fed.

I also had the chance to take a glimpse at the dedicated Kids Club and teen lounge with daily interactive and educational activities in addition to a state-of-the-art overwater gymnasium ñ a nice entertainment destination for the youngsters.

I plan to relive the Jumeirah Vittaveli experience one day. When I do, I will have plenty of new things to explore ñ cooking classes on the beach and the five-star PADI certified dive centre that offers a wide range of water sport activities ranging from scuba diving courses at all levels, to kayaking, sailing, sunset fishing, and snorkeling expeditions in addition to other nonmotorized sports which are all complementary.

Next time I will surely join a sunset fishing cruise on mission to spot dolphins, which I was told, was one of the favorite island activities.

Jumeirah Vittaveli: The dream destination that offers a 7-star experience

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013

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A man exits a shop selling Chinese New Year decorations in Hong Kong yesterday. The Chinese New Year festival falls on February 10, 2013. — AFP

King Momo:

From bank teller to Carnival king

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he undisputed heavy-weight champion of the Rio Carnival for the past five years, Milton Rodrigues da Silva wants to keep his crown until 2016, when the city hosts the Olympics. Da Silva-better known as “King Momo”-weighs in at 150 kilos (330 pounds) and plans to use every ounce of his talent to remain the symbol of Carnival’s excess through the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Games. On Friday, he will receive the keys to the Brazilian beach city from Mayor Eduardo Paes, at the official launch of the annual five-day celebration of samba, drink, dance and skimpy, figure-hugging costumes.

Rio’s Carnival King Momo 2013 Milton Junior greets his daughter.

And when the party descends on the official Sambodrome on Sunday and Monday nights, he will preside over the mayhem like a medieval Lord of Misrule.

Without his colorful costume, jewels, sash and white-lacquered shoes, Da Silva looks no different from the thousands of Cariocas, or Rio residents, who throng suburban trains daily. On the ride from the

Rio’s Carnival King Momo 2013 Milton Junior, 33, and his daughter Sophia, 4, pose for a picture at their house in Madureira neighbor hood in Rio de Janeiro. — AFP photos “Sometimes people have doubts but generally they recognize me as we get closer to Carnival, because I get more exposure in the press and on television,” the former bank teller told AFP. He got caught up in the spirit of Carnival in 1995 when he began working with the Portela Samba School, one of the many Rio associations which produce the floats and dance numbers that grace the Sambodrome. “As a child, I did not like Carnival. Samba, well, a little, but when I discovered this world, I fell Rio’s Carnival King Momo tries his new in love with it,” he added. But his rise to the crown at his house. top was an uphill struggle. He first competed for the title in 2003 but won only five Madureira suburb where he lives, he ginyears later. Last year, he was picked for the gerly picked his way through the crowd. fifth time in a row, pocketing a $9,800

King Momo 2013, Milton poses for a picture at his house.

(7,250 euro) prize.

“So far no one has defeated me,” he crowed. “Being King means being at ease expressing oneself, having a Carnival spirit and samba dancing skills. Unlike before, being heavy is not a must.” Despite his claim that girth is no longer a prerequisite for his master of ceremonies job, Da Silva is certainly on the heavy end of the scale despite the rigors of his grueling party schedule. As King of Carnival he must hold forth at private events, street parties and more importantly at the sumptuous night parades he will open at the Sambodrome, the Samba parade ground designed by the late Oscar Niemeyer.

The climax of the Carnival will feature Brazil’s top 12 samba schools competing on floats packed with dancers wearing huge headgear, feathers, sequins, body paint and little else. “I just love Carnival. To be on the avenue opening this festival, bringing this joy, give me goosebumps,” he said with emotion. But he added, chuckling: “I am so tired that in the train I don’t read nor do I listen to music, I just sleep on my feet.”

When invited to an event after work, he carries his costume and crown in a suitcase.

And when he arrives back home in Madureira, he is greeted with a kiss and a hug by his four-year-old daughter Sophia.

In addition to his wife and Sophia, King Momo lives with his parents who run a little store selling beer and ice cream. In his pinkwalled living room filled with Sophia’s toys, he showed off his latest crown and scepter.

“I have a whole collection,” he said with pride. As to his plans when his Carnival reign ends, the king said his dream is to be a contestant in the Big Brother Brazil reality show. — AFP

Rio’s Carnival King Momo 2013 Milton Junior leaves work in a bank office in downtown.

French ‘Spider-Man’ scales Cuba hotel for Castro

Daredevil French climber Alain Robert, known as the French Spiderman, waves while climbing the Habana Libre hotel. rench “Spider-Man” Alain Robert on Monday scaled the facade of the iconic Hotel Havana Libre in the Cuban capital, in what he said was a show of support for revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

“Climbing is a way to discover a country, a culture,” the French daredevil said before completing the feat, his first in Cuba. “This is a strong sign of support for Fidel Castro.” When asked if he would meet Castro while in Havana, Robert said: “I don’t know if he’ll be calling me this afternoon.”

The 86-year-old Castro, who turned over the country’s leadership to his brother Raul in 2006 after he fell ill, on Sunday made his first public appearance in three months when he voted in legislative elections. The hotel, which first opened in 1958 under a different name, served as a temporary headquarters for Castro after his triumphant march into the capital.

Robert started his climb from the fourth floor of the hotel, located in the heart of Havana, and reached the 26th floor just 28 minutes later. The building is 70 meters (230 feet) high. Police stopped traffic while Robert completed the feat. The roughly 2,000 spectators applauded each time he reached a higher floor. The 50-year-old Frenchman has climbed more than 100 structures without ropes or other safety equipment, setting a record for “most buildings climbed unassisted” according to Guinness World Records. — AFP

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